Distinguished Alumna Jane Goldenring '73

Hopkins’ 2023 Distinguished Alumna, film and television producer Jane Goldenring ‘73, spoke at an all-school assembly on April 28, 2023, regaling students, faculty, and staff with anecdotes about her storied 30-year career. Introduced by Head of School, Matt Glendinning, Ms. Goldenring’s presentation was marked with humor, humility, and sage advice gained from her experiences navigating a creative industry in which she was, most often, “one of the few women in the room.” She emphasized how intuition, persistence, and good writing helped her to succeed in her early years at Disney, as well as how people skills and a good bit of diplomacy have enabled her to work with actors, directors, writers, and all the competing interests and personalities involved in turning an idea for a film into reality. Watch Ms. Goldenring's full address in the video below. 

Following assembly, Ms. Goldenring spent time in several classrooms where students had the opportunity to continue the conversation and ask specific questions. Classes she visited were Writing for Stage and Screen, Topics in Women's History, and Dangerous Books. 

The visit concluded with a luncheon in her honor in the Weissman Room with the Distinguished Alumni and Fellows Committee, as well as students and faculty. 

Ms. Goldenring is a film and television producer with more than 30 years of experience. As President of Goldenring Productions, she develops and produces projects for film, TV and streaming. She began her career in 1986 as a creative executive and later, Senior VP at Disney, where she was involved in the development and production of many popular films, among them, Adventures In Babysitting, Big Business, Beaches, Cocktail, White Fang, The Rocketeer and Phenomenon. She has produced numerous independent films and TV movies for Lifetime, Hallmark and ABC Family, working with well-known directors, screenwriters and actors, including Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Christopher Walken, Tom Cruise, Steve Martin, John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Martin Short, Zendaya and others. 

Most recently, Ms. Goldenring executive produced the Hallmark movie, Family History Mysteries: Buried Past, which premiered on January 8, 2023. Her current development slate includes the Grimm Legacy book series by Polly Shulman. Ms. Goldenring is also an educator. She has been teaching Script Analysis at NYU Los Angeles for the past four years, and conducts a Writing Workshop at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. She taught Graduate Producing at USC's School of Cinematic Arts from 2011-2019, and has also been an adjunct professor in the graduate film department at Chapman University. She is a Member of the Producers Guild and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and a former Member of the Board of Women In Film. Prior to her career in film and television, Ms. Goldenring worked as a legislative assistant to former Democratic U.S. Senator, Christopher J. Dodd. 

The Distinguished Alumni Award, established in 1991, honors alums who have demonstrated extraordinary accomplishment in their chosen fields, and service to their communities. Hopkins continues to be an institution committed to fostering those qualities that come from a liberal arts education: learning how to learn, how to think clearly, how to express ideas effectively and how to work independently. Today, as throughout the school’s history, students learn that knowledge should be tempered by ethical judgment, consideration for others and aesthetic sensibility; that far greater than academic achievement and preparation for college are a sense of curiosity and a love of learning; that intelligence and training carry with them the obligation to serve others. The Distinguished Alumni/ae Award salutes individuals who exemplify these qualities.