Hey Pfoho! I’m glad to be back after eight years away from the house (has it really been that long?). I graduated in 2001 with an A.B. in cognitive neuroscience and followed that up with a seven-week solo cross-country road trip, during which I crashed on the couches of many Pfohosers (and their tolerant parents), camped out in a variety of beautiful national parks, and got to know our domestic hostelling system. I love to travel, so hit me up anytime for tips if you’re planning your own road trip. I spent six years working at Fidelity Investments in employee benefits administration before deciding to return to Harvard for a Ph.D. in health policy in the economics track; I’m in my third year of the program now and love it! On a personal note: I married my high school sweetheart Colin (a B.U. grad) in 2004, but he passed away from lymphoma on Thanksgiving last year. If anyone in the house would like to talk about loss, illness, balancing school with personal challenges, or how much cancer sucks, I'd be glad to listen or share my own experiences. On a lighter note: as a new resident tutor, I'll be fervently discussing geek culture (xkcd, anyone?), occasionally participating in intermurals, loaning out my collection of board games, and inviting all of you to come by Comstock 215 to meet my adorable cat, Abbey. I'll also be serving as your Wellness tutor, hosting the Academic Writing table, and helping run Movie Nights. Stop by for a cup of tea and a chat anytime, and I’ll see y’all in the dining hall.

Hi everyone, I'm very excited to join the Pfoho family! Originally from Washington, D.C., I attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU, then worked for a few years at The Nation, The New York Times, and Vogue magazines before returning to graduate school for African and African-American Studies. Every job I've ever had has been from meetings I set up on my own so I'm happy to talk with you about cover letters and informational interviewing. I'm currently in my fourth year of studies and when not writing about violence and literature I remain active in community research for non-profits, social innovation, and, yes, reality-tv/sitcom escapism. So feel free to talk to me about public service, current events and most Bravo TV and VH1 shows. I'm an eclectic music-lover, bibliophile, beach getaway seeker, budding world traveler searching for the most well-written novel and well-made martini who hopes to one day make Venice, Italy my second home.

Elizabeth, a pre-med advisor who lives in Wolbach 401, will help you discern (not interpret) your dreams and will fiercely champion your unique path through life (especially if you don't yet know what that is). She's a pediatric intern at Massachusett's General Hospital who would like everyone to ask themselves "Why don't I become a doctor?", because it's a profession so fun she can't keep it to herself! Elizabeth graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College in 1999. She attended Harvard Medical School, where she was a Gerald Foster Scholarship recipient and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she earned a Masters of Public Administration as a Zuckerman Fellow. Her graduate study was punctuated by periods of domestic and international health policy work, leading projects for the Harvard School of Public Health, the U.S. Department of Defense in Baghdad, Iraq, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France and NGOs in Tamil Nadu, India. She's currently working on her ability to diagnose and treat pediatric diseases and her crow and headstand yoga positions. By the time that she starts an Anesthesia residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital next July she hopes to be pretty slick at placing IVs (any volunteers?) and to have added another country to the list of places where she's surfed (Australia, California, the DR, Guatemala and Israel). Elizabeth plans to return to her home state of Maine as a Pediatric Anesthesiologist and health care advocate once she has completed her medical training and can afford a hi-tech heated wetsuit.

Hi everyone! I am excited to be returning to Pfoho this year. I'm originally from just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, and I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2005. I'm currently a History of Science graduate student, and my research deals with the history of the modern global health movement. I volunteer with the Prison Education Program, and work with a nonprofit group called Seeding Labs. When time permits, I enjoy playing squash and hiking.

Hi there! I'm very excited about my third year as a resident tutor and coordinator of the sophomore advising program. I live down the street in the Quad's best kept secret--the Jordans--but you'll find me hanging out in the dining hall at most meals, where I'm particularly looking forward to meeting the Class of 2012. I consider Canada home and I've spent a lot of time recently in the Andes, where I wrote my doctoral dissertation on Peruvian portraits. I love to travel and talk about travel, so if you're interested in study abroad, let's chat! I'm currently a lecturer in the North America/Latin America field in History & Literature, where I teach classes on early modern fashion, travel narratives, gender, and race. I also teach a freshman seminar of art heists, grave robbery, and looting. When not shackled to one on my six (!) desks, I like winter sports, cafe-hopping, Egyptomania, autumn bimbles, and earthquake baroque.

[John]: I'm a fourth-year PhD candidate in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts and majored in math and minored in computer science at West Point. After graduation, Robin and I moved to Germany where I was an officer in the 1st Armored Division. I left the Army in 2006. My research interests include labor economics, law and economics, and applied econometrics. Robin and I love to hike, camp, backpack and plan outings!

[Robin]: I graduated from Harvard Law School in 2009 and am now working in the Criminal Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office in Boston. I grew up in northwestern Connecticut and majored in math and minored in music at Columbia. After college, John and I spent several years in Germany where I had an eclectic assortment of jobs in business and law and spent a considerable amount of time despairing my eventual return to the hiking trails of New England where, alas, I knew that the huts would *not* be stocked with schnitzel and noodles. I enjoy trying to recall the vanishing German words in my vocab, playing and listening to classical music, outdoor sports that require minimal coordination, study breaks that involve chocolate, and a good game of Scrabble. Please stop by Comstock 10 with questions about law school and applications or for any of the above activities!

Hi Pfoho! My name is Raquel and I am thrilled to join the Pfoho community as a resident tutor. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and moved up the coast to attend Stanford, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature and Spanish in 2002. In the four years between undergrad and grad school, I worked at a non-profit, a new charter school, and a vascular surgery clinic at UCLA while completing pre-med requirements. I ultimately returned to my first love—studying literature and language—and am currently a fourth year student in the Comparative Literature PhD program at Harvard. Some of my research interests include 19th and 20th century African American literature, revisionist slave narratives, and literary canon debates. Outside of class, I enjoy seafood, learning more about New England hotspots and restaurants (since I’m a West Coast girl) and going to comedy shows when time permits. Please do not hesitate to come by Comstock 315 to chat about literature, writing, race relations, how to manage various academic interests or anything else that’s on your mind. I am looking forward to a great year and meeting all of you soon!

Hi Pfoho! This is my fourth year in the house as the biology tutor. I’m a fifth-year grad student in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, studying the evolution of athletic endurance in humans. I love to talk science and sports, but don’t ask me about real life, because I came straight to Harvard from undergrad at the University of Virginia, and I am quite unfamiliar with this “real world.” Most of my time and energy is invested in playing competitive ultimate frisbee for a team that hopes to qualify for the World Championships in Prague this year. During the off-season, I enjoy the competing interests of eating delicious food and desperately trying to keep in shape, so if you’d like to help me cook something or join me for a run, drop me an email! I also hope you’ll all help me achieve my goal of not being mistaken for a sophomore this year!

Hi Pfoho! I'm excited to be returning for my fourth year as a resident tutor. After graduating from the house in 2004 and being a non-res tutor in public interest for two years, I returned to the house as a pre-med tutor in 2006. I am currently in my fifth and final year of my MD/MPH at HMS and HSPH. This year I will be applying to combined residency programs in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Before starting at HMS, I spent a year working at Boston Medical Center, where I did legal advocacy for pediatric patient families. With that background, it's probably not surprising that my academic interests include primary care and social justice work at the intersection of medicine and advocacy. My other interests include baking, country and bluegrass music, Tivo, spinning, and kittens. I also love to knit and coordinate the Pfoho Crafting Circle, so I encourage you to come spend a Sunday crafternoon with us!

Hello children. My name is Steve and I have been given dominion over the belltower suite among other rooms. I am terrified. I graduated from the college in 2004, so the memories are fresh in my head of HUPD entering parties with full riot gear and rubber bullets. Gas masks. Night sticks clacking on the shields and all that. So, let's all work together and make sure that's not necessary. I am looking forward to having at least 80% of you survive the year. Also, I'm a returned Peace Corps volunteer studying law from Arlington, MA and I concentrated in Environmental Science and Public Policy and Economics and I'll be advising you in public service. I'm, like, pretty awesome.

[Ben]: I graduated from Quincy House (class of '99) concentrating in physics and math. During college I studied neutrinos in Switzerland, taught after-school programs, interned with a consulting company, and stirred up trouble with the Harvard administration over advising, healthcare issues, and the Core. After three years developing theoretical methods for quantum computing and biophysics in pursuit of a physics Ph.D., I went on leave to get involved in the 2004 election -- and never went back! Instead I founded an organization, ActBlue, which has raised $100MM for political campaigns. Recently I've transitioned from full-time work at ActBlue to a new online music startup called MixApp. I love movies--recent favorites include Michael Clayton, Half Nelson, Juno, Paprika, The Visitor, and Wall-E. I love learning about anything from anyone who's excited about what they're doing. Even if you'd rather keep your distance from the science center, I'm interested in hearing what makes your brain churn.

[Kathy]: I do quantitative detective work for Kiva Systems, a Woburn-based robotics company. I finished up my math PhD at Harvard in 2007, focusing on infectious disease modeling, and my interests stretch from development economics and public health to business, technology, and geometry. After learning math, writing, and practical jokery at MIT, I spent a year in Orsay, France apprenticed to a pastry chef. I have studied math in Budapest, written science articles for the Chicago Tribune, done economics research at the Brookings Institution, picked up a working knowledge of political fundraising, and worked for One Laptop per Child. I love mixing batters and doughs with my hands, Mount Auburn Cemetery in the fall, elegant geometric proofs, robots of all kinds, and talking to people until the wee hours of the morning. I look forward to meeting all of you!

[David]: Emily, David, and Caleb Rosenthal are thrilled to be joining Pforzheimer House this year. Caleb is especially excited, as this is his first home! David and Emily met in Kirkland House as undergraduates, where David ('01) concentrated in VES and Emily ('03) focused her studies in Psychology. After graduating, the pair have travelled the country, living in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco before settling back into New England. Emily has her Masters Degrees in Public Health and Social Work, and held various roles in government and non-profit sectors working on a variety of issues: women's health, homelessness, workplace smoking bans, and most recently domestic violence prevention. She remains committed to social causes and looks forward to talking with students interested in careers in the nonprofit sector. After working on documentary films and teaching elementary school science classes, David finished medical school in Chicago, helped start a Health Informatics Company in San Francisco, and is now working as a Internal Medicine Resident at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Clinical Fellow of the Harvard Medical School. As a non-traditional medical applicant, he is thrilled to advise students who are considering a different track towards and within medicine or filmmaking. Caleb, born in July, is thrilled to be living in the Quad and can't wait to advise students in his areas of expertise, most notably sleeping and eating. The whole family is very excited to join the Pfabulous Pfoho crew and we look forward to getting to know you!

[Emily]:

I grew up on Vashon Island, WA: a quaint, hippified community accessible only by ferry boat. At the age of 13 my family moved to Houston, where I attended high school, visited the Alamo and gave up being vegetarian. Unexpectedly, I developed a love of Texas in my four years there and consider it as much my home as Washington. My journey continued over the next four years in New Hampshire, where I studied comparative literature at Dartmouth College. Upon graduation, I relocated to France for a year-- teaching English to delightfully impudent middle schoolers, traveling every weekend and stuffing myself with confit de canard. I am currently in my fifth year of graduate study in the PhD program in comparative literature here at Harvard. I am interested in twentieth-century French, Chinese and German literatures and films. I also enjoy running, reading (one would hope...), travel, dancing and hip-hop. I look forward to sharing my interests and learning more about yours this year at Pfoho!

Hello! This will be my second year at Pfoho, and I'm excited to be a part of the Pfoho community again this year. I'm originally from the Midwest, near Chicago, and yes, I have recently held ducks and baby goats on a farm. After a BA at Dartmouth and a few masters degrees I have landed in the Music Theory PhD program; I'm interested in music itself and also in the intersection of music and various other spheres, including philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, history, our humanity in general...OK, OK...I like them all. When I'm not hard at work fulfilling my academic duty to listen to beautiful music (and even sometimes when I am,) I also love playing sports and engaging the great outdoors, among many other things. Pfoho is a great environment for making music, so If you want to talk about music, find people for an ensemble, or perform, (or if you are going to perform and are willing to let other people know about it!) or if you want to talk for any other reason, please come visit!

[Mark]: I am a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in computer science. My research is in artificial intelligence and robotics which has strong overlap with statistics, engineering sciences and mechanical engineering, and all things science fiction, so if you have any questions or are excited about any of these fields please contact me. Also, I am the Pforzheimer representative to the Harvard QSA, so please come talk to me if you want to get involved with this incredibly important organization. I have a bachelors and masters degree from Stanford University in computer science (artificial intelligence). I have founded two internet startups, and I occasionally consult artificial intelligence and robotics companies. Christine and I were married in 2007 and we have a fluffball of a dog named Lily. Please don't hesitate to contact me.

[Christine]: Hey there Pfohoooo!!! I am a thesis candidate in the Masters of Architecture program at the Boston Architectural College. Throughout graduate school I have held professional positions at some of the most respected firms in Boston. I am also currently working with industry magazines in an effort to get design students exposure beyond their programs. I received my bachelors degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from San Francisco State University. After graduation, I moved to New York City and worked on the Wendy's International account at the advertising agency of McCann Erickson. In my spare time I am involved with organizations such as Women in Design at the Boston Society of Architects, as well as appearing as a guest critic in foundation design studios at the Boston Architectural College. I make it a goal to visit new restaurants and cafe's to study their design and function, while enjoying good eats of course ;) We live in Holmes 001 and are always around to chat. We're looking forward to meeting you!

My name is Nancy, and I became a resident tutor in January. I am really happy to be part of the Pfoho community. I grew up in northwest Connecticut, and then went to Columbia for college. At Columbia I majored in chemistry, and spent much of my free time working in various labs. I also was a clarinetist in the orchestra and a member of the Roadrunners club. After graduating, I headed north to MIT for graduate school in biochemistry, where I am now a fifth-year graduate student. I have also spent lots of time as a teaching assistant, particularly for organic chemistry, so feel free to come ask me any orgo questions you might have!