Alumni

Alum Clara Olivares (Music Ph.D. '21) to premiere new opera in France

November 5, 2024
Grant Kerber

Clara Olivares, who received her PhD in Music Composition from UC Berkeley in May 2021, will debut her second opera, Les Sentinelles, at the Opéra National de Bordeaux in November 2024, followed by performances at the Opéra de Limoges in January 2025 and the Opéra-Comique in Paris in April 2025. This opera is a joint commission from the three co-producing opera houses and has received support from the French Ministry of Culture's grant for original musical works, as well as the Beaumarchais - SACD Lyric Award.

https://music.berkeley.edu/news/berkeley-music-phd-premiere-new-opera-france

Chat with UC Berkeley Foundation Chair Bettina Duval (Rhetoric '82). vol. 8

December 3, 2024
Amy Cranch
As a student in 1978, Bettina Duval '82 recalls seeing an "earth mobile" — an old El Camino filled with plants — and Jane Fonda speaking at an environmental rally on Sproul Plaza. Whether she was in the classroom or walking around campus, Duval, chair of the UC Berkeley Foundation, always "had the opportunity to listen to new and different ideas." While that remains a hallmark of the Cal experience, a lot has changed since then. What changes have you observed in undergraduate education?

When I was a student, the majors were much more structured. There wasn't as much cross–pollination as...

https://inspire.berkeley.edu/o/chat-with-the-chair-vol-8/

Viet Thanh Nguyen (English '92 & '97)

Viet Thanh Nguyen is a University Professor, Aerol Arnold Chair of English, and Professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity, and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America (Oxford University Press, 2002) and the novel The Sympathizer, from Grove/Atlantic (2015). The Sympathizer won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, an Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.

Viet Thanh Nguyen...

Doug Freeman (English '85)

Doug Freeman was the Chief Operating Officer at Patagonia, Inc. (through 2021 until he retired), where he provides strategic leadership and operational expertise across key areas such as product development, sourcing, and social and environmental responsibility. With over 24 years of experience, including six years as Patagonia’s Vice President of Production, Freeman has a deep understanding of the brand and its commitment to innovation and sustainability. Prior to joining Patagonia, Freeman held leadership roles at Polo Ralph Lauren, The North Face, and Sport Obermeyer. A graduate of UC...

Jill Foley (Film '00)

Jill Foley is the founder and former VP of Peloton Apparel, where she built the brand from the ground up for the Peloton community. Before her role at Peloton, she served as an attorney for NYC's Administration for Children's Services and Sanctuary for Families, advocating for vulnerable children. Foley’s path to success was shaped by the skills she developed at UC Berkeley, where her public speaking abilities and quick thinking—refined through her Dramatic Arts minor and Film major—helped her thrive in law school and her legal career.

These skills proved invaluable as she navigated...

Laura Wasser (Rhetoric '91)

Laura Wasser graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Rhetoric. She is one of the highest-profile divorce lawyers in the country. She has represented some of the biggest celebrities of the past generation: Britney Spears during her split with Kevin Federline, Angelina Jolie during her divorce from Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp during his divorce from Amber Heard, and Kim Kardashian during her divorce from Kanye West, among them. The gossip Web site TMZ has dubbed her “the disso queen” for her facility in dissolving the unions of the rich and famous, and she is often featured on...