Pathways Beyond the Professoriate
Past Speakers
2013-2014
LaRose Davis (L.M. Davis):L. M. Davis loves great storytelling. She needs nothing more than a good book and a comfy chair to be happy. She was born in the south, raised in the north, and has a few English degrees under her belt. She still hasn’t gotten her black cat, but she thinks about it everyday. Her thoughts go something like this: "I really should get a cat." For now, she contents herself with spoiling the pets of her friends and family.
Christine Gross-Loh,Ph.D., (non-alumna) holds a doctorate in East Asian History from Harvard University and has written three popular nonfiction books. A regular contributor toMothering.com, she is the author ofPARENTING WITHOUT BORDERS, which has been called "required reading for any parent or anyone thinking of becoming one" by Marianne LaFrance, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at Yale University and a "lovely book brim[ming] with examples of things parents in other countries can do differently that can make our lives (and our kids') so much nicer," by Lenore Skenazy, author ofFree-Range Kids.
Jennifer Margulis,Ph.D.,is an award-winning journalist and a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. She has been published in theNew York Times, theWashington Post, and on the cover ofSmithsonian Magazine. Her work has been chosen for inclusion inBest American Science Writing. She holds degrees from Emory University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Cornell University. Her fifth book,THE BUSINESS OF BABY, has been called a "must-read" by Ina May Gaskin and "the most ambitious and best documented popular book about the American way of birth and infant care we have ever seen" by Harvard professor and co-author ofOur Bodies OurselvesNorma Swenson.
Andrea Sharma,Ph.D., MPH,is a senior scientist in the U.S. Public Health Service and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health. She is also adjunct faculty in the Nutrition and Health Sciences program at Emory University and frequently mentors graduate students. Her research areas center around maternal and child nutrition, with particular interest in long-term consequences of nutritional exposures early in life. She has published peer-reviewed articles on the topics of gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, obesity, child growth and development, cardiovascular disease, breastfeeding, added sugar intake, and micronutrient malnutrition. She completed her graduate work at Emory University and postgraduate training in CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service.
Joseph Njau,Ph.D., hasextensive experience in the economics of infectious diseases in Sub Sahara Africa. His professional goal is to design and implement pragmatic research to generate relevant knowledge to reduce the burden of diseases in poor countries by informing policy makers of issues of priority and cost effective strategies to improve the health status of people in Sub Sahara Africa and the world at large.Through research and teaching, he plans to increase the number of health economists who focus on diseases of greatest burden in sub-Saharan Africa and Tanzania in particular.
Gary Hauk,PhD isvice president and deputy to the president of Emory University, where he has served in senior administrative positions for more than twenty years. Before appointment to his current role in 2004, he served as vice president and secretary of the university, working closely with the Board of Trustees and with three successive Emory presidents. As deputy to the president, he guides a variety of University-wide projects and provides a broad range of support to the University as a writer, editor, and repository of institutional memory. He is the author of the most recent history of Emory,A Legacy of Heart and Mind: Emory Since 1836, and he is co-editor of a collection of essays about Emory’s history,Where Courageous Inquiry Leads. He earned his PhD in Ethics from Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion.
Cale Lennon,PhDis currently the Director, Licensing in the Office. He has over ten years of university technology transfer experience and holds the Certified Licensing Professional and Certified Research Administrator credentials. Prior to joining Emory, Cale was in the Office of Technology Transfer and Business Development at Tulane University, Louisiana. During his tenure at Tulane, he held the positions of senior licensing associate, associate director, and interim executive director. He was previously a mechanical design engineer at United Technologies Pratt & Whitney where he designed jet engine hardware for the F/A 22 Raptor fighter.
Yael Sherman, PhDearned her doctorate in Women’s Studies from Emory in 2008. Her publications include “Neoliberal Femininity in Miss Congeniality” inFeminism at the Moviesand “Fashioning Femininity: Clothing the Body and the Self in What Not to Wear” inExposing Lifestyle Television.After teaching full-time at Emory and Spelman College, she made the jump to from faculty to staff. Now a senior editor in Development Communications, she writes proposals, brochures, and fact sheets about the health sciences at Emory.
Jacob Shreckengost, PhD recently moved into an administrative role at Emory as the Interim Director of Undergraduate Research in Emory College. Jacob obtained his AB in Biology from the University of Chicago with a concentration in neuroscience. His research focused on plant genetics and developmental biology. Following college, he moved to Germany for two years continuing to continue his research. When he returned, he worked in a neurovirology lab while applying to graduate school. As a PhD student at Emory, his research focused on network function in the spinal cord before and after spinal cord injury. During this time, his passion for teaching and mentoring took off. A post-doctoral fellowship allowed him to combine his passions, as he split his time between researching autonomic function and dysfunction in the spinal cord and teaching at Spelman College.
Nicholas A. Zachariades, Ph.D., is an attorney who practices in the area ofintellectual propertylaw with a focus onpatentopinion counseling and patent procurement for clients in thepharmaceutical and biotechnologyindustries. Dr. Zachariades has written and prosecuted patent applications in both the United States and abroad in new and cutting-edge technologies in the fields of virology, immunology, genetics, molecular genetics, plant genetics, genetically modified plants, molecular immunology, bioinformatics, biochip arrays, DNA and protein chips, and pharmaceutical and small molecule patents. He has extensive experience in the areas of biotechnology, immunology, small molecules, molecular biology, virology, vaccines and oncology.
Prior to entering the practice of law, Dr. Zachariades had ten years' experience in patent prosecution, opinions and patentability assessments in cutting-edge biomedical technologies for major U.S. universities and U.S. and foreign corporations.
Dr. Zachariades is a 2003 graduate of the New England School of Law. He earned a Ph.D. from Emory University and a B.A. from the University of Kansas.
Edward Scholl, PhD, graduated from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. in 1980 with a B.A. in Political Science. He received an M.A. in Political Science in 1981 from Emory University and his PhD from Emory University in 1985, his dissertation entitledPork Barrel Politics in the European Parliament.
Dr. Scholl began working at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 1985. His positions included Computer Support Specialist and Administrative Analyst. Later promoted to Statistical Analyst, he became CM-ECF (Case Management-Electronic Case Files) Project Leader in 2007 and CM-ECF Applications Administrator in 2010.
Edward is currently a Statistician/Applications Administrator/Supervisor of Statistics and Reporting section.
Erinn Goldman, PhD (04G), is an Editorial and Scientific Director with Articulate Science,a member of the Nucleus Group of medical communications companies. As a medical writer and strategic consultant in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Goldman has utilized her research expertise in cancer biology to support the development and communication platforms for numerous products in the field of oncology. Dr. Goldman holds a BA in English and pre-medical studies from Yale University and a PhD in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology from Emory University. She is a member of the American Medical Writers Association and served as President of the Southeast chapter of the organization.
Mark Ledden, PhD (96G):Mark’s doctorate prepared him to be a professor of English Literature, but after a few years of teaching he found himself drawn to the intellectually stimulating but very different world of management consulting. Since 2002, Mark has focused his energies on building his practice as a leadership consultant and directly building businesses as an entrepreneurial executive. Mark’s approach to working with leaders blends the disciplines of cognitive psychology, systems thinking, and business strategy. A founding partner ofKenning Associates, Mark looks for ways to make the firm not only a world-class consultancy but also an experimental community that harnesses business exchanges to create interpersonal and social value as well as profit. Since 2006, Mark has also fed his passion for strategy and organizational development as CEO of biotech startups Effigene Pharmaceuticals andCinlanian Biotechnologies. In 2012, Mark and his wife, fellow Emory alumnus Dr. Susan Anderson, co-founded The Cloverleaf School of Atlanta, a non-profit elementary serving students with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and other learning differences.
CDC Professional:Edwin (Eddie) Adesis the Associate Director for Laboratory Science in the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the CDC. He has extensive experience in the field of immunotherapy and vaccine development. Eddie has received many patents and grants, and is the author or coauthor of more than 150 journal articles and book chapters. He was Emergency Operations Center Laboratory Co-Team Lead during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic response, overseeing CDC’s laboratory activities and coordinating domestic and international laboratory responses. He received a PhD in Immunology/Pathology from Emory.
Biotech/Pharma/Consulting:Karen Ventii 08G,received her PhD in biochemistry from Emory in 2008. Her research focused on characterizing the biochemical properties of the breast cancer associated protein-1 (BAP1) tumor suppressor protein. After completing her PhD, DrVentii transitioned to the medical communication industry where she has worked for 6 years withpharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Genentech, and Sanofi. Her expertise in oncology has been appliedacross avariety of educational initiatives,includingpromotional medical education, speaker-training, educational symposia, advisory boards, and other strategic programs.
Teacher:Gavin Drummond 02G:Gavin Drummond received his PhD in English here at Emory in 2002. He was offered a tenure track position, but turned it down, instead deciding to teach high school English at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta. Ten years later, he's still at Westminster and is enjoying the mission of teaching.
Library Professional/Curator:PellomMcDaniels 07G:Dr. McDaniels has been a professional football player, an inventor, an artist, an author and a professor. He’s still many of these things, but his chief title at Emory is Faculty Curator of the African American Collections in the Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL).McDaniels is spearheading MARBL’s plans for the Roberter Langmuir Collection of more than 12,000 photos depicting African American life from the early 1800’s to the mid-1900s.
2012-2013
Dr. Manuel Montoya, Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts (10G): Dr. Montoya is an interdisciplinary scholar of globalization and the factors that produce a global political economy. A Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar, he received a BA from the University of New Mexico, a MLitt from Oxford University, an MA from New York University, and his PhD from the Laney Graduate School (ILA). Dr. Montoya is Assistant Professor of Global Structures and International Business at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and CEO of his own global consulting firm, In Medias Res Consulting.
Dr. Rebekah Kushner (09G, BCDB – GDBBS)earned her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell, and Developmental Biology from GDBBS. Her research focused on the rare, genetic disorder of sugar metabolism, galactosemia, with her advisor Dr. Judy Fridovich-Keil. Rebekah successfully created the first animal model of this disease in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Upon completing her doctoral degree, Rebekah put her teaching and research skills to use workingat Zoo Atlanta in the Education Department, running the teen volunteer program and participating in guest education. She has also spent time working at the TRiO and Student Support Services Departments at both Atlanta Metropolitan College and Clark Atlanta University, where she worked with low-income, first generation college students one-on-one, focusing on math and science skills necessary for success at the college level. Currently, Rebekah is a Science Teacher at Woodward Academy, where she teaches chemistry to high school sophomores.
Dr. George Lamplugh (73G, History)earned his PhD in History. His dissertation was published in 1986 as Politics on the Periphery: Factions and Parties in Georgia, 1783-1806.During his career, Dr. Lamplugh taught at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta for 37 years. During this time, George continued to be a "practicing historian," giving papers, publishing articles and reviews in scholarly journals, and beginning research on a second book. Since his retirement, George has launched a blog, "Retired But Not Shy: Doing History After Leaving the Classroom.”
Dr. Stacia Brown (07G, Religion) earned her B.A. from Westmont College, her M.Div. from Candler School of Theology, where she was a Woodruff Fellow, and her Ph.D. in Religion (2007) from the Laney Graduate School. She has served as a fellow at the W.M. Keck Foundation at the Huntington Library in Pasadena and the Hambidge Center in north Georgia. Her first novel,Accidents of Providence, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2012.She has taught as an adjunct professor at the Candler School of Theology and until 2011, worked as a program director in the Provost's office. She currently serves as Director of Development for Clinical Programs at Emory School of Medicine and is finishing her second novel,The Year of Ought,under contract with Houghton Mifflin.
Dr. Jennifer Wheelock (Poetry)earnedan MFA in creative writing (Georgia State University) and a PhD in poetry (Florida State University). She isa poet and painter and serves as Executive Director of Development Communications at Emory, managing a team of seven writers and designers. In her career, Dr. Wheelock has worked as a professor, an entrepreneur and small business owner, and a freelance writer/editor. She has been at Emory since 2009.
Dr. Benjamin Blass (Chemistry)received his B.S. in Chemistry from Emory University in 1990 and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1994 from the University of Rochester under the direction of Andrew S. Kende. Upon completion of his doctoral program, Dr. Blass pursued a career in drug discovery and development with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (Cincinnati, OH 1994-2006) and Wyeth Research (2006-2010). He is now Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Moulder Center (Temple University).
Dr. Chris Curfmanreceived his PhD in organic chemistry under the guidance of Dr. Dennis Liotta. Following his doctoral studies at Emory, he attended law school at Georgia State University while working as a patent agent.Since law school, Chris has worked as a patent attorney for Ballard Spahr and is now a founding principal of Meunier (Mun-yeh) Carlin and Curfman.
Chris’ practice focuses on intellectual property in the chemical and pharmaceutical fields. He counsels start-ups, large and small corporations, universities and research institutions on all aspects of patent prosecution and litigation in pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology-related technologies.Dr. Curfman was named a Georgia Super Lawyers “Rising Star” by Atlanta Magazine in 2006, 2012, and 2013.
Brian Croxallis the Digital Humanities Strategist and Lecturer of English at Emory University. In this position, he is helping to establish the new, Mellon Foundation-sponsored Digital Scholarship Commons (DiSC) in the Robert W. Woodruff Library. Along with developing and managing digital scholarship projects in collaboration with faculty, graduate students, librarians, and developers, he teaches a new undergraduate course as an “Introduction to Digital Humanities.”
His interests in the digital humanities include visualizing geospatial and temporal data as well as integrating digital approaches into pedagogy. He teaches modern and contemporary American literature as well as courses on media studies, digital culture, and war fiction.
Brian serves on the Executive Council of the Association for Computers and the Humanities and the Committee on Information Technology at the Modern Language Association (MLA). He is a contributing author to the blog ProfHacker, is a cluster editor at the #alt-academy project, and is working on an edited collection on steampunk every third evening.
2011-2012
Gerry Lowrey, PhD in American Studies, ’81, came to Atlanta in 1976 to attend Emory as a graduate student in American Studies. After earning his PhD in 1981, he continued to serve Emory in a number of roles, including Associate Dean of Campus Life, Director of Athletics and Recreation and Senior Director of the Emory Alumni Association. He retired from Emory in 2007 but remains active on a number of Emory boards as a loyal alumnus. Afterleaving Emory, Dr. Lowrey acted upon his interest in real estate and joined the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage team of Intown Atlanta. The position has allowed Dr. Lowrey to use his knowledge of community resources and opportunities to successfully broker the sale of homes in some of the most sought after neighborhoods of Atlanta.
Dr.Kirsten Rambo, 01G 03G graduated from Emory with a Ph.D. in Women’s Studies. Dr. Rambo was the 2009 recipient of Emory’s “Unsung Heroine” Award. She has worked for the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, an agency dedicated to eliminating intimate partner violence, where, “she calls upon her scholarly expertise in domestic violence law, her facility in developing public policy, her compassionate approach to advocacy, and her skillfulness as an educator and communicator” in ending the cycle of family violence. She now serves as the Project Officer at the Centers for Disease ControlDivision of Violence Prevention where she works to stop domestic violence before it starts.