Kenneth Johansen '60, 62Th
Jethro Rothe-Kushel ’03, right, receives the Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award from Mark C. Davis '81, '84Tu, Alumni Council president, during the Alumni Awards Gala Dinner on October 25, 2013.

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When you made that crucial decision to leave sunny California for the Hanover Plain, you could not have anticipated the future before you. A quiet and contemplative young man, you embarked on a wonderful journey as you left for Dartmouth.

You plunged into a wide variety of activities at Dartmouth. You hosted a radio show on WFRD and joined Mosaic, a group for students from multiracial and multicultural backgrounds. Additionally, you joined the Tabard and later the senior society Abaris. During the 70th anniversary of the painting of the Orozco Murals, you were employed by the computer science department as a Presidential Scholar and built a 3-D model of the mural. You were awarded the Milton Sims Kramer Book Award for your contributions to the College. Though you majored in religion, receiving citations for your outstanding work, filmmaking and what you term “the story” drew you.

Stirred to action by a sociology class named “Urban Blues,” you filmed a documentary about homelessness in downtown Los Angeles as part of the Dartmouth First-Year Summer Research Project. This experience has really inspired the rest of your work. Traveling to Barcelona for a Spanish language study abroad program, your immersion in the culture and the language led you to shoot a documentary on religious rituals in Mexico. It was a brilliant way to transition from a classroom setting to a work setting.

Following graduation, you returned to Los Angeles to work as a production assistant, then transitioned to production coordinator and line producer. You turned your focus to the independent, hands-on work of filming documentaries. By 2008, you were producing indie movies. You explored your creative side at Torn Sky Productions, and embarked upon physical production tasks at such organizations as CBS and Full Moon Entertainment. Presently, you are a director and producer at Scenario at Paramount Pictures. You also serve as the director of new media for the County of Los Angeles. Your work as producer or director for various television shows and motion pictures is widely recognized.

Alongside this demanding career, you have immersed yourself in several civic organizations. You’re honored by your membership on the board of directors of the Producers’ Guild of America and the California Empowerment Congress, an organization based in Los Angeles advocating for participatory government and a better quality of life.

Your service to Dartmouth is truly dedicated and multidimensional. Following graduation, you found no affiliated group for Dartmouth alumni in entertainment and media, fields closely linked to your own passions. Thus, you and your counterparts set out to create a bridge from Hanover to Hollywood. Since you co-founded the group in 2006, Dartmouth Alumni in Entertainment & Media Association (DAEMA), has grown to an international presence of more than 1,800 members, creating dozens of exclusive screenings, performances, mixers, panels, and other events. Under your leadership, DAEMA was named Dartmouth’s Affiliated Group of the Year.

You are a valued and dedicated member of other Dartmouth groups as well. You have served as president and vice president of the Dartmouth Club of Los Angeles; president, vice president, and executive committee member of the Club Officers Association; and treasurer and Alumni Fund volunteer for the great Class of 2003. As an alumni councilor, you participated on the Communications Committee and the Young Alumni Committee.

You have said Dartmouth was instrumental in shaping the way you see the world and demonstrated for you the importance of fostering community. Jethro, we are truly grateful that you have fallen under Dartmouth’s spell. Your dedication to your community, your career, and your College reflects your spirit, kindness, and unflagging energy. We are delighted to recognize you with the much-deserved Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award.

Mark Davis ’81, ’84Tu
President, Dartmouth Alumni Council

October 25, 2013