顶级国产视频

Exactly 25 years ago, 顶级国产视频 & Marshall alum Jason Cone 鈥�99 left campus with a degree in biology and government and a pocketful of uncertainty.

As it turns out, uncertainty was the key to possibility. 

Cone, chief public policy officer of , is the featured speaker at F&M鈥檚 Commencement Ceremony Saturday, May 11.

鈥淚 sat where the graduates are going to sit. I didn't have a job lined up, didn't have graduate school plans, really did not know what I was going to do,鈥� Cone said. 

He now drives public policy engagement at New York City鈥檚 largest anti-poverty philanthropic organization. 

鈥淯ncertainty is not a barrier to lifelong success and purpose,鈥� Cone said. 

鈥淭he most important thing is that you continue. You continue to listen, to question, to make space to heal. The world you鈥檝e experienced these past few years has been very hard, very isolating. Just being there to receive that degree is in itself a reflection of your strength and your adversity,鈥� he advises the Class of 2024.  

Early in Cone鈥檚 career, a job layoff prompted him to apply to 鈥� the start of a 15-year tenure that saw him rise to U.S. executive director, providing vital support to humanitarian medical programs across the globe. 

Cone is an internationally recognized speaker and published writer on humanitarian issues, international humanitarian law, global health, crisis communications, nonprofit ethics and global migration. Read more about Cone鈥檚 accomplishments on the F&M Commencement website. 

鈥淯ncertainty is not a barrier to lifelong success and purpose.鈥�

Jason Cone 鈥�99

Jason Cone: Five Fast Facts

1. He (almost) met his wife on campus.

Cone met Christie Del Rey-Cone 鈥�99 at Lancaster鈥檚 Amtrak station during their second semester on campus. If not for that fateful train ride, they might not have crossed paths. 

鈥淲e ran in very different circles,鈥� Cone said. Both were involved with Greek life (Pi Lambda Phi fraternity and Chi Omega sorority), but she gravitated toward theater and he spent his free time on the rugby field. 

The couple wed in 2001 and have two children. They celebrate their 25th class reunion this year.

2. He co-founded a Ukrainian aid network with actor Liev Schreiber. 

Cone and Schreiber joined forces to create , an organization focused on identifying, vetting and fast-tracking funding to local Ukrainian organizations.

Schreiber is of Ukrainian heritage, as is Cone. They were connected through colleagues (and happened to live in the same Tribeca neighborhood at one point). 

鈥淢y great-grandmother immigrated from Ukraine to the United States after her mother was killed by a group of Kazakh raiders who came into her village,鈥� Cone said. 鈥淲hen the war in Ukraine started, I couldn't help but feel a very strong pull to what was happening there.鈥�

3. His career was nearly spent underwater. 

鈥淚 fell in love with the ocean through scuba diving with my parents,鈥� Cone said. In fact, he spent a summer before college interning at the Smithsonian Museum鈥檚 marine ecosystems laboratory. 

鈥淚 had every intention of getting into marine biology,鈥� he said. That intent almost took Cone to college in California, but he chose F&M for a broader liberal arts experience. 

鈥淭he government piece came in when I started realizing how important policy was in terms of environmental protection,鈥� Cone said.

4. He lived overseas in early childhood.

Cone was born in Paris, where his mother was employed by IBM. He then spent several years of elementary school in Tokyo. 

鈥淲e spent a lot of time traveling around Asia, which was very formative for me in terms of understanding the different privilege that we had, both as expats and 鈥� comparatively speaking 鈥� as Americans in that part of the world,鈥� Cone said. 

5. His parents met at F&M, too.

As fate would have it, Cone鈥檚 parents also met on campus. Jeffrey and Karen Cone, both Class of 1974, celebrate their 50th class reunion this year. Karen Cone was a member of the College鈥檚 second graduating class of women. 

The upcoming weekend carries special weight for this year鈥檚 Commencement speaker and his family. 鈥淚 haven't been on the campus with both my parents since I graduated,鈥� Cone said.

Alumni Documentary: Jason Cone 鈥�99

In 2017, we chatted with Jason Cone 鈥�99 about his career as U.S. executive director at Doctors Without Borders.