The 2013 Distinguished Alumni are here (read below)!
Since the inception of this program in 2005 we have honored over 100 Distinguished Alumni! You are invited to nominate yourself or a former classmate by clicking here or by sending the relevant links or qualifications to Yvette at [email protected].
In addition to the program being of interest to alumni and the public, students will be able to access information on persons to seek as mentors or employers in their chosen fields.
The 2013 Distinguished Alumni honorees are:
Howard Gertler, ’92 – Howard Gertler is an Oscar-nominated producer whose credits include David France’s How to Survive a Plague, which premiered in competition at Sundance 2012 and was released by IFC Films/Sundance Selects. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and won the Gotham for Best Documentary, the New York Film Critics’ Circle Award for Best First Feature, the International Documentary Association’s Emerging Filmmaker Award and the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary. It was also a Film Independent Spirit Award Nominee. Other films he has worked on include Seraph, Shortbus, World’s Greatest Dad, The Rebound, Trust The Man, Jump Tomorrow, Wet Hot American Summer, The Best Thief In The World, Gertler is active in the NYC film community, participating in mentoring programs at both the IFP and the Tribeca Film Institute.
Kimberley Harris (Miller) ’88 – As Executive Vice President and General Counsel for NBCUniversal, Kimberley Harris provides legal advice to the NBCUniversal senior management team and supervises the Law Department, which handles legal matters for all of NBCUniversal’s business units, including the company’s film studio, two broadcast networks, 18 cable channels, 50-plus digital sites, and theme park operations. Prior to NBCUniversal, Kimberley was partner in the litigation department of Davis Polk & Wardwell, served in the White House Counsel’s office as Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President, was a Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and began her career at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Kimberley was recently honored by the NYC chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) for her outstanding record of achievement in government and law, and her commitment to the advancement of women, during their 2013 Women of Power & Influence Awards.
Janet Karim, ’72 – Janet Karim currently works as a diplomat for the Permanent Mission of Malawi to the United Nations, responsible for social, cultural and human rights issues and representing the Mission on a number of social-related bodies and UN executive boards including UNICEF. Janet currently serves on the 2013 bureau of UN-Women Executive Board as Vice President and is the Rapporteur of the Open Ended Working Group on Ageing. She previously led an illustrious career in journalism for close to 20 years in Malawi as senior journalist for The Malawi Daily Times, by co-founding a number of para-media organizations and carving a niche in championing the rights of women and children.
Richard Kostelanetz, ’58 – Richard Kostelanetz is a writer, visual artist, critic, poet, composer, filmmaker, media artist, and lecturer. Richard is a Woodrow Wilson fellow, a Fulbright fellow, a Pulitzer fellow and a Guggenheim fellow. Richard has given one man exhibitions of visual art at numerous galleries, and has exhibited his holograms at the Museum of Holographyin New York City in 1978 and 1986. He has exhibited his book art, visual poetry, and other works in over 60 group exhibitions. He has given numerous lectures at various colleges and universities pertaining to his work over the years.
Michael Madon, ’90 – As the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis for the US Department of Treasury, Michael Madon is responsible for strengthening and expanding OIA’s relationships with its intelligence community and private sector partners. The Treasury Department
helps enhance national security by implementing economic sanctions against foreign threats to the U.S., identifying and targeting the financial support networks of national security threats, and improving the safeguards of our financial systems. Before joining Treasury, Michael served as an active duty officer in the U.S. Army and remains a member of the Active Reserve. He has held leadership positions in Airborne, Mechanized and Military Intelligence units, and is a recipient of the Bronze Star. He has also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan.
Suzanne Nossel, ’87 – Suzanne Nossel’s career has spanned government service and leadership roles in the corporate and non-profit sectors and was named Executive Director of the PEN American Center in January 2013. Prior to joining PEN she served as Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International organizations at the U.S. Department of State, COO for Human Rights Watch, among others. Suzanne is also an accomplished author who has published hundreds of blog entries, op-ed pieces and numerous scholarly articles including as author of Presumed Equal: What America’s Top Women Lawyers Really Think About Their Firms (Career Press, 1998), the founder of the blog www.democracyarsenal.org, and has served as a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, the Center for American Progress and the Council on Foreign Relations. Suzanne is a regular contributor and commentator on human rights issues for major news outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and NPR.
Cynthia Rosenzweig, ’66 (2012 Distinguished Alumna receiving her award) – Cynthia Rosenzweig is a Senior Research Scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies where she heads the Climate Impacts Group and a Professor at Barnard College. She recently co-chaired the New York City Panel on Climate Change. Cynthia also co-led the Metropolitan East Coast Regional Assessment of the U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. As a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she joins impact models with climate models to project future outcomes of both land-based and urban systems under altered climate conditions.
Daniel Schacter, ’70 – Daniel Schacter is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University (former Chair of the Harvard Psychology Department). He is a leading world experts on memory. His research has explored the relation between conscious and unconscious forms of memory, the nature of memory distortions, how individuals use memory to imagine possible future events, and the effects of aging on memory. Daniel and his many collaborators have published over 350 articles and chapters on these and related topics and he has received several awards for his research. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received the NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing from the National Academy of Sciences. Many of Daniel’s ideas and findings are summarized in his 1996 book, Searching for Memory, and his 2001 book, The Seven Sins of Memory, both named as New Times Notable Books of the Year, and both winners of the American Psychological Association’s William James Book Award.
The 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony
Among the 2012 honorees we have a NASA leader in climate change, a tech entrepreneur star, an award winning violinist, the orthopedic team physician for the NY Jets and NY Islanders and the founder of a billion dollar company who tells you on TV “You are going to like the way you look, I guarantee it!”
The 2012 Distinguished Alumni honorees are:
George C. Branche, III, M.D. (SHS ‘74) – Leader in the field of Sports Medicine - Association of Tennis Professionals Physician of the Year.
Meredith Gavrin (SHS ‘87) – Educator, Founder of New Haven Academy
Jonathan Haidt (SHS ‘81) - Leading Professor of Ethical Leadership, Author
Alison Knowles (SHS ‘51) – Guggenheim Fellow, Avant-Garde Renowned Artist
Randal (Randy) Livingston (SHS ‘71) - Business Leader, Led two companies through IPO, CFO of Stanford University
Charles Maier Ph.D. (SHS’ 56) – Professor, Author, Director of the Center for European Studies at Harvard
Michael Mark (SHS ‘68) - Grammy Nominated Musician/Composer
Stephen J. Nicholas, MD (SHS ‘78) - Leader in the field of Sports Medicine - orthopedic team physician for the NY Jets and NY Islanders.
Michael Roth (SHS ‘83) - Award Winning Violinist
Cynthia E. Rosenzweig Ph.D. (SHS ’66) – NASA Expert in Climate Change
Christopher Schroeder (SHS ‘82) - Tech Entrepreneur, Investor, Author, Expert on Startups in the Middle East.
George Zimmer (SHS ‘66) – Business Leader, CEO/Founder of Men’s Wearhouse
2011 Distinguished Alumni
Leslie Cannold ’83
Author, commentator, ethicist, activist.
Her quote in Bandersnatch gives more than a hint of Leslie in the future. It begins, “To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess a guiding principle.” Today she is one of leading thinkers in Australia with a regular stint on ABC Sydney and Brisbane. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Monash Institute of Health Services and an energetic writer of opinion pieces on feminist concerns as they affect the issue of the day.
John Dyson ’61
Businessman, creative thinker.
In John Dyson’s senior year, the opening lines of the Bandersnatch began, “Scarsdale High School is life in miniature. “ The Senior Section of Bandy was far more accurate, referring to Dyson’s mathematical and agricultural interests. “He fidgets with digits this math-minded man, whose hope is to cope with the farm surplus plan.” Dyson combined his interests in politics with his creative side when he designed the “I Love New York” slogan. A lso Chairman of Milbank and Tweed Corporation Management.
Glenn Kramon ’71
Journalist, Assistant Managing Editor of the New York Times. Glenn has been overseeing major reporting projects for more than a decade. Reporters working under his editing supervision have won eight Pulitzer Prizes, and have been finalists for the Pulitzer 22 times.
Max Krohn ’95
Founder of OKcupid, Sparknotes, and TheSpark. Max has been an academic superstar earning a Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Harvard College and a PhD in Computer Science from M.I.T.. He recently sold Okcupid to Match.com.
Jay Lalezari ‘77
Physician.
Devoted his life to discovering the roots of AIDS. Does research as Director of Quest Clinical Research in San Francisco. Runs dozens of clinical trials, 23 now. Including ones on AIDS and hepatitis, Herpes Simplex, and Human papilloma virus.
Herbert Krosney ’55
Writer and award-winning documentary filmmaker specializing in investigative and historical projects. He is the author of the new National Geographic book, The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. As a filmmaker with more than 30 years' experience, he has worked for BBC, PBS, The History Channel and CBC (Canada).
Ethan Nadelmann ’75
Political activist.
Ethan’s Senior quotation in the school yearbook gives little hint about his very serious academic side. “Life is just one big joke. It was never meant to be taken seriously.” He taught at Harvard and Princeton and then left the academic world, becoming the Founder and Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Nadelmann is regarded as the most articulate spokesman for drug policy reform in the U.S.
Dan O’Brien ’92
Playwright.
A decade ago when Dan O’Brien was asked for a word of wisdom by the staff of the Bandersnatch, Dan responded, “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.” Imagination he must have in spades winning the Osborn Award presented by the American Theatre Critics, the Mark Twain Comedy Writing Award, and a play “The Dear Boy,” based in large part on a veteran Scarsdale High School teacher.
Eugenie Lang Rosenthal ’96
Social Activist.
“Let’s Get Ready” founder. Genie has a drive that is masked by her wit and charm. Her Bandy quote is quite tongue in cheek, but it captures her nonetheless. “What? Only ten lines? Are they kidding me?” Now she has many lines, all of them directed toward helping young people from communities far less fortunate than Scarsdale get a shot at college.
Yuki Sonoda ’79
Business woman, Psychologist.
Introduced Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to Japan and played an important role helping its citizens heal following the 2001 earthquake. Today, Yuki is recognized in Japan as an expert in her field. Her status as a successful business woman in Japan is rare. During her years at Scarsdale, not easy ones for sere, she cited one teacher who helped her reach her potential, Len Tallevi.
Elisabeth Stock ’86
Activist.
Founder of Computers for Youth which gets computers in the hands of students who otherwise would have no access to them. How this for her Bandy quote, “ There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.” Elisabeth was also a White House Fellow.
James Traub ’72
Journalist—writer Sunday New York Times Magazine
Author of ten books including City on a Hill on CCNY and Best Intentions on Kofi Annen. For years Jim has participated in Writing Day at the Middle School. His Bandy quote did not help him get a job at the Times.
“Love is the botulism in the cold Vichyssoise of life.”
2010 Distinguished Alumni
Dan Biederman '71 - Urban Management Pioneer
Howard Bloch '61 - French Scholar
Elissa Brown '86 - Psychologist, Treating Traumatized Children
Steve Durst '61 - Galaxy Exploration And Development
Henry Fountain '72 - Science Editor, New York Times
Matthew Kahn '84 - Scholar In Environmental Economics
James Reiffel '61 - Physician
Alan Schwarz '86 - Sports Journalist, New York Times
Timothy Seymour '84 - International Finance
Andrew Ross Sorkin '95 - Journalist, Financial Analyst, TV Star
Awards Ceremony (October 30th 2010)
2009 Distinguished Alumni
Charlie Alterman ’93 - Orchestrator, music director and conductor
Danielle Dreifuss Butin ’81 – Global health advocate, occupational therapist, founder of Afya
Nicole Eisenman ’83 – Internationally known artist; works in permanent collection of Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum
David Feldshuh ’61 - Physician and dramatist; emergency medicine, artistic director Cornell U.
Deborah Slaner Larkin ’66 – Executive Director Women’s Sports Foundation, champion of Title IX
Victoria Redel ’76 - Poet, Writer, Teacher, Professor at Sarah Lawrence
Daniel Reingold ’72 - Administrator, President and CEO of Hebrew Home for Aged. Advocate for the elderly
Elisabeth Rosenthal ‘74 - Pulitzer Prize winner, physician, journalist for New York Times on medicine and China. Now reporting on Global Issues and the environment
Nancy Roth ’54 - Episcopal Minister, musician, dancer, teacher, writer
Douglas Rushkoff ’79 - Documentarian, author, teacher, public intellectual
David Scobey ’72 - Historian, Rhodes Scholar, Professor at U. Michigan and Bates
Bob Wilber ’45 - World famous jazz clarinetist and saxophonist
2008 Distinguished Alumni
Aron, Nan ’66 - Political Activist, Writer who’s conviction and courage can has made a difference
Atlas F. ,Nancy ’67 - Respected Attorney, Honored Judge
Blair, Charles ’74 - Respected Physician who gave back to his community
Brewster Kahle ‘78 - Visionary, Librarian, Inventor
Goetz Holmes, Linda ’51 - Author
Grossman, Jeffrey ’73 - Nationally Honored Research Chemist
Howard, Heather ’86 - Commissioner, Political Advisor who has devoted her professional life to secure the answer “yes” from both politicians and the citizens they serve
Masarof, Michael ’97- Write, Director, Actor, Winner of prestigious drama/film awards
Rosensweig, Daniel ’79 - Former President Of CNET Networks And COO of Yahoo, Currently CEO of Chegg.
Rothschild, Eric ’54 - Teacher
Smolover, Deborah ’80 - Attorney, US Justice Department who honored the best principles of our country and our legal system
Sugihara, George ’68 - Biological Oceanographer, Entrepreneur, Educator, Researcher, Financial Genius
2007 Distinguished Alumni
Bobby Goldwater ’70 – Sports Entertainment and Facilities Management Executive
Former Executive Manager, Staples Center
Ellen Weiss ’77 – Broadcast News Executive
Vice President News at NPR
Gordon Gould ’37 – Inventor
Inventor of The Laser
Judy Cheng-Hopkins ’70 – United Nations Commissioner
Kenneth Juster ’72 – Government Official, Lawyer
Represented Gorvacheov
Lisa Berman ’84 – Photography Director Conde Nast
Page Davis Bramley, ’38 -- Founder, Volunteer, Businesswoman
Founder of The Scarsdale Alumni Association
Anne Ughetta Lyons ’80 -- Volunteer And Stay At Home Mom
Ross Greenburg ’73 -- Sports Executive
Tom Ricks ’73 – Journalist
Tom Rogers ’72 – Media Executive
Virginia G. Drachman ’66 -- Historian
2006-II Distinguished Alumni
Tom Bernstein ’70 -- Entrepreneur, Motion Picture and Sports Executive, Humanitarian
Queen Booker '82 -- Former Step Student, Educator, Foundation Officer, Advisor to Gates Foundation
Lizabeth Cohen '69 -- Historian, Scholar
Joseph Davis '42 -- Forensic Scientist
Eve Ensler '71 -- Playwright, Performer, Activist
Ellen Feinberg '72 -- Artist, Painter
Robert Kuttner '61 -- Journalist, Editor, Commentator
Stuart Malina '80 -- Musician, Conductor
Bryan Reynolds '83 -- Professor, Playwright, Director
Karen Sloan -- Journalist, War Correspondent
Carolyn Strauss '81 -- Television Executive
Jim Tuman '60 -- Humanitarian, Motivational Speaker
2006 Distinguished Alumni
Carl E. Schorske ’32 -- Cultural Historian
Florence Schorske Wald ‘34 – Nurse, Professor, Administrator
Roger Hull ’60 – Educator, Administrator, Lawyer
Ivan Sutherland ’55 – Scientist, Engineer, Computer Scholar
Linda Carpenter-Leavitt ’64 – Journalist
Aaron Sorkin ’79 – Producer, Writer
Richard Foreman ’55 – Playwright and Avant-Garde Theater Pioneer
Mara Liasson ’73 – Journalist
John Leventhal ’70 – Producer, Singer, Songwriter
John Klineberg ’56 – Scientist
Gish Jen ’73 – Short Story Writer, Novelist
George Mccracken ’54 – Physician
2005 Distinguished Alumni
Harris Wofford '44 - Former Senator from Pennsylvania
As a young student at Scarsdale High School, Wofford founded the Student Federalists, an organization dedicated to world peace. He graduated from the University of Chicago and attended law school at Yale and Howard University. After graduation, he served in the U.S.Army Air Force and then as an attorney for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
In 1959 he became a law professor at Notre Dame University.
It was during the 1950's that he became a friend and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King.
He also was an advisor to John F. Kennedy. During the 1960 presidential campaign, he urged Kennedy to write an open letter to Mrs. King expressing concern for the safety of her husband, at the time in jail in Georgia. Kennedy followed Wofford's advice. That letter may have saved King's life, at least at that time. It also led to a sharp jump in the percentage of black voters supporting the Democratic Party.
After the election, President Kennedy appointed him Special Assistant to the President on Civil Rights. There he urged Kennedy to issue an executive order barring discrimination in federally-aided housing programs. Kennedy waited until the Congressional elections in 1962 were past to act. At the same time, Wofford was a significant force in the founding of the Peace Corps, serving as the Peace Corps' special representative to Africa and the Associate Director of the Peace Corps.
In 1966 Wofford left the Peace Corps to become president of a new university, the State University of New York at Old Westbury. Four years later he became president of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. In 1991, Pennsylvania's senior senator, John Heinz, died in a plane crash and Governor Bob Casey appointed Wofford to the seat, until the special elections could be held the following November. In a major upset, Wofford, campaigning on the health care concerns of the common citizen, defeated Dick Thornburgh, the former Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Attorney General under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In 1994, Wofford was defeated in his bid for reelection.
Wofford is also an author, having written India Afire in 1951 and Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties in 1980. Since his retirement from politics, Wofford has been chairman of the Corporation for National Service, and on the boards of America's Promise, Youth Service America and the Points of Light Foundation. He was selected as the winner of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award in 2002.
Richard Holbrooke '58 - Former Ambassador to the United Nations
At Scarsdale High School, Richard Holbrooke was an active member of the Forum, debating world issues. That same interest took him to Brown University and then, after graduating with a BA in 1962, into the U.S. Foreign Service. There he was assigned to Vietnam where he served as the staff assistant to Maxwell Taylor and Henry Cabot Lodge. In 1966 he returned to the U.S. where he was on the White House Vietnam staff of President Lyndon Johnson, was the junior member of the American delegation to the Paris peace talks, and wrote one volume of the Pentagon Papers.
In the 1970's and 1980's Ambassador Holbrooke was Managing Editor of Foreign Policy, contributing editor to Newsweek, and Managing Director of Lehman Brothers. In 1977 President Carter appointed him Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. In 1993 President Clinton appointed him U.S. Ambassador to Germany and the next year Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. The latter appointment made him the only person to have held Assistant Secretary of State positions in two different regions of the world.
In 1995 Holbrooke led the American team that negotiated the Bosnian Peace Accords at Dayton that ended the war in Bosnia. For his efforts, Holbrooke was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. In 1998, President Clinton nominated him as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Holbrooke served in that position from 1999-2001. In October 2002, he became Chairman of the Asia Society.
John Wallach '60 - Founder of the Seeds of Peace organization
John Wallach was a first-rate journalist. In 1968, four years after graduating from Middlebury College, he became Foreign Editor of the Hearst Newspapers. An expert on Arafat and the Middle East, he broke the story of the Iran-Contra scandal, and was frequently a panelist on Meet the Press, Washington Week in Review, Fox News and CNN.
Wallach also authored four books including Arafat in the Eyes of the Beholder and Still Small Voices, the latter co-authored with his wife, Janet. In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev awarded him the highest civilian honor in the U.S.S.R., the Medal of Friendship. Wallach received the National Press Club's highest honor, The Edwin Hood Award. He was also made an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters by Middlebury College.
In 1993, in the wake of the first bombing of the World Trade Center, Wallach made a life-changing choice. He gave up journalism, and decided to follow a dream, the creation of a summer camp at which Arab and Israeli children live, play and learn together. Initially, 50 young people participated in the program, which included daily conflict- resolution sessions run by professional Arab, Israeli and American facilitators. The program, "Seeds of Peace," quickly earned an international reputation. It also expanded to include year-round activities.
Now over 400 carefully selected teenagers participate, and the countries they represent have expanded as well. The Enemy Has a Face, written by Wallach, captures the joys and the challenges of "Seeds of Peace."
John Wallach died of cancer in the summer of 2002. His wife, Janet, carries on his mission.
Jeffrey Hoffman '62 - Astronaut, now lecturer at MIT
Jeffrey Hoffman was bound to be an astronaut. As a small child he was captivated by the Hayden Planetarium in New York. At Amherst College he received a BA degree summa cum laude in Astronomy. His original research was in high-energy astrophysics. His doctoral work at Harvard University was on the design, construction and flight of a gamma ray telescope.
Dr. Hoffman became an astronaut in 1979. Six years later, he made his first space flight as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery. He made his second flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia. On this flight he made the first STS contingency spacewalk.
By his third flight in 1992, he was payload commander and carried out the first test flight of the Tethered Satellite System.
Hoffman's fifth and final flight took place in 1996. The flight demonstrated the ability of the Tethered Satellite System to produce electricity. With the completion of this flight, Hoffman had logged 1,211 hours and 21.5 million miles in space.
In July 1997, Hoffman left the astronaut program and became the European representative of NASA in Paris. Since 2001, he has been a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT.
Nina Totenberg '62 - National Public Radio commentator
A Boston University drop out, Nina Totenberg today is one of the most respected radio journalists in America. She has been honored by the American Bar Association seven times. In 1988 she won the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Silver Baton for her coverage of Supreme Court nominations. Ten years later, the National Press Foundation honored her with its Excellence in Broadcasting Award.
Now a twenty-five year veteran of National Public Radio (NPR), and a regular correspondent in All Things Considered, Totenberg has been honored for breaking the story of Judge Douglas Ginsburg's use of marijuana, for covering the retirement of Judge Thurgood Marshall, and for reporting on University of Oklahoma professor Anita Hill's allegations of sexual harassment by Judge Clarence Thomas. In each case, Totenberg has been cited for her in-depth and balanced coverage.
Five years after the death of Justice Harry Blackmun, the author of the Roe v. Wade decision, Blackmun's papers, all 1576 boxes of them, became public. Totenberg was the only broadcast journalist permitted to examine the papers prior to their release. Before her years at NPR, she was the legal affairs correspondent for the National Observer and Washington editor of New Times Magazine.
The lighter side of Totenberg saw her playing herself in "Dave" in 1993, and a year earlier in her selection by Esquire magazine in a list of "Women We Love."
Barbara Kopple '64 - Oscar winning Director of "Harlan County, USA"
Barbara Kopple is one of the nation's most productive film directors/producers. In 1977 she produced and directed Harlan County USA, winner of the 1977 Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. In 1991, Harlan County USA was named to the National Film Registry by Congress and designated an American Film Classic. In that same year, Ms. Kopple received her second Academy Award for her non-fiction film,
American Dream, on the economic decline of America's industrial heartland. American Dream won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Feature Documentary by the Director's Guild of America.
In addition, Kopple has produced Conversation with Gregory Peck, The Hamptons, a 2002 mini-series, and Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson. The latter received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing.
Ms. Kopple has produced and directed for Sports Illustrated Television, HBO Real Sports, and NBC, for whom she has directed three episodes of Homicide. She was honored with the 1999 New York Women in Film and Television Muse Award.
Tovah Feldshuh '66 - Tony nominee Actress (Broadway,TV & Film)
After attending Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Michigan, Tovah Feldshuh studied acting with Jacques LeCoq and Uta Hagen. She made her professional debut at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Cyrano de Bergerac and a year later in 1973 on Broadway in the same play. In 1974, she received the Theatre World Award for her role in Yentl.
That beginning was the foundation for a spectacular career. Tovah has been nominated four times for Broadway's Tony Award as best actor, most recently for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her starring role in the 2004 Golda's Balcony. In addition she has received four Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards and the Obie. In 1989 she starred in Lend Me a Tenor.
She has appeared in over fifty movies, including most recently "Kissing Jessica Stein," "The Tollbooth" and "The Reality Trap." She is a regular on a number of acclaimed television programs including "Law & Order", where she is attorney Danielle Melnick, "All My Children," and "L.A. Law." She played Katharine Hepburn in a made-for TV biopic and Helena Slomova in the miniseries "Holocaust." Feldshuh is active in a number of charitable causes and has been honored with the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award.
O. Rogeriee Thompson '69 - Rhode Island Superior Court Judge
Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson was in the second group of STEP students to arrive at Scarsdale High School in the late 1960's. She was a strong student, and was admitted to Brown University in 1969. Again she succeeded academically, and in 1973 graduated from Brown with a B.A. Boston University School of Law and a J.D. followed, and then employment with Thompson and Thompson where she rose to senior partner, specializing in Native American law, civil rights, personal injury, family and real estate law.
She continued working at Thompson and Thompson until she began a career in the court system of Rhode Island. She was assistant city solicitor for the city of Providence and a senior staff attorney for Rhode Island Legal Services. Later she became an associate judge with the Rhode Island District Court, a position she held for ten years.
In 1997, Thompson was appointed Associate Justice for the Rhode Island Superior Court, where she presides over felony jury trials and civil trials in excess of $10,000.
Thompson is the first female African-American judge in the history of Rhode Island.
She has been honored repeatedly for her contributions to both Rhode Island and the wider world. Recently she was elected a trustee of Brown University. In addition she serves as chair of the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Children's Crusade for Higher Education and the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Women and Minorities.
In 2003 she was presented with the Thurgood Marshall Award from the Providence branch of the NAACP.
Laura Garwin '73 - Dir. of Research at Bauer Center for Genomics at Harvard
Laura Garwin always seems to be knocking down walls. Whether ending three quarters of a century of all-male Rhodes Scholars in 1977 or serving as Director of Research Affairs at Harvard University's Bauer Center for Genomics Research, Professor Garwin lives to end the artificial barriers that divide student from student and scientist from scientist.
Her own training underscores the rich scholarship that energizes her professional life.
She earned an A.B. in physics from Harvard, a second A.B. in geology from Oxford and a Ph.d. in earth sciences from Cambridge University. In the late 1980's she became physical sciences editor of Nature magazine and a decade later was appointed head of Nature's North American Office. Now as a director of the Bauer Center she runs a fellowship program that she sees as a "battering ram" that will undermine the separate discipline approach to scientific research and lead to a world in which physicists, biologists, geologists, mathematicians, and computer scientists collaborate and physicists become biologists and biologists become physicists.
As part of her ongoing effort to educate the American public about the world of science, she has reported on scientific matters for National Public Radio, and in 2003 edited A Century of Nature: Twenty-One Discoveries That Changed Science and the World.
In the world outside of science, Professor Garwin has climbed many a wall. At Harvard she played goalie on the women's water polo team and is a fine amateur trumpeter.
Richard Stengel '73 - Pres. of National Constitution Center & former Times Magazine Editor
It is a measure of Rick Stengel that it was almost impossible to characterize him in listing his areas of high ability noted herein. Presently he is President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. His remarkable talents were evident at Princeton University, from which he graduated magna cum laude, and in his selection as a Rhodes Scholar in 1977.
Stengel wrote for Time Magazine for over twenty years and as the managing editor of its website prior to becoming Time's national editor. In addition he worked as a television commentator for MSNBC, taught a course at Princeton entitled "Politics and the Press," and served as the chief speech writer for Bill Bradley during Bradley's run for the presidency in 1999-2000.
In 1990, Stengel collaborated with Nelson Mandela on Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Five years later Mandela selected him to be the producer of the documentary, Mandela. It received a nomination for an Oscar.
Earl Graves '80 - CEO of Black Enterprise
Earl G, Graves, Jr, ("Butch") is President and Chief Operating Officer of the Earl G. Graves Publishing Company, publisher of Black Enterprise magazine. In that role he has taken an already successful business and, since his appointment as President and COO in 1998, has steered his company through a decade of growth. By 2005 Black Enterprise had a readership of over four million. In addition, Graves created an equity investment fund where he serves as managing partner.
In 1984, Graves earned a B.A. in economics from Yale University and also completed a remarkable athletic career, breaking all of Yale's basketball scoring records, serving as captain of the team, and, after being drafted in the third round by the Philadelphia 76ers, having a short NBA career with Cleveland and Milwaukee.
Graves earned a Master's of Business Administration from Harvard University in 1988. In the latter year he joined Black Enterprise magazine, serving as vice president of advertising and marketing. Here he is a powerful advocate of the use of minority media and advertising agencies. He is also on Channel Thirteen's Board of Trustees.
Greg Behrman '94 - Henry Kissinger Fellow at Aspen Institute
Greg Behrman is the youngest of Scarsdale High School's Distinguished Alumni. At first blush, he seemed to direct his substantial energies toward a successful political or financial career. He graduated magna cum laude with a certificate in Economics and a BA in politics from Princeton University. Later, he matriculated at Oxford University, securing a Master's Degree in International Relations. After graduating from Princeton, Behrman was employed by Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York City.
He first reached international prominence in June, 2004, with his book The Invisible People: How the U.S. Has Slept Through the Global AIDS Pandemic, The Greatest Humanitarian Catastrophe of Our Time. The book exploded on the international scene, used by the United Nations as a sort of workbook for its efforts to combat AIDS in Africa and by the United States government, appointing Behrman to a number of commissions, including service as the coordinator for the Council of Foreign Relations Roundtable on improving U.S. Global AIDS Policy.
The American press responded to The Invisible People favorably. The New York Times called it "well-researched and unsparing," focusing on the reasons behind the "languishing American response" to the AIDS crisis. Kirkus Reviews called it "a study of the US government's failure to react meaningfully to an epidemic that is refashioning . . our world."
Behrman found himself the subject of numerous interviews. Here he expanded on his writings, addressing the role of AIDS in India, China, and Russia and its potential impact on the global economy. Presently, Behrman is the Henry Kissinger Fellow for Foreign Policy at The Aspen Institute and on the Board of Directors of Heartbeat, a non-profit organization that cares for AIDS orphans.
Money earned from sales of his book goes to that organization. He also has been featured speaker throughout the Ivy League and has had shorter works published by the International Herald Tribune and Newsweek. He now is at work on a book on the Marshall Plan. He also has held a world record in fly-fishing.