72 Notable alumni of Macalester College
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Macalester College is ranked #1,540 in the world and #376 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 72 notable alumni from Macalester College sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Macalester College won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Don I. Wortman
1927-2020 (aged 93)
Don Irvin Wortman was a U.S. federal government administrator who served 27 years in senior-level executive positions in many federal government agencies. He was Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) from December 13, 1977, to October 4, 1978. In early 1977, while working at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW)—precursor to the Department of Health and...
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2. Donna Baird
researcher
Donna Day Baird is an American epidemiologist and evolutionary-population biologist. She is a senior investigator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She is known for her research in reproductive health through NIEHS.
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3. Vernon A. Forbes
1883-1918 (aged 35)
lawyer
politician
Vernon A. Forbes was an American attorney and state legislator from the state of Oregon. After graduation from law school in Minnesota, he moved to central Oregon and opened a law office in the city of Bend. Forbes was a Republican who served three two-year terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Jefferson, Klamath, and Lake...
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4. Chris Kobin
film producer
screenwriter
Chris Kobin is a screenwriter and film producer living in Los Angeles, California.
5. Juan Figueroa
1953-. (aged 73)
manager
politician
Juan A. Figueroa is an American consultant and political activist. He is a principal with Helene Figueroa at Soltaino Consultants, a strategic planning, applied research, advocacy and health philanthropy nonprofit consulting firm recognized for authoring an in-depth study on the health status of immigrants and refugees in the U.S. state of Missouri.
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6. Jean Barman
1939-. (aged 87)
historian
Jean Barman is a Canadian scholar specializing in the study of British Columbia. Born in Stephen, Minnesota, United States, Barman arrived in British Columbia in 1971. Her work The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia has been described as the "standard text on the subject [of British Columbia history]." She has received the George Woodcock Award for...
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7. Robin H. Carle
1955-. (aged 71)
business executive
Robin Hewlett Carle served as the thirty-second Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Carle was the first woman to hold the position.
8. Paul H. Anderson
1943-. (aged 83)
lawyer
judge
Paul Holden Anderson is an American attorney and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served as chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 1992 to 1994.
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9. Larry Miles Dinger
1946-. (aged 80)
diplomat
Larry Miles Dinger was the U.S. chargé d'affaires to Burma from 2008 to August 2011. Since the United States did not accredit a formal United States Ambassador to Burma from 1990 to 2012, the chargé d'affaires was the chief of mission and the most senior official in the embassy.
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10. Carlos Mariani
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
Carlos Mariani is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 65B, which includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, a part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
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11. Patricia A. Thiel
1953-2020 (aged 67)
university teacher
chemist
Patricia Ann Thiel was an American chemist and materials scientist who served as a distinguished professor of chemistry at Iowa State University. She was known for her research on atomic-scale structures and processes on solid surfaces.
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12. Omar Imady
1966-. (aged 60)
writer
poet
novelist
university teacher
Omar Imady is a Syrian American scholar, novelist, and poet. In 2016, a second edition of his novel, The Gospel of Damascus, was published, along with an Arabic, French and Spanish translation.
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13. Earl Wood
1912-2009 (aged 97)
physiologist
Earl Howard Wood was an American cardiopulmonary physiologist who helped invent the G-suit, brought heart catheterization into a clinical reality and introduced dynamic volumetric computed tomography for the study of the heart and lungs.
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14. James McIntire
1953-2024 (aged 71)
politician
economist
James Leonard McIntire was an American economist and politician who served as the 22nd Washington State Treasurer from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Washington State House of Representatives, representing the 46th district from 1998 to 2009.
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15. Chank Diesel
typographer
designer
Chank Diesel, also known as Charles R. Andermack, is a contemporary type designer. He was born in Canada and raised in the U.S. state of Florida.
16. Frank Hornstein
1959-. (aged 67)
politician
Frank Hornstein is an American politician who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2025. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Hornstein represented District 61A, which includes parts of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
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17. Julianne Ortman
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Julianne E. Ortman is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 47, which included portions of Carver County in the southwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area. She was a candidate in the 2014 United States Senate election in Minnesota until she was eliminated at the state convention.
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18. Anne E. Derse
1954-. (aged 72)
diplomat
politician
Anne Elizabeth Derse is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan from 2006 to 2009 and Lithuania from 2009 to 2012.
19. Gary Arndt
1969-. (aged 57)
photographer
blogger
Gary Arndt is an American blogger and photographer. He is the author of the travel blog Everything Everywhere and a former Minneapolis entrepreneur.
20. Robert W. Warren
1925-1998 (aged 73)
lawyer
judge
politician
Robert Willis Warren was a United States district judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He had previously served as attorney general of Wisconsin and represented Brown and Calumet Counties in the Wisconsin State Senate.
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21. Aditi Kapil
novelist
Aditi Brennan Kapil is an American playwright and screenwriter.
22. Matt Entenza
1961-. (aged 65)
politician
Matthew Keating Entenza is a Minnesota lawyer and former politician who served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served as House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2006. After leaving the legislature, he was an unsuccessful candidate for various statewide offices, including governor, attorney general, and most recently state auditor.
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23. Alain Chuard
businessperson
Alain Chuard is a Swiss entrepreneur and former professional snowboarder living in Palo Alto, California. He is best known as the founder and Chief product officer of Wildfire Interactive, the social media marketing technology company acquired by Google in July 2012.
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24. Heba Amin
1980-. (aged 46)
painter
Heba Y. Amin is a visual artist, researcher and educator.
25. Russell L. Blaisdell
1910-2007 (aged 97)
military personnel
Russell L. Blaisdell was an American minister and United States Air Force Chaplain colonel who organised the so-called "Kiddy Car Airlift," the rescue of 964 orphans and 80 orphanage staff from Seoul in the face of the Chinese advance during the Korean War on December 20, 1950.
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26. Richard P. Binzel
1958-. (aged 68)
university teacher
astronomer
Richard "Rick" P. Binzel is an American astronomer and professor of planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a discoverer of minor planets, photometrist and the inventor of the Torino Scale, a method for categorizing the impact hazard associated with near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets. He is also a frequent trip leader for the...
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27. Jerry Crawford
1949-. (aged 77)
lobbyist
Jerry Crawford is a United States lawyer and leader in the Democratic Party from Des Moines, Iowa. Crawford has also worked for the Democratic Party as fundraiser and lobbyist. Crawford has helped every Democratic presidential nominee succeed in the Iowa Caucus. He had been working for Hillary Clinton´s 2016 presidential campaign in Iowa since 2014.
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28. Michael J. Davis
1947-. (aged 79)
lawyer
judge
Michael James Davis is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
29. Mike Carr
1951-. (aged 75)
role-playing game designer
novelist
Mike Carr is a writer and game designer.
30. Annie VanderMeer
video game writer
Annie VanderMeer is an American video game designer specializing in role-playing video games, best known for her narrative work on 2021's Unpacking and her design work on the 2012's Guild Wars 2.
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31. Victoria Ransom
Victoria Ransom is a serial entrepreneur from New Zealand. She has developed three companies including Wildfire Interactive, a social marketing SaaS company, where Ransom was chief executive officer until it was sold to Google in 2012. Ransom currently resides in Palo Alto.
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32. Federico Campbell
1941-2014 (aged 73)
translator
journalist
screenwriter
writer
Federico Campbell Quiroz was a Mexican writer. Campbell is known for the short story collection Tijuanenses (Tijuana: Stories on the Border). In 2000, he won the Colima Prize for Fiction with his novel Transpeninsular. In 1995, he was awarded the J. S. Guggenheim Fellowship. Campbell translated works by Harold Pinter, David Mamet, and Leonardo Sciascia, among others, into Spanish.
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33. Shawn Lawrence Otto
1961-. (aged 65)
screenwriter
Shawn Lawrence Otto is an American novelist, nonfiction author, filmmaker, political strategist, speaker, science advocate, and screenwriter and co-producer of the 2003 film House of Sand and Fog.
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34. Rebecca Otto
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Rebecca Otto is an American politician who served as State Auditor of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. Affiliated with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005 and on the Forest Lake School Board.
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35. Lillian Dickson
1901-1983 (aged 82)
historian
autobiographer
missionary
Lillian Dickson was an independent missionary, author, and public speaker. She used her maternal identity to develop her vocation in the middle of the twentieth century. Originally, she and her husband, James Dickson (1900-1967), were sent by the Presbyterian Church of Canada, to Taiwan in 1927. Lillian lived and worked in Taiwan until she died, except for the period between...
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36. Amy Thielen
television personality
chef
Amy Thielen is a chef, food writer, and television personality who focuses on Midwestern cooking and food culture. She is the author of the James Beard award-winning cookbook The New Midwestern Table ISBN 978-0307954879 and Give a Girl a Knife (Clarkson Potter, 2017) ISBN 978-0307954909. She was also the host of Heartland Table, which debuted in September 2013 on Food...
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37. Alice Echols
1951-. (aged 75)
historian
cultural critic
journalist
music critic
Alice Echols is Professor of History, and the Barbra Streisand Chair of Contemporary Gender Studies, at the University of Southern California.
38. James C. O'Brien
diplomat
lawyer
James C. O'Brien is an American attorney and diplomat who served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs in the Biden administration. He served as head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination from April 14, 2022 to October 5, 2023 and as the special envoy for hostage affairs from August 28, 2015 to January 20, 2017.
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39. Toby J. Heytens
1975-. (aged 51)
lawyer
judge
Toby Jay Heytens is an American attorney and law professor who is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He served as the solicitor general of Virginia from 2018 to 2021.
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40. B. Todd Jones
1957-. (aged 69)
lawyer
Byron Todd Jones is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and was the chief disciplinary officer of the National Football League (NFL). He twice served as United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota.
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41. Anthony Weston
1954-. (aged 72)
philosopher
Anthony Weston is an American writer, teacher, and philosopher. He is author of widely used primers in critical thinking and ethical practice and of a variety of unconventional philosophical books and essays.
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42. William Henry Dietz
1884-1964 (aged 80)
American football coach
American football player
William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz was an American football player and coach. He served as the head college football coach at Washington State University, Purdue University, Louisiana Tech University, University of Wyoming, Haskell Institute—now known as Haskell Indian Nations University, and Albright College. Dietz was also head coach for the Boston Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was...
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43. Joe Radinovich
1986-. (aged 40)
politician
Joseph Paul Radinovich is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. As a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 10B in north-central Minnesota. He was the DFL candidate for the United States House of Representatives in Minnesota's 8th congressional district in the November 2018 general election, losing to Republican Pete Stauber.
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44. Joseph J. Allaire
1969-. (aged 57)
programmer
businessperson
entrepreneur
Joseph J. Allaire, better known professionally as J. J. Allaire, is an American-born software engineer and Internet entrepreneur. He created the ColdFusion programming language and web application server, founded Allaire Corporation, OnFolio, FitNow, and RStudio, and created LoseIt! and Windows Live Writer. Allaire is currently the founder and CEO of statistical computing company Posit (formerly RStudio Inc).
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45. Will Sheff
1976-. (aged 50)
singer
guitarist
singer-songwriter
Will Robinson Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil bandmate Jonathan Meiburg) for Shearwater (2001–2009), another Austin band. Sheff writes and performs many songs as a solo artist while juggling his commitments to Okkervil River and Shearwater,...
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46. DeWitt Wallace
1889-1981 (aged 92)
publisher
William Roy DeWitt Wallace, publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher.
47. Mac King
1959-. (aged 67)
magician
actor
writer
Mac King is an American magician who has performed on television specials, often as a co-host. He has his own family-friendly show, "The Mac King Comedy Magic Show", at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in the Thunderland Showroom, in Las Vegas, Nevada. King's show is currently the longest running one-man show in the history of Las Vegas.
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48. Scott McCallum
1950-. (aged 76)
politician
James Scott McCallum is an American businessman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd governor of Wisconsin, ascending from the lieutenant governorship when Tommy Thompson resigned in 2001 to accept appointment as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Prior to becoming governor, McCallum served 14 years as Thompson's lieutenant governor and 10 years...
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49. Dave Zirin
journalist
Dave Zirin is an American political sportswriter. He is the sports editor for The Nation, a weekly progressive magazine dedicated to politics and culture, and writes a blog named Edge of Sports: the weekly sports column by Dave Zirin. As of January 2022, he has authored eleven books.
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50. Fred Swaniker
1976-. (aged 50)
entrepreneur
Fred Swaniker is a Ghanaian serial entrepreneur and leadership development expert, focused on supporting individuals to achieve their goals. a graduate from Stanford. Swaniker recognized the importance of leadership and education while serving as the headmaster of a secondary school founded by his mother at the age of 17. He believed that effective leadership was a key factor needed to...
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51. Ursula Vernon
1977-. (aged 49)
writer
cartoonist
children's writer
novelist
visual artist
Ursula Vernon is an American freelance writer, artist and illustrator. She has won numerous awards for her work in various mediums, including Hugo Awards for her graphic novel Digger, fantasy novel Nettle & Bone, and fantasy novella Thornhedge, the Nebula Award for her short story "Jackalope Wives", and Mythopoeic Awards for adult and children's literature. Vernon's books for children include...
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52. Gaelynn Lea
1984-. (aged 42)
violinist
singer
singer-songwriter
Gaelynn Lea Tressler is an American folk singer, violinist, public speaker and disability advocate from Duluth, Minnesota. She won NPR's 2016 Tiny Desk Contest.
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53. M.anifest
1982-. (aged 44)
record producer
rapper
singer-songwriter
Kwame Ametepee Tsikata, known professionally as M.anifest, is a Ghanaian musician, rapper and record producer.
54. Dave Fennoy
1952-. (aged 74)
disc jockey
voice actor
television actor
actor
Dave Fennoy is an American voice actor. His video game roles have included Lee Everett in The Walking Dead, Bluebeard in The Wolf Among Us, Finch in Tales from the Borderlands, Gabriel the Warrior in Minecraft: Story Mode, Lucius Fox in Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham Shadow, Batman: The Telltale Series, and Batman: The Enemy Within and Rodin in Bayonetta....
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55. Joan Mondale
1930-2014 (aged 84)
librarian
Joan Mondale was the second lady of the United States from 1977 until 1981 as the wife of Walter Mondale, the 42nd vice president of the United States. She was an artist and author and served on the boards of several organizations. For her promotion of the arts, she was affectionately dubbed Joan of Art.
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56. Duane Hanson
1925-1996 (aged 71)
painter
installation artist
sculptor
photographer
Duane Hanson was an American artist and sculptor born in Minnesota. He spent most of his career in South Florida. He was known for his life-sized realistic sculptures of people. He cast the works based on human models in various materials, including polyester resin, fiberglass, Bondo, and bronze. His sculptures often provided political-social commentary and satire.
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57. Walter Kirn
1962-. (aged 64)
writer
novelist
Walter Norris Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. He is the author of eight books, most notably Up in the Air, which was made into a film of the same name starring George Clooney.
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58. Ari Emanuel
1961-. (aged 65)
literary agent
businessperson
Ariel Zev Emanuel is an American businessman and the CEO of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency, as well as CEO and executive chairman of TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC and WWE. He was a founding partner of the Endeavor Talent Agency and was instrumental in shaping its June 2009 merger with the William Morris Agency.
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59. Carl Lumbly
1951-. (aged 75)
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
actor
film actor
Carl Winston Lumbly is an American actor. He is best known for M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994–1997) and has also had television roles on Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988) and Alias (2001–2006).
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60. Bob Mould
1960-. (aged 66)
playwright
blogger
singer-songwriter
guitarist
singer
Robert Arthur Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.
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61. Walter Mondale
1928-2021 (aged 93)
lawyer
diplomat
memoirist
politician
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale was the 42nd vice president of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1964 to 1976, and was the Democratic nominee in the 1984 presidential election.
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62. Peter Berg
1964-. (aged 62)
film director
director
film screenwriter
television actor
executive producer
Peter Berg is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy Very Bad Things (1998), the action comedy The Rundown (2003), the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), the action thriller The Kingdom (2007), the superhero comedy-drama Hancock (2008), the military science fiction war film Battleship (2012), the war film Lone Survivor (2013),...
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63. Arthur E. Nelson
1892-1955 (aged 63)
lawyer
politician
Arthur Emanuel Nelson was an American lawyer and politician who served briefly as a U.S. senator from Minnesota during the end of 1942 and beginning of 1943
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64. Bobby Joe Champion
1963-. (aged 63)
lawyer
politician
Bobby Joe Champion is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represents the 59th district, which includes portions of downtown and north Minneapolis in Hennepin County. He is the incumbent president of the Minnesota Senate.
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65. Patricia Olson
1951-. (aged 75)
painter
Patricia Olson is an American graphic designer, painter, feminist artist, and educator whose works are categorized as figurative art. Olson was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned her B.A. in studio art from Macalester College in 1973, and her M.F.A. in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1998. Since 1973, Olson's work has...
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66. Danai Gurira
1978-. (aged 48)
writer
UN Women Goodwill Ambassador
founder
playwright
actor
Danai Jekesai Gurira is a Zimbabwean-American actress, playwright, screenwriter, producer, and activist. She is best known for her starring roles as Michonne in the AMC horror drama franchise The Walking Dead and Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her films have grossed $6.98 billion, making her the seventh highest-grossing actress of all time.
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67. Jonathan V. Plaut
1942-2012 (aged 70)
rabbi
Jonathan V. Plaut was an American Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Jackson, MI.
68. Mary Karr
1955-. (aged 71)
essayist
university teacher
writer
historian
poet
Mary Karr is an American poet, essayist and memoirist from East Texas. She is widely noted for her 1995 bestselling memoir The Liars' Club. Karr is the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University.
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69. Yuko Nii
1942-. (aged 84)
artist
Yuko Nii is a Japanese artist and philanthropist. Her work has included painting, printmaking, graphic design, stage set, costume and fashion design. She has written journalism, poetry, fiction, essays and philosophy, and published two books. She also runs the non-profit organization Yuko Nii Foundation.
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70. Olli Rehn
1962-. (aged 64)
political economist
association football player
politician
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 to 2010, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro from 2010 to 2014, and Minister of Economic Affairs in...
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71. Andrés Oppenheimer
1951-. (aged 75)
journalist
political scientist
Andrés Oppenheimer is the editor and syndicated foreign affairs columnist with The Miami Herald, anchor of "Oppenheimer Presenta" on CNN En Español, and author of nine books. His column, "The Oppenheimer Report," appears twice a week in The Miami Herald and more than 60 U.S. and international newspapers, including the Miami Herald, El Mundo of Spain, La Nación of Argentina,...
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72. Kofi Annan
1938-2018 (aged 80)
diplomat
economist
politician
Kofi Atta Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat and statesman who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organisation founded by Nelson...
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