Notable alumni
Academia
- Alba Arikha, writer, lecturer on creative writing at the University of Hertfordshire and Columbia University
- Sylvia Bashevkin, Canadian academic and feminist at the University of Toronto, former Principal of University College, Toronto
- George Bonanno, psychologist, Columbia University
- Derek Blake Booth, geologist and heir presumptive to the Booth baronetcy, University of Washington
- Heather Boushey, economist, president of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth think tank
- Cynthia Cattell, space physicist and professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at University of Minnesota
- Hasok Chang, historian and philosopher of science, [1] University of Cambridge
- Barry Marc Cohen, art therapist, Diagnostic Drawing Series
- Phyllis Coley, biologist, University of Utah
- Concetta DiRusso, biochemist, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- Paige Fischer, environmental scientist, University of Michigan
- Vanessa Northington Gamble, physician, professor of medical humanities at George Washington University, chair of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee
- Raymond W. Gibbs Jr., psychologist and psycholinguist, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Nancy Grimm, ecologist, Arizona State University
- Marcia Groszek, mathematician, Dartmouth College
- Gail Hershatter, historian of Modern China at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Williams College, Guggenheim Fellow
- Benjamin Mako Hill, technologist, software developer and founding member of Ubuntu and Debian projects, assistant professor in Communication at the University of Washington [2]
- Sean Hill, neuroscientist, University of Toronto
- Tom Hull, mathematician and professor, Western New England University
- Mary James, physicist, Reed College, University of Maryland, College Park
- Caren Kaplan, feminist theorist, professor of American studies at University of California at Davis, University of California at Berkeley, Georgetown University
- Patricia Klindienst, writer and scholar, American Book Award recipient, Yale University
- Lucy-Ann McFadden, astronomer and planetary scientist for NASA, founder of the Science, Discovery & the Universe Program at the University of Maryland
- Jacob Reider, expert in health information technology policy and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
- G. Philip Robertson, biologist, Michigan State University
- David Schimel, research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, California Institute of Technology; Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- Timothy Shary, film scholar, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Clark University
- Lee Smolin, theoretical physicist at the Perimeter Institute, University of Waterloo and University of Toronto, author of The Trouble with Physics
- Eric Steig, glaciologist and geochemist, professor of Earth and Space sciences at the University of Washington
- Paul W. Sternberg, biologist, California Institute of Technology
- Alex S. Vitale, sociologist at Brooklyn College, author of The End of Policing (2017)
- Timothy Wilson, Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia
- William H. Warren, psychologist, Chancellor's Professor at Brown University
- Christopher Young, composer, professor of music at the University of Southern California
Activism
- Joseph Amon, epidemiologist, human rights activist at Human Rights Watch
- Chuck Collins, political activist, co-founder of United For a Fair Economy
- Melissa Hoffer, environmental lawyer and Director of the New Hampshire Advocacy Center for the Conservation Law Foundation
- Shalini Kantayya, documentary filmmaker and environmental activist, Catching the Sun
- Alia Amirali, Pakistani politician and activist
- Lisa Shannon, author, human rights activist, and speaker
Arts & Design
- Mequitta Ahuja, feminist painter, Guggenheim Fellow
- Math Bass, artist
- Gideon Bok, painter, Guggenheim Fellow
- Leidy Churchman, painter
- Barry Marc Cohen, art therapist, Diagnostic Drawing Series
- E.V. DAY, artist
- Angela Ellsworth, artist
- Peter Harkawik, artist
- Every Ocean Hughes (formerly known as Emily Roysdon), visual artist
- Jeph Jacques, artist, Questionable Content
- Emma Kohlmann, curator and artist
- Jane Marsching, artist
- Susan Mikula, artist and photographer
- Christina Quarles, artist
- Kanishka Raja, visual artist
- Raghavendra Rathore, Indian fashion designer
- Steven Siegel, sculptor and installation artist
Photography
- Doug DuBois, photographer, Guggenheim Fellow
- James Estrin, New York Times senior staff photographer, Pulitzer Prize recipient
- Jane Marsching, interdisciplinary digital artist
- Susan Mikula, artist and photographer
Writers and authors
- Lisa Arie, author and motivational speaker, CEO of Vista Caballo
- Alba Arikha, French writer, author of Major/Minor, goddaughter of Samuel Beckett
- Daniel Asia, composer, Guggenheim Fellow, music and culture contributor at the Huffington Post
- Eula Biss, author, [3] Guggenheim Fellow
- Cylin Busby, best-selling author and screenwriter
- David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy
- Rebecca Carroll, writer, editor, and radio producer; former managing editor at xoJane and founding editor of Africana.com
- Leah Hager Cohen, writer
- Kanya D'Almeida, writer and journalist
- Ethan Gilsdorf, writer and journalist, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wired, Salon
- Eli Gottlieb, novelist, author of The Boy Who Went Away
- Suzanne Greenberg, writer
- David M. Hall, writer and corporate trainer, author of Allies at Work
- Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and author
- Ellis Henican, Newsday columnist, Fox News Channel political analyst, New York Times Bestselling author
- Sidney Kirkpatrick,New York Times Bestselling author
- Patricia Klindienst, writer and scholar, American Book Award recipient
- Jon Krakauer, mountain climber and writer, New York Times bestselling author of Into The Wild
- Lê Thi Diem Thúy, writer and solo performance artist, Guggenheim Fellow
- Daniel Marcus, science fiction author
- Gary Marcus, cognitive scientist, founder and CEO of Geometric Intelligence, New York Times bestselling author
- Daniel José Older, fantasy and young adult fiction writer
- Liz Perle, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Common Sense Media
- Jennifer Pozner, author, media critic, feminist
- John Reed, novelist
- Lisa Shannon, author, human rights activist, and speaker
- Timothy Shary, film scholar
- Sonya Sones, poet and writer for young adults, author of What My Mother Doesn't Know
- Doug Stanton, journalist and New York Times best-selling author
- Thomas H. Stoner, Jr., author and energy entrepreneur, CEO of Entelligent
- Gwen Strauss, writer and author
- Sander Thoenes, journalist
- Maggie Thrash, writer of young adult fiction, Honor Girl
- Alex S. Vitale, sociologist, author of The End of Policing
- Jessamyn West, librarian and blogger, creator of Librarian.net
- Dede Wilson, baker, contributing editor of Bon Appetit, cookbook author
- Torrey Peters, writer, author of Detransition, Baby
Poets
- Janet Aalfs, poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts and martial artist
- Joshua Beckman, poet
- S. Bear Bergman, poet
- Chen Chen, poet
- Peter Cole, poet and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
- Ethan Gilsdorf, writer, poet, and journalist, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wired, Salon
- Cyrée Jarelle Johnson, poet, co-founder of Deaf Poets Society magazine, Lambda Literary Award-winner for Slingshot
- Robin Coste Lewis, poet laureate of Los Angeles, National Book Award winner for Voyage of the Sable Venus
- Sonya Sones, poet and writer for young adults, author of What My Mother Doesn't Know
Journalists
- Tina Antolini, journalist and radio producer for NPR
- Madeleine Baran, Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter and host of the podcast In the Dark
- Suzanne Daley, journalist for The New York Times
- Ethan Gilsdorf, writer, poet, and journalist, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wired, Salon
- Ellis Henican, Newsday columnist, Fox News Channel political analyst, New York Times Bestselling author
- Edward Humes, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Fariba Nawa, journalist and author
- Amy K. Nelson, journalist, Slate, Deadspin, ESPN
- Jeff Sharlet, journalist, Harper's, Rolling Stone
- Doug Stanton, journalist and New York Times best-selling author
- Sander Thoenes, journalist
Tabletop and video games
- Meguey Baker, role-playing game designer, independent publisher and quilt historian
- Vincent Baker, role-playing game designer and publisher
- Noah Falstein, video game designer and producer for LucasArts, DreamWorks Interactive, and The 3DO Company; president of The Inspiracy
- Daniel Licht, composer of films and video games, Dexter , Silent Hill
Theater
- Dennis Boutsikaris, Obie Award-winning actor
- Fred Melamed, Independent Spirit Award-winning actor
- Lupita Nyong'o, Academy Award-winning actress, Tony Award-nominee for Eclipsed
- Liev Schreiber, stage and screen actor, star of Emmy-winning series Ray Donovan, Tony Award-winner
- Andrea Stolowitz, playwright
- Naomi Wallace, playwright and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
Dance & Performance
- Stephen Petronio, choreographer, Guggenheim Fellow
- Christopher-Rasheem McMllan, choreographer, Ism Fellow, CBA Resident Fellow professor of Dance and Women's Studies, The University of Iowa
- Mariana Valencia, American multidisciplinary artist, Bessie award, Whitney Biennial artist
- Jen Roseblit, choreographer, Bessie award, Guggenheim Fellow
- Meghan Frederick, choreographer
- Norah Zuniga Shaw, choreographer, professor at The Ohio state University
Film, television, and entertainment
- Chris Applebaum, music video director
- Lesley Arfin, author and staff writer for Girls and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, former Vice contributor
- Ken Burns, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker, The Civil War
- Cylin Busby, best-selling author and screenwriter
- Greg Butler, Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor, Forrest Gump, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, 1917
- Charlie Clouser, musician and composer for film and television, former member of Nine Inch Nails
- Rhys Ernst, film producer and director, Adam , Transparent
- John Falsey, Emmy Award-winning television creator of St. Elsewhere , I'll Fly Away and Northern Exposure
- Victor Fresco, television writer and producer, creator of Andy Richter Controls the Universe , Better Off Ted and Santa Clarita Diet
- Sarah Goldfinger, television writer/producer
- Lee Hirsch, filmmaker, Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, Bully
- Rolfe Kanefsky, filmmaker
- Daniel Licht, composer of films and video games, Dexter , Silent Hill
- Billy Luther, documentary filmmaker, Miss Navajo
- Jeff Maguire, screenwriter, In The Line of Fire , Escape to Victory
- Brett Morgen, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, Jane , Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
- Julia Willoughby Nason, documentary filmmaker
- Andrea Pallaoro, film director and screenwriter
- Will Reiser, screenwriter and producer, 50/50
- Alex Rivera, filmmaker, Sleep Dealer
- Rod Roddenberry, television producer and CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry
- Kelly Sears, animator and filmmaker
- Roger Sherman, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker
- Max Simonet, co-creator and host of talk show FishCenter Live [4]
- Barry Sonnenfeld, director of The Addams Family, Men in Black trilogy, Wild Wild West and Get Shorty
- Wes Takahashi, visual effects supervisor and animator for the Back To The Future trilogy, Top Gun , The Goonies ; creator of the DreamWorks "boy on the moon" logo
- Christopher Young, film composer, Hellraiser , The Grudge , Spider-Man 3
- Teo Žagar, filmmaker and member of the Vermont House of Representatives
- Tiya Tejpal, Production Designer for The Rapist, Raman Raghav 2.0
Actors
- Xander Berkeley, actor, Terminator 2, Candyman, The Walking Dead, 24
- Dennis Boutsikaris, actor, The Bourne Legacy, Better Call Saul
- Julie Dretzin, actress, Breaking Bad, The Handmaid's Tale
- Adelind Horan, actress, The Deuce
- Fred Melamed, actor, A Serious Man, Lady Dynamite, WandaVision, Barry , Independent Spirit, Screen Actors Guild Award-winner
- Eugene Mirman, stand-up comedian and actor, Bob's Burgers, Delocated
- David Moscow, actor, Big
- Lupita Nyong'o, Academy Award-winning actress, 12 Years a Slave, Us
- Jason Salkey, actor
- Liev Schreiber, stage and screen actor, star of Emmy-winning series Ray Donovan, Tony Award-winner
- Joshua Seth, voice actor, Digimon, Akira
- Aamina Sheikh, Pakistani actress and supermodel
- Max Simonet, co-creator and host of talk show FishCenter Live
- Danny Tamberelli, actor known for The Adventures of Pete & Pete , cast member of All That
Politicians, diplomats, and other government officials
- Alia Amirali, Pakistani politician and activist
- Heather Boushey, economist, president of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth think tank, economic advisor to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden
- Eileen Brady, candidate for mayor of Portland, Oregon
- Maud Daudon, CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
- Stephen Gardner, former CEO of Amtrak, founder of experimental music group Chessie
- Tooker Gomberg, Canadian politician and environmental activist
- Kenneth Green, politician and social worker, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
- Petros S. Kokkalis, businessman and member of the European Parliament
- Dawn M. Liberi, diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Burundi under Barack Obama
- Jacob Reider, expert in health information technology policy and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under Barack Obama
- David Shulkin, physician and 9th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Teo Žagar, filmmaker and member of the Vermont House of Representatives
Musicians
- Bob Bralove, musician best known for his work with the Grateful Dead
- Pam Bricker, jazz singer, professor of music, and musical collaborator with Thievery Corporation
- Charlie Clouser, musician and composer for film and television, former member of Nine Inch Nails
- Amy Denio, composer
- Toby Driver, musician and artist, Kayo Dot and Maudlin of the Well
- Ed Droste, singer/songwriter from the Brooklyn-based indie group Grizzly Bear (band)
- Neil Gust, musician and artist, Heatmiser
- Tom Hanway, bluegrass and Celtic banjoist
- Tatiana Hargreaves, old time and bluegrass fiddler
- Jim Johnston, composer
- Mike Ladd, Hip Hop MC and member of the Antipop Consortium
- Ken Leavitt-Lawrence, rap artist a.k.a. "MC Hawking"
- Daniel Lopatin, musician known as Oneohtrix Point Never
- Matt Mondanile, musician, Ducktails & Real Estate
- Ann Moss, soprano
- Elliott Smith, Academy Award-nominated indie-folk musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
- Zachary Cole Smith, musician, frontman of DIIV
- Supreme Dicks, lo-fi and experimental band
- Autre Ne Veut, musician
- Michael "Mudcat" Ward, blues bassist, pianist and songwriter
- Erica Wheeler, singer-songwriter
- Orchid, hardcore punk band
Composers
- Daniel Asia, composer, Guggenheim Fellow, music and culture contributor at the Huffington Post
- Charlie Clouser, musician and composer for film and television, former member of Nine Inch Nails
- Daniel Licht, composer of films and video games, Dexter, Silent Hill franchise
- Christopher Young, film composer, Hellraiser, The Grudge, Spiderman 3
Business
- Lisa Arie, author and motivational speaker, CEO of Vista Caballo
- Nicholas Callaway, founder of Callaway Arts & Entertainment
- James Crown, president of Henry Crown and Company, director of JPMorgan Chase & Co., General Dynamics and Sara Lee
- Jose Fuentes, co-founder/developer of Duolingo [5]
- David M. Hall, writer and corporate trainer, author of Allies at Work
- Judith Herrell, President Herrell's Ice Cream.
- Benjamin Mako Hill, technologist, software developer and founding member of Ubuntu and Debian projects, assistant professor in Communication at the University of Washington [6]
- Gary Hirshberg, Chairman, President, and "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farm
- Jeffrey Hollender, President and CEO of Seventh Generation Inc.
- Mark Kriegsman, computer programmer and Director of Engineering at Veracode
- Aaron Lansky, founder of the National Yiddish Book Center, MacArthur Fellow
- Chris Lavergne, founder of the website Thought Catalog
- Gary Marcus, cognitive scientist, founder and CEO of Geometric Intelligence, New York Times bestselling author
- Nicholas Merrill, computer programmer and entrepreneur, founder of The Calyx Institute and plaintiff in the legal case Doe v. Ashcroft
- Liz Perle, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Common Sense Media
- Thomas H. Stoner, Jr., author and energy entrepreneur, CEO of Entelligent
Law
- Melissa Hoffer, environmental lawyer and Director of the New Hampshire Advocacy Center for the Conservation Law Foundation
- Daniel Horowitz, high-profile criminal-defense attorney
- Kathryn Tucker, high-profile attorney and executive director of the End of Life Liberty Project
Other notable alumni
- Elizabeth Armstrong, art curator
- Johnny Dwork, two-time world champion flying disc freestyle athlete
Chefs
- Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and author
- Dede Wilson, baker, contributing editor of Bon Appetit , cookbook author
Fictional alumni
- Alice Kinnon (Chloë Sevigny), lead character from the film The Last Days of Disco
- Charlotte Pingress (Kate Beckinsale), lead character from the film The Last Days of Disco
- Gobi (Horatio Sanz), character on the reoccurring Saturday Night Live sketch Jarret's Room
- Jarret (Jimmy Fallon), character on the reoccurring Saturday Night Live sketch Jarret's Room
