Catalyze

Before March of this year, Laurel Wamsley ’06 covered stories for NPR focusing on cities, technology, policy, and criminal justice. Now, the Washington, D.C.-based alumna covers the coronavirus which, of course, has impacted all aspects of society. In between filing stories, Laurel spoke with Morehead-Cain from her home in the Columbia Heights neighborhood to share what the past two months have be...

These are strange times to be living in, but it’s also a very busy time for Morehead-Cain, so we wanted to get everyone up to speed. Last Thursday, we announced the Morehead-Cain Class of 2024 . We want to wish a warm welcome to the 70 new scholars who are joining the Carolina community. This week, we’re launching our Virtual Morehead-Cain SEVEN Speaker Series, starting with Shilpi Somaya Gowda ’9...

Morehead-Cain called Bruce Gellin ’77, president of global immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington, D.C., to get a better understanding of what would need to take place before a coronavirus vaccine could protect against the next global outbreak. We also asked scholars to share their coping strategies amidst the pandemic (thanks to Nina, Drew, Lauren, Cameron, Lizzie, Michael, Cho...

The Catalyze podcast returns with Season Four, headlining with Niki Shamdasani ’15, the co-founder and CEO of Sani Designs. People told Niki and her sister, Ritika, that they were “delusional” for aspiring to break into the fashion world with South Asian formalwear. But in the past two years, the sisters have proved the naysayers wrong in big ways. Sani recently launched a partnership with Rent th...

This episode features Michelle Jana Chan ’96, an award-winning journalist based in London. Michelle began her career with Newsweek magazine in New York, Beijing, and London, before she moved into radio and then television as a news producer for CNN. She is now travel editor of Vanity Fair, contributing editor at Conde Nast Traveller, and the BBC’s presenter of Global Guide. She also writes for the...

Today you'll hear from David Royle, Morehead-Cain Class of 1978. Originally from Bristol, David leads the editorial team that launched the Smithsonian Channel—which is the youngest channel to have ever won an Emmy. David was previously Executive Vice President of Production for National Geographic Television & Film, where he helped launch the National Geographic Channel. He was the Executive P...

You're about to hear the second half of a recorded visit with Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Taylor Branch. Last week we published a moderated Q&A with him, and now you're about to hear an audience Q&A. This conversation was recorded live during a recent visit Taylor made to the Foundation, when he was in Chapel Hill to be inducted into the NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame...

Catalyze Season Three continues with a bonus episode featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author Taylor Branch ’68. This interview was recorded in front of an audience during a recent visit Taylor made to the Foundation, when he was in Chapel Hill to be inducted into the NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. A member of the Morehead-Cain class of 1968, Taylor is best known for his trilog...

Today you'll hear from Jim Exum, one of eight members of the first class of undergraduate Morehead-Cain Scholars: the Class of 1957. Jim is also a former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. After attending law school on a full scholarship at New York University, Jim practiced law in North Carolina until 1967, when he began a term in the North Carolina House of Representatives. The s...

On this episode of Catalyze, you'll hear from Danae Ringelmann ’00, co-founder of Indiegogo—a crowdfunding platform that disrupted the fundraising industry when it hit the market in 2008. While Danae and her team were getting the company off the ground, people told them it was a mistake to host it online. In more recent years, the company has faced criticism for its “anything-goes” approach to its...

You're about to hear from U.S. Representative Jim Cooper, Morehead-Cain Class of 1975. Born in Nashville, TN, Jim represents the state's 5th District, which includes Nashville and surrounding areas. In Congress, he's known for his bipartisan work on the federal budget, health care, and government reform. When Congress is not in session, Jim teaches part-time at Vanderbilt. After Carolina, Jim won...

You're about to hear from Jenny Youngblood Campbell ’95, chief marketing officer for the dating app company Tinder. Jenny formerly worked as a managing director at the marketing agency 72andSunny—with clients including adidas, Google, Starbucks, Uber, and eBay. Before that, she was a senior global brand director at Nike. In our conversation, you'll hear more about her fast-paced career, the cultur...

On this episode, you'll hear from Peter Henry ’91, an expert in global economics and a recent recipient of UNC's Distinguished Alumni Award. Peter was the youngest person ever to serve as dean of New York University Stern School of Business. In January 2018 he stepped down—after eight years in the role—to return to his economic policy research. Prior to NYU, Peter was a member of the faculty at St...

You're about to hear from author and playwright Jim Reston, who graduated in the Morehead-Cain Class of 1963. Jim is from Washington, D.C. and has been not only an eyewitness to major historical events of the last few decades, but actually participated in them: from the Civil Rights movement, to the Vietnam War, to the Watergate scandal, and more. Jim's father was James Reston Sr, a prominent New...

Our final episode of our second season features someone who knows a great deal about living a life of service. We talk with the CEO of Habitat for Humanity International: Jonathan Reckford, Morehead-Cain Class of 1984. Listen to Jonathan talk about his varied career path, which includes a stint in strategic planning for Disney and an SVP role at the company that founded CarMax. The conversation ra...

This week we talk with Cathy Alston-Kearney, an alumna from the Morehead-Cain Class of 1981. Cathy grew up in Nashville, North Carolina and now lives in Warrenton, North Carolina—population 862. For twenty-one years, Cathy was the executive director of the Warren Family Institute, helping underprivileged families find affordable housing. She now works as the student success director for Warren Cou...

This episode of Catalyze features Major Jason Kemp, former commander of India Company, Third Battalion, Second Marines—and now an officer in the U.S. Marine Reserves. Jason currently lives in Raleigh, and he works for a utilities company called Pike Electric. On top of that, he spends a few hours a week helping veterans get connected to the Triangle community through a network called Marine for Li...

Gender roles often prescribe that a husband should be the breadwinner while a wife should stay at home. But the modern feminist movement can also make women feel guilty if they do choose to stay at home with their kids. How does a high-achieving, values-driven college graduate like a Morehead-Cain navigate these challenges? In this episode of Catalyze, Jed Lau, Morehead-Cain Class of 1998, and Ker...

This week we’re continuing a season that highlights lives of service. You'll hear from Meg VanDeusen, Morehead-Cain class of 2014. Meg is a former Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, former Girl Scout Troop leader, and current senior manager of operations and finance at a small nonprofit called Feedback Labs. Our conversation starts with her foundation in service: through the Girl Scouts and the...

Welcome to Season 2 of Catalyze, a podcast from the Morehead-Cain Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As we shared during our first season, Catalyze features stories of values-driven leadership. This season we’ve chosen to highlight lives of service. Our first episode this season is a conversation with Dr. Amir Barzin ’06, a Persian-Texan who works in family medicine at...

This is the last episode of our first season, and we are sad to have it end. But don't despair, we'll be back soon enough. And this week we've got a very special guest for you to close out the season: David Gardner, Morehead-Cain Class of 1988. David is cofounder of a whimsical financial services company called The Motley Fool (https://www.fool.com/), which he established in 1993 along with his br...

Welcome to Catalyze, a podcast produced by the Morehead-Cain Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week we sat down with Barbara Hyde, Morehead-Cain Class of 1983. Barbara has spent much of her life finding ways to support causes she cares about. She’s the chair and CEO of the Hyde Family Foundation—a nonprofit credited with helping transform the city of Memphis. Barb...

Welcome to the fourth episode of Catalyze, a podcast from the Morehead-Cain Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week we speak with Wade Smith, a Raleigh-based attorney from the Morehead-Cain class of 1960—when it was known as just the Morehead. Wade was born in Albemarle, North Carolina, in 1937. His parents were textile workers. In high school, Wade was an All Amer...

Welcome to the third episode of Catalyze, a podcast from the Morehead-Cain Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Becca Frucht discovered her passion for the entertainment industry—specifically the intersection between pop culture, politics and social awareness—as a college intern in MTV's London office. After UNC, her career ranged from advertising to sustainability to pop...

Welcome to the second episode of Catalyze, a podcast from the Morehead-Cain Foundation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This week, we’re excited to introduce you to Noam Argov, Morehead-Cain Class of 2015. Her professional experiences have been a mashup of tech-y startups, outdoor adventuring, and creative production. Noam has been lucky enough to attend the last two Alumni Foru...