2024 Alumni Awards Honorees

Khari Brown is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Spark the Journey, a 31-year old nonprofit organization that provides mentorship and a community of support to young adults in the Washington, DC area to help them achieve college and career success. Khari began leading Spark in 2001 as Executive Director and became CEO in 2015. Beginning as its only employee, he has grown Spark’s student body from 50 students to more than 600 annually, while also building a broader set of wraparound services and programs to promote student success. By leveraging the power of hundreds of trained volunteers on a daily basis, Spark has been remarkably successful in helping its students overcome the barriers that limit most low-income students. Under Khari’s leadership, Spark has seen 60% of its graduates complete college on time, a rate that is nearly triple that of similar students nationally

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University with degrees in Spanish and Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Shah attended Boston University School of Medicine, earning his Master's degree in Medical Science, with a thesis on MRI technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Shah then went on to earn his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating at the top of his class as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. He completed his residency training at Tufts Medical Center in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery...

Connell Cloyd, originally from Memphis, TN, is a seasoned educator with almost two decades of experience. He holds degrees in Child Development (LA '03) and Education (BA '05) from Tufts University . Currently teaching middle school mathematics at the Henderson Inclusion School for 13 years, Connell believes in showcasing the real-life applications of math, ensuring his students grasp its significance in daily living...

A 1978 graduate of Tuft School of Medicine, Dr. Robin Dretler is an infectious disease specialist based in the Greater Atlanta area. In 1983, Dr. Dretler established Infectious Disease Specialists of Atlanta, now the largest private practice in infectious diseases in the Greater Atlanta area...

Dr Xiang Gao is the graduate of Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science (PhD in Nutritional Epidemiology in 2005). Currently, he is the Distinguished Professor and Dean of Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University. He is also the Chair of Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Fudan University School of Public Health. Formerly, he was Assistant Professor (2010-2014) at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor(2014-2020) and Full Professor (2020-2022) at the Penn State University. He was also the Schreyer Distinguished Honors Faculty at the Penn State University...

The Honorable Jeffrey S. Merrifield, a former presidential appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is widely recognized as an international thought leader on nuclear power and the deployment of complex energy systems for the avoidance of carbon generation...

Suzanne L. Topalian, MD is a physician-scientist whose studies of anti-tumor immunity have been foundational in developing cancer immunotherapy as a standard-of-care in oncology. She has published over 170 original research articles and reviews in this area and is one of the most highly cited researchers in the biomedical field...

Aviva Must, PhD is an internationally known nutritional epidemiologist, obesity researcher and the Morton A. Madoff, MD, MPH Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). She holds secondary professorial appointments in the Department of Pediatrics at TUSM, Tufts Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTSI) and at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy...

Nimarta Narang is a writer, journalist, and media professional. As an international student at Tufts University, she graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Experimental Psychology. She has worked in journalism, film, non-profit, and advocacy in the short years since her graduation...

Meagan Edmonds is a 2014 AS&E graduate. While at Tufts, Meagan was involved in Programming Board, Writing Fellows, and the Strong Women, Strong Girls community mentoring program. She also worked as a student in the Office of Alumni Engagement supporting Tufts Alumni events, which first sparked her interest in remaining an active member of the Tufts Alumni community after graduation. Meagan moved to Washington, DC after graduating where she has built her life, including attending Georgetown University Law Center... 

Diana Villarnovo Lopez, J78, A25P, is an accomplished business advisor in both the public and private sectors with more than 30 years of experience in highly regulated industries, including aviation, railroads and affordable housing. She has been a senior advisor and general counsel to multi-national corporations, public agencies, government officials and executives...

Carole Allen, MD, MBA is a board certified pediatrician with extensive experience in clinical practice, practice administration, public health and health care policy. Before retiring from clinical practice in 2011, Dr. Allen was Director of Pediatrics for Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, where she was responsible for oversight of the health care of more than 70,000 children. From 2012 through 2017, she served on the Board of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission that was created to improve quality of care while reducing total medical costs...