Alumni Profiles

Clark Hubbard, BMus'18, marches to his own tune as a composer, drummer and assistant director of marching and athletic bands at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Big dreams come naturally to Michael Clinton, MBA'07, acquisitions manager and partner at Midos Development Group in Los Angeles. Two of his most recent projects are The Guest House in Natchez, Mississippi, an antebellum mansion built by enslaved people that is now a 16-room bed and breakfast, and The Redline Venice, a former apartment building on Venice Beach now converted into a hotel. Read More

Miller Morris, BS’16, MS’17, MPH’19, is the founder and CEO of Comma, a company that aims to improve reproductive health through menstrual care products, sustainability, clinical research and technology. She describes herself as a “women’s health researcher turned social entrepreneur.” Read More

Russell Smith, BA'68, of Washington, D.C., after retiring from his law practice, has joined Associate Professor of Classical and Mediterranean Studies Joseph Rife and his students on international archaeological digs that have made extraordinary finds. Read More

As founder and CEO of UpSmith, Wyatt Smith, BS'10, uses technology to help builders and technicians be more productive, master new skills to stay in the workforce longer and help solve the skilled workforce shortage. Read More

Jim Emison is dedicated to seeking justice for Elbert Williams, the first known NAACP member to be racially terrorized and slain. Read More

Joanna Winston Foley, BA’65, brings the lack of racial representation in public art to light through advocacy and her website Representation Matters. Read More

By Jenna Somers Alex Astrella At age two Alex Astrella, MEd’23, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. His parents were told that he had little chance of graduating high school or becoming financially independent. Today, Astrella is the founder and CEO of Blu Star Productions, an award-winning film studio… Read More

Journalist Lauren Egan, BA'17, reports on politics in D.C. for The Bulwark and formerly for Politico. She got her start on-air from war-torn Ukraine for NBC News. Read More

Jen Bailey, MDiv'14, founded Faith Matters Network, perhaps best known as one of the co-founding organizations of The People’s Supper, gatherings where people “build trust across lines of difference”—political, ideological, social, racial, generational, socioeconomic and religious—by sharing a meal, discovering commonalities and working through differences. Read More

Aneesh Sohoni Aneesh Sohoni, MPP’13, will become chief executive officer of Teach for America beginning April 15. Sohoni has held several education leadership positions of increasing responsibility since earning his master of public policy in education policy at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. Read More

Vanderbilt alumni Jake Aronskind, BA’19, and Andrew Roth, BS’21, were named to the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 for creating and scaling successful businesses. Aronskind is CEO and co-founder of Pepper, a recipe sharing app. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the College of Arts and Science. Roth is the CEO and founder of dcdx, a global marketing research and strategy firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development from Peabody College of education and human development. Read More

What connects Vanderbilt to a crisp craft ale from one of Nashville’s premiere breweries? The vibrant vision and collaborative spirit of Vanderbilt alumna Bailey Spaulding. Read More

Amanda Headley Piper (Anne Rayner/Vanderbilt University) “If you want to make a difference in the world, meet a need,” Amanda Headley Piper’s grandmother once said, and Piper heeded those words of wisdom. She is the first pediatric audiologist from her twin-island home of Trinidad and Tobago, where… Read More

Doan Phuong Nguyen, BA'07, was in the first grade when she decided her dream was to be an author. The dream came to fruition in 2023 with the publication of her first novel for middle grade readers, 'Mèo and Bé' (Lee and Low Books, 2023; illustrated by Jesse White). Read More

See how Alexandra Doten, BA'18 is turning her love for all things space into a social media adventure. Read More

See how Yalun Aaron Feng, BA’18, is using his optimism and passion for the environment to build bridges between business and environmental advocacy. Read More

After long careers designing power generation plants and acute care medical facilities, Scott Johnson, BE'87, made a career leap two years ago to take the top job at the nation’s largest pencil maker, Musgrave Pencil Company.  Read More

School of Engineering alumnus Olatunde Osinaike is one of five winners of the 2022 National Poetry Series. His debut collection, 'Tender Headed,' is being published by Akashic Press in December. He will be on campus for an alumni reading event Oct. 24, co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Creative Writing Program and the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. He returns to Nashville Jan. 25, 2024, for a reading with The Porch, a literary nonprofit. Read More

JaHyne “JJ” Johnson, BA’23, came to Vanderbilt as a QuestBridge Scholar, ready to “do the work” and come out with a solid career path. What the chemistry major didn’t realize then was that the opportunities he pursued through classes, activities and Immersion Vanderbilt would allow him to write poetry, conduct research, dance in a ballet, launch a podcast and more. Read More