Class Notes

K. Alex Smith, LA04, has served as medical director at LifeServe Blood Center since 2015. When not spending time with his family, he enjoys community service and advocacy. Elected to the Waukee School District board in 2019, Smith also holds several positions with the Iowa Association of School Boards and serves on the National Alliance on Mental Illness Iowa Advocacy Committee.

Craig Pirner, LA04, joined Crate & Barrel as the leader of talent and organizational development. Previously, he spent 16 years with Advisory Board, a health-care research and consulting firm. Pirner continues to live in Chicago with his partner, Mark.

Merissa Nathan Gerson, LA04, authored Forget Prayers, Bring Cake: A Single Woman’s Guide to Grieving (Mandala Publishing, August 2021). The memoir — of loss, love, New Orleans and life — doubles as a guide for those in the process of grieving. Gerson shares that her book contains the guidance and grief medicine that she wished she’d had after the 2019 death of her father.

Robyn (Jimenez) Popa, GA03, was promoted from senior project manager overseeing projects for school districts to managing principal at Pfluger Architects’ San Antonio office. She has been with the firm since 2006, when she launched her career as an architect.

Rebecca “Becca” Niburg, GR03, LW03, an attorney with Elpis Legal LLC, which represents immigrants and their families before the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, has thrown her hat in the ring for the District 13 seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. On her campaign website (www.beccaniburg.com), Niburg writes, “I am running for Delegate to bring the experiences of working directly with survivors of trauma, those who have suffered from mental health crises, and those outside the circles of power to Annapolis. … I am ready to bring all of our voices to Annapolis.” 

Joshua Isaacs, LA03, and his wife, Laurie Kirkland, welcomed a daughter, Norah Isabela Isaacs, on June 7, 2021. Last May, Isaacs joined the law firm of Redmon Peyton & Braswell, LLP in Alexandria, Va., as a partner; his practice area focuses on family law and domestic relations. Joshua, Laurie and Norah live in Washington, D.C. 

Tim Gronewold, BU03, LW08, a commercial litigator with Howard & Howard, was elected to a two-year term, starting in June, as chair of the board of the American Red Cross of Central Illinois; he has been actively involved with the Red Cross for over a decade. Gronewold is also on the committee of a Howard & Howard community employee-funded trust that has donated more than $6 million to local charitable organizations since 1986.

Art Carden, GR03, GR06, professor of economics at Samford University’s Brock School of Business, earned the Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award in recognition of his scholarly work across his career. His research has appeared in economic journals, in USA Today and on Forbes.com, among other outlets. His collection of commentaries, Strangers with Candy: Observations from the Ordinary Business of Life, will be released this year by the American Institute for Economic Research.

Pratik Patel, LA01, GR04, is vice president of marketing for ICBiome (Innovative Computing for Biomedical Sciences), a provider of cloud-based genomics software that assists hospitals in combatting pathogens. Patel has built and launched more than 50 FDA-cleared medical products to market and led marketing teams in building brand awareness, generating demand and empowering sales to better sell medical technology.

Jayson Johnson, LA01, was elected to the San Francisco Ballet’s board of trustees.