Alumni Profiles

She specializes in surgical pathology, with gastrointestinal/liver pathology as a subspecialty area of expertise, and is the Associate Residency Program Director. Leana did undergraduate work at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She then studied at the University of Iowa, with a BA in sociology. Her postgraduate work was also at the University of Iowa, where she was awarded her M.D. Later at the Iowa Carver College of Medicine, she completed her externship, residency and a fellowship in surgical pathology. Dr. Guerin has published in a number of professional journals.

Less

Graduating from Maharishi University of Management in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, he then worked for 15 years at two medical imaging start-ups (including 11 years at Vital Images, which was founded in Fairfield by Vincent Argiro). In 2006, while enrolled at Duke University’s Global MBA program, Vikas was introduced to the concept of informal networks in the workplace, and thus was born the idea of Keyhubs, which has since grown steadily and serves clients that include Accenture, Medtronic, Thrivent Financial, Boston Scientific and Bremer Bank. Keyhubs’ informal networks business model, which helps uncover a company’s “hidden organization,” has been covered in Forbes, Upstart Business Journal, and Twin Cities Business magazine. He is also founder of Neighborhood Forest, a social venture dedicated to giving free trees to school children every Earth Day (a venture inspired from his extracurricular activities while at MUM). Vikas serves as adjunct faculty of purpose-driven entrepreneurship at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. He actively blogs about the journey at www.keyhubs.com/blog.

Less

She manages the business development department for Community & Individual Development Association and the Maharishi Institute, a nonprofit organization with a 34-year track record of success pioneering the “virtually free” education movement in South Africa. She has been instrumental in marketing and raising funds for the organization. She was previously based in Beijing and San Francisco, working with the non-profit organizations Center for Wellness & Achievement in Education, Stress-Free Schools, and the David Lynch Foundation. She has been invited to speak in North America, China, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa on topics related to poverty alleviation through free education, sustainable business, and developing human potential through whole student learning. In 2005, Annie completed her B.A. in Digital Media and her MBA in 2014 from MUM. She is also a certified teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique. 
www.maharishiinstitute.org

Less

A combat veteran, he served in the Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and was Deputy White House Liaison at the Department of Defense. A former active duty U.S. Army Officer, Major Freeman served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and Combat Action Badge. He received a BA from the University of Michigan, a Masters from Harvard University’s Extension School, holds an MBA with honors from UMass-Amherst, and is currently completing his PhD in International Relations at the London School of Economics.
uk.linkedin.com/in/jfonir/ 

Less

From the University of Iowa, she has earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (2007), an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering (2003), and in 2001 a Bachelor of Science degree in the same area. Dr. Vigmostad is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa, where she has taught since 2008.

Dr. Vigmostad not only teaches; she is also active in scientific and medical research. Her research area is computational biomechanics, focusing on developing and applying computational methodologies for the study of disease formation and progression, improving disease treatment options and prosthetic device designs, and identifying biomechanics-related risk factors for diseases. Her research in these areas has been published in professional journals and books.

Dr. Vigmostad has been a speaker, organizer, and instructor in workshops and seminars. She was a facilitator for a Learning through Games workshop this summer at the University of Iowa. She has lectured as an invited speaker at Penn State University, the University of Ohio, the University of Pittsburgh, and for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Dr. Vigmostad has organized and led several Flipping the Classroom workshops at the University of Iowa–and also one for the Maharishi School faculty in 2013.

Dr. Vigmostad has received numerous awards and honors. Her awards include the James L. Murray Award (2014), given to one UI tenure-track faculty member for demonstrating outstanding rapport with students and creating an exemplary classroom atmosphere; she also received in 2013 the University of Iowa College of Engineering Outstanding Teacher Award. As a student, her awards included first place for the US National Congress on Computational Mechanics Ph.D. Student Competition, Biotechnology Division in 2007.

Less

Within 9 months Donielle had graduated from Maharishi University with a degree in Communications and Media, completed her TM Teacher Training Course, and moved to Los Angeles to start the first David Lynch Foundation “Quiet Time” program. She has spent the past 5 years teaching TM at several schools, organizations, and a rescue shelter for child victims of prostitution. 
davidlynchfoundation.org

Less

Prior to this position, she was an instructor on Harvard Medical Faculty, and prior to that she was the Coordinating Chief Resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard University. Sarah’s education and training include a BA degree, Third World Studies, magna cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego. She became a Doctor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, concentrating on Global Health. She is currently a fellow in Family Planning at UCSF and is earning her MS degree in Clinical Research from the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Honors and awards received include the 2013 Harvard Medical School Humanitarianism in Medicine, and Chief Resident as a Teacher awards. Sarah has engaged in service work abroad in Nepal, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. Most of her work abroad now is connected to her research.

Less

Prior to joining Oaktree in 2010, he spent four years at Goldman, Sachs & Company as an investment banking analyst and then in the Merchant Banking Division focused on private equity investments. Brook received a B.B.A. degree in Finance from the Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, where he was valedictorian.

Less

She earned a bachelor’s degree in holistic medicine at MUM in 2004. After graduating, she worked in a genetics lab in Iowa City and then started a two-year post-baccalaureate pre-med program at University of Iowa before being accepted at Johns Hopkins University Medical School. Her residency in internal medicine was at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and at the primary care clinic in Queens during and as part of her residency. Dr. Marcus is currently an internist in Baltimore, Maryland, Mercy Medical Center, and also teaches students and medical residents from the University of Maryland Medical School.

Less

He was the Chief Operations Officer and Executive Director prior to his current position. Ben is also managing partner of River North Investment Partners and Co-owner of Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder, Colorado. Ben’s education includes attending Maharishi University of Management and the University of Iowa’s Tippie School of Business, where he graduated with high honors with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, also earning an Entrepreneurial Certificate. He is a member of the Colorado chapter of YPO (the Young Presidents’ Organization), which connects young chief executives around a shared mission of improving leadership through education and idea exchange. In 2014, Ben was appointed a member of the Maharishi School Board of Directors.

Less

She was previously a senior editor at Moment magazine and has written for The Chicago Tribune and other publications. An essay of hers appeared in the Lonely Planet travel writing anthology The Kindness of Strangers. A graduate of MUM and the UC Berkeley school of journalism, she now lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, fellow MSAE alum Jonathan Gritz, and their two children, Zander and Sophie.

Less

She is currently a Project Director focusing on resource conservation and community development. Her civic engagement includes being a board member of the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network; a member of Fairfield’s Go Green Commission; and a co-founder of a Young Professionals Network. From 2011 – 2013, Anna worked with the City of Fairfield, Alliant Energy, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach as the Hometown Rewards Project Coordinator. The program engaged 50% of the greater Fairfield community and resulted in an overall 8.5% reduction in citywide energy use, saving more than $1 million in utility bills. She received a B.S. degree from Maharishi University of Management in Sustainable Living and two graduate degrees from Iowa State University, an M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture and a Masters of Community and Regional Planning. In 2014, Anna was appointed a member of the Maharishi School Board of Directors. 
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=53158964&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile 

Less

A New York-based dancer, performer and teacher since 2007, Jenna has performed with prestigious companies, including David Dorfman Dance, Alexandra Beller/ Dances and Bill Young/ Colleen Thomas & Company. Jenna currently tours nationally and internationally with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. She has performed in many New York City venues, including Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, Danspace at St. Marks Church, and New York Live Arts. Jenna has taught Master Classes in Contemporary Technique in New York at The Joffrey Ballet School, Gina Gibney Dance Center, and 100 Grand Dance. In addition, she has taught classes at The Juilliard School, Bard College, Barnard College, SUNY Purchase, the University of Iowa, and at festivals around the world, such as the New York University’s Tisch Summer Dance Festival and festivals in St. Petersburg, Russia; Bytom, Poland; and Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. 
http://www.newyorklivearts.org/company/performers.php

Less

Prior to founding MAKE | WORK he worked for the award winning office of Della Valle Bernheimer Architects (now Bernheimer Architecture, and Alloy Development) of Brooklyn, New York, on a variety of residential projects, including two that won AIA NY honors. Brian is currently a Senior Exhibition Designer at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Previously he was the Director of Exhibitions at The Yale School of Architecture. He has organized the original exhibitions Palladio Virtuel, which received a Graham Foundation grant; Massimo Scolari: The Representation of Architecture, which received a Turner Foundation grant; as well as the installation of The Piranesi Variations at the Venice Architecture Biennale of 2012, which also received a Graham Foundation grant. At Yale Brian teaches a course on furniture design and fabrication as well as design studios at the graduate level. Most recently he taught a studio with British architect David Adjaye that looked at contemporary factory models for the rapidly modernizing garment industry in Bangladesh. Brian earned a Bachelors degree in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004 and a Masters degree in Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture in 2011. 
http://architecture.yale.edu/faculty/brian-butterfield

Less

Prior to Compass Green, Justin was on Purusha for three years, worked as a sailor on a schooner in Hawaii, and was Co-Director of Programs in Japan for the David Lynch Foundation. In 2009 and 2010, Justin helped found the Green Belt Team for teaching Biointensive sustainable farming in developing nations. In 2014 Compass Green was featured on the Disney Channel and highlighted in Sunset Magazine.
http://compassgreenproject.org/

Less