CLASS OF 1979 | 2016 | ISSUE 1
Class of 1979 Scholarship
Julian Carraway ’18, Middletown, Conn.
A book that Jane Marcellus co-authored, Mad Men and Working Women: Feminist Perspectives on Historical Power, Resistance, and Otherness (Peter Lang, 2014, rev. ed. 2016) was named to Teen Vogue magazine’s “epic feminist reading list.” Here’s the link: teenvogue.com/gallery/feminist-literature-womens-equality-day/25. “Obviously, popular magazines have tremendous influence on young women, and we were thrilled to be part of a list that includes several feminist classics.”
Robert Kuhn and his husband, Steven, live in Fort Lauderdale with their two Irish Terriers. They have been together 11 years and married four years in February. They have pretty hectic lives, as they’re both in the consulting world—lots of work and travel. Robert’s sustainability consultancy has its ups and downs, but after almost eight years it’s still something he’s passionate about. He recently heard from Bob Murphy ’79, who’s in a related field. Anyone else? On the personal side, he’s in his sixth year on the board of Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest civil rights organization focused on the LGBT and HIV-positive communities. Board service is a labor of love, but this cause speaks to him and has connected him with so many great, passionate folks.
Alan Saly is proudly collecting delegate signatures for Bernie Sanders in Brooklyn.
Gerard Koeppel wrote: “By the time you’re reading this, my latest book, City on a Grid: How New York Became New York, will be nearing the end of a pretty good run, which Adam Gopnik kicked off in the New Yorker a month before the book was published last November. I started writing when Alexandra Peers, editor of Ampersand, the late, great Argus arts section of her invention, asked me in sophomore year to do a piece about Essex, where the sailing club (WESail) I was running based its operations (boats, bought used from Yale with donor money, stored on the grounds of what was then the Wesleyan Marine Lab and launched into the Connecticut River by arrangement with adjoining Essex Yacht Club). The Essex profile went over well, I started writing more features, eventually a weekly column (and intercollegiate sailing competition sports reports under a variety of sailing-related pseudonyms), and switched from an econ major to English. Phyllis Rose taught me to read, visiting V. S. Naipaul (while alienating much of the Wesleyan community) taught me to write, and the rest, so to speak, after many years in journalism (mostly at CBS News) is history, writing everything from books to historical signage in New York City parks. To think that I practically failed Dick Buel’s American History survey course. For anyone who’s interested: gerardkoeppel.com.”
Toni Ross commented that “one child graduated from Bennington this year, the other back in school at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in their newly founded Game Design program, I am still living in Wainscott, N.Y. with my two dogs, George and Gracie, and preparing for three separate exhibitions in 2016 in New York City, East Hampton, and Sag Harbor, N.Y. Nick & Toni’s, my first restaurant venture, just celebrated its 27th anniversary. It is shocking to me that I could be so fortunate. My other restaurants La Fondita, Townline Barbeque, and Rowdy Hall, all located in the Hamptons and Nick & Toni’s Cafe in New York City are also celebrating many years in business. And, shhhhhhh, a new one is on the way. Stay tuned.”
Esslie Hughes is delighted to report that today (Jan. 14, 2016) she started her new position as chief of finance and operations for the Episcopal Diocese of New York!
Rachel Bashevkin will retire this spring as director of studies at Westover School in Middlebury, Conn., after 35 years there. She’ll be moving to New Haven to start a new chapter in her life. Feel free to send ideas for work, service, and entertainment in New Haven to her.
Joseph Wright, MD, MPH, was elected to the American Pediatric Society. Membership is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves as child health leaders, teachers, scholars, policymakers, and clinicians and whose important contributions are recognized nationally or internationally. He calls his membership “a platform for me to further Howard’s commitment to outstanding patient care and service to the community.”
Julie Hacker has been very busy. Her firm, Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects LLC, has just completed the first luxury showroom for Pella windows, which opened Jan. 14 in the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
She is serving as a preservation commissioner for the city of Evanston, Ill., where she gets to try to preserve the great historic building stock they have along the North Shore of Chicago. She ran a symposium, “The Iconic House,” as part of the recent Chicago Architecture Biennial, which just closed. Her recent books featuring the work of her firm include:100 Classical Architects for the 21st Century (Rizzoli) and Contemporary Renovations and Additions (Think Publishing). An active triathlon participant, she completed five short course events this past summer (sprint and Olympic distance) and placed first in her age group in the Michigan City Triathlon. On a personal note, her son, Gabriel, is now a junior at RISD, a double major in film/video/animation and sculpture, making really interesting installation pieces which she can honestly say, she does understand.
Bill Levinson took the plunge! “Well, we finally bought a house in Key West. What began as a one-month vacation, is now a five-month transformation. Julie is doing her graphic design remotely, and I am working five nights a week with The Happy Dog, an original music collaboration, playing gigs at bars, piers, and on boats: thehappydogband.com.”
Andrew Yavelow had a rough year. He lost his job, career, home, community, and friends—and his body fell apart. He moved from fire-ravaged northern California to warm and wet southern Florida, and is trying to pull himself back together and figure out what’s next. We wish him well.
Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com
Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com