Ensights Magazine

Amy Grant at the Kennedy Center Honors

Alumni Notes — Winter 2023

Editorial Staff
What have our alumni been up to lately?

News

Mimi Wallace ’71’s team at UBS, The Wallace Group, was named to the inaugural list of Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams and ranked #11 in the state of Tennessee. Mimi founded the team in 1979 and currently manages $1 billion in assets for clients. Ellen Green Hoffman ‘00 is also a member of this outstanding team. 
 
Leaf Seligman book
Leaf Seligman ’73 winds up thirty years of college teaching this semester to focus on restorative practice. He offers restorative teaching/relational pedagogy workshops for educators at all levels and “continues to seed transformative justice and tenderness wherever I go.” He just finished a play based on the characters of his book, From the Midway: Unfolding Stories of Redemption and Belonging, and is working on a collection of essays about restorative teaching. Learn more at www.leafseligman.com.
 
Bess Adkins Marshall ’74 is halfway through her 30th year on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis in pediatrics. She has three grown children, and her mother still lives in the same house in Cherokee Park that Bess grew up in. She wishes all the best to her former classmates!
 
Amy Grant ’74 became the first contemporary Christian music star to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. On December 4th, Amy was celebrated at the 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors along with Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Tania León, and U2. President Biden hailed her voice as “a true gift from God that she shares with everyone.” We’re so proud of you, Amy! 
 
Nate and Cole Parrish
Ensworth Head Golf Coach Nate Parrish ’75 and Assistant Golf Coach Cole Parrish ’11 helped lead our boys’ and girls’ golf teams to victory! On October 7, 2022, Ensworth’s boys’ and girls’ golf teams both took home the title of State Champions! 
 
Olivia Daane ’84, owner of LivAspen Art, a premier art gallery in Aspen, CO, showcased her work at the Opera Gallery in Aspen earlier this August. 
 
Marcie Allen ’88 had a recent interview in StyleBlueprint. Marcie founded MAC Presents in 2004 and also owns Hillsboro Village’s Anzie Blue, which she recently relaunched as an event venue. 
 
Brian Fox ’88 was featured in Vanderbilt’s Center of Entrepreneurship’s “Voices of Entrepreneurship” speaker series on November 10th to discuss entrepreneurship in accountancy.
 
Glenn Gaston
Glenn Gaston ’89, M.D. continues to do amazing things as an upper extremities surgeon at OrthoCarolina. He and a fellow surgeon developed the Starfish Procedure, a groundbreaking procedure that allows the patient to move each individual finger. The procedure has been successfully administered to 25 patients so far, including Private Jackson Schroeder, an Army veteran. 
 
After 25+ years of building brands and making Super Bowl commercials in NY, LA, and Austin, Tom Hamling ‘89 has started an advertising agency here in Nashville named THE MAYOR. They have an office in the 12 South neighborhood.
 
the Lonely Toadstool
Kristin Addington Culpepper ’93 began Weave Sunshine Publishing to support parents of young children, including writing and publishing children’s picture books. Her love for creative writing began as a little one, saying “my nine years at Ensworth certainly helped pave the way to the Children’s poetry and books that are being published right now.” Her first book, The Lonely Toadstool, is available now. 
 
Shooter Jennings ’93 was recently nominated for two awards at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. 
 
Kelleigh Bannen ’95 recently co-founded the Preservation Society of Nashville and serves as its President. “Nashville’s unprecedented season of growth has brought remarkable opportunities and so much prosperity to our city, and we honor that,” she said in a recent statement. “However, the need for historic preservation has never been greater or more urgent.” 
 
Artist Morgan Ogilvie ’95 had a solo exhibit at Lipscomb University’s Hutcheson Gallery, entitled False Flags. She worked with the art department led by Rocky Horton as well as the gallery director, Jamie Reschke. This body of work—composed of 11 oil paintings—took inspiration from an episode of Columbo, the kitschy ‘70s detective series set in Los Angeles. A woman believes she has witnessed a crime but is surrounded by people who either doubt or actively seek to manipulate her. I see her predicament as an apt allegory for our own cultural moment where fact and fiction often blur. Morgan Ogilvie earned her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 2020 and currently serves on the CalArts Alumni Council. 
 
Andy ’97 and Charlie ’98 Nelson—owners of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery—have “followed their hearts, devoting their lives to resurrecting” the family distillery established by their great-great-great-grandfather Charles Nelson in 1860. Their new Nelson Bros. Reserve Bourbon has already won multiple awards and was ranked #10 by Whisky Advocate in their “Most Exciting Whiskies of 2022” list. 
 
Elliot Pinsly ’97 was recognized as the 2022 Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers - Tennessee Chapter. Elliot serves as President & CEO of the Behavioral Health Foundation, a data-driven nonprofit policy research center advancing mental health and addiction related policy and systems change. Recently, he led a successful effort to decriminalize fentanyl test strips in Tennessee for harm reduction use. 
 
Leigh Ivey Hicks ’01 joined the Alumni & Development Office at University School of Nashville (USN), where she serves as the Alumni Director.
 
Sterling “J.R.” Gittens, Jr. ’08 has made waves in the music industry. VoyageLA recently profiled J.R. in its article “Meet Sterling Gittens Jr.” Use the “Read More” QR code on the right to learn more.
 
LA (Lindsay) Head ’10 recently appeared on the episode “False Flag” on the CBS procedural crime drama “FBI: Most Wanted.” You can catch the full episode by using the QR code on the right (appearing around the 7-minute mark).
 
Alexandra Callahan ’11 graduated with an MBA from University of Michigan Ross School of Business in April 2022 with admission to the Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society. She accepted a full time offer to participate in Target’s Leadership Development Rotation Program and now lives in Minneapolis.
 
Shannon Smith
Shannon Smith ’11 received her PhD from Vanderbilt in the Chemical and Physical Biology Program in November 2022. The title of her dissertation was: Computational efforts in early-stage drug discovery: a use-case describing the discovery and optimization of protease-activated receptor 4 antagonists. She’ll be moving to San Francisco to work at Genentech as a Postdoctoral Fellow in both the Computational Structural Biology and Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning departments. She’d like to give a shout-out to her AP Chemistry teacher, Dr. Crystal Miller, for her mentorship. Congratulations, Shannon! 
 
Miranda (Mott) Gabet ’12 graduated from North Carolina State in December with a Master’s in Computer Science. She is training to run in the New York City Marathon this fall (her fourteenth marathon).
 
Robin Copple ’13 worked on Steven Spielberg’s new movie The Fabelmans, which just won Golden Globes for Best Drama and Best Director. Congratulations, Robin!
 
Sally Seitz ’13 moved to Pittsburgh, PA as an MFA Dramatic Writing candidate at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. The program focuses on equal parts playwriting, screenwriting, and writing for television. While at Ensworth, Sally wrote “Lucy’s Play” as her capstone project. 
 
Ashanti Charles Crawford ’15 was married this summer to Josh Crawford and moved to Salt Lake City where she now works as a classroom coach.
 
Desmond Cambridge, Jr. ’16 has had an incredible career in college basketball, starting out with Brown in the Ivy League before working his way up to the prestigious PAC-12 conference with the Arizona State Sun Devils. On January 8, in a victory against the Washington Huskies, he achieved a major milestone: he passed the 2,000 career points mark, joining an elite group of current and former college basketball players. At the college level, the 2,000-point mark has only been passed by a small number of players in history. 
 
Maggie McGraw ’16, public policy professional and conservation advocate, was one of twenty-one distinguished speakers at the 2023 UNA-USA Global Engagement Summit (GES). The summit, held at UN Headquarters in New York City on February 17, was “the largest annual gathering of UN supporters in the country, bringing together U.S. and UN officials, community leaders, young professionals, and subject matter experts from across the country to delve into the mission and lifesaving work of the United Nations.” Maggie spoke at the closing plenary session, “Support Sustainable Development and Climate Action.”
 
Briana Middleton ’16 stars in the film Sharper, which premiered in select theaters and on Apple TV+ in February.
 
For Sarah Allen ’18, dancing with Yue Yin Dance Company was a dream come true. She wanted to dance professionally “since I was a kid.” After graduating from New York University, she began her journey with YYDC. Over the summer, they performed at the Jacob’s Pillow 90th anniversary. Jacob’s Pillow is a dance festival deeply rooted in movement history, and has hosted many artists including Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, and many more. They had the honor of being the final summer show on the Henry J. Leir outdoor stage, where they performed two works by Yue Yin, “Ripple” and “Ember.” YYDC performed a double bill program last November in Venice, Italy. She is thankful for the Ensworth community, especially under the fierce leadership of Lindsay White, her Ensworth dance teacher.
 
Dontavia Waggoner ’20 is leading the Boston College women’s basketball team on and off the court. Dontavia transferred to Boston College last year from NC State. As a junior, Dontavia is the oldest member of the team. She recognizes the opportunity to usher in a new era this season, with both new players and new coaching staff. “It’s like we’re making our own little team and starting a new era. We’re young, and I really like that.” Last November, she was marked as the leader in the entire country in steals, with 32 as of November 30. 
 
Esther Okai-Tetteh
Esther Okai-Tetteh ’21, a sophomore commercial music major at Belmont, was recently chosen to study at Apple Creative Studios Nashville, a partnership with The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM). Esther was among the fifteen young adults aged 18-24 chosen for the five-week program. Read more about how Esther is flourishing, both professionally and personally, at Belmont (use the QR code below)!

Births

Allison Bates Smith ’92 (Stephen)
Henry Blackwood Smith
September 23, 2022
 
Ellen Green Hoffman ’00 (Brian)
Lillian Landrum Hoffman
January 14, 2023
 
Diana Wallace Perdue ’02 (Brandon)
Evelyn Alexander Perdue
September 29, 2022 
 
Katie Ward Anderson ’08 (Garrett)
Grace Rose Anderson
November 21, 2022
 
Austin Fabel ’08 (Kate) 
Demi Harper Fabel 
July 22, 2022 
 
Kerry Oakley ’08 (Nola)
Mary Reese Oakley 
September 30, 2022 
 
Andrew Colton ’09 (Lauren)
Sarah Elizabeth “Liza” Colton 
October 11, 2022
 
Eliza Coode ’09 & Chris Coode ’09 
Kevin McNairy Coode 
December 15, 2022 
 
Anna Kate Dunn Craig ’09 (Dylan)
Eden Elizabeth Craig
October 25, 2022
 
Michael Dunn ’09 (Stephanie)
Brady Michael Dunn
June 3, 2022
 
Sydney Mayfield Johnson ’09 (Cameron)
Wynter Lea Johnson
December 22, 2022
 
Jennifer Oxford Marcum ’09 (Justin)
Ivy Porter Marcum
July 7, 2022 
 
Lauren Wines Thompson ’09 (Robbie)
James Alan Thompson
July 28, 2022 
 
Samantha Lale Broughton ’10  (Jay)
Lucille Rivers Broughton
July 27, 2022 

Eleanor Spruill Cabrera ’10 (Jonathan)
Augustus “August” Ignacio Cabrera 
September 20, 2022
 
Kelsey Bairnsfather Collie ’10 (Seth)
Charlotte Crawford “Charley” Collie
February 24, 2022 
 
Maddie Graham McAuliffe ’10 (Sean)
Mary Margaret McAuliffe
August 26, 2022
 
Molly Vaughn Norwood ’10 (Thomas)
Elena Grace Norwood
January 10, 2023

Cody Tollison ’10 (Kat)
Walker James Tollison
July 20, 2022
 
Kendall Downey Cox ’15 & Burrus Cox ‘13 
George Kendall Cox
October 6, 2022

Weddings

Lindsay Voigt ’95 
to Pettus Randall 
June 4, 2022
 
Will Turner ’03 
to Molly Crofford 
Dec 17, 2022  
 
Blair Adams ’09 
to Marissa Young
December 11, 2022
 
EmmaJulia Jones ’11 
to Connor Siegel
October 22, 2022
 
Creed McClellan ’11 
to Kaitlin Abbey
October 1, 2022
 
Emily Barnes ’12
 to Paul Dominique 
January 22, 2022
 
Kate Hooper ’12 
to Burch Mixon 
July 16, 2022
 
Abby Scanlan ’13 
to Ryan Michael Degnan
October 22, 2022
 
Lauren Elcan ’13 
to Baxter Ingram 
August 20, 2022 
 
Chase Kregor ’13 
to Abby Perkins ’13
August 6, 2022
 
Caroline Waters ’13 
to Tanner Unger 
October 8, 2022 
 
Ashanti Charles ’15 
to Josh Crawford
July 23, 2022
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