Alumni Awards

Jennifer Flackett is an accomplished American screenwriter, director, and producer known for her work in both live-action film and adult animation. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University (Class of '86) and began her career writing for notable television dramas such as L.A. Law, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Earth 2.  

Flackett collaborates with her husband and creative partner, Mark Levin. Together, they made their directorial debut with the charming romantic comedy Little Manhattan (2005). Her extensive screenwriting credits include family and adventure films such as Madeline (1998), Wimbledon (2004), Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), and The Adam Project (2022). She also wrote and directed the 2008 film Nim’s Island. 

In recent years, Flackett has become a major figure in adult animation as a co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Big Mouth and its spinoff, Human Resources. Alongside Levin, Nick Kroll, and Andrew Goldberg, she founded the production company Brutus Pink, which maintains a multi-year deal with Netflix. Her latest project with this team is the upcoming animated series Mating Season, which explores animal relationships and is set to premiere in 2026. 

Beyond her professional achievements, Flackett is known for her creative adventurousness. She and Levin documented a year-long global journey with their two children, Franny and Finn, in a project titled "A Year to Think," which resulted in a series of short films about their experiences across 38 countries. 

A partner in the Litigation Department, Katherine serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Global Artificial Intelligence Group. The Artificial Intelligence Group provides litigation services as well as expert guidance to clients in anticipating regulatory developments, mitigating legal exposure, and implementing industry best practices in the AI space. Katherine, who previously served as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York and as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, regularly handles sensitive high technology investigations, litigation and advisory work in the areas of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and blockchain.  

Experience  

Katherine is widely considered among the nation’s foremost advisors on legal issues relating to technology, including artificial intelligence, the digital environment, high-speed trading and content distribution, big data, and intellectual property. Katherine has led sensitive, high-profile investigations involving the DOJ, FTC and other U.S. and foreign regulators, and complex, high-stakes litigation spanning numerous substantive areas including artificial intelligence, Web3 and digital assets.  

Katherine was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2011 as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, serving seven years on the bench and presiding over several thousand criminal and civil cases. During her tenure on the bench, Katherine served as a member of the Judicial Patent Task Force for the Southern District of New York and presided over several dozen patent cases. 

Industry Awards and Recognition 

Katherine has been recognized as a leading lawyer in technology and artificial intelligence by numerous industry publications. Most recently, Chambers USA 2025 ranked her Band 1 in artificial intelligence, Chambers Global 2025 named her a "Global Market Leader" in artificial intelligence, and Lawdragon included her among their 2025 "500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers.” The New York Law Journal announced that Katherine was a 2023 individual Innovation Award winner for her work in AI, and the Financial Times shortlisted her as a 2023 Innovative Practitioner finalist. She has received Benchmark Litigation's Hall of Fame Award and has been named to the publication's "Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America" list and "Top 250 Women in Litigation" list. 

In 2023, she was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America as a leading lawyer in IP and Antitrust law, and in 2022 was named Best Lawyers' New York City "Lawyer of the Year" for Antitrust law. In 2019, she was included in Crain's New York Business's list of "Notable Women in Law." The American Lawyer recognized Katherine as one of 10 district court judges to watch, and Law360 named her one of the 10 most influential recently appointed judges. She has also received additional recognitions from The American Lawyer, Chambers USA, Global Competition Review, IP Law & Business, Lawdragon and The Legal 500 US. 

Katherine also maintains an active pro bono practice, where she was recently recognized with the Jewish Children’s Museum’s Ari Halberstam Memorial Award. Katherine was part of the team that brought the first lawsuit against the gun manufacturers that made the gun used in the 1994 attack on Brooklyn Bridge that killed 16-year old Ari Halberstam, to whom the museum is dedicated. 

Writing/ Speaking 

Katherine is a co-host of the award-winning Paul, Weiss Waking Up With AI podcast, which delves into the latest AI developments, regulations and use cases. She is a frequent speaker and published author in the areas of intellectual property, artificial intelligence in the practice of law, and algorithmic bias. Katherine has authored two books entitled When Machines Can be Judge, Jury and Executioner: Justice in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (on algorithmic bias) and Is Justice Real When “Reality” is Not: The Construction of Ethical Systems in Virtual Worlds. She has appeared on the PBS show, NOVA, on algorithmic bias and artificial intelligence; and she authored the “Artificial Intelligence” treatise chapters for Business & Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts (Fifth Edition) and Business & Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts (Fifth Edition), as well as a chapter on emerging issues in copyright law and artificial intelligence in The Law of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Machines. She is also a regular technology columnist for the New York Law Journal, with a recent article “Cutting Through the Mess: What Does AI Really Mean for Lawyers?” and in 2020 earned a distinguished legal writing award from The Burton Awards for her article “The Holographic Judge.” 

As she is a frequent speaker, Katherine has had numerous keynote addresses at events hosted by the American Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the National Judicial College, the New York State Judicial Institute, The Future Society and UNESCO, among others, on topics related to artificial intelligence and the metaverse. She was a panelist on “The Path Towards an Enforceable EU AI Act,” at The Athens Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence and the Rule of Law and “Choosing Wisely: The Challenge of Interim Measures in International Arbitration,” at New York Arbitration Week. She has spoken numerous times on behalf of the National Judicial College, given keynote speeches on these issues before all of the New York State judges and trained judges on these issues internationally, including “The Transforming Role of Judicial Operators in Upholding the Rule of Law in the Age of AI,” at UNESCO and SMART Africa’s Virtual Inter-regional Training Program. She has been an adjunct professor of law at NYU School of Law for eight years where she co-teaches a course on Quantitative Methods and the Law. 

Boards and Other Professional Affiliations 

Katherine is active in numerous charitable and professional organizations. Among others, she is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABA), a member of the ABA Taskforce on Law and Artificial Intelligence, co-chair of the New Jersey Court Systems AI Initiative and currently serves on the board of trustees of Choate Rosemary Hall, a boarding school. 

Michael is a 1986 Wes graduate from Wesleyan with honors in Studio Art. application focused on interest in the environment, he was pre med freshman year, he went abroad to Florence to study architecture, majored in art and thereafter became a management consultant. His facebook interests were tennis and sailing, he did neither - ever - in his Middletown years. That’s Wesleyan and that’s Michael.  

At Wesleyan, Michael was most engaged when studying art history with John Paoletti and architectural history with Joe Siry. He was also a Teaching Assistant  in 20th Century Art and helped curate a Zilkha Gallery exhibition on abstract German art. 

Michael learned about management consulting from a bulletin board posting at the career center. He credits a meeting with Barbara-Jan Wilson with cementing his pivot from aspirations in architecture to a job at a boutique consultancy. 

Michael thrived in management consulting. After a three year stint at The Wilkerson Group (where he worked for a Wes alumna), he attended Stanford Graduate School of Business. Michael was intrigued by a new pivot to Hollywood through a summer job at The Walt Disney Company. But New York called, and Michael returned to work at McKinsey & Company - the preeminent global consultancy that was twice led by Wes alums - Gil Clee and Ron Daniel. 

Michael rose up quickly at McKinsey - over time leading its corporate finance practice, its lifesciences practice and spent five years as Chief Financial Officer. Michael also oversaw McKinsey’s efforts around ESG. Michael was also a member of McKinsey’s elected board. 

Michael retired from McKinsey in 2023 and made another career pivot. He is now devoting his professional life to the business of food in New York. He is a serial restaurant investor (with 13 investments to date including many of the most acclaimed openings in the past few years). Michael is now opening his own restaurant later this year. He hopes it is the first of many. As a lifelong cook and passionate eater, Michael’s new focus combines interests in food, design and business. 

Michael is grateful to Wesleyan for encouraging him to pivot and pivot again. He credits Wesleyan with teaching him to write, to think, to be curious and to aim high. Michael  most days can be found in New York City - enjoying a full life with friends, food, family and fitness. He’s excited to welcome you in to his restaurant soon. He also encourages fellow Wes alums to pursue new dreams - professional and personal - with purpose and passion.  

Essel Bailey ’66 was born in June 1944, the same month his father landed in Normandy as part of the Allied liberation of Europe. His father, a farmer, and mother, a kindergarten teacher, placed a high value on education for their children despite limited means.  

After graduating from Wesleyan, Essel attended law school, earning his JD from the University of Michigan. At UM, Essel met Menakka Weerasinghe.  Through 46 years of marriage, Essel and Menakka have been full partners in family, business, and philanthropy.  

After spending several years in state government in Michigan, Essel began a successful career in business, law, and capital finance of the long-term care industry. Together, he and Menakka became deeply involved in environmental conservation efforts.  

Essel has always been an avid supporter of Wesleyan, bringing his energy to helping organize class reunions over six decades, and providing his expertise to the President’s Council, and then to the Board of Trustees as a charter trustee. Fittingly, Essel and Menakka’s most lasting legacy at Wesleyan is in the realm of the environment - providing for the establishment of the College of the Environment’s innovative Think Tank. Each year, the Think Tank brings faculty from across the curriculum to engage with students and collaborate with a distinguished visiting scholar on a question related to the environment. In 2021, Essel and Menakka provided for the establishment of the Bailey College of the Environment in its future home, in historic Shanklin Hall.  

Essel and Menakka are the proud grandparents of a member of Wesleyan’s class of ’28.  

Andrew earned a BA from Wesleyan University in 2001, Phi Beta Kappa, majoring in Government, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School in 2004. He is a partner in the New York office of King & Spalding LLP and a member of the firm’s Product Liability and Mass Torts practice group. He represents chemical and pharmaceutical companies in complex toxic tort, product liability, environmental, and mass and class actions. He also has substantial multidistrict litigation experience representing financial institutions, and counsels clients on resolution strategies.

Andrew is a past chair of the Wesleyan Fund and the Alumni Elected Trustees Nominating Committee. He has chaired or co-chaired his 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th reunions and serves as a Class Agent. He is a disciple of John Finn (professor emeritus) and owes much to Barbara-Jan Wilson (who admitted him to Wesleyan and guided his volunteer career).

Andrew lives in Westchester, NY with his wife Jacqueline and their three children (Leo, Somi, and Theodore).

Byron Haskins ’76 arrived at Wesleyan in the summer of 1972, and immediately volunteered at WESU-FM, going on to host programs every semester, and served as Vice President and Program Director before heading to the University of Michigan, in his home state, to receive degrees in General and Counseling Psychology while continuing volunteer broadcasting activities through the 1990s, as well as serving in other community and non-profit volunteer roles supporting public health and disabled persons.

After nearly 35 years working in the field of disability programs, including as Director of the Michigan Social Security Disability Determination Service and leading the Michigan Department of Human Services State Disability Programs, Byron completed his government service career at the Social Security Administration Office of Retirement and Disability, in Baltimore, MD as Director of Disability Training and Policy Support.

Since retiring, in 2016, Byron has remained a member of the American Psychological Association, and has leant expertise to the Lansing Volunteers of America Ability Benefits Clinic, which provides services to homeless Veterans, a Michigan Indivisible chapter, a Move-On.org Civic Action Neighborhood Listening Project, the Michigan for Single Payer Healthcare campaign, Michigan Voters Not Politicians and on Elissa Slotkin Congressional campaigns and her Healthcare Advisory Board.

Currently, Byron is Vice-Chair of the City of Lansing Mayoral Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board, Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Senior Caucus, and Chairs the Ingham County Board of Canvassers. Byron was Media Director for the Project Management Institute - Michigan Capital Area (PMI-MCAC) from 2016 – 2022 and continues to support project management training and mentoring of college students in Michigan through Project Executive LLC with his wife Gabrielle.

Byron has given back to Wesleyan as an alumni admission interviewer, participated in fundraising campaigns and served as the 1976 Class secretary from 1982 through 2012. Byron is one of the editors of the of the 1976 50th Reunion Class Book.

Alan C. Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former journalist and founder of the News Literacy Project, the leading provider of news literacy education in the country.

Alan spent 21 years as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, the last 14 as a charter member of the Washington bureau’s high-profile investigative team. His reporting prompted investigations by the Justice Department, Congress and federal inspectors general and resulted in congressional hearings, reforms, and criminal convictions. He received numerous national reporting honors, including the George Polk Award, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal. He and his colleague Kevin Sack received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series on the dangers of the Marine Corps’ Harrier attack jet. Alan also worked as a reporter at The Times Union in Albany, NY, and The Record in Hackensack, NJ.

Inspired by his belief in journalism’s civic mission, Alan founded the News Literacy Project in 2008 and help to launch the field of news literacy. Today, NLP’s nonpartisan award-winning resources and programs are used by thousands of educators in every state in the country, and NLP is working to create educational systemic change. NLP’s vision is to see that news literacy embedded in the American education experience, and young people know how to identify credible news and other information, empowering them to be informed and engaged participants in democracy. In 2022, Alan stepped down as CEO. He remains an active board member.

Alan has been widely recognized for his career in journalism and his pioneering work in promoting news literacy. In 2022, he received the AARP Purpose Prize. The same year, he also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the East-West Center in Honolulu; in June 2024, he received the center’s award for Journalists of Courage and Impact. The same year, Alan and three other graduates of Ridgewood (N.J.) High School were named Distinguished Alumni by the RHS Alumni Association. He was also honored as a Washingtonian of the Year in 2020 by Washingtonian Magazine.