Alumni in the News

Alicia Yoon ’04, founder and chief curator of Korean beauty source Peach & Lily, was featured in People on March 30 for the launch of her collaboration with CVS, for which she curated four K-beauty brands to be sold exclusively through the drugstore chain. Items were available at more than 2,100 retail stores by the end of April.

Jonah Reider ’16, who made his name as a chef by opening a restaurant, Pith, in his room in Hogan Hall, now has new digs. In April he reopened Pith as a supper club in a townhouse near the Brooklyn Navy Yard; a May 22 New Yorker profile described the tasting menu as featuring “a pillowy yet rich spring-onion soubise with caviar; bruléed squash with lemon balm … buttery homemade pasta with morels and pea shoots; and a flawlessly seared Seattle wagyu sirloin.”

Franz Jantzen, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Neil Gorsuch ’88 was confirmed to the Supreme Court on April 7, making him the fourth College graduate to serve on the United States’ highest court. He was sworn into office on April 10. “As a deep believer in the rule of law, Judge Gorsuch will serve the American people with distinction as he continues to faithfully and vigorously defend our Constitution,” President Trump said.

In other political news, the United States Senate confirmed David Friedman ’78 as the United States Ambassador to Israel; he was sworn in on March 29. Rep. Beto O’Rourke ’95 (D-Texas) announced his candidacy to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the 2018 Senate race. On May 22, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) appointed the Hon. Rolando Acosta ’79, LAW’82 as presiding justice of New York’s Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department. Ben Jealous ’94, former head of the NAACP, announced on May 31 his candidacy for governor of Maryland; he will challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

College alumni are all over TV screens this year: Brian Yorkey ’93’s Netflix original, 13 Reasons Why, debuted on March 31 to huge numbers and set a record as Netflix’s most-tweeted-about show (it has already been renewed for a second season); Amanda Peet ’94 stars in the new IFC series Brockmire; Tinsley Mortimer ’99 joined the cast of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York this season; and Vanck Zhu ’11 competed on the current season of The Amazing Race.

On the big screen, Bill Condon ’76’s Beauty and the Beast opened with $170 million in North America, setting a record for top domestic opening for a PG-rated film, and Vanessa Gould ’96’s documentary film, Obit, was tapped as a Critic’s Pick by The New York Times. On the Great White Way, Terrence McNally ’60 wrote the book for the new musical Anastasia, which debuted on April 24. Underground Railroad Game, created by and starring Jennifer Kidwell ’00 and Scott Sheppard, received an Obie, which honors Off-Broadway works. The New York Times describes the play as “an audacious exploration of slavery in the guise of a misguided middle school history lesson.”

In other media happenings, Robert Siegel ’68 announced that he will leave NPR’s All Things Considered in January 2018; he has hosted NPR’s flagship news broadcast since 1987. Jen Chung ’98 and Jake Dobkin ’98, founders of New York City blog Gothamist (and several of its sister sites), were in the news after media company DNAinfo purchased the Gothamist brand.

In the arts, Crystal Hana Kim ’09, SOA’14 won the 2017 PEN America Literary Awards’ Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers; cellist Alisa Weilerstein ’04 was featured in The New York Times for tackling the feat of performing all six of Bach’s solo cello suites in a single concert; and Stephanie Stebich ’88 was named The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in early 2017. She began work on April 3.

Matthew L. Schwartz ’00, LAW’02 was listed in Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40” for 2017. A partner with Boies Schiller Flexner, Schwartz “led the investigation into Bernie Madoff ’s Ponzi scheme and the trial of associates dubbed the Madoff Five, winning guilty verdicts and the forfeiture of nearly $9 billion.”

— Anne-Ryan Heatwole JRN ’09