De la Cruz’s novel The Isle of the Lost, the prequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants, spent more than 50 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, (and 15 weeks at #1). Starring Kristen Chenoweth and Dove Cameron, it was the #1 cable TV movie of 2015, and #5 of all time, and its soundtrack was a #1 bestseller on iTunes. The series’ subsequent books, Return to the Isle of the Lost and Rise of the Isle of the Lost, were also New York Times bestsellers for many weeks. Beyond the Isle of the Lost is a prequel to the next Descendants movie, Rise of Red. Twelve million copies have sold worldwide.

De la Cruz is also known for the Blue Bloods and Witches of East End series. The Blue Bloods series was named one of the top ten vampire series by Entertainment Weekly and the adult paranormal series, Witches of East End, dominated the New York Times bestseller list and became a television show on Lifetime starring Julia Ormond and Jenna Dewan. Fan favorites also include the Young Adult (YA) series The Au Pairs, Alex and Eliza and The Queen’s Assassin, as well as middle-grade collections Never After and The Super Secret Octagon Valley Society, and adult thriller The Birthday Girl. De la Cruz's books have earned distinctions from the American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association, TAYSHAS, the Junior Guild, the New York Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, the Alabama Public Library among many more state and national reading lists, and have earned starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Her latest hit, the adult romantasy Rings of Fate, was an instant New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller.

De la Cruz’s Hallmark Christmas movies, Christmas in Angel Falls; Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday; Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe (based on her novel of the same name); and Sense, Sensibility and Snowmen, were the top-rated for their Christmas season on the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.

De la Cruz is the co-director of YALLFEST (Charleston, S.C.) and the co-founder of YALLWEST (Santa Monica, Calif.), the two largest and most vibrant YA book festivals in the country, which attract more than 30,000 readers every year.

A former fashion and beauty editor, de la Cruz has written for The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

De la Cruz grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She earned her bachelor’s in art history and English and gives back to Columbia as an Alumnae Legacy Circle member and was awarded the College’s West Coast Honors Spirit of Innovation and Creativity Award in 2024. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Michael Johnston, and daughter, Kat Johnston CC’29.

With a mathematical foundation from Columbia College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, McGowan embarked on a private-equity career that began at AEA Investors in New York City and evolved into a leadership role at Madison Dearborn Partners in Chicago, where he co-headed the basic industries practice and oversaw more than $2 billion in equity investments. Later, he founded CJM Ventures, an investment firm centered around venture capital and private equity investments in businesses near Chicago and London — a move that underscores his commitment to venture creation and value building.

Beyond boardrooms and investment deals, McGowan’s heart lies in teaching and mentorship. At Booth, he serves as an investor-in-residence and faculty advisor to the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, guiding students for the last 15 years through hands-on challenges like the Private Equity/Venture Capital Lab, Booth’s Private Equity Case Challenge and Booth’s Investment Thesis Challenge.

McGowan and his wife, Sandy Wang CC’92, whom he met in high school, share a deep commitment to education and community. At Columbia, they have served as co-chairs of the Parent Leadership Council, a leadership giving society dedicated to serving the College’s mission through philanthropy and commitment. They have served in leadership roles at their children’s schools, and McGowan serves as a Trustee for the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association, as former president of the Friends of Walter Payton College Prep, and as a board member of the YMCA of Greater New York.

McGowan is a member of the Columbia College Board of Visitors and a former member of the College’s Core to Commencement Campaign Steering Committee. He is the creator and lead instructor of Lionsbridge, a career learning and exploration program through the Center for Career Education that aims to equip students with the basic skills required to enter the finance industry.