Northwestern University's Notable Alumni: A Legacy of Impact

Northwestern University, despite its location away from the traditional coastal tech hubs, has significantly contributed to the talent pool in Chicago and beyond, particularly in technology and entrepreneurship. The university's diverse academic programs, ranging from Entrepreneurship MBAs to degrees in Chinese and Flute Studies, have equipped its graduates to establish successful ventures and make significant contributions across various fields.

Northwestern's Impact on Chicago's Tech Scene

A significant number of Chicago-based tech companies owe their origins to Northwestern alumni. These individuals have leveraged their education and experiences at the university to create innovative startups and drive technological advancements in the region.

Alumni in Entrepreneurship and Technology

Shradha Agarwal: Co-founded ContextMedia, a Chicago-based company focused on delivering health information to patients with chronic diseases. ContextMedia became one of Chicago's most iconic tech success stories.
John Aiello: Founder and chairman of SAVO, a company specializing in sales enablement solutions.
Brian Bloom: Co-founder and director of operations at Monica+Andy, an online consignment shop for children’s clothing.
James (Jamie) Crouthamel: Founded Performics in 1998 and led the company as its president and CEO until its acquisition by DoubleClick in 2004.
Star Cunningham: Founder and CEO of 4D Healthware, a Chicago-based company focused on improving chronic care management for patients.
Dave Cutler: Co-founder and CEO of mLevel, a company that aims to revolutionize learning within organizations.
Aashish Dalal: Co-founder and CEO of ParkWhiz, a prominent tech company in Chicago.
Jordan Dolin: Co-founded Emmi in 2002, a Chicago-based company providing technology-based solutions to enhance patient engagement.
Joe Dwyer: Partner at Digital Intent, a company offering digital businesses services to scale, including product strategy, UI/UX, development, and user acquisition.
Shawn Ellis: Founder of Zest Health, a company focused on developing technology to empower healthcare consumers, employers, and providers with better information.
Stella Garber: VP of marketing at Trello, and founder of several Chicagoland tech companies, including Matchist and Entrepreneurs Unpluggd.
Grant Gochnauer: One of the four co-founders of Vodori, a software company simplifying marketing for health and wellness companies. He graduated from Northwestern with a BA in Computer Information Systems in 2002.
Iseri and Malina: Co-founders of SwipeSense, serving as CEO and COO, respectively. Both received their bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern in 2011.
Hemant Kashyap: Co-founder of Whittl, a Chicago-based company launched to facilitate online appointment booking.
Maria Katris: Co-founder and CEO of Built In, a leading online community for technology companies and startups.
Paul Lee: Co-founded Captivix, a technology service provider that helps identify customer pain points and build alleviating solutions.
Andrew Mason: Brainchild behind Groupon, a global e-commerce giant, which he developed with the help of Chicago serial entrepreneurs Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky.
Brad Morehead: Founder and CEO of LiveWatch Security, launched in Chicago.
Raaja Nemani: Co-founder and CEO of BucketFeet, an online retailer for footwear featuring original designs from artists worldwide.
Olechowski: Founder of Blinkfire Analytics, a software that uses machine learning to provide brands with insights on sponsorships. He also founded Feedburner, which was later acquired by Google.
Dan Pinto: Co-founded Machinio, an online search engine and marketplace for used industrial and agricultural machinery.
Mayekay: Co-founder and CEO of SiNode Systems, a company that builds silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries.
Neal Sales-Griffin: CEO and co-founder of The Starter League.
Rishi Shah: CEO of ContextMedia, co-founded with Shradha Agarwal.
Jai Shekhawat: Founder of Fieldglass, a cloud-based vendor management system.
Erik Severinghaus: Founder and CEO of SimpleRelevance, a Techstars grad focused on personalizing customer communication.
John Simpson: Co-founded One North Interactive, a digital agency specializing in B2B and professional services, where he serves as CEO.
Christopher Steiner: Co-founded Aisle50, which was acquired by Groupon.
Nick Stojka: Co-founder of Sertifi, a company providing on-demand sales contracting and e-signature solutions.
Tim Stojka: Founder and CEO of Agentis Energy, a venture focused on bringing energy data and technology to utility providers.
Tejas Shastry: CEO and co-founder of Ampy, a startup developing wearable tech that transforms kinetic energy into power for mobile devices.
Genevieve Thiers: Founder behind Chicago tech companies like Sittercity, OperaModa and ContactKarma.
Zimmerman: Founder and CEO of Steadfast, a Chicago-based provider of IT infrastructure.
Syndio: Whose software provides data insights on employees that enterprises use to find, recognize, and support outstanding workers at their organization.
Rise Science: Wants to use technology to help the world’s best athletes sleep sounder and perform better.
Zhu-Song Mei: Graduated Northwestern in 2006 with three bachelor’s degrees: Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, and Manufacturing & Design Engineering.
Jordan Linville: Co-founded Buzz Digital, one of the graduates of Excelerate Labs (which would later become Techstars Chicago).
Royer: Founder of Interior Define, a Chicago-based e-commerce site for high-quality, high-design furniture, which he launched in 2012.

Accomplished Alumni in Journalism, Media, and the Arts

Northwestern University has a long-standing tradition of producing influential figures in journalism, media, and the arts. Alumni have excelled as reporters, editors, authors, actors, and filmmakers, earning prestigious awards and shaping the cultural landscape.

Pulitzer Prize Winners and Acclaimed Journalists

Joan Wagner Beck: A nationally syndicated columnist and Chicago Tribune writer and editor for 48 years. She was the first woman to serve on the newspaper’s editorial board and authored several books, including "How to Raise a Brighter Child."
John (Jack) Miles: Won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for his book "God: A Biography."
Al From: Author of "The New Democrats and the Return to Power" and founder and former CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council.
James (Jim) Klurfeld: Part of the team that won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for exposing government corruption on Long Island.
Barry Petersen: CBS News correspondent and Emmy Award winner who has covered major stories domestically and abroad.
Albert Scardino: Won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for his series in Savannah’s Georgia Gazette.
Walter Mossberg: Former technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal and co-founder and editor-at-large of Recode.
Frank Rich: Essayist, writer-at-large for New York Magazine, and executive producer for the HBO series "Veep."
Fredric (Rick) Tulsky: Won a 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for exposing wrongdoings in the Philadelphia court system.
Howard Reich: Long-time Chicago Tribune arts and jazz critic, author, and Emmy Award winner.
Angelo Henderson: Won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for his Wall Street Journal story about an attempted armed robbery.
David Rohde: Won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his stories that helped expose the Srebrenica massacre.
David Barstow: Known as the first reporter ever to win four Pulitzer Prizes for his work, Barstow has worked for the New York Times Investigative unit for two decades.

Leaders in Media and Entertainment

Paul Sagan: Emmy Award winner, former CEO of Akamai Technologies, former president of Time Warner, and ProPublica board chairman.
Joie Chen: Emmy Award winner, former CNN anchor, and former CBS News correspondent.
Jeff Zucker: Served as president of CNN Worldwide and before that served as CEO and president of NBC Universal.
Robin Pogrebin: Staff reporter for The New York Times and book author.
Stephen Colbert: Hosted the night of merriment.
Sherry Lansing: The first woman to head a Hollywood production company and the first female studio head to place hands and footprints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Zach Braff: Widely known for playing John Michael "J.D." Dorian from 2001 to 2010 in the medical comedy series "Scrubs."
Kathryn Hahn: Became part of the beloved Marvel Universe when she played Agatha Harkness in the miniseries "Wandavision" in 2021.
Billy Eichner: Eichner's comedy game show "Billy on the Street" really put him on the map, as well as voicing the animated character Timon in the remake of "The Lion King" (2019) and starring in the 2022 film "Bros."
David Schwimmer: A graduate of Northwestern's 1988 class with a bachelor's degree in theater and speech.
Ana Gasteyer: Famous entertainment alumni.
Heather Headley: Famous entertainment alumni.
Brian d’Arcy James: Famous entertainment alumni.
Richard Kind: Famous entertainment alumni.
Harry Lennix: Famous entertainment alumni.
Tony Roberts: Famous entertainment alumni.

Notable Figures in the Arts

John Musker: Writer and director of famous Disney films like “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” and “Moana”.
Barbara Sizemore: A landmark educator, began her career at Northwestern when she received her bachelor of arts in classics and master of science in education and social policy.
Mitchell Sheppard-Missett: Founded Jazzercise - an exercise method fusing cardio, strength, hip-hop, and pilates - at an Evanston dance studio in 1969 while studying speech at NU.

Alumni in Academia, Law, and Public Service

Northwestern University's influence extends to academia, law, and public service, with alumni holding prominent positions in universities, government, and legal institutions.

Leaders in Education

Martha Minow: Professor and former dean at the Harvard Law School.
James C. Kennedy: A professor of modern Dutch history and a distinguished university professor of community engaged learning at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Influential Figures in Law and Politics

Al From: Was executive director of the House Democratic Caucus from 1981 to 1985.
Claudia López Hernández: Has served as the first female and first LGBTQ+ mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, since the year she graduated.
Gabriel Fuentes: Became a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (Chicago).
Linda Foley: In 2021, she began serving in the Maryland General Assembly’s House of Delegates representing Maryland’s 15th District.

Alumni Making a Difference

Robin holds: A doctorate in psychology and additional advanced degrees in counseling and psychopharmacology.
Dan and Tricia (Vander Waal): Are active members of the Vermeer Corporation, where Tricia is executive director of the Vermeer Charitable Foundation and Dan serves as an engaged shareholder.
Grant Hegstad: Is the assistant principal, career experiences coordinator and head football coach at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City.

Other Notable Alumni

Gary Kremen: You can thank Kremen for the partner you met on Match, as he basically invented online dating.
Gwynne Shotwell: The University’s contributions to the STEM field extend beyond our planet, for Shotwell is president and chief operating officer of SpaceX.

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