Graduate School Alumni Association Board

The Graduate School Alumni Association (GSAA) is the alumni leadership board for the Graduate School. The Board meets twice a year in New Haven to support the strategic goals of the Graduate School and to advise the Dean and alumni relations staff on how best to engage Graduate School alumni with Yale.

Alumni Board Committees

DEIB Committee

FY23: Information gathering within the board and the wider Yale community to identify areas for future committee activities. Explored how the DEIB committee can augment existing programs, such as New Student Orientation and Diversity Day Orientation.

Departments & Program Committee

FY23: Following the ’22 survey of directors of graduate studies (DGSs), the committee hosted a Fall reception for DGSs and board members. In April, it hosted three DGSs for conversations about how alums can support work within individual departments.

Students Committee

FY23: The committee hosted the flagship “Where Do I Go from Yale” conference in person for GSAS students in April, in partnership with Yale Alumni Association and GSAS staff. 40+ alums were recruited to host panel discussions for the full-day conference.

Alumni Committee

FY23: Piloted peer mentorship groups focusing on career advancement and personal development. Hosted virtual networking event in collaboration with YAA’s Careers, Life & Yale. Started outreach to international Yale alumni clubs to connect with GSAS alums.

Yale Graduate School Alumni Association, 2023-2024:

OFFICERS

Chair
Ms. Jia Chen ‘00 Ph.D. Physics
New York, NY
Senior Director, Medidata AI, Medidata Solutions

Vice Chair
Prof. Edward J. Balleisen ‘95 Ph.D. History
Durham, NC
Vice Provost, Duke University

Secretary
Mr. David R. Sanchez ‘84 M.A. Political Science
Portland, OR
Chief Executive Officer, Sanchez Global LLC

BOARD MEMBERS

Ellen R. Babby ‘80 Ph.D. French
Chevy Chase, MD & Scottsdale, AZ
Nonprofit Management Consultant

Yana Bebieva ‘18 Ph.D. Geology & Geophysics
Houston, TX
Associate Manager Catastrophe Modeling, Progressive

Laura J. Brown ‘20 Ph.D. Music
New Haven, CT
Senior User Researcher, Spotify

Carol L. Chiodo ‘14 Ph.D. Italian
Claremont, CA
Librarian for Collections and Digital Scholarship, Harvard University

Marisa P. Dolled-Filhart ‘05 Ph.D. Genetics
Edison, NJ
Scientific Vice President, Translational Department, Tumor Microenvironment Thematic Research Center at Bristol Myers Squibb

Alicia E. Ellis ‘04 M.A. African American Studies, ‘09 Ph.D. Germanic Languages & Literatures
South Gardiner, ME
Associate Professor of German & Department Chair, Colby College

Federico Galizia ‘98 Ph.D. Economics
Washington, DC
Chief Risk Officer, International Finance Corporation

Bhaskar Ghosh ‘95 Ph.D. Computer Science
Palo Alto, CA
VP of Engineering and Operations, NerdWallet

Chun Hu ‘22 Ph.D. Pharmacology
Shanghai, China

Tammy L. Ingram ‘07 Ph.D. History
Bridgeport, CT
Associate Professor of History, College of Charleston

Sadia Khan ‘91 M.A. Economics
Islamabad, Pakistan
Consultant, Seedat Chambers

Kitty Koo-Tse ‘01 M.S. Psychology
Brooklyn, NY
Director, Global Wealth of Investment Management, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Sandra Kuzmich ‘89 Ph.D. Pharmacology
Sandy Hook, CT
Managing Partner, Haug Partners LLP

Benoit J. Mercereau ‘02 Ph.D. Economics
Paris, France
Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Arvella Investments

Nathan N. Nguyen ‘20 Ph.D. Cell Biology
San Jose, CA
Cryptologic Warfare Officer

Carlos Riobó ‘98 Ph.D. Spanish & Portuguese
Scarsdale, NY
City University of New York, Ph.D. Program in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures

Stephanie N. Scarmo ‘06 M.P.H. ‘09 Ph.D. Epidemiology and Public Health
Brooklyn, NY
National Senior Director of Policy Research, Voices for Healthy Kids, American Heart Association

Levi M. Smith ‘19 Ph.D. Cell Biology
Palo Alto, CA
Life Sciences Venture Capital Investor

Gale Tenen Spak ‘76 Ph.D. Political Science
Aberdeen, NJ
Evangelist, HackerU and Principal, Bridge Their Future, LLC.

James V. Staros ‘74 Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
Leverett, MA
Professor Emeritus & former campus Provost, University of Massachusetts

Anne Toker ‘98 Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry
New York, NY
Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

Jessica Tuan '12 M.S. Engineering & Applied Science
New Haven, CT
Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, Yale School of Medicine

Lisa A. Villeneuve M.A. French
New York, NY
SVP Emerging Risks, New Product Appraisals, Citi

Zipei "Steven" Zhu ‘22 M.S. Statistics and Data Science
Scottsdale, AZ
Cofounder of Hirey

Esther Zirbel ‘93 Ph.D. Astronomy
Nantucket, MA
CEO and Founder, Educational Coaching Consultant

ADVISORY TRUSTEES (non-voting)

Dr. Stacey R. Davis ‘99 Ph.D. History
Tacoma, WA
Professor of History & Curricular Area Team Leader, Humanities, The Evergreen State College

Kai Du ‘12 Ph.D. Management
University Park, PA
Assistant Professor of Accounting, Smeal College of Business, Penn State University

OrLando H. Yarborough ’10 Ph.D. Genetics
New Haven, CT
Founder, The Well Company

Huiqiong Wang ‘07 Ph.D. Engineering & Applied Science
Woodbridge, CT
Professor, Department of Physics, Xiamen University Malaysia

EX OFFICIO

Lynn Cooley, M.D.
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; C. N. H. Long Professor of Genetics and Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Christopher J. Lindsay ‘26 GRD. Astronomy
Graduate Student Assembly Chair

Immediate Past President, GSAA
James L. Shulman ‘93 Ph.D. Renaissance Studies
New York, NY
Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, American Council of Learned Societies

Former GSAA Board currently serving on YAA Board of Governors

Zlatko K. Minev ’18 Ph.D. Applied Physics
New York, NY

Cory McCruden ’23 Ph.D. Political Science
Brooklyn, NY
Head of Client Experience, Digital Business Banking, RBC

Simon Morris Ingold ’07 M.A. International Relations
Global Head FB&A, Siegfried Holding AG

Vishnal Agrawal ’96 B.S., ’96 M.S. Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, ’02 M.D.
Falls Church, VA
Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer, Humana, Inc.