Cynthia RockwellNicholas Quah ’12 is the subject of “Meet the 26-year-old who's got all the news on podcasting,” an article by Benjamin Miller on Poynter.org. Quah is the creator and full-time blogger at Hot Pod, his newsletter about podcasts, which you can find at nicholasquah.com. It is also hosted at NiemanLab, the site for Harvard’s Neiman Foundation for Journalism. While most media aficionados consider the fall of 2014 to be the time when podcasts gained considerable popularity (Serial—the true crime investigation series on public radio is just one example), Quah had been a fan of podcasts for several years by then: as…
Tufts Medical Center selected Jonathan Bush ’93 to receive the Ellen M. Zane Award for Visionary Leadership. Chairman and CEO of the health care technology company, athenahealth, Bush was cited for “exemplifying visionary and transformational leadership” as well as his "passion for uniting individualized and coordinated patient care with the demands and practicalities of healthcare management.” Bush co-founded athenahealth in 1997. In 2007 it was the most successful initial public offering, and it is now one of the health care information technology industry’s fastest growing companies, considered by many to be industry standard. In announcing the award, President and CEO of…
Shari Runner ’79 was named president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. Crain’s Chicago Business notes that she is redirecting the purpose of league. “Right now, all the things we support are in turmoil,” Runner told reporter Shia Kapos. “We have an opportunity to change that.” Runner had been interim leader of the Urban League for eight months and had served as senior vice president for strategy and community development a the Urban League since 2010. Previously a banker—vice president of ABN/AMRO Bank and vice president at First National Bank of Chicago—she attributes her move into the nonprofit world to…
Forbes named Jordyn Lexton ’08 and Guy Marcus ’13 to the 2016 “30 under 30” list for 2016, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy highlighted David Lubell ’98 as one of the “40 Under 40." Under the headline, “Todays Brightest Young Stars and The Future Leaders of Everything” Forbes magazine highlighted two Wesleyan alumni in their fifth annual listings of the top 30 young leaders in 20 different categories. From an initial list of 15,000, Jordyn Lexton ’08 made the listing in entrepreneurs. Lexton is the founder of “Drive Change,” which employs previously incarcerated youth, teaching food preparation as well as providing positions in their award-winning culinary vehicle in…
Olivia DrakeTom Goodman’s (’69) career in photography has spanned many different mediums. From being a full-time photographer, an instructor, to operating an agency, Goodman has always been fascinated by the art of photography. After graduating Wesleyan with an honors degree in art, he went on to earn his MFA in photography from the University of New Mexico, which was the catalyst that launched his career. In 1975 he was hired by the University of Texas at San Antonio to develop the photography program. Three years later he moved to Philadelphia to teach at the University of the Arts (then the Philadelphia College…
David LowIn his recently released debut film Mediterranea (IFC Films), director and writer Jonas Carpignano ’06 focuses on two friends from West Africa’s Burkina Faso (played by non-professional actors Koudous Seihon and Alassane Sy) who take a hazardous journey to Calabria, Italy, across the Mediterranean Sea, hoping to better their economic fortunes. Carpignano recently received two awards for his work: the Independent Film Project’s Gotham Award for Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director and the Best Directorial Debut Award from the National Board of Review. In his New York Times review of the film, Stephen Holden writes that Carpignano “has adopted a low-key neorealist…
Tricia Homer ’03 was selected as one of "40 under 40" by Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund. The co-founder of HGVenture, a management consulting firm that specializing in nonprofit capacity building and leadership development, she also is chairperson of the College Park Community Foundation Board of Directors, which supports local nonprofits in capacity building. Additionally, she is cochair of the City of College Park Education Advisory Board and is the assistant director of the Office of Community Engagement at the University of Maryland. To recognize her contributions to the lives of multi-ethnic students at the University of Maryland, last…
Zin Lin '12 received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his research on PT-symmetric systems performed while a student at Wesleyan. Lin's advisor was Tsampikos Kottos, the Douglas J. and Midge Bowen Bennet Associate Professor of Physics. Lin was selected for his "outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well [his] potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. He's currently studying quantum nonlinear photonics as a second-year graduate student at Harvard University. As a fellow, Lin will receive a $32,000 stipend for 2014-15. Fellows are expected to make satisfactory academic progress towards completion of…
Natalie Robichaud ’14Jeremy Serwer ’70 joined the Outlet Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2005, the Developers of Outlet Centers and Retailers started the Outlet Industry Hall of Fame to honor people in the outlet retail industry who help the industry grow and improve. Serwer is the president of a consulting firm he began in 1993. At Wesleyan, Serwer majored in French, Russian, and music, so his decision to enter the retail industry shocked his family. As a 14-year-old boy working in a girls’ clothing store, Serwer thought that retail was the most exciting market. “The constant demand and constant energy and…
Boston Children's Hospital announced the establishment of the N. Thorne Griscom Endowed Chair in Radiology. Dr. Griscom ’52, recently retired after 49 years in pediatric radiology, served as president of the Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR) in 1981-82. Dr. George Taylor, SPR president in 2005-06, is pictured with him here at the reception to celebrate the announcement. Taylor calls Griscom as "an outstanding radiologist, clinician, mentor and friend," adding, "This was a very deserved honor for this truly gentle man." A Phi Beta Kappa chemistry major at Wesleyan, he earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester and was…
Robert Feldman ’70 was appointed deputy chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst by Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. In this new role, Feldman, currently dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, will coordinate and facilitate campus-wide quality enhancement efforts, collaborating across campus areas including Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Administration and Finance. He will also oversee implementation of campus-level strategic plan initiatives, as well as oversee administration of the Chancellor’s Office, including portfolios such as the Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Subbaswamy praised Feldman, saying that he “brings to this position a wealth of skills and experience as an administrator, a…
Max Perel-Slater ’11 has won an Advancing Leaders Fellowship from World Learning for the Tanzania-based project, The Maji Safi Movement (“maji safi” means “clean water” in Swahili; see majisafimovement.org). Maji Safi is focused on disease prevention and health promotion and particularly aimed at empowering rural communities in their efforts to combat water-borne and water-related diseases. The Movement encompasses both a local NGO and a US-based 501(c)3; Perel-Slater is president and co-founder of the U.S. arm and treasurer of the Tanzania-based organization. He has worked on water projects in Shirati, Tanzania, since 2009, when he led the construction of a rainwater…