CLASS OF 1989 | 2016 | ISSUE 1

Class of 1989 Scholarship

Joanna Korpanty ’18, Bristol, Conn.

Kristen Montas Graves writes: “It was a sad occasion that brought a number of us together for a mini Wes reunion the first weekend in December. For those of you who may not have heard, beloved Professor Jerry G. Watts passed away Nov. 16th. Jerry only taught at Wes for a few years of his career, yet for those of us who knew him, he was a major part of our Wesleyan experience, and his influence shaped the trajectories of many of our own careers today. Al Young ’88 assisted Jerry’s wife, Traci West, in organizing the event, which took place at The New York Society for Ethical Culture. He, along with his wife, Carla O’Connor ’88, my husband Fred Montas ’88, Amy Randall, and Eric Greene ’90 all gave moving tributes, highlighting his intellectual acuity and the genuinely caring manner he had with all whom he met. Many Wes folk were in the house including Hellura Lyle, Allison Downer, Melinda Weekes, Schuyler Allen ’90, Jessica Roseman ’90, Julie Doar-Sinkfield ’90, Eve Goldberg ’90, Yanique LeCadre ’88, Ian Friday ’87, and Dianne Stewart ’85. Our hearts were heavy, but we felt the light of his presence as we shared laughs and hugs remembering a truly great man.” Kristen also saw Mary Kate O’Toole Mellow over the holidays.

Laura Hamilton Hardin lives near Houston, with her second husband, Dan Hardin, and two children from her first marriage. On 25 acres, they have 10 dogs, 10 horses, about 20 chickens, two potbelly pigs and two cats. Daughter Samantha (18) is studying animal science at Texas A&M and is planning to pursue a veterinary degree, and son Michael (16) is starting on the Magnolia High School JV football team. Laura provides expert testimony on damages issues for large international arbitrations. She recently resumed horseback riding to relieve the stress of her demanding career.

Amy E. Randall teaches history and women’s and gender studies at Santa Clara University in California. Her latest publication, Genocide and Gender in the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Survey (Bloomsbury) is a collection of genocide studies that examines gendered discourses, practices, and experiences of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the 20th century. Amy and Mathew Reed ’91 have two children, Zaria (7) and Zeiler (12). They inspired Amy to perform last year in the parent/staff/faculty cast of Annie at her daughter’s school.

Alexander Chee’s new novel, The Queen of the Night (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), was released Feb. 2, 2016. His first novel, Edinburgh, is being reissued and has been optioned by the composer Stefan Weisman and the librettist David Coates, who intend to adapt it into an opera. Alex lives in NYC with his partner, Dustin Schell, where they are adapting The Scarlet Professor (Barry Werth’s biography of Newton Arvin)into a feature film. This fall he will be a visiting writer at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Andrea Morse is married to her reading and budget-travel partner, best friend and love of her life, Bill Kehr. They live in the Chicago area, where she has her own clinical psychology practice. She recently gave birth to their son, Zander Asher, and has two wonderful step-kids: one in college, the other heading to medical school. In her teensy spare time she performs with a professional Hawaiian/Polynesian dance company.

Liz Marx left being a casting director several years ago to become a college counselor. While she hasn’t yet had one of her kids attend Wesleyan, she remains optimistic!

Rabbi Jen Feldman recently celebrated 13 rich and rewarding years serving Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jeffrey Naness is practicing law on Long Island, representing businesses in employment and labor matters. He is married, with two sons, Jonathan and Michael, and plays keyboards in a charity rock band (Equity) and a Latin jazz quartet (Gazpacho Bop).

Eric Simon published the second edition of his college biology textbook Biology: The Core. Eric’s books have been translated into seven languages and are used in more than 40 countries. He still lives in rural New Hampshire with his wife, two boys (12 and 14), 20 or so chickens, three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and a leopard gecko.

Karen McVey Fussell remains happily married with two children (9 and 12). She lives on 45 acres near Bangor, in a 100-plus-year-old farmhouse, which they recently renovated. She has been finance director for a neighboring city for the past 15 years, a job she loves and that allows her to work on many diverse issues, including recycling and the development of a next generation waste-to-energy facility.

Dave Keller is living in Montpelier, Vt., raising two daughters, and being a musician. He’s excited about a new album of original soul/blues songs that should be released in September. His last CD was a “breakup album”, so he’s thinking of this one as his “over-the-hump album.”

Jeff Brez and his husband, Adriano, are daddy and papa to twin boys, born November 2014. They also recently gave away their already-adult daughter at an unforgettable wedding in SoCal. Jeff is with the UN Department of Public Information in New York, where he partners with both NGOs and the creative community to raise awareness about UN issues around the world.

After more than 20 years, Jane Randel left the fashion industry and started a social impact consulting firm, Karp Randel LLC. She also cofounded NOMORE.org, and is one of four advisers to the NFL on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault education. She has done similar work for NASCAR.

Stephanie Dolgoff writes: “All hail, Susan Paley, who orchestrated getting 10 of us to Sonoma from as far as NYC (Natalie Dorset, Betsey Schmidt, and I) and West Virginia (that would be the serene and brilliant Lesley Savin). Much and varied wine was consumed and sorely felt (at least by me) for some time after. The Micheles (Chase and Barnwell) were as lovely as when they were roommates on Foss 6, and Caron Selati looked like she must have carried her two now-teenage babies in her handbag, in such great shape was she. Jennifer Levine, fresh off numerous professional triumphs, and I bunked together, and Laura Flaxman and I got to spend some time discussing how nice it is to have finally embraced our relatively benign vices.” Stephanie also saw Lynne Lazarus and Andrew Shear at their home in Oakland, Calif.

Melissa Herman is going through the college process with her son, which brings back her own memories and nightmares of that experience. She is looking forward to another sabbatical in Berlin where her son can check out the—free!—German universities. There, she will also work on a research project on German and American understandings of race.

Indy Neidell is still in Sweden, where he is producing a channel called The Great War, which follows WWI exactly 100 years later in real time, week by week, using original footage from the British Pathé film archives.

Jonathan Fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com

Michele Barnwell | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com