Congratulations to the recipients of the 2014 Alumni Awards! We are now accepting nominations for the 2015 Alumni Awards here.
Distinguished Alumni Award: Nova Spivack ’87
Nova Spivack ’87 is a technology futurist, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and one of the leading voices on the next-generation of search, social media, and the web. After graduating from Beaver in 1987, Nova earned his BA in Philosophy from Oberlin College in 1991, with a focus on the philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence. In 1992, he attended the International Space University, a NASA-funded graduate-level professional school for the space industry. He also participated in research at the MIT Computer Science lab.
In 1994, Nova co-founded one of the first Web startups, EarthWeb, which led to a record-breaking IPO in 1998, and a second IPO of spinout, DICE.com, in 2007.
He then worked with Stanford Research International (SRI) to co-found their startup incubator, nVention (which launched Siri), and participated in the DARPA CALO program one of the largest artificial intelligence projects in U.S. history. Following that, he co-founded Radar Networks, which produced Twine, one of the first consumer applications of the Semantic Web.
Nova is presently CEO of Bottlenose, which uses big data mining to discover emerging trends for large brands and enterprises. He is chairman of The Earth Dashboard initiative, a non-profit initiative to build a shared online dashboard to visualize the real-time state of the planet. Nova also serves on the board of directors of the Common Crawl Foundation, a nonprofit, 5+ billion page, free and open search index of the Web. He has authored nearly 100 granted and pending patents in areas from search, to advertising, social media, mobile apps, the semantic web, augmented reality, interactive TV, and personalization.
Outstanding Young Alumni Award: David Ready ’97
Boston native and Beaver alumnus of the Class of 1997, David Ready started his movie producing career in the mailroom at Industry Entertainment in 2001 after graduating with high honors from Washington University in St Louis. He then went on to work for Warner Bros Pictures, with now President of worldwide production Greg Silverman on films such as Troy and Batman Begins. David was then recruited by legendary producer Jerry Weintraub (Oceans 11) to be Weintraub’s director of development for his Warner Bros.-based company.
In 2006 David segued to di Bonaventura Pictures to be the new vice president of development and production just as the company was going into production on Transformers and three other films. As a key member of the team, Ready cut his teeth on several film franchises and was instrumental in putting together the Red film franchise, starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Morgan Freeman; the thriller Man on a Ledge, starring Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks; and the Tom Clancy adaptation Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, starring Chris Pine, Kiera Knightley, and Kevin Costner.
In 2013, former News Corp Head Peter Chernin hired David to be the senior vice president of his 20th Century Fox-based company, Chernin Entertainment. In his first year, David has put together an impressive slate of films with some of hollywood’s biggest talents such as David Yates (Harry Potter franchise), Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes), Mitch Hurwitz (Arrested Development), Steve Zallian (Schindler’s List), and twice nominated Oscar nominated Palestinian filmmaker,Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now), with whom he’ll be making the upcoming film, The Mountain Between Us.
David has also recently joined the Board of a new social venture called Inspired, of which his brother and Beaver alumnus, Stephen Ready ’97 is founder. Inspired is an “Everyday Philanthropy” initiative that’s one part membership club, one part charity platform, and integrates a social mission into everyday lifestyle spending for consumers who want to give back through all of their purchases.
The award ceremonies for Spivack and Ready are during this year’s reunion, May 9 at 6 p.m. in the Black Box Theater. All alumni are welcome to attend. R.S.V.P. here.
Service to School Award: Dr. Henry Feldman ’85
Dr. Henry Feldman ’85 is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a board certified attending physician in Internal Medicine. After graduating from Beaver in 1985, he received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University in management. He worked in the computer industry for almost 10 years, prior to receiving his medical degree in 2001 at the NYU School of Medicine.
In 2006 he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he currently serves as the Chief Information Architect of the Division of Clinical Informatics. His research is primarily around electronic health records, particularly in the Middle East, along with mobile computing and user interface design.
Henry’s commitment to Beaver Country Day School is evident through his involvement in various capacities over the years. He currently serves as an Alumni Board member, Incorporator, Reunion Volunteer, Internship host for current students, and guest lecturer in anatomy and physiology. He is also a current parent of Rachel ’15.
Driscoll Award for Social Responsibility: Matt Meyersohn ’99
After graduating from Beaver Country Day School in 1999, Matt Meyersohn graduated from Wesleyan University (CT) with a dual degree in Urban Studies/Education and Psychology. He then completed his MBA at Boston College. Matt began his career with the National Basketball Association in the Events and Attractions Department. He later worked with the New England Patriots in Marketing and later moved into Community Affairs.
Matt then spent eight years with the Boston Celtics, leading the Community Relations and Player Development Departments. In that role he was responsible for the team’s charitable programming as well as the off-court development for each player. Under Matt’s leadership, Celtics players consistently ranked at the top in the league for philanthropic appearances and events.
In January of 2014 Matt joined the US Fund for UNICEF Team as the Senior Director of Sports Partnerships. In this role, he is responsible for UNICEF’s relationships with American sports leagues, teams and athletes and in furthering the role that sports plays in international relief work.
Matt was raised in Cambridge, MA where he currently lives and continues to volunteer as a youth basketball coach and mentor to first generation college students at UMass Boston. He also serves on the Boards for Playworks Metro Boston, a non-profit dedicated to providing over 10,000 youth with opportunities for physical activity, and Easter Seals of Eastern Massachusetts, which works to provide equal opportunities for people with disabilities.
The award ceremonies for Feldman and Meyersohn are during the All School Assembly, May 22 at 10 a.m. in Bradley Hall. All alumni are welcome to attend. No R.S.V.P. required.