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Northwestern School of Communication

Alumni

Our alumni are deep-thinkers, passionate creators and leaders in their field. They apply their SoC training to a wide variety of fileds. See how our alumni are making an impact in the world.

Where will your SoC degree take you?

Explore the paths of recent alumni as they begin their careers

Kantara Souffrant, ('17)

Kantara Souffrant, ('17)

PhD in Performance Arts Studies

Kantara is the Milwaukee Art Museum’s curator of community dialogue, a newly created position to ensure that community engagement is at the center of adult programming.

Nevo Shinaar ('17)

Nevo Shinaar ('17)

MFA in Documentary Media

Nevo Shinaar’s film Surf Nation premiered in May 2022. He is among DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40—Class of 2021 and both a nominee and shorlistee for Academy Awards (White Eye and Stay Close, respectively). He was also a competition jury member for the Chicago International Film Festival 2021 (Shorts) and the Big Sky Film Festival 2022 (Shorts), as well as serving as the IDA Awards Committee Chair (2020-Present). 

Luis Antonio Perez, ('17)

Luis Antonio Perez, ('17)

MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises

Luis Antonio Perez and his Colorado Public Radio music appreciation Music Blocks won best podcast for children at the 2022 Podcast Academy Ambie Awards and was also nominated in the best knowledge category. Perez is also a producer on Back from Broken, which was a 2021 nominee for best inter- view podcast.
Selina Fillinger, ('16)

Selina Fillinger, ('16)

Major in Theatre

Selina wrote the comedy POTUS, which opened on Broadway in April 2022. Directed by Susan Stroman and starring Vanessa Williams, Rachel Dratch, and Lea Delaria, the play earned three Tony Award nominations. Fillinger is among the youngest playwrights to have a show on Broadway and a past Agnes Nixon Playwriting Festival winner. She currently writes for the third season of Apple TV’s The Morning Show and is developing a feature for Chernin/Netflix. 

Noteworthy Alumni

Explore some of our remarkable alumni by their professional fields.

View by Professional Field

Jayne Atkinson

Jayne Atkinson

Tony Award-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated actress - The Rainmaker, Enchanted April, 24, Criminal Minds, and House of Cards

Warren Beatty

Warren Beatty

Academy Award-nominated actor, Academy Award-winning producer and director - Reds

Judy Belk

Judy Belk

President, and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness)

Gregory G. Berlanti

Gregory G. Berlanti

Emmy-nominated TV and film writer, series creator, and producer - Everwood, Dawson’s Creek, and Political Animals

Craig Bierko

Craig Bierko

Tony Award-nominated actor - The Music Man

William Bindley

William Bindley

Founder and Producer - Gulfstream Pictures

Ashley Nicole Black

Ashley Nicole Black

Actor and Emmy Award-winning writer - Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Drunk History, Bless This Mess, and Ted Lasso

Zach Braff

Zach Braff

Writer, director, Actor, Grammy Award-winning producer - Scrubs and Garden State

Joe Chappelle

Joe Chappelle

Executive producer, writer, and director - Chicago Fire and The Pages

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert

Emmy Award-winning and Peabody Award-winning actor, writer, reporter, and producer - The Colbert Report, CBS’s Late Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Daily Show

Stephanie Shemin D'Abruzzo

Stephanie Shemin D'Abruzzo

Tony Award-nominated actress and puppeteer - Sesame Street, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Avenue Q

Brian d'Arcy James

Brian d'Arcy James

Tony Award-nominated actor - Sweet Smell of Success and Something Rotten

Lydia Diamond

Lydia Diamond

Award-Winning Playwright and Professor - Stick Fly, Smart People, and The Bluest Eye

Melissa Donaldson

Melissa Donaldson

Diversity and inclusion strategist and chief diversity officer at Wintrust Financial

Billy Eichner

Billy Eichner

Emmy-nominated actor - Disney’s live-action The Lion King

Kenneth Ferrone

Kenneth Ferrone

Emmy Nominated Producer and Director - Fox's Rent

Ziwe Fumudoh

Ziwe Fumudoh

Writer, Comedian, and series creator - Baited with Ziwe

Barbara Gaines

Barbara Gaines

Theatre director, impresario, actress, and the founder and current Artistic Director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Frank Galati

Frank Galati

Tony Award-winning, Oscar-nominated director writer, actor, retired Northwestern professor, and associate director at the Goodman Theatre

Ana Gasteyer

Ana Gasteyer

Actress - Saturday Night Live and Suburgatory

Jody Gerson

Jody Gerson

As CEO and chair of Universal Music Publishing Group - first and only woman to lead a major music company

Naomi Grossman

Naomi Grossman

Emmy nominated actress - American Horror Story

Jenny Hagel

Jenny Hagel

Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award-nominated Comedian and comedic writer - Late Night With Seth Meyers and The Amber Ruffin Show

Kathryn Hahn

Kathryn Hahn

Actress - WandaVision, Crossing Jordan, Bad Moms, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Step Brothers, Our Idiot Brother, We're the Millers, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Heather Headley

Heather Headley

Tony Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-nominated singer - Aida, The Lion King, and Sweet Magnolias

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston

Academy Award-winning actor - Ben Hur

Doris Johnson

Doris Johnson

Executive director for the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, JoAnn G. and Peter F. Dolle Professor Emerita in Learning Disabilities

Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones

Academy Award-winning actress - The Song of Bernadette and Since You Went Away

Adam Kantor

Adam Kantor

Actor and singer - Broadway’s Rent, The Band’s Visit, and Fiddler on the Roof

Richard Kind

Richard Kind

Tony-nominated actor - Broadway The Big Knife, Mad About You, Spin City, Cars, A Bug's Life, Big Mouth, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and A Serious Man

Sherry Lansing

Sherry Lansing

President of 20th Century Fox and Chair, CEO of Paramount Pictures, and on the Board of directors at the Scripps Research Institute

Martha Lavey

Martha Lavey

Former artistic director of Tony Award-winning Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman

Academy Award-winning actress - The Last Picture Show

Jil Leiderman

Jil Leiderman

Primetime Emmy Award-nominated executive producer - ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Harry Lennix

Harry Lennix

Actor - Matrix series, the Blacklist, The Five Heartbeats, Dollhouse, and Billions

Attica Locke

Attica Locke

Best-Selling Author, Writer, and Producer - When They See Us and Little Fires Everywhere

John Logan

John Logan

Tony Award-winning playwright and multi-Oscar-nominated scriptwriter - Red, The Last Samurai, The Aviator, and Hugo 

Jerilyn Logemann

Jerilyn Logemann

Researcher, fellow, and past president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association - revolutionized the treatment of swallowing disorders (dysphagia)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Most Emmy-nominated actress in history and 11-time Emmy winner, 9 Screen Actors Guild Awards, 1 Golden Globe Award, and 5 American Comedy Awards - Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and VEEP

Stephanie March

Stephanie March

Actress, producer, activist, and entrepreneur - Law & Order SVU

Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle

Duchess of Sussex, an American member of the British royal family, and former actress - Suits and Castle

Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers

Actor, Comedian, and Emmy-winning writer - SNL and NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers

Megan Mullally

Megan Mullally

Two-time Emmy-winning actress - Will & Grace

Patricia Neal

Patricia Neal

Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-winning actress - Hud and Another Part of the Forest

Agnes Nixon

Agnes Nixon

Lifetime Emmy Award-winning soap opera inventor, developer, and writer

Ann-Margret Olsson

Ann-Margret Olsson

Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Actress

Jerry Orbach

Jerry Orbach

Actor - Law and Order

Lee Overtree

Lee Overtree

Co-founder and artistic director of Story Pirates podcast and show

Charlotte Rae

Charlotte Rae

Author and Emmy-nominated actress - Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Endgame, and The Facts of My Life

Tony Roberts

Tony Roberts

Actor - Annie Hall, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Amityville 3-D, and Law & Order

Craig Sager

Craig Sager

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Journalist - The NBA on TNT

Kristen Schaal

Kristen Schaal

Comedian, Emmy-nominated actress, and writer - BoJack Horseman, Bob’s Burgers, Flight of the Conchords, The Last Man on Earth, and Gravity Falls

David Schwimmer

David Schwimmer

Emmy-nominated actor and founding ensemble member of the Tony Award-winning Lookingglass Theatre - Friends

Kate Shindle

Kate Shindle

1998 Miss America, President of Actors Equity, Professor, Actress - Fun Home, Legally Blonde, Cabaret. NU School of Communication’s 2019–20 Hope Abelson Artist in Residence

Sander Vanocur

Sander Vanocur

Longtime television journalist and NBC’s White House correspondent

Lois Weisberg

Lois Weisberg

Former commissioner of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs

W. Rockwell (Rocky) Wirtz

W. Rockwell (Rocky) Wirtz

Owner and chairman of the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks hockey team and Wirtz Corporation President