Beyond Deerfield.

DEERFIELD ACADEMY ALUMNI

His Majesty King

Abdullah II ’80

world leader

A member of the Hashemite dynasty and king of Jordan since 1999, Abdullah II is one of the more respected figures in Middle Eastern and global politics alive today. His time at Deerfield inspired him to pursue significant education reforms in Jordan, including the opening of King’s Academy.

Gigi Parris ’99

attorney

Gigi has long been fighting to keep families together as a public defender in the New York City family court system. She served as supervising attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Now she is a principal court attorney at the New York State Unified Court System.

Mujib Mashal ’07

correspondent

Mujib is the senior correspondent in Afghanistan for the New York Times for the past five years and has covered insurgent leaders, corrupt politicians, battle-scarred soldiers and devastated families.

Charmaine

Charmant ’10

CONSULTANT & INFLUENCER

Charmaine Charmant is a native New Yorker who specializes in providing organizational transformation services for government and public services clients. Charmaine is also an established fashion and lifestyle influencer with a mission of empowering women to live confidently in style. 

 

Libby Leist 97

Television Producer

Over nearly two decades with NBC, Libby Leist has traversed the world  and covered politicians, presidents, celebrities, and royalty. She has been a researcher, a foreign affairs producer, a political producer, a senior producer for the TODAY show, and since January of 2018, executive producer for TODAY.

David Childs ’59

architect

Chairman emeritus of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, David Childs may be best known for being the architect of One World Trade Center in New York City. In his storied career, Childs has served as chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts, received the Rome Prize, and served on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art and the American Academy in Rome.

Angel Abreu ’92

artist

A senior instructor in the Fine Arts department of the School of Visual Arts in NYC, Angel Abreu is part of  Tim Rollins and Kids of Survival (K.O.S.), an artist collaborative based in the South Bronx that has work residing in permanent museum collections around the world including MOMA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Tate Modern.

Michael Sucsy ’91

filmmaker

As a Golden Globe, Emmy, and PGA Award-winning film director, screenwriter, and producer, Michael Sucsy has lived up to Shoot! Magazine‘s description “as one of the industry’s crop of new directors to watch.” He directed Every Day and The Vow, and wrote, directed and produced the HBO film Grey Gardens.

Julie Deffense ’91

cake artist + author

Inspired by her art classes at Deerfield, Julie Deffense has become on of the world’s most acclaimed luxury cake artists. Based in Portugal, she is the author of several cookbooks, teaches classes, and creates gorgeous cakes for her clientele. 

Dehdan Miller ’89

government + law

Dehdan Miller is a board member of Developing Minds Foundation, an organization supporting educational programs in poor and war-torn communities around the globe. He previously worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Miller has also served as a consultant and staff member to multiple Presidential campaigns, the State Department, and the White House Office of Scheduling and Advance. 

Contact the Office of Advancement