Notable Knox Alumni

A baker’s dozen of Knox alumni who in some meaningful way represent thousands of other Knox alumni:

1. John Podesta '71 is a contributing columnist at the Washington Post. He served as chairman of the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign, advisor to President Obama, chief of staff for President Clinton, and chair of the Center for American Progress.

2. Carol Craig '89 founded Craig Technologies, a national aerospace consulting company; she was the Navy's first woman aviator in her P-3 Orion squadron.

3. Hardika Shah '92, founder & CEO of fintech Kinara Capital. Kinara has supported more than 250,000 jobs in local economies and generated more than $100 million in income for small business entrepreneurs in India.

4. Ladipo Lawani ’08 was recently named one of Africa's 30 under 30 10 years by Forbes magazine for founding L&L Foods, a food processing and packaging company that sources agricultural produce from Nigerian farmers and transforms them into quality snacks.

5. John Lawler '88, chief financial officer at Ford Motor Company. He has overall responsibility for finance functions including Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Treasury, Tax, Investor Relations, Economics, and Audit.

6. Gauher Aftab '05, inspired by his encounter with terrorist rhetoric as a child in Pakistan, co-authored an educational comic, Paasban: The Guardian, to rebut violent extremist rhetoric. The comic is now available in more than 400 public schools in Pakistan.

7. Matt Berg '00 was named one of Time's "most influential people in the world." He developed ChildCount+, an open-source mobile health system; created the Last Mile Initiative, which brings basic information and communication technologies to rural African villages; and was director of information and communications technology for the Millennium Villages Project at Columbia University's Earth Institute. He is currently chief executive officer of the social enterprise technology company Ona.

8. Lara Moritz '90 won two Emmys, two Edward R. Murrow awards, and the Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award; she anchors the evening newscasts at KMBC in Kansas City.

9. Vir Das '02, the biggest English-speaking comedian in India, is also one of its top actors, writers, musicians, and festival producers. Thanks to his Netflix comedy special, Vir Das: Abroad Understanding, and a recently announced Hulu comedy series and second Netflix special, Das is poised to break into the American entertainment world with his unique brand of humor.

10. Brenda Butler '71, the first woman to sit on the Chicago Tribune management team. She also served as the President of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

11. Thomas Kurtz '50 co-created BASIC, the foundational language of computing.

12. Bridget C. Coughlin ’94 is the president & CEO of Shedd Aquarium, Chicago's most visited cultural attraction and a national leader in animal care, conservation education, and marine research.

13. Ismat Kittani '51 came to Knox from Iraq, helped establish our Honor Code, and went on to become president of the United Nations General Assembly.

14. Barry Bearak '71 received a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting for his coverage of daily life in war-torn Afghanistan; he's a correspondent for the New York Times.

Recognizing our Notable Alumni

We are proud of the accomplishments of our alumni. So proud that we present several awards to our notable alumni each year, recognizing their lifetime achievements, generosity, and contributions to their communities.

Learn more about the awards and recipients.

If you know someone worthy of recognition, be sure to nominate them for one of these honors.