AULA CLASS NOTES
Alumni Updates & Achievements
Michael Folker (MA in Psychology ’13) Shortly after
graduating, Michael was offered a full-time position
working as a behavior therapist with young adults who
have autism at the Help Group, located in Culver City.
“I am proud to have earned my degree from AULA this
past June. Thank you to Eric Day, PhD; Jana Schrock,
PsyD; Sylvie Taylor, PhD; Gregor Sarkisian, PhD; and
Lillian Freeman, MSW, for all your generosity, support,
and guidance along the way. I couldn’t have done it
without you!”
John Paulett (MFA ’13) received
an appointment as adjunct faculty
in the Humanities Department of
National Louis University. In addition,
John was awarded the Golden Apple
Award for Excellence in Education
by the Golden Apple Foundation
of Chicago.
Emrys Journal, and the short story “At Death’s Door” in
Rose Red Review.
Andrea Danowski (BA ’12) This fall, Andrea will be
starting the MFA in Creative Writing program in fiction
at the University of Oregon, where she was awarded a
graduate teaching fellowship.
Tony Davis (MA in Psychology ’12) After choosing not to
move to the Bay Area, Tony is happy to report that he is
in a private practice internship at Larchmont Associates
under the supervision of Ralph Bruneau. “My practice
welcomes unique individuals and couples! I love working
with nontraditional couples and am developing part of my
practice to focus on serving gay couples.”
Lise Quintana (MFA ’13) has launched a new e-reader
platform called Lithomobilus (www.lithomobilus.com)
and is in talks with UC Berkeley to use Lithomobilus for
textbook design. She’s also launched a publishing business
founded on the Lithomobilus platform, Zoetic Press (www.
zoeticpress.com), which is now open for submissions.
Jeremy Drake (MA in Urban
Sustainability ’12) is a project and
evaluation specialist for the National
Center for Appropriate Technology, where
he supports the development of local
food systems through education,
infrastructure, and state policy programs.
After 20 years as an Angeleno, he now
lives in Missoula, Montana, where he
says he “aspires to make it through my first Montana
winter as a bicycle commuter.” www.ncat.org
Kathleen Rohr (MFA ’13) published three pieces last
year: a poem called “Dog Sledding in the Diaspora” in the
Poetry Jar, the short story “An Epochal Bedtime Story” in
Wendy Hudson (MFA ’12) Wendy’s essay “Crickets” was
selected as the Nonfiction Winner of the 2013 Tiferet
Journal Writing Contest.
Photo by Michael Modecki
Kem Neal (MA in Psychology ’12) Kem’s novel “Cooks,
Crooks and Colt” is now available on Amazon.com.
Naomi Benaron, AULA President Tex Boggs, and Nancy Fawcett.
Back in November, AULA hosted its first Alumni
Awards and Reunions event at Seasons 52 in Santa
Monica. Author Naomi Benaron (MFA ’06) won the
President’s Award for Distinction in Professional
Accomplishment, and AULA instructor/
psychotherapist Nancy Fawcett (MA in Clinical
Psychology ’86) won the Alumni Association Award
for Outstanding Service to AULA.
Peter Nichols (MFA ’12) Peter’s
novel, “The Way to Ithaca,” which
he wrote in AULA’s MFA program,
recently sold to Riverhead/Penguin
as well as publishing houses in
London and Paris. He was recently
hired as faculty at two low-residency
programs: the University of Arkansas
at Monticello and the University of Fairfield in Connecticut.
Lily Ning (MA in Education ’12) is beginning the PhD
program in Social Science and Comparative Educati ۂ