Proud to BU

Curious about what it’s like to work for one of the top public relations agencies in the world? We had the chance to chat with Monique Kelley, senior vice president at Weber Shandwick, about her experiences and how she got to where she is today. Recently named one of PR News’ Top Women in PR for 2019, Monique Kelley (COM’03) serves as Senior Vice President and Global Client Experience Lead at Webe...

Working at the intersection of art, branding, and technology, Alejandro Garcia-Amaya (Questrom’07) has his hands in many industries. Not only is the host of the well-known podcast series “Getting Here“, but he is also the CEO of a new and flourishing investor-backed venture. For tech start-up CEO, Alejandro Garcia-Amaya, entrepreneurship runs in the family. Alejandro learned the ropes alongside hi...

How does one become the US Ambassador to the African Union? For Mary Beth Leonard (CAS’84), it started at BU honing her passion for French, economics, and her intrigue with Africa. Becoming an effective storyteller at home and abroad has served Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard well throughout her distinguished career in foreign service. Having held diplomatic positions in Cameroon, Namibia, Togo, Sout...

Growing up, Josh London (CAS’94) always loved novels and poetry. This passion for literature is what led to him to open up a new world of opportunity through the power of a liberal arts degree at Boston University. How far can a degree in English take you? Since earning his English degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, Josh London has become an award-winning global marketing executive with...

Before arriving at Boston University’s College of Communication, Negin Kamali (COM’98) could not have told you what Public Relations was. Fast forward to today and she’s now the Director of Public Relations at Princess Cruises. For Negin, her journey at BU and beyond has been about observing, listening, and learning from her mentors, which ultimately lead her to where she is now in her career. In...

If you’ve ever bought concert tickets, there’s a high chance you’ve used Live Nation to purchase them. Enter Alan Ostfield (LAW’90, Questrom’91), a sports fanatic who ironically never really an interest in music growing up, but now finds himself as the President of the North Atlantic Division of Live Nation. After earning his JD and MBA from BU, Alan Ostfield went on to occupy the c-suite of legen...

Sometimes the things we consider “flaws” can be undiscovered gifts. Growing up with ADHD, Peter Shankman (CGS’92, COM’94) knows what it's like to be labeled as “broken." Today, he now realizes it simply means “differently abled”. Channeling his ADHD into a superpower has propelled serial entrepreneur Peter Shankman to incredible success. Perhaps best known for founding Help a Reporter Out (HARO),...

The moment an author gets published, they need to start thinking about how they’re going to promote their work. Enter Ferol Vernon (CAS’03), who built an online platform to help authors and publishers get the most eyes on their work as possible. From computer science to classical civilizations, Ferol Vernon’s path to success as an entrepreneur is anything but ordinary. Today, Ferol combines his lo...

Want to know what it’s like to work for Facebook? How about working in Public Relations for the tech giant? Enter Anthony Harrison (COM’81), who describes himself as “a living, breathing PR Swiss Army knife.” Leading a team tasked with telling Facebook’s story has been both the ultimate challenge and the ultimate opportunity for Anthony Harrison, who serves as Director of Corporate Media Relations...

When it comes to making the next move in your career, one can never have a network that’s too large. This is something Christine Fletcher (CAS’91) learned as she advanced in her career as a practicing lawyer. After earning a degree in French Language and Literature from BU, Christine Fletcher went on to become a partner at the Burns & Levinson law firm in Boston. Christine was selected as a 20...

When it comes to discovering your passion, the ingredients needed are a combination of experience, lessons learned, and just a dash of luck. After finishing his master’s degree in journalism at BU, Eric Stange (COM’79) honed in on his talent and soon paved his own path to success. In this episode, award-winning documentary filmmaker Eric Stange shares his journey, creative process and lessons lear...

Have you ever felt outnumbered, or in over your head? Need some inspiration on how to get above water? We had the opportunity to talk with Jenny Gruber (ENG’99, ’99) about how she beat the odds in her path to success. In this episode, Jeff Murphy (Questrom’06) interviews NASA’s own Jenny Gruber. Jenny takes us on a journey and explains how she went from being one of only four women aerospace engin...

It’s never too late to have a change of heart, especially when it comes to your career. After starting out in accounting, Fred Santarpia (MET’08) soon realized he needed a more creative outlet, and set his goals on doing just that. In this episode, Fred Santarpia, the former chief digital officer at Condé Nast, talks about a pivot in his career, and how he used his education at BU’s Metropolitan C...

Launching a successful business is no easy feat. There’s no one-size-fits-all formula to success. Cat Berman (COM’97) is familiar with this puzzle, but she always seems to solve it. That’s why we were intrigued to learn how she launched the successful fintech company, CNote. In this episode, we chat with Cat Berman, a 3X entrepreneur with experience building and scaling profitable businesses with...

Do you have a passion for something but don’t know how to get it off the ground? Maybe this interview will inspire you. We had the opportunity to chat with Russell Hornsby (CFA’96) about how he discovered a calling in acting and his road to fame. In this inaugural episode, our host, Jeff Murphy (Questrom’06) interviews accomplished actor, Russell Hornsby. His career spans across, theater, televisi...