CLASS OF 2007 | 2021–2022 | WINTER ISSUE
Greetings class of 2007! Megan is here to give you the updates on classmates as we approach our 15th (!) Reunion year.
Our ranks continue to grow with many of us expanding our families! Eric Altneu reports that he moved to Philly for his ID fellowship at Temple. And he adds, “My husband (Brookes Hammock) and I had a baby in May, Mabel Rae Altneu-Hammock.” Cortney (Tetrault) Duncan and her husband welcomed their second son, Jaxon Ryder Duncan last summer. She continues to live and work at Kent School where she coaches the field hockey and lacrosse teams and is the director of athletics.
Peggy Gullick has been making moves in her career. She says, “I’m now the Director of the Center for Human Services Research at the State University of New York– Albany; we focus on social service program evaluation in New York state and beyond. So if anyone’s nonprofit or CBO is interested in contracting with an external group for a formal evaluation, feel free to check us out and get in touch!” She adds, “Otherwise, Nick Field ’09 and I have been in Albany for the past several years, as he progresses through his neurosurgery residency. Our son Caleb was born last spring; not many Wes friends have had the chance to meet him in person so far, but plenty have over Zoom, at least!”
Doug Rubenstein reports that he and his wife welcomed their second child (a daughter) during the pandemic and will be moving back to Los Angeles later this year. He adds, “I’m currently a recruiter at PayPal and I’m also a founder of a startup tech company called CHIP Professionals. Our goal is to provide a marketplace for people to be matched with financial professionals of color in order to improve the retention rates of financial professionals of color, as well as breakdown some of the barriers that people of color have in hiring financial professionals.”
2020 was a year of change for Sarah Sluis. She welcomed her second child, Juniper, and switched coasts to be closer to her family. After vowing not to live on the other side of a ferry, Seattle’s hot housing market convinced her otherwise, and she bought a home in April on Whidbey Island (the Hudson Valley of the West Coast?). She is working for her New York–based job 100 percent remotely, and was recently promoted to managing editor of AdExchanger. She would love to reconnect with any Seattle area–based Wes alums!
Raomej Caro reports that she’ll be attending CUNY School of Law this fall with the support and encouragement of her husband, Andrew Boatti. After the 2016 election and all the havoc that came with it, plus COVID-19 and our societal response, Raomej says, “I felt ready and compelled to get my JD and really lean into pushing for change both personally and professionally.”
Matthew Franco says, “It’s been an odd year and a half!” He continues, “I was teaching at Goucher College when COVID started and then agreed to teach as part of the Goucher Prison Education Project. I taught via Zoom into the prison for a semester, and it was tremendously rewarding. When courses were delayed/canceled for the spring, I began volunteering with Johns Hopkins at vaccination clinics. After volunteering for a few weeks, I stepped into a paid position and am helping run operations for mobile clinics that serve at-risk/marginalized communities. Before I got the job offer from Johns Hopkins, I had already signed a contract for a seasonal job working for the Maryland Park Service in a state park near Baltimore. It’s been a very busy summer, but rewarding!”
Jon Pierowicz has had a busy year. He shares that he recently got married and accepted a job as general counsel at Viridi Parente, an energy storage and battery technology company.
Annie Rorem chimes in with the news that she, along with former Home Avenue residents Erica Pasciullo Cahill, Arielle Cohen, and Nicole Tirado Strayer continue to have thoughtful conversations, late night dance parties, and outdoor adventures—with one fish, one dog, one cat, four husbands, six advanced degrees, and seven children between them.
Wishing you a wonderful fall and winter! As always, please continue to send updates to Victoria or me. And stay tuned for news about Reunion and Commencement in the spring (fingers crossed we can see each other in person)!