Alumni News

Andréa Becker (‘22)

• Won the 2022 Roberta G. Simmons Outstanding Dissertation Award (medical sociology section)
• Published an op-ed article “Men Benefit From Abortion. Why Do We Mostly Study Women?” in New York Times

Natascia Boeri (‘16)
Received ASA Travel Award for Teaching

Emily Campbell (‘20)
Published three articles:

• “OxyContin created the opioid crisis, but stigma and prohibition have fueled it” in The Conversation. 
  She was also interviewed by Worcester Magazine for her research on the opioid crisis.
• "Contesting Deaths’ Despair: Local Public Religion, Radical Welcome and Community Health in the Overdose Crisis, Massachusetts, USA" in Open Theology 
• "The Drug War Turns 50" in Contexts.

She is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Grace Cho (‘05)
Give a book talk on her memoir Tastes Like War (2021 National Book Award finalist) with Patricia Clough (faculty) hosted by GC Public Programs, which was also featured in GC News

Melissa Ditmore ('02)
Published a new book titled “Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy” (Beacon Press, May 2023) She also has two NYC events coming up, a launch May 1st at WORD Brooklyn in Greenpoint, and an event with Alex Vitale May 18th at P&T Knitwear on the lower east side. 

Brenda Gambol (‘20) and Rebecca Taram (‘20)
Led their expertise in immigration policy as part of the 2022 IMISCOE (International Migration Research Network) annual conference 

Heather Gautney (‘07)
Published a new book “The New Power Elite” (Oxford University Press, December 2022)

Anna Gjika (‘20)
Published a new book When Rape Goes Viral: Youth and Sexual Assault in the Digital Age (UC Press, December 2023)

Benjamin Haber (‘17)
Accepted tenure-track assistant professor position at Wesleyan University

Angelique Harris (‘07)
Served as the new ad interim associate dean for diversity and inclusion at Boston University School of Medicine

Talha Işsevenler (‘22)
Published an article titled “An event-without-witness: a Nietzschean theory of the digital will to power as the will to temporalize” in The Agonist (2022)

Robin Isserles (‘02)
Gave a book talk on The Cost of Completion: Student Success in Community College organized by CUNY Academy for the Humanities and the Sciences at Sociology Lounge on May 5, 2023

Colin Jerolmack (‘09)

• Received honorable mention in 2022 ASA Allan Schnaiberg Outstanding Publication Award (Environmental Sociology Section) for his book Up to Heaven and Down to Hell (Princeton Press, 2021)
• Was featured in the cover story on GC website “Before You Protest Fracking in Rural Towns, You Might Want to Find Out How Your Apartment Is Heated

Mitchell Alan Kaplan (‘87)

• Contributed a book chapter entitled “The Socioeconomic and Political Ramifications of Climate Migration in the 21st Century” to the book Technological Development and Impact on Economic and Environmental Sustainability.
• Published an article titled “The Rise in Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia in the Time of COVID-19” in Journal of Hate Studies

Rebecca Karam (‘20)
Accepted a tenure-track assistant professor offer at Michigan State University

Amalia Leguizamón (‘14)
Won two book awards for her book Seeds of Power (Duke University Press, 2020)

• 2022 ASA Allan Schnaiberg Outstanding Publication Award (Environmental Sociology Section) 
• 2022 ISA (International Studies Association) Global Development Section Book Award

Tania G. Levey (‘06)
Published a book chapter "#MeToo and Social Media" in Institutional Sexual Abuse in the #MeToo Era edited by Jason D. Spraitz & Kendra Bowen (Southern Illinois University Press, 2021)

Chris Maggio (‘21)
Co-published an article titled “Demographic change and assimilation in the early 21st-century United States” with Richard Alba (faculty emeritus) in PNAS, March 2022

Doug Meyer (‘11)
Published a new book Violent Differences: The Importance of Race in Sexual Assault against Queer Men (University of California Press, 2022)

Demond Mullins (‘13)
Was interviewed in the PBS NewsHour “Mountaineer group aims to become first all-Black team to climb Everest”. His story was also featured on GC website “Alumnus Demond Mullins to lead first all-Black team to climb Everest”.

Tsedale Melaku (‘16)

• Began her new role as an assistant professor of management at Baruch College. Her interview was also featured in GC News “She Brings a Sociology Lens to Baruch Business Faculty”
• Published an article titled “Black women in white academe: a qualitative analysis of heightened inclusion tax” in Ethnic and Racial Studies (07 Dec 2022)

Karen Okigbo (‘21)

• Will be joining the University of Massachusetts-Boston department of sociology as a tenure-track assistant professor in fall 2023. Her dissertation committee are: Nancy Foner (chair), Richard Alba, Phil Kasinitz, and Rob Smith.
• Was featured in the 2022 GC Dissertation Showcase and received the Audience Choice Award

Alexandra Ravenelle (‘18)

• Will be Russell Sage Foundation visiting scholar for 2023-2024 academic year
• Published a new book Side Hustle Safety Net: How Vulnerable Workers Survive Precarious Times (UC Press, October 2023)
• Co-published an article titled “ “It’s Not Like Chasing Chanel:” Spending Time, Investing in the Self, and Pandemic Epiphanies” in Work and Occupations with Ken Cai Kowalski

Chris Rosa (‘2001)
Was appointed as the President and CEO of the Viscardi Center at the Graduate Center of CUNY, effective January 1, 2022. Chris also received the President's Medal at Queens College.

Stephen Ruszczyk (‘15)
Published an article titled “The Spatial Mobility Trap? How Urban Contexts Shape the Spatial Mobility of Male Undocumented Youths” in Sociological Forum (Nov 28, 2022)

Mara Getz Sheftel (‘20)
Published three articles:

• “Immigrant Wealth Stratification and Return Migration: The Case of Mexican Immigrants in the United States During the Twentieth Century” in Demography
• “The Role of Place of Birth and Residence in Puerto Rican Health Disparities: Evidence From Disability Prevalence Among Archipelago- Vs. Mainland-Born Puerto Ricans” in Journal of Aging and Health with Frank Heiland
• “Health Across Borders: A Crossnational Comparison of Immigrant Health in Europe” in Population Research and Policy Review with Rachel Margolis and Ashton M. Verdery

CalvinJohn Smiley (‘14)
Published a new book Purgatory Citizenship: Reentry, Race and Abolition (UC Press, May 2023), which is listed #1 in Sociology New Releases on Amazon.

Albert de la Tierra ('22)
Joined San Francisco State University as a tenure-track assistant professor .

Siqi Tu (‘20)

• Co-edited a volume Children and Youths’ Migration in a Global Landscape in Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Vol. 29 (Emerald Publishing Limited, May 2022)
• Wrote a piece “Shanghai Residents Ask: Should I Stay or Should I Go?” in Sixth Tone

Andrew Wallace (‘15)
Was appointed as Director of Institutional Research at Hunter College

Sebastian Villamizar Santamaria (‘22)

• Will be Associate Editor at Nature Cities, a new journal focused on urban research from the Nature umbrella of journals
• Has a book contract with Springer based on his dissertation, which will likely come out in early 2024

Kasey Zapatka (‘23)
Will be featured in the GC Dissertation Showcase

Anna Zhelnina (‘20)

• Was featured in the International Horizons podcast “Propaganda, Protest and Repression in Russia” with John Torpey (faculty), which was also covered in GC News
• Published an article titled “Making Urban Futures at Your Kitchen Table: Temporalities of an Urban Renewal Controversy in Moscow” in City & Community (Nov 14, 2022)