Cuffie and Simon Gross reflect on service

We asked two alumni-elected trustees finishing four-year terms of service to reflect on their time with the Cornell University Board of Trustees. Here, they share their perspective on service and their hopes for the future. Cynthia Cuffie ’74, MD I’d like to thank my fellow alumni for electing me to serve as an alumni-elected trustee … Read more

Legal Spotlight: Kristen Stanley ’01, JD ’07

Kristen Stanley ’01, JD ’07 is an assistant clinical professor in the Lawyering Program at Cornell Law School. For most of her career, Stanley represented death-sentenced individuals in their federal habeas corpus and state post-conviction proceedings in Federal District Court, Circuit Courts of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court, and in state court proceedings. Stanley … Read more

Legal Spotlight: Phyllis Staub Wallitt ’97

Phyllis Staub Wallitt ’97 is senior vice president (SVP) of legal at Booking Holdings, Inc., the parent company to online travel companies booking.com, Priceline, KAYAK, Open Table, Agoda, and rentalcars.com. Ms. Wallitt has been with the company since 2008 in various legal roles. Since 2020, Ms. Wallitt has overseen and coordinated group-wide legal strategy, litigation, … Read more

Legal Spotlight: Elizabeth Crowder ’86

Elizabeth Crowder JD ’86 served for 24 years as the judge of a county criminal court in Dallas, Texas, presiding over cases involving offenses such as driving while intoxicated, assault, and theft. Since 2018, she has served as a retired judge sitting by assignment for judges who are sick or on vacation. Prior to serving … Read more

Legal Spotlight: Phoebe P. Liu ’95

Phoebe P. Liu ’95 has been a civil litigator for more than twenty years. She is a senior attorney at the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, the state agency tasked with enforcing the state’s labor laws. On behalf of the people of California, she civilly prosecutes cases involving retaliation, whistleblowing, unequal pay, unfair immigration practices, and other labor … Read more

Legal Spotlight: Natalya Johnson ’07, JD ’10

Natalya G. Johnson ’07, JD ’10 serves as senior counsel for Johnson & Johnson. She is a legal advisor focused on employment law and manages employment-related litigations. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, she represented private and public sector clients in federal and state litigation and trial matters. As a commercial litigator, she handled a … Read more

Social Impact Spotlight: Serena Dang ’15

Serena Dang is the founder and CEO of Teacup Inc., a voice-first digital platform with a mission of enhancing the aging experience of midlife adults and beyond. Prior to starting Teacup Inc., Serena was the founding member of 1Sharpe Ventures, an $100M venture capital fund investing in early stage tech startups. Before that, Serena was … Read more

Social Impact Spotlight: Fariha Ahsan ’13

Fariha Ahsan serves as director of the Diversity Innovation Hub at Mount Sinai. Its mission focuses on increasing the capacity and representation of minority and women entrepreneurs while investing in innovations that thoughtfully address social determinants of health and providing industry leadership on community-centered equity solutions. Fariha immigrated to the United States from Saudi Arabia … Read more

Social Impact Spotlight: Eris Sims ’99

Eris T. Sims holds a bachelor of science degree from the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Eris is the chief of staff at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), leading the executive office and supporting the president and CEO in the areas of external positioning, executive reporting, … Read more