Northwestern Intersections

For 100 years, Medill has trained the world's best storytellers. Deborah Douglas '89 is no exception. Deborah Douglas, the Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at DePauw University and senior leader with The OpEd Project, is an award-winning journalist and the author of "U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler's Guide to the People, Places and Events That Made the Movement."

To prepare for her new book, Deborah traveled throughout the South to visit places significant to the Civil Rights Movement. In this episode of Intersections, Deborah shares on the multitude of projects she spearheaded, how a focus on the Black community has guided her life's work as a child of the Great Migration, and some unforgettable advice that we all should remember, regardless of our career path.

To continue the Northwestern Alumni Association's celebration of National Mentoring Month, we invited a mentoring pair from the Northwestern Network Mentorship Platform—mentor Courtney Harris '13 and mentee Djenaldbeth Louis '20 MS—to share their tips for creating a thriving, reciprocal relationship. Courtney and Djenaldbeth walk us through their strategies for open communication and setting expectations and boundaries with a mentoring partner.

Courtney Harris '13 is a graduate of the School of Communication. She has spent the past seven years diving into the media industry with roles held across the advertising agency, publisher, and client landscapes. Most recently she has joined the McDonald's Media team head quartered in the West Loop of Chicago. She is an active member of the NAA via their mentorship and admission interview programs.

Djenaldbeth Louis '20 MS began her professional career in the hospitality industry in sales and marketing. After five years, she decided to pivot and get her master's degree so that she could head towards a more strategic and creative role. Now Djenaldbeth is a recent graduate of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications where she received her master's in Integrated Marketing Communications. Upon graduation, she accepted a role as a strategic planner for a multicultural agency in Chicago where she connects brands with consumers in a genuine way using insights, brand storytelling, and data.

January—National Mentoring Month in the United States—brings the launch of a new complement to the Northwestern Network Mentorship Program. The Affinity Leaders and Learners (ALL) Mentorship Program strives to create a unique opportunity for undergraduate students seeking identity-based mentorship.

The Northwestern Network is piloting this first run of the program for our Black, Asian and Asian American, and LGBTQ+ students and alumni. The ALL Program has been created in partnership with the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association (NUBAA), Northwestern University Asian and Asian American Alumni (NU-A5), and Northwestern University Pride Alumni Club (NUPAC) with the hope to extend the program to include more underrepresented groups in the future.

In this episode, we sit down with the three club liaisons to dive into the details of the program and the impact mentoring has had on their careers and lives.

To learn more about the program and how to register please visit mentor.northwestern.edu/programs/affinity.

Our liaisons, from left to right:

Evan Frost '17 is an assistant director on the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's annual fundraising team and a graduate of the School of Education and Social Policy (#SESPLove). Before the pandemic you could often find him cheering on the 'Cats at Ryan Field or commuting to and from the holds pickup at your nearest Chicago Public Library branch.

Julian Hill '08 is a community organizer, first, and a clinical teaching fellow with the Georgetown University Law Center's Social Enterprise & Nonprofit Law Clinic, second. He graduated from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences where he studied philosophy. Following Northwestern, he taught high school Spanish with Teach for America in the Los Angeles region before backpacking in Latin America, farming in Uganda, and attending Harvard Law School for his JD.

Brad Grams '17 MA is the principal White House liaison for Environmental Protection Budgeting at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Office of the Chief Financial Officer, where he leads the formulation of the agency's budget with its senior leaders, as well as The White House and Congress. Outside of his EPA work, Brad is an adjunct lecturer in Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies, where he focuses on research and program evaluation methods in the public sector, and leads their Public Policy and Administration Mentorship Program.

If you would have asked Mike Raab '12 at graduation where he thought he would be at age 30, he surely wouldn't have said having worked in three completely different industries, taken a summer off to backpack through Europe, and be back at Northwestern working as a staff member and getting his MBA at Kellogg. In this episode, Mike shares the vital importance of making connections and the unpredictable ways in which the people you know can impact your life and take it in a multitude of different directions.

Mike is currently the associate director of The Garage, Northwestern's entrepreneurial incubator and start-up hub in Evanston. In his role, Mike helps current undergraduate and graduate students connect with each other, alumni, and friends to create that Northwestern network that was so valuable in his own career. Mike and the rest of The Garage team are launching a podcast called How I Got Here, where recent alumni share their career path post-graduation. How I Got Here can be streamed on all podcast platforms beginning January 5, 2021.

Imran "Immy" Khan '05 has done a little bit of everything from starting his own company to starting a YouTube channel called, "Where do We Go From Here?", but the tenet at the core of all of his ventures is storytelling. Immy is the head of development at Berlin-based Big Window Productions, a production company helping spur a renaissance of television in Europe. Big Window Productions is dedicated to producing shows that expose viewers to thought-provoking stories and uplifting underrepresented voices in media.

Immy walks us through his winding career path, and emphasizes the importance of finding a North Star passion to guide your life's work. He also vulnerably shares how navigating your career and your life isn't always smooth, but is manageable with the right mindset.

Amit Walia '01 MEM, MBA is the CEO of Informatica, a software development company specializing in enterprise data integration and management software powering analytics for big data and cloud. His journey to Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management started when he followed his now wife, to the United States from India after finishing his undergraduate studies.

Amit was appointed as the CEO of Informatica two months before the lockdown took place in United States. With the opportunity to lead over 4,800 employees in the tech industry, Amit shares the importance of a human-centered leadership approach and how to brave uncertainty. Whether there is a pandemic or not, building relationships and putting the needs of his employees always come first. He reminds us of the value of your gut feeling, honest self-feedback, and so much more.

In our final installment of our four part back-to-school mini-series, we speak with Shreya Sriram '22 and Florencia Son '23 PhD. Shreya is a third-year undergraduate student at Northwestern University where she is majoring in Economics and Communication Sciences and Disorders on the Pre-Medicine track. She conducts independent research in the Auditory Research Laboratory and the CAPLab. Florencia is a third-year PhD candidate in the Chemistry Department and part of the Farha group at Northwestern, studying metal–organic frameworks for the purpose of the detoxification of chemical warfare agents. Both Shreya and Florencia serve as Student Directors on the Northwestern Alumni Association's (NAA) Board of Directors.

In this episode, Shreya and Florencia give us an inside look into navigating campus virtually. They share their experiences in the classroom, the lab, and their social circles, in addition to providing their insights into the NAA Board of Directors. Join us for a conversation between four Northwestern women, including our producer Allison Ledwon '19.

In our latest installment of our four part Back to School mini-series, we speak with Tiffany Wells '09, '19 MS. Tiffany serves as the assistant head of school at Guidepost Montessori Wicker Park in Chicago where she heads up the school's operational response to the pandemic. Tiffany shares how "rolling with the punches" has been the guiding principal of her career and her personal life. She reminds us all the importance of perspective and reflection in our lives, as well as the value in dreaming big.

The Northwestern Intersections team is kicking off our latest season with a four part Back to School mini-series, where we will speak with Wildcats at the intersection of education and the pandemic, discussing how they are approaching their work in our ever-changing, virtual world.

In the second episode of the mini-series, we sit down with Tim Dohrer '95 MA. Tim is the director of Northwestern's Master of Science in Education program, as well as an assistant professor for the School of Education and Social Policy. Throughout his career, Tim has taught middle school, high school, and college students in rural, urban, and suburban settings. In his current role, Tim teaches teachers. On today's episode, Tim dives into the under recognized parts of teaching, and shares the ingenuity that is happening in classrooms today.

The Northwestern Intersections team is kicking off our latest season with a four part Back to School mini-series, where we will speak with Wildcats at the intersection of education and the pandemic, discussing how they are approaching their work in our ever-changing, virtual world.

Melissa Foster '96, '01 MMus, a full time senior lecturer in the theatre department and a member of the musical theatre voice faculty in the School of Communication, occupies a unique position on Northwestern's campus. She is one of the five Northwestern faculty members that live with their families in residence halls with undergraduate students. In this episode, Melissa guides us through what it's like building residential community without all members occupying the same space, as well as the intricacies of teaching voice lessons over Zoom calls. Melissa also shares the importance of gratitude and your support network when navigating some of life's most challenging patches, whatever it entails.