Alumnae

Josie Beets2000

• Program Manager | Office of the Secretary of Defense
• B.A., Government | Sweet Briar College, 2000
• J.D., Law | Brooklyn Law School

As an analyst for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Josie manages programs that provide education opportunities, career coaching, resume review, and connections to companies committed to hiring the husbands and wives of service members. “I joke that I complained so much about military spouse employment that they’ve put me in charge of it,” she says.

CM Burroughs2003

• Associate Professor of Poetry | Columbia College Chicago
• B.A., English and Creative Writing | Sweet Briar College, 2003
• M.F.A., Poetry | University of Pittsburgh, 2007

CM Burroughs is a tenured professor of poetry at Columbia College Chicago and is writing her third book. Her second published collection, Master Suffering, was one of 10 to make the long list for the National Book Award for Poetry in 2021 and was also a finalist for both the LA Times Book Award and Lambda Book Award. A critic describes the collection, focused in part of the untimely death of CM’s younger sister at age 11, as “transcendent: revealing anguish, vulnerability, and a guttural beauty.”

Kaytlin Colburn2011

• GIS Developer | Oceaneering International
• B.S., Environmental Science | Sweet Briar College, 2011
• M.S., Geographic Information Systems | University of Redlands, 2013

I first learned about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as part of my coursework in Environmental Science at Sweet Briar. After graduation, I worked at an environmental consulting firm for a year before applying to graduate school as a way to kick start my career in GIS. I completed the grueling one year graduate program at The University of Redlands which is unique with its ties to a company called Esri, the folks behind ArcGIS, the most prolific enterprise GIS software used globally. Many of my professors at the university also worked at Esri.

Shannon Cotsoradis1995

• Director, Policy & Strategy | Buffett Early Childhood Fund
• B.S., Psychology | Sweet Briar College, 1995
• M.A., Child Development | Sarah Lawrence College, 1999
• M.P.A., Public Administration | The University of Kansas, 2001

“My roots as an advocate for children and families were really born at Sweet Briar. I would have described myself as shy and a very much a reluctant leader, and I really found my voice at Sweet Briar and have leveraged that throughout my career. And I have devoted a lot of my professional career to helping other people find their voice.”

Jona Cumani2018

• Graduate Research Assistant | Harvard University 

  Laboratory for Neuroimaging & Integrative Physiology

• B.S., Psychology | Sweet Briar College, 2018
• M.S., Cognitive Neuroscience | Harvard University, 2021

Jona Cumani has done some serious thinking about life on Mars. As a graduate student studying cognitive neuroscience at Harvard University, she has explored the challenges of bringing human life to the faraway planet. She now has a NASA grant to research the psychological and neurological impact of space travel.

Alexandra DiFeliceantonio2008

• Assistant Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute | Virginia Tech
• B.S., Psychology | Sweet Briar College, 2008
• Ph.D., Biopsychology | University of Michigan, 2013

Alexandra DiFeliceantonio wants to know what your brain looks like on snack food. An appetive neuroscientist at Virginia Tech, the 2008 Sweet Briar graduate is researching how people react to certain foods and how that reaction affects their eating habits and choices.

Nicole File1995

• Senior Copy Editor | CNN
• A.A., Voice Performance, Music History | Brevard College, 1992
• B.A., English and Creative Writing | Sweet Briar College, 1995

Every word you read on CCN’s screen, every headline, every chart has to go through Nicole File before appearing on your television. As the editorial supervisor in the news network’s control room, Nicole, Class of 1995, edits scripts, creates graphic elements and chyrons, sometimes making changes seconds before airing. Amid major breaking news events, she creates graphic elements in real time.

Maria Thacker Goethe2002

• President and CEO | Georgia Bio
• B.A., Environmental Studies | Sweet Briar College, 2002
• M.P.H., Health Marketing/Communications & Maternal and Child Health | Tulane University School of Health

Maria Thacker Goethe majored in environmental studies at Sweet Briar and went on to earn a master’s degree in public health at Tulane University. Hurricane Katrina forced her to move back home to Atlanta, where she found a job in marketing at a small biotech group just starting up. She is now president and CEO of Georgia Bio and the Georgia BioEd Institute. In addition, she is executive director of the Georgia Global Health Alliance.

Caroline Haller2017

• Art Curator, Researcher, and Consultant
• B.A, Art History | Sweet Briar College, 2017
• M.A., Art History | Lindenwood University, 2022

The humanities way of life, says Caroline Haller, “is to wear lots of hats.” An art history major at Sweet Briar, the 2017 graduate now represents artists, brokers the sale of art, researches the provenance of paintings, and designs exhibits. Rather than work at a museum, she divides her work among an art gallery and individual artists who need her curation skills. “I take on all sorts of projects, really anything that’s related to art history.”

Phoebe Jiang2014

• Senior Principal Biostatistician, Biogen Inc.
• B.A., Mathematics; Minors in Economics, Statistics | Sweet Briar College, 2014
• Ph.D, Biostatistics | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2020

Phoebe Jiang works at Biogen, a Cambridge, MA-based biotechnology company specializing in discovering, developing, and delivering treatments for patients with neurological diseases. 

Verena Joerger2015

• B.S., Environment Science (Magna Cum Laude) | Sweet Briar College, 2015
• M.S., Environmental Science | Cornell University, 2017
• Physical Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Serena’s interest in air quality began as a student at Sweet Briar while working with environmental science professor Tom O’Halloran. Together, they set up equipment on campus to record gases and count particles. As O’Halloran’s research assistant, she co-authored on of his research papers.

Annika Kuleba2022

• Graduate Research Assistant, Clemson University Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, 2022-present
• B.S. Environmental Science and B.A. Economics, Leadership Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems | Sweet Briar College, 2022
• M.S. Forest Resources | Clemson University, 2022-present

“Never underestimate the power of women. A woman can do anything she puts her mind to.”

Karylnn McCarthy2020

• Mechatronics Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• B.S. Engineering Science | Sweet Briar College, 2020

“Sweet Briar is a place that enables women to mature into intellectually fierce, well-spoken individuals who are able to shine outside of the College’s campus.”

Kara Moore1995

• Managing Director of Global Philanthropy and Engagement | Bloomberg Philanthropies
• B.A., English, History of Art; Minor in Dance | Sweet Briar College, 1995

Kara Moore is a fundraising, special events and marketing specialist. She serves as the managing director of global philanthropy and engagement for Bloomberg, a media company dedicated to delivering real-time business and financial information to decision-makers around the world. Kara, Class of 1995, advances the vision of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which works to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people.

Anna Chao Pai1957

• B.A., Zoology | Sweet Briar College, 1957
• M.A., Embryology | Bryn Mawr College, 1959
• Ph.D., Genetics | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1964

A 1957 graduate, Chips’ family came to the United States when she was 3 years old and moved frequently. Often, she and brothers were the only Chinese students in the classroom, leaving her with a feeling that she didn’t belong. That feeling disappeared when she came to Sweet Briar, making friends while she excelled in academics and sports.

Emily Pegues2000

• Assistant Curator, Sculpture & Decorative Arts Department, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• B.A., History of Art and Spanish | Sweet Briar College, 2000 (Kathryn Haw Prize in Art History)
• M.A., History of Art | The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 2011

The National Gallery of Art is home to some 4,000 sculptures, pieces of antique furniture, porcelain, painted enamels and other objects of art. As assistant curator of sculpture and decorative arts at the Washington, D.C., museum, Emily Pegues shapes exhibitions and research works that date from 5th century BC to the Renaissance to the modern era.

Shanthi Ramesh2006

• Medical Director | Virginia League for Planned Parenthood
• B.S., French (with a Chemistry minor) | Sweet Briar College, 2006
• M.D., Obstetrics & Gynecology | Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, 2011 

Kirsten Reinhart2020

• Large Mammals Zoologist | Dallas Zoo
• B.S., Environmental Studies | Sweet Briar College, 2020
• P.S.M., Zoo, Aquarium, and Animal Shelter Management | Colorado State University, 2023

Kirsten Reinhart remembers the day her fifth grade teacher asked each student to name their favorite animal. She googled the weirdest animals and came up with the okapi, a rare African ungulate that looks like a mix of a zebra and giraffe. Today, as a zoologist at the Dallas Zoo, Kirsten helps tend four okapis, from daily health care to educating students about the unique species. Kirsten, Class of 2020, works in the zoo’s Large Mammals section which is home to the Wilds of Africa. She also cares for two yellow-backed duikers, five Somali Wild Ass, and various small hooved animals.

Tania Salas2010

• Baker and co-founder at Flour Your Dreams Bakery & Cafe in Nashville, TN
• B.A., Theater and Film Studies | Sweet Briar College, 2010

Tania did not set out to open a bakery and cafe; but when her husband lost his job during the pandemic, their lives took an unexpected turn for the culinary.

Samantha Schwartz2018

• Senior Mechanical Engineer | Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc.

• B.A., Business | Sweet Briar College, 2013
• B.S., Engineering | Sweet Briar College, 2018

Samantha Schwartz graduated from Sweet Briar with a business degree but couldn’t stop thinking about the engineering courses she also took. So three years after graduation, she came back to campus to earn a degree in engineering. Since then, Sam has worked on hydraulic tubing, fuel systems, and windshields for the V-22 Osprey, supervised repairs for propulsion systems at a commercial airline, and is starting a new job dealing with component for nuclear aircraft carriers.

Leah Solivan2001

• Executive Chairwoman and Founder | Task Rabbit
• General Partner | Fuel Capital
• B.S., Mathematics and Computer Science, Sweet Briar College, Class of 2001

Leah Solivan has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Solivan founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

Sarah Sutton1983

• Chief Executive Officer | Environment and Culture Partners

• B.A., American Studies | Sweet Briar College, 1983
• M.A., History | The College of William & Mary

When climate change advocates talk about reducing the carbon footprint, they rarely mention museums, zoos, gardens and aquariums. Sarah Sutton, Class of 1983, is setting out to correct that oversight. Co-author of a seminal book on the issue, The Green Museum, Sarah is chief executive officer of a nonprofit dedicated to educating cultural institutions about what they should do and how they can fund these projects.

Morgan Roach Viña2007

• Principal, National Security Practice | Invariant
• B.A., Government | Sweet Briar College, 2007
• M.Sc., European Studies | London School of Economics, 2008

When Morgan Roach Viña graduated from Sweet Briar in 2007, she knew she wanted a career in Washington, D.C., but wasn’t sure what that would look like. Since then, her career has taken her to Capitol Hill, the United Nations, the Pentagon, a think tank, and now a prestigious lobbying firm.

Céleste Wackenhut2008

• Curator | French & Michigan
• B.A., History of Art, Italian Studies; Arts Management Certificate | Sweet Briar College, 2008
• M.A., Modern Art | University of Edinburgh, 2010

Céleste has participated in programs and held posts at museums throughout the world. From the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, Céleste has deepened her knowledge of art history and introduced audiences to fine art.

Nancy White1979

• Floral Designer and Business Owner | The Flower Bar
• B.A., Studio Art | Sweet Briar College, 1979

After years in magazines and advertising sales, Nancy White, Class of 1979, decided to reinvent herself as a floral designer. Her first day at work was during Valentine’s Day weekend. Amid the chaos of one of the industry’s busiest days, she found a calling that appealed to both her creative and business sides.