Faces and places: Ashley Pratt recently earned a doctorate from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. She is a 2002 graduate of St. Michael’s High School and received a degree in biochemistry and molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is the daughter of Lee Bowman and Greg Pratt and the stepdaughter of Cecilia Keough of Santa Fe. She has taken a postdoctoral position at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, where she will be working at the Advanced Light Source Synchrotron and Buck Institute researching amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a motor neuron disease.

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Air Force Airman Anthony J. Chavez has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an Associate in Applied Science through the Community College of the Air Force.

Chavez, a 2012 graduate of Moriarty High School, is the son of Victor and Tammy Chavez of Edgewood.

Weddings & engagements

Berry/Conway: Jessica Faith Berry and Dr. Justin Johnson Conway were married on Dec. 31, 2012, at Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. Bill Lambert, grandfather of the bride, officiated.

The bride is the daughter of Joanna and Ken Berry of Little Rock, Ark. Her grandparents are Drs. Bill and Helen Lambert of Searcy, Ark., and Jerry and Lavonne Berry of Conway, Ark.

The parents of the groom are Amy and Bill Conway of Santa Fe. His grandparents are Mary and William Conway of Cleveland, Ohio, and the late Harriet Ann and Donald Johnson of Santa Monica, Calif.

The ceremony was performed by candlelight and the chapel was decorated with white hydrangeas. A string quartet provided the music. The bride, who wore a gown of French lace with a halter-style bodice and carried white orchids and hydrangeas, was given in marriage by her father.

Kensey Berry of Philadelphia served as her sister’s maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Caitlin O’Neil, Whitney Hermandorpher and Ali Kelley, all of Washington; Irene Chen of Boston; Julia Berger of Geneva; Halsey Ward of Auckland, New Zealand; and Willa Conway of New Orleans. They wore black knee-length silk dresses and jewelry designed by the groom’s mother, and carried white hydrangea bouquets.

Serving as best man was Galen Wilson of Oakland, Calif. Groomsmen were Dr. Kevin Duan of San Francisco; Dr. David Rosen of Los Angeles; Dr. Robert Love of Burlington, Vt.; Pat Ekeruo and Derek Pollak, both of New York; Jonah Perlin of Washington; and Freddy Flaxman of Atlanta.

The bride graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from Princeton University, Princeton, N.J., where she played on the varsity basketball team. She has a master’s degree in English education from New York City’s Columbia University and was a member of Teach for America Corps. She is an honors English language arts teacher at Bronx Lighthouse College Preparatory Academy in New York City.

The groom graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Princeton, where he was captain of the varsity basketball team. He received a medical degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He is a first-year resident at New York City’s Beth Israel Hospital.

The couple are making their home in New York.