Alumni in the News: June 7, 2021

On May 24, Julia Zeh ’18, a doctoral student at Syracuse, was featured in a New York Times interactive story, “Whales Sing in New York Waters.” Zeh researched humpback whale sounds while she was at the College.

Jakub Buczek ’16 rowed his way to the Tokyo Summer Games, according to a May 17 report by Athletics. The lightweight rower and his Canadian crew of four qualified at the World Rowing Final regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, over the weekend of May 14–16. Buczek and his crew clocked a second-place time of 6:07.84 in the finals to secure the top two finish needed to qualify for the Olympics.

Hacks, a comedy-drama series that premiered on HBO Max on May 13, was co-created by Lucia Aniello ’04. The well-reviewed show stars Jean Smart as a Las Vegas comedy diva who hires an entitled 25-year old writer to help her appeal to a younger audience.

Beverly Leon ’14, BUS’20 won the Tournament of Champions in the 2021 Columbia Venture Competition; her company, Local Civics, gamifies civic participation to broaden student engagement. Leon also tied for first place in the “Startup Columbia Challenge” category.

On April 6, it was announced that Robert Wunderlich ’75 was elected mayor of Beverly Hills, Calif. “It is a tremendous honor to be inducted as mayor,” Wunderlich said. “The decisions we make, the actions we take, affect people’s lives. That our community has allowed me to fill this role, that it has provided me with their trust, is intensely gratifying.” The mayor is elected by the City Council and serves a one-year term.

Danielle Lee ’97, BUS’04, chief fan officer for the National Basketball Association, was appointed as one of two new independent members of the Board of Directors of the fashion retailer L Brands in March. Lee is a strategic marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in brand building, media innovation and technology for some of the world’s most respected brands.