Peabody Alumni

Growing up, Anana Upton, BS’21, spent endless hours in hospitals as her younger brother underwent care. That experience spurred a passionate drive in her to elevate the quality of health care available to underserved communities while also educating them about their medical choices and affording them the dignity they deserve. Read More

Former Ukrainian government minister Anna Novosad is creating educational opportunities for those navigating life in a war zone. She will share her experiences at a June 23 virtual event open to the Vanderbilt community. Read More

Joyce Searcy grew up in segregated Yazoo City, Mississippi, where going to the public library would have meant entering through its back door.  Today she is the first Black person to serve as chair of the Nashville Public Library board. Read More

In his long U.S. Navy career, Michael Brasseur, BS'97, has had numerous command postings, including his latest as a full commodore. Based in Bahrain, he commands Task Force 59, the Navy’s first unmanned task force dedicated to securing the waters around the Arabian Peninsula. He directs a team dedicated to rapidly harnessing the power of unmanned and artificial intelligence integration to promote the free flow of commerce in the area. Read More

Carrie Grimes, EdD’20, has been named director of Vanderbilt Peabody College's innovative blended master’s degree program in independent school leadership.   Read More

Chronic illness prevented Jens Herman from earning his degree from Peabody more than a decade ago. The pandemic gave him a second chance. Read More

The success of Aaron Berndtson and Zach Blitz contradicts every parent who has warned their teenager that they can’t make a living playing video games. The 2006 graduates, whose friendship was forged over Madden NFL and NCAA Football, now hold leadership positions on the cutting edge of the video-game industry. Read More

Annie Beatrice “Bea” Martin, a retired teacher and administrator who was committed to education, outreach and social justice, died Oct. 11, 2020. She was 87. Read More

Education Concern Center Nepal, or ECC, was cofounded in 2017 by Janie Kaiser, BS'15, who serves as its managing director. The center uses a four-part program—teacher training, classroom materials, improved infrastructure and teacher support—to expand educational resources in Nepal's remote schools. Read More

Bryan Stromer, BS’17, has been chosen from more than 3,600 applicants to be one of 154 Schwarzman Scholars for the Class of 2022. The Schwarzman Scholars Program is one of the world’s most prestigious graduate fellowships and was designed to bring together the best minds from around the world to study the economic, political and cultural landscape of China. Read More

A tradition of giving in her first year at Vanderbilt has led Julie Babbage to continue giving back to her alma mater in a myriad of ways. Read More

A profile of Monique Nelson-Nwachuku, winner of Vanderbilt’s 2020 Alumni Professional Achievement Award, who is chairman and CEO of UniWorld Group, the country’s longest-standing multicultural marketing agency. Read More

Last spring, as thousands of health care employees worked tirelessly to do good in the wake of COVID-19, Houston native Ben Schecter and several Vanderbilt friends, including fellow Class of '18 alumna Allie Golden, decided on a model that would help struggling local restaurants and serve health care workers at the same time. Read More

Qualitative Data Collection Tools: Design, Development, and Applications, (2020, Sage Publishers) by Felice D. Billups, EdD’91 This new and unique supplementary text that will guide students and new researchers to design, develop, pilot and employ qualitative tools in order to collect qualitative data. Templates of interview protocols, focus group moderator… Read More