Rising to the Challenge
Three Dietrich College Alums among the 30 recognized by the university for making an impact around the world
Now in its third year, Tartans on the Rise celebrates alumni who graduated in the last 10 years and are making an impact on their organizations and in their communities, across the nation and around the world through leadership, innovation and career accomplishments.
“Alongside the entire Carnegie Mellon University community, I congratulate this year’s class of Tartans on the Rise,” said President Farnam Jahanian. “The passion, creativity and leadership of these remarkable Tartans truly embody the CMU spirit. We're inspired by their successes to date and eager to see how they'll shape the future."
Three Dietrich College alums have been included in this year’s class. Congratulations to Anna Walsh (DC 2013), Darren Riley (DC 2014) and Meredith Schmehl (DC 2018; MCS 2018).
Celebrating a Culture Through Storytelling
Anna Walsh, director of Editorial Operations with Texas Monthly, empowers other journalists to tell the stories of a diverse, colorful state while navigating modern media challenges. Texas Monthly is more than a print magazine, with web content, podcasts, books and video content, too.
“What I love about being a magazine in particular is that we don't have to just capture the day-to-day news. We can take a step back and help people understand something bigger about this place through storytelling,” she says. “We're sharing people’s stories with the goal of exploring the complexities of what it means to be a Texan.”
Before Texas Monthly, she worked at publications including the Washington Post, Baltimore City Paper and, of course, The Tartan while studying professional writing at CMU. After quickly rising to senior management in journalism, she was selected for the Poynter Institute’s competitive Leadership Academy for Women in Media, which provides managerial and strategic training.
Anna works to give back to younger journalists in the field through mentoring.
“It’s something we owe to younger people trying to navigate their way into an ever-changing industry because if anyone is passionate enough about journalism to want it to be their career, I think they deserve help to figure it out,” she says.
The innovation earned Michelle a spot on the Forbes 30 under 30 Food & Drink list. And on the entrepreneurial front, New Wave Foods sells wholesale to restaurants where it’s attracting a following from diet- and environmentally-conscious diners.
Michelle sees even more opportunity as people get a taste of the product and its benefits.
“I really like it breaded and fried, or in any kind of saucy dish,” she says. “It’s an ingredient that’s easy for chefs to leverage, so any way that you like shrimp, it can be utilized.”
Breathing Better Through Data
Darren Riley was in his mid-20s when he developed asthma after moving to one of the most polluted zip codes in the U.S.
His diagnosis showed him how much the environment and the air we breathe daily influences our quality of life
So he launched JustAir — combining his experiences as a Black man with air pollution-related health issues and his technical expertise originating from his Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences computer information systems degree.
The company’s neighborhood-level air quality monitoring network platform helps map pollutants, magnify air quality disparities from one zip code to the next, in order to identify the local activities and trends that drive an area’s air quality.
“With our monitors and insight tools, communities can more accurately identify sources of pollutants,” Darren says. “They can then develop data-driven solutions to protect the breathing environment for our most vulnerable groups.”
JustAir currently has hundreds of sensors deployed throughout the country with an emphasis on communities where many residents face health disparities that go hand-in-hand with systemic racial injustice. The company recently entered an historic three-year partnership with Wayne County, the largest county in Michigan, to launch a network of 100 air monitors to identify solutions that improve environmental health outcomes.
JustAir’s platform supports solutions around issues such as asthma through their connected inhaler and alert system. Their data has also shown the value of putting green infrastructure between residents and industry in Dearborn, Michigan, and made the case to reduce engine idling near schools.
“We look at results in terms of raising awareness, driving environmental change and influencing policy,” he says. “Our data tells the story of our lived experiences and the inequities we face. That’s propelled me to shine a light on solutions to drive for a better future.”
A Voice for Science
A doctoral candidate, policy expert and PR manager, Meredith Schmehl is interested in both great science and exceptional communication.
“I really think about myself as a connection builder between science and society,” she says. “Everything I do tries to bridge a gap and make policies more equitable and accessible when science is involved.”
Named as one of Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, Meredith is finishing a Ph.D. in neurobiology with research into vision and hearing at Duke University, building on dual Carnegie Mellon University undergraduate degrees in neuroscience and cognitive psychology. She’s also the public relations manager at the National Science Policy Network, focusing on content creation that connects other early-career scientists with resources to drive change. Her advocacy work also includes public speaking, podcasting, writing award-winning pieces for Scientific American and Massive Science, and training scientists to connect with the public through ComSciCon.
All of this is building to her main goal: creating opportunities for scientists through policy or communication and opening doors for people who work in that capacity.
“I think it's really important not to keep research and science and the benefits of science siloed but expand them, so everyone can benefit,” Meredith says. “That means telling people about the science that we do, using science to make better decisions, making scientific spaces more equitable and accessible, and ultimately making the world better through good decisions and science.”