CLASS OF 1978 | 2014 | ISSUE 3
Ken writes: Bill Adler divides his time between Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. He’s still writing books and learning Japanese. His daughters are “growing, growing, and mostly grown,” his oldest having graduated from Tufts a year ago, then teaching English for a year in France, and his youngest to be graduating from college in May… “hard to believe.”
Elizabeth (PepPep) Bachman works as an international opera director, and presentation skills trainer, using her operatic background to help public speakers with their stage presence. She is based in San Francisco but spends much of her time in Austria, where, as founder of TOP Opera (Tyrolean Opera Program)—a summer training program in the Austrian Alps—she provides young singers with business, voice, acting, dance, and language skills. She and Gisela Beckermann are married in Austria and are considering a marriage in the U.S. as well.
Geoff Ginsburg and his wife, Pam Douglas, are living, with their two Maine Coon cats, Mombo and Simba, in Durham, N.C., where he is professor of medicine, pathology, and biomedical engineering, and director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Duke University. They enjoy the mix of southern living and the university community. Geoff has fond memories of Wes and welcomes any Wes visitors.
Suki Hoagland sends greetings and well wishes from sunny California. After nine years of living in Switzerland, she and her husband, Jim, have moved back to the States, where both are at Stanford, she as a visiting scholar in the Earth Systems Program, an interdisciplinary undergraduate and co-terminal master’s degree program, and he as a consulting professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment. Their older son is a graduate of the Naval Academy and a captain in the Marine Corps, their second son a Cornell graduate who works as a transportation engineer specializing in green transportation—light rail, high-speed trains, ferries, and bus transit. They love life in Palo Alto, where they ride their bikes to campus, “rarely need a car…have no mortgage, no commute, no pets, no kids at home, just lots of freedom and sunshine.”
Tim Hollister continues to do great work in promoting teen driving safety, for which he has received the 2014 Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement of the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national award recognizing his multifaceted contributions. Tim maintains his national blog, “From Reid’s Dad,” named in memory of his son, which serves as a an important educational resource for parents of young drivers. His blog led to the publication of his acclaimed book, Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving, in 2013. The awards committee specifically notes the extent to which Tim’s research, writing, and public appearances have been done on his own time and without financial support.
Gail Boxer Marcus is CEO of Calloway Labs, a clinical toxicology laboratory in Woburn, Mass. She is married to Peter Marcus ’77.
Lucy Mize and her husband have returned to the States this past year after a 20-year stint overseas in her capacity as a public health adviser, the last 18 having been spent in Indonesia. They are based in Washington, D.C., but she will still be traveling extensively (32 countries) in her new post as senior health advisor for the Asia Bureau of the United States Agency for International Development, while he travels to Africa for the World Bank. Their son Thaddeus ’17 is involved in crew, is an RA, and is in search of a major. Their daughter Belle is a high school freshman (“adjusting well to the culture…although doesn’t understand the rules of football”). Lucy is liking being back, going to ball games with Bill Tabor and gardening with his wife, Elise Fulstone, also seeing Sara Margolis ’81, who is a friend from Mali… “nice to have Cardinals all around.”
Wolfgang Natter sends his hello to all classmates and is pleased to report that his son, Joseph ’17, is enjoying his studies and his involvements in the campus community at Wesleyan… “a special joy to me.” Wolfgang began a new position, as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Penn. He can be reached at natterw@chc.edu.
Julie Scolnik continues her role as artistic director of Mistral Music, a chamber ensemble in Brookline, Mass., which she founded 18 years ago. It’s described as “chamber music the way it’s supposed to be…shrugs off old traditions…with plenty of high jinks and personal connection to the audience.” Julie lives in Brookline with her family; her daughters, Sasha (cello) and Sophie (piano), are students in the Harvard/New England Conservatory Program.
Jonathan Spector and his wife are moving to Woodstock, Vt., after 20 years of life outside Boston, now that their four boys are at college or beyond. They’ve had a ski house for many years in Woodstock, which provides the attraction of Vermont with reasonable flight access to New York City, such that Jon will be able to maintain his work there at The Conference Board.
David Weild continues his work in stock market reform aiming to support economic growth, recently starting IssuWorks, Inc., a business designed to broaden securities distribution for investment banks and corporate issuers. His wife, Christi, is an avid martial artist, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a student of Krav Maga, and a realtor. Their kids—David (13), Kelly and Michael (twins, 11)—are all busy in the Bronxville school system, active in sports. Dave frequently sees Kaylie Jones ’81 (he is her daughter Eyma’s godfather) and Seth Gendler ’79 (he is Dave’s daughter Kelly’s godfather).
Jim Kurose has been chosen for a significant leadership role by the National Science Foundation, as its assistant director for the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Jim has had a long and productive career as a researcher and educator in the field of computer science. He is Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at UMass Amherst, where he has also served as chairman of that department and dean of the College of Natural Sciences. Jim and Julie ’78 live in Northampton, Mass., where they have raised three kids—including a Wes grad (Charlie ’10).
Regards to all,
SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com
Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com