Class Notes | 1980s

My inbox was fairly bursting (as it has been, come to think of it, since I took over this gig a couple of years ago). Lots of news about the exploits of our classmates and their talented offspring.

“I will brag on my daughter Maggie Smythe, off to med school at Tulane University in August,” writes Susan Smythe, in a brief note.

Jeannie Gagne has a new book, released in June, Belting: A Guide to Healthy, Big Singing. You can find out more about it at http://thevocalgenie.com.

Cheryl Stevens played host in late April to back-to-back weekend visits from Kweku Forstall and Paul Spivey ’83. “Both were in the Bay Area for conferences for heads of nonprofits,” writes Cheryl, an attorney in the Bay Area. Kweku and his wife, Adrienne, kicked off their West Coast trip and his birthday week with a trip to the East Bay wine country, a dinner that included Hazlyn Fortune ’86, basketball playoffs, and a delicious birthday dinner at one of Cheryl’s favorite Oakland restaurants. “We had a great time.” She said that Paul was in the Bay Area to receive an award from the board of an association of nonprofit executives, accompanied by two of his three sons. What better opportunity for bit of tourism? “I was happy to take the Spivey men on a tour of the Golden Gate, Sausalito, lunch in Tiburon, Ocean Beach, pictures in front of the famous Painted Ladies across from Alamo Square, and ice cream cones at the corner of Haight and Ashbury,” Cheryl writes. Cheryl adds that she had “a great e-mail exchange with my former roommate, professor Kaja McGowan. Kaja is an associate professor in the department of history of art and visual studies at Cornell with a focus on Indonesia.”

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from Walter Massefski, he freely admits. “There have been 33 Wesleyan graduating classes since ours, so I suppose it is time for me to contribute something to the written record,” he writes. Walt and his wife Heidi Mintz Massefski ’85—who now goes by Chaya Massefski—live in the Boston suburb of Sharon, Mass., a town he says has a distinct Red and Black vibe. “It’s not uncommon for Wesleyan couples to live in Sharon—we have new neighbors several houses down with young children who graduated from Wesleyan,” he says. “Gerry Podlisny ’83 and Marcia Berman Podlisny ’83 live a mile-and-a-half away,’’ Walter writes, adding that he and his wife see them at occasional town meetings. Walt says they have three kids: a son who just graduated from George Washington University with a degree in political communication, and who just landed a job with CLS Strategies in Washington. He says a daughter is enrolled at Brandeis, and another daughter is still in high school.

As for Walt and Chaya themselves: “Chaya got her MSW from Simmons College a couple of years ago and works at a skilled nursing facility as a social worker. I’ve recently joined the cancer biology department at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,” he said, with a nod of appreciation to Professor Phil Bolton who became his master’s thesis adviser in chemistry. “I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to impact research in neuroscience, metabolic disease, infectious disease, immunology, and now cancer, sharing it all with an amazing partner for almost 28 years,” Walt says.

Jim Dray is living in Guilford, Conn., and working as the chief information officer for a AECOM, a giant construction firm. And congratulations are in order: He celebrates his 20th wedding anniversary this year—“not quite sure how that happened,” he said. “Tried to get my eldest son to go to Wesleyan but he’s off to MIddlebury in the fall,” he writes. “My youngest son (14) is a mad scientist in the basement, bringing up memories of Science in Society and lots of vegan lunches when we didn’t even really know what the term ‘vegan’ meant.”

News from another Guilford resident: “Catharine Arnold here. I am still trying to hang on in rheumatology and internal medicine private practice in Guilford, Conn. It is becoming increasingly difficult because of reimbursement issues, EMR, etc.,” she says. “My husband, John Bozzi ’79, continues to work for Statewide Legal Services in their pro bono department. Our older son, Aaron, is engaged and will marry his Amherst College sweetheart, Sarah, on top of Mt. Greylock near Williamstown next summer. I guess it will be a true Little Three event! Our younger son, Michael, is starting medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in August. They do grow up quickly!”

Margaret Morton writes: “All is well, still in Middletown, still working at Eversource Energy (formerly Northeast Utilities). Daughters are wonderful and my six granddaughters are the best—Chelsea, Erica, Emma, Saylor, Mazie, and Isabella.”

Virginia Pye is moving back to New England after living in the South for 17 years. “After graduating our daughter, Eva ’15, from Wesleyan in late May, and our son, Daniel, from high school in early June, John Ravenal ’81, and I are moving from our home of 17 years in Richmond, Va., to Cambridge, Mass., where John is now executive director of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum,” she writes. “I have a second novel, Dreams of the Red Phoenix, coming out in October, and look forward to taking advantage of the thriving Boston book scene. We’re excited to be back in New England and hope to see Wesleyan friends more often.”

Rosemary Stutz has been married to Jim Stutz (Yale ’80) since 1982. They have two children, Eric, who graduated from Pomona College in 2010 and who works for SAP America; and Victoria, a Georgetown grad, class of 2012, who works for Price Waterhouse). Rosemary mentions that she went diving in the Galápagos this past winter with schooling hammerhead sharks and aquatic iguanas. “Water was bracingly cold.”
Laura Fraser writes that the anthology she edited as editorial director of Shebooks.net—Whatever Doesn’t Kill You: Six Memoirs of a Resilience, Strength, and Forgiveness—won a silver medal in the National Independent Publishing Awards (the IPPYs).

Richard Klein says: “I’m pleased to report that my daughter, Nicole ’15, graduated from Wesleyan. How great is it to watch your daughter graduate from your alma mater?”

Recent wedding bells for Michael Lucey: “Snuck off to NYC about a year ago with my partner of about 16 years and got married at City Hall with Hannah Marcus ’83 as our witness,” he writes. “Have been teaching at Berkeley for nearly 27 years, although 2014–2015 was a sabbatical year, including a stint at All Souls College, Oxford, in spring 2015,” Michael said. “I studied at Oxford for two years after Wesleyan, and it’s been fun being back. After the term ends, Gerry and I are going to do some touring about and hiking in Devon, in the Lake District, and on the Isle of Skye.”

Thanks much everyone. Looking forward to more updates in a couple of months.

Greetings from Atlanta airport, as I (Joanne) finish this one last “to-do” item before heading out on a family vacation to Germany and France with my husband and two of my three sons. My youngest son, Christopher, is a rising high school senior who keeps busy playing tennis, ultimate Frisbee and jazz sax and piano. My middle son, James, just finished his sophomore year at Indiana University, where he is majoring in Informatics with a cognate in music and has been interning this summer at the University of Augsburg, Germany—and doing some traveling on the budget airlines. My oldest son, Alex, is a computer science engineer. After an 18-month stint at Microsoft, he is now back in Indiana and happily working for a company that specializes in software for the travel industry. They do grow up and spread their wings!

I have many interesting tidbits to share—our classmates continue to achieve, accomplish, and give back. I am running out of adjectives to describe all this success!

Exciting news in from Dave Coombs, who was presented his 10th (yes, you read that correctly!) annual award for excellence from The New York State Broadcasters Association. Fans who have missed Dave’s humor might want to check out his blog. In addition, Dave also has a podcast, CoupleTake, which he and his wife, Beth, launched; it is available on iTunes here: http://apple.co/1GGQl9H. Enjoy—and congratulations!

Peter Gryska wrote to let me know that he is living in Houston, still actively working in the food service distribution chain, and mercifully high and dry (at the time of this writing) from the flooding that occurred in June. He enjoys the frequent Wesleyan gatherings in Houston when professors and administration come to town, and he keeps an ongoing exchange going with both Laurey Richter and Sean Moran. Peter says, “Both daughters have graduated from law school and college and are off the payroll.” He adds, “We are increasingly spending time in West Texas at our 110-year-old family ranch, building a ranch house, running cattle, and expanding the farming operations.” (Sounds like a great place for a Wes alumni gathering.)

More congratulations are in order, this time going out to Chris Graves. The biggest news, Chris modestly writes, is that his daughter, Julia Graves ’17, is at Wesleyan.

rofessionally, it appears that Chris is at the top of his game. Recent achievements include: a promotion to global chairman (from Global CEO) of Ogilvy Public Relations as well as elected chair of the industry association, the PR Council; being elected as a trustee of the Institute for Public Relations, where he co-leads the behavioral and neuroscience communications initiative; being published as a contributing author in three books edited by McKinsey, the latest a business bestseller called Reimagining India. Chris has also been named as a United Nations adviser to a group called the Private Sector Leadership Advisory Council to UN Women, in which capacity he has addressed the UN on communications and behavior change related to enlisting men into the cause for gender equality for women and girls—a most worthy cause! If all that hasn’t been enough, Chris adds, “I have been writing for Harvard Business Review occasionally such as this story on why communications around the ‘vaccination wars’ in America have been so ineffective (https://hbr.org/2015/02/why-debunking-myths-about-vaccines-hasnt-convinced-dubious-parents).” I’m out of breath just writing this! It’s been quite a year for Chris Graves.

My dear friend Kaylie Jones has several items of import to report, the most exciting being that her daughter, Eyrna, will be attending the University of Texas, Honors College, at Austin as a Jefferson Scholar. Equally noteworthy is the publication of Kaylie’s newest book (available on Amazon.com) entitled The Anger Meridian. At a book reading in June at the Huntington, Long Island, library, Kaylie was surprised by the librarian organizing the event. After Kaylie texted me a pic of the handsome librarian, I immediately recognized our classmate Tom Cohn. We had a very quick chat with no time for catching up, as Kaylie was getting ready to give her talk, so I hope Tom will be in touch soon. In addition to writing, Kaylie is also very much involved in the publishing side of her imprint, Akashic Books. One of her newest laudable acquisitions is a forthcoming novel by Patty Smith ’82, to be published in the fall of 2015 with the tentative title, The Year of Needy Girls. Both Patty and Kaylie expressed great excitement at being involved in this endeavor together. Hats off to the two of them on the publication of their new novels!

On June 18th, Rick Rome was recognized by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. In accepting the award, Rick (a non-lawyer) noted that he will continue to work hard to support the efforts of this organization. “This is the time for all of us to focus on civil rights, ending discrimination and drastically reducing poverty.” Rick became interested in civil rights issues as a young boy. He writes, “My dad, Lew Rome, led the drive to desegregate the public schools as Mayor of Bloomfield, Conn. The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs has been fighting discrimination, civil rights violations and poverty for years. In recent years I have been building corporate support for the Committee, saying that not all civil rights activists became lawyers and we who care deeply about the issues should support the lawyers who take on cases for those in need and for the community at large. I received an award as a non-lawyer for contributing to the efforts of the organization. My goal is to significantly increase the percentage of contributions from non-lawyers.” Rick also expressed his great appreciation to Professor Emeritus John Grumm, and his creative and caring fellow students. “Unfortunately, civil rights is once again front and center as a critical issue we must all pay attention to. We came along after the heroic freedom riders and the marchers in Selma.” Congratulations, Rick, on this well-deserved honor! Rick lives in the Washington, D.C., area with his wife Joanne and their three talented sons: Jack, a rap artist; Sam, a singer songwriter; and Max, an actor.

Dave Robertson, a professor of practice at the Wharton School in Philadelphia, wrote in to tell me that he now has a radio show on SiriusXM (channel 111) called Innovation Navigation that is recorded live every Tuesday between 8 and 10 a.m. It is also a podcast on iTunes. How cool is that? One of Dave’s recent guests (on May 19th) was “old friend and fellow alum Matthew McCreight, who does innovation consulting for Schaffer Consulting. We had a wonderful conversation about the meaning of ‘innovation’ and how companies can become more innovative.” You can download the podcast here: bit.ly/innonavipod. For more on the show, see the website: www.innonavi.com.” In addition to his radio work, Dave is also the author of the book Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry.

Richard M. Locke, a professor of political science and international affairs and the Howard R. Swearer Director of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, has been named Brown’s 13th provost. He began his duties July 1, 2015. As provost, Rick will serve as the University’s chief academic officer, second in rank to the president, and the senior officer in charge when the president is away from campus. Many of the University’s senior positions report directly to him. Brown University President Christina Paxson said in her official announcement, “Rick Locke is a highly respected scholar, has positioned Watson as a prominent center for international and public affairs, and emerged as the leading choice among outstanding candidates to lead the University’s academic programs. Rick’s appointment will sustain the momentum we have built as we advance the goals outlined in the Building on Distinction strategic plan.” Warmest congratulations to Rick as he embarks on this new and exciting journey.

My freshman year roommate, Martha Arntzen Bockian, dropped me a line from Chicago. She has been very busy doing neuropsychological testing and brain maps on former NFL players, as well as consulting at a residential treatment facility for young adults with mental health problems, doing brain maps and neurofeedback. Her husband, Neil Bockian ’83, continues to teach and write, in addition to seeing patients part-time in his private practice. The most exciting news though, writes Martha, is that the family went to Israel in July for daughter Chaya’s high school graduation, followed by a celebratory trip to Barcelona. Martha also writes that son Yaakov is really enjoying school and has been working closely with his math teacher to use mathematical principles to further his interest in the world of fashion design.

For the past year, Chrissi Winkelbauer Kelly, who lives in England, has been working with “Fifth Sense,” a charity for people with taste and smell disorders. She lost her own sense of smell completely after contracting a virus in 2012 and is now experiencing some recovery. Chrissi writes, “The highlight thus far has been speaking at the UK Semiochemistry Network Conference at the University of Cambridge last year. It is estimated that five percent of the populations suffers from some sort of smell loss… Smell training promises to be a useful tool for those who are fortunate enough to get even a small amount of recovery from anosmia.” Chrissi encourages us all to take a deep breath on that next walk in the woods or when sitting down to your next meal, and most importantly, to appreciate your sense of smell, the least understood of the senses. Thank you for sharing your story, Chrissi—and we hope you continue healing.

In conclusion, it is with a heavy heart that I report the death of our classmate Paul Lenkeit, Babson Capital Management’s head of derivatives and insurance investments, whose more than two-decade career in markets began as a self-taught day trader in his spare time. He died unexpectedly on March 25 at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, during a vacation, said his wife, Lori Lenkeit. “Paul took great pride in his work and enjoyed a successful career,” his family wrote in an online obituary. “Paul was a kind, caring, devoted and selfless husband, father and brother.” Paul, an economics and math major, also had a passion for jazz. He regularly attended music festivals in Hartford and Newport, Rhode Island, near a summer home. In addition to his wife, survivors include their three children, Paul, Michael and Christine. He will be sorely missed by those who loved him and the many whose lives he touched. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family in South Windsor, Conn.

A 35th year Reunion highlight for me was sitting in Memorial Chapel during the distinguished alumni awards ceremony listening to David Potts ’60 give his closing remarks from his presentation about his book, Wesleyan University, 1910–1970. He said, “I hope my book will nurture our sense of family, and help us achieve one of our key liberal arts goals—a deeper self-knowledge. That goal is well-served when we collectively gain a new measure of institutional self-understanding. And for us as individuals, the quest for self-knowledge is enhanced when each of us knowingly remembers where we came from.” There were about 50 of us at Reunion who had the opportunity to share the experience of remembering from where we came and to collectively gain a new measure of institutional self-understanding. (See the Web class notes for a list of those who were among those the Reunion attendees—too long to add here!)

With Reunion memories Liz Sikes writes: “Catching up with Cesar Noble was the best surprise—especially when he e-mailed me a few weeks later to say his daughter was impressed that he knew someone like me, by which I think he means a college professor scientist studying climate change, but the best part was I was a woman. Made my day! Especially because he is a judge and here I was talking to him and Brad Moss (both judges!) thinking to myself—wow, I feel like everyone here is so much more successful than I! The funny thing is I can’t remember who said that out loud—but someone did… and I think that was the take home moment for me—what an amazing class we have –so many have come so far…I like being in this club!”

Melissa Stern writes: “I had a great time at Reunion. It was a great honor to have been asked to design a tee shirt for our 35th Reunion and I got a kick out of seeing many current students wearing it! It was a great weekend. I particularly enjoyed the ‘writer’ panel with Julie Burstein, Jennifer Finney Boylan and Rachel Basch—a rich and meaningful conversation among artists.”

Not in attendance….Susan Kravit writes: “I have lived in Washington State, first Seattle then Olympia, since 1982. My hobby of breeding flat coated retrievers kept me from attending Reunion, as I had a litter of eight puppies.”

Wendy Buskop writes: “My daughter, Jacqueline ’19, will attend Wesleyan in September.”

Janet Grillo writes: “I am delighted to be back in NYC, teaching full time as an arts professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts undergraduate film and television program. The second feature film I directed, Jack of the Red Hearts, starring Famke Janssen (Taken, X-Men) and AnnaSophia Robb (Carrie Diaries, The Way Way Back), won the jury prize at the inaugural Bentonville Film Festival, co-founded by actress/activist Geena Davis, to promote women and diversity. It will be in national theatrical release next winter. Like my first feature, Fly Away, this film also dramatized the impact of raising a child with autism.”

Wendy Davis Beard writes: “While still based in Sydney with our 12-year-old daughter, we traveled to New York last June to enroll Eliza in a three-week summer program at Columbia University. Whilst in America during the summer for the first time in many years, we took the opportunity to visit family in Cape Cod and Pam Mitchell in Maine, which was a real treat, as her husband Mark, a volunteer fireman, was able to carry me up and down the steep stairs to their beautiful sea front home. While able to climb a few steps with my quad stick, a whole flight is still a very big challenge. This past December while visiting my husband’s family in London, including two older daughters and two little granddaughters, we had a lovely lunch with Peter Eisenhardt who has been based in London with his family for over 30 years! I continue to write my memoir of recovery from cancer (now complete) and from my disabling stroke, a recovery which is ongoing—and am also writing fiction. Meanwhile, Peter has written an award-winning screen play.”
Michael Shulman writes: “I live in Ann Arbor, unexpected boom-town of the rust belt, with my wife and our two daughters. My wife is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, as I am. We’ve been in Ann Arbor since our meeting in grad school, except for an eight-year sojourn in Boca Raton, where we lived quite differently, grew mangoes and grapefruit, but ended up longing to return to a place where the intellect stood a better chance of growing.

Since leaving Wes, I’ve stayed in touch with Becky Hayden, Todd Martin ’81, Randy Baron, Christian Herold ’81 and Amanda Hardy. I would love to hear from Karen Murgolo, Claudia Lewis ’78, Leda Hartman ’81, Bradley Hess, or my COL mates from ’80 or ’81. Paul Schwaber ’57 and I, both psychoanalysts, have been in frequent touch in the past decade, despite having lost touch for the two before. A most wonderful recent reunion was sitting down with Henry Abelove in NYC, where we were presenting at the same conference. Maybe the most pleasant of all was hearing Henry’s account of his post-Wesleyan stints at ivy-covered schools whose students, however brilliant, preferred silence to vocal engagement.”

 

Let’s discuss how apples (and more) don’t fall very far from trees… As we huddle up to eyeball what’s going on with our classmate, Michael Goldman and his son, 10-year-old Max, and Mike’s 17-year-old nephew, Sam: Max is excelling at playing drums and Sam is competing in the NY State Wrestling Championship Finals. So Sam is clearly super-sporty but don’t let that fool you. Sam was also accepted at Harvard and missed a perfect SAT score by 60 points. Those are the Goldman ‘apples’. Meanwhile, Michael…As founding partner of NCredible Entertainment and Nick Cannon’s manager, he has been busy, y’all. In the last two months alone, they’ve shot 36 episodes of television for multiple networks; have now got 14 episodes of already greenlit material going into production and other amazing treats to come. All good stuff and here’s more talk of more ‘apples’ falling and whatnot:

Jonathan Fried’s daughter got accepted to Wesleyan—making him officially ’89 and P’19. We’re also hearing there are more ’89er’s offspring heading into the class of 2019. With all that ’89 energy, we’re thinking that class is already looking pretty promising!

Jennifer Levine represented the screenwriters for the movie Birdman, and was last seen celebrating the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

We heard from Jeffrey Bowne, who says that last year he left The Hartford Insurance Company (and the Hartford area) to move to northeast Pennsylvania and open up a Sky Zone indoor trampoline park. In his own words: “I bought a franchise with my brother-in-law and we opened in Sept. of 2014. It has been a lot of fun switching gears from corporate life to owning and running a 20,000 sq. foot trampoline park. We’ve met a lot of interesting people and have been fortunate to have more than 50,000 jumpers come through since we opened. I extend an open invite if anyone is passing thru Scranton on I-81.” Jump on it, people!

Eric Simon published his first solo-author college textbook, Biology: The Core. About a third of U.S. college students who take a general ed introductory biology course do so using one of Eric’s textbooks. Also, Eric was thrilled to have been invited last summer to speak as part of Wesleyan’s Summer Science Seminar series.

Amy Berk writes: “I am sorry to have missed Reunion last year but I was happy and energized to hear the reports of my classmates. I remain in the Bay Area and have been busy with my two sons (Benjamin, 10, and Jude, 6) and my wonderful husband Andy Cox (not a Wes alum but he loves going to all Wesevents such as the upcoming one with President Michael Roth ’78).” Amy has been teaching a variety of courses at the San Francisco Art Institute and also at the University of California, Berkeley, extension in the post-baccalaureate program visual arts program. Last summer, she had great family fun with some ’89rs around the country. She’s “already looking forward to the 30th Reunion—I can spin it as a college tour for my eldest!”

Doug Abel continues to work as a film editor here and there, but most of his time and effort is going to help abused and neglected farm animals with the organization he cofounded, Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. The rescue/educational facility is moving in spring 2015 to a new, 150-acre site about 90 minutes from NYC, and will now host summer camps and larger vegan-related events. He was tickled to see that Wes was picked “Most Vegan-Friendly College” in 2012. More info on his doings at WoodstockSanctuary.org.

We also heard from Denise Hill Day y’all. Yay! She and her daughter have moved to Houston. She writes: “All is good, settling in and getting to know this new….foreign land.”

Great stuff going on. ’Til next time…

jonathan fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com

MICHELE BARNWELL | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Hillary writes for this issue.

Greetings Wesleyan Class of 1988. By the time you read this, Boston may finally be starting to melt from the endless snow, and I might actually be able to see some pavement again.

My partner-in-class-notes-crime, Peter Bond, writes: “Zahra and I are settling into our new Rhode Island life. I’ve been able to connect with many area alums. On my birthday, Jim Maynard hosted a round of golf down in Westerly, R.I., with Oli Bennett, Stu Ellman, and me. I ran into Greg Waldron at an undergrad recruiting event in Providence.”

Len Besthoff and his wife and teenage daughters call South Windsor, Conn., home after stops including the Jersey Shore; Roanoke, Va.; and Raleigh, N.C. He sees Dave Hill fairly often, and they run the famous Manchester (CT) Road Race every Thanksgiving, along with the annual River to Sea Relay across New Jersey every summer. Len is now the chief investigative reporter for NBC Connecticut, where he interned during his senior year at Wes. He loves doing this type of reporting full-time, and mentoring young journalists. Len also teaches newswriting classes nearby.

I heard from Julie Schwarzwald: “After 20 years (with a few years of pure mommyhood in the middle) of teaching elementary school—public and private in New York, California, and New Jersey—I have had a career shift. As of July 1, I am the education and youth director at the East Brunswick Jewish Center. My responsibilities include being principal of the Hebrew School and overseeing the youth groups, along with whatever other Shabbat, family, and holiday programs come my way. I am enjoying the new challenges; my colleagues and congregants; and the feeling of being appreciated, respected, and treated as a professional—something that had become lacking in my teaching position. I think the best parts are the hours of leisure time gained by not having any papers to grade! In the meantime, Howard Bochner ’87 has been working for the United Steelworkers Union, based in Pittsburgh.”

And writing in for the first time… Peter Gager reports that he is a neuropsychologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda.

As for me, I’m keeping busy with the PhD program I run at MIT, and am still teaching a tango class at BU every week. I took up crochet as a hobby last year, and ended up opening an Etsy shop because the projects were taking over my apartment. It was fun completing items over the winter for Linda Brinen Stout and Bronwyn Poole.

Peter and I love hearing from you, so please keep writing in.

PETER v.s. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Dear Classmates:

Thanks for always writing in. Here goes.

Chris Tacy is still living in San Francisco. “I now work for Mozilla Corporation doing Corporate Development. I still travel a lot to Hawaii for outrigger paddling and surfing. I still rarely if ever see other Wes Alum, though I did see David Raymond and Jessica Glass last year in New York City, and had a lovely evening with Jon Lee in Portland a few months ago.”

Claire Conceison is a professor at Duke University but is spending 2014-2015 as a visiting professor at Harvard University and MIT, teaching courses on China, theater, and sports. She just wrote the introduction for a new edition of Arthur Miller’s book Salesman in Beijing (retitled Death of a Salesman in Beijing) being published by Bloomsbury (2015) for the hundredth anniversary of Miller’s birth. She spends weekends in NYC and would love to hear from Wesmates in NY, Boston, and NC.

Nancy (Dobrow) Bean writes that “Life is fun here in the Pioneer Valley – snow snow snow…!!  My family is great – oldest daughter is starting her Clinical Rotation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the middle child is looking at colleges and my youngest is working on becoming a famous pastry chef (she is 10 yrs old and a good planner.)  Mike Bean is selling Organic Coffee and I am busy planning the Nantucket Wine Festival.   I have been traveling a lot for work – France and Napa mostly – and our 19th annual NWF is around the corner – May 13-17, 2015.  Would love Wes alums to join us this year!! Eric Asimov, NY Times Wine Critic (and Wes class of 1980) will be there again… email me and you can get the special Wesleyan Pass…!!  nancy@nwfest.net.  Cheers!

Adam Joseph is alive and well and living in God’s country (Maplewood, NJ) with his lovely wife of nearly 24 years, Susan Kraham (Columbia ’87), three sons, two dogs and a cat. I tried to get my oldest son interested in Ole’ Wes but he chose Colby where he is a freshman. On the career front, I’ve worked in the muni finance business for the last 20 plus years, financing the infrastructure you use every day.  I don’t see too many Wes folks other than my dear friend, the magnificent Dan Bellow, but keep up with more on social media and think about many more of you often and fondly. Recently ran up to Middletown on a side trip from my middle son’s soccer camp, saw my old boss Brian O’Rourke and enjoyed a Graduate Omelet.

Lisa Pavlovsky “is now Manager of Scholarship programs for the SF-based Jewish community federation working half time so I can still be active in the schools of my two sons, ages 10 and 12. Still in regular touch with Elissa Wolf-Tinsman and Vivian Trakinski who are both doing well.  Can’t believe I’m turning 50 this year!”

Dorian Harding-Morick works at Yale University’s library system—and every once in a while travels the ½ hour or so to see Wes and Middletown.

Martha Haakmat writes: “On January 31st, a handful of Wes grads from ’87, and one kooky interloper from ’89, gathered together in Brooklyn to celebrate the group’s first dive into their 50th decade!  Rob Nix (now working at Penn State) turned 50, and Wes friends who celebrated with him in the home of Martha Haakmat and Stephen Warner were Gail Wheeler and Louis Canfield (’89).  Rob, Steve and Martha are planning a giant 50th birthday for them all this summer in Belize, where they will be joined by other friends from ’87, Brian Shelly, Nelly Taveras, Barney Berkowitz, Greg Barr, Wendy Trippe (’89) and Andy Kevy.

Steve Kaminsky married Leslie Repetto (UVA ’96) in March “and we’re expecting a daughter later in February. Had a great time working on two movies last year with Brad Fuller.  Enjoying life in Los Angeles.  Looking forward to fatherhood!”

John Katz and Lisa Dipko (’86) continue to enjoy living is sunny and dry dry dry San Francisco. I am going on 20 years at EPA, currently focusing on green electronics and safer consumer products. Lisa’s work at the VA nursing home continues to provide daily challenges, from flu outbreaks to new programs to marveling at the healing powers of the resident cat (see this link for pictures! http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Miley-VA-Medical-Center-s-healing-pet-cat-5024638.php). I’ve been kept busy coaching soccer and baseball for our 10-year-old Nicky, a particular challenge since I never really played baseball. Lisa sings in the San Francisco Soundwave, a women’s barbershop group that is known for their witty parodies and awesome costumes. We have kept in touch with Michael Foster who is a professor of folklore at Indiana University, though he has spent the better part of the last several years doing research in Japan. Simon Heart and Johanna Van Hise continue to live in Boulder CO with their three kids. Johanna has recently launched her nursing career after a resolute effort to get into and through nursing school. Locally we cross paths with Darya Mead having shared a preschool, and Mark Mowrey who works at EPA (and whose son recently graduated from Wes).

“Joan Morgan here. I’m a doctoral candidate in American Studies at NYU. I was recently awarded the 2015 Woodrow Wilson Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies for my dissertation The Pleasure Principle: Moving From a Politics of Silence To Politics.”

Sarah Plagenz Liepert “intended to write in a year ago, after a wonderful visit with fellow Foss 6-er Marc Benoff. Marc was in Boston on business from Philadelphia, and joined our family for an evening in Lincoln. Marc and I hadn’t seen each other since 1989! Fortunately, we recognized each other — despite his shorter haircut, and my braces (now off!). Marc was in Asia during our 25th reunion, so I shared some of that news. He sent shout-outs to Brad Lubin, Eric Leifer, Johanna Van Hise and many others (sorry — this is why I should have written when the memories were fresh). Marc and his wife have a daughter at Skidmore and a son who is a senior in high school. I had the pleasure of attending my freshman roommate Jenifer Goldman Fraser’s daughter Sasha’s bat mitzvah in February 2014. Sasha is a very accomplished young woman — no surprise! It was also a treat to see Jenifer’s parents, who are ageless. They looked just as young as when I met them in 1983.We now have two in high school: our son is a senior (all the college apps are in!) and our daughter is a freshman. Various sports, drama, and community service keep our family busy. For my part, I enjoy playing in several competitive tennis leagues (singles and doubles) throughout the year.

Natalie Diffloth sent this “Briefest of the brief updates: I’m in graduate school at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany, and am very excited to almost be done with my thesis in Transcultural Studies! Sending a big hello to all my old friends out there.”

John Penney: “Living in Santa Monica CA with wife Julie Rousseau and daughter Celeste Penney.  Working as Chief Strategy Officer for Starz Networks and trying to build a crystal ball to predict the future of media.”

Holly Campbell Ambler is “still living in Cambridge with my husband and two teenage daughters.  I’m working part-time as a child and family social worker. I keep up with Trish and John Dorsey, Doug Koplow and his wife Michele, and Dennis Mahoney and his wife Karen, connecting for dinners, plays, and musical events in Boston. I also see Barbara Lewis frequently, as we went to Simmons School of Social Work together (as “older” students) and now practice in the same field.

Kimberly (Jackson) DuMont works at the William T. Grant Foundation as a senior program officer. For the past 25 years I have been happily married to Mark DuMont (who received his masters from Wesleyan in 1987) and we have two boys and a spirited, 11 year old poodle. Jackson, our oldest son, is a sophomore at Wesleyan who hopes to major in film and Russian studies. Alex, is a high school senior. He is soon bound for Brandeis where he will continue studying music and venture into philosophy. When life slows down, we venture to Maine to spend time off the grid at a small cabin in the woods. Life is good!

Liz Kromelow-Dietz writes “Both my boys are at Wes now and loving it, Max Dietz ’16 and James Dietz ’18. I’m playing ice hockey most days. Still playing bridge. The life of an empty nester.”

Sheila Rhatigan Arcelona “still lives in San Francisco, still works for the District Attorney, happily married to Steve, raising a teenage daughter … San Francisco is changing before my eyes but I still wouldn’t want to live anywhere else … interesting and challenging times.”

Mick Malter wrote that “Jill and I had a busy fall, doing both high school applications for my daughter Astrid, and college applications for my son Ted. Guess which was more work… correct, the NYC high school applications!  Old news, but last year, when my son was a junior in high school, we took advantage of the Wesleyan college prep weekend for alum and staff.  It was a great weekend on campus, getting familiar with the college application process, and seeing Wes. In the small world dept, my daughter goes to school with Helen Reiss’ (nee?) son, and my son goes to school with Dana Goldberg’s daughter. I now have 22 years with the FDNY, and was excited to spend part of last summer on the fire/rescue boats, working the waters all around NY City.”

Sometimes I just have to print a submission as is, like this one from Linda Malias Passaro. “New career road taking me to Rockville MD as COO Chesapeake Bay Candle. Building global home fragrance multi Branded company. Factories in China. Vietnam and USA. Thinking back on what Wes taught me. How Wes prepared me. 3 kids learning a telecommuting mom life. Oldest Leeann at Lawrenceville school junior looking for liberal arts life. Allissa starting HS. Luke 13 starting his first company jewelry line called Luv Picks. Life full. Learned old Wes boyfriend Matthew Delson passed away last year. Life fragile. Enjoyed speaking on career panel at Wes last Feb seeing old familiar faces. Muzzy Rosenblatt and David Hill. Reconnecting with Joanne Melikian and Liza Barrett. Peace in 2015. O.A.R song Peace my go to.”

Lisa Ranghelli is “writing from snowy, cold Western Massachusetts, where I’ve finally embraced winter after 13 years of living here by learning to cross country ski. Better late than never…The rest of the time I (a) raise my son, Noah, who is 12, about to surpass me in height, and obsessed with Magic the Gathering; and (b) telecommute to my job at a national philanthropic research and advocacy organization in DC (National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy), where I’ve been for 7 years and currently lead a project that evaluates large foundations. I also participate in a cool drumming group, Offbeat Womyn’s Drumming Ensemble. I recently hosted Janet Lieberman, who lives in eastern MA, and during the fall I saw Karen Goldenberg on one of her visits home to Amherst from San Francisco. Last summer I rendezvoused with another long-time San Franciscan, Rachael Nusbaum (’88) and her family in Reston, VA to celebrate her birthday. On that topic, I’m looking forward to lots of 50th birthday celebrations with fellow Wes alum this year!

Maureen (Mo) Craig’s oldest son is now a sophomore at Amherst, so we’ve begun legal proceedings to officially disown him.  :-).  Next kid in line for college is currently a sophomore in high school and is interested in any school with a crew team, so Wes might even make the short list.  We’ve really enjoyed the college tour process–and that’s good because we will get to do it four times over. Indeed, life is grand.

From David Josephs: Professionally, after tiring of doing financial services, credit cards, and healthcare transactions, I recently left JPMorgan Chase after 12 years to join First Data, where I’ll be doing financial services, credit cards, and healthcare transactions. But with a different business card. My wife, Holly, and I visited my dad in southern California in December where we took a great hike in the hills and had a fantastic dinner with David Igler and Cindy Willard.  [Wit and Flash, I can already hear you giving me crap for not calling but it was a quick trip, I promise, and we spent a whole day at the Huntington Library with my dad, somehow managing not to see Blue Boy, and didn’t even get outside of Pasadena.]  Aside from that, just typical life in the Chicago suburbs, shoveling snow and looking forward to spring (which I assume will have arrived by the time this sees print).

Amy Baltzell is “living on Cape Cod with my husband while we are both professors at Boston University.  We have three kids: Zoey who loves her unicycle and tap dancing, Luke who loves computer programming and basketball and Shayna who hit 5’8” and loves to dance ballet. I have a book coming out this year, A Cambridge Companion to Mindfulness and Performance.  I am finding meditation a great pathway to joy and appreciation for life just as it is.

Lastly, I am very sad to report that our dear classmate, Annie Ravitz, passed away at the end of January.

Much love to you all,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf

wolfabj@gmail.com

Hope you had a great summer, and we look forward to seeing you on campus next spring for our 30th Reunion. You can already save the date: May 19-22!

Eric Howard | ehoward86@gmail.com

Caroline writing this time, from sunny Negril, Jamaica, where I am on a yoga retreat, which beats February in DC. Let me take a moment to exhort you to come to our 30th Reunion in May—I will be road-tripping with Jolynn Jones and Hillary Hess. I encourage you to get your buds together and head to Middletown. You can register at wesconnect.wesleyan.edu.

I got a nice note from Meg Dunham Dempsey: “I’m in Stamford, Conn., where my husband, Greg, and I have lived for 22 years. After a 15-year business career, I switched gears to be more involved with my young children’s daily lives and to improve the public schools. I worked as a substitute teacher, volunteered as a tutor and mentor for underserved children and worked for 10 years in an advocacy role for the Stamford public schools. I also coached soccer, lacrosse, and sailing. Four years ago I started a business tutoring high school math and SAT and ACT prep. I continue to serve as a volunteer tutor in the public schools.

“Our oldest daughter, Kim, graduated from Bowdoin last May and is teaching high school chemistry in Queens. Our second daughter, Ellie ’18, is a freshman, taking advantage of all Wesleyan has to offer, and our son, Will, was just accepted ED2 to Wesleyan for the class of 2019! It’s so exciting to be back on campus.

“I can’t wait for our 30th Reunion and look forward to seeing everyone in May. Anyone who danced under the tent at our 25th remembers how amazing it was! Those who didn’t need to experience it!” I absolutely second that!

KT Whaley wrote with some fun news: “Ellen Korbonski and I spent some time together at her daughter’s gymnastics meet at Chelsea Piers in Connecticut. It was great to reconnect, watching the kids do those amazing stunts! I’ve also connected with Martha Haakmat ’87; we are colleagues in Montessori education and discovered we share a lot of same values, including as turns out, our alma mater! My eldest daughter, Sarah (18!), was accepted at Newhouse School at Syracuse, and my younger, Emma becomes a bat mitzvah this spring, with my sister, Rabbi Jamie Korngold.

“I am organizing the second annual Pathways to a Peaceful School Conference for heads of school, teachers, and parents of children in Montessori schools, on July 23, 2015, in White Plains, N.Y.”

Toby Milgrome writes: “My husband’s work was featured in the Feb. 9, 2015, issue of TIME magazine, in an article called ‘The next best thing to a cure.’ My son, David, developed type 1 diabetes just before his first birthday. I had been a pediatrician for about two years when he got sick, and was able to get him diagnosed very quickly. David went from being a happy and active toddler, to a skinny, fatigued, spacey kid in less than one week. I brought him to see my partner and David perked up and pretended to be normal, just before he would have slipped into a diabetic coma and died. Luckily, my partner listened to my observations about his behavior over the past week—decreased activity, loss of normal interests, weight loss, lots of drinking and urinating. I was suspecting diabetes even though it is uncommon is someone so young. She got his labs and he was admitted to our ICU that night. Over the years Ed and I taught ourselves to be experts in the care of diabetes in such a tiny person. Knowing this as a parent, pediatrician (for me) and biomedical engineer (for Ed), we started dreaming about automating the treatment to take the endless data gathering and decision-making out of the chronic care. Thirteen years later, the work is actually almost done! Ed and his former graduate student, Firas El Khatib, have developed a bionic pancreas that has been tested in hundreds of volunteers with type 1 diabetes in hospital, summer camp, and home and work settings. It produces phenomenal blood sugar control. The person who wears the device needs to keep it up and running, but the bionic pancreas makes all dosing decisions and keeps the blood sugar nearly normal, nearly all of the time. This will prevent nearly all acute and chronic consequences of the disease while also making diabetes much less of a burden for people with it day in and day out. It is the next best thing to a cure!” That is really interesting!

That’s it for this time; let’s catch up in person on Foss Hill in May.

CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com

MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Hello, Classmates. This is Michael Steven again, reporting, Roger will be your host next time around.

Mark Randles brings us sad news about classmate John Koch, who passed away on Jan. 30 from complications following a cardiac arrest in August caused by a blood clot. John was a member of the cross-country team at Wesleyan, as well as the Restless Knights (and was often heard singing as he made his way across campus).

Ellen Prager acknowledges Mark in turn: Mark’s daughter, Ellie, has become one of Ellen’s best test-readers for her Shark Rider series. (The second book, for middle graders, will be published in May.)

Tom Oey has been living in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China (home town of his wife, Liping Zhang) since 2003. They have two children, Beatrice, 13, and Mark, 10. In October 2013 Tom began a second PhD in global studies at Leipzig University, Germany, writing a dissertation on A Comparative Cultural History of Java and the West, 1814-1817.

Roger Mitty continues his transition from being a practicing gastroenterologist into a suit-wearing hospital administrator. He is now CEO at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Boston, where he had practiced for 20 years. He’s still practicing a bit, but is spending more time with spreadsheets than with colonoscopies these days.

Stephanie Fleischmann has been busy writing. Her musical, The Secret Lives of Coats (music by Christina Campanella), premiered at the Redeye Theatre in October, and made two Best of Minneapolis lists. She’s working on opera librettos for two world premieres: The Property, a Klezmer opera based on the graphic novel by Rutu Modan, for Chicago Lyric’s Lyric Unlimited; and The Long Walk at Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs. She teaches playwriting at Skidmore College.

Michael Lewyn is maintaining a website on the public transit system in Kansas City, to encourage less reliance on automobiles. mlewyn.wix.com/autofreekc

Cathy Reich is sad to report the death of a dear friend, Susan Eakins, who was founder and operator of Montana’s only vegan farmed animal sanctuary, New Dawn. Cathy took over for her friend, overseeing the rehoming of the remaining animals. Some of the cows were relocated within Montana, including the Unsinkable Molly Brown cow (who escaped from a slaughterhouse, led the police on a six-hour chase, and received an official pardon). She is working to ban trapping on public lands, and to outlaw “varmint-killing” tournaments. She recommends Wesleyan’s “How To Change The World” course on Coursera, when it is offered again.

Paul Landau got promoted to full professor at the University of Maryland History Department, renewed contact with the family of his old research assistant in Botswana, and began writing a new book on revolutionaries in South Africa in the early 1960s. Not to mention developing a fear of transoceanic air travel. He has two daughters: Zoe, who makes better jokes than he does, and Penelope, who has taken up figure skating. His wife, Emily, is at work on a book about country music, murder ballads, and social history (while teaching).

J. Peder Zane writes that the University of South Carolina Press will publish his fourth book, a collection of newspaper columns, titled Off the Books: On Literature and Culture, in May.

As recently reported on Wesconnect, in February Shawn Dove began serving as CEO for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement. The program was previously a part of the Open Society Foundations but will now operate on its own. Shawn, who previously managed the campaign at the Open Society Foundations, will bring his 20-plus years of experience working in education, youth development, and community building to his new role. He and his team aspire to: “ensure the growth, sustainability, and impact of leaders and organizations committed to improving the life outcomes of Black men and boys.”

Finally, I want to give a public shout-out and huge thanks to Stuart Remensnyder, who came to my rescue last month. We sent my son off on a bus back to college on a Saturday, not realizing that the dorms weren’t open until the next day; Stu lived close by and swooped in to take him in. Good thing I was nice to him during our year in Gingerbread House.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

I’m sitting here on a Saturday night in early February just after the “winter storm of the century!” LOLs: we only had six inches! I’m listening to sappy Spanish love songs and writing these Class Notes. What can I say, Spanish love songs make me happy and I have no life! Judging from the few responses to my e-mail asking for info from everyone, I have to conclude you all are as busy as I am, running in too many directions. I’m in the homestretch, frantically writing, re-writing and rewriting (did I say rewriting?) my dissertation. I heard from just a few classmates, so these notes will be brief.

Glenn Lunden writes, “I was invited to visit the campus this past fall by the History Department, to give a lunchtime ‘History Matters’ talk to majors (and other interested parties). In my presentation, ‘History Track-Career Track-Railroad Track,’ I spoke about how majoring in history could be relevant to many different career paths. (Perhaps the real reason the History Department invited me to speak is that they were curious how a history major ended up in charge of scheduling New York subway trains.) The students asked a lot of insightful questions; everyone wants to know about the subway, it seems. Afterwards, my life-partner, Frank Meola, and I enjoyed a fine lunch with my thesis adviser, Ron Schatz, and the chair of the History Department, Magda Teter.” Thanks for the update, Glenn. I’d be curious to understand what safety measures the transit authority is taking to ward off any bad doings by bad people. Also, I’m curious about what you think of New Jersey’s infamous “Bridge-gate” affair!

Janet Lambert Preston writes “I teach at Unity College in Maine—the first to divest from fossil fuels!” Pretty cool, Janet. I wonder what other measures the college is taking towards ecological sustainability. It is certainly a growing industry and I hope one here to stay for the long haul.

John Fixx shares, “Two years ago I left a school in Waterbury, Conn., after having served schools as head for 15 years, and my wife and I moved to our beach house in Madison, Conn. Right back into the frying pan, I took a position as head of school at The Country School in town, relishing the short commute. I also coach cross-country and get exercise by jumping to conclusions and dodging the issues. My wife, Liza, and I have two children of the usual ages, with our son a senior at Boston University and our daughter a sophomore at the University of Vermont, near our vacation house, which is convenient for her and her marauding friends. In honor of our son’s graduation, we are off to France this summer for a spell and then back to work. I am up at Wesleyan once a week, training with a bunch of other geriatrics on the indoor and outdoor tracks. I’m so proud of what the Little University was and what it has become.” Agreed, John, “Who knew?!”

I hope to get back to Wes one day soon. I did visit Marina Melendez Virgadula, with my daughter, Hillary, a few winters ago. We had a great time catching up. Definition of a good friend: It may be years since you see one another, but when you do, it is as if no time has elapsed at all!

Heather Rae writes, “I’ve left Maine for Northern Virginia where my partner, Aubrey Gail, and I are building a functional health practice. I am studying for a health coach certificate with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and digging into neuro-endocrine testing and more, with intention of coaching Aubrey’s chiropractic patients along their wellness path.” I like the holistic approach, Heather.

I’ve been part of a medical legal partnership at a Newark hospital pediatric department, which is modeled after one in Boston. We provide ‘upstream’ service delivery, including assistance with medical and educational issues, and a complete social worker work-up to help low income children and their families get the public assistance and educational services they need in order to reduce family stress and improve medical outcomes for the child. (Phew, that was a mouthful!) I’m evaluating the program and as a sociologist also interested in the factors the enhance or constrain the collaborative processes across professional disciplines. Collaborative research is in its infancy and one I plan to research further. Mostly, I’ve been doing a lot of grant writing and talking to venture capitalists in order to find outside sources to keep this project and others like it up and running in Newark and the surrounding urban centers.

Eileen Kelly-Aguirre is enjoying good health after a trying 2014. She left the boarding school world, moved to Massachusetts, and is now executive director of School Year Abroad. Glad to hear the good news, Eileen. Be well!

Lastly, Cat Maguire (that is Maguire with a “g” not Maquire with a “q” as I mistakenly wrote last time—so sorry, Cat) shares she “has been teaching internationally for the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies in Belgium and Mexico, along with her stateside teaching in Charlottesville, Va., and at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. It makes for a hectic schedule, but husband David Campanelli and youngest son Keegan have been doing a great job holding down the home front!

Thanks all for your contributions. Until the next time, Namaste.

LAURIE Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu