1986 Michele Radin 681 Indian Ridge Drive Palm Desert, CA 92211-7485 Either all our classmates are SO busy traveling to exotic unmapped, unconnected locales, running a supersecret, superdangerous, black ops program for some unnamed superpower, rescuing adorable puppies and ducklings from depraved puppy/duckling smuggling rings, or learning the trapeze that you didn’t have time to drop me a single update e-mail for the July class column, or you’ve been saving news for our big 30th Reunion that you all just attended June 2–5, 2016, so you all were too thoughtful to send in a spoiler e-mail. Leaving me with nothing but the pitying acknowledgements from Stephen Goeben, Christine Chao, and Sue Jacoby of my pleas for news — without providing news. I forgive you, classmates, because I know our next ’86 column, and the 1 after that, and the 1 after that will be overflowing with all the great reunion news, stories, and updates that you will be sending in for months to come! Michele: 706-641-6357; mlledaffodil@aol.com
198 7 Marnie Concha 8717 Aldwick Drive Dallas, TX 75238 Greetings, all! I have just returned from my annual Vail ski trip, where I enjoyed a few days of skiing and touched base with Betsy Tenney Lewis, who was being honored for her 20-year anniversary with Vail Resorts. Further out on the West Coast, Chris Cernosia and her 2 girls (10 and 12) caught Caroline Sherman’s premiere of Empire and got a great backstage tour. Along those lines, Caroline wanted to acknowledge “some of the Colgate alumni who have been participating for years ... and years ... and years to help make this happen: Bob Austrian ’85, Kim Avison Huffard, Mark Bryant, Julie Colhoun, Jennifer Dowd, John Golden ’66, Jonathan and Kari (Johnston) Halkyard, Richard Herbst ’69, Susie Kinkead McMahon, Ann Leschander Raziel, Alicia Metz, Emily Mikesell, Betsy Morris Rosen, Audrey Morrissey ’89, Sue Patsalos Huffard, David Pritchard, Suzann Redding, Alex Sherman ’89, Larry and Ruth Sherman P’81,’91, Russell Sherman ’91, and Suzanne Sherman Propp ’85.” For those who missed this run, Empire is a fun, uplifting, energizing romantic comedy about the folks who had the audacity during the Great Depression to dare to dream and build the tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building. Back in TX, Beckie Francis is loving life in the hill country and was planning to purchase her 1st registered quarter horse. Zeb Landsman checked in from a college visit to Hamilton, where he and his daughter hung out with Professor Jerry Balmuth. Lisa Robinson Locklin’s younger son, Ben, is a first-year student at Colgate. Lisa and her husband Ron ’80 are very proud and “love heading to Colgate to visit him.” Sarah Lange checked in and has “been seeing quite a bit of Suzanne Brown and Susan Fay recently. Sue and I visited Suzanne in ME in Oct and met up with her at her daughter Kajsa’s gymnastics meet in NH in Jan. The 3 of us are still complete goofballs when we’re together — wouldn’t have it any other way! I also keep up
Netflix’s chic geek
Toggling between Hollywood and Silicon Valley, Angela Morgenstern ’97 describes her job as “part chic, part geek.” As Netflix’s director of product innovation, original content, she helps shape “the experience of Netflix around the globe.” On the tech side, that involves customizing the user experience — including features like personalized menus and the postplay before the next episode starts. “I partner with analysts to test everything from how we present a new program, to how far out we show it, to whom we show it to,” she said. The more glamorous part of the job requires Morgenstern to meet with stars like Adam Sandler and Paul Reubens to discuss how to present their new work. “[We talk about] what we can do online, how to help Netflix members discover new programs they’ll love, and, ultimately, how to drive more viewing,” she said. Morgenstern’s niche is original content: feature films, documentaries, and local/global content. Past experiences working at PBS, MTV, Al Jazeera, and several San Francisco startups have primed her for Netflix. Rolling onto campus in late March to guest lecture for a career services leadership course (see pg. 9), Morgenstern also sat down with the Scene. Here are some clips from her visit. The Graduate I worked on the launch of the PBS Frontline World site. We put a lot of innovative content online — everything from the aftermath of the Cambodian genocide to post-9/11 global stories. It was a great example of the mediums working together. Working Girl After working for PBS, I joined a media start-up called Current TV. Current started doing user-generated content before it was a “thing” (pre-YouTube) and was creating nonfiction programming across different platforms. They were acquired by Al Jazeera, and I became EVP of product and innovation, helping them launch a new website and mobile applications. I left to go back to the start-up community in San Francisco. Inside Out Part of our job is interacting with different personalities, show runners, and talent. They’ve come to Netflix in part because they’re interested in distributing in a new way. So we walk them through the process and listen to their vision. Office Space I’m in the Los Gatos office (San Francisco Bay area), which feels like a technology company. My colleagues are tech-driven, and our conversations are evidence-based, data-driven, and analytical in nature. But every two weeks, I go to the Beverly Hills office, which handles marketing, content, and PR. Even though we’re one culture, [each has a] different ethos. Miss Congeniality I’ve learned to adapt and lead in different organizations’ environments. There’s one way of influencing and engaging people at MTV, where you’re having parties until five o’clock in the morning, versus Al Jazeera, where you’re in a multicultural environment with people from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Netflix just turned on the switch to go global in January — all countries, essentially, except China — which means we have a variety of offices and colleagues. We’re learning as we evolve. Liberal Arts At a business dinner recently, the CEO referenced great thinkers whom I had (luckily) read about at Colgate and debated. [That happens] all the time, like when we’re talking about how Joseph Campbell’s myth is related to a feature film we’re working on. As an English major, I read all the classics. [But I also] took philosophy of law and philosophy of religion, and those two courses influenced me tremendously. Media is a powerful tool that has a huge impact on society, so we’re constantly considering the ethical issues, and having a grounding in philosophical thinking is important. Colgate taught me to think analytically and also pursue creative passion. It wasn’t one particular class; it was the constellation. Best in Show A big part of my job is watching Netflix when I get home. I’m a fan of Bloodline. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is fun. I have the privilege of watching a lot of Netflix documentaries, like Making a Murderer, before they premiere. I love our original content, like Jessica Jones. — Aleta Mayne
News and views for the Colgate community
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Brian Ness
(cold beer helps, too). In our household, summer has a whole new meaning this year. It marks the last few months we will have our oldest son, Owen, at home full time. Although it seems like only yesterday that he was playing little league and learning how to ride a razor scooter, he is headed off to college in the fall to the U of AZ. I know, I know, you’re wondering why he’s not packing his bags for the Chenango Valley. There are a few reasons, but 1 contributing factor is that a lot of kids who grow up out west (or maybe it’s just our kids) are puzzled as to why someone would choose to attend college in a place that is buried in snow half of the academic year. Go figure. In terms of news, there were some Colgate sightings on social media. I noticed on Facebook that John Carey was enjoying some early spring skiing in Park City with his family. Judging from the photos (maybe 1 too many selfies, though, John), it looked like a great time was had by all. Also on FB, Greg Casagrande shared some updates from abroad about the micro-financing work he continues to be engaged in in Fiji, as well as other countries in that region. Jeff Pofsky has also been active on FB of late, posting updates from the LA area, many of which involve his son, who appears to be a very talented youth basketball player. Jeff also posted some promos about a variety of products from his company, JNP Merchandising. And I’m not sure if this counts as news (though maybe it does in today’s digital world), but I received a LinkedIn request from Kevin Osborn. According to his profile, he is EVP of investment manager relations at Envestment. It’s been several years since I’ve seen Kevin, but I believe he and his family are still in CT. If I have bad information, Kevin can use the messaging feature on LinkedIn to set the record straight. Christina Martabano sent me a nice e-mail from Mount Kisco, NY, providing an update on things in her world, which includes completing the Avon 39 breast cancer event in NYC last fall. She also shared that her son Brendan is a sophomore at Colgate this past year. According to Christina: “My son and I joke that he was pre-destined to attend Colgate as even the doctor who delivered him was a Colgate grad (yay Dr Elisa Burns — small world!). Last Feb, I went up to campus and got to see 2 Colgate women’s hockey games. They were absolutely amazing; I believe that they are ranked # 10 in the nation! My son is enjoying all of the perks that Colgate has to offer, including mock trial and hosting a radio show on WRCU. Next year, he will be participating in the Washington, DC, Study Group.” Christina also mentioned that a movie crew was in Hamilton last Jan to film Pottersville, starring Michael Shannon and Christina Hendricks, using the Colgate Inn and the village green in their scenes. That was news to me, and I can’t believe it’s taken so long for Hollywood to discover the charm of upstate NY. Lastly, Christina sends a virtual shout-out to her good friend Kelly Katterhagen (fellow JFK HS graduate). That’s about it for now. As you can tell, we are a bit short on news items, so please take a moment if you can to send along an update. Even if it doesn’t seem important or newsworthy, it sure beats staring at an empty space in the Scene where the ’85 column is supposed to be. Or, I can just make stuff up. It’s up to you guys. Michael: 602-741-7902; michael.yardley808@gmail.com