Tag: 1984

Jeff Hush, together with Dar Williams ’89, Banning Eyre ’79, Professor Chris Chenier, and George Perez ’20, has launched the Middletown Green Community Center in Middletown, Conn., with the intention of taking over the building at 51 Green Street, a building that Wesleyan previously operated. MGCC is in negotiations with the City of Middletown over this building. Dar held a benefit concert for MGCC on Mother’s Day at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

MGCC is a collaboration between Wesleyan alumni and Middletown community leaders. Its mission is to improve the lives of underserved people and families in Middletown and the surrounding towns by developing high-tech skills, instilling healthier lifestyles through training in food and movement, and instruction in the musical, visual, and performing arts. To find out more, visit middletowngreencc.org.

Effective April 5, Jeff Neuman was named senior vice president, corporate secretary, and general counsel of Tronox Limited, a global mining and inorganic chemicals company. Jeff previously served as vice president, corporate secretary, and deputy general counsel of Honeywell International Inc.

In May, Arthur Haubenstock started as executive director of the California Efficiency and Demand Management Council. The Council is the trade association for energy efficiency and energy demand-side management in California, which has one of the most advanced markets for the demand side of the energy equation but, according to Arthur, still has far to go as one of the last major sectors of the economy to be disrupted.

Vicky Fish and her husband, Hugh Huizenga (Williams ’84), are excited that their twins, Andrew ’18 and Noah (Hamilton’18) graduated from college. Their youngest, Peter, is in Chile for a semester abroad. They live in Vermont, and Vicky completed her MSW and is a therapist at a community mental health clinic, working with the seriously mentally ill, which she finds very challenging and worthwhile.

Lee McIntyre has a new book out called Post-Truth (MIT Press, 2018), which is about the problem of “fake news” and “alternative facts” in today’s political arena. CNN named it a Book of the Week in April and it is an Amazon best seller.

Paul Gross is living in Seattle but has moved from software and not-for-profit board management to full-time work in clinical research for cerebral palsy (one of his son’s two neurological conditions). Paul is running a 21-center clinical research network with sites and multiple medical disciplines across the country. With this work came an adjunct appointment as an associate professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine. As a self-described “old dad,” Paul is trying his best to keep up with his first kid, who enters high school next year.

Jeddy Lieber spent a great year with his family in New York, where his daughters did a sophomore high school year at Saint Ann’s. He saw his son graduate from Penn. The family will be moving back to Paris in the fall.

Since 1999, Randy Frisch has run LoveCat Music, a music publishing company specializing in placing songs in films and TV shows. He’s had success with the music of Wesleyan alumni, including Caroline Horn, Gary Mezzi ’83, Bill Anschell ’83, Chris Erikson ’87, Dimitri Ehrlich ’87, and Brian McKenna ’04.

We are sad to report that our classmate, the Rev. Virginia H. Wilcox, died on Dec. 28 at Saint Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn. After receiving her undergraduate degree in religion, Ginny received her MDiv degree from Yale Divinity School. She was ordained in the New York Conference and served the following United Methodist churches in Connecticut: First UMC in Stamford, Summerfield UMC in Bridgeport, Middletown, Winsted, and Derby. She retired in 2016. According to her friends, she was a gifted preacher, an eloquent writer, and a talented artist. She was proud to receive the Reneen Steinberg Humanitarian Award for excellence in human services.

Heidi Ravis reports that efforts remain underway to collect donations to have a tree dedicated to our dear friend, Nancy Crown who died, on the Wesleyan campus. The plan is to have a ceremony at our 35th Reunion in 2019. Funding for this is being handled by way of donations to Wesleyan. Heidi advises that if you would like to contribute, you can do so through Wesleyan’s website, or by mail or phone. Just be sure to indicate that your donation is in memory of Nancy Crown, Class of 1984. A contact in the alumni office will track the donations. If you know of anyone else who might want to contribute, please share this information with them. Feel free to contact Heidi with any questions at hbravis@gmail.com.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven reporting this month. Jonathan Sadowsky, the Catele Professor of Medical History at Case Western Reserve, received a contract from Polity Books for his new book Depression: A History.

Michael “Misi” Polgar writes from a snowy valley in northeastern Pennslyvania, where he teaches sociology at Penn State while helping to raise three daughters. He writes about topics related to the Holocaust and human rights education.

Susie Kang Sharpe is enjoying life as a physician-artist in southwest Missouri. While practicing internal medicine she managed to be in 24 exhibits last year. Learn more at susiesharpe.net. She is grateful that both medicine and art continue to be fulfilling careers. She has become quite a world traveler and an avid tennis player.

Gail Farris has reached a milestone—her daughter, Kim’ 14, married her high school sweetheart in June. No grandchildren in the works yet! Kim is teaching biology at a local high school. Her other daughter, Jen ’16, works in Atlanta, but is hoping to change jobs to one that aligns more with her interest in urban planning and public health. Anyone have ideas? Her son, Dean, strayed from his Wesleyan lineage and is a sophomore at Harvard, where he is making a splash on the swim team. She loves keeping up with the pulse of Wesleyan by hosting the Wesleyan Spirits (men’s a cappella group) each spring as they make their way south for spring break.

Kari (Friedman) Collier has started writing and giving sermons at her place of worship, an Episcopalian church in the diocese of Ohio. She says that once the juices get flowing (writing juices, that is), it has been fairly easy, and very rewarding. Kari says “hello” to everyone who lived in Foss 4 with her, freshman year.

Our near-classmate Steve Bacher ’83 is running for Congress in the 8th District of Pennsylvania, in the Democratic Primary in May. Learn more about his campaign at stevebacher.com. He is being assisted by Mary Melchior ’83.

Anthony Mohl, who is running a permaculture adventure in the middle of the jungle on an island in Thailand, writes: “Soooo tired of the same positive only news…I’ve gone from investment banker and director of portfolio management at a Wall Street firm at 32, divorced with two kids at 35. At 36 was running the bank in Europe for six years. Never believed in marriage again and was in a relationship with a marathon runner and triathlete for nine years in Paris. For three years ran the bank and studied psychology with my girlfriend at René Descartes, Paris 5 (previously known as La Sorbonne). Gave up banking and graduated with high honors as a state group psychologist before being trained as a psychoanalyst for families and couples. This did not prevent my girlfriend and me from breaking up.”

That’s pretty much all the news.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger is reporting this month…and here is our news:

Ruth Epstein and Chip Smith started a financial and strategic advisory firm called BGP Advisors to help companies in the emerging legal cannabis market navigate the space. Ruth finds these to be very exciting times, especially in California, and she and Chip are running as fast as they can to keep up with market opportunities. They are, of course, happy to talk to anyone interested or involved in this area.

On the personal side, Ruth’s son, Max, graduated from University of California, Berkeley in December with a double major in music and philosophy and is working as an SAT/ACT tutor. Son Alex is a junior at University of California, Santa Cruz, studying philosophy. Ruth would love to catch up with any classmates who find themselves on the left coast.

Chuck Schneider is very happy with a career change he made in May. He left his private practice of 22 years and returned to academic medicine as an oncologist at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he did his medical oncology fellowship training years ago. Chuck is a clinical professor of medicine with responsibilities that include teaching the fellows, directing clinical trials, and seeing patients.

Speaking of career changes, Rick Okuno has put an end to a 30-year career in financial services and is working as a freelance consultant in Tokyo. He encourages everyone to visit the weird and wonderful world of Japan.

Shakir Farsakh and his family moved to Dubai, where Shakir is the principal commercial officer for the U.S. Consulate in Dubai. The posting will last four years. They make their home in a villa by the beach, and Shakir’s daughter is starting at the Swiss Scientific International School, an IB program with alternating weeks of instruction in French and English.

Julie Reiss is the director of modern and contemporary art and the market, a graduate program at Christie’s Education, New York. The program trains students looking for careers in the art world.

Molly B. Willey Tierney has lived in Santa Cruz since 1987, acquired a husband, produced three kids, and owns a house, a car, and a dog. She works up the coast at a small elementary school. She loves living in a coastal town, near a big city, surrounded by redwoods.  Being a mom continues to be the most fantastic thing she’s ever experienced, and dancing is what brings her the most joy.

Michael Zelig has moved to Gulf Breeze, Fla., and is practicing gastroenterology at the Medical Center Clinic in Pensacola.

Francesca Jenkins’ third poetry chapbook collection, Autumn Rumors, has been accepted for publication by CW Books and is slated for publication next fall. Francesca writes and publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Her latest blog, which is doing really well, was started in the wake of the 2016 election and features weekly interviews with poets, writers, and other artists; it was launched in an effort to keep inspiration and networks alive in the arts community: writersnreadersii.blogspot.com.

In other publishing news, Charles Huschle’s first book of short stories has been published and is available now on Amazon. Mother Firetrucker Riffs on Love is a collection of short, short stories that take snapshots of relationships, love, death, sex, and family. More info at charleshuschle.com/writing.

Finally, Heidi Ravis has inquired about having a tree on the Wesleyan campus dedicated to our late classmate and dear friend of many of us, Nancy Crown. The plan is to have a ceremony at our 35th Reunion in 2019. Funding for this is being handled by way of donations to Wesleyan. Heidi advises that if you would like to contribute, you can do so through the website, or by mail or phone. Just be sure to indicate that your donation is in memory of Nancy. A contact in the alumni office will track the donations. If you know of anyone else who might want to contribute, please share this information with them. Feel free to contact Heidi with any questions at hbravis@gmail.com.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Joel A. Fein is closing in on three decades at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, practicing pediatric emergency medicine and leading a multi-level violence prevention initiative. The program promotes and researches community and hospital-based programs in the greater Philadelphia area. Next year, all three of Joel’s boys, Ethan, Seth and Jay, will be attending The University of Pennsylvania and finding their inner science geeks. Joel adds that the last remnant of his Wes legacy hopes were dashed in one early decision gone bad (or good, for Jay). His wife, Vicky, has been in the same pediatrics practice since the two of them finished residency together. They are spending a lot more time on the Chesapeake and loving it.

Michael R. Heydenburg recently published an article in The American Intelligence Journal’s special issue on denial and deception. Michael’s article, “The Ponzi Scheme as a Deception Operation: The Bernie Madoff Case Study,” uses the Madoff scandal as a case study to explore some characteristics of intelligence and military deception operations and suggest areas of future research and development for intelligence and military denial and deception professionals. Michael continues his work for the government on intelligence matters and is based in New York after a period in the D.C. area.

Rhonda Lees is now senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the American Bankers Association. Rhonda reports her new colleagues are terrific and the work is interesting. She is excited to pivot to the trade association world after serving in the charity arena for so long. She is in touch with and sees several Wes people, including Michael R. Heydenburg, Lisa Nevans Locke ’85, John Pomeranz ’85, Daphne Kwok, and Maral Kibarian Skelsey. With the encouragement of Stephen McCarthy ’75, Rhonda is serving as chair of the D.C. chapter of Wesleyan Alumni in Philanthropy and Public Service. There are plans to revitalize the group in 2017, so please reach out to Rhonda if you would like to participate or to just learn more.

Simone Zelitch’s fifth novel, Judenstaat, was published last May by Tor/Macmillan and will be out in paperback in January 2018. It’s an alternative history where a Jewish State is established in Germany rather than Palestine as a direct answer to the Holocaust, and as such, sets the state in the middle of post-WWII Cold War politics. Critical reviews have been favorable.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Greetings, Fellow classmates. Michael Steven reporting this month. First up are my Gingerbread House alumni Peter Stine and Michael (“Misi”) Polgar. Peter, who chairs the department of physics and engineering at Bloomsburg University, reports the birth of his son, Milo, last April. Peter also referees roller derby. Misi lives with his family near Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and teaches sociology at Penn State; he’d like to hear from classmates on any topic, especially the Holocaust and human rights education.

Gail Farris joins the rest of us recent empty-nesters after dropping her son, Dean, off at Harvard. Her daughter, Kim ’14, is engaged and will marry her high-school sweetheart next June. Her other daughter, Jen ’16, just graduated from Wes this year.

Alison Picher is a registered reverend of psychic healing and reading, and officiated her first wedding this summer at (appropriately enough) the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. She is also a pet psychic, helping humans communicate with their pets. Her website is alisonstanton.co (that’s co, not com). Her husband, Chris Allan ’83, started a consulting business as a social change evangelist, doing international evaluations and trainings on climate change adaptation and development. He’s spent many months in countries near the Sahara Desert this year. His website is chrisallan.info.

Alison also tells a story of Lisa Rein and Bonnie Auslander searching for Bonnie’s cat in the Colorado mountains, and attending a Sting/Peter Gabriel concert in Seattle with Deborah Wang. Alison’s daughter, Nina, spent the year in Boston and ran into Andrea Roman in a coffee shop. Nina works at NIH in malaria research, and Alison’s son, Ben, has moved out and works at a health food store.

Steve Herzog only had time to write that his daughter is a senior at Kenyon.

Jonathan Sadowsky has a book coming out from Routledge Press, Electroconvulsive Therapy in America: The Anatomy of a Medical Controversy. He completed nine years as the chair of the history department at Case Western Reserve University and remains on the faculty.

Joseph Pieropan was named Prosecutor of the Year in recognition of his 29 years as an assistant district attorney in the Berkshire District Attorney’s office. He lives in Pittsfield, Mass., with his wife, Amy, seven dogs, and two cats.

Li Wen is a design principal at Gensler LA, directing a variety of projects. She lives the urban life in Central Hollywood, and is a board member of LA Contemporary Exhibits. She enjoys exploring the various natural and urban landscapes of LA and California.

Mitzi Fennel sent us a wonderful picture. She and her 77 Home Ave. classmates get together every couple of years, and this year she was in Cancun with David Booker, Lesley Berglund, Larry Hafetz, Kevin McGowan, and Jennifer Hutchinson McGowan ’85.

Finally, some very sad news. Our classmate, Nancy Myron Crown, passed away suddenly in June, leaving behind her children, Molly and Sam. Her sister Susan contacted us to make sure Nancy was remembered in this issue. Nancy went from Wesleyan to Northwestern University, and went on to develop affordable housing in cities around the country, eventually joining the Charlotte Housing Authority. Recently, her frustration with the divisive political climate in the country drove her to found (with her sisters) a grassroots effort to encourage civil political discourse called Bridge the Political Divide.

Buffy Martin Brouckman attended Nancy’s memorial service, along with Foss 9 freshman hallmates Ina Jacobs, Heidi Ravis, and Linda Clumeck. Buffy remembers walking the High Line in NYC with Nancy and a few other friends just last year. She hopes that her own daughters will form the sort of friendships she had with Nancy and their other freshman year friends.

A longer obituary can be found here. Nancy’s sister encourages us all to sign the petition at the website above; and in lieu of flowers, to make a donation to Loaves and Fishes.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger Pincus is covering the class news this issue:

We begin with Charisse Deutch Litchman, who reports her biggest Wes news: her middle daughter, Tess Litchman ’16, graduated from Wesleyan this year and is going on to medical school. Charisse and her husband, Mark, are also very proud of their oldest daughter, who is a third grade teacher in an underserved school system in Michigan, and their son, who is a freshman at Cornell, pursuing engineering. Charisse and Mark are physicians; she is still practicing as a neurologist with a subspecialty in headaches, and he is an allergist and immunologist. As empty nesters, they’ve sold the big house and built a small one on the water in South Norwalk with magnificent sunrises and sunsets

The pipeline of class-of-84 children entering Wesleyan remains strong. Hsiao-chiung Li is pleased to report that her son, Franklin Gu ’20, will be on campus as a first-year student this fall.

Tyler Anbinder has finished work on his third book, City of Dreams, a history of immigrant life in New York City from the first Dutch settlers to the present. It will be published in October by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Felicia Bianchi spent some time with Greg Robbins ’83 and Liz Overton Robbins ’83 shortly before she ran the Boston Marathon on April 18. Felicia ran in memory of her dad who passed away Marathon Monday 2015. She reports that she was “super slow” but that it was worth it. Felicia is still in Atlanta working as a program manager at Emory University. She sometimes sees Steve Sencer on campus.

Susan Freeman-Weiner and Michael Weiner are enjoying an empty nest in Charlottesville, Va., where they’ve lived for a dozen years. Susan is on her third career and is now building the Orange Dot Baking Company, a gluten-free bread company, and developing a network of commercial kitchens called The Kitchen Network. Michael invests in distressed companies with a small Charlottesville firm, recently completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training, and still enjoys gluten. In the fall, all three of their children will be in college, including Max Weiner ’17, who will be a senior at Wesleyan.

Finally, in April, class co-secretary Michael Steven Schultz released a five-song CD entitled Quiet Revels (writing under his professional name of “Z. Mulls”). The CD is co-written with Michael G. Ronstadt, an accomplished cello and guitar player. It features unusual and eclectic songs that feature Michael Steven’s lyrics and (rather shockingly) his vocals as well (the two Michaels collaborated on the music). It’s only available through Z.’s website, zmulls.com, for download or mail order. Almost at the same time, Jen Foster (indie rocker from Nashville) released her double CD, The White Room Sessions, also featuring one of Z.’s lyrics. In other news, son Garrick will be going to Kenyon in the fall and older son Quinlan is finishing his second year at Hampshire.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

It’s Michael Steven this month, and we have a short list of updates to kick off 2016.

Big news from CFA director Pamela Tatge. Pam, who has led the CFA for 16 years, was just named executive and artistic director of Jacob’s Pillow, the long running dance festival in the Berkshires.

Blake Nelson’s young adult novel, Recovery Road, was made into a TV drama for ABC Family, and premiered at the end of January. You can easily find ways to stream episodes of this series.

Stephanie Grant continues to teach fiction writing at American University, where this spring she hosted Wes grad, the novelist Alexander Chee ’89, whose novel The Queen of the Night was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in February. Most recently, Stephanie published an essay about her mother’s postpartum depression on the New Yorker site: newyorker.com/books/page-turner/postpartum.

Paul Landau’s daughter, Zoe Lillian Landau, is celebrating her bat mitzvah. Her sister, Penelope, is still a couple of years away. Paul’s partner, Emily, published a book about interracial houses of prostitution in the turn-of-the-century, newly Segregationist New Orleans, called Spectacular Wickedness, two years ago. He is hard at work on his third book, this one about Nelson Mandela and other participants in the near-revolutionary situation in South Africa in the very early 1960s.

Margaret Bowman left her job as deputy environment program director at the Walton Family Foundation and is now a consultant on western water and impact investing. She’s still helping to ensure that there is enough water across the American West for rivers, communities, and agriculture, but now she is focused on ensuring that private investments can help drive the needed changes

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu