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Alumni Stories

At ILR we are proud of all that our alumni accomplish. They represent diverse fields, including human resources, business, finance, law, labor, nonprofits, and entrepreneurship. They are leaders and innovators in their communities, nationally and globally.

Building Innovation Capacity

Roomkin gift supports ILR response to changing workplace
Myron and Janice Roomkin
Building Innovation Capacity

Leona Barsky ’80/M.S. ’81: Working for Equality

Forty years after its founding by Leona Barsky, ILR Women's Caucus continues to connect students with alumnae
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Leona Barsky ’80/M.S. ’81: Working for Equality

Professorship Celebrates Family Legacy

Elyse ’80 and Andy Nathanson ’79 met as classmates in the mid-seventies, married years later, and had three children, two of whom also attended ILR — Brian ’12 and Kevin ’17. Their daughter, Alison, graduated from Cornell’s Dyson School in 2014.
Nathanson Family
Professorship Celebrates Family Legacy

Lindsay Boyajian '13 '14

Lindsay Boyajian, BS ILR ’13 and MILR ’14, was drawn to the ILR student body’s spirit of being involved as leaders on campus and found her place in that dynamic at Cornell’s eLab.
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Lindsay Boyajian '13 '14

Lloyd Robinson '87

When Lloyd Robinson ’87 reflects on his time at ILR, he remembers the small classes, talented students, and professors who care deeply about their students.
Photo: Lloyd Robinson
Lloyd Robinson '87

JC Tretter '13

JC Tretter ‘13 chose the ILR School because he wanted the flexibility to study what interested him most after completing core courses. Tretter always wanted to be a sports agent, but he has put this dream aside for a bigger dream – playing for the Green Bay Packers.
JC Tretter
JC Tretter '13

Ozlem Denizmen '94

Ozlem Denizmen was 17 when she moved to the United States from Turkey, where she learned English while working as an au pair. Her sights set on an Ivy League education and with the objective to spend her life working for justice and equality, Denizmen applied to the ILR School.
Ozlem Denizmen '94
Ozlem Denizmen '94

Seth M. Siegel '74

Queens, N.Y. native, Seth Siegel, describes himself as an accidental ILRie. As a child, Siegel pursued a general interest in international affairs and later applied to what he thought was the International and Labor Relations School. Later discovering what the “I” actually stood for, he decided to apply anyway.
Seth M. Siegel
Seth M. Siegel '74

Dayna (Sherman) Martin '97

Dayna Martin fell in love as an ILR undergraduate with what she describes as the dichotomy of economics, where theories are built on the assumption that people act rationally, when in fact people do not act rationally.
Dayna Martin and her Executive Stand Steady standing desk
Dayna (Sherman) Martin '97

Beauty Industry Powerhouse

Bluemercury spas and luxury cosmetics spread to Macy's stores
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Beauty Industry Powerhouse