AAGC Officers
2021-2022
President
Damon Highsmith ’03
Highsmith is a project manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington,
DC, where he develops water pollution regulations. He has also been involved in the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill recovery. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Highsmith
studied Management and Political Science at Goucher, was a member of the men’s soccer
team, and studied abroad in Havana, Cuba. Since his graduation, he has also received
his Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from The Johns Hopkins University.
Vice President
Kim Van Newkirk Shaffir ’83, P ’15
A communications major, Shaffir began working during her senior year at Baltimore’s
WMAR-TV, where she operated a studio camera for local news programs. Later that year,
she made the move from local news to the network, beginning her now 37 year career
in the Washington Bureau of CBS News. As an editor, Shaffir has covered every major
beat in Washington: the Capitol, the Pentagon and the White House. For six and a half
years, Shaffir worked primarily for the CBS program, Face the Nation, as a producer/editor.
In 2013, she and her team received an Emmy for their broadcast about the 50th Anniversary
of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In early 2018, Shaffir was promoted
to Digital Media Operations Manager, overseeing and managing the bureau’s transition
to an all digital editing system. Shaffir served as her class’s Quarterly representative
for twenty years and has also been a member of the AAGC nominating committee. She
lives in Annapolis with her husband Greg; her daughter, Kira, graduated Goucher in
2015.
Secretary
Alicia Ladson Copeland '01
Copeland began her career as a Spanish teacher and college prep program coordinator
in Baltimore County, MD. She continued to teach for 10 years at the elementary, middle
and high school levels and considers herself an educator for life. Alicia is currently
the After-School & Summer Programs Director at the Parks & People Foundation in Baltimore,
MD. She oversees the Foundation’s middle school sports program, after-school paid
internship for local high school students and SuperKids Camp. In her spare time, she
is a CollegeBound Foundation mentor, advises her sorority’s HS youth group, is a mother
of 2, and plans weddings and events.
Admissions Officer
Nadiera Young '12, M.Ed. '14
Young studied English at Goucher with a concentration in Secondary Education. As a
requirement to the undergraduate experience, she had the opportunity to travel abroad
to Grahamstown, South Africa and taught fifth grade for three weeks. After graduating
in 2012, Young accepted a fellowship to continue her education. She received a Master’s
in Education with a focus on at-risk youth. Young is a teacher at Roland Park Elementary
Middle School teaching eighth-grade Language Arts. She also coaches for Stepping Into
Sisterhood (SIS), which is a step and mentoring program for Black girls.
Annual Giving Officer
Gretchen Gilliland ’03
A recipient of the Jenifer Mitchell Reed Young Alumnae/i Award, Gilliland graduated
in 2003 with a BA in Psychology and minor in Art. She earned her MA in Higher Education
Philanthropy from Regis College and has been in Denver for the past ten years. Since
graduating, Gilliland has worked with a number of universities and nonprofits in fundraising
and development, utilizing skills she learned as a student while working in Goucher
Phonathon at the Alumnae/i House, and as an active member of the SGA exec team. She
is currently Director of Major Gifts for the Colorado School of Mines and volunteers
regularly in the Denver community around human services.