Alyson L. Taylor-White’s 2017 history of Shockoe Hill Cemetery, Shockoe Hill Cemetery: A Richmond Landmark History, was recently reviewed in Richmond Magazine. Taylor-White is an SPCS personal enrichment and Osher Institute instructor. Hers is the only history of Richmond’s first city-owned burial ground.

Mollie Brooks, GC’17, has published a research study titled Beyond the Buzzword: Examining Collective Impact as a Framework for Cross-Sector Collaboration in the Spring 2018 issue of VA Engage Journal. Brooks is an August 2017 SPCS graduate who earned a Master of Nonprofit Studies degree.

The SPCS Alumni Association Board of Directors has announced incoming directors and officers for the 2018-19 academic year. Terms for directors and officers begin May 15, 2018. Congratulations to new board members and heartfelt thanks to those whose terms end in May!

Margaret A. Dalton, C’12, member of the SPCS Alumni Association Board of Directors and secretary to the Association, has been promoted to Information Technology Manager and Systems Engineer in the Henrico County Public Schools technology department.

Pleshette Bowens, C’17, member of the last Danville Weekend College graduating class, has been accepted into the Master of Nonprofit Leadership Studies program at Lynchburg College and will start coursework in the summer. Bowens notes she is “meant to live a life of service” and believes this program will help her “do it most effectively.”

Dr. David Johns, who earned a Fund Development certificate from the University of Richmond Institute on Philanthropy, was featured in a March 19, 2018, Roanoke Times article, New Ferrum President Takes a Big Picture View of Running a Small College.

Dr. Nicole G. Hood, GC’15, has been named to the position of Upper School Director at The Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore effective July 1, 2018. Hood earned a Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the School of Professional & Continuing Studies.

Ruby M. Decker, GC’15, who earned her Graduate Certificate in Teacher Licensure Preparation at SPCS, applied for and received a Crayola-funded Champion Creatively Alive Children grant for the school where she teaches, Montpelier Elementary School in Prince George’s County, Maryland. 

Dr. David Johns, who earned a Fund Development certificate from the University of Richmond Institute on Philanthropy last summer to help prepare himself for a higher education leadership position, has been named the 12th president of Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia, effective January 1, 2018.

To raise money for the Sudanese refugee crisis, Manyang Kher, C’17, a Sudanese refugee himself, started his own coffee company last year called 734 Coffee, named for the Gambela region where they source their coffee beans. Read more on Spider Pride.

Frenishee Smith, GC’12, GC’16, has been awarded a 2017 R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence by The Community Foundation and the R.E.B. Foundation. Smith’s award will fund visiting schools that engage students living in poverty in innovative ways along with attending The International Conference on Urban Education in Nassau, Bahamas.