CLASS OF 1999 | 2016 | ISSUE 1

Darryl writes: After nearly 17 years living in the Bay Area, Tara Cohen—along with partner, child, dog, and two cats—packed up and laid down new roots in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Last spring, Kareem George concluded his tenure at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to pursue entrepreneurial interests. He is now engaged full time with his company, Culture Traveler (culturetraveler.com), a boutique luxury travel service focused on fully customized, expert itineraries for individuals and small groups. He lives in Franklin, Mich., and enjoys the Midwest despite the winters.

Daniel Young is a freelance radio journalist covering a variety of environmental and social justice issues. His work is broadcast on community radio stations in both the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest.

Shoshanna Handel and her husband, Jason Reisman, live in Brooklyn with their baby, Lyla, who was born in October with support from Jada Shapiro, doula extraordinaire.

Shirley Fan lives in Brooklyn, too, with her PhD-seeking husband, and just had her second son, Kai Fan Borkenhagen, on Jan. 14, 2016. They feel fortunate that he is a great sleeper!

William Abbott and hubby David Paige welcomed Orion Lee Abbott-Paige into their family on Feb. 10, 2015. He’s one great guy who is already learning how to take a selfie! They live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where William runs the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust and David works in publishing. They are finally feeling settled after moving back and forth across the country four times since Wes.

In October, David Andrews ’02 and Lena Sadowitz welcomed their fourth kid: “He joins two older brothers and a sister in their DC-area den of Legos and laundry.”

Nina Kontos’ son turned 1 in December and he’s awesome. She still works at Google and hangs out with Wes friends in NYC and San Francisco. She saw Hamilton with a Wes crew (Allegra Jones, Davis Thompson-Moss, Danny Forster, Hannah Blitzer)—it was a blast; they loved it!

Arthur Baraf lives in Providence, R.I., with his wife and two daughters. He is in his 10th year as a high school principal, currently at the world-recognized Met High School. This year, he is also teaching for the master’s in urban education program at Providence College and coaching aspiring principals through the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity.

Leander Dolphin was elected to partnership at her firm, Shipman & Goodwin LLP, in Hartford.

Aimee Dawson was awarded tenure at Université Laval, where her teaching and research focus on preventive dentistry and access to care among underserved populations.

Ellen Sluder Cohen just finished her first year as VP of marketing for Medforce, a software company providing document and process management to healthcare. Her husband is a pilot for the Conair Corporation and their daughters, Henrietta and Beatrice, are 5 and 2 respectively. 2016 is promising to be a great year of catching up with fellow Wes alums at upcoming weddings and 40th birthday celebrations (too many to name!).

In August, Jose Stevenson married Dalia Trinidad. Robert Carrillo was his best man and many of the LUL Hermanos were there, including Sergio Zenteno ’00, Tom Constabile ’96, Francisco Tezen ’97 and his wife Linda Rodriguez ’97, Jose and Andrea DeJesus ’97, Miguel Guadalupe ’98 and his wife Maria Santana-Guadalupe ’98, Melvin Acevedo, Pablo Morales ’00, Ray Sanchez ’00, Jeremy White ’98, Gabe Aviles ’00, Luis “Gabbo” Torres and his wife Allison Panzer ’00, and Julio and Mariela Rosario Pabon ’02. Wes folks took up over two tables! Miguel and Maria even drew on their Caliente Dance Troupe choreographing days and helped Jose execute a surprise flash mob for his wife!

Diana Glanternik was married to Jonah Ramu Cohen (a Brown alum who admits that he sometimes regrets not choosing Wesleyan) in September at her parents’ home in Roxbury, Conn., and the celebration was well attended by Diana’s longtime Wes friends: Steffie Kinglake, Nina Ball-Pesut, Jennifer Karlin, Lauren Borowsky, Laura Zaks, Laura Plageman, Virginia Gray, Maya Mitchell, Margo Simon, Daniel Forster, Bryon Schafer, Rachel Ostrow, Lauren Kesner O’Brien, Nina Kontos, Wiley Bowen ’00, Jordan Fletcher ’00, Molly Barton ’00, Liz Donnelly ’00, Shira Gans ’01, Benji Shemmer ’01, Darren Ross ’98, Will Miller ’98, Harrison Owen ’98, and Matt Downes ’98, who all killed it on the dance floor till the tables were cleared and the DJ had to shut the music down.

Jeffrey Blumenthal listens to a lot of excellent podcasts while commuting by bike to and from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) at San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies. Wesleyan’s favorite Professor Atwater was mentioned for his contribution to the calorie as we know it on food labels: gastropod.com/the-end-of-the-calorie/.

Thanks for the submissions! Kevin and I look forward to hearing from you for the next issue.

C. DARRYL UY | darryl.uy@gmail.com

KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com