Center for Global Health Practice and Impact supports Haitians living with HIV
10
TALKING WITH TED
DC sports team owner Ted Leonsis (C’77, Parent’14 , ’15) discusses entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and embracing a liberal arts life.
16
FASHION FORWARD
Georgetown alumni and students bring values and vision to build a more sustainable model for the clothing industry.
22
HELPING IN HAITI
Te Center for Global Health Practice and Impact works to support people with HIV through medication and care.
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CONNECTING POLICY WITH PEOPLE
New downtown home for McCourt School ofers intentional space for policy study, collaboration, and transformation.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Like many of you, I enjoyed watching coverage of the Paris Olympics a few months ago. Among the stories of athletic achievement, there are always a few that focus on sportsmanship, team camaraderie, and prioritizing mental health. It got me thinking about what it takes to f nd success in our chosen endeavors.
One of our stories for this issue focuses on Georgetown’s banner year for Rhodes and Marshall Scholars. You might wonder why Georgetown students are so very successful with these prestigious awards year after year. What is our secret? Te answer surprised me. Each year, the Center for Research and Fellowships identi fes a student cohort of applicants. Tough they are in direct competition, they support one another throughout the application process. In a world that seems mired in antagonism and rivalry, it brought me so much joy to learn about the success of this approach.
Our feature stories also shine a light on paths to success and impact for Hoyas. Tere’s Ted Leonsis (C’77, Parent’14 , ’15) talking about “living a liberal arts life,” a Georgetown team saving lives in Haiti with HIV treatment, and a group of Hoyas who have dedicated their careers to f nding sustainable paths forward in the fashion industry.
We are also excited to celebrate two Georgetown institutions—the Chimes and the Georgetown Scholars Program—as well as show of some new spaces and initiatives.
In our alumni pages, you will learn about an alumnus running an international nonproft and an alumna creating care kits for cancer patients. Tese and other stories are so inspirational because they show Hoyas living the “people for others” mindset.
And don’t miss the GUAA Corner introducing the association’s new president, Fitz O. Lufkin IV (C’11 , G’12). I especially enjoyed learning about what the phrase Utraque Unum means to him and also how his mentor encouraged him to seek this new role with our alumni association.
Keep us posted on all your accomplishments, especially those made possible by a word of advice from a professor or fellow alum. Together we are stronger!
—Camille
Scarborough, Editorial Team Lead
Four Hoyas competed in this summer’s Olympics. Kirsten Kasper (B’13, G’14) joined Team USA’s triathlon team. Women’s basketball player Brianna Jones (B’19, G’20) represented Puerto Rico. Angolan rower André Matias (L’19) competed in the lightweight double sculls event. And Jaden Marchan (B’28) joined Trinidad and Tobago’s men’s 4x400m relay squad.
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Fall 2024, Volume 55, Number 2 Georgetown Magazine (ISSN 1074-8784)
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A new home for Georgetown’s Ofce of Student Equity & Inclusion
Georgetown’s O fce of Student Equity & Inclusion (OSEI) has a new home on the lower level of New South for its ofces and all fve of its f agship undergraduate programs: the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access, the Community Scholars Program, the Disability Cultural Center, the Women’s Center, and the LGBTQ Resource Center.
Previously located in the Leavey Center, OSEI was established in 2019 to help lead equity and inclusion eforts across the Hilltop campus through a three-pillar strategic approach prioritizing integration, collaboration, and consultation.
Te design of the new space helps ful f ll that mission by encouraging cross collaboration and communication among programs while also improving students’ access to resources, and fostering a sense of belonging for students from historically underrepresented communities.
“ T is space welcomes everyone and sees them for who they are and what they will become,” says Eleanor JB Daugherty, vice president for student a fairs.
Te 10, 140 -square-foot space houses a state-of-the-art sensory room, a f rst for any college in the Washington, DC, area. It also features 31 student work stations, two lounges, four conference rooms, a multipurpose room, and a communal kitchen. Students also have access to assistive listening technology, fooring conducive to mobility devices, chairs for di ferent body types, and wellness spaces including soundproof rooms for students to attend individual counseling sessions.
—Kimberly Clarke
Photos: Georgetown University
In addition to comfortable lounge and meeting spaces, the new Ofce of Student Equity & Inclusion features a sensory area (lower right) with custom sensory art, interactive light technology, bean bags, weighted stufed animals, and stim tools and toys for students to use.
Georgetown Scholars Program celebrates its 20th anniversary
For 20 years, the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) has provided holistic wraparound support for thousands of f rstgeneration, low-income college students to help them fourish on the Hilltop and beyond. Te program, guided by the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, has served over 2,600 students by ofering resources curated to meet their needs, including f nancial support for urgent needs, career opportunities, and community building events—all of which empower students and cultivate their sense of belonging. GSP boasts a 94% graduation rate for f rst-generation students, compared to 26% among those students nationwide.
“GSP’s success is as a community-driven efort that positions students to show up as fully themselves—with their unique voices and resourceful perspectives—in
the classroom, in their dorms, and in their internships,” says Melissa “Missy” Foy, GSP executive director. “And the most dynamic impact the program has is the way those 2,000+ graduates are changing the world in small and big ways.”
Founded in 2004 by the O fce of Undergraduate Admissions and the O fce of Student Financial Services with generous support from alumni, GSP’s initial mission focused on reducing students’ f nancial burdens. GSP expanded its program with the assistance of Amy Hang (C’09), a student in GSP’s f rst cohort and the program’s f rst paid student employee. For Hang and the inaugural GSP class, a combination of services was needed to ensure they could thrive on the Hilltop.
“Two decades later I’m amazed at how GSP has grown while maintaining the strong sense of community and unwavering commitment to student wellness,” says Max Rerucha (SFS’09), a member of GSP’s f rst cohort and founding member of GSP’s Student Board. “ Te GSP sta f, supporters, and student leaders from the f rst GSP Class of 2009 fostered the original GSP community and recognized its tremendous potential for growth.”
In 2010, GSP introduced the Necessity Fund, which supplies microgrants covering students’ unexpected, out-of-pocket emergency expenses. Professional development microgrants have also helped upper-level students engage in pre-professional opportunities by covering costs of submitting grad school applications and traveling to interviews.
To provide more comprehensive preparation for rst-year students transitioning to college life, GSP launched its 12-week Mastering the Hidden Curriculum course in Fall 2018, which demysti fes the unwritten rules of higher education that are critical to students’ academic and career success.
GSP heads into its third decade bolstered by the philanthropic support of an active community of alumni and friends, whose contributions ensure that the program can continue to create an equitable college experience for Georgetown students. GSP’s future goals include serving more students, launching a course on navigating life after college for seniors, more funding for scholarships, and the expansion of GSP’s sister program, the Community Scholars Program.
—Kimberly Clarke
The Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP)’s student board started the #GSProud campaign in 2014 to allow students to publicly and proudly self-identify as frst-generation and/or low-income.
Photos: Rafael Suanes
Chimes community carries on traditions
Founded in 1946 by Francis (Frank) E. Jones (G’48, G’52), the Georgetown Chimes have grown from a barbershop quartet to an a cappella group with more than 286 members.
“I think what drew me most to the Chimes is their outstanding tradition of alumni connections,” says Christian Kim (C’25, G’26), current music director. “ Te Chimes have a unique repertoire of more than 150 songs. You can have four Chimes from diferent eras performing together, and they will know the same songs. I really enjoy the fact that I’ll be a Chime forever, not just during my undergrad years.”
Tis past February, the Chimes’ annual Cherry Tree Massacre event celebrated the group’s 50th anniversary with a performance featuring all living Chimes members from the frst show in 1974
Te Cherry Tree Massacre is the group’s biggest alumni gathering event, according to Kim. Te intriguing name, originally selected to increase attendees for the frst show, still continues to draw crowds. Tis year’s event had a large alumni turnout and raised enough funds to send Chimes members to Dublin for a John Carroll Weekend performance.
“We try to go to John Carroll Weekend every year, but it depends on funds. We rely on the generosity of the alumni,” says Kim.
CREATIVITY AND COLLABORATION
Kim couldn’t attend this year’s JCW event, but other alumni were ready to fll in, knowing the extensive song list by heart.
“I think that one of the magical things about the Chimes is that there are a lot of relationships that have the ability to pass the barriers of time,” says Kim. “It doesn’t really matter what age you are or what you do. We are all connected through this group and the songs we’ve sung.”
In addition to bonding over music, the Chimes maintain a strong sense of community with a proud tradition of giving back to Georgetown, especially in their support for the Joseph Mark Lauinger Memorial Library. Te library’s namesake, Joseph Lauinger (C’67), was a Chimes alumnus who died in the Vietnam War in 1970
To honor his legacy, Dave Walsh (C’58) led eforts to establish the library’s largest fund, the Georgetown Chimes Endowment, in 1990. In 2000, the Chimes established another library fund, the Gerald F. Yates Chimes Endowment. Whether through songs or support, the Chimes continue to give back to Georgetown the only way they know how: in unison.
—Nowshin Chowdhury
Photo: Georgetown University Archives
Georgetown Chimes making a guest appearance at the First Annual Barbershop Quartet Contest in March 1950. Pictured, left to right: Frank Jones; Jack Farrell; Ray O’Hara; Ray O’Brien; Frank Owens; Reid Broderick; and Tom Zirpolo.
David Strout, manager of the Maker Hub in Lauinger Library, made this guitar using 3-D printers. He runs the facility and leads free workshops for students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Mission & Ministry team welcomes Andrew Downing, S.J.
Father Andrew Downing, S.J., has joined the Georgetown community to serve as the Director of Ignatian Programs in the O fce of Mission & Ministry.
Prior to coming to Georgetown in August 2024 , he was committed to similar work at Saint Peter’s University, where he was the Vice President for Mission & Ministry, and at the Pontifcal Gregorian University, the Jesuit university in Rome, where he taught the theology faculty.
Kelly Rankin
Among his responsibilities at Georgetown is planning special events for Jesuit Heritage Month each November. “Some will be educational, some participatory. I’d like to involve the community in di ferent ways—through religious, academic, and even artistic experiences,” he says.
Fr. Downing will also oversee Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life, a program that helps faculty and sta f incorporate meditation and prayer into their daily routines with work, family, and other pursuits.
“ Te spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius are at the heart of the Jesuit spirtuality: how to live with God and live with others,” explains Downing. “It’s what we as Jesuits try to model and it’s a key part of the spirit that we want to infuse throughout Georgetown.”
Downing looks forward to his work with faculty and sta f, including retreats on the Hilltop and at Georgetown’s Calcagnini Contemplative Center in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
He’ll also be working with students, especially those who are part of the Alpha Sigma Nu honor society. Each year 50 students are inducted into this national honor society. Only juniors and seniors in the top 15% of their class who have demonstrated both a commitment to service and a dedication to Jesuit ideals are eligible for membership.
“ Tat’s one of the things I have enjoyed most in my career: working with students,” adds Downing. “I look forward to getting to know the community and helping them better understand the spirit behind Georgetown’s Jesuit values.”
—Camille Scarborough
Institute launches frst gender-specifc confict tracker
In March 2024 , the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) launched the Women, Peace and Security Con f ict Tracker (WPS Con f ict Tracker), the f rst tracker developed to provide gender-sensitive insights into today’s global con f icts.
Spearheaded by Ambassador Melanne Verveer (SLL’66, G’69, Parent’94), executive director of GIWPS, the WPS Con f ict Tracker brings together real-time data points and original analysis for 25 countries around the world that are at risk of, currently experiencing, or transitioning from armed con f ict.
“Our world is beset by a lot of terrible challenges. It’s almost as if con f ict and war are the new normal,” says Verveer, who previously served as the f rst U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues. “Since working at Georgetown, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how useful it could be to track these crises, wars, and con f icts from a gender perspective.”
“[The WPS Confict Tracker] analyzes what’s going on, informs us of how it’s afecting women, and then examines critical intervention points.”
Verveer notes that other organizations track wars and other crises, but none do so “from the speci fc point of view of women.” Te WPS Con f ict Tracker “analyzes what’s going on, informs us of how it’s a fecting women, and then examines critical intervention points.”
—Lauren M. Poteat
Photo:
Dancing with purpose
When Darlene Leysath Robinson (SFS’87) and Valerie Settles McDowell (B’87) were students, they noticed a void in Black representation and activities engaging Black students at Georgetown University, they founded a student group called Black Movements Dance Teatre (BMDT). Under the founding principle of expressing the Black experience through artistic expression, BMDT thrived.
Now a performance course led by the company’s Artistic Director, Alfreda Davis, BMDT is a pre-professional dance theater committed to telling stories illuminating the multilayered history of Black people.
“We dance with a purpose,” says Davis. “It’s more than beauty in motion. We’re presenting deeply rooted stories, while honoring, uplifting, and celebrating our rich culture.”
For over 15 years, Davis has taught the BMDT performance class, recruited professional visiting artists, directed the company, and led its productions.
“Our shows are a vulnerable expression of what truly troubles us as people, as college students, as Black students or students of color at Georgetown as well,” explains Aliyah Williams (SFS’20), former student director and choreographer.
“As we expand and diversify,” says Davis, “I believe in upholding BMDT’s mission, while providing students with the opportunity to raise their artistic voices.”
Under Davis’s direction, BMDT puts community service at the forefront of organizational goals. She has choreographed BMDT performances at the Kennedy Center and led
community master classes including one featuring Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin.
“Ms. Alfreda makes that company. Te students play a huge role, but the history she has—not only with the company, but as a dancer and a Black woman in the world—makes BMDT the company it is,” says Princess Fuller (SFS’13, L’17), former BMDT dancer, choreographer, and student co-director.
Davis emphasizes that her direction supports the work of the student-managed executive board leading BMDT. “Arts administration is a part of the artistic process, so students are involved in production planning through the Department of Performing Arts,” says Davis.
“We did everything. We picked out the costumes, handled the budget, and created the programs,” recalls Fuller. “I don’t think we were always good at it, but we tried.”
Being a part of a self-producing company has created a strong sense of community at Georgetown, says current dancer and choreographer Rams-Lyne Tomas (C’25). “ Te family maintained within BMDT transcends into other areas of your life.”
Years after graduation, the BMDT alumni have remained dedicated to dance. “What I learned translates not just to work, but in life,” says Fuller. “When it’s time to perform, it’s all hands on deck. When you give someone your word, you do it.”
Davis explains, “I tell my students that the work you do here, the discipline that it takes to be in a leadership role, it’s preparing you for your life beyond Georgetown.”
—Racquel Nassor
In addition to fall and spring performances, Black Movements
Dance Theatre (BMDT) ofers master classes with guest artists and community events.
Photo: Donald Tsusaki
Eight Hoyas named Marshall and Rhodes Scholars
2024 was a banner year for Georgetown and the Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF) with fve Marshall Scholar wins and three Rhodes Scholar wins.
Te CRF identifes strong candidates for these highly competitive awards, then supports them in their application eforts.
According to CRF Director Lauren Tuckley, the key to their success is creating a peer community, despite the fact that they are competing against each other.
“I come at this process with an ethos that says ‘if you can’t help somebody else and imagine how their success is as important, if not more than yours, you can’t win,’” says Tuckley. “And so we create an atmosphere that decentralizes the competition. In doing that, we center their development.”
“We create an atmosphere that decentralizes the competition. In doing that, we center their development.”
—LAUREN TUCKLEY
Even if a student doesn’t win the scholarship, they are rewarded with cohorts who push them to be their best. Te CRF helps them form friendships and a future alumni network.
Each year, about 100 to 200 applicants show interest in applying, and 50 to 60 apply for nomination. Last year, CRF nominated 20 students and young alumni, but they want to work with even more.
“I think our value is not necessarily the fact that eight people won,” says Tuckley. “Our value is in the people who come through this ofce: they are using their talents, intellectual interests, and expertise in service of a greater purpose.”
Te fve Marshall Scholars are Adrian Ali-Caccamo (SFS’24), who plans to address inequity in U.S. education; Hari Choudhari (SFS’24), who plans to build peace in the U.S. by giving voice to victims and local communities; Naomi
Greenberg (C’24), who plans to understand and contribute to the feld of genetics; Michael Lundgren (SFS’22), who plans to study disparities in early childhood education, and Anya Wahal (SFS’23), who plans to become an academic practitioner in water policy management.
Te three Rhodes Scholarship recipients are Tomas Batterman (C’22), a researcher who investigates war crimes at the Department of Justice and who made new discoveries about a medieval plague while at Georgetown; Zhicheng (Charlie) Wang (SFS’22), a technology policy researcher and Schwarzman Scholar; and Asma Shakeel (SFS’24), a senior who researches missionary history in South Asia.
—Nowshin Chowdhury
150 YEARS OF GEORGETOWN FOOTBALL
In Fall 1874, a group of students banded together to develop an intercollegiate football program. With no college opponents within 200 miles, the sport was initially confined to the intramural ranks.
Illustration: iStock
Hacking for social good
In 2015, Taylor Wan (C’16) and Casandra Schwartz (C’16) founded Hoya Hacks to “put Georgetown on the map for computer science.” Te competition and learning/networking event now attracts more than 300 participants each year.
During their early years at Georgetown, Wan and Schwartz participated in hackathons at other schools, practicing software skills like writing code and producing an application. According to Wan, hackathons are a way “to meet people and to get applicable experience in computer science. It’s the kind of experience you can usually get from an internship, but those are hard to get without any experience.”
On a ride back to Georgetown after one hackathon, Wan and Schwartz wondered, “Why do we have to travel for this? Why don’t we create a hackathon?”
“Georgetown’s computer science program is small but mighty,” says Wan. “We thought a hackathon would be a perfect way to demonstrate that.”
During their senior year, Wan and Schwartz worked with Lisa Singh, computer science professor, and CIO Judd Nicholson to establish Hoya Hacks with an evergreen theme of “Hacking for Social Good,” in recognition of the university’s Jesuit tradition.
Teir timing was fortuitous. Around the same time, Joshua Meredith, who was working as an administrator at the School of Continuing Studies, was in conversation with several deans and directors to determine how Georgetown could highlight
its strengths as a technology university despite not having an engineering school. Someone suggested the possibility of hosting a hackathon. Nicholson introduced Meredith to Wan and Schwartz, and they joined forces to grow the event.
Now in its second decade, Hoya Hacks is spearheaded by Meredith, now a senior project manager for University Information Services. It is an integral member of Major League Hacking (MLH), the ofcial student hackathon league that powers over 300 hackathons each year.
For Hoya Hacks, approximately 300 students from the DC area and beyond come to the Healey Family Student Center with sleeping bags and computer devices for a weekend of learning and competition. Tere’s no fee to participate, and thanks to corporate sponsorship, there are cash prizes for the winners.
Teams have three to f ve participants. Students who arrive alone or who have never competed in a hackathon are connected with a team. Between listening to speakers and working with their teams, students can meet with sponsors about internships and careers.
“Hoya Hacks really embodies social good for others, a pillar of the university,” says Meredith. “ Te projects we have created and the community we have built over the last decade showcase the ingenuity of the student organizers and the power of Georgetown.”
—Leslye Colvin
At Hoya Hacks 2024, Annika Lin (C’24), Maggie Shen (B’22), Reed Uhlik (C’25), and Sameer Tirumala (B’25) were awarded the Cloudforce-Microsoft AI Track Prize and second place overall prize for HoyaHelper, a virtual admissions bot to help prospective students learn about the university.
Photo: Courtesy of Hoya Hacks
Photo: Ned Dishman
On living a liberal arts life
BY JANE VARNER MALHOTRA DESIGN BY ETHAN JEON
Tis summer Georgetown Magazine sat down with Ted Leonsis (C’77, Parent’14, ’15) to learn about his Georgetown story, talk a little sports, and consider new frontiers for entrepreneurial endeavors. First in his family to attend college, the American Studies major went on to a successful career in technology, and later became owner of several DC sports teams including the Mystics, Wizards, and Caps through his company Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Leonsis received Georgetown’s prestigious John Carroll Award in 2010 and has served on the Board of Directors and Board of Regents. He remains deeply committed to his alma mater, supporting the performing arts and the American Studies program, and becoming involved in growing Georgetown’s entrepreneurship programs.
How has family shaped you?
I’m from a close-knit extended Greek family. I was an only child and my parents were older when I was born. My wife and I spent a lot of time with our two children as they grew up and our household was f lled with love. My family is my number one source of joy— every day I count my blessings that we are healthy and contributing to the world. I have four grandkids and a f fth on the way. Grandparenting is the greatest gig ever.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Our rental apartment was across the street from a park in a very diverse neighborhood, a working-class community with Black, Filipino, Swedish, and Puerto Rican friends. It was a positive, unique experience, even though some would say it was underprivileged. It made me relate better to di ferent people, and have more empathy.
My parents got home from work at 6:30, and I’d get out of school at 3. I had to occupy myself each afternoon, which I did with sports. I played basketball, baseball, touch football. Outside the fenced feld were benches. Te kids who were on the teams with coaches and other players did okay, but the kids who
sat on the benches started drinking beer, or snif ng glue to get high, or smoking pot, and then deeper things.
My best friend and neighbor used to play sports but stopped, and ended up on those benches. When I was 16, he and others tried to rob a pharmacy, and he was shot and killed. Tat was a dramatic moment, and my parents decided to move to Lowell, Massachusetts, where my grandparents had immigrated to work in the mills.
How did you end up at Georgetown?
I needed a job so I went to the library—books are so important to me—and read How to Mow Lawns. I started knocking on doors of houses with big lawns to ofer my services. Some people didn’t even answer the door, but one did and he seemed to enjoy my patter. He asked if I’d ever mowed a lawn and I said no, but I read this book and could ofer a Wembley cut. He said “Here’s my lawn mower—let’s see how you do.” It took me four hours but it looked great! He hired me to do his lawn every week.
Toward the end of the summer he asked if I was going to college. He gave me a brochure from Georgetown where he went, and later wrote my recommendation. His name was Jim Shannon [C’50, Parent’73, ’74 , ’75, ’76, ’79, ’91].
So yes, I had chutzpah. I could go to the library, get the book, and knock on doors. But if he hadn’t been home, or didn’t answer the door and listen to me, who knows how things would’ve gone for me. Tat’s why I like to spend a little time, give someone a break.
I didn’t say to my dad, “Will you introduce me to someone?” He didn’t know anyone who could help me. He was looking for a job himself at the time. When I knocked, probably 30 people did not answer the door, or they shut it in my face. It only took one.
Why did you choose American Studies for your major?
I went shopping around in di ferent classes but liked Father Joseph Durkin, a Jesuit in his 90s who became my mentor. He explained that if you’re not going to be an engineer or a mathematician, there’s no one clear answer, even on God, like the Problem of God class. Tat’s why you learn to be critical in your thinking, to take this menu and get a bigger life view. American Studies promised that.
Pictured in his senior year, Leonsis graduated from the College with a degree in American Studies. After a successful career in the tech industry, he founded Monumental Sports & Entertainment where he serves as chairman and CEO.
Photo: Courtesy of Ted Leonsis
How did you get interested in the tech industry? My Junior year we did an interdisciplinary thesis. I was working in the library at the time, reshelving. I was behind on starting my thesis so I found a skinny book: Te Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I discussed it with Father Durkin and he said, “You’re mailing it in. Go read some of his other stu f,” which I did. It struck me that Te Old Man and the Sea was very di ferent, and I thought maybe he wrote it as a young journalist, but published it later. Father Durkin said we could try proving it using a computer—we had one on campus in the registrar’s ofce. He introduced me to a linguistics professor and she helped me create an algorithm using the f rst 5000 words of the book.
Based on measures like how many words per sentence and sentences per paragraph that were typical for a time period, the computer said it was written in the 1940s, not the 1950s. It was a “wow” moment, and I ended up winning a prize for the best junior thesis.
After graduating, I was hired at Wang Laboratories as one of their f rst liberal arts hires, and began my career in tech. I then created a software directory magazine, and sold that company. I started another company which was bought by AOL, and that brought me back to DC. All roads lead to Georgetown for me.
Did you have other favorite professors or activities?
Dr. Emmet Curran and Dr. Dorothy Brown, who taught history, and Dr. Hugh Cloke, in the English Department. At Georgetown, I got involved in everything, because I was paying for it. My roommates sometimes would oversleep and not go to class. I was working three jobs and I had loans, so I went to every class.
How do you stay connected with Georgetown today?
Georgetown is very meaningful in my life and career, to my entire family. I work with entrepreneurship at the business school: Bark Tank, Venture Lab, all of that continues to have deep ties to what we do here at Monumental Sports and my philanthropy with the family. It just seemed like a natural outgrowth of work that we’ve done and work that we’ll continue to do.
Why is entrepreneurship important, and how is it evolving at Georgetown?
When I came to Georgetown in the mid ’70s, there was no entrepreneurial movement. Your career path was pretty much set: law or consulting. Tere wasn’t an established tech or venture community. My f rst venture-backed business at Georgetown was a snow cone
to right) Bill MacDonald (SFS’77), Michael Jacobs (C’77), Jonathan Howard (B’77), and Laurance Armour III (SFS’77).
Photo: Courtesy of Ted Leonsis
vending business. My roommate, Laurance Armour (SFS’77), funded my idea. We started Snoco Loco Inc during America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976. “Be a patriot, eat a snow cone.”
Small business entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the economy. Te great leaders are the ones who are taking risks, who aren’t afraid to fail. Tey start their company, hire lots of people, try to create wealth for lots of people.
Our responsibility is to think di ferently and go into established businesses and change things up, make them more relevant to a new generation. Te church needs entrepreneurs, charities need entrepreneurs, even universities need entrepreneurs! We can’t keep doing the same things we’re doing in the same way. Look at how every industry is changing dramatically—you either play defense or you play ofense.
Entrepreneurs play ofense and we should embrace that, we should lead that.
Georgetown has created an atmosphere to be the East Coast’s best startup entrepreneurial enterprise in academia. I’m very proud of that.
You know, Jesus was an entrepreneur. He had to go out and sell a new way to look at the world.
Entrepreneurship should be one of the big outcomes of a liberal arts education: how to see the world uniquely and di ferently, dreaming it and seeing it, but then doing it. How do we mentor students to look at the world critically and be able to leave it better than we found it?
I’m Greek Orthodox. Both the Greek Orthodox and the Catholic churches are struggling. Both need reinvention. It’s hard to change institutions unless we have a new generation, new ways of thinking, and can overcome the antibodies in a long-term institution that fght change. If you don’t do it, you go into irrelevance. We need “intrapreneurs” who engender change within organizations.
We need to build entrepreneurs in politics, in religious institutions, in philanthropy. And Georgetown does this. Our students defne themselves with more focus on changing the world versus how much money I’m gonna have at the end of the day. T at’s why most people come to Washington: to change the world. Tat’s what Georgetown does, and we should never lose that.
What message do you share with students in the entrepreneurship programs at Georgetown? We celebrate that it’s good to be able to birth something. And also communicate how di fcult it is. Tere’s a lot of failure. In baseball, you get up to the plate 10 times. You could strike out seven times and hit three home runs and you’d be in the hall of fame.
Some of the greatest entrepreneurs didn’t f nish college, and that’s leading to a mindset that we need to f x. I want people to know that my experience at Georgetown was the most important thing that ever happened in my life. Georgetown’s di ferent because it focuses on critical thinking and development of your emotional maturity, responsibility, communication skills, and connecting the dots, which is what entrepreneurs have to be able to do. How do you take something from science, from the arts, from religion, business, politics and bring it all together? Every single day, I’m living a liberal arts life.
Philanthropy sometimes is misunderstood—it’s much more than writing a check. We have hired, provided internships for, and mentored hundreds of Georgetown graduates. We’ve invested in companies created by the Georgetown community. We look at our collective work as a family and our company: how does it uplift everything?
I continue to be supportive of the university because sincerely, it changed my life. When I arrived on a Greyhound bus, it was the f rst time I’d ever been in Washington, DC, and I was like, “ T is is the greatest place I’ve ever seen.”
Te journey for me started when I walked on campus and met my mentor, Father Durkin. He gave me con fdence. Te people I was hanging out with had gone to
prep schools. I didn’t have that background: my dad was a waiter and my mom was a temporary secretary. You can have incredible imposter syndrome when you get to a campus with that environment.
Georgetown had much higher expectations of me than my family did, than I did. And so my mission has been to leave more than I take. I’d like to be able to f nd other kids like me and support them because without that mentoring, that pushing, that con fdence building, this uplift doesn’t happen for the community.
I’m interested in how we are helping the basketball teams, how we are helping the student body, how we are hiring people, how we are investing in the community. And that adds up to a much, much bigger leaveback than just writing a check.
Chris Enochs contributed to this interview.
Two recent gifts totalling $10M from Ted Leonsis and his wife, Lynn, his son, Zach (MBA’15), and his daughter, Elle (C’14) support Georgetown Entrepreneurship and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Photo: Art Pittman
BY SARA PICCINI DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY SOFIA VELASQUEZ
If you ever stay in an old house, likely one of the f rst features you’ll note is the lack of closet space. Generations ago, people simply owned far fewer items of clothing and footwear—in large part because apparel was so much more expensive. With the invention of synthetic materials such as polyester, export of production to locations overseas, and improvements in the efciency of the supply chain, clothing has become signi fcantly cheaper. In 1901, the average U.S. household allocated 14% of total spending for apparel; a century later, even with Americans buying many more clothes, that percentage had dropped to around 4%.
Clothing consumption continues to skyrocket, quadrupling over the past 20 years. T is exponential growth has put tremendous strain on environmental resources—water in particular. And because of the use of fossil fuel-based materials, textile production accounts for approximately 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
In addition, the availability of plentiful supplies of cheap clothing has led to a “throwaway” mentality. On average, Americans dispose of approximately 81.5 pounds of clothing per person each year.
Taking action
Recognizing the need to move from a linear to a more circular economic model, U.S. apparel manufacturers have been taking important steps to enhance fashion sustainability, with Georgetown alumni helping to spearhead initiatives at several companies.
“ Te industry as a whole is on a spectrum,” says Alicia Chin (C’08), director of sustainability & social impact for the emerging brands at VF Corporation, encompassing Altra, Smartwool, and Icebreaker. “But most companies are starting to invest in sustainability and social responsibility.
“Are we where we need to be? Absolutely not. Are we going to get there without more regulation? I don’t know. Regulation can be a powerful lever.”
While changes in approach by large apparel companies are key to improving sustainability, smaller scale eforts can also make an impact. On the Georgetown campus, one such efort is Georgetown REUSE, a nonproft corporation started by six undergraduates in Fall 2021.
Co-founder and outgoing COO Stephane Granato (SFS’24) explains that the initial impetus for the group was realizing that clothing and other items collected during the O fce of Sustainability’s end-of-year Move Out Drive—some practically brand-new—could be resold and reused, essentially creating an on-campus thrift store.
“Move Out Drive is def nitely a time when you see how important it is to have grassroots organizations that are collecting used goods,” Granato says. “What makes us unique is that we collect goods in May and store them for resale in the fall, when the demand is high.”
Getting to net positive
As a 30-year veteran of womenswear company Eileen Fisher, Amy Hall (SLL’83) has helped to pioneer the apparel industry’s movement toward a more sustainable and socially responsible business model.
Hall—now serving in an advisory role after a number of years as the company’s vice president of social consciousness—notes several key milestones in Eileen Fisher’s evolution. “Our f rst toe in the water was in the late 1990s, when we started to pay attention to human rights issues,” Hall says. “ Tat was prompted at the time by the news about sweatshops.”
In the mid-2000s, the company shifted to the use of organically grown cotton to mitigate the impact of chemical pesticides and fertilizers on the environment. Although environmental and social issues are intertwined, Hall notes that consumers had a more di fcult time grasping the importance of the shift to organic materials.
“It was so much easier to create an emotional connection around human issues in our supply chain,” Hall says. “But the truth of
“...environmental issues are human issues as well. We need to correct our mistakes so that we can survive on this planet with healthier ecosystems.” —Amy Hall (SLL’83)
the matter is that environmental issues are human issues as well. We need to correct our mistakes so that we can survive on this planet with healthier ecosystems.”
A pivotal moment came in 2013, when Eileen Fisher herself took her f rst supply chain trip to China, at that time the base of manufacturing for the company. “She came back with her perspective completely changed. She learned f rsthand about factory conditions. She learned how the global water crisis had a direct impact on our supply chain,” Hall says, explaining that the mulberry trees essential to silkworm production were threatened by drought.
“She said, ‘We’re not doing enough, we need to accelerate our work,’” Hall continues. “We pulled together a team and set very aggressive goals including 100% organic and 0% toxicity for certain fabrics.
“We knew we were being bold. But if you just set goals that are easily achievable then that’s where you’re going to stop. What we wanted to do was pull ourselves beyond our comfort zones.”
Alongside increasing commitment from individual industry players, Hall has seen progress in the development of overall industry standards, pointing to the global nonproft alliance Cascale as a prime example. Cascale’s membership is comprised of organizations across the supply chain, including 300 leading consumer brands, manufacturers, retailers, trade association, and NGOs.
“ Te group has created a set of environmental and social metrics used by well over half of apparel and footwear companies, allowing our work to be compared against each other, apples to apples.”
Hall also notes that Eileen Fisher has been a Certifed B Corporation since 2015—a designation given by the nonproft network
B Lab Global to companies that meet high social and environmental performance.
Voluntary industry eforts have had a moderate impact, Hall says, emphasizing that regulation to enforce, incentivize, and in some cases, penalize brands will result in more signi fcant change.
“All of that said, we still have a huge amount of work to get to net positive,” she says.
“ Te elephant in the room is how we create viable business models around making less. Right now, we’re just making more stu f than the planet can manage.”
‘Putting our stake in the ground’
Like Hall, Alicia Chin of VF Corporation notes that industrywide regulation may be necessary to mitigate some of the more harmful aspects of apparel manufacturing. While there has been no federal legislation to date, states are taking action. In November 2022, for example, Massachusetts issued a regulation banning disposal of textiles in land f lls.
“ Tere’s been legislation in California and New York banning PFAS chemicals, which can be used in waterproofng for example, that are known to have long-term health and environmental impacts,” Chin says. “ Tat has driven companies to really prioritize phasing them out.”
After working on sustainability issues for a variety of organizations, including the National Hockey League, Chin jumped at the opportunity in 2020 to work for VF Corporation, manufacturers of such iconic activewear brands as Te North Face, Timberland, and Vans. “I’ve always wanted to get into apparel because the industry has been doing so much collaboratively over the past decades.”
Overseeing the emerging brands at VF, Chin notes the importance of setting quantitative goals at the individual brand level. “It really helps to build credibility, especially among younger consumers.”
Icebreaker, for example, made a commitment for its performance apparel to be 100% plastic-free by 2023, reaching an impressive 96 14% by the target date. “ Te brand decided, ‘We’re going to put our stake in the ground,’” she says. “Setting that goal really rallied our product team, and helped us make decisions when it came to material choices and f nancing.”
VF brands are in the vanguard among apparel manufacturers in terms of transparency, highlighting the interconnection of environmental and social issues. “We’re very proud of the fact that we know exactly where our wool comes from,” Chin says. “We have 10-year contracts with about 70 growers, and are committed to their livelihood.
“For Icebreaker, we publish our entire supplier list, from the farm to the yarn spinner to the garment manufacturers. Tat’s really important to our brand, being accountable for what happens across our entire supply chain.”
Te challenge, however, is convincing consumers that a product made more sustainably, but sold at a higher price, is actually a better bargain.
“It’s a constant struggle for us in terms of communicating the value,” Chin says. “At Smartwool, we sell merino wool socks that are $20 a pair. You can easily get a fve-pack of cotton or polyester socks for $5, but they may not last long.
“So we lead with the quality, and really lay into the performance benefts that real wool provides —it’s breathable, it provides thermal regulation so your feet don’t stink, and so forth.”
Looking to the future, Chin says, “we’re continuing to lean into circularity for our business models, how we potentially grow and gain more revenue without having to produce more. At Smartwool, we have an innovative program called the Second Cut Project, where we recycle old socks and turn them back into yarn to create new products.
“For Icebreaker, the nature crisis—biodiversity, soil health, water—is the next big topic coming after climate change. It’s a very complicated topic. But, being a brand that is so rooted around natural materials, it makes sense for us to establish ourselves in that space.”
‘Our Common Home’
Members of the rising generation of Hoyas are also doing their part to promote a circular economy—including students involved with Georgetown REUSE—encouraged by the university-wide commitment to sustainability.
Te Georgetown community has embraced “Care for Our Common Home” as a core value, drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls for new dialogue on the future of the planet. Among many initiatives, the university launched the Earth Commons Institute (ECo) in 2022, a hub for environmental and sustainability innovation, research, and education.
Georgetown REUSE was established the previous year, growing from an idea to a thriving enterprise with a current team of 60 student volunteers. Te initiative began when three members of GREEN (Georgetown Renewable Energy and Environmental
“...if you’re sustainability-minded, you can bring that ethos to any job—you don’t need to look for the title.” —Alicia Chin (C’08)
“We’ve built a community of students with that sustainability ethos. Working together has allowed us to make a solid and strong impact on campus.”
—Stephane Granato (SFS’24)
Network), the largest sustainability-focused student club on campus, began to brainstorm about starting a clothing thrift store on campus.
After their f rst successful foray selling reused clothing collected from the campus Move Out Drive, the trio—Rita Alan (SFS’24), Stephane Granato (SFS’24), and Brooke Hodge (SFS’24)—recognized the need to formalize their business model.
Te group set about incorporating in Fall 2022, “not knowing what we would end up getting ourselves into,” Granato says. “From September through March, we had to problem-solve a lot of issues. What kind of business license do we need? How do we get insurance? We had that sustainability ethos in mind, and that’s what really drove us to put in a lot of time and a lot of hours.”
At the same time, the organization’s members entered a number of university pitch competitions to raise revenue, with great success, including a f rst-place prize of $15,000 at the Georgetown Global Impact Pitch Competition.
Today, Georgetown REUSE sells reused clothing weekly at the university farmers’ market and provides fve industrial donation bins around the Hilltop. “It’s actually mentioned now on campus tours as an example of environmental initiatives on campus,” Granato says. In addition, the organization recently launched an online store.
“We get feedback all the time from students that it’s a great idea,” he adds. “A lot of students love thrift store shopping, but there are not a lot of options close to Georgetown. We f ll that niche. Tey like that they can pick up a pair of jeans at an a fordable price, but also make a positive environmental impact.”
Te organization’s success is the result of collective efort, Granato says, highlighting the work of co-founders Paul Aversa (SFS’25), Eleanor Hohenberg (C’25) and Elizabeth Packard (C’25). “Beyond the founders, our board members and team of volunteers have made huge contributions to our success, hauling boxes, sorting clothes, working farmers’ markets. We’ve built a community of students with that sustainability ethos. Working together has allowed us to make a solid and strong impact on campus.”
Moving to the next level
As awareness and activism around the issues of fashion sustainability continue to grow, Chin and Hall are often asked for advice—especially from young people—on how to make an impact within the apparel industry.
“Sustainability roles are still few and far between. I’m a onewoman team for three brands,” Chin notes.
“I tell people that if you really want to have a sustainability role, start out by focusing on data. Tat is where a lot of entry-level positions are, that’s where the need is: understanding how to do a carbon footprint or a life cycle analysis,” she says. “But if you’re sustainability-minded, you can bring that ethos to any job—you don’t need to look for the title.”
Hall ofers similar counsel. “Don’t just aim for a job inside the little sustainability team. Do the thing that you love and marry it with your values—that will take the company a long way. If you love to write, join the marketing team to help the sustainability team get their message out. If you’re really good at numbers, join the f nance team and help the company become better at reporting out not just its fnancial results but also its sustainability results.
“Without the people on all of those other teams who have the same value set, nothing will happen,” Hall emphasizes.
“We really need people with big imaginations, creativity, and vision to move us to the next level,” she continues.
“Find businesses that fully embrace you for who you are so that you can bring your vision and your values and apply them on the job. And if you can’t f nd a company that will do it, create your own.”
Given security concerns, staf in Haiti are referenced by frst name only.
mid an escalating humanitarian crisis in Haiti, access to health care has been severely compromised. With nearly 200,000 people displaced from their homes and communities, out of a total population of nearly 12 million, the provision of basic health services presents an urgent challenge. For those living with HIV, losing access to life-saving therapy can lead to unnecessary su fering, risk of transmission to others, and possible early death.
Physician Rachel understands this challenge all too well. As the Haiti country director for the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact at Georgetown University Medical Center, she has overseen nearly 160 health care workers and other sta f members country-wide who are working to connect Haitian residents with HIV medications and to understand additional needs of those living with the disease.
Namely, they seek to understand why people discontinue treatment and how to better reach those who—for a variety of reasons—may slip beyond the reach of the health system.
Working amid signi fcant political instability, poverty and violence, the Haiti-based team has become expert in adaptation. Criminal gang activity means the ability to move about freely in certain neighborhoods can change by the day, Rachel says, forcing the community health workers on her team to continually recalibrate their plans.
“Earlier on, before things got as bad, we could just drive from one site to another, but now we need to take a plane just so we don’t expose our people to the possible danger on the roads,” says the doctor, who started her career as a pediatrician. “ Te violence is impacting the way we do our operations, as we need to be thinking about where kidnapping or other issues could take place.”
Turning the TIDE
With an estimated 150,000 people living with HIV, Haiti has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region. Of those infected, nearly 80% are on antiretroviral therapy, a cocktail of drugs that is prescribed by a health care provider. While there is no cure for HIV, antiretroviral therapy is highly efective at suppressing the virus and preventing further transmission.
A central challenge for the government’s eforts to maintain epidemic control is ensuring people continue taking their medications long term. While Haiti’s health system has done well in getting people screened and diagnosed, keeping people in the system to receive consistent care has proven di fcult, according to Deus Bazira, director of the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, and inaugural director of the Georgetown University Global Health Institute.
“In global health, access is always the number one challenge we are trying to solve,” he says. “Haiti could not really control the virus as long as people kept dropping out of care and stopped taking their medications, then becoming infectious to others.”
In 2019 and again in 2024 , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded Georgetown funding to implement the TIDE (Translating Data Into Evidence) project—and explore a deceptively simple question.
“Once you’ve gone through the hardest part, f nding out your status, and you go on medications that we know are efective, why would you stop your treatment?” Bazira asks.
Bazira says the team initially surmised that poor nutrition, high transport cost to facilities, and low patient health literacy would surface as the main barriers in their research. Yet, after conducting focus groups and interviews, the prevailing obstacle was the inconvenience of accessing treatment.
“What we heard is that, ‘Where I need to go for treatment is very far away from my workplace and my home, and I’m not going to get time of.’ Or, ‘ Ten I have to go line up at the health facility for f ve hours to pick up my treatment,’” he says. “‘Especially if I feel okay, why would I miss a day at work to go and pick up drugs? T is clearly showed that the service delivery system did not align with people’s lifestyle context or their individual circumstances.”
TIDE comprises three arms. Te f rst entails generating data about the clients who interrupted their treatment to gain a full picture of the problem. Te second involves partnering with associations for people living with HIV, civil society organizations, and the LGBTQIA+ community to identify community-driven solutions. And the third arm is setting up drug dispensing points that allow people to access their medications outside the con f nes of the conventional health system.
To date, Georgetown has helped organizations identify and set up 50 drug-dispensing points that serve nearly 10,000 benefciaries nationwide. All the points are designed to be low-cost, low maintenance, and in line with quality assurance protocols developed in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
“ T rough the drug-dispensing points, we are making drugs more accessible, so people can access treatment in their own communities. It could be at a church, or a supermarket, or a private pharmacy,” says Rachel. “What matters is that they can access their medication how and where they want.”
Even in the midst of the ongoing violence that caused clinics to close their doors, 94% of the drug dispensing points were able to remain open, enabling clients to pick up their medications while other options were unavailable. Because internal migration is common due to instability, TIDE also has a hotline clients can call if they need to leave their community to f nd alternative access points.
People at the center
Fundamentally the project is about “supporting a lifestyle where the client can be themselves and be accepted,” according to Marie Ange, R.N., project director for one of TIDE’s projects known as PEARS (Peer-led Engagement for Assured Retention and Support). “We are ofering a platform where the client’s voice can be heard, and we are promoting a people-centered approach where everything we implement, we do in collaboration with the benefciaries.”
TIDE is implemented day-to-day by Haitians who understand the challenges and context of their own country best. Roughly half of the sta f is made up of Haitians living with HIV/ AIDS, a factor which helps greatly with building trust and removing barriers related to fear of bias and discrimination.
In addition, TIDE has designed a web app where clients can provide their feedback on quality of services. Beyond the convenience factor, clients often cite feeling judged or otherwise uncomfortable as reasons why they opt to not pick up their medicine at a designated clinic.
Interacting with project sta f who can relate to their circumstances makes a di ference.
“We talk a lot about stigma and discrimination, but we can say we walk the talk by having an environment that is free of stigmatization,” Marie Ange says. “If we can provide opportunities for clients to spend less time in a clinic, it allows them to face less discrimination and to do other things they need to do beyond spending a day at a facility.”
Making the drugs more widely accessible also helps combat stigma, according to Bazira. If you need to pick up your drugs, you don’t have to go someplace that is known to be an HIV drug-dispensing point.
“You can walk into your community pharmacy just like anyone else who has to pick up any other drug,” Bazira says. “And we have trained the pharmacists so they understand and maintain the need for con fdentiality and privacy. Pretty soon, word of mouth spreads that these are welcoming places to go.”
Building resilience
At a time when Haiti is battling skyrocketing unemployment and poverty, a critical element of TIDE’s work in the community is to strengthen people’s economic prospects. Sta f members work with clients and the private sector to establish mutual solidarity networks, enabling people to put their money together into business cooperatives.
“People sometimes see HIV clients as sick people who cannot work or provide for themselves—this is not true,” Rachel says. “It allows clients to see themselves di ferently too.”
As the work can be grueling, especially for the more than 80 community health workers spread throughout the country, Georgetown’s team takes every opportunity to prioritize sta f wellness and morale-building activities. Even small eforts can make a big di ference for sta f, says Rachel.
For example, they maintain a sta f WhatsApp group where people can share their challenges and successes, and discuss the latest safety information. Tey also have a “corner of appreciation” to celebrate sta f accomplishments, and they organize social gatherings to celebrate holidays, watch sports, or engage in other non-work activities. Every other week, the team holds learning sessions devoted to wide-ranging topics that are pre-selected by the sta f
Tese eforts recognize that, while clients are the focus of the TIDE project, the ofce sta f and community workers are also living through a challenging time.
“Our team is really fexible and really resourceful—we have to be,” says Marie Ange. “It’s really hard at this time, so we look for strategies to help us stay focused on our goals.”
Far-ranging impacts
Building on learnings from the work in Haiti, Bazira’s center has secured funding from the CDC to pilot a new initiative at fve hospitals in the southern African country of Eswatini. Tey have installed machines in the hospitals to dispense drugs, not just for HIV but also for hypertension and diabetes.
“ T is has enhanced convenience for people, who receive reminders via text, then just show up at a facility with a PIN, type it in any time of day, and can pick their drugs up and go,” says Bazira, also noting the added beneft of reducing the workload of health care workers.
While health outcomes are similar between those using the automated machines and those obtaining drugs through clinics or pharmacies, Bazira says “We are seeing better results [with the machines] around satisfaction from both patients and providers, and obviously the costs of providing care are much lower if you automate the system.”
Also stemming from the Haiti work, Georgetown researchers are ref ning a model that helps them predict the vulnerability of di ferent populations based on certain socioeconomic characteristics.
“Beyond traditional demographic information, we look at social support systems and how people interact with their environment,” Bazira says.
“Using that data, we help health care providers proactively come up with interventions that will prevent people from falling through the cracks,” Bazira says.
Real-world context
T rough projects such as TIDE, Georgetown is advancing a discipline called implementation science, which at its core aims to deploy strategies that can best lead to the uptake of evidence-based treatment, such as HIV antiretroviral therapies, by those who are hardest to reach.
“While 90% of the people may have been reached successfully with a health intervention, there are always going to be what we call the ‘last mile’
—those who do not do well with those population-level interventions,” Bazira says.
T is type of research entails a holistic view—looking not just at people’s medical status but their entire lived experience, including their environment, socioeconomic status, home life, religious beliefs, and more.
“ T is requires that we study these interventions in the real world, and not in a controlled research setting,” Bazira says.
Jiaqin Wu (G’24), a master’s candidate in the Data Science for Public Policy program at the McCourt School of Public Policy, works with the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact as a data scientist assistant. In his role supporting the Haiti data team with the development and ref nement of the predictive model, Wu has developed a keen interest in the power of data to a fect health policy.
“ Te data will tell you everything you want to know about when people are diagnosed and how they are doing with treatment,” Wu says. “But it’s our job to tell the machine what kind of data we need, to sort and clean the data, and ensure we have all the relevant variables, to help inform governments in their policy decision making.”
Wu is also interested in data visualization, which he views as essential to being able to use data efectively for advocacy purposes with a range of audiences. His work on the Haiti project has inspired him to pursue a career in public health when he graduates in May.
“Health is so important,” Wu says. “But people are more than just their diseases, and data helps us look into other aspects of their lives that will a fect their health.”
Te complexity of working in Haiti is indicative of where global health is heading, Bazira says. Te world is seeing more refugees, more internally displaced persons, more con f ict, and more climate-related disasters, among other crises. Te ability to adapt to rapid change—and approach challenges with curiosity and an appreciation for people’s entire lives—is critical for success.
“Increasingly, these are the environments we’re going to f nd ourselves working in,” says Bazira. “As faculty we need to ensure our research and teaching re f ect and capture this complexity. T is is how we will help our students emerge as the future health leaders who are equipped to solve these problems.”
BY RACQUEL NASSOR | DESIGN BY SHIKHA SAVDAS
Photos: elman studio
“In a world where policies too often seem abstract, impersonal, and ideologically driven, this school will strive to connect policy with the people it impacts, and to provide policymakers with the tools and the information they need… to make smart decisions based on both facts and fairness.”
Te guiding words of Frank H. McCourt Jr. (C’75), founding donor of the McCourt School of Public Policy, shine on the walls of the school’s new home on the Capitol Campus at 125 E Street NW.
Te new building expands Georgetown’s downtown footprint, joining the Georgetown University Law Center and new additions at 500 First Street and 55 H Street to form a vibrant campus in the shadow of the Capitol.
“Our move from the Hilltop to the Hill brings our community closer to opportunities to work, learn, and serve in a city that shapes the world,” says Maria Cancian, Dean of the McCourt School.
125 E Street is an intentionally built space fostering community engagement among the faculty, staf, and students, with a continuous staircase linking meeting spaces, classrooms, and ofces.
“For the frst time in our history, McCourt students, faculty, and staf are all under one roof, strengthening connection, collaboration, and conversations within our community,” Cancian explains.
From the 400-seat auditorium on the ground foor to the Capitol View Convening Space—ofering picturesque views of the Capitol Building from the top foor—125 E Street welcomes engagement for the Georgetown community and special guests.
Mapping
DC at McCourt
Highlighting McCourt’s connection to DC is the multi-part, permanent art installation titled “Mapping Our Place in the World…” from landscape architect and artist Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
“My approach to this work tries to ground you in your physical surroundings—with diferent elements coming together to help give you an immediate sense of place,” says Lin.
Lin captured recordings from nearby woodland, marshland, and meadow soundscapes refecting the season and time of day. Tose recordings are projected from discreet speakers on the main staircase.
White cloudlike lights in the entry staircase and lounge, entitled “Whether Birds,” connect their intensity and color to the day’s weather, bringing the outside environment in.
In a meeting space on the top foor, Lin’s sculptural glass marble installation, entitled “Following the Potomac,” maps the Potomac River and watershed in a sprawl across the ceiling.
Additionally, Lin’s “Sky Garden” on the top level and seventh foor Sky Bridge contains native plant exteriors mimicking a forest, a meadow, and a garden.
“I was thinking about how visitors would refect back on a larger idea of their place in the world. Tat’s connected to what they study at the McCourt School,” says Lin.
Daily life at 125 E Street
Just as Lin’s installations consider place in the design of the space, the new Capitol Campus building also provides services connecting students with their surrounding community.
Te dorms at 55 H Street ofer Hoyas apartment-style accommodations a short walk from the new Capitol Campus building.
For commuters, the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) will continue to provide access to classes on the Hilltop with the Capitol Campus Shuttle. GUTS is also adding two Capitol Campus Loops that will connect riders with other downtown locations such as Capital One Arena, Union Station, and Union Market.
To facilitate research, the McCourt School ofers support from a resident librarian, and Lauinger Library delivers requested books to 125 E Street daily.
Students, faculty, and staf enjoy a range of meal options at the in-house café, and there are additional dining options in the surrounding East End, Chinatown, and Penn Quarter neighborhoods.
‘With opportunity comes responsibility’
“Our location in Washington, DC, has provided extraordinary opportunities for our students and faculty to pursue their work for our community, to convene dialogues, and to contribute to issues of local and national importance,” says Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia.
Dean Cancian agrees. “Our increased proximity to the most infuential institutions across domestic and international policy allows for more frequent and meaningful collaboration with the policy community.”
With the new space just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress, McCourt students will have even more opportunities to integrate learning inside and outside the classroom as they prepare to serve their communities.
“With opportunity comes responsibility,” shares Dean Cancian, “and McCourt is deepening and expanding our work to bring diverse people and perspectives together, to develop innovative solutions to the complex problems of today, and to prepare the policymakers and public servants of tomorrow—all in service of the common good.”
‘Meeting alumni where they are’
GUAA Executive Director Julia Farr (C’88, Parent’19, ’21, ’24) talks with new GUAA President Fitz O. Lufkin IV (C’11, G’12)
On July 1 , 2024 , Fitz O. Lufkin IV began his term as president of the Georgetown University Alumni Association. Fitz served on the Board of Governors for six years and is a past chair of the board’s Career Services Committee. He has served as a founding member of the Department of Government M.A. Advisory Board, communications co-chair for the Class of 2011 , a Georgetown Scholars Program alumni mentor, and AAP interviewer. Outside of GUAA, Fitz is a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting, where he helps lead the f rm’s relationship with Georgetown, connecting with campus leaders to form collaborative, mutually bene fcial partnerships.
I recently sat down with him to ask about what led him to this role and what he sees for his term at the helm of the alumni association.
Tell me about one of your favorite Georgetown moments.
In February 2010, Washington experienced “Snowmageddon,” a massive blizzard that brought the city to a halt for more than a week. Tat Saturday, the men’s basketball team played Villanova downtown. As ardent fans, my friends and I were not going to miss it! To get there, we had to walk to the Rosslyn Metro station across the Key Bridge—in the road. Along the way, we encountered a nurse from Georgetown Hospital who was stuck in the snow and we pushed her car up a hill so she could get home. Despite the conditions, the student section was full and the environment was electric for the Hoyas’ win. After the game, the sun came out and we walked back to campus through a magical-looking city. Te mood that day could only be described as joyous!
Photo: Phil Humnicky
How did your Georgetown experience infuence your life and career?
Choosing to attend Georgetown was the most consequential thing I’ve done; it changed the trajectory of my life. I have my parents, Fitz III and Ellen, to thank for that. Tey encouraged me to consider Georgetown and made it possible for me to attend. I will always be grateful that they gave me the gift of Georgetown.
When asked to describe a Georgetown education, I tell people that Georgetown is a place where you discover and become who you really are. While on campus, I met people from places I had never been with experiences completely di ferent from my own. I was exposed to viewpoints I had never considered. My assumptions about the world and about myself were challenged—and, in some cases, broken.
I met many of my closest friends at Georgetown. Indeed, fellow GUAA Governor Ana-Alicia Siqueiros (C’11, G’12) and I met before enrolling, as members of the same discussion group at GAAP Weekend when we were in high school. We remain dear friends, and I recently became her son Santiago’s godfather at his baptism in June.
Georgetown taught me to have a mature, adult version of the Catholic faith I learned growing up. Jesuits like Christopher Steck, S.J., Kevin O’Brien, S.J. (C’88), Ryan Maher, S.J. (SLL’85), and the late Rick Curry, S.J. (HON’06) were pivotal to my personal development.
Professionally, a Georgetown network helped get me to Deloitte, where I use my liberal arts education every day with more than 900 other Hoyas in the United States.
Which Jesuit value most resonates with you?
I love the university motto, Utraque unum , which translates from Latin to English as “both into one.” While explicitly referencing the harmony of science and religion at the core of Georgetown’s identity, I think it also represents the inherent duality of the challenges in the world and in life that Georgetown prepares her students to address: individual rights and collective goods, free expression and public order, economic progress and environmental protection. As alumni, we are prepared to meet these and other questions with curiosity, empathy, and morality in pursuit of justice.
How has the GUAA evolved since you became a Hoya?
While the Alumni Association’s mission has remained constant through its history, our alumni continue to become more diverse, live in more
places, and pursue a wider range of professions and personal interests. Working on the Board of Governors, I learned that we must meet our alumni where they are by providing a variety of programming and resources. Our challenge is to continue to innovate and to adapt to refect our alumni population in the work of the association.
What will be some of your priorities as GUAA President?
I want to prioritize meeting the needs of our alumni. We will expand and enhance our engagement pathways, developing our portfolio of a f nity groups, professional alliances, regional clubs, and class programs, while guiding their leaders.
At a recent Washington event for Hoyas with Pride, an a f nity group in incubation for LGBTQIA+ and allied alumni, several alumni told me how grateful they were that the university and the alumni association were reaching out to them on that basis, something we had not done before. We know we can engage alumni authentically through their identities, professions, and geographic locations. It is our task to do that, bringing them closer to Georgetown and to each other.
You will be the youngest and frst openly gay president of our association in its history. What do those two things mean to you?
It is an immense privilege to have this position and I am grateful the Board entrusted me with the duty to serve our alumni and alma mater in this way. I am especially grateful to one of my mentors and friends, who encouraged me to apply for president. Before doing so, I had not seen anyone “like me” in this role. T is person assured me that I was capable and that my perspective and experience was valuable. It was a remarkable act of mentorship, pushing me to do something I did not think I was ready to do. As a leader, I hope I can pay that mentorship forward. It is far less important that I am the f rst and more important that I will not be the last.
“When asked to describe a Georgetown education, I tell people that Georgetown is a place where you discover and become who you really are. While on campus, I met people from places I had never been with experiences completely diferent from my own.”
—FITZ O. LUFKIN IV (C’11, G’12)
Hoyas Give Baxa event unites alumni across the miles
For the past decade, the annual Hoyas Give Baxa event has brought together alumni, students, friends, and family for a coordinated day of community service.
T is year was no exception. On May 4 , alumni in more than 20 states and half a dozen cities around the world took part in volunteer work for their local communities.
“Our clubs view Hoyas Give Baxa as one of the most meaningful and signi fcant events of the year,” says GUAA Regional Engagement Coordinator Michael Puhalla. “It’s a reminder of their commitment to each other, their community, and alma mater.”
From California to Massachusetts, Mexico to France, and Qatar to Peru, alumni channeled the spirit of cura communitas into local service projects, including caring for animals at adoption events, sorting clothing donations, cleaning beaches, restoring native plants, even building an outdoor classroom.
In St. Louis, Missouri, volunteers packed 448 cases at the St. Louis Area Foodbank, totaling 3,657 meals for the local area.
In Palm Beach, Florida, Hoyas distributed over 1,280 boxed breakfasts and lunches.
In Portland, Oregon, Hoyas sorted nearly 1,500 pairs of eyeglasses for the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation, connected to the Lions Club of Oregon.
In Pamplona, Peru, Hoyas prepared over a dozen food baskets for distribution by a Pamplona soup kitchen.
“Part of the mission of the Georgetown University Alumni Association is to foster a lifelong connection among alumni, the university, and the global Georgetown community,” adds Puhalla. “Bringing Hoyas around the world together to give back to their community helps us achieve this mission and ful f ll the Jesuit ideal of being people for others.”
—Gabrielle Barone
Clockwise from left: a volunteer with the Club of Metro DC at Dumbarton Oaks Park helps clear invasive species; the Georgetown Club of Chicago volunteers at an adoption event for Orphans of the Storm animal shelter; a volunteer with the Club of Mexico City helps children with crafts at Granja Para Niños La Esperanza A.C.
Photo: Charles Siwinski
Photo: Courtesy of Georgetown Club of Chicago
Photo: Courtesy of Georgetown Club of Mexico City
Helping women move through the world confdently
Etiquette expert and entrepreneur Sara Jane Ho (C’07) considers herself a microculture anthropologist. Living in multiple countries across the world, she learned etiquette in each setting.
Ho explains that etiquette is contextual in her book Mind Your Manners: How To Be Your Best Self In Any Situation. She provides a guide on how to be your best self in fve “microcultures”: social life and friendship, work, dating and relationships, family, and food and travel.
Since founding her f nishing school, Institute Sarita in Beijing, Ho is extending her focus on women’s well-being by launching a new intimate wellness brand.
“Everything I’ve done in my career has been across two realms. One realm is East meets West and the second realm is helping women move through the world con fdently,” says Ho.
Her new brand, Antevorta, produces feminine care products formulated with traditional Chinese medicine.
“Growing up in Hong Kong I used herbal remedies and the family of my co-founder, Annie, owns traditional Chinese medicine clinics in Taiwan,” she says. “It is important to us to take what makes us healthy and happy, and share it with the world.”
Ho chose Georgetown because she liked the charm of the campus. She studied English and government, but her psychology and anthropology classes still stand out to her.
“To this day I still keep the notes from my Intro to Psychology class with Steven Sabat—just an absolutely incredible class,” says Ho. “He opened our eyes and our minds to everything from how to communicate to how to raise kids. We also talked about social experiments. I remember at the end of that class all of us jumped to our feet and gave him a standing ovation.”
Her education at Georgetown and Harvard Business School led her to becoming resident etiquette expert on Te Drew Barrymore Show and starring in the Net f ix series Mind Your Manners
Recent gifts to Called to Be: T e Campaign for Georgetown
Landmark bequest for scholarships
Georganne Vartorella, M.D. (C’73, M’82) and her husband, Richard Statesir, M.D., have made a landmark bequest commitment—the largest philanthropic commitment to scholarships in Georgetown’s history—to establish a scholarship fund that will support students during all four undergraduate years. Thanks to these donors, Georgetown is ensuring that our student community thrives.
Uplifting the entrepreneurship program, hospital
Two gifts totalling $10M from the Leonsis family—Ted (C’77) and Lynn Leonsis along with Zach (MBA’15) and Elle (C’14)—will be split between Georgetown Entrepreneurship and the Verstandig Pavilion at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Thanks to the Leonsis family, Georgetown is shaping the future of teaching, research, and learning.
Supporting Parkinson’s research
Mary Roney (B’76) made a gift to Georgetown’s Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s program following her diagnosis. Her estate plan supports the training of movement disorder specialists. Thanks to Roney, Georgetown is advancing the health and security of people and the planet.
At Georgetown, Ho suggests people should make more eye contact for better etiquette.
“When you pass each other on Healy lawn or somewhere else, you should smile and make eye contact,” she says. “ Te power of a smile can really uplift somebody. When you make someone happy, that makes you happy.”
—Nowshin Chowdhury
Helping our military-connected community
A gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies provides scholarships, experiential learning opportunities, and community programming to military-connected students at the McCourt School of Public Policy. Thanks to this gift, Georgetown is building a stronger, more ethical society.
Netfix star, author, and entrepreneur Sara Jane Ho (C’07) helps women with etiquette lessons and wellness products.
Photo: Courtesy of Sara Jane Ho
SPARKING CHANGE PLACE BY PLACE
Darius Baxter (C’16) found his calling as president and chief engagement ofcer of GOODProjects, a nonproft dedicated to bringing efective change to communities experiencing cycles of poverty.
In 2016, GOODProjects began providing educational support to students. However, the organization realized that by expanding to meet a whole community’s needs— like housing, fnancial planning, food, and education— they could empower both youth and their families. Today, GOODProjects supports a public housing community in southwest Washington, DC, with the goal of bringing 500 families to sustainable incomes at or above $80,000 per year by 2030
Recently, GOODProjects launched Baxter Family Kids Center in Nairobi, Kenya to address their need for quality education. Te international expansion demonstrates that with their place-based model, they can customize their oferings to individual communities.
“At any given day, I’m supporting team members moving towards our larger mission, but I’m also listening to community members’ thoughts on programs or issues we might look to solve,” says Baxter.
By leveraging partnerships with local government agencies, as well as private partnerships with companies like New Balance, the NFL Players Association, and local businesses, GOODProjects meets the community’s specifc needs.
“ Tese place-based strategies allow for efective resource use because solutions become targeted and easier to measure and monitor as well,” says Baxter.
In addition to health care, food, and tutoring programs, they support young people with the GOODLearning Hub—a space ofering personal tutoring, fun activities, and psychiatric and medical services—and GOODCamp, a six-week summer camp program.
“ Tere’s no greater reward than seeing a young person developing confdence,” says Baxter.
His enthusiasm for life as an educator started at Georgetown, where he was a football player and one of the only men in his Women’s and Gender Studies Program.
“Along the way, I found myself tutoring a class in a public housing community,” he shares. “I fell in love with my true calling: helping young people achieve their fullest potential.”
“At GOODProjects, I wanted to create an environment for young people where they never felt judged and had freedom to just be kids,” adds Baxter. “I could create a safe container around them to propel them forward.”
“I’m proud of where things stand. I didn’t set out to create a business model, but to create that environment, and I’ve done that on not just one continent, but two at this point,” he says. “To be able to say that at 30 years old is a blessing.”
—Racquel Nassor
Darius Baxter (C’16) was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in 2021. He was also awarded the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award in Spirituality.
Photo: Courtesy of GOODProjects
CANCER SURVIVOR PAYS IT FORWARD
When Sonia Su (G’20) began her journey at Georgetown to pursue a master’s degree in Asian Studies at the School of Foreign Service, her goal was to work abroad. Te path to her goal was disrupted when she received a cancer diagnosis during her second semester.
Su originally planned to apply for a Boren Fellowship during her second year to study Mandarin in Taiwan— a plan she followed when her cancer went into remission. But within months, she relapsed and had to return to the U.S. Once recovered, she resumed her master’s program and graduated in May 2020
“I would not be here without Georgetown,” says Su. “Despite having gone through such a di fcult time in my life, I am glad it was when I was at Georgetown. Te people there helped me realize that I can still make a di ference.”
Professors Victor Cha, Dave Muchow, and Dale Murphy guided her career. When Su started to form the idea of Kits to Heart, a nonproft that provides care packages for cancer patients at hospitals, she looked into business courses that would count toward her graduate degree. Muchow encouraged her to enter the Bark Tank pitch competition, which secured the initial funds to launch the organization in 2020, and Murphy helped shape the idea of caring for the community.
“Georgetown gives students that fexibility to explore other options,” says Su. “I really am grateful for the
opportunities and the faculty were really instrumental for my nonproft.”
Each Kits to Heart includes a selection of curated items based on Su’s own cancer experience and patient feedback: face masks, hand sanitizer, a reusable water bottle, body lotion for dry skin, ginger chews to help with nausea, herbal tea, origami cranes of hope, hand-written letters, knit items made by volunteers, and more.
Te University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where Su was treated, was the frst facility to receive the care kits. Within two years, the organization reached all 50 states. Currently over 8,000 kits have been distributed.
“It was a real full circle moment. I’ve been a patient so I understand how difcult that journey can be. Now I’m well again and support others going through that time,” says Su.
Su also added seasonal art therapy workshops to help patients, health care workers, and caregivers have a safe space to connect through art.
In 2023, Su was an honoree of L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth and an inductee of 40 under 40 in Cancer.
“To receive those honors validated my work, and reminded me that I have a lot more to do,” says Su.
—Nowshin Chowdhury
Sonia Su (G’20) works with volunteers to assemble Kits to Heart for cancer patients. Volunteer opportunities are available virtually and in person at kitstoheart.org.
Photo: Josefna Santos
Alumnus, founding donor of McCourt on how to ‘fix the internet’
In Our Biggest Fight: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in the Digital Age, Frank H. McCourt Jr. (C’75) discusses how the internet can be transformed from an instrument of harm to a powerful tool for good.
After the book’s launch in early March, McCourt spoke with CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell (C’95, G’03) in Riggs Library about the internet’s capabilities.
“[Social media] is designed to polarize us, to keep us in a constant state of argument, to be triggered,” McCourt said during the talk, citing research.
Te book, co-written with Dow Jones and Te Wall Street Journal editor Michael J. Casey, brings up the values of Rights, Rules, Responsibilities, and Rewards to make a better internet.
“[Social media] is designed to polarize us, to keep us in a constant state of argument, to be triggered.”
—FRANK H. MCCOURT JR. (C’75)
Both the book and conversation discuss the origins and intentions of the internet, but lament that it has become a platform for harvesting personal data points that companies can analyze and emotionally manipulate.
In order to protect users’ personal data, McCourt and Casey suggest a decentralized social networking protocol (DSNP) in which users can control and manage the fow of their data.
T is “NewNet” would allow people to choose who has access to their personal data, pioneering a new model of individualized control.
“It won’t be easy, but it can be done, and it needs to be done,” McCourt said. “We have the power [to f x the problem] if we have enough of us.”
McCourt is the founding donor of the McCourt School of Public Policy and founder of Project Liberty Institute, which works in partnership with the McCourt School’s Tech & Public Policy program and supports multidisciplinary research led by Georgetown faculty.
—Mariel Jackson and Gabrielle Barone
Photo: Phil Humnicky
Frank H. McCourt Jr. (C’75) talks about his new book with CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell (C’95, G’03) in Riggs Library last March.
A family duet: alumna, sister-in-law co-author picture book
Psychotherapist Maris Pasquale Doran (C’03) and her sisterin-law, actress Phillipa Soo, both work with stories for a living. But their decision to actually write one didn’t take place until a family event in 2018
After her Grammy-winning performance in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, Soo wrote an afterword for Eliza: Te Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Doran, who often read picture books to her sons when they were young and also uses stories in her psychotherapy practice, spent time discussing storytelling, which led to “this really beautiful marriage” of their values and skills, Doran says.
Piper Chen Sings, now a New York Times bestseller, “really is an extension of both of us,” says Soo. In the book, music-loving main character Piper Chen must hold both her fear and f re at once when presented with an opportunity to solo in the school choir show.
Te Chinese-American main character is inspired in part by Soo, and the authors hope the story will continue to increase representation in picture books and show all children that experiences and emotions are universal. Soo—who says she connected with her grandmother through food, music, and the Mandarin language—hopes others will recall similar experiences of bilingual families, intergenerational households, or simply having fun with grandparents. Te book,
which features a dedication from Soo to her grandmother, has a reader pronunciation guide for words in Mandarin.
Piper Chen Sings was named the 2024 selection for Read for the Record: a global campaign to increase literacy eforts, in partnership with the early childhood program Jumpstart. Te authors recently spoke at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Since the process from story creation to publication is so lengthy, the opportunity to f nally “[engage] with kids around the story has been so fun,” Doran says.
In the book, a conversation with her music-loving grandmother helps Piper work through her emotions. Te authors hope the story serves as an empowering tool for all readers, children and adults alike, to practice mindfulness and emotional awareness. Tese topics, Doran says, are “relevant across all industries and jobs.”
Doran took her f rst psychology classes during her time as an undergraduate at Georgetown, and was encouraged by a f rst-year English professor to consider a writing career. She still keeps in touch with her college “sister friends” today— and believes the classes she took helped her gain insights into people and how they engage with each other.
“Georgetown holds one of the most special places in my heart,” Doran says. “It was the best four years ever.”
—Gabrielle Barone
Photo: Charlotte Lesnick
Maris Pasquale Doran (C’03) (left), who took her frst psychology classes at Georgetown, wanted her picture book to teach kids about emotional awareness as a source for empowerment.
Lives Well Lived honors a few alumni who have recently passed away. We share with you these portraits of alumni who have made an indelible impact living day to day as people for others. Memories collected by Patti North.
You can f nd a more complete list at alumni.georgetown.edu/in-memoriam.
Edward J. “Ted” Hoff
Edward J. “Ted” Hof (SFS’77, Parent’15) died June 26, 2023, at the age of 68. He was raised in Illinois and New Jersey, and graduated Georgetown, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1977.
He earned his MBA with high distinction from Harvard University, taught, and studied for a Ph.D. there. During his career, he served in the cabinet of New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne, ran his own consulting f rm, and served IBM as vice president and chief learning ofcer, where he specialized in leadership development.
Ted served on the board of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the Board of Visitors of the Walsh School of Foreign Service, the boards of his sons’ schools, and the Cambridge (Massachusetts) city manager’s advisory board, all while coaching his sons’ basketball and baseball teams.
He is survived by his sons, Tomas (B’15) and Michael, and wife, Kathleen O’Connell, who said of him, “Ted lived a life of faith, love, and joy. Refecting his Jesuit education, he knew to be truly great is to serve, to give generously of yourself. He did, always.”
Worta McCaskill-Stevens, M.D.
Worta McCaskill-Stevens, M.D. (M’85, R’88, HON’17), former chief of the National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology and Prevention (NCORP), died November 15, 2023, at the age of 74
Born in 1949 in Louisburg, North Carolina, Worta attended Washington University in St. Louis and Georgetown School of Medicine. At Georgetown, she received the Stewart Award for Leadership in Medicine and the Kaiser Family Fund Award for Excellence in Academic Achievement. She trained in internal medicine and completed a fellowship in medical oncology at the Mayo Clinic in 1991
Worta was renowned for her work championing community cancer research and inclusion of diverse populations in clinical trials. In 2023, NCI’s Career Development Award for Community Oncology and Prevention Research Award was named in her honor.
Addressing Georgetown School of Medicine graduates after receiving her honorary doctorate, she said, “Compassion is what elevates the great above the good. Feel every patient you treat, let them inspire your research, let them help you grow as a scientist, as a physician, as a person… and buckle up, buttercups, you are in for the ride of your life.”
“Georgetown was formative for [Urbina]. His running career, his undergraduate and law degrees, then later his involvement as an alum, Georgetown was truly a home base for him.”
—IAN URBINA (C’94)
Ricardo Manuel Urbina
Lawyer, federal judge, and record-breaking track star Ricardo Urbina (C’67, L’71 , Parent’94) passed away June 17, 2024 , at the age of 74 from Parkinson’s disease.
Born in 1946, Ricardo was raised in East Harlem and Jackson Heights, Queens. His father, Luis was a machinist from Honduras. His mother, Ramona (Hernandez) Urbina, originally from Puerto Rico, was a secretary.
A high school and college track star, Ricardo set several records as a student at Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School in Queens, graduating in 1963. As a student at Georgetown, he won several titles, including the 1966 NCAA indoor championship in the 880-yard run.
After law school, Ricardo worked as a public defender, practiced privately, and taught at Howard University Law School. He was appointed an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by President Reagan in 1981 and nominated to the District Court in 1994 by President Clinton. He retired in 2012.
He is survived by his wife Coreen Urbina, brothers Louie Urbina and Alberto Urbina, daughter Adrienne Urbina, son Ian Urbina (C’94), daughter-in-law Sherry Rusher, and their son Aidan Rusher Urbina.
Ian said of his father “Georgetown was formative for him. His running career, his undergraduate and law degrees, then later his involvement as an alum, Georgetown was truly a home base for him. Many of his lifelong friends were people he met at Georgetown. Growing up, his whole life was tied to New York City, but he then became a true DC local and spent his entire professional career in DC, and that too was because Georgetown allowed him to lay roots there.”
“As First Lady, I have seen how the NCORP network you have built is making a diference for people in communities across our country. With this new fellowship, more people will follow the path you have pioneered—ensuring everyone can beneft from cancer research.”
—DR. JILL BIDEN, ON DR. MCCASKILL-STEVENS’ WORK
Director of the Women’s Center
Annie Selak, Ph.D., on helping people feel recognized, valued, and welcomed
Whatever job I have, I approach it as ministry. My experience in Jesuit education—as an undergraduate at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit Volunteer in Detroit, and seminary student in Berkley—instilled in me that education is less about career and more about what type of person you want to be.
As a Catholic woman, I came up against power structures and limits on how I could exercise ministry in the Church. Tat led me to pursue my doctorate in theology at Boston College.
On the mission of the Women’s Center
At Georgetown, the experiences of a male student and a woman or nonbinary or genderqueer student are di ferent. Te Women’s Center mission is promoting and fostering gender equity on campus. We accompany students who experience sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, eating disorders, as well as things like f nding community on campus, talking about gender roles, friendships, discernment, and the latest show on Net f ix. We’re a landing zone, a guide and comfort, a listening ear.
We ofer programs and create opportunities for community that are deeply rooted in the values of inclusivity and accessibility. In the new O fce of Student Equity and Inclusion space, we are building into the student center’s foundation an understanding of intersectionality in terms of gender, disability, accessibility, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, immigration status, and other markers of identity. It’s intentional and focused on our values. It’s Ignatian.
On integrating faith and experience
I help bring together students’ experiences and faith traditions. An area of expertise for me is women and the Catholic Church. I’ll be taking students to Rome this October to engage with the global synod.
I teach a course in feminist theology, and tenets of the feld guide my Women’s Center work. For example, there shouldn’t be a gap between what we believe and how we act. Tere’s a four-fold relationship in theology: to yourself, to others, to God, and to creation.
Tese can never be separated; the four primary relationships can be used as a lens for other issues.
On magis
Te Women’s Center serves all students, all genders. Some days are heavy, but we have fun, too. Te best part is being with students who are going deeper, experiencing what we call magis in Ignatian spirituality. Tere’s a depth to Georgetown—we don’t keep things surface level here. Georgetown has a gift for convening important, hard conversations.
Te most meaningful part of my work is making people feel recognized, valued, and welcomed.
Te students give me hope. Tey’re brilliant, committed to values, and care about a world that’s bigger than themselves.
For fun I follow women’s sports, especially the Washington Spirit and Mystics. It’s my whole personality!
—Interview by Jane Varner Malhotra
Photo: Phil Humnicky
2115 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20007
As part of Professor Adam Rothman’s class Facing Georgetown’s History Through Art, Reagan Crittenden (C’22) created a quilt called The True Colors of Georgetown that depicts the relationship between generations of enslaved people and the emergence of Georgetown as symbolized by Healy Hall.