Where are they now?
10 years ago the Cornell Report featured a cover story on several promising graduates. We caught up with four of them and are delighted to report on their lives today.
Diego Verdugo ’12
Majors: Economics and business, Spanish
Lives: Phoenix, Arizona
Career: After 10 years with Principal, Verdugo’s career in the financial services industry continues to evolve as he advances through the ranks. In 2020, he joined the InvestmentNews 40 Under 40 list. He now serves as executive vice president for the Phoenix chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America. As a board director for Junior Achievement, Diego also remains committed to helping address the needs of underrepresented communities. In 2021 he obtained the status of certified financial planner and is now pursuing a master’s degree in financial planning.
Personal: He and his wife are raising two daughters.
Lisa Chen ’12
Majors: International relations, women’s studies, and politics
Lives: New York City
Career: Chen is the chief people officer at Prospect Schools, a kindergarten through 12th grade, diverse-by-design charter network that serves students in New York City. Before joining Prospect Schools, she was managing director of operations at the six-campus Harlem Village Academies. Prior to that, she was a director of operations manager with Uncommon Schools. She began in education when she joined Teach For America. Chen also taught middle school at Achievement First and was an assistant principal at Success Academy. She holds a master’s degree in teaching.
Personal: Chen is an avid traveler, foodie, and is training with her husband to run their first New York City Marathon in November 2022.
Kayla Prestel ’12
Major: Theatre
Lives: New York City
Career: Prestel joined Actors Equity Association, the professional actor’s union, in 2019. After a two-year pandemic hiatus when live theater was paused in New York City, she was a puppeteer with Bated Breath Theatre Company in their production “Chasing Andy Warhol” (above).
Three years ago Prestel also opened Feel Good Pilates, a boutique pilates studio in lower Manhattan. She reports the business survived the pandemic and continues to grow. In 2021 she earned her 200-hour yoga certification.
Personal: She ran a half marathon in Rocky Mountain National Park in July. In November she marks her eighth anniversary in New York City and reports: “I love it more as each year passes.”
Jonathan Frazier ’12
Majors: International relations and environmental policy
Lives: Seattle, Washington
Career: Frazier worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation until 2017, when he became a student at the University of Washington’s Master of Urban Planning program in Seattle. Since graduating in 2019 he has worked for the city of Seattle as a transportation planner. He works on the early phases of transportation projects, typically those that address roadway safety and building out the city’s network of bicycle lanes.
Personal: Frazier is married to Emily Krauter Frazier ’11 and they have an infant son.
