CLASS OF 2004 | 2016 | ISSUE 1

Baby boom, courtesy of the class of 2004! Plus more of our classmates finding love, finding their passion, and doing amazing work in this world.

Ashley Elia Weller and Kyle Weller welcomed baby boy Jett Ryan one Jan. 22, 2016. As weather systems seem to align with all Weller major life events, Jett was born during a snow storm in New Jersey. Luckily with Facetime, visitors were still able to meet the little guy in his first days (including me, from over here in Switzerland). With his long fingers, toes and limbs, he just might be a baller like his mom! Ash and Kyle are elated, and adjusting to life as new parents.

Malia Shelton Kuss and husband Josh Kuss will be welcoming their first child, a baby boy, in March. An early congratulation to these San Diegans, who are loving life in the Golden State!

Joshua Kaye and Megan Ridley-Kaye ’05 welcomed their son Benjamin Ridley Kaye (‘37?) in November. They are overjoyed. Megan has just returned to work as an in-house attorney at Noble Americas, focusing on structured finance and mergers and acquisitions, but also fielding the occasional call from a freighter captain. Josh is a litigator at Paul Weiss, where in addition to representing a wide range of corporate clients, he devotes a substantial portion of his practice to marriage equality and LGBT rights. He represented Edie Windsor in her successful challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act in the Supreme Court in 2013. He is currently representing married gay couples who are challenging Mississippi’s blanket ban on gay couples adopting.

Lauren Pearlman and Fletcher Durant ’03 have had a busy year, first with a move from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Gainesville, Fla., where they both started tenure track jobs at the University of Florida. Lauren is an assistant professor in the History and African American Studies Departments, and Fletcher is a preservation librarian. In November, they welcomed Milo Freeland Durant into the world. He joins older brother, Felix, who has quickly accumulated all the blue-and-orange clothing a boy could need. They welcome visitors to Florida to stay in their guest house—Julia Pearlman ’10 has already visited several times!

Gregory Heller and his wife, Diana Lind, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Theodore Douglas Heller, on Nov. 24, 2015. They have been celebrating with Wes friends Katherine Gajewski ’02, Liz King ’03, and their neighbor, Brad Moss ’80. In addition to their family growing, Greg’s organization, ACT, has also grown exponentially, now working on community development projects in 27 U.S. cities. Last year, Next City featured Greg in a piece titled “This CEO Wants to Change the Real Estate Game for Low-Income Neighborhoods.” Greg also received the honor of being named Urban Innovator by Urban Innovation Exchange—a project of the Kresge Foundation and Meeting of the Minds to identify the nation’s top urban leaders. If you want to learn more, you can also check out his TEDx Philadelphia talk, discussing how “social impact real estate” can transform our cities: youtube.com/watch?v=1ueVS1acOgo

Joseph Berman married Sarah Novick last summer. He also started working with Jewish Voice for Peace in D.C., working for justice, equality, and human rights for Palestinians and Israelis.

Rebecca Solow has been living in Geneva, Switzerland, for the past year, and working at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and malaria. Rebecca and husband, Scott Griffin, were married in October, and had a wonderful time celebrating with the many Wes alums in attendance, including Josh Kaye, Megan Ridley-Kaye ’05, Jon Lashley, Alden Ferro, Dael Norwood, Michelle Paul, and “Maid of Dishonor” Susan Manikas. They look forward to heading back to New York in March, where Rebecca will rejoin the Boston Consulting Group.

Katie Schoendorf and Noah Nattell were married in Big Sur, California, on September 5th, 2015. The ceremony was officiated by Emma Alpert and Krishna Andavolu, with music by Joaquin Cotler ’05 and Steven Gravatt. The wedding party included Mark Hatch-Miller, Rose Lichter-Marck, and Aaron Schoonhoven. Others Wesleyan alums in attendance: Robbie Botta ’05, Katy Clark-Spohn Botta ’05, Carl Cervone, Laurel Daen ’05, Andrea Garcia, Ben Goldwasser ’05, Lucas Jansen, Aaron Lowenstein ’98, Jesse McIntosh ’05, Lindsey Reynolds, Lindsay Rodgers ’06, and Peter Thilly. The couple recently moved to Los Angeles, where Noah is a fellow in obstetrics and gynecology with a focus in family planning at the University of Southern California.

Jeremy Levinn is a financial planner at an independent firm (Financial Life Focus) in the greater NYC area that is working to re-shape the industry, and is helping their clients make decisions that align with both financial goals and personal values. Their approach is simple: they don’t sell anything except expertise, and don’t get paid by anyone, except their clients. Financial Life Focus is part of a small minority in a sea of brokers and insurance salesmen acting as “advisers” but really pushing product. The firm works with people of all ages and financial means, including clients in their 30s, faced with important financial decisions, but typically ignored for lack of millions of dollars. It’s his great hope that more of the smart, thoughtful graduates of Wesleyan will eventually help change this industry for the better.

Jenina Nuñez | jenina.nunez@gmail.com

Meeghan Whooley Ward | meeghan.w.ward@gmail.com