The 92 Report

Show Notes:

Christiane Pendarvis found her career passion in retail and retail merchandising in Neiman Marcus department stores in Dallas, Texas. She started working in a high-end department store, and after working in the retail industry, she went back to business school and earned an MBA.

Experience as a Team Lead and Mentor

After business school, Christiane worked at Procter & Gamble in their brand management arena, but she missed retail and has been there ever since. Throughout her career, she has worked for various large brands and has moved across the country, including Dallas, North Carolina, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; New York City and finally L.A. She worked at various companies and gained exposure to different mentalities which gave her valuable experience in both life and work and she explains how her personal growth impacted her professional growth. Her desire today, as a senior executive, anchors on impact and exposure, showcasing the possibilities for other women. She feels blessed to have gone through these moves, cities, and companies, and has been able to impact and expose a wide group of people. She shares a story of how she helped team members grow professionally when working for a direct to consumer retailer in New York City, overseeing websites and a third-party marketplace business. Christiane aims to guide and develop people by considering both the company's needs and individual needs, leveraging their strengths to drive business performance while escalating learning, growth, and confidence.

Working as CO President and Chief Merchant at Savage

As CO president and chief merchant at Savage X Fenty lingerie by Rihanna, Christiane talks about her experience in merchandising roles. She describes the role as similar to a buying role, where it involves sourcing product, pricing, inventory. However, at Savage X Fenty, Christiane oversaw all functions related to product creation, including designers, fabric suppliers, technical designers, production teams, and inventory management. The role involves working on various products at different stages of development, such as holiday assortments, samples, and inventory management. Each season is at a different stage, making it challenging to balance the development of different products while also managing the business. Christiane enjoys this dynamic role as it allows him to be inspired but also tactical in solving problems.In addition to overseeing the merchandising team, she also manages e-commerce and direct to consumer sales.

The Pandemic - A Rocket Year

Christiane shares her experiences at Savages during the pandemic. The business started in May 2018 just before the pandemic. The business tripled its size in 2020 due to the pandemic, which was a surprise blessing for the business, as it was a direct-to-consumer business that relied on social media to attract customers. In 2021, the business almost doubled from the previous year, with a total employee base of 225 people. This growth was not only financial but also a success as a leader and executive. The company also opened retail stores, with hundreds of additional employees. Managing supply chain challenges during the pandemic was challenging, but the overall impact on the business and the cultural relevance of Savage was also a proud moment for Christiane.

The Apparel Industry Culture

Christiane talks about the misconceptions people may have about the apparel industry. She explains it is not all as glamorous as many people think. It is a hyper-competitive, business-oriented industry with sustainability challenges. The best people and retailers are run well, like any other business. Victoria's Secret, for example, has a $7 billion revenue business. When it comes to business, it's not just about glamor; it's about strategic product selection, consumer appeal, positioning in the marketplace, and competitiveness. People sometimes underestimate the importance of retail, thinking it's a great place to be if you're a business. However, the industry is not just about fashion, it has challenges surrounding sustainability, and responsible growth.

Staying in Tune with the Market

Christiane shares what she has learned about merchandising and her approach to staying in tune with the market, the importance of testing and learning, and hiring the right people for the right roles. She acknowledges that she is not a trend-setter and that she may not be able to keep up with all the latest trends. She believes that having the right people in the right roles is essential for a company to succeed. She explains how she manages her employees to help them improve their performance, enjoy their work, and remain loyal to the company. While she may not be in the loop with general trends, she does keep up with product trends. She enjoys spending time in stores and trying new beauty products, but culturally, she may not be the best person to stay updated on the latest trends. She also explains how she hires talent and ensures a cultural fit.

Personal and Professional Growth

Christiane shares her journey of self-acceptance and the unexpected opportunities she has encountered. She admits to never having considered becoming the CEO of a company, and has learned now to feel more comfortable not knowing and reaching out for help. She acknowledges that the false narrative of having to have it all together and expose herself to others' perspectives is a false narrative. Her openness towards uncertainty and seeking help has helped build success in her career. She has developed a long-term career plan based on exploration and curiosity, focusing on opportunities that have opened doors she couldn't have predicted.

Influential Professors and Courses at Harvard

Christiane highlights her involvement in various activities and courses. She started a basketball cheerleaders group, which provided her with broader exposure and allowed her to meet interesting people from different circles within the community. She also enjoyed supporting the sports team and was a member of Kuumba, a group that provided a platform for her to sing and perform and build a strong network of friends. She was treasurer of the organization that helped fund a Kuumba tour.

Christiane believes that the tight network she formed at Harvard has remained strong even 35 years later, with deeper friendships formed due to the shared experience and respect within the class.

Timestamps:

01:53: Career journey, impact on people, and self-acceptance

07:38: Leadership and development of employees in a retail setting

12:25: Product development and inventory management in the lingerie industry

17:21: Business growth and celebrity involvement

22:41: Misconceptions about the fashion industry, merchandising, and consumer understanding

28:38: Talent selection and cultural fit in leadership roles

34:14: Career journey, self-acceptance, and personal growth

40:35: Shared experiences and bonds formed at Harvard University 35 years after graduation

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianependarvis

Featured Non-profit

The featured non-profit of this episode is the Global Medical Research Institute, recommended by Candy Gunther Brown who reports:

"Hi, I'm Candy Gunther Brown, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of The 92 report is the Global Medical Research Institute, or GMRI. Gmri supports evidence-based research on Christian healing prayer by publishing randomized, controlled trials and case reports in peer reviewed medical journals. Spiritual healing practices like mindfulness and yoga are better studied, though, Christian healing prayer is more common. Doctors and patients and skeptics and believers all have a stake in knowing whether Christian healing prayer helps or harms and which approaches are most clinically beneficial. I'm privileged to have co-founded and served on the GMRI Board for the past 13 years. You can learn more about their work at global mri.org that's G, l, O, B, A, L, M, R, I, dot O, R, G, and now here is Will Bachman with this week's episode.

To learn more about their work visit: https://www.globalmri.org/

Show Notes:

Robert Frost married his high school girlfriend 10 days after graduating. After moving back to New York, Robert worked at a consulting company called A.T. Kearney. He was interested in business and thought consulting would be a good way to go while working towards becoming a CEO. However, three weeks in, he realized consulting wasn't for him.

From Columbia University to Real Estate

Robert worked with Kearney's Global Business Policy Council, which provided political advice to senior leaders in business and advised governments on business practices. He worked on projects advising countries on transitioning to free market economies. He also worked with Kearney on cultivating C suite level clients. After a few years, Robert went to business school at Columbia University. At Columbia, he was attracted to investment banking and private investing. After pursuing more technical training, he worked at Bear Stearns in the real estate gaming and lodging group from '97 to 2000, but while he liked the work and people, he didn't like the lifestyle. and later found a partner and started buying real estate. They bought and sold real estate in New York during the up market, but in 2006, they realized there was nothing to buy. They sold most of their property, found another partner, and started building affordable housing units in the Bronx, rezoned industrial real estate and built housing units.

President of the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation and Buying a Football Team

Robert became the president of the Lucius Littauer foundation in 2011, which he helped streamline. Robert talks about how his business ventures are built on a foundation of unlocking processes. More recently, he has been involved in other projects, such as buying a third-division soccer team in Lisbon, Portugal, which had a beautiful old stadium but needed money to pay bills and become professional. They raised money from investors and bought the team from the club. They professionalized the organization, hiring a head of football, administration, scouting department, and investing in the beautiful stadium. They also invested in a hospitality suite to become a destination for Lisbon visitors. Robert talks about the experience of running a football team and the real estate component of the business play.

Harvard and the Jewish Community

Robert shares a little about his background, his father, and his experience with the Jewish community. His father attended Harvard, joined the navy, and later became the founding president of Harvard Hill. He talks about the culture at Harvard at that time, how it influenced his father, and how, both his father's and Robert's role with the Littauer Foundation. Robert talks about the foundation's involvement with the Jewish community and how his father's legacy continues to influence the foundation's future, as it continues to support the Jewish community and provide funding for various programs and projects. The conversation turns to antisemitism, Robert and his father's experience at Harvard, and how the university's anti-Semitism efforts have evolved over time, with some factors being institutional and others being intentional.

Rezoning in New York City

Robert discusses the process of rezoning in New York City, which involves both formal and informal steps. In the formal process, a draft environmental impact statement is filed, which goes through a series of reviews and approvals by various constituencies, including community boards, borough presidents, city councils, and mayors. The informal process involves scoping of the study on the environmental impact and analyzing the community's needs, and attending numerous community board meetings. He talks about the areas they focused on and why, the transactions made, and putting together teams.

Building Affordable Housing

The conversation turns to the importance of affordable housing, and Robert shares how they developed affordable housing. They have almost no tenants who make more than 60% of the average median income, and their rents are programmatically sized to accommodate 20-30% of people coming out of the homeless system. Robert notes that this industry has existed for a while, but it is now difficult to build true affordable housing due to inflation, land costs, and construction costs. Currently, the Affordable Housing Program is a leveraging of the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, which grants tax credits to not-for-profit entities to build affordable housing. However, this approach has led to increased costs for developers. New York City has provided supplemental financing through second and third mortgages and low interest rate grants, but these grants have not kept up with inflation in construction and land costs. He also talks about financing and regulatory issues.

The Decision to Leave Consulting

Robert explains why he did not like consulting and how his perspective on sales and selling has changed since his time at Kearney. His early experience with consulting led him to realize that he wanted to be in charge of his own business. He initially thought he wanted to run a big organization but realized that he didn't like the level of responsibility over people's lives. He prefers running a small organization and having services provided by third parties, as he doesn't enjoy the human responsibility of running a big organization.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

Robert recounts his experience at Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) before becoming president. He explains how his role involved budgeting and rolling up a corporate overhead budget for 10 different businesses. The board was not supportive, but from this experience, Robert learned about dysfunctional dynamics. He emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes and not allowing one person to dictate the dynamics. Despite the challenges, HSA had a successful financial year and renegotiated contracts with real-world implications. Robert's time at Harvard Student Agencies was central to his education and he uses lessons learned from his experiences to improve his career.

Timestamps:

02:27 Career progression from consulting to investment banking to real estate development

07:52: Buying a soccer team in Portugal and its business implications

12:51: Running a small sports team with limited resources

16:19: Jewish immigration and Harvard involvement

21:56: Harvard experiences, anti-Semitism, and cultural acceptance

28:34: Rezoning in New York City and its impact on the community

34:49: Land assembly and rezoning in New York City

36:51: Affordable housing challenges in New York City, including funding and regulation issues

43:29: Sales and consulting experiences, personal growth, and academic experiences at Harvard

48:48: Leadership lessons learned from managing a struggling business

Links:

The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation: http://littauerfoundation.org/

Company website: https://signatureurban.com/

Featured Non-profit:

The featured non-profit of this episode is The Nature Conservancy, recommended by Tom Hughes who reports:

"Hi, I'm Tom Hughes, class of 1992 the featured nonprofit of this episode of The 92 report is the Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy is tackling accelerated climate change and biodiversity loss by preserving ecosystems, driving policy and bringing together communities to reach pragmatic solutions. I love the work of this organization. I've been a regular donor for almost 20 years, and I've personally trained and coached many of their senior leaders, and have the utmost confidence in their integrity, their sincerity and their ability to achieve these goals of matter to all of us, you can learn more about their work at nature.org and now here's will Bachman with this week's episode."

To learn more about their work visit: https://www.nature.org/en-us/

Show Notes:

David Willbrand got married immediately after graduation in 1992. He talks about that period of uncertainty many graduates experience after school, and David did not have a clear professional direction, but with an interest in politics, he started working on a campaign for a city council candidate in Cincinnati, which was short-lived but did lead to a position with the Ohio EPA. David explains that he didn't have a particular interest in working in government or environmental regulation but he needed a job and so took a job with the EPA, which involved climbing smokestacks, not something he had prepared for! Testing Smokestacks for the EPA David's job was to ensure that the testing would take place properly. He was onsite at regulated entities who had big smokestacks that needed to be tested periodically for particulate emissions and didn't welcome the EPA oversight. He would climb the 300ft smokestacks in cold weather, sitting up there for eight hours to monitor the people actually doing the testing, aware of the potential impact the emissions were having on his health. Desperate for a new direction, David decided to pursue law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He shared how his unusual approach (desperation meets urgency) encouraged the admissions department into accepting his application. He reflects that he hated the smokestack job is glad he did it, because it forced him to take a step in a new direction. Life at Law School and into the .Com Era David shares his love for law school, in particular the direct interaction he had with the faculty. He compares it to his experience at Harvard, where, with respect to the faculty, he felt like he fell through the cracks. He went into law school without a clear understanding of what it meant to be a lawyer. He initially thought about environmental law but found it unsuitable due to the preference for engineers. He stumbled into corporate law and found the deal work and transactional work enjoyable. He was offered a job at a Cincinnati law firm in 1996, graduating in 1996. The date is relevant because 1996 is typically noted as the beginning of the .com era, and suddenly there were multiple requests to deal with the legalities surrounding startups. Startup work became his area of focus. From Cincinnati to a San Francisco Law Firm and Back Again He was offered a job at a law firm in Boulder and spent three years there, advancing his career and skill set. However, life threw a curveball, and he and his family decided to return to Cincinnati in 2000. David worked remotely for a year with a .com company based in Ottawa and New York City. However, the .com bubble burst, and David decided to leave. At 32 with two kids and a wife, he joined another startup in Cincinnati, a B2B SaaS company. This was a difficult experience, as the company had to lay off many people and he had to take on more responsibilities in finance and HR. Working with Founders and Startups In 2004, David decided to return to a law firm environment; he joined Thompson Hine, an AmLaw 200 law firm, in 2004. They wanted to create a startup and venture capital practice in the Midwest, and David was interested in being on the front edge of that pioneering activity. Working with startup companies and founders, he had the privilege of being a key advisor and gaining exposure to various industries such as biotech, hardware, devices, apps, and social media, and David shares how he liked being involved at the leading edge of innovation. He also felt that having a stake in the innovation economy was important for the future of the Midwest, and it was emotionally rewarding to participate in that mission. From Private Practice to Chief Legal Officer at Pacaso David shares that he got divorced in 2008 and remarried a year later to a woman he practiced with. He explains why they decided to live remotely for the first decade of their marriage. After the pandemic, David felt restless in his legal practice; he needed either a new direction or to change the configuration of his practice. He kept his eyes open for opportunities. He had worked with a client who had sold a company to Zillow and had started a new company called Pacaso. Pacaso was growing rapidly and needed a chief legal officer due to the complexity of the business and legal demands. In April 2021, David walked away from his practice, which he had built over 17 years, and has been at Pacaso since then. He explains that this experience highlights the importance of adapting to change and staying curious about new opportunities in one's career. Making a Long Distance Marriage Work David discusses the challenges of long distance marriages. He believes that the paradigm may be more workable for second marriages due to different expectations in duties. There are challenges, but a big benefit is that the couple really values their time together and doesn't take it for granted. They also get to spend time together without their children (when their children are with their other parents). This segmented approach can allow for a balanced relationship and lifestyle. Counseling Clients and Monetizing Skills David discusses his experience as an attorney and how he found himself as a business counselor to his clients as well. He talks about the difficulties many startup founders face and how he became a person they could talk to, and how he built strong relationships with his clients. He also shares that he has found that using his legal skills through side hustles can be a rewarding experience. David is currently an adjunct law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and has taught courses on mergers and acquisitions, business associations, agency and partnership and, currently, startups and venture capital, for 20 years. He also works with various incubators and accelerators to help founders and startups. Influential Harvard Professors and Courses David's undergraduate experience at Harvard helped him develop critical thinking skills, which are essential for success in law school and other careers. He believes that his undergraduate experience at Harvard helped him unpack inherited beliefs and biases, making him a more dimensional human. He was actively involved at Phillips Brooks House, and the Food Salvage initiative, which provided food to homeless shelters around Cambridge. His experience exposed him to social issues and helped him develop a skill set for running an organization. He learned about people, deliverables, supply chains, and customers, which he believes were invaluable in running a business. David also shared his conservative, evangelical Christian background, which influenced his political, social, and cultural views from his youth through his time at Harvard and into his 30s. However, as he grew older, he struggled with this belief system, and eventually moved in a different direction and built his life on a different set of values and principles.

Timestamps:

02:22: Career choices, job dissatisfaction, and law school admission

08:49: Inspecting smokestacks with a wand-like device

11:29: Career path and personal growth in law

17:12: Career changes, challenges, and lessons learned

20:29 Career journey in law firm environment, including startup work and personal life

27:02: Career growth and change, with a focus on a lawyer's transition from outside counsel to chief legal officer

29:33 The benefits of long-distance relationships for couples with children, with insights on how it can positively impact work-life balance and communication

36:35: Career development and pattern recognition in law

39:21: Personal growth, education, and entrepreneurship

45:29: Religious beliefs and their evolution in a Harvard student's life

Links:

David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-willbrand-9062011/

Featured Non-profit:

The featured non-profit of this episode is The Kentucky Student Voice Team, recommended by Rachel Burg Belin who reports:

"Hi, I'm Rachel Burg Belin, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of the 92 report is the Kentucky Student Voice Team. The Kentucky Student Voice Team is an independent youth led intergenerationally sustained organization. The mission is to support young people as education research, policy and storytelling partners to co create more just democratic schools and communities. I love the work of this organization. So much so that ever since 2012 When I worked with a team of high school students to conceive and CO design it, I've been pouring my everything into it. I also serve as its managing partner. You can learn more about the Kentucky student voice [email protected] And now here's Will Bachman with this week's episode."

To learn more about their work visit: https://www.ksvt.org/

Show Notes:

As a student, Elijah Aron started writing plays, musicals, and making weird films with friends. After school, he moved to San Francisco and started a theater company with friends from college. They transformed an old shoe store into a theater, where Elijah worked and slept. He talks about the imaginative and adventurous shows, which included surrealist works and musical elements, and simulated carnival rides, but despite their creative success, he struggled financially and worked as a temp and at a bookstore to support himself where he met a wide assortment of interesting individuals.

Working in Television Elijah initially pursued the idea theater, as he was drawn to weird art and unconventional ideas. He explains how he began to write scripts for a TV show called Black Scorpion and in 2000, Elijah moved to LA to try his hand at the TV business where he started working as a low-level executive at Disney Television Animation.

Tips on Pitching a Television Show Elijah talks about his career at Disney where he became a development executive, helped produce cartoons and look for new shows. He shares tips on pitching that he learned from this experience, including which pitches sold and why. He emphasizes the importance of being relaxed and friendly in meetings, as well as summarizing the idea in a sentence to sell it. His job involved listening to pitches and working as a programming executive, reading every draft of the script, and looking at storyboards. Elijah also developed and wrote television shows, and he wrote some TV movies. However, he wanted to move into adult TV and was hired on the show Drawn Together, which was an animated reality show with different characters from different cartoons.

100000 Jokes and Working in the Writer's Room Elijah talks about his experience in TV writers rooms and recalls the first joke that got him quoted in TV Guide. He spent a decade of writing for network sitcoms, including Better Off Ted and Raising Hope. Elijah's work on these shows was characterized by stress, high-pressure work, and a focus on ratings. He enjoyed working with talented writers and developing sitcoms, but eventually changed course to work on Bojack Horseman, an animated show about a horse actor dealing with depression, and Undone, an animated show about a young woman who learns to move through time and space. He states that being a TV writer is challenging, as it involves collaboration, rewriting, and finding the right balance between being funny and not being offensive. He talks about writing jokes and how he combines inspiration and a method of thinking that helps him find the funny. He also mentions that most writers do not want to use AI for ideas and/or writing, but that it can be useful for research.

Influential Harvard Courses and Professors Elijah discusses his lifelong career in the arts, focusing on his extracurricular activities such as creating weird plays and participating in a community of artists. He mentions his experiences with free speech and the creation of a zine called The Little Friend at Harvard, where anyone could publish opinions. He also shared a story about making white jumpsuits with numbers on the back, which led to a cultural education. He took animation classes with Derek Lamb and Janet Perlman, which provided him with a history of animation and allowed him to create his own films. He also mentioned that he is a fan of Helen Venders' poetry classes.

Timestamps:

05:08: Creating and staging surreal, experimental plays in college

09:43: Career paths, including temping, writing, and TV production

16:58: TV show development and pitching, with insights on what sells and what doesn't

22:07: Writing for TV shows, including jokes and animation experience

27:02: TV writing career, from sitcoms to animated shows

33:12: TV writing, comedy vs. drama, and joke-writing process

38:16: Using AI in TV writing, personal experiences, and career development

Links:

Undone: https://www.amazon.com/Undone-Season-1/dp/B0875GVR67

Instagram: @things_in_elijahs_house

Featured Non-profit:

The featured non-profit of this episode is Healthy Humor Inc., recommended by Reggie Williams who reports: "Hi, I'm Reggie Williams, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of the 92 report is healthy humor. Healthy humor is an arts organization whose professional performers create moments of joy, wonder, laughter and comfort for hospitalized children and their families during some of their most difficult times. I'm proud to have served on the board for healthy humor for more than two years. Alongside our classmate Derek Horner, who's the board's chair. You can learn more about their work at healthyhumorinc.org. And now, here's Will Bachman with this week's episode."

To learn more about their work visit: https://www.healthyhumorinc.org/

Andrew Ott left college to work at a nonprofit, then moved into technology research and small internet startups before returning to nonprofits and working in social entrepreneurship in Brazil and Rwanda. Now, he runs his own nonprofit, training people from low-income backgrounds, particularly people of color and women, how to code, program websites, and launch new careers.

College Friendships

One of the elements of Harvard that have continued to influence his life is his long-term relationship with his Harvard roommates. They regularly get together once or twice a year, getting their families together and doing fun things together. This group of friends has evolved over time, with some being good planners and others not. The tradition started in college, where they would go to one person's house on Memorial Day weekend and bring friends. After college, they spread out to different cities and eventually started renting houses when they had more income. Andrew reflects on the gift of having friends from high school and college.

Travel and Working in Tech

Andrew talks about the early days of his career. Initially, he needed some time off from college and decided to go to Spain with his roommate. This experience provided him with a new adventure, fluency in Spanish, and a change in worldview. After his father's death, Andrew considered joining the Peace Corps, but he explains how serendipity stepped into his life and helped him secure a position as webmaster at Forrester Research.

From Spain to Brazil

After Forrester, Andrew planned to go to Argentina, but changed plans due to the country's economic difficulties. He spent several months researching and interviewing people connected to Argentina, which led to a job offer at an International publishing house which was offering a salary of $8,000 or $9,000 per year. Despite his interest in the job, the pay was too low to accept, and he returned to the U.S., with a stop-over to Brazil en route. He met up with old friends who live in Sao Paulo. While there, he noticed the abundance of international brands and helipads in Sao Paulo, and decided to pursue work there where his experience working with Forrester and his knowledge as a webmaster was in high demand. Andrew recounts his experience working for startups in Brazil, where he initially worked for four years building websites. He eventually decided to return to nonprofits, starting with CDI, a Brazilian nonprofit that builds computer and citizenship schools in poor neighborhoods across Brazil. He studied nonprofit management and international relations at the Kennedy School.

Social Entrepreneurship in Rwanda

The conversation turns to his work in Rwanda where he explored the concept of social entrepreneurship, which is a startup approach with a social goal. He joined TechnoServe, an organization that was involved in the coffee project funded by the Gates Foundation. The goal was to draw together smallholder coffee farmers into collectives and sell their products to major coffee roasters like Starbucks. TechnoServe intentionally cut out middlemen, ensuring that more of the profit goes back to the farmer. This approach has a positive socio-economic effect on agricultural communities, improving their standard of living, school rates, education rates, and health. Andrew worked with a small entrepreneur to improve his coffee cooperative's business operation. He shares how they discovered fraud in the coffee cooperatives and how they dealt with it.

How CodeSquad Works

Andrew talks about CodeSquad, a nonprofit organization, which trains individuals from low-income backgrounds, focusing on people of color, women, and marginalized communities, without any computer or software background, in entry areas or full stack website development. The organization works with these individuals to find jobs in software, which can significantly impact their livelihoods. The average reported salary for a job in software is over $100,000 a year. Some participants have been homeless or couchsurfing during the program, but the program has had some amazing outcomes, including the range of jobs the participants can apply for after going through the program. The program is now entirely online. This decision-making process is more efficient and effective than traditional interviews. The program has seen a significant increase in interest, with over 1000 people interested in the program this year. Andrew shares information on cost per graduate and funding for the program.

Challenges Faced by People in the Tech Industry

Andrew discusses the challenges faced by people in the tech industry, including the need for education and the educational requirements. He mentions that the minimum requirements for a software developer job are a high school diploma or GED, authorization to work in the United States, and passing through the admissions process. Success in the industry is determined by perseverance and code switching, which can be difficult for those without corporate work experience.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

Andrew mentions Professor Joseph Nye, Jr., and his Historical Studies course on International Relations. He was fascinated by geopolitics and power dynamics between countries in other groups.

Links:

https://codesquad.org/

Timestamps:

02:24 Maintaining long-term friendships through regular get-togethers with families and friends.

05:35 Maintaining friendships over time and across distances, with personal anecdotes and experiences

12:17 Career trajectory shift from tech support to web development

15:35 Career path and experience in Brazil

21:16 Social entrepreneurship in Rwanda with a focus on coffee farmers

23:48 Coffee fraud in Rwanda, with a focus on a middleman's inflated expenses

29:45 Nonprofit training low-income individuals in software development, with successful job placement outcomes

31:40 Predicting success in a coding boot camp program

37:43 Non-profit organization CodeSquad's mission to help low-income individuals gain coding skills and find jobs in tech industry

Featured Non-profit:

The featured non-profit of this episode is The Baby Jesus Community of Petropolis, recommended by Roger Landry who reports: Hi, this is Roger Landry class of 1992, who had the privilege to be interviewed by Will in Episode 42. The featured nonprofit in this episode of the 92 report is The Baby Jesus Community of Petropolis, Brazil. Founded in 1990 by Tonio Tavares, a teacher for Special Needs teens, who, when the Brazilian government pulled its funding, ended up adopting all 45 Special Needs teens and adults and caring for them ever since. I first found out about this extraordinary organization, when I was working as a diplomat at the United Nations. And since then I've helped them get established as a US 501 C-three, contributed to their many needs, and tried to help them find others in the United States who might be able to assist in their beautiful and literally life saving work. You can learn more about their work at their website. communidade.jesusmenino.org.br for Brazil. I'll spell it that is: C OMUNIDADEJESUSME N I N O dot org.br for Brazil, or if that's too complicated, just email me at Catholic [email protected] Thanks so much for your consideration. And now here's Will Bachman with this week's episode.

To learn more about their work visit: https://comunidadejesusmenino.org.br/

Show Notes:

Somava Saha's interest in medical school began late in her career. She studied molecular biology in her fourth year at Harvard, but she eventually enrolled in the Berkeley UCSF joint MediCal program. There, she learned about medicine from the perspective of people and cases, as well as the economics of medicine and the history of healthcare and public health. She also completed a master's thesis with the Bahai Community Health Partnership in Guyana, South America, where she worked alongside community health workers, villagers, and teachers to create conditions for collective healing. Somava explains the approach taken and how it led to significant health improvements, such as 90% reductions in malaria rates and elimination of acquired developmental delays.

Getting to Know the People Who Experience Homelessness

Somava also talks about the impact the Spare Change newspaper and getting to know the people experiencing homelessness in Harvard Square had on her and her career. She started to get involved in programs like Phillips Brooks House, and food recovery programs. By listening to the stories of people who were homeless, Somava found that there was an incredible wealth of human potential and people with enormous gifts to offer one another and others in creating communities. This experience taught her how to value the knowledge stored in stories, how to connect people's stories with policies, and see the gift in others as valuable tools for creating better change.

Community-driven Change

Somava talks about her time at Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance. She learned about the importance of community-driven change and how it can build social connections and change systems. During her residency training, Somava learned about the differences in structures and systems. She also encountered the challenges of supporting patients who had recently been assaulted. She talks about the process of collecting evidence and how this experience led to her belief in a model of seamless care that demonstrates true dignity and cultural competence is an important model to follow. She realized that the presence or absence of money does not determine whether systems work for people and communities experiencing inequities. Instead, it is the choices we make as a society and how structures and systems are designed to create a sense of dignity.

Leading a Community Health Center

Somava talks about leading a community health center in Revere, using the same lessons and methods as her life at Cambridge Health Alliance. Over the next two and a half years, the center became known as a national model, and she became elected as the next president of the medical staff. Somava went on to become the Vice President leading the care transformation in Massachusetts. The transformation focused on designing a system that works for people, giving dignity and agency, and valuing all workers based on their expertise, talents, gifts, and contributions. This transformation was chosen by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation as one for innovative and effective transformations in the country.

Designing a Health System that Works

Somava realized that health doesn't happen when someone goes into the doctor's office, but rather throughout life, leading to toxic stress and harmful outcomes. This led her to propose the 100 million healthier lives initiative, which built a global network across 30 countries and over 1850 partners reaching over 500 million people. In three and a half years, the network improved 738 million lives. She also founded Well Being and Equity in the World, focusing on changing the underlying conditions and root causes that perpetuate harm in people's lives, holding back their potential throughout their lifespan.

A Progressive Medical Clinic Model

Somava explains what made the Revere Clinic a progressive model and offers an example of how it worked for patients. The clinic created high-functioning teams to cater to the needs of the community, ensuring longer hours and safety appointments. The clinic recognized the importance of community members, such as medical assistants and receptionists, who could play a larger role than their technical capacity. Revere changed its financing model to focus on improving health and connecting with people throughout the year. They focussed on quality of care over quantity, building relationships, and supporting the patients. These approaches are just a few that were incorporated and prioritized preventative care, chronic disease management, and provided more time and coaching for individuals to work on their health and well-being goals.

Creating Well-being Initiatives

Somava has worked with over 500 communities across the nation, including black, indigenous Latinx, and other communities, to create wellbeing initiatives designed by people closest to the problems. These initiatives saved over 60,000 years of life and helped communities of color, expunged prison records, and fed and housed the community back in their homes.She emphasizes the importance of understanding that those experiencing inequities have enormous gifts to offer the nation and that it is a loss is when we prevent them from expressing their genius.

A Mission to Advance Well-being

Somava's mission is to advance intergenerational well-being and equity based on racial and economic justice. She talks about methods employed to create pathways for intergenerational health building and community building, including the Well Being in the Nation network, which connects the dots across organizations and provides support in multiple ways. Many of their initiatives and frameworks have been adopted by organizations and federal agencies. The most important part of their work is building community, and building change agents who can create better change. They have worked with organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC, and the Surgeon General to build capacity in the public health system and to create a network of change agents.

Influential Harvard Courses and Professors

Somava mentions professor Diana Ecks on World Religions, and courses Lessons Learned from the Weimar Republic, Medical Anthropology

Timestamps:

05:17 Healthcare, poverty, and social connection

10:18 Homelessness, poverty, and healthcare

18:11 Improving healthcare systems for marginalized communities

24:05 Transforming healthcare through community-centered approaches

28:45 Healthcare system redesign for better patient outcomes

36:43 Improving diabetes care through patient-led groups

40:56 Trusting patients' knowledge for health and wellness

46:07 Building collective leadership for health equity

Links:

Website: https://weintheworld.org/

Featured Non-profit:

The featured non-profit of this episode is CAPE, recommended by Melinda Hsu Taylor who reports: "Hi, this is Melinda Hsu from the class of 1992. And this week's featured organization is the coalition of Asian Pacific's in entertainment. They're a group that's been around for about 30 years in Hollywood, fostering and Amplifying Voices from the creative side from the industry talent side, all from the Asian Pacific Islander native Hawaiian community. And I'm very pleased to have been involved with many of their outreach programs and the Asian American writers brunch, as well as the mentoring program that they have through not just the cape writers fellowship, but also the showrunner incubator, which I'm helping launch this year. And I hope that you will look up their website which is Cape usa.org To find out more about the work they do the initiatives and also the screenings and the kind of like programs that they do to let people know about what films are coming out and how to support them and how to get involved with all of these things. And now here is Will Bachman and this week's episode."

To learn more about their work visit: CapeUSA.org

Show Notes:

Julie Lin was a medical student at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons when she met her future husband. It was the first day of medical school and they met while attending a class where they were both serious amateur classical musicians. Julie talks about their shared love of music and how they planned to have a family quartet.

The All-state Orchestra Model

Julie shares her story of starting an orchestra at medical school, which initially had a traditional weekly rehearsal and concert. However, they found that the show rate was low as exam time approached, leading to the creation of the Allstate orchestra model. This model involved distributing music and parts ahead of time, having a three or four-hour rehearsal, and playing in front of an invited live audience.

Experiences at Medical School

Julie initially thought she would be a clinician, but during her nephrology fellowship program, she trains to become a specialist in kidney medicine, she also became interested in clinical research. This realization led her to pursue academic nephrology, which was life-changing for her. After her husband's residency and postdoctoral training in Boston, Julie started working as an instructor at Harvard Medical School and attending physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. As part of her job offer, she negotiated for funding from the nephrology division to obtain a Master's in Public Health from Harvard, focusing on quantitative analysis rather than policy.

Working in Nephrology Research

Julie worked as an investigator in the Channing laboratory at Brigham and Women's Harvard, where they had ongoing cohort studies of health professionals for over 10 years. She was one of the many NIH-funded investigators in the Nurses Health Study, a cohort study of >120,000 US nurses who signed up in 1976. A subset of women in the study had submitted blood and urine samples, which allowed for analyses of change in estimated kidney function over 11 years between 1989 and 2000.

Kidney Function Decline Research

Julie's research included looking at diet, nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns and how they impacted kidney function and change. Work that gained the most media attention was diet work. Her research found that drinking two or more servings of artificially sweetened drinks, likely soda, was associated with a faster kidney function decline in women over 11 years. This was about three times faster than normal aging alone. The researchers adjusted for factors like diabetes and high blood pressure, which are big risk factors for kidney function loss. Julie also talks about research on the Mediterranean diet vs. Western dietary patterns.

Diet for Kidney Health

The conversation turns to the concept of the blue zone, which has been associated with longevity and longevity, but that many people living over 100 years in these areas may have exaggerated their age due to poor record keeping. This leads Julie to remark that a main concern for scientists is how well information is being captured and measured. Julie shares tips on the best diet for kidney health. Low sugar intake is recommended, as it can lead to weight gain and diabetes. Vegetarian diets are also healthy, and fish is recommended as the main source of animal protein.

A Clinical Research Career in Industry

Julie talks about the reduction in academic research funding, and why she decided to continue her clinical research career in industry, working on clinical trials and developing new drugs. She has worked with Amgen, Genzyme, a rare disease company, as well as at a gene therapy startup called Dimension Therapeutics, which was acquired by Ultragenyx. Her current role is as global project head at Sanofi. She talks about her role and the importance of assessing efficacy and safety of new therapies.

Playing in Community Orchestras and Chamber Music

Julie explains that, as an amateur musician, she has found it to be a great outlet for her stress and the intense work she had to do while working and taking care of her children when they were younger. She joined a community orchestra in 2012, since then she has played in a number of community orchestras, including New Philharmonia, Longwood, and Brookline Symphony. Julie has also played with the Mercury Orchestra, founded and conducted by Channing Yu, Class of 93. Recently, she decided to focus on chamber music, which has been her true love. She has a lot of local musician friends to play with. Julie explains that playing chamber music brings a sense of flow and connection to others, making it a great gift.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

Julie shares her experiences in Harvard's music 180 class, taught by Leon Kirchner and Lynn Chang, which was an intense experience. She also recalls a class where a modern and atonal piece was played by an advanced violinist, which changed her view of Schoenberg's music. She also mentions Helen Vendler's poetry class.

Timestamps:

05:38 Medical school experiences, including a non-linear podcast format and a successful orchestra performance

09:30 Career paths in medicine, including becoming a physician scientist, with insights on negotiation for benefits and research in nephrology

16:31 Diet and kidney function, with findings on artificial sweetened drinks and Mediterranean diet

21:17 Aging, nutrition, and kidney health with a former academic researcher turned pharmaceutical industry professional

28:36 Musical experiences and focus on chamber music

33:01 Music, Harvard, and the importance of flow

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-lin-md-mph-fasn-71796b2a/

Featured Non-profit

The featured non-profit of this episode is Esperanza Shelter, recommended by Caribou Honig who reports "Hi, I'm Caribou Honig, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of The 92 report is Esperanza shelter. The shelter does incredibly important work, enabling people and very importantly, their children, to escape abusive relationships throughout northern New Mexico. Equally important, is that they provide a wide range of services to help those survivors get back on their feet, providing everything from emergency shelter to transitional housing to counseling and life skills. My wife and I have been donating to Esperanza shelter since 2020. You can learn more about their work at Esperanza shelter.org. Esperanza for those of you not in the know is the Spanish word for hope. And now here's Will Bachman with this week's episode.

To learn more about their work, visit https://esperanzashelter.org/.

Show Notes:

Dennis Crowley started working for Tyco International in 1996 and spent five years in Europe, spending half his time in Paris and two and a half years in Brussels. This experience was enjoyable as it allowed him to work, sightsee, and travel around Europe. During his time in Europe, he had the opportunity to visit every country in Europe, including Spain, Italy, the UK, and France. He moved back to Florida, then lived in New England for 25 years before settling just south of Boston. Dennis worked in various divisions at Tyco until 2007, where he worked in their healthcare group, which spun off into Covidien. He spent 12 years doing mergers and acquisitions, and this experience opened his eyes to the exciting developments in the healthcare space, particularly in medical devices.

Lifestyle in the US vs. Europe

Dennis compares the pace of life in the US and Europe. In the US, you can get what you want when you want it, but, for example, In Paris most shops are usually closed on Sunday. The cultural norms that may not be easily understood by someone new to the country. Dennis shares a few examples of cultural differences in the workplace. Working in Europe can be a transition from class to a job, but it also presents challenges. For example, Italian culture is different from French culture, and while many people may speak multiple languages, to communicate effectively, one must be respectful of their second language and be able to express ideas in clear and appropriate ways.

Medical Devices in the Healthcare Industry

Dennis finds this field to be an interesting one as there are always problems to be solved and technologies to be developed. In terms of medical devices, the majority of medical devices have been based around surgical procedures, such as abdominal, cardiac, and peripheral surgeries. These opportunities are often focused on general surgery, such as fixing clots, repairing hernias, and C sections. Interaction with physicians and leaders in their field helps in finding companies to build portfolios for a company. He highlights the role of physicians as advisors who often collaborate with engineers and industry professionals to develop new products and address gaps. This collaboration is crucial for addressing the needs of patients and improving efficiency in the healthcare system. Dennis also talks about recent breakthroughs and innovations. He stresses the importance of having a community of physicians who can help address their needs in the marketplace, and emphasizes the need for companies to have a strong network of physicians who can help develop innovative products that address the needs of their patients and improve the overall quality of care.

Mergers and Acquisitions in the Health Industry

Dennis highlights the importance of understanding the business and aligning with the company's vision. He discusses the potential of acquiring companies and their trials, such as Given Imaging, which uses a pill cam to take multiple pictures at once. This technology is used for diagnosing bleeding or other issues in the gastrointestinal tract. It is also an alternative to colonoscopy. Dennis explains that an M&A executive spends most of their time analyzing deals and negotiating them, while also working with the company to understand its business, technologies, and strategies. He mentions that there is also a lot of time spent networking and explains how former classmates and friends had played a role in both his business and personal relationships.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

The conversation turns to Harvard and golf as Dennis talks about his time on the golf team and that he is still in touch with friends made while on the team. He shares how playing golf has facilitated both business and personal relationships. He also discusses the current etiquette around smartphones on the golf course.

Timestamps:

02:08 Cultural differences and lifestyle in Europe 07:17 Medical device innovation in surgery and healthcare 12:33 Medical innovation and product development 16:44 Medical technology and acquisitions 22:12 M&A career path, networking, and golf 27:43 Golf etiquette and networking

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-crowley-8130a44/

https://corza.com/leadership/

Featured Non-profit

The featured non-profit of this episode is Protect Democracy, recommended by Richard Primus, who reports "Hi, I'm Richard Primus from the class of 1992. The featured nonprofit organization of this episode of the 92 Report, is Protect Democracy. Protect Democracy uses the tools of law and communications to protect the rule of law and constitutional democracy in the United States, at a time when those things are in greater jeopardy than we would have dreamed possible when we graduated from college. I'm proud to have worked with Protect Democracy on a volunteer basis, since it was founded a little more than seven years ago, and also to be a member of its board of advisors, which includes a wonderful group of people."

To learn more about their work, visit https://protectdemocracy.org.

Show Notes:

Title: Media Entrepreneur and Filmmaker

Show notes:

Natalia Tsarkova, a transfer student from Latvia, was the first student from the former Soviet bloc to apply to an American college. She was thrown into a completely different world and roles, but knew she wanted to create more contexts for others to transform their lives like she didher life. Growing up in Latvia, she watched pirated MTV videos and credits seeing Billy Jean for the first time for inspiring her to work in the media space. In 1993, she met a professor at the MIT Media Lab, who recognized her mixed background of mathematics, social studies, and filmmaking. She fell into the master's program at the MIT Media Lab, where she was educated on the new way of thinking about media and how to create more meaningful experiences through on-demand interactive media platforms.

Working in Video on Demand and Interactive Experiences

Natalia was eager to move to New York City and found a job with a startup in Soho. She was driven to explore the world of startups and entrepreneurs, which she didn't know much about before. She created projects Barry Diller, Sony Music and was hired by the Beatles estate to create the first Beatles digital experience. She had the luxury of diving deep into the Beatles archives and creating unique digital content. Natalia worked with IMG, fashion, and sports, and was tasked with explaining the digital transformation to CEOs in management, helping them imagine new types of media experiences that were digital and on demand. Her journey from MIT to New York City was filled with excitement, partying, and meeting people from all walks of life. She was able to stay afloat as a consultant, working on projects that fascinated her and helped shape the future of digital media.

The Development of Transmedia

In 2001, Natalia met her husband, a French television music television producer, who was looking for a digital media expert. In 2003, they set up the first European video on demand platform, called Transmedia. Natalia convinced television producers that linear television was dead and that video on demand was the future. They built a business by packaging content from France television and other European producers and selling it to telcos in Belgium, Switzerland, and even France. With their large library of live musical content, they launched a video on demand platform called iConcerts, similar to Netflix but with only live music. This platform evolved into a hybrid high-definition TV/Video on Demand channel, licensed by operators in 128 countries between 2007 and 2010. The platform was successful, with collaborations with CCTV, an office in Singapore, Paris and Tokyo and partnerships with Senegalese musicians and Africa. Natalia explains how she became disillusioned a few years before it was sold.

Making a TV Documentary

Ever since Harvard, Natalia always did some form of documentary filmmaking. During summers, she rented a house in France and started filming the Gypsy Kings, a group that were popular in the 90s. Natalia showed the excerpts to a head of a European arts channel called Arte, who suggested she submit a the proposal for a full length film. The film was released in 2016 and received triple primetime ratings on the channel, and the Gypsy Kings loved it. This experience of original content storytelling and the idea of tribes, such as the Gypsy tribe, inspired her. She moved on to create a project called Tribo, designed to be a storytelling platform for groups to share their stories. Tribo has become more about digital storytelling and dynamic storytelling.

The Evolution of the Tribo Platform

Natalia discusses the concept of Tribo as a media platform for storytelling. Tribo was initially designed as an extension of live music festivals, but after two years of testing, it has been found to be particularly effective in private communities during COVID-19. Tribo aims to create a platform where stories that matter over time are told, such as collective storytelling. This can involve recording portraits of different people who are part of the organization, allowing everyone to post photos and videos during an event, and giving CEOs a space to motivate everyone. Natalia emphasizes the importance of engagement from employees, as most companies struggle with sharing their stories due to busy work and reluctance to share. By providing equal opportunities for sharing and having leaders interviewing people, Tribo can capture the heritage and legacy of the community.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

Natalia was particularly fond of the VES department, where she watched two movies a day, and had a close friendship with Robert Gardner, Director of the Film Study Center and Svetlana Boym, an expert on Soviet art and modern art. She mentions Liah Greenfield, her thesis advisor. She also worked for the Harvard Negotiation Project, created by Roger Fisher, a professor at HLS known as the ultimate expert on negotiation.. Her first job at Harvard was working at the Russian research center, where she was hired by Marshall Goldman, a big Soviet studies professor.

Timestamps:

05:12 How a Latvian student applied to Harvard despite obstacles

11:30 Moving to NYC, starting a business, and networking

14:00 Digital media, video on demand, and startup experience

21:03 Entrepreneurship, media, and filmmaking

24:15 Filmmaking, loss, and entrepreneurship

31:27 Using tech for collective storytelling in organizations

41:17 Grief, trauma, and resilience after loss

44:42 Filmmaking, Harvard experiences, and connections

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalia-tsarkova

Website: Tribo.Live

Kings of the World: https://vimeo.com/197952008/d444b20c11

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliatsar/

William Cheng has been working in the Silicon Valley area since 2000. He graduated from Harvard as a bio concentrator and later attended UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. He completed residency training in internal medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, a county hospital affiliated with Stanford Hospital System. He then joined the Palo Alto Medical Foundation as a hospitalist, focusing on acutely ill patients.

Working as a Hospitalist

William's understanding of the world has changed over the two decades as a hospitalist. He now understands the importance of non-hard science aspects, such as interactions, communication skills, and bedside manners. He also learned logistical skills, such as navigating the healthcare system and getting patients in and out of the hospital efficiently. William talks about the need for continuous learning in his field, including navigating insurance and bureaucracy. He shares how the recent pandemic had a significant impact on the Bay Area, and how the hospital environment has evolved over time, with new challenges and opportunities for growth. William shares tips for being a smart patient in the hospital, such as asking questions, double-checking medication, and understanding the importance of being a smart consumer of hospital care. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and respecting the intelligence of patients and families. William explains what makes a good doctor, and the various demands that come with the job, including intellectual demands, emotional demands, physical demands, and long hours on the feet.

Challenges Faced by Hospitalists

Hospitalists interact with patients and families more frequently during the day, especially in difficult situations such as difficult medical diagnoses, potentially life-threatening diagnoses, and end of life care. These discussions can be gratifying and stressful, but they also involve complex social interactions and relationships. He talks about the challenges of discussing severe conditions with patients, determining the appropriate treatment options, and navigating complex social discussions. Another challenge is reviewing charts quickly, understanding the patient's condition, and formulating a plan of action. In the initial admission orders, physical therapy and occupational therapy are often put in, but if the patient is too weak, additional help may be needed. Social workers or nursing case managers can then discuss these recommendations with the patient or family early on. They can teach the patient or family about the process of getting them home and ensuring they understand the process. William talks about the admission process and mentions that there are different types of patients, such as good teaching patients and non-teaching patients.

A Professional Point of Pride

From a professional standpoint, William is most proud of his early involvement in scheduling for his group. Scheduling is one of the main pain points or stress factors for hospitalists, as they have to be on call for certain periods of time. The traditional seven-on-seven off schedule is not ideal for patients, as it can lead to stress and dread of work. William developed a good system that has led to very little turnover in his group and accommodates everyone's time off requests. His scheduling is essentially a giant logic puzzle, and he does it all by hand within a spreadsheet for over 20 years. He continues to do this to this day to ensure that everyone is happy with their work.

Influential Professors and Courses at Harvard

William mentions his love for the Glee Club Harvard Glee Club, where he sang in junior and senior year. William found that there was no experience after college that matched the quality of his time at Harvard. He has been involved in an alumni chorus, which he started in the late 2000s, which has been performing in Japan and the US. They have performed three times so far and are planning to perform at SEMA this year, focusing on peace and harmony among the world.

Timestamps:

02:56 Medical education, hospital care, and COVID-19 experiences

08:25 Hospital care and communication between doctors and patients

13:35 Medical work-life balance and emotional stress

18:27 Challenges and skills of a hospitalist

25:01 Streamlining hospital discharge process for elderly patients

27:35 Medical education and patient care

31:50 End-of-life care and scheduling for hospitalists

37:13 Work-life balance, scheduling, and singing experiences

43:46 Singing, harmony, and endorphins with a Harvard Glee Club alumnus