CLASS OF 1987 | 2018 | ISSUE 1
Kelly Washburn is “living in New York, working in fundraising in a private school. This summer I spent three weeks volunteering at Ritsona refugee camp in Greece with Echo100Plus. I’d be happy to share more about my experience with anyone who might be considering doing something similar: washburn.kelly@gmail.com.”
On Nov. 6, Paul Zoltan’s daughter, Natalia Charlotte Zoltan, was born. “With her birth through surrogacy, I’ve embarked on the adventure of single parenthood here in Dallas.”
Johanna Maaghul has “three kids in college now, two at Berkeley and one in Santa Barbara. I am continuing to enjoy my work as a literary agent with Waterside Productions and am excited to see more and more of my projects coming out in the world. I have also been doing some technical advising in the cryptocurrency and Blockchain space with a group of advisors in Germany called sicos.io, as well as helping to launch my husband, Rich’s company, odem.io in Switzerland, a beautiful country indeed. I will be spending a good part of the year there and would love to hear from any classmates also living there.”
Lisa Pavlovsky is “life-coaching and president of the board of my synagogue which is a full-time job, as is parenting two teen boys. Menopause and adolescence is not the best combo! Had a wonderful visit with Vivian Trakinski when she was in San Francisco for business lately. Feeling very much of the sandwich generation taking care of children and aging parents (my dad passed away a year ago), but feeling fortunate I live close to them.”
Mark Ungar published a book, The 21stCentury Fight for the Amazon(Palgrave Macmillan), based on his work for the United Nations to develop environmental enforcement agencies in the nine countries of the Amazon Basin.
Holly Campbell Ambler and her husband live in Cambridge, Mass. One daughter lives at home and is in the midst of the crazy college search process. Their eldest daughter is an aspiring ballet dancer who is training with a company in New Jersey. Holly works as a clinical social worker with a focus on children and families, “a career I came to in mid-life which I am enjoying,” she writes. “I frequently see Trish and John Dorsey, Karen and Dennis Mahoney, and Michele Houdek and Doug Koplow, and enjoyed catching up with others at our Reunion last spring.
Claudia Center is still at the ACLU doing disability rights. “Our damages trial in the Kenton County, Kentucky child-handcuffing case starts this March. I also collaborate with MIUSA—in the past year I’ve traveled to Guatemala, Pakistan, and Mexico working on disability rights trainings partnering with local organizations. I’ve spent time IRL with Jennifer Bush, Jack Levinson, and Becca Gallagher, connected via FB to many more.
Hemanshu Nigam launched the Center for Online Justice (centerforonlinejustice.com) to help people who are being attacked, harassed, stalked, or victimized online. They help identify and bring justice in an area where anonymity and misconduct can rule.
Debby Hamilton moved from Colorado to Santa Barbara, CA a year ago to join a supplement company called Researched Nutritionals to help with product development, research and physician education. “I do that three weeks a month and then see patients in my integrative practice in Colorado one week a month. I am in Colorado long enough to bother my kids in college and make them spend time with me! Love missing winter and being able to go to the beach year-round after being land locked in Colorado for 18 years. Wendy Blum‘s mom is nearby so had a great visit with her family last summer. I welcome any visitors or alumni who are in the area to contact me.”
Ian Friday, associate director of The Colored Girls Museum, said the museum was created in September 2015 alongside Vashti Dubois ’83, executive director, and Michael Clemmons, curator. This memoir house museum is located in historic Germantown, Philadelphia, and celebrates the ordinary/extraordinary colored girl. This museum has been granted a 20k sponsorship by the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, which is led by Shawn Dove ’84, and reopens for weekly Sunday tours during Women’s History Month. The exhibition is Urgent Care, A Social Care Experience Part 2.
Sheila Rhatigan Arcelona writes, “Not much new, still busy and happy, living and working in the rapidly changing city of San Francisco. I still love my job as an administrator in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, which is always challenging and always interesting. Very proud of my old boss, Senator Kamala Harris, who was the district attorney who hired me 12 years ago. Which seems like last week—I can’t believe how time has flown by. My little daughter Angel is now 17 and all about finding the right college. I expect an East Coast college tour is on our horizon. Finally, just want to give a shout out to the Wesleyanmagazine for the excellent articles and especially the book reviews. I love reading about what our alumni are writing and I especially can’t wait to read Carolyn Tesh O’Doherty‘s upcoming book Rewind.”
Becca Wharton is “happy to report that my stepdaughter, Julia Jurist, was accepted early decision to Wesleyan and will begin in the fall as a freshman.”
Eileen Deignan writes, “It had been way too long since I had caught up with Elizabeth Saveri and Renee Fogleberg. I saw them in Pasadena and San Francisco respectively last summer. Johanna Van Hise and Simon Heartmake it to the East Coast most summers and we had a great mini-reunion with Suzy Walrath and her family in July. Sumana (Chandrasekhar) Rangashar checks in whenever she is in Massachusetts and we meet up in the Berkshires. Ira Skolnik keeps me up the date on Wesleyan as he has a son who is a freshman there now. We serve together on the state dermatology board. Ira is doing Wes proud as the current president.”
Alisa Kwitney has a young adult novel, Cadaver & Queen, coming out from HarlequinTeen at the end of February, and a prestige format comic book miniseries, Mystik U, coming out from DC Comics. is teaching graphic novel writing in the fall for Manhattanville College’s MFA program.
Ian Rosen has “joined forces with Arnab Bhattasali ’03, Souleymane Ba ’03, and Sisi Miteva ’15 as regional representatives for the Wes London/UK community. This is part of a push by Wesleyan to relaunch the international regional community groups. We’re planning some events and hope to entice the London, and broader UK, and maybe even European, Wes communities to attend.”
David Josephs has relocated to London.
Kevin Pratt writes that “it was a good year! Highlights included a family trip to Guatemala to visit an orphanage we’ve supported over the years. The trip included one-on-one Spanish lessons (yes—even for our 3-year-old). The kids also spent six weeks in Brazil with my wife, while I built out my music studio at home. I now have a great space to play, write, and compose. I’m in frequent contact with Roger Russell ’85, Vashti Dubois ’93, Ian Friday and had a lovely visit with Bennett Schneider ’86 in LA this past October. I’m already looking forward to the next Reunion.”
David Abramso nwrites, “I’m in my 17th year living in Washington, D.C., and working at the state department as a senior analyst on Russian foreign relations (no requests for written comment on life in the U.S. government please!). My family and I will be visiting Wesleyan on a college tour in New England during spring break in March for my elder daughter, Hazel, a high school junior. More than 30 years after graduating from the Russian department, it’s touching to know that four out of five of the same faculty members are still there. Between campuses, I plan to spend time in the Boston area with Becky Riccio, Skip Lockhart, and Jessica Miller, and hopefully will see Janet Ginzberg in Philadelphia on the way home.
Karen Sallick writes, “As of the new year I have switched from working mostly in my marketing consulting company of 20 years to working on my newly launched app. The change of focus is invigorating. I also realized that as I sent my kids back to college, I have likely spent the last big chunk of time with everyone home together. Over the past few years I have become more and more involved in donating my time to my local NPR station (WSHU) as I feel more strongly now than ever that more balanced and comprehensive news coverage is critical.”
Melissa Marks writes, “My exhibition Volitia Returnsat Planthouse Gallery in New York continues through the spring. In conjunction with the exhibition, the gallery will present Double Self Split, a film about my 2016 installation and exhibition inside the Castle of Vélez Blanco, Andalucia, Spain.While the installation in New York City draws energy from the dissonant confluence of bricks, fences, walls, and looping wires in a make-shift canyon on the back-side of a Tin Pan Alley row house in New York City, Double Self Split draws itself through a different set of material parameters, found conditions and cultural histories in the open courtyard of a Renaissance castle in Spain!
“I still live in Chelsea with my husband, Vicente Caride ’85 and our 16-year-old son Archie.”
John Fitzpatrick writes, “Last November, Chris Olinger organized a get-together on the Oregon Coast. Attendees in addition to Chris and I, were Andrew Grimaldi, Dave Cole, Jeff McCarthy ’89, and Michael Pruzan. Football on the beach, hiking, kayaking, eating, drinking, and reminiscing with the backdrop of the Pacific and sunshine made for a great long weekend.”
And finally, Amy Baltzell, has anew book coming out, The Power of Mindfulness: Mindful Meditation Training for Sport. “I also am now the president of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. I have been spending some time with Susan Anthony, now an artist living on Cape Cod. Her work is beautiful.”
Take care!
Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com