People News, January 2022

Smith was named a top performing college in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s 2021 Sustainable Campus index in 17 impact areas, including energy, investments, campus engagement, and wellbeing and work.

Juliet Schulman-Hall ’22 recently published an article in PBS’s Next Avenue on “The Housing Challenges Facing People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.” Schulman-Hall is majoring in English language and literature at Smith.

Carrie Baker, Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman Chair of American Studies and Professor of the Study of Women and Gender, is the author of “Access to Medication Abortion Among Massachusetts’ Public Universities” published in Contraception: An International Reproductive Health Journal.

Annaliese Beery, associate professor of psychology, neuroscience and biology, recently published “Social selectivity and social motivation in voles” in Neuroscience.

Justin Cammy, professor of Jewish studies and world literatures, discussed his new translation of Avrom Sutzkever’s “From the Vilna Ghetto to Nuremberg” on a recent episode of The Schmooze, a Yiddish Book Center podcast. Cammy's book has been named a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.

Jess Duff, associate director of athletics, is the recipient of the NCAA Division III LGBTQ Athletics Administrator/Coach/Staff of the Year Award. Duff is an NCAA LGBTQ OneTeam program facilitator and a member of the association’s Common Ground Leadership Team.

A video lecture course by professor of physics Gary Felder, “The Big Bang and Beyond: Exploring the Early Universe,” has been selected for inclusion on the Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses) website.

Steven Goldstein, Sophia Smith Professor Emeritus of Government, recently published “The status quo in the Taiwan Strait is edging toward conflict: Here’s how to stop it,” in the Brookings Institution’s Taiwan Quarterly Analysis series.

Marissa Hoechstetter, senior director of alumnae and donor relations, was profiled in People for her efforts to win passage of the Adult Survivors Act in New York.

James Lowenthal, Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Astronomy, was interviewed in November on the “Nocturne” podcast about the threat that new satellite technology poses to views of the night sky.

“The Long Field,” a memoir by Pamela Petro, lecturer in English language and literature, was named one of the six best books of 2021 by The Financial Times. An exhibition of photographs by Petro, “The Blink of Our Lifetimes, the Ecology of Dust,” will be on display from February 4 to March 5 at A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton.

A portrait of Sara Pruss, professor of geosciences, was featured in The Bearded Lady Project, a traveling exhibit from the National Museum of Natural History that was on display in December at the Northampton Center for the Arts. The exhibit challenges stereotypes about scientists through a series of black-and-white portraits of women paleontologists.

Loretta Ross, associate professor of the study of women and gender, was interviewed recently on PBS’s Amanapour and Company on “Is There Room for Redemption in Our Cancel Culture?” Ross also gave this year’s MLK day lecture on “Calling in the Calling Out Culture” at the University of Kansas.

Vera Shevzov, professor of religion, Russian, East European and Eurasian studies, gave a presentation in November on “George Florovsky and the Changing Paradigms of Modern Orthodox Theology” for the American Academy of Religions.

Anna Pearson ’21 published “Investigating Strike-Slip Faulting Parallel to the Icelandic Plate Boundary Using Boundary Element Models” in the December 2021 issue of Tectonics. Pearson is currently working as a geographic information systems specialist for the Kentucky Geological Survey. Her paper is based on her honors thesis for Smith.

Madeline Turner ’21 has been selected as a grassroots fellow for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Turner, who majored in anthropology at Smith, is co-author of the book, “The Land of Milk and Money: Lessons Learned and Business Earned from Women in Dairy.”

Hannah Davis ’20 is the new community development administrator for Whately, Massachusetts. Davis, who majored in environmental science and policy at Smith, previously served as conservation agent for the city of Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Camille Theriaque, M.S.W. ’18 has been named to the board of the HCC Foundation, the fundraising arm of Holyoke Community College. Theriaque, who earned her undergraduate degree at HCC, is a licensed clinical social worker with MiraVista Behavioral Health.

Devon Bohm ’11 is the author of a poetry book, “Careful Cartography.” Bohm, who majored in English language and literature at Smith, received a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from Fairfield University.

Danielle Kim ’11 has been named the first director of the Boston Foundation’s Asian Community Fund. Kim, who majored in government and psychology at Smith, earned a master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She previously worked overseeing policy and communications for Boston After School & Beyond.

Ali Woodruff ’07 has been named to the board of trustees of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. Woodruff, who received her Smith degree in East Asian languages and culture, is director of strategy and analytics with Red Oak Sourcing in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Tricia Perry ’03 is the new director of the Bancroft Memorial Library in Hopedale, Connecticut. Perry, who majored in anthropology and Spanish at Smith, had previously served as director of the Westwood Public Library.

“You Never Get It Back,” a short story collection by Cara Blue Adams ’99, won the John Simmons Short Fiction Prize in the University of Iowa Press’ Short Fiction Award Series. Adams, an associate professor at Seton Hall University, majored in English language and literature at Smith and earned a master of fine arts degree at the University of Arizona.

Yasmin Chin Eisenhauer ’94 is celebrating her first year as executive director of Amherst Cinema, in Amherst, Massachusetts. An early highlight of her tenure, she says, is having the cinema chosen as one of only seven independent theaters across the country as a “satellite screen” for this year's Sundance Festival films. Eisenhauer majored in sociology at Smith and previously served as the college’s associate director for learning, research and technology.

Attorney Helen Brosnahan ’92 has been appointed to serve as a judge in Minnesota’s 10th Judicial District. Brosnahan, who is assistant Dakota County attorney in the civil division, previously served on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure. She majored in government at Smith and received a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Heidi Kroll ’92 has been elected as a director of Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell law firm in Concord, New Hampshire. Kroll, who majored in economics at Smith, works on public policy issues and legislative matters for the firm.

Anurada Hebbar ’88 was named a 2021 Notable Executive in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by Crain’s Chicago Business. A partner in Global DEI Practice Leader, Hebbar majored in psychology at Smith and received a law degree from Boston University School of Law.

Jane Musser Nelson ’80 has been elected to the board of directors of Adams Diversified Equity Fund and Adams Natural Resources Fund. Musser Nelson, who majored in economics at Smith, has more than 30 years of experience as an investment management professional.

Dr. Karen Duncan ’77 is the new chief executive officer of JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas. Duncan, who had served as chief operating officer of the Tarrant County hospital district, majored in biochemistry at Smith and earned her medical degree at Emory University.

Brenda Shelton Wolff ’74 was selected as president of the board of the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland. Wolff earned her Smith degree in mathematics and received a law degree from Suffolk University.

Author Jane Yolen ’60 is the recipient of the American Library Association’s Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award for her contributions to Jewish children’s literature. Yolen has published more than 400 books for readers of all ages, including the Holocaust novel, “Devil’s Arithmetic.”