Michael C. Ubell 70F
Oakland, CA
Michael is a software engineer specializing in the development of database management systems. He currently works for Cloudera, a company focused on supporting highly scalable data management solutions. In addition to being the first computer science graduate from Hampshire, he holds an M.S. in computer science and electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He has spent his 35-year career mostly at start-up companies focused on relational, object-relational, and key-value database management systems. Since 2008 he has worked as a volunteer data manager for political campaigns.

Michael has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since leaving Hampshire and is the father of two sons and five grandchildren.

William S. Null 72F P08 and Lauren Thaler 75S P08
Briarcliff Manor, NY
Bill and Lauren met at Hampshire; their son, Evan Thaler-Null 08F, recently graduated. Bill is an attorney and managing partner of Cuddy & Feder LLP, a leading law firm in New York’s Hudson Valley Region, focusing on land use, zoning, and environmental review of real estate development projects. Lauren works as a relocation consultant for the Intrepid New Yorker, a woman-owned and -operated business, which provides destination services for multi-national corporate employees and their families moving to the NY metro area.

Bill and Lauren are actively involved with many not-for-profit organizations, including Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, United Jewish Appeal, Volunteer in the Parks (environmental education), White Plains Hospital Center, Briarcliff Manor Education Foundation, White Plains Bridge of Friendship Foundation, Westchester Jewish Community Services, American Jewish Committee, and their local synagogue. Lauren also volunteers at a nearby nursing home, where she has been providing pet therapy with their dog for ten years.

Warren R. Gorlick 77F
Washington, D.C.
Warren is the associate director for international affairs at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In this capacity, Warren represents the CFTC in various working groups of the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the Financial Stability Board with respect to the application of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation on cross-border financial transactions. Before joining the CFTC in 2002, Warren worked in other public sector positions, including attorney-advisor in the Office of General Counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission, deputy director in the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of International Affairs, and as senior financial sector expert at the World Bank, as well as the law firm of Akin Gump in Washington D.C. Warren lives in Washington D.C. with his wife and two children, and travels frequently for both work and pleasure to various international destinations.

Ellen Sturgis 77F, chair
Stow, MA
Ellen has been a nonprofit finance executive for over 25 years, and involved in local government for over a decade (selectman, school committee, building committee chair, and various other town boards). She volunteered for Hampshire as a College Fair representative in the past, has attended most of the "reunion" events over the years, and was on the 40th reunion planning committee. She organized the bell-ringing at the 40th, and ran unsuccessfully for alumni trustee--but is happy to join the newly reconstituted AAG!


Kevin Brown 79F
Springfield, MA
Kevin is currently the associate director for alumni relations at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He was the director for alumni relations at Hampshire from 1999 to 2005. The excitement and potential for positive change at Hampshire is one of the reasons Kevin was drawn to this alumni advisory group. Striking the balance between alumni engagement and financial support of Hampshire is something he hopes this advisory group can realize. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that alumni support Hampshire with their unique talents, time, and treasure. Please feel free to contact Kevin with suggestions or questions.

Kathryn Christine Wichmann 85F
Washington, D.C.
Kathryn is director of membership and communications for the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. She has a diverse background, including working as an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles, as house manager at Arena Stage and Woolly Mammoth Theatre in D.C., and, for ten years, at The Washington Post. Following her master’s degree in Humanitarian Action from the University of Geneva, she interned with the UN International Tribunal for Rwanda. She has an international diploma in humanitarian assistance from Fordham University and a certificate in organization development from Georgetown University. She also volunteers for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Melissa M. Beck 87F
Cold Spring, NY
Melissa is the chief executive officer of Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT), an award-winning non-profit dedicated to empowering unrepresented litigants with the tools they need to successfully self-advocate in the New York State Family Courts. Prior to joining LIFT, Ms. Beck served in leadership roles at CASES (the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services), New York City’s largest alternative-to-incarceration provider for youth, and the Vera Institute of Justice.

Before entering the non-profit field, Ms. Beck practiced law for nearly a decade as a criminal defense attorney at the law firm of Brafman & Associates and as a public defender. She was also an assistant district attorney in the appeals and sex crimes bureaus of the Kings County District Attorney's Office. Ms. Beck is the author of numerous articles on non-profit administration, programming, and legal issues and has taught undergraduate courses on a wide-range of legal topics. She received her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and completed the Non-Profit Leaders course at Columbia Business School. She is the recipient of the 2011 New York City Bar Association Kathryn McDonald Award in recognition of her excellence in service to the New York City Family Court. Ms. Beck is the proud mother of two daughters.

Tanya M. Gallo 87F
London, England
Tanya is a freelance writer, researcher, and consultant on contemporary urbanism. Her specific research interests include public space and the public realm and community-based participatory planning. Before completing the M.Sc. in urbanization and development at the London School of Economics, she was the recipient of the Revson Fellowship at Columbia University, awarded annually to ten urban leaders in New York City. Tanya is the founder and director of DreamYard's ACTION project, an arts and social justice program for teenagers in Bronx, New York. ACTION Project is a four-year out of school program for high school students, which includes a Saturday program and a summer intensive in which participants address social issues through self-directed art projects.

Eugene B. Mirman 92F
Brooklyn, NY
Eugene is a comedian, writer, and actor living in Brooklyn, NY. He’s best known for his work on Flight of the Conchords, Adult Swim’s Delocated, and the Fox animated series Bob’s Burgers. He wrote a parody self-help book entitled The Will to Whatevs and has released several standup albums on Sub Pop records.

He is also a board member of 826NYC, a tutoring center in Brooklyn, and The Thrive Project in Turners Falls, MA.

Daniel Gregor 93F
Atlanta, GA
Daniel is an attorney, activist, and organizer. His legal work is primarily in resistance and protest law, including working with individuals and communities in the southern coalfields of West Virginia resisting mountaintop removal mining and other destructive strip mining, and peace and justice and anti-war activism. His teaching and conference presentations have included legal ethics, movement lawyering, and street medic training. He holds a B.A. from Hampshire (experiential education and environmental history) and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. He likes to travel, ride bikes, and do civic activism and bicycle advocacy in his spare time.

Eric P. Rudnick 94F
Tempe, AZ
Eric is a technologist and entrepreneur who's been involved with many venture capital-funded start-up companies in the internet, software, and healthcare spaces. He was an early employee at a number of influential internet companies including Ask.com, the world’s 10th largest web property and 5th largest search engine. He was on the alumni networking committee for Hampshire's 40th Reunion. Eric runs very active Hampshire College and Five Colleges alumni groups on Linked In.

Elana Jacobs 95F
Skokie, IL
Elana is currently a Ph.D. student in science education at Illinois Institute of Technology. Previously, she was an education coordinator in community initiatives at the Museum of Science and Industry. As a science educator she has ten years of progressive teaching experience, from the Chicago Public Schools teacher to camp counselor, working with youth in indoor and outdoor classroom settings. Equally strong qualifications in all areas of identifying learning requirements: lesson development, grant writing, coaching, project management, and collaboration. She is a very involved citizen in organizations from fair housing, urban education, animal rescue, and the LGBT community. She earned an M.Ed in instructional leadership from University of IL at Chicago. Elana and her wife Helen have two very stubborn dogs, whom they hope will be Hampshire alums in the future.

Alex Kreit 97F
San Diego, CA
Alex is an associate professor of law and director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. While at Hampshire, Alex studied law, political science, and documentary video with Lester Mazor and kara lynch. His favorite Hampshire memory was watching the 2000 election returns at Lester's house during the portion of the evening where the news networks had projected Al Gore as the winner of Florida.

Alex is author of Controlled Substances: Crime, Regulation, and Policy (forthcoming 2012) and Drug Abuse and the Law Sourcebook 2012-13 Edition (forthcoming 2012, with Gerald F. Uelmen). He is president of the San Diego Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and serves on the board of directors of So Say We All, a narrative arts and education organization in San Diego. From 2009 to 2010 Alex served as chair of the City of San Diego’s Medical Marijuana Task Force, a position appointed by the San Diego City Council. He has been recognized as one of San Diego’s 'Top Attorneys in the Academic Field' by the San Diego Daily Transcript (2009, 2011) and one of “35 under 35” community leaders by the San Diego News Network (2010).

Devon (Balfour) Cruz 02F
West Springfield, MA
Devon studied U.S. history at Hampshire and was involved in a number of activist groups. Since her graduation in 2006 she has worked in the Hampshire admissions office, and has been progressively promoted from entry-level counselor to associate dean of admissions. As a member of the management team, she supervises all student workers and the reception team. In addition, she recruits new students from one of Hampshire's largest territories (California) as well as Rhode Island, Alaska, and Hawaii. Devon is responsible for Hampshire's Alumni Admissions Volunteer Program (HAAP).

Sara Ahmed 04F
West Hollywood, CA
Sara worked over the last eight years in prison reform/abolition as well as the decriminalization and de-racialization of Muslims post-9/11. After Hampshire, she was awarded the Coro Leadership in Public Affairs Fellowship, and worked in politics and public affairs in New York. She graduated from University of California-Los Angeles School of Law where she was a board chair and president of the South Asian Law Students Association and vice-president of the Women of Color Collective. She was also the editor-in-chief for the Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law. She is a a first-year corporate litigation associate at Bryan Cave LLP in Santa Monica, CA.

Ex Officio Members

A. Kim Saal 70F
Watertown, MA
Kim is one of two elected alumni trustees. He is chief of cardiology at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a partner at Mount Auburn Cardiology Associates. In addition to providing clinical care for his patients, Kim is a teacher, mentor, and clinical coach. He held a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School, where he was recipient of the Blacklow teaching award for his work educating medical students, physicians in training, and hospital staff. He was also recognized as teacher of the year at Mount Auburn Hospital. As a physician leader, he has promoted innovation and change in the model of the delivery of healthcare by utilizing quality and information management tools to promote clinical integration and improve the quality of care. After graduating from Hampshire, Kim earned his M.D. degree from the State University of New York at Downstate, did his residency in internal medicine at the University of Massachusetts, and completed his cardiology fellowship at the University of Washington. Kim credits Hampshire with formulating his primary mission: to develop lifelong learners who will promote the cause of social justice and the well-being of others.

S. Rebecca Holland 77F
Brooklyn, NY
Rebecca is one of two elected alumni trustees. She is currently the associate university compliance officer for New York University. After obtaining a Hampshire degree with a concentration in social and political history, she earned a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. She began her legal career as a criminal defense attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York City, working in the Brooklyn and Manhattan courts. Rebecca spent nearly a decade as an executive in Chicago and New York nonprofit alternative-to-incarceration organizations, focusing on criminal justice policy, development, and program management. She later served as the inspector general of the Public Assistance and Grants Unit of the New York City Department of Investigation. Her volunteer activities have included committees at the Chicago Women’s Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association; mentoring teenage girls; and serving on the board of directors of Illinois NARAL and the Illinois NARAL Political Action Committee. Rebecca is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the Association of Corporate Counsel/Greater New York chapter, and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

J. Killara Burn, director of Alumni and Family Relations
Amherst, MA
Killara joined Hampshire as director of alumni relations in May 2007, after 21 years working in alumni relations and development in the U.K. She now oversees both alumni and family relations programing at the College. Alumni and family relations organizes a program of regular and varied events around the world, an online directory and Facebook presences, new website, the annual Hampshire Forum: A Division IV Program (Hampshire’s version of an “alumni college”), and collaborates with other offices (including careers, admissions, student life, dean of faculty) to enable alums to be involved with the College today.