Summer 2015

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Richard Bernstein ’99 JD

Richard BernsteinAfter fighting for the rights of the disabled as a trial attorney, Richard Bernstein (“An Attorney with Perspective,” fall 2002) joined the Michigan Supreme Court in January, becoming the first blind justice in the state’s history. He was elected in November for an eight-year term. Blind since birth, Bernstein prepares for cases and commits them to memory by having aides read briefs to him. Outside of the courtroom, Bernstein is an ardent athlete with 18 marathons under his belt. In 2008 he completed an Ironman triathlon with assistance from guides.

Will Butler ‘05

Will Butler, the spirited multi-instrumentalist from the alternative rock band Arcade Fire, released his first solo album, Policy, in early March. Butler (“All Fired Up,” winter 2012) recorded the danceable, electro-funk album in one week during a break in Arcade Fire’s Reflektor tour. Butler, who lives in Montreal with his wife, dancer and choreographer Jenny Shore ’03, toured North America and Europe from March until early June in support of the solo endeavor.

Will Butler
Photo by Ross Gilmore/Redferns

Cristina Henríquez ’99

Cristina HenriquezAward-winning author Cristina Henríquez (“The Write Way,” spring 2014, and "The Invitation," Northwestern Magazine’s 2010 Short Fiction Contest, spring 2010) was named to the “40 Under 40” list by Crain’s Chicago Business for 2014. Her latest novel, The Book of Unknown Americans (Knopf, 2014), was published last June and quickly earned rave reviews. In November the book, a love story about immigrant Latino teenagers set in Delaware, was named among Amazon’s top 10 books of the year.

 
 

Matt Levatich ’94 MEM MBA

Harley-Davidson has a new leader of the pack. Matt Levatich (“Building a Legend,” winter 2004) was named president and CEO and elected to the board of directors of Harley-Davidson. He has worked at the Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker for more than two decades, holding various positions in the United States and Europe. Since 2009, Levatich served as the company’s president and chief operating officer of the company’s largest business unit, Harley-Davidson Motor Co. An avid motorcyclist since age 8, Levatich rode a Harley into Welsh-Ryan Arena before giving the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science convocation speech in 2013.

Matt Levatich
Photo by Bad Chaney

Robert Pickering ’84 PhD

Robert Pickering (“Buffalo Bob,” spring 2004) is wearing a new hat. The former deputy director of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo., directs a new master’s level museum science and management program at the University of Tulsa, where he is professor of anthropology. He is also a curator at Gilcrease Museum, where he currently is focused on exhibitions on the Spiro Mounds and ancient West Mexico and is overseeing the renovation of the interactive Kravis Discovery Center.

Evan Smith ’88 MS

Evan SmithWhen Evan Smith (“A New York State of Mind — in Texas,” fall 2009) launched the Texas Tribune in November 2009, it was unclear how the site, an all-digital news platform funded on a nonprofit model, would fare in the new media landscape. Now, having recently celebrated its five-year anniversary, the Texas Tribune is considered one of the most reputable sources of news in the state and was recently called “one of the nonprofit news sector’s runaway success stories.”