Class Notes Category: Career

Kenisha Edwards, Cert. ’26, recently became licensed to operate Cathy’s Embrace, a residential facility serving children with special needs, named in honor of her mother, Cathy Barton, who was a foster parent and passed away on Dec. 4, 2016. “Her love for children helped shape the woman I am today, so this facility is more…

Kacey Carpenter ’86 has published “Murder in Vacationland,” the second book in his national park mystery-thriller series. Set in coastal Maine and Acadia National Park, the novel follows longtime friends Mitch Donovan, Ben Foster and Alex Sterling after a summer trip to Maine draws them into a murder investigation. Carpenter earned his B.S. in math-engineering/systems.…

Robert Yeilding ’05 is a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder of YCBT Services, a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) practice in Irvine, California. YCBT now offers a virtual CBT group for social anxiety, open to California residents. The group meets weekly for 12 sessions and combines CBT skills with exposure practice.…

Emily Frake, Ph.D. ’24, has been hired as an assistant professor of inclusive special education at the University of Notre Dame. Frake earned her doctorate from the School of Education and Information Studies in special education and a University Extension certificate in the Education Specialist Induction Program.

JoAnna Reyes, Ph.D. ’21, has curated an historic exhibition of Native America art, currently at the Phoenix Art Museum. Reyes, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, earned her doctorate in art history.

Nicklas Akers ’95 leads the California Attorney General’s consumer protection practice and appeared in federal court in Oakland on Aug. 26 to argue for court approval of a landmark $17 billion nationwide State AG settlement that requires Meta to implement daily default time limits, blocks on nighttime use and other protections for teen users of…

Steve Chapman ’02 led Natera in ringing the NASDAQ opening bell to commemorate the biotechnology company’s 10-year anniversary as a publicly traded entity in July 2025. A leading authority on the commercialization of genetic testing, Chapman is Natera’s chief executive officer and serves on its board of directors. Under his leadership, Natera has launched 20…

Simone Drucker, Cert. ’21, started her own independent landscape architecture practice in July. Her studio, Compound Eye Landscape Architecture, began with the wish to deepen her commitment to the art and craft of designing landscapes and gardens. “From ‘desk to dirt,’ as a full process practitioner, I can assist with every step of the design…

Justin O. Cooper, Cert. ’22, served as producer, line producer, editor and post-production supervisor on the film “Beverly, Evelyn, Gloria & Willa…Still Standing,” which is preparing for its 2027 festival season. He was approached to work on the documentary during the 2026 awards season by acclaimed actress, director and producer Vanessa Bell Calloway (“Coming to…

A new new women’s fiction novel by New York Times best-selling author has Carri Karuhn is set to be released Nov. 10. Set in L.A. and inspired by her own experience surviving the devastating 2007 Corral Canyon wildfire in California that took her home, “Not Everything Burns” balances heartbreak with humor as a determined journalist…