Alumni in the News: August 8, 2022

On August 6, Lauren Zanedis ’11 appeared on the TLC show Say Yes to the Dress; the episode details her wedding dress appointment at Kleinfeld Bridal Chelsea with Say Yes to the Dress star Randy Fenoli. Zanedis was married in Barcelona in October 2021.

Hari Nef

Hari Nef ’15

Deadline announced on August 2 that Hari Nef ’15 will portray Warhol superstar Candy Darling in an upcoming biopic. “The dream was always to play Candy, and it is the honor of my life to get the chance to do it,” Nef says.


The August 1 New York Times article “Dan Smith Might Teach You Guitar” featured former New York governor David A. Paterson ’77. Paterson has been studying guitar with Smith since 2020 and takes a two-hour lesson each week.

Reginald Cash

Reginald D. Cash ’04

On July 25, The Wall Street Journal announced that Reginald D. Cash ’04, CEO of 3BlackDot Holdings, a media and marketing company focused on videogamers, bought the business. 3BlackDot, valued at $87 million, is now one of the few Black-owned media companies.


Rep. Jerrold L. Nadler ’69 (D-N.Y.) was the subject of the July 19 Washington Post article “Do Jewish New Yorkers care about identity politics? Jerry Nadler hopes so.” Nadler, who served Manhattan’s 10th district since 1992, is running against Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Suraj Patel in the August 23 primary.

The Law School announced on June 15 that Jeffrey Rivas ’17, LAW’23 will be Columbia Law Review’s next editor-in-chief. Rivas is only the second Latinx Law School student to hold the position; he hopes a more diverse staff will have an influence on the journal’s content.

Nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on July 12; Lucia Aniello ’04 received three for her work on the HBO Max series Hacks: Outstanding Drama Series (as executive producer), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Ashley Lyle ’02, SOA’07 also received three nominations for her work on the Showtime series Yellowjackets: Outstanding Drama Series (as executive producer) and two for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series. The Emmy Awards ceremony will be broadcast on September 12.

Alana_DA’SHAUNAE MARISA

Alana Mayo ’06

DA’SHAUNAE MARISA

On June 8, Orion Pictures president Alana Mayo ’06 was named to Fast Company’s “Queer 50 2022”; Mayo was number 4 on the annual list. “What we’re trying to do is get more people to understand the opportunity of conscious filmmaking, where you are just trying to invite as many different voices into the process and also broaden the spectrum of what a Hollywood film could be,” Mayo says.