Class Notes

Matthew Nims 99PH, Acting Director of the Office of Food for Peace at the U.S. Agency for International Development and Emory University, is one of 27 finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Matthew is being recognized for leading a team in distributing $1.4 billion in emergency food assistance to 20 million people in four nations fighting famine and threatened by violent conflicts, saving countless lives under harrowing conditions.  

Tanya Johnson 92C 01PH was recently recognized with a communication award from the CDC for her work in diabetes prevention best practice implementation

Nisha Shajahan 02PH was recently selected as a Washington Business Journal 2018 40 Under 40 honoree. Nisha is the President and CEO of Integrity Management Services Inc. (IntegrityM) and was recognized for being a standout in her industry while still finding time to impact the Greater Washington community.

Dr. Shaniece Criss 04PH was elected to the Travelers Rest City Council in South Carolina. She officially took office on April 19, 2018, and is looking forward to serving her community.

Audrey Flak Pennington 10PH 16G and her husband, Jeff, welcomed their first daughter, Julia Quinn, on July 26, 2018.

Dr. Hefei Wen 11PH 15G was selected as the 2018 recipient of the John D. Thompson Prize for Young Investigators and was honored at the 2018 AUPHA Annual Meeting.

Congratulations to Alexandra Shevach 10C 12PH who wed Ajay Premkumar on July 14, 2018 in Lessburg, VA. The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Reichmann. Kosuri Shobhanadri, a Hindu priest, led the couple in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony earlier the same day.

Carmen Price 12PH wed Eurard Alexis Mickouiza "Alex" Ganga on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN. Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Ganga!

Opal Patel 16PH is first author on a CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) article on Asthma Mortality Among Persons Aged 15-64 Years, by Industry and Occupation in the United States from 1999 to 2016.

Congratulations to Julia Greenspan 16PH and Mr. Shawn Nathaniel Skolky 15L who married on May 5, 2018. Several fellow alumni were in attendance.

Pictured from left: Suzi Campanella 16PH, Shelby Rentmeester 16PH, Hannah Nethercut 16PH, Shawn Skolky 15L, Julia Greenspan 16PH, Ben Klebanoff 15L, Lindsey Costakos 15L, Josh Combs 15L, Brita Bergland 16PH, Scott Strub 17B, and Kala Marks Raz 16PH

Everlyne Nyagaya 18PH and her husband welcomed a baby girl, Kaira, on May 14, 2018. Congratulations to Everlyne on becoming a mother and earning her MPH on the same day!

Christopher DeVore 18PH was recently honored as "Atlanta 40 under 40" by Young Government Leaders. This award honors and highlights the metro Atlanta region's top government employees under the age of 40.

Congratulations to the newest class of Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers which include the following Rollins MPH and PhD alumni: Dr. Nicholas Deputy 17G, Sharon Green 07PH, Marisa Hast 11PH, Dr. Kathleen Krause 18G, Dr. Chandresh Ladva 17G, Dr. Lisa Oakley 15G, Elizabeth Rabold 18PH, Heather Reese 12PH 17G, Dr. Rebecca Woodruff 18G.

Ann L. Brown 79PH passed away on July 14, 2018. Ann earned her RN from Jewish Hospital, her BSN from Oglethorpe University, and her MPH from Emory -- a member of the first Masters of Public Health graduating class. She worked as a genetic counselor at Emory, and served on the first board of the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics.

Shelia Cort Isoke 86PH passed away on July 7, 2018.

Dr. Jerome Berman 89PH passed away on May 31, 2018. He earned both his BS and MD degrees from Emory University. Following a two year service in the US Army Medical Corps during the Korean War, he began a solo pediatric practice tending to the medical needs of many Atlanta children. After 33 years, he ended his pediatric practice when he became blind. Despite this challenge he returned to school and received his MPH from Rollins, the first blind student to achieve that degree. He served on the executive committee of the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, as chairman of the pediatrics section of Northside Hospital, and as a member of the Center for the Visually Impaired Board of Trustees. He founded the Babies Early Growth Intervention Network (BEGIN) program for visually impaired pre-schoolers in the Southeastern United States, and made over 700 speeches on behalf of United Way and the Center for the Visually Impaired, raising much needed dollars for greater Atlanta service organizations. He received many honors for his work including a Special Award of Merit from the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for his service to the children of Georgia. He carried the Olympic Torch for the 1996 Olympic Games, he received the Carl Aven Cup from the Medical Association of Atlanta, and the Distinguished Medical Achievement Award from the Emory School of Medicine.