Alumni Class Notes

The Alumni Office is delighted to publish the following news items and updates from HM graduates all over the world.

At a ceremony on May 22^nd, Martin Duberman ’48 was honored with the Harvard Centennial Medal. First awarded in 1989 on the 100th anniversary of the school’s founding, the Centennial Medal is the highest honor that the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences bestows. Dean Emma Dench presented the medal to Martin and his fellow honorees – insert  names – who have made fundamental and lasting contributions to knowledge, to their disciplines, to their colleagues, and to society. Martin holds an honorary degree from Columbia University and is an American historian, biographer, playwright, and gay rights activist. He has authored more than 25 books and is Professor of History Emeritus at Lehman College in the Bronx.

Bill Irwin ’74 announced he has joined Infor in the role of customer success executive and is looking forward to leveraging his long-time experience of helping clients realize the value of their ERP-enabled transformations

Friends from the Class of 1988 had dinner recently in NYC. Pictured here are Joe Jacobson, Jordan Turkewitz, Ralph Davidson, Adrian Sedlin, and Jeff Haber.

John Martin ’96 officially retired from the U.S. Navy after 20 years as a reservist. John observed, “I am especially proud to have served alongside my fellow citizen sailors. These are Americans who have their own careers outside of the military, and who very often have started families before joining. They are some of the most selfless people I have ever known.”

Jodi Rosensaft ’96 has joined Alliant Insurance Services as managing director, advisory leader –  representation and warranties insurance, Alliant Specialty, in the company’s M&A vertical. She will be based in New York and will advise clients globally on representation and warranties insurance and other strategies to de-risk M&A transactions. 

Donald Sherman ’98 was recently recognized as one of Washingtonian Magazine's 500 Most Influential People of 2024. He is the executive vice president and chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. As Washingtonian Magazine explains, “Sherman pioneered the legal strategy of trying to use the 14^th Amendment’s ‘disqualification clause’ to prevent those who engaged in the January 6 attack on the Capitol from holding office again, making that the center of a case against Donald Trump.” Donald shares that the best career advice he ever received was to “be kind to everyone” and “do favors for people, especially if it costs you little or nothing."

Vinson Cunningham ’02 was selected as a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. He is a staff writer and theater critic for The New Yorker. He was nominated for his theater reviews, which “reflect a formidable knowledge of the stage and mechanics of performance along with canny observations on the human condition. His debut novel, Great Expectations, which was released in March 2024, is highlighted in the Alumni Publications section of this newsletter.

Walt Cronkite ’07 started a new position as the director of communications for the Structured Finance Association in Washington, DC.

Gabrielle Ferrara ’08, the COO of Ferrara Manufacturing, was honored on behalf of her company at the American Image Awards on April 16, 2024. The event, which took place at Gotham Hall in NYC, recognizes leaders and advocates across the American apparel and footwear industries while raising money for its longstanding beneficiary, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), a nonprofit trade association. During the ceremony, Katie Ioanilli of Ralph Lauren welcomed Gabrielle to share the success Ferrara Manufacturing has had in manufacturing U.S. Olympic uniforms, many of Ralph Lauren’s top-tier product, and military uniforms in their newly built facility. The company’s investments in new equipment, workforce training, and new technology are helping to encourage growth in the U.S. manufacturing industry.

Kenny Thompson ’09 was named managing director of Oak Point Capital in March 2024. Oak Point Capital is an affordable housing-focused, impact investment platform established by experienced investors in low income housing tax credit, affordable, and multifamily housing. The company addresses the growing housing affordability crisis by partnering with development firms, nonprofits, public agencies, and other institutional stakeholders to mobilize capital needed to create and preserve affordable housing across the United States. Oak Point’s long-term investment approach seeks to generate compelling risk-adjusted and tax-efficient returns for its partners by growing and structuring a diverse portfolio of resilient assets, while strengthening and empowering the communities in which they invest.

Dan Temel ’10 started a new position as director of acquisitions and loan originations at GDS Development, a full-service, vertically integrated owner, operator, designer and developer of residential and commercial real estate in the New York metropolitan area.

Ian Antonoff ’12 just received his MBA from University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The wedding of Emma Maltby ’14 and Grace McLeod was featured in an article entitled “The Wedding Files” in The Cut, New York Magazine’s online publication covering women's lives and interests, from politics, feminism, work, and money to relationships, mental health, and style. The couple was married in a five-act “Love Soiree,” modeled after the five-act structure of Shakespearean comedies. The celebration was held at the Sunset Beach Hotel on Shelter Island. You can read the article and see wedding photographs here:  https://www.thecut.com/article/the-wedding-files-emma-grace.html

Maggie Brill ’18 and Radhika Mehta ’18 are working together to make a short film about two queer high-schoolers falling in love. The movie is entitled All At Once and will be filmed in early August on location in New York. Maggie is a Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer with a B.A. in radio/television/film from Northwestern University. She is particularly passionate about character-driven stories, queer representation, and coming-of-age narratives. Her recent cinematography work includes the dance film Back in a Storm and psychological horror short Jinx. Maggie’s short film How to Glow in the Dark, which she wrote and directed, premiered opening night at CineYouth 2023, presented by the Chicago International Film Festival. Maggie also graduated with honors from Prague Film School’s 2021 autumn filmmaking program, where her short film Walter won the Audience Award for Best Film. She can be reached at bymaggiebrill@gmail.com.

James Chang ’18 is joining Kirkland & Ellis as a summer associate in the company’s New York office.

Julia Hornstein ’19 is currently working as an editorial intern at The Information in San Francisco.

Luke Weber ’20, a sport management student at Rice University and founder of Team Luke, was honored with Cycle for Survival’s Game Changer Award, having raised more than $1.4 million to date. Cycle for Survival is an indoor team cycling event that raises money to research and develop cures for rare cancers. Luke recently shared, “Thank you everyone who has helped us in this journey. Fighting cancer has been my life’s mission, and I am truly honored to work with Cycle for Survival each year to fund research and create treatment options for people with rare cancers.”

Elias Romero ’22 has some news to share. He was recently elected by his peers to serve on the ASI (Associated Students, Inc.) Board of Directors as a representative of the Cal Poly College of Engineering for the 2024-25 school year. Elias shared that “he looks forward to being an advocate for the desires and needs of my fellow engineering students and helping to continue to make Cal Poly a welcoming and comfortable campus for all.” This summer, Elias will be a data analytics intern at Kargo, a company that is making remarkable advancements in the world of AdTech and creative digital advertising.

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