BS ’94, writes: Our artisanal chocolate company, Marou-Faiseurs de Chocolat, is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and we’re one of the first and few artisanal chocolate makers to create chocolate from the cacao bean in the country of origin. (We are actually the first in Asia.) We believe in the sustainability and added value that working locally provides to the betterment of the community, and to the quality of our chocolate. Working directly with farmers year-round is the only significant way to improve quality, and ensure that growers reap the benefits of their labor. Our chocolate is sold at Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Le Bon Marché in Paris, Fortnum & Mason in London, etc., and we just won gold, silver, and bronze medals in an international chocolate competition. You can find out more on our blog/website, www.marouchocolate.com.

an alumnus of the Michigan Medical School, is a pediatric neurosurgeon and biomedical engineer at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). He recently led a team of researchers from CHOA and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a technique that assists in identifying tumors from normal brain tissue during surgery by staining tumor cells blue. This key finding could be a critical technique used in hospitals lacking sophisticated equipment like an MRI, which guides in tumor removal, in preserving the maximum amount of normal tissue and brain function during surgery.

2008 Knight-Wallace Fellow, won a 2013 Pulitzer Prize in journalism. Schrade, along with fellow reporters Jeremy Olson and Glenn Howatt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, were recognized for their powerful reports on the spike in infant deaths at poorly regulated day-care homes, resulting in legislative action to strengthen rules.

01, recently completed her first feature film, “Hollywood Chaos,” which she wrote, produced, and cast. The movie stars Venessa Jean Simmons (son of Joseph “Run” Simmons of Run-DMC fame). Angela graduated from the College of Engineering. Her production company is called Breaking Into Hollywood.

MPP ’97, completed a doctorate in education from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Her dissertation explored the relationship between the multiple and intersecting social identities of race, ethnicity, and gender of Latino male students and their academic identities. Mellie received numerous fellowships throughout her doctoral studies at New York University, including the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Minority Dissertation Fellowship, and the Mainzer Fellowship at the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. Her publications include “Social mobility and the complex status of Latino males: Education, employment, and incarceration patterns from 2000–2009” in Invisible No More: Understanding the Disenfranchisement of Latino Men and Boys (Routledge 2011) and “From the Bricks to the Hall,” published in the Harvard Educational Review, 2009. Prior to her doctoral studies, Mellie was a high school mathematics teacher in her hometown of Newark, NJ.

MPH, MRP, writes: As an alumnus of U-M, Ann Arbor, I thought the younger students would be interested in what has happened in the area of “Cold Fusion” also called LENR (low energy nuclear reactions) research. 24 years after the announcement of a “new energy source” on March 23, 1989 by Drs. Pons and Fleischmann, we see a commercially available 1MW unit from Dr. Andrea Rossi (www.ecat.com) and a “Fusion Powered Car” project on indiegogo, a crowd funding website. Dr. Dennis Cravens has a project to convert a Model A Ford from gasoline to run on “Cold Fusion” charged batteries. It’s a fun project that could use some student support.

BA ’96 (High Honors), will be in Ann Arbor April 29 to promote his third book of poems, “This Time Tomorrow,” which recently was published by The Waywiser Press in the U.S. and U.K. He will be at Nicola’s Books for a reading and book signing on April 29 at 7 p.m.

BA/MA ’81, is the founder and executive director of the Onyx Academy for the Performing Arts Charter School. She presently is researching and developing a premiere performing arts high school, which, if approved by the New York State Education Department, will open in Harlem in August 2014. Connected to this arts initiative is her production of the documentary “Dreaming in Color.” In the film, prominent artists share their journey in the performing and visual arts. The premise of the film is the question: “When did you know you were passionate about the arts and what did you do?” Evelyn is also completing an Ed.D in Urban Education Leadership at Fordham University.

Had book of poetry published by Finishing Line Press in Fall of 2012, “On The Face Of Things.” A new book of poetry will be published this year, “More Than Moments.” Poems also published in Pennine Ink, UK, Daily Word, and online publications in The Avocet Wednesday Weekly Poetry,in The National League of American Pen Women’s website Poem Of The Week,in Pen Woman Magazine, and one of the poets in “Women’s Voices Of The 21st Century.”
Lois is the organist and choir director at Christ Lutheran Church in Desert Hot Springs, CA.