GS Class of 2020

Mariahadessa Tallie ’20 AM, ’25 PhD published We Go Slow, a picture book with Simon and Schuster in August. The book earned a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly and has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Cristina Taylor ’20 MPA and David Randl were married on July 5 in Colfosco, Italy. Many of their friends from Brown attended the wedding, including Tamara Brattoli, Bruce Bybee ’23, Dorian Charpentier ’20, Aaron Gruen ’22, Shane Niesen ’20, Nathaniel Ostrer ’21, Christopher Yates ’21 PhD.

Stine An ’20 MFA is one of 18 translators selected to receive a Literature Translation Fellowship of $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts. This fellowship will support An’s translation of Today’s Morning Vocabulary by South Korean poet Yoo Heekyung into English. 

Odemi Pessu ’20 MPA writes: “Shortly after completing my Master of Public Affairs in 2020, I published my first book, Force of Nature. Force of Nature is a lyrical compilation of narrative poetry that explores the intersections of African womanhood, emotional vulnerability, and spiritual liberation.This body of work is an ode to the divine feminine energy and power that exists within all African women. I was inspired to write this book because I am an Itsekiri and Ijaw woman whose parents immigrated from the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s oil-rich and impoverished coastal area. I published Force of Nature to inspire young African women globally to honor their divine feminine power through love, creativity, and decolonization of their mind, body, and spirit. I’d love for the Brown community to join me in embracing the complexities of African womanhood, exploring decolonization of the mind, reconciling tradition with growth, rejecting patriarchal oppression, and discovering new ways to love ourselves.”

George “Donnie” Hasseltine ’19 EMCS writes: “I was selected for the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program (along with Timothy James ’20 EMBA). To my knowledge we are the second and third Brown alums to be selected (after Nicole Issac ’00). Additionally, I was selected for the inaugural class of Veteran Fellows at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. For both PLS and Hoover, I am working on a project to address the impact of wildfires on California homeowners.”

Anna Lenaker ’20 MPA published her memoir Able to Be Otherwise, an intimate account of her experiences and encounters with poverty, addiction, and climate change. In her book she writes about her time at Brown as a first generation low-income student. She was interviewed by Trending Globally, a podcast by the Watson Institute, and Congressman David Cicilline ’83 of Rhode Island wrote a praise quote for her book cover.