On March 4, 2026, Columbia College will celebrate the 46th annual John Jay Awards Dinner, honoring four College alumni for distinguished professional achievements in their respective fields.
The John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement has been presented to 242 honorees since 1979, and the dinner — held annually at the iconic Cipriani 42nd Street — raises funds for the John Jay Scholars Program.
The 2026 John Jay Award Honorees
Melissa de la Cruz CC’93 | New York Times Bestselling Author
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. Eight million copies have sold worldwide.
De la Cruz is also known for the Blue Bloods and Witches of East End series. The books inspired a TV series, starring Julia Ormond and Jenna Dewan, on Lifetime. De la Cruz also wrote the New York Times bestsellers Never After, The Queen’s Assassin and the Alex & Eliza series. Upcoming books include the adult romantasy Rings of Fate, a Book of the Month selection; a Young Adult (YA) dark academia novel, Sibylline; and My Ex-Husband’s Ex-Husband, a romantic comedy novel co-written with Rachel Cohn currently in development as a major motion picture.
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. Projects in development are Blue Bloods with Netflix, The Headmaster’s List with director Vince Marcello of The Kissing Booth and a YA reality show with the production company Super Delicious.
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 College bachelor’s in art history and English. De la Cruz lives in West Hollywood with her husband, Michael Johnston, and daughter, Kat Johnston CC’29.
Howard “Howie” Endelman CC’87 | Bidyut K. Goswami Head Coach of Men's Tennis, Columbia University
Endleman earned his J.D. at Boston College in 1995 and built an impressive resume beyond the court as an attorney and business executive. He then returned to Morningside Heights to develop a new generation of players.
Endelman rejoined Columbia in 2010 as associate head coach of men’s tennis, and was named head coach in 2019. He has combined his deep passion for mentorship, understanding of the game and his longtime connection to the University to sustain Columbia’s reputation as one of the top tennis programs nationally.
Endelman has won 10 Ivy League championships as a player and coach. His teams became the first in Ivy history to reach the “Final-8” in the NCAA Team Championships (achieved in 2024 and 2025) and have won 8 of the last 10 Ivy League titles, led by two-time reigning NCAA Singles champion Michael Zheng CC’26.
Christopher McGowan CC’92 | Managing Partner, CJM Ventures
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 his own growth-equity firm, CJM Ventures, focused on ambitious businesses in 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, his high school sweetheart, 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 on the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association Board of Trustees, the board of the YMCA of Greater New York and other educational nonprofits.
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.
Amanda Peet CC’94 | Actor, Author, Producer
Peet appeared in Season One of the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, opposite Jon Hamm, in 2025. She will return as Mel in Season Two, set to release in April 2026. Her other TV credits include Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, The Romanoffs, Brockmire, Togetherness and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Peet’s debut play, The Commons of Pensacola, was produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club and starred Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker. Her most recent play, Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, ran in 2018 at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In addition to her acting and playwriting, Peet also created the Netflix series The Chair, starring Sandra Oh.
PHOTOS: Maria Cina (de la Cruz); Courtesy of Columbia University Athletics (Endelman); Courtesy of Christopher McGowan (McGowan); Robby Klein/Getty Images (Peet)
