Notable Alumni

Wesleyan graduates are successful in every profession imaginable, including law, science, medicine, business, politics, and the creative arts. They are often leaders and innovators in their fields (see extended list). Here are just some of the University’s many prominent alumni:

Robert Allbritton ’92—Publisher of Politico; chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications
Taft Armandroff ’82—Director, W. M. Keck Observatory, Hawaii (world’s largest observatory)
Miguel Arteta ’89—Film and television director (The Good Girl, Youth in Revolt, Cedar Rapids, Enlightened, The Carrie Diaries)
Eric Asimov ’79—Chief wine critic, The New York Times
Gerald Baliles ’63—Director, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia; former governor of Virginia
Andrea Barthwell ’76—Founder and CEO of EMGlobal (consulting firm devoted to international health care and policy)
Michael Bay ’86—Film producer and director (The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, The Island, Transformers franchise)
Carter Bays ’97—Co-creator and writer of television comedy shows (How I Met Your Mother, The Goodwin Games)
Ruth Behar ’77—Writer, filmmaker, professor of anthropology, University of Michigan; recipient of MacArthur Award
Bill Belichick ’75—Head coach, New England Patriots, winner of three Super Bowls
Michael Bennet ’87—U.S. senator from Colorado; previously superintendent of schools in Denver
Herbert Benson ’57, MD—Professor, Harvard Medical School; founding president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute; author of The Relaxation Response
Marta Benson ’84—Senior vice president, Strategy and Business Development, Williams-Sonoma
Shari Springer Berman ’85—Film director (with Robert Pulcini—American Splendor, The Nanny Diaries, Cinema Verite, Imogene)
Amy Bloom ’75—Author (Love Invents Us, A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You, Away); creator and writer of television show State of Mind
Jonathan Bloom ’99 —Author (American Wasterland); food waste expert
Ron Bloom ’77—Senior adviser, Lazard; former senior counselor for manufacturing policy for Obama administration and head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry
Joshua Boger ’73—Executive chairman, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals; founder and retired chairman, president and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80—Author (She’s Not There, I’m Looking Through You, Stuck in the Middle with You)
Lael Brainard ’83—Undersecretary for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury Department; former director, Poverty and Global and Economy at The Brookings Institution
David Brancaccio ’82—Special correspondent for Marketplace
David Brewster ’95—Co-founder, COO, and president of EnerNOC, Inc., the Energy Network Operations Center
Linda Brinen ’88—Director of structural biology, Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases, University of California, San Francisco
Ethan Bronner ’76—Legal affairs reporter, national desk, The New York Times; previously Times Jerusalem bureau chief and deputy foreign editor, helped edit a series of articles on al Qaeda that were awarded the 2001 Pulitzer Prize
Ambrose Burfoot ’68—First collegian to win the Boston Marathon; executive editor, Runner’s World Magazine
Jonathan Bush ’93—Co-founder, CEO, and president of Athenahealth, Inc., a health care technology company
Majora Carter ’88—President of The Majora Carter Group, an environmental consulting company; founder and former executive director, Sustainable South Bronx; recipient of MacArthur Award; also founder of River Heroes, offering job training
Denise Casper ’90—U.S. District Court federal judge, Massachusetts
Ka-keung Ceajer Chan ’79—Hong Kong’s secretary for financial services and the treasury; dean, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School
Sasha Chanoff ’94—Founder and executive director, RefugePoint (protects forgotten refugees)
Jennifer Chayes ’79—Managing director, Microsoft Research New York City and Microsoft Research New England
Alexander Chee ’89—Novelist (Edinburgh, Queen of the Night)
Tos Chirathivat ’85—CEO, Central Retail Corporation, the largest Thai retailer
Kathleen Clyde ’01—Ohio state representative, 68th district
Jem Cohen ’84—New York-based filmmaker/media artist whose works are built from his ongoing collection of street footage, portraits, and sound

Bruce Corwin ’62—Chairman and CEO, Metropolitan Theatres Corporation
Robin Cook ’62, MD—Medical mystery writer (Chromosome 6, Coma, Shock, Crisis, and other best-sellers)
Alan Dachs ’70—President and CEO, The Fremont Group (private investment company); member of the boards of directors of the Bechtel Group and the S. D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation
David Daniel ’77—CEO, Spencer Stuart and Associates (executive search firm)
D. Ronald Daniel ’52—Director and former CEO, McKinsey and Company; former treasurer, Harvard Corporation
Jeffrey Deitch ’74—Director, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art
Dana Delany ’78—Emmy Award-winning actress whose credits include the television shows (China Beach, Desperate Housewives, Body of Proof) and films (Tombstone, Fly Away Home)
William Dietz ’66, MD—Director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity Center For Disease Control; one of the most widely cited experts on obesity in the media
Delyan Dobrev ’02—Minister of economy, energy and tourism, Bulgaria
Jane Eisner ’77—Editor, The Forward
Toby Emmerich ’85—President and CEO of New Line Cinema
Sid Espinosa '94—Director of corporate citizenship and philanthropy at Microsoft; councilman and former mayor, Palo Alto
Charles Exley ’51—Director, Merck; retired CEO and chairman, NCR, Inc.
Diana Farrell ’87—Director, McKinsey Center for Government, McKinsey & Company; former deputy director, National Economic Council at the White House
Joseph Fins ’82, MD—Chief of the division of medical ethics, Weill Medical College, Cornell University; director of medical ethics, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center
Ted Fiske ’59—Educational writer, creator of The Fiske Guide to Colleges
Jennifer Flackett ’86—Screenwriter (Madeline, Wimbledon, Little Manhattan)
Ruben Fleischer ’97—Film director (Zombieland, 30 Minutes or Less, Gangster Squad)
Smokey Fontaine ’93—Oversees the largest online African American network; author of EARL: The Autobiography of DMX
John Frank ’78, P’12—Managing principal, Oaktree Capital Management in Los Angeles, one of the world’s leading alternative investment managers
Karen Freedman ’75—Founder and executive director, Lawyers for Children, Inc., a not-for-profit legal corporation providing free legal and social work services for children
Graeme Freeman ’77—Executive director, The Freeman Foundation
Stephen Friedman ’91—President, MTV
Michael Fries ’85—President and CEO, Liberty Global Inc., international cable operator
Brian Frosh ’68—Maryland state senator, 16th District
Lexy Funk ’91—Co-founder and CEO, Brooklyn Industries
Leslie Gabel-Brett ’76—Director of education and public affairs, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund

Jeff Galloway ’67—Olympic runner and author of Galloway’s Book on Running
Bobbito Garcia ’88—Internationally known DJ; co-founder of Bounce Magazine; co-director (with Kevin Couliau) of the documentary Doin’ It In The Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC
David Garrow ’75—Author of Bearing the Cross, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr.
Jordan Goldman ’04—Founder and CEO of Unigo, an online students’ guide to colleges
Akiva Goldsman ’83—Film producer and screenwriter (A Beautiful Mind—Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, Cinderella Man, The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons)
Christopher Graves ’81—President and CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Laman Gray Jr. ’63, MD—Leader in the fields of cardiovascular surgery and development of artificial hearts and circulatory support systems; implanted the world’s first self-contained artificial heart, the AbioCor
Matthew Greenfield ’90—Senior vice president of production, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Leslie Greengard ’79—Director, Department of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University; member, National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering
Kirsten Greenidge ’96—Playwright (Bossa Nova, Milk Like Sugar, The Luck of the Irish)
Mary Halvorson ’02—Jazz guitarist and composer
Daniel Handler ’92—Fiction writer (under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket), A Series of Unfortunate Events children’s book series; also, Adverbs, Why We Broke Up
Lyle Ashton Harris ’88—Photographer and artist
Rachel Harrison ’89—New York-based sculptor
Amir Hasson ’98—Chief development officer (USA), Oxigen (India's largest service delivery and payment platform); founder, United Villages (provides low-cost Internet access for remote villages in developing nations)
Morrison Heckscher ’62—Chairman of the American Wing, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
John Hickenlooper Jr. ’74—Governor of Colorado; formerly mayor of Denver
Jay Hoggard ’76—Jazz musician, vibraphonist, and Wesleyan professor
Jed Hoyer ’96—Executive vice president and general manager, Chicago Cubs
Robert Hunter ’62—Senior advisor, Rand Company; former United States ambassador to NATO
Alberto Ibarguen ’66—President and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (journalism); former publisher, the Miami Herald
David Jones ’70—President and CEO, Community Service Society of New York
Sebastian Junger ’84—Author (The Perfect Storm, A Death in Belmont, War) and documentary filmmaker (Restrepo)
Thomas Kail ’99—Theater director (In the Heights, Lombardi)
Dina Kaplan ’93—Cofounder of Blip TV
Kathryn Keeler ’78—Gold medalist in rowing at ’84 Olympics; Olympics coach in ’96
Herb Kelleher ’53—Founder and retired chairman, president and CEO, Southwest Airlines
Thomas Kelly ’73—President and COO, Schaller Anderson, Inc., health management company
David Kohan ’86—Co-creator and executive producer of television comedy shows (Will and Grace, Partners)
Alex Kotlowitz ’77—Journalist, activist, author (There Are No Children Here, The Other Side of the River); producer of documentary The Interrupters
Alex Kurtzman ’95—Film and television screenwriter and producer (Alias, Transformers, Fringe, Star Trek [2009]); director (People Like Us)
Brooks Kraft ’87—Nationally recognized photojournalist who specializes in portrait photography and photojournalism in Washington, D.C.
Daphne Kwok ’84—Executive director, Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California; chair, President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Matt Lesser ’10—Connecticut state representative, 100th district
Michael Leviton ’88—Owner and chef of Lumiere Restaurant outside Boston; also owner of Area Four in Cambridge
Jay Levy ’60, MD—AIDS researcher and educator; professor, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Glenn Ligon ’82—Painter and printmaker
John Lipsky ’68—Distinguished visiting scholar of international economics, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University; former first deputy managing director, International Monetary Fund
David Lipton ’75—First deputy managing director, International Monetary Fund
Caroline Little ’81—CEO, Newspaper Association of America
James Longley ’94—Documentary filmmaker (Iraq in Fragments); recipient of MacArthur Award
Gary Loveman ’82—CEO, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
Eric Mangini ’94—Sports analyst, ESPN; former head coach, Cleveland Browns
Emilie Marcus ’82— Editor, Cell magazine
Laurence Mark ’71—Film and television producer (Jerry Maguire, As Good As It Gets, Dreamgirls, Julie and Julia, Political Animals)
Paul Mason ’77—President and CEO, Link TV; co-founder of Mezclado, an independent television production company; former senior vice president, ABC Inc.
Thomas McKnight ’63—Artist
Mora McLean ’77—Former president and CEO, Africa-America Institute
Mary McWilliams ’71—Executive director, Puget Sound Health Resources; previously president and CEO, Regence Blue Shield
Jerry Melillo ’65—Co-director, The Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Laboratory
MGMT (Ben Goldwasser ’05, Andrew Vanwyngarden ’05, and Will Berman ’04)—Brooklyn based pop music duo with acclaimed recording, Oracular Spectacular
Alan Miller ’76—Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, formerly with The Los Angeles Times; now founder of the News Literacy Project
Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02—Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist (In the Heights, Bring It On); actor (House, Modern Family)
Donna Morea ’76—Retired president of CGI-AMS, leading the development and evolution of CGI’s business in the United States
Kennedy Odede ’12—Co-founder, president and CEO, Shining Hope for Communities, Kenya
Candace Nelson ’96—Founder, Sprinkles
C. Richard (Rick) Nicita ’67—Independent manager in film; former co-chairman and COO, Morgan Creek Productions
Sascha Paladino ’98—Documentary filmmaker (Throw Down Your Heart)
Amanda Palmer ’98—Singer and songwriter; former lead singer of The Dresden Dolls
Michael Palmer ’64, MD—Medical mystery writer (Flashback, Extreme Measures, Natural Causes, The Fifth Vial and other best-sellers)
Robert Patricelli ’61—Chairman and CEO, Women’s Health, USA; director, Newman’s Own and Northeast Utilities
Carolyn Parkhurst Rosser ’92—Novelist (The Dogs of Babel, Lost and Found, The Nobodies Album)
Andrew Parkinson ’80 and Thomas Parkinson ’82—Founders, Peapod, Inc.
Zak Penn ’90—Screenwriter and television producer (The Incredible Hulk, X Men: The Last Stand, Alphas); director (Incident at Loch Ness, The Grand)
Nicole Phelps ’94—Executive editor at Style.com
Randall Pinkston ’72—Emmy Award–winning television journalist; correspondent, CBS News
Ellen Prager ’84—Marine and earth scientist; president, Earth 2 Ocean, Inc.
Jessica Posner ’09—Co-founder and COO, Shining Hope for Communities, Kenya
Robert Pruzan ’85—Founding partner, Centerview Partners, financial advisory and private equity firm; former president and CEO in investment banking, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
Amy Radin ’79—Senior executive vice president and chief marketing officer, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company
John Rhea ’87—Chairman, New York City Housing Authority
Jeffrey Richards ’69—Tony Award-winning theater producer (Spring Awakening, August: Osage County, Hair, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess)
David Rhodes ’68—President, School for the Visual Arts
Mary Roach ’81—Author (Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook, Bonk, Packing for Mars, Gulp)
Dennis Robinson ’79—CEO, The Grand Prix of America
Bill Rodgers ’70—Renowned runner, winner of four New York and four Boston marathons
Barbara Roessner ’75—Executive editor, Hearst Connecticut Newspapers
Tom Rogers ’75—President and CEO, TiVo
Sara Rosenbaum ’73—Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University Law School
Santigold (Santi White ’97)—Brooklyn-based rapper/singer/songwriter known as Santigold
Paul Schiff ’81—Film producer (My Cousin Vinny, Rushmore, Mona Lisa Smile, Solitary Man)
Peter Schube ’81—President and COO, Jim Henson Company
Amy Schulman ’82—Executive vice president and general counsel for Pfizer
Hon. Anthony Scirica ’62—Chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Philadelphia)
Larry Selzer ’82—President and CEO, The Conservation Fund
Theodore Shaw ’76—Professor of professional practice at Columbia Law School
Peter Shumlin ’79—Governor of Vermont
Randy Siegel ’83— President of local digital strategy, Advance Publications
Jonathan Spector ’78—CEO, The Conference Board
Mark Steinmetz ’82—Photographer; books include Tuscan Trees and South Central
C. Sumner (Chuck) Stone ’48—Professor of journalism emeritus at University of North Carolina
Tierney Sutton ’86—Jazz singer
Beverly Daniel Tatum ’75—President, Spelman College; author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Johnny Temple ’88—Publisher, Akashic Books
Craig Thomas ’97—Co-creator and writer of television comedy shows (How I Met Your Mother, The Goodwin Games)
Wells Tower ’96—Fiction writer and journalist (Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned)
Philip Trager ’56—Photographer; books include Villas of Palladio, Dancers, Changing Paris: A Tour Along the Seine, and Faces
Stephen Trask ’89—Composer and lyricist of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch; film composer (Camp, The Station Agent, In Good Company, The Savages)
Hon. Stephen Trott ’62—Senior judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Jon Turteltaub ’85—Film director (Phenomenon, While You Were Sleeping, National Treasure, Last Vegas); creator of television dramas (Jericho, Harper's Island, Common Law)
Ayelet Waldman ’86—Author (Mommy Track Mysteries, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Bad Mother, Red Hook Road)
Laura Walker ’79—President and CEO, WNYC (nation’s largest public radio station)
Matthew Weiner ’87—Emmy Award-winning creator, writer, executive producer of Mad Men
Roger Weisberg ’75—Award-winning documentary filmmaker (Road Scholar, Sound and Fury, Why Can't We Be a Family Again?, Aging Out)
Paul Weitz ’88—Film director, In Good Company, Little Fockers, Being Flynn, Admission (and with brother Chris Weitz, American Pie, About a Boy) and playwright (Privilege, Show People, Trust, Lonely, I'm Not)
Joss Whedon ’87—Creator, producer, director, and writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Emmy Award); film director and screenwriter (Speed, Toy Story, Serenity, Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers)
Mike White ’92—Screenwriter and television producer (Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl, School of Rock, Nacho Libre, Enlightened); director (Year of the Dog)
Bradley Whitford ’81—Film and television actor (The West Wing—Emmy award, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Billy Madison, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)

Dar Williams ’89—Singer and songwriter
Christopher Wink ’83—Founder of the Blue Man Group and Blue Man Creativity Center
Daniel Wolf ’79—Massachusetts state senator, the Cape and Islands district
Frank Wood ’83—Tony award-winning actor
John Woodhouse ’53—Co-founder, CLW Group; former senior chairman, Sysco Corporation
John Yang ’80—Correspondent, NBC News
Strauss Zelnick ’79— CEO, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.; founder and president, ZelnickMedia