Although major in English Angela Mae Yee ’97 wanted to be a writer and photographer since she was in kindergarten, her entrepreneurial spirit led her to careers in radio, juice pressing, selling fair trade coffee and even hair extensions.
After college, Yee immediately went to work for the Wu-Tang Clan, helping the CEO with payroll, benefits, and meeting record company staff. She then spent six years on SiriusXM satellite radio and eventually created her own show, The Morning After With Angela Yee. And in 2010, she became the host of New York’s Power 105.1. The breakfast club show, which is currently streaming in over 100 markets on iHeartMedia.
Since then, Yee has received industry accolades including induction into the 2020 Radio Hall of Fame, two Gracie Awards, and NYS Broadcasters Association Outstanding Live Broadcast Personality or Team. She also created the pressed juice line, Drink Fresh Juice, a coffee company, and a Private Label hair extension store in Detroit, while serving on numerous boards, including the American Foundation for University. of the West Indies, the We Are Family Foundation of Nile Rodgers. , the Fund for NYC Housing Authority and the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute.
For her incredible career achievement, Yee received a Distinguished Alumni Award at the Wesleyan Assembly and Alumni Association annual meeting on May 21. The alumni association enriches the university community and helps strengthen Wesleyan’s reputation as a unique place in higher education.
Joining Yee as a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Awardee are Ron A. Bloom ’77, P’24Managing Partner and Vice Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management; Sarah Chapin Colombia ’82nationally recognized litigator and leader in the practice of intellectual property law; Carter Bays ’97author, television producer, screenwriter and songwriter; Maggie McLean Suniewick ’97, a media executive with a passion for meaningful work, strong leadership and building a culture; and Craig Thomas ’97executive producer, writer and co-creator (with Carter Bays) of how I Met Your Mother.
In addition, Distinguished Service Awards are given to alumni, parents, or other members of the Wesleyan community in recognition of outstanding volunteer service to Wesleyan, their community, or the nation. This year, they were presented at Seth A. Davis ’72; Peter J. Hicks ’72; and Susan Webster ’77, P’18.
Davis, four-time winner over Danger! in 1991, taught for several years as an adjunct professor in Pace University’s environmental law program. He served the communities in which he lived as a special advisor on environmental issues, chairman of planning and zoning boards, and president of homeowners’ associations. For more than 40 years, he has always been a member of the board of directors of at least one not-for-profit corporation, serving musical, educational, environmental, cultural and community organizations. He became class secretary at his fifth reunion in 1977 and has since been crowned “class secretary for life”.
Hicks, who was recognized by The New York Times as one of four members of “Wall Street’s New Inventor Class”, has been involved in a number of campus-related activities, including serving on alumni committees, reunions, alumni investment and athletics. Mr. Hicks has also been instrumental in helping undergraduate students learn about a variety of industry opportunities in New York. He is currently a board member of The Children’s Village, a leading social service organization focused on underserved children in the New York metropolitan area, a current board member of the Bronxville Historical Conservancy, and a past member of the board of directors of Lawrence Hospital. .
Susan Webster, former secretary to the board, is a partner at Fremont Group in San Francisco, where she serves as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. She currently co-chairs the Sports Advisory Board at Wesleyan. Webster is a longtime board member of Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services, which cares for vulnerable children and their families in New York City. She is an emeritus member of the Fordham Law School Advisory Board and was a trustee of St. Bernard’s School in New York for many years, serving as secretary of the board of trustees and chair of the diversity committee.
William “Bill” Hal Sherman ’02 is the 2022 recipient of the James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Award, which recognizes members of the Wesleyan family whose writings, or other creative achievements, convey unusual ideas and understandings of current and past events.
Sherman, composer, arranger and orchestrator for television, theater and film, has received Tony, Grammy and Emmy Awards for his work on In the heights and hamilton as well as his role as musical director of sesame street. In 2021, he was the executive music producer for Jon M. Chu’s In the heights as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda [’02, Hon. ’15] Tick, tick. . .Boom! Currently, Sherman is the musical supervisor and orchestrator of &Juliet, a musical with the songs of Max Martin, in London’s West End. He is also an original member of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme alongside a number of Wesleyan alumni.
Since 1959, the Alumni Association has honored more than 350 alumni, parents, and teachers with Distinguished Alumni, Outstanding Service, and James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Awards. A full list of recipients is online here.
Additional photos from the annual meeting are below: (Photos by Tom Dzimian)
