Categories Class Notes | 1980sPosted on

CLASS OF 1984 | 2017 | ISSUE 1

Roger Pincus is covering the class news this issue. We begin with the latest from Robin Ginsburg, who is living and working in NYC as director of vitreoretinal surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She reports that her son, Jason, had his Bar Mitzvah in October and that her daughter, Samantha, started high school this year. One of Robin’s ophthalmologist colleagues at Mount Sinai is Scott Brodie ’74, MA’74.

Joel A. Fein is closing in on three decades at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, practicing pediatric emergency medicine and leading a multi-level violence prevention initiative. The program promotes and researches community and hospital-based programs in the greater Philadelphia area. Next year, all three of Joel’s boys, Ethan, Seth and Jay, will be attending The University of Pennsylvania and finding their inner science geeks. Joel adds that the last remnant of his Wes legacy hopes were dashed in one early decision gone bad (or good, for Jay). His wife, Vicky, has been in the same pediatrics practice since the two of them finished residency together. They are spending a lot more time on the Chesapeake and loving it.

Michael R. Heydenburg recently published an article in The American Intelligence Journal’s special issue on denial and deception. Michael’s article, “The Ponzi Scheme as a Deception Operation: The Bernie Madoff Case Study,” uses the Madoff scandal as a case study to explore some characteristics of intelligence and military deception operations and suggest areas of future research and development for intelligence and military denial and deception professionals. Michael continues his work for the government on intelligence matters and is based in New York after a period in the D.C. area.

Rhonda Lees is now senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the American Bankers Association. Rhonda reports her new colleagues are terrific and the work is interesting. She is excited to pivot to the trade association world after serving in the charity arena for so long. She is in touch with and sees several Wes people, including Michael R. Heydenburg, Lisa Nevans Locke ’85, John Pomeranz ’85, Daphne Kwok, and Maral Kibarian Skelsey. With the encouragement of Stephen McCarthy ’75, Rhonda is serving as chair of the D.C. chapter of Wesleyan Alumni in Philanthropy and Public Service. There are plans to revitalize the group in 2017, so please reach out to Rhonda if you would like to participate or to just learn more.

Simone Zelitch’s fifth novel, Judenstaat, was published last May by Tor/Macmillan and will be out in paperback in January 2018. It’s an alternative history where a Jewish State is established in Germany rather than Palestine as a direct answer to the Holocaust, and as such, sets the state in the middle of post-WWII Cold War politics. Critical reviews have been favorable.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu