Oliver Platts-Mills and Natasha Sienitsky’02, joined by their daughters Ursula (6) and Ona (4), have taken over an Appalachian Mountain lodging and campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Central Virginia. Oliver says, “Come visit us at www.loveridgeva.com!”
Andrew Drane writes, “I got married in December 2020 and we became foster parents in September 2021. We are currently caring for an adorable 2-year-old foster daughter!”
Grace Anderson-Smith now lives in Georgia, and has a “beautiful, smart, 4-year-old daughter and future Wesleyan field hockey player. I am proud to have successfully accomplished working in corporate for Time magazine, then graduated from NYU with a master’s in education. I worked and coached at Rye Country Day School, taught math, and had a math tutoring company for over 20 years. Grateful for all I have accomplished with multiple sclerosis. I have MS, but MS it does not have me.”
From Emily Barth Isler: “My debut middle-grade novel, AfterMath, came out in September from Lerner/Carolrhoda, and was called ‘a gift to the culture’ by Amy Schumer and ‘pretty close to perfect’ by Judith Viorst. AfterMath also won the 2022 Mathical Book Prize, was A Mighty Girl’s Books of the Year list winner 2021, and was chosen as Nate Berkus’s Nate’s Reads book club pick for the month of April 2022! I was delighted to be on a panel at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in April with John Cho, Kelly Yang, and Lexie Bean, speaking about the importance of books that address difficult topics for middle-grade readers. AfterMath deals with the lasting impact of gun violence in communities, as well as themes of grief, resilience, friendship, and family, and sadly it’s getting more relevant every day in light of recent mass shootings. I’m quite involved in several gun violence prevention organizations and donate a portion of my proceeds from the book to said orgs. I love doing school visits via Zoom or in person, so if you teach middle school or know a teacher who wants to bring authors into classrooms, please be in touch! Learn more at emilybarthisler.com/aftermath.”
Ben Clark was hired by the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, to serve as an AUSA in the Criminal Division.
Jennifer Tuft’s entertainment technology company, Kaleidoco, has opened an immersive mixed-reality experience called Particle Ink: Speed of Dark in the arts district of Las Vegas. Particle Ink: Speed of Dark is a narrative experience, one that seamlessly weaves live performance with mixed-reality technology. If you find yourself in Las Vegas and want to step into a living graphic novel, go see Particle Ink! More at particleink.com.
Joanna Weaver (formerly Richman) moved her family of four to Boston this year for her faculty position at Northeastern University. She has enjoyed re-connecting with fellow class of ’01 alumni Will Tsoules and Mara Voukydis [aka me, and the feeling is mutual!] and alum Demian Szyld ’00. She is hoping to discover more Wesleyan friends in the area!
After recently completing his degree from Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, Marvin Thomas has left admissions from his alma mater Xavier High School in NYC and is now the director of business development of the Corporate Work Study Program at Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York.
Matt Rahaim has been teaching Hindustani music, relational improvisation, and practices of listening at the University of Minnesota, most recently in the new Creative Studies Program. His new book, Ways of Voice: Vocal Striving and Moral Contestation in North India and Beyond, was published in the Music/Culture series at Wesleyan University Press in fall 2021. He and his wife Jenna are spending as much time as possible in and on lakes, frozen and liquid.
Bryan Rowe lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with his wife Asia and two sons, Jacob (7) and Oscar (4). “I would love to hear from any classmates in the area!”
Eden Robins writes, “My first novel, When Franny Stands Up (Sourcebooks Landmark), is coming out November 1st! I call it ‘my funny book about trauma,’ and my editor calls it ‘a queer Marvelous Mrs. Maisel where the jokes are magic.’”
Ali Haider says, “After working in western Massachusetts for 10 years, I have taken a position at New York Presbyterian/Cornell—Queens, where I will continue working as an interventional and structural cardiologist. My wife Uruj Kamal Haider ’09 and I have a 17- month-old baby, Parisa Haider, and a second girl coming in December. We are excited to be moving back to New York and closer to our family.”
Trace Peterson completed her job as the NEH postdoctoral fellow in poetics at Emory University this past spring, and she has moved back to Connecticut, where she currently works as a visiting assistant professor of English at the UConn Storrs campus. This year Trace’s small-press publishing company, EOAGH Books, also won the National Jewish Book Award in Poetry for The Book of Anna, a title by trans writer Joy Ladin. An interview about the prize-winning book with Trace and Joy appeared in a recent article in Forbes magazine and is probably the first time poetry has ever appeared in Forbes.
Mandy Snyder writes, “I lead groups online for self-discovery and emotional intelligence using somatic approaches at mandysnyder.com. I am relocating to western Massachusetts, near Greenfield, should anyone live nearby, let me know!”
Bakley Smith says, “Hi, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia (actually Decatur), in 2021, after more than 20 years in NYC. My wife and I had our second child last year, and things are generally going quite well. Saw Josh Ostrow while in New York recently, and stay in touch with Justin Belin, Nick Kurian, and others. Missed our 20-year Reunion but looking forward to 25 in a few more years.”
Claudia Cruz writes, “During the pandemic I was co-managing editor of a team of reporters that won a national 2021 Murrow Award for our bilingual COVID-19 coverage during 2020. Also, I will finally join the ranks of published Wesleyan authors with the forthcoming academic chapter, “Race, Colorism and Policing in Latinx Communities: Getting the Story,” for a first-of-its-kind journalism textbook about covering Latinos in the U.S. and around the world. It will be published by Routledge in late April 2022.”
For some of us, 2022 has been a year of change but also a time to reconnect with friends and classmates. In April, Brian LaCarrubba and his wife (along with their three cats who had no input on this decision) left Denver after 20 years to move to Madison, Wisconsin. They are appreciating being in a college town and one where the growth is not quite as explosive as it was in Denver. Then just when Brian thought his focus was going to be on settling into a new city, a new job opportunity came along! In July, he started working at RubinBrown as a consultant helping organizations navigate large technology projects. While he works remotely from Madison, his new-hire orientation in Chicago afforded him the opportunity to catch up with Frantz Williams who happened to be staying at a hotel on the same block for a conference.
Chad Bartell is also in Madison, Wisconsin, where he continues to practice law by day and play music by night. His steel-drum band, Panchromatic Steel, performed alongside steel-drum luminary Andy Narell in a citywide music festival in August. He is collaborating remotely with Kabir Sen on the further development of an original composition first performed at Kabir’s senior thesis recital at Wesleyan.
Arthur Baraf had the good fortune to see some live music in New Hampshire this summer with Greg Tuzzolo ’00, where they ran into Eric Werner ’00.
Greg Tuzzolo ’00 (left) and Arthur Baraf (center) enjoyed some live music in New Hampshire this summer and ran into Eric Werner ’00 (right).
He also spent some time this summer with Jed Koslow (who just moved to Berlin with his family after being in Brooklyn for 20 years) and Bill Foster. Arthur is starting his 17th year as a high school principal at The Met High School in Providence, Rhode Island.
For others, 2022 has been a year of new beginnings. Leila Buck and husband Adam Abel ’98 have a joyful update to share—they welcomed their daughter into the world on March 12th of this year. Her name is Zayya, which means hope and faith in Arabic. They figured that we could all use more of those in these times! Leila is “grateful, sleep deprived, and sending energy and wishes for support to all of you out there giving care in so many forms.”
And finally, 2022 has been a year of notable accomplishments for some of our classmates. Through a highly competitive process with applicants from all over the world, Erik Rueter was selected to speak at Project Management Institute’s 2022 Global Summit. He will be leading an interactive session on using human-centered design to enable engagement and inclusivity on project teams.
Kevin has had multiple Wes run-ins through work lately. He met David Burke ’10 at The Conference Board in NYC. David is leading wellness and benefits for IBM. Despite being from slightly different eras, they shared experiences of MoCon, Clark Hall (David citing the “new Clark,” not the condemned version of the late 90s) and learning how to think. Kevin also reconnected with Jonathan Bush ’93, who continues to shake up the world of health care and drag it into the modern era of technology.
May the rest of 2022 be full of change, hope, and connection.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the world; about Wes and the broad-reaching education we got there; about my fellow classmates (you!) who encourage(d) each other to think and grow and “fight the patriarchy” and make the world better. And I’m grateful for that experience, and for all of you out there who are bringing all that skill and caring and thoughtfulness and brilliant braininess out in the world around you. Keep it up and keep getting support from the world around you (in whatever form) as much as you do your part supporting outwards.
Just a few notes to share this time, all very smile worthy:
Pastor Yolanda Denson-Byers and her wife Tasha welcomed a new child in July 2021. Baby Kalan is a bright and cheerful child—Wesleyan Class of 2039.
Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers’ adorable child Kalan—future Wes class of 2039!
Juniper Hill is still living in Würzburg, Germany, where she works as professor of ethnomusicology and lives with her mathematician-cyclist husband Jesse and two daughters. This year she is immensely enjoying a long maternity leave after the birth of a beautiful strapping baby girl in February. She delights in long walks in the local beech forests and in the Alps and in bike rides along the Main River and local Weinberg (literally ‘wine mountains,’ or hilly vineyards). Occasionally she bumps into other Wesleyan folk at Sacred Harp sings. When she returns to work next year, she’s looking forward to bringing in some international postdoctoral fellows to research the music of immigrant communities in Germany and Central Europe.
After scrolling through all the joyous Reunion & Commencement photos on Wesleyan’s Instagram, Marcus Chung is getting very excited to see everyone at our 25th (what, 25th?!) Reunion next May. He hasn’t seen many Wes friends recently thanks to a certain global pandemic, but he did start a new role as chief operating officer at Coyuchi, a bedding and bath brand that’s focused on premium product that’s also good for the planet. It’s a role that marries his experience in supply chain along with corporate sustainability. He’s enjoying learning about regenerative agriculture, carbon capture, and also pillow shams!
Okay these brought me smiles except for maybe that 25-year thing—“what?!” indeed! But what an occasion to celebrate! Twenty-five years of making the world better in our always-unique Wes way . . . . Here’s to 25 more.
We hope that 2022 has been a good one for you. We’re still enjoying memories of Reunion in the spring and marveling at how magical it felt to step back in time and recognize the impact of our time together at Wesleyan as students and throughout the years as members of the alumni community.
We enjoyed working with our fellow Reunion Committee members on helping to bring everyone back to campus: David Levin, Kimberly King, Josh Thornton, Maggie McLean Suniewick, Josh Suniewick, and Marisa Uchin. Shout-out to our fabulous 1997 WESeminar speakers—thank you for sharing your time, expertise, and your wisdom with us, Min Santandrea (founder, SantM), Lucria Ortiz (president and CEO of the Yonkers Family YMCA in New York), and Francisco Tezén (president and CEO of A Better Chance). We so appreciate you!
Also, we’d also like to congratulate Wesleyan’s 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients for professional achievements (four of the six were from the class of 1997): Carter Bays, Maggie McLean Suniewick, Craig Thomas, and Angela Mae Yee.
And one final post-Reunion note: Our class successfully reached a participation rate of 25 % in honor of our 25th Reunion, so we are now able to give a Class of 1997 scholarship gift to someone in the incoming class of 2026. The Solids (including Carter Bays, Josh Suniewick, Craig Thomas, and Pat Butler’98) matched our gift up to $10,000!
Lots of good news to share . . .
Congratulations to Kimberly King on her new position as an alumni-elected trustee for Wesleyan! She is one of three alumni-elected trustees who serve on the 33-member board of Wesleyan and contribute to setting the direction of the University. We are grateful to have her representing the alumni body. (Thanks to all who voted, which is an excellent way to participate in the governance of the University as an alumnus.) In addition, Kimberly was promoted to NBC Universal’s vice president of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are so happy for her! (For context, please read more here (https://www.blackenterprise.com/kimberly-king-crowned-nbcus-vp-diversity-equity-inclusion-for-ads-partnerships/ and here: https://www.nexttv.com/news/nbcu-names-kimberly-king-vp-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-global-advertising-and-partnerships.) Kimberly shared with us: “Family is healthy and my 11-year-old starts middle school in the fall. It’s been a wonderful past few weeks to say the least. I am truly humbled to acknowledge that I am living in my purpose and on purpose. Feeling really thankful and supported.”
Alek Matthew Lev wrote to share with us that he is producing and co-hosting a new podcast called Arts Educators Save the World, which brings successful artists together in conversation with their teachers and mentors. “And in episodes 1 and 2, released on August 29th, the Wesleyan runs—wait for it, wait for it, wait for it—even deeper. It starts with the Hunter College Elementary and High School connection to Wesleyan, which is substantial in the class of ’97: Joel Viertel, Noah Garrison, Amanda Shurgin, Kimani Rogers, David Levin, Amy Bodnick, Amy Gong, Mike Mittelman, Sara Berenbom Friedman ’96, Miwa Geiger. (And FYI for Hunterites, Erica Rosenfeld is the host and Justin Asher is the audio producer.) One of our first guests is Robert Lopez (Frozen, Encanto) who attended that *other* Connecticut university and, bringing it all together, we also have Hunter Elementary (’92), Hunter High (’98) and Wesleyan (’02) alum, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Robert and Lin talk with Ms. Barbara Ames, music teacher to most of the above. Check it out at www.ArtEducatorsSaveTheWorld.com or on your favorite podcast app.”
In August, we had a Zoom happy hour with Sarah Kollman Regnier, who moved from Sacramento, California, up north to Arcata, California, with her husband Justin and their two children, Peter and Joy. Sarah works remotely as an attorney. Full disclosure: The three of us usually group text daily and are still doing the Wordle and occasionally the Quordle (four Wordles, nine guesses) together. Sarah gave us a virtual tour of her beautiful home and the woods outdoors.
Elijah Hawkes wrote, “I enjoyed a spring visit to NYC and New Jersey to visit my old roommate in East Harlem, Omar Rahim ’96, and good friend Ruben Fleischer, who moved back east with his family from LA. I’m also looking forward to seeing Brion and Melanie Winston at their family farm in New York this 4th of July.” Elijah’s second book just came out . . . Woke is Not Enough: School Reform for Leaders with Justice in Mind. You can find some information about the book and his work at ElijahHawkes.com. “I’m particularly excited to see what folks think of the chapters on student activism and counter-extremism, which I think are unlike much of what one might find in literature for school leaders today.” Elijah’s first book came out two years ago: School for the Age of Upheaval: Classrooms that Get Personal, Get Political, and Get to Work.
Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyful fall 2022 and looking forward to seeing you again.
As summer comes to a close, I hope all had some amazing and eventful summer days.
Over the summer months I was able to connect with Debra StutzMarmor who is enjoying her new life abroad with her family in Israel; Robert “Bobbito” Garcia ’88 who is featured in a new Showtime documentary, NYC Point Gods; and Kem Poston ’97 who is living the LA life and doing good creative work out West. So good to fellowship, connect, and build with folks.
Amy Pollick writes to say that a bunch of ’96ers were in attendance at Melissa McNamara’s wedding in NYC in April: Rekha Nigam, Charlene Bierl, Amber Gay, Natalie Suhl Bernardino, and of course her sister, Tracy McNamara.
Chung Ma writes that he got up to NYC in June and met with some Wes folks. Alex Fong, John Kong, and Ingrid Wong, and they were all laughing and imbibing together. He is still enjoying Richmond and welcomes any visitors with cocktails if they happen to be in the area. He is still making sure the teachers get their retirement checks in his day job, as well as spending time with the Council on Economic Education to increase knowledge of economics and financial literacy for all students.
Hello fellow ’95ers! Lots going on this time—let’s jump into it.
Katy (center) earned her MBA from the University of Warwick Business School.
My co-secretary, Katy McNeill, writes: “I’m excited to share that after three years of studying part time, I have completed an MBA from the University of Warwick Business School. A broad-based degree for leading organizations, I also focused on organizational behavior. Next, I’m thrilled to have a new position in which to apply it—directing an initiative at a scholarly society. I just started as program director of DataWorks! at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). This new initiative will foster data sharing and reuse in the biosciences, which can both advance knowledge and foster open and reproducible research. Anyone working in this field—I’d be keen to connect!”
Patrick Hutter-Bluml writes: “I moved back from being a chef and househusband to freelance 3D artist, but I also started advanced studies in 3D modeling and animation for film. So, yeah, I’m basically a student again and loving every bit of it. During the pandemic I assisted in a project organized by an American university, for which my team did a particle simulation used for predictability of aerosol dispersion.”
During the pandemic, Roxane Williams returned to graduate school for a second advanced degree and made the shift from working in tech and volunteering as a crisis counselor to becoming a full-time mental health clinician, hoping to reach and help folks before they get to a crisis point. She largely works in trauma treatment with individuals and couples for whom PTSD is a factor, and also specializes in work with LGBTQI+ folks, especially with members of the trans community, as certain archaic laws require therapeutic support for those opting for surgical transition. Roxane appreciates the wonderful gift of finding her “calling,” albeit later in life, and is grateful to know what it is to be in love with her work! She also acts as a mental-health first responder at Burning Man and has built large-scale art off and on for a decade or so. Roxane lives in the Bay Area with a menagerie of pets and two grown/launched kids who humble and amaze her with both their worldliness and their loveliness, as both are pursuing their higher education and their careers with a bent toward public service.
My man in Oakland, Matt Duffy, sent in some news: “I am reporting that I continue to work as a superintendent of schools here in the Bay. I recently had an awesome reunion lunch with fellow ’95 alums Sherwin Yoder and Brooke (Leinwand)Jackson and Randy Jackson after many years apart! I also still stay connected with Malcolm Edwards! Best regards to my fellow Wes alums.”
In June 2022, Sabrina Prince was finally able to celebrate her COVID elopement with husband Nenad Apostoloski with family and friends, including Jacqueline Moon in beautiful Chantilly, France.
Sabrina and Nenad, Chantilly, France
Looks like it was a blast!
Sabrina and Jacqueline dancing at the wedding
Beth Shilepsky Price writes from Charleston, South Carolina: “Still slogging along as a family medicine doctor. Trying hard to unwind outside of work with my husband, three kids (David 18, Madeline 15, and Lily 13), three dogs, and two horses. David and I competed in an 18-mile NATRC competitive trail ride this spring on our horses and had a blast. We had a super visit with Kristin Dunn ’96 and her 9-year-old daughter Vanessa while they were in town recently. She is still living in Long Beach, California, and doing amazing work (https://www.kdbooks.com/). I think I was the last Wes alum to see Hamilton—it came to town in July and far exceeded my expectations!! Amazing!! As of last night, we also have seven more furry (temporary) additions to the family—our golden retriever gave birth. Hope everyone is doing well!”
Shayne Spaulding is living in the seaside town of Swampscott, Massachusetts, with husband Josh Shepherd and two boys, Wiley and Kieran (ages 14 and 11), and dog Hershey. Shayne is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a D.C.–based social-policy research organization, and had the joy of getting together recently with Gabriella Klein, Jennifer Quest-Stern’94, Kevin Fairley’94, and Liz Stites in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and swimming in the beautiful waves of Barney’s Joy Beach. “Enjoying being 50 and treating each day lived as a gift.” Sounds right to me, Shayne!
Susannah (Hearn) Kerest reports: Enjoying year 12 living near Lake Champlain with Vermont’s lovely mountains not too far away. I’m taking a break from the nonprofit fundraising world after over two decades, and recently joined a communications and public relations firm called Junapr. Career transition is an unexpected, but welcome brain challenge. Loved being back on campus as both of our kids have toured [Wes] in the last couple of years. Launching kids is not for the faint of heart. While we’ve stayed close to home during these COVID-y times, so appreciate the occasional touch points with classmates Carolyn (Barth) Renzin, Brendan Coughlin, Elizabeth (Meltzer) Bloom, and Constantine Davides as well as rowing pals Meredith Weaver ’96, Enas (Estafan) Hanna ’94, and Wendi Schenkler-Samway ’94. If anyone is visiting the Burlington area, reach out!
Gina Schimpff is super excited to have son Tyler Schimpff begin his Wes experience in Clark this fall, and even more excited that Laurel Williams Wise has her son Will also starting at Wes and they will be hallmates! And continuing the family traditions, Nora Cabrera writes that she and husband George Cabrera ’89 have just taken their son Antonio up to Wes—he will also be class of 2026.
From Greg Rolland: “Living a good life here in western Massachusetts. I’m 10 years in managing finances at Deerfield Academy and my wife survived being head nurse at the Academy through the pandemic (hats off and thank you to med folks!). Our three daughters now have one year together in high school, and the eldest included our alma maters (Bryn Mawr and Wes) in her cut of prospective colleges. These days I’m regularly grateful for the lens of my Wes history education— and I’m very glad to have shared time through the pandemic with alums Peter Follet, Stephanie Flaherty, Justin Stern, James Becker ’97, and Santiago Vazquez ’93.”
Parker Dockray is still living in Oakland, California, and working in reproductive health, rights, and justice; her organization All-Options is funding abortion care, providing diapers, helping people navigate this new mess of abortion laws, and fighting for the compassionate and just world we all deserve. She’s grateful to all the Wes friends who have shown up in so many ways and says look me up if you come through town!
Finally, yours truly is still living in the Hudson Valley and working for StudioLabs, a great digital product shop. Here’s a pic from a trip Lucky (14), Sybil (9), and I took to the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Las Vegas with family back in June.
From left to right: Sybil (9), Bo, and Lucky (14) at the Grand Canyon, June 2022.
I turned 50 in September and got to celebrate with friends including Leila Goldmark and Mike Kleinsteuber . . . and, as one of the first from our class to make the semicentenary transition, I can assure you that it’s not too bad.
Summer is over and the kids are back to school. My daughters Sarah and Norah (teenagers now!) are heading to the 8th grade. Time flies.
John Pollock visited Chicago for work in April 2022 and we had a great afternoon catching up over Thai food.
Aram Sinnreich sold his first novel, a literary science fiction story about a software coder who gets stuck in a glitch that sends her on a backward trajectory through time. The book, entitled A Second Chance for Yesterday, was coauthored with his sister Rachel Hope Cleves, and will be published by Rebellion Books under the pseudonym R.A. Sinn in summer 2023. Congratulations to both!
Aram also is collaborating with Jesse Gilbert. Together they are completing work on a nonfiction book entitled The Secret Life of Data, due to be published by MIT Press in 2023 or early 2024.
Aram also with his wife Dunia Best produced an album of original music, recorded in their home during COVID-19. The album, entitled Bedfellows, was released by German record label GMO on July 8th, and is available on all streaming platforms, as well as vinyl record and CD. More information at duniaandaram.com.
News from overseas: Dave Campbell has extended his stay in Japan to a fifth year and is looking forward to post-pandemic visits from family and friends. Tim, Ruth, and Priscilla are now out of college and into the workforce (finance, social work, and nursing, respectively). Mary will be starting at Baylor University in the fall, while Phoebe will enter 8th grade at International School of the Sacred Heart there in Tokyo. Dave is eager to host visitors. He writes, “With kids leaving the nest, Brenna and I have more room for visitors as COVID restrictions subside. Reach out if/when you’re able/ready to visit!”
Back stateside: Susannah Paletz continues to live in Maryland with her husband and daughter. Through a series of fortunate events, in August 2021 she became a tenured associate professor at the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, leaping from a soft-money funded professional track position. She adores her collegial, quirky, multidisciplinary college, students, staff, and faculty of all types.
Sasha Chanoff writes that he is married to Marni Chanoff and has two kids, Hayden, 14 and Lailah, 12. Sasha and his family live in Somerville, Massachusetts. Sasha leads RefugePoint, an organization he started in 2005 to find solutions for the most at-risk refugees.
If any of you are visiting or passing through Chicago, I would love to get together. Please keep in touch!
Aaron Siskind writes, “Hello from the Maryland suburbs of the D.C. area from me, my wife Sindi, and our teenager Mel; I’ve been working as an economist for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (which you might know from The Smartest Guys in the Room—not referring to our agency, natch) since 2004. While we’ve generally been isolated just like everyone else during COVID, I have managed to have several mini-Wesleyan reunions over the last few months. In April, I was able to get together in Durham, North Carolina, with Richard Dansky’92,Steve Karon’92, and Chris Joyal ’95. We’re all in a fantasy baseball league that we started while at Wesleyan and have kept going all these years. While we were down there, we went to a Durham Bulls game where I was able to also meet up with Deborah Lowenthal Sorin’94; she lives in the Durham area with her husband Dan and their two kids. In June, Kerry Brenner’94 and I were able to spend some time with Rachel Deyette Werkema’94, who was passing through the area with her husband Joel and their twin daughters (rising high school seniors) on a fairly epic college tour/road trip (visit to Wesleyan planned for late August). Kerry, who also lives in the D.C. suburbs with her husband Morrie Dworkin and their two kids, graciously hosted all of us so we could have some time to see each other and catch up. Kerry works on science education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Rachel is a lecturer in the economics department at Wellesley College. Finally, in early July John Pollock’94 was in the area to speak at a conference on his specialty—the right to counsel for low-income people in civil cases—and we were able to meet him and his son Merritt at the newly renovated Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and had a wonderful day with the two of them.”
Dan Crane now makes documentaries. His directorial premiere, Let Me Be Me, about an autistic boy who grows up to be a fashion designer premiered last year at DOCNYC and is available on most VOD platforms. A documentary he wrote about professional lacrosse called Fate of a Sport premiered at TriBeCa this summer, and The End of the World — a film he produced with Matt Tyrnauer’91 about Bennington College premieres at Telluride in September.
Bill Wiggins writes, “After 25 years working in financial regulation in Washington, D.C., (much of it with Jake Lesser ’91) and surviving the prior administration and COVID by writing a wildlife/history novel, I was recently named CFO of the National Endowment for the Arts. If you’re in D.C. or coming through, let me know.”
Jason Levy is living on Long Island with his wife Neda and two sons (ages 7 and 9). He’s serving as deputy CIO for Educational Technology Strategy for the NYC Department of Education.
Chris Osmond writes, “I was so proud to watch our eldest son Sammy Osmond ’22 graduate last month! I’d talk about what he’s doing next, but I suppose he’s got his own alumni update to do now. Go Wes!”
Anne Beaven writes, “Very excited to be traveling again after a long COVID hiatus. Margaret, Eli, and I went to Barcelona in March and right now we are in Australia seeing Margaret’s family for the first time in three years.”
Eve Abrams created and was the lead producer of the podcast, Hot Farm, from the Food and Environment Reporting Network. Alison MacAdam ’99 was Eve’s editor! Hot Farm tells the stories of the people who grow our food—people whose stories offer solutions for how we can keep eating in the age of climate change. It’s the perfect mix of science, policy, and personal narrative, and miraculously, an upbeat series about, arguably, our biggest problem.
Abigail Lorber Clarkson writes, “I have made a career change to public librarianship and am finishing up a master’s of Library and Information Science degree. I also in recent years began studying piano again after carting my piano around North Carolina and Texas but not playing it for over 20 years. I currently live with my family and pets just outside Asheville, North Carolina.”
I’ll start this edition down in North Carolina with an update from James Wilton, national account manager and managing director for Genesis10. The former WESU DJ and campus heartthrob is a volunteer coach for football and wrestling. He sends word that his eldest son Jack is a senior at North Carolina State studying business; older daughter Carley is also at North Carolina State working toward a degree in elementary education; and his younger daughter Lola is a senior in high school. Wife Tracy is in her fifth year as a teaching assistant for exceptional preschool students.
On the other side of the world, Kristin Elisabeth Sandvik Lush sends word from New Zealand where she is working as an academic editor and “soaking in the homeyness of home and enduring the teenageyness of my kids as we travel around, have little adventures, and spend time with extended family and friends.” Kristen returned to the U.S. this fall for a balloon festival in New Mexico and visits to National Parks and the upper Northwest.”
It was fun to see the class of ’92 well represented at this year’s Emmy Awards. Francesca Harewood, senior vice president, Business Affairs at NBCUniversal, posted great pictures of her with Mike White who won multiple Emmy Awards for writing and directing The White Lotus.Meredith Tucker also won this year for her role in casting The White Lotus. Besides winning for being an excellent cook on short notice according to Oliver Ryan, Meredith now owns four Emmys and Mike has three. Not too shabby class of ’92!
Of course, an even better place to see the class of ’92 was at the 30th Reunion in May. It was wonderful to be back on campus and spend time with classmates. There were plenty of drinks, stories, songs, dancing, and lots of joy catching up with friends and remembering how special our time at Wesleyan was. The other fun thing about writing notes after reunion is I get to say, “it was great to see” and I’ll lead off by saying it was great to see Soo Lim on campus. Soo, visiting career services advisor at Boston College Law School and Matt Schortmann, vice president, and head of Institutional Product & Strategy at Columbia Threadneedle Asset Management, recently celebrated their 26th anniversary. With their two daughters—Liv a sophomore at UVA and Sophia a senior at Northeastern—in college, the empty nesters have recently discovered a love for TV tray tables, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy as they plan their next adventures.
It was also great to see Oliver Ryan. Oliver continues to live a highly suspect entrepreneurial life as founder and CEO of Count.It, a tech start-up that powers wellness challenges for groups, mostly companies. Oliver sends updates on a number of classmates. “I had a great time catching up with everyone at the reunion, and road-tripping back to NYC with Sam Robinson, whose daughter Bella just started at Vassar. In the summertime, I share an old barn on Long Island with various Wes friends, including Meredith Tucker, Kris Rucker, and Lewis Canfield ’90. Kris is a partner at a chic creative agency in New York, runs the National Air Guitar Championships, and is launching a new tech business in his spare time. When not tending his garden in Williamsburg, Lewis has thrown himself into renovating a magical warehouse in Vermont. Over July 4th, Brian Wolff came for a visit with wife Francesca and kids Ellington and Rosie. That weekend we also had a surprise visit from Jacky Jennings, husband Doug Bothner ’91, and friends. We all sang the Wesleyan fight song. Ok, no, we didn’t, but only because Mark Mullen ’89 wasn’t there. Lewis and I are also in a band with Ben Rader called The Classic, which is anything but. Ben is the one who made the important point that you don’t need to be good (or young) to be in a band. Speaking of musicians, I saw Chris Arndt over the summer at the annual kids versus parents capture the flag game. Let it be known that the parents won. Again. Probably for the last time.”
And it was great to see Ruthbea Yesner, vice president, Government Insights, Education and Smart Cities at IDC. She sent in an update that she “loves her job, which has grown in scope from urban technology and smart cities, to police and justice, transportation, and water and sustainability. I work with tech vendors and state and local governments to adopt new technologies to make the world more livable.” I had a great time at the reunion and just felt transported back in time. I had the pleasure of driving down with Katherine Petrecca, who now runs the women’s division at New Balance, and I drove Matt Young and Adam Berinsky back to Boston. Last thought—there were too many people to name at the reunion that were an absolute joy to talk with. But shout-out to all of them! I’m lucky to have been able to spend formative years with such an amazing bunch.”
And it was great to see Neal Klinman back on campus for the first time in 20 years. “I’ve been wanting to reach out since attending our 30th Reunion this spring. I really enjoyed what was my first return to Wesleyan and Middletown since our 10th Reunion. I enjoyed a hot solo afternoon exploring by bicycle, and I took many photos of favorite places such as the Butterfield courtyard that I crisscrossed for three years and multiple summers, the boathouse and riverfront, downtown, the amazing arts center complex with its active gallery, printshop, and architecture studio, the cemetery where I built character running hills with the crew team, the ‘presence of the absence’ of MoCon, etc.” Neal has been teaching at the same public school in Cambridge where he has taught since 1999. He and his wife Debb live on the shore of the beautiful Chandler Pond with their three crazy but talented teens, two dogs, a secondhand canoe, and a garage full of bikes.
And it was great to see my old hallmate Sam Longley. Foss 7 was well represented this year. He writes, “Hi, fellow 1992ers! It was great to emerge from my ‘COVID shell’ to see so many folks during our reunion. I have been working as a technical sales engineer at Neo4j, which is the first company to bring a graph database to the commercial market (does anyone remember graph theory from math class?). My son Winston is a tween sixth-grader, and enjoys the cross-country team, all things Star Wars, and playing online games with his friends. My daughter Charlotte has hit the 10th grade with a running start, and has found, in volleyball, a rewarding activity and group of friends. She got to experience a night in the Clark dorm during the reunion and enjoyed that experience. My wonderful wife, Grace, has been doing double duty—taking care of the whole lot of us as well as working at our nearby school system.”
And finally, it was great to see my fellow class officer Teresa Ho, managing director at JP Morgan Asset Management. She adds that Karen Earle’s daughter is now a first-year at Wesleyan. Karen is an endocrinologist at Sutter Health. Really there were a lot more people I can say it was great to see—Jane Thompson, Jake Wizner, Adam Berinsky, and Rob Rich among many others but I have to stop somewhere.
Speaking of stopping. This year marks my 30th year of writing the class notes. To borrow a phrase from Bilbo Baggins, 30 years is far too short a time to write about such excellent friends and classmates as you, but it’s time for me to announce this is the end of my stint as class secretary. It was a ton of fun to plan all the senior-year social events with Bill Siegel, Teresa Ho, and Shalei Simms Pilgrim, and I have loved keeping up to date with everyone through the notes, but I am passing the baton. You are now in the good hands of Adam Berinsky who now has logged at least 20 as co-secretary and perhaps you. More to follow on how we backfill as Adam is looking for someone to share the duty.
