CLASS OF 1992 | 2016 | ISSUE 2

Greetings and salutations from D.C. Michele and I are enjoying the beginning of summer and continue to plan for a two-week vacation in Yellowstone. You’ll have to come to our 25th Reunion to learn more! It’s only a year away… and it’s a biggie. I know some of you pooh-poohed the 15th and 20th anniversary, but no excuses. You’re expected to attend, so brush up on the info below in case you are quizzed.

Heather Nash continues to lead a double life—clinical psychologist by day and poet by night. She recently published her second book of poetry, Parts per Trillion (Aldrich Press, 2016) under her middle name Claudine Nash.

Darcy Dennett’s documentary about the pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring, The Champions, is still screening around the country and is now available on Bluray/DVD, iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix. The film was invited to Michael Moore’s film festival, The Traverse City Film Festival, and was recently screened at 20th Century Fox.

Joan Matelli is off to Europe and North Africa for three months starting in August. Give her a ring if you have a major itch to do some traveling.

Shura Pollatsek has big new that her first book, Unbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design from Routledge/Focal Press, is being released in August 2016. She writes, “The book is written for a genåeral audience and also for costume students and professionals. It features the photography of Mitchell D. Wilson, winner of many awards including National Press Photographer of the Year, Peabody and National Primetime Emmy. Unbuttoned explores the creative collaboration between costume designers and costume makers in all aspects of the process from sketch to stage, and features interviews with leading professionals in New York, Paris and Santa Fe.”

Susan Hunt Stevens is living in Newton, Mass/, where she guides WeSpire, the technology company she founded five years ago. WeSpire was honored recently to be named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year for New England.

Grant Brenner, assistant clinical professor, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, was recently honored as the first recipient of the Ivan Goldberg Outstanding Service Award presented by the New York District County Branch of the American Psychiatric Association.

Since 2003, Maurice Harris has been a congregational rabbi and a writer in Eugene, Ore. He and his wife, Melissa Crabbe, and their two kids are now getting ready to move to Philadelphia, where he’ll begin working at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He is working on his third book, following Moses: A Stranger Among Us (Cascade 2012) and Leviticus: You Have No Idea (Cascade 2013).

Speaking of Philly, Sam Robinson continues to live in Philly with his wife, Shari Hersh, and their 12-year-old daughter, Bella. Shari plans innovative, community engaged, public art projects and Bella keeps them both busy with all her sports, friends, violin lessons, etc! Sam started his own architecture firm five years ago. He does mostly residential renovations in and around the city.

Jonathan Bell co-founded DUAL, a new architecture office in Providence. DUAL’s focus has been on small, complex projects and creative reuse of underused buildings. The firm’s current work includes the adaptive reuse of a 19th-century brewery into a theater and artist-focused community; and a new 3-screen art cinema, which is in the planning stages.

Sarah Leavitt continues to stalk me around DC. House parties, book signings, dropping our kids off for summer camp—you name it. She seems to be everywhere I go now. I missed her at the Paul Simon concert but it looks like she had fun and I’m jealous.

Jody Sperling, artistic director of Time Lapse Dance, launched an Indiegogo campaign for her project “Bringing the Arctic Home.” Last spring, Jody got to dance on Arctic sea ice while serving as choreographer-in-residence aboard the icebreaker USCGC Healy. The experience was the inspiration for Ice Cycle (Phase I), a dance expressing the dynamism and fragility of the Arctic icescape performed at JCC Manhattan, June 20–21.

Check out Tim Ellis’s music/comedy video Casual Pimpin’, a smooth jam about men’s summer fashion! (With hot new remix!) Shot mostly in Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. You can find it on youtu.be/PyGaeMp5_F4.

Have a great summer and fall and we’ll see you next year for Reunion.

ADAM BERINSKY | berinsky@mit.edu

PAUL COVIELLO | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu