THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE FALL 2019 gw magazine / Fall 2019 GW MAGAZINE FALL 2019 A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CONTENTS

FEATURES

28 / (At Least) A Little Something For Everyone This year’s gift guide, our sixth, has a theme. We found alums making and selling things spanning the present- giving spectrum. So, we hope, there is at least one thing here that will work for anyone on your list. / By Caite Hamilton /

40 / The Disinformation Age It’s been well known for a long time that not everything on the internet is true, but recently it’s become more difficult to separate facts and fictions. The new Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics will try to help us tell the difference. / By Charles Babington /

50 / Home Work Help Journalist and author Megan K. Stack, BA ’98, has been a finalist for a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. In her new memoir, Women’s Work (excerpted on page 54), the former Los Angeles Times war correspondent reckons with motherhood, privilege, domestic labor and, to her surprise, her readership. / Q&A by Rachel Muir /

DEPARTMENTS 4 / Postmarks On the cover: Illustration by 6 / GW News John McGlasson, BA ’00, As part of his “World on a Plate” course, MFA ’03 chef José Andrés took a GW class to the 58 / Class Notes Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill in September to examine and decipher 400-year-old recipes . WILLIAM ATKINS

gwmagazine.com / 1

Fall 2019 Volume 29, Issue 3

associate editor // Matthew Stoss

photo editor // William Atkins

photo editor // Harrison Jones

design // GW Marketing & Creative Services

art director // Dominic N. Abbate, BA ’09, MBA ’15

art director // John McGlasson, BA ’00, MFA ’03

editorial assistant // Jennifer Cheng, CCAS ’2021

contributor // Keith Harriston, senior managing editor, GW Today

contributor // Briahnna Brown, GW Today

contributor // Kurtis Hiatt, GW Today

contributor // Tatyana Hopkins, GW Today

contributor // Kristen Mitchell, GW Today

contributor // Ruth Steinhardt, GW Today

Thomas J. LeBlanc president of the university

Donna Arbide Lorraine Voles, BA ’81 vice president for development vice president for and alumni relations external relations

Patty Carocci senior associate vice president of alumni relations and annual giving

Leah Rosen, BBA ’96, MTA ’02 Sarah Gegenheimer Baldassaro Rachel Muir associate vice president for associate vice president executive director marketing and creative services for communications for editorial services

GW Magazine (ISSN 2162-6464) is published three times per year by GW’s Division of External Relations, 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 300, Washington, D.C. 20006. Phone: 202-994-0817; email: [email protected].

© 2019 The George Washington Opinions expressed in postmaster Please send change-of-address notices to GW Magazine, University. The George these pages are those of GW Alumni Records Office, 2033 K St., NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. Washington University is an the individuals and do not 20052. Notices can also be sent via alumni.gwu.edu/update, email to equal opportunity/affirmative necessarily reflect official [email protected], or 202-994-9350. Postage paid at Washington, action institution. positions of the university. D.C., and additional mailing offices.

gwmagazine.com / 3 POSTMARKS

A (true) tall tale I still exist. Who am I? One of the GW men’s basketball team’s varsity players from 1952 to 1954. [Ed. note: In the spring 2019 issue, we wrote about the 65th anniversary of the first GW men’s basketball team to make the NCAA tournament.] Every team needs more than a few superstars; the Roman Guard, so to speak. In the year we went 23-3, there were at least 12 of us. My claim to fame: I was the tallest. According to the Southern Conference Championship program, I was 6-foot-8 and weighed 180 pounds. Unfortunately, fake news. But I did top Joe Holup by an inch (see page 142 of the 1953 yearbook), while he outweighed me by at least 50 hefty pounds. John B. Connally was governor of Texas from 1963 Philip H. De Turk, BA ’54, JD ’56 to 1969. He later served as secretary of the treasury.

Points of view Long-distance information, give me A gubernatorial omission In the future, if the George Washington Memphis, Tennessee I greatly enjoyed this article (“The University chooses to discuss politics (“‘A I am distraught that our GW Magazine is Border Ball,” summer 2019), though I’d like Competition For Facts,’” summer 2019), losing such a competent and caring editor in to address what is to me a glaring omission please show ALL viewpoints. GW should not Danny Freedman. No matter what I wrote, regarding the photo of the smiling man be partisan. The university should not lean he always responded with graciousness and with his hand in a cast next to the couple one way or the other. support when I probably really deserved a portraying Martha and George Washington Dayna McGhee, BA ’98 terse letter of rejection. He gave me direction [on page 45 of 2019 summer issue]. He is, when I went astray and kindly edited my as the article puts it, one of the letters to the editor when I got carried away “state poobahs” who attended and needed his guidance to really make those Laredo’s Washington’s opinion pieces “sing,” but he always did so Birthday Celebration. lovingly and realized that I, too, was a GW Specifically, he is then-Texas alum who met my husband there back in Governor John B. Connally, ’63, so we were both GW cheerleaders from and he is in a cast as a result of the heart. I couldn’t imagine that Danny his wrist being shattered along would ever leave but I wish his family well with his other wounds during in Memphis. How we GW Magazine readers the course of the assassination will miss him! He did us proud! of President Kennedy not three Kathy A. Megyeri, MA ’69, MA ’82 months earlier. The fact that he made the trip from Austin to Laredo so soon after [Ed. note: Danny Freedman, BA ’01, was suffering three broken ribs, a punctured GW Magazine’s managing editor from 2014 lung, a bullet in his leg, and the shattered through July 2019 when he and his family wrist speaks volumes about the significance moved to Memphis.] of the WBC. William R. Harris, BBA ’81 WEBB COUNTY HERITAGE FOUNDATION

4 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 Memory Bank

We ask in every issue: What keepsakes—objects, photos, etc.—do you keep around as reminders of your time at GW? Recently, we heard from Garry V. Wenske, BA ’65, about a particularly unusual item, which he kindly mailed back. (Garry, we are very much enjoying our new doorstop.)

More than a pile of bricks The piece about a cut-glass window in the “Memory Bank” section of The Ghosts of [the summer 2019 issue] reminded that I had collected the enclosed brick Thurston Past while an undergraduate student at GW in the 1960s. In honor of a planned $80 million Why I still have it is lost in the fog of memory, but I recall it came interior renovation of Thurston from an historic building next to the Circle Theater near 21st and Hall, GW Magazine is cracking Pennsylvania Ave. NW. One night when returning to then-Calhoun open the time capsule of Thurston’s Hall, I noticed that the townhouse was past, and we need your stories for no longer standing, but just a pile of an upcoming feature: tales from bricks. Something prompted me to pick too late and from bleary dawns; of up this brick as it seemed sad that its Have a keepsake you shenanigans and fizzled plans and history would be forever lost. want to tell us about? what-are-the-odds wins that became So, I am returning it (perhaps Write us at magazine@ legend; of roommates and laundry as a doorstop for your offices gwu.edu or on Twitter and classes and life inside the dorm. near where it originated) as at @TheGWMagazine; another part of GW’s heritage. we'll feature some of Send your memories to magazine@ them in this space in gwu.edu or mail them to us at the future issues. address below.

All Write! We want to hear from you, too. Contact us through our website, gwmagazine.com, on Twitter (@TheGWMagazine) or send a note to: GW Magazine Runs in the Family 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Brains and brawn can pass from generation Suite 300 to generation, and so too can Colonial Washington, DC 20006 pride. If you have family members who [email protected] have attended GW before or after your time here, we’d like to hear from you. Contact Please include your name, Marie Treanor, director of legacy family degree/year, address and a engagement, at [email protected]. And daytime phone number. for more about GW’s Legacy Alumni Letters may be edited for

THURSTON HALL: VMDO ARCHITECTS / BRICK: WILLIAM ATKINS Network, visit: go.gwu.edu/legacyfamilies. clarity and space.

gwmagazine.com / 5 NEWS AND INSIGHTS FROM CAMPUS AND BEYOND

p. 16 An alumna wrote for ‘Jane the Virgin’

p. 12 p. 18 p. 19 p. 22 A Plan Indigenous The New Service & for GW D.C. Provost Politics

I measure a guy by what he can do, not by what he can’t do. And I think the world and a lot of people measure what a guy can’t do, and at the end of day, you’re only going to win with the ‘cans.’

Jamion Christian, New men’s basketball coach

p. 20 JANE THE VIRGIN STILL: DANNY FELD / THE CW; JAMION CHRISTIAN: WILLIAM ATKINS / RIGHT: COURTESY ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

6 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 [research] The (Other) Eternal City

Across the walls and ceiling of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee meeting room, a professor finds the narrative of a “new Rome on the Potomac” and the artist’s elusive source of inspiration.

BY MENACHEM WECKER, MA ’09

A kid runs the bases on one of three manicured diamonds at the Nationals’ Youth Baseball Academy

gwmagazine.com / 7 The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee meeting room originally housed the Committee on Naval Affairs, and still bears Brumidi’s effort to telegraph a notion of U.S. dominance on the water and the nation’s claim to the Greco-Roman legacy. WILLIAM ATKINS

8 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 THE ROOM MANAGES, AT Senate meeting room and works sculpture.” ONCE, TO BE DIZZYING throughout the Capitol] was part She declined to Wolanin, and three years AND MEDITATIVE. Frescoes and parcel of the continuation of later to Cohen. and filigree enrobe the walls and that well into the 19th and even But being asked twice in three years high ceiling, an embarrassment early 20th centuries.” to research Brumidi’s work there did give of gilded splendor that’s To do that, Brumidi drew Friedland pause. She mulled it over with her disarmed by dim lighting and upon a style—characterized dissertation adviser (“I was thinking, ‘Before broad fields of calming blue by faux marble, solid blocks of I go off the ranch completely …’”) and, now paint. Windows on the room’s blue, and floating and realistic reasonably assured her background might lone outward-facing wall figurative vignettes—that possibly bridge ancient Rome and early U.S. catch the sunlight and frame unmistakably conjures ancient public art, she began to dig. a postcard-worthy view of the Pompeii. The Roman city The room S-127 was Brumidi’s first Washington Monument. entombed by volcanic ash in full-scale assignment in the Capitol, a job It’s called S-127, a cavernous the first century was being he would parlay into 25 years of work (with meeting room that’s part of what excavated intensively at the dozens of assistants) to adorn the building’s is now the Senate Appropriations time and yielding some of its interior—including his 4,600-square-foot Committee’s suite at the U.S. biggest finds. Co-opting designs Apotheosis of Washington in the eye of the Capitol. For a century and a half, uncovered there conferred an air Rotunda—up until his death in 1880. the room has been held by some of sophistication and luxury in Brumidi had worked for popes in his of the nation’s most powerful Brumidi’s day. native Rome, but came out on the wrong people, and the message of the “This is really the only room side of a revolution there. He eventually was art—mythological beings and that is this coherent in Pompeian pardoned and allowed to leave for America. symbols of seaborne prowess— style and subject matter,” He arrived in New York in 1852, where matches their influence. But Friedland says. he painted churches, among other things. until recently, no one had fully But why this iconography And in 1855, Brumidi began his work at the decoded the room’s symbolism. and these motifs? And how? Capitol. It was designed and painted Brumidi likely needed more Meeting room S-127 only came to be in the late 1850s by Constantino than imagination to design so occupied by the influential, federal-purse- Brumidi, an Italian refugee intricate a room, she reasoned, string-holding Senate Appropriations sometimes referred to as “the but the trail seemed largely to Committee in 1912. Originally the room Michelangelo of the Capitol.” In begin and end with his final housed the Senate Committee on Naval S-127 he’d wanted to forge a new art on the walls. To try to Affairs—and later the Committee on Armed visual language for the relatively understand, Friedland went Services, the Committee on the Philippines young American republic, one hunting for a 160-year-old muse. and, temporarily, the Government Printing that would telegraph power Office—so most of Brumidi’s illustrations and echo America’s claim to the IT TOOK SOME Constantino there deal with the ocean. classical Greco-Roman legacy. CONVINCING FOR Brumidi On the ceiling’s longest axis, he painted “Just like our Founding FRIEDLAND TO TAKE ON America (cast as a Native American Fathers were constructing a new THE PROJECT. woman), sea goddess Amphitrite, love nation rooted in ancient Greece In spring 2013 and in 2016, goddess Venus and sea nymph Thetis. and Rome, just as they were she took students in her course, On two smaller axes, which bisect the doing this in terms of political “Greece & Rome in Washington, longer one of female deities, Brumidi structures and philosophical D.C.,” to tour the Capitol, where painted wind god Aeolus and sea gods values and statesmanship, they both trips included being taken Neptune, Oceanus and Nereus, the were also interested in creating a to room S-127. Two successive last of which the Greek poet Homer new Rome on the Potomac,” says curators for the Architect of the called the “Old Man of the Sea.” Elise Friedland, an associate Capitol, Barbara Wolanin and Sixteen sea nymphs ride professor of classics and art the current curator, Michele waterborne monsters, dolphins history. Friedland has spent the Cohen, asked Friedland—an and a turtle, among other past two years analyzing the expert on Greek and Roman fauna. On the walls, maidens room’s complex visuals, first with sculpture in the Roman Near float in voids of blue and seed money from GW’s Office of East—if she wanted to be the bear nautical objects—a the Vice President for Research, first scholar to study the compass, an anchor, then with a fellowship from the room in depth. a map—and staffs U.S. Capitol Historical Society. “I thought to myself, spearheaded with the The thinking of the nation’s That is after Constantine, American flag. leaders, she says, was that “in and I can’t help you after “The message order to put this capital literally AD 324 ...,” Friedland is, ‘We have our on the map, it’d better look like says. “Plus, that’s naval power

LEFT: ROBERT ALEXANDER / CONTRIBUTOR / GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: BRADY-HANDY PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION / LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / PRINTSancient AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION Rome. And this [the painting, and I do growing out

gwmagazine.com / 9 of these marine deities of the Greco-Roman Pompeii, Herculaneum, and and then to her near-twin on the world,’” Friedland says. Stabiae by Wilhelm Zahn, a wall of S-127: “She was a victory One of the floating maidens, a maenad, or German decorative painter who goddess, carrying a trophy. So female follower of Dionysus, wears flowing lived in Pompeii in the early you just, y’know, lose the wings robes and carries an American flag. She 1800s, she found an illustration and change the trophy into a holds the flag pole with her outstretched of the entire wall that held the pennant—and you’ve got to put right hand, and the flag goes over her right maenad. clothes on all these people in shoulder and behind her head. The figure’s “And as I was looking at 19th-century America—and left hand reaches forward, and she strides this drawing and saying, ‘Yes, there you have another floating forward with her right foot. there’s our maenad,’ I started figure.” Wolanin, the former curator for the realizing: Hold on. I recognize Answering one research Architect of the Capitol, previously had other things, like these columns, question, though, has a way of identified this as a near-exact copy of a right?” she told an audience last raising new ones. first-century Pompeian fresco, now in the year at a lecture at the Library of Now that it seemed much collection of Naples’ Museo Archeologico Congress. “... I also recognized of Brumidi’s work in the Nazionale. In that painting, a maenad is those columns, and then I room could be traced back to carrying a drum or tambourine in her right realized that it turns out that Pompeii directly via Zahn (it’s hand, and a thyrsus, a staff culminating in Constantino Brumidi based his common for artists to draw upon foliage, in her left. Brumidi essentially had entire design of the room on this predecessors’ work), Friedland just swapped in new attributes. one drawing.” had to square how a refugee like Wolanin, Cohen and now Friedland were The book’s author, Zahn, was Brumidi might’ve been able to left to wonder whether the maiden was the unknown to Friedland, though it afford an expensive book like sole quotation from the art of Pompeii, with turned out he was an important Zahn’s. And would he really lug Brumidi’s mind filling the rest of the room, figure in the development of it across an ocean? or whether—as Friedland suspected—more color lithography and a friend It turns out, he wouldn’t sources of inspiration were out there to be of the famous writer Johann have had to: Friedland, with found. Wolfgang von Goethe. the help of librarians, curators After two months of looking and turning “[Zahn] was just hanging and historians at the Library up nothing, Friedland was getting nervous. around [in Pompeii] while things of Congress, identified a copy Her research turned up plenty of were being discovered and deep in the library’s storage. illustrations of that lone maenad. But then, in drawing them,” Friedland said at That would seem to answer the a desk-sized, three-part book called Beautiful the library. question, but it would help if she Ornament and Remarkable Paintings from Friedland points to another could show that Brumidi could

floating figure in Zahn’s book have accessed one of the library’s COURTESY ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

10 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 wanted to rival European palaces.” And the value placed on that can be seen in the payroll: By 1857, Brumidi was being paid $10 per day, outearning $8 for members of Congress and $6 for Meigs, she says.

RESTORATIONS OF THE ROOM OVER THE YEARS HAD MUDDIED SOME OF THE COLORS, perhaps to the point that its unique qualities eluded scholarly interest, and a 2003-2005 cleaning returned the colors to Brumidi’s original scheme, particularly returning very green backgrounds to their blue origins. “That often happens when you are dealing with historic spaces and art—that if you’re not seeing the original intent, you could A lithograph Friedland found in Zahn’s be misguided and not recognize how good book appears to have been—from its intricate something is,” Cohen says. “I definitely think that contributed to the lack of research.” columns, floating figures and layout—Brumidi’s Friedland, whose findings were pubished inspiration for the Senate meeting room S-127. this summer in the U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s journal, The Capitol Dome, is already finding other layers of inquiry. One of the more perplexing elements in volumes. The assembled puzzle pieces the painted landscape are small heads that Inspecting library markings have yielded some unexpected one could be forgiven for missing amid all on the book, she learned it was insights, Friedland says—about of the other business of the design. Some in the Library of Congress the role of art books “to transmit have been described as “colonists,” although collection by 1849. “That’s in ideas and values” across worlds; Friedland prefers “sailors.” But the baffling plenty of time for our hero to the impact of color lithography ones are of Native Americans. Looking at consult them,” Friedland told the on painting and politics; and the the latter, Friedland saw parallels to ancient lecture audience. reach of libraries. depictions of Medusa, the mythological But did he? “At the time,” Friedland says, monster or Gorgon, who had live snakes for At the Library Friedland turned to a “the Library of Congress was hair and who turned everyone who saw her of Congress, transcript of a journal kept housed in the U.S. Capitol, so to stone. (Perseus, who killed Medusa, had Friedland admires by Montgomery Meigs, the these books were very accessible to look at her only through his shield to avoid the table-sized engineer who oversaw part of to Brumidi ... [and] only a major folio of Wilhelm petrification.) the construction of the Capitol library would own them.” Zahn’s work that Where the white, vibrant sailors are cast and who commissioned Brumidi. The findings also add fuel she identified in flattering three-quarter view, the Native She found an entry from after to the original idea of a young as Brumidi’s Americans are shown straight on; they look the room’s completion in 1858, nation attempting to associate inspiration for comparatively puffy to Friedland, “and they in which Meigs writes that itself with a long, illustrious past S-127. have weird stuff under their necks,” she says. Brumidi’s room is “better than and the power of mythic realms. “That’s how ancient people pictured Medusa, the examples from Pompeii “They were serious about and she’s a monster.” in the book of ...,” but only a founding a new Rome on the Friedland plans to research further the blank space follows. Meigs Potomac,” Friedland says. degree to which these particular heads wrote in something called “Where this place is situated were “othering” Native Americans. Just as Pitman shorthand, and the word looks like the bend in the Tiber. Brumidi drew from the then fashionable there had stumped the person We have a Tiber Creek here.” designs of Pompeii at a time when the city deciphering it two decades ago. D.C.’s boundary stones recall was undergoing some of its most extensive Friedland has called ancient Rome, as well, she says. excavations, his portrayal of indigenous the system of scribbles and “I like to refer to Meigs as the Americans may also have been consistent dots “impenetrable” to the American Medici,” says Cohen, with continuing conflicts between white uninitiated. But with the help the curator for the architect of and Native Americans, particularly as gold of the library she was able the Capitol, during a visit inside rushes and other opportunities brought to consult another Pitman S-127. “He wanted the new white Americans further west. transcriber who decoded the Capitol to be a palace, as well as “This room,” she says, “could take a

FRIEDLAND: JOSHUA YOSPYN / DETAIL FROM ZAHN, PL. 13, COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS inscrutable word: Zahn. a temple of democracy. He really lifetime to do.”

gwmagazine.com / 11 housing and community spaces across campus, for example. The second objective is deepening our commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics by increasing the percentage of undergraduate students who complete a STEM major, from 19 percent to 30 percent. I want to emphasize that this is an “and” not an “or” effort. We will continue to build our exceptional strengths in international [Q&A] affairs, political science, journalism, law, public policy and many other areas. STEM will only add to these disciplines, compounding the impact we have on an President LeBlanc increasingly technological world. And it offers all of our students the ability to learn the skills necessary for analyzing data Discusses Strategic Plan using technology. As they join the modern workforce, these skills will be indispensible five strategic initiatives, which include regardless of their profession. This summer GW leadership announced the the student experience, the research Ultimately, these are just two objectives initial framework for a five-year strategic plan ecosystem, our philanthropy and constituent in the plan. We still have a lot to figure out. that will guide the university into its third engagement, the medical enterprise and our That’s what this year’s planning process is century. President Thomas LeBlanc talked to institutional culture. We have made a lot of for. GW Magazine about the planning process and progress in each area, and anyone can go to how alumni can be involved. strategicinitiatives.gwu.edu to see the ways What does that process include? we are responding to what we’ve heard. In short, more discussions and idea Why is GW creating a new strategic plan generating among our community. now? As we continue this work, we’re also thinking about the long-term success of GW, In October, we convened four committees A strategic plan is critical for a preeminent of faculty, staff and students to examine university like GW. The world is constantly and I am encouraging our entire community to think creatively as we plan. each of the four pillars. The committees are changing and by planning we are anticipating coordinated by a university-wide task force, these changes. We are leading rather than which includes Board of Trustees members Is there a basic framework for the strategic responding. And we are determining together and other GW constituency representatives plan? the focused ways GW will make a real such as Alumni Association President Each conversation I had with a student, difference over the next several years, both Richard Jones. meeting with faculty or staff, or event with for our university community and for society Between now and the spring, the alumni helped me better understand what broadly. committees are gathering input and our community wants for GW. I can sum Conversations about the future are always developing recommendations. They will up the feedback in three words: Better, not important and exciting, but they are even make draft recommendations to the board bigger. more so for this plan because it’s the one in February 2020, so that initial ideas can That motto is now guiding our planning that will lead us into our bicentennial in 2021, influence the budget process for fiscal 2021, process, which is focused on four pillars that shaping the university as we enter our third and they will continue to refine their plans drive excellence in higher education: world- century. during the spring. The board will consider the class faculty, high-quality undergraduate final strategic plan in May. What has GW done to prepare for the education, distinguished and distinctive graduate education and high-impact strategic plan? How can alumni get involved? research. We’ve spent the past two years listening and We want to hear from as many alumni as working on some near-term priorities. Thanks possible. We will be sharing more information to the contributions of so many, we have a What specific goals are included in the about events for alumni throughout the year, strong foundation from which to build a plan. plan so far? so stay tuned. I also will continue to travel to I have talked extensively with students, There are two objectives that we believe visit with alumni, and discussing our future faculty and staff. And I hit the road to hear are critical to moving the university toward will be the focus of our conversations. from alumni, families and friends—from preeminence. Alumni can learn more about the strategic Chicago to Atlanta to New York and London. The first is gradually reducing the on- planning process and submit comments, I learned so much about how people think we campus undergraduate student population questions and ideas through the strategic should advance GW, and it was inspiring to by 20 percent over five years. plan website at strategicplan.gwu.edu. We are see the enthusiasm for GW’s future. Many in our community asked us to do reading every suggestion. Together we affirmed a shared aspiration: more to support the student experience. By I encourage everyone to get involved. This preeminence as a comprehensive global gradually decreasing the undergraduate is a historic time for our university. We face research university. We also immediately body, we can provide more resources—more a moment of choice, and we must choose to got to work making improvements within staff and academic support and improved lead! WILLIAM ATKINS

12 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 Briefly...

GW Dean of the Student Experience M.L. “CISSY” PETTY Renowned chef, will become vice humanitarian and activist president of JOSÉ ANDRÉS—who owns student affairs more than 30 restaurants and dean of around the world—this fall students and is teaching a class that will report to GW will examine food history, President Thomas science and industry. LeBlanc and serve as a member of Climate activist GRETA the university’s THUNBERG received Amnesty leadership team. International’s 2019 Ambassador of Conscience award in September at Lisner Auditorium. Thunberg, 16, is the 18th recipient of the award, which is Amnesty International’s highest honor. The amount for which the National Past awardees include Nelson Institutes of Health renewed, for Mandela and Colin Kaepernick. the next five years, the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource. The $22 GW SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND MILLION Rapper KANYE WEST made a HEALTH SCIENCES serves as the surprise appearance at Lisner primary site. Auditorium in October in front of nearly 1,500 people to host a listening party for his new album, Jesus Is King, and hold an advance screening for the album’s corresponding IMAX movie.

The FITZHUGH MULLAN INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE EQUITY—which works to BARBARA LEE build a stronger, more inclusive health workforce BASS, RES ’86, $7.8 and reduce health disparities, and is based at has been named MILLION JOHN LACH, a GW’s Milken Institute School of Public Health— vice president for former professor has received supplemental funding from The health affairs and of electrical Atlantic Philanthropies to advance and promote dean of the School and computer health equity on a global scale. An additional $13.1 of Medicine and engineering at million will support the Atlantic Fellows for Health Health Sciences the University Equity program, created by an earlier $25 million and will assume of Virginia, was investment from The Atlantic Philanthropies, and will the role in January. named dean of establish a new faculty position, the Fitzhugh Mullan The first woman to the GW School of Professor of Health Workforce Equity. lead SMHS, Bass The amount the NATIONAL currently is chair of Engineering and INSTITUTES OF HEALTH the Department of Applied Science. awarded a GW research team to Surgery at Houston establish a rare disease network Methodist Hospital for myasthenia gravis, a chronic in Texas. autoimmune disease.

MILKEN INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH THUNBERG: RON ADAR/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO / PAN: ISTOCK.COM/FLOORTJEBASS: COURTESY / PETTY: PHOTO WILLIAM ATKINS / WEST: ZUMA PRESS, INC./ALAMY STOCK PHOTO / LACH: HARRISON JONES / SEHJ: WILLIAM ATKINS /

gwmagazine.com / 13 Calendar

DECEMBER 1 JANUARY 8 FEBRUARY 7 JACKSONVILLE, FLA. LOS ANGELES CHARLOTTE Jacksonville Jaguars tailgate and Join fellow alumni and current An opportunity to network with watch party to cheer on the home- GW students for an evening alumni and watch the Charlotte team Jaguars as they play the of professional networking in Checkers take on the Hartford Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (alumni. Los Angeles and to learn more Wolf Park in American Hockey gwu.edu/events) about the Alumni Industry League action from an on-the-ice Networks. Hear from the students suite. (alumni.gwu.edu/events) participating in Career Quest DECEMBER 4 (a program for GW students to gain experience with leading ATLANTA FEBRUARY 26 organizations in major cities) and WASHINGTON, D.C. Gather for a pregame networking meet with staff from the Center reception and then watch the for Career Services and the Office Join alumni for the career Atlanta Hawks play the Brooklyn of Alumni Relations. (alumni.gwu. programs workshop, “Developing Nets. (alumni.gwu.edu/events) edu/events) a Coaching Culture in Your CONNECT WITH Organization and Beyond,” led by Ina Gjikondi, MPS ’09, MA ’15, PRESIDENT LEBLANC director of executive education DECEMBER 5 JANUARY 8 and coaching at GW’s Center for Join GW President Thomas J. SEATTLE ATLANTA Excellence in Public Leadership. LeBlanc in 2020 as he visits Annual Seattle Alumni Holiday Join fellow alumni and current (alumni.gwu.edu/events) cities around the country! Hear Party, held at the Iconic Rainier GW students for an evening of his university updates, share Club, with hors d’oeuvres, drinks professional networking in Atlanta your feedback and network and holiday cheer (alumni.gwu. and to learn more about the MARCH 24 with GW alumni and families. edu/events) Alumni Industry Networks. Hear CHICAGO For more details, visit: from the students participating in alumni.gwu.edu/ Career Quest (a program for GW Connect with fellow GW alumni PresidentLeBlanc. DECEMBER 6 students to gain experience with in health care and hospital administration over dinner during NEW YORK leading organizations in major JANUARY 14 the annual ACHE 2020 Congress cities) and meet with staff from Philadelphia Connect with fellow alumni the Center for Career Services and on Healthcare Leadership. To in finance in New York over a the Office of Alumni Relations. register, visit go.gwu.edu/ JANUARY 28 breakfast discussion focused on (alumni.gwu.edu/events) ache2020. Los Angeles Venture Capital, moderated by Rodney Lake, director of GW’s JANUARY 30 Investment Institute. (alumni. JANUARY 23 MARCH 28 San Francisco gwu.edu/events) PITTSBURGH ONLINE FEBRUARY Participate in the next GWebinar: An evening at the Pittsburgh Tampa, Fla. (details to come) DECEMBER 7 “Solving Career Burnout, How to Opera at the Benedum Center to see Carmen, with a networking MIAMI Get Reinspired,” led by certified FEBRUARY career coach, speaker, and author reception in the New Guard Miami (details to come) Annual brunch at Art Basel Miami Hallie Crawford. There is no cost Lounge prior to the show. Beach featuring remarks from to attend, and alumni will have the (alumni.gwu.edu/events) MARCH 3 GW leadership (alumni.gwu.edu/ chance to engage with Crawford Northern Virginia ) events and participate in a Q&A. (alumni. APRIL 14 gwu.edu/events) Richmond, Va. DECEMBER 11 APRIL 29 ONLINE FEBRUARY 1 New York Connect with fellow GW alumni all RICHMOND, VA. over the world around our eight JUNE 9 A pregame tailgate and a chance Boston Alumni Industry Networks to to cheer on the GW men’s share your experiences, exchange basketball team as they take JUNE 11 career tips and build your on Atlantic 10 rival Richmond Washington, D.C. professional network. It’s free, it’s (alumni.gwu.edu/events) only an hour, and it’s fun! (alumni. JULY gwu.edu/events) Seattle (details to come)

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14 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 [Speakers] “that goes right to the heart of our conceptualization of female heroes. Most of sovereignty of a nation, to our national the women who inspired Hillary Clinton as a security, in a way that is almost child were distant figures from history books unimaginable.” or the pages of Life magazine, or fictional The Women Clinton visited Lisner Auditorium in ones like girl detective Nancy Drew. October with her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, “The only women she knew who worked to discuss their co-authored The Book of outside home were schoolteachers and Who Inspired Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage public librarians,” Chelsea Clinton said of and Resilience. The Clintons’ visit, co-hosted her mother. In contrast, she said, her own Hillary and by Politics and Prose, was the second in childhood in the 1980s and ’90s was full of the GW Presidential Distinguished Event adult women who were doctors, lawyers, Series, which last year hosted historian Ron artists and activists. Chelsea Chernow. The generational difference revealed In introducing the two women, GW itself in other ways, too. Chelsea Clinton President Thomas LeBlanc said that the revealed that her mother still writes and Clinton university “is fortunate to have benefitted edits her books by hand—driving her more from the Clinton family’s inspiring tech-savvy daughter a little crazy. contributions to GW’s educational and “I thought surely she would have The former secretary of research mission, especially through the to understand why track changes are state and her daughter spoke Rodham Institute. We remain grateful for important,” the younger Clinton said. “She at the second installment this partnership and for the impact the does know how to use a computer.” of the GW Presidential Rodham Institute has had on communities “In my defense,” the elder Clinton Distinguished Event Series. near and far.” retorted, “you know who else writes his (The Rodham Institute, established at books longhand? Barack Obama.” GW in 2013 and named for Hillary Clinton’s Moderator Lissa Muscatine, co-owner of By Ruth Steinhardt mother, Dorothy Rodham, seeks to increase Politics and Prose and a former speechwriter the number of under-represented minorities for Clinton, allowed a final question to in health care professions.) address “the 800-pound gorilla in the room”: Much of the conversation before the sold- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment out crowd—many of whom lined up hours inquiry into President Trump. early for premium seats—was affectionate Clinton said she supported the and familiar, centered on the Clintons’ investigation and that she was heartened to relationships with each other and with the see public support for impeachment. women about whom they wrote. “The issue that started with his call to The duo chose a selection of inspiring the Ukrainian president has broken through women from throughout history and around in a way that many of his other actions have the world, ranging from civil rights activist not, in terms of the threat they pose to our Claudette Colvin to Sesame Street creator democracy and our Constitution,” she said. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Joan Ganz Cooney and including groups like She herself was on the impeachment staff Fsaid “impeachment is the appropriate the largely female workforce of vaccinators. investigating Richard Nixon, which she called remedy” for President Donald Trump’s call It was important to both mother and “a solemn and serious deliberative effort.” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky daughter to tell women’s stories without “I am in favor of what the House is seeking an investigation into the family of idealizing them. doing—gathering the evidence and making presidential candidate Joe Biden. “We wanted them to be seen as whole the case—because this president has to be “When you have a president calling on people,” Hillary Clinton said. “They’re not held to account,” Clinton said, “because foreign adversaries perfect, they’re not up on a of his unconstitutional abuse of power, his for assistance mountain somewhere. contempt of Congress in his political They worked hard, and and his obstruction campaigns, which they overcame obstacles of justice.” he did in 2016 … and it wasn’t easy.” The standing and which he is The Clintons said ovation that doing again,” collaborating had taught followed lasted Clinton them the difference about half a said, their generations minute. made in their

Chelsea and Hillary Clinton WILLIAM ATKINS speaking in Lisner Auditorium in October gwmagazine.com / 15 [TV] had to make a pact with her “... Even though I’ve had all boyfriend that she wouldn’t work these incredible experiences in Saturdays—and taken the risks L.A., I had these really insane obligated by dream-chasing, all moments when I was 17. I wonder From Plays in part kicked off by an Iowan if it’s the way child actors feel, aunt who had one degree of a little bit, where you get these separation between herself and sparks when you’re young and To Teleplays Jane the Virgin showrunner then you’re chasing those sparks Jennie Snyder Urman. for a while after that.” And yet, there’s something Hendricks moved to Los Madeline Hendricks, BA ’13, about that one June 2009 night Angeles when she was 21, driving has been a writer on two TV at the Imperial Theatre… across the country with her dad shows: Jane the Virgin and “I still have a visceral reaction five days after graduating from Good Trouble. But she still when I remember standing in the GW. She says she didn’t know back of the theater and watching anyone and that her first L.A. job thinks back to when she was people laugh at jokes that I was begging to get coffee with 17 and had one of her plays wrote, that are being performed any showbiz sort magnanimous performed by professional on stage,” says Hendricks by enough to grant her an audience. actors on Broadway. iPhone 7 from Los Angeles while Urman was one of those commuting in her Ford Fusion sorts. They met for breakfast By Matthew Stoss Hybrid one weekday September somewhere in Sherman Oaks. morning. “There’s just no better Hendricks’s Aunt Pam in feeling in the world.” Fairfield, Iowa, brokered the Hendricks, then-freshly introduction. She’s friends with graduated from high school, had one of Urman’s Iowan relatives. won the Fidelity FutureStage “I was like, ‘I’ll babysit your Playwriting Contest. Honorarily kids,’” Hendricks says. “‘I’ll do chaired by Elton John, founded anything,’ basically.” in 2006 and now defunct, the Babysitting wasn’t necessary. contest encouraged students in Urman, apparently moved by the theater arts. Queen Latifah Hendricks’s passion, acumen emceed that night at the Imperial and résumé—at GW, Hendricks Theatre, which opened in 1924 was involved in more than 20 and through its existence has plays, including about eight When she was 17 years old, Madeline showcased the work of Irving her freshman year—helped WHendricks, BA ’13, won a playwriting Berlin, Bob Fosse, Frank Loesser Hendricks get a writer’s contest. For her prize, she got to have her and Cole Porter. As of June production assistant job on the 10-minute, one-act play, Driver’s Education, 2009, the theater served as home TV show Reign, a CW series about produced and performed by professionals stage to Billy Eliot the Musical. a young Mary, Queen of Scots. at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. She Eight days before Hendricks’s A year later, Urman hired met Elton John—that picture remains easily play, Billy Eliot won 10 of the 15 Hendricks for to be her assistant found on the internet—and Queen Latifah, Tony Awards for which it was on Jane the Virgin and then went rode in a limousine from her hometown of nominated. about developing into a writer the Larchmont, N.Y., and spent that one New “It was like all of sudden, then-22-year-old New Yorker who York City night rivaled by only sliced bread. Madeline all of my dreams were coming came to L.A. preferring to be on Ten years later, Hendricks is a television Hendricks, BA ’13 true,” says Hendricks, who also screen than behind it. Hendricks, writer, notably working her way up from met Billy Eliot director Stephen an inveterate “theater dork” underling to associate producer to writer, to Daldry. “I was going in and out since age 7 and who starred often story editor on the highly regarded CW show of Manhattan and I was about in high school and college plays and telenovela satire Jane the Virgin. By the to go off to college, and it was and musicals, wrote her first Jane end of the Jane’s five-season, 100-episode amazing. Then, honestly, it was episode during season two—in it, run in July, Hendricks had bylines on 37 all kind of downhill after that for Jane considers sleeping with her shows, writing her first episode in season a while because when you get to college professor—and joined the two. Now she writes for Good Trouble on sit in this beautiful Broadway writers room full time by 2017. the Freeform channel—it’s about two young theater and watch your play go She was the youngest by half a women navigating life in Los Angeles—while up with these incredible actors, decade of the dozen or so staffers. mulling pilots of her own for a distant day. and everyone’s clapping and “It happened relatively fast, It’s a good life that occasionally includes you’re watching your work and considering what most people shopping for plants and hiking in canyons. then all of a sudden you have to have to go through to get She’s worked hard—so hard that she go be a college student. staffed,” Hendricks says. “Again, SARAH SAKAMOTO SARAH 16 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 that’s because Jennie is the kind “I worked really hard and I “It’s me watching my work go up in front of person who promotes her think that some maturity comes Jane the Virgin of a bunch of people and having people laugh assistants and takes mentorship from being in my 20s and kind ran for five and cry and understand what I was going seriously. of jumping immediately after seasons and 100 for,” Hendricks says. “That is the feeling. “I knew that and I knew that school into this crazy industry. episodes from And in terms of if I felt it—it’s tricky because she meant it when I got that first I basically haven’t taken a break 2014 to 2019 on it’s very specific to theater. episode. I was like, ‘OK, this is a since. Part of what was so special the CW. Madeline “When I did the play in March in L.A., I place I can grow.’ I have a lot of about working on Jane was that Hendricks was didn’t completely have that feeling. My actors friends who work on other shows when I started there, I was a a writer on the were really brilliant, I’m proud of the play, and then they leave because they 23-year-old woman who dreamed show for its final but I’m much more critical of myself now know that there’s no room for of becoming a writer. And I two seasons. than I was when I was 17, and I know so much growth. A lot of showrunners was working on a show about a more that the whole time I’m just thinking, don’t promote their assistants. 23-year-old woman who dreamed Oh I wish I had this lighting effect or I wish I They’ll work there for a year of becoming a writer. I was able had changed the set or I wish I did a different or two or three or four, and to really plug in and make Jane’s costume or I wish I wrote a different line. they’re like, ‘OK, this isn’t going story personal to me.” “... But in terms of: Have I gotten that anywhere.’” To sate her inner playwright, feeling lately? I certainly got it the first Hendricks describes Hendricks and a fellow writer time my episode aired, season two of Jane, her experience on Jane the friend in 2017 started See What and I saw my name on TV. That was pretty Virgin as going to graduate Sticks, a Los Angeles-based incredible. I got it the first time I punched school. She learned TV- monthly workshop that offers up a joke and it made it on the air. These writing fundamentals, the artists of all kinds a venue to little moments—they’re thrilling. But, relevancy of some diminished present their work in a black box yeah, I think in some ways, it’s harder to by the streaming model—like theater. get that thrill the older you get because you cliffhangers before ad breaks. Hendricks wrote and directed are harder on yourself. So it’s kind of easy She had what she describes as a one-act play in March— when you’re 17 and you’ve never written a an unusually positive experience that June 2009 night at the play before and the first one you write goes in that Jane had a lot of staff Imperial Theatre still tickling a on Broadway. It’s like, ‘This is great, this is continuity, which is something romanticized place in her heart, awesome,’ and now it’s more like, ‘This is my Hendricks ascribes to Urman’s even after three TV shows and career and I need to pay rent.’ So maybe I organization and creative single- two full-time TV writing jobs will never quite get that exact feeling again mindedness. and nursing not-implausible TV because maybe that was just part of being “I’ve had an incredible show-creating and movie-writing that age and having your whole life ahead of journey so far,” Hendricks says. aspirations. you.” DANNY FELD / THE CW gwmagazine.com / 17 [technology] wouldn’t notice,” Rule says. and sites of important events. “But he was a champion for his “Some sites are very visible people.” and very prominent, such as Other destinations include A Guide to the National Museum of the the Embassy of Tribal Nations, American Indian,” Rule says. Liberty and Freedom Lummi “But as I talked to people as I Totem Poles at the Congressional Indigenous was building the list of sites to be Cemetery, and the site of the included, it kept growing.” Cowboy and Indian Alliance D.C. One lesser known site is the camp, which was erected in front Dumbarton Bridge, also known of the U.S. Capitol during the as the Q Street and Buffalo 2014 protests of the Keystone The AT&T Center for Bridge, which connects Q Street XL oil pipeline. Rule developed Northwest across Rock Creek the app’s list of designations Indigenous Politics and Park. by consulting scholars, local Policy released an app Along with a buffalo theme, tribal members and historians, highlighting Washington- the bridge’s arches feature 56 including George Mason area sites of Native American identical busts of Sioux Chief University professor C. Joseph importance. Kicking Bear, an organizer, Genetin-Pilawa and Smithsonian warrior and religious leader, historian Gabrielle Tayac. By Tatyana Hopkins who was one of three delegates GW plans to use the app as to take grievances to the a teaching tool for its Native Bureau of Indian Affairs in American Political Leadership Washington, D.C., about local and Inspire Pre-College law enforcement’s interference programs, which provide with Lakota trade practices in scholarships to American 1896. Indian, Alaska Native and Native “That is something just Hawaiian students to study The app walking by the bridge that you public policy and politics at GW. “We wanted to develop this app for Native youth to make sure that they feel empowered by the things that have happened here,” AT&T CIPP Director A new tool will help Washington, Wendy Helgemo says, “and by AD.C., visitors discover the historic and being here learning about how contemporary landmarks of those Native policy is made and how who inhabited the city’s land before its decisions that are being made development as the nation’s capital. every day in Washington, D.C., “Guide to Indigenous D.C.” is a free can affect their daily lives in mobile app developed by GW’s AT&T their communities.” Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy Helgemo says making a in collaboration with the American Indian historical connection to the Alaska Native Tourism Association. program’s policy training is The project, funded by the American important in light of a recent Indian College Fund, Native Americans study that revealed that 62 in Philanthropy and the Minneapolis percent of Americans outside of Foundation, includes a walking tour map, Indian country reported being directions and guide that highlight the unacquainted with Native contributions of Native Americans to the city. Americans. “D.C. was built on Indian land and “Anywhere you go in the indigenous homeland,” says Elizabeth United States, you’re on Rule, a member of the Chickasaw Nation indigenous land,” she says. and assistant director of AT&T CIPP, “and “As an indigenous center there is a very strong history and ongoing housed at GW, it’s part of our contemporary indigenous presence in this responsibility to tell these city.” stories and to acknowledge The app, which is available for free the people whose lands we download for iOS devices, features a map of are on and those who have 17 locations, including learning institutions come before us.”

18 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 At GW, Blake replaces Forrest and graduate students and for Maltzman, who announced in faculty and researchers across April that he would step down all disciplines,” GW President to return to the Department of Thomas LeBlanc says. Political Science after taking a An electrical and software sabbatical. Blake started at GW engineer by training, Blake in November. at Drexel, a private research He received a PhD in university in Philadelphia, led information and software all academic programs across engineering from George 14 schools and colleges. Under Mason University, an MS in Blake, Drexel enrolled its largest, electrical engineering from most academically talented Mercer University and BEE from freshman class, oversaw the Georgia Tech. university’s highest retention [Administration] The provost is the chief rate and the highest overall academic officer of the university research activity in history and oversees all academic This led to the university’s first Drexel’s Provost endeavors across GW’s 10 “very high research activity” schools and colleges. GW’s designation by the Carnegie Office of the Provost includes Classification of Institutions of Named to Same offices for academic and faculty Higher Education. affairs; research; libraries; Outside academia, Blake Role at GW enrollment; and diversity, equity spent six years working as a and community engagement. software architect, technical An 18-member search lead and expert developer with committee selected Blake. It General Electric, Lockheed M. Brian Blake, an electrical and software included 14 faculty members Martin, General Dynamics engineer, has 20 years of academic representing all of GW’s schools and the MITRE Corporation. experience and has worked for, notably, and a range of disciplines, two He continues to consult on General Electric and Lockheed Martin. trustees, a student leader and information technology and an administrator, and was software engineering for Drexel University’s M. Brian Blake has been named GW’s new assisted by the national executive the Federal Aviation provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Blake— placement firm AGB Search. Administration, the Department who over 20 years has held faculty, dean and vice provost roles during “Dr. Blake’s career is defined of Justice, the Department stops at Georgetown University, the University of Notre Dame and by transformative academic of Defense and several legal the University of Miami—has served as Drexel’s provost since 2015. leadership—for undergraduate firms.

GW’s BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION COMING SOON 2021

gwmagazine.com / 19

GW’s BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION COMING SOON [Sports] (shortstop), and contributed a short story to the student literary magazine. He graduated in 2004 with a communications degree. Cutting on “If a guy can only make shots from one spot on the floor,” Christian continues, “my job is the Bias New GW men’s basketball coach to get him to that one spot on the Jamion Christian started his floor. It’s not to complain and be Ncoaching career as an assistant at upset that he can’t make them New men’s basketball coach Emory & Henry, a 1,200-student from the other five spots, right? Jamion Christian, who twice Division III school in the I’ve just got to get him to the one led Mount St. Mary’s to the 1,200-human Virginia town of spot on the floor and allow him to NCAA Tournament, wants to Emory that, from Washington, be the very best. I really view it D.C., waits quaintly at the end like a puzzle.” question what he thinks he of a five-and-half-hour pastoral In his only year at Siena, the knows. schlep south down Interstate 81. New Kent, Va., native maestro’d The exit, No. 26, is distinguished a nine-win improvement. At By Matthew Stoss by a barn, congregating Mount St. Mary’s, Christian livestock and the phantoms of went 101-95, won two Northeast moonshiners gone by. Conference titles and made two D-III recruiting, compared NCAA tournament appearances, to D-I and D-II, is different. It’s following assistant stints at, the lowest of the NCAA’s three first, Emory & Henry, then D-I classifications and the only one at Bucknell, William & Mary and Jamion Christian which athletic scholarships are Virginia Commonwealth. runs a preseason verboten. Recruiting is done by At VCU, Christian served practice in volume. So during two seasons under now Texas coach Shaka September. at E&H, necessity became Smart, the innovator of “Havoc,” Christian’s muse. a high-tempo defense-centric In what has become his system predicated on pressing, typical fastidious way, the turnovers and the forced then-recent college grad bewilderment of opponents. started developing a Christian runs his own version talent-assessment system of Havoc, modified for 3-point designed to eliminate a fecundity. He dubbed it coach’s bias and focus on a “Mayhem.” player’s particular, perhaps “He’s got a great sense of overlooked, strengths. spacing on the floor and angles,” “I measure a guy by what says Smart, who hired Christian he can do, not by what he can’t in 2012 and empowered him do,” says the now-37-year-old to oversee the Rams’ offense. Christian. “And I think the world “I think every coach adapts to and a lot of people measure what what he’s got. I think, given the a guy can’t do, and at the end of personnel, he likes to shoot 3s, the day, you’re only going to win like to play fast, likes to press, with the ‘cans.’” likes to run.” Christian spent last The aforementioned season at Siena in fastidiousness applies most Loudonville, intricately to the players. N.Y., and At Emory & Henry, Christian the four was at first just trying to keep before that in track of all the high school Emmitsburg, players he scouted, and then Md., at his alma it all got inevitably more mater, Mount St. sophisticated. Mary’s. There, he “We just have these biases played basketball that are built into our minds (shooting guard) about what we think basketball is

and baseball supposed to look like,” Christian HARRISON JONES

20 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 says, “and I didn’t want to be teachers. He says childhood doable. It’s something Jamion’s done in the that way. I wanted to be able to dinner table conversation past. I mean, he recruited Marcus look and find out who the very often veered toward Thornton to William & Mary, and best player was and who had the the philosophical, Marcus Thornton, in retrospect, best upside instead of making a which, anecdotally, could have played anywhere in the mistake because a guy looks a might explain the grownup ACC, the Big East, any school in the certain way.” Christian’s aversion to country.” Seventeen years later, confirmation bias and Basketball, Christian says in a statement Christian’s unnamed system recruiting off the eye test. that’s not as obvious as it seems, is a game. looks like this. He has every “I think it’s coming from The players are humans—young humans— position mapped. He knows how a small town,” says Jamion’s and have lives, the events of which can affect tall he wants each guy to be. He brother, Jarell, four years a player’s performance as much as (or more) knows how fast they need to be. younger and now a Washington a glitch in their jump shot mechanics or a He knows what kind of reach he Wizards assistant coach. “You tender knee ligament. wants them to have—overall, are always fighting those When Christian took over GW’s program he wants his guards taller and biases—the competition’s not in March, he instituted book clubs. The longer and his post players as that great, or he’s doing that players read motivational books and then big as nature allows and with the but it’s against a smaller class JAMION discuss them chapter by chapter. For one ability to pass—and he wants to size or whatever it may be. September Sunday morning convening, they know, as precisely as possible, Probably for [Jamion], it’s trying CHRISTIAN’S parsed a chapter about trust. the elemental things. to find different ways to show COACHING “Basically,” says junior guard Justin “What is fast?” Christian that it doesn’t matter who the Mazzulla, “guys got vulnerable—and that’s says. “Some people just say he’s competition is. RECORD how you get to know someone truthfully fast—it’s a 5 [rating out of 5]. “... That’s kind of been him. is when they’re vulnerable. You know the But we want to know where he’s For as long as I can remember, truth about someone. A lot of the guys at in that. Does he beat his man he’s always wanted to take the opened up about their lives. Coaches and every time down the floor? Does analytic-type approach. He 2012-13 the guys said stuff about their lives that was he beat his man occasionally? doesn’t just want to see something MOUNT ST. MARY’S very hard for them, growing up. I saw the Does his man always beat him and go with it. He wants to do his 18–14 impact the next day. It gives you a sense of down the floor? I think those homework, do his research.” togetherness in that someone is actually three rankings are important After Emory & Henry, listening to you, because everyone in that 2013-14 to understand. Because now, if I Christian jumped to Division I, MOUNT ST. MARY’S locker room listened to that story and saw evaluate him for that one game, moving to Bucknell, then William how that impacted you and now you tend to and then maybe he’s fast this one & Mary, which has never made 16–17 (NCAA) understand how guys are affected, why they game, and the next game he’s not the NCAA Tournament in the act the way they act. It opens your eyes so as fast, then I can rate it that way. 83-year history of its basketball 2014-15 much more when you look at that person.” “Overall, if I rate it as program. The Tribe came close MOUNT ST. MARY’S Christian says that eliminating a coach’s honestly as possible, I can create in 2015 but lost in the conference 15–15 bias is about more than the ratings on the this picture for myself: All right, tournament title game. specially designed forms he and his staff he’s just faster than most guys, That team, by the Tribe’s use to make notes when scouting. There’s 2015-16 or when he’s really locked in, he historically meager standards, MOUNT ST. MARY’S something warm and personal beneath runs faster than them or he’s not was loaded. It featured Marcus the ostensibly cold method. Excising bias that fast at all.” Thornton, who the Boston 14–19 isn’t just measuring size, speed and skill. In September, after a morning Celtics took in the second round It’s about humans, their identities, their of on-campus recruit-wooing, of the 2015 NBA draft, making 2016-17 individualism and their emotions. Christian’s lounged the length Thornton the Tribe’s first NBA MOUNT ST. MARY’S “I would say you coach either how you of his 6-foot-2-ness over a mid- pick. It was Christian who lured 20–16 (NCAA) wanted to be coached or how you were century-looking chair in his office Thornton to William & Mary, coached,” Christian says. “I coach how I across the street from the Smith using his data-based evaluation wanted to be coached. I wanted to be in a 2017-18 Center, where the Colonials system to ID an undervalued high MOUNT ST. MARY’S positive environment every single day where opened the season with a Nov. school player. Then Christian I felt like the mistakes of yesterday didn’t 1 exhibition game against D-III courted him early and always. 18–14 linger today. Hood College. “It’s about creating a niche “I wanted to be in an environment where Christian has talked this and finding a way to overcome 2018-19 my teammates and myself were pushing afternoon about admiring that childhood dream of a SIENA ourselves in the right direction and really and wanting to learn from player,” says Smart, referring 17–16 sharpening our swords every day. Those are storytellers (especially stand-up to some kids’ fantasy of playing the kinds of environments I wanted to be comics), how he wants to coach for the college hoops gentry—at in. I want to be in the kind of environment from a place of empathy, and schools like Duke or North where I could go for a risk and still be able to

ISTOCK.COM/GEARSTD how he’s the son of high school Carolina. “And that’s very, very bounce back and be safe and secure.”

gwmagazine.com / 21 [Politics] At Your Service

Emily Cherniack, BA ’00, MA ’06, founded an organization to recruit military vets as well as alumni of groups such as the Peace Corps and Americorps to run for public office. Among her clients? Former 2020 Democratic presidential nomination hopeful Seth Moulton.

By Tom Kertscher J A S O N G R O W

22 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 Emily Cherniack, BA ’00, historically red 7th District. It urging—to form an organization that would MA ’06, was an unlikely had been held by a Republican help service-oriented people run for office. candidate to start a political for 48 years and was formerly “My first experience in politics,” organization. represented by Eric Cantor, Cherniack says, “was really because I When she arrived in the BA ’85, who served as House believed in my boss and thought he was a political capital of the world from majority leader from from 2011 good person to be in politics because he had Minnesota in 1996 to study at to 2014. gotten things done.” GW, she was uninitiated. She New Politics, which Cherniack says she “beta tested” her idea didn’t identify with a party, burn also works with state and for two years before approaching political for an issue or know much about local politicians, helped rookie Moulton in June 2012 to run against candidates. She simply liked Massachusetts Congressman U.S. Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., an 18-year volunteering with young people. Seth Moulton get elected. NEW POLITICS incumbent. Khazei had convened the initial “I didn’t even, like, vote,” she Moulton briefly ran to be the U.S. REPRESENTATIVES meetings about forming New Politics, and says. 2020 Democratic presidential former presidential adviser David Gergen, Helping a mentor twice run nominee. one of the attendees, suggested Moulton as a for the U.S. Senate convinced her “Look at all of the New JASON CROW, candidate. Moulton defeated Tierney in the to change her mind. Politics leaders, not just in D-Colo. 2014 primary election, then easily won the In 2013, Cherniack founded— Congress today, but running general election. and now runs as executive across the country and serving The victories brought interest from MIKE director—New Politics, which in many different capacities donors to the point that New Politics now has GALLAGHER, recruits and supports military both in and out of elected office,” a $2.2 million budget. R-Wisc. veterans and alumni of national Moulton says. “With more “I was mission-driven and wanted to service programs such as the service-driven leaders being make the country better,” says Cherniack, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps recruited and coming up through JARED GOLDEN, who in 2018 made Politico magazine’s annual to run for public office. The the ranks, the numbers will only D-Maine list of top 50 politicos “for putting service nonpartisan group has offices in increase. This isn’t just about back in government service.” The list also Boston, where Cherniack lives, winning elections; it’s about included Donald Trump, late-night host and in Washington, D.C. rethinking how we view politics. CHRISSY Jimmy Kimmel and U.S. Rep. Alexandria “I was around a lot of military I can confidently say I wouldn’t HOULAHAN, Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. “No one else was and national service alums, and be a member of Congress D-Pa. recruiting service candidates to run, so that they were just amazing leaders,” without her help.” was the opportunity I saw to step up and says Cherniack, who worked for Cherniack’s mentor at City help.” ELAINE LURIA, two years at City Year, a Boston Year was Alan Khazei, who Cherniack’s organization advises D-Va. nonprofit where AmeriCorps co-founded the organization. candidates on building a campaign members teach and mentor Cherniack got into politics when infrastructure, consults on how to hire staff students. “And my experience Khazei decided to run for the SETH MOULTON, and formulate messages. Notably, it ran the in service, you’re taught how to Massachusetts Senate seat left D-Mass. 2016 get-out-the-vote effort for Gallagher, a problem solve and work with vacant after Edward Kennedy’s Republican, and raised more than $60,000 people that are different from death. for his campaign, which took in a total of you and have different ideologies, Khazei tapped Cherniack as MAX ROSE, $2.76 million. and you’re taught how to bring deputy finance director for his D-N.Y. Unusual in this age of extreme political people together. It’s larger than campaign in 2010 and as his polarization is that New Politics is yourself.” deputy campaign manager in MIKIE bipartisan. The vast majority of candidate- New Politics has helped 2012. That year, Khazei dropped SHERRILL, recruiting groups focus on ideology and several candidates win out after Elizabeth Warren, who D-N.J. party, and those that focus on veterans don’t seats in the U.S. House of won the race, announced her recruit service corps members. Representatives: Democrat candidacy. In 2010, he lost to According to the Pew Research Center, Jason Crow, an Army veteran Martha Coakley in a four-way ELISSA only 18 percent of U.S. House members from Colorado; Republican Democratic primary. SLOTKIN, and 19 percent of U.S. senators have prior Mike Gallagher, a Marine vet “[Cherniack] is a consummate D-Mich. military experience. The rates were four from Wisconsin; Democrat servant leader, always focused times higher four decades ago, before Jared Golden, a Marine veteran on the mission and team first, abolition of the draft in 1973. from Maine; Democrat Chrissy and never putting herself as the ABIGAIL “Because they’ve learned those skills Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who top priority,” Khazei says. “She SPANBERGER, early on in their life, between 18 and 25 served in the Air Force and in is also an outstanding grassroots D-Va. years old,” Cherniack says of vets and former Teach for America; Democrat organizer, has both great IQ and public servants, “they carry that with them, Elaine Luria, a Navy vet from [emotional quotient], and is an and that’s how they frame. They’re framing Virginia; and former CIA official excellent judge of people.” about country first and community first. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat After Khazei’s campaigns, “... We think that will fundamentally who in 2018 flipped Virginia’s Cherniack decided—at Khazei’s change how people work together.”

gwmagazine.com / 23 George Welcomes

Headliners at University Events

“The worst evil that “This is becoming science has not been dangerous. We have able to find a cure for in to understand the human beings is apathy. experiment of democracy We all have to become can fail if we don’t organizers.” think it is valuable and Dolores Huerta, legendary activist and precious, and defend it.” co-founder of the United Farm Workers, at Lisner Auditorium in September urging Former Secretary of Defense James GW students to continue advocating for Mattis speaking on the current tribal those without a voice and political divisions in America in a conversation with New York Times columnist David Brooks. The September event, which highlighted the retired four-star general’s new book Call Sign Chaos, was co-sponsored by Washington, D.C.’s Politics and Prose bookstore.

“It’s a sad time in our culture where we are just out to get each other. There’s plenty we disagree on. I attack the heck out of ideas. I don’t back down from the fight at all, but cheap shots have got to stop.” U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, calling for civility on Capitol Hill. The Navy Seal veteran headlined the GW College Republicans’ fall kick-off event in September at the Dorothy Betts Theater in the Marvin

Center. DIGITAL ILLUSTRATIONS BASED ON PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY: HUERTA, CRENSHAW, MATTIS: HARRISON JONES

24 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 Ilhan Omar and Michael Moore spoke at Jack Morton Auditorium in October as part of a live recording of The Intercept’s “Deconstructed” podcast, hosted by Mehdi Hasan.

“When they describe “We may be running a me as a terrorist, every contest against Mitt single Somali girl or Romney. [Michael] Muslim girl that’s Bloomberg may decide walking down the street to go back to being a that resembles me, her Republican. This could life is also in danger. go any number of ways.” What I am afraid of is Filmmaker Michael Moore on the uncertainty surrounding the Republican what the messages they 2020 presidential ticket. are putting out there could mean for every young girl who looks like me.” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on tech companies like Facebook not doing enough to crack down on hateful language

“If we really understand what’s on our plate, we really understand what’s going on in our country and our planet.” Chef and humanitarian José Andrés on the importance of knowing where ingredients come from, the experiences of people who brought it to the table and how those experiences are affected by business, environmental and other concerns. Andrés spoke at Lisner Auditorium in September on how food and immigration intertwine in the

DIGITAL ILLUSTRATIONS BASED ON PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY: ANDRÉS: WILLIAM ATKINS / OMAR, MOORE: HARRISON JONES United States.

gwmagazine.com / 25 Bookshelves

This chapter title is a deliberate play on Ronald Reagan’s famous “Morning in America” speech. One of the points of this book is to have readers ponder why some Wampanoags and other indigenous Americans mourn on Thanksgiving while other Americans traffic in the sanitized, I urge readers of this book to celebratory myth of Pilgrim-Indian friendship. reconsider having schoolchildren Binaries that perform Thanksgiving pageants continue to resonate and other exercises that make in American white American expansion at political discourse, Native American expense seem as in the “War on like a bloodless, consensual affair. By this, I mean everyone. We all have Terror.” Society scoundrels and worse in our people’s past. would benefit from a deeper historical understanding of the terrible uses to which these words have been put.

There are poignant More needed through-lines than ever, in this connecting white author’s view. America’s violent subjugation and exploitation of American Indians in the past and the current plights of many Indian reservation communities. It’s well past time for American society en large to grapple not only with the Native American past but with its present too.

In most cases, just a dismissive euphemism for someone being considerate and thoughtful. Part of what I’m gesturing toward here is that the movement against public monuments to white supremacy must reckon not only with the nation’s history of slavery and Jim Crow, but its subjugation and oppression of Native people.

Annotated: Professor David J. Silverman offers insights into the first page of his book, This Land Is Their Land.

26 / gw magazine / Summer 2019 A Modern Contagion: Imperialism and Another titled “Bottle” strikes a different Public Health in Iran’s Age of Cholera tone; “I’m getting drunk on disgusting (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019) wine/ I’ll call tomorrow, I swear,” it ends. By Amir A. Afkhami, MD ’03, associate “Absence” includes a line that’s happier and professor of psychiatry and behavioral could be a statement about the promise of sciences, and of global health poetry more broadly. “It’s not the big ball A 2008 cholera outbreak in Iran represents of dough/ but the pinch of yeast that makes only the latest flash point in an ongoing epic the bread.” “Many are those who find/ the between the nation and the gastrointestinal sublime in the daily grind/ by beginning to condition. The disease had a “formative grow as they shuffle along their way.” role” in the development of modern Iran This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag in the 19th and 20th centuries, Afkhami Ronald Reagan and the Space Frontier Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the writes. One example cited in the book: (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019) By John Troubled History of Thanksgiving Iran’s 1906 Constitutional Revolution, Logsdon, professor emeritus of political (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019) By David which occurred two years after a cholera science and international affairs J. Silverman, professor of history outbreak, couldn’t have happened but for an President Reagan inherited a space increasingly secular view of outbreaks as program at a crossroads, with a transition preventable medical problems rather than team informing the president-elect that The Thanksgiving inevitable, divinely mandated ones. the agency was “without clear purpose or direction.” Unlike John F. Kennedy, whose Landfall: A Novel (Pantheon, 2019) By interest in space was tied to the Cold War, Myth Thomas Mallon, professor emeritus of Reagan saw civilian space exploration as Underpinning mountains of turkey, English manifest destiny, and he “personally would cranberry sauce and gravy and behind The novel—with fictional takes on dozens turn out to be the most pro-space U.S. the myth of a peaceful, celebratory of very real characters—starts in 1978 with president, before or since,” Logsdon writes. meal that Pilgrims and American a love story, which finds a young man at Indians shared, a tragic, painful story a political rally falling simultaneously (in William Howard Taft. The American of oppression of indigenous people different ways) for a young woman also in Presidents Series: The 27th President, emerges. Thanksgiving as we know attendance and for the man for whom the 1909-1913 (Times Books, 2018) it today is a Civil War-era invention party has been thrown: George W. Bush. By Jeffrey Rosen, professor of law intended to unify the country and The latter was soon to lose a House bid, but While recent books address President which New England tourism promoters the novel picks up again in the Bush White Taft’s character, foreign policy, progressive found exceedingly useful and lucrative. House. The work is fiction, but Mallon, conservatism, psychology and relationship “It was one thing for the people of who’s also novelized Richard Nixon and with the press, this one focuses on his Massachusetts to claim the Pilgrims Ronald Reagan, has a well-calibrated ear interpretation of the Constitution. As as forefathers and a dinner between for political dialogue. the only president (1909-13) who was Pilgrims and Indians as the template also chief justice of the U.S. Supreme for a national holiday,” Silverman writes. Naming the Dawn (Seagull Books, 2018) Court (1921-30)—and even oversaw the “It was quite another for the rest of the By Abdourahman A. Waberi, assistant building’s construction—Taft approached nation to go along.” professor of French his presidency as a judge, not a politician So how did the rest of the nation This book of poems, which Nancy Naomi chasing popularity; his true significance go along? For one thing, many found Carlson translated, is divided into three comes into focus when the two roles are it useful to manufacture stories at the sections: living soul, seemingly no big deal, viewed collectively, Rosen writes. Taft’s expense of American Indians. “It was and spiritual exercises, and is infused with wife put it best when she sought to keep a no coincidence that authorities began religious and natural references. “I’ve come gift that he felt violated the emoluments trumpeting the Pilgrims as national to realize you cannot touch/ without clause: “He stood firmly by the founders amid widespread anxiety being touched,” one poem states. Constitution, as usual.” that the country was being overrun by Catholic and Jewish immigrants unappreciative of America’s Protestant, democratic origins and unfamiliar with its values,” the book states. It also created an inspiring yet fictive national heritage in an effort to minimize the blemish of slavery. This book attempts to give the American Indians a voice, even as, in its own words, it turns a bedtime story of Thanksgiving myth into a nightmare.

ALL IMAGES: WILLIAM ATKINS – Menachem Wecker, MA ’09

gwmagazine.com / 27 GW GIFT GUIDE 2019

(AT LEAST) A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

BY CAITE HAMILTON PHOTOS BY WILLIAM ATKINS

28 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 This year’s gift guide, our sixth, has a theme (if you need a clue, see the big headline on the opposing page). We found alums making and selling things spanning the present- giving spectrum. So, we hope, there is at least one thing in here—we’ve got everything from spirits to sheet masks, board games to socks—that will work for anyone on your list. And, because many of these alums are paying it forward by donating a portion of profits to worthy causes, your dollars will do double duty. (You can call that a free gift with purchase.)

gwmagazine.com / 29 It’s in the Bag Go Dash Dot Multiuse (and stylish) bags for the gym and everywhere else / $88-218 GoDashDot.com

Hannah Fastov, BA ’12, had tried everything to keep from carrying an armful of bags to accommodate her gym-work-post-work events schedule: lululemon duffels, designer totes, even regular handbags with plastic grocery bags to hold her shoes. “I just couldn’t find a bag that could fit all of my stuff and keep it organized—and one that was cute and fashionable,” she says. Fastov started casually asking other ladies in the gym locker room what kind of bags they were carrying, figuring other urban women must be having the same issue. The response was unanimous: All of them told her they hated their current bag, but had a ton of ideas about what would make the “perfect one.” “I started writing all of these ideas down, and ended up making a survey to put on Facebook,” Fastov says. More than 100 women answered her questions about what they’d want in a bag, and about their behaviors and lifestyle. But even though Fastov had been working in fashion—in product development for Brooks Brothers and, later, Rag & Bone—she wasn’t sure where to go from there. “I really saw a hole in the market, but I didn’t necessarily want to just make a gym bag,” Fastov says. She launched Go Dash Dot (a play on “go” in morse code, a language Fastov says has the same translatable quality as her products) in 2016 with the Infinity Bag, a carry-all that incorporates much of the original locker- room feedback. It features compartments for shoes and laptops, a machine- washable laundry pouch, an extra strap for crossbody wear, and pouches that snap to the side of the bag, rather than disappear to the bottom. Plus, it’s stylish. “Everybody uses the bag for different things, which is what makes it very versatile. They’re great for travel, they’re great for new moms, great for students,” Fastov says. “That’s Use code “GW20” to save 20 been the key to our success—it’s not just percent on your first Go Dash Dot another tote bag. It’s something different and purchase at GoDashDot.com. something useful.”

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A Foothold in History Liberty Socks American history-themed fashionable socks / $17.76 LibertySocks.com

Shortly after launching his history-themed sock collection, entrepreneur Alao Hogan, MBA ’18, decided to send a pair to former president George H.W. Bush. “Someone mentioned to me that President Bush enjoyed wearing fun socks,” Hogan says. “I found his fan mail address and included a short note thanking him for his service to our country.” A few months later, he received a reply: “Love, love, love those Liberty Socks you sent me,” wrote the 41st president, a Navy pilot during World War II. Hogan was both shocked and happy. As a New York native and U.S. Army combat veteran, he wanted to combine his eye for fashion with his military background and interest in U.S. history. Bush had given him a stamp of approval. “I found socks to be the perfect platform to try something niche and unique in the accessories market, particularly for men,” Hogan says. “Many brands manufacture American-made patriotic apparel, but the majority are not historically accurate.” Liberty Socks honors American history with each pair, which Hogan designs himself then submits to his supplier for knitting. “I set out to find unique ways to integrate shapes and symbols that are commonly associated with American patriotism,” Hogan says. Take, for instance, The Washington. Named after George Washington, the socks feature 13 six- pointed stars that represent the original 13 colonies as well as Washington’s personal flag as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. They’re Hogan’s favorite. But why socks? Like President Bush, “people of all ages love wearing fun socks,” Hogan says. Plus, focusing solely (pardon the pun) on socks allows him to self-fund, which, in turn, provides him with the opportunity to donate a portion of profits to the East Harlem Tutorial Program, a New Use code “GW” to save 15 percent York-based nonprofit he’s been personally on your next pair of Liberty invested in for more than two decades, both Socks at LibertySocks.com. as a student and supporter. The socks are sold at libertysocks.com for, appropriately, $17.76 per pair.

gwmagazine.com / 31 Use code “GWROCKS” at HeroArts.com to get 20 percent off your first purchase. A Stamp Act

Hero Arts summer and holiday breaks. Supplies for cardmaking and crafting / $2 to “Watching the company and employees was a $100 (subscriptions also available) formative part of my memories of Hero Arts, and HeroArts.com a big part of my interest in studying community Most kids don’t get a hankering to be a small- development, business and public policy,” he says. business owner before they can even drive a car. In 2006, Leventhal took over the company with But Aaron Leventhal, MA ’91, had watched as his his wife, Laura Ackerman, and together the couple mother built up her fledgling stamp company, Hero focused on going green: Today, the company is Arts, and was inspired. toxin-free, having eliminated chemicals, resins and “A rubber stamp press was in our bathroom even water from its operational processes. Plus, it’s for much of my early childhood,” Leventhal says. asked each of its suppliers to sign a “Green Pledge” “It was the only room in our Berkeley, Calif., to work to do so in their operations as well. apartment with a three-prong outlet, which Hero Arts, which is online at heroarts.com, made for an awkward shower experience, but did also works to enrich the community, with a cultivate a passion in me for business.” giving program that honors community arts, She eventually took the company from the environmental initiatives, women’s health, and family bathroom to a garage and, eventually, a children and education. proper manufacturing facility, where Hero Arts But the original mission—the one born in the created (as it still does, “by hand with love and bathroom of their Berkeley apartment—remains attention,” Leventhal says) wood block stamps, the same: “Hero Arts combines stylish design with clear stamps, inks, papers, and other supplies for the joy of handmade, and gives creativity-hungry cardmaking and crafting. Meanwhile, Leventhal crafters the ability to give something tangible and was at University of California, Santa Cruz, and unique to themselves and the people they love,” says working as a packer and shipper at Hero Arts in the Leventhal.

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achievement,” he says. “I saw them really struggling … and I knew Playing Politics that some of the stuff that I was being told by teachers to work on with my kids, like math mastery, was just boring.” So he decided Election Night! to try and sneak some kale into the spaghetti and meatballs, so to A board game that makes civics fun / $40 speak. SemperSmartGames.com “One night, I just spread out a bunch of eight-and-a-half by 11 sheets on the table, made this big map and then we started Jim Moran’s older daughter knew her multiplication tables before playing the game,” he says. At that point, it was all conceptual—a any other kid in her class. But, Moran says, “we didn’t do anything crude prototype—but his girls were hooked. “We had dinner and other than play the game.” then, after dinner, my daughters said, ‘Let’s finish that game.’ Moran, MSc ’06, a retired Coast Guard officer and longtime And I was like, ‘OK, I might have something here.’” SAT and ACT tutor, had invented a board game called Election He did. His Kickstarter campaign brought in $22,269 in 60 Night!, which uses his patent-pending system of six, 12-sided days off 180 backers—$1,269 more than he was asking—and, now dice to help teams compete for the presidency. Depending on the that the game is on the market (at SemperSmartGames.com roll of the dice, each team has to change its strategy and make and on Amazon), it’s garnered much recognition from the toy decisions about how best to earn the highest office, all while community. He’s earned Tillywig Brain Child, Mom’s Choice Gold learning addition (or multiplication, on the opposite side of the and Family Choice awards as well as the 2019 Parents’ Choice board), geography and the mechanics of the electoral college. Gold award, which is given to only five games per year. Moran had been an SAT and ACT tutor for many years, but “It’s great for families. Teachers are loving it,” he says. “There things changed when he got married and had kids of his own. He are no tools out there to keep upper- gained a new perspective. elementary and middle school kids sharp “I started seeing high schoolers that had never really with the mastery of their math skills. mastered the essential knowledge that I had found was so You’ve gotta have games to help them do critical for me to be able to access higher levels of academic that that they find independently fun.”

Use promo code “GWALUM10” at SemperStartGames.com to get 10 percent off.

gwmagazine.com / 33 Spirit of South Korea West 32 A Korean vodka-like liquor / $12.99-20.99 West32Soju.com

Some of the best ideas are conceived over drinks: Mark Zuckerberg famously live-blogged that he was “a little intoxicated” the night he launched the website that would eventually become Facebook; the founders of Reddit secured venture capital over beers in Boston; Tinder launched at a college party… The list goes on, and—who knows?—may one day include Dan Lee, BS ’05, and Max Fine, BA ’07, who came up with the idea for their liquor company, West 32, over drinks in New York’s Koreatown. The college friends moved to New York after graduating from GW, and Lee, who’s Korean, would take Fine to K-Town to eat, drink and have fun. More often than not, that would involve South Korea’s national spirit, soju. Like a light vodka, soju (which means “distilled spirits” in Korean) is a popular beverage to sip on throughout dinner. But after a few years of that, Fine says he just couldn’t drink it anymore. The reason why? Korean soju has a lot of artificial sweeteners in it like saccharine and glycerol, and its manufacturers use cheap grain like tapioca. “We decided to make soju that’s all-natural, gluten-free, more premium and higher quality than what’s available in the United States,” Fine says. “It’s also an opportunity to introduce a piece of Korean culture to the U.S. market.” They started in 2015: Lee bought a home-distilling kit and started experimenting with different grains in his Upper East Side apartment. Meanwhile Fine, a lawyer, started on the paperwork. By January 2017, they’d launched their version, made with locally sourced corn and natural cane sugar, with the help of Yankee Distillers, a whiskey distillery in Clifton Park, N.Y. About a year later, West 32’s barrel-aged soju (which spends six months in American white oak whiskey barrels and, Fine says, ends up tasting like “a really, really light whiskey”) hit the market. West 32 is now in 10 states, and available online at Total Wine & More or Warehouse Wine & Spirits. And while Fine says the company is really focused on bringing soju to the U.S., West 32 just started exporting to the motherland, South Korea. “That was kind of a bonus,” he says.

PRO TIP Try pouring a little West 32 into a beer to create what’s called a somaek. “It’s kind of like a boilermaker,” says Max Fine. “Because the soju is so neutral, it doesn’t change the flavor of beer, but gives it an extra kick.”

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Pour Me Another The Hour Vintage and modern barware TheHourShop.com Mid-century vintage, brushed chrome pitcher and bar spoon: What’s your favorite cocktail? Lehman Brothers Victoria $450.00 , says she gets vintage Art Deco Vergason, MBA ’90 asked this question a lot. And it makes black top shaker: $375.00 sense, given that she owns The Hour, a vintage glassware and barware shop in Alexandria, Va. With an inventory totaling more than 10,000 pieces, it’s safe to say she’s somewhat of a connoisseur. The shop owner began collecting vintage bar items while at GW, and held on to the notion of opening her own retail space throughout a career in international finance. When her three 16 oz. Collins youngest kids (triplets!) entered grade glasses: school, she decided to make her move. Set of four / $70 “I thought that opening a retail store that focused strictly on providing unique cocktail items and supplies for the home bar was something that would be new in the marketplace,” she says. That was 10 years ago, and since then she’s penned two cocktail books, organized Alexandria’s first-ever Old Town Cocktail Week and, to fulfill another longtime dream, launched her own line of glassware, The Modern Home Bar. It’s a mix of Collins and rocks glasses with Art Deco and mid-century designs that draws inspiration from— where else?—inventory at The Hour. For the record, while there’s a current trend toward all things tiki, Vergason’s a fan of the three-ingredient Use code “GW2019” for 20 percent cocktail. (“My go-to is either a rye off your order at TheHourShop. Manhattan, a gin martini or a negroni,” 11 oz. rocks com, through Dec. 31, 2019. she says.) glasses: “Cocktail tastes and related Set of four / $62 glassware needs are somewhat regional,” Vergason says. “In warmer climates, like Los Angeles, people tend to enjoy cocktails that contain ice and are served in less formal rocks and Collins glasses. Metropolitan cities in Book and recipe cards: northern climates, like New York and Book: $29.95 Chicago, tend to serve cocktails in Cards: $24.95 stemware.” Having sold to vintage-lovers, cocktail enthusiasts, and bar professionals the world over, Vergason knows one thing for sure: “My customers are as varied as my cocktail collection.”

gwmagazine.com / 35 What a Treat Dulceology Latin American cookies and other confections / $18-25 Dulceology.com

What is an alfajor? It’s a soft, crumbly cookie, a popular Latin American treat, and, to Edith and Nicole Leiva, a link between their past and their future. The sisters’ story starts in El Salvador, where they were born to a chef mom and a father who manufactured restaurant equipment. But they moved with their family to the United States in 2001 and immediately felt the absence of their culture. “One of the things we missed the most was the smell and taste of traditional homemade sweets that would permeate through our home,” Edith Leiva, who will get her master’s of arts degree in interaction design from GW in the spring, says. They started searching for connections and came across a tattered family recipe book. “The pages were old,” Edith Leiva says. “Some still had corners folded back by the ladies in my family who read from it religiously. That’s where we found my grandmother’s recipe for making alfajor cookies.” Made with dulce de leche and cornstarch, the alfajor recipe provided sweet inspiration for the sisters, who Use code “GW2019” to save 20 percent on your next order of always dreamt of starting their own business. alfajores at Dulceology.com. They launched Dulceology on Etsy, hopeful they’d get a few sales and keep themselves busy with baking on weekends. They were only half wrong. “Sales took off almost immediately. One order would hit the moment we finished another one,” Edith Leiva says. “That’s when we realized that we had something special.” Dulceology’s alfajores, which are sold at Dulceology. com, have made their way to all 50 states, and, earlier this year, earned the bakers $35,000 in prize money from GW’s New Venture Competition. The business is definitely keeping them busy, especially since both of the women are still in school. Edith Leiva is studying interaction design at GW, and Nicole Leiva is working toward a degree in hospitality at Montgomery College in Maryland. “Taking four graduate courses per semester while also running Dulceology is intense but also rewarding,” Edith Leiva says. “In my classes, I worked on a variety of projects—from working with the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center to learning about 3D-prototyping technologies. Some of these include 3D printing and augmented reality, both of which taught me valuable skills that I used to improve Dulceology.” Edith Leiva applied what she’d learned in class to make food- safe stamps and molds that allow her and her sister to offer more customization. But enough nitty-gritty. What’s the actual best part of running a bakery? The sweets. “One of my favorite products is the gluten-free alfajor. It comes in different flavors and fillings— pineapple, guava, chocolate and coffee,” says Edith Leiva. “It tastes incredible.”

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Kid-Tested, Consumer-Approved Berg Bites Healthy, nutritious desserts / $20 to $30 for cases of eight to 12 BergBites.com

It was around the time Daniel Berg, BA ’18, entered fifth grade that he started, as he tells it, “analyzing consumer-packaged foods and beverages.” “I forced my parents to stop drinking sodas and urged them to get them out of the house,” he says. Then he turned his attention to the cookies and cakes they were serving for dessert. Berg wanted a healthier alternative, so he started developing “energy bites”—a nutritious dessert that featured oats (rather than sugar) as its star player. “I thought they’d be a great healthy dessert to serve to our guests,” says the former personal trainer. “Everyone loved them and some would even ask for bags to take home.” Berg Bites were born. But it wasn’t until years later, in his junior year at GW while studying health and wellness, that Berg decided to turn his bites into Drink Up a business. He joined Union Kitchen, Berg has six flavors saved up in a food-business accelerator, to test his recipe bank, so there are more recipes with friends at night after class. coming. But he recently launched “We ultimately developed 10 flavors the company’s sister brand, and decided to launch four,” Berg says. DRNX, a sugar-free adaptogenic The OG flavor (the one he made back in performance water. fifth grade), Chocolate Chip Madness, is still “As a personal trainer and health everyone’s favorite. It combines heart-healthy freak, I cannot stand watching oats with nuts, chia seeds, coconut oil, and pro athletes and young athletes prebiotic fiber (plus dark chocolate and peanut consuming all those artificial colors butter for flavor). They’re a hit among teams in and sugar with nothing really great the NFL and NBA as well as at gyms like Equinox. inside,” Berg says. DRNX is all They’re also sold in Whole Foods and on Amazon. natural, sugar-free, and contains “I’m a health nut, so I like to describe the Berg more than 20 functional ingredients Bites as a nutritious indulgence,” Berg says. “But like ginseng, elderberry, chromium for the average consumer, they're a nutritious and and a mix of good-for-you vitamins. delicious snack that satisfies the sweet tooth.”

gwmagazine.com / 37 Skin Deep Mask Moments Sheet masks / $20 to $65 (by subscription) MaskMoments.com

Sophia Hong, BA ’04, had always believed that innovation came from applying something from one discipline in a different context. So when she found herself working in the beauty industry in Seoul and Hong Kong—and, in particular, became fascinated with South Korea’s skincare obsession—she knew she wanted to bring some of the same products to the American marketplace. “Korean women were especially diligent about their skincare routines and skin maintenance, and had very high standards of maintaining youthful skin,” Hong says. She began researching and even pursued her aesthetician license in Korea. Her research led her to sheet masks, K-beauty’s answer to at-home, affordable facials that were being used every day, not just on special occasions. (“No wonder they had glowing skin and often looked a decade younger than their age,” she says.) And what she found was that, when it comes to sheet masks, the sheet makes all the difference in quality and price. The really good sheet masks—the kind with biocellulose technology (“a fancy way of saying they’re made into a jelly using coconuts and naturally created fibers,” Hong says)—are too costly to be used daily, and the cheaper ones (made of woven fiber or paper) will leave residue sitting on top of your skin. “I wanted to democratize access to the highest-quality products by removing the brand markups and bring them directly to the consumer,” Hong says. “That’s how Mask Moments was born.” The subscription package includes four masks that treat the different stages of our skin cycles: anti-aging, brightening, calming, and deep hydration. And the best part is they’re suitable for all skin types. Hong says the company uses all-natural biocellulose technology that’s great for even the most sensitive skin, so everyone can have access to quality skincare—and Get your first mask at feel pampered as they do it. MaskMoments.com for $1. “We want every Mask Moment to be a moment of caring for oneself and reminding our customers how valuable they are,” Hong says.

38 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 GW GIFT GUIDE 2019

Wear and Share Kicheko Goods Earrings, necklaces and assorted jewelry / $30 to $100 KichekoGoods.com

“Unrefined boldness, sophisticated earthiness and playful simplicity.” That’s how Sarah Bayot, BA ’07, MA ’09, describes her jewelry line, Kicheko Goods— but that’s certainly not all it is. The designer’s collection is also a social-impact brand: Every piece sold equals one month of tuition for a student at Mango Tree, a primary school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Bayot studied for a semester in grad school and led learning trips through her job. But let’s back up, because jewelry-making wasn’t exactly in Bayot’s original plan. While job-searching in her field of study (international development), she started work as the office manager at National Community Church and, as she puts it, crafted her way into Kicheko Goods. “It was nice to find an engaged entrepreneurial presence at NCC and, during my time there, the idea of starting a business one day began to take hold,” Bayot says. Around the same time, she was dabbling in fabric arts, first with sewing and then repurposing remnants. “I started making jewelry out of the fiber and fabrics,” she says. “The stud earrings stuck, and I just went bananas making so Use code “gwualum” for many of them.” 15 percent off your order NCC was her first big order—500 earrings at KichekoGoods.com. for Mother’s Day—and Bayot considered her brand officially launched. The next step was figuring out how to give back. “I [wanted] to employ creative means to partner with everyday men and women, our brand fans and customers, and also send kids to school together,” Bayot says. “You can include everyone in the process while making progress towards a social issue—in this case, lack of access to education in Congo.” Earrings—like the Plume Tassels and the Solara, two of her most popular pairs—remain among the collection’s biggest sellers, which Bayot sells online and in 10 stores nationwide. “There’s still far to go and I think I’ve learned so much about business, leadership and my point of view over these crucial beginning years,” Bayot says. “I know this is just the beginning.”

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CHUCK TODD: NBC NEWSWIRE / CONTRIBUTOR / TV EQUIPMENT: ISTOCK.COM/DPMIKE

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A NEW RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY WILL FIGHT THE supplement. The new institute’s executive summary says GW has “what is perhaps, AMERICA’S POLITICAL DIALOGUE AND for a university, unparalleled multiplatform RISE OF DISTORTED AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ONLINE, WORKING TO EDUCATE data.” Livingston says major components, SOCIAL MEDIA ARE AWASH IN HALF- which come from various sources, include NATIONAL POLICYMAKERS AND JOURNALISTS ON STRATEGIES TO GRAPPLE WITH “large-volume Twitter data,” “all of Reddit TRUTHS, OUTRIGHT LIES AND DELIBERATE constantly updated,” huge amounts of data from Facebook and its Russian counterpart, THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY POSED BY DIGITAL PROPAGANDA AND DECEPTION.

VKontakte, bulk email lists and “dark web” DISINFORMATION, SPREAD ONLINE AT EYEBLINK message boards. All the data to be studied is

WITH A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS SPANNING POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, available to scholars elsewhere. Finally, Livingston says, GW’s location SPEEDS. NOT ALL OF IT IS HARMFUL, BUT MUCH IS provides vital access to the nation’s top JOURNALISM, PHYSICS, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND policymakers, journalists, think tanks HATE-FILLED AND DESIGNED TO FURTHER POLARIZE and key corporations, especially now that ENGINEERING, THE INSTITUTE FOR DATA, DEMOCRACY, Thinkers, pundits and partisans decry the organizations, including the Poynter situation daily, and now GW and a handful Institute for Media Studies and its highly AND POLITICS (IDDP) WILL BE A RESEARCH HUB FOR TRACKING THE SPREAD of other U.S. universities are launching regarded fact-checking arm, PolitiFact. rigorous, science-based examinations of Other collaborators include Investigative hateful social media and disinformation Reporters and Editors, and the National OF DISTORTED INFORMATION ONLINE, SHARING RESEARCH AND HOSTING campaigns. In doing so, they will try to Association of Black Journalists. IDDP will provide the public a better understanding of conduct training sessions for reporters EVENTS ON COMBATING DISINFORMATION. IDDP IS SUPPORTED BY A $5 MILLION what’s true, and the confidence to believe in it. and host speakers including federal In short, “we’re trying to address the communications staffers, lobbyists, pollsters, INVESTMENT FROM THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION.

threat that disinformation campaigns pose consultants and ad-makers. to democracy,” says Steven Livingston, the political communication professor heading

“OUR NATION’S POLITICAL DISCOURSE, OUR MEDIA, AND MOST the GW effort. The university in July described the IMPORTANTLY OUR DEMOCRACY, DEPEND ON FACTS,” GW PRESIDENT ambitious sweep of its mission: To establish “a data-rich multidisciplinary research capacity” that will create “knowledge to FOUNDATION, THIS NEW INSTITUTE LEVERAGES GW’S STRENGTHS based journalism; deepen our understanding WELL-TRAVELED of disinformation ecosystems; and test the effectiveness of various approaches CONVENING INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND USING DATA AND RESEARCH TO to correcting firmly held but factually inaccurate beliefs.” PROFESSOR SOLVE COMPLEX CHALLENGES FACING OUR NATION AND WORLD.”

The effort is backed by a $5 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Four other universities LEADS THE

IDDP RESEARCHERS WILL PRODUCE TIMELY PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ROLE received the same amount from Knight HAVING JOINED THE GW FACULTY through a competitive process that drew 28 YEARS AGO, Livingston OF ONLINE CONTENT RELATED TO CURRENT EVENTS IN ORDER TO BETTER INFORM more than 100 applicants. TEAM has an extensive network GW’s new center is called the Institute of friends and colleagues for Data, Democracy, and Politics. Housed in political science, journalism, diplomacy PUBLIC POLICY DEBATES. THEY ALSO WILL ASSIST JOURNALISTS IN DEVELOPING at the School of Media and Public Affairs, and other fields. His manner is friendly but it’s drawing on expertise from academic efficient, with little chitchat. He sometimes STORIES THAT HELP CORRECT DISTORTED PUBLIC NARRATIVES. THE INSTITUTE disciplines including physics, computer buys both a Kindle and hard-cover version of science, engineering and journalism. a book, to facilitate fast searches and screen- WILL USE GW’S EXPANDING DATA INFRASTRUCTURE TO EXAMINE THE Livingston says GW has three major grabs as well as armchair reading. attributes that appealed to Knight He has held a string of faculty leadership Foundation and strongly qualify the posts; traveled to 53 nations in the past 10 SPREAD OF INFORMATION ACROSS THE INTERNET, INCLUDING ON PLATFORMS SUCH university for the task, starting with GW’s years; and been a visiting scholar at Harvard, “amazing faculty.” Next, the university the Brookings Institution and universities AS TWITTER, FACEBOOK, REDDIT AND THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL NETWORK VK.

has already devoted millions of dollars to in Germany, Britain, Switzerland and New gathering, managing and analyzing massive Zealand.

STEVEN LIVINGSTON, PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND OF amounts of data, which IDDP can tap and Livingston says research capabilities HARRISON JONES INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, WILL BE THE INAUGURAL DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE, 42 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 WHICH IS A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE OF GW’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA Steven Livingston is the director of GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics and a professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Elliott School of International Affairs.

ISTOCK.COM/ POPPYPIXELS He joined GW’s faculty in 1991.

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A NEW RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY WILL FIGHT THE like IDDP’s have become crucial. Not researchers focus on one platform—say, long ago, institutions such as the courts, Facebook—“IDDP can go further, looking at mainstream news media and peer-reviewed how these actors might be interacting across RISE OF DISTORTED AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ONLINE, WORKING TO EDUCATE academic articles helped establish a multiple platforms.” “vetted reality” for the public. But today, When mainstream platforms like NATIONAL POLICYMAKERS AND JOURNALISTS ON STRATEGIES TO GRAPPLE WITH he says, “many people don’t believe in Facebook or Twitter ban extremist groups, these institutions. They don’t know what to 8chan. IDDP will monitor the groups as they Livingston says, researchers must dig into “THE FIRST mutate and migrate.

WITH A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS SPANNING POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, “lots of evidence.” Luckily, the countless D IN IDDP IS Disinformation and hate groups postings that people make on Facebook, D IS ‘DATA,’” notes sometimes buy Google ads, Tromble says, Twitter, chat rooms and other online GW physics placing them on many news sites, including JOURNALISM, PHYSICS, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND platforms are providing huge, heaping gobs professor Neil mainstream outlets. Each time they do, she of material. Johnson, a key says, “they leave behind trace information,” ENGINEERING, THE INSTITUTE FOR DATA, DEMOCRACY, they leave digital trails when they walk with scientists are recent mapping model of online hate groups. their cell phones, drive computer-laden good at, it’s He and researchers from the University AND POLITICS (IDDP) WILL BE A RESEARCH HUB FOR TRACKING THE SPREAD cars and engage in social media. This is DATA taking large of Miami tracked the ways that various generating mountains of new data, he says, data sets, which are messy, and making sure online hate “clusters” found each other, and his team, “is finding ways of tapping you’re not just picking out one story. If you collaborated, and moved to other platforms if OF DISTORTED INFORMATION ONLINE, SHARING RESEARCH AND HOSTING into all of that data for us to understand look at the brightest star in the universe, you they were banned. something about our world.” miss the big picture.” Starting with Facebook and VKontakte, EVENTS ON COMBATING DISINFORMATION. IDDP IS SUPPORTED BY A $5 MILLION IDDP’s two main areas of research are Johnson and his colleagues will use they found hate clusters forming, changing “mapping” and “effects.” This involves “complex systems science,” data science and and migrating to sites such as Instagram, INVESTMENT FROM THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION.

mapping the ways that information and other disciplines to analyze huge amounts Snapchat and WhatsApp. “Hate destroys disinformation spread online. Livingston of data and look for patterns that can lives,” Johnson says. His research team is says important questions might include: illuminate phenomena such as the spread gaining new insights “by looking at why it is

“OUR NATION’S POLITICAL DISCOURSE, OUR MEDIA, AND MOST “Where did this meme, this narrative, start? of disinformation and hate speech. He says so resilient and how it can be better tackled.” How did it go viral? Who were the online researchers must avoid making assumptions The Nature article urged social media IMPORTANTLY OUR DEMOCRACY, DEPEND ON FACTS,” GW PRESIDENT amplifiers?” (Amplifiers are social media and let the data lead to conclusions. platforms to adopt several intervention activists with large followings who repeat Regarding hate-speech campaigns, for strategies, including: and expound on a claim, whether true or example, “what are the tipping points?” he • Ban small “hate clusters” to reduce the THOMAS LEBLANC SAID. “WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM KNIGHT false). says. “Why are there sometimes riots, and influence of the larger clusters they feed into. When assessing the “effects,” he says, sometimes not?” • Randomly ban a small number of FOUNDATION, THIS NEW INSTITUTE LEVERAGES GW’S STRENGTHS questions could include: “How do the The researchers are mainly interested in hate-promoting users to weaken the larger messages affect people’s beliefs? How do the actions of large groups, not individuals, networks they might join. we fashion fact-checking in a way that is Johnson says. He likens the online spread of • Help anti-hate groups find hate clusters CONVENING INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND USING DATA AND RESEARCH TO successful in helping people update their hate speech to a pot of boiling water. “Water and challenge them online. view of the world so as to disabuse them of boils by bubbles forming and growing and That last recommendation is already SOLVE COMPLEX CHALLENGES FACING OUR NATION AND WORLD.”

their misperceptions?” joining together, not by a few ‘bad’ molecules having some impact, Johnson says. “People Disinformation is different from suddenly doing something,” he says. Each are writing us saying they’re forming misinformation, Livingston says, although bubble is made up of many molecules, like Facebook groups and pages to try to

IDDP RESEARCHERS WILL PRODUCE TIMELY PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ROLE both can cause harm. The former involves an online crowd, or “cluster.” Mapping these counteract the hateful speech.” Strength in deliberate efforts to deceive a targeted clusters, Johnson says, can reveal telling numbers is important, he says, because hate OF ONLINE CONTENT RELATED TO CURRENT EVENTS IN ORDER TO BETTER INFORM audience, such as Russian operatives patterns and important connections. groups are certain to strike back. “You don’t working to sow hatred and mislead U.S. Other IDDP team members are doing fight gang culture by yourself,” Johnson says. voters about candidates and issues. People similar research, but from different “The power comes with the crowd.” PUBLIC POLICY DEBATES. THEY ALSO WILL ASSIST JOURNALISTS IN DEVELOPING spreading misinformation generally don’t academic perspectives. Rebekah Tromble, Johnson says he hopes IDDP will be seen intend to deceive, but they’ve often had many IDDP’s associate director, calls herself a as a reliable explainer of online-driven events STORIES THAT HELP CORRECT DISTORTED PUBLIC NARRATIVES. THE INSTITUTE chances to review evidence that disproves “traditionally trained social scientist” with that confuse and trouble people. The goal, he their claims. An example of misinformation heavy doses of computational and computer says, is “immediately putting those surprise WILL USE GW’S EXPANDING DATA INFRASTRUCTURE TO EXAMINE THE is asserting a meaningful link between child science skills. She too is mapping purveyors events in context. For example, when an vaccines and autism. of disinformation and hate on sites such as election looks phony, people will call IDDP IDDP’s researchers will include political Twitter and Reddit, and looking for patterns for the big picture. They can look at our data SPREAD OF INFORMATION ACROSS THE INTERNET, INCLUDING ON PLATFORMS SUCH psychologists exploring whether someone and links. set, and test our model if they want.” who strongly holds an inaccurate belief can “Who are high-volume users who retweet AS TWITTER, FACEBOOK, REDDIT AND THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL NETWORK VK.

be persuaded to change that belief. the same content, use the same key words?” she says. “You look to find a network

STEVEN LIVINGSTON, PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND OF among these bad-faith actors.” While some INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, WILL BE THE INAUGURAL DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE, 44 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 WHICH IS A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE OF GW’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA

BE SAVED? CANFACT-CHECKING described a “backfire effect” in which factual factual which in effect” a“backfire described (not researchers GW) at when ago years several went off bells Alarm proven difficult. help. to hope they And more effective. and engineered better become to it needs say do But they so. don’t members team think nonpartisan). strictly is IDDP (Note: checkers. fact mock openly Trump’s people some and support, dent to seems Trump.President But it hardly by made claims or misleading false 12,000 more than documented has Checker Fact CURIOUS THINGS HAPPEN THINGS CURIOUS “Obama is aMuslim”). is “Obama (e.g., disprove to trying was checker fact the that information false in more invested even become they unmoved—or utterly remain Others it. embrace Some information. factual explained calmly with presented LOOK A CLOSER communities and promote democracy. and promote communities engaged and informed foster to arts the and technology journalism, spanning in fields invests organization Today, philanthropic the Newspapers. Knight-Ridder of James, and John brothers, Knight late the by ago years 70 nearly founded was Foundation Knight FOUNDATION KNIGHT THE JOHN AND JAMES S. L. Gauging the impact of fact-checking has has of fact-checking impact the Gauging useless? IDDP become fact-checking Has The Washington Post Washington The MEDIA, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY OUR DEMOCRACY, DEPEND ON FACTS, when people are are people when ’s well-regarded ’s well-regarded the United States. United the across institutions private and public from came proposals The year. last request an open after centers research from received Foundation Knight proposals project of number The 100+ IDDP’s improvements. to lead work may and shortcomings, of its some to points research But scientist. Tromble, social the it better. how make it’s clear And not entirely expect. and hope would groups good-government and outlets news mainstream academics, than effective less remains fact-checking that is news commitments. ideological their it challenges when even information,” factual heed citizens large, and By suggests. research prior than moretenuous far is backfire of factual Evidence backfire... triggering of capable no corrections “We found concluded: that article academic an co-authored recently professor science Porter. political The phenomenon. however, doubt on this cast have studies, Subsequent self-image. their protect to harder even in dig and defensive, and feel threatened can they wrong, they’re told are people when that was theory The people. ideological some among beliefs held falsely reinforce to seemed corrections Fact-checking “is not a panacea,” says says not apanacea,” “is Fact-checking not-so-good The news. good the That’s GW’s Ethan is researcher A leading engineering and journalism. and engineering science, computer physics, from researchers involving endeavor, across-disciplinary be will and Affairs Public and Media of School in the housed is which Politics, and Democracy, Data, for Institute GW’s found to invested Foundation Knight amount The MILLION $5 with information.” with engage and receive we way the and democracy our transforming is technology how understand “better GW, to them among institutions, 11 across invested has Foundation Knight amount The MILLION $50 “Hate destroys << can bebetter research team and howit tackled.” insights “by is gainingnew it issoresilient lives.” His looking at whylooking physicist neiljohnson>> Frontline PBS. Frontline and ProPublica Project, Journalism American recipients: other the Among investment. this of part is Politics and Democracy, Data, for Institute GW’s information.” and news local of future the in“building invest to pledged 2019 inFebruary Foundation Knight amount The $300 MILLION WHICH IS A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE OF GW&RSQUO;S SCHOOL OF MEDIA INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, WILL BE THE INAUGURAL DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE,

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A NEW RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY WILL FIGHT THE One dilemma, Tromble says, is that “people are much more likely to be exposed to the original misinformation RISE OF DISTORTED AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ONLINE, WORKING TO EDUCATE than to the fact check.” That’s because the original claim might arrive via a sensational NATIONAL POLICYMAKERS AND JOURNALISTS ON STRATEGIES TO GRAPPLE WITH tweet or heavily publicized event. Fact checks, by contrast, typically show up later in dispassionate tones, often buried in a THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY POSED BY DIGITAL PROPAGANDA AND DECEPTION.

newspaper or its website.

IDDP RESEARCHERS WILL PRODUCE TIMELY PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF ONLINE CONTENT RELATED TO Also, Tromble says, the “sticky thing” CURRENT EVENTS IN ORDER TO BETTER INFORM PUBLIC POLICY DEBATES. THEY ALSO WILL ASSIST JOURNALISTS

WITH A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS SPANNING POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, about someone’s perceptions—be they true or false—usually involves some “emotional DEVELOPING STORIES THAT HELP CORRECT DISTORTED PUBLIC NARRATIVES. THE INSTITUTE WILL USE GW&RSQUO;S contact.” If false claims come wrapped JOURNALISM, PHYSICS, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND in exciting or agitating contexts, and the subsequent fact checks arrive in sober, ENGINEERING, THE INSTITUTE FOR DATA, DEMOCRACY, says. “We hope to give journalists a better because of Cambridge Analytica.” strategy to get fact checks in front of people The Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018 AND POLITICS (IDDP) WILL BE A RESEARCH HUB FOR TRACKING THE SPREAD and make it effective.” Perhaps, she says, a revealed that the British-based research jazzier “classic clickbait approach” is needed. group had quietly collected personal data OF DISTORTED INFORMATION ONLINE, SHARING RESEARCH AND HOSTING Angie Drobnic Holan is editor of the from millions of people’s Facebook profiles Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact, known for its NEEDS and used it for political purposes. The “pants on fire” label for egregious lies. Using revelations triggered public anger and EVENTS ON COMBATING DISINFORMATION. IDDP IS SUPPORTED BY A $5 MILLION a newspaper-style approach, PolitiFact has increased scrutiny of Facebook, whose stock been assessing public statements since 2007. price fell sharply. INVESTMENT FROM THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION.

“But we feel like it’s time to take it to the next Tromble says researchers, social media level and get some of our journalism methods platforms and others must be scrupulously improved by rigorous research,” Holan says. careful and ethical about handling users’

&LDQUO;OUR NATION&RSQUO;S POLITICAL DISCOURSE, OUR MEDIA, AND MOST These are highly partisan times, she says, DATA information. But she says some platforms, “and some want to treat fact-checking like a AS IT SURVEYS THE ONLINE LANDSCAPE, the IDDP including Facebook, are using Cambridge IMPORTANTLY OUR DEMOCRACY, DEPEND ON FACTS,&RDQUO; GW PRESIDENT political football. But I do think fact-checking team sees plenty to worry about, and plenty Analytica as an excuse to withhold data they is going to outlive the hyper-partisanship of of need for better research, data and insights. rightly had agreed to share with researchers. the moment.” She says PolitiFact and GW are Even though it’s clear that Russian operatives A recent New York Times article supports THOMAS LEBLANC SAID. &LDQUO;WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM KNIGHT a good fit, “because they share these similar undermined and damaged the U.S. Tromble’s concerns. Facebook chief goals of creating knowledge that’s of lasting democratic process in the 2016 elections, executive Mark Zuckerberg told Congress FOUNDATION, THIS NEW INSTITUTE LEVERAGES GW&RSQUO;S STRENGTHS value.” we seem poorly prepared to prevent worse last spring about “an ambitious plan to share Livingston says fact-checking “has interference in 2020 and beyond. huge amounts of posts, links and other user enormous value,” but he agrees it must In a mid-August Washington Post op-ed, data with researchers around the world so CONVENING INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND USING DATA AND RESEARCH TO improve. “How do we fashion fact-checking Livingston and two GW colleagues—Trevor that they could study and flag disinformation in a way that is successful in helping people Davis and Matthew Hindman—cast doubt on on the site,” the Times reported. “But nearly SOLVE COMPLEX CHALLENGES FACING OUR NATION AND WORLD.&RDQUO;

update their view of the world so as to Facebook’s claim that it will use the lessons it 18 months later, much of the data remains disabuse them of their misperceptions?” he learned from European elections to sharply unavailable to academics because Facebook said in an interview in his office. IDDP, he limit foreign interference in future U.S. says it has struggled to share the information

IDDP RESEARCHERS WILL PRODUCE TIMELY PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ROLE said, “will seek better methods.” campaigns. while also protecting its users’ privacy.” “In a sense,” Livingston says, “IDDP is a “Can Facebook really prevent a repeat And the information Facebook eventually OF ONLINE CONTENT RELATED TO CURRENT EVENTS IN ORDER TO BETTER INFORM form of journalism. You try to find the truth, of the kind of election meddling that Russia releases, the Times said, “is expected to and you tell it for the public’s benefit.” conducted in 2016, and that dozens of be far less comprehensive than originally other countries and nonstate groups are described.” PUBLIC POLICY DEBATES. THEY ALSO WILL ASSIST JOURNALISTS IN DEVELOPING now trying to replicate?” the op-ed asked. Tromble and other IDDP team members “Our research suggests the answer is no… say they will make the best use of the data STORIES THAT HELP CORRECT DISTORTED PUBLIC NARRATIVES. THE INSTITUTE Large-scale manipulation of Facebook is still they have, and keep pressing Facebook and possible.” others for more. Our democratic, fact-based WILL USE GW&RSQUO;S EXPANDING DATA INFRASTRUCTURE TO EXAMINE THE Rebekah Tromble has another concern society demands it, they say. about major social media platforms: They’re IDDP’s research inevitably will touch failing to provide researchers with large on a highly contentious topic: the degree to SPREAD OF INFORMATION ACROSS THE INTERNET, INCLUDING ON PLATFORMS SUCH amounts of data they had promised. “We which social media platforms like Facebook have less access to the essential data and should be held accountable for hateful or AS TWITTER, FACEBOOK, REDDIT AND THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL NETWORK VK.

information that would help us study maliciously false commentary on their disinformation ahead of the 2020 election sites. Team member David Broniatowski, a

STEVEN LIVINGSTON, PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND OF than we did in 2015,” she says, “mainly GW engineering professor specializing in INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, WILL BE THE INAUGURAL DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE, 48 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 WHICH IS A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE OF GW&RSQUO;S SCHOOL OF MEDIA JULY22,2019 DIV CLASS="FIELD FIELD-NAME-BODY FIELD-TYPE- TEXT-WITH-SUMMARY FIELD-LABEL-HIDDEN">

A NEW RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY WILL FIGHT THE RISE OF DISTORTED AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ONLINE, WORKING TO EDUCATE NATIONAL POLICYMAKERS AND JOURNALISTS ON STRATEGIES TO GRAPPLE WITH <> THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY POSED BY DIGITAL PROPAGANDA AND DECEPTION.

“Our nation’s political discourse, our media,

WITH A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS SPANNING POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, and most importantly, JOURNALISM, PHYSICS, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND our democracy, depend ENGINEERING, THE INSTITUTE FOR DATA, DEMOCRACY, institute leverages GW’s AND POLITICS (IDDP) WILL BE A RESEARCH HUB FOR TRACKING THE SPREAD strengths, convening interdisciplinary teams OF DISTORTED INFORMATION ONLINE, SHARING RESEARCH AND HOSTING and using data and EVENTS ON COMBATING DISINFORMATION. IDDP IS SUPPORTED BY A $5 MILLION research to solve complex INVESTMENT FROM THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION.

challenges facing our

&LDQUO;OUR NATION&RSQUO;S POLITICAL DISCOURSE, OUR MEDIA, AND MOST nation and world.” IMPORTANTLY OUR DEMOCRACY, DEPEND ON FACTS,&RDQUO; GW PRESIDENT experimental psychology, hopes eventual THOMAS LEBLANC SAID. &LDQUO;WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM KNIGHT regulators will have a solid understanding of the underlying technology—something now FOUNDATION, THIS NEW INSTITUTE LEVERAGES GW&RSQUO;S STRENGTHS often missing. He notes that some critics call for widespread banning of suspected bad-faith CONVENING INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS AND USING DATA AND RESEARCH TO actors and removal of their content, which he calls a “very heavy-handed” response. On the SOLVE COMPLEX CHALLENGES FACING OUR NATION AND WORLD.&RDQUO;

other side, Broniatowski says, many social media companies talk as if almost any new regulations are impossible. “There are gray

IDDP RESEARCHERS WILL PRODUCE TIMELY PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE ROLE spaces in between,” he says, and meaningful, realistic regulations should be possible. OF ONLINE CONTENT RELATED TO CURRENT EVENTS IN ORDER TO BETTER INFORM IDDP has hands-on support from GW President Thomas LeBlanc, who attended the IDDP panel discussion in September PUBLIC POLICY DEBATES. THEY ALSO WILL ASSIST JOURNALISTS IN DEVELOPING and announced the Knight Foundation investment when it was made. STORIES THAT HELP CORRECT DISTORTED PUBLIC NARRATIVES. THE INSTITUTE “Our nation’s political discourse, our media, and most importantly, our democracy, WILL USE GW&RSQUO;S EXPANDING DATA INFRASTRUCTURE TO EXAMINE THE depend on facts,” LeBlanc said. “This new institute leverages GW’s strengths, convening interdisciplinary teams and SPREAD OF INFORMATION ACROSS THE INTERNET, INCLUDING ON PLATFORMS SUCH using data and research to solve complex challenges facing our nation and world.” AS TWITTER, FACEBOOK, REDDIT AND THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL NETWORK VK.

That’s an ambitious mission. Livingston says his team is ready.

STEVEN LIVINGSTON, PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, WILL BEgwmagazine.com THE INAUGURAL / 49 DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE, WHICH IS A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INITIATIVE OF GW&RSQUO;S SCHOOL OF MEDIA PAUL MILLER PAUL

50 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 HOME

JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR MEGAN K. STACK, BA ’98, HAS BEEN A FINALIST FOR A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND A PULITZER PRIZE. WORK

IN HER NEW MEMOIR, WOMEN’S WORK, THE FORMER LOS ANGELES TIMES WAR CORRESPONDENT RECKONS WITH MOTHERHOOD, PRIVILEGE, DOMESTIC LABOR AND, TO HER SURPRISE, HER READERSHIP. HELP Q&A BY RACHEL MUIR

gwmagazine.com / 51 her first son was born, planning to write a You write in the beginning about novel. Her husband was a journalist stationed how unexpectedly overwhelming then in Beijing, where their first son was new motherhood was for you, how born, and later Delhi, where in 2013 their you reached a certain sleep-deprived second son was born. point where you were desperate for What emerged instead from the time any help and that kind of set the was a different kind of book, Women’s stage for what followed. Work: A Reckoning with Work and Home, in which Stack unflinchingly chronicles It’s a huge adjustment to have a baby, and I her relationships with three women who think that women and men don’t necessarily were domestic employees—and a lot more. experience it in the same way. For couples It’s a Gordian knot of intimacy, imbalance, raised with more egalitarian expectations, dependency, resentment and gratitude. you think you’re going to live with maybe not Drawing on her experience and an identical but a very equal experience with interviews with the women and their your romantic partner. It was probably less families, Stack also raises a curtain on the shocking in past generations when women inequality inherent in the domestic labor didn’t really grow up with these expectations. market, especially but not exclusively in I wanted to include this in the book developing countries, and how societal because I wanted to capture the totality of expectations for women and available the experience of what women go through inexpensive labor combine too often to buoy with the process of pregnancy and birth and relatively wealthier women’s success on the the marital adjustments. But it’s interesting backs of their poorer counterparts. to me how many readers are really focused Stack talked to GW Magazine from her on that aspect. In the grand scheme of the home in Singapore about the experience book, it’s kind of a minor aspect. After her first son’s first birthday, Megan K. of writing so intimately about herself and I think when you write about issues that Stack, BA ’98, began to exclude her nanny family, the outsized expectations women are sensitive for most people, they tend from photos. face, and how men aren’t reading a book to read their own lives into it. That’s been Little Max’s birthday party had been titled Women’s Work. interesting for me. I get a lot of notes about small—his parents and nanny were the only people’s marriages and their relationships, guests—but joyous, feted with homemade and I’m like, “Whoa.” carrot cake and cut-up fruit in their high-rise You’ve spent your career as a Beijing apartment. journalist where you’re taught to be Confused but happy, Max presided over objective, to not be the story. What So what to you was the book about? the festivities from a balloon-adorned high was it like writing something so What are they missing? chair, ravishing watermelon chunks with deeply personal? admirable speed and gusto. To me, this book is about domestic labor Afterward while he was napping off the I wasn’t necessarily excited about writing and how it functions in a globalized society. sugar, Stack went to look through the photos about my family and my household. In day- It’s about inequality. It’s an economic book her husband had snapped. to-day life I’m pretty private, but I did feel in some ways. It is about the labor force, Xiao Li—the woman who cleaned their like there was no other way I would have the ethics of operating as somebody from a apartment, cooked their meals and cared for the access to explain what I was trying to wealthier country and a globalized context. their child—was front and center in them, explain. All of these things, which I thought would beaming at the birthday boy from under That said, I think that everything you speak to everyone. a glittery party hat or giggling at Max’s write is incredibly personal. I think it’s I often see that the answer for women frosting-and-watermelon-besmirched face. always risky. When I was writing the book, who want to participate in the job market is Stack’s husband, Tom, was not in a single I didn’t allow myself to think about people domestic labor. It’s this idea that somehow shot. actually reading it, especially on the first you can, as I wrote in the book, bring poor The photos made it hard for Stack to look draft, because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to people from elsewhere to work in your house. away from several uneasy truths: that Xiao Li complete it. And I wanted to kind of sound the alarm on was indeed with her and her son more than For me, it’s not so much myself that I that. her husband was; that Stack and her husband worry about. I think you get beyond that relied on help to manage their household; and feeling of shyness. But I did have to think that the woman they employed, who doted on about my kids. When they got older, would You felt very conflicted about hiring their son, could not afford to have her own they somehow feel that this violated their domestic help, although obviously daughter live with her. privacy? you did it anyway. I think a lot of The birthday pictures went unshared, The truth is if you worry too much about times women do feel a level of guilt unframed. what the people you’re writing about will or shame, while men are often just A National Book Award finalist for her think, it compromises your ability to write another level removed from it and 2010 book Every Man in This Village Is anything. I think every writer just finds that less dependent on it. a Liar: An Education in War, a Pulitzer line. There’s a famous quote from the author Prize finalist and Los Angeles Times war Anne Lamott along the lines of if people Yes, a hundred percent yes. I always find it correspondent who’d reported from across wanted you to write more nicely about them, disingenuous when I look at “perfect” images the globe, Stack had quit her job in 2011 after they should’ve behaved better. from families where everybody’s working.

52 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 And I know that there’s no way that this read it?” And I was like, “What? What do What have you learned from the situation makes sense unless they have help. you mean?” three women you depict in the book? But nobody wants to say I have help. No Of course, I later remembered that one wants to cop to that. It’s easier for men to remark because he foresaw this from a mile I think personally—and not that it’s say, “We’re just not going to do that,” because away, but it didn’t even occur to me. someone’s job to come and give me an they’re ultimately not the ones who are going illuminating experience in life, to get the to pay the price in the same way that their wisdom of the local people or whatever— wives will if they have domestic help, even How then can we get men to pay but I did learn that it’s not really over though there may really be no other realistic attention? until it’s over. These women went through option for women to be able to work. unbelievable challenges, ups and downs, with If you do hire a domestic worker, you have As far as engaging men in this discussion, really no resources to deal with them. a stain on your conscience. It’s like you’ve I think it’s really difficult. But I feel like And the way that they could just somehow preyed upon somebody weaker than you. The I’ve learned a lot through seeing readers’ get back up on their feet after getting whole tone is extremely hostile to women and response to the book. I’ve been surprised knocked down in all these different ways very, very unhelpful. how much anger there is. I feel that by the because they don’t have a choice. These aren’t I did not write this book to beat anybody time women finally start talking about people who can afford to languish in bed for a up for the choices that they’ve made, because these things out loud, they’re in many cases week and feel sorry for themselves, they have I feel like none of us in this situation have enraged. to get on with it. I think that kind of strength great choices. The mothers who are the In a lot of ways I think the anger is and that scrappiness is something that I prospective employers do not have great legitimate. But I do think, unfortunately, it’s really aspire to it. Now I feel like when I’m choices, and neither do the women who are that same old trap in discussing women’s sort of starting to feel sorry for myself, I’m the prospective employees. For both, the way issues with men, that if you sound angry it just like, oh yeah, come on. things are currently structured, that might always ends up delegitimizing what you’re be their best move or that might be their only saying, no matter how righteous your anger chance to raise the money that they need for may be. Yeah, and how have these their families. The whole thing is kind of a I think men have used that as a way to experiences changed your life? ... mess. duck the conversation. I think in many [long pause] ... Or have they? households these issues are taboo. There’s so much being written about the issue of The truth is, during those years of my life, You reach the conclusion in the book men’s participation in housework, but if you these women were my main companions. that the answer is men raising their look at who’s doing the writing, it’s almost If you did a time-use study of those years, awareness of how success for women, always women writing about this issue of who I spent the most time with, talked to especially mothers, can often come among themselves. the most, it would definitely be these three at the expense of other women. How And so, is that going to move us women, because we lived together in a have men responded to the book? anywhere? How do you force an entire kind of simulation of a family life, which, of gender to engage in something that they course, is not a family life because they were Well, when I set out to write this book—in have historically not had to engage with? employed. retrospect this was very naive of me—I did And that is going to mean in realistic terms I don’t know if my life was changed, but I not think of this as being a women’s issues more work for them? That’s really difficult. tried to imagine what it would have been like book, that it would be targeted toward I do think that there are things we can to be a mother in different circumstances, women, read just by women. I came out of a do, both in our own personal lives and and it’s very, very hard for me to envision it. journalism background, writing about issues socially and structurally, there are solutions This is what my experience was. relevant to everybody. So I took for granted that do not involve hiring impoverished These women left a very strong mark that what I wrote would be read by both women in ad hoc positions. For example, on me and on our family, there’s no genders. Elizabeth Warren has a childcare proposal question. Will I ever feel easy about these And more than upset me, it just sort of as part of her famous “plans.” I’ve read it, relationships? Probably not, I don’t think surprised me that men aren’t reading it. and it’s actually a pretty good plan that I resolved everything and tied a nice bow To be fair, I have had some male readers, would change a lot for women being able to around it because I wrote this book. I have and I think at least one man has written access the labor market, being able to work. lingering questions, lingering dissatisfaction. about the book. But the vast, vast majority The way that we’re raising boys and But I also think that’s a part of life no matter of the readers that I hear from—as well as girls could be done in a more artfully and where you are and what choices you’re the people who have reviewed the book or equalitarian way. Everybody could be making. written about the book in any way—they’re introduced to basic domestic skills and women. And I didn’t realize that was going everyone could be introduced to basic, let’s to be a thing. I actually got a lot of notes from say, manufacturing or tool skills. There guy friends saying that their wives really are things that you can do to start to move Have the women who worked for you liked the book. the way that people think of gender roles. read the book? In retrospect, if I had been a little savvier But I think that we’re not really at a point about the marketplace, I would’ve foreseen where most men and even most women are I don’t know, I’m thinking not. I really want it. I still remember when I saw an old friend ready to take this on with the seriousness them to, but I don’t know that they will. It’s who’s a journalist. I was telling him about that it requires. It’s very hard because it’s kind of up to them if they want to read it or the book I was working on, and he was like, very personal and it exists in private places not. But I’m still connected with the women. I “Oh yeah, that’s really interesting, but is people want to protect. think we’re part of each other’s lives. With or anyone who has a Y chromosome going to So I think we have a long way to go. without the book, it would’ve been that way.

gwmagazine.com / 53 domestic labor. How easily Mary and I had switched from two women whose needs synched up neatly (my need for childcare, her need for money) into two women with serious problems they couldn’t solve for The following excerpt is drawn from Women’s Work: A Reckoning with one another. It happened overnight, with no warning Work and Home (Doubleday, 2019) by Megan K. Stack. or backup plan for either of us. A week after Mary first fell ill, I was walking home MARY GOT SICK. She burned with fever; she from a long Saturday of revising my manuscript in threw up; she couldn’t control her bowels. noisy coffeehouses. Winter soot blew in drifts over I sent water and packets of rehydration salts back the city; a faint wind combed the leaves. I was coming to her room. Every day I called and tried to convince around the corner to our house when I heard a quiet her to go to a doctor. Every day she declined. She was voice: “Hello.” getting better, she insisted. She’d rather rest. It was Mary, limping along with a sack dangling Meanwhile, I was in a panic. My edits were due, and heavily from her wrist. Her face was grayish and I’d planned to buckle down for two weeks of intense bloated. work. But I couldn’t do it without Mary helping to “How are you feeling?” watch my two young children. “Better.” She spoke softly, like a small girl. Mary had been our kids’ nanny since we moved “Are you still having diarrhea?” to India four years earlier. A single mother who’d “Yes, too much.” left her own children with their grandmother so she “You look terrible,” I said. could earn money in the capital, she lived in the “staff “I couldn’t walk until today,” she said. “The quarters” that came with our rented flat. With my neighbors complained because the smell from my husband frequently gone on reporting trips, Mary toilet was so bad. They thought there was a dead rat. was the only reason I got any work done at all. They made me clean the bathroom and drain because, Now, with Mary out of commission, I scrambled. you know, they said, ‘We’ll all get sick.’” I wrote groggily after the kids went to bed. When “Oh my God.” This was much bleaker than I’d my husband was home, I holed up in cafes with my imagined. “Why wouldn’t you go to a doctor?” laptop. It wasn’t enough time; I didn’t have enough “I didn’t think I could come down the stairs.” focus. I needed childcare. I needed Mary. “You didn’t think you could get out of the house?” I was keenly aware that I’d been tripped up, yet “I thought, ‘I will die here.’” again, by the very things I was writing about—the “But you kept saying you were getting better,” I ethical pitfalls and logistical dysfunctions of paid reeled with a mix of tenderness and frustration. “We

54 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 could have helped you.” help or even see each other. We’d languished in “Sorry.” parallel, together but separate, needing and not “No, it’s not—Listen. I think you need to go to the receiving, trapped in the rooms we’d chosen with the hospital. Go home and rest, okay? I’ll call you.” hopes of brighter circumstances. I walked home in a daze, mulling the gravity of And I kept thinking, there has to be something Mary’s condition. She had always led me to believe better. that Delhi brimmed with friends and relatives and church acquaintances. But I could see that, in her time of need, she’d been alone. She’d thought she I gave birth to my children in China and India. They might die, and nobody had come. are the sons of migrants, born into expatriation— I should have checked on her in person, I thought Americans growing up in Asian megacities on the now. I hadn’t wanted to infantilize her or barge into cusp of the Asian century. It wasn’t my goal to have her private space with some kind of neo-feudalistic children overseas; it just happened that way. I’m a entitlement. I’d imagined how I’d feel if I called in journalist and a writer. I didn’t want to abandon my sick only to have my boss show up at my door. But now work for motherhood, and I didn’t. it was clear to me that, according to the unwritten The babies were born. My husband came and understandings of our employment relationship, I went for work. I stayed home with my children and should have taken charge. my writing and the women we hired to watch our And yet this made no sense. This difficulty was built children and clean our house so that I could keep into our relationship: her moments of crisis would writing. These women and I had little in common. always find me overwhelmed by the abrupt loss of They were poor women, brown women, migrant childcare. Never had the limitations of employment in women. But there was one crucial commonality, and it my house been more obvious. Mary was not a daycare. was the reason we had been tossed together: We were I was not a company. We were just two people who’d working mothers. The most important employees who tried to cobble together an arrangement that was worked for us—women who shifted my thinking and mutually beneficial. When it came right down to it, cleared the way for my work and cared most lovingly we were each on her own. for my children—were migrants who’d left their own I sent Mary to the hospital and, in a few days, she’d children behind to work in the city, and ended up in recovered. my house. We spun webs of compromise and sacrifice But I was left shaken. Mary and I had been in and cash, and it all revolved around me—my work, different chambers of the same household. She’d my money, my imagined utopias of one-on-one fair needed me, and I’d needed her too, but we couldn’t trade that were never quite achieved.

gwmagazine.com / 55 The same sets of stories echo around the globe. male partners don’t want to do more housework. These are the stories of women who become mothers So they hire another woman and, in many cases, and still want to earn their pay. How can we succeed they hire a woman from somewhere else. People at a job when there is so much work at home? How sometimes talk about poor women as if they were can we raise our children when we are so busy with another product that should be moved to market, like our jobs? underwear from Bangladesh or mobile phones from Our minds go to the same places—our partners, China. One day a thirtysomething American woman and when they fail us, who can we hire, and if we can’t I know—single, white, successful, city-dwelling— afford to hire anybody, then who can we otherwise posted an article on Facebook about how shockingly press into service, what grandmother or aunt or difficult it is to raise babies. “That’s why we need to neighbor? What leverage do we have; what chits can import cheap nannies!” one of her friends replied. we cash? Her phrasing was brazen, but I’ve heard polite and The statistics tell us what we already know— veiled versions of this suggestion many times. Seldom women are doing most of the work. American women do I hear the plainest truth: that this supposed model spend twice as much time cooking and cleaning as for women’s emancipation depends, itself, upon a men, and three times as much time doing laundry. Into permanent underclass of impoverished women. this global problem of women doing the housework But of course these stories are not only about flows the solution of domestic workers: There are as women—they also scream the reality of men who many as one hundred million domestic workers in the manage to duck not only the labor itself, but the world, and their ranks swell every day. surrounding guilt and recrimination. All those well- Who are these workers? They are mostly women, meaning men who say progressive things in public and many of them are migrants. and then retreat into private to coast blissfully on the The global boom in domestic labor is a story disproportionate toil of women. The disproportionate about income inequality, spikes in migration, rural burden women carry is a daily and repetitive and decimation and the explosion of increasingly dystopian eternal truth, and it’s a dangerous truth, because if megacities. People abandon their dying villages to we press this point we can blow our households to find work. They get to cities and wind up working pieces and take our families apart. in other people’s households. These women migrant But cooking and cleaning and childcare are workers are crucial because they solve a conundrum: everything. They are the ultimate truth. They middle-class and wealthy women demand a place underpin and enable everything we do. The perpetual in the job market—or at least a measure of leisure allocation of this most crucial and inevitable work commensurate with their social ranking—but their along gender lines sets up women for failure and men

56 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 for success. It saps the energy and burdens the brains to movement, to uprooting ourselves and crossing of half the population. seas. And yet honest discussion of housework is still And we had done that. Xiao Li and I existed treated as a taboo. together in rooms that we’d traveled to reach. So maybe anything could happen. Maybe Xiao Li or her descendants will end up rich in the United States. I’m not the sort of person who’s supposed to have these Maybe I will end up poor. kinds of problems. These are the rarified problems Years later, when I started reporting about the of an untouchable elite. That’s not me. By breeding lives of the women who’d worked in my house, I and temperament, I’m a peasant—more specifically, discovered that employers of domestic workers are an American crossbreed of servants and supervisors. extremely sensitive. When it comes to domestic work Status is a question of who may command and who and motherhood—believe me, I have learned this— must obey; who barges through and who steps aside. everybody has a point to argue. It was enough to hear But mine was a white family in America, and so those that I was writing about my fate getting intertwined distinctions are not carried in our genes. Status has with impoverished working mothers in China and been a circumstance external to ourselves; a thing we India; that I would write about their origins, their have gained and lost from one generation to the next. paths to domestic work, their childcare arrangements. When I was a fractious and chronically sleepless new At that point, the conversation usually disintegrated. mother with a book to write, I lived in Beijing. I hired But I didn’t want my family to leave behind a trail a young woman I called Xiao Li, and quickly came of forgotten women who once upon a time took care to depend upon her. No, that’s an understatement—I of our children. I didn’t want my boys to grow up and came to believe Xiao Li was the only reason I hadn’t say, I had nannies once, they were like part of the yet suffered a nervous breakdown. I doubted, in the family, as if the women existed only as a function of madness of those early months, whether I could ourselves. I wanted to commit a fuller truth to print. function as a parent without her. Our boys should know there were children we never Between us seethed an ocean of difference so vast saw; sacrifices we couldn’t make right. we couldn’t perceive one another clearly, even when But to do that, I’d have to track down the women we were in the same room. And yet it was always in I’d lost. I’d have to interview them and ask their the back of my mind that I came from people who did permission to write about them. I couldn’t predict the same work as Xiao Li. I could trace the reversals what I’d find, or how it would change my perception of fortune that had elevated and abased generations of of my own household and my own responsibility. women in my family. I knew these changes were tied Finding the women, I realized, could be dangerous.

gwmagazine.com / 57 CLASS NOTES

with a violent crime claims “the Amy L. Edwards, JD ’78, was sleepwalking defense,” and sleep elected fellow in the American experts are consulted to examine College of Environmental CLASS the validity of the claim. Lawyers. She is currently a partner at Holland & Knight Joseph René Smith, BS ’74, in Washington, D.C., and is NOTES MD ’80, volunteered this co-chair of the firm’s national summer in central Vietnam as a environmental team. medical director for the Vietnam (Xlibris Corp, April 2018), under Health Clinic, a University of Harry A. Milman, PhD ’78, // 1960s AND EARLIER her pen name, Patricia Menton. Washington student-led volunteer authored the novel SOYUZ: The Joan M. Bondareff, BA ’65, was Inspired by true events of art theft organization responsible for Final Flight (Xlibris Us, November appointed vice chair of committee and conspiracy, the novel traces a establishing mobile medical 2017). When the oldest astronaut articles of the American Bar man’s quest to reclaim his father’s clinics in rural Vietnamese to fly in space dies mysteriously Association Marine Resources art collection, confiscated in East villages. This was his sixth after a Russian space capsule Committee for the 2019-20 term. Germany during the Cold War. Vietnam visit in a medical docks at the International Space The novel received the 2019 “Best volunteer role. Station, a forensic toxicologist Frank Burtnett, MA ’65, EdD Fiction” prize from the Pacific attempts to uncover the source of Howard L. Williams, LLM ’75, ’79, authored the second edition Book Review. the suspicious deaths aboard the of Careers Errors: Straight Talk was selected by his peers for station. about the Steps and Missteps of Mark R. Pressman, BS ’73, inclusion in the 2020 edition of Career Development (Rowman & authored Sleepwalking, The Best Lawyers in America. Mark Tobey, MBA ’78, JD ’84, Criminal Behavior, and Reliable joined Husch Blackwell as senior Littlefield Publishers, 2019). Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson, JD Scientific Evidence: A Guide for counsel in its Austin, Texas, office. ’78, received in July the Leonard Expert Witnesses (American Weinglass in Defense of Civil Psychological Association, 2018), // ’70s Liberties Award from the Civil which explores what happens Patricia Scangas, BA ’72, Rights Section of the American // ’80s when a person who is charged authored authored The Case of Emil Diesel Association for Justice. Neal Barnard, MD ’80, Your Body in Balance: The New

58 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 class notes

Science of Foods, Hormones, and Lynn M. Brown, JD ’83, was Signed copies of her new book book examines how instances Health (Grand Central Publishing, honored at the Long Island can be purchased by mailing of individual strife—from arrest February 2020), which offers Herald’s 2019 Top Lawyers of Rappahannock Press, P.O. Box and imprisonment to physical advice on how to use foods to Long Island Awards Gala. She is of 549, Urbanna, VA 23175, and and verbal brawls on the floor— rebalance your body’s hormones. counsel to Meyer, Suozzi, English adding $6 for fees and tax. against members of Parliament & Klein, P.C., and is part of the have reflected changes and Robert Jacobson, MSA ’80, has litigation and dispute resolution Michael Heim, JD ’86, was named developments in British political been elected chairman of the and education law practice Houston Intellectual Property history. board for Pen Air Federal Credit groups in Garden City, N.Y. Lawyer of the Year through a Union in Pensacola, Fla. Pen peer-nominated process by The Christopher E. Ezold, BA ’92, Air has assets of $1.5 billion and H. K. Roy, JD ’83, authored Best Lawyers in America. joined Wisler Pearlstine, LLP, as 100,000 members. American Spy: Wry Reflections on partner. My Life in the CIA (Prometheus Ian D. Meklinsky, BBA ’88, JD ’91, Ken Turino, MA ’81, and GW Books, September 2019), a was sworn in as chair of the New R. Thomas Sultzer, MEM Assistant Professor of Museum memoir about a former CIA Jersey State Bar Association’s ’92, authored Conception of Studies Max van Balgooy edited operations officer’s years of labor and employment law Magnificence: John Quincy Reimagining Historic House danger, intrigue and adventure, section. Adams and the Birth of American Museums: New Approaches and written as a series of vignettes. Astronomy (Independently Proven Solutions (Rowman & Helen K. Michael, LLM ’89, published, July 2019). The book joined the insurance recovery Littlefield, October 2019). They Luis J. Fujimoto, BS ’85, was traces from childhood to later offer tools and techniques drawn invested as a Knight of the group of Blank Rome LLP in its life the sixth U.S. president’s from nonprofit management, Sovereign Military Hospitaller Washington, D.C., office. fascination with what he called business strategy and software Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, “the sublimest science.” development to profile how of Rhodes and of Malta. historic sites use these newer // ’90s Jennifer Frank Pontzer, BA methods to become more Mary Wakefield Buxton, MA ’86, Eugene L. “Pete” Wolfe, MA ’93, became managing director engaging and relevant to their authored her 14th book, Tripping: ’91, authored Dangerous Seats: and chief operating officer of communities. A Writer’s Journeys, which honors Parliamentary Violence in the ISOS Group, Inc., a leading her 56-year-and-counting United Kingdom (Amberley sustainability consulting firm marriage to her husband, Chip. Publishing, October 2019). The Continued on page 62

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[alumni] incredible. We never sat down the entire game. There was a long stretch where the Nats were losing, and we felt defeated. But I always force myself to stay until the end of Getting to games, because when I was a kid my father always made us leave early to “beat the WASHINGTON, D.C. traffic,” and we would miss all the good stuff. Know Patty So then that hit in the eighth inning came and suddenly the Nats were winning. It Carocci was electric. Everyone was on a high. I was dragging the next day, but it was so worth it. I love being a sports fan. You make friends Top alumni relations officer with your neighbors, you’re dancing, you’re high-fiving everybody. Which always makes talks alumni engagement, me laugh, because we didn’t do anything! I D.C. sports and Cher. had nothing to do with that hit!

By Ruth Steinhardt Favorite book she’s read recently: A Place for Us, by Fatima Farheen Mirza. It was a lovely reminder that you don’t know other people’s internal experiences.

Associate Vice President of Least favorite book she’s read Alumni Relations and Annual recently: Giving Patty Carocci joined The Goldfinch. I think you either love it or GW this summer, and she’ll help you hate it. shape the next stages of the GW alumni experience. But there’s more to her than Movie she’d watch forever: 25 years of professional experience. GW The Birdcage. I’ve seen it so many times, and I Magazine sat down with Carocci to find out laugh every single time. her likes, her dislikes, and why she never leaves a baseball game early. Favorite superhero: The Hulk. What her job means to her: It’s all about engagement. It’s about finding A skill she’d love to have: ways to be meaningful to alumni. How Figure skating. can the school be of value to you? What can we offer? Before the internet, alumni Guilty pleasure: associations would be a way to stay in contact I’ve been addicted lately to documentaries on with your friends. But with social media, you fashion. And I love to watch awards shows don’t need us for that anymore. So we want to and pick my favorite looks. Mandy Moore at stay relevant by finding new ways to connect the Emmys, that pink and red dress? Love, alumni with the school and each other, like love, loved it. industry networks and affinity groups and so on. We’re asking alumni what they want and Comfort food: need, and we’re going to figure out how to Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup, with a lot deliver that. of chocolate sauce. I like a good Oreo, too—I Plus, part of our job is throwing parties. definitely have a sweet tooth. So we always want to throw better parties. Dream vacation: Favorite place to live: Bali, Morocco or Australia. I travel a lot— Washington, D.C. I’ve been in D.C. for about South Africa was my favorite. Once I hit 20 years. I like the sports, the culture, the North and South Dakota, I’ll have been to all food, everything. 50 states.

Favorite sports team: Celebrity she’d invite to a dinner The Nationals. I actually went to the party: National League Wild Card game this Cher. A hundred percent. She’s just the best. year—the energy in that crowd was CAROCCI: WILLIAM ATKINS / BALOONS: ISTOCK.COM/KOOSEN ISTOCK.COM/SCARLETSAILSHULK: ISTOCK.COM/NICESCENE SCREECH: / / SKATE: ISTOCK.COM/TARZHANOVA / BEN & JERRY'S SIGN: ISTOCK.COM/TOMENG / OREO: ISTOCK.COM/THECRIMSONMONKEY /

60 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 class notes

[Colonials Weekend] 2019 Spirit of GW Awards

Five alums were honored. Formerly the GW Alumni Achievement Awards, the Spirit of GW Awards are given to alumni and university friends who epitomize achievement, commitment and generosity at GW. The Spirit of GW Awards were bestowed in September during the annual Colonials Weekend 2019, which brought thousands of alumni, families and friends to campus.

RECENT ALUMNI GW PHILANTHROPY AWARD ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Mary Jean Lindner, GWSB ’51, Sally A. Nuamah, BA ’11 and Tad Lindner, AA ’50, BA ’51, HON ’94 Nuamah, an assistant professor at Northwestern, The Lindners have was recently named been partners in life one of Forbes and philanthropy magazine’s since 1951. The couple “30 under 30” supports numerous in education. She endowed funds across also founded the GW, which benefit scholarships TWII Foundation, a and faculty positions. They have scholarship organization also made annual gifts to the for women first-generation university for 68 consecutive students, some of whom were years and established planned featured in her first book, How gifts to benefit GW after their Girls Achieve (Harvard University lifetimes. Tad Linder is a GW Press, April 2019). She served trustee emeritus. as a member of the GW Board of Trustees from DISTINGUISHED 2014 to 2018. ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ALUMNI Mark R. Shenkman, OUTSTANDING MBA ’67 SERVICE AWARD Barbara Ann Shenkman is considered Fleming, BS a pioneer of the high-yield ’81, MS ’85 bond and loan markets. He served in multiple executive Fleming has asset management positions served on the GW at companies such as Lehman School of Engineering and Brothers Kuhn Loeb, First Applied Science’s National Investors Asset Management Advisory Council since 2016 and and Fidelity Management and was a member of the 2018 NAC Research Company before Women in Engineering Task founding Shenkman Capital. Force where she investigated He also established one of Wall As GW approaches its bicentennial in 2021, we are best practices at top engineering Street’s earliest departments proud to illustrate the strength of our community and schools. She also has been a for research and trading of our commitment to making history. (proud.gwu.edu) mentor for women in engineering high-yield securities. He is a GW through various organizations. trustee emeritus. ALUMNI RELATIONSALUMNI

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dedicated to accelerating positive socialist rise and through the of Daybreak (45 Alternate Press, defense work in the firm’s change through the advancement death of Hugo Chávez in 2013. LLC, April 2018), a novel about a Washington, D.C., office. of nonfinancial/environmental, widower’s struggle to return to social and governance reporting Nick Nissley, EdD ’99, was normal life and his attempt to and responsible management named president of Northwestern navigate a developing relationship // ’10s practices. Michigan College in Traverse City, with a woman half his age. Alan Romero, BA ’10, was Mich. appointed deputy attorney Jenny Thompson, MA ’93, Josh Schimmerling, BBA ’04, MA general at the California attorney authored The Takeover 1968: ’06, was recently recognized by general’s office. Student Protest, Campus Politics, his two children, Abby and Jacob, and Black Student Activism // ’00s and wife, Jessica Schimmerling, Joseph E. Silvia, LLM ’10, at Northwestern University Marci Goldstein Kokalas, JD ’00, BA ’05, MA ’09, as the best father joined Howard & Howard in their (Evanston History Center Press, joined Goldberg Segalla’s Global and husband in the world. Chicago office. June 2019). Insurances Services in the firm’s Liz Castelli, BA ’05, along with Marisa Grimes, BA ’12, will be Scott Abeles, BA ’94, has joined Newark, N.J., office. Adette C. Contreras, BBA ’06, serving for the next two years Carlton Fields as senior counsel Karen Sanzo, MA ’00, EdD ’06, and Erica Taylor, BA ’06—all as One Acre Fund Rwanda’s in the firm’s Washington, D.C., was awarded the 2019 Master former a cappella singers with expansion lead and helping to office. He is a member of the Professor Award from the GW Vibes—founded in 2010 Tinsel extend the current program to national class actions practice University Council for Educational Experiential Design, an event include 300,000 new clients. group. Administration. design and production company Shadi Bakour, BBA ’13, founded that BizBash named as one of the Amy Impellizzeri, JD ’95, Jason Benion, BA ’01, joined PathWater, a company that top 10 event designers in North authored Why We Lie (Wyatt- Saxton & Stump as a shareholder produces the first and only America. At a recent conference, MacKenzie Publishing, March and chair of the firm’s newly infinitely reusable aluminum Taylor met 2019), a story that exposes the formed death care group. Emily Willis- bottle in the beverage industry. core of the #MeToo movement in Campbell, BA ’96, who owns her The company’s mission is to the legal and political realm. Theresa McCoy, BBA ’01, own wedding planning company, put an end to single-use plastic became the owner of American Bella Event Design & Planning, bottles. Daniel McCuaig, BA ’95, Community Management. She in Colorado, while volunteering was named partner at Cohen had served since 2018 as CEO with the Disabled Persons Nicole Catá, JD ’15, MA ’15, Milstein Seller & Toll in the firm’s and president of the property Organization of The Bahamas. finished in August her clerkship Washington, D.C., antitrust management firm, which is based at the Staff Attorney’s Office of practice. in Hanover, Md. Najma Khorrami, BS ’06, MPH the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ’12, launched the Gratitude Circle, Second Circuit. In September, Yahia Lababidi, BA ’96, authored Christine Marie Schmidt, a social media empowerment she joined the Immigration Signposts to Elsewhere (Hay BFA ’01, is the creative force app and positivity platform that Intervention Project at Sanctuary House Publishers, 2019), a book of behind Yellow Owl Workshop, functions by encouraging users for Families. As a staff attorney at aphorisms to help re-awaken your which offers products with to express gratitude as often as Sanctuary, she helps people who day-to-day thought process. a sophisticated yet playful possible. have experienced gender-based aesthetic—rose and rosé lapel David Poyer, MA ’96, authored was named violence secure and maintain pins, sloth socks, illustrated Alison Walsh, BA ’06, Overthrow (St. Martin’s Press, to PR Week magazine’s 2019 “Top lawful immigration status and greeting cards and Carve-a- December 2019), the next novel 40 Under 40 Executives” list. In obtain U.S. citizenship. Stamp kits. She founded the in the acclaimed series featuring September 2018, she married company in 2007, and her Irina R. Sadovnic, JD ’16, joined Admiral Dan Lenson as the Allies David Hamerman, who, she says, products can be purchased online Genovese Joblove & Battista, P.A., struggle to survive World War did not make the wise decision of at YellowOwlWorkshop.com as an associate in the firm’s Miami III and converge against China, attending GW. Perhaps in an act or at national retailers such as office. North Korea and Iran. of retributive justice, many of her Barnes & Noble, Paper Source and former GW classmates, including Sarah Fannon, BA ’17, was Aman Vij, BS ’96, was appointed Nordstrom. a contributing author to the board member to the capital her old rugby teammates, were in LGBTQIA+ horror anthology Black chapter of JDRF, the leading Anibal Armendaris, BA ’02, attendance at their Scranton, Pa., Rainbow (NBH, 2019). global organization funding type- participated in Miami University’s ceremony. The couple now lives in Earth expeditions global field Inwood, Manhattan. 1 diabetes research. Mounir Alafrangy, MS ’18, was course in Australia in August. She joined selected as one of four crew Ada Sut-Man, BAccy ’97, is studied coral reef ecology and the Anna K. Milunas, BA ’07, Blank Rome LLP in its Los members at HERA’s Mission XX, a the chief financial officer of conservation of marine systems Angeles office as an associate in 45-day-confined-space mission the American Academy of along the Great Barrier Reef. simulation to the Martian moon Periodontology in Chicago. the insurance recovery group. Lisette Morton, MA ’02, a 20- Phobos.

Sorayana Bravo, MA ’99, year Capitol Hill veteran, was John-Carlos Estrada, BA ’09, joined CBS Austin as a morning Nigel Mease, MA ’18, joined the authored ¿Qué le pasó a named the vice president of public news anchor. He was previously Institute for Defense Analyses Venezuela?: Un análisis sobre la policy and governmental affairs a weekend evening anchor and as a research associate in their historia y el patriotismo (Bowker for Sony Music Entertainment. Strategy, Forces and Resources Identifier Services, May 2019). reporter for WINK News in Fort Division. Providing an in-depth historical Paula Wolferseder Yabar, MBA Myers/Naples, Fla. ’02, joined American Rivers analysis, the book investigates was Erik Grossman, MA ’19, was as senior vice president of Paul M. Kerlin, JD ’09, the presence and absence elevated to counsel at Skadden, hired as a special advisor to the advancement. of patriotism as it relates to Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. under secretary for terrorism and Venezuelan society from the Ran Walker, JD ’02, was awarded He practices white-collar criminal financial intelligence at the U.S. years leading up to the country’s the 2019 National Indie Author and complex civil litigation Department of the Treasury. Project Award and is the author

62 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 class notes

Linda Lee Postlethwait Donnelly, BA ’67, MA ’69 (August 16, 2019, couple of years since the 1970s for the people, the landscapes and terrain of 73), was one of the first female computer systems analysts in the United the country as well as to London and its tea. He was a scholar of John Milton, States working for the Navy at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian whose work he focused his doctoral dissertation on, and he was in the editing Head, Md. She retired as COO/CFO of a Virginia rehabilitation services firm. stage of a novel set in the 1990s. He is survived by his wife, Catherine, and Along the way, she gave back to her community as a Red Cross volunteer, three daughters from a prior marriage. president of the Navy Wives’ Club at Pearl Harbor and as a buyer for Alvin E. Nashman, HON ’86, (92), was a government contracting nonprofit Boutiki Gift Shop. She was an excellent bridge player and expert executive and a longtime friend and supporter of GW. He and his wife, Honey, Sudoku solver. She found joy in light-hearted murder mystery novels (no a longtime GW professor, in 2015 made a gift to the university to endow the gore!), romantic comedies (no unhappy endings!) and collecting anything Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. For blue and white. Donnelly is survived by her husband of almost 50 years, 27 years until his retirement, Nashman headed the multidivision systems CDR Robert J. Donnelly, a retired U.S. Navy commander., daughter Ashley group of the Computer Science Corporation, which under his leadership Donnelly Leonard, son-in-law Dr. Matthew M. Leonard, and grandchildren experienced more than $1 billion in growth in its federal practice. He served Maren, Quinn and Delen. in the Navy during World War II. Mark Plotkin, BA ’69, (September 22, 2019, 72, Washington, D.C.), Alexa de Moura, BA ’17, (Philadelphia, 24), was a former GW gymnast was a longtime political commentator on WAMU and WTOP. Born in Iowa, who twice was named to the East Atlantic Gymnastics League first team he considered Washington, D.C., his adopted home and was a passionate for the all-around. She also garnered accolades on the balance beam, advocate for its statehood. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of District vault, uneven bars and in the floor exercise. She competed for New Image politics, and in 2000, he led the effort to have the slogan “Taxation Without Gymnastics on Long Island before coming to GW and most recently served as Representation” on every D.C. license plate. In 2014, he received GW’s a coach there for young gymnasts. She is survived by her parents, Alexandre Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and in 2018, he donated his and Josephine, her brother, Nicholas, and her sisters Isabella and Giovanna. papers to Gelman’s Special Collections Research Center. He loved tennis and De Moura died while swimming with friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in was a fan of GW basketball. June. Jerry L. Coffey, PhD ’71 (Dec. 30, 2018, Winchester, Va., 76), was, until his retirement, a senior mathematical statistician in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the executive office of the president. He served FACULTY AND STAFF on the board of the American Statistical Association. He also served the Arthur David Kirsch, BA ’55, (August 2, 2019, Silver Spring, Md.), chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, analyzing the was a professor emeritus of statistics and psychology and chaired the census. Jerry loved his children, Laurel and Jay, and his wife of 51 years, statistics department during his tenure. He taught full-time at GW from Gretchen. 1965 to 1998. During his final year at the university, he was awarded the James A. Wingate, Jr., GWSB ’73, (June 20, 2019, 80, Fort Trachtenberg Service Award for his commitment to multiple governing Washington, Md.), worked for more than 40 years in accounting, auditing bodies including the Faculty Senate, Joint Committee of Faculty and Students and tax consulting services at Wingate, Carpenter & Associates. An avid and the Budget Advisory Team. He was a superfan of the GW basketball team tennis player and incredibly social, he was a member of the American Tennis since junior high, and he is quoted in a 1998 GW Hatchet article saying that Association and United States Tennis Association for more than 50 years he had missed, at most, three games ever held at the Smith Center. and traveled every year, multiple times a year, to places such as Annapolis, Baltimore, Detroit and Hilton Head for tournaments. He was dedicated to his community and was an active member of the Symposium Whist Club, which brought together families for weekly gatherings and donated profits from events to support young people who play tennis. He is remembered by his wife of nearly 50 years, Melvina, as a strong, kind and giving spirit. George Hughes McLoone, PhD ’82, (July 4, 2019, 73), taught college- level English for more than four decades in Northern Virginia. He spent his childhood in Phoenix and, after moving east for college, lived the rest of his life in the Washington, D.C., area. A fan of cleverly written mystery and spy novels by the likes of Agatha Christie and Ross Macdonald, he also loved music, classic movies, golf and visiting England, where he had returned every

gwmagazine.com / 63 Epilogue

Institutional 6 a.m. and stand outside the century, I think the first human Knowledge building where the astronauts will reach the surface of Mars, and put their spacesuits on and watch I would say within the next 25 to 35 Wisdom and How-Tos them walk by me on the way to the moon. And years, there can be an initial expedition. from Experts in the if you’re self-conscious at all, that’s like seeing One big difference between 1969 and the GW Community Columbus sail out of port. To be just a few feet time of Apollo and now is you have some away from the three as they left for the moon private actors who say they’re going to do as the first people that were ever going to walk it, particularly Elon Musk. Let them try. [space] on the moon—that’s an indelible memory. Why not? But there are a lot of obstacles to be overcome, and multiple approaches to Should we go back to the moon? overcoming those obstacles are good things. I think it’s a necessary stop on the way to 50 Years Later: Mars or anywhere else. We didn’t, during A moon follow-up. What makes the moon Apollo, really explore the moon. Apollo was a necessary for a Mars trip? Apollo 11 demonstration that we could get there and One is, in a sense, practicing for Mars. back. They landed near the lunar equator, Another is the potential availability of Space Policy Institute only traveled a few miles, and so most of the resources, particularly water that can be used founder John Logsdon moon has never been explored. There’s the and processed into rocket fuel. And a third intriguing idea of deposits of water ice in the is the science yet to be done on the moon. reflects on what it means craters at the lunar poles, which, if it’s there It adds up to a pretty strong argument for to have put humans on the and if it can be accessed, could enable a lot having the moon in our sights as the first step moon. of activity. … We need experience living on in resuming exploration. We haven’t been another celestial body before we commit further away from Earth than Washington is By Matthew Stoss people to long-duration stays on Mars. from New York in 47 years.

John Logsdon says he’s been “wallowing Getting to Mars will be really hard—the What’s caused the 47-year delay? in nostalgia” since July, which marked the distance, the radiation, the Martian I think it was a victim of its own success. 50th anniversary of Apollo 11—the U.S. conditions. When can we make it? … Part of it is that we’ve done it and the space mission that, for the first time in world Depends on your timeframe. Within this argument for a return has not been very history, put humans on the moon. clearly articulated to sustain a political Logsdon founded GW’s Space Policy consensus and a public consensus. And it’s Institute in 1987 and is an expert on the a discretionary act. I don’t think there’s any history of space exploration, having necessity for going back, and maybe the emergence of competition will stimulate the authored and edited several government to do this. Certainly China books, including 2010’s John F. is developing the capability to do big Kennedy and the Race to the things in space, and the summer Moon. celebration reminds us that we On July 16, 1969, kind of think of the moon as ours. Logsdon, then a The only flags planted there 31-year-old rookie have been American flags. academic, was at Kennedy Space Will it be a private Center in Florida endeavor or sponsored by when Apollo 11 a state? fired into the I think it’s going to be ether. Fifty years the U.S. government. later, Logsdon, China’s plans do not call now 82, reflects for humans to go to the on the legacy of moon until after 2030. Apollo 11. We’re building the systems to be able to do this. We’re What, other than building big rockets and the launch, do you building the spacecraft. remember about Congress is diddling around being there? with the money needed to get I was able to go out started on a landing vehicle, early in the morning at but I think there is a political consensus that if we’re going to have humans in space under government sponsorship, they should John Logsdon at go to the moon first.

the Apollo 11 launch NASA

64 / gw magazine / Fall 2019 We Listened

GLOBAL

DIVERSITY AMBASSADORS

NETWORKING PURPOSE CAREERS

The GW Alumni Association thanks the ~350 alumni who provided valuable insights during our virtual listening tour.

Here is the path to our shared priorities:

Summer/Fall 2019 Winter 2019/2020 Spring/Summer 2020 Listening Tour and first GWAA priorities identified GWAA priorities shared GWAA executive and finalized with alumni committee meeting community

Recordings of the Listening Tour sessions and a summary of feedback are available at go.gwu.edu/gwaalistens

DAR3757 The George Washington University Washington, D.C. 20052 Change Service Requested

DAY DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (ET) WATCH DAY DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (ET) WATCH Tue Nov 5 at Towson Towson, MD 7:00 PM FloSports Wed Nov 6 at Villanova Villanova, PA 7:00 PM SAT NOV 9 HOWARD WASHINGTON, DC 4:00 PM ESPN+ SUN NOV 10 PRINCETON WASHINGTON, DC 12:00 PM ESPN+ TUE NOV 12 AMERICAN WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ Wed Nov 13 at Lehigh Bethlehem, PA 11:00 AM SAT NOV 16 MORGAN STATE WASHINGTON, DC 1:00 PM ESPN+ Sun Nov 17 at Memphis Memphis, TN 11:30 AM Fri Nov 22 UMKC Nassau, Bahamas 5:00 PM Wed Nov 20 at Maryland College Park, MD 7:00 PM Sat Nov 23 TBD Nassau, Bahamas TBA SUN NOV 24 GEORGETOWN WASHINGTON, DC 2:00 PM ESPN+ Sun Nov 24 TBD Nassau, Bahamas TBA SUN DEC 1 COPPIN STATE WASHINGTON, DC 2:00 PM ESPN+ Sun Dec 1 at South Carolina Columbia, SC 2:00PM Wed Dec 4 at Delaware Newark, DE 7:00 PM WED DEC 4 BOSTON U WASHINGTON, D.C 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Dec 7 at Quinnipiac Hamden, CT 2:00 PM SAT DEC 7 DELAWARE WASHINGTON, D.C 4:00 PM ESPN+ TUE DEC 10 MINNESOTA WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ SAT DEC 21 HARVARD WASHINGTON, D.C 12:00 PM ESPN+ FRI DEC 20 JAMES MADISON WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ SAT DEC 28 LONGWOOD WASHINGTON, D.C 4:00 PM ESPN+ Sun Dec 22 at American Washington, DC 2:00 PM Tue Dec 31 at Vermont Burlington, VT 2:00 PM SUN DEC 29 WILLIAM & MARY WASHINGTON, DC 2:00 PM ESPN+ SUN JAN 5 ST BONAVENTURE* WASHINGTON, DC 4:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Jan 4 at George Mason* Fairfax, VA 2:00 PM ESPN+ WED JAN 8 at Saint Louis* Saint Louis, MO 8:00PM ESPN+ WED JAN 8 DUQUESNE* WASHINGTON, DC 11:00 AM ESPN+ SAT JAN 11 DUQUESNE* WASHINGTON, DC 4:00 PM ESPN+ Sun Jan 12 at Fordham* Bronx, NY 2:00 PM CBSSN WED JAN 15 GEORGE MASON* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Jan 18 at Davidson* Davidson, NC 1:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Jan 18 at Massachusetts* Amherst, MA 4:30 PM NBCSN WED JAN 22 DAYTON* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ Wed Jan 22 at Fordham* New York, NY 7:00 PM ESPN+ SUN JAN 26 MASSACHUSETTS* WASHINGTON, DC 2:00 PM ESPN+ SAT JAN 25 SAINT JOSEPH’S* WASHINGTON, DC 4:00 PM ESPN+ Wed Jan 29 at Saint Joseph’s* Philadelphia, PA 7:00 PM ESPN+ WED JAN 29 DAVIDSON* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ SUN FEB 2 SAINT LOUIS* WASHINGTON, DC 2:00 PM CBSSN Sat Feb 1 at Richmond* Richmond, VA 6:00 PM ESPN+ Thu Feb 6 at St. Bonaventure* St. Bonaventure, NY 7:00 PM ESPN+ Wed Feb 5 at St. Bonaventure* Olean, NY 7:00 PM STADIUM Sun Feb 9 at VCU* Richmond, VA 1:00 PM ESPN+ SAT FEB 8 RHODE ISLAND* WASHINGTON, DC 12:00 PM CBSSN WED FEB 12 LA SALLE* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Feb 15 at George Mason* Fairfax, VA 4:30 PM NBCSN SAT FEB 15 GEORGE MASON* WASHINGTON, DC 2:00PM ESPN+ Wed Feb 19 at Duquesne* Pittsburgh, PA 8:00PM ESPN+ Wed Feb 19 at Dayton* Dayton, OH 7:00 PM ESPN+ SAT FEB 22 LA SALLE* WASHINGTON, DC 4:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Feb 22 at Duquesne* Pittsburgh, PA 7:30 PM ESPN+ WED FEB 26 RICHMOND* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ TUE FEB 25 RHODE ISLAND* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Feb 29 at VCU* Richmond, VA 4:00 PM CBSSN SAT FEB 29 RICHMOND* WASHINGTON, DC 2:00 PM ESPN+ WED MAR 4 FORDHAM* WASHINGTON, DC 7:00 PM ESPN+ Sat Mar 7 at Dayton* Dayton, OH TBA ESPN+

* Conference Game Support our student-athletes by making a gift at To purchase tickets, visit GetGWTix.com go.gwu.edu/give2athletics or by calling 202.994.8412 Dates and times subject to change. For more information, visit GWsports.com