CLASS OF 1997 | 2021–2022 | WINTER ISSUE

Thanks to everyone who wrote in to let us know how they’ve been doing and what they’ve been up to as we go through the second COVID summer. Also (hint, hint) it will be Reunion year next May 2022 for our 25th! Please start planning to come; we cannot wait to see you all in person.

Here is the ’97 news. . .

After more than a decade teaching at West Virginia University, Josh Arthurs, Malayna Bernstein, and their boys are trading Appalachia for the Great White North and Josh’s hometown of Toronto. Malayna will be the founding director of the new Learning Hub in the University of Toronto’s School of Information, and Josh will be joining the History Department. Josh says, “Canadian alums should drop us a line!” Congratulations to Josh and Malayna!

   Angela Yee has been building two businesses to quench your thirst and boost your health: “I have launched my pressed juice line, Drink Fresh Juice, which is 100% organic fruits and vegetables as well as launched my own coffee line, Coffee Uplifts People (C.U.P.) with a brick- and-mortar location due to open in August in Brooklyn.” Check out both websites: drinkfreshjuice.com and coffeeupliftspeople.com. Both product lines will be available in her shop on Bedford and Gates. We’ll definitely be stopping by!

   Kevin Carr O’Leary did a lot of writing, connecting, and parenting during COVID. “We are happy and healthy in Brooklyn, thankfully. I spent my pandemic collaborating over Zoom with Gabrielle Union on her next essay collection, You Got Anything Stronger?, which is out in now. I also helped Jessica Simpson write her Amazon Original Stories essay, Take the Lead, our follow-up to the memoir Open Book. And I did homeschooling, where I met my old nemesis—4th grade math—and remembered why I was an English major at Wes. My husband Brian and I can’t believe our kids are going to be second and fifth graders.” We love Gabrielle Union and Jessica Simpson and we totally feel you in disbelief at the kids getting older . . . how is this even possible?

We were happy to hear from Erica (Schiller) Burnell. She wrote: “I live in Seattle, Washington, with my husband Scott Burnell and our two children, and I just earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy. I’m really looking forward to serving others in a new way.” As an occupational therapist, Erica plans to work with children of preschool and elementary age.

Matthew Fogelman continues to represent plaintiffs at his litigation firm, Fogelman Law (fogelmanlawfirm.com). Matt is enjoying advocating on behalf of individuals in personal injury and employment cases. Amy Goorin Fogelman is growing her medical consulting company, Med Law Consulting (medlawconsulting.com). Amy has been working closely with lawyers and doctors and matching the two in cases involving medical expert witnesses. Matt and Amy live in the Boston area. Their daughters, Ella (17) and Lily (13.5) are awesome kids and relished in their wonderful summers (Ella in Israel and Lily at overnight camp in Maine).

Matt attended a recent memorial service for our beloved classmate and friend Seth Spector, who passed away earlier this year. Many ’97 grads were in attendance, including Raphael Crawford, Lashawn Flores D’Aleo, Armando Petruzziello’98, Sean Downey, Steve Guidi, Jack Eighmy, Gavin Menu, and James Bevilacqua. “It was good to reconnect albeit under awful circumstances and celebrate Seth’s life.” We send our thoughts to the Spector family and pay homage to Seth, who was a dear friend and great role model to many, both at Wes and in his post-Wesleyan years.

Adam Epstein released his first picture book, Have You Seen Gordon, about a bright purple tapir, in September.

Educators, does your bookshelf include anything by Lauren Porosoff yet? She reports: “I wrote a new book called The PD Curator: How to Design Peer-to-Peer Professional Learning That Elevates Teachers and Teaching. It’s about how education leaders can design inclusive, participatory, cohesive, effective professional learning that affirms in-house expertise and taps into teachers’ values. I’m excited about it and would love to share my work with the educators in my Wes family.”

Jess continues to teach nutrition and work on health equity–centered projects at Arizona State University. She and her husband have three sons, who will be in 10th, 6th and 3rd grade in the fall. Sasha is still lawyering and mothering in Manhattan.

We are keeping you in our thoughts and hopes for a great next year for all. Please drop us a line, let us know when you are traveling and visiting, and please plan to come to Reunion in May 2022!