People News, October 2022

Alliyah Logan ’25J was a speaker in September at the United Nations Foundation’s “Unlock the Future of Learning” event hosted by Plan International, Global Partnership for Education and Girl Up. Logan is a founder of Cultivate Global Education.

Neuroscience major Ava Silverman ’24 was selected to participate in the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s 2022 Chan Summer Undergraduate Research Program for students preparing for biomedical careers.

Mariana Abarca, assistant professor of biological sciences, was a presenter at “The Story Collider Western Massachusetts: Extinction and Rebirth” held in October at the New Brewery in Easthampton. The event was designed to be a night of personal stories about science.

Alexis Callendar, assistant professor of art, was a panelist in September for the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Mark Roskill Symposium 2022, “The Witching Hour: Occultism and Magic in Visual Culture.” Callendar spoke on how visual representations of witches and magic intersect with changing historical attitudes toward genders.

Justin Cammy, professor of Jewish studies and of world literatures, is the recipient of a 2022 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Yiddish for his editing and translation of From the Vilna Ghetto to Nuremberg: Memoir and Testimony by Abraham Sutzkever.

Longtime Smith tennis coach Chris Davis was honored earlier this fall with a Meritorious Service Award from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The ceremony, which had been delayed due to the pandemic, coincided with the U.S. Open, where Davis connected with a number of Smith tennis alums (pictured: Chris Davis with Andrea Tanco ’15 at the U.S. Open).

Rosie Dutt, lecturer in statistical and data sciences, is the recipient of a Neuroscience Teaching Award from Washington University of St. Louis for her accomplishments as a graduate student teacher.

Daniel Gardner, Dwight W. Morrow Professor Emeritus of History, is the translator of “Zhu Xi: Basic Teachings,” a new book about the preeminent Confucian thinker of the Song dynasty, published by Columbia University Press.

Sam Intrator, Elizabeth A. Woodson ’22 Professor of Education and Child Study, and Graeham Dodd, director of the education initiative at the Jandon Center for Community Engagement, have been awarded a 2022 National Service and Civic Engagement Research Grant from AmeriCorps for “Teenagers as Community Teachers.”

Suzanne Palmer, systems and data administrator for the Clark Science Center, is the recipient of a 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novelette from the World Science Fiction Society for her work, Bots of the Lost Ark.

Candice Price, associate professor of mathematical sciences, is the recipient of a Presidential Recognition Award from the Association for Women in Mathematics for her role as a co-creator of the Mathematically Gifted and Black website.

Loretta Ross, associate professor for the study of women and gender, is a presenter at the October 24–25 MAKERS Conference in California. This year’s conference theme, “Making the Future,” highlights representation, racial justice, reproductive rights and other issues related to women’s equality.

Hélène Visentin, associate dean of the faculty and dean for academic development and professor of French studies, is the co-editor of La Princess de Clèves by Lafayette: A New Translation and Bilingual Pedagogical Edition for the Digital Age published by Lever Press.

Steve Waksman, Elsie Irwin Sweeney Professor of Music and Professor of American Studies, is the author of Live Music in America: a History from Jenny Lind to Beyoncé, published by Oxford University Press.

Andrew Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor Emeritus of Economics, is the author of Panama at the Crossroads: Economic Development and Political Change in the Twentieth Century, published by University of California Press.

Emi Lee ’16 has joined the retirement planning and investments team at UMass Five College Federal Credit Union. Lee majored in anthropology at Smith.

Dominique Adams-Santos ’13 is the new associate diversity, equity and inclusion officer for the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. Adams-Santos, who earned her Smith degree in sociology, received a Ph.D. in that subject from Northwestern University.

Jill Hyatt M.A.T. ’02 was a panelist in September for “Hog Island Educators’ Week: Reflections on Stewardship and Eco-Justice” at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation in Erie, Pennsylvania. Hyatt is a longtime gifted enrichment teacher in the Crawford Central School District.

Olaolu Aganga-Egeonu ’03 has been appointed to the board of Rock the Street, Wall Street, a Nashville-based financial and investment literacy program. Aganga-Egeonu, who majored in mathematics at Smith, earned an M.B.A. at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jodi Burke ’97 is the new vice president of insights for Punchcut digital design firm in San Francisco. Burke, who majored in history at Smith, has worked on design engagements with Google, Toyota and Amazon.

Ronda Steciuk ’91, is the new animal welfare program director for Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Bureau. Steciuk, who majored in philosophy at Smith and earned a law degree at Indiana University, previously worked as a senior program manager with PetSmart charities.

Smith medalist Mona Ghosh Sinha ’88 is the new global executive director of Equality Now. Sinha is board chair of Women Moving Millions and the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition’s Fund for Women’s Equality. She is a trustee emerita of Smith and co-led the college’s successful $486 million Women for the World campaign.

Sara Stern ’81 is the new chief communications officer for the New England Conservatory in Boston. Stern, who majored in government at Smith, previously served as executive vice president for Lipman Hearne and in marketing for Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Deborah Farrington ’72, co-founder and managing partner of StarVest Partners, has been appointed to the board of Cumulus Media, Inc. Farrington, who majored in economics at Smith and served on the college’s board of trustees, earned an M.B.A. at Harvard.

Claire Nader ’50 is the author of You Are Your Own Best Teacher!: Sparking the Imagination and Intellect of Tweens. Nader majored in Hispanic studies at Smith and earned a Ph.D. in public law and government from Columbia University. She was the first social scientist working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1967.

Photograph by Jeff Baker