Alumni of Distinction

Holy Cross alumni have translated their liberal arts education into meaningful careers spanning all fields and industries. These individuals are among our accomplished alumni. 

Healthcare/Science

Doug Baker Jr. '81 - Co-Founder, E2SG Partners and former executive chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Ecolab

James J. Collins '87 - Termeer Professor of Bioengineering in MIT's Department of Biological Engineering and Institute for Medical Engineering & Science; recipient of the MacArthur Fellow in 2003

Michael F. Collins  M.D., '77 - Chancellor of UMass Medical School and a fellow of the American College of Physicians 

Joseph T. Coyle Jr., M.D., ’65 - Former president of the Society for Neuroscience, Eben S. Draper Professor of Psychiatry, emeritus, at Harvard Medical School, and was chairman of the Consolidated Department of Psychiatry at Harvard 1991-2001

Anthony Fauci  M.D.  ’62 - Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2022; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Harry J. Goett '31 - First director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 

Jason F. Hall M.D., MPH '96 - Surgeon-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Tufts Medical Center.   Professor of Surgery and Benjamin Andrews Chair of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine.  

Capt. Joseph P. Kerwin  M.D., USN (ret.) '53 - Physician and former NASA astronaut who was the first physician to be selected for astronaut training and served as science-pilot for the Skylab 2 mission in 1973

Joseph E. Murray  M.D., '40 - Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1990 for the first successful kidney transplant; elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which advises the Vatican on science issues.

Richard J. O’Reilly  M.D., ’64 - Chair of the department of pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering; conducted the first successful bone marrow transplant involving an unrelated, compatible donor; co-developed an approach now used throughout the world to effectively treat children born without an immune system (once known as “bubble babies”)

Joyce O'Shaughnessy M.D., '78 - Medical oncologist, Texas Oncology-Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center

George Paletta  M.D.,'84 - Head orthopedic physician, St. Louis Cardinals

James A. Shannon M.D., '25 - First Director of the National Institutes of Health, elected to National Academy of Sciences (1965), awarded the National Medal of Science by President Gerald R. Ford (1974) 

Steven J. Stack M.D., ’94 - Emergency physician, Kentucky Commissioner of Public Health, and past president of the American Medical Association (AMA)

C. Gordon Zubrod, M.D., '36 - Former scientific director of the National Cancer Institute who played a prominent role in the introduction of chemotherapy for cancer 

Media/Communications

David P. Anderson '51 - Sports columnist, The New York Times; recipient of Pulitzer Prize in 1981

Michael Barrett '84 - CEO, Rubicon Project, a leading technology company automating the buying and selling of advertising

Erika Bearman '03 - Independent consultant in communications and branding; former senior vice president for global communications for Oscar de la Renta

Aimee Bell ’88 - Vice president, editorial director, Gallery Books Group 

Mary G. Berner '81 - President and CEO, Cumulus Media Inc.

Matt Chmura '03 - Chief Marketing, Communications & Brand Officer at LPGA

Leigh Ann Brodsky '80 - CEO LAB. Licensing and Branding and former executive vice president, Discovery Global Enterprises at Discovery Communications

Ashley Codianni '07 - Head of digital, "Today"

Shawn Feddeman Cronin '95 - Vice president of communications, NBCUniversal owned television stations

Kati Fernandez ‘15 - Dir, Original Content Dev & Integration at ESPN+

Michael Days '75 -  Former vice president for diversity and inclusion, The Philadelphia Inquirer; former editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 under his leadership.  Michael is now running a consulting company

Jon Favreau '03 - Political commentator; former director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama

Jack Hanlon '06 – AI Product team at Meta, Professor at NYU Stern, retail historian, former Reddit, Jet, & Google alum

John J. "Jack" Higgins '76 - Editorial cartoonist, Chicago Sun-Times; winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 1989

Dave Holmes ’94 – Writer, producer, and television personality; editor-at-large for Esquire magazine and host of a number of podcasts, including “Homophilia” and “International Waters”

Kate Jhaveri '95 - Global Head of Marketing for TikTok; former Chief marketing officer, NBA

Edward P. Jones '72 - Author who was recognized with the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his book "The Known World;" recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship in 2004; member, American Academy of Arts and Letters

Deirdre Latour '95 - Chief Communications Officer who served as President of Edelman, Inc. and Chief Communications Officer of GE

Brian Lockhart '96 - Senior Vice President, Original Content and ESPN Films, ESPN

Burke Magnus '88 - President of Content, ESPN

Chris Matthews '67 - Journalist and former longtime host of MSNBC's "Hardball With Chris Matthews”

Daniel E. Shaughnessy '75 - Sports columnist, The Boston Globe; author of "The Curse of the Bambino"

Bill Simmons '92 - Sports columnist, analyst, author and host of The Ringer, a sports and pop culture website and podcast network

K.C. Sullivan '00 - President of CNBC and the former President and Managing Director, NBC Universal Global Advertising & Partnerships

Business/Finance

Eileen Howard Boone '86 –  Former Senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy at CVS Health and president of CVS Health Foundation 

Theresa Bresten '78 - Former vice president and treasurer, H.P. Hood

James E. Burke ’47 - CEO of Johnson & Johnson from 1976-89; named one of the 10 greatest CEOs of all time by Fortune magazine for his ethics-driven and transparent decisions; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

David J. Castellani '78 - Operating partner of Brewer Lane Ventures in Boston, Massachusetts 

Chris Caswell '99 - Chief Financial Officer of Second Nature Brands 

Rebecca Connolly '88 - Co-founder and managing partner, Tiger Iron Capital, LLC

Jennifer Coyle '89 -  COO of the Americas & Executive Director, Macquarie Group

Anne-Marie D’Angelo '98 - Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Hilton 

Michael Daniels (ret.) '76 - Former senior vice president and group executive, IBM Global Technology Services

Loren Ferré Rangel ’92 – Chief Business Development Officer, Grupo Ferré Rangel, a 100-year-old media, real estate and social engagement company in Puerto Rico

María​ Eugenia Ferré Rangel ’89 - Chief global stakeholder, Grupo Ferré Rangel, a 100-year-old media, real estate and social engagement company in Puerto Rico, and chairperson of the board of GFR Media 

Anne Fink '85 - President, PepsiCo Global Foodservice

Chris Foley '94 - President, Campbell Meals and Beverages and senior vice president, Campbell Soup Company

Jackie McCauley Ford '91 - CFO, America's Test Kitchen

Joanna Geraghty '94 - Chief Executive Officer of JetBlue, effective 2/12/24; chairperson of the board, Concern Worldwide

David J. Grain '84 - Founder and managing partner, Grain Management Group

Clint Greenleaf '97 - Co-founder and CEO, Moonshot Brands

Julie A. Halpin '84 - President of marketing strategy company Next Step Strategic Services; founder and former CEO of Geppetto Group, a youth and family creative agency and strategic consultancy

Damon Hart '96 - Executive vice president and chief legal officer, Liberty Mutual Insurance

Pedro Heilbron '79 - CEO, Copa Airlines

Mark G. Holowesko '82 - Founding partner and CEO, Holowesko Partners, Ltd, an investment firm in The Bahamas; co-sponsor of the Holowesko | Citadel Racing Team registered with USA Cycling as a UCI Continental Team

Molly Taylor Jolly '88 - Senior vice president, finance and administration for the Los Angeles Angels

Thomas P. Joyce ​​Jr. '82 -  Former president and CEO of Danaher Corporation. 

Carol Donovan Juel '95 - Executive vice president and chief information officer, Synchrony Financial

Helen E. Jurado '98 - Vice President of global content sales for Latin America & U.S. Hispanic,  A&E Television

Susan Jurevics '89 - Chief Brand & International Officer at Audible; former General manager of Audible; former president of Bare Escentuals Beauty; former CEO and board director, J.K. Rowling's Pottermore 

Brian Kelley '83 - Partner at investment firm Lindsay Goldberg; former CEO of Keurig Green Mountain coffee

​James W. Keyes '77 - Chairman of Wild Oats; former CEO of Blockbuster and 7-Eleven; founder of Education is Freedom Foundation

Marc S. Lampkin '86 - Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Pete Lescoe ’99 – CEO, Plant Snacks; founder, Food Should Taste Good

Stephanie Linnartz '90 - President and CEO of Under Armour, Inc. and former president of Marriott International, Inc. 

Edward J. Ludwig (ret.) '73 - Former chairman of the board and CEO, Becton, Dickinson and Company (global medical technology company)

Victor Luis '88 - Executive chairman and CEO of Moose Knuckles

Cheryl A. Martin '84 - Founder of Harwich Partners and former member of the managing board of the World Economic Forum

Paul Marvin '97 - CEO, Marvin Windows and Doors

Richard A. Murphy '66 - Former president and CEO of the Salk Institute 

Sean O'Scannlain '86 - CEO, Fortune Fish and Gourmet

Jennifer Schneider M.D., '97 - Chief Executive Officer of Homeward Health and former chief medical officer and president, Livongo Health

James David “J.D.” Power III '53 - Founder, J.D. Power and Associates

Jack D. Rehm ’54 – Former president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of the Meredith Corporation

Jim Speltz '97 - President, Luxury Brand Holdings, parent company of Ross-Simons and Sidney Thomas jewelry brands

Kerry Sullivan '78 - Former president, Bank of America Charitable Foundation

Maggie Wilderotter '77 - Telecommunications executive; former CEO and executive chairman of Frontier Communications

Tina Ziemek '03 - Founder, Last of Five Game Company 

Mission

Philip Berrigan ’50 – Peace activist and author who, with his brother Rev. Daniel Berrigan, S.J., began the Plowshares Movement protesting weapons of war, and in his lifetime spent 11 years in jail for civil disobedience

Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., ’49 – Longest-serving president of Holy Cross (1970-94), recruited a more diverse student body, established coeducation, and guided the College into one of the country’s top liberal arts institutions

Brendan J. Cassin '55 - Co-founder, The Drexel Fund, a national fund providing start-up capital for new, high-quality, financially sustainable faith-based and private schools and founder of Cassin Educational Initiative to establish Catholic college-preparatory middle and high schools in economically-challenged communities throughout the country

Alex Clavering ’13 – Founder and organizer of the 2018 March for Our Lives in New York City, part of a national movement calling for new gun legislation in the wake of the Parkland school shooting

AnnMaura Connolly '86 - Chief strategy officer and executive vice president, City Year; president, Voices for National Service

Mary Cahoon McGinnity '77 - Executive director, The Ignatian Volunteer Corps

Helen Slottje ’89 – Attorney who helped organize bans against fracking in dozens of New York communities; recipient of the 2014 North American Goldman Environmental Prize

Francine Rosado-Cruz ’94 - Chief diversity and inclusion officer at Davis, Polk & Wardwell LLP

Mark Shriver '86 - President, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School

Kieran Suckling '88 - Founder and executive director, Center for Biological Diversity

Theodore V. Wells Jr. '72 - Partner and co-chair of Litigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York

Robert C. Wright '65 - Founder and chairman, The Suzanne Wright Foundation, founded in memory of his wife Suzanne to accelerate pancreatic cancer research through awareness; co-founder of Autism Speaks with Suzanne Wright; retired vice chairman of the General Electric Company and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal (1986 to 2007)

Government

Col. Tyree Blocker '74 - 22nd Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police

Hon. Peter Brown '84 - Superior Court Judge, State of Connecticut

Joseph A. Califano Jr. '52 - Founder and chairman emeritus, Center on Addiction; former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

Senator Robert P. Casey '82 - Member of the U.S. Senate, Democrat from Pennsylvania

Richard A. Davey '95 -President of NYC Transit at the MTA in New York City

Mark DeSaulnier '74 - Member of U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat from California

W. Arthur Garrity Jr. ’41 - Federal judge who issued 1974 order in Morgan v. Hennigan, which mandated that Boston schools be desegregated by means of busing

Stanley E. Grayson '72 - Former vice chairman and chief operating officer, M.R. Beal and Company; former deputy mayor for finance and economic development in Mayor Ed Koch administration

Capt. Thomas G. Kelley  USN (ret.) '60 - Recipient of the Medal of Honor in 1970 from President Richard Nixon for his actions during the Vietnam War; president of the Medal of Honor Society

Paul O. LeClerc '63 - Director, Columbia Global Centers in Paris; former president and CEO, The New York Public Library

Hon. Rupal Shah-Palanki '95 - Superior Court Judge, State of Connecticut

Justice Clarence Thomas '71 - Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

Amb. Harry K. Thomas Jr. '78 - Senior Strategic Engagement Leader at Special Operations Command and Kissinger Senior Fellow, Yale  Jackson School of Global Affairs; former U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2016-2018), the Philippines (2010-2013) and Bangladesh (2003-2005) 

Hon. Peter F. Welch '69 - U.S. Senator, State of  Vermont

Hon. Gary J. White '76 - Superior Court Judge, State of Connecticut

Arts

Billy Collins '63 - American poet; former U.S. Poet Laureate; member, American Academy of Arts and Letters

Ann Dowd '78 – Emmy-award winning actress whose credits include "The Handmaid’s Tale," "The Leftovers," "Compliance" and "Marley & Me" 

Francis "Chip" Flaherty '86 - President, Londonderry Films; executive vice president, Londonderry LLC

Kristan Higgins '87 - Bestselling and critically acclaimed author of romance fiction

Peter Jankowski '86 - President and Chief Operating Officer, Wolf Entertainment, a television and film production company best known for creating the "Law & Order," "One Chicago," and "FBI" franchises

Meg Maggio '82 - Director, Pékin Fine Arts contemporary art gallery

Kevin O'Connor '90 - Host, "This Old House" and "Ask This Old House;" co-host of DIY Network’s "This New House"

Carolyn Risoli '86 - Fashion industry consultant; former president, Marc by Marc Jacobs

Bartlett Sher '81 - Theatre and opera director who won the Tony Award in 2008 for Best Direction of a Musical for his Lincoln Center production of "South Pacific"

Athlete

Bob Cousy '50 - Basketball legend and NBA Hall of Famer; led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented five straight NBA titles; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Thomas W. Heinsohn '56 - Former Boston Celtics player and coach; fourth person to be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of fame as a player and a coach

Scholars

Michael Harrington ’47 – Socialist historian and author of “The Other America,” which is believed to have inspired Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and other social reforms of the 1960s

​Robert A. Harrington M.D., '82 - Chair, Stanford University Department of Medicine and the Arthur L. Bloomfield Professor of Medicine

​Ann McElaney-Johnson '79 - President, Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles