62 Notable alumni of
Columbia College Chicago
Updated:
Columbia College Chicago is 723rd in the world, 267th in North America, and 247th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 62 notable alumni from Columbia College Chicago sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Michelle Monaghan
- Occupations
- modeltelevision actorfilm producerfilm actor
- Biography
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Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress. She has starred in the films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Gone Baby Gone (2007), Made of Honor (2008), Eagle Eye (2008), Trucker (2008), Source Code (2011), Pixels (2015), and Patriots Day (2016). She also received recognition for her role in the action spy film series Mission: Impossible, making appearances in Mission: Impossible III (2006), Ghost Protocol (2011), and Fallout (2018).
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Becky Lynch
- Occupations
- actorprofessional wrestlerstunt performer
- Biography
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Rebecca Quin, better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish and American professional wrestler. She has been signed to WWE since April 2013, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women's Intercontinental Champion in her record-setting second reign. Lynch is often regarded as one of the greatest women's professional wrestlers of all time.
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Jake Lloyd
- Occupations
- voice actortelevision actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Jake Matthew Lloyd is an American former actor who portrayed young Anakin Skywalker in the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) and Jamie Langston in Jingle All the Way (1996).
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Pat Sajak
- Occupations
- television presentertalk show hostweather presenteractorradio personality
- Biography
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Patrick Leonard Sajak is an American retired game show host, television personality, and creative consultant. He is best known as the host of the television game show Wheel of Fortune, a position which he held from 1981 to 2024. Sajak also served as a consultant for the show, and hosted Celebrity Wheel of Fortune until 2025. For his work on Wheel, Sajak has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning thrice, and twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show, winning in 2024. In 2019, he was recognized by Guinness World Records for having the longest-serving career as a game show host for the same show, surpassing previous record holder Bob Barker.
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Andy Dick
- Occupations
- film actorvoice actorstage actorfilm directorfilm producer
- Biography
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Andrew Roane Dick is an American actor and comedian. Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined The Second City and studied improvisational theater. Dick has had a long career as a stand-up comedian; he has appeared throughout the United States, has released several comedy albums, and has acted in television and film. Dick's first regular television role was on The Ben Stiller Show on Fox. In the mid-1990s, he regularly appeared on NBC's NewsRadio and as a supporting character on Less than Perfect. He also had two short-lived television series on MTV; these were the sketch comedy series The Andy Dick Show (2001) and the reality series The Assistant (2004). He also is noted for his behavior on a number of Comedy Central Roasts, stand-up comedy performances, and late night talk show appearances.
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Lena Waithe
- Enrolled in Columbia College Chicago
- Studied in 2006
- Occupations
- actormanufacturerscreenwriterfilm directorshowrunner
- Biography
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Lena Waithe is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–21). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present).
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Alexander Rybak
- Occupations
- songwritervoice actorrecording artistsingerviolinist
- Biography
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Alexander Igorevich Rybak or Alyaksandr Iharavich Rybak (Belarusian: Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак) is a Belarusian-born Norwegian singer, songwriter and actor. Based in Oslo, Norway, Rybak extensively worked on television programs and on tours in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe throughout the early 2010s. Performing in English, Russian and Norwegian, Rybak has released five albums.
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Joseph Sikora
- Enrolled in Columbia College Chicago
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in theatre art
- Occupations
- actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Joseph Sikora is an American actor best known for his starring role as Tommy Egan on the Starz series Power and its subsequent spin-offs and sequels, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book IV: Force and Power: Legacy, in which he is the protagonist.
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Sophie Thatcher
- Occupations
- television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Sophie Bathsheba Thatcher is an American actress and musician. After beginning as a child actress in stage plays and minor television roles, she made her feature film debut in Prospect (2018), and later had her breakthrough in the series Yellowjackets (2021–present). Since, she has appeared in The Book of Boba Fett (2022), The Boogeyman (2023), Heretic (2024), and Companion (2025), the last of which earned her a Critics' Choice Super Award. In 2026, she was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Thatcher released her debut EP, Pivot & Scrape, in 2024.
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Matt Skiba
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristsingerrecord producer
- Biography
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Matthew Thomas Skiba is an American musician and songwriter best known as the co-lead vocalist and guitarist of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio, and served as the co-lead vocalist and guitarist of Blink-182 from 2015 to 2022. Skiba's lyrical content commonly involves dark romantic themes.
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Genndy Tartakovsky
- Occupations
- comics artistanimatorfilm producerscreenwriterdirector
- Biography
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Gennady Borisovich "Genndy" Tartakovsky is a Russian-born American animator, screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is best known as the creator of various animated television series on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, including Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, Primal, and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.
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Andy Richter
- Occupations
- television actortelevision presenteractorwritervoice actor
- Biography
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Paul Andrew Richter is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on O'Brien's talk shows: Late Night, The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS. He was also the star of the Fox television series Andy Richter Controls the Universe. He voiced Mort in the Madagascar film franchise and Ben Higgenbottom in the animated television series The Mighty B! on Nickelodeon. Since June 2019, Richter has hosted his own podcast, The Three Questions with Andy Richter on the Earwolf network.
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Meg Johnson
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- poetlecturer
- Biography
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Meg Johnson is an American poet and lecturer. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Midwestern Gothic, Slipstream Magazine, Word Riot, Hobart, and many others. Her first collection of poems, Inappropriate Sleepover, was released in 2014, her second collection, The Crimes of Clara Turlington, was released in December 2015., and her third book, Without: Body, Name, Country is due to release in September 2020. She is also the current editor of the Dressing Room Poetry Journal.
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Aidy Bryant
- Occupations
- television actoractorcomedianfilm actor
- Biography
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Aidy Bryant is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, and leaving at the end of its 47th season in 2022. For her work on the series she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
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Nadine Velazquez
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
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Nadine E. Velázquez is an American actress and model known for her roles as Catalina Aruca on My Name Is Earl and Sofia Ruxin on The League. She has also appeared in films such as Blast (2004), A Day in the Life (2009), Flight (2012), Snitch (2013), and Ride Along 2 (2016), and was a cast member on the TV series Major Crimes.
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Sumanth
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar, known mononymously as Sumanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the eldest grandson of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is also a partner in Annapurna Studios.
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Jimmy Dore
- Occupations
- television producerpodcasterpeace activistcomedian
- Biography
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James Patrick Anthony Dore is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, podcaster and YouTube personality. He is the host of The Jimmy Dore Show, a comedic political talk show available on Rokfin, Rumble, Twitter and YouTube.
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Scott Adsit
- Occupations
- television producerfilm producerfilm directorvoice actorsinger
- Biography
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Robert Scott Adsit is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994 after attending Columbia College Chicago. He appeared in several revues, including Paradigm Lost for which he won The Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Comedy.
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Cory Barlog
- Enrolled in Columbia College Chicago
- 1994-1997 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- engineercreative director
- Biography
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Cory Barlog is an American video game designer, director, and writer who is the current creative director of video game development at Santa Monica Studio. He is best known for his work on the God of War series.
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Chris McKay
- Occupations
- film producerfilm directorfilm editoranimatortelevision producer
- Biography
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Christopher McKay is an American filmmaker and animator. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of Robot Chicken and two seasons of Moral Orel. He made his feature directorial debut with The Lego Batman Movie (2017), and has also directed The Tomorrow War (2021) and Renfield (2023).
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Shea Couleé
- Occupations
- drag queenmusicianreality television participant
- Biography
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Jaren Kyei Merrell, known professionally as Shea Couleé, is an American drag queen, singer, rapper, actor, podcaster, and fixture of the Chicago nightlife scene. Born in Warsaw, Indiana, they began their drag career in 2012. In 2017, Shea Couleé achieved international fame after competing on season nine of RuPaul's Drag Race, placing in the top four. In 2020, Shea Couleé won the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Shea Couleé later returned to compete on the all-winners seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2022, once again placing in the top four.
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Shecky Greene
- Occupations
- comedianactor
- Biography
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Shecky Greene was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his nightclub performances in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he became a headliner in the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared in several films, including Tony Rome; History of the World, Part I; and Splash. In television, he guest-starred on such television shows as Love, American Style and Combat!, and later Laverne & Shirley and Mad About You.
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Kyle Kinane
- Occupations
- voice actortelevision actorstand-up comedianfilm actor
- Biography
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Kyle Christian Kinane is an American stand-up comedian and actor from Addison, Illinois.
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Saba
- Occupations
- record producersongwriterrapper
- Biography
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Tahj Malik Chandler, better known by his stage name Saba, is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. He grew up in the Austin neighborhood of the West Side of Chicago. He is a co-founder of the musical collective Pivot Gang with his brother Jerrel Chandler (Joseph Chilliams), their late cousin Walter Long Jr (John Walt), their high school friend Logan Yutters (MFn Melo), Jevunte Wheeler (squeakPivot), and Jimmy (Frsh Waters). He is also one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Smino and Noname.
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Nicole Theriault
- Occupations
- actorsinger
- Biography
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Nicole Theriault, known as Nikki, is a Thai singer and actress, who went platinum with 2 million copies sold on her debut album Ka-Po-Lo Club and went double platinum on her second album Funny Lady earning her Breakout Artist of the Year for her first album and Best Female Artist of the Year for her second album. She has released a total of 13 albums which includes 5 solo albums and the remaining being collaborations and cover albums.
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Tonya Pinkins
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm directortelevision actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Tonya Pinkins is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film Red Pill was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Feature at The Mykonos International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Luléa Film Festival, and is nominated for awards in numerous festivals around the globe. Her web-series The Red Pilling of America can be heard on her podcast "You Can't Say That!" at BPN.fm/ycst
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George Tillman, Jr
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directordirectorfilm producer
- Biography
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George Tillman Jr. is an American filmmaker.
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Jessica Lu
- Occupations
- stage actormodeltelevision actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Jessica Lu is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Ming Huang on the MTV television series Awkward.
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Rhymefest
- Occupations
- songwriterrapper
- Biography
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Che Armond Smith, known professionally as Rhymefest, is an American rapper and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for his work with fellow Chicago rapper Kanye West, having co-written West's "Jesus Walks" (which won Best Rap Song) in 2004 and "New Slaves" in 2013. He also co-wrote "Glory", for Common and John Legend in 2014, which received a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
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Erica Hubbard
- Occupations
- film actortelevision actormodel
- Biography
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Erica Hubbard is an American actress and model. Hubbard grew up in Chicago. Hubbard is best known for her roles as Kiana Anderson in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, Cassandra "Cassie" Sutton on the ABC Family series Lincoln Heights (2007–09) and Kita Whitmore on Let's Stay Together (2011–14) on the BET network. She is also the voice of Abbey for the TV series The Replacements. She created "The Erica Hubbard Foundation" to help youth in at-risk communities.
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John McMartin
- Occupations
- singerstage actortelevision actoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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John Francis McMartin was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He made his off-Broadway debut in Little Mary Sunshine in 1959, and acted on Broadway for more than 50 years. He won a Theatre World Award in 1960 and was nominated for a Tony for his role in Sweet Charity in 1966. On television, McMartin appeared on the soap opera As the World Turns, and the TV shows East Side West Side, Beauty and the Beast, The Golden Girls,The Bob Newhart Show, and Murder, She Wrote. He also had film roles in All the President's Men (1976), Blow Out, and Legal Eagles.
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Michael Goi
- Occupations
- cinematographertelevision directorfilm director
- Biography
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Michael K. Goi, ASC, ISC is an American cinematographer, director, producer, and writer of television and film. He is best known for his work for Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk on the television series Glee, Scream Queens and American Horror Story. He is a four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee for his cinematography.
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Aiden English
- Occupations
- stage actorprofessional wrestler
- Biography
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Matthew Thomas Rehwoldt is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as a color commentator, alongside Tom Hannifan. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Aiden English.
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The Vixen
- Occupations
- entertainer
- Biography
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The Vixen is the stage name of Anthony Prince Taylor, an American drag performer, best known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and placing seventh. Her appearance on the show was notable for raising a conversation around racial dynamics both among her fellow drag queens and in the show's fandom. She is the founder of Black Girl Magic, a drag show consisting of only African-American queens. In August 2020, she released Commercial Break, her debut album.
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Kym Mazelle
- Occupations
- singersongwriter
- Biography
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Kym Mazelle is an American singer. Credited as "The First Lady of House Music", she is regarded as a pioneer of house music in Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop.
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Rashid Johnson
- Occupations
- painterinstallation artistsculptorfilm directorphotographer
- Biography
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Rashid Johnson is an American artist who produces conceptual post-black art. Johnson first received critical attention in 2001 at the age of 24, when his work was included in Freestyle (2001) curated by Thelma Golden at the Studio Museum in Harlem. He studied at Columbia College Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his work has been exhibited around the world.
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Erika Lauren Wasilewski
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterradio personality
- Biography
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Erika Lauren Wasilewski, known on-air simply as Erika Lauren, is a former American radio personality, singer-songwriter and former reality television personality, known as a cast member on The Real World: D.C., the 23rd season of the long-running series, which aired from 2009 to 2010. She later became a co-host on The Alan Cox Show, and as the lead singer of the band Hawkeye, released the LP Ruthless in 2013.
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Duke Johnson
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directordirectorfilm producer
- Biography
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Duke Johnson is an American film director who specializes in stop-motion animation. He currently serves as a director and junior partner for Dino Stamatopoulos's animation production studio Starburns Industries in Burbank, California.
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David Cromer
- Occupations
- theatrical directorvoice actorstage actoractor
- Biography
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David Cromer is an American theatre director, and stage, film, and TV actor. He has received recognition for his work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in his native Chicago. Cromer has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including winning the Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for his direction of Our Town. He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his direction of The Adding Machine. In 2018, Cromer won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Band's Visit.
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Dean Richards
- Biography
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Dean Richards is an American film critic and entertainment reporter for WGN-TV and a longtime radio host for WGN (AM) in Chicago.
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Stacie Passon
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorfilm produceractor
- Biography
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Stacie Passon is an American film director, screenwriter and producer whose first film, Concussion, was premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently won a Teddy Award Jury Prize at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival.
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Robert Teitel
- Occupations
- film producertelevision producerscreenwriter
- Biography
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Robert Teitel is an American film producer and writer.
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Silvio Caiozzi
- Occupations
- screenwriterphotographerfilm director
- Biography
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Silvio Caiozzi is a Chilean film director and cinematographer.
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Josefina Lopez
- Occupations
- playwrightwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Josefina López is a Chicana playwright, perhaps best known as the author of the play (and co-author of the screenplay) Real Women Have Curves. López is also the Founding Artistic Director of the CASA 0101 theater located in Boyle Heights, California, which began in 2000.
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J. A. Konrath
- Occupations
- science fiction writernovelist
- Biography
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Joseph Andrew Konrath is an American fiction writer working in the mystery, thriller, and horror genres. He writes as J. A. Konrath and Jack Kilborn. In 2011 Konrath was named one of the "5 eBook Authors To Watch" by Mediabistro.com's Dianna Dilworth.
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Kimberly L. Jones
- Enrolled in Columbia College Chicago
- Studied in 1994-1995
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorwriterbookselleractivist
- Biography
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Kimberly Latrice Jones is an American author, filmmaker, and activist known for co-authoring the book I'm Not Dying with You Tonight and for the viral video How Can We Win published during the George Floyd protests.
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Iliana Regan
- Occupations
- chefrestaurateurwriter
- Biography
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Iliana Regan is an American chef and restaurateur. She ran the restaurant Elizabeth in Chicago from 2012 to 2020, receiving Michelin stars in each year. Since 2019, she has been the owner of The Milkweed Inn in Wetmore, Michigan.
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George Molchan
- Occupations
- spokesperson
- Biography
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George A. Molchan was an American spokesperson, most famous for his work as Little Oscar for the Oscar Mayer meat company.
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C. S. E. Cooney
- Years
- 1981-.. (age 45)
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Claire Suzanne Elizabeth Cooney is an American writer of fantasy literature. She is best known for her fantasy poetry and short stories and has won the Rhysling Award for her poem "The Sea King's Second Bride" in 2011 and the World Fantasy Award—Collection for her collection Bone Swans in 2016. In 2023 she received the World Fantasy Award for her novel Saint Death's Daughter.
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Sama Raena Alshaibi
- Occupations
- photographer
- Biography
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Sama Raena Alshaibi also known as Sama Alshaibi is an Iraqi–Palestinian conceptual artist (video art, performative photography, sculpture and installation), who deals with spaces of conflict as her primary subject. War, exile, power and the quest for survival are themes seen in her works. She often uses her own body in her artwork as a representation of the country or an issue she is dealing with.
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Art Baltazar
- Years
- 1968-.. (age 58)
- Occupations
- illustratorcomics artist
- Biography
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Arthee "Art" Baltazar is an American comics artist and writer who currently works for DC Comics.
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Duki Dror
- Occupations
- film director
- Biography
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Zadok "Duki” Dror is an independent Israeli filmmaker whose films explore issues of migration, identity and displacement.
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Kevin Gosztola
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Kevin Gosztola is an American journalist, author and YouTuber known for work on whistleblower cases, WikiLeaks, national security, and civil liberties. Formerly the managing editor of Shadowproof, he writes for The Dissenter. Previously, The Dissenter was part of Firedoglake (FDL). Gosztola has covered the court-martial of Chelsea Manning, the case of John Kiriakou, and the extradition of Julian Assange.
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Deb Conroy
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Deborah "Deb" O'Keefe Conroy is an American politician currently serving as chair of the county board of DuPage County, Illinois. She previously served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 46th district from 2012 through 2022. She is also a former member of the school board of Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205.
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Lola Omolola
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Lola Omolola is a Nigerian former journalist who founded the Female IN (FIN) group on Facebook. Lola is the first Nigerian woman who created a place where other women can share their untold stories regarding their sexual abuses, and other challenges they are facing. She was featured in the 2018 Facebook F8 Conference.
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Michael Grothaus
- Years
- 1977-.. (age 49)
- Occupations
- journalistnovelist
- Biography
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Michael Grothaus is an American novelist and journalist. He is best known for the novel Beautiful Shining People and for his writing about internet subcultures in the digital age.
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Filip Robar Dorin
- Occupations
- film directorfilm screenwriter
- Biography
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Filip Robar Dorin was a Yugoslavian, and later Slovenian, film director, screenwriter, and film editor.
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Julia A. Ames
- Occupations
- journalisteditor
- Biography
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Julia A. Ames was an American journalist, editor and a temperance reformer. She served as an associate editor of the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association's Union Signal. Ames died in 1891 at the age of 30. The year after her death, the journalist and spiritualist W. T. Stead published automatic writing which was said to have been sent by Ames to her friend. Stead also created "Julie's Bureau" to allow others to communicate with the dead.
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Eduardo Vilaro
- Occupations
- business executive
- Biography
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Eduardo Vilaro is a Cuban-American dancer, choreographer, educator, and artistic director & CEO of Ballet Hispánico. He first joined Ballet Hispánico as a principal dancer in 1985, leaving for Chicago a decade later to further his education and found the Luna Negra Dance Theater, for which he was artistic director. He returned to Ballet Hispánico in 2009 as artistic director, the second since the organization's founding in 1970, and has also served as CEO for the company since 2015 when a reorganization merged these artistic and administrative roles. His vision for Ballet Hispánico draws on the Latin dance traditions and educational outreach set forth by founder Tina Ramirez while responding to the more complex cultural landscape of the 21st century with a greater focus on diversity, inclusion, and community engagement.
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Stann Champion
- Years
- 1952-2022 (aged 70)
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterrecord producer
- Biography
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Stann Champion was a Chicago-based American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His music style blended elements of reggae, calypso, R&B and, rock.
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Jordan Stempleman
- Years
- 1977-.. (age 49)
- Occupations
- poet
- Biography
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Jordan Stempleman is an American poet. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Stempleman earned a B.A. in Fiction from Columbia College Chicago (where he won the Academy of American Poets, Lannan Prize for Poetry) and a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop (where he was a Leggett-Schupes Fellow).
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Jay W. Boersma
- Occupations
- photographer
- Biography
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Jay Weaver Boersma is a fine art and documentary photographer, mixed media artist, designer, and creative director, and was Senior Creative Director at Playboy.com from 1996 to 2011.
