Alumni Faces in the News
Laura Dunn ’93
Laura Dunn ’93 added another film debut to her impressive filmmaking career with the premiere of All Illusions Must Be Broken at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival in January. The documentary film “... examines unexpected consequences that stem from denaturing children’s formative years.”
Dunn and her partner Jef Sewell’s documentary production company, Two Birds Film, also produced the award-winning Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry (2017) and The Unforeseen (2007).
Xavier Nonez ’17
The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science honored Xavier Nonez ’17 with its Rising Star Alumni Award this spring. A 2021 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, he is one of two inaugural recipients of the award, which recognizes young alums who have shown exceptional growth in their field.
Nonez lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where works as a startup scout with Montfort Ventures, a startup fundraising advisory firm. He also volunteers as a success coach with Durham Success Summit, a nonprofit founded by Derek Rhodes ’11 that uplifts young Black men in Durham.
Liz Eason ’13 and Jared Anderson ’12
Former In The Pocket members Liz Eason ’13 and Jared Anderson ’12 were both inducted into the Recording Academy Nashville Chapter’s 2023 New Member Class.
Eason, who holds a B.A. in violin performance from UNC-Chapel Hill, worked in artist management in Los Angeles for several years before making a temporary move to Nashville, where she earned her M.B.A. at Vanderbilt University.
After graduating from the Berklee College of Music, Anderson moved to Nashville. He worked as a staff engineer at Omnisound before starting his own production company, Evergreen Productions. Even with his work featured on HBO, Netflix, ABC and other networks, Anderson has found time to work with DA’s In The Pocket on their last two albums.
Kate Taylor ’09
Viewers of the Investigation Discovery docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV may have spotted a familiar face: Kate Taylor ’09, who is billed as an executive producer for the five-part series. Quiet on Set, which debuted in March, is based on a 2022 exposé penned by Taylor that examines an alleged culture of abuse behind the scenes of Nickelodeon children’s programs in the 1990s and 2000s.
Taylor, who is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, is also featured in the 2024 HBO documentary Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion, based on her investigation of the teen clothing brand Brandy Melville.
Taylor was again in the spotlight in April, as Columbia University named her one of 10 Knight-Bagehot Fellows in Economics and Business Journalism; the program offers graduate-level courses and weekly seminars for mid-career journalists.
Carl Ward ’11
Along with teammates at Gladstone Institutes, Dr. Carl Ward ’11 helped create an unprecedented molecular map of the human immune response — a milestone that could signify another step toward treating autoimmune disorders and improving cancer treatment. The findings, co-authored by Ralf Schmidt, were published in Nature in December. (Read more.)
As a postdoctoral researcher in the Marson Lab at Gladstone, Ward led the team in computational genomics. Ward continues to collaborate with Gladstone while also scaling his research at Site Tx, a biotechnology startup.
Charles McCain ’22
Charles McCain ’22 — a rising junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he is a Morehead-Cain scholar — was honored this spring with the UNC-Chapel Hill Carolina MEN (Male Empowerment Network) 2024 Champion of Service and Achievement Award.
By offering academic, cultural, social and professional development support, Carolina MEN is working to help students from underrepresented backgrounds find success and a sense of belonging.
Samantha Everette ’03
Photographer Samantha Everette ’03 has 12 works on display at CAM Raleigh from her series “Crowning Glory.”
“One of the most intimate yet universal experiences of Black women is the braiding of our hair,” reads a description of the series on Everette’s website. “Our African and Indigenous ancestry endows hair with significance beyond physical beauty; our long flowing braids are a conduit for spiritual anointing, a symbol of tribe and belonging, and a method for intergenerational bonding. Inspired by her own experiences and by the Black women who make up her closest friends and family, Everette creates a scene that highlights their strength and beauty through the ritual of hair braiding.”
Admission is free at the exhibit, which runs through Sept. 8. If you would like to catch up with Everette and support her work, you can connect with her on Instagram @theshootingbeauty.
Joseph Walston ’19
Joseph Walston ’19 attributes his love of science to his time with former Durham Academy Lower School science teacher Lyn Streck — a love that now extends to his work in graduate school. He is currently a botany Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying the Heliamphora genus of South American carnivorous pitcher plants.
In April, Walston received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which includes an annual stipend for three years and additional support for tuition costs. Out of more than 2,000 fellowship recipients in 2024, Walston is one of only three students who fall within the Systematics and Biodiversity field of study.
Joan Dunlap-Seivold
Leading up to the Women’s World Cup last summer, ESPN highlighted the trailblazing soccer career of former Durham Academy faculty member, coach and parent Joan Dunlap-Seivold — who made history in 1986 as the first mother on the U.S. women’s national team.
“Joan Dunlap was a maverick who followed her dream and brought her child along for the ride,” wrote Gwendolyn Oxenham, “thereby lighting the way for all the player-moms who have come after her.”
Dunlap-Seivold’s husband, Joe Seivold, is a former DA varsity soccer and lacrosse coach who was inducted into the DA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. Their sons, Johnny Seivold ’99 and Jordan Seivold ’08, both attended DA, and Johnny will join his father in the Athletic Hall of Fame in December.
Read about Dunlap-Seivold’s inspiring journey: url.da.org/Joan-ESPN
Kelly Koon MacLeod ’98
The all-consuming joy of reading for fun is at the center of How to Eat a Book, a picture book by Kelly Koon MacLeod ’98 and her husband, Darrin MacLeod, who write and illustrate under the pen name “Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod.” The book, which was published by Union Square Kids in 2022, was named Barnes & Noble’s 2023 Picture Book of the Year and included in School Library Journal’s 2022 Best Picture Books.
The MacLeods followed up their successful debut early this year with a sequel, The Door That Had Never Been Opened Before. The books’ unique illustrations were created with dipped pen-and-ink cut-out art, photographed in dioramas.
“If Lewis Carroll, Piet Mondrian and Shel Silverstein had ever decided to start a family and write a book together,” reads The New York Times’ review of How to Eat a Book, “these are the kids and the book they would have conceived.”
Allison McWilliams ’91
Dr. Allison McWilliams ’91 served as the keynote speaker at a February retreat for the University of the Incarnate Word’s Financial Literacy, Integrated Guidance and Health Career Tracts (FLIGHT) program. The retreat centered on mentorship culture and student success — McWilliams was able to share her expertise as the assistant vice president of Mentoring and Alumni Personal & Career Development at Wake Forest University.
Alexander Isley ’80
Alexander Isley ’80 was featured on the As We Create podcast in dialogue with Michael Marques. The two sat down to discuss Isley’s career, background and inspirations — many of which, he says, are found within all of us. “First of all, don’t call me a creative,” Isley said. “I would hope that all of us are creative.” Isley, a prolific graphic designer, created the current Durham Academy logo, which debuted in 1998.
This inspiring alum imparts wisdom that can be applied in any field, so visit url.da.org/alex-isley to listen!
As We Create is a production of the Connecticut Art Directors Club.
Natalie Sutton Alvarez ’07, Eleanor Wertman ’07, Elise Hartley ’10 and David Sailer ’11
Several alumni who work in healthcare shared their expertise and insights with Durham Academy Upper Schoolers in April, addressing students’ questions and concerns about life in healthcare, while demonstrating the field’s many career paths — with advocacy emerging as a huge theme in each of their journeys.
The panel was moderated by Natalie Alvarez, M.B.A., M.P.H., who works in healthcare administration and health technology. Panelists included Elise Hartley ’10, who spoke about how she works to make medication more affordable through her work in the pharmaceutical industry; David Sailer ’11, M.D., who spoke about clinical paths and his journey as a physician; and Eleanor Wertman ’07, M.P.H., who spoke about nonprofit and community outreach.
Nick Gallo ’06
In April, seven DA Upper Schoolers — accompanied by Lori Reade, student development and career exploration counselor — traveled to Charlotte for an NBA game between the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder. But the students weren’t there to watch the game: Each has interest in pursuing a career in sports broadcasting or communications, and they were appreciative guests of Nick Gallo ’06, a broadcast reporter and digital editor for Bally Sports Oklahoma and the Thunder.
Gallo provided a behind-the-scenes tour into the dizzying and energizing world of broadcast sports. Students peeked inside the production truck that oversees the Thunder broadcast; chatted with Michael Cage, who played 15 seasons in the NBA and now serves as an analyst for Bally Sports Oklahoma; and posed questions to Matt Pinto, the veteran radio play-by-play announcer who had recently called his 3,000th NBA game.
Gallo — who boasts 17 years of experience as a sportswriter, broadcaster and podcaster — has worked with the Thunder since 2012. He fielded questions from students after his pregame TV analysis and during halftime. At the conclusion of his Q&A at halftime, Gallo shared with students the unofficial credo of the TV and radio crews for the Thunder: a “0–0 Mentality” that treats every day as a new opportunity to do their very best.
And his audience has noticed. A few weeks after DA’s trip to Charlotte, the Thunder had just wrapped up a win in the NBA playoffs when several Thunder players sprinted from a nationally televised interview toward Gallo, who was waiting patiently to speak with them. The clip of their unadulterated joy and enthusiasm upon seeing Gallo went viral on social media.
Eva Novick ’96
The April 2024 issue of the Oregon State Bar Bulletin featured Eva Novick ’96, who recently made a shift from a 17-year tenure in consumer protection law with the Oregon Department of Justice to a more dynamic role in privacy law.
“Consumer protection law in Oregon is fairly static. Privacy law is the exact opposite. Every day, I’m trying to keep up with changing technology, new laws and new interpretations of old laws,” she explained. “What I love about both fields of law is that they impact our daily lives. I’m excited to be part of a developing field of law and shape how technology, including AI, will be used for the next 10 to 20 years.”
In her private practice role, Novick works with companies to examine data collection and utilization as the space continues to evolve over the next few decades.
Bryson Brodie ’96
The paintings of Bryson Brodie ’96 were featured in a one-month show at James Fuentes Gallery in New York City, along with over 70 notable contemporary visual artists and photographers. The show ran from April 26 until May 25 as a way to say goodbye to the gallery’s location at 55 Delancey St.