Alumni News & Notes

Former ACDS teacher Mrs. Helen SooHoo and her husband, George, celebrated their 50th anniversary on September 27 with close friends and family. Mrs. SooHoo shared that she and her husband have had an incredible adventure that began when they met at a church youth group in San Francisco, and includes raising their son, Kevin, and daughter, Cathy ’92, in San Jose and being blessed with four beautiful grandchildren, Kai, Jin, Ethan, and Elsa. They are grateful for the love, laughter, and wonderful memories built with family and friends. 

Mrs. SooHoo taught 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades at ACDS from 1989 to 2013. After retiring, she stayed connected with many former teachers, including Mrs. Michelle Ahlgren, Mrs. Gloria Drucker, Mrs. Jennifer Griffith, Mrs. Allison Hagin, Mrs. Debbie Ray, and Mrs. Karen Tomkins, as well as some students and parents. 

Mrs. SooHoo is open to reconnecting with former students and parents and can be contacted at hlsoohoo@gmail.com.

 

Sean Wilkinson ’05 and his wife, Danielle Robertson, are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Waverly Mei Wilkinson, on July 5, 2025. Sean and Danielle met while attending the University of California, San Diego, and now reside in Seattle, Washington. Waverly joins the Wilkinson household alongside the family’s dog, Tokki, and their cats, Teddy and Lily. The Wilkinson family is happily embracing sleepless nights and endless cuddles.

 

Matt Chiswell ’07 married Jordyn Hodge on September 26, 2025, in Williamsburg, New York. Fellow ACDS alumnus Austin Connelly ’07 served as Matt’s best man, and his sister, Katy (Chiswell) McDonnell ’09, was a bridesmaid. Matt and Jordyn first met at work in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2016. Life took them in different directions in 2018, but they kept a long-distance relationship while Matt worked in New York and Jordyn completed graduate business school in Atlanta. Once they were back in the same city, Matt proposed at their home in Brooklyn in 2024, with the help of their dog Luna, who delivered the engagement ring to Jordyn. Matt works as a strategic account executive, and Jordyn is a head of business execution.

 

 

Matthew Ashley ’09 and Corinne Breuil were married on September 27, 2025, at Stanly Ranch in Napa Valley. Several ACDS alumni helped the couple celebrate, including Matthew’s sister, Melissa Ashley ’13, Morgan Braitberg ’13, Aaron Fenton ’16, Mikaela Fenton ’13, Molly Lyons ’13, Juliana Medan ’13, Stefan Medan ’13, Megan Tallman ’13, and Ryan Tallman ’16. The bride and groom reside in Los Gatos, and both love to travel and explore other parts of the world. Matthew is a partner at Ascend Logistics and VP of sales and marketing at JIT Transportation. Corinne has been working at Google for the past three years as an influencer relations lead.    

 

 

Katie (Chiswell) McDonnell ’09 married Nick McDonnell on August 23, 2024, in Castle Rock, Colorado. Her brother, Matthew Chiswell ’07, served as a groomsman, and Austin Connelly ’07 was a wedding guest. Katy and Nick first met in 2009 through a mutual ACDS friend, but it wasn’t until four years later, when they both attended Seattle University, that they reconnected and became a couple. After graduating from college, Katy and Nick made their home in Seattle, where Nick proposed to Katy by the Pacific Northwest shoreline in April 2022. Now settled in Arvada, Colorado, with their dog Ava, Katy works as an ICU nurse, and Nick works as a senior solutions consultant.

 

Cady Cunneen ’11 is engaged to Cole Kitagawa. They met during their sophomore year at Saint Francis High School. Cole proposed to Cady on August 30th with a surprise omakase dinner while cruising the San Francisco Bay on a yacht. The couple plans to marry in 2027 and is very excited to celebrate with their friends and family. Cady is the director of office operations at Cunneen Law, and Cole is the operations manager at ComForCare South Bay, a home care company. They currently live in San Jose with their pet tortoise, Pebbles, and hope to continue calling the Bay Area home for many years to come.
 

 

Skyler Hunter ’11 and his wife, Bree, welcomed their second child, Stanley Brec, on June 19, 2025, joining two-year-old Jane. The family lives in a suburb of Salt Lake City, where Skyler manages a creative digital advertising team, and Bree works as a speech pathologist.

 

Devin Meadows ’11 proposed to Julie Clausen on October 4, 2025, at Cowell Ranch State Beach. They met on the online dating app Hinge in August 2020 and have been together ever since. They live in Santa Clara and plan to stay there because it's close to Devin's job as a mechanical engineer at Cisco Systems. Julie is a third-grade teacher. No wedding date has been set yet, but it’s likely to be in the spring of 2026 or fall of 2027.

 

Natalie Drucker ’12 got engaged to Braden Young in Big Sur on October 18, 2025. She met Braden in San Diego by chance while visiting friends and called her mom, Gloria Drucker, shortly after to share that "she met her future husband." Natalie works at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos as the lead surgical physician assistant, and Braden, from Sacramento, is the head of software engineering at the San Francisco-based startup, Somewear Labs. Their wedding is scheduled for September 2026 in San Luis Obispo, where they both attended Cal Poly.

 

Marisa (Silva) Olmeda ’12 married Elias Olmedo on May 30, 2025, at the Mountain Terrace in Woodside, CA, attended by her best friend from Pre-K, Caitlyn Casey, her mom Dyan, and her favorite dentists/alumni parents, Mark Ajlouni and Connie Kais. Marisa and Elias met on the online dating app Hinge in December 2020. They had about three Zoom dates that lasted for hours before deciding to meet in person. It was clear to both of them that this was something special. Elias proposed two and a half years later at Timber Cove Resort in Jenner, CA, with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on the patio overlooking the ocean. They moved to Alexandria, Virginia, in January 2024 so Elias could launch his Cyber/IT career with the United States Coast Guard. Marisa is working for Palo Alto Networks as an inside sales manager. Lastly, but certainly not least, they are expecting a baby girl next spring!

 

 

Joe Fordyce ’14 is engaged to Anna Caleca, one of ACDS’s new second-grade teachers! Anna and Joe met in February 2022, three months before Joe graduated from Lindenwood University. Although they did not meet in school, Anna is also a Lindenwood University alumna. She is a native of St. Louis, MO, but after two years apart, Anna relocated to San Jose. She and Joe live in Willow Glen. The wedding is planned for July 25, 2026, at Seascape Resort in Aptos. Joe works as a construction project manager at General Lighting Services.

 

Nicole (Vivier) Sherwood ’16 married Cole Sherwood on October 17, 2025, at the Sacred Oaks venue at Camp Lucy in Dripping Springs,Texas, about an hour outside Austin. Nicole and her family moved to Austin in 2018, and she transferred to Vandergrift High School as a junior. She and Cole met while competing on their high school’s golf team. After high school, Nicole attended SMU and played on their golf team, while Cole played for Vanderbilt. They got engaged on November 17, 2024. Nicole works as a software engineer for Visa, and Cole is a professional golfer on the Korn Ferry Tour, a developmental tour for the PGA Tour. They plan to live in Dallas, TX.

 

Adrianna Brown ’18 will continue her education at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehab Sciences in the DPD/MS+DI program (Didactic Program in Dietetics/MS Nutrition + Dietetic Internship). She graduated from Boston University this past May with a BS in Nutrition Science and Public Health and can't wait to be a double Terrier and take the next steps toward becoming a sports dietitian!

Emma Parsons ’21 is studying at San Diego State University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.