Landmark College, the world’s first college to exclusively serve students with learning differences (LD), announced that it will honor Caren Zucker and John Donvan as LD Luminaries during the Thursday, April 24 online fundraiser “Impact: 40 Years of Shaping Stories and Defining Futures.”
Zucker and Donvan co-authored the 2016 book, In A Different Key: The Story of Autism, which was a New York Times Bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist. They went on to make a documentary film of the same name, which won prizes at several films festivals and aired on PBS in 2022. Both will make remarks during the “Impact” fundraiser, which begins at 7 p.m. ET on April 24. Tickets can be purchased at landmark.edu/impact2025 or by calling 802-387-6734.
“In a Different Key” takes us on a journey from an era when families were shamed and children were condemned to institutions to one in which a cadre of people with autism push not simply for inclusion, but for a new understanding of autism: as difference rather than disability.
“With this year’s online fundraiser serving as a precursor to the new student-organized film festival, Caren and John are the perfect people to recognize as LD Luminaries,” says Landmark College Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement Carol Nardino. “Their advocacy is right in line with Landmark College’s 40-year history of empowering neurodivergent learners.”
The Landmark College LD Luminary Award is given to an individual in the public eye who has helped advance the perception of neurodiversity in society. Previous recipients include Amy Brenneman, Sheinelle Jones, Al Roker, John Elder Robison, Holly Robinson Peete, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Proceeds from “Impact: 40 Years of Shaping Stories and Defining Futures” will provide scholarships and programmatic support for current and future Landmark College students. Since 2014, Landmark College galas have raised more than $3 million in support of its mission. The evening’s program will also include an auction, fund-a-need, and stories from students, staff and faculty about how Landmark College helps students with learning differences (such as dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or executive function challenges) achieve their academic and career goals.
Luminary Bios
Caren Zucker is a director, producer and journalist, has travelled the world and told stories for more than 25 years across a broad range of subjects. Zucker left behind daily journalism working for the flagship broadcast on ABC News, and NIGHTLINE to transition into writing and documentary filmmaking. Her work has focused on the needs, challenges and gifts of autistic people, a commitment that began with the autism diagnosis of her oldest child, Mickey. Her narrative account of autism as a diagnosis (co-authored with ABC News journalist John Donvan) was a New York Times bestseller, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in general non-fiction. Titled "In A Different Key," it was the inspiration for Zucker and Donvan's documentary film of the same name. Broadcasted on PBS, the film was critically acclaimed and was honored with the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Most recently, Ms. Zucker turned her attention to the nation's fentanyl crisis, co-producing and co-hosting a town hall program televised on the Scripps News Network -- "To Save a Life, a National Fentanyl Alarm." Her work at ABC World News Tonight, Nightline and The PBS NewsHour has won multiple awards, including the Emmy, DuPont and Peabody. Zucker and her husband, John McGuinness, live in New Jersey. In addition to Mickey, they have a son Jonah, and daughter, Molly, currently pursuing a career in law.
John Donvan is a veteran network correspondent and producer for ABC, CNN and PBS, and host and moderator-in-chief of Open to Debate, whose programs highlighting good faith arguments are heard on public radio and by podcast and seen on YouTube. He has also been a contributing editor to The Atlantic. During his journalism career, in addition to anchoring various ABC broadcasts, John served as chief White House correspondent, and held multiyear postings in London, Moscow, Jerusalem and Amman, Jordan. He wrote and reported for the documentary program Turning Point. The winner of four Emmys and the Overseas Press Club Award, he became interested in autism’s impact on families upon meeting his wife, physician and medical school professor Ranit Mishori, who grew up in Israel with a brother profoundly affected by autism, He has two children and lives in Washington, DC.