Alumni in the News: March 6, 2023

Ashley Kahn ’83 was included in the March 1 New York Times article “5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz Piano.” Kahn, a journalist and professor of music history and criticism at NYU, shared the song “Peace Piece” by Bill Evans.

On February 28, America’s Public Television Stations presented its 2023 Pillar of Public Service Award to Jonathan Abbott ’84, president emeritus of GBH in Boston. The award recognizes extraordinary leaders and innovators in public television; Abbott was honored for his pioneering work in creating innovative educational programming and content.

Novelist Rachel Heng ’11 wrote the February 24 New York Times Modern Love essay, “How Could I Deny Him Fatherhood?” Heng’s latest book, The Great Reclamation, comes out on March 28.

A production by The New Group, The Seagull/Woodstock NY, co-stars Hari Nef ’15 and Parker Posey. The contemporary adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull will be performed at the Pershing Square Signature Theater through April 9. Nef plays the role of Masha, renamed Sasha in this work.

Blondel Pinnock ’90 was featured in a February 11 article about the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp., “One Solution to the Housing Crisis: Just Make People Rich.” Established in 1967 by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Restoration was the first community-development organization in the country. Pinnock, its president and CEO, was recognized by Columbia’s Black Alumni Council with a BAC Heritage Award on February 24.

On February 9, it was announced that Shawneé Pickney-Forrest ’01, SIPA’02 was named to the Ivy League’s 2023 Class of Legends of Ivy League Basketball. Pickney-Forrest received multiple honors during her time at the College, including All-Ivy First Team.

The Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program announced its 2023 Class on January 26; Swati Ravi ’22 is one of the 30 awardees. The fellowship offers undergraduate and graduate students who are pursuing aerospace careers paid internships at commercial space companies; Ravi is currently working toward a master’s in space science and technology at University College Dublin.

Joseph Ferullo ’79 was named the publisher of the progressive Catholic newspaper National Catholic Reporter in November. NCR is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.; Ferullo is its first California-based publisher. “Part of my sell was, you need someone in L.A.,” he told The Los Angeles Times. “It’s the largest archdiocese in the country, and there are lots of progressive Catholics here. To not be in touch with what goes on on the West Coast is not right.”