68 Notable alumni of
James Madison University
Updated:
James Madison University is 779th in the world, 291st in North America, and 270th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 68 notable alumni from James Madison University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Christina Tosi
- Occupations
- chefrestaurateur
- Biography
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Christina Tosi is an American chef and cookbook author. She is founder and co-owner with Momofuku of Milk Bar and serves as its chef and chief executive officer. Food & Wine magazine included her in their 2014 list of "Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink".
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Jim Acosta
- Enrolled in James Madison University
- In 1993 graduated with bachelor's degree in political science and communication studies
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Abilio James Acosta is an American broadcast journalist, anchor and the chief domestic correspondent for CNN. Previously, Acosta served as the network's chief White House correspondent during the Trump administration, in which he gained national attention for President Donald Trump's clashes with him at press briefings. Acosta also covered the Obama administration as CNN's senior White House correspondent. As Trump was about to leave office, it was announced on January 11, 2021 that Acosta had been appointed Anchor and Chief Domestic Correspondent for CNN.
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Glennon Doyle
- Occupations
- novelistactivistwriterjournalistblogger
- Biography
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Glennon Doyle is an American author and queer activist known for her books Untamed, Love Warrior, and Carry On, Warrior. Doyle is also the creator of the online community Momastery, and is the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-women-led nonprofit organization supporting women, families, and children in crisis.
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Lindsay Czarniak
- Occupations
- sports commentatorjournalist
- Biography
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Lindsay Ann Czarniak is an American sports anchor and reporter. She currently works for Fox Sports as a sideline reporter for NFL games. After spending six years with WRC-TV, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., Czarniak joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor in August 2011 and left ESPN in 2017.
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Reshma Shetty
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Reshma Shetty is a British-born American actress who is best known for her role as Divya Katdare on the USA Network TV series Royal Pains.
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Tony Schiavone
- Occupations
- sports commentatorpodcaster
- Biography
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Noah Anthony Schiavone is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling commentator and podcaster. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he serves as the play-by-play commentator for Collision, color commentator for Dynamite and Rampage, then also as senior producer. He has previously worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Major League Wrestling (MLW). In addition to his work in wrestling, Schiavone has also worked as a broadcaster for the Gwinnett Braves/Stripers of Minor League Baseball and Georgia Bulldogs football.
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Ben DiNucci
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Benjamin Anthony DiNucci, is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at James Madison and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
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LeRoi Moore
- Occupations
- jazz musiciancomposersaxophonist
- Biography
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LeRoi Holloway Moore was an American saxophonist. He was a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band. Moore often arranged music for songs written by Dave Matthews. Moore also co-wrote many of the band's songs, notably "Too Much" and "Stay (Wasting Time)".
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Phil Vassar
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterpianistsingermusiciansongwriter
- Biography
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Phillip George Vassar Jr. is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw ("For a Little While", "My Next Thirty Years"), Jo Dee Messina ("Bye, Bye", "I'm Alright"), Collin Raye ("Little Red Rodeo"), and Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money"). In 1999, he was named by American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) as Country Songwriter of the Year.
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Tamera Young
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Tamera "Ty" Young is a former American basketball player who is currently a free agent. After playing collegiately for James Madison University, Young was drafted by the Atlanta Dream with the 8th overall pick of the 2008 WNBA draft. She was traded to the Chicago Sky, and led them to the WNBA Finals in 2015, then came back to Atlanta, and was traded to the Aces in 2018.
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Jennifer Morgan
- Occupations
- international forum participantmanager
- Biography
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Jennifer Morgan is an American technology executive. She is the former Co-Chief Executive Officer at SAP SE. Morgan became the first American woman ever appointed to the SAP Executive Board in 2017. Morgan is the first female Chief Executive of SAP, and she is the first female CEO of a company on the DAX index.
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Wes Miller
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coachhead coach
- Biography
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Warren Weston Miller is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, he played at the collegiate level for James Madison University and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 2007. Professionally, Miller played for London Capital of the British Basketball League. He was previously head coach at UNC Greensboro, and served stints as an assistant coach at Elon University and High Point University.
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Keith Howland
- Occupations
- guitaristmusician
- Biography
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Keith Howland is an American guitarist and singer. He was the lead guitarist for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago from 1995-2021.
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Levar Stoney
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Levar Marcus Stoney is an American politician who has served as the 80th mayor of Richmond, Virginia since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, being the youngest member of Governor Terry McAuliffe's administration.
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Jason Miyares
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Jason Stuart Miyares is an American attorney and politician serving as the 48th Attorney General of Virginia since 2022. A Republican, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, from the 82nd district in northeastern Virginia Beach, and served three terms from 2016 to 2022. He was elected Attorney General of Virginia in 2021. The son of a refugee, he is the first Hispanic elected statewide in Virginia.
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Walter Shaub
- Occupations
- juristlawyer
- Biography
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Walter Michael Shaub Jr. is an American attorney specializing in government ethics who, from January 9, 2013 to July 19, 2017, was the director of the United States Office of Government Ethics. As of July 19, 2017, he joined the Washington D.C.-based election law organization the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) as Senior Director, Ethics.
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Ross Copperman
- Occupations
- singersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Ross Copperman is a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter and producer with 37 number one radio hits. After his experience as an artist in the UK, Copperman discovered his talent for writing and producing country music. He has written several No. 1 songs including notable hits like Billy Currington's "Don't It", Luke Bryan's "Strip It Down" and Keith Urban's "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16". Copperman has also produced for several artists including Keith Urban, Brett Eldredge, Dierks Bentley, Eli Young Band, Darius Rucker, and Jake Owen among others. Recently, Copperman's song "Woman, Amen" recorded by Dierks Bentley charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Charts on June 11, 2018. Kenny Chesney's single "Get Along" was also co-penned by Copperman, adding to his list of over 30 total written and produced No. 1 country singles. Copperman continues to impact weekly Billboard country charts in collaboration with Sony Music Publishing in Nashville.
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Butch Taylor
- Occupations
- keyboardistcomposer
- Biography
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Butch Taylor is a composer, writer, keyboardist and long time guest musician with Dave Matthews Band.
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Kirk Cox
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Marvin Kirkland Cox is an American retired politician and educator. A Republican and a former high school teacher, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1990 to 2022, representing the 66th District. From 2018 to 2020, he served as the 55th Speaker of the House of Delegates. Cox served as House Majority Leader from 2010 to 2018 and House Majority Whip from 2004 to 2010.
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Karen McCullah
- Occupations
- screenwriter
- Biography
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Karen McCullah is an American screenwriter and novelist most known for co-writing comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde, Ella Enchanted, The House Bunny, The Ugly Truth and She's the Man with her screenwriting partner Kirsten Smith. After graduating from James Madison University with a degree in marketing, McCullah worked various jobs before beginning to write. She is a faculty member at Syracuse University's Los Angeles Semester.
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Dean Marlowe
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Dean Marlowe is an American football safety for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent following the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football at James Madison University.
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Marcia Angell
- Occupations
- physicianmedical writer
- Biography
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Marcia Angell is an American physician, author, and the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Margaret Becker
- Occupations
- singersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Margaret Becker is an American Christian rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has had twenty-one No. 1 Christian radio hits, won four Dove Awards, and been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
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Christopher Soghoian
- Occupations
- computer scientist
- Biography
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Christopher Soghoian is a privacy researcher and activist. He is currently working for Senator Ron Wyden as the senator’s Senior Advisor for Privacy & Cybersecurity. From 2012 to 2016, he was the principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union.
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Josh Wells
- Occupations
- player of American footballbaseball player
- Biography
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Joshua Ryan Wells is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at James Madison.
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Matt Rinaldi
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Matthew Daniel Rinaldi is an American attorney and politician serving as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. Rinaldi was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for district 115 in Dallas County from 2015 to 2019 when he was defeated by Democrat Julie Johnson.
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Charles Cooke
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Charles Cooke III is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for both James Madison University and the University of Dayton.
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Steve Buckhantz
- Occupations
- sports commentatorbasketball player
- Biography
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Steve Buckhantz is an American television play-by-play announcer, most recently for the NBA team Washington Wizards.
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Chris Sprouse
- Occupations
- pencillerillustratorvisual artist
- Biography
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Chris Sprouse is an American comics artist. Sprouse has worked for multiple publishers and has won two Eisner Awards for his work on Tom Strong, a series he created with writer Alan Moore.
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Lorenzo Bundy
- Occupations
- baseball coachbaseball player
- Biography
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Charles Lorenzo Bundy is an American former Minor League Baseball player and current manager of the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. He has held Major League Baseball coaching positions with the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins.
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Scott Surovell
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Scott Anthony Surovell is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Virginia Senate, representing the 36th district, which encompasses portions of Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties, roughly following U.S. Route 1. He previously represented the 44th district in the Virginia House of Delegates. He is a Democrat.
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Jazmon Gwathmey
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Jazmon Chameli Gwathmey is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Lointek Gernika Bizkaia of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She played for Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
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Billy Sample
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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William Amos Sample, is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves in parts of nine seasons spanning 1978–1986.
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Francisco Narbón
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Francisco Javier Narbón Cuadra is a Panamanian footballer who plays for Plaza Amador and the Panama national football team.
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Linton Townes
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Linton Rodney Townes is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6 '7" (201 cm) 190 lb (86 kg) swingman from Richmond, Virginia, he played collegiately at James Madison University from 1978 to 1982. At James Madison, he helped lead the Dukes to their first NCAA tournament in program history. He played for four National Basketball Association (NBA) teams. He also starred in high school at Covington High School in Covington, Virginia. Covington is also the same city where fellow NBA alum Bimbo Coles was born.
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Thomas Dominick Croci
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Thomas D. Croci is an American politician and naval officer from the state of New York. A Republican, Croci represented the 3rd District of the New York State Senate from 2015 through 2018. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia in the Trump administration, from February 3, 2020 to January 19, 2021.
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Rich Thompson
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Richard Charles Thompson is a former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012. Thompson spent most of his 12-year career playing in Minor League Baseball, and retired in 2013 after a foot injury.
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Emmett Hanger
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Emmett Wilson Hanger Jr. is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1983 to 1991, when he was unseated by Creigh Deeds. He then served as member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 24th district from 1996 to 2024. This district, located in the central Shenandoah Valley and nearby sections of the Blue Ridge Mountains, included the independent cities of Staunton, and Waynesboro, as well as Augusta County, Greene County, Madison County, and parts of Rockingham County and Culpeper County.
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Sherman Dillard
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Sherman Dillard is a former American basketball player and current coach. He was a head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University and at James Madison as well as an assistant at Maryland, California and Georgia Tech. Currently, he is an assistant basketball coach at the University of Iowa. Prior to being hired at Iowa in May 2010, he was a basketball representative for Nike.
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Nikola Budalić
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Nikola “Niki” Budalic is a Canadian retired soccer player who currently serves as a director of soccer operations for Inter Miami CF.
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Dan Meyer
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Daniel Livingston Meyer is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2004 to 2010 for the Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, and Florida Marlins. Meyer's coaching career began in 2014, within the Braves organization. Prior to the 2022 season, he was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Ryan McDougle
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Ryan Todd McDougle is an American politician. A Republican, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 until 2006. He was elected to the Senate of Virginia. Since 2006, he has represented the 4th district, representing six counties and part of a seventh.
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Kembrew McLeod
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Kembrew McLeod is an American artist, activist, and professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa.
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Christina Julien
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Christina Marie Katrina Julien is a Canadian women's soccer striker who plays for German club 1. FC Köln and the Canada women's national soccer team. She has played in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games. Julien was named in the 2012 Olympic squad as an alternate player.
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Nick Zimmerman
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Nick Zimmerman is an American soccer player.
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Clifton L. Corker
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Clifton Leland Corker is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
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Jonathan Barden
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Jonathan Patrick Barden is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sutton United.
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Scott Lloyd
- Years
- 1979-.. (age 45)
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Edward Scott Lloyd is an American lawyer who served as the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and as a senior advisor in the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives.
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Jason Healey
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Jason Healey is an American senior research scholar and adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. He is also a senior fellow with the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council, where he was the program's founding director. He has published many academic articles, essays, and books on the topic of cyber security and has advised on security measures for corporate, government, and military institutions. He has been identified as the first historian of cyber conflict.
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John-Paul Lee
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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John-Paul Lee aka 이창선 is the founder and CEO of Tavalon Tea, a New York City-based tea company that sells premium teas and related tea products from all over the world.
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Joe Tartamella
- Occupations
- basketball coachhead coach
- Biography
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Joe Tartamella is the current head coach of the St. John's University women's basketball team.
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Alexandra Dunn
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Alexandra Dapolito Dunn is an American environmental lawyer and law professor, specializing in chemical and pesticide regulation, water quality issues, water treatment issues, urban development, rule of law, environmental justice, environmental conflict resolution, cooperative federalism, and implementation of the Clean Water Act and the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Dunn was an executive at several environmental management associations, and served as Regional Administrator for New England in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
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D. J. Bryant
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Darrell "D. J." Bryant is a former American football outside linebacker. He played college football at James Madison.
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Laurie E. Locascio
- Enrolled in James Madison University
- 1979-1983 graduated with Bachelor of Science in chemistry
- Occupations
- civil servantacademic administratoruniversity teacherbiomedical engineeranalytical chemist
- Biography
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Laurie Ellen Locascio is an American biomedical engineer, analytical chemist, and former academic administrator serving as the under secretary of commerce for standards and technology and the director of National Institute of Standards and Technology. From 2017 to 2021, Locascio was vice president for research of University of Maryland, College Park and University of Maryland, Baltimore.
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Julian King
- Occupations
- composermusicianaudio engineerrecord producer
- Biography
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Julian King is an American recording engineer, mix engineer, record producer and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. King earned a Grammy as the recording engineer of Faith Hill's multi-million-selling, pop-crossover album Breathe.
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Jon Pineda
- Occupations
- poet
- Biography
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Jon Pineda is an American poet, memoirist, and novelist.
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John C. Milhiser
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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John C. Milhiser is an American attorney who serves as the Sangamon State's Attorney. He served as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois from 2018 to 2021. Prior to becoming a U.S. Attorney, Milhiser was previously the Sangamon County State's Attorney from 2010 to 2018. In January 2022, Milhiser announced he would seek the Republican nomination for Illinois Secretary of State in the 2022 election. He was reappointed Sangamon State's Attorney November 14, 2023.
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Nina Willner
- Years
- 1961-.. (age 63)
- Occupations
- authorintelligence officerhuman rights activist
- Biography
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Nina Willner is an American nonfiction author, a former intelligence officer and human rights activist. Her first book Forty Autumns A Family’s Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall is the true story of Willner's mother's escape from communist East Germany at age 20, the large family she left behind the Iron Curtain, and their four-decade journey to reunite. During the Cold War, Willner, then a 22-year-old U.S. Army intelligence officer, was sent into the heart of Soviet-controlled East Berlin to lead secret spy missions. Willner uses her personal story to tell the broader story of the Cold War and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
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Herbert Altshuler
- Enrolled in James Madison University
- Graduated with Master of Business Administration
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Herbert Lewis "Buz" Altshuler is a retired American major general who served as director of strategy and plans for USAFRICOM, and commanded United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) (USACAPOC) from 2001 to 2007.
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Paul Tine
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Paul N. Tine was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, serving since 2013. Tine is also an insurance agent. Elected as a Democrat in 2012 and 2014, Tine left that party in January 2015, changed his registration to "Unaffiliated," and said he would caucus with the Republican House majority.
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Zane David Memeger
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Zane David Memeger is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 2010 to 2016.
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John Roberts
- Occupations
- sports journalistengineer
- Biography
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John Roberts is a former on-air broadcaster for NASCAR coverage on Speed Channel, which later became Fox Sports 1. He appeared on NASCAR Race Hub and NASCAR Live! and until 2014, he appeared on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane, while also having served as a substitute studio host for NASCAR on Fox in 2012. He co-hosted Tradin’ Paint on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio up until that show's cancelation.
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Mia LaBerge
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- painter
- Biography
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Mia LaBerge is an American artist who painted the first Steinway Art Case Piano created to honor a university.
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Anita Friedt
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Anita E. Friedt is an American diplomat.
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Angela Orebaugh
- Occupations
- computer scientist
- Biography
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Angela Orebaugh is a cyber technology and security author and researcher. In 2011, she was selected as Booz Allen Hamilton's first Cybersecurity Fellow. She is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia Department of Computer Science.
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Charles A. Jenkins
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Charles A. Jenkins is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland District 3B, which covered Frederick and Washington County, Maryland. He was appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to fill the vacancy created by Richard B. Weldon Jr.'s resignation.
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Gene Fant Jr
- Years
- 1963-.. (age 61)
- Occupations
- writereducator
- Biography
-
Gene Fant Jr., a leader in Christian higher education and prolific writer, is the current president of North Greenville University, which is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and located in Tigerville, South Carolina. Gene was elected as president by the university's board of trustees and officially began his term on June 1, 2017. Gene became the university's first president to be selected with the assistance of a third-party executive search firm. He holds more academic degrees than any previous president at the institution.
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Wendy Maybury
- Born in
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Japan - Occupations
- comedian
- Biography
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Wendy Maybury is a stand-up comedian and photographer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her debut album She's Not From Around Here, produced by Grammy winner Dan Schlissel, was released June 26, 2020 on Stand Up! Records, and reached No. 1 on the Amazon comedy chart.
