Notes from the Class of 2007

Following a 34-year career, Richard Spiegel (MJour'07) retired from the U.S. Army in October 2019. He and his wife Polly (PolSci'90) then took a five-month road trip and tour throughout the United States. In March 2020, Rich joined the Veterans Administration as the chief for stakeholder engagement with the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. He and Polly live in Bethesda, Maryland.

Rebecca Bryant (Advert)  is a development and donor relations specialist at the California Community Foundation. Previously, she served as associate director of corporate relations at the J. Pail Getty Trust, where she created and launched its corporate partnership program. Rebecca lives in downtown Los Angeles with her fiance, Jon McAlpine (Econ'07).

Michael Harris (Jour, Span) is vice president for media and consumer insights with Moosylvania, a brand-building agency. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, Leslie Gershein Harris (Jour'06; Law'10), and their four children. 

Ben Johnson (Comm) is head of marketing and business development at The Drone Racing League, the premier international league for elite pilots, where he oversees sponsorships, content distribution, media partnerships and licensing. Ben lives in New York City. 

After a 34-year career, Richard Spiegel (MJour) retired from the U.S. Army in October 2019. He and his wife, Polly (PolSci’90), then took a five-month road trip and tour throughout the United States. In March 2020, Rich joined the Veterans Administration as the chief for stakeholder engagement with the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. He and Polly live in Bethesda, Maryland.

In March 2021, Morgan Bast (Jour) was named the new marketing director for Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. In that role, she oversees the resort’s marketing department, creates and analyzes marketing campaigns, and manages the Steamboat brand across all resort outlets, including the Steamboat Grand Hotel. Before joining Steamboat, she worked at Vail Resorts for 10 years, ending as regional director of marketing for Breckenridge and Keystone Resorts.

Cody McDevitt (Jour), an investigative reporter and historian, wrote Banished from Johnstown: Racist Backlash in Pennsylvania. The book tells the history of a 1923 incident in which the town mayor ordered 2,000 African Americans and Mexican immigrants out of the city at gunpoint and under a threat of imprisonment. McDevitt has reported for the Somerset Daily American in western Pennsylvania and lives in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.

Brooke Diamond (Advert) has worked in advertising and marketing since graduating from CU Boulder, leading brands such as American Red Cross, Gillette, Campbell Soup Company and Johnson & Johnson. Diamond is the marketing director at Morgan Stanley. She met her husband while living in New York City. They welcomed their first child into the world in November 2020 and live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Brooke Diamond (Advert) has worked in advertising and marketing since graduating, leading brands such as American Red Cross, Gillette, Campbell Soup Co. and Johnson & Johnson. Diamond is the marketing director at Morgan Stanley. She met her husband while living in New York City. They welcomed their first child in November 2020 and live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Silvia Razgova (MJour) is a news photo editor at the Los Angeles Times, which she joined in 2022. Previously, she was a contract photojournalist for the Rocky Mountain News; staff photographer at the National, an English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi; and a freelance photographer in California and the Middle East. In her personal photographic work, she explores the themes of home, loss, belonging and poignancy of life.

In March 2022, Richard Spiegel (MJour) left the Department of Veterans Affairs to take the role of director of corporate communication and legislative affairs at Naval Supply Systems Command, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He’s excited to be a naval civilian working with the Department of Defense.