Alumni Outcomes

 

GW American Studies Alumni Kevin Strait posing in front of Chuck Berry's famous red cadillac

Kevin Strait, PhD ’10, brought Chuck Berry’s famous red Cadillac to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Strait is one of two American Studies alumni who helped assemble the museum's collection. (Photo: William Atkins)

American Studies alumni pursue a wide variety of career paths, including media, law, public service, economics, museum curation, arts and entertainment, historic preservation and urban planning. Some of our graduates have launched their own businesses, while others have pursued advanced degrees and now teach at world-class institutions.

Our alumni include:

Kevin Strait, PhD '10, and Paul Gardullo, PhD '06, curators at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Amy Kurland, BA ’77, founder of the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tenn.

Mark Kates, BA ’82, music artist manager who ran The Beastie Boys’ label

Betsy May-Salazar, MA ’91, chief operating officer of the National Building Museum

 

 

Recent Undergraduate Alumni Employers

  • American Psychological Association
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology
  • Apple
  • Bluebird Cafe
  • Clark Construction Group
  • Colorado Charter School Institute
  • Deloitte
  • Discovery Communications
  • FischTank PR

 

  • The George Washington University
  • KIPP DC Public Schools
  • Lionsgate
  • M&T Bank
  • ManTech International Corporation
  • NASA
  • National Geographic Channel
  • New York Jewish Community Center
  • Northwell Health

 

  • RedPeg Marketing
  • Time
  • United American Costumes
  • Universal Student Fund
  • Washington Bach Consort
  • Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
  • WME Entertainment
  • Yelp
  • YMCA

 


Recent Graduate Alumni Employers

  • Boston University
  • Emory University
  • Gensler
  • The George Washington University
  • George Washington’s Mount Vernon
  • Georgia Southern University
  • Journal of Popular Music Studies
  • London School of Economics
  • The Louis Berger Group

 

  • The Mount Vernon Ladies Association
  • National Park Service
  • Rock and Roll Forever Foundation
  • Setsunan University
  • Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
  • Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
  • Terra Foundation for American Art

 

  • Tufts University
  • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • University of Guelph
  • U.S. Courts
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • U.S. Library of Congress
  • Voice of America
  • WETA-TV

 

 

 

PhD Alumni Job Placement Data

Thomas Dolan

  • Fullbright Teaching Scholar, The American University in Cairo

Vyta Pivo

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan Society of Fellows at the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Sara Awartani

  • Global American Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, Harvard University

Michael Horka

  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Global and Intercultural Studies, Miami University

Craig Allen

  • Postdoctoral Fellow/Assistant Director in Public Humanities at NYU

Kimberly Probolus

  • Leading Edge fellow, American Council of Learned Societies

Lindsay Davis

  • Assistant Teaching Professor of History & Co-Director of Gender Sexuality and Women's Studies Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Carol Lautier-Woodley

  • Director, Movement Building at Demos

Justin Mann

  • Assistant Professor of English, Northwestern University

Kimberly Pendleton

  • CEO at Uncover

Rahima Schwenkbeck

  • Director of Media, The Policy Studies Organization

Ashley Brown

  • Assistant Professor & Allan H. Selig Chair in the History of Sport and Society, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Meghan Drury

  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, Pacific Northwest College of Art & Portland State University

Kathryn Kein

  • Lecturer in the Gender,Women’s and Sexuality Studies Department - UMBC

Scott Larson

  • Lecturer IV, American Culture Undergraduate Advisor, University of Michigan

Shannon Davies Mancus

  • Teaching Associate Professor, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, Colorado School of Mines

Patrick Nugent

  • Deputy Director for the Starr Center, Lecturer in History, Washington College

Katie Schank

  • Post Doctoral Teaching Fellow, Institute for Liberal Arts, Emory University 

Megan Black

  • Associate Professor of History at MIT

Joseph Malherek

  • Botstiber Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University 

Emily Dufton

  • Co-Founder and Lead Writer, Takoma Writers, LLC

Matt Kohlstedt

  • Associate Director of Admissions and Research, University of Wisconsin- Madison

Steve Lorenz

  • Archivist, Rock Creek Woods Historic District 

Kym Rice

  • Associate Professor, Museum Studies Program, Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University 

MA Alumni Job Placement Data

Courtney Mason

  • Engagement Manager, European Union Policy and Outreach Partnership

Brendan Hornbostel

  • PhD student, GW History Department

Harry Lewis

  • Event Manager, Andy Kim for Congress

Shannon Papin

  • Senior Architectual Historian, Environmental Science Associates

Jasmine Cannon

  • PhD student, Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Rutgers University & Pope House Museum Manager (Parks, Recreation and Cultural resources Departent) City of Raleigh Museum

Olivia Sayah

  • Public Programs Coordinator, Massachusettes Historical Society

Sam Citarella

  • Corporate Assistant Archivist at NYSE

Chelsea Halling-Nye

  • Program Assistant, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Rebekah Turnmire

  • PhD Student at the University of South Carolina in History

Kate Kronau

  • Historic Preservation Associate at Hill Studio

Will Near

  • Manager of Website Administration at City Year

Maria Willhoit

  • Senior Program Coordinator, Supplemental Instruction & Honors, Tulane University

Amanda Figueroa

  • AMST PhD student at Harvard University, Coordinator of Experimental Practice, MIT Museum

Brady Forrest

  • Adjunct Faculty, Women’s and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University

Ravon Ruffin

  • Program and Communications Manager, NEW INC at New Museum of Contemporary Art 

Lindsay Brayton

  • Marketing and Communications Manager, Film at Brooklyn Academy of Music

Erin Sexton Mashni

  • Digital Archives Consultant at Kalamazoo Valley Museum

Caroline Spurry

  • Archetictural Historian at George Washington's Mount Vernon

Erin Howe

  • Lead Tax Credits & Senior Project Manager at EHT Traceries

Teng Xu

  • Multimedia Journalist, Voice of America

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Alumni Class Notes