Four Alumni Being Honored for Professional Achievement

A talented screenwriter, a Lion soccer star who’s influenced criminal justice reform and ethics in political communications, a multi award-winning television executive producer and director, as well as a young alum who won three Emmys before turning 30, will all receive Alumni Achievement Awards from the Alumni Association.

Adele Lim ’96 is a film and television writer whose credits include writing the screenplay for the critically acclaimed 2018 feature film Crazy Rich Asians and the upcoming Raya and The Last Dragon, which it set to be released in March 2021.

She began her career in television, and for two decades wrote for and produced shows including Xena: Warrior Princess, One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected, Private Practice, Star Crossed, and Lethal Weapon. Lim is active with the Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, and last spring, she returned to Boston to speak at the New England Graduate Media Symposium, which was held at Emerson. She grew up in Malaysia, and moved to the US to attend Emerson.

Peter Loge ’87 is an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University, the founding director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication, a writer, and a strategic communication consultant.

He also served a term as the president of the Emerson College Alumni Association. Loge, who played soccer at Emerson, received the Heart of a Lion award at Emerson’s homecoming in fall 2019 in recognition for his outstanding contributions to enriching the Emerson Athletics program and student-athlete experience.

Loge served in senior positions for U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), for three members of the US House of Representatives, and in the Obama administration. Loge has led and advised a range of campaigns and organizations, including serving as a senior policy advisor for health care in the U.S. House during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, and was a chief of staff in the House of Representatives during the Clinton impeachment proceedings.

His eclectic career also includes having a solo show of his sculpture in a Washington, D.C. gallery, and appearing as a political satirist on National Public Radio (the Washington Post accused Saturday Night Live of stealing one of his ideas). His book Soccer Thinking for Management Success: Lessons for Organizations from the World’s Game debuted as the #1 sports industry new release on Amazon in the summer of 2018. His edited volume, Political Communication: Theory and Practice, is due out in early 2020.

Thrilled and honored to receive the Heart of a Lion award from @EmersonLions. Whatever success I’ve had is largely because of what I learned at @EmersonCollege, and I continue to learn from soccer. pic.twitter.com/aa7Qb4GbA8

— Peter Loge (@ploge) November 3, 2019

Loge was the founder and principal at the Washington-based legislative strategy firm Milo Public Affairs LLC, where his clients ranged from AmericaSpeaks and America’s Funniest Home Videos to the World Wildlife Fund and WickedCoolStuff.com. Before launching Milo Public Affairs, he served as the first director of The Justice Project, which helped redefine the national death penalty and criminal justice debate.

As director of constituent services to former Congressman Sam Coppersmith (D-AZ), Loge made Coppersmith the first member of Congress with a presence on the Internet in 1993, and while working for Kennedy, coordinated the first online chat with a federal elected official.

Loge was an adjunct instructor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at the The George Washington University for more than a decade before joining the faculty full time. He has been quoted in local and national media, has provided analysis and commentary for the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, Fox, National Public Radio, and other national and international media outlets, and his writing has been published by the Drake Law Review, Campaigns & Elections, The Hill, the IJ Review, the International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations, and others.

Brian Smith ’95 is a multi-award winning executive producer and director of network prime time television. As a passionate and accomplished storyteller, Brian has built his career collaborating to create impactful and intelligent content that maximizes entertainment value without sacrificing integrity.

His projects have topped broadcast television ratings every year for more than 20 years. He has produced and directed more than 1,000 hours of television for every major primetime broadcast networks.

Some of the shows he’s directed include Fox’s Masterchef, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, and CBS’ Big Brother.

Waiter: *grates cheese over my pasta*
Me:

Happy #NationalCheeseLoversDay! ? #MasterChef pic.twitter.com/9uqvOMjvOb

— MasterChef (@MASTERCHEFonFOX) January 20, 2020

His series have garnered widespread praise and recognition, with dozens of awards and accolades including, five-time Best Director for the Director Guild of America, two-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, 11-time People’s Choice Award winner, eight-time Critics Choice Award winner, seven-time Teen Choice Award winner, Kids Choice Award winner, and an Imagen Foundation Award winner.

At Emerson College, Smith was an executive producer of Emerson Independent Video (EIV) and NBS-AERho, and received an EVVY Award for Best Director.

Brittany Martin Porter ’10 is receiving this year’s Young Alumni Achievement Award.

Porter finished her Emerson College career on the Los Angeles campus, interning at Comedy Central, as well as working with the AD department and producers of the film The Hangover Part II.

She then switched gears to focus on live television, working on award shows and comedy specials. Since 2011, Porter has been working exclusively for NBC’s The Voice. Currently she serves as supervising producer, overseeing the live show stage, performance elements for contestants, coaches, and A-list guests.

In her time with The Voice, she has received seven Primetime Emmy nominations, winning three in a row from 2015 to 2017, before the age of 30.

She is also responsible for creating and launching Snapchat’s first alternative original program The Voice on Snapchat.

Porter also played softball at Emerson, and was a member of the Lions team that won the 2009 GNAC championship and participated in the NCAA regional tournament.