CLASS OF 1990 | 2017 | ISSUE 3

I am happy to report that there is lots of news this time so I will get right to it.

Jennifer Teitelbaum Palmer is having a great year representing Maryland psychiatrists as the president of the Maryland Psychiatric Society, the Maryland district branch of the American Psychiatric Association.

The architectural practice of Andre Kikoski, Andre Kikoski Architect, recently hit a big milestone, with over 100 articles in the press this year on three marquee projects! Some excerpts shared by Andre include: One Hudson Yards, their luxury residential building interiors was featured in Architectural Digest for integrating art and artisan work, praised in the New York Times for evoking a boutique hotel, and cited as “suitably seductive” in Wallaper* Magazine. 75 Kenmare, their ground-up condominium designed in collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, was praised in the Huffington Post for “exuding joy and energy,” lauded in Interior Design for its contemporary aesthetic, and written up in the New York Times and The Real Deal, respectively, for architecture that will “set the tone for (buildings to) follow” and brings “subtle gracefulness” and “rich sobriety” to Nolita. 97 Mid Ocean Drive, their $45M oceanfront home in the Hamptons, that was lauded in Mansion Global for its Manhattan style and “flair for clean lines and natural light,” and featured in Cottages & Gardens for its “ultra-modern design” and transparent pool. Curbed Hamptons described the house as “jaw-dropping” and setting a new standard in the Hamptons.

Dan Gilman had a “mini-reunion of some of the East College ‘Aloha Deck’ at his Ocean City beach house in August. Netania Steiner, Jon Bakija, Alan Busby, plus all the wives and kids.  ons of fun getting all the families together. My oldest of four kids just started at Northeastern. Kids going to college! Ah!” Dan went to the alumni son/daughter weekend this fall. He had a great time when he went two years ago and saw lots of ’90 folks there. He is working as an investment banker in NYC and living on the Upper West Side with LB and their 3 other kids (one in high school, two in middle school). Dan’s two smallest kids dance full-time at American Ballet Theater and frequently perform at Lincoln Center with ABT.

Carole Trone headed to the Midwest for graduate school in Madison, Wis., after Wesleyan and “couldn’t pull myself away from this fun town.” This past July, Carole rode 411 miles across the state of Iowa during RAGBRAI with about 30 mostly-Madison friends. They called themselves the MOOKS and you can find their photos and fun on Facebook.

Persis Howe and her family moved from London to the Bay Area over the summer. “It’s been a huge adjustment after 20 years in the UK. The kids are settling into school in Berkeley while I’m building digital services for the City of San Francisco.” Persis would love for any nearby Wes folks to please get in touch!

Kate Hardin is still in Cambridge, Mass., continuing to work at the intersection of energy and climate at IHS Markit. “I have taken on a new project in the past year working on our outlooks for electric vehicle penetration in key markets and assessing the impact on energy demand and carbon emissions. We are still enjoying life in Harvard Square, but really appreciated time spent this summer in rural Wyoming and in the hills of east Tennessee. And the kids are doing well, now 10 and 13!”

David Petti has “decided to take the plunge and change careers. I’ve left the legal profession and I’m in my final year of the clinical MSW program at NYU. Currently I’m interning at the VA in Westchester County New York. I’m enjoying it a lot and I hope to hear from some of my friends in the class of 1990.”

Gabriella Nawi is still head of investor relations at Travelers Insurance, living in Glen Ridge, N.J., where her son is a senior in high school. “I also joined my first nonprofit board this year: Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT), which helps unrepresented people in the NYC family court system, which I’m very excited for and I look forward to engaging more with the Wesleyan community in the area.”

Gregory Lesser, an assistant U.S. attorney, was a member of the team of federal prosecutors, staff, and FBI agents who were presented with the United States Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 2016. The team received the award in recognition of its efforts in the investigation and prosecution of a number of excessive force, civil rights violation and obstruction of justice cases brought against former personnel of the LA County Sheriff’s Department, which have resulted in the convictions of over 20 former Sheriff’s Department personnel ranging from line deputies to former LA County Sheriff Leroy Baca, on charges ranging from excessive force to obstruction of justice. Greg, a 15-year veteran federal prosecutor, participated in all of the cases filed as part of the investigation.

Finally, Karen Fernandez Garity writes from Puerto Rico on her iPhone where, being one of the lucky ones who has AT&T mobile service, she was one of the few who can communicate in all of Puerto Rico. Karen was born, raised and still lives in Puerto Rico, and, “as I am sure you know by now, we were first hit by Irma and only a week later hit directly by Hurricane María. One week later there is no electrical power in all of the Island and only 40% of the Island has water service. I won’t go into details of the horror that our people are going through, as I am sure you have access to more information than us. We are the lucky ones. Our home is solid and withstood the storm well. Only some water damage and a decimated garden. We got water three days after the storm but have no electricity, cable or internet. I feel especially grateful because today we were able to fill our generator. We ration the use of our generator because we do not know when we can get diesel again. Our home has become a refuge for relatives and neighbors who don’t have these luxuries. My husband, my two teenage children and I spent the first five days after the storm clearing debris from neighborhood yards and streets and cleaning up the kids’ school, hoping they can return to some kind of normalcy soon. There are gas and diesel shortages and distribution is not working properly, so food and essential services are limited. Things in the rural areas are much worse than in San Juan, where we live. During this time I am so very grateful for my Wesleyan family who have sent emails, texts, worried for us and have made donations for Puerto Rico. Special thanks to my dearest friend and roommate Jane Randel 89, Vicki Donnellan 89, Andy Fairbanks ’90, June Lee ’88 and Peter Schubart ’89, whose messages have brought comfort to me during this terrible time. I pray that I can have better news of our people’s situation soon, knowing I am privileged to have what I need for my family and others who depend on me.”

I’m sure I speak for the entire Wesleyan community in saying that our thoughts and hearts are with all those affected by the recent devastating hurricanes.  I hope we are hearing much better news about progress and recovery by the time of this publication. Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2018.

Vanessa Montag Brosgol | vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com