Alumni News and Notes: Spring 2026
Adam Cayton-Holland ’02 premiered his new movie, See You When I See You, at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was met with a standing ovation. Cayton-Holland wrote the screenplay—his first—based on his 2018 book, Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir, which explores his grieving process after losing his younger sister to suicide.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani named Leila Bozorg ’04 as deputy mayor for housing and planning. Bozorg also served as director of housing under former Mayor Eric Adams. “When you can’t afford a home—so many of our neighbors cannot—you cannot fathom a life of dignity and security,” Bozorg told The New York Times. “Everything depends on stable housing.”
Happyend, a sci-fi coming-of-age film by Neo Sora ’14, was released in the United States in September and is available on streaming services following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in 2024. The film grapples with artificial intelligence and the modern surveillance state against the backdrop of Japanese identity and xenophobia. Among other accolades, the film was nominated for Best Film and Best Screenplay awards at the 2024 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, where Sora won the Young Cinema Award.
The Galerie Urs Meile, an art gallery in Zurich, hosted a solo exhibit by Lêna Bùi ’07 called “skin in my stomach.” The gallery describes the mixed media pieces as “a series of silk paintings, a handwoven carpet, and a video piece that coalesce into a murmuring, tactile, and visceral experience.”
According to Deadline, Amy Bloom ’75, Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing, Emerita, will be adapting her memoir In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss into a film starring acclaimed actors George Clooney and Annette Bening. Bloom co-wrote the script with the film’s director, Paul Weitz.
Trustee Aaron Veerasuntharam ’14 received an Education and Career Mobility Fellowship from The Aspen Institute for the upcoming year. He and the other members of his cohort are focusing on “creating meaningful educational pathways and career advancement opportunities for America’s workforce.”
Claire Weinraub ’93 won an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking as an executive producer on Patrice: The Movie, which was also a nominee for Best Documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards. This is Weinraub’s third Emmy win and seventh nomination. Six alumni received a total of nine Emmy nominations this year.
Andy Nakahata ’89 has been appointed chief executive officer and executive director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) by Governor Gavin Newsom. IBank is the state’s only general-purpose financing authority, with a broad mandate to support infrastructure and economic development through bonds, loans, credit enhancement, and the leveraging of state and federal funds.
In 2025, Peter Cambor ’01 was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award for the Paramount+ documentary As We Speak, which he produced. The film investigates how rap lyrics are increasingly being “weaponized” as evidence in criminal trials. He also co-wrote American Curl, a comedy about the 2018 US Men’s Olympic Curling Team, currently in production and slated for release in late 2026 via Paramount Pictures.
Spotlighted in ArtDaily, Salim Green ’20, Sullivan Fellow in Art, showcased his debut collection with François Ghebaly in Los Angeles. The exhibition, Taileater, explores themes of surveillance and survival through a hybrid digital-physical world.
Bloomberg Businessweek writer Laura Bliss ’12 received a Best Feature award at the Society for Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter’s 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards in November. Her article, “Parks and Degradation: The Mess at Yosemite,” investigates the dangerous mismanagement of Yosemite National Park under its concessionaire, Aramark.
Written and directed by Tan Siyou ’12, the film Amoeba had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival in September. Among other nominations and awards, Tan won the 2025 Best Youth Film Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for the feature, whose protagonists stir up trouble at a Singaporean girls’ school.
This past February, more than 1,300 alumni attended Wesleyan Social Meetups hosted by alumni in 28 states and seven countries. These social gatherings facilitated community and connection and reflected the broad interests of Wesleyan alums—happy hours, hikes, theater outings, museum tours, tango lessons, wine tastings, board game nights, Shabbat dinners, Lunar New Year celebrations, film screenings, coffee get-togethers, and more. Notably, a member of every class starting with the Class of 1958 through the Class of 2025 participated as a host or attendee.
