Category Extraordinary People
Jessica Smith Sent Climate Instruments To The Edge Of Space. Now, She’s Reimagining Her Path.
Thirty years ago, a Boston Globe classified ad launched Jessica Smith into a career at Harvard, where she built bespoke instruments and launched them on NASA’s converted U-2 aircraft, flying at 70,000 feet to read the chemistry of our stratosphere. In this conversation, she traces the improbable path from Amherst’s machine shop to equipping these delicate high fliers for experiments over the Arctic winter, tracking ozone recovery, and measuring changes in and storm impacts.
After a federally funded program cut led to a layoff in March, Jessica is candid about resilience, reinvention, and where that Amherst-honed knack for figuring things out might take her next: faculty life, lutherie (look it up), or starting a delightfully serious soft-serve ice cream business. Along the way, she reflects on a pivotal senior-year “academic blowout,” the joy of hands-on work, and what’s at stake when long-running climate data sets and training pipelines are disrupted.
To get in touch with Jessica, email her at jessica.b.smith@hotmail.com or find her on LinkedIn.
Erin Cowhey Designs Spaces That Tell Her Clients’ Stories
Erin Cowhey is an Amherst College classmate and architect whose profession is awfully interesting its own right, but it interests me more than ever now that my daughter works as an interior designer. Erin runs her own firm in Brooklyn but wasn’t always destined for the field. She enrolled at Amherst with every intention to go pre-med before pivoting to architecture. In this episode, she talks about how personal tragedy reshaped her career path and how she’s balanced running her own firm with raising a family in New York City. What emerges is a portrait of someone who designs homes with the same care she’s taken to designing a meaningful life.
Highlights include:
Pivot with purpose: Erin’s fascination with art and architecture led her to trade medicine for design.
Resilience in loss: After losing her first child, she rebuilt her life and career by starting her own firm, prioritizing flexibility and family.
Brooklyn life, fully lived: She reflects on the joys and contradictions of raising kids in the city she and her husband, a landscape architect, love so deeply.
Design as storytelling: Erin views every project as a chapter in her clients’ lives: spaces that evolve as families grow and change.
Looking ahead: With her children nearing college, Erin is eager to take on larger, collaborative projects and to keep exploring creativity on her own terms.
Plus, Erin nominates two new guests to go next.
To learn more about her practice and get in touch, email her at erincowhey@gmail.com or visit her website, erincowhey.com.
Brian Clark Heals Others – And Himself – From Trauma
Brian Clark transferred into our Amherst Class of 1994 having emerged from a childhood marked by instability and deep family pain. Today he serves as Director of Partnerships in Technology at the Spiritual Life Center in Hartford, where he helps others find healing through faith, psychology, and honest self-examination. Brian talks about growing up in a home dominated by an abusive father, the moment he chose to break free from the cult his dad started, and what it means to be both a healer and still healing. We also talk about post-traumatic growth, the “second half of life,” and the role Amherst and music have played in his journey toward wholeness.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Brian’s relationship with his controlling, abusive father shaped his understanding of faith and identity
The moment he chose to end generations of trauma and begin his own healing
What post-traumatic growth looks like and how pain can lead to purpose
Whom from the Class of ’94 he wants me to interview next
To get in touch, email Brian at bcurtisclark@gmail.com. You can learn more about the Spiritual Life Center in Hartford at https://www.spiritlifectr.org/
Additional resources:
To learn more about spiritual companionship, click here. https://www.spiritlifectr.org/find-spiritual-support#IndividualSpiritualCompanioning
To hear some simple recordings of the chants that Brian sings: https://audio.com/brian-clark-4
Update: Justin Neely Reflects On The Fire That Destroyed His Art Studio And The Path Forward
On September 17, a 19th century warehouse located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, went up in flames, resulting in a five-alarm response that was unable to spare Justin Neely’s art studio home of over 12 years. He’s facing the loss of every painting he has ever made, photographs that chronicle his life, computer equipment, and a treasured collection of sports jerseys.
In this episode, Justin demonstrates remarkable generosity of spirit, acknowledging that others have it worse and that authorities who are trying (and sometimes failing) to help have the best of intentions. He has a tough road ahead, but he’s showing the sort of resilience that I believe will get him through it.
If you’d like to help support Justin, there are a couple of ways to do it. You can reach out to him directly (justin.neely@gmail.com, @jn33ly on Instagram). You also can contribute to a GoFundMe he has established to help him relaunch his art practice: https://www.gofundme.com/f/red-hook-fire-plea-and-protest-justin-neely
Finally, at Justin’s request he encourages listeners to enjoy his podcast at 2x speed. I don’t think that’s necessary, but I promised to mention it.
Jason Spero Is Learning From Both Endings and Beginnings
Jason Spero is going through a lot of change. His father recently passed away following a years-long battle with Alzheimer’s. His youngest child is in the back half of her high school years, and after nearly two decades helping to build Google’s mobile advertising business, he is stepping away from a big job to chart a new path, one shaped by family, community, and the lessons of mortality and loss.
In this candid conversation, Jason opens up about caring for his father during his battle with Alzheimer’s, preparing to send his daughters into adulthood, and the clarity he’s gained on how finite our time is. He reflects on the pride and worries that come from shaping the mobile and digital industry, and why he’s now turning his focus to entrepreneurship, technology for climate solutions, and reimagining community in an increasingly digital age. Jason also shares how Amherst set the foundation for his curiosity and critical thinking, what he hopes to impart to his own kids, and why liberal arts matter more than ever in an AI-driven world. And of course, he nominates the next classmates he hopes to hear on the show.
You can email Jason at jason.spero@gmail.com.
Resources Jason mentions:
Video – We Only Deserve a Styrofoam Cup: https://youtu.be/FNf1pKRhay8?si=czeWR5fizxc0afbN
Book – Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks: https://a.co/d/ignmyTZ
Bonus Episode: Will Dix ’77 Helps Families Navigate The College Admissions Process
I published this episode about getting into college with my friend and former Amherst College Associate Dean of Admissions Will Dix (Amherst ’77) a few years ago, but it has aged well. As teens and their parents explore and apply to colleges, I wanted to share it once again. It covers most of the major considerations: how to select colleges for application, the importance and pitfalls of campus tours, what to do if a college has an optional step in its application, essay writing, financial aid, and much more.
If we were to record it again today, I’m sure we’d talk about the impact of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, as well as many colleges (including Amherst College) ending legacy admissions. Even without those elements, though, Will’s advice is superb and timely.
To learn more or contact Will, email him at collegeforall@gmail.com.
Evan Wollen on Finding Purpose in Military Service and Leadership
It’s time to catch up with my Amherst College birthday twin, Evan Wollen. While many of us left Amherst still unsure of what was next, Evan’s path was shaped by a love of history and a calling to service. He went on to spend more than 22 years in the U.S. Army, leading combat units in Iraq, teaching history at West Point, and running the ROTC program at Claremont McKenna.
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation comes when Evan describes his work as a casualty notification officer. It is the hardest duty imaginable, showing up at a family’s front door with the worst possible news. Evan talks about the solemnity of that responsibility. It was, without question, one of the most poignant moments I have had in any interview. (For a deeper telling of that story, click here to read Evan’s account.)
We also talked about the challenges of leadership in combat, where bad leaders put lives at risk and good leaders can turn a struggling unit around. Evan also shared how rugby continues to anchor him today, both as a personal passion and as a successful coach of the Claremont Colleges women’s team, which has won multiple championships under his leadership.
Evan and I also covered how he thinks about the years ahead, the importance of hobbies that fill your tank, and why he’s not a fan of the phrase “thank you for your service.”
Key Takeaways
Evan gives a first-hand account of one of the hardest jobs anyone in military life can ever have: being a casualty notification officer.
Leadership was the through line of Evan’s Army career. Good leaders build trust and purpose, while bad leaders can bring an entire unit down.
Why he’s not a fan of the phrase, “thank you for your service.”
The gifts he took from Amherst, including ROTC, rugby, and lifetime friendships.
Whom from the Class of ’94 he wants me to interview next.
You can contact Evan via email at ehwollen@yahoo.com.
Correction: I misidentified the rugby teams Evan coached to championships. They should be pronounced as plural “fifteens” and “sevens,” not “fifteen-s” and “seven-s.”
JC Leveque Makes The Case For Conversation As A Surgeon’s Best Tool
What do 1990s college radio, Richard Scarry’s picture books, and complex spine surgery have in common? They’re all part of JC Leveque’s journey. Today he’s the Section Head of Neurosurgery at Virginia Mason in Seattle, but his path included years on the road with his Amherst-born band Rosemary Caine, the decision to, as he put it, “step off the bus” before med school, and a career built around making some of the hardest conversations easier for his patients.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
How JC knew it was time to walk away from his band Rosemary Caine to pursue medicine
His take on spinal surgery as both engineering and art
The Richard Scarry moment that made Seattle feel like home
What he’s learned about patient communication from time on stage
And, as always, JC names the classmates he’d like to hear on the podcast.
You can email him at jcleveque@me.com.
Jordan Hayslip Lives At The Intersection Of Teaching, Coaching, And Making
When you think of Amherst football in the early ’90s, you probably remember linebacker Jordan Hayslip, a four-year starter and anchor of the defense. But Jordan was much more than a gifted athlete. An English and Fine Arts double major, today he describes himself as a teacher, coach, and maker. I call him a Renaissance man who has woven together art, athletics, and community in ways that feel deeply intentional.
After years teaching in Watts, working as a coach and educator in Hawaii, and experimenting as a furniture builder in Los Angeles, Jordan returned to Amherst in 2018 with his wife Sarah (a Hampshire grad) and their two children. He now works in the Amherst College athletic department, supporting student athletes’ development with a focus on mental health. Outside of that role, you’ll find him in his woodshop turning local trees into furniture, painting landscapes of the Pioneer Valley, and hosting classmates when they come back to campus.
Jordan opens up about his own mental health journey, the lessons he’s drawn from coaching and teaching, and why Amherst — the town and the college — continues to shape his life decades after graduation.
Conversation highlights include:
Jordan lives at the intersection of teaching, coaching, and making, three pursuits that form the through-line of his life.
On becoming a mental health advocate: Jordan speaks openly about his own mental health struggles and how they shape the way he supports Amherst student athletes today.
The meditative power of making: Whether painting on trails or building furniture from local trees, Jordan sees his creative practice as both expression and therapy.
The Amherst classmates he wants to hear from next
To contact Jordan, email him at jordanhayslip72@gmail.com or jchayslip94@amherst.edu, or visit his website, jordanhayslip.com, to see his handcrafted furniture.
Bonus Episode: Professor Emeritus Barry O’Connell
My favorite podcast episodes of all-time tend to feature friends, family, teammates, classmates, and others who love each other. Their warmth comes through every time. Every episode I publish is precious to me, but I love this one in particular because of the deep affection and respect that emerges between a beloved teacher and one of his former students.
Classmate Ben Batory sits down with Amherst College Professor Emeritus Barry O’Connell and explores Barry’s origin story and journey into higher ed. Along the way, you’ll come to see just how Barry came to possess not only a powerful voice, but also how for over 50 years he has helped his students find their own voices. Kudos to Ben for his persistence and determination in making this happen.
I never took a class with Barry. More than ever, I wish I had.
Matt Collins' Blog 