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

Susan Montgomery, MA ’99, vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

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

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

  • Faculty in American Literature, Bard High School Early College, DC
     

Craig Allen

  • ACLS postdoctoral fellow in History and French Studies at NYU.

Kimberly Probolus

  • Leading Edge fellow, American Council of Learned Societies

Lindsay Davis

  • Assistant Teaching Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Carol Lautier-Woodley

  • Associate Director, Inclusive Democracy Project at Demos 

Justin Mann

  • Assistant Professor of English, Northwestern University 

Kimberly Pendleton

  • CEO at Uncover

Rahima Schwenkbeck

  • Director of Media, Policy Studies Association 

Ashley Brown

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

Meghan Drury

  • Assistant Professor, Pacific Northwest College of Art 

Kathryn Kein

  • Visiting Lecturer in the Gender and Women’s 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

  • Independent Contractor, Oral Historian, Russell Library, University of Georgia

Megan Black

  • Associate Professor of History at MIT

Joseph Malherek

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

Emily Dufton

  • Senior Research Associate, GW Documentary Center

Matt Kohlstedt

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

Steve Lorenz

  • Archivist, Rock Creek Woods Historic District 

Kym Rice

  • Interim Director at Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at The George Washington University 

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Alumni Class Notes