Blackburn Institute

Catherine Alexander Lives in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Merrit Booth Lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Porcia Bradford Fourth year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. She will be graduating in May. Last year, she spent her third year of medical school at the National Institutes of Health with the National Cancer Institute. She was involved with its Clinical Research Training Program, and her project was cancer immunotherapy.

Becca Brinkley Currently practicing law at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP in Nashville, Tennessee, in the area of trial and appellate litigation. She is active in the Nashville Legal Aid Society, providing pro bono legal services to area citizens who otherwise may not have effective access to the legal system. She is also a member of the Circle of Hope, an organization that supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Latonya Chiles Lives in Montgomery, Alabama.

Kate Cramer Graduated from The University of Alabama with a B.S. from the School of Business. She received her MBA from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in May of 2004. Today, Kate is employed with GrandShores Management Group, Inc. On January 24, 2004, she was selected to serve on the Blackburn Institute's Advisory Board.

Martha Denham Lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Daniel Dugan A 2001 graduate from the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. He is now working as an actor in New York City. Daniel has appeared in national commercials, independent films, and in New York theater. He studied acting at The Barrow Group in New York and his pictured on their website: http://www.barrowgroup.org.

Julia Floyd Julia (Julie) Floyd Jones is the Director of Operations for Navigate Media. Previously, Julie served as an Account Manager and Media Buyer with Echo Media, where she specialized in Consumer and Trade Publications and in National Direct Mail and Saturation Mail programs. Additionally, in the two years prior to her employment with Echo Media, Julie fulfilled the position of Communications Manager with Atlanta-based nonprofit organization Senior Connections. Julie holds a Master of Arts Degree in Communication from the University of Alabama, as well as a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Alabama, respectively. She resides in Atlanta with her husband, Kristian, and their son, John Patrick.

Eletra Gilchrist Lives in Hillsboro, Alabama.

Dominique Glinzler Lives in Houston, Texas and recently married Brandon Price, also a graduate of the University of Alabama. Dominique works as a risk analyst for First Data Corporation's TeleCheck which is headquartered in Houston. She is also coaching tennis in her spare time and is a member of the Houston World Affairs Council.

Jeremy Gray Lives in Nauvoo, Alabama.

Corrie Harris Lake, a Tuscaloosa native, graduated from UA in 1999 with a degree in Human Environmental Sciences. Corrie earned a M.S. degree in Counselor Education from Mississippi State University in 2001, then went on to work in Student Affairs at Samford University until 2004. Since 2004, Corrie has worked in Student Affairs at UA, advising several student organizations and leadership programs and teaching leadership and freshman seminar classes. In 2009, Corrie also took on the role of Leadership Specialist in Creative Campus. In spring 2010, Corrie married 1997 UA graduate Lt. Colonel James Lake, US Army.

Frances Hartwell Graduated with a BA in International Studies form UA in 2001. She is currently a juris doctor candidate at Georgetown University Law Center.

Cheney Brazeal Hickey Married in November of 2002 to Steve Hickey, a 1996 University of Alabama graduate. She is currently working with Ernst & Young in Atlanta as a Senior Associate, and her husband works in Forensics at KPMG. They have an adorable puppy named Blues.

Christina Johnston Received a PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign in August, 2005. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Lab working on one of the fuel cell teams. Christina will be working on improving the catalysts that are used in hydrogen fuel cells.

Elizabeth Johnston

Ryan Christopher King Graduated in May of 2001 with a degree in Quantitative Finance (Economics, Mathematical Statistics, and Computer Based Honors minors). He also received a Masters Degree in Finance. Currently, Ryan lives in New York, NY, and has worked for the past few years as a salesman for Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays Bank. His job entails asset-backed securities and corporate bonds.

Jay Long Attorney at Burr and Forman in Birmingham, Alabama.

Lara McCauley Alvis Accepted a position on the Blackburn Alumni Involvement Network, an extension of the Institute’s advisory board, in 2007. Upon graduation from the University of Alabama School of Law, she was an Assistant District Attorney in Shelby County until October of 2006 when she went into private practice at the firm of W. Barry Alvis and Associates, LLC. Currently, Lara’s practice includes primarily criminal defense. She is an active board member of Alpha Delta Pi, Greater Birmingham Alumni Association serving as the Recruitment Chair for surrounding colleges, Past President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer of the Shelby County Bar Association, and coaches the National Criminal Moot Court Team for the UA School of Law. Lara also works with SafeHarbor and the Juvenile Program of Shelby County as a counselor and mentor for troubled teens. She has a new four month old baby.

Joshua Moore Attending graduate school at The University of Alabama.

Chris Nix Received his undergraduate degree from Alabama in 1999 and his MBA in 2002. He is a sales associate for Todd and Sons Corporate Apparel and Promotions in Birmingham.

Rebecca Partesotti Working for University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Daniel Rodda Received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 2006. He now lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife Angela and works as an executive compensation consultant with Mercer.

Eric Rogers Received his MBA in May of 2004 from the Manderson Graduate School of Business form the University of Alabama. He also received his B.S. in finance from UA in August 2004. Eric currently resides in Birmingham and is employed with Eason, Graham, and Sander.

Amanda Duncan Soong Recently married and has now taken on the new name of Amanda Soong. She graduated from medical school in 2003. Amanda is currently a pediatric resident at Children's Hospital.

Mike Spivey Works in the Office of Admissions for the law school at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D.

David Vinson Received his undergraduate degree from Alabama in 2000. He then received his M.S. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico in 2002. Currently, David is serving as a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he teaches introductory geology classes.

Valerie Williams Wilson received her Bachelor's Degree in Communications from the University of Alabama in 2000. Upon graduation, Valerie moved to Mobile, Alabama to work for the CBS affiliate WKRG T-V. She also worked for the Fox affiliate Fox 10 News before moving to Birmingham to produce television news for NBC13. Valerie now serves as the Village Creek Watershed Coordinator for the Freshwater Land Trust. She and her husband, Dwan live in Birmingham with their two year old son, Jordan.