Diane Lansing
Strategic Marketing Consultant
New York, NY
MBA - New York University
BA - University of Michigan
ELHS CLASSMATE LIFE HISTORY AND INFORMATION SHARING
So here I am in my loft in Manhattan, where I have lived for more than half my life. I fell in love with New York the first time I came here at age 12. I finally got to make it my home after a couple of out of town try-outs for big-city living in Boston and Washington.
After graduating from U of M (double major in liberal arts and sorority) my career hop-scotched with no logic whatsoever through The Christian Science Monitor, The National Endowment for the Arts, Touche Ross (now Deloitte), and Merrill Lynch. In the mid-1980s I set up my own strategic marketing firm, and I’ve been at it ever since.
Our biggest project was to create and run a public-service publishing house for The Goddard Schools, a major national preschool company. The books we published won every award for which they were eligible, and three of them were turned into two 12-part television series on parenting that aired nationally on PBS.
I enjoy my work too much to retire, but I have dialed back my workload to projects of special interest. Volunteer work fills out the schedule. I think it was Berrie Baker who coined the tagline for me for our senior yearbook — “It’s better to wear out than rust out”. Still holds.
Being my own boss and staying single has given me the luxury of time. I have used it to take advantage of everything NYC has to offer, to travel extensively to see the art and architecture I loved learning about at U of M, and to pursue whatever struck my fancy, from ancient/classical history and astronomy to scuba diving and white water rafting (ELHS gym classmates will note the common denominator in the sports — no hand-eye coordination needed). I’ve been blessed with great friends and a wonderfully interesting career. I credit much to the terrific send-off we got at ELHS.
It has been a delight to read classmates’ bios and learn of all the accomplishments in so many surprising lives and to see photos of so many beautiful families. Congrats to one and all.
Kudos and many thanks to the reunion team for such a splendid job in bringing it all together.