Alumni Profiles

Chris Munson, class of 1989 - Chris earned his BA in Social Work and Counseling from Franklin Pierce University in May 1996. Following college, he worked as a Case Manager working with developmentally disabled and mentally ill adults before moving on to a Program Manager position at Easter Seals in Windham, NH.  Following a move to Burlington, VT; Chris became the Sports Director for ESPN Radio Vermont doing play-by-play and color for college and high school basketball, football, soccer and baseball. Chris is now a freelance broadcaster and writer living in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife of three years and two cats.

Ben Forest, class of 1990 -  Ben is a Major in the U.S. Air Force, and is working on his second Masters degree at the Naval Postgraduate School in Los Angeles.  Ben is now going to be an instructor at the Air Command and Staff College in Alabama.  Ben is married and has two daughters.

Dylan Reingold, valedictorian, class of 1991 - Dylan attended George Washington University where he earned a degree in Political Science. He then went on to Florida Tech where he earned his Master’s degree in Biological Oceanography. He later studied law at the University of Florida where he was a member of the Florida Law Review. Dylan is currently Assistant General Counsel at the city of Jacksonville. Dylan credits OA for having “ well prepared me for the rigorous studies I undertook at G.W. and beyond.”

Tod Beardsley, class of 1992 -  Tod works for TippingPoint Technologies, a division of 3Com, in Austin, Texas.  Tod works in information security.

Vanessa Wilcox, class of 1992 -  Vanessa graduated from UCSC in 1996 with a double major in Psychology and Philosophy..  Vanessa received a Masters of Science in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco in 2005. She isVice President of Learning and Development for Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group.  She also serves on the Board of Directors for BayKids, a non-profit organization. Vanessa lives with her boyfriend of 6 years in San Francisco (no kids.)

Jon Feldhammer, class of 1995 -  John just completed his law degree at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, after earning his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Vassar.  Jon is married and has a son.

Shoshana Risman, class of 1998 -  Shoshana earned her B.A. in environmental studies: agroecology from U.C. Santa Cruz, and is working on Masters of Public Policy (MPP) with a concentration in environmental science policy at the George Washington University while managing the NASA DEVELOP internship team at Goddard Space Flight Center studying applications of satellite measurements and environmental policy for Chesapeake Bay watershed management.

Jessica Jarett, class of 2001-  After earning her BA from Long Island University in marine biology, Jessica worked under a Fullbright scholarship in research designed to help conserve the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  Now she is working on her Ph.D. at the University of New Hampshire in microbiology, studying a newly discovered symbiosis between corals and cyanobacteria.

Nicole Yazolino, class of 2001 -  After graduating from San Jose State University with a B.A. in music, Nicole is pursuing her vocal studies at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

Leiana Fountain Brito, class of 2001 - Leiana graduated from UCLA and is currently a propulsion engineer with Boeing.  Leina is married to Luis Brito.

Summer Chrisman, class of 2002 -  Summer spent a semester abroad in Kenya with the School of Field Studies through Boston University, and then graduated with a degree in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley last spring. 

Joe Thibadeau and Ashley Nelson, class of 2002 - Joe and Ashley were wed in the Redwood Grove at the UC Botanical Garden in June, 2009.  They are residing in Sparks, Nevada while Ashley attends graduate school at the University of Nevada at Reno, specializing in seismic safety engineering.  Ashley has an undergraduate degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in engineering.

Alex Borson, class of 2003 - Alex graduated from U.C. Santa Cruz on 2/15/09 and received a B.A. in Film and Digital Media.

Ben Meyer, class of 2003 - Ben earned his BA from Earlham College in 2007.  After this he received fellowships to study in El Salvador and Chile.  Ben plans to attend graduate school in the fall of 2009 at Washington University where he plans to earn his LCSW.  He is interested in working with Latino families.