Class of 1990 | 2014 | Issue 1
Hi all. Here’s what we have:
Carolyn Vellengo Berman writes that she has been thinking about Wesleyan quite a bit since she and her husband Greg Berman ’89, along with Sarah McNaughton Williams ’88, hosted a fundraiser for the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education last spring. “It was fun to catch up with Wesleyan friends and make some new ones as well. I also had an opportunity to review Wesleyan Professor Andrew Curran’s marvelous new book, The Anatomy of Blackness, for H-France this year. Highly recommended.”
Josh Leichter is doing “excellent, with lots going on.” He is engaged to be married to “the unparalleled Dr. Kyra Bobinet. My daughter’s a freshman at college. Not Wes, but a school that I am in love with, College of Wooster in Ohio. My son is a junior in high school and more focused than he’s ever been about anything on getting his driver’s license (those in Boston area, beware).” Josh is about to switch jobs and in two years will be moving to SF Bay Area, where his fiancée lives.
Alison Bowers writes in after attending the beautiful Bar Mitzvah of David Gottlieb, son of Bethel Gorin Gottlieb and the late Brian Gottlieb ’88 and grandson of Robert Gorin ’57. Also at the event were Laurie Malkin, Kerry Kourepenos, Seth Bergstein ’88, and Alex Mochary Bergstein ’88.
Also writing from the Northeast is Ben Robertson, an actor and writer in Keene, N.H. Ben helped start the Monadnock International Film Festival and is on the board getting ready for the second annual festival in April. He “would love to get film submissions from Wes alums as well as see friends from Wes next year at the fest.” You can see more about MONIff at moniff.org.
Next door in western Vermont, Ernie Luikart ’91 and Wendy Herrick ’90 are still living happily with their two daughters, Molly (8) and Emma (11). Ernie is working both as a full-time RN and also teaching a class, Natural Disasters, at Green Mountain College. Wendy continues to counsel students and teach classes on psychology and other subjects at Long Trail School in Dorset, Vt. Ernie has made a nearly full recovery after falling out of a tree (“testing it to see if it was safe for the daughters to climb—it wasn’t”) and fracturing the lateral processes of three lumbar vertebrae and cracking a rib or two. “I am not quite as good as new, but I wasn’t before the fall either.”
Bruce Hooke moved to Plainfield, Mass., and bought a home next door to a retreat center called Earthdance, a center for improvisational dance, theater, and movement. His life is “now closely interwoven with the community at Earthdance.”
Ed Ungvarsky writes from his family’s new house in Washington, D.C., where “they expect to stay until the golden years.” The special needs-focused public charter school that his wife, Olivia Smith ’91, founded and directs has expanded to a second campus and is frequently cited as a model school. Their daughters happily play soccer and listen to Taylor Swift.
Congratulations to Gerald Richards, CEO of 826 National (826national.org), a nonprofit network of creative writing and after-school tutoring centers located in eight cities. He was in D.C. at the Library of Congress to receive the inaugural American Prize for Literacy, which was given to 826 National for their work over the past decade. “There are 826 centers in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Detroit/Ann Arbor, and San Francisco. It was a great honor for our organization and cool to be in the Library of Congress. If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, walk into an 826 center in your city or take your kids by to visit one of our storefronts.”
Finally, it has been brought to my attention that congratulations are also due to Michael Thomas, a veteran of Kosovo and Afghanistan, who has become a hero to local veterans in Connecticut. Michael has taken over a Subway franchise location and used it to set up a veterans program. He employs several veterans, some with disabilities, and teaches them (along with his employees who are not veterans) a broad range of skills necessary for today’s job market. His vision includes using the location as a space where veterans can network, obtain career advice, and meet with VA or New Haven Vet Center staff. In addition to awards and certificates he received during his military years, Michael has recently been given a few more honors for his latest work. First, the Connecticut Small Business Administration awarded him the 2013 Veteran Owned Small Business Award. Second, he was inducted into the Connecticut Veteran Hall of Fame. Fewer than 100 people have been inducted to the Hall, which is for veterans who have contributed significantly to their communities after the conclusion of their military service.
That’s all for now. Please keep your updates coming.
Vanessa Montag Brosgol
vebrosgol@optonline.net