This event will feature an alumni panel moderated by Professor Angela Creager, Department Chair. History alums on different career paths will discuss why they chose History as a major, and how that decision led them to where they are now. This will be followed by Q&A and a reception. Registration is required and space is limited.

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Meet Our Alumni Panelists:

Azza Cohen '16

Documentary Filmmaker

Azza Cohen '16 (she/her) is a documentary filmmaker from Highland Park, IL. She currently serves as the Official Videographer & Director of Video for Vice President Kamala Harris. Her most recent film, FLOAT!, which follows her 82-year- old Bubbe learning to swim, is now streaming via The New Yorker. Princeton is where she discovered her love of filmmaking after taking a class with acclaimed documentarian Purcell Carson; she studied history, and now, is honored to record it every day. In addition to studying history and making films, Azza wrote for The Daily Princetonian, danced on the Princeton Bhangra team, volunteered through the Pace Center and participated in the Bridge Year Program. After Princeton, Azza earned her master’s in Culture & Colonialism from the National University of Ireland, Galway; and her master of fine arts in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University. She lives in Washington, DC with her fiancée Kathleen and their rescue dog Rex. 

Chris Keunne '85

Entrepreneur

Chris Keunne '85, founder of Rosetta and Rosemark, is a highly successful entrepreneur, business builder, best-selling author and member of Princeton University’s faculty. Throughout his career, he has been fascinated by the question of what motivates people to act as they do in a commercial context. He has devoted his career to translating insights about customer motivation into personalized sales and marketing techniques that accelerate enterprise growth. He and his team built, scaled, and sold Rosetta, a leading digital technology and services business to the Publicis Groupe for $575M. Chris is now focused on applying these growth techniques to build a training and software platform to help marketers drive consumer lifetime value through enhanced personalization.  He published a Wall Street Journal best-selling book entitled, Built For Growth, with his Princeton colleague, John Danner, on how the Personality of the Founder shapes the growth of a new venture. Prior to founding Rosetta, Chris co-led the retail marketing practice at First Manhattan Consulting Group, following 10 years in marketing management at Johnson & Johnson, where he led the Band Aid^® and Tylenol^® brand franchises. Chris serves on various corporate and nonprofit boards. Chris received his MBA with Honors from Harvard Business School, and his BA in History from Princeton, where he wrote his thesis on the Role of the North Carolina Supreme Court in the Institution of Slavery. He is the proud dad of three sons, Peter, William and Matthew and lives in Princeton, NJ, and Shelburne, VT with his wife, Treby Williams.

Jessica Lautin '03

Museum Content Designer

Jessica Lautin (she/her) is Director of Content for the experience design firm, G&A. Favorite research there has included talking to recruits at Coast Guard boot camp, touring historic bars in New Orleans, and standing on the production line at a Toyota manufacturing plant. Every project involves listening deeply and looking closely to find the important stories — skills she learned from her Princeton history classes and writing for The Daily Princetonian. Her senior thesis work inspired her to pursue a history PhD, but an ayurvedic astrologer and the son of a Moroccan rug store owner told her academia wasn’t the right career path. Following their advice (and her interests in multidisciplinary, audience-centered storytelling) she spent four years at the Museum of the City of New York following graduate school. A native New Yorker, Jessica recently made the move to another part of New Jersey, where she’s enjoying the gardens in the Garden State and taking her husband and two children to every nearby museum that doesn’t require her to drive on a major highway.

Manuel (Manny) Pérez '11

Investment Banker

Manuel (Manny) Pérez '11 serves as Senior Vice President at Cabrera Capital Markets, a leading Latino-owned investment bank and institutional brokerage, where he focuses on real estate and public finance. Prior to joining Cabrera, Pérez served as Deputy Mayor at the City of Chicago, leading Mayor Lightfoot’s legislative agenda at the local, state and federal level. During his tenure, Pérez shepherded thousands of legislative items at the city, including Chicago’s first-ever casino, civilian oversight of police, and operating budgets totaling over $40 billion. Before joining City Hall, Pérez was the campaign manager for Mayor Lightfoot and served as the Intergovernmental Affairs Director for the transition. He has led a variety of campaigns at the local, state, and federal level, including Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García’s first successful run for Congress in 2018 and his run for Mayor in 2015. In Cook County government, Pérez has served as Special Assistant to the President of the County Board, Chief of Staff to the County Clerk, and Chief of Staff to then-Commissioner García. He graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and resides in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago.​