CLASS OF 2002 | 2015 | ISSUE 3

Lots of congratulations for babies and weddings:

Sharon Light welcomed a new baby—Pia Morgan Light—in July, joining her big sister Orit in the family! Nat Katin-Borland and Amy Strekas ’03 welcomed their first child, Dylan, this year. Matthew Seidner and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their fourth child, Elijah Zev Seidner, on Oct. 3. Big sisters Talia and Perla and big brother Jonah were all very excited. And Rachel Kriger and Nick Corso welcomed their new son, Maayan, on Aug. 13th. Rachel is returning to her acupuncture practice in Philadelphia, treating children and adults.

David Krieger and Alicia Feichtmeir ’03 welcomed the arrival of their son, Elliott Solomon Krieger, on Sept. 24. David and Alicia live in Seattle, where David is a strategy director at Expedia, and Alicia an employment and labor attorney at Foster Pepper. Sara Shandler Banks and Peter Banks ’01 are enjoying life in Brooklyn with their growing family—Hazel is a thriving 3-year-old superhero/warrior princess/mermaid and they welcomed daughter Rowan to the mix in February. And Lauren Geller Rascoff gave birth to her third child on Oct. 12, joining big brother Jonah and big sister Roselle. Lauren is working as an urogynecologist at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn.

Katie Fuller married the Australian love of her life, Louise Wilson, this past July in Chatham on Cape Cod. Katie also recently started working for both the French Government Economic Service and the French Mission to the UN in New York.

Lots of geographical and professional moves:

In September, Allison Kennedy moved to California to serve as the historic structures specialist at Joshua Tree National Park. She looks forward to preserving the cultural landscapes, including historic mines, homesteads, and ranches.

Jamie Wong relocated to Los Angeles, where she continues to run her startup, Vayable, and develops original travel content for television and the Web.

Julia Matsudaira is back in San Francisco and living close to her Wes roomie Leah Ralph. Having received her MBA last year, Julia is building on her years in the nonprofit sector with her work in private wealth management, where she is focusing on philanthropic and socially responsible investment strategies for individuals and families.

Ben Allen earned his PhD in political science at University of California, Berkeley, in May, taught economics there over the summer, and is moving to Washington, D.C., with his girlfriend to pursue a career in international public policy.

Ernest Hartner moved with his wife and two kids, Max (4) and Sam (2), from Miami, Fla., to Barcelona, Spain, in August, transferring from Banco Sabadell America to Banco Sabdell Spain. He is expecting a visit from Britton Boyd in early 2016. He is hoping to find some other Wesleyan alums living in the city.

Hagar Berlin is officially settled in her new home in Brookline, Mass. (after spending the last 10 years in San Francisco), with her husband, Jon Spack, and daughter Hana.

Suzanne Appel moved to Chicago, where she is now the director of external affairs for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She’s already run into Jesse Lava, director of policy at the Chicago Department of Public Health, on the El train and hopes to reconnect with all the Wes people in the Windy City. She recently saw Una LaMarche, who made it out to Illinois for a Young Adult literature conference (her humor memoir, UnaBrow, made the New York Times best seller list in June).

Sarah Krainin is on hiatus from LA theater and back on the East Coast, teaching scenic design as a visiting professor at Duke.

And in other news:

The Wesleyan night at Hamilton on Broadway was a veritable ’02 reunion, with star, composer, lyricist, and MacArthur “Genius” Lin Manuel Miranda, taking top billing. Theatergoers included Xan YoungSarah KraininOwen Panetiere ’01Suzanne AppelJocelyn GreeneAnne MacriChristine Dejong, Jen GuarnianiElena Weller, and Chessa Ring O’Grady. Krainin described the night as “unrivaled spectacularity.” Tickets purchased supported Wesleyan financial aid and two scholarships.

Will Gardner is celebrating the fifth year of Alma del Mar Charter School in New Bedford, Mass., where he is the founder and executive director. He has the great privilege of working alongside star teacher Taylor DeLoach ’13 and Capital Campaign Chair Jack Braitmayer ’57.

Registered architect Kristen Suzda celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary this summer. Kristen is working on deep green buildings and affordable housing (including a project in Meriden, Conn.). An avid bike rider, she completed her first two triathlons this summer.

Andrew Goldstein is the chief digital content officer of Phaidon and Artspace, leading an international team to cover contemporary art and culture.

For Emily Isaacs, the past two years have been big—she got married to her husband, Erik Greensfelder (they met working at Outward Bound in 2006), she started a private practice as a therapist in Boulder, Colo., and became the executive director of Women’s Wilderness, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women and girls develop courage and confidence through outdoor adventures.

Kasia Deuel lives north of Boston, where she chases after her toddler Emmett. She is working at The Pew Charitable Trusts as a senior associate on ocean conservation issues and finishing her master’s at Harvard Extension School in Sustainability and Environmental Management.

Jessica Angell lives in Cambridge, Mass., hard at work on her software start-up, Cabbige, a Web application that helps small, diversified farmers manage their business. Cabbige is a MassChallenge finalist and recent recipient of Reynders McVeigh 2015 Social Impact Entrepreneur Award.

Sasha Foppiano Martin published her debut book Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness through National Geographic Books in March 2015.

As for me, by the time you read this, my daughter Scarlett will have just turned 1. I am still the vice president of original series for Spike; in 2015, I produced the scripted event series Tut starring Sir Ben Kingsley and 50 episodes of Bar Rescue. I am now working on our next scripted series (announcing soon)as well as a documentary series about cyber-security pioneer and presidential hopeful John McAfee.

JUSTIN LACOB | justinlacob@gmail.com