Class Notes

Claire Downs, LA13, is back home in Baltimore, working as an animal operations specialist at the Maryland Zoo. Downs oversaw the replacement of all lighting in animal buildings with LED bulbs, improving energy efficiency and saving the zoo thousands of dollars per year.

Jason Dorn, EN13, is a captain in the U.S. Air Force, flying C-17s at Charleston (S.C.) Air Force Base.

Bridgette Zou, LA12, FA12, shares with great pride of authorship that her debut children’s book, Norman and the Nom Nom Factory (Astra Publishing House, Starberry Books Single Titles, 2018), was featured on Julie Andrews’ podcast, “Julie’s Library.” Andrews was joined by Lee Overtree and Peter McNerney from the “Story Pirates” podcast to voice characters to help bring the book to life. Zou both wrote and illustrated the book.

Gabriel Magraner, LA12, earned a master’s degree focusing on politics and culture in Brazil and the Caribbean from New York University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Charles Jenkins III, GR12, in 2018 achieved his longtime dream of moving to Europe, where he works for consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. 

Moustapha Gassama, LW12, was appointed assistant county attorney with the litigation practice group in Harris County, Texas. As such, he is part of the Community Protection Team, a program that uses civil law to rid neighborhoods of enterprises that foster crime. Gassama previously was an assistant city attorney with the city of Houston.

Arif Soto, GR11, is a corporate and securities associate at Carmel, Milazzo & DiChiara, LLP. He represents companies in corporate and securities matters.

Kara Powder, GM11, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Clemson University, received a $1.17 million National Science Foundation CAREER Award grant to investigate gene regulatory elements that determine craniofacial development and evolution. The CAREER Award is the most prestigious NSF award for faculty members early in their careers as researchers and educators. The awards have an educational component, and Powder’s long-term goal is to increase diversity in STEM fields.

Elsa Hart, LW11, penned her fourth mystery novel, The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne (Minotaur Books, 2020), which introduces Cecily Kay, an 18th-century plant enthusiast whose fascination with botany leads her into a world of collectors, apothecaries, artists and charlatans.

Rachel Cohn, AR11, launched her own business, Virtual Party Planning, inspired by the rise in virtual events and the increase in at-home time. The company designs and plans virtual parties, from developing the concept and theme to creating the party agenda and fun, engaging activities. virtualpartyplanning.com