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Luis de la Parra, Marketing Maverick
Luis de la Parra ’95 connects big brands to massive audiences at Univision, Inc. “A GOOD MARKETING CAMPAIGN can really propel a good series or film or story or company,” says Luis de la Parra ’95. Today, de la Parra works as senior vice president of partner solutions at Univision, Inc., a leading American Spanish-language…
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Alumni Shorts
Quick glances at alumni projects, victories, updates and even some expert advice. Windy City Food Tour As a food writer for the Chicago Tribune, Joseph Hernandez ’09 knows the city’s food scene high and low. From fine dining to comfort food, Hernandez shares some of his favorite spots across the city. DRINKS FOR AMBITIOUS COCKTAILS:…
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Building an Empire
Columbia alumni perform critical behind-the-scenes roles on Fox’s hit show. By William Meiners MFA ’96 In Fox’s hit show Empire, hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) must choose which of his three sons will inherit his multimillion dollar entertainment company. On top of that, his ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson, who earned a Golden Globe…
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Live Wire Act
From working festival circuits to touring with pop stars, these six alumni bring live music experience to life. By Audrey Michelle Mast ’00 While record labels experience declining sales in the age of streaming media, live concert revenue is booming. Music festivals and other live events are, in many ways, the nexus of culture. They…
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Alumni Shorts
Welcome to Alumni Shorts, a new addition to DEMO. Think of Shorts as a collection of snapshots: quick glances at alumni projects, victories, updates and even some expert advice. Empowering the People Darryl Holliday’s City Bureau spotlights police misconduct Journalism is a watchdog that can keep powerful institutions in check. That’s also the goal of…
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Just Bead It
Stephan Wanger ’94 recycles thousands of Mardi Gras beads into gigantic, detailed mosaics—and teaches others to do the same through his nonprofit, Bead Town. Stephan Wanger ’94 believes he works with the happiest medium, the New Orleans bon temps incarnate: Mardi Gras beads. “How can you hold Mardi Gras beads in your hands and not…
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Monster Mash
Whether she’s creating bright, drippy monsters or graphics for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Heidi Unkefer ’13 uses her art to escape the everyday. Growing up as a “weird art student” in the Midwest town of Canton, Ohio, Heidi Unkefer ’13 learned to use her artwork to escape the mundane. “A lot of my…
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Jennifer Farrington, President of Play
As president of Chicago Children’s Museum, Jennifer Farrington ’93 encourages young visitors to explore, invent, learn and play. The shelves in the Tinkering Lab at Chicago Children’s Museum are crowded with young innovators’ past projects—built from wood, cardboard, paper towel rolls, basically any material imaginable. Museum President and CEO Jennifer Farrington ’93 looks through the…
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Sarah Schlieder, Life on Mars
Sarah Schlieder ’16 discovered a cave on Mars as part of a Columbia astrobiology class. Now, she works full time at NASA. In 2014, Sarah Schlieder ’16 made an amazing discovery in a Columbia College Chicago astrobiology class: She found a cave on Mars. Schlieder and her classmates used a program called JMARS, a digital…
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Thelonious Martin, Late-Night Beats
Hip-hop producer Thelonious Martin finds his inspiration surfing late-night television channels. As a teenager growing up in suburban New Jersey, producer Malcolm “King Thelonious” Martin watched a lot of late night television. In fact, a J. Dilla bump he heard on Adult Swim made him want to create music. “It was just this moment—I heard…