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January 2026
Catherine Herrold PhD'13 - Catherine and Andrew Heiss (PhD 2017) participated in a New Voices in National Security workshop, "Responding to Closing Civic Space.” Co-sponsored by Bridging the Gap and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the workshop convened scholars and aid donors to discuss the global shifting space for civil society. Scholars provided their topline insights from scholarship on various aspects of civil society responses to governmental restrictions and effective forms of international and domestic support.
Mandy Giles PPS'94 - Mandy’s social impact business, Parents of Trans Youth, recently won the 2025 Business Champion Award from Equality Texas, the largest statewide nonprofit fighting for equality for LGBTQIA+ Texans. Founded in 2022, Parents of Trans Youth provides learning, support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive kids. Mandy has been heavily involved in advocacy work since 2021 and has testified before the Texas Legislature dozens of times.