Alumni Association

Brookline, MA

Leigh Heyman '98 studied Philosophy at Sarah Lawrence, an experience that set him up well for a career at the intersection of technology, and civic and political action. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at Framework Homeownership, a fintech startup building technologies supporting inclusion and access for first-time and first-generation homebuyers. Previously Leigh was a White House Senior Policy Advisor and Technology Director in the Obama Administration, where he was responsible for the development and operations supporting President Obama's digital engagement. Since 2018, Leigh has also served as the Chair of The Fund for Sarah Lawrence. While at Sarah Lawrence, Leigh also joined the rowing team, and continued with the sport after graduation, eventually becoming a member of the U.S. National Team, competing at the World Championships and winning multiple national championships. In 2019 Leigh was inducted into the SLC Sports Hall Of Fame. In addition to his SLC degree, Leigh holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. He currently lives in Brookline, MA with his wife, daughter, and cat.

Baltimore, MD

Khaliah Williams '02 began her career in college admissions and counseling as a Sarah Lawrence tour guide and senior interviewer in the Office of Admission. After graduation she joined the office as an Admission Counselor and later as the Director of Multicultural Recruitment. She received her MFA in Fiction Writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has published her short stories and nonfiction at the Hawaii Women’s Journal, Frontier Psychiatrist, Buzzfeed Book Country, Day One, American Short Fiction and Day One Year One Best New Stories & Poems 2014. She is also a fellow at the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction. While at Sarah Lawrence Khaliah studied Italian, Literature, and Film History and credits Judy Serafini-Sauli, Bill Park, and Cristina Anzilotti for shaping her SLC experience. She is currently a college counselor at the Berkeley Carroll School and a Fiction Writing instructor at the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop.

Montclair, NJ

New York, NY

Sean Campbell's stories focus at the intersection of social justice, race, and public health. His articles have prompted action from members of Congress, change in the CDC, and contributed to changing Twitter's policy, among other forms of impact. His investigations have covered topics ranging from racism and discrimination in Doctors Without Borders, to disproportionate federal sentences for George Floyd protesters, to children being shot in Flint, Michigan, to nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. His pieces on disproportionate gunshot death rates in New York City sparked conversations about hospital trauma care, promises for action from local politicians, and discussion within the data journalism community on combining gun violence and health reporting. Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, the facility at the center of that investigation, launched a new trauma wing this year. His interrogation of the "Craigslist" of gun sales formed the basis for a lawsuit against Armlist.com, and his pandemic reporting has spurred legislation by state lawmakers. Sean's story on the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s finances was one of the lead features for New York magazine’s “Ten Years Since Trayvon” issue, which was honored with a 2023 National Magazine Award. He's received the 2021 Excellence in Journalism Award by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, the 2020 Les Payne Award for Coverage on Communities of Color from the Society of Professional Journalists' Deadline Club, and a Sidney Award from the Hillman Foundation, among other recognitions. His feature work has been published by Rolling Stone, ProPublica, and Insider, among other outlets. He's also published short stories with the Bellevue Literary Review and Hayden's Ferry Review.

He is an adjunct assistant professor in the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and holds a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida, a master of fine arts in writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and a master of science degree from Columbia Journalism School.

Atlanta, Georgia

 

Williamstown, MA

Baltimore, MD

After receiving her BA in '93 and MSEd in '94 from SLC, Melanie returned to her native Baltimore to teach middle school. In 2001, she was hired to lead the Single Step Program at the Community College of Baltimore County, developing new career certifications and courses for individuals with disabilities, developing training  partnerships with state and local government, and supervising and coaching teachers.  During her tenure, Single Step grew from eight students to over 300.  Melanie and her program were honored with  five local and statewide awards between 2012 and 2016. She left CCBC in February 2019 to start her own education consulting company.

Between 2004 and 2012, Melanie was a founder and board president of Patterson Park Public Charter School in Baltimore, chair of the Parent and Community Advisory Board for Baltimore’s school system, and member of Baltimore’s New and Charter School Advisory Board. As part of a small team, she attended the Public Education Leadership Project at the Harvard Business School drafting recommendations Common Core transition in Baltimore. She currently serves on the board of the Fund for Educational Excellence.

Locust, NJ

Sarah Blanche Klein '20 is all about sharing happiness with the world in every way! On the job as an Assistant Buyer at Bloomingdales, through continuous volunteer efforts, and with general day-to-day-non-stop-action… this alum is determined to strengthen and illuminate her community! Sarah’s SLC academics covered global inequalities, public policy, marketing, and philanthropy. Her extracurriculars let her passions shine. Some highlights included student government, The Fund for SLC, admissions, athletics, and freelance mascotting (sshhhh! don’t tell anyone). Sarah has loved playing her part on the regional events subcommittee with the association and wants to give a special shoutout to everyones’ efforts on Reunion 2022! What’s next? She’s all ears to make it happen!

Washington, DC

Alex Leff '00, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, is a digital editor on the international desk at NPR in Washington, D.C. After completinghis BA at Sarah Lawrence College in 2000 (largely in social sciences, but with many arts and music courses in between), he moved to Barcelona, where he taught English, resumed studying piano and choir singing as he had done at SLC — this time performing with a Catalan chorus in centuries-old churches. While in Europe he eventually discovered his passion: international journalism. He completed a master’s in journalism taught at the University of Barcelona in conjunction with Columbia University, and became a reporter at a local newspaper. He soon relocated to San José, Costa Rica, where he edited stories at The Tico Times newspaper and went on to report for Reuters, GlobalPost and other publications. There he also met his future wife, Jessica Webb, an environmental conservation professional. The two finally moved back to the U.S. in 2012, first to Boston for a few years, and now in Washington, where they live in a little old rowhouse and recently adopted a rescue dog from Puerto Rico.

Washington, DC

Ouida Maedel '06 has served as a Theater and Musical Theater Specialist at the NationalEndowment for the Arts since 2018, where she manages a diverse portfolio of applicants and grantees seeking funding for arts projects across all 50 states and the U.S. territories.

Previously, she was the Grants Manager at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC.  In that capacity, she leveraged more than a decade of experience in theatre performance and production to maximize efficiency and collaboration in institutional fundraising efforts and special project management including Woolly’s participation in the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Adaptive Capacity program, the Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative, and the Weissberg Foundation’s Fund for Diversity in Theater.  While at Woolly Mammoth, Ouida also served as an inaugural co-chair of the theatre’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group. 

Prior to her work at Woolly Mammoth, Ouida led artistic producing efforts for Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, MD as Partnerships and Production Manager. Notable projects under her supervision were How to Lose a Mountain which included a 500-mile hike and community engagement tour from Washington, DC to West Virginia and culminated in an award-winning National Performance Network commission for the stage, and Bricks & Bones, a multi-site performance series developed in partnership with Dallas Faces Race. She has also worked with New York City based organizations Move This World, 13th Street Repertory Company, and NYU Tisch’s Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute where she was a Stage Manager in Residence, among others.
Ouida has served as a mentor for early-career stage managers through USITT’s Stage Management Mentor Project, and Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for the American theatre, named her a Rising Leader of Color in 2016. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MA in International Communication and Arts Management from American University, where she was a recipient of the Dean’s Award in the School of International Service. 

New York, NY

Halie May MS '18 is a graduate of the Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College. Upon graduating in 2018, she began working at the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), where she led research in the areas of rare disease-gene discovery and the genetics of cerebral palsy, publishing her first manuscripts and joining the ranks of faculty in just a couple of years. She left CUIMC to work as a private genetics consultant, and is currently creating direct-to-consumer genetic testing panels at Tomorrow's Health. Halie is Chair of the New York State Genetics Task Force's Public Policy Committee, and leads the efforts in passing New York state's bill for genetic counseling licensure. Halie is committed to increasing access to genetic counselors and conducting research that results in actionable information and transformative healthcare. She is grateful for the widespread alumni-base of the Joan H. Marks Graduate Program, and is proud to be an alumni of the first genetic counseling program in the country!

Chicago, IL

Tasha F. Neumeister '99 focused her studies on developmental psychology, African American literature, and creative writing while at Sarah Lawrence. During her junior year, she participated in the now discontinued Florence program, which had a pivotal influence on her world view and fostered a love of opera and Italian culture.

After graduating, Tasha earned a master’s degree in newspaper and online journalism from Syracuse University. She went on to become a multimedia journalist for several NPR affiliates and print media outlets in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago. Covering topics from economics and municipal government to education and politics, a highlight of her journalism career was covering the 2008 presidential election and the ultimate election of President Barack Obama.

Tasha now works in higher education communications and faculty development, having won numerous accolades and serving on the board of PRSA’s Counselors to Higher Education. A  native of Los Angeles, Tasha finds herself still adapting to Midwest winters after living in Chicago for more than a decade. In her free time, she spends time fighting for racial equity and inclusivity in K-12 public schools and hanging out and indulging the curiosities with her two little people.

New York, NY

Denne Michele Norris MFA '12 is the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature, winner of the 2022 Whiting Literary Magazine Prize. She is the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. A 2021 Out100 Honoree, her writing has been supported by MacDowell, Tin House, and the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction, and appears in McSweeney's, American Short Fiction, and ZORA. Her short story Last Rites appears in Everyday People: The Color of Life, an anthology published by Atria Books in 2018, and her story Daddy's Boy appears in the new anthology Forward: 21st Century Flash Fiction. Her fiction has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her story Where Every Boy is Known and Loved was a finalist for the 2018 Best Small Fictions Prize. She is a 2019 Peter Taylor Fellow at The Kenyon Review Fiction Workshop. She is the former Fiction Editor for both Apogee Journal and The Rumpus, and is co-host of the critically-acclaimed podcast Food 4 Thot. Her debut novel, When The Harvest Comes, is forthcoming from Random House.

New York, NY

Philadelphia, PA

Slade Roff '12 studied social psychology, theater and languages (Spanish and Italian) during her time at Sarah Lawrence. After graduating, Slade moved to Philadelphia where she developed great friendships and even happened to stumble upon her now-husband, Jeff. Slade holds a Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from The University of Pennsylvania--with a concentration in direct clinical practice. Currently, Slade serves as a mental health counselor at Thomas Jefferson University and has recently entered into private practice. Slade is passionate about working with the emerging adult population and credits her Sarah Lawrence experience for her desire to work with college students. Slade has always recognized the uniqueness of the Sarah Lawrence education, but since working in college/university settings for eight years, Slade has grown a deeper appreciation for the academic freedom Sarah Lawrence provided.

Austin, TX

Benjamin J. Salazar, ’95, MSEd ’96, was mentored at Sarah Lawrence by Sara Wilford, who taught him that not only was there an art to teaching, but also that teaching itself is a lifelong vocation, if the passion remains.  While finishing his undergraduate degree, Benjamin served as a cultural expert for the Organization of American States throughout Latin America on a multi-year economic development initiative that provided technical and sales assistance to indigenous women entrepreneurs working in sustainable materials.  During his graduate studies, he simultaneously directed an arts program in the New York City public schools.  Benjamin’s grandparents were California farmworkers, and as the graduate commencement speaker, he remembers the thrill of sharing the podium with Cornel West and publicly having the opportunity to give thanks to his family and to Sarah Lawrence for all their support.

After graduation, Benjamin taught for two years in Westchester public schools before returning to graduate school full-time for his MBA at UNC, Chapel Hill, where he received a full fellowship and was a teaching assistant in economics.  He was a consultant for HP to begin his corporate experience, and later worked for American Express, Citigroup, The Richards Group and BBVA USA in roles that included business development, marketing, strategic planning and commercial lending, where his practice focused on business owners and entrepreneurs. 

He currently lives and works in Austin, TX for the Technology & Life Science division of a bank that provides capital to venture-backed technology startups.  His clients represent many sectors, and all stages of growth from inception to post-IPO.  He also mentors and advises numerous startups in the ecosystem and is active in various investor networks.  He is a gallery teacher for the Blanton Museum of Art and is involved with the Austin Music Foundation’s artist development program.  Benjamin has also recently begun fundraising for a nonprofit, The Mexican Coalition, that provides infrastructure, public health, and legal aid programs and opportunities for youth in rural, migrant-sending communities throughout Mexico and Central America.  

Baltimore, MD

B Dean Skibinski '96 spent his years at Sarah Lawrence immersed in comparative literature, philosophy, and film theory, and fully intended to pursue a Ph.D. in comparative literature before falling unexpectedly into graphic design and the visual arts shortly after graduation. From production designer in the dynamic in-house design studio of a large New York City nonprofit, to sole designer in the Honolulu office of a global risk management firm, to his current role as creative director leading the design teams of a global law firm, Dean has spent years honing the crafts of visual storytelling, design direction, and brand strategizing. And, he credits his experiences at Sarah Lawrence, and his time spent learning from Bella Brodzki, Elfie Raymond, and Gil Perez, with his abilities to do so. Dean is an active member of AIGA the professional association for design, and spends his free time consuming new art and film. He lives with his tuxedo and black cats Drusilla and Dorian in Baltimore.

Sarah Lawrence holds a very special place in Dean’s heart, and he looks forward to engaging with fellow alums, to maintaining the rich, diverse community we share, and to contributing to the future intellectual, creative, and fiscal vitality of this very special College.

New York, NY

Adam Treitler '15 is a data-driven people advocate with a personal and professional mission to empower workers in the entertainment industry with clarity, compassion, and collaborative technologies. Adam graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Fall 2014 where he concentrated in Poetry and Film & TV Production. After freelancing in unscripted development at an eOne production company and working part-time at an eco-friendly startup company, Adam landed his first full-time position at Viacom in July 2015. Since then, he has grown from a recruiting assistant into a dynamic Talent Acquisition Operations and Process role. Currently, Adam implements new technologies, redesigns recruiting processes, and delivers insights to business leadership. He is an active member of the NYC HR Analytics community, a frequent partner with Sarah Lawrence’s Office of Career Services, and Co-Chair of Viacom’s Emerging Leadership group. He lives in Manhattan where he explores new foods and films on a weekly basis.

Los Angeles, CA

Emma Tynan ’20 studied filmmaking, writing, and literature at Sarah Lawrence. Following her graduation, Emma earned a master’s degree at USC in entertainment law. Throughout her time at the College, she was an active member of multiple committees such as General Committee and Curriculum Committee. Emma currently works as an assistant talent segment researcher at Late Night with Seth Meyers. She is working toward becoming a talk show or news producer with the goal of creating innovative, comical and progressive content that pushes the boundaries of non-fiction storytelling.

She is beyond grateful for the enchanting academic experience she had at the College where she developed treasured relationships with an extraordinary battalion of professors, staff and peers (you know who you are!). She has two dogs, Woody and Rizzo, and they are the most precious cinnamon rolls on earth.

New York, NY