Author: Anne Marcotty

The class of 2014 continues to kill it. Here’s what they’re up to:
Jessica Titlebaum is gearing up to attend Michigan State college of veterinary medicine—class of 2019.

Jeremy Judelson writes, “I am working at Mass Appeal magazine and have put on lots of weight since graduation.”

John Steel is working at a pharma startup in Westchester, N.Y., with a bunch of other Wes alums including Hannah Plon. Very exciting and thrilling company (currently focused on women’s health, as well as sports nutrition and diabetes).

Henry Cheung just finished his first year of teaching in the Bronx through Teach For America and is enjoying the summer by conducting fascinating clinical research at Bellevue Hospital. Next year, he will be leading his school’s geometry and precalculus departments, spearheading in the creation of the curricula, training new teaching assistants, and guiding new teachers joining the department. In addition, he is expanding his organization, Equal College Guidance, to aid the juniors and seniors in both SAT math and the college admissions process.

Laura Getchell and Kevin Hughes worked at a company called OPENPediatrics, which is sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital. OPENPediatrics is an online digital learning platform that provides open-access educational resources to clinicians worldwide. The mission of the program is to build an international community of clinicians sharing best practices from all resource settings around the world through innovative collaboration and digital learning technologies. Through their website, clinicians can access academically rigorous and peer-reviewed content, including expert medical educational videos, interactive device simulators, protocols, and medical calculators. They currently have users in 125 countries. To those pursuing a career in medicine, particularly in pediatrics, this is a wonderful, free resource. Their website is openpediatrics.org and anyone who is a medical student can register for a free account to gain access to all of their content.

Joshua Krugman now lives in Glover, Vt., where he works for the Bread and Puppet Theater, a political puppet theater, and hangs out with Hailey Sowden ’15, who works at a local sheep dairy and orchard. He often sees Leah Frost ’05 at Couriers or the C&C, local grocery stores, and at the Bread and Puppet farm. His poems appear in summer issues of Osiris and Matter Monthly.

Matt Leibowitz writes, “I’ve been spending the past year building my own organization, Consent is So Frat, which works to make consent and healthy relationships part of what it means to be a fraternity brother or sorority sister. We currently have campus representatives on almost 50 campuses and are working with the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign as an official partner to develop Greek specific programming. I’ll be speaking on the “It’s On Us” Panel in D.C. next month at the Make Progress Summit, which will also include Senator Gillibrand, Senator Cory Booker, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. I hope to connect with other alumni doing great work in this field!”

Katherine Clifford spent this past year working at the UCSF memory and aging center as a clinical research coordinator. She is now starting medical school this fall at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Michelle Agresti and Rachel Rosengard are roommates and have survived their first year in New York, despite their apartment’s best efforts. They are currently looking for a new apartment, and now on their list of requirements, in addition to affordable rent, is no mushrooms growing out of the kitchen ceiling (despite how scientifically stunning it was the first time). Michelle is working as an actress, attending acting school, and has a variety of jobs, including being a zombie. She just wrapped filming on a series of short films that she created with a fellow actor, and the crew was all Wesleyan! If you have any contact with her on the Internet, you’ll hear about it. Rachel assists in PET/MRI brain imaging to study schizophrenia and substance abuse. Trained in phlebotomy, the quality of your veins is one of the first things she’ll notice (and love) about you! Off the clock, Rachel volunteers at a nonprofit bookstore cafe.

Simon Riker writes: “I’ve spent my year since graduation working as a freelance musician, mostly in the theatre. I have worked on two new musicals as an assistant and orchestrator. I’ve played keyboard for New York regional theatre productions of Sweeney Todd and The Little Mermaid. I work as a music director at the Play Group Theatre in White Plains, N.Y., and as assistant music director for the Summer Theatre of New Canaan. Me Prometheus, my caveman musical, was produced at William and Mary in April and my co-writer and I are currently rewriting it and looking for its next opportunity to run.”

Hello, All! It has been two years since the Class of 2013 left Wesleyan. We’ve embarked on journeys near and far, collected master’s degrees or are enroute to becoming PhDs, changed jobs/lives/cities a few times, and we’ve stuck by each other through it all.

Chantal Ferguson, Suzanne Gallo, and Emily Wolcott are just about to move out of the Jolly Rogers house they have shared for the last two years. Emily and Suzanne are getting their master’s in social work and Chantal is starting her MD/PhD at UMass. They are frequently visited by local classmates including Thomas Kassel and Andrew Perlmutter. Current pastimes include competitive knitting, basket weaving, and soup-making competitions. Weekends are often concluded with team bowling and all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. If anyone is visiting Boston, the Jolly Rogers crew would love to have you at their new digs close by.

Trevor Michelson will be representing the United States in the lightweight single sculls at the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea in July. Randy Linder is working at Capital Group in Los Angeles. Bennett Kirschner started a small theatre ensemble/Vietnamese pop-up in New Orleans called the Cobbleslop Group. Their first production, titled Feast & Crime, went up this past March and was a resounding success. Their next production, titled John Locke Schmidt: The Unforgiven Betrayal of a Close Friend will be in mid-August at a small art gallery, and he would love it if any and all Wesleyan grads could make it!

Joseph O’Donnell is over half way done with a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, which spans 2,189 miles from Georgia to Maine. He is fundraising along the way for Hike for Mental Health, an organization devoted to promoting mental health research and hiking as a therapeutic activity. To follow or donate for mental health, visit psychhikes.com. Chloe Lalonde and Ceili Brennan are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail the summer. As of this message, they are on top of Mount Whitney! 766 miles out of 2660 down. They are also wearing their Wesleyan Cross Country T-shirts and repping our alma mater.

Ross Gormley is starting an MFA program this fall in creative nonfiction at UNC Wilmington. Before he enrolls, he is traveling out West on a trip made entirely possible by Wesleyan friends—many thanks to them. Sarah Cassel will be beginning a master’s degree in criminology at the University of Cambridge, U.K., in Oct. Ever since participating as a writing tutor in Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education, she has become passionate about working in the intersecting field of prison reform, rehabilitation, and racial justice.
Last year, Lia Monti moved into a historic home in Brooklyn Heights built in 1834 by Walt Whitman’s father (with help from young Walt). She graduated this May from Columbia University with a master’s in postwar Japanese art history. Janet Cushey moved from Seoul to NYC in August of 2014 to begin a position as an investor relations associate with a small firm that works with oncology and drug development companies. Anna Swartz is living in Bed-Stuy, writing for The Dodo and looking forward to some scenic drives through good ol’ Connecticut this summer. Walter Rodriguez started a new role this year in global procurement at Pfizer, where he’s been since graduating from Wesleyan. His daughter, Adriana, just graduated from kindergarten this June. He is looking forward to many summer weekends in NYC with her at parks, zoos, aquariums, and gardens. She loves taking the train from New Jersey.

Taran Catania has spent the last year in Washington D.C., working for an international bird conservation organization. Previously, she spent a few seasons in the field catching migratory shorebirds in Delaware Bay. She loves D.C., but does not love the Red Line metro. Evan Okun is now a central leader of Circles & Ciphers, a restorative justice organization or young people of color who are court and gang involved. This coming August, the organization will hire Cherkira Lashley ’15 to start a branch of the program for young women. This past May, Cherkira and Evan brought Circles & Ciphers to Wesleyan to facilitate conflict resolution circles with various groups on campus. One such circle focused on rebuilding community between residents of fraternities, Women of Color House, and Open House. Evan Okun has also brought with colleagues and Wesleyan alumni together to release an album, Well Lit LP. The debut music video can be found on YouTube: E. Oks—Beez (ft. Ash Frost). More music, articles, and poetry can be found at E-Oks.com

Chelsea Goldsmith has an update from the 410: “Cassie Liu came and visited me. The rest of you are still in trouble.”

As for myself, I’m continuing to enjoy the spoils of the Bay Area and am about to hit my two-year mark at Apple. Still making my way through SF gastronomy and exploring the world whenever time permits. Thanks to everyone for writing in and best wishes to all my classmates!

As another cohort of freshman begin to make Wes their new home, it is time to reflect on the adventures our 2012 classmates!

Zachary Cuong Nguyen and Mari Sahakyan both chose to attend UC Berkeley-Boalt School of Law last fall and have been roommates ever since. As their 1L year came to a close, they set off for their summer jobs; Mari was at the US Attorneys Office in San Francisco and Cuong spent the summer at the SEC in New York. Mari writes, “I am very lucky that one of my best friends from Wes is also in the program with me…and so live on the Wes connections!”

Mari continues her praises with another Wes alum, “Possibly the kindest and most-grounded individual from our class (and someone I am very lucky to call my friend) is finishing up his master’s in just about a week at the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy!” I know we can all share in a round of applause for Justin Pena; we fully expect to hear about your accomplishments in the news.

And continuing the Wes connection overseas, William Miller, Nica Latto, and Phillip Ross have been living in Prague, Czech Republic, for the past two years. Will and Phil work for dueling social media marketing companies, while Nica teaches English and teaches people how to teach English. Recently, Nica began organizing trips throughout the Czech countryside, Phil settled down with a cat and a car, and Will completed a treacherous drive to Mongolia. They spend their free time gallivanting around Europe and would welcome a visit from any other Wes alumni!

Nathan Mackenzie recently returned to the U.S. in Nov. 2013 after working with Shining Hope for Communities in Nairobi, Kenya, since graduating. He has moved back to his home state of Colorado and worked for two nonprofits in Denver focused on local economy and local food economy work. Since July 2014, Nathan has been a part of El Pomar Foundation’s Fellowship program, which is a two-year leadership development program in Colorado Springs.

And back to my stomping grounds in BK, Lila Rachel Becker has finally settled in Brooklyn with all the many other Wes alums after living in Maine, Mass., and D.C. Lila directs plays professionally, most recently at The Flea and in the Source Festival in D.C.! She is thrilled to collaborate with cello wizard Mel Hsu ’13, who is composing and recording music for one of the plays. Outside of the rehearsal room, Lila works as a grant writer at BRIC.

As for me, I am rounding out my fourth year in the Big Apple, and hope to see and hear from many more Wes alumni. Wishing the class of 2012 all the best in all their endeavors!

Class of 2011, hard to believe but our Fifth Reunion is less than a year away! For those of you who don’t know, Reunion and Commencement weekend is May 19–22, 2016. Please be looking for information via e-mail on how to register! Hope to see you all there!

Updates from our class: Ivan Maulana reports, “I’ve just graduated from Texas A&M with an M.S. in geology, and am starting work as a petroleum geologist with an exploration and production company in Singapore.”

Alex Bean writes, “Its been a fun final year at Dublin School in New Hampshire! I had a unique opportunity to coach the snowboarding team at Dublin School and we ended up winning a Lakes Region championship for the first time in school history in our Slopestyle competition. Although I will miss Dublin dearly, I am excited about my next move as the director of institutional giving at the School of the Holy Child in Rye, N.Y.”

Devon Hopkins is enjoying the muggy D.C. summer, continuing to run the marketing team for EveryAction, a nonprofit CRM platform. He will be traveling to Italy and Croatia this summer with Emma Lewis, Katie Colasacco, and Allie Rowan, and is looking forward to Henry Kiely’s wedding in August!

Maryann Platt is moving back East from UC, Irvine, to finish her PhD at Columbia. “See you soon, Manhattan!”

Ross Shenker writes, “After working professionally as an actor and director for a few years, I will be attending the University of Louisville in the fall for my M.F.A. in acting. I will teach a theater appreciation course in the first year and introduction to acting in the second and third years for undergraduates as well.”

Guangshuo Yang informs us, “We have celebrated the successful conclusion of a year-long program on local history with a live performance in Pittsfield, Maine. As the co-leader of “Local & Legendary,” a local history initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Maine Memory Network, I have been volunteering with local residents, schools, and NGOs in an effort to raise communal awareness of local memory. We collected and digitized local artifacts related to the Civil War, organized book panels, brought in speakers, established QR-imbedded history boards, and restored some war-related sites in town. It’s been a fun and rewarding ride for me, particularly as an outsider.”

Amanda Faraone writes, “I’m working at One Story (one-story.com), a literary nonprofit in Brooklyn, and just finished my MFA in fiction at Brooklyn College. In July, I’m getting married to Alex Anthony ’10, who is finishing his PhD in philosophy at Rutgers.

Last but not least, Eliza Jane Gordon accepted a position as a bilingual instructional coach and reading specialist at Brooke Elementary School in Austin. She is halfway finished with her graduate program at the University of Texas, where she is working on her master’s in educational administration in the Principalship Program. Eliza will graduate the same weekend as our Fifth Reunion!

As always, keep the updates coming! Looking forward to seeing you all back on Foss Hill very soon!

Greetings Class of 2010, I hope you enjoy the following updates from our classmates around the country:

Niki Holtzman is thrilled to report that she and Nick Hayes ’09 were married July 26 in Chatham, Mass. They were happy to have been joined on Cape Cod by a strong contingency of Wesleyan friends from our class and beyond. Niki and Nick started dating at Wesleyan in the spring of 2008.

Micah Weiss reports that he will begin rabbinical school at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia this fall.

Also continuing his education in Philly is Jeff Katzin, who is starting a PhD program in art history at the University of Pennsylvania. Jeff completed his MA in art history at the University of Texas at Austin back in 2013.

I’m excited to report that my Wesleyan hockey teammate Sam Decock and his wife Tracy have welcomed their second child, Annie, into the world. Annie joins Sam and Tracy’s energetic 2-year-old son Tyler. The Decocks are enjoying life and working at the Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Conn.

Kait Halibozek started her new job as the campaign coordinator in Picture Motion’s L.A. office back in March. Picture Motion is the leading marketing and advocacy firm for issue-driven films, and has offices in NYC, L.A., and D.C. She loves working with nonprofits and other progressive organizations to change the world through film. In her spare time, she continues to co-write and produce the web series Zach and Anton Save the World with her boyfriend. It’s a sci-fi comedy about two guys who move into a house where the downstairs bathroom happens to be a portal to other universes. Alex Finkel ’08, Dara Jaffe ’09, Ben Kuller ’11, Brian Velsor ’11, Amanda Sonnenschein ’14, and Christian Schneider ’14 have all helped out on one episode or another. Kait loved seeing everyone at Reunion and can’t wait for the next one!

Katherine Kitfield Bascom has a new job with CrossFit Solace, a dynamic athletic training facility in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan. She is performing with aerial hoop and pole dance, and helping run a circus school in Brooklyn. She also tutors with the IRC and works as a freelance editor, and is still in love with the NYC hustle.

Leah Lucid, who has been doing research for the past three years, is now working towards a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Washington. Leah is also singing in a choir and enjoying Seattle life with her puppy, Moose.

Finally, while we are several months removed from Reunion at this point, I’d like to say thank you once more to everyone who made it to Middletown for an incredible weekend. “Officially,” 373 of our classmates gathered on campus—a Wesleyan five-year Reunion record! I trust everyone had a blast, reliving the glory days on Foss Hill, waxing nostalgic at dinner in the Russell House gardens, or in some cases, enjoying a cold one once more in Clark Hall. It truly was a pleasure to see everyone and I hope our 10-year even a fraction as good. Thanks also for everyone’s contributions to this edition!

Your fellow classmates have been busy earning degrees, publishing works, traveling, and getting married—read below for more details!

Kwabea Osae-Kwapong just received her MBA from Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

Rachel Berkowitz graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in May. In July, she will begin a one-year optometry residency at the Boston VA healthcare system in Brockton, Mass. She is sad to leave Chicago, but is looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and Wes alum in Boston!

For the last three years, Jake Abrahamson has been writing and editing for Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club. His piece on solar power in rural India will appear in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015, to be released in October.

Seth Halpern graduated with honors from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He purchased a condo near Dupont Circle and is now working in new product development at Privia Health.

Laura Masulis moved and took a new position at MassDevelopment working on the downtown revitalization of Springfield, Mass.

Sara Deniz Akant’s first book of poems, Parades, was published by Omnidawn in Oct. 2014, and a full-length collection, Babette, is forthcoming from Rescue Press this November. She’s also the author of chapbook titled Latronic Strag, published by Persistent Editions in April 2015. She mostly lives in New York and plans to begin a PhD in English at the CUNY Graduate Center this fall.

Mike Repplier is a booking producer at ABC News, securing competitive interviews for Good Morning America and digital platforms. He recently traveled to Germany to cover the German wings plane disaster. Last November, he ran his first NYC marathon and is currently deciding whether to train for this year’s race… or if the summer would be better spent drinking sangria on the beach.”

Daphne Schmon finished directing a feature documentary called Down to Earth, which follows Venezuelan Ernesto Gainza on his journey to achieve a Guinness World Record for skydiving with the smallest and fastest parachute in history. Trailer available here: seek-films.com/project/down-to-earth/

Keiko Hamano writes, “I am in my second year of practicing as a certified massage therapist. After receiving my initial training I went on to complete an additional course in neuromuscular massage therapy. My education and experience in massage has exposed me to a whole new world of health care practices. This has sparked my interest in complementary and alternative medicine, especially chiropractic and acupuncture. I have been accepted into the doctor of chiropractic program at the Southern California University of Health Sciences in Whittier, Calif., and I’m starting courses in September. I’m also hoping to complete a masters’ of acupuncture and oriental medicine as well. I am passionate about providing holistic health care options to people suffering from pain or disease. I believe in the power of these fields on their own, but feel the best way for me to serve others is through a multi-disciplinary practice. Looking forward to taking the next step on my journey of helping others through health and wellness!”

Megan Nash and Charlie Kurose ’10 were married on June 6 in Chicago. They were thrilled to celebrate with so many of their Wesleyan classmates: Chris Goy, Graham Immerman, Catherine Kast Stickney, Erik Underwood, Jenny Ajl ’10, Abby Blake ’10, Dan Charness ’10, Chris Foley ’10, Matt Nestler ’10, Jamie Pesuit ’10, Rachel Schwerin ’10, D Williams ’10, Julia Heffelfinger ’11, Zoe Jick ’11, Rick Maynard ’11, and Sophie Sadinsky ’11.

Finally, Paul Edwards will be going to Germany with a grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, German Academic Exchange Service) for his dissertation on the reception of jazz culture in interwar Germany.

Thanks to those who submitted notes. Please keep them coming in!

Our class has been busy, including myself. My husband, Paul, and I had a baby girl, Eliza, in May and couldn’t be happier! But we’re not the only ones who were visited by the stork… Johanna Richlin writes: “News from Baltimore: my husband, Gabe Paquette ’99, and I welcomed with great joy our baby daughter, Antonia Bard Paquette, into the world on June 5. We’re over the moon, as are her long line of Wesleyan alum relatives: grandparents Pamela Bard Richlin ’75 and Dean Richlin ’74, great uncle Gar Richlin ’67, and aunt Sara Richlin ’04!”

Ben Smyser will soon join the proud parents as well. He writes: “This is my first class note, so I have a lot to tell! I got married to a beautiful woman named Elanor Schoomer in the summer of 2012, and she and I are having a baby, due in September! I’ve been admitted to the bars of New York and New Jersey and am working as a corporate associate at a large law firm, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, LLP. After living in Atlanta during law school, Elanor and I now are back in Brooklyn, still hanging out with many of my (now our) Wes friends.”

In somewhat related news (the opposite side of delivery), Lillian Siegel recently moved to Boston and started work as a nurse-midwife with Harvard Vanguard, delivering babies at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. She looks forward to reconnecting with other Wes folks in the area. Drop her a line!

Meanwhile, Leslie Prado is in her last year of PA/MPH. Her first clinical rotation is OB/GYN, where she is seeing the birth of many babies. She was able to scrub in for a few C-sections, and is excited to get the rest of her clinical rotations done and figure out where she would like to practice.

Joe Stankus, along with Destin Douglas ’09, spent the last year producing a movie called Jackrabbit, which premiered at the 2105 TriBeCa Film Festival. The movie was made possible with the help of several other Wesleyan alums, specifically gaffer Sam Jones ’10, key grip Tim Curtin ’07, co-editor Talia Barrett, and composer Will Berman ’04.

Aaron Tabak writes: “After six years in NYC, I’ve moved to Portland, Ore., and am now working for SMART (Start Making a Reader Today), a statewide literacy nonprofit based here.”

Nick Benacerraf started working as a full-time theater professor last fall at Kean University in New Jersey. He still lives in New York, where he co-runs a Wes-based company, The Assembly, which is currently in residence at the New Ohio Theatre in the West Village and has a new show coming up July 15–18, called I Will Look Forward to This Later. Check out assemblytheater.org for details. Recent beloved work includes a show called Up and Away, which is an immersive experience for autistic children at Lincoln Center. It previewed last spring and will premiere this fall.

Emily Rosen-King shares: “I’m getting married on June 27th to Jared Chester (whom I actually met through a Wesleyan friend at a birthday party more than five years ago!)”

Other ’08ers taking vows include Micki Baron, who married Jamie Hiteshew in September 2014 in San Francisco, where they have lived since graduating from Wes. The ceremony was officiated by Kai Johnson. Micki graduated from UCSF Medical School this summer and is now an OB/GYN resident at UCSF. Jamie is a project manager at BRIDGE Housing Corporation, where he develops low-income housing in the Bay Area

Shivani Kumar is graduating from MIT Sloan this spring in the Class of 2015 with an MBA. Afterwards, she will be joining McKinsey & Company. Rebecca Gitlin graduated this year, too, with her Ph.D. in clinical psychology; starting in September, she’ll be doing a Women’s Behavioral Health postdoctoral fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Emily Gallivan has spent the last year adventuring. Last summer she drove to LA to take a course at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, and ate more tacos than she ever had in her whole life prior. Emily then drove up the Pacific Coast Highway through California to wonderful Seattle, followed by Yellowstone, Minneapolis, Madison, and Chicago, seeing Wesleyan alums all over. Upon her return to the D.C. area, Emily worked for a digital library nonprofit, finally learning a bit of what Jacqueline Chapman has been talking about all these years. Fall saw a trip to the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival outside Birmingham, Ala., and in spring one to Ireland. Come August, she will head to California to start graduate school at UC, Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, pursuing a master of architecture.

Becca Broches is on to a new adventure, as well. She writes: “After spending three years in D.C., and one in Boston, I am very excited to be moving back to NYC in September where I will spend the next two years working as an Equal Justice Works fellow in the Bronx, providing legal services to food entrepreneurs who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.”

Caroline Raclin, meanwhile, is now the health coordinator for the International Rescue Committee in Jordan. She oversees four primary health clinics and a small army of community health volunteers that serve Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians along the Syrian border. She adds, “If any Wes alums are ever in Amman, look me up!”
Finally, Ruby Ross writes in: “It’s been a busy year! I did a house concert tour in Boston in January and one in California in March. I’m currently doing a house concert tour on the East Coast, which includes fellow Wes alums among the hosts, so I’m looking forward to some Wes reunions! Later this summer I’ll be moving into a new house and going to Costa Rica, and then in the fall I’m getting married!”

The Class of 2007 has been busy making moves—both literally and figuratively. After many years in New York City, I recently traded in a city of 8 million for a small town of 1,900. I’m now living in Cambridge, N.Y. (a stone’s throw from the Vermont border), and welcome any and all visitors!

After two years in Montreal, Kathleen Day and her husband, Karl Otto, are back in Chicago, Kathleen’s home town. The couple has been living in and fixing up the house where Kathleen grew up, while she works as a development associate at an affordable housing development organization. Kathleen says, “Coming back to Chicago was not an easy decision (Québec has such a fantastic quality of life), but I wanted to go back to my roots and make an impact where I know it’s needed. In my professional life I work on the revitalization of neighborhoods through the development of quality affordable housing, and in my community I work with my neighbors on anti-violence and youth development actions.” Kathleen added that she had the pleasure of catching up with Liam McAlpine, Ben Sax, Janine Criscuolo, Mira Wijayanti, Brittany Speisman Kugler, and Alicia Dodds at Liam’s wedding to Sam Gulino in Beacon, N.Y., last fall.

In early June, Nicholaus Norvell rode his bike 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles over the course of seven days. The ride’s purpose was to raise money for HIV/AIDS services as part of AIDS/Lifecycle. Nicholaus says, “I would love other ’07ers to join me in future years!”

Ian MacLeod recently spent some time with Alex Early and her husband, Alexis. The old friends had a great night out on the town in the Mission District of San Francisco. When he isn’t checking out San Francisco’s hot spots, Ian can be found working as a restoration ecologist for the California Department of Conservation, Office of Mine Reclamation.
This comes as no surprise, but the class of 2007 is one smart bunch. We have multiple graduations to celebrate, as well as a national TV appearance! Jessica Mack just finished an MA in history at Princeton and will be starting dissertation research for her PhD this summer in Mexico City.

Lauren Smith graduated from Berkeley Law and completed a fellowship at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in the Office of the U.S. Chief Technology Officer.

Michael James (d.b.a. Scout James) is entering his second year in Juilliard’s drama division as an MFA candidate.

If you noticed a familiar face on the television this past winter, you weren’t imagining it. As of January 2015, Will Anderson became a repeat Jeopardy! champion. When he’s not searching for the Daily Double, Anderson serves as a senior policy adviser in Washington, D.C., for a House member from Georgia.

And last but certainly not least, Marlon Bishop won a Peabody Award for his 2014 investigation into gang violence and child migration in Honduras for the NPR program Latino USA. The episode was titled “Gangs, Murder, and Migration in Honduras.”

After nine straight years in New York City, Kevin Lohela and his wife moved to Providence, R.I., to open a school. He is the founding principal of Achievement First Iluminar Mayoral Academy, a public charter school. He’s quite happy to live closer to Isaac Hunnewell and Pat Garrity in Boston. Congratulations to Pat, who received his master’s degree in public policy this past spring from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Jesse Young just started working at the special envoy for climate change at the State Department in D.C., which is the office charged with trying to assemble a global agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions at a U.N. summit this December in Paris.
Gianna Sobol is a television writer; she has contributed to A&E’s The Returned and CBS’s Extant. She currently writes for a new Starz series called Counterpart. Definitely check it out!

Emily Frost and Nicholas Gerry-Bullard are loving life on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Nick was promoted to manager in Deloitte’s strategy consulting division. Emily is in her third year as a reporter for the online news site DNAinfo, where she helped to launch a monthly newspaper and a new podcast you all should listen to.

Eric Sullivan is still living in New York City and is an associate editor at GQ Magazine. In Feb. 2015, he and Jeff Sharlet won a National Magazine Award for Reporting for a story called “Inside the Iron Closet” about the crackdown on gay culture in Russia.

Tal Beery recently worked as an associate producer on the film The Yes Men Are Revolting. The movie is about The Yes Men, a group that uses satirical performance art to make political statements. The movie played at the IFC Center in New York City in June and July of 2015.

Jose Marantes is living in Orlando, Fla., and works as the membership development director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. He is a proud father of two toddlers, Sebastian and Dalia. In his free time, he is working on a social enterprise that brings English and Spanish learners into a dynamic community of practice called Fluente! It’s like Zumba, but for language learners.

Fazal Yameen was living in Ireland in early 2015 and working on CabEasy (a taxi-sharing app for college students) with Jon McKinney ’04. They were selected as one of 10 companies to be part of an accelerator run by SOSVentures and Carma Carpooling that focuses on transportation-related initiatives.

Rebecca Lipman graduated from Harvard Law School in May of 2015. She is clerking for a N.J. federal judge. Daniel Dykes also graduated from Harvard Law School in 2014; he works at the law office of Curtis Mallet-Prevost. He’s also still studying languages, now learning Italian.

Julia Kleinman is in Los Angeles, working at Walt Disney in the consumer products department. She recently finished her master’s degree in business administration at the Columbia Business School.

In Aug. 2015, Mike Dacey completed a PhD in philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology at Washington University in St. Louis in the summer of this year. He is now teaching philosophy at Washington University, so feel free to say hi to him and debate Kant.
Karolina Ogrodnik is in her second year as an intern in pediatrics at Baystate Medical Center, part of Tufts University School of Medicine. She is thinking of specializing in pediatric endocrinology.

Sophie Karp and Evan Katin-Borland are still living in Brooklyn and couldn’t be more delighted. In May 2015, Sophie completed her PhD in counseling psychology from Fordham University.

Congratulations to Nate Baumgart who wed Jessica Maclean in July 2015! Wes alum in attendance include Kevin Budner, Rob Weinstock, and Shannon Flaherty. Nate and Jessica are taking a trip around the world starting in December and then moving out of Chicago.

Celia Reddick completed her master’s in international education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the spring of this year, and will be continuing in the doctoral program. She recently married Alain Uwumugambi, whom she met while working with Partners In Health in Rwanda. Alain is doing his medical residency at Boston Medical Center. Congrats!

Congratulations to Bettina Schlegel, who married Phil Amidon ’05 in Oct. 2014, and are coming up on their one-year anniversary! Many Wes alum were in attendance, too many to list, but all of them important.

Saad Handoo had the pleasure of getting married to his dream lady, Mariam Qureshi, in Washington D.C., in Aug. 2014. He works in the revenue management group at United Airlines. On your next trip in Chicago, go visit him in the Willis Tower or find him aimlessly wandering the streets of Wicker Park.

Joel M. Bhuiyan married Susie Cheung in Nov. of 2014 and they just had their reception in June of 2015. He is working as the community engagement coordinator at NYC Smoke-Free at Public Health Solutions.

In July 2015, Anna Pinkert married Stef Fisher in Cambridge, Mass. Michelle Atwood ’05 was the maid of honor and Rachel Schreiber ’05 was a bridesmaid. The couple live in Jamaica Plain, Mass., with their cat Tenzing.

On June 27, John Wesley married Liza Cantor in Fayetteville, N.Y. They were elated to celebrate their union the day after the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic marriage equality decision and incorporated the victory into their ceremony. John is a legal aid lawyer in Syracuse and Liza is a fourth-year medical student and aspiring pediatrician. Wes alums in attendance include Willie Gould, Paul Max McElfresh, Craig Thomas, Lydia Blanchard, Dana Taussig and Chloe Safier, Will Leuchter-Mindel ’07, Ben Levinger ’07 and of course John’s father Jack Wesley ’70. John hopes to revive his band “The Band Cover band Band” (which features Willie, Ari Brand, Chris Carmody, Greg Donahue ’07, Jake Lewis ’07, and Jesse Galdston) at the 10th Reunion!

Emily Dreyfuss is expecting her first child with husband Seth Shipman ’05. Baby Dreyfuss Shipman will be born in Oct. 2015, and the family plans to dress him entirely in hand-me-downs from the ’80s, so if you see a tiny breakdancer crawling around campus next Reunion, say hey. Emily is the news and opinion editor at WIRED Magazine, and she has been trying to resist the urge to publish only op-eds about family-leave rights.

On May 17, Ilana Davis Sharpe and her husband Dan Sharpe welcomed a baby boy named Gabriel. Gabriel joins big sister Lorelei and the family couldn’t be happier.

Nina Eichacker and Johann Patlak are planning to stay in the Boston area for at least two more years while Johann finishes his residency at Beth Israel and starts a fellowship in ICU care. They are also celebrating the birth of a baby girl! Her name is Josephine Patlak Eichacker, and she has been making the social rounds, having met Emily Levy, Adina Bricklin, and Emily Jacobs-Palmer already.

Erin Glaser and her husband recently celebrated the first birthday of their daughter Ivy Marian Glaser, who was born July 12, 2014. Erin still coaches volleyball at Hamilton and this past season her team made it to NESCAC playoffs for the first time in program history. Congratulations!