Class Notes

Beronda L. Montgomery, LA94, began her appointment as vice president for academic affairs and dean of Grinnell College July 1. Previously, Montgomerywas a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University, East ­Lansing, as well as in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. She also served as assistant vice president for research and innovation at the university.

Darla Hedrick Quinn, EMBA94, wrote Letters from Sadie: Letters Written by Sadie Claire (Marcum) Montgomery from the Norton, Kansas, Tuberculosis Sanatorium, 1932–1933 (Westbow Press, November 2021). The book — which shares the feelings of faith, separation, fear and love that a wife and mother ­experienced while suffering from a debilitating illness — is based on a collection of photographs and letters that Quinn’s grandmother, a resident at Norton State Tuberculosis ­Sanatorium, wrote to Quinn’s mother’s family during her stay at the facility.

Nina Nin-Yuen Wang, LA94, was nominated by President Joe Biden to be U.S. district judge for the District of Colorado. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she is scheduled to fill an ­occupancy ­occurring on July 15, 2022. Wang has been a U.S. magistrate judge for the District of Colorado since 2015. From 2008–15, she was a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.

Michelle Landau Brooks, LA95, was awarded an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management. Brooks has spent much of her career working for organizations in the St. Louis Jewish ­community and has been an active board member of the National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis.

Gregory Bradburn, LA96, retired.

Jeffrey E. Atkinson, LW98, a trial attorney with Lashly & Baer, P.C., since 2019, was named a shareholder effective Jan. 1.Atkinson concentrates his practice in civil litigation and medical malpractice defense.

Johanna Schiavoni, LA98, was honored with a Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence in the practice of law and as a community changemaker by the San Diego Law Library Foundation. The award recognizes Schiavoni’s excellence in practice as an appellate attorney and her extensive community service, including terms as chair of the board of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (2021) and as president of the San Diego County Bar Association (2020).

Nancy A. Johnson, LW99, an attorney in the Orlando office of Littler Mendelson, P.C., was promoted to shareholder effective Jan. 1. Working with in-house counsel through all phases of labor and employment litigation in state and federal courts and at the administrative agency level, Johnson advises and defends employers confronted by complex workplace challenges and the evolving labor and employment landscape.

Sapna Kudchadkar, LA99, a pediatric critical care physician and pediatric anesthesiologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, was named anesthesiologist-in-chief of the Johns Hopkins Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center and vice chair for pediatric anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She lives in Ellicott City, Md., with her husband, Raj, and two children, Kishen and Asha.

Ben Westhoff, LA99, is an award-winning investigative journalist, who has written five books, including Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap (Hachette Books, 2016); and, most recently, Little Brother: Love, Tragedy and My Search for the Truth (Hachette Books, May 2022). Little Brother tells the story of Westhoff, a volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and his mentee, Jorell Cleveland, who in 2016 was killed in broad daylight near his home in Ferguson, Mo. The book details Jorell’s life and Westhoff’s quest to learn the facts of his death.