Class of 1987 | 2014 | Issue 1
Muzzy Rosenblatt may even be more ubiquitous in NYC than he was at Wesleyan. In the span of a couple of weeks this past fall, I ran into him at a fundraising breakfast for our favorite US Senator (Michael Bennet), I saw him moderate a fascinating panel of some of Wesleyan’s most illustrious New York public policy minds (John Rhea, Shola Olatoye ’96, Sharon Greenberger ’88, John Alschuler ’70) at a “Future of the City” discussion regarding the challenges our new mayor will face, and then I opened up my New Yorker magazine on Nov. 11 to find a letter Muzzy wrote on the work he’s done with the BRC! And he did it all wearing his big red cardinal costume!
In addition to Muzzy, I was lucky enough to lay eyes on a number of classmates recently. I saw Rob Campbell give an amazing performance at Playwrights Horizons last November. I ran into Michael Pruzan at a book party for his sister-in-law Tracey Winn Pruzan ’85, and I got to have a long overdue lunch with my old roomie Lisa Abroms Herz. I also saw Molly Renfroe and her husband, Dan Katz ’85, at a party this fall.
Mark Pinto wrote in: “Little change here. Still living in Tacoma, Wash., with my partner, Jeff Williams, and working as a residential real estate broker. Just got back from a great trip to Barcelona. Looking forward to seeing classmates Jennifer Bush and Grier Mendel in Seattle in a few weeks.”
Imagine my delight to receive this e-mail from Joss Whedon: “For reasons too complex even for me to understand, I have not been killed. I have however had my consciousness transferred into the body of a very old (and rather bald) man, and I’m planning a strongly worded letter on the subject. I am splitting my time between LA (which is a desert) and England (which is like Eden except you can eat an apple and nobody gets huffy about it), where I’m working on a startlingly original idea I call a ‘superhero franchise.’ My progeny, in fifth and third grades respectively, are thoughtful, funny, and considerate, so I am demanding a paternity test. In my spare time I enjoy not having any spare time. I keep in touch with almost no one from our days of salad except Thomas Plotkin ’86, whom I seldom actually see but who lives forever in my heart and should really get a place of his own.”
Also in West Coast news, Richter Hartig was promoted by Starz to senior vice president for original programming production finance.
Joshua Bellin writes “The big news in my life is that my debut novel, a young adult science fiction novel titled Survival Colony Nine, has been accepted for publication (it’s due out next year).”
Stephen Porter reports that he is “happily living the midwestern whitebread life in St. Paul, Minn. I work as a research scientist at the local VA hospital studying antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Melissa and I have now been married for 21 years. Our son, Daniel ’16, is a sophomore at Wes. This was entirely his idea. He is living in WesCo, is in CSS, and claims to be working really hard. Wesleyan has truly proven to be a great fit for him. There is nothing like watching your child thrive at your alma mater to prove what a great school Wesleyan truly is!”
“Thanks to the support of many Wes alums and other good people,” writes Tim Sheridan, “we hit our Kickstarter goal in July. The book, Thunder & Lightning: a Story for a Stormy Night, is now available at thunderlightning.bigcartel.com.
Leslie Cannold wrote, “I do have news! My third book, The Book of Rachael, which went into a second printing here in Australia is being published in the US this December! It will be the feature title for my publisher, and continue to be prominent in their advertising through January as it is seen as a great holiday gift for anyone (Christian, Jew, Atheist, Feminist, etc.) who likes a ripping historical yarn with great sex. You can find out more about the book here: cannold.com/articles/article/the-book-of-rachael.”
Nancy Dobrow Bean “lives in the Pioneer Valley, Western Mass., with my husband, Mike, and our three daughters, Grace (9), Julia (15) and Maddi (18). Maddi just started her freshman year at Emory in Atlanta this September. Big change in the household! The girls are all singing and dancing, playing soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, skiing, hiking… we don’t sit around much! Mike sells organic coffee and our house generally smells like roasted coffee and wine. We are surrounded by farms, the Mt. Tom and Skinner Mountain Range, Mt. Holyoke Mountains, and the Connecticut River. We are also adjacent to our rivals at Amherst College! My event marketing and production company, Wise Up Events, is based in Boston. We just wrapped up production for the Taste of WGBH Food & Wine Festival in September, and the James Beard Foundation Taste America Tour in October. Now we gear up for full pre-production for the Nantucket Wine Festival. I am co-owner and director of the NWF. It takes about 11 months to produce, includes 50 different events over five days, and takes place every May. This May will be our 18th annual festival. I stay in touch regularly with my BFF Sibyll Carnochan Catalan, and would love to connect with other Wes alums! Best to reach me at: nancy@wiseupevents.com or cell: 617/755-5523.”
Joe Crivelli wrote in to tell me he regularly posts information on WesConnect, but that it feels like his own personal blog since he can never find other classmates posting. Feel free to join Joe and post your news on WesConnect, too—maybe it will catch on.
Have a happy and healthy 2014!
Amanda Jacobs Wolf
wolfabj@gmail.com