CLASS OF 1992 | 2024 | SUMMER ISSUE
Hello, Class of 1992!
My desperate plea for class notes material brought on a flood of responses. So much, in fact, that I have more news than I can fit into the 800-word limit of a single column. So, if your update did not make into this set of notes, fear not, you will have prominent placement in the next edition!
My old housemate Simon Fulford continues to live in Portland, Oregon, where he has been the executive director of a child-and-family-serving nonprofit. Last October they broke ground on a $25 million youth residential treatment campus—Oregon ranks pretty much worst in the nation for addiction and recovery services for kids and adults. Simon’s two youngest sons are seventh and tenth graders, providing all the joys and challenges that come with that. His eldest, now 21, currently lives in Buenos Aires.
Dr. John “Juan” Luque is a full professor at Florida A&M University, in public health in Tallahassee, Florida. He was recently elected president of the American Association for Cancer Education. He spends his free time playing tennis in USTA league and defended his title in the annual local mixed doubles Sweetheart Tournament in February. He is also training his elementary school-age daughter in tennis so he can have a second career as a coach.
Cathy Keane continues to live in St. Louis where she has been teaching classics at Washington University since 2001.
This year Sara (Davidson) Flanders opened a yoga studio in Providence, Rhode Island, where she lives with her husband and 10-year-old kiddo. It’s the first yoga studio in Rhode Island that’s donation based with a majority of teachers of color and teachers in the LQBTQ community.
Dan Wulf recently musically directed Working for the third time (all three versions) for his 27th Watertown (Massachusetts) High School musical. Dan also conducts the Boston chapter of HaZamir, an international Jewish choir, and crossed paths with Allison (Wienir) Wissot ’93 at the annual festival performance weekend.
Valerie Nozick was recently promoted to chief commercial officer at Europcar Mobility Group USA/Fox Rent a Car. Last fall she joined Fox to establish the sales and marketing group and to get back to the travel industry. When not traveling, she spends her time at home in Seattle with her husband, Dan, and their spoiled dog, Geoffrey.
Kathryn Berlá was inspired by her experience with our 2022 30th Reunion and continues to see Wes folk. She was happy to connect with John Melnick and Hal Skinner (and their children) visiting NYC in December, and then again with Hal and Jonathan Liebson in February on another quick trip to the city.
Sam Ernst is living in the Berkshires, teaching middle school, and emptying the nest of his three collegiate children. Sam recently finished a tour of the last dregs of the ski season, along with the eclipse, in northern Vermont and New Hampshire: Magic, Sugarbush, Stowe, Bolton Valley, Mad River, and Tuckerman’s. The trip left him pining for a reunion of the Wes ski team, so be sure to get in touch with Sam if you find yourself in New England.
Matt Wein is now leading corporate law and compliance at Bay Area-based gene-editing biotech Metagenomi, which just completed a successful IPO in February. He’s residing in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and splitting his time between San Francisco and Boston.
Jen Mittelstadt reports that she and her husband, Aaron Matthews ’93, were thrilled be back on campus this year to drop off their son, Lucas Matthews, as a Wes frosh. She’s a professor of history at Rutgers University and Aaron is a documentary filmmaker. They live in Brooklyn with their daughter, Adelaide, who will be applying to college next year.
Darcy Dennett is on hiatus from TV production, working on a corporate project for JPMorgan Chase & Co. She just ran the NYC Half, albeit it somewhat slowly in an effort to get into better shape for the Brooklyn Half in May.
Rick Barot’s fifth book of poems, Moving the Bones, will be published in October 2024. He’s been a visiting writer at the University of Utah this year but will soon be back at his regular gig, directing the MFA program in creative writing at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
That’s all for now. But even though I have some extra news for the next column, I’m always looking for your updates, so please continue to send me your news—I would especially love to hear from you if it’s been a while since you last checked in. Your classmates want to know what you are up to!