Senior Associate General Counsel at Optum and adjunct professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minnesota.

Commissioner-General for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Near East.

Former NASA astronaut.

With over 40 years of executive leadership experience, Jim Alling has worked across a range of industries on widely recognized and admired consumer brands. He was the youngest VP/general manager at Nestle USA, president of Starbucks Coffee USA, COO of T-Mobile USA, and CEO of TOMS Shoes. Jim was raised in Decatur, Illinois, where early jobs included newspaper delivery and “detasseling” in the corn fields. Alling currently serves as a board director for Bluestone Lane Cafe along with being an advisor and mentor for various other companies.

President, Meridian Psychological Associates

25 years with Teach for America; CEO 2015-2025.

David Becker is the Chairman and CEO of First Internet Bancorp (NASDAQ: INBK), the parent company of First Internet Bank. He founded the bank more than 25 years ago, reimagining the traditional banking model as the first state chartered, FDIC- insured institution to operate entirely online. Becker has a 40-year career creating successful entrepreneurial companies in financial services technology (“fintech”) and software-as-a-service (“SaaS”), having created and sold five Inc.500 companies. He has held numerous community leadership roles, including founding board chair for TechPoint, a change agent for Indiana’s technology industry and their Foundation for Youth, which promotes STEM education programs for Indiana students; Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), a public charity established to improve philanthropic services supporting the Central Indiana region and Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, an alliance of CEOs and university presidents working to promote economic growth. He is the co-chair for CEMETS iLab Indiana, a coalition of leaders who joined forces to design a new statewide professional education and training system rooted in a youth apprenticeship experience, starting in high school.

Jay Bennett is Chief Human Resources Officer for Smithfield Foods, a $20B company with operations in 28 states and nearly 35,000 employees. Jay’s experience spans more than 30 years across the Operations, Sales, and Human Resources functions. His early career included leadership positions of increasing responsibility at General Motors such as Manager, Global Distribution; Plant Personnel Director—Baltimore Operations; and Manager Global Human Resources. Jay also spent time at United Technologies Carrier Corporation where he was the Senior HR Manager for the Indianapolis Residential Cooling Systems Division and successfully negotiated a competitive labor agreement with the United Steelworkers union during the US subprime mortgage crisis.

Dr. Bondi is a podiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She graduated from DePauw University with a Bachelor of Arts in kinesiology: sports medicine. At DePauw, she was a member of the tennis and basketball teams. In 2007, she won an NCAA Singles National Championship in tennis and was a member of the NCAA National Championship basketball team. In addition she received the Honda Award for Division III Female Athlete of the Year.

Founder, Angie's List/ANGI Homeservices, Inc.

Chuck Brooks is a globally recognized cybersecurity and emerging technology thought leader, influencer, speaker, writer, and educator with more than 30 years of experience across government, corporate strategy, academia, media, and advisory roles. As president of Brooks Consulting International, he delivers high-level strategic guidance on cybersecurity, risk management, digital transformation, government relations, and emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, IoT, 5G, and blockchain to corporations, government agencies, and international organizations.

Arei Butler holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from St.Louis University. Her dissertation research focuses on the intersections or “borderlands” of hip-hop’s terra incognita and the Black Lives Matter Movement from 2012 to 2019. Arei’s research interests include black popular culture, transnational studies, and theories of race in post-civil rights America. They received their B.A. from DePauw University in 2009, as a Black Studies and Women’s Studies double major, Posse Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa Society member. After graduating from DePauw, they taught middle-school math and coached girls basketball as a Teach For America corps member in their hometown of New York City. As a teacher, learning specialist, tutor, basketball coach, student advocate, and summer camp unit director, Arei has helped to facilitate the personal, social and educational growth of youth both inside and outside the classroom.

Rhonesha Byng, CEO of Her Agenda, is a visionary entrepreneur and media thought leader. Guided by the philosophy N.E.S.H.A. – No one Ever Slows Her Agenda – she empowers women through content and community. An Emmy award-winning journalist turned entrepreneur, she is a sought-after speaker. Rhonesha champions diversity, equity, and media innovation. She’s been recognized by platforms including Forbes 30 under 30, ESSENCE, BET, and NBC. Her impact extends through co-founding the Black Owned Media Equity and Sustainability Institute (BOMESI), reshaping narratives, and fostering change.

Olivia Castellini, Ph.D., a physicist by training, creates award-winning exhibits and experiences at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Griffin MSI) in Chicago, making science and cutting–edge research accessible and engaging for all. Olivia excels at translating complex topics into relatable experiences on everything from nanotechnology and math to music and sports. She was part of the core creative team behind Science Storms, Griffin MSI's 26,000-square-foot exhibition about the amazing science that underlies natural phenomena.

Dawn Chapman leads the Sensory Center of Expertise at Clorox, where she applies sensory research and behavioral science to help translate consumer experiences into meaningful product innovation. Her work sits at the intersection of science, marketing, and human understanding, ensuring that consumer voices inform decision‑making at every stage of product development. A proud member of DePauw’s Science Research Fellows program, Chapman earned majors in mathematics and chemistry and a minor in sociology, disciplines she continues to integrate in her work today.

Board Chair, Newfields; Board member, Lake City Bank

CEO, BCForward

Shortly after graduation from DePauw, Class of 1993, Brad Clement began work as an international mountain guide and expedition leader. He then subsequently and simultaneously began work as an adventure filmmaker. A little over 30 years post graduation, Brad actively remains a guide and filmmaker. One of very few to have reached the top of Mt. Everest from both the North and South sides of the mountain, he continues to pursue adventure, leadership, and media production in the high, remote mountain ranges of the world. Brad has worked with Discovery Channel, CNN, NBC, PBS, GoogleX among others, and has led expeditions to some of the world's most dangerous places; including trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2014, Brad founded Pangje Foundation; a global NGO dedicated to endangered species conservation and related support to underserved human communities with a central focus of work in the Himalayan Mountains.

Tim Collins is the Chief Executive Officer of Ripplewood Advisors LLC. Before founding Ripplewood in 1995, Mr. Collins worked for Cummins Engine Company, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Lazard Freres & Company and Onex Corporation. Mr. Collins is involved in several not-for-profit and public sector activities, including the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Yale Divinity School Advisory Board. He was formerly the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Yale School of Management, and is currently a member of the Investment Advisory Committee to the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Senior Researcher, Microsoft Research, Ph.D.:Computer Science and Computational Biology. I am creating a world where every person ages well and recovers from illness quickly. I do this by developing AI models integrating our genomes, our observable characteristics, and the environment. My ultimate career goal is to use my technical expertise in biomedical sciences to perform research on complex biological problems in areas including development & aging, rare diseases, neurological diseases and cancer. I enjoy collaborating with people of diverse backgrounds to develop more efficient and focused research procedures to solve emerging bio-threats. I want to incorporate my multilingual, scientific, and leadership abilities to eventually manage a group in the United States or abroad.

Mackenzie Cremeans, Ph.D., P.G. (’14), is a Senior Hydrogeologist at Geosyntec Consultants whose career reflects the lasting impact of a DePauw liberal arts education. As a double major in English Literature and Environmental Geosciences and a Bonner Scholar, she developed the critical thinking, communication, and ethical grounding that continue to shape her approach to complex environmental challenges. That interdisciplinary foundation prepared her not only for advanced scientific training, but also for leadership in high stakes professional settings.

David Crocker is Senior Research Scholar at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, where he helped design, and directs, the concentration in international development. He is a philosopher whose research interests include international development ethics, sociopolitical philosophy, transitional justice, democracy, and democratization. He leads study abroad programs to Ethiopia, Peru, and Morocco. Crocker is a founder and previous president of the International Development Ethics Association, as well as a fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association. He has worked with the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, the World Bank, and the International Center for Transitional Justice. He earned an MDiv, MA, and PhD from Yale University.

Jeff Cunning is a senior product executive and entrepreneur with 15+ years of experience building AI, advertising, and marketplace platforms. A graduate of DePauw University in Economics and English Writing, Jeff credits his liberal arts education with equipping him with a unique blend of analytical rigor, creative thinking, and strong communication and leadership skills—foundational strengths for a career in technology and product management. Jeff has held leadership roles at Twitter, Salesforce, and Shutterstock, and co-founded Pattern89 alongside fellow DePauw alum R. J. Talyor, leading the AI-driven marketing technology company to its acquisition by Shutterstock. He currently serves as Chief Product Officer at Metaimpact.

Former vice president for international business, Reynolds American, Inc. Between his international business roles and love for travel (and running), Luis has visited nearly 60 countries and has finished a full Marathon on all seven continents (unfurling a DePauw flag at the finish line of the Antarctica Marathon in 2018).

Susan Dinkel started her broadcasting journey at WTHI-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana as a General Assignments Reporter. She currently holds the dual titles of News Director and Anchor of News 10 First @ Five. In August 2021, Susan was inducted into the Silver Circle by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Ohio Valley Chapter. This is one of NATAS' highest honors. Susan has also earned several Regional Emmy awards and nominations and honors and recognition from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, Indiana Broadcasters Association and the Indiana State Teachers Association.

Lara Dodds is Professor and Head in the Department of English at Mississippi State University. Her research areas include Margaret Cavendish, early modern women’s writing, John Milton, and adaptation studies. She is the author of The Literary Invention of Margaret Cavendish (Duquesne UP 2013) and several articles on John Milton, Margaret Cavendish, and early modern women’s writing. Her most recent work is Early Modern Women’s Writing and the Future of Literary History, co-authored with Michelle Dowd and recently published by Oxford University Press. This book was awarded the Collaborative Project Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender in 2025. She is currently co-editing a selection of Cavendish’s works for 21st Century Oxford Authors with Anne Thell and also co-editing an edited volume, Margaret Cavendish and John Milton with Ann Baynes Coiro and Lisa Walters.

2023 Presidential Management Fellow finalist and Navy Reservist with TS//SCI clearance, MPA in Public Administration, MBA in Management and Finance, 13 years of experience in various military, government and Intelligence Community roles, and a comprehensive understanding of geopolitics.

Judith Edstrom has worked in positions of leadership, advocacy and analysis at the World Bank, UNICEF and RTI International/USAID in over 30 countries in Africa and Asia, including 12 years of professional residence in Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia as chief of mission or project. With sectoral expertise in education, health and community development, she has championed governance and human and social development throughout her career, with a substantive focus on local governance and social accountability. In the years following permanent career assignments, Judy has had consultancy and publications contracts for the World Bank, USAID and other agencies, targeting social accountability, governance and citizen engagement, particularly in health service delivery. In addition to being a member of the Advisory Council of the United Nations Association-National Capital Area (UNA-NCA), Judy is a member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs and adviser to the Partnership for Transparency Fund, for which she provides pro bono consultancy.

Nicole A. Elam, Esq. is a Chief Executive Officer and corporate affairs leader with more than 20 years of experience guiding complex, highly regulated organizations through regulatory change, capital constraints, and market volatility. She currently serves as President and CEO of the National Bankers Association and Executive Director of the National Bankers Association Foundation, where she leads enterprise strategy, governance, financial performance, and external affairs for the nation’s premier trade association representing mission-driven financial institutions.

Business, Computer Tech, AI development

David B. Feldman is an American psychologist who is a full professor of psychology at Santa Clara University. His research focuses on hope, meaning, and growth in the face of life's difficulties, and he has been instrumental in developing Hope Therapy and applying it to various populations.

MD Psychiatry, Dartmouth; changed the way MDs are taught in terms of patient care.

President/CEO Independent Purchasing Cooperative, Inc.

Jill Frederickson spent over 30 years in the sports media business, joining ESPN in 2003 and retiring as Senior Vice President of Production & Content Strategy in 2022. Prior to retirement, Frederickson led all morning and afternoon editions of SportsCenter. She also led the content creation/distribution strategy for studio production working across SportsCenter, Digital, ESPN+, Event Production, and all sport-specific studio programs to maximize audience growth. In addition, Frederickson helped create the Universal News Group, which launched in 2015. She combined the UNG, the central nerve system of ESPN's journalistic decision-making, with ESPN’s bureaus and coverage group to maximize editorial communication and logistics support for SportsCenter, all studio shows, sporting events and digital platforms. She also played a large role in developing new and more efficient ways for ESPN to use technology to distribute information and video from the field.

MD, Emergency Medicine

Brian C. Gau ’96 has built a distinguished career at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and biomedical innovation. A double major in physics and chemistry with a minor in mathematics at DePauw University, Gau credits his liberal arts foundation with shaping the analytical rigor and intellectual curiosity that have defined his professional path. Gau’s professional journey reflects his view that careers unfold gradually rather than following a predetermined path. Grounded in a liberal arts education, he developed the independent and critical thinking skills that have allowed him to adapt and pursue diverse scientific interests. Gau is currently a Senior Principal Scientist at Pfizer Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is recognized as an expert in mass spectrometry–based characterization of advanced biotherapeutics, including mRNA vaccines and protein-based medicines. He played a pivotal analytical role in the development and regulatory support of the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine, contributing to its structural characterization using cutting-edge mass spectrometry techniques.

Megan Casey Glover ‘04 is the Founder of 120Water, the nation's leading provider of software and solutions that water quality professionals use to manage water quality compliance such as lead in drinking water programs. Megan founded 120Water in 2016 after experiencing a personal need to test her own tap water. That impetus grew as she saw a need to bring modern digital technology to the water sector to meet rising regulatory demands. To date the company has impacted over 100 Million lives across their customer base in over 45 States. Prior to founding 120Water in 2016, Megan spent over a decade as a go-to-market executive for a number of high growth software companies in the Indiana start-up ecosystem. Megan is a board member of the Indiana Technology and Innovation Association (ITIA) where she serves as capital chair. She is also an inaugural member of The White House Get the Lead Out Initiative. Glover is a 2x Inc Women of the Year and E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. 2018 IBJ Forty Under 40, 2021 Indiana Chamber Dynamic Leader of the Year, DePauw University Robert C McDermond Medal for Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Young Alumni Award. Megan and her husband Tristan ‘04 reside in Zionsville, IN with their two children Jack and Grace

Stacie Grissom is a writer and creative entrepreneur who began her career in digital storytelling. She was an early team member at BarkBox, where she helped shape its content voice and audience for over 10 years. Today, she shares the ongoing renovation of a 100-year-old schoolhouse in Franklin, Indiana, documenting the process of turning it into her family’s home for a community of more than 2.4 million followers.

In 2004, Melinda was asked to join Crowe LLP where she worked in Crowe’s Chicago and Indianapolis offices. Melinda played a pivotal role in establishing Crowe’s Justice and Public Safety Consulting Practice, bringing her deep expertise in law and public service to the private sector and Crowe’s public sector clients. She broke new ground as Crowe’s first Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) leader, laying the foundation for the firm’s now robust inclusion program. Her commitment to equity extended to her leadership of the firm’s PRIDE employee resource group, where she championed LGBTQ+ inclusion and visibility. Haag also represented Crowe as a speaker at national DE&I conferences in the accounting and consulting industries, amplifying the firm’s voice on inclusive leadership. In the last decade of her career, Melinda served as managing partner of Crowe’s Global Services business unit. In this role, she oversaw the firm’s global real estate portfolio, travel operations, office management, administrative support, and other internal functions.

Elizabeth L. Hake (a.k.a. Betsy, later a.k.a. Mama Bets), a 1979 graduate of DePauw University (BSN) and 1982 graduate of Trinity Anglican Seminary has spent more than forty-five years serving Christ in Honduras. She came to Honduras as a teacher in 1980 and went on to serve for 17 years with SAMS-USA, first as a nurse and then as a church founder. It was in planting a church in Tegucigalpa that she felt the call of God to reach those who would never walk into a church on their own. At first she brought the hope of Christ to the prostitutes who walked the streets at night. Then she became aware of the plight of their forgotten children, who seemed destined to follow in their mothers’ footsteps. What started out as simple visits to minister to the women on the streets became Jericho Ministries, a faith ministry for rescuing these women and children. Betsy first created a sewing workshop to provide positive income streams for the women. The vision expanded to include two bilingual schools, a children’s home in the country and a home in the city for university students. In recent years she and her staff have led the children on outreach trips to rural mountain villages in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and even to Northern France. Betsy’s vision includes training up the next generation to be emissaries to take the Good News to the ends of the earth.

Nicole Hallett is a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. She founded and directs the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, which provides legal representation to immigrant communities in Chicago including individual representation of immigrants in removal proceedings, immigration-related complex federal litigation, and policy and community education projects on behalf of community-based organizations. Her scholarship focuses on domestic and regional migration law and policy; the intersection of migration and labor rights; immigration and national security; and collective action and power-building in immigrant communities. She is also the author of Becoming a Public Interest Lawyer (West Academic 2022), which helps law students launch public interest careers.

Attorney. Doug has argued 19 cases before the Supreme Court and filed more than 200 briefs in that Court. In a single month in 2015, Doug argued before the Supreme Court both in the highly-publicized landmark marriage equality case (Obergefell v. Hodges) and a key bankruptcy case regarding whether an order denying confirmation of a bankruptcy plan is appealable (Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank).

Laura Hamilton is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Merced. She is an organizational scholar whose research focuses on how colleges, universities, and related organizations reproduce and sustain inequality along racial, class, and gender lines. She is co-founder of the Higher Education Race & the Economy (HERE) Lab with colleague Charlie Eaton. The HERE Lab explains uneven racial and class distributions of resources and risk in higher education systems and economics and helps to reverse those inequalities, starting with our home in the Central Valley of California.

Nationally recognized career in healthcare; Created the Hendrich II Fall Risk Model® for patient safety

Engaged in strategic philanthropy to support human rights causes; entrepreneur with business start-up.

Entrepreneur; COO Pluie; the world’s first and only self-sanitizing diaper changing table for public restrooms.

Served as an executive at ExactTarget/Salesforce (EVP & COO, Salesforce Marketing Cloud) and went on to co-found and serve as CEO of the music‑tech company Mandolin.

Founding director of the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement, established in 2006 at the American University in Cairo. Previously, she served as regional director for West Asia and North Africa of the Population Council and as a program officer for Urban Poverty at the Ford Foundation.

Career executive leader and change agent behind major educational, corporate, and public-sector transformations.

Carolyn Jones started her 44-year professional career as a middle school teacher and ended it serving as associate executive vice president for academic affairs emerita at Purdue. During her journey, she served as Purdue’s first Title IX coordinator and first female assistant vice president. She also became Albion College’s youngest dean of women at age 28. Jones opened up many opportunities for students on campus through leading the University’s campus-wide reaccreditation efforts and co-founding and mentoring faculty through the Academic Leadership Program. She is a community advocate and leader and has served on multiple boards and committees.

Filmmaker Justin Jordan’s impressive list of credits includes films such as “Selma” (Paramount), “Just Mercy” (Warner Bros.) and “The Whale” (A24) as well as series such as “The Underground Railroad” (Prime Video), “The Wonder Years” (ABC) and “Fight Night: The Million-Dollar Heist” (Peacock). Among the many successful projects Jordan has worked on, several have gone on to be nominated for Oscars, Emmys and BAFTAs. (Commencement Speaker 2025 and honorary doctor of fine arts degree)

Dr. Kenter is Professor and the current Director of the Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery Fellowship Program within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri. He is the immediate past Chair of Surgical Services and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and retired Chief Medical Officer at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, MI. Before Western Michigan University, he was Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Orthopaedic Residency Director with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. In October 2025 he was selected to serve as a Director for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, which is a 10-year commitment.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Chief Conservator at Corning Museum of Glass

Software entrepreneur, investor and tech ecosystem builder.

Yale Medical School, Psychiatry.

Mr. Lehman was one of the founding partners of Lehman, Lee & Xu in Shanghai in 1992, and continues his work at the firm today as Managing Partner.

Sam Leist is a litigation partner at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. He specializes in business disputes and products liability. Sam has represented numerous Fortune 100 and 500 corporations, as well as a wide variety of pro-bono clients. After graduating DePauw, Sam taught English at Pamukkale University in Turkey as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. He then attended Notre Dame Law School, where he served as the Head Coach of the Notre Dame Debate Team, an editor of the ND Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy, and a legal intern for the Executive Office of the President in Washington, D.C. Sam lives in Chicago with his wife (Dr. Kelly Blair, DPU '14), daughter (Aubrey Leist), and dog (Whiskey).

VP of Product | Strategy and Innovation That Builds Products People Want To Use | Fortune 500 | Startups | B2C & B2B | ex-McDonald's, Razorfish

I arrived at DePauw, at 17 years old, in the Fall of 1970 as a new pledge of Phi Kappa Psi, and graduated in 1974, Phi Beta Kappa, after a transformative semester in Athens, and with majors in religion and political science. I graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Illinois College of Law in 1979. I went to work in Indianapolis upon graduation as a new lawyer at Ice Miller Donadio and Ryan, where I became a partner in 1986, retiring from Ice Miller at the end of 2019. My practice was in public finance, and I was a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the American College of Bond Counsel. I was honored to be named Lawyer of the Year three times in my practice area. Civic involvement in Indianapolis included membership (and presidency) of the Board of Indianapolis Opera and participation in the IO chorus for a couple of decades. I am extremely proud to have been one of the founders of, and board chair for, the University High School of Indianapolis, in Carmel, Indiana.

Abigail Wambugu (née Martin, Class of 2019) is an independent school educator who draws on her passion for international affairs to bring the world to her students—and her students to the world. The 2019 recipient of the Ferid Murad Medal, Abigail graduated from DePauw University with a dual degree: a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Bachelor of Arts with majors in Peace and Conflict Studies and Religious Studies. After graduation, Abigail began her career in global education, teaching English both in the United States and abroad, including in Togo as a Peace Corps Volunteer (2019–2020) and in France through the Teaching Assistant Program (2022–2023). In 2023, she was named a USAID Donald M. Payne International Development Fellow and went on to earn a Master of Arts in International Development Studies from The George Washington University, specializing in education and gender. Abigail has served as a researcher on Africa and the Middle East for the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress and as an Education Fellow at the USAID Mission in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Abigail is currently completing a Teaching Fellowship at The Hun School of Princeton, where she teaches middle school English and history. She is committed to advancing global citizenship, cross-cultural understanding, and gender equity through her work. In her free time, Abigail enjoys exploring new coffee shops, hiking, and singing in choirs.

CEO of National Safety Council

Carter (McKay) Alkire is a Producer at NBC’s TODAY Show, where she has worked since graduating from DePauw in 2013 with a degree in Communication. Her path to 30 Rock started right on campus. Carter came to DePauw with her sights set on broadcast journalism, and DePauw’s Media Fellows program delivered, placing her as an intern at TODAY during her junior year. For more than a decade she has worked on the 7 and 8am hours of the broadcast, where she has produced interviews with heads of state, First Ladies, and some of the biggest names in entertainment and culture. Her work has earned her a national Emmy Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and a Peabody Award, three of the most respected honors in broadcast journalism. In 2021 she married Brian Alkire (’14) on the East College lawn, surrounded by many of the same faces who made their DePauw years so special. They now live in Indianapolis with their son Oliver, where she continues to produce for TODAY remotely.

Mary Meeker is a general partner at BOND and focuses on investments in high-growth technology companies. She serves on the boards of Block/Square and Genies. She has supported BOND's investments in Applied Intuition, Base Power, Canva, Checkr, CLEAR, Hipcamp, Ironclad, Multiverse, On Running, OpenEvidence, Outschool, SESO and SpaceX. Other BOND investments include AlphaSense, BaseTen, Halter, InDrive, Kalshi, KoBold Metals, Revolut, Saildrone, Substack, Whatnot, Yassir and Zip. Mary co-led Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund, which became BOND in 2019. At Kleiner Perkins, she invested in industry-defining companies such as Plaid, Peloton, Ring, Stripe, Pinterest, Airbnb, Instacart, DocuSign, Waze, JD.com, Trendyol, Spotify, LegalZoom and Meta/Facebook. Other Digital Growth Fund investments include DoorDash, Duolingo, Nextdoor, Snap, Twitter / X and Uber.

Research professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Internal Medicine, and City & Metropolitan Planning at University of Utah

Business and Entrepreneurship

Ferid Murad was an American physician and pharmacologist, His research demonstrated that nitroglycerin relaxes smooth muscle by releasing nitric oxide into the body. This work led to him sharing the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Vice President, Digital Products and Infrastructure, General Motors

Producer, KNZ Productions, Inc.

Laura Pearce is a Project Manager at BDO Digital with over a decade of experience supporting enterprise and mid-market clients across North America and internationally. She has led projects ranging from the implementation of HCM and Marking Automation platforms to archival digitization and AI development. Currently, Laura’s work focuses on leading complex implementations, often across multiple countries, of Dayforce — an HCM software — and serving as a key player in the development of the Dayforce practice within BDO Digital. Through this work, Laura is also focused on cross-border collaboration between the US-based BDO Digital and BDO Canada to further the firm’s goal of a more unified North American presence.

I am a medical anthropologist focused on gender and surgery. Through ethnographic, interview, and literature-based research, I study the ways that surgical experts and surgical patients theorize sex and gender as anatomical categories. In other words, I study how, where, and in what ways surgeons and their patients understand the body’s parts as distinctive markers of sex/gender and how they develop surgical procedures to intervene in them. Whether their aim is to enhance, change, affirm, or otherwise alter sex/gender, surgical practice depends on theories of its anatomical locations. Those theories are locally specific and change through time. They emerge alongside surgical innovations that make new techniques possible and thus open the body for modification in new ways. A surgical operation is a rich ethnographic event in which, through slow and careful movements, abstract ideas about bodies and their meanings get made into flesh. Paying attention to what patients want from surgical transformation and what surgeons believe they can accomplish is an exciting way to see concepts materialized in technique.

Tom Porter is President of the Porter Family Foundation, a small Michigan focused foundation that seeks to be a catalyst for change, particularly with respect to climate action, and supports effective and innovative programs to assure a sustainable and equitable environment in the Great Lakes. He is a member of the Great Lakes Funders Collaborative and the Midwest Climate and Energy Funders. Through the Foundation he co-founded the Michigan Climate Action Network to elevate the need for climate action to help Michigan communities be more resilient and to reduce their carbon footprints. He also serves on the leadership teams for the Voices for Carbon Neutrality, an advocacy group he co-founded to encourage the University of Michigan to be a leading University in achieving carbon neutrality, and the Wolfpack, an Ann Arbor based environmental group partnering for change with the National Wildlife Federation and Michigan League of Conservation Voters. He founded the Wolfpack’s Climate Action and EJ Team and serves on the organization’s leadership team.

Mary Anne Potts is an award-winning producer, editor, and strategic content leader working at the intersection of storytelling, sustainability, and climate solutions. Most recently, she served as Executive Producer of the feature documentary Preserved, a solutions-oriented film exploring one of the most ambitious large-scale conservation landscapes in the United States. Filmed over 130+ days, Preserved captures ecosystem restoration at scale—where bison roam again, waterways are revived, and wildlife returns—while centering the people working to steward land for the long term. The film has screened in theaters nationwide and continues to spark conversations around collaborative conservation and hopeful, science-based solutions. Across every platform, Mary Anne’s work is guided by one consistent throughline: telling hopeful, human stories that illuminate what’s possible when science, stewardship, and storytelling align.

Hailing from Lebanon, Indiana, Drew Powell is a prolific actor defined by a rare ability to balance intimidating physicality with deep emotional sensitivity. A graduate of DePauw University, Powell first made his mark in the early 2000s as Cadet Drew in Malcolm in the Middle (a role he reprised 25 years later in the four-episode sequel on Disney+/Hulu) and as Hoss Cartwright in the Bonanza prequel, Ponderosa. However, he became a household name for DC Universe fans through his five-season run on Gotham. There, he delivered a transformative performance as mob enforcer Butch Gilzean, eventually evolving into the iconic, undead supervillain Solomon Grundy.

James Danforth Quayle is an American retired politician and US Army National Guard veteran who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1989.

President, Humana

Peper Rivers is a doctoral student in American Studies at Indiana University with research interests at the intersection of addiction, criminalization, and medicalization in both historical and contemporary contexts. Her work engages critical prison studies, the institutional histories of disability, court reform of the US prison system, public health and public safety discourses in the postwar period, and the history of juvenile justice.

Throughout the past 40 years, Rolfing has worked as a golf analyst for several national television networks, including ESPN from 1986 to 1988; NBC from 1988 to 1991; ABC and ESPN from 1991 to 1997; and with NBC and The Golf Channel steadily since 1998.

Editorial director at Grand Central Publishing

Sales Enablement and GTM Strategy Lead: I am a leader and advocate for seller communities at Microsoft Photographer: I am a Nature, Wildlife and Landscape Photographer. My work hangs in private collections and galleries around the world and is often displayed in locations around the Puget Sound area. Educator: I love teaching photography! 1 on 1, Classroom or Field Trips I always enjoy helping others learn techniques to improve their photography.

Stephen W. Sanger is retired chairman and CEO of General Mills, one of the world’s largest food companies with a roster of popular consumer brands that includes Cheerios, Blue Buffalo pet products, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Nature Valley and many others.

Craig Sauers is a James Beard Award-winning writer and editor based in Milan. His stories explore the intersections of travel, culture, food and drinks, from Ukrainian distillers reviving a spirit lost under Soviet rule to Armenian winemakers smuggling grapes in the shadow of war. A former resident of Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tbilisi, he has written for dozens of magazines and guidebooks, including the BBC, Punch, Wine Enthusiast and Lonely Planet.

Nancy Schaenen served on the New Jersey State Board of Education for many years and is the former president of the Madison Board of Education.

Pediatrician

Kyle Smitley is the Founder and Executive Director of Detroit Achievement Academy and Detroit Prep, two small, incredible nonprofit K-8 charter schools that opened in 2013 and 2016, respectively. As a writer for Forbes, Kyle has covered topics ranging from cell phone bans to how a good school can quantifiably impact a neighborhood (Snubbing Education Innovation And Upward Mobility? In This Economy?). She is a 13+ year K-8 school administrator (Detroit Achievement Academy & Detroit Prep). She is obsessed with hearing and telling the stories of the school lunch man, teachers doing literally anything, anyone with an EBT card, and your rich uncle. She is a proud 2023 Yass Prize Finalist, dubbed the Pulitzer of Education Innovation. In a past life, she built and sold a startup and was recognized as a 2009 Inc. 30 Coolest Entrepreneurs Under 30. She graduated from DePauw University in 2007. She earned her JD in 2019.

Paramedic-turned-police officer.

Founder/CEO, M2N Minority Moves Network

Former SVP & General Manager, PepsiCo.

James B. Stewart is the author of 11 books, most recently the New York Times bestseller “Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy” (with co-author Rachel Abrams.) Other books include the #1 New York Times bestsellers “Den of Thieves” and “Blood Sport;” “DisneyWar,” winner of the Gerald Loeb award for best business book; “Blind Eye,” winner of the Edgar award given by the Mystery Writers of America; and “Heart of a Soldier,” a saga of Sept. 11 named by Time magazine as the best non-fiction book of 2002, which was adapted as an opera in 2011 by San Francisco Opera. Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for Wall Street Journal articles on the stock market crash in 1987 and insider trading. In addition to the Pulitzer, Loeb and Edgar, he has won many other journalism awards, including multiple Loeb Awards; the George Polk award; the ABA’s Silver Gavel Award; and awards from SABEW, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, including a lifetime achievement award. He received the Loeb’s highest honor, the lifetime achievement award, in 2025.

Dr. Michael Stuart is one of the most respected and knowledgeable orthopedic surgeons in the United States. His extensive resume includes six Olympic Games as the team physician for USA Hockey, serving as the lone U.S. representative on the International Ice Hockey Federation medical committee and serving as a Second Medical Opinion Physician for the NHL Players Association. More so than all of those honors, though, Dr. Stuart takes pride in the countless number of patients he has served and fixed during a 35-plus year career at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

President, The Sterling Group

Founder, Backstroke

Sang Truong ’21 is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at Stanford University, where he studies how to rigorously evaluate artificial intelligence systems. His research focuses on the science of measurement for AI, developing statistical and interdisciplinary frameworks to assess reliability, validity, and real-world impact. By drawing on tools from statistics, machine learning, and social science, he works to ensure that AI systems are not only powerful, but trustworthy and socially beneficial. His work has been presented at leading conferences in machine learning, and he collaborates with researchers across academia, industry, and public institutions. Sang credits his liberal arts education at DePauw with shaping his interdisciplinary perspective and commitment to thoughtful, responsible innovation in technology.

US Navy, Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer

Dr. Emily Vincent is a 2015 graduate of DePauw University. An Honor Scholar and pre-veterinary student, she double majored in Biology and English literature and completed a minor in Chemistry. After earning her veterinary degree from The Ohio State University in 2019, Dr. Vincent went on to complete five years of post-graduate veterinary training including a small animal medicine and surgery internship at University of Illinois; a zoological medicine internship at Indianapolis Zoo; and a conservation medicine and ecosystem health residency through The Ohio State University, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and The Wilds. Dr. Vincent became a board certified specialist in zoological medicine in 2024. During her residency, she also earned a Master of Science degree with a thesis exploring the impacts of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem health. Dr. Vincent is currently an associate veterinarian at Milwaukee County Zoo and provides medical care to over 2,000 animals representing a wide range of species, from elephants to turtles to great apes. She has published 11 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, and her research has gained an international audience through presentations at the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians and the Wildlife Disease Association conferences. Dr. Vincent is passionate about conserving endangered species through zoological medicine and research; teaching and mentoring the next generation of veterinarians; and using an interdisciplinary approach to promote animal health and welfare at zoos and in the wild.

Co-Founder and CEO, Shinesty

Vice President and Team Lead at JP Morgan Chase

From her time at DePauw, until today, Heather Wildrick-Holman's career and volunteer trajectory has been one that follows similarly to Parable of the River—she loves collaborating with community partners to find outside-the-box ideas for prevention-based strategies. She has found herself going “upstream” to find solutions and opportunities to help the greater good. Compassionate about violence prevention, especially for women and children, after her time at DePauw, she obtained a Master of Arts degree at University of Cincinnati, and later a graduate degree from Indiana University in Nonprofit Management. Following graduation, her career has been primarily focused within social services, with many impactful experiences-- working with incarcerated youth, leading county-wide victim advocacy services, and is a long-standing leader in child abuse prevention and awareness initiatives in the Indianapolis area. Additionally, for over 6 years she was involved in leadership roles with Indiana National Organization for Women, serving as the State President from 2014-2018.

Vascular surgeon.

Duncan M. Yoon is an Associate Professor in the Gallatin School at New York University. His work primarily focuses on the cultural and literary relationships between Africa and China, particularly how these connections function outside of Western influence. He earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from UCLA and an MA from Dartmouth College. He is a 2004 graduate of DePauw University, where he also played collegiate baseball. Before joining NYU, he was an assistant professor of postcolonial literature at the University of Alabama. His expertise includes postcolonialism, the Cold War, diaspora, world literature, and the intersections between digital technology and critical thought. His first book, China in Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century African Literature (2023), was published by Cambridge University Press and examines representations of China in sub-Saharan African literature. The book won the African Literature Association’s First Book Award (2025) and received the Helen Tartar First Book Subvention Award (2020) from the American Comparative Literature Association. He has been a Fulbright Scholar to South Korea (2004) and a Kluge Fellow at the Library of Congress (2018).