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Category: Guest Speakers

Havas Chicago Executive Producer to Speak at Northwestern

By Jacob Nelson Brigette Whisnant got into marketing to help people connect with brands. After two decades, the approach may look a little different, but the goal is exactly the same. “For me it was just about, ‘How do you make people engage with brands?’” Whisnant said about what first appealed to her about marketing.

Adam Sachs Talks the Evolution of Podcasts at Northwestern

By Jacob Nelson The podcast market has changed rapidly over the last few years, and Adam Sachs has been on the ground floor of that evolution. “A few years ago, when we wanted to make a new podcast we’d find one or two people to chit chat and banter and hopefully it’d be entertaining,” he

MSLCE Student Wants to Make Nonfiction Work in Different Forms

By Jacob Nelson Luis Perez is interested in nonfiction, but he’s open to the format. “I really want to start a company or work for a company that focuses on nonfiction work in multiple mediums,” he said. The MSLCE student has learned from experience that nonfiction storytelling can take many forms. He’s worked for WBEZ,

Former Midroll Media CEO to Speak at Northwestern

By Miya Williams Adam Sachs believes in taking risks. While some may view large entertainment companies as a source of stability, he contends that the inverse is true. “There is so much innovation happening that, to me, there are a lot of reasons to be on the side of disruption and innovation,” he said.

MSLCE Students Encouraged to ‘Take Risks’ and ‘Walk Proudly’ At Convocation

By Jacob Nelson Shortly after receiving her degree from the MSLCE program on August 25, Ali Riddle reflected on the internship she’d soon begin at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “I used to fantasize about David Letterman interviewing me,” Riddle said. “It’s such an iconic institution, it’s overwhelming how much of a dream job

Theater Director Speaks at Northwestern Days After Winning a Tony

By Jacob Nelson Last week was a busy one for Mark Hoebee. The producing artistic director of Paper Mill Playhouse flew from New York to Chicago so he could speak at the MSLCE speaker series event. But before that, he and his theatre company won a 2016 Regional Theater Tony Award. “It’s crazy, it’s been

Paper Mill Playhouse Producing Artistic Director to Speak at Northwestern

By Jacob Nelson Mark Hoebee has been a  gymnast, a dancer, a choreographer, a director, and, most recently, a theater administrator, working as Paper Mill Playhouse’s Producing Artistic Director. He is the first to admit that a career in show business follows no standard trajectory. “Anybody who tells you this is what you have to

An MMA Curator and a Nonprofit Consultant Talk Museums, Technology, and their Careers

By Jacob Nelson A curator from the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MMA) spoke with a principal of the consulting firm Danzig & Associates last week during an MSLCE Speaker Series event about the surprising paths their creative careers have taken them on. Femke Speelberg, the MMA’s Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings, described getting offered

From Corporate to Nonprofit, Arts Consultant Discusses Eclectic Career

By Jacob Nelson When Dan Danzig first started out in the art world, he sold art collections to corporations. It’s a unique job for an art curator, in that it involves getting to know the tastes of a large group of executives rather than a small group of museum employees. It takes a sharp sense