Stephen K. Friedman ’91 has been promoted to president of MTV. Since the fall of 2008, he has been general manager, and he will now oversee MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV.com, MTV Hits and MTV Jams. During Friedman’s tenure, MTV has had five consecutive quarters of growth, and launched such successful shows as Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, Life as Liz, and the upcoming Teen Wolf. He joined MTV in 1998 and started MTV’s strategic partnerships and public affairs department. As general manager, he launched mtvU, the channel dedicated to college students, in 2004, and helped shape the channel’s Emmy Award-winning Sudan campaign to protest genocide in Darfur. In announcing his promotion, The Los Angeles Times writes: “Over the years, [Friedman] has been instrumental in many of MTV’s social and political causes. … He was deeply involved in MTV’s award-winning ‘Fight for Your Rights’ campaign and its ‘Choose or Lose’ political drive.” Before joining MTV, Friedman was director for the PEN American Center, an international writers’ human rights organization. At Wesleyan, he majored in the College of Letters.
Elise Bean ’78 was selected as one of this year’s most influential women lawyers in Washington, by the National Law Journal. She was chosen as one of only 33 in this category, based upon reporting over the past year and nominations from the D.C. legal community. Bean is the Democratic staff director and chief counsel of the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Journal credits Bean and her fellow honorees, which include the two Supreme Court justices, with setting the legal agenda in the nation’s capital. Bean leads a team of Capitol Hill investigators who have explored commodities trading, money laundering, offshore tax evasion, and foreign corruption. Bean has worked for the subcommittee’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), since 1985 and has served as the Democratic staff director since 2003. A Phi Beta Kappa government major at Wesleyan, she earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Thomas Cowhey ’94 was appointed vice president of Aetna Investor Relations, responsible for maintaining the company’s relationship with the investor and analyst communities. Cowhey, who joined Aetna in 2007, has most recently served the company as managing director of new business development. Prior to his affiliation with Aetna, he was a principal with Legacy Partners Group, an independent investment banking firm, and also had been a vice president at Credit Suisse First Boston. At Wesleyan, he majored in economics. He holds an MBA, with a concentration in health sector management, from Duke.
J. Gordon Cooney Jr. ’81, managing partner at the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, will receive the 2011 Judge Learned Hand Award from the American Jewish Committee this January. Cooney and Michael Banks, also a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and a co-honoree, have been pro bono legal representation for John Thompson, a former death-row inmate, wrongly convicted for the murder of a New Orleans executive and an unrelated armed carjacking. Working together on the case since 1988, Cooney and Banks uncovered evidence, witnesses, and other critical information that had not been provided to Thompson’s initial defense team. In 2003, they retried the case: after just 35 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Thompson not guilty. Totally exonerated, Thompson was released after 18 years in prison. Serving as co-chair of the Judge Learned Hand Award event is Charisse R. Lillie ’74.
Marysol Castro ’96 was recently hired as the weather anchor for CBS’ The Early Show. Castro had most recently served as the weather anchor and feature correspondent for the ABC News weekend edition of Good Morning America (2004–2010). In conjunction with studio coverage of the national weather outlook, Castro also reported weather-related stories from the field, including several from New Orleans and Florida, focused around the recent hurricanes. A government major at Wesleyan, she earned her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Hannah Doress ’88 produced Earth Day Marin, a country-wide celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The day drew thousands of attendees and received front-page coverage in the Marin Independent Journal. Senator Mark Leno, of California’s third district, and State Controller Steve Chiang were among the speakers at the event. The day’s festivities included a green songs contest, topical forums, a local foods “iron chef” contest, and an animation festival. A local resource guide with green living tips was also distributed to attendees, available at earthdaymarin.org. At Wesleyan, she was a sociology major.
Jonathan Dube ’94 joined AOL as senior vice president and general manager of AOL news and information. Previously, he was vice president of ABCNews.com. Dube has twice served as president of the Online News Association and is now on the board of directors for the association. He was a history major at Wesleyan and has a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. An award-winner for his work in new media, Dube has also published in a number of print venues, including The New York Times and the Columbia Journalism Review. Jonathan Dube ’94 was appointed vice president in charge of ABCNews.com, responsible for the strategic planning, business strategy, editorial content, and production of the network’s 24–hour online news service. Dube, a pioneer in the online news industry, was also reelected to a second year as president of the International Online News Association. In the past three years, as director of digital media for CBC News, he has led the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to multiple awards. He is also an award–winning print and online reporter. A history major at Wesleyan, he earned his master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism.
Dr. Joseph J. Fins ’82, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. IOM membership is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. It recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Fins, the author of more than 200 publications in medical ethics and health policy, wrote A Palliative Ethic of Care: Clinical Wisdom at Life’s End (Jones and Bartlett, 2006). He is a co-author of the 2007 Nature paper describing the first use of deep brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state. President-elect of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, he is also a Governor of the American College of Physicians. The past-chair of the Wesleyan Alumni Association, he has served as a trustee of the University. At Wesleyan, he majored in the College of Letters.
Barry Fried ’81 has produced Uluwehi Guerrero’s new award-winning CD, Uluwehi Sings Na Mele Hula Aloha—beloved hula songs. The CD generated seven nominations at the prestigious Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (equivalent of the Hawaiian Grammies) and won the “Hawaiian Album of the Year” and “Liner Notes.” Previously, the CD won the Hawai‘i Music Award’s People’s Choice for “Best Traditional Hawaiian Album of the Year.” Fried produced the album under his new record label, Kaulupono Music, and wrote the string arrangements and played the flute in several selections. An art major at Wesleyan, he earned his master’s degree from New York University.
Daphne Kwok ’84, a Wesleyan Board of Trustee member, was recently appointed by President Obama to serve as chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Her new position will require her to be “the eyes and ears” of the Asian American community. She will continue to perform her current job as executive director of Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California. Kwok was recently interviewed by New America Media and was asked what some of the issues were that she will focus on immediately. She said: “The key issues will include the economy, jobs, education and health disparities. We want to increase the underserved AAPI communities in federal programs. The oil spill in the Gulf and its impact on the Vietnamese community is already a key issue for the Initiative. Vietnamese fishermen have been especially hard hit by the spill.”
![Stephen K. Friedman ’91 has been promoted to president of MTV. Since the fall of 2008, he has been general manager, and he will now oversee MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV.com, MTV Hits and MTV Jams. During Friedman’s tenure, MTV has had five consecutive quarters of growth, and launched such successful shows as Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, Life as Liz, and the upcoming Teen Wolf. He joined MTV in 1998 and started MTV’s strategic partnerships and public affairs department. As general manager, he launched mtvU, the channel dedicated to college students, in 2004, and helped shape the channel’s Emmy Award-winning Sudan campaign to protest genocide in Darfur. In announcing his promotion, The Los Angeles Times writes: “Over the years, [Friedman] has been instrumental in many of MTV’s social and political causes. ... He was deeply involved in MTV’s award-winning ‘Fight for Your Rights’ campaign and its ‘Choose or Lose’ political drive.” Before joining MTV, Friedman was director for the PEN American Center, an international writers’ human rights organization. At Wesleyan, he majored in the College of Letters.](https://classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/files/2013/11/friedman.jpg)
