Alumni News and Notes: Fall 2024
Karen Donfried ’84 meets with the Librarian Dr. Carla Hayden at Donfried’s first town hall as director of the Congressional Research Service. Photo credit: Jerry S. Almonte.
Beanie Feldstein ’15 starred as Logainne SchwartzandGrubenierre in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater presentation of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee from October 11 to 20. Based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin and directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford (Dear Evan Hansen), this delightful musical shares the story of six adolescent spellers vying for the top prize, with heartwarming and hilarious results.
The Librarian of Congress appointed Karen Donfried ’84 as director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Donfried assumed her new role on September 23, and in this photo, we see her with the Librarian, Dr. Carla Hayden, at her first town hall with CRS staff. Donfried began her career by covering European affairs at CRS for a decade. Prior to her current position, which marks a professional homecoming, she was a senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center, after having served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. She also served as the first female president of the German Marshall Fund of the US, and senior director for Europe on the National Security Council at the White House.
In late August, Telluride Film Festival welcomed two documentaries directed by Matthew Tyrnauer ’91. The filmmaker is only one of a rare few to present more than one film at the festival in a single year. Nobu follows the life of famed sushi chef and restauranteur Nobu Matsuhisa, while Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid portrays the long career of the iconic political strategist. In the past several years, Tyrnauer has also released the Bennington College doc The End of the World, the Oscar-shortlisted Valentino: The Last Emperor, and Where’s My Roy Cohn?, among other works.
Tony Award-winning playwright and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. ’15 teamed up with playwright and actor Eisa Davis to create a musical concept album inspired by the 1979 cult action thriller The Warriors. The film, based on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick, features a New York street gang as it navigates its way through the Bronx and Manhattan boroughs, while a false assassination accusation complicates its journey. Contributors to the album include luminaries such as Lauryn Hill, Marc Antony, Busta Rhymes, and Nas. The album was released on October 18.
Forbes Magazine named two Wesleyan alumnae to their “50 Over 50” list. Ellen Remmer ’75, P’12, senior partner at the Philanthropic Initiative, launched Invest for Better in 2021 in partnership with Janine Firpo. The fund offers women values-aligned investing programs. Sapphire Partners leader Elizabeth “Beezer” Clarkson ’94 drove an investing initiative for emerging managers focused on early-stage companies with high growth potential.
Morgan Webber-Ottey ’16 has been awarded the 2024 Hansberry-Lilly Fellowship. The fellowship, established in honor of playwright Lorraine Hansberry and created by the Dramatists Guild Foundation in partnership with the Lillys, ensures that the next generation of women and non-binary playwrights of color are able to follow in Hansberry’s footsteps. The lawyer-turned-writer is also a National Hispanic Media Coalition Series Scriptwriters Program fellow, Stowe Story Labs/SAGindie fellow, and is currently an MFA candidate at Northwestern University’s Writing for the Screen and Stage.
University of Michigan associate professor of public policy Katherine Michelmore ’07 has received the 2024 David N. Kershaw Award and Prize. The Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management gives out the award to honor persons who, before the age of 40, have made distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management. Michelmore’s leading scholarship on the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits has been crucial in helping policymakers better understand the impact on various populations. She will be recognized at the November 2024 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Research Conference. Previously, she served as assistant professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.
From September 18 to December 11, Wesleyan’s Pruzan Art Center presents print works by Glenn Ligon ’82, Hon. ’12 and Jasper Johns, two of the most influential American artists working in print today. Entitled “Reading Signs: Jasper Johns and Glenn Ligon in Print,” the exhibition explores etchings and lithographs that disrupt the act of reading, with drips and smudges highlighting a dismantling of visual elements of communication. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Ligon’s work is shown in permanent museum collections such as Tate Modern, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
