Hunter College High School Alumnae/i Association

Exclusive Curator's Tour of Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity at the Asia Society Museum, November 9
2022-11-09 13:30 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Asia Society Museum, 725 Park Avenue (between 70th and 71st Streets), New York, New York, 10021
Image: Tao Hui (b. 1987 in Chongqing China; lives and works in Beijing, China)
THIS PAGE IS FOR “A Day at the Museum Wednesday, November 9th”
To buy tickets for “A Night at the Museum Friday, October 21” click here.
Curator Barbara Pollack ’74 has graciously invited a group from HCHSAA to take part in an exclusive viewing of Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity at the Asia Society Museum in Manhattan.
The artists whose works are presented in this exhibition come from a generation where transnational identity has taken root. Born in mainland China in the 1980s, these artists, rather than emphasizing their “Chinese-ness,” have developed respective practices born of a China where Starbucks can be found in the Forbidden City. “Belonging to what is referred to as the ba ling hou generation, these artists grew up in a post-Mao China shaped by the one-child policy and the influx of foreign investment. Comprising painting, sculpture, performance, installation, video, digital art, and photography, the exhibition reflects the dramatic economic, political, and cultural shifts the artists have experienced in China during their lifetimes.”
Please plan to join us for this special, in person event on one of two dates: Friday, October 21 (with reception to follow) or Wednesday, November 9. This museum tour is limited to a group of 40 attendees.
Learn more about the exhibit on the Asia Society Museum’s website.

Exclusive Curator's Tour of Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity at the Asia Society Museum, October 21
2022-10-21 18:30 - 20:30 | Asia Society Museum, 725 Park Avenue (between 70th and 71st Streets), New York, New York, 10021
Image: Tao Hui (b. 1987 in Chongqing China; lives and works in Beijing, China)
THIS PAGE IS FOR “A Night at the Museum Friday, October 21”
To buy tickets for “A Day at the Museum Wednesday, November 9th” click here.
Curator Barbara Pollack ’74 has graciously invited a group from HCHSAA to take part in an exclusive viewing of Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity at the Asia Society Museum in Manhattan.
The artists whose works are presented in this exhibition come from a generation where transnational identity has taken root. Born in mainland China in the 1980s, these artists, rather than emphasizing their “Chinese-ness,” have developed respective practices born of a China where Starbucks can be found in the Forbidden City. “Belonging to what is referred to as the ba ling hou generation, these artists grew up in a post-Mao China shaped by the one-child policy and the influx of foreign investment. Comprising painting, sculpture, performance, installation, video, digital art, and photography, the exhibition reflects the dramatic economic, political, and cultural shifts the artists have experienced in China during their lifetimes.”
Please plan to join us for this special, in person event on one of two dates: Friday, October 21 (with reception to follow) or Wednesday, November 9. This museum tour is limited to a group of 40 attendees.
Learn more about the exhibit on the Asia Society Museum’s website.

Film Screening of The Art of Making It
2022-04-28 18:00
Film Screening of The Art of Making It
An Insider’s View of the Arts, Featuring Elan Nieves ’02*

Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 6pm ET
The Kaye Playhouse
East 68th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues)

*This is an in-person screening
From the producer of the Emmy-nominated The Price of Everything, a film about who gets seen and who gets left behind in today’s seductive, secretive and unregulated art world. The Art of Making It, which features talented Hunter College MFA Studio Art alumni and faculty, follows a diverse group of compelling young artists on the brink of unimaginable success or failure as they challenge systems, break barriers and risk it all with the goal of making it in an industry where all the rules are currently being rewritten.
Attorney and art collector Elan Nieves ’02 is one of the individuals featured in The Art of Making It. She will be among the featured panelists in discussion following the screening.
Register to see this riveting documentary. A reception will follow this in-person event.

The Doctor is In: A Medical Expert’s Q&A about COVID-19 and Its Impact on Children
2022-03-29 19:00 - 20:00
HCHSAA is pleased to host an important virtual discussion with pediatrician Saul Hymes ’98, MD, FAAP on Tuesday, March 29 from 7-8pm ET. Dr. Hymes is an expert on how COVID-19 affects children and what treatment can be taken upon diagnosis. In this hour-long event, Dr. Hymes will take questions from the HCHS alumnae/i community. Moderating the discussion is Joyce VARUGHESE-Raju ’98, MD, Member, HCHSAA Board of Directors and Member of the Board’s Programs Committee.
Through this event, you will gain invaluable knowledge on how to protect your family as the world learns to live with the coronavirus in the months and, perhaps years, to come. Register here https://bit.ly/3tMjEU3

HCHSAA Celebrates Women's History Month with Mecca Sullivan ’99!
2022-03-08 19:00 - 20:00
HCHSAA celebrates Women’s History Month on Tuesday, March 8 at 7pm ET!
Join us for an evening with Mecca Jamilah Sullivan ’99, Ph.D., who has published extensively on the subjects of sexuality, identity, and poetics in contemporary African Diaspora culture. She is the author of the short story collection Blue Talk and Love (2015), winner of the Judith Markowitz Award for Fiction from Lambda Literary and The Poetics of Difference: Queer Feminist Forms in the African Diaspora, which draws upon the rich histories of such well known figures as Audre Lorde ’51 and Ntozake Shange. Her highly anticipated debut novel, Big Girl (W.W. Norton & Co. 2022) is due for publication this year.
The virtual book reading and discussion will be hosted by Judith Daniel ’79, Chair, HCHSAA Diversity Committee and Member, HCHSAA Board of Directors.
This event will only be livestreamed, so don’t miss out!
Make sure you are present for this engaging talk. Register here https://bit.ly/3hovMFf

HCHSAA Celebrates Black History Month with Alums in the Arts!
2022-02-17 19:00 - 20:30
The HCHSAA is delighted to observe Black History Month with an online, arts-focused panel discussion on Thursday, February 17 at 7:00pm ET!
Our invited panelists, Chloe Bass ’02 and Chuma Hunter-Gault ’90 have each led distinguished careers in the visual and performing arts, respectively. Bass, who is Assistant Professor of Art at Queens College, CUNY, is a Future Imagination Collaboratory Fellow at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has exhibited at The Pulitzer Arts Foundation, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Kitchen, among others. Hunter-Gault is active as a film and theater actor whose credits include Game of Silence, Nina, Gem of the Ocean, Girlfriends, and The Gun Show.
Together, they will discuss their work and their years at Hunter with moderator Lisa Jones ’79, who has charted a career spanning marketing and media, real estate, and career training.
Join us for what is certain to be a fascinating talk. Register here. https://bit.ly/34vnKqW

Get set for GivingTuesday!
2021-11-30
Support Hunter on this global day of giving by making a meaningful gift to the HCHSAA on Tuesday, November 30.
Contributions from alumnae/i on GivingTuesday help to sustain vital programs at the high school and provide enrichment for the current student body. HCHS is counting on you to give back to the institution that gave you so much. Please support the high school with a donation to the HCHSAA; every gift counts and there is no contribution too small.
Make sure to keep on the lookout for updates from us regarding GivingTuesday!

Live Theater Night with the HCHSAA: Morning Sun on November 17, 2021
2021-11-17 20:00 - 22:00 | New York City Center Stage 1, 131 West 55th Street, New York, 10019
Morning Sun, a world premiere directed by Lila Neugebauer ’03
Wednesday, November 17 at 8:00pm
A trio of stars deliver a brilliant performance in this intimate, deeply felt play written by Tony Award winner Simon Stephens. The cast features Tony Award winner Blair Brown, Four-time Emmy Award winner Edie Falco, and Tony nominee Marin Ireland. Morning Sun was commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club through the Bank of America New Play Program.
In Greenwich Village a generation or so ago, the city is alive. Joni Mitchell sings, friends and lovers come and go, and the regulars change at the White Horse Tavern. As 50 years pass, one woman’s life is revealed in all its complexity, mystery, and possibility in this enthralling world premiere about mothers and daughters, beginnings and endings in New York City.
Get your seats to attend in person and support the reopening of theater in New York! Make sure to stay after the show for a special Hunter talk back with Lila (whose credits include The Waverly Gallery, The Wolves, and Kill Floor) about her latest, riveting work.
Event Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Location: New York City Center Stage 1, 131 West 55th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
Time: 8:00pm
Tickets: $100 per person
Attendees must show proof of vaccination and a photo ID to enter the theater.

Hunter Writers Night! Amy Sohn ’91 and Emily Bass ’91 in Conversation with Kip Zegers
2021-09-29 18:30
On Wednesday, September 29 at 6:30pm ET, Amy Sohn ’91 and Emily Bass ’91 will share stories from their craft with the HCHS community. Both graduates of the Class of 1991, the pair published books in July 2021–Sohn’s 12th book, and first work of nonfiction; Bass’s debut work. Their books, The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age and To End a Plague: America’s Fight to Defeat AIDS In Africa tackle disparate topics and time periods, and converge on similar themes–the persistent, pernicious and often-lethal fear of women’s bodily autonomy, and the fierce resistance it engenders from activists across history.
The two will speak about their recently published works, their careers as writers and feminists, and Hunter’s role in nurturing these identities. Join us for an intriguing talk that will be moderated by retired HCHS English faculty, poet and author, Kip Zegers. Register here for this virtual event.

Life in the Time of Corona Group Discussion
2021-06-28 15:00 - 16:00, 2021-05-24 15:00 - 16:00, 2021-04-26 15:00 - 16:00, 2021-03-22 15:00
Life in the time of Corona group discussion led by Carole Brafman ‘57, M.D. Please check your email for details. If you are not a member of this group and you are interested, please let us know.

DMV Happy Hour
2021-06-24 19:00 - 20:00
Join us for a wide-ranging discussion on the status of arts organizations in the Washington, DC area in the era of COVID-19. Details still to come.
Please join us for what is sure to be a fascinating and informative hour!

Annual Meeting
2021-06-05 15:00 - 16:30
In response to continued health and safety concerns, the HCHSAA is once again holding its Annual Meeting virtually, beginning at 3 p.m. EDT on June 5th, following the virtual Reunion which begins at 1 p.m. With the Board’s decision to reduce membership dues to zero this year, all HCHS alumnae/I and those who attended the HS for at least three years are now considered members of the HCHSAA and invited to participate in the Annual meeting.
At the Annual Meeting of Members, all alumnae/i are invited to attend and to vote on the slate of new board candidates for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021. Please click for the agenda and to read the candidates’ bios.

Roundtable Series on Diversity-Enhancing Reforms, Session 3
2021-05-20 18:30 - 20:30
Our final panel discussion in the series will focus on Retention and the environment for Black and Latinx students and faculty at the high school. Sign up here.

The Entrepreneur's Journey
2021-05-18 17:00 - 18:00
The life of an entrepreneur can be challenging, but also quite rewarding. Join us as a panel of seasoned and newer entrepreneurs talk transparently about the good, bad, and ugly of entrepreneurship: How we got started, how we raise money, how we build teams, how we build culture, how we exited, and lots more—including YOUR questions.
The panel will feature: Rob Berk ’16(Apprentice), Alex Friedman ’00 (LOLA), Dave Kerpen ’94 (Likeable, Apprentice, Kerpen Ventures), Pam Roach ’71 (Breakthrough Marketing Technology), and Zach Weinberg ’04(Invite Media (Google), Flatiron Health (Roche)). Ryder Kessler ’04 (DipJar) will be our moderator. Sign up here.

Hunter College Event: The Life and Art Collection of Hester Diamond
2021-05-11 18:00 - 19:00
Hester KLEIN Diamond, Jan. ’46 (1928-2020) was a noted art collector, interior designer, and the mother of Mike D. of the Beastie Boys. An alumna of Hunter College as well as HCHS, the College is presenting a discussion about this pioneering woman’s life and work..
Take part in what is certain to be a fascinating journey into the art world. Sign up here.

The Basics of Investing and Impact Investing with the Financial Women’s Association of NY
2021-04-29 18:00 - 20:00
Are you a recent alumni and have particiapted in Financial Backpac programs and wanted to learn more? Are you an alumni and have heard about this program and wanted to see what it is all about? You are in luck, as the Financial Women’s Association is coming to us with their Basics of Investing and Impact Investing presentations.
Come, hear Lindsay Starr, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley, Prospect Management and Client Coverage
Suzanne Matthews, Director, Center for Financial & Economic Education and Adjunct Professor – Business Department, Westchester Community College
Pat Addeo, Senior Associate, Wealth Management, Veris Wealth Partners
Sign up now!

DMV Happy Hour
2021-04-22 19:00 - 20:00
Join us for a wide-ranging discussion on the status of arts organizations in the Washington, DC area in the era of COVID-19. Our special guest will be Jenny Bilfield, president and CEO of Washington Performing Arts, WPA, one of the premier arts organizations in DC. Jenny, who happens to be the daughter of HCES and HCHS alumna Mildred Liebowitz ’39, will share some of the creative ways WPA has reinvented itself in light of the pandemic and the need to engage audiences virtually. One of our DMV facilitators, Leslie Luxemburg ‘64, who is president of the Friday Morning Music Club, a large multi faceted volunteer arts organization composed of classically trained musicians, will share how her organization has maintained its status quo. Marie KORN Cohen ’75 will contribute how the Washington Balalaika Society, of which she is a board member, has been surviving as a small, non professional group.
Co-hosts Sheila Anderson ’80 and Leslie Luxemburg ’64 invite people active in other arts organizations, members of choral groups, theater troupes, church choirs, orchestras, etc. to join the discussion and share how they have been coping during this past year. As a participant or audience member, what do you most look forward to when we return to some semblance of normalcy in the entertainment realm?
Please join us for what is sure to be a fascinating and informative hour! Sign up now.

Diversity Roundtable Discussion #2: Creating and Sustaining Equitable Admissions
2021-04-15 18:30 - 20:00
In the last few decades, Black, Latinx, and low-income representation in the Hunter College High School student body has declined and does not reflect that of the city it serves. Students are denied an excellent education in an environment that does not support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In this next presentation, which is the second in a three-part series, we will focus specifically on admission issues facing HCHS and other gifted educational institutions around the country.
Speakers include Dr. Rebecca Deans, HCHS Faculty Member, English/Communication and Theatre; Mari HOASHI Franklin ’84, Chair, Diversity Recruitment Subcommittee; Brian Scott ’83, Chair, Huston-Tillotson University (HBCU) Advisory Board; Kyla KUPFERSTEIN Torres ’92, former HCHS Director of Admissions; and current Hunter students Aruna D. ’22, Mia M. ’21, and Durga S. ’21.
Register here: https://bit.ly/3mbsy9q

Holocaust Remembrance Day
2021-04-07 15:30
Join us to hear survivors’ stories first hand. Moderated by Lisa GOLDIN Rabinowicz ’59, the panelists are Susanne KLEJMAN Bennet ’55, Joan L. KENT Finkelstein ’54, Eve KANNER Kugler Jan. ’49, and Edith TENNENBAUM Shapiro ’52, M.D.
We will hear a short discussion by the panelists, and then we will break into smaller groups to spend some time with one of the survivors to get more details on her stories. Then we will switch, so everyone will have a chance to spend time with two survivors. Come and hear these stories first hand, and keep remembering.
To participate in the event, please sign up for our Zoom meeting here, or view the discussion on Facebook Live by going here.

Moderator: Lisa GOLDIN Rabinowicz ’59
Lisa has an Honors Degree in Linguistics and Anthropology, Univ of London, work on masters of Mass Communications. Bachelor of Science, University of Florida. She worked in TV news, and now performs and participates in playreading.
She was born in Uzbekistan after her parents escaped from a shtetyl in Bela Rus Poland. After World War II, she was taken to DP-Displaced Persons- in Germany.
She arrived in America on the last passenger voyage of USN ship, Ernie Pyle, a wonderful future and voyage for her small surviving family. She is a very grateful immigrant to the USA.

Susanne KLEJMAN Bennet ’55
I was born in 1938 in Warsaw, the year before the Germans invaded Poland. In 1940 my family was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto. Three generations of my family, from a baby of 4 months through grandparents in their 60s were murdered in the Ghetto and in the gas chambers of the Treblinka extermination camp. I and my parents, separated during part of the war, survived to eventually come to the United States in 1950 and begin a new life.

Joan L. KENT Finkelstein ’54, Ph.D.
I arrived in NYC as a four-year-old in February 1941 completing an epic ten-month journey from Warsaw, Poland, with a 40-day voyage aboard an American ship from India.
With a close family of storytellers and a large treasure trove of letters, photographs, and documents (including false papers) retrieved by my parents from their nine steamer trunks, I reconstructed and discovered how they decided and then were actually able to leave Nazi-occupied Poland. Traveling through Italy and the Middle East, we obtained immigration visas for America, and finally reached American soil before their rapid expiration. Beyond the narrative of events, my story also underlines those elements of luck, luck again, resilience, and determination that underlie the survival of all of us who can now tell them.

strong>Eve KANNER Kugler Jan. ’49
I was born in Halle an der Saale, [East] Germany. If you have trouble locating it, look for Magdeburg or Leipzig.
My family, parents, older sister Ruth, younger sister Lea and I went on waiting list for visas to Palestine in 1935 and were still waiting on Kristallnacht, Nov. 9-10, 1938 when Nazis created havoc in our apartment, arrested my father and sent him to Buchenwald. The windows of his department store were smashed and our synagogue was torched. Based on a forged visa for France my father was released from Buchenwald after six weeks. Mother and children escaped to France in June 1939.
With outbreak of World War II, France interned my father; my mother placed us in a Jewish children’s home near Paris where she became a cook. When France surrendered, we were evacuated to a children’s home near Limoges controlled by Vichi France. In 1941 Ruth and I joined a small Kindertransport to NY where we became foster children. With the roundup of Jews in 1942 the Resistance hid Lea. My parents survived in French concentration camps. The family was reunited in New York in 1947 after I became a Hunter student.

Three Hunter Poets
2021-03-21 14:00 - 15:30
Join us on Zoom for an afternoon of poetry with Heather Dubrow ’62, Erica Ehrenberg ’96, and retired faculty member Kip Zegers.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89688977419?pwd=[REDACTED]
Heather Dubrow, John D. Boyd, SJ, Chair in Poetic Imagination at Fordham University, is the author of two full-length collections of her poetry, Forms and Hollows (Cherry Grove Collections) and Lost and Found Departments (published in August 2020 by Cornerstone Press), as well as of two chapbooks. One of her plays was produced by a community theater, and two of her poems have been set to music and performed. Among the journals where her poetry has appeared are Prairie Schooner, Southern Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Yale Review. Her other publications include seven single-authored volumes of literary criticism. Between fall 2009 and summer 2020 she was director of Fordham’s Poets Out Loud reading series. You can order Lost and Found Departments here from Cornerstone Press or here from Amazon.
Erica Ehrenberg’s poems have appeared in anthologies and journals including The Paris Review, The New York Review of Books, Slate, The New Republic, Everyman’s Library Pocket Poet Series, Guernica, Harvard Review Online, The Mississippi Review, The Bennington Review, and The Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly. She has been a Wallace Stegner Fellow in poetry at Stanford, and a poetry fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown.
Kip Zegers taught English at Hunter College High School from 1984 until 2017, but he began writing poetry long before that, in 1971. He has published numerous chapbooks and full-length books, the last three, The Poet of Schools (2010), The Pond in Room 318 (2015), and A Room in the House of Time (2020), with Dos Madres Press. The titles of these books reflect that much of Kip’s work has been about schools and his life as a teacher/poet. Kip’s poetry explores daily life and core human experiences. His continuing inspiration is the work of George Oppen. Kip’s recent books are available here from Dos Madres Press or here from Amazon.

Roundtable Series on Diversity-Enhancing Reforms
2021-03-18 18:30 - 20:00
Thursday, March 18, 2021 6:30-8pm ET: Roundtable Series on Diversity-Enhancing Reforms
Session 1: A review of admissions at HCHS and the status of admissions for the Class of 2027
In the last few decades, Black, Latinx, and low-income representation in the Hunter College High School student body has declined. Students are denied an excellent education in an environment that does not support diversity. Please join us for session one of a series of panel discussions focused on exploring the Diversity issues facing HCHS.

Welcome by host, Judith Daniel-George ’79, Chair, HCHSAA Diversity Committee

Black, Latinx, & lower socioeconomic students shared experiences—Chloe R. ’21　& Charles C. HCHS

Data about city demographics vs. HCHS—Mari HOASHI Franklin ’84

Current Process (HCHS Admin)—TBD

Pre-COVID Admissions Practice—TBD

Qualification—immediate pre-COVID & past years—TBD

Entrance Exam Design and Scoring—TBD

History of Inclusion at HCHS—TBD

To sign up now, go here, or view the discussion on our Facebook page here.

2021 Comedy Discussion
2021-03-15 19:30 - 20:30
Do not miss this event, this Monday! Note the time change!
March 15, 2021, 7:30-8:30pm ET: 2021 Comedy Discussion
How do we manage living through a pandemic? Look to those individuals who can make fun of any situation! Spend an evening with Hunter-bred comedians who will discuss how they and their colleagues have fared in the midst of COVID-19. Join us for this unique event and hear how they have tried to create some levity in these trying times. Sure to have some laughs as well!
Moderated by Steve Hofstetter ’97, the panelists are Charlie Bardey ’13, Sachi Ezura ’04, Claire Friedman ’03, and Sophie Zucker ’11.
To participate in the event, please sign up for our Zoom meeting here, or view the discussion on Facebook Live by going here. For more information, go to here.

Moderator: Steve Hofstetter ’97
Hofstetter, who has a whopping 150 million views on YouTube, is also the host of Finding Babe Ruth on FS1. His book (Ginger Kid) is a top 5 pick on Amazon and debuted at number one in its category. Hofstetter was the host and executive producer of season one of Laughs (FOX) and he has been on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and E! True Hollywood Story, Comics Unleashed, Comedy All-Stars, Quite Frankly, White Boyz in the Hood, Countdown, and more. He just filmed his 4th movie, and he has had two top 20 comedy albums (including one that hit number 1 on iTunes comedy charts). He is a former columnist for Sports Illustrated and the NHL, and has also written for Maxim and the New York Times, among others.

Charlie Bardey ’13
Charlie Bardey is a writer, comedian, and educator born and based in New York City. A graduate of Hunter College High School and Yale University, Charlie currently works as an educator, writer, and comedian. As a stand-up, Charlie has performed in venues like Caroline’s, Union Hall, and the Bell House, and at colleges like Wesleyan University and American University. He has been profiled by Vulture Magazine, and his tweets (@chunkbardey) have been featured in BuzzFeed, Playboy, a local newspaper called The Patch. He can be seen on the BuzzFeed series “Did You See This?” on the Comedy Central webseries “Ayo And Rachel Are Single”, and in AMC’s upcoming satirical video game “Airplane Mode.”

Sachi Ezura ’04
Sachi Ezura currently works as Senior Producer at The Greene Space, a live event space for NY Public Radio. She also consults in development for Irony Point, the production company behind I Think You Should Leave, Astronomy Club and The Break with Michelle Wolf. She has produced on Refinery29’s After After Party, BET’s The Rundown w/ Robin Thede, and MTV’s Girl Code. She was Executive Producer of Development and Talent at Seriously.TV, a digital comedy channel specializing in the intersection of comedy, politics, and social justice. She worked as Director of Original Programming at IFC, where, in addition to working on Documentary Now!, Portlandia, and Comedy Bang! Bang!, she oversaw IFC’s digital platform, Comedy Crib. As Manager of Development at MTV2, she oversaw casting for MTV’s hit comedy series Guy Code and Girl Code. She also co-wrote the Girl Code book and has been published in The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts and The New York Post. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, daughter and two cats, one of which she likes.

Claire Friedman ’03
Claire Friedman is an Emmy-nominated writer who won a Peabody award for her work on Saturday Night Live. She most recently served as a writer on Showtime’s Desus & Mero and frequently writes comedy pieces for the New Yorker. Before becoming a television writer, Claire worked in development at FX Networks and served as the Executive-in-Charge of the Lip Sync Battle franchise for Paramount Network. From 2007-2012, she worked as an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs, where she helped to fund entertainment and media companies. Claire was born and raised in New York City. She attended Harvard Business School and Harvard College, where she was an editor on the Harvard Lampoon.

Sophie Zucker ’11
Sophie Zucker is a comedian. She stars as Abby on Apple TV’s Dickinson, opposite Hailee Steinfeld. She is also a writer on the show. Sophie has performed original work at Joe’s Pub, Union Hall, The Duplex, Littlefield, Brooklyn Comedy Collective, Second City, UCB, Lyric Hyperion, and Annoyance NY and trained at most of those places, too. Other favorite TV/Film credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; the Mindy Kaling feature Late Night, and Comedy Central’s The Other Two. She performs monthly with her all-female comedy collective Ladies Who Ranch at Union Hall. This year, she wrote and starred in Mistressbate, a pop musical about a masturbation scandal set at an all-girls private school. Right now, she’s shooting Season 3 of Dickinson, on which she also served as an Executive Story Editor, and developing two shows with Phoebe Robinson’s production company Tiny Reparations and Cowboy Bear Ninja, respectively. Sophie grew up in New York and attended Hunter College High School (2011). She went on to graduate from Oberlin College in 2015 with a BA in Religion and Creative Writing. She is down to hang out.

2021 Women History Month celebration
2021-03-08 19:00 - 20:00
This Monday, March 8, 2021, 7-8pm ET: 2021 Women History Month celebration. Sponsored by the Diversity Committee
Dr. Khadijah Miller and Dr. Ernestine Duncan ’79 will discuss their book chapter, “Negotiated Respectability, the Looking Glass Self and Mrs. Michelle Obama.” The book, Michelle Obama and the FLOTUS Effect: Platform, Presence, and Agency explores the role of the first African-American First Lady and considers her impending legacy on the American political landscape and society.
Michelle Obama intentionally defined her role and herself in ways that countered and complemented the images and works of previous First Ladies. Together, as FLOTUS and President of the United States, Michelle and Barack Obama reframed the view and evidenced the possibility of a strong Black man and Black woman, co-existing and thriving individually and collectively. Her initiatives, which were consistent with other first ladies, were established to improve the quality of life for all Americans. The strategies she used were crafted to influence and empower rather than denigrate and divide. Through her accomplishments as a woman, a mother, a Black woman, and FLOTUS, Michelle Obama has stood straight in the ‘crooked room’ of America, and American culture is evermore changed.
If you missed the discussion, a video recordng is available on YouTube.

Jeannie SUK Gersen '91 interviews Sarah Kovner '91
2020-10-22 18:00
Jeannie SUK Gersen ’91, D.Phil and J.D., Professor of Law, Harvard Law school, will interview Sarah Kovner ’91, Ph. D., Senior Research Scholar in the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies; Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs, about her new book, Prisoners of the Empire coming out in September. A pathbreaking account of World War II POW camps, challenging the longstanding belief that the Japanese Empire systematically mistreated Allied prisoners, it has been hailed as “a major work of original scholarship,” (Sabine Frühstück) that is “elegantly written and compulsively readable” (Nick Kapur).
To participate in the event, please sign up for our Zoom meeting here, or view the discussion on Facebook Live by going here. Buy a raffle ticket below for a chance to win an autographed copy of Prisoners of the Empire. All proceeds will go to support the high school. (Raffle sales closing at midnight on October 20th).
Sarah Kovner is a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University. She has been a Fellow in International Security Studies at Yale University and an Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida. Kovner’s first book, Occupying Power: Sex Workers and Servicemen in Postwar Japan, was a Choice Outstanding Academic Title, and won the best book prize of the Southeast Conference Association for Asian Studies. Kovner received her A.B. from Princeton University and her Ph.D. from Columbia, and also studied at Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo. She lives on the Upper West Side with her family.
Jeannie Suk Gersen is the John H. Watson, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches and writes on a wide range of subjects including Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, Family Law, Sexual Assault and Harassment, and Title IX. She has been a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and Harvard Law School’s Sacks-Freund Award for Teaching Excellence. She is a contributing writer to the New Yorker.
