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Madeleine Perez wrote to share happy news: “We had the honor of having our son Dylan’s Bar Mitzvah here in LA in May 2025. But even better is that our amazing rabbi is also a Wesleyan alum—Rabbi Jon Hanish ’84. He did such a great job, and it was an honor to have that Wes connection on such a special day. If you’re in LA come say hi at Temple Kol Tikvah.” Mazel tov to your family, Madeleine!
Ben Helphand wrote: “This summer I published Berries for Bloomingdale: The Serviceberry Cookbook, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Chicago’s Bloomingdale Trail, which I helped to create. It’s an ode to foraging and features recipes from neighbors and a few far-flung serviceberry (aka juneberry) enthusiasts. Like the trail, it was a true community effort, celebrating the fruit of the native berry.”
We are thrilled to learn about a new kind of berry! Congratulations on the cookbook, Ben!
Sara Kate Gillingham wrote: “Wow, it was a big year. In June I turned 50 and a long relationship ended just days later; I finished grad school in August; and became an empty nester (my daughter found a great home at Oberlin!). I’m enjoying swimming through the winter in Coney Island, dancing constantly, and working as a couples and individual therapist. I have a rich and busy social life but wouldn’t mind any reconnections with Wesleyan pals. Drop me a line! skgillingham@gmail.com.” Happy birthday, and congratulations on completing grad school and all your amazing news, Sara.
Andrew Frishman, we always love your “Wesleyan-adjacent highlights.” Keep ’em coming!
“In November I went to a talk at Boston University by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak [now retired professor of ancient Greek history at Wesleyan]. I brought my son along, ran into a bunch of Wesleyan alumni, and it was genuinely fun to feel that Wes energy in the room.
“I recently attended a design sprint in Palo Alto, focused on imagining what high school could look like in the future, especially with AI in the mix. Totally unexpected bonus: a delightful reunion with Ussuri Yu ’99 (we lived on the same hall when I was an RA in Hewitt 10 during 1995–1996), and another Wesleyan alum was there too, Ingrid Wong ’96.
“A week later, Leigh (Needleman) ’96 and I went to a wonderful Hanukkah party hosted by Fawn Phelps and her husband, Mike Mittelman. Great to see Alisa Khan there as well, plus other Wesleyan folks in the mix.
“The following week I was in NYC and got to see fellow Wes alum Maxwell Bigman ’14, and also Ethan Gordon (a current Wesleyan student, and the child of my colleague Dr. Pamela Gordon).
“And one more happy Wes connection: Leigh and I and our kids, who are now 16 and 13, continued a tradition of sharing a just-after-Thanksgiving meal with Laura Warren ’98, her husband, Alan, and their kids, which was really delightful.”
The weekend before Thanksgiving, Sasha Lewis-Reisen and her 11th grader attended Wesleyan’s Admission 101: Know Before You Go “two-day series of workshops about the joy that is the college admissions process (not just for Wes, although how amazing would that be!). “We ran into old friends and made new ones—so many fellow alumni and Wes staff attended with their kids. It’s an amazing and thoughtful program. If you are in the Middletown area the weekend before Thanksgiving when your kid is in the 11th grade, please consider it. And the kids got to attend real classes! (Which is, surprisingly, very rarely an option on college tours, as I’m finding out.) Apparently, Wesleyan has been running this program for decades. Go Wes!”
We wish everyone a kind and healthy spring and summer, and we are looking forward to seeing all at our May 2027 reunion!
Jess and Sasha
JESSICA SHEA LEHMANN | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com
ALEXANDRA (SASHA) LEWIS-REISEN | alewisreisen@gmail.com