Change Agent

Who better to inspire struggling students than a high school dropout who holds three UCLA degrees and heads the L.A. County Office of Education?

Anthony Yom’s work went mostly unnoticed until a student of his became one of 12 in the world to earn a perfect score on an AP calculus exam.

Jake Heggie ’84, M.A. ’05 has felt most at home when he’s lost in music, performing and composing. His overnight success surprised no one more than him.

Kay Redfield Jamison knows depressive illnesses as both a patient and a doctor.

Jeffrey Vinokur M.S. ’13 found a way to combine his two loves: chemistry and hip-hop.

From Lithuania to Los Angeles and on into the jungles of Costa Rica, a fascination with primates has taken Kotrina Kajokaite around the world.

Bruin Drew Greenberg loved storytelling more than anything, and he has written for some of the most iconic characters in recent TV history.

Allison “Hueman” Torneros ’08 has made a colorful splash since graduating from UCLA. A lot of colorful splashes, in fact.

Basic cable is the go-to place for TV dramas. Michael Wright ’87, executive vice president and head of programming for Turner cable networks, is a big reason why.

Kahi Lee ’99, founder of design firm Kahi Lee Lifestyle, recently designed a luxury penthouse for the just-opened W Hollywood.

Eric Morris M.A. ’06 was a child actor and a TV screenwriter. But he left the roar of the crowd for a career as an urban scholar.

In his new book, the basketball player chronicles the remarkable Harlem Renaissance of the ’20s and ’30s.