Grads

Grads

The MALS Alumni Chapter, formerly the MALS Alumni Council, hosted a social event at Morano Gelato in Hanover on the afternoon of May 7. Those attending included current film students, current MALS students, MALS alumni, and their friends and guests. There were approximately 50 attendees. The speaker, Michael Wilson, chose to circulate among the small groups gathered around the tables and also on the outside terrace. He preferred to ask questions of his audience as well as answer them. This created an engaging and enj oyable setting for all. Michael and his wife, Jane, moved through the crowd talking about his experiences as a producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his long association with the James Bond films. This began in 1972, whenhejoinedEon Productions, where he worked with his producer stepfather Cubby Broccoli. He took a more active role in 1971 as an assistant for the film The Spy Who Loved Me. Since then he has been a producer or executive producer of every subsequent James Bond film. He made his first cameo appearance in Goldfinger and then in every Eon-produced Bond film since 1977.

The event was coordinated and inspired by chapter board president Lyn Lord ’95 (MALS’98), who is also intent on compiling a MALS alumni media archive. She took advantage of the opportunity to videotape two interviews with MALS alumni, Michael Beahan (MALS’97) and Gary Moore (MALS’78). Each talked about his MALS experience and its impact on his life.

Current board members Kathy Coleman (MALS’00), Stephen Spiess (MALS’07), and Analisa Goodman (MALS’18) helped with the set up at the food and drink tables and were joined by former board members Judy Chypre (MALS’99) and Maggie Montgomery (MALS’99). There was also a surprise guest. Nermina Zildzo (MALS’05), who lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina, just happened to be visiting Hanover and sawthe event announcement. So she came and amazed everyone who hadn’t seen her for more than a decade. The good news is that she intends to return to the area next year. And then it was announced that the gelato counter was open, and a new level of festivity was added to the occasion.

Lauren Weiner (psych’99) is the cofounder and CEO of Wittenberg Weiner Consulting (WWC). Her company was recently awarded the U.S. Special Operations Command’s largest contract ever awarded to a female-owned small business. The five-year contract is valued at $200 million and will provide management and subject matter expert support to the command worldwide. With this award, WWC is set to become the largest defense contractor headquartered in Tampa, Flordia, based on the latest published numbers in the Tampa Bay Business Journal. WWC is a federally focused management consulting firm with extensive experience at the U.S. Department

of Defense, the U.S. Department of State, and U.S. Agency for International Development. Its mission is to help federal agencies put good government principles into practice. It takes an innovative approach within the framework of federal government regulations, to program management, financial management, regulatory compliance and review, strategic communications, metrics and evaluation, and policy design.

—Jane Welsh, 175 Greensboro Road, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-3789; m.jane.welsh.gr@ dartmouth.edu