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These alumni are making a world of difference, and sharing it with our students.

The Lasell Visiting Alumni Program brings alumni home to Pomfret to share their time, talent, knowledge, and real-world experiences with students and faculty. Visiting alumni typically spend two or three days delivering presentations, hosting small group discussions, and engaging with students informally.

 



2024 Lasell Visiting Alumnus

 

James Edward Rothman is an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2013. He is the Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Yale.

 

2012 | Frank Paine ’64

Frank has had an impressive career working for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a Senior Bank Examiner and Relationship Specialist.

2013 | Paul Callahan '76

Paul is the CEO of the Newport, Rhode Island-based Sail To Prevail, a non-profit adaptive sailing program that serves more than 1500 individuals annually, introducing them to the joy of sailing—of moving through open water under wind power. He travels the world sharing his thoughts and ideas on the value of leadership and overcoming obstacles.

2014 | Josh Bank '86

Josh oversees Alloy Entertainment’s publishing and digital business, including the creation of multiple hit properties such as The Luxe, Pretty Little Liars, Private, Gossip Girl, The Clique, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. He also leads the company’s digital entertainment slate including development, production, and working directly with distribution and finance partners on each series. He serves as executive producer on all of Alloy Entertainment’s digital series including 2010’s First Day, Hollywood is Like High School with Money, and 2011’s Talent.

2015 | Bennett Konesni '00

Bennett is the co-founder of Sylvester Manor Educational Farm on Shelter Island, NY. Along with his uncle Eben Ostby ’73, he helped turn an estate that has been in his family more than 360 years into a not-for-profit educational farm that focuses on preserving, cultivating and sharing the place, its stories, and a culture of food.

2016 | Frances and Deacon Webster ’91

The husband and wife team behind Walrus, a New York City advertising firm. Since its founding in 2005, Walrus has quickly become one of the most sought-after ad agencies in New York — launching products, planning stunts, and developing content for brands such as Amazon, History Channel, Comedy Central, Staples, Bloomberg Business, The Economist, HBO, Wired, and Grand Marnier.

2017 | Matthew Scanlan ’07

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Naadam Cashmere. In addition, he currently owns and operates Fair Cashmere. He is the founder and strategic advisor for The Gobi Revival Fund NGO and is a General Partner at Softmatter Ventures, a seed-stage impact-focused venture fund based in New York City.

2018 | Adam Hochschild ’60 and Orville Schell ’58

Hochschild is the co-founder of Mother Jones Magazine and the author of eight books. Schell is an American writer, academic, and activist, well known for his works on China.

2021 | Caroline Waterlow ’91

An Emmy Award-winning producer, Waterlow is best known for her film OJ: Made in America, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2017. "You can do it," she says. "You just need the confidence to know that you will figure things out. You can take on a lot more than you think."

2023 | Monique Miles ’95

Monique is a vice president at The Aspen Institute, a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society.

 

Funding for the Lasell Visiting Alumni Program is made possible through the generosity of the late Chester Lasell ’54. “I was heavily influenced by my education at Pomfret," Lasell says. "With its caring faculty and its ability to cultivate a student’s creativity and independence, I learned the value of listening to and learning from others. It just seemed natural to create a program that would benefit the students in the same way.”