University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
Nondiscrimination Policy
University School of Nashville does not discriminate on the basis of color, creed, gender identity and expression, handicap, national origin, race, sex, sexual orientation, or transgender status in the administration of its educational, admissions, and financial aid policies, faculty and staff recruitment and hiring policies, athletics, or other programs or activities administered by the school.
We’d love to hear from you about anything you read in this edition of 2000 Edgehill and anything you have to say about your family’s days here. Help PDS/USN, faculty, and classmates keep up with what is happening in your personal and professional lives by:
Using #beyondEdgehill when sharing good news and PDS/USN memories on social media.
Sending a letter to the editor:
Juanita I.C. Traughber
Director of Marketing & Communications
2000 Edgehill Ave. Nashville, TN 37212 or emailing jtraughber@usn.org
Emailing alumni updates for Class Notes to alumni@usn.org with photos attached at the highest resolution available.
Find 2000 Edgehill online at usn.org/publications.
On the Cover
Showcasing sports style evolution since 1915, Clay Payne ’25, Tessa Chomsky ’25, and Uma Peters ’25 wear basketball, cheerleading, and PE uniforms from the school’s Archive. Flip to page 6 to read about how athletic fashion has changed while honoring PDS tradition and modern performance.
Editor’s Note
The editor and primary author Juanita I.C. Traughber deeply appreciates all who contributed to this magazine: Creative Services Manager Marisa Bell, Assistant Director of Marketing & Communications Ian Dinkins, Interim Director Juliet Douglas, Alumni Director Christina Evans, Photographer
Kimberly Manz, Director of Library Services Kate Pritchard, Athletics Director Josh Scouten, Director of Annual Giving Lorie Strong, Archivist Kat Trammell ’99, Development Director Anne Westfall, faculty & staff who shared their time & space, and alumni & former faculty who offered their memories, accomplishments & photographs.
This edition of 2000 Edgehill was published in August 2025 by the Office of Marketing & Communications and Alumni & Development Office for the Peabody Demonstration School and University School of Nashville community.
Board of Trustees
2025-2026
Executive Committee
President Alex Jahangir
Vice President Erin Zagnoev *
Co-Secretaries Kristin Wilson and Robert Perry ’03
Treasurer Jim Rieniets
Board Members
Aole Ansari
McLean Johnston Barbieri ’97
Marcya Carter-Sheats
Chris Chamberlain ’85
Vinh Duong
Richard Ewing IV ’83 *
Reagan Farr
Benjamin Goldberg ’98
Shanna Singh Hughey
Tonia Klein
Christopher Mixon *
Sneha Channabasappa Oakley ’94 *
Will Radford
Jennifer Russell
Divya Shroff
David Spigel ’88
Kelly Unger
Naima Walker Fierce
Matthew Wolf ’99
Emeritus Members
Ann Fundis
Frank Garrison
John Hassenfeld ’75
Teri Doochin Kasselberg ’73
Mike Shmerling ’73
Raymond Zimmerman
Ex Officio Members
Juliet Douglas Interim Director
Kim Kikkawa and Amy Tidwell
2025-2026 USNA Co-Presidents
Beth and Jason Wolf
2025-2026 Annual Fund Co-Chairs
Kayla Miller ’10
2025-2026 Vice President
PDS/USN Alumni Association
2025-2026
Faculty Representative
Marte Beaty
2025-2026
Faculty Representative
*Get to know the new trustees on page 68.
Always Moving Forward: A Vision for the Future of USN
When I stood on the Commencement stage this past May, diplomas in hand, I whispered something to Interim Director Juliet Douglas that still makes me smile: “Three months ago, neither of us imagined we’d be up here doing this.” Yet there we were—celebrating the Class of 2025, together.
That moment, like so many others at USN, was a reminder of what makes this community extraordinary: its resilience, its heart, and its unwavering commitment to moving forward— no matter the circumstances.
I am so grateful to Juliet for returning to USN when we needed her most. Her leadership has brought renewed energy and optimism, and I deeply value our partnership. To everyone reading this—parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends—you are the champions of USN. Through your time, wisdom, generosity, and belief in this school, you’ve helped shape a remarkable legacy and an even more promising future.
It is with great humility and pride that I serve as President of the Board of Trustees. Like many of you, my family chose USN because we believe in the transformative power of this community. We see every day how this school shapes curious minds, compassionate leaders, and courageous thinkers. We believe not only in what USN is—but in what it can become.
That belief is at the heart of our new strategic plan, Forward.
A Community Vision for the Future
Forward is not just a name. It’s a mindset. A commitment. A declaration that USN will always move ahead—bravely, thoughtfully, and with purpose—toward a better future for our students and for the world they will shape.
This plan was not created in a vacuum. It reflects the input of nearly 7,000 voices—students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and parents of alumni. From candid critiques to bold dreams, your insights helped build a vision rooted in both reflection and ambition. What emerged is a roadmap for the next five years—and beyond.
At its core, Forward is anchored by five strategic pillars:
1. Foster Academic Excellence – We remain committed to cultivating an intellectually rich environment that challenges and inspires every student.
2. Support Great Educators and Professionals – Exceptional schools begin with exceptional people. We will invest in the faculty and staff who bring our mission to life every day.
3. Celebrate Community and Belonging – Every student, teacher, and family should feel seen, valued, and included. Belonging is not an aspiration—it’s a foundation.
4. Invest in Our Campus – Our physical spaces must reflect the excellence happening within them. We aim to enhance our facilities to support today’s learners and tomorrow’s innovations.
5. Cultivate Resources for Our Future – Responsible financial stewardship and growing philanthropic support are essential to sustaining USN for generations to come.
University School of Nashville
Forward is not a static document. It doesn’t prescribe every initiative we’ll undertake, but it helps us set priorities and define purpose. And implementation is already underway—led by the extraordinary educators and professionals who make up the heart of USN.
Forward in Action
You can already see Forward taking shape across campus. Here are just a few examples:
Lighting the River Campus: Currently, only one field at our River Campus is equipped with lights, limiting evening activity during much of the year. Thanks to generous gifts, we’re set to complete full-campus lighting upgrades before the next school year—expanding access for our student-athletes and community.
Revitalizing the Playground: A favorite gathering spot for Lower School students is getting a major update. Our beloved wooden playground will be replaced with a state-of-the-art play space designed for creativity, exploration, and fun. A popsicle party will welcome students back to the new playground next fall.
Reimagining Arts and Athletics: This fall, we’re launching comprehensive external reviews of both our arts and athletics programs. Our aim is to ensure they’re as dynamic and futurefocused as our academics—meeting student passions with excellence and purpose.
Master Planning for the Future: In the coming year, we’ll undertake a campus-wide master planning process—envisioning how our facilities on Edgehill and at the River Campus can evolve to support the next century of learning at USN.
These initiatives represent just the beginning. As the plan evolves, so will our opportunities—and we invite you to stay connected every step of the way.
A Shared Commitment
Forward is more than a strategic plan. It’s a community promise—a shared belief in what USN is capable of when we move together with clarity and conviction.
I invite you to explore the plan. Watch the video on our website. Read the full document. Ask questions. Share your excitement. Your voice continues to matter.
Because no matter what lies ahead, USN will always move forward. With purpose. With unity. And with the confidence that the best is yet to come.
Thank you—for your trust, your generosity, and your steadfast belief in what we can accomplish together.
Warmly,
Alex Jahangir Board President
Administrative Team
Juliet Douglas Interim Director
Kristian Noden Head of Lower School
Joel Bezaire Interim Head of Middle School
Chai Reddy Head of High School
Ben Cates Director of Technology
Scott Collins ’05 Director of Enrollment
Alex Heiberger Chief Financial Officer
Erik Mash ’93 Director of Operations
Josh Scouten Director of Athletics
Kate Pritchard Director of Library Services
Rebecca Stokes Director of Auxiliary Services
Juanita I.C. Traughber Director of Marketing & Communications
Aerin Washington Director of Safety & Security
Anne Westfall Director of Development
Roderick White Director of Diversity and Community Life
Dear PDS/USN friends,
There’s much to do. The search for the next permanent Director is well underway. On my list is the school’s reaccreditation with the Southern Association of Independent Schools. Former Assistant Head of School Quinton Walker and a terrific K-12 committee worked all last year on the documentation of the school’s successes and ambitions in preparation for the SAIS committee’s visit in March 2026, and now Assistant Head of High School for Academics Jeff Edmonds will chair that committee. We are launching a national search for a permanent Head of Middle School. If the stars align with a permanent Director being named by late October, the new Director will participate in the school’s final choice of Head of MS. Fall and winter will also welcome outside audits of our athletic and arts programs, informing our work on the strategic plan. A trio of superstars is guiding faculty as we flesh out the action items under each of the five pillars. If you bump into Director of College Counseling Aaron Fulk, Eighth Grade English Teacher Christine Park, or Director of Development Anne Westfall, please thank them for the dozens of hours spent this summer readying our work for the year.
What else? The regular work of school: welcoming and acclimating new employees with a re-vamped inservice and mentorship program led by Director of Library Services Kate Pritchard and Seventh Grade Math Teacher Brandon Graber; trips to see alumni in Atlanta and New York City with Alumni Director Christina Evans; as many athletic games and arts performances as can possibly be attended — applauding USN students no matter the venue is dessert for me; celebrating milestones and linking arms when heartbreak and loss occur in this community we love so deeply.
Many of you have stopped by, called, or written. Thank you for that outreach. Please see my door as wide open for any conversation. If there’s an issue you’re worried about, let’s work on it together. And let’s continue to assume the very best about each other. My 4+ months back at USN have reminded me that one of the beauties of the place is that every one of us is working mightily to do something positive for our children, a perfect common starting point for any conversation.
With great warmth,
Juliet
Director
Just six months into his tenure at USN, Head of High School Chai Reddy was thrust into the role of Acting Head of School to ease the transition between Directors during a challenging period for the school. Supported by a Transition Committee of senior administrators, trustees, and parent volunteers, Reddy was dubbed USN’s “Tiger Balm,” a nod to the school’s mascot and topical analgesic ointment, as he navigated a
sore and sensitive time for the USN community with care. He handpenned letters to each faculty and staff, and many quickly embraced him as a leader. They jestingly thanked him for his three months of service by wearing T-shirts and temporary tattoos that bore his likeness and creating an appreciation video that spoofed “The Office” television series.
the evolution of athletic fashion
Fashion is a great storyteller. A single garment can reveal much about the time and place it was worn, including cultural norms, popular manufacturers, and the availability of fabrics.
As a 110-year-old educational institution with a rich history, University School of Nashville is fortunate to have a robust collection of textiles to share the stories of different eras, specifically through athletics.
The textile collection was established in the early 2010s in anticipation of Peabody Demonstration School and University School of Nashville’s centennial celebration in 2015. Archivist Kat Trammell ’99 maintains the garments, cataloguing and storing them, and making selections to display around the school and each Reunion weekend.
Most of the items have been donated by families sorting through their loved ones’ items after their passing.
The Archive boasts roughly 60 athletic uniforms, jackets, and sweaters; 80 pieces of athletic paraphernalia, including caps, hats, letter patches, and bags; and about 85 T-shirts, all dating from the 1920s to 2021. The garnet and blue colors remain consistent, whether the garment is from PDS or USN, and many of the labels bear the names of local manufacturers who closed up shop long ago.
Take a journey back in time with some highlights from the school’s athletic textile archive as wool made way for polyester, elastic replaced belts, and skirt hemlines receded.
According to United Sport Apparel, Harvard University first debuted letterman sweaters in 1865 for its baseball team. The trend spread to other colleges and eventually high schools. The USN Archive has some great samples of these, including a garnet football letterman’s sweater with the Peabody “P” that is assumed to be from the 1920s or 30s. It was manufactured by Lowe & Campbell athletic goods, a sports equipment manufacturer and retailer based in Kansas City, Missouri, and acquired by Wilson Sporting Goods in 1931. Some of the sweaters in the collection even show the original owners’ repairs and patches.
By 1930, the sweater evolved into the traditional letterman’s jacket with a wool body, leather sleeves, and chenille lettering. The ones at USN are in pristine condition and are some of Trammell’s favorite items,
The jackets were eventually replaced with nylon in the 1980s, indicating a shift in styles and materials, but they made a comeback not long after.
USN also has an extensive collection of letterman’s patches, most of which are the letter “P” for PDS. They are embroidered with the respective varsity sport, though some have designs of unknown meaning, such as a laurel leaf and a triangle.
2000 Edgehill
BASKETBALL
According to Allen Sportswear, basketball players began wearing mid-length shorts and wool jerseys sometime between 1920 and 1940. In the decade that followed, hot, difficult-to-wash wool was replaced by synthetic fabrics, like polyester and nylon. The PDS collection has several of the track-style basketball tanks that emerged in the 1950s, and a pair of brief-style satin shorts with a belt buckle and button fly. There are several others in the same style, though the material changed to polyester and sometimes had padding sewn in. The belts finally disappeared in the 1960s and were replaced with elastic waistbands, while the shorts became longer as the decades wore on.
Cheerleading uniforms are a litmus test of the modesty of the period. In the 1940s, for example, PDS cheerleaders wore heavy sweaters adorned with a varsity letter over top of a long-sleeve button-down shirt. Skirts hit mid-shin.
By the 1960s, cheerleading became more athletic, and shorter skirts became more acceptable. The materials shifted away from wool to synthetic fabrics that enabled movement. Skirts also started including pleats. Several of those in the school’s collection were clearly handmade, likely sewn by a dutiful PDS parent.
While it is difficult to date many of the items in the textile archive, the material often gives a hint, as does the lettering. Since PDS became USN in 1975, and cheerleading wasn’t a recognized sport during the 1990s and early 2000s, the cheerleading uniform with a blue USN with a matching garnet and baby wool skirt is likely from the late 1970s. There is also a garnet V-neck version of the sweater, likely from the same period. The uniforms then transition to polyester and nylon skirts with more contemporary sweater vests.
Tessa Chomsky ’25 will join the soccer team at Williams College and was also a member of the basketball team at USN.
Clay Payne ’25 will play basketball at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He also ran track and cross country for the Tigers.
Physical education classes at PDS were not coed until 1973. Sometime before that, girls stopped wearing romper-style uniforms to PE class, though it’s unclear when. The Archive has a garnet polyester version of one with horizontal and vertical stripes and snaps at the shoulder. The onesie was a popular choice for girls’ athletics for many years, as a 1938 photo of the women’s tennis team demonstrates. The collection also includes a blueand-white striped PE shirt from the 80s, when the romper style fell out of favor.
In addition to the challenge of dating some of the textile items in the archive, Trammell also has a number of items that, while impressive and in great condition, do not have a clear sport or class association, such as a girl’s flutter-sleeve top that could also have been used for PE.
On National Signing Day 2025, Uma Peters ’25 signed with Illinois Tech to continue her basketball career. She also spent two years on the field with the Ultimate Frisbee team.
PE UNIFORMS
2000 Edgehill
The first American football uniforms included wool or cotton sweaters, with no room for padding. PDS’s first football team from the 1918-1919 school year included one with a solid body and striped sleeves. By 1945-1946, the shirts had evolved into a jersey-style design, featuring numbers on the front and light shoulder padding.
The last official PDS/USN football team played in 1955, but students have found ways to play on their own over the years, either as a club sport or by teaming up with another school. The Archive has a few jerseys in its collection from the USN era, as well as many T-shirts. One of Trammell’s favorites jestlingly celebrates 1992 USN football team and features a Tiger wearing Teva sandals, which is certainly a testament to that era.
Diving into a Century of Excellence
Aschool with its own indoor swimming pool sounds modern and luxurious, although those who have walked the halls of Peabody Demonstration School and University School of Nashville might not see theirs that way. At only 20 yards, three lanes, and 100 years old, the pool is by no means lavish. The impact that a small body of water has had and continues to have on students and the Nashville community, though, is certainly more than money could ever buy.
In 1924, construction was underway on the Peabody Demonstration School’s new home at 2000 Edgehill Avenue. The Peabody Auxiliary to the Peabody Woman’s Club felt the school should include a pool, and so it got one; however, the future of the pool wasn’t always certain.
Bill Rodriguez, parent of Stephen ’04 and Emily ’06, former Science Department Chair and legendary Swim Coach, recalls a time in the mid-1980s when there were conversations of getting rid of it. There was no longer a swim team, after all, and the environment wasn’t exactly inviting.
“The pool was tiled all around, and it had no lighting,” said USN parent and trustee McLean Johnston Barbieri ’97, who remembers that time as well. “I never realized that the pool was subterranean. I thought we were in some sort of dungeon.”
Fortunately, the pool survived. In 2013, it underwent extensive renovations, receiving a new saltwater system, enhanced spectator seating, and a viewing window that also allows additional light to enter. The pool was drained and replastered in 2017, and in 2023, after the pool flooded into Cheek Gymnasium, it received additional upgrades to the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and filtration systems as well as a no-rust drain around its perimeter and a new pump.
In short, having a pool, especially the oldest indoor pool in Nashville, has its challenges, but addressing them has been well worth it.
(Left) Students watch as a classmate dives into the pool in 1938. (Above) Lower School students swim in the indoor pool in the 1950s.
Water as a learning hub
The swimming pool fosters a variety of unique learning opportunities for those who use it.
As part of Lower School’s PE curriculum, USN’s youngest students gain invaluable exposure to the water. Barbieri, who is also a parent of Tate ’25, Olivia ’25, and James ’31, has a well-rounded perspective on the role the pool can play. She has recollections of using the pool as a competitive whitewater kayaker to teach students how to roll a kayak but also the contrast of her daughters’ experiences as exceptional competitive swimmers and lovers of the water versus her son’s.
A USN swimming standout now competing at Denver University, Olivia bested the 50 freestyle record of Barbieri’s peer Lisa Bushnell ’96 in 2023 and is a member of all three relay school records (200 IM, 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle) set in 2023.
“My son took lessons in that pool as a preschooler, but he’s always had more trepidation with the water. Having the pool there has absolutely helped him and impacted his comfort levels,” she explained.
High School students use the pool for science and engineering projects, like testing remotely operated vehicles and boats they have built. During summer months, each scholar in the academic enrichment program Horizons at USN has 30 minutes of swim lessons daily. And USN welcomes the Nashville Dolphins, a nonprofit organization that provides swimming lessons for special needs children, and allows other community groups to use it for their summer programs.
“They do a great job of making it a pool for the whole USN community as well as the greater Nashville community. It’s a very flexible space,” Barbieri said.
Lessons in the pool have expanded beyond swimming to other essential water skills. Retired Teacher Cynthia Lee began at USN teaching Middle School math and science before becoming Director of Outdoor Education in 1995. She used the indoor pool to prepare
(Above) PE Teacher and former Swim Coach Lindsey Bachman instructs the Class of 2034 on the backstroke start in April 2024.
University School of Nashville
students for outdoor experiences: teaching basic kayaking skills, including flipping and rolling, as well as advanced canoeing classes, and preparing students for real-world experiences on Tennessee’s Hiwassee River, Duck River, and Percy Priest Lake and North Carolina’s Nantahala River.
“A big part of it is the students exploring their comfort zone, and they might be just really afraid to be in a canoe or a kayak and turn over. It is scary,” Lee said. “Being able to do that in a warm, safe teachers-next-toyou environment gave them confidence. They believed that they could do it, and then they would be willing to try and would be more willing to go on a trip. So it was really important for that early exposure.”
That ability to develop comfort in the water is what makes the pool so invaluable, and also is what Brent Crosby, the High School Swim Coach and inaugural Aquatics Coordinator, is using to his advantage.
“We probably have an entire swimming skillset that kids at other schools don’t have,” he said. “Younger kids might take a big step forward in the summer, but then they go stagnant. Each class has around 5 to 6 weeks in the pool each school year, with some days being part of our triathlon unit. Kids who aren’t strong swimmers can really progress.”
Crosby has revamped the swimming experience for the Lower School. During fall 2024, he changed swimming lessons for kindergartners to include three teachers in the water for a better ratio. During spring 2025, he focused on introducing advanced stroke techniques to second, third, and fourth graders to help them learn what backstroke, breaststroke, and diving look like.
In his role, Crosby said he is fully committed to activities in and around the pool, handling pool maintenance and water chemistry, but he’s also driven to develop an exceptional swim team. Fortunately, the Peabody Woman’s Club gave students an advantage 100 years ago.
A team of swimming Tigers
A pool the size of USN’s doesn’t lend itself to competitive swimming. It is five yards shorter than a regulation pool and has half the lanes. And yet, USN does have a swim team that can hold its own. We’ve just had to be creative. More specifically, Bill Rodriguez got creative, and things have just gotten better from there.
Rodriguez swam competitively at the University of Tennessee before returning to his home state of California. He coached for a time, but when he moved to Nashville in 1982, he wasn’t interested in continuing. USN didn’t have a swim team anyway. There had been one while Mark Jacob Fridrichsen ’78 made national all-American swimming teams and his mother was coach. When he graduated, the team fizzled. Then PE Department Chair Pam Thompson ensured the pool was still used for PE, but questions began to arise around whether USN should keep the pool going.
As Rodriguez tells the story, Jason Roberts ’89 was diagnosed with a brain tumor, underwent surgery, and Rodriguez and PE Teacher Mike Hall, who also swam competitively, did water therapy with him in the
High School Science Teacher Wilson Hubbell’s engineering class tests cardboard vessels in the indoor pool to measure whether they would float and which is the fastest boat in November 2024.
indoor pool as part of his recovery. One day, Rishi Gupta ’91 and Stephen Miller ’90, who was a yearround swimmer for Nashville Aquatic Club, saw them in the pool and said, “Hey, why don’t we use the pool for a swim team?”
And just like that, Rodriguez was back coaching. Roberts became the team manager. The 1988 yearbook says initial swimmers were cross country runners looking to stay in shape during the off-season. By 1989, the team had grown to 32 swimmers, was the largest team at the school, according to the 1989 yearbook, and held its first invitational in the indoor pool they called “the Tiger’s Den.”
“We’d pick up some fast swimmers who swam for [Nashville Aquatic Club] and the rest were High School swimmers,” he said. “They just wanted to swim. They worked hard and did well.”
They used the USN pool some, but the conditions in the pool weren’t ideal, as this was before the 2015 remodel.
“The fumes from the chlorine were so strong. And it was so hot in there,” Rodriguez remembered. “I’d have to hose kids down during practice.”
The team also rented space at Vanderbilt University, first in Memorial Gym when it contained a pool, and then later in the Vanderbilt Recreation & Wellness Center. Still, having the USN pool, even if only using it sometimes, was a huge asset.
“If you never have a home meet, you lose out,” Rodriguez said. “To be able to have parents and supporters show up and cheer the kids on — it was great. We made it work.”
Sometimes that meant during practice, half the team would swim while the other half would lift weights in the basement of the Sperling Center. There was also the issue of no starting blocks or lane lines, but Rodriguez found the former from a high school that was getting a new set, and the latter from his alma mater.
(Top) Stephen Miller ’90 and Rishi Gupta ’91 chat with former Swim Coach Bill Rodriguez.
(Middle) Courtesy of Justin Karpinos, the 2015 region boys relay team, Curtis Grant Patey ’18, Kellon Patey ’15, Coach Karpinos, Mackenzie Myers ’15 and Neil Zheng ’15.
(Bottom) Courtesy of Bill Rodriguez, team manager Jason Roberts ’89.
(Opposite) Courtesy of Bill Rodriguez, the team cheers at the shallow end of the indoor pool.
“My old coach from UT gave us a couple of lane lines. They were from the 1970s Olympic trials. So, we had these orange and white lane lines, and no one knew why,” he laughed.
He also had to weld a hook onto the pool wall to connect the lanes.
Fortunately, the pool and its equipment have been upgraded since those early days, but what Rodriguez remembers most from those years aren’t the times or the records, the wins or losses. He remembers the team spirit and camaraderie.
“It was a lot of fun,” Rodriguez recalled. “It made kids enjoy competing. It wasn’t win at all costs, because not everyone gets to win.”
Justin Karpinos, who swam at Kenyon College, took over in 2007 and continued to strengthen the program for 15 years. Then, Crosby arrived. During the 20232024 season, he guided the swim team to one of its most successful seasons in more than 20 years. Yet it’s not the USN pool that did it, he admits.
“We’ve had a great class of year-round swimmers,” Crosby explained. “We have club swimmers who started in Lower School and then other athletes who were maybe not state qualifiers before but now surged ahead.”
But that’s not to say there isn’t any connection.
“The pool exposure early on is absolutely evolving some of those kids into year-round swimmers,” he added.
He said he has seen young students who had stopped swimming year-round reinvigorated after spending time in the USN pool, whether during PE or on the Middle School swim team. In fact, he’s seeing many fourth graders who are already NAC swimmers, and he said he is developing the pipeline.
“The goal for me is to continue that excitement,” he said.
Having the pool is a great tool for him to do so. He intends to utilize it even more in the coming seasons, which just adds to the competitive advantage the team will enjoy as competition is restructured next year. While there was previously only one division for schools of all sizes, USN will be competing in the small-school division, similar to other USN sports.
“We have the potential to win state championships in the future,” Crosby said. “It’s very exciting, not just for me, but also for the kids coming up through the Middle School program.”
The USN pool endures, building new generations of swimmers and creating new spaces for learning.
The Ultimate Trailblazers:
From Change Project to Championship Contenders
The story of Ultimate Frisbee at University School of Nashville is something straight out of a G-rated sports film: Middle Schoolers discover the sport, build a ragtag team, learn the game on their own, and, after a few dreadful years, go on to win a national championship.
You could even add a sequel where the legacy they built endures nearly 30 years later as their children take up the sport. The girls and boys Ultimate Frisbee teams both won state championships in 2024. It was the third title for the girls, and a back-to-back title for the boys. The teams consistently look promising.
Where it leaves the Hollywood script behind, though, is the trailblazers’ grassroots-style undertaking. They learned as they went and made do with what they had. At that time, there was no official USN-sanctioned team.
The story of Brutal Grassburn, as they are known, happened at all because of the culture at USN, one where students think nothing of forging their own paths.
“I want people who read this to know that this would not have happened at another school,” said James Harper ’99.
The team achieved success because of its willingness to self-motivate for love of the game, and because these student-athletes had their parents’ trust. They were eighth graders, after all.
“I think that’s a good lesson, to let your kids’ passion drive where they’re going,” said Nathan Terry ’99. “We did it because we loved it. We wanted to have these experiences for ourselves.”
What is Ultimate Frisbee?
This flying disc game is a seven-on-seven match-up on a field about the size of a soccer pitch. Athletes play for 75 minutes per game as they try to throw the Frisbee to each other, advancing down the field to throw to a player in the end zone. It is an extremely highpaced and exciting game to watch. Over the course of USN’s twoday River Campus Classic tournament, players run roughly 10 to 15 miles of sprints.
Courtesy of James Harper ’99, this co-ed group photo was probably 1998-1999.
(Right) Brutal Grassburn’s girls sprint across the field during the River Campus Classic Ultimate Tournament on April 6, 2024.
The Discovery
The Brutal Grassburn story usually begins with Dan Hodges ’99 and Brooks Daverman ’99 discovering Ultimate Frisbee while attending academic summer camps. They returned to USN in the fall of the 1994-1995 school year, which is when they submitted an Eighth Grade Change Project to form an Ultimate Frisbee team. But Daverman said that isn’t quite right.
“We didn’t start playing Ultimate as a change project. We were already playing. We wanted it to be a sport,” he explained.
It didn’t initially succeed, which is precisely why this story is an extraordinary one.
The more nuanced tale is that Hodges and Daverman went to separate talent identification camps. They both happened to see older kids playing this unusual game with a disc, and they were captivated.
When they came back to USN, they talked to their classmates about this game they had seen and started trying
to play at recess. Because their only experience thus far was what they had seen at those camps, and there was no other way to watch how Ultimate Frisbee was played, those early days were played with run-on interception, allowing the defender to run until touched. (In true Ultimate Frisbee, players cannot run with the disc in their hand.)
It wasn’t until a chance sighting during a Math Olympiad competition that their game kicked into gear. Hodges and Daverman spotted a poster with information about summer activities, one of which was Ultimate Frisbee. It had a phone number, which they called. And thus began a chain of events that would eventually manifest in USN’s Ultimate Frisbee dynasty.
Early Days
That phone call connected the players to the Ultimate Players Association, which connected them with other players. That is when they began to learn the rules – and that run-on interception was not a thing. These other
Courtesy of James Harper ’99, this smaller group photo was early in Brutal Grassburn’s career, likely
University School of Nashville
players, though, were adults. There were no high school teams around. This did not deter these skinny eighth graders.
“We were just playing with other people who wanted to play, and it didn’t matter that they were a lot older than us,” Daverman said.
They just loved the game. During lunchtime, the boys would eat as they ran out on the Back Field to try to figure out how to play.
“It was like an obsession. All of us had this thing that we couldn’t see,” Harper explained. “There was no one to teach us, so we had to figure it out. We spent every free minute consumed with trying to figure out how to play this game.”
Daverman added, “It was like if somebody showed you a ball for the first time when you were in eighth grade and then started telling you how to play basketball, but you’ve never seen a round object like that before. We had to come up with how it was done because we couldn’t see anyone else doing it.”
Until, that is, they started playing at Elmington Park.
Becoming a Team
First, the group started going to pickup games at Elmington, and then, the summer between their eighth grade and freshman years, they joined a summer league.
“I’m not sure how they broke the teams up, but they let us form a team where it was just all of us, and they gave us a coach,” Terry said. “That was one of the first times we formally played together as a team against other people.”
Their opponents may have been bigger than them, but they made up for it in athleticism and competitive spirit.
force of the
as our
“We were out there playing for our lives, trying to learn it, trying to get better,” Harper said. “You could see our potential at the beginning.”
Their coach, Mike Lutz, saw that promise and volunteered to coach the fledgling team beyond the summer. He showed up to practices twice a week and took the team to tournaments.
“He would rent the van from USN and pile 10 teenagers in the car,” Terry remembered. “He’d drive us to Alabama or wherever the tournament was and give up his whole weekend to play with us and teach us. He truly did so much.”
During their freshman and sophomore years, the team’s tournament results were lackluster. They typically lost, but their opponents, who were often in their 20s and 30s, frequently commented that they had a promising future.
As the team evolved, the group actively recruited other USN students to play. During the first several years, Brutal Grassburn was co-ed.
Courtesy of James Harper ’99, who names Garret Westlake ’99 as “a driving
team
skills progressed,” pictured with Brutal Grassburn co-founder Dan Hodges ’99 and Tyler Cameron ’99.
“The Ultimate community is very inclusion-oriented, which I think attracted a lot of people to come play. By senior year, we had enough numbers to field a women’s team and a men’s team,” Terry said.
By that time, they were also winning. As seniors, Brutal Grassburn won a tournament at Vanderbilt University against another high school team from Atlanta. They then moved on to play at nationals. And won.
Spirit of the Game
It was years before Ultimate Frisbee became an accredited sport at USN, which, while disappointing at the time, added to the mythical nature of the story. There was no schoolwide celebration and no banner in the Sperling Gym until a parent made one. Then again, that was never the point.
“They talk a lot about intrinsic motivation now, and that’s what this was,” Daverman explained. “Nobody made us go do this. We figured this all out on our own.
We found a coach on our own. We made our own jerseys. We just made it happen because we wanted to.”
There is significance, too, in the nature of Ultimate Frisbee, a sport that’s a bit freer than most and often attracts artistic personalities. It is governed by the Spirit of the Game, which, according to USA Ultimate, “encourages players to assume good intentions of their opponent, and respect the dignity of their opponent both during play and when addressing calls.”
In Ultimate Frisbee, there are no referees. Players are trusted to call their own fouls.
“If you make an infraction on the field, you are supposed to stop play and turn the disc over to the other team and be like, ‘It’s my fault. I messed up. Here you go,’” Harper explained. “That fits into the USN mindset of taking care of your classmates, your community and your environment. It’s not difficult to see why students attracted to USN would be attracted to Ultimate.”
So, while the ownership of and commitment to this game came largely as a result of USN culture, so too, did its enduring success.
An Ultimate legacy requires strategy
When Brutal Grassburn first started looking to play, there were about 25 to 30 teams in the country. Today, there are hundreds. That growth has yielded more opportunities for competition and for the program at USN to develop. Much of that has happened at the hands of those who played alongside the original Brutal Grassburn team. Mike Lutz continued coaching long after the original Brutal Grassburn graduated. In 2011, he passed the torch
Courtesy of Nathan Terry ’99, an article that appeared in the June 9, 1999 edition of Nashville Sports Weekly marking the boys team winning the National Invitational Ultimate Frisbee championship in Philadelphia and the girls team placing fourth.
(Opposite) Wesley Smail ’22 throws the disc during a match against Ravenwood High School at the River Campus in May 2022.
to Tobey Beaver Balzer ’02, who has been involved with all four of USN’s Ultimate Frisbee teams and teaches fifth grade science during the day. One of her first players, Mikeie Reiland ‘11, who played club Ultimate at Davidson College and for Nashville ’Shine, also returned to his alma mater as Head Coach of the boys Ultimate Frisbee teams.
Balzer played in the early years of Brutal Grassburn and, having lived through the beginnings of the program when they practiced on Vanderbilt fields, is deeply connected to the legacy they and Lutz built as she has progressed the program.
“Mike Lutz was so good at helping people care about the sport and the team,” said Balzer, who has fine-tuned her coaching skills through the National Ultimate Training Camp. “As a coach, I have transitioned over the years to want to be more strategy-based. Our kids want to know the ‘why’ always. So when we do things at practice, I try as much as I can to say, ‘Here’s the skill we’re learning. Here’s why we’re learning it. Here’s how it applies in the game. So I want our kids to leave our program and be able to go play at other programs because they understand the game, not just our system of how to play the game. So we do a lot of thinking about the space on the field and how we put ourselves in the best position, both on offense and defense, to either attack a certain space or take away a certain space.”
She also spends quite a bit of time working on mental resilience with her student-athletes, discussing “good nervous,” reflecting on their goals before and performance after tournaments.
And excel they certainly do. Most USN Ultimate Frisbee players go on to play in college. Wesley Smail ’22, who is co-captain of Davidson College’s Ultimate team, remembers the impact Balzer made on him while at USN, describing her as “instrumental” in getting him into the game.
“I loved it immediately,” Smail said.
ultimate alumni
Chris Mayne ’99: Team USA
Garret Westlake ’99: Team USA
Claire Meneeley ’00: Team USA
Lesley Greer ’00: Team USA
Chowning Johnson ’01: Team USA
Edward Linton ’07: University of Pennsylvania
Markham Shofner ’07: Pomona College, Washington D.C. Truck Stop, San Francisco Revolver, Bay Area Sunshine
Nicky Spiva ’07: Team USA, Colorado College, Philadelphia Amp, Atlanta Chain Lightning
Nora Hoover ’08: Wesleyan University
Sam Linton ’08: Vanderbilt University
Sam Warlick ’08: Kenyon College
Margie Quinn ’09: University of Georgia, Nashville ’Shine
Will Shaw ’11: Lewis and Clark College, Portland Rhino
Jesse Shofner ’11: University of Oregon, Team USA, Nashville ’Shine
Andrew Bridgers ’13: Middlebury College
Miro Hurdle ’13: Reed College
Mitchell Lutz ’13: Louisiana State University, Houston Havoc
Eli Motycka ’13: Brown University, Team USA U-24, Nashville ’Shine
Jack Spiva ’13: Tufts University, Nashville ’Shine
Zack Stern ’14: Amherst College
Metta Devine-Qin ’15: Nashville Nightshade
Mathieu Agee ’16: University of Colorado, Denver Johnny Bravo
Nicky Farren ’16: Santa Clara University, Nashville ’Shine, Madrid Quijotes
Sam Fisher ’16: Washington University in St. Louis, Nashville ’Shine
Joshua Gabella ’17: Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis Lounar, Indianapolis AlleyCats
Sam Kingsbury ’17: Bowdoin College
Will Howard ’19: Pomona College
Janie Keenan ’19: Kenyon College
Kellen Hill ’20: Loyola Marymount
DJ Lewis ’20: William & Mary
David Luffman ’20: Denison College
Shai Rice ’20: University of Colorado
Liam Savona ’20: Kenyon College
Olivia Gerregano ’21: Washington University in St. Louis
Esha Karam ’21: Columbia University
Sydney Neal ’21: Duke University, Nashville ’Shine
Wes Smail ’22: Davidson College
Geofrey Friedman ’23: University of Oklahoma, Vanderbilt University
Leala Nakagawa ’23:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Giri Peters ’23: DePaul University
Stella Shan ’23: William and Mary
Els Shepard ’23: Arizona State
Valentin Barrera-Vinha ’24: Vassar College
Ryan Barrett ’24: University of Michigan
Sadie Begtrup ’24: Carleton College
Lucy Cramer ’24: Vanderbilt University
Daniel Gerregano ’24: Santa Clara University
Clara Smail ’24: Williams College
Cameron Thompson ’24: Colorado College
Adam Wang ’24: University of Michigan
Xavier Warren ’24: Swarthmore College
Jack Wellons ’24: Washington University in St. Louis, Indianapolis AlleyCats
Cameron Boros ’25: Emory University
Connor Harris ’25: Lafayette College
Evan Hauser ’25: Indiana University
Ellie Klein ’25: Colby College
Reika Nakagawa ’25: Tufts University
Zinnia Nichols Loller ’25: Wesleyan University
Saul Sharfstein ’25: Carleton College
Know an alumnus who played club or professional Ultimate Frisbee and is missing from this list? Email jtraughber@usn.org .
(Top) Daniel Gerregano ’24 mid-catch during the River Campus Classic in April 2024. (Middle) Leala Nakagawa ’23 passes the flying disc in April 2023 while facing the Ohio State Fever. (Bottom) Coach Tobey Beaver Balzer ’02 huddles with the girls Ultimate Frisbee team during a March 2025 game against Pi, a team from Lexington, Kentucky.
A number of USN alumni play on the Nashville women’s professional Ultimate team, and several play on the national team. While at USN, Jack Wellons ’24 regularly traveled to play with the Indianapolis AlleyCats professional Ultimate team there, purely for love of the game. Even the original Brutal Grassburn players went on to play at their respective colleges.
While the cultural alignment makes Ultimate Frisbee a natural fit for USN, the impressive talent output might seem less obvious. Everyone has their theories.
“I think one part of it is introducing it in Middle School and having it available to people,” Smail said.
“I think the other is that it is presented in a low-stakes environment. It’s ok to mess up. You will mess up, but you’ll be better for it. Those two pieces were really important for me. I’m a bit quieter and shy, and that’s where I could come out of my shell.”
Whatever the reason, Ultimate Frisbee at USN is holding strong. For the past two years, USN has hosted a National Frisbee Qualifier at the River Campus. The two-day tournament gives two dozen teams from North Carolina, Utah, Ohio, Arkansas, Colorado, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee a chance to attend the National Ultimate Frisbee Championships.
Brutal Grassburn has grown to about 60 High School student-athletes. And many alumni have gone on to play in college and professionally.
“The program grew a lot our junior and senior year, but we figured it would kind of peter out after a couple years. To see it still going 25 years later is nuts. It was way beyond our wildest expectations when we were playing,” Terry said. “We were just doing something that we enjoyed doing. It was exciting for us to be able to get out into the world beyond high school and into the Ultimate community.”
Today, many of the 12 original members of Brutal Grassburn have children attending USN, and they all continue to text daily. They remain closely connected from that experience.
Many alumni return for an annual Ultimate Reunion each Thanksgiving weekend that brings at least 50 former and current players to River Campus for a fun scrimmage.
And every USN student who picks up an Ultimate disc at school and falls in love with the game has them to thank. Roll credits.
The Green Team: Behind the Scenes of a Championship-Worthy Campus
Grounds Assistant Dillon Anderson, River Campus Director Bret Mash, Grounds Assistant Ty Johnson, and Grounds Assistant John Wesley Baker care for the grounds, wetland, and equipment.
Spanning 81 acres in North Nashville, the River Campus is more than a collection of athletic facilities — it is a testament to dedication and care. Home to a dozen practice and playing fields, an eight-lane track, eight tennis courts, baseball and softball fields, two restroom and storage facilities, two pavilions, a maintenance shop, a wetland for science research and even a solar power array, this peninsula is a vital extension of University School of Nashville that thrives under the watchful eyes of a four-person maintenance team — Dillon Anderson, John Wesley Baker, Ty Johnson, and Bret Mash. Together, they keep the River Campus beautiful and ready for competition, ensuring studentathletes have a place to train, compete, and grow while budding scientists and outdoor enthusiasts have a place for marine biology lessons and nature journeys.
The plot of land originally belonging to the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) Indigenous people was purchased by USN in 1999 and was deemed the USN’s River Campus for home soccer games. Mash’s tenure on the fields he’s come to adore began 22 years ago, mowing grass as he balanced several jobs and studying horticulture, chemistry, and soil science at Austin Peay State University. He became River Campus Director in 2013, and — as the land’s functionality has evolved to sustain the school’s baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, and track and field programs — Mash has expanded the crew to five men when fully staffed. Each expresses a willingness to help with any task.
“It’s more of an all-hands-on-deck approach out here. You can come out here on any day, and if you don’t know the place, then you will not know who’s in charge,” Mash said. “I’m going to wear a T-shirt and blue jeans to work every day, and you’re going to find me out there with a weed eater.”
On a typical day, Johnson arrives first, sometimes beating the sun to work, around 6 a.m. Two men mow the fields while two others paint fresh lines on sports fields.
“There are 24 acres of sports turf, and you’ve got to cut it twice. So when you cut it in the morning, you’re going to have wet grass and clippings. Then it’s about lunch time,” Mash said. “Then you go back out, and the sun’s been out, it’s dried those clippings up, and then the field will clean up on second pass. We may have to take the blower out there and blow clippings off.”
It takes three men six hours to weed-eat the entire facility, walking the nooks and crannies between every fence. Each field gets a minimum of six passes by a mower each week.
They open and clean bathrooms in time for summer campers, student-athletes, and spectators. They trim trees. They fertilize on Fridays. Much of their work is dependent on the heavens above. When rainfall dampens mows, practices, and games, they wait for the sun to dry out the fields.
“Spring is a busy time of the year for sports, but so is fall. Summer is because Summer Camps are out here. But this place, I mean, it’s 11 and a half months of work to keep this place, and that’s not counting maintenance of those scoreboards,” Mash said, gesturing toward the baseball scoreboard he welded into place.
Adding to their workload, the crew also handles the maintenance and repair of buses, including the recent retrofitting of an older bus to transport the mountain biking team’s student-athletes, coaches, and twowheelers. In winter months, they spend more time indoors on shop maintenance and repairing equipment. They are responsible for the maintenance of a vintage, three-axle dump truck that requires a commercial driver’s license and stick shift to operate as well as a tractor, a backhoe, and two riding lawn mowers. That meant a recent steamy morning of hydraulic fluidstained clothes on Mash as he worked on a riding lawn mower. At times, they drive to Birmingham or Decatur, Alabama to purchase warning track mix for the baseball and softball fields.
These groundskeepers have known each other for years, with friendships dating back to childhood, which contributes to their strong camaraderie. Mash, also an ordained minister, officiated the wedding of Anderson and his wife. Their families play in recreational sports leagues together. And while they spread across acres much of the day to toil, they gather to spend lunch in communion. The team dynamics, they emphasize, are the most enjoyable part of caring for the River Campus.
“We all click as one. We’re all friends here. We’re not just coworkers,” Anderson said. “We’ll know we’ll have a big job to do, and we’ll all tackle it at the same time with the same mindset and get it done.”
And at times, they are dependent on each other to manage wildlife interactions. Johnson is typically on snake removal. Scaring raccoons from trash cans, sighting armadillos crossing, and chasing opossums from the shop are routine.
River Campus Director Bret Mash and Grounds Assistant Dillon Anderson dig a hole in Ed Costello Field in search of a sprinkler system leak flooding the soccer field in June 2025.
“In the wetland, we keep the boardwalks clean. We replace boards and try to keep the decks up as best we can,” Johnson said. “We’ll spend the day back here clearing out the beaver dams, and the next day it could look like we barely touched it. The beavers are pretty efficient.”
And on top of their responsibilities at the River Campus, the crew also is responsible for salting and removing snow from parking lots at the Edgehill Campus in the winter, seeding and mowing the Back Field yearround, and assisting Operations staff with setting up for Commencement each May.
As much as they are jacks of many trades, Mash is infamous for his knowledge on turf and monologues on grass care, which monopolizes their time. A compliment about the lawn is an invitation to listen to him discuss how the crew uses an EPA-registered, seaweedbased root growth biostimulant to accelerate the transition between grasses on athletic fields.
University School of Nashville
At one point, USN leased 10 acres near the Cumberland River to sod farmers. Then Mash began to use the land for seed trials for bluegrass and fescue for various seed companies and created his own blend of perennial rye. His transition from perennial ryegrass to Bermuda grass has been featured in SportsField Management magazine.
“We run two different types of turf here, because basically, Tennessee is in the transition zone, which is a fancy way of saying it can get really hot here. It could also get really cold. It’s the toughest part of the country to grow turf in, because there’s not a single variety that’s going to take you from the start of the race to the end, if we’re looking from January to December and thrive, right?” Mash begins before launching into the science of the River Campus, which uses coolseason perennial ryegrass and warm-season Bermuda grass. That requires aerating, over-seeding, vertical grading, and top-dressing with over 1,000 tons of sand annually.
The Conex rail car containers near the enterance are 40,000 pounds of seeds, 1,000 tons of sand, and no one wants to count how much fertilizer that Mash orders in bulk annually to save the school money but also by the nature of their contents attract vermin.
“We all click as one. We’re all friends here. We’re not just coworkers,” Anderson said. “We’ll know we’ll have a big job to do, and we’ll all tackle it at the same time with the same mindset and get it done.”
Grounds Assistant John Wesley Baker uses a weed eater along a fence in June 2025. The task takes 18 hours each week to cover perimeters and fencelines throughout the River Campus.
Natural disasters challenge maintenance staff
Operating the River Campus has come with its fair share of challenges. In 2010, tons of water swept through the patch of land sandwiched between Whites Creek and the Cumberland River, leaving the athletic fields strewn with debris.
When Mash left the River Campus on the last day of April 2010, he said he didn’t expect more than another spring rain. The campus was picturesque with fields freshly striped, and a helicopter flew over to capture aerial photos.
Initial forecasts called for 2 to 4 inches of rain, Mash recalled. Two days later, after clouds poured incessantly, he drove to the River Campus around 7 a.m. and stopped at the gate, unable to drive his four-wheeldrive pickup into the River Campus driveway. Another two days later, he returned by kayak to paddle around the tops of trees. Large pools of water remained for another three days.
The sight was similar across Middle Tennessee following torrential rain — as much as 19 inches in some places — on the first two days of May 2010, which swelled creeks and rivers. As the water receded, Mash and the lone other River Campus maintenance staff member at the time found fish stuck in chain-link fences, water moccasins, raccoons, and possums left behind in fields, as well as drowned deer. The high jump pit, trash cans, and picnic tables were left high up in trees. Construction trash rested on the baseball field. Much athletic equipment and newly installed electrical wiring were total losses, as was $20,000 of fertilizer. A tractor was salvageable only because the air breather remained above the waterline.
“I mean, it was a mess. Oh, it was a mess. There was no cavalry riding in to save us. There were two of us. A lot of other schools that were affected brought in teams of contractors, but we went in and did what needed to be done,” Mash recalled 15 years later. He cashed in favors with rental companies and brought his personal tractor from home. After ripping out drywall and spraying the shell of the maintenance building with bleach, Mash spent some nights sleeping in his office to not “waste time driving” from his home in Clarks-
The flooded River Campus in May 2010 compared to the school’s well-manicured fields and wetlands in August 2019 (right). USN’s 81 acres are lined by the Cumberland River, Whites Creek, and Briley Parkway.
ville. They brought the River Campus back online within two months.
And the lessons learned while wading through the waters prepared the River Campus crew for another stormy spring two months shy of the flood’s 10th anniversary. When an EF-3 tornado swept through Nashville in the early hours of March 3, 2020, concrete rained onto 15 acres of River Campus and left fields strewn with debris. Two sets of bleachers and four soccer goals were damaged. Mash, knowing supplies would be finite, began making phone calls around 2 a.m. and arrived with dumpsters 90 minutes later so they could immediately get to work. They filled nine dumpsters and had them hauled away for the fields to reopen within a week.
“Our jobs are not easy. We do the job that no one wants to do. We love being outside and we have a passion for it,” Mash said, even on the days when they are “baking like rotisserie chicken.”
“It takes every single one of us to keep our heads together and above water,” he added.
Future is bright for River Campus, crew
Since Athletics Director Josh Scouten joined USN in 2007, the development of the River Campus as an athletic facility has gradually bloomed.
“When I first started at USN, it was dirt parking lots, no tennis courts, no lights on fields, no dugouts for baseball or softball, and the coaches were all lining their fields. Bret had one person that was working out there with him, and so it was just a much smaller operation than what we currently have. As Nashville has grown, we’ve tried to build out the facility in different ways and modernize it.”
During the 2024-2025 academic year, USN hosted eight large events, including the Frisbee Classic and Harpeth Valley Athletic Conference track championship competition, and a mock state track meet as a precursor for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association approving USN’s change to Division II Class A. These significant events attracted upwards of
1,500 attendees but faced parking challenges with only 400 spaces.
The Board of Trustees approved in April and work began in July on a $1.8 million lighting project that will allow USN to host competitions at more familyfriendly times, enhancing the fan experience and improving practice conditions. Two generous donors have funded $1 million, with the remaining coming from the school’s plant reserves. Nashville Electric Services is undertaking electrical infrastructure work, including field lighting, installation, and 28 light poles along parking lots and the driveway. A&S Electric Inc. is providing underground electrical infrastructure services and installing self-contained solar lights. Premier Sports Lighting LLC is handling the sports field lighting. Energy-efficient lighting with a long lifespan, accompanied by reduced maintenance costs, and sufficient underground electrical infrastructure and capacity, will enable future expansion of lighting and electrical needs.
Parking lot and lane lighting will be self-contained solar lights, with fixture, solar panel, battery bank, and controls at each pole location. The entire array will be controllable and programmable as a whole unit.
Field lighting fixtures will be 1200w LED with remote drivers and control boxes located on each pole. Lighting arrays will include “light show” features and will be controllable and programmable remotely.
“It’ll definitely provide opportunities to extend games or play a full match or a full game. Oftentimes in the early part of the spring and in the late fall, we’re having to shorten games based on daylight, which is a factor for anybody who doesn’t have lights. You can turn them on and finish the game under normal circumstances, and it provides an additional opportunity for playing time and completing a full game. I think it’ll also help practices early in the year, for spring sports and for fall sports. The heat impact in the early fall often means that we have to make decisions about practices happening or not, because we don’t have the daylight to run a practice later,” Scouten said. “There is also the opportunity to host games at a time when we could capitalize on some more school spirit. If a game starts at four o’clock, that’s sometimes hard for families with working parents to try to make it to those games.”
On Scouten’s wishlist to further enhance athletics at the campus are upgrading the electrical infrastructure,
University School of Nashville
adding press boxes, and installing artificial turf on a field, which would provide better field access and drainage during rainy seasons. These upgrades would allow for better game announcements and pre-game activities without the need for temporary setups, he said.
Even more so, Mash would appreciate a new sprinkler system beneath the soccer field, having made more
than 30 repairs to the two-decade-old system, which is complicated by concrete stuck to the plumbing and electrical wires.
“We do a lot more than originally envisioned for this system,” he said while standing in a two-foot hole he dug to search for a leak.
In recent years, USN has added a city sewer line and Tiger Station, complete with restrooms, concessions, storage, an open-air batting facility, and team rooms, and resurfaced the tennis courts and Zaf Ahmed track.
8 for the Class of 2025
19 100 sports programs teams across three seasons in MS & HS Now swimming at University of Michigan, Anna Hulan ’25 owns the most individual school records
200 200 400 81-acre
24
2000 Edgehill
students from the Classes of 2022-2025 participate in NCAA-sponsored sports: baseball, basketball, bowling, golf, track & field, soccer, swimming
4
the PDS/USN basketball 2,000 point club
Ginnie Myers ’77, Fred Humphries ’79 , Jenny Boucek ’92 , and Wil Howard-Downs ’99 with six athletic playing fields, three practice fields, an eight-lane track & field complex, eight tennis courts, dedicated baseball and softball facilities, a solar power generation array, and 400 parking space and is a member of all three swimming relay school records in the PDS/USN
37
50 100 100 100 200 2 5
85% 1.7-acre
Back Lawn for recess and PE at the Edgehill Campus of students in Grades 5-12 participate in USN sports
5,000-square-foot with 4 treadmills, weight lifting machines, and free weights
9,000-square-foot
5,400-square-foot
50,000
indoor pool; built in 1915 and renovated in 2013
32 since the state championships
girls golf 2011; boys soccer 2009; girls soccer 2012; volleyball 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996; boys tennis 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014; boys Ultimate Frisbee 1999, 2024; girls Ultimate Frisbee 2000, 2001, 2006, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024; boys cross country 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022; girls cross country 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011; girls track and field 2022
CAMPUS NEWS
The Class of 2025’s 105 graduates head to 75 colleges and universities across the country and England. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. recognized 20% percent of the class as commended students, semifinalits, or scholarship recipients. Their average SAT score was 1400. (1)
High School English Teacher Ann Wheeler and Sixth Grade Science Teacher Amy Dortch retired at the close of the 2024-2025 academic year. Longtime Chief Financial Officer Teresa Standard returned to be recognized alongside them during the retirement celebration that drew several former faculty and staff. (2, 3, 4)
The Class of 2031 finished sixth grade in the Tennessee State Capitol’s House of Representatives chambers, concluding its debate curriculum with spirited dialogue on animal testing and TikTok. (5)
High School thespians performed a “Toledo Surprise” from their November 2024 musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” during TPAC’s Spotlight Awards in May 2025. (6)
Recent facility upgrades at the Edgehill Campus include ironworks and landscaping improvements in the Alper Courtyard between the Hassenfeld Library and West Wing and the completion of a steam line connecting USN to Vanderbilt University’s chiller. (7)
Sixth Grade English Teacher Katie Reen Sandidge was named the Lisa and Mike Shmerling Chair for Excellence in Teaching. The chair is awarded every four years to a teacher whose contributions to USN have inspired students and colleagues in support of the school’s mission to “model the best in educational practices.” (8)
Putting their hacking skills to the test, the Coding Club hosted the first high school hackathon in Nashville at USN. The challenge was to design an application, algorithm, or AI model to improve the overall health and safety of students. Points were awarded for the solution’s potential impact, presentational skill, technical implementation, and teamwork. (9)
University School of Nashville
During forest days, second-grade naturalists learned about the science of fire and about fire safety before building a small campfire. (10)
Librarians have brought new energy to the Hassenfeld Library with new furniture configured for small study groups and lounged reading, late-night study sessions with pizza and therapy dogs before exams, a Battle of the Books for Nashville-area middle schoolers, and Read Across USN Week, during which the USN community read 405,662 pages. (11)
The Middle School Quiz Bowl Team won all five Tennessee tournaments it entered in 2024-2025 and sent two groups to the National Academic Quiz Tournament and Middle School National Championship in Chicago. Meanwhile, the High School Quiz Bowl Team won the state championship for the third year in a row and teams placed 5th and 17th at the Small Schools Nationals tournament in Chicago. National Academic Quiz Bowl Tournaments named USN’s High School Quiz Bowl Team as the National Team of the Week for its performance in the 2024 Carolyn Hawkins Memorial Tournament II. (12)
Dozens of retired faculty and staff returned to Durnan Auditorium in May for a luncheon, renewing a tradition that began in 2012. (13)
It’s a rare occurrence for all K-12 students to be simultaneously in one place. It’s an even rarer occurrence for the moon to pass in front of the sun, creating an eclipse effect that can be seen on earth. However, both things happened April 8, 2024 as students stopped to view a partial eclipse. Some were fortunate enough to experience a total eclipse on the Back Lawn in 2017. (14)
Twenty Middle Schoolers and 24 Lower Schoolers participated in the Perennial Math Problem Solving Tournament in May. The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teams placed first in their respective grades, fifth graders placed second, and fourth graders tied for third place. (15)
Third graders held a Jump-A-Thon on the back lawn to raise $22,000 for Del Rio Elementary, a rural East Tennessee school severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. More than 20,500 jumps were recorded and funded by either a flat donation or a per-jump pledge. (16)
Chris Bradshaw ’00 named 2025 Distinguished Alumnus
Chris Bradshaw’s activism work began shortly after a civil rights lesson in third grade. A teacher outlawed Lava Monster from the new wooden playground. It was too dangerous, she said. Bradshaw organized classmates to boycott recess.
“So my early community organizer chops were built here. We literally made signs and picketed and sat in the sandbox, boycotting recess because they wouldn’t let us play tag,” he recalled. “But our parents were proud because we stood up for ourselves. We organized around something that had meaning. So the resolution was, we got to play tag and resume our childhood.”
Since graduating from University School of Nashville, Bradshaw attended Howard University and continued to take grade school lessons learned to foster social consciousness and advocate for community-based food systems in Washington, D.C. proper. He is founder and Executive Director of Dreaming Out Loud Inc. and defines himself as a justice-oriented, social entrepreneur whose expertise is using social innovation through the food system to grow meaningful community economic development within marginalized communities. With his staff of 25 people, DOL grows a variety of vegetables on 3 acres in the nation’s capital, operates a food hub with three shareable kitchens, and
Chris Bradshaw ’00 addresses seniors during Convocation on May 13, 2025 in Durnan Auditorium.
University School of Nashville runs the Marion Barry Avenue Market, a grocery store that serves about 80,000 people. DOL serves 5,000 children and families monthly and has sub-granted over $500,000 to local farmers.
“So we work with other farmers across the region to get their produce and products in the schools, hospitals, and other nonprofit programs. We cut fruit and vegetables for schools, make granola for schools, and then we have a food entrepreneurship program and provide technical assistance to Black, brown, and woman-owned farms and food makers, so helping folks participate in the food economy and shifting the food economy into the community hands,” he said.
DOL has graduated 50 “food entrepreneurs,” from its 14-week program that teaches them about formalizing their businesses, marketing, accessing capital, and refining recipes.
“We use food as a lens and a vessel to examine the intersectional justice, racial justice, economic justice, and gender ... and to invite conversations and challenge systems,” Bradshaw said. “We situate our work in community, being of community, putting power back in the hands of folks … who might not have had the same opportunities but can find that and a new way of building power and building work on the ground through the food system.”
He is a frequent speaker on the intersections of racial justice, class, gender, and food sovereignty, with appearances at the Atlantic Ideas Festival, the Bloomberg American Health Summit, and regional and national gatherings for farmers and food activists.
Bradshaw was profiled in The Washington Post in 2020, was the 2021 recipient of Georgetown University’s John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award, one of Eating Well Magazine’s 2021 American Food Heroes, and was selected to the Root 100 list of most influential Black Americans. He also spoke to USN High School students on social justice and his work with DOL during Community Action Day in 2021.
Despite the progress he’s made for dozens of regional farmers and thousands of families in Washington, D.C. to address discriminatory policies that have created inequalities in access to fresh food, challenges still arise. Several of DOL’s U.S. Department of Agriculture grants were frozen during the first round of executive orders in January, cutting some $500,000 from its budget. Bradshaw said he turned his focus this year to work with other advocacy organizations, find ways to bridge gaps with philanthropists and the municipal government, and help people understand their purchasing power.
He wants younger generations at his alma mater to understand the impact they too can make. He returned to Nashville on May 13, 2025 for the PDS/USN Alumni Board to present him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of his visionary leadership and dedication as a justice-driven social entrepreneur, whose work to address food insecurity inspires and empowers future generations committed to equity and social change.
“The students graduating today are in a moment where there are big historical questions and challenges. The lessons that they learn here and the commitment that they’re making beyond the walls of the school to the values that they’ve learned here at USN are going to be tested,” he said shortly before addressing the Class of 2025 during its Convocation in Durnan Auditorium. “And they’re going to have to answer in steadfast ways to this historical moment if they want to see those values continue to exist in the world.”
About the Distinguished Alumni Award
This award was established in 1978 to honor a graduate of PDS/USN who has made outstanding professional or civic achievements on a local, national, or international level. Recipients have included authors, educators, researchers, musicians, and volunteer leaders. Their accomplishments serve as an inspiration to students and graduates and as a reminder to Nashvillians of the high-quality education that has long been a tradition at the school. Nominations for future recognition are encouraged and should be emailed to alumni@usn.org .
Reunion 2025
Reunion Weekend 2025 was one of the largest alumni gatherings in years and a celebration of the enduring PDS/USN spirit. Alumni from across decades returned to 2000 Edgehill Avenue, and the joy of reconnecting filled the entire weekend, May 1-3, 2025. Interim Director Juliet Douglas brought warmth and a strong sense of continuity, connecting with alumni across generations and fully embracing the spirit of the weekend.
Milestone classes ending in zero and five were honored, with the Class of 1975 celebrating its 50th and joining the Gold Circle. Fred Buc, Joseph Gilbert, Howard Kirshner, Bill Knox, Dan Lansford, Leslie Lurie, Gregory Polzin, Steve Reed, Lee Ann Floyd Stiles, Jeannie Day Sudberry, Tom Surface, Patti Watkins Trombereg, Alan Wind, Lee Ann Pritchett Young were present from the last graduating class of Peabody Demonstration School.
Nashville-based alumni of all ages gathered at Streetcar Taps & Garden for the All-Alumni Party on Thursday. Friday began with an intimate coffee and breakfast social for alumni who graduated more than 50 years ago. Then, students led campus tours that sparked nostalgia and shared memories. Alumni spent the evening reminiscing with their former peers at small class parties.
Saturday’s highlight was the “100 Years of Teaching at PDS/USN” panel, a lively conversation featuring longtime High School faculty members English Teacher Ann Wheeler, Science Teacher George Flatau, and English Teacher Robbie McKay and moderated by Henry Gatto ’25 and Carmen Gaskin ’25.
Thank you to Reunion Co-Chairs Howard Kirshner ’75 and Lee Sherwood ’15, as well as to all the volunteers who helped reunite classmates. There is something powerful about returning, remembering where we began, and seeing how far we’ve come.
Reunion 2025 marked not only the 50th anniversary of the school’s transition from Peabody Demonstration School to become University School of Nashville but also the centennial for the main building, designed by McKim, Mead and White and built by Hedgeman-Harris Co. Inc. with men and mules beginning in 1923. The building was dedicated in February 1925. Back then, construction costs quickly exceeded the $400,000 budget, and Peabody nearly doubled enrollment to fund the new building and fill its rooms. With the main building’s many renovations and additions over the years, it now holds High School classrooms and administrative offices with the indoor pool, Cheek Gym, and Durnan Auditorium still in place.
See the full galleries of photos from class parties, the All-Alumni Party, the Gold Circle Coffee, panel, and luncheon at usn.org/reunion . And save the dates April 23-25, 2026 for the next Reunion celebrating classes ending in one and six. Email alumni@usn.org to help with planning your class’ party.
1940
The Citizen Tribune of Morristown, Tennessee featured Peggy Nellums Brock , who celebrated her 100th birthday in September 2023.
1947
Wilbur Sensing shared a photo of himself and his wife Lucy celebrating Christmas.
1949
Bob Miller continues to join Geology Teacher Steve Smail. Among their recent geology walks was a trip to Warner Park to explore and rediscover rare Silurian period rocks.
1960
Members of the Class of 1960 dined at Noshville for the first time in several years. Those in attendance included Royce Coleman Fishel, James Fishel, Becky and Bill Darby, Sue Zager Sternheimer, Steve Sternheimer, Terry Martin , and Lisa Small.
1967
Cassandra Teague-Walker, the first AfricanAmerican to graduate from PDS/USN, attended “Elijah Rock,” directed by Middle School Theater Director Bakari King at the Nashville Children’s Theater. There she took photos with USN parent Brandy King, Student Council President Addi King ’26 , former USN student Kambri King , and Henry Gatto ’25 .
1956
Mary Lee McCharen Di Spirito received the 2024 Virginia Governor’s Volunteerism Award.
1968
The Class of 1968 continues to catch up with one another through monthly Zoom calls. Its May Zoom call spanned three states and two countries:
Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Finland. Diana Wiles was on a train bound for Oslo. They discussed adventures in Finland, Antarctica, Switzerland, and Cabo.
Shannon Paty hiked in Boulder, Colorado and reached around 11,000 feet.
Sam Stumpf and his wife Jane visited Shannon Paty in Monteagle, Tennessee. They were in town for Jane’s 50th University of the South reunion.
Wilbur Sensing ’47
Members of the Class of 1960
Bob Miller ’49
Brandy King, Kambri King, Addi King ’26, Henry Gatto ’25, Bakari King, Cassandra TeagueWalker ’67
Members of the Class of 1968
Shannon Paty ’68
Sam Stumpf ’68 and Shannon Paty ’68
1969
Composer Rodney Lister ’s piece “I Got Me Flowers” was performed as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music at a concert at St. George’s Bloomsbury. He released new contemporary music titled “Rodney Lister’s Choral Works: A Journey Through Text, Harmony and Expression.” This recording offers a collection of Lister’s works, which were composed over several decades for the chorus of Greenwood.
1970
Carol Norris Brown enjoyed a visit to the Edgehill Campus during the National Alumni Board of Visitors meeting in November 2023. While in Nashville, she dined with classmates Valli Green and Sarah Keith DeMoss Maxcy.
Bill Freeman will be posthumously inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame at the 2025 Enshrinement Gala on September 27, 2025 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
1971
Patty Pangle Diehl continues to coach the High School girls tennis team. The Tigers reached the state quarterfinals in 2024 and were state champion runners-up in 2025.
The paintings and sculptures of Barry Wilker hung in USN’s Christine Slayden Tibbott Center Gallery throughout March and April 2024.
1972
The Nashville Business Journal featured Manuel Zeitlin , co-owner of Manuel Zeitlin Architects, on its list of Most Admired CEOs and published a Q&A with him about sustainability and climate change.
1973
Mike Shmerling returned to USN to speak with Head of High School Chai Reddy’s English class seminar, A Hero’s Journey, in spring 2025.
1974
Milton Clark returned to the Edgehill Campus to celebrate his new picture book, inspired by his mother’s career, with fourth graders. He is the author and illustrator. Milton also spoke with Head of High School Chai Reddy’s English class seminar, A Hero’s Journey.
Babs Freeman-Loftis and Fabienne Stassen traveled to Bangalore, India for an adventure in February 2025. Babs, who worked at USN for 28 years and concluded her tenure as Assistant Head of Lower School, also joined the PDS/ USN Alumni Board this year. To prepare for Reunion 2025, Babs, Matt Loftis ’05 , and Susan Fesmire Rowe packed gift bags in the Morris Conference Room.
Members of the Class of 1974 posed on “The Wall” after being inducted into the Gold Circle during their 50th Reunion in April 2024. Later that weekend, they gathered at Frank May ’s home for their class party.
Attaboy band, featuring Ray Crabtree and Tom Surface ’75 , played at Springwater Supper Club during Reunion 2025.
1975
Robert Shmerling , a leading rheumatologist and Harvard Health Publishing editor, was featured in The New York Times on the role of exercise in fighting chronic inflammation.
Rodney Lister ’69
Patty Pangle Diehl ’71
Babs Freeman-Loftis ’74 and Fabienne Stassen ’74
Members of the Class of 1974
Milton Clark ’74
Mike Shmerling ’73
Beyond
Edgehill
Q: Why did you choose a career in the sports industry?
Richard “Buddy” Shaffer ’54
PDS Sports: football, track, basketball
College: Bachelor of Business Administration at Middle Tennessee State University
Today: Football Headset Manager for Pierremont Media Group
Previously: 2022 Inductee into the Middle Tennessee Football Officials Hall of Fame following 56 years on the football field as a high school football referee and managing gameday intercom systems for football coaches at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State University, the Tennessee Titans, and during Music City Bowls
A: I’ve always loved football and wanted to be a coach. I worked 32 years with the South Central Bell Telephone Company and went to college at night. When I graduated, I was making more money with the phone company than I could in coaching. I was married and had kids, and I didn’t feel like I should take money away from my family to do something like this. So I took up officiating after work, and got to do everything I wanted to do — still be around ball, be with kids, and help them by working Friday night high school scrimmages and football games in Nashville, Goodlettsville, and Gallatin, plus bowl games. I worked as a field judge and referee in high school football for 34 years and then have been working with football coaches’ headsets since the 1980s for Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State University, the Tennessee Titans, and Music City Bowls.
Q: What is your fondest PDS/USN memory on the field, on the court, or in the pool?
A: I ran track at Peabody Demonstration School, starting as a student there in my junior year. I went to Duncan College Preparatory School for the first two years of high school, and when it closed, Coach Crawford,
who was the football coach, talked me into coming to Peabody to get the football team started back up. We didn’t have enough players to form a team, so we played intramural football. My junior class team won two consecutive years. I did some basketball and ran track — the mile relay, 100m, and 220m on the track team.
Q: What experience during your time at PDS/USN had the biggest influence on who/where you are today?
A: I just wanted to get a good education, and Peabody gave me a chance when my school closed. Peabody was my way of staying in football.
Q: If you could go back in time and have a conversation with yourself in high school, what advice would you give your younger self?
A: Pay attention in class. Study more.
Q: Is there a piece of advice from one of your PDS teachers or coaches that still guides you today?
A: They taught me to be a partner to play better games. Support each other as a team. And to study and pay attention to my grades.
Q: What do you believe is your biggest strength, and how has it helped you in your current role?
A: Speed on the field, running as a field judge, and staying in shape to work ball games. I was working the scrimmage game at Vanderbilt University, and Football Coach George MacIntyre was starting his second year at Vanderbilt. He had trouble with headsets the year before. During the scrimmage I was officiating, he sent word to me to ask if I knew
University School of Nashville
anything about headsets. So after the scrimmage was over, I went to look at them. At that time, headsets were only a dry pair of wires, a battery, and an earpiece. So he asked, “would you like to travel with us and manage our headsets?” And I said, “why yes, I would. I’m getting older and these 18-year-old players are getting faster.” I felt like I was slowing down, so I probably needed to back off officiating and let some younger guys have it. That gave me a chance to stay in football games. So I started working for Vanderbilt and also spent 21 years helping the Tennessee Titans with their headsets. I traveled to every home and away game, even AFC Championships and Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, GA.
Q: What do people think you do in your profession, and what do you actually do?
A: Referees help boys learn to be men, pay attention to the rules, and follow the rules. And we don’t let them cuss on the field. Right now, I’m working under Pierremont Media Group, which has the contract to do the coaches’ headsets at Nissan Stadium. I’ve also worked under the Tennessee Titans contract for 21 years. When the coaches in the press box call the plays down to the field, I make sure the equipment’s working. I listen to them call the plays out to the field, and if they don’t get it, then I find out what’s wrong with the headset and get it fixed. [The late Titans quarterback]
Steve McNair would get [Head Coach Jeff] Fisher and [Offensive
Coordinator Mike] Heimerdinger worked up, saying his headsets weren’t working, cupping his hands over them, sending me scrambling. Those headsets were fine. He would pretend he couldn’t hear anything because he wanted to call the plays.
Q: What accomplishment or moment in your career are you most proud of?
A: I started as a framer setting up lines for phones in the equipment room with the South Central Bell Telephone Company and spent a few months climbing telephone poles in Mississippi, and I retired as an account supervisor. I worked my way up from the line crew outside into the management part of South Central Bell and went to the President’s Club of sales three years in a row. Then I retired from there, got the 911 center started in Sumner County, and stayed there for 31 years. I served as state president for the Tennessee Emergency Number Association for three consecutive terms and represented all nine counties in Middle Tennessee.
(Editor’s Note: Shaffer is too humble to mention this, but in 2022 he was inducted into the Middle Tennessee Football Officials Hall of Fame for retired referees who have “gone above and beyond on behalf of the MTFOA and scholastic football officiating. Nominees must exemplify the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct, and moral character” and worked for at least 10 seasons. He also earned the Middle Tennessee Football Officials Association’s Golden Whistle Award for Outstanding Officials in 1978. )
1976
The Student Mental Health Coalition and Gender Sexuality Alliance sponsored a lunch and learn with Marisa Richmond in the Payne Library Room. Richmond is a professor of History and Women’s & Gender Studies at Middle Tennessee State University and the first transgender appointee to the Metro Human Relations Commission in the history of the Commission.Marisa and Nathalie Lavine ’00 spoke on a panel, led by English Department Chair Freya Sachs ’00 to the junior class exploring Civil Rights stories.
1979
Midori Lockett was honored with Vanderbilt’s prestigious Mary Jane Werthan Award for her visionary leadership and dedication to advancing women and marginalized communities on campus. “I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” she shared.
Stephan Parker completed “A Roadkill Opera,” a new opera built on the music of the first act of Paer’s Leonora.
1980
Sarah Towle debuted her first full-length book, “Crossing the Line: Finding America in the Borderlands” in 2024. Towle’s journey from outrage to activism to abolition exposes the broken layers of the global deterrence complex failing in the United States-Mexico border. Sarah visited USN during her book tour and shared insights with High Schoolers during a lunch and learn. Classmate Rachel Lukens Barden came out to support Sarah during the tour.
1983
Robin Hess Teigland and her organization, Peniche Ocean Watch, have been highlighted in the World Surf League for transforming ocean waste into new, valuable resources.
1985
Bobby Frank continues to engage audiences with his talent, reminding us how USN alumni enrich the world through the arts. He was featured on WSMV’s “Today in Nashville” in July 2025. Catch him live at upcoming shows in Nashville.
The Class of 1976 gathered at Chef’s Market in Goodlettsville in summer 2024 to join classmate Jeff Ray, who was visiting from Texas. They are already scheming for their 50th Reunion in 2026. Pictured on the left are Patrick Gilbert, Carmelia Cammon Brooks , Brenda Freeman , Don Esstman , and Jackie Roth Karr, and on the right are Randy Held , Matt McMurry, Cynthia Goldner, and Seth Eskind
1987
Harold W. Jordan , a former Trustee and parent of four USN alumni, Karen Jordan ’87, Harold Jordan ’81 , Vince Jordan ’83 , and Kristi Jordan Graham ’90, was honored at Vanderbilt University for the 6th Annual Harold Jordan Lecture Series. Harold was the first Black resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Ray Crabtree ’74 and Tom Surface ’75
Sarah Towle ’80
Midori Lockett ’79
Nathalie Lavine ’00, Freya Sachs ’00 and Marisa Richmond ’76
Members of the class of 1976
Bobby Frank ’85 and his hand pan
1989
Susan Yeagley and her husband, Kevin Nealon, executive produced “Come See Me in the Good Light,” a documentary acquired by Apple TV and set for global release in fall 2025. Among its honors are the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance, the Audience Choice Award at the Cleveland International Film Festival, the People’s Choice Award at the Boulder Film Festival, and the Iris Tillman Hill Audience Award at Full Frame. Susan reflected, “We need beautiful stories in this world right now. Keep telling the truth. Keep writing.”
1990
Col. Sarah Goldman, Ph.D. joined seniors via Zoom for a meaningful conversation in Head of High School Chai Reddy’s English seminar, A Hero’s Journey, to share insights from her inspiring path in military medicine.
1991
Public radio veteran, founder of NPR’s “Radiolab,” and Vanderbilt University podcast institute professor Jad Abumrad and his new video series were featured in the Nashville Post. Also, in a new series called “Quantum Potential,” Jad
highlights the scholars, scientists, and students at Vanderbilt University who are finding new ways to understand the world and change it.
1992
Distinguished Alumna Jenny Boucek is once again making history. A former WNBA player in the league’s inaugural season, Jenny was on the sidelines of the NBA Finals as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers.
Nick Buda played at Music Night 2024, USN’s annual fundraiser to benefit USN’s arts and athletic programs.
Molly Princehorn Darr is leading Williamson County Animal Center’s Pawsabilities Program, which launched last year. The program successfully unites animal welfare, disability assistance, and educational endeavors, bringing joy and empowerment to its participants and the community. Franklin Is, the online voice of Williams County, featured her in an article about her work.
1993
Lila Patton Herbst ’93 marked her 50th birthday in San Francisco with a celebration that included former teacher Karen Ward Knox ’66 The evening featured music by Lila’s husband, Geoff Herbst, perfectly complementing the vibrant atmosphere and strengthening the lasting bond between PDS/USN alumni.
After a 22-year career as a public defender in the Birmingham area, which included a stint with the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Alabama from 2016 to 2024, Tobie Smith has accepted a role with University of Alabama Law School as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Legal Instruction. He will also lead the Criminal Defense Clinic, which provides free representation to defendants in state, municipal, and federal prosecutions and post-conviction proceedings.
1994
Selected from a pool of 250 applicants, Trustee Sneha Channabasappa Oakley was chosen as a member of the Leadership Nashville 2025 cohort. The nine-month executive-level program consists of a course that focuses on issues related to Metro Nashville and Davidson County.
Mindy Minnen Gold ’94 earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Organizational Development from the University of Louisville on May 9, 2025. In addition to this exciting achievement, Mindy was honored with the Blake
Susan Yeagley ’89
Nick Buda ’92
Sarah Goldman ’90
Lila Patton Herbst ’93 and Karen Ward Knox ’66
Mindy Minnen Gold ’94
Beyond
Edgehill
Q: Why did you choose a career in the sports industry?
value of pushing through and continuing to work and improve when it’s not fun and when there’s no one celebrating you. We turned it around my senior season and achieved some meaningful goals. To this day, I believe that you learn more from your setbacks than you do when everything falls into place.
Brook
Gardiner ’95
USN Sports: basketball, soccer, tennis
College: A.B. in Politics at Princeton University, J.D. at New York University School of Law
Today: Senior Vice President of Labor Strategy at Major League Soccer and General Counsel at MLS NEXT Pro
Previously: Vice President of Labor Relations at NFL (2006-2019), Vice President of Labor Relations at NBCUniversal LLC (2019-2022)
A: Ever since I attended my first NFL game at age 10, I have been determined to find a way to make professional sports a part of my life. Initially, my focus was journalism, and I was the sports editor of the USN High School Newspaper (then called the Edgehill Herald). I continued sports journalism in college. After interning in Football Operations with the Jacksonville Jaguars during law school, however, I shifted my focus to resolving and managing disputes between players and teams and brokering agreements that serve the interests of professional athletes, team owners, and fans like me who love the game. That first game was Dallas Cowboys at the Detroit Lions in the old Pontiac Silverdome [in 1987], and I still have the gameday program with Tony Dorsett on the cover.
Q: What experience during your time at PDS/USN had the biggest influence on who/where you are today?
A: The boys basketball team struggled mightily my junior year, and I think we won just three games all season. We had a new coach and a lot of attrition with several players who quit the team, some midseason. I learned a lot from that season about leadership and perseverance, the
Q: If you could go back in time and have a conversation with yourself in High School, what advice would you give your younger self?
A: I would reassure my younger self that no one is born with all the answers and that you have all the ability you need to reach any goal you set for yourself. It will take time. Also, you can’t do it alone. Surround yourself with friends and loved ones who challenge you and who you admire and treat them as you want to be treated. When you can, help others achieve their goals. Their success will inspire you. Finally, show up. Half of the battle is just being where you’re supposed to be when you are supposed to be there and giving it your best.
Q: Is there a piece of advice from one of your PDS/USN teachers or coaches that still guides you today?
A: I remember [English Teacher Alys] Venable as the first teacher who made me feel like I had special talent as a writer based on the short creative stories she asked us to write in Middle School. She gave me confidence, and I credit her encouragement, passion, and love for words with my decision to pursue journalism first, then political science, and ultimately, law.
University School of Nashville
Q: What do people think you do in your profession, and what do you actually do?
A: When people think of sports lawyers and negotiations, they tend to think of an agent who represents an individual player and maybe also one team’s general manager who pushes back on that agent’s demands. What is less visible is the role I’ve played throughout my career in the league office working on behalf of team owners in negotiations across the table from players’ associations (unions) to set the league rules and minimum conditions of employment that apply across all teams in the league for all players who play in the league. I spent over a decade in that role at the NFL before transitioning to NBC to work on deals for on-air talent, directors, producers, and technicians for the Olympics, the Triple Crown, and Sunday Night Football. Now, I bring that combined experience to Major League Soccer, the top men’s professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, and MLS NEXT Pro, which is MLS’s development league.
Q: What accomplishment or moment in your career are you most proud of?
A: Very simply, I’m in a good place if I feel like I can maximize my own potential while opening doors for others to do the same. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to achieve so far in my career, but I’m even more proud to have played a key role in helping others take steps towards reaching their goals as well. It’s important for me to make a difference. For example, MLS is the most geographically diverse and youngest player pool among all North American sports leagues, hailing from 80+ countries. In my short period of time here so far, we’ve incorporated intercultural awareness training and restorative practices to not only address on-field discriminatory incidents but to shift the culture and foster a welcoming, safe, and inclusive place for players.
Q: Why do you give to USN?
A: I am one of three siblings (Kortenay ’93 and Jon ’01). We all graduated from and spent the vast majority of our formative years at USN but live in other cities now. When people ask me where I’m from, I don’t say Nashville. I say University School of Nashville. USN made me who I am.
Haselton Community Change Agent Award for her powerful, community-based research and work supporting change in local schools. She’s proud to bring this new expertise to her educational consulting practice. Eli ’24 (home from the University of Miami), her husband Neal, her mom Terry, and dear friend Gil were there to celebrate in person, while Sam ’22 joined virtually from Iowa.
1995
Amanda “Mandy” Williams performed a Valentine’s show, “A Story of Love Nashville,”at Woolworth Theater in downtown Nashville. Mandy shared, “As a proud USN alumna, I received my strong foundation in performing arts as a student and have continued to participate in school events over the years.”
Leah Paxton Bergman and Gabe Dixon ’96 supported their children Lilly Bergman ’28, Liam Dixon ’28, and other Zeitgeist performers on the Black Top in April 2025.
1996
Claire Ackerman is hosting a Nashville book club for history enthusiasts. If you’re interested in exploring Colonialism, post-Colonialism, and related topics, email empirebookclub@gmail com to join her for thoughtful discussions and engaging reads.
1997
NFocus Magazine featured Frist Art Museum Executive Director Seth Feman for transitioning from a childhood fascination with art to a dynamic career spanning roles at institutions like Newsweek, Artforum, and the Chrysler Museum of Art. He brings his passion for evolving museum experiences to the Frist through constantly changing exhibitions and community outreach efforts. In May 2024, Seth was recognized with the PDS/USN Distinguished Alumni Award during Convocation. Also, Seth was interviewed by The Tennessean in a discussion about his plans to take The Frist Museum to the masses.
Sri Reddy visited Head of High School Chai Reddy’s English Seminar class, A Hero’s Journey, to share the meaningful path that led her to a career in pediatric anesthesiology.
1998
Benjamin Goldberg and Max Goldberg ’01 , co-founders of Strategic Hospitality, have earned recognition in both the Nashville Post and the Nashville Business Journal. Ben was featured on the Post’s “In Charge 2024” list, highlighting influential leaders shaping the city, while both Ben and Max were named semifinalists for the 2025 Beard Award. They were also celebrated as 2024 Power 100 Trendsetters in Nashville by the Business Journal. Congratulations to these trailblazing alumni for their continued success and impact in Nashville.
Claire Small Hobbs was accepted to Yale University through its Eli Whitney Students Program, an undergraduate program for nontraditional students, and matriculated last fall. She is majoring in Computing & Linguistics and intends to work on developing applications for AI. “The highlight of my college application process was getting to work with [College Counseling Administrative Assistant] Mittie Hale,” Claire said. “She sent my USN transcripts to all the schools I applied to, just like she did back in 1997. It was wonderful to connect with her again after all these years.”
Caitlin Habib Mello is the new Creative Director at Mingei Museum in San Diego.
Guitarist William Tyler was featured in New York Magazine.
1999
Brie Robinson is working at the Sexual Assault Center of Middle Tennessee.
Paul Gruber is working full-time in sustainability at Fresh Coast Climate Solutions, directing programs with companies large and small to advance their climate, cleantech, water, and biodiversity goals.
Garrett Westlake was promoted to Vice Provost for Innovation and Strategic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Leah Paxton Bergman ’95 and Gabe Dixon ’96
Seth Feman ’97
Ned Hildebrand ’02, Clay Capp ’02, Stephen Quinn ’01, Sneha Channabasappa Oakley ’94, and Elizabeth Foy ’97
Sri Reddy ’97
2000
Claire Meneely was included in Nashville Post’s “In Charge 2024,” a list of leaders in their respective fields who make Nashville the best it can be. She has relocated Dozen Bakery to Grandview Avenue in Nashville.
Professor Katie Ries led an informal tour of “Keep it Together” at Baer Gallery, St. Norbert College and is now teaching at East Tennessee State University.
2001
Emily Neumann won an Emmy for her role as the First Assistant Director for “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story.” She also has worked on “Nashville” and “Captain Marvel,” as well as “Somebody Somewhere” streaming on MAX and “Biosphere” streaming on AMC+.
Stephen Schleicher, M.D. testified before U.S. Congress to discuss drug shortages and the effect it has on patients.
Annie Schleicher Brinn is listed in the 2024 Billboard Pride List of LGBTQ Movers and Shakers in the Music Industry. Annie helped WMG launch Mentoring Remixed, a program that connects junior employees from traditionally marginalized communities — including LGBTQ+ people — with senior executives for learning opportunities.
2002
Clay Capp was named Executive Director of the Davidson County Democratic Party.
Ned Hildebrand moderated a panel featuring Clay Capp, Stephen Quinn ’01 , Sneha Channabasappa Oakley ’94 , and Elizabeth Foy ’97. They shared experiences in their law careers with High Schoolers during a lunch and learn.
2003
Crystal Churchwell Evans , former Director of Development for Frist Art Museum, has joined Fisk University as its Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs. She was featured in NFocus Magazine as one of its “Fresh Faces of Philanthropy.” She and Ben Raybin , a partner at Raybin & Weissman PC, are in Leadership Nashville’s 49th class to learn about issues surrounding government and media, diversity, business, education, quality of life, health, arts and entertainment and public safety in 2025-2026.
Joe Schneider wed Poland native Michalina Gorajek in July 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thomas Atack welcomed son Jeremy Matthew on April 24, 2024.
Joe Schneider and band “Mote,” recently signed with Duchess Box Records in Berlin, Germany. His single, “Sunday,” was released and is now streaming on all platforms as well as single, “Diamond Days.”
Ben Raybin has gotten seven of his clients pardoned by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
2004
Cate Adams Zoomed into a lunch and learn with the Feminism Club to discuss the “Barbie” movie. Adams, a Vice President at Warner Brothers and the Executive Producer of the film, discussed both the feminist implications of “Barbie” and the challenges of working as a woman in the film industry. Cate also produced “Wonka,” a 2023 musical fantasy film that tells the origin story of author Roald Dahl’s character Willy Wonka.
Alumni Board Member Mclaine Richardson lent a hand in the Morris Conference Room in April 2025 to prepare for Reunion weekend.
Rachel Yazdian Spielman gave birth to twin girls on May 8, 2024.
2005
MacRae Linton was featured in The New York Times in a piece exploring the world of adventure racing, highlighting his passion for endurance and exploration.
2006
Molly Cunningham Snow ’06 and her husband, Michael, welcomed Lucy Walker Snow on June 8, 2024. She shared that big sister Lila ’37 has been loving her new role.
John Early stars as Chuck Dennis in the Netflix comedy series “Girls5Eva.”
Isabel Ross Dale and her husband, William, welcomed Graham Ross Dale on February 6, 2025. They share that Warner ’38 is already the best big brother.
Jonathan Roth and Molly Doctor ’07 wed on June 15, 2025 in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Mclaine Richardson ’04
Crystal Churchwell Evans ’03
Cate Adams ’04
Leslie Todd ’06
Beyond
Edgehill
Q: Why did you choose a career in the sports industry?
A: I played collegiate golf at University of Virginia and had an amazing experience being a student-athlete. My coach provided an incredible environment for me to succeed. I played professional golf for three years, and while I was on the road, many of my competitors did not enjoy their student-athlete experience because of the coach that they had, or — shall I say — did not have. Once I heard about the experiences of others, I really felt called to be a coach and give women the experience they should have as a student-athlete. My first assistant job was under the coach that I played for, which was a very special experience for four years. She prepared me to be a head coach. I am where I am today because of my college coach and the experience she provided me at the University of Virginia.
Q: What experience during your time at PDS/USN had the biggest influence on who/where you are today?
A: I had so many experiences while I was a student at USN, but I think the thing that has shaped me today [is] the people that surrounded me during my time at University School of Nashville. I felt like each teacher and coach empowered me in different ways and really emphasized how each person
can be different and that is okay. Each person may beat to a different drum, but we are all working towards one main goal: [being] successful in the classroom but also on the field, course, [or] pool.
Q: If you could go back in time and have a conversation with yourself in High School, what advice would you give your younger self?
A: There is more to life than a social life, school, and golf. I think as I have gotten older, perspective is a big thing that I try to teach my student-athletes. Focusing on myself more and not worrying about what others think of me or my dedication to my sport. If I would have thought this way in my younger days, I do think my playing career would have been more successful, which means I might not necessarily be in the position I am now as a head coach.
Q: What do people think you do in your profession, and what do you actually do?
A: People think that all I do is walk around the golf course and guide those on the course. What I actually do is much deeper than that. My goal is to influence and guide each of my student-athletes through school but also juggle the demands of playing a sport in college. I really focus on building my student-athletes as people and teaching them life lessons through the game of golf.
Q: What accomplishment or moment in your career are you most proud of?
Professionally, as of now my biggest accomplishment is winning the Patriot League Championship in spring 2023. Personally, my biggest accom-
plishment is my family. I am so proud to be a mom and a wife. Those things in life are hard.
Q: What do you believe is your biggest strength, and how has it helped you in your current role?
A: I asked my husband this question about me, and he said that my two biggest strengths were how much I love and care about others. With that being said, I have two main rules on my team and they are: to be kind and work hard. Better yourself. I would agree that my role is to serve others in this job. I love seeing these young women grow into who they will be the rest of their lives. I am just a small part of it.
Q: How do you get inspired?
A: Each and every one of the studentathletes that I can impact each day. The young ladies that I get to spend each day [with] inspire me to come back day in and day out. I am so thankful to be given this opportunity to have such a large impact [on] these student-athletes’ lives as they navigate moving away from home and being on their own. My goal while I have them for four years is to develop them into nice young independent women.
Q: How is your work challenging? Each day provides a different challenge, either it is helping a studentathlete get through a tough day on the course or a tough day personally. I think that is why I like coaching; you really get to see the impact of your work in the long run. A lot of what I do is not instant gratification, which can for sure be challenging each and every day.
Q: Why do you give to USN?
A: USN is why I am who I am today. My parents gave me such an amazing opportunity to get a great education, and I am so grateful for that.
Leslie Todd , Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of the South, spoke to High Schoolers about the Nazca people of pre-Columbian South America and their interactions with the environment, including the famous “Nazca lines” which were definitely not made by aliens.
2007
TJ Ducklo visited campus on November 3, 2023 to speak to AP Government students during a lunch and learn. Margot Ross ’24 and Annie Cox ’24 moderated the discussion along with HS History Teacher Cameron Parsons.
Dillon Goodson and his wife, Abby, graciously opened their St. Louis, Missouri home to host alumni and friends as a group of school administrators visited the city during the 2024 National Association of Independent Schools Conference.
Emily Fundis wed her bride Taylor on October 19, 2024.
Marci Levy Kleinrock and her husband Jacob Kleinrock welcomed Solomon Dean Kleinrock on January 11, 2024. They attended Playground Day 2024, where they caught up with Matt Loftis ’05 .
Hunter Claire Rogers had a Scottish wedding. She was also featured in StyleBluePrint’s “FACES” on January 14, 2024.
Doug Schatz wed Grace Curley on September 21, 2024.
2008
NFocus Magazine includes Ann Waller Curtis among its “Fresh Faces of Philanthropy” for 2025.
Jesse Fort-White has taken a new position as Community Impact Program Associate at Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
Julia Garrison and Sam Dykstra welcomed Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Dykstra on October 24, 2023.
Piper Jones lit up the stage in TPAC’s 2024 production of “Waitress” at the Polk Theater, featuring original music and lyrics by Grammynominated artist Sara Bareilles.
Dani Wald Spielman will finish her fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Emory University and join Georgia Perinatal Consultants, a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sports journalist Jared Stillman brought his signature energy to West End Synagogue’s 2025 annual fundraiser, recently featured in The Jewish Observer.
Dani Wald Spielman welcomed her second child, Shai Zachary Spielman.
Morgan Wexler Laughlin welcomed her second daughter, Reagan Davis Laughlin, on June 7, 2024.
TJ Ducklo ’07, Margot Ross ’24, Annie Cox ’24
Bryard Huggins ’13
James Douglas ’14, Sam Douglas ’12, retired Lower School Art Teacher Stephen Douglas, and Interim Director Juliet Douglas
Marci Levy Kleinrock ’07 with her husband and classmate Matt Loftis ’05
Dillon Goodson ’07 with alumni and school administrators
Kayla Miller ’10
2009
Alexa Friedenberg Schankerman and husband, Max, welcomed their second son, Ryan, born on August 14, 2024. She shared big brother Liam is taking to his new role wonderfully.
Alec Greenberg and his wife, Rachael, welcomed their daughter, Eleanor Reese Greenberg, on August 16, 2024. Her parents share that she is absolutely the happiest baby.
Henry Gottfried portrayed Ernst Ludwig in the Broadway production of “Cabaret” at the KitKat Club.
Gabriel Huang , who uses the stage name Gabe Lee, made President Barack Obama’s Favorite Music of 2023 list for his song “Drink the River.”
Laura Lea Rubino wed Michael Cavopol in September 2023 and launched a private practice in holistic bodywork, offering services like Craniosacral Therapy, massage, energy healing, and fascial release in Nashville.
and
2010
Kayla Miller, principal of KIPP Academy Nashville, earned her Ed.D. from Lipscomb University and joined the PDS/USN Alumni Board. Kayla also returned to campus in March 2025 as a guest speaker for Middle Schoolers for Women’s History Month.
Kayla Ducklo wed Ethan Korrub on November 23, 2024 in Nashville.
2011
Annie Schatz earned her Ph.D. in Marine Science from William & Mary and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Robby Cobean wed Adiee Gonzales on February 28, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.
2012
Mark Arildsen earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from University of California, Santa Barbara in June 2023 and is doing a post-doctoral fellowship at Scuola Internazionale Superiore
di Studi Avanzati, an international research institute in Trieste, Italy. For someone who loves both physics and geography, it is a dream position, he said.
Sam Douglas graduated with his Master of Fine Arts in acting from Yale University’s Geffen School of Drama. James Douglas ’14 , retired Lower School Art Teacher Stephen Douglas, and Interim Director Juliet Douglas attended his commencement.
Aaron Rosen wed Jamie Solomon on June 15, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio.
2013
Gary Faulcon completed season number three as the assistant equipment manager for the Chicago Bears.
Bryard Huggins released the single “In Your Arms” featuring B. Thompson on April 12, 2024 and available for streaming on all platforms.
Bennet LeMaster released her latest single, “Eulogy,” on April 25, 2025. The track is now available to stream on Apple Music.
Sammy March
wife, Marissa, welcomed a son, Elliot, born in June 2024.
Bennet LeMaster ’13
Abby Motycka ’13
Sarah Elliott Emmerick ’14
Angel Jones ’14
Tommy Prine ’14
Gracie Hoffman ’15
Beyond
Edgehill
Q: Why did you choose a career in the sports industry?
A: Anyone who knows me, including my Lower School teachers at USN, can probably attest to the fact that I was destined to work in sports in some capacity. My friends from USN, perhaps regrettably, will tell you that I can be quite the gossip. That probably leads to someone being a great sports talk show host.
Q: What is your fondest PDS/USN memory on the field, on the court, or in the pool?
Jared
Stillman ’08
USN Sports: basketball, baseball
College: B.S. in Sport Administration at University of Louisville
Today: Host of Stillman & Company on 102.5 The Game in Nashville and Mad Dog Sports Radio on SiriusXM (Channel 82)
Previously: ESPN 680 AM in Louisville, Kentucky and WKXL in Concord, New Hampshire
A: My fondest memory was being part of a winning baseball program. We set a school record for wins in 2006 and followed it up with the school’s first substate appearance in 2008 (my senior year, and I was the team’s captain). We were [a] very tight-knit group, and those are the type of relationships and memories that, no matter what happens next in life, can’t be replaced or recreated.
Q: If you could go back in time and have a conversation with yourself in High School, what advice would you give your younger self?
A: I wish I had been more embracing of commitment in High School. I wanted to be good and part of a winning team, but I didn’t exactly know how to commit myself. I’m sure I’m the only one from [the] 2008 basketball team who wished they could have just put a little more work in.
Q: Is there a piece of advice from one of your PDS/USN teachers or coaches that still guides you today?
A: In my experience, USN provided a forum for learning that was highly individualized, and thus I could embrace being myself. I believe some schools try to take every child and conform to what they believe those students should think or how they should learn, and USN allowed me to be the best I could be.
Q: What do people think you do in your profession, and what do you actually do?
A: People think we just crack a microphone and start yapping whenever the show starts, and that’s not how this works. I’m up at 6 a.m. every day, and almost the entire time between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. is dedicated to preparing for the show. By the time the intro hits at 2 p.m., usually a solid 2 to 3 hours of work has already been in. Then it’s just a performance.
Q: What accomplishment or moment in your career are you most proud of?
A: In 2024, we placed first in the key demographic of [ages] 25-54 for the first time in the nine [years] I had been on the radio. It was a pretty rewarding feeling for about 20 minutes, and then I realized that the standard had once again been set. However, it was an unbelievable feeling to be No. 1 in Nashville after growing up and listening to sports talk radio in the car [on] the way home from school every day.
Q: How is your work challenging?
A: My work is challenging because I have set a daily standard that I try to hold myself accountable to. I have
great bosses, and we have the absolutely best advertisers in town, some of the best and most well-run companies. But the listeners are the [real] judges. Every day, I try to provide entertainment between the hours of 2-6, assuming someone listening just got in the car after a long day at work or school and is just looking to be entertained and informed about their teams and the latest happenings. And every day, I want to do the best I can for that person, even if it’s just a short 15-minute commute or an hour and a half. The standard I know I am capable of is the standard I hold myself to, and it’s rewarding to provide the audience with that standard, knowing that I give it my all.
Q: Why do you give to USN?
A: USN is the premier school in the city and one of the top schools in the country. It’s an honor to be a graduate of USN. Giving to USN goes back for my family generations, to my grandfather, Emanuel Schatten. After my grandfather passed, my mother [Leslie Schatten Stillman ’75] endowed a scholarship in my grandfather’s honor. Both my brother, Kevin ’01, and my sister, Megan ’04, graduated from USN, and we look forward to sending our son Jack, born in December, to USN one day.
Abby Motycka wed Parker Dixon on August 26, 2023. She stopped by the Edgehill Campus during a visit from New Jersey and enjoyed catching up with some of her favorite teachers.
2014
Sarah Elliott Emmerick enjoyed the bayou at USN Evening Class: Crawfish Boil 101, partnering with Gumbo Bros for a hands-on night of food and fun.
Angel Jones received her Doctor of Education in Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University. She returns to USN each summer to work as Site Director of the academic enrichment program Horizons at USN.
Jason Kendricks started a new position as Legal Assistant at Thomas & LoCicero PL.
Tommy Prine performed “Holding on to More” on NPR’s “Mountain Stage Radio Show.”
Connor Webber worked for the Tennessee Innocence Project to help overturn a conviction for Memphis resident Ricky Webb, who had previously been serving a prison sentence for nearly 47 years.
2015
Hannah Aaron wed Rishab Aror on March 22, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gracie Hoffman earned her Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law. Lower School Art Teacher Betsy Hoffman ’83 , brother Jonah Hoffman ’17, and dad Seth Hoffman attended her graduation.
Henry Condon ’16, Erin Riley ’16, Perry Davis ’16, and Fred Crumbo ’16
Jess Awh ’16
Jonathan Leeper stepped into a new role as Pre-Major Advisor at Vanderbilt University in November 2024.
Hop Mathews wed Skylar King ’17 on June 1, 2024.
2016
Henry Condon , Erin Riley, Perry Davis , and Fred Crumbo reunited in style at the Iroquois Steeplechase on May 10. 2025.
Henry Condon wed Hannah Branthwaite in April 2025.
helped me develop a deeper understanding of our community needs and inspired me to actively contribute towards positive change.”
2017
Talia Stein earned her Juris Doctorate from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law.
Emily Fassler and Max Kleiner ’19 wed on December 29, 2023. They stopped by the Edgehill Campus to introduce the newest member of the Kleiner family, Luna.
Drew Dibble ’18 , Courtney Rabb ’18 , Eli Horton ’18 , Marin Kirshner ’18 , Matthew Schwartz ’18 , Quinn Wheelock ’18 , Sydney Stevenson ’19, Maggie Robinson ’19, George Corzine ’19, and Russell Petty ’22
2018
The Middlebury Institute of International Studies published an article about Eli Horton and his work in Switzerland.
Anna Schwarcz ’20
Ryan Ghertner returned to the Edgehill Campus to showcase his work during Artclectic.
Jess Awh and her band Bats’ release “Good Game Baby” was featured as WNXP’s record of the week.
Young Leaders Council highlighted Fred Crumbo in its e-newsletter. He was in the spring 2024 cohort and shared, “The YLC program has
Isaiah Frank lives in Brooklyn and recently completed his second film, “Paisley & Willis.” He performed at Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City in February 2025 and in “Middle School Play” at The Brick in March 2025.
Gal Crouvi made a special stop at the Edgehill Campus during her visit from Israel.
Drew Dibble, Courtney Rabb, Eli Horton , Marin Kirshner, Matthew Schwartz , and Quinn Wheelock joined Sydney Stevenson ’19, Maggie Robinson ’19, George Corzine ’19, and Russell Petty ’22 to form Team Edgehill for a recreational soccer league in New York City and won.
Fred Crumbo ’16
Grace Rieniets ’19
Talia Stein ’17
Gal Crouvi ’17
University
2019
Grace Rieniets is teaching first grade at Herzl School of Excellence in North Lawndale in Chicago.
2020
Lilly Woo won the 2024 Paladin Pitch Competition held at the Furman University Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for her company, Woo Milk. After realizing her almond milk lacked nutrients and protein, Woo began her quest to create a plant-based drink high in protein and nutrients from superfoods.
Anna Schwarcz has launched her interior design business in Charleston, South Carolina and, offers in-person and virtual services.
Brooke Burgess is a Preventive Health Data Fellow at Meharry Medical College.
Jadyn Sheats ’22 , Cannon Scretchen ’22 , Ian Tibbs ’22 , Sidney Ware ’23 , Brock Burgess ’23 , Austin Cason ’23 , Madisyn Starks ’22 , Ava Cason ’22 , and Kendall Burgess ’22
Morgan Lewis is a recent Syracuse University graduate and made her national tour debut as an Ikette, a backing vocalist, in “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical.” She shared, “I have to express my gratitude toward USN for cultivating an environment that nurtures the performing arts. I wouldn’t be the performer I am today without the theatrical education I received from [MS Theater Director] Bakari King and [the late HS Theater Director] Catherine Coke. They taught me the importance of resilience, kindness, and authenticity in the theater. Many, many, many thanks to the two of them.”
David Luffman is researching the environmental impact of wildfires as part of his earth sciences studies at the University of Connecticut.
Lewis Walker stopped by the Edgehill Campus to visit his favorite teachers.
Walker ’20
’22
2021
Yenni Gonzalez-Salinas stopped by the Edgehill Campus during a quick visit home before heading back to California.
Austin Cason ’23 , Sidney Ware ’23 , Cameron Wooten ’23 , Angel Jones ’14, Zoe Volanakis ’23 , and Gabrielle White ’23
Natalie Wright returned to the Edgehill Campus and shared she wrote and directed “Enter Macbeth,” a play starring Will Growdon ’20. She also starred in the Vanderbilt University Department of Theatre performance of “She Kills Monsters,” was a 2024 Tennessee Playwrights Studio Fellow, and graduated from Vanderbilt in May 2025 with a degree in psychology, theatre, and creative writing.
Gemma Jefferson ’21
Émile Marois ’22
Adrian Samuels
Lewis
Yenni Gonzalez-Salinas ’21
Gemma Jefferson was named to the All-UAA Honorable Mention Team.
2022
Jadyn Sheats , Cannon Scretchen , Ian Tibbs , Sidney Ware ’23 , Brock Burgess ’23 , Austin Cason ’23 , Madisyn Starks , Ava Cason , and Kendall Burgess gathered for the Florida A&M University 2023 Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia where FAMU defeated Howard University.
Émile Marois stopped by USN during a visit to Nashville.
Adrian Samuels ‘22 and former Director Vince Durnan caught up after the American University vs. Navy basketball game.
2023
Austin Cason , Sidney Ware, Cameron Wooten , Zoe Volanakis , and Gabrielle White worked with Angel Jones ’14 as Counselors for Horizons at USN, a free academic enrichment program for students to combat summer learning loss.
Cam Wooten and Mahoney Daunic ’24 shared their experiences as college athletes with a group of USN student-athletes during a lunch and learn in February 2025.
Collin France continues his athletic career at Emory University in track and field.
Leala Nakagawa represented Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 2024 Electrek American Solar Challenge, a multiday, 1,500 to 2,000-mile cross-country endurance rally across North America. The first stop was with a car display at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville.
2024
Sadie Begtrup received the Governor’s Volunteer Star Award.
Drew Brackett, Olivia Hess , Sophia Ollila , Will Ostroski, and Kate Vaughn returned to the Edgehill Campus to visit teachers.
Kate Vaughn ’24
Olivia Hess ’24
Ultimate Frisbee alumni
Lacrosse alumni
Sophia Ollila ’24
Multiple Class Years
The lacrosse and Ultimate teams held mini reunions and scrimmages November 29, 2024. Plan to join other alumni athletes or cheer them from the sidelines each Thanksgiving Break at the River Campus. Baseball alumni also recently gathered.
Baseball alumni
Left to right: Jeremy Matthew Atack, son of Thomas Atack ’03.
Rachel Yazdian Spielman ’04 welcomed twin daughters, Maya and Penina.
Isabel Ross Dale and her husband, William, welcomed Graham Ross Dale. Lucy Walker Snow, daughter of Molly Cunningham Snow ’06 and Michael Snow ’06 .
Left to right: Elliot March, son of Sammy March ’09. Ryan Schankerman, son of Alexa Friedenberg Schankerman ’09. Luna Mei, daughter of Emily Fassler Kleiner ’17 and Max Kleiner ’19.
Left to right: Solomon Dean Kleinrock, son of Marci Levy Kleinrock ’07. Shai Zachary Spielman, son of Dani Wald Spielman ’08. Reagan Davis Laughlin, daughter of Morgan Wexler Laughlin ’08. Eleanor Reese Greenberg, daughter of Alec Greenberg ’09.
University School of Nashville
Left to right: Jonathan Roth ’06 and Molly Doctor ’07 wed on June 15, 2025 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Hunter Claire Rogers ’07 wed Adam Woodhall and had a Scottish wedding.
Emily Fundis ’07 wed Taylor Craft on October 19, 2024.
Doug Schatz ’07 wed Grace Curley on September 21, 2024.
Left to right: Hannah Aaron ’15 wed Rishab Aror on March 22, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. Henry Condon ’16 wed Hannah Branthwaite in April 2025. Emily Fassler ’17 and Max Kleiner ’19 wed December 29, 2023.
Left to right: Bill Rubino and Leah Knox Rubino ’77 with their daughter Laura Lea Rubino ’09, who wed Michael Cavopol in September 2023. Kayla Ducklo ’10 wed Ethan Korrub on November 23, 2024 in Nashville. Aaron Rosen ’12 wed Jamie Solomon on June 15, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Abby Motycka ’13 wed Parker Dixon on August 26, 2023.
In Memoriam
Evelyn Barnett Wright ’42 July 29, 2023
Doris Tenzel Fleischer ’50 November 6, 2023
Scott Sudduth ’54 May 19, 2024
Fritz S. Stampfli ’61 November 16, 2024
Ann Bramwell Bittel ’62 February 4, 2023
Joanne Ellis Hollingsworth ’62 March 5, 2025
Margo Paty Pickering ’64 February 20, 2024
Joe Gayden ’65 January 17, 2024
John J. Beauchamp ’55 December 23, 2024
Susanna Erickson Lewis ’56 July 15, 2021
Ben Rowan ’56 October 19, 2024
Chuck Maddux ’58 December 12, 2024
Margaret Ann Swint ’59 November 16, 2022
Marilyn Helm Shay ’51 February 1, 2024
James Patrick ’51 March 3, 2024
Consuelo Hidalgo Van Beek ’52 May 31, 2023
Walter Henry Helm ’53 July 22, 2022
Lynn Hill Lester ’54 August 18, 2024
Stuart Nicholson ’45 September 7, 2024
Katy Anderson Terry ’46 July 15, 2024
Jacquelyn
ElliottMcCullough ’47 March 10, 2012
Marianne Burrus ’48 February 1, 2025
Fay Osment Carpenter ’49 August 20, 2024
John Eric Kammerud ’66 April 5, 2025
We remember these deceased alumni, former students, faculty, and trustees for their contributions to PDS/USN and beyond Edgehill. Included on this page are those of whose deaths we have recently learned, even when some years have passed.
December
Jane Hayes ’72 February 5, 2023
Nash Franklin ’86 December 16, 2023
February
February
Mary Newell McCullough Kindergarten Teacher 1987-2010 February 16, 2025
Martha Bryan Foreman ’38
April 5, 2024
Mary Storm ’44
July 10, 2024
April
Mary Ann Pangle Third Grade Teacher 1965-1996 April 1, 2024
Tony Springman Social Studies Teacher 1977-1978 August 15, 2024
French Teacher 1963-1971 November 5, 2023
Alumni, community members, and former students without High School pictures in the PDS/USN Archive:
Louis Field ’59 April 4, 2025
Mark Smith ’67 January 19, 2023
Alex Morgan ’86 March 7, 2024
John Gillmor Trustee, Board President 1998-2000 April 30, 2025
Laura Lea Knox Trustee, 1974 Transition Committee February 13, 2024
Dana Hinze Davidson ’67 March 3, 2024
Rick Stolman ’68 July 11, 2024
Michael Matthews ’71
13, 2024
Adrienne
Jeannine Winter Bowers
Mary
Doug Andrews ’72
18, 2025
Joyce Vise ’73
4, 2024
Macon Hinton ’74 March 8, 2005
Ollie Harton ’75 May 5, 2024
David Andrews ’68
21, 2024
Karen Witt Jones ’69 November 11, 2024
Bill Freeman ’70 November 17, 2024
Samuel Benjamin Fowler ’70 May 9, 2025
Harvey Sperling Director 1979-1990
Harvey B. Sperling passed away February 27, 2024 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Sperling served as the eighth Director of University School of Nashville, leading the school from 1979 to 1990 at the pivotal time of its transition from a demonstration school to an independent school. He deemed USN as a place of “academic excellence in a pluralistic setting,” and the school adopted its first statement of nondiscrimination in 1980.
During his 11-year tenure at USN, Mr. Sperling over saw fundraising for and the construction of a building to house a second gymnasium, cafeteria, and perform ing & fine arts classrooms. The Sperling Center was named in his honor when it opened during his final year at USN.
Beyond Edgehill, Mr. Sperling became the face of USN in the educational community and Nashville community and built relationships to create an exchange program between USN and a school in Japan. After USN, he headed to University School of Mil waukee, where he was Head of School until 2000.
He is survived by his wife Cathie, daughter Sarah ’92, and her husband Kyle Young.
Meet the New
Richard “Ricky” Ewing IV ’83
Alumnus ’83
Parent of Alumna ’24
A basketball standout while at USN, Ewing studied history and computer science at Yale University and Trinity CollegeHartford and management information systems at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. He conceptualizes and executes enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and cloud solution implementations as a senior technology executive at Oracle Corp. Ewing has served on several capital campaign committees and nonprofit boards, including Goodwill of Middle Tennessee and Nashville Opera. He served on the PDS/USN Alumni Board for two decades and is a member of USN’s Task Force on Educator/Staff Appropriate Behavior and Misconduct Response, Communication, and Policy Review.
Sneha Channabasappa Oakley
Alumna ’94
Parent ’30 and ’34
Oakley joined HealthStream in 2013 as Assistant General Counsel and serves as its General Counsel and Vice President, Partner Development, providing leadership over the company’s legal, governance, and compliance matters. She is the primary liaison to the company’s Board of Directors and serves as its Compliance Officer. Prior to joining HealthStream, she was a litigation attorney with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis and in-house counsel for Healthways Inc. She received her undergraduate degree from Tufts University and her law degree from the University of Tennessee. She served as Vice President of the PDS/USN Alumni Board during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christopher Mixon
Parent ’27 and ’30
Mixon studied history and psychology at Auburn University and earned his Doctor of Law at Emory University before working as an attorney for the Supreme Court of Alabama. An employment lawyer by training, he is General Counsel for Ogletree Deakins, where he is responsible for the law firm’s corporate governance matters and enterprise risk management initiatives. With his wife, Amanda, Mixon has served as a room parent and Annual Fund Co-Chair for several years. Most recently, he joined the Task Force on Educator/Staff Appropriate Behavior and Misconduct Response, Communication, and Policy Review.
Erin Zagnoev, Board Vice President
Parent ’29, ’32, and ’35
A longtime volunteer and 2024-2025 USNA CoPresident, Zagnoev has been a driving force in strengthening parent engagement, enhancing the student experience, and shaping key initiatives that enrich the USN experience. She is co-chairing the 2025 Director Search Committee. Zagnoev has expertise in nonprofit administration, fundraising, and strategic development. She holds a B.A. in communications from the University of Arizona and an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the University of Judaism, Lieber School of Graduate Studies and serves as Director of Administration & Advancement at The Temple, overseeing operations, philanthropy, and community engagement.
Mural connects arts, athletics
The south wall in University School of Nashville’s band room is bursting with color. In June 2025, Middle and High School Art Teacher Andy King splashed bright purple, green, yellow, and orange around the school’s athletic logo.
The creative journey began during the 2000-2001 academic year when thenfaculty member Jeff Goold fashioned the letters U, S, and N into a connected line that reads as the school’s acronym when flipped upside down. Goold worked as the school’s Graphic Designer, Middle School Band Teacher, and Lacrosse Coach. The first application of the athletic logo was on boys lacrosse helmets.
“The athletic logo was created to identify and brand our sports teams. Up to that point, there was no unified look for our athletic teams,” Goold said in 2022, shortly before retiring after 26 years at the school. “The athletic logo has grown in use to become the school’s casual logo, appearing in a variety of settings, including branded sportswear. [It has] become a common identifying mark in the community. Its simple and bold look is, through consistent usage, now recognized as the USN brand.”
Fast forward to 2025, when King presented digital mockups to outgoing Band Director Kyle Barboza, who said he wanted to leave the band room with something that truly reflected the spirit of the program and Performing Arts Department Chair Miranda Vargo, who also teaches band. Both worked with Goold to teach students and have played on stage with him.
“When we discussed ways to build up the program culture, I knew the room needed some color,” Vargo said.
Also meaningful was the decision to use Barboza’s handwriting for the word “BAND.”
The Operations Department assembled scaffolding for the 15-foot-high mural, for which King painted acrylic over oilbased paint after sanding, degreasing, and applying two coats of industrialstrength adhesive primer.
This mural was made possible by the gift of a generous family. To leave your mark on USN, whether through a planned gift, endowment creation, or donation for a specific project, contact Director of Development Anne Westfall at 615-277-7495 or awestfall@usn.org.
