List of Northeastern University people

The following is a list of notable alumni and faculty of Northeastern University.

Alumni

Business

Nikesh Arora – chairman and chief executive officer of Palo Alto Networks

Jeff Bornstein – CFO, General Electric

Robert A. Brooks – founder and CEO, Brooks Fiber Properties

George Chamillard – former CEO, Teradyne, Inc.

Jeff Clarke – former CEO of Kodak

Jeff Cooper – COO and co-founder, EPOX-Z Corporation

Bob Davis – CEO and founder, Lycos

Richard Egan – co-founder, EMC

Shawn Fanning – founder, Napster

Jerald G. Fishman – CEO, Analog Devices

Roland Fomundam – agricultural entrepreneur, CEO of MoonLight Mining and Restoration Company

George Kariotis – founder, Alpha Industries

Amin Khoury – founder and CEO, B/E Aerospace

Andrew Left – activist short seller

Roger Marino – co-founder of EMC; former part-owner of Pittsburgh Penguins

Alan McKim – CEO and founder, Clean Harbors

Larry Meyer – CEO, Uniqlo USA

Srinath Narayanan – principal, Canaccord Adams

Marc Raibert – founder and CEO, Boston Dynamics

Jeffrey Rosen – billionaire businessman

Peter W. Smith – investment banker, Republican activist

Sy Sternberg – chairman and former CEO, New York Life Insurance Company

Biz Stone – co-founder of Twitter

Government and politics

Jayson P. Ahern – deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Olubanke King Akerele – Liberian foreign minister

George F. Archambault – pharmacy liaison officer for the United States Public Health Service

Demetrius J. Atsalis – member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1999–2013)

Thomas Calter – member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (2007–2018)

Christie Carpino – member of the Connecticut House of Representatives

David Chu – member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (1997–2004) and the 9th and 10th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China

Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera – member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1999–2014)

Mo Cowan – U.S. senator of Massachusetts

Robert DeLeo – former speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (2009–2020)

Harold Daniel Donohue – member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1947–1974)

Patrick Duddy – U.S. ambassador

Richard Egan – U.S. ambassador

David Ferriero – 10th archivist of the United States

Thomas Finneran – former speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1996–2004)

Zandra Flemister – first African-American woman to serve as a U.S. Secret Service agent

Gordon D. Fox – majority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives (2010–2014)

Peter Franchot – comptroller of Maryland

Maggie Hassan – governor of New Hampshire (2013–2017) and the current junior United States senator from New Hampshire

Maura Healey – governor of Massachusetts (2023–present) and Massachusetts attorney general (2015–2023)

Russell Holmes – member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (2011–present)

Roderick L. Ireland – Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court chief justice

Edward Jackamonis – speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly

James Franklin Jeffrey – U.S. ambassador

Lyndon LaRouche – perennial presidential candidate

Hadassah Lieberman – wife of Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman

Ron Mariano – speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Adnan Aurangzeb Miangul – former Pakistani parliament member and prince of Swat, Pakistan

Paul Parks – Massachusetts secretary of education (1975–1979)

John O. Pastore – governor of Rhode Island

Ari Porth – member of the Florida House of Representatives

Larry Ross – member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives

Theodore Speliotis – member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Karen Spilka – member of the Massachusetts State Senate

Wallace Stickney – director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President George H. W. Bush

Thomas Winkowski – former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); former principal deputy assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Leslie Winner – North Carolina state senator

Maynard L. Young Jr. – member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives

Judiciary

Margot Botsford – justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Linda Dalianis – justice, New Hampshire Supreme Court

Dana Fabe – chief justice, Alaska Supreme Court

Edward Hennessey – justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Landya B. McCafferty – chief judge, United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire

Victoria A. Roberts – senior judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Peter T. Zarella – justice, Connecticut Supreme Court

Science and technology

Hans Baumann – inventor and engineer

Hans R. Camenzind – inventor of the 555 timer IC

Richard P. Gabriel – expert on the Lisp programming language

Jerome F. Hajjar – civil engineer

Gregory Jarvis – astronaut

Eugene F. Lally – aerospace engineer, photographer, entrepreneur

Yale Patt – engineer

Albert Sacco – astronaut

Military

Mark P. Fitzgerald – United States Navy admiral

Richard I. Neal – United States Marine Corps general

Journalism and communications

Ernie Anastos – New York City TV news anchorman

Eddie Andelman – sports radio talk show host (MBA)

Bill Barnwell – sportswriter, ESPN, Grantland

Michelle Bonner – ESPN/CNN/FOX Sports anchor, reporter

Fred Cusick – sportscaster

Richard Daniels – former president, Boston Globe

Nat Hentoff – contributing editor, The New Yorker Magazine

Will McDonough – sportswriter, Boston Globe

Don Orsillo – TV broadcaster

Walter V. Robinson – investigative journalist, 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service recipient

Michael Slackman – international managing editor, The New York Times

Molly White – technology writer and Wikipedia editor

Arts and entertainment

Al Barile – singer, guitarist for hardcore punk band SS Decontrol

Earle Brown – composer, developed open-form scores

Joy Browne – radio talk show host

Jose F. Buscaglia – philosopher, historian, social scientist

Terry Carter – actor, Sgt. Joe Broadhurst in McCloud and Colonel Tigh in the original Battlestar Galactica

Carla Cook – Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist

Jane Curtin – actress, comedian, and founding member of Saturday Night Live

Michael J. Epstein – filmmaker and musician

Martín Espada – poet

Damien Fahey – former host of the MTV program TRL

Toby Fox – game designer and developer of Undertale and Deltarune

Alex Garcia – Food Network chef

Meredith Garniss – visual artist and landscape painter

Sidney Gish – singer/songwriter

Elliot Grainge – CEO of Atlantic Records

Alan Catello Grazioso (B.S. '92) – Daytime Emmy Awards–nominated television producer, podcast executive producer and host, and 2× Webby Awards-nominated online content creator

Mohammed Saeed Harib – creator of Freej

Courtney Hunt – writer and director, whose film Frozen River was nominated for an Academy Award

Plane Jane – drag queen and contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race season 16

Beverly Johnson – supermodel and actress

Aisha Kahlil – dancer, singer

Barbara Kopple – documentary filmmaker

Diana Lemieux – freelance photographer

Patrice O'Neal – comedian and actor

Peter Orner – fiction writer

Jillian Wheeler – singer/songwriter

Wendy Williams – radio and television, host of The Wendy Williams Show

Academia and nonprofit

William M. Fowler – author, professor, and former director of the Massachusetts Historical Society

Michael R. Lane – 15th president of Emporia State University

Beulah Providence – non-profit founder

Yuliya Snihur – professor and researcher at IESE Business School

Dean Tong – author and consultant

Michael L. Tushman – organizational theorist, professor at Harvard Business School

Elizabeth Yeampierre – attorney and environmental activist

Sports

Peyton Anderson - PWHL, Minnesota Frost

Zachary Aston-Reese – NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins

Chloe Aurard - PWHL, New York Sirens, Boston Fleet

José Juan Barea – Dallas Mavericks, NBA

Harry Barnes – San Diego Rockets, NBA

Ed Barry – Boston Bruins, National Hockey League (NHL)

Sandy Beadle – Winnipeg Jets, NHL

Bruce Bickford – gold medal-winning distance runner

Randy Bucyk – Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, NHL

Joe Callahan – Boston Bees, MLB

Bob Cappadona – former NFL running back

Megan Carter - PWHL, Toronto Scepters, Seattle Torrent, PWHL Las Vegas

Lynn Chiavaro – basketball player and coach

Art Chisholm – Boston Bruins, NHL

Rob Cowie – Los Angeles Kings, NHL

Kendall Coyne Schofield - PWHL, Minnesota Frost, two-time USA Olympic gold-medalist

Jerome Daniels – Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals

Jim Fahey – NHL defenseman, New Jersey Devils

Amber Ferreira – professional triathlete

Aerin Frankel - PWHL, Boston Fleet, USA Olympic gold-medalist

Tony Fryklund – professional mixed martial arts fighter

Adam Gaudette – Hobey Baker Award recipient, NHL center, Vancouver Canucks

Chelsey Goldberg – ice hockey player, Boston Blades, CWHL

Scott Gruhl – Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL

Jordan Harris (born 2000) – Montreal Canadiens, NHL

Brooke Hobson - PWHL, Ottawa Charge

"Wild" Bill Hunnefield – Major League Baseball (MLB)

Skylar Irving - PWHL, Montreal Victoire

Shawn James – professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv

Sean Jones – National Football League

Reema Juffali – Saudi Arabian racing driver

Saja Kamal – Saudi Arabian footballer

Katy Knoll - PWHL, Minnesota Frost, PWHL Las Vegas

Denisa Krizova - PWHL, Minnesota Frost, Vancouver Goldeneyes, New York Sirens, Czech Olympian

Steven Langton – Olympian (bobsled)

Dave Leitao – college basketball coach

Sarah Levy (born 1995) – Olympic bronze medalist, rugby union and rugby sevens player

Reggie Lewis – Boston Celtics

Madison Mailey – Olympic gold medalist (rowing)

Pat Mason – college baseball coach at Virginia Tech

Dan McGillis – NHL defenseman

Perry Moss – 1986 Washington Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers, 1987 Golden State Warriors

Alina Muller - PWHL, Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, two-time Swiss Olympic bronze-medalist

Maureen Murphy - PWHL, Montreal Victoire, PWHL Las Vegas

Chris Nilan – Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers

Jamie Oleksiak – NHL, Dallas Stars

Adam Ottavino – 1st-round pick in 2006 MLB draft, pitcher for St. Louis Cardinals (2010), Colorado Rockies (2012–2018), New York Yankees (2019–2020) Boston Red Sox (2021–present)

Carlos Peña – MLB first baseman/outfielder, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays

Gwyneth Phillips - PWHL, Ottawa Charge, USA Olympic gold-medalist

David Poile – NHL executive

Bruce Racine – NHL goaltender, St. Louis Blues

Dan Ross – NFL Cincinnati Bengals and Super Bowl record setter

Michael Ryan – NHL left winger, Buffalo Sabres

Hayley Scamurra - PWHL, Ottawa Charge, Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, PWHL Las Vegas, USA Olympic gold-medalist

Florence Schelling – goaltender for the Switzerland's women's ice hockey team

Cam Schlittler – MLB pitcher, New York Yankees (2025–present)

Dylan Sikura – NHL center, Chicago Blackhawks

Brian Sullivan – NHL, 1992–93 New Jersey Devils

Harry Swartz (born 1996) – soccer player

Josh Heinrich Taves – NFL football player, 2000–02, Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers

Brad Thiessen – NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins

Jocko Thompson – MLB pitcher, 1948–51 Philadelphia Phillies

Johnny Tobin – MLB, 1932 New York Giants

Shaun Tomson (born 1955) – South African world champion surfer

Joe Vitale – NHL, center for Pittsburgh Penguins

Jason Vosler (born 1993) – baseball third baseman for the San Francisco Giants

Ashley Wagner (born 1991) – figure skater

Kurt Walker – NHL, 1975–78 Toronto Maple Leafs

Jim Walsh – Buffalo Sabres, NHL

Rick Weitzman – 1968, World Champion, Boston Celtics

Keith Willis – NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers

Hillary Witt – assistant coach for the United States women's national ice hockey team in the Sochi 2014 Olympics

George Yankowski – MLB, 1942 Philadelphia Athletics, 1949 Chicago White Sox

Faculty

Belle Adler – associate professor of journalism

M. Shahid Alam

Daniel P. Aldrich – expert on social capital and resilience in disaster

Prince Charles Alexander – Grammy Award-winning record producer

Albert-László Barabási – American Physical Society fellow, member of the Academia Europaea and contributor to the development of real-world network theory

Lisa Feldman Barrett – Distinguished Professor of Psychology, fellow of AAAS

Barry Bluestone – founding director of the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy

Ed Bullins – playwright and Guggenheim fellow

Joe Castiglione – MLB radio announcer

Rose Laub Coser – sociologist; vice-president of the American Sociological Association; president of the Eastern Sociological Society

Tim Cresswell – human geographer and poet

William F. Crittenden – professor emeritus at the D'Amore-McKim School of Business

Nicholas Daniloff – correspondent for UPI and U.S. News & World Report

Richard Deth – voice in the autism and vaccine controversy

Anthony Devaney – electrical engineer

Hugh Dubberly – designer and design theorist

Michael Dukakis – former Massachusetts state governor and 1988 Democratic presidential candidate

Matthias Felleisen – author of How to Design Programs

Melissa Ferrick – singer/songwriter; plaintiff of industry-altering $43 million class action lawsuit Ferrick v.