CLASS OF 1987 | 2017 | ISSUE 1
Mark your calendars Class of ’87! It’s our one and only 30th Reunion, and it’s coming May 25-28; be there!
Linda Ryden published her curriculum called Peace of Mind: Integrating Mindfulness, Social Emotional Learning, And Conflict Resolution. “I still teach it full-time at a public elementary school in D.C., and it’s being taught in schools all over the country. I also wrote and illustrated a children’s book called Rosie’s Brain. It’s a story that teaches kids about how their brains work when they get angry and how to use mindfulness to help calm down. My two kids are in college and my husband makes Bullfrog Bagels, the best bagels in D.C.”
Claudia Center has “been at the national ACLU’s Disability Rights Project for nearly three years, working on the intersection of disability and education, policing, incarceration, voting, families, and autonomy. I spent election night texting in terror with Anthea Charles. My job radically changed that night, as the policies being proposed by the new administration and Congress are life-threatening to people with disabilities. I am organizing a singing brigade for the Women’s March Oakland on January 21, 2017, and hope to see several Wesleyan alumni in attendance.”
Wendy Riseborough was in NYC in September for the News & Documentary Emmys. The documentary for which she was supervising producer, American Denial, about implicit bias and racism since the 1940s, received a nomination.
Catherine Dolan Fitch is “excited about our 30th Reunion! I wish I could be returning to campus as a Wes parent, but my children have let me down. My daughter, Anna May, is thriving as a sophomore at Williams, where she is a member of the track team, and my son, Connor, accepted a spot in the class of 2021 at Bowdoin, where he will be playing lacrosse. I am proud that I attended Williams’ homecoming wearing my Wesleyan sweatshirt, and witnessed the Cardinals’ win of the Little Three Championship from the visitor bleachers. My daughter was not as happy with the outcome (or my attire!).”
David Prahas Nafissian is “now a certified life coach! And I’ve returned to composition. Go here for a free musical gift—my latest work: http://bit.do/In-3 and go here to see my new coaching website: http://bit.do/EAC. Have a beautiful 2017!”
Amy Baltzell writes that she “ran into Susan Anthony, who is a successful artist in Welfleet, where she creates amazing art out of tiny bits of paper. [leftbankgallery.com/collections/susan-anthony] In my professional life, I recently published a book, Mindfulness & Performance, with Cambridge University Press (my Dalmatian keeps me company as I write) and am president-elect of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. Most importantly, my three kids are thriving in our sleepy winter beach town on Cape Cod. My most proud moment this year: Our 11-year-old, Zoey, made the boys travel basketball team and she is a starter. I catch glimpses of Bronwyn Malicoat ’89, who is a busy mother of four also living on Cape Cod, and I hear of Susan (Pratt) Arndt happily living in England. With love to you all!”
David Abramson “just reached 15 years at the State Department working on Central Asia and bracing myself for what comes next. Just hit 20 years since I met my wife, Kelly Hand. Our two daughters, Hazel and Daisy, are 15 and 12, respectively, and our Siberian cat, Basil, is 5. I got the latest album by Tierney Sutton ’86, Sting Variations, which has been nominated for a Grammy (fingers-crossed), and enjoyed reading The Lost Spy by fellow Russian language student Andy Meier ’85. It’s about an American Jewish spy for Stalin who grew up in nowheresville Willimantic, Conn., next to my hometown and down the road from Middletown. I am still in touch with, and see too rarely, Skip Lockhart, Jessica Miller, Janet Ginzberg, Becky Riccio, and John Gould ’86.”
“No momentous updates from me says,” Scott Pryce. “My sons are growing (now 8 and 10) and are the greatest source of joy, and I am blessed with a wonderful wife. We are in the D.C. area, and I travel a lot to Miami for work. I am leading a real estate start up, which is challenging and rewarding in different measures depending on the day!”
I do hope to see many of you in Middletown at the end of May. I, for one, don’t see how anyone could pass up a chance to hang out on Foss Hill after 30 years. Who knows who you’ll run into?
Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com