The Supporting Cast

In October of 2022, then LA Times reporter Julia Wick ’07 received a call from a source that a tape was circulating of several prominent LA City Council members making racist remarks during a redistricting conversation a year prior. Julia and her colleagues broke the story, which became a political earthquake in Los Angeles—leading to numerous high-profile resignations, and resulting in Juli...

Maz Jobrani is an Iranian-American actor and comedian, whose work spans from roles in major movies to global comedy tours to NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.” In this episode, Maz speaks to how comedy changes during times of international conflict, as it did after 9/11 when Maz headlined the “Axis of Evil” comedy tour—or now, with the United States at war with Iran. Born in Tehran, Maz’s family emi...

Bela Bajaria is Chief Content Officer at Netflix, where she oversees a $20 billion budget for content accessible in 190 countries worldwide. In this episode, Bela speaks about how Netflix operates globally—including through 27 country offices developing regional content—and how some of those shows (such as Squid Game , Adolescence , and K-Pop Demon Hunters ) become global phenomena. A global citiz...

On May 12, 2026, the world lost Jason Collins ’97. In the wake of his passing, we re-share a conversation with Jason from episode 9 of this series, which was recorded on February 28, 2020.

Mariko Silver ’95 is the President and CEO of Lincoln Center, the largest performing arts campus in the United States, featuring eleven resident arts organizations ranging from the Metropolitan Opera to Julliard to New York City Ballet to Jazz at Lincoln Center. In this episode, Mariko tells her story. From growing up in New York City before moving to LA and entering Harvard-Westlake in the 10 th...

Curtis Stone is a renowned chef and author whose charisma and culinary skill has made him a mainstay on United States and Australian television for more than two decades. Here in LA, Curtis’s restaurants Maude and Gwen have each earned the coveted Michelin Star. In this episode, Curtis speaks about the culture of restaurants–what it takes to achieve and maintain culinary excellence, as well...

Dan Alig is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Harvard-Westlake, having arrived in 2024 after serving as CIO for more than a decade at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In this episode, Dan speaks to how Harvard-Westlake and other schools are confronting the emergence of AI—from keeping up with daily breakthroughs in AI capability, to how teachers are adjusting to new metho...

In the fall of 2026, Harvard-Westlake will open River Park (www.hwriverpark.com), a new campus dedicated to athletics, wellness, community partnership, and environmental sustainability. What you may not know, however, is that River Park was designed by a graduate, Steve Chung ’89, the Global Practice Area Leader for Sports at Gensler. In this episode, Steve describes growing up in Van Nuys as a Ba...

Bear Ride ’71 is the only sister of astronaut and American hero, Sally Ride ’68, who in 1983 became the first American woman in space. In this episode, Bear tells Sally’s story—but also her own, which includes “breaking ground” in her own right as a female and openly gay Presbyterian minister. The Ride sisters were born and raised in Los Angeles and attended Westlake School, where Bear and Sally e...

Adrián González had a 15-year career as a Major League Baseball player, punctuated by two five-year stints with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers—including numerous Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, and All-Star selections—as well as seasons in which Adrián led the entire MLB in hits and RBI. In this episode, Adrián tells his story. From the challenges of learning English growing up between...

For the last ten years (up until this past February), Deborah Rutter ’74 was President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the national cultural center of the United States. In this episode, Deborah tells her story. From growing up in Encino and attending Westlake and then Stanford, to her long career in the arts—beginning with the LA Phil and LA Chamber Orchestra, before leadin...

In June of 2025, Dr. Jon Carroll will depart Harvard-Westlake after thirteen years—the first three leading HW Aquatics and the last ten as a middle school dean. Jon is not departing to join another school community, however—but to build one. In the fall of 2026, Jon will open Jabali Academy, a K-8 independent school centered in Inglewood with the mission of inspiring excellence in students and pre...

Liz Neubauer Freinberg ’98 is Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for the LA 2028 Olympics. In this episode, Liz discusses LA28’s proposed athletic venues, transportation challenges, and “Olympic Village” site—as well as the notion of LA28 as a “comeback story,” highlighting the city’s aspirations to rebuild after January’s devastating wildfires. Liz also tells her own story,...

Ben Sherwood ’81 is the publisher, CEO, and co-owner of the digital news platform The Daily Beast , a position Ben assumed in 2024 after a long and illustrious career as a media executive. For example, Ben has served as Executive Producer of Good Morning America, President of ABC News, and most recently led the entire Disney ABC Television Group globally. If that isn’t enough, Ben is also an...

Nicole Brown ’98 is the president of TriStar Pictures, the famed Sony Pictures division responsible for producing many of the most influential films in movie history. In this episode, Nicole tells her story—from growing up in Culver City and attending public and private schools, before discovering Harvard-Westlake through the Independent School Alliance. It was at HW where Nicole met the lat...

In the season 6 opener, The Supporting Cast welcomes back its very first guest, Rick Commons, the Charles B. Thornton President of Harvard-Westlake. In this episode, Rick speaks to the many challenges and opportunities impacting today’s HW students, from college admission and the promise of River Park (Harvard-Westlake’s forthcoming third campus)—to fostering enduring HW values around civil...

In 2017, a 31-year-old Nick Melvoin ’04 was elected as one of seven members of the largest self-governing school district in the world, the LAUSD Board of Education. In this episode, Nick tells his story, from growing up in LA and attending Harvard-Westlake and Harvard College, before teaching in a Watts public school as part of Teach For America. The inequities that Nick observed there led...

Ynon Kreiz is Chairman and CEO of Mattel, a global toy and family entertainment company and owner of among the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. In this episode, Ynon tells his story—from growing up and attending college in Israel, before relocating to Los Angeles to study entertainment at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. But after 25 years of running several large entertainment comp...

On January 12, 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur ’91 to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into President Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents during his time as vice president—thrusting Rob into the national political spotlight. In this episode, Rob tells his story. The child of Korean immigrants, Rob’s family settled in Southern Californ...

Tiffany Alexander Aldridge ’87 is Director of Annual Giving at Harvard-Westlake, overseeing a program that leads all American day schools in overall dollars (raising more than $10M in 2022-2023). However, what draws Tiffany to the role is not the program’s size, but its impact—which Tiffany and her family know personally. Tiffany grew up in South LA as the only child of a single mom, gaining acces...

Kara Nortman ’93 is co-founder of Los Angeles’s professional women’s soccer team Angel City. In this episode, Kara recounts her evolution from leading LA’s largest venture capital firm, Upfront Ventures, to co-founding Angel City alongside partners Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman in 2020. Since then, Angel City has not only garnered significant fan followings and profitability (quadrupling its re...

On April 25, the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen will host his 21st NFL Draft, anchoring what will amount to a 20-hour broadcast held over multiple days—framing compelling narratives and moderating impassioned debates about the NFL’s next generation of stars. In this episode, Rich tells his story–from growing up in Staten Island as the child of two educators, to the University of Michigan and...

Actor, producer, and director Elizabeth Banks grew up in Pittsfield, MA, as the eldest of four siblings—falling into acting (quite literally) after suffering a softball injury, and then leaning into theater due to the encouragement of high school teachers. Then came the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her husband and now producing partner, followed by the American Conservatory Theater in...

In the season 5 opener, The Supporting Cast welcomes its first return guest, Dr. Mark Krieger, Surgeon-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). In March 2022, Dr. Krieger joined to discuss Kids and Covid-19 (Ep. 37). Two years later, he joins to address a different kind of global health crisis relating to adolescent mental health. In this episode, Dr. Krieger discusses various factors t...

In the season 4 finale, The Supporting Cast welcomes the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles (2013-2022) and current United States Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti ’88. In this episode, Ambassador Garcetti joins from Delhi, India, to tell his story—from growing up in Encino, to finding a passion for the performing arts at Harvard School, before studying international affairs at Columbia and as a Rho...