Alumni Updates

Jonathan Addleton ’79

Career foreign service officer Jonathan Addleton published a personal account of the year he spent as the U.S. senior civilian representative to southern Afghanistan. The Dust of Kandahar: A Diplomat Among Warriors in Afghanistan (Naval Institute Press, 2016) includes his firsthand account of the April 2013 suicide bombing that killed his translator, fellow foreign service officer Anne Smedinghoff and three U.S. soldiers. Addleton, currently U.S. Agency for International Development mission director to India, will retire from the foreign service in January, when he will start a teaching assignment at Mercer University in his hometown of Macon, Ga. (See “Assignment: Kandahar,” fall 2013.)

Jonathan Addleton at ­Kandahar Air Field. Photo by Staff Sgt. Ashley Bell, 102nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Mississippi Army National Guard.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Brenner ’76, ’78 MBA

Betsy Brenner retired as publisher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in June after a nearly 40-year career in journalism. The Medill Hall of Achievement inductee plans to stay in Milwaukee, where she is working with a team to help bring local businesses back to Sherman Park, an area in northwest Milwaukee that was affected by violence this past summer. She is also supporting the Medical College of Wisconsin as it works toward achieving National Cancer Institute accreditation. A cancer survivor, Brenner has a passion for facilitating access to cancer support in underserved neighborhoods. (See “Making Headlines,” spring 2003.)

Philip Moeller ’70 MS

Financial journalist and retirement expert Philip Moeller published his third book, Get What’s Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs (Simon & Schuster, 2016). Moeller walks readers through the intricacies of the complex federal program, helping them make the right decisions for their health and wealth. It is the second installment in the “Get What’s Yours” series. (See “Get Your Piece of the Pie,” fall 2015.)

Jeanne Bishop ’81, ’84 JD

“Do everything you can to put out the message that gun violence is unacceptable,” says Jeanne Bishop, a Cook County assistant public defender whose own 25-year-old sister was shot to death. A supporter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence’s call for increased gun safety through expanded background checks and firearm security education, Bishop urges small acts of advocacy. “Lobby for sensible gun laws, write, speak, campaign, march, vote. Tell the stories of those whose lives were cut short by a gun.” (See “Forgiven,” summer 2015.)

Jeanne Bishop is a Cook County assistant public defender at the Second Municipal District Courthouse in Skokie, Ill. Photo by Michael Goss.

Dina Roth Port ’97

Author Dina Roth Port co-wrote Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide to Raising the Perfect Pet with Love (Random House, 2016) with positive reinforcement dog trainer Zak George. The book sections are accompanied by corresponding videos on George’s YouTube channel. Port, a freelance magazine writer, lives in Boca Raton, Fla. (See “Standing Up to Breast Cancer,” winter 2010.)

Hailey Danisewicz ’13

Photo by Elaine Villaflores/Lilgirlbigcam Photography

Hailey Danisewicz earned a silver medal in the paratriathlon during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in September. Danisewicz, the 2015 USA Triathlon Paratriathlete of the Year, and two fellow U.S. Paralympic Women’s Triathlon Team members swept the medals in the PT2 race (one of five classes for athletes with an impairment). (See “A Born Competitor,” summer 2013.)