AitN: July 16, 2018

Two Lions have received Emmy nominations for acting: Brandon Victor Dixon ’07 in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie for his work in Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert and Kate McKinnon ’06 in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy category for her work on Saturday Night Live. Works directed and/or produced by alumni also racked up nominations; congrats to Ramin Bahrani ’96 (Fahrenheit 451), Dan Futterman ’89 (The Looming Tower), Jenji Kohan ’91 (GLOW), Brian Yorkey ’93 (13 Reasons Why) and Maiken Baird ’89 (Icarus).

Amanda Peet ’94 wrote a play, Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, running at Los Angeles’ Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater from June 19 to July 29. Entertainment Weekly said the drama is “stuffed with provocative questions about parenthood, mentorship, and family structure which it neither answers nor skirts, but rather mulls over with care and intelligence.”

Kai-Fu Lee ’83

PRNewsfoto/Asia House

The chair and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, Kai-Fu Lee ’83, was named the winner of the 2018 Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award on June 27. He was recognized for “championing AI innovation and policies to ensure its positive social impact.” Lee will receive the award at a gala dinner in Singapore on November 22.

New York Times technology reporter Nellie Bowles ’10 was featured on July 4 in the Times’ “Tech We’re Using” section, talking about her treadmill desk, black-and-white computer and phone screens, and Silicon Valley’s favorite shoes.

Oluremi Onabanjo ’15 organized a solo photography exhibition for Naima Green BC’11, “A Collective Utterance,” which focuses on “black and brown artists, writers, culture workers and thinkers.” It will run at The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, as well as in green spaces throughout New York City (including Riverside Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden), until August 30.

The July issue of Harper’s Magazine got New Yorkers talking, thanks to “The Death of a Once Great City: The fall of New York and the urban crisis of affluence” by Kevin Baker ’80. The article considered the loss of the city’s individuality as high rents force out mom-and-pop shops and chains take over neighborhoods.

Ai-Jen Poo ’96

John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Ai-Jen Poo ’96, an activist and the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, discussed the “current crisis in immigration policy” in a Q&A, “Cages, ‘Infestations,’ and the Demonization of Immigrants,” on June 27 with The Cut.

On July 9, Justin Berkowitz ’09 was featured in Business of Fashion with “How I Became … Men’s Fashion Director at Bloomingdale’s.” He says of his time at the College, “I went to Columbia University, which didn’t offer fashion education courses, so I studied art history instead. It taught me to really talk about things that I see; to articulate the energy or the feel that it gives off.”