Alumni Spotlights

Nicol Turner-Lee ’90

“I’m not a computer geek,” joked Nicol Turner-Lee ’90. “I took a computer science class in college, and when that class was over, I thought, ‘I’m done — I’m a true sociologist.’”

Despite her initial aversion to computers, Turner-Lee has come to realize the opportunities that technology can provide. In fact, she is now at the forefront of helping communities of color on both the consumer and professional sides of telecommunications. Recently voted one of the 60 most inspiring women in media by the Alliance for Women in Media, she is settling into her role as president and CEO of the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC).

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David Feldman ’89

For eight long years, David ’89 and Wendy Becker Feldman couldn’t sleep through the night. Their first son, Jonah, had been born with a rare disorder — glycogen storage disease (GSD) type 1a — that disrupts his metabolism. The sleep-deprived parents had to feed Jonah a cornstarch and formula mixture through a tube in his stomach every few hours around the clock.

“Because his body can’t make his own blood sugar, he would have a seizure or die,” said David. “There’s no buffer.”

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Melissa Connell Graham ’91

Melissa Graham’s 9-year-old son, Thor, knows he’s lucky to have a chef for a mom — for the most part. One night, Thor wanted deep-dish pizza, a culinary staple of their home city of Chicago. But it wasn’t because of the huge amounts of cheese or the crust: “It has more tomato sauce,” Graham explained. So she made him a special pizza with lots of tomato sauce (“not chunky”) with Swiss chard.

She and several steady volunteers go into Chicago schools to teach children in grades K through 3 about healthy eating, while also making it fun for them.

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