Josephine Escalante (A92)
The Alumni Association is pleased to honor Josephine "Gigi" Escalante (A92) with a 2026 Volunteer Service Award. Gigi has given years of service to the Alumni Association and the college. As a student, Gigi worked for the college as Special Aide to the Vice President and introduced the former tradition of "Senior Class Gifts". As an alumna, Gigi volunteered on the college’s first capital campaign and served on the Board of the Alumni Association from 2016-2025. During her tenure as President of the Alumni Association, Gigi worked with the Board of Directors to prioritize community building through Association programs such as the revived Alumni Association Awards Ceremony and the Association’s L3:LifeLong Learning series on the Supreme Court in 2022-23. Gigi also valued collaborative approaches to the Association's work resulting in successful partnered events like the 2018 Johnnies in the Arts Alumni Panel and the 2019 Johnnies in Entrepreneurship Alumni Panel, both co-sponsored with the Annapolis Career Development Office. During her time on the Board, Gigi worked towards a board more reflective of the diversity and richness of the alumni community. Gigi is an attorney and mother of three living in Washington, D.C. with husband and fellow alum Camilo Arbelaez (A94). Their daughter Elena is a sophomore in Santa Fe.
Tyler Mazur (A20)
The Alumni Association is pleased to honor Tyler Mazur (A20) with a 2026 Volunteer Service Award. Tyler grew up in rural Ohio and joined the U.S. Army as a combat medic in 2009, serving in South Korea, Germany and Afghanistan. After completing his military service, Tyler continued working in emergency medicine before enrolling at St. John’s College in Annapolis 2016. There, he enjoyed rowing, completed multiple internships, and earned his bachelor’s degree in 2020.
Following graduation, Tyler served as a paralegal in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division before earning his law degree from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in Baltimore in 2025. During law school, he interned with the Maryland Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit and the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General.
After his studies, Tyler served as a judicial law clerk in the Baltimore County Circuit Court, first for the Honorable Paul Hanley until his retirement and then for the Honorable Evelyn Cusson. Tyler is currently a prosecutor in the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he is honored to continue a career dedicated to community service.
Jake Ifshin (SF08 and GIEC09)
The Alumni Association is pleased to honor Jake Ifshin (SF08 and GIEC09) with a 2026 Volunteer Service Award. Jake is Principal Family Office Advisor at Impact Investors, a sustainable investment firm. He oversees the growth and delivery of family office services and supports the firm’s alternative investment strategies in areas including housing and regenerative agriculture. He also works as a business strategy consultant with organizations focused on building decarbonization, sustainable hospitality, construction technology, workforce solutions, and real estate. An entrepreneur and educator by nature, Jake brings a longstanding commitment to aligning financial returns with positive social and environmental impact.
Jake shares his experience with the St. John’s College ecosystem, where he co-teaches a financial literacy course that lays the foundation for students to build a healthy relationship with money. He also mentors students pursuing careers in finance and entrepreneurship, helping Johnnies translate a liberal arts education into confident, values-driven work in the world.
Stafford Wood (SFGI25)
The Alumni Association is pleased to honor Stafford Wood (GI25) with a 2026 Volunteer Service Award. Stafford credits her child, Steven Kendall (A26) with bringing her to St. John’s because she was envious of the education she was paying for and thought a week at Summer Classics would help her understand.
She founded Covalent Logic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2005 to work at the nexus of branding, public relations and digital marketing. Covalent supports business transitions from product launches to crises for global corporations, governments and private companies like Shell Chemical, the State of Louisiana and Hilton Worldwide. After receiving lifetime Achievement Awards from the Advertising Federation and the Public Relations Society of America, she moved to Austin and then in 2023, to Santa Fe. Even though she takes her coursework Low Residency, she likes being close to the College for lectures and events and frequently hosts Graduate Institute parties at her home.
She coined the term “preferment” to describe that she’s not retired because she still works but only does what she prefers to do. She’s Treasurer for the Board of Creative Santa Fe, a student at Santa Fe Improv, performing in Rocky Horror Picture Show in October and is enrolled in the Master of Arts in Eastern Classics.
Overly passionate and overtly practical, Stafford loves to create order out of chaos and stir things up when they become too “wash, rinse, repeat.”
