Hi! So much news, so little space. So here goes. Please see online notes for many more details—I had to edit mercilessly.

Bill Shapiro wrote: “As many of you know, Chris Molnar died—tragically and unexpectedly—in January of 2013. It was an extremely difficult year. Chris and I were no longer married but lived a couple of blocks apart and had been raising our two kids together. I’m happy to report that the kids, despite missing their mom tremendously, are doing really well. Couldn’t have done it without my girlfriend, Naomi, and support from Chris’ Wes friends. Workwise, I’m now leading strategic ventures and partnerships at Fast Company magazine. And then there’s this: I helped Keith Richards write a children’s book called Gus & Me, which is out in September.”

After 20 years in education and five years as a life coach, Lisa Pavlovsky is now manager of scholarship programs for the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.

Claudia Center writes, “In March, I will leave my longtime (19 years!) position as a disability rights attorney at the Legal Aid Society—Employment Law Center. In April, I will join the ACLU Foundation’s Equality Center as a disability rights attorney. I will be working out of the ACLU’s San Francisco office.

Beth Mix is working for the Manchester Youth Service Bureau coordinating positive youth development programs and advocating to keep kids out of the juvenile justice system. She is married and is raising two young sons.

Amy Baltzell is working on a new book entitled, The Cambridge Companion to Mindfulness and Performance. “I have 23 authors from around the world contributing chapters…We are learning that when we help performers accept unwanted thoughts and feelings—instead of trying to change them—that this helps tremendously with high-pressure performance and learning new skills. Other than that, our 8-year-old girl, Zoey, is playing boys’ lacrosse and is an avid Irish step dancer; our 10-year-old boy, Luke, is unicycle–crazed, and Shayna, our 5’7″ 12-year-old, is a ballet dancer.”

Elizabeth Kromelow Dietz got her coach’s level- one certification with USA Hockey last fall and instructed group and private skating lessons at Lasker Rink in Central Park this season. Krom’s younger son, James Dietz ’18, will attend Wes, joining his brother, Max Dietz ’16. Fun!

Last July, John Snyder left his position as director of the teaching clinic at Baystate Children’s Hospital and joined Amherst Pediatrics, a small private practice in Amherst, “I also remain actively involved in promoting science-based medicine, including writing for sciencebasedmedicine.org.

Andrew Hall has been playing jazz bass with a few different groups here in the New York City area. “When I’m not working, I’m either cooking, fooling about with our pair of Bengals, getting dirty in the garden, playing tennis, or just lolling around our lovely Jersey City townhouse with my wife, Lauren. Anyone heard from Andy Liss ’88?”

Sue Roginski has really planted seeds and rooted herself in Riverside, Calif. She is committed to making the city a “hub” for dance. She’s hopeful a few new events will encourage dancers to stay: Trolley Dances Riverside and dance­STORM. Check out info on placeperformance.org and visit Sue if you are in L.A….please?

Eileen Deignan has “had a good year for catching up with Wesleyan friends while in Colorado. Johanna Van Hise Heart and Simon Heart are in Boulder with their three beautiful children. Eric Peterson is back in Denver after a few decades away in Zaire and Arizona. He and his wife, Anne, also have three beautiful children. Eric is a family medicine physician. Eric and I had a great time looking through pictures and recalling adventures in his orange VW bug. I live in Newton, Mass., with my husband Victor and two sons.”

Simon Connor is married to Melissa Hadfield and lives in Seattle. He works as a psychotherapist in private practice, and plays in a rock band.

From Andrew Gaines: “I expect others of you have, or are about to have, the similar experience of crossing the big 50. I think it’s a moment for which one can make any meaning, complete any yearning, or simply allow to pass with a wee bit of recognition. That said, I recognize that as I near this supposed threshold life is fuller, busier and more engaged than ever. And my work as executive director of Ashby Village (ashbyvillage.org) continues to deepen and grow.”

Linda Malias Passaro headed back to Wesleyan for the career weekend in February. “Reconnected with old classmates and helped students on interviewing skills and developing ‘personal brands.’ Working now on getting summer interns and some graduates into permanent job placements. Amazing how the campus has grown but the spirit of the school remains so consistent after all these years! The visit was good for my soul.”

From Tim Sheridan: “After 10 years with Razorfish, I’m now digital creative director at Burrell Communications in Chicago and I’ve also been teaching at the Chicago Portfolio School.”

AJ Salerno “got a visit from Ted Galo ’85 and new girlfriend this weekend—dinner and laughs. Ted is JV hockey coach at Hingham High School. Ran into Tony Antonellis ’86 and his wife at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival in October. He gave me a hard time for wearing an Amherst football hat that my cousin gave me! From the looks of things, you can actually wear a Wesleyan football hat with pride for the first time in a while.”

Hope Salzer became president of her local League of Women Voters. “Even more exciting, I was voted to the board of a California-wide, grassroots, public education advocacy organization. The organization, Educate Our State, educateourstate.org, has taken the courageous step of filing a public ballot initiative in California that would prevent the state from siphoning off 25 percent of the local property taxes that are allocated to K through 14 education (schools and community colleges) and using it for other things.”

Lastly, I (Amanda) just want to report that Rob Campbell became a father this past February (a baby boy), and had a Broadway show open a month later. He was amazing in the play about LBJ and is overjoyed albeit exhausted. Such good news. Another highlight of the season was seeing Matt Paul and Naomi Mezey—love them always.

Until next time,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

1988

For this issue of the class report, we begin with Lydia Crawford, who wrote: “I have not found the proverbial work-life balance—when my son was 10 and I was encouraging him to spend less time in front of the computer screen, he correctly noted that I spent my whole day in front of the computer! I then explained to him that I was paid to do work in front of the computer, to which he replied that I could certainly pay him to be at the computer….”

Some of the other news: Sam Atkinson has kept in touch with his three frosh roomies from Clark 312. He sees Tony Antonellis around Boston for lunch and Wes events. He recently spoke to Kevin Freund, who is in Ohio, has the 50th birthday year itch, and is planning the next chapter of his career. Sam also spends time with Peter Hammond every fall, when Peter visits for a reunion weekend in N.H., along with Mark Woodbury ’87.

Michael Tomasson and his wife, Kathy Weilbaecher (Harvard ’87), celebrated their 22nd anniversary. They are both physician researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, and their three kids are in 6th, 9th, and 12th grades. Michael is a physician on the leukemia and stem cell transplantation service and is scientific director of the multiple myeloma program. Generous with his time department: He does experimental science outreach as co-founder of PubStyleScience.com, which uses a combination of Google Hangouts and Twitter to host (very) informal dialogues about issues in biomedical science.

Lisa Clough and John (now Johan) Booth met up again this year at the South Pole. Lisa is a program manager at the National Science Foundation, and spends about a month a year in Antarctica. Johan was spending his 10th winter in Antarctica, where he works for NOAA on many things including keeping track of the size of the ozone hole.

Lydia Crawford also wrote, “I have been living in Saint Paul for the past 23 years and endured all 23 winters—not bad for a girl who grew up in Saudi Arabia! I moved here after law school at the University of Virginia, was in private practice for a while, clerked for a federal district court judge for a while, and have been with Wells Fargo for the past 13 years. I am a consumer credit attorney, working with all the so-called “alphabet regulations—A through Z—and since the advent of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I have been quite busy.…[With husband and kids,] we keep busy skiing, hiking, camping, biking, taking in the excellent regional theater in the Twin Cities, and savoring any sunny day above freezing!”

Dan Kolbert has been in Portland, Maine, since 1988: “50 had me freaked out for at least a year but so far hasn’t been so bad (or my dread successfully prepared me). I’m a building contractor and active in the regional community of ‘green’ builders and designers. I host a monthly Building Science Discussion Group as well, which has been both fun and a great way to share best practices. My spousal equivalent and I have two kids, the younger of whom is completely sick of my inability to watch a movie or TV show without telling her who I went to college with. ‘How come you’re not rich?’ she asks.”

Jody Lewen has been in the Bay Area since 1994, currently the executive director of the Prison University Project, which runs an associate’s degree program inside San Quentin State Prison for over 300 people. “I often think about how much my experiences at Wesleyan have informed my work—I seem to be driven to create a little Wesleyan inside San Quentin. I love my colleagues and the students at SQ, but there’s also a great deal of extreme heartbreak in working inside the California prison system. Work is very much the center of my life, so it’s a good thing the Bay Area is as beautiful as it is. Most regularly in touch with Judith Hill-Weld and Katherine Forrest, with occasional signs of life from Tyche Hendricks and Lizzie Carty ’87.”

John McIntyre was on a medical mission to rural Haiti in April; one goal is integrating remote interpretation of medical images from Haiti into the neuroradiology program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where he works. “Great to have so much local cross-country skiing right out my door. Great fall and saw many Wes folks at the Head of the Charles when I rowed in a senior masters eight with Alex Thomson ’82 and Kevin Foley ’82. Seeing a lot of John Gemery ’85, Michael Zegans ’85, and Jinny Kim Hartman ’86, all DH doctors. Following in Jon Chatinover ’83’s footsteps in Martha’s Vineyard, I have gotten involved in coaching the Hanover High School swim team and enjoy the rapid improvement of the student swimmers over a relatively short season.”

Eileen Mohan Flaherty has found her second career as a high school English teacher in Hartford to be far more gratifying than the practice of law. She and her husband, Patrick, are savoring their time with daughter, Cat, before she heads off as a freshman to Sarah Lawrence College in the fall.

Bennett Schneider: “I celebrated my 50th on April 5 in New York, eating Chinese food with Julia Barclay, Shawn Cuddy, James Hallett, Cobina Gillitt ’87, and Nathan Gebert ’85. Melinda Newman and I explore restaurants around L.A. regularly and are as close as ever. I’m going on six years of performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (as an actor in their education series) and 10 years as creative director and director of operations with Doozycards.com, making short animations. The work I’ve done the longest has been as vice-president of the charitable group, The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for five years now and as a gay Hindu drag nun for 18 years.”

Eric Howard | EricInMaine@gmail.com

Timothy Jacobs has been an anthropology and sociology professor at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Conn. He belongs to more than 30 hereditary societies and is the genealogist and/or registrar for several of them. A professional genealogist, Tim also paints and makes stringed musical instruments. He is putting together several CDs of his music (some with Victoria Grace Landgraf ’88).

Marc Stein writes: “After sixteen years of living and teaching in Toronto, I’ll be moving to the Bay Area this summer to begin my new position as the Pasker Chair in U.S. history at San Francisco State University. I’m looking forward to my new adventure (and will continue to spend time in Maine, where my partner teaches).”

Michael Banbury, chief of cardiac surgery and chair of cardiovascular surgery for Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del., just finished a “Master of Health Care Delivery Science” at Dartmouth: “The idea is to prepare people in the health care sector to think carefully about the challenges we face in this sector and to develop innovative solutions to the many problems at hand.”

Tim Clark visited Wesleyan with his son, Philip, for Alumni Sons and Daughters weekend. Larry Attia was also in attendance with his daughter. “… the campus looks great, particularly Clark Hall which was decidedly (but lovably) dumpy back in the day. After only a few minutes, my Wesleyan compass kicked in, allowing me to navigate parts of the campus indoors on what turned out to be a very cold day.  Had I only kept a copy of my old head resident master keys, I could have done the entire tour underground.” Tim, Larry, and Steve Pace ’84 will continue their now 30-year tradition of watching the Mets play on the road. This year they are bound for Denver. (Tim notes: “John Brown, if you are reading this, please join us in Section 101 — there is a ticket in your name at the will call window.”) Tim also caught up with Celia Vimont whose son is also applying to college.

Shelley Starkvolunteers for Dr. Donald Berwick who is running for governor of Massachusetts. “I interned for Don during one of my summers home from Wesleyan. I spend time with Rosilyn Ford and David Shopper ’81. Ros is a nurse practitioner in Belmont, and David continues to build his photography business on the North Shore.” Living in Attleboro with her husband, Louis Jackson, and their two children, Holland, 12, and Spenser, 11, Shelley works as a health policy consultant in Rhode Island.

John Brown and his wife moved to Jupiter, Fla., when he took a new job with INTECH.  They have adjusted very well to life without seasons and “live in shorts and flipflops.” Their new business venture is a wine bar: “We have access to some of the best wines in the world and would love to share them with Wes friends.”

Rich Adams started a new job, “working as a PA on the Ear, Nose and Throat service in Rhode Island, excited to be back in an academic environment and learning a ton. Being the least knowledgeable (and usually oldest) guy in the room, seems to be a trend for me….”

Bekkie Wright finished her 50 States marathon quest! Bekkie was in the Raleigh/Durham area in early February with her father, Jim Wright ’55, for his 80th birthday. “I still have a little speed left at the short distances because I scored as 3rd Female Master (40+) in the Run for the Roses 5K.”

Michael Solomon has a new job at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as the senior regional director for the north east region, where he will oversee FINRA’s NYC, Long Island, Philadelphia, NJ, and Boston district offices. His oldest daughter, Emma,is going to Wes in the fall.

K.T. Whaley bought her mother’s company, the Center for Montessori Education. “We train people to be Montessori teachers. All my work at Wes in problem solving [and] identification, connecting themes, thinking creatively, and honing communication skills, were great training for this position.” K.T.’s eldest daughter, Sarah, is looking at colleges, and Emma is getting ready for her Bat Mitzvah next year.

Jessica Bernstein, a freelance writer and copy editor, lives in San Antonio with her husband, Jonathan Bernstein, a columnist covering U.S. politics for Bloomberg View. They have two daughters, ages 20 and 15, one a sophomore at Mount Holyoke and one a ninth grader.

Chris and Nancy Sinacola are pleased to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Jane Woolf Burress, born in early December to their daughter Alena Burress and her husband, Toby. Alena, a “campus baby” from 1983 to 1985, attended a few Classics Department classes and events. Chris is editorial page editor at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette; Nancy is tutoring Latin. Their son, Jonas, spent five years in the Marine Corps and now lives in Virginia. Their other daughters are finishing college: Mary is a senior at the Art Institute of Boston, and Lucy a junior at Northeastern.

Evan Nelson lives in Virginia and works as a forensic clinical psychologist. His practice has included high profile cases such as Lorena Bobbitt, the DC snipers, the Somalia pirates (of “Captain Philips” fame), and the Atkins case, which led to the U.S. Supreme Court to declare it illegal to execute intellectually disabled defendants. He and his wife (also a forensic clinical psychologist) have been in practice together for almost 20 years.  “The older of my two children is a senior in high school, so we visited Wesleyan as part of his college quest (but he has decided to go to William & Mary). I was impressed by the growth of the campus, but I mourned the loss of MoCon and my fond memories of socializing there.”

Amy Nash continues to love living in Minneapolis: “I have been with the same architecture firm (MSR) as a marketing specialist for almost 17 years now. I also nurture my passion for writing poetry and keep my poetry blog (arambler.com) alive. My poem, “Souvenir, Erosion,” will be published in an anthology about Martha’s Vineyard’s Gay Head Lighthouse. I will be attending a poetry workshop at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown this summer.”

CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com

MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Roger Pincus is your host this issue. Thanks to everyone who’s submitted news to us—here it is:

Michael Misi Polgar is an associate professor of sociology at Penn State University in Hazelton, Pa. His work includes sociological research on gendered variations in service learning. He and his wife, Michele, are happily busy with three daughters, but he finds time to volunteer in his community as a soccer coach.

Andy Peretz has avoided the winter blues as he practices commercial litigation and entertainment law in South Florida, where he represents entertainment companies producing music festivals and cruises. He also plays drums in area bands. The music-loving gene has been transmitted to both Andy’s teenage son and daughter, who enjoy attending rock shows with their dad.

Laura Simon remains in Connecticut working as the wildlife ecologist for the Humane Society of the United States. She proudly reports that her 10-year-old son, Jack, participated in a successful lobbying effort that culminated in a new state law giving students a choice to opt out of dissection.

Paul Gross has spent the last five years applying everything he learned in business to medical research by becoming board chair and the most active volunteer for the Hydrocephalus Association, the largest patient advocacy organization, for his son’s common but poorly treated brain condition. Paul had founded a clinical research network in neurosurgery a few years earlier and merged the two organizations so they wouldn’t be competing with one another for funding. He serves on the advisory council for one of the National Institutes of Health and travels often between Seattle and D.C. In his free time, Paul races mountain bikes in his home state of Washington.

Speaking of biking, Aaron Gershenberg has done several fundraising rides per year since graduation; last year, his team (Silicon Valley Bank) raised almost $1 million for Best Buddies, an organization that benefits the intellectually and developmentally challenged. Aaron also has joined the board of First Move, an organization that promotes the inclusion of chess in the second and third grade classroom. He works closely with Magnus Carlsen, current world chess champion.

Steven Herzog has been living in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his girlfriend/partner, Carrie Jabinsky, for about five years; they have a 3-year-old daughter, Sasha. Steven’s two older daughters are both doing well—Rachel is a junior majoring in classics at Barnard and Charlotte is a freshman at Kenyon planning to double major in theater and math. Steven continues working as a litigation counsel for Paul Weiss in New York, handling commercial cases and pro bono work on death penalty cases. He invites any classmate in or visiting New York to look him up.

Jeff Mehlman reports that he and wife Lynne Bono Mehlman are still in North Andover, Mass., where they have lived for more than 25 years. Jeff continues to work as a management and information technology consultant in the capital markets and Lynne is an accomplished painter in the classical tradition: lynnebmehlman.com. Their son, Jake, and daughter, Julia, are sophomores at the University of Denver and Bowdoin College respectively. Jake took a year off between high school and college, during which he walked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. He now enjoys his access to the Rockies and competing in rugby. Julia is thriving academically and as president of her social house. She also has had success competing as a sprinter.

Mark Randles continues to be a ball of fire when it comes to socializing with other Wesleyan alums. In March he attended a birthday party for Melany Kahn ’86 in New Hampshire. He reports that Michael Bailit and Jim Glickman were among those present. Days earlier, Mark spent time with David Booker, Mike Murphy, and Shakir Farsakh. David is a lawyer with Credit Agricole, Mike is with Morgan Stanley, and Shakir is with the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration. By the time you are reading this, Shakir may be reporting to Stefan Selig, whom the President has nominated as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.

Chuck Schneider is enjoying touring in support of his novel, A Portrait in Time, which was released in print in January 2014. And Michael Lewyn’s book, A Libertarian Smart Growth Agenda: How to Limit Sprawl Without Curbing Property Rights, was published by Lambert Academic Publishing. Mike continues to teach at Touro Law School and blog on urban affairs.

Finally, class co-secretary Michael Steven Schultz is happy to announce that his son Quinlan will be a freshman at Hampshire College this fall. In addition, Michael Steven was delighted to catch Beth Kaufman ’86 and Mark Miller ’88 with their band, Spuyten Duyvil, at Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville, Pa. Beth is a powerhouse singer and anyone in New England or the NY/NJ/PA area should keep an eye out for their tour dates at sputyenduyvilmusic.com.

Michael Steven Schultz
mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Greetings, everyone. Sipping coffee at my kitchen table, looking outside at the daffodils and forsythia beginning to open, birds are singing in the background, and there is a pair of cardinals darting about the woods. Gonna spend the day in NYC with an old friend and kids are all doing well freshman year. Life is pretty good. Well, almost, —one gray cloud hovering, divorce. But, I recently got Reiki certified and am focusing on the positive energy. To that end, it is heartwarming as classmates continue to share their stories and thank me for compiling these notes. The truth is, I have to thank you…it’s wonderfully fun reading all the interesting paths everyone is on and catching up with former friends and acquaintances. Besides, it is easy…I just cut and paste (how did we ever survive with typewriters back in the ’80s?), and interweave a few connecting sentences to make it flow. Here now the news, which the editors have shortened to fit our allotted space. Please see the full notes at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/:

Children are a common theme. Marc Mowrey writes, “My son, Tennessee, graduates this spring and wife Susie and I will be in Middletown to see his senior thesis recital and again in May for graduation!” Mitch Plave shares, “My son, Aaron Plave ’15, is studying abroad this semester in Budapest at the Aquincum Institute of Technology (AIT), which is a computer sciences program for very serious students and professors. Aaron is a computer science major at Wes.” Mitch looks forward to visiting Aaron in Budapest and adds daughter Leah is a freshman at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a thriving cellist. She received high honors on her recent boards, which confirms for her unbiased dad that she is extraordinary. Mitch’s legal practice as a banking regulatory attorney D.C. continues to interest and challenge him. Mitch is in touch with Liam Newberg, who does analytics for Anheuser-Busch in California and Beth Tractenberg, who focuses on complex estate planning matters as a partner in NYC at Katten Muchin, Rosenman.” Small world…because, I (Laurie) work with Beth’s dad, Paul Tractenberg ’60 at Rutgers and he is a Wes alumnus, too, and apparently a very good cyclist.

Keeping with the law theme: Todd Maybrown does trial work (mostly criminal defense) and teaches at the University of Washington Law School. His daughter is a first-year at Oberlin and a musician. Todd sees David Kauff who lives just down the block. Miriam Hiser celebrates 15 years of practice with her own law firm in San Francisco and spends her off time swimming in the San Francisco Bay. She did a relay English Channel Swim in 2011 and would enjoy hearing from other Wesleyan classmates. Karen Liepman joined the Office of Counsel at Arizona State University after 26 years in private practice of law. In her role, she assists ASU with intellectual property protection and complex transactions.

Back to kids: Ken Fuchs reports, “I am now closer to Wes than ever, as my son, Ike Fuchs ’17, is finishing up his freshman year. I returned to campus a few times during fall to watch him play for our amazing NESCAC and Little 3 Champion football team.” Ken is proud of Ike and our classmate Mike Whalen’s team! Ken attended Homecoming and got re-acquainted with many old friends, including Alan Dorsey, Glenn Duhl and Mark Armstrong, and hung with his siblings and cousin, Fred Fuchs ’77, Paula Fuchs ’78, Ike Fuchs ’17, Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer ’74 and Marni Pedorella ’90. I (Laurie, again) was fortunate to see Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, who happens to be my former babysitter, and her beautiful daughter when I last visited Wes, a few years back.

Ken Fuchs adds, “I’ve been working in production since graduation and I love my job as a television director. I am fortunate to work on three hit shows: The Bachelor/Bachelorette (29 seasons), Family Feud (13 seasons) and Shark Tank (6 seasons). It’s hard to believe I get to do something I love so much for a living and never had to grow up and get a real job.” Ken credits Wesleyan with helping him see the endless possibilities available in life. He has lived in Los Angeles since graduation and sees and works with Matt Ember, Laurie Sklarin Ember ’84, Murray Oden, and childhood friend Richard Saperstein.

Sharon and Michael Steinberg relate, “Our three daughters are now young adults: Hannah Steinberg ’16 attends Wes and her twin sister, Kayla, is a student at Macalester College in St. Paul. Our eldest, Davia, will attend the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit next fall. We are excited to have another psychologist in the family and to enjoy her company close to home.” Additionally, Sharon writes she has a thriving psychotherapy practice in Ann Arbor and after leaving the University of Michigan, she co-founded Partners in Healing in 2011, which offers training and consultation for therapists who are interested in enhancing their emotional resonance with clients and in integrating psychodynamic and mind-body approaches in the treatment of trauma. Michael Steinberg shares, “In addition to my duties as legal director of the ACLU of Michigan, I am a visiting professor this semester at Wayne State University Law School, where I teach a civil rights clinic.” He also teaches public interest litigation at the University of Michigan Law School.

Michael Sommer and Taya Glotzer write: “Our son Adam, 22, is graduating from Duke in May with a double major in computer science and public policy, and will settle in DC working as a software engineer at a company called Appian. Our daughter, Carolyn, 20, is a junior at the University of Michigan and in Rome for a semester.” Taya practices electrophysiology in northern New Jersey and New York, and conducts research and writes for the Heart Rhythm Society, a national organization for the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders. Michael practices law at Wilson, Sonsini in NYC.

Holly Gruskay is raising two busy teenagers on her own in Westchester…and this school year her company partnered with a major Wall Street firm to start a FIRST Robotics team at the local high school. Both her kids are getting turned on to engineering, as are the other 20 in the club. In April the team competes at the Javits Center in NYC where Holly is one of the program emcees.

In addition to raising families, classmates have pursued a host of fascinating career paths and are award winners in diverse “spaces”: Ken Schneyer is nominated for the Nebula Award for his short story “Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer.” The story originally appeared in the anthology Clockwork Phoenix 4, and has since been translated into Chinese and read aloud on a podcast. Ken is also chair of a university speaker series that lets him chat with fascinating people. His wife, Janice Okoomian, teaches gender and women’s studies at Rhode Island College; daughter Phoebe Schneyer Okoomian is choosing among several colleges for the fall; son Arek Okoomian Schneyer is acting, writing, and taking a deep breath before the start of 9th grade.

Nancy Rommelmann writes that her e-book, “Going to Gacy: A cross-country journey to shake the devil’s hand”, about a trip she took to interview the serial killer John Wayne Gacy before his execution, will be released in May 2014. She is working on her next book, “To the Bridge” about a filicide in Portland, Ore., and she writes book reviews for the Wall Street Journal. Keeping with the author theme, Pat Roth’s recently published book, The End of Back Pain, came out in April 2014.

Alice Jankell is the creative director of FAB (For, About and By) Women, a theater company under the Off-Broadway umbrella of The Barrow Group in NYC. The company is 100 women strong, all professional actors, directors and writers, ranging in age from the 20s to 70s. Janet Lambert Preston entered the workforce again and teaches at Unity College in Maine. She and husband David Preston ’81 are celebrating their 28th anniversary and have two children, Elizabeth, 22, and Richard, 17. The Preston family enjoys life on China Lake—especially in the summer! Karen Adair Miller, resides in Lake Placid, N.Y., home to a number of Sochi medalists and enjoyed the town’s giant parade honoring all the winter bobsled, luge, skeleton, alpine/nordic skiing, biathlon, and snowboarding athletes.

Carl Sundberg works in Fukushima, Japan, on a cloud-computing start-up, “Smart Technology Partners,” that predates the Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters by several months. His idea had been to de-centralize Japan’s computing infrastructure from its over-concentration in the Tokyo earthquake/volcano risk area. Little did he think he was walking into a more immediate and global disaster! Carl writes working with the refugees and helping them to find new careers has been rewarding even if the business plan execution has had its set-backs. Carl is recycling abandoned elementary schools that were closed due to rural aging and de-population trends and refurbishes them cheaply to use renewable energy and air cooling to reduce the overall cost of the computing infrastructure as well as to create local, sustainable jobs. He adds, “The liberal side of a Wesleyan education obviously weathered a long career in banking as a CIO and is emerging intact if slightly aged!” Go, Carl!

Helen J.C. Uddoh Matausch is president and chief operations officer for Infinilytics— an analytics company based in Silicon Valley, Fremont, and Canada. She and her husband reside in Sonoma County, an hour outside of San Francisco. Hey, Helen, we were roommates sophomore year, so when I visit my daughter at Berkeley next year, may I take a side trip?) According to Bob Gordon, other West Coasters, “Bruce Glassman and Tracy Hughes are now empty-nesters. Son Nate studies film at NYU, and daughter Emma studies communications in the honors program at Emerson in Boston. Bruce publishes books in the food industry (chef bios, cookbooks, and the like), and is something of a local celebrity in San Diego’s craft beer industry (having written the leading guide). Tracy is a successful clinical psychologist.” Bob Gordon’s other news: Brad Galer is married to Lele Herron Galer for 25 years. They live in Pennsylvania and own an award-winning winery: Galer Estates. Chuck Schneider ’84, a highly regarded oncologist in Pennsylvania, writes fiction (check out A Portrait in Time—it’s terrific) and travels the world with soon-to-be wife, Dessi.

Notably, many of our classmates have pursued careers in education, including yours truly. I continue to conduct research at Rutgers on education reform. My latest endeavor is to map education (PreK-12 and post-secondary) and work force attachment which requires lots of state and federal agencies to cooperate and share data, which is easier said than done. Mark Kushner and wife Dr. Mimi Winsberg reside in San Francisco and have two wonderful kids (Kyra, 11, and Tor, 8)! He teaches at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and Graduate School of Education, and is opening cutting-edge high tech “blended” preK-12th grade charter schools in a number of states and D.C. Marc is always looking for Wesleyan educator talent (e-mail him with résumés at mkushner@k12.com) and he recently saw fellow Wesleyaners in D.C., including Ben Binswanger, Billy Weinreb, Lisa Goodman, Akiva Goldsman, Ted Kennedy, and Scott Pearson ’84.

Susanna Sharpe is the communications coordinator at the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and Benson Latin American Collection (aka LLILAS Benson) at the University of Texas at Austin. The Benson houses the largest collection of books, publications, and archives from Latin America outside of the Library of Congress and the institute offers interdisciplinary degrees in Latin American studies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as scholarly exchanges. Susanna continues to perform Brazilian music in Austin. Eileen Kelly-Aguirre works at The Gunnery, a coeducational college preparatory boarding and day school for students in grades 9–12/PG. Eileen heads up the strategic partnerships and global/summer program development. She had a great time at last year’s Reunion with Eclectic residents (absolutely delightful reunion buds), as well as with dear friends Cindy Robinson, Rick Velleu, Alice Jankell and Bennett Heart. Diagnosed with colon cancer last June, Eileen was declared disease free a few weeks ago. She would love to reconnect with more classmates via Facebook. On behalf of the class, I wish you continued health and strength, Eileen.

I have so gone over my space allotment. Forgive me if I did not include your information; I’ll add it to the next issue. Until then, Namaste.

LAURIE COHEN | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

Always fascinating to see what my periodic call for updates from the Class of ’82 will yield. Some dispatches are strictly personal, others all-business—all always welcome, of course. And even the most cut-and-dried correspondents can sometimes be coaxed to give up a personal detail or two.

Beck Lee, for example, wrote to plug the work of Jim Brenner ’79, who is building “a sustainable community housing development in war-debilitated Liberia”—a project he’s helping promote.

“I’ve loved providing a small measure of marketing help for this worthy project, but boy, is the work blazing new trails out there unforgiving,” Beck writes. “Reach out to him whenever you can. And, go ahead and buy a home out there. It’s certainly a good value!”

Prodded for at least a modicum of news about himself, he added rather reluctantly (oh, okay twist my arm!) that he is “enjoying fatherhood for the first time.” (We journalists sometimes call that “burying the lead.” Congratulations, Beck!) “I’m starting this at a very late age, so I hope anything I say doesn’t sound like old news to our much more parentally established classmates,” he wrote. “My son is very cute, by the way.”

Bob Russo writes that he has not been up to anything “juicy” of late, although he, too, is reveling in the pleasures of fatherhood. “I have not just published a novel, I have not won any awards, I am not planning any expeditions and I have not started a new company/nonprofit/website,” he said. “The current excitement in my life is: my son Peter is teaching me how to make a traditional archery bow using hand tools and a hickory stave.”

He adds: “I am now chair of my town’s park and rec commission, and we have a new dog—a chocolate lab named Shelby who will retrieve a ball all day long. Oh, and I am taking up beekeeping.”

Emilie Becker—we knew her at Wes as Bunny Attwell—has been named acting medical director of Texas Medicaid and CHIP. “Our son started college and our daughter is faring well at a boarding school in Connecticut where she is on the equestrian team,” she writes.

Bill Stephan lives in Buffalo, and is in his 19th year in practice as a family doctor “with a special interest in complementary medicine,” he wrote, adding that he “recently passed board exam for holistic medicine certification.” Bill has four kids: Alexandria, 23, a graduate of St. Bonaventure, who is pursuing a possible opportunity to skate in a Disney on Ice show; Kathryn, 21, who is graduating this year from Fredonia; Billy IV, a sophomore at WVU; and Juliette, 18, a high school senior.

Congrats are in order for Laura Fraser, who writes that she has launched Shebooks, a new e-book publishing platform for women, founded with two other veteran publishing professionals. So far, they’ve published over 40 short memoirs, stories, and long-form journalism pieces by top-shelf women authors, including Wesleyan writers. The works can be downloaded individually, or via subscription at shebooks.net.

“I can’t believe that after 30 years of being a freelance writer, I’m a start-up entrepreneur,” Laura writes. “My big hope is that we’ll be successful enough that I can go back to being a freelance writer—with someplace to publish.”

Lavinia Muncy Ross is “presently living the very full life of a farmer, musician and blogger.” She shares that she is living with her husband, Rick Ross, on a small farm in the Cascade foothills of western Oregon, and blogs about her farming and music at salmonbrookfarms.wordpress.com.

The Association of Reform Zionists of America honored our own Peri Smilow at a New York City gala in April, “for involvement in more than 30 years of Jewish communal life and education, and for helping secure the future of Reform Judaism’s support for Israel.” ARZA hailed Peri as a musician and educator blessed with a “special gift” of sharing spirituality and inspiring social action through her music.

Julie Faude writes: “I continue to work as a clinical developmental psychologist, both in private practice and at an independent school focusing on pre-K through 2nd grade,” adding that she and her husband are also avid travelers. “I am writing this from PHL airport en route to the Dominican. Jeff and I love to travel and live for Airbnb. We are outside of Philly and we are always open to visitors!” Julie adds that one of her daughters is a freshman at the University of Southern California and that her older daughter is poised to graduate soon from Cornell. “Margot will be moving to Boston to work for the TJX companies,” she writes. “Anyone in Beantown with a great apartment for rent, let me know!”

Bill Jeffway writes that he has joined the Bioethics Research Institute at The Hastings Center in Garrison, N.Y., as director of marketing and communications, after a 30-year career at global advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather where he worked in their New York, London, Singapore, and Los Angeles offices. Bill was married last year to his longtime partner, Christopher Fook Hong Lee, in Milan, N.Y. Congrats!

Joshua Ehrlich has just published his first book, Divorce and Loss: Helping Adults and Children Mourn When a Marriage Comes Apart. “It is being published by Rowman and Littlefield,” he said. “It is designed for therapists who work with children, adolescents and/or adults dealing with divorce.”

Stephen Daniel, Alex Thomson, Kevin Foley, Jack Taylor, and Peter Frisch write in a jointly-penned missive that they continued their 20-year tradition of a family ski trip during Presidents’ Day weekend, although this year without the usual participation of John Mooney, Dan Hillman, and Bruce Crain.

Harold Bordwin, writes that he and Julie Broude Bordwin sold their house last summer after 25 years in Westchester County and have moved to New York City. They are the proud owners of a co-op in a 1910 building in Morningside Heights. “Our son, Jesse ’10, is in his third year of a five year PhD English program at UVA,” Harold writes. “Our son, Simon (Bowdoin ’13), lives with us in NYC and is working at a start-up, online art gallery, Uprise Art.”

Thanks for the dispatches, one and all!

Stephanie Griffith | stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com

Greetings, once again, from Brooklyn. I never know when these will find their way to your mailbox, months after I write them. I write this in June, as I am about to visit my oldest son in Arizona, and, more importantly, his 2-year-old girl. He is a year from 30, and his sister just turned 25. Yes, their youngest sibling is still 9, as I write this, but some of you must have children who have hit 30 already. How do you cope with the knowledge that your child has hit the big 3-0? And, as important, if not more so: Can you still trust them?

Brian Ford reports that his book came out last year: Respect for Teachers: The Rhetoric Gap and How Research on Schools is Laying the Ground for New Business Models in Education, which examines and critiques the privatization of the public education system.

Gene Norden writes that after Wes, he got a law degree from Duke and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago business school. “I practiced law and was a wealth manager for many years, and recently made a career move to become director of trusts and estates at Bonhams auction house in New York. I love being in the art world and have never been happier! I remain very close friends with Tom Danziger, who is uniformly considered one of the top art lawyers in New York, and who has been invaluable in helping me make the transition.”

Steve Blum, who blogs at negotiatingtruth.com, finally finished the book he has been working on since he was class secretary. Negotiating Your Investments joins knowledge from his two longtime careers by applying negotiation methods he has taught at Wharton for two decades to investing and finance strategies from his practice.  Steve wonders aloud about the loss of dignity involved in begging classmates to read the darned thing.

Paul Godfrey is proud to report that his son, Charlie, graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with degrees in math and physics. Next year he will be going to graduate school at the University of Washington headed towards a PhD in math. And, he will be a graduate teaching assistant. “Since I took self-paced calculus at Wes on a pass-fail basis and got a P, followed by a huge sigh of relief, this makes perfect sense.”

After a 25-year career as a broadcast photojournalist, Kit Tyler founded The American Mercury Inc., a media production company specializing in broadcast documentary programs. Kit has created dozens of series and programs on a wide range of topics from Autism to climate change to Western history.  Saving The Bay, a history of San Francisco Bay, won several Emmy awards. His latest work, Becoming California, the environmental history of California will premier in the fall of 2014. Kit lives in Sacramento, with his wife, Libby. They have two sons, Nicholas and Henry. 

Wesleyan friends Nancy Traub Chirinos and Charlie Spiegel recently traveled together to Seattle to celebrate Nancy’s younger daughter Eva’s graduation from University of Puget Sound, and to show Seattle Univ. to Charlie’s daughter, Nora.  “We continue to ask Nancy’s daughters, who are in college, if they want to stay in touch with their friends for their next 35 plus years,” Charlie adds, “although we progressively less articulate the exact number of years.”

Nancy is a marriage and family therapist intern at S.F.’s Marina Counseling Center. Charlie is a family lawyer/mediator in solo practice, and recently completed re-writing a California-wide low-cost divorce educational presentation to include same gender couples (divorceoptioninfo.com). “So we do weekly morning exercise walks up S.F’s Twin Peaks, and often swap case tips, and recognize how lucky we are to still live one block from one another. Join us some morning.”

David Todd informs us that “Since graduation, a collection of men from the class of ’81 has gathered now and then for a weekend in the wild. In April, Rich Eastman, Danny Haar, Chris Heye, Joel Kreisberg, Tom Land, Beck Lee, Kevin Osborn and I traveled to upstate New York to navigate a treasure hunt, hike together while all still can, and play poker. Kevin, as usual, won. Other outings have included Ryan Helwig, Rob Levin, Ted Parker and Perry Pockros. See the photo: classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/

And finally, I will make one more shameless plug for my cousin, Gabrielle Fondiller ’07’s not-for-profit Hatua Likoni (hatualikoni.org). It’s a community NGO working to promote education and employment among youth in Likoni, Kenya. Through scholarships, mentoring and career guidance, Hatua helps Likoni’s top students gain the skills, credentials and networks they need to contribute to and benefit from Kenya’s growing economy. As you consider end-of-year charitable gifts, please keep this in mind.

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

JOANNE godin audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

There are many happy returns from the April 1099 request for class notes—no extensions required!

Ken Miller writes: I won the 2014 ASJA Award in science/technology writing for my story “Mushroom Manifesto” in Discover. It’s a profile of the visionary mycologist Paul Stamets, who was inspired to study fungi as a teenager when psilocybin mushrooms cured his severe stutter. Stamets has discovered ways to use mushrooms for some highly unorthodox purposes, including cleaning up oil spills and atomic fallout. You can read the article here: bit.ly/Q2df2R.

Suzy Shedd writes: Hey, Kim—Great to hear things are going so well for you! I’m happy to say that I have added the position of Disabilities Support Specialist at Goddard College to my menu of work activities. Meanwhile, Vermont is FINALLY seeing signs of spring–mud season!

Faith Elizabeth Fuller writes: I am still in Berkeley, Calif., renting my Oakland house out to my daughter and a large group of 20-somethings. I am on the board of the “Prevention Project,” a national coalition to promote the use of research in the social sciences to save lives and reduce government costs. It’s a great project, because it can appeal to us liberals who want government to step up to the plate and to conservatives who want to reduce government spending; preventionproject.us. It ties into my efforts to reduce incarceration levels for drug offenders in California by offering rehabilitation as an alternative to prison. I am working as a consultant (proposal writer and evaluator) to the courts in four bay area counties: Alameda, Solano, Marin, and Francisco.

My son, Jack Madigan (age 26) went to Israel to shoot a documentary called The Village of Peace. It is the story of a group of African-American Hebrews who went to Israel in the 1970’s to form a Utopian community. It is quite an amazing place, and the film was showcased at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February. My daughter, Ali Madigan (now 25), has been working with a British artist named Kesh and also is finding her own creative success.

Ellen Haller writes: “After stints as the director of the psychiatry residency training program and the director of clinical services, I’m now happily the director of the adult psychiatry clinic at the University of California, San Francisco, where I’m about to enter my 26th year on the full-time faculty. Outside of work, I still play hockey regularly and love playing in tournaments including one in Florida (naturally) for women over 50 and the Gay Games later this summer. A big shock is that a) my kid is now finishing his junior year in high school, and b) he is interested in applying to Wesleyan (Yay!). We’re off for a tour of several New England schools over spring break. Can’t wait to see the campus again!

Wendy Buskop writes from Houston, Tex.: The Wesleyan experience of getting one out of their mindset has helped me write and issue about 900 United States patents. I enjoy all the energy- related, maritime-related, and software patents. It’s been fun to patent arctic expedition vessels and fast ferries for clients that invite you to take a ride… I especially like the rides on 400 foot vessels that go 40 knots like giant speedboats. Come see us at the following Trade Shows: South Texas Oil Show, San Antonio: July 9th & 10th, Booth 693; Permian Basin Oil Show, Midland: October 21st-23rd, Booths B83 & B114.”

Cathy Andronik is writing her doctoral dissertation on recent Australian literature for teens, focusing on Aussie authors who have been honored with the Printz award. She should receive her degree from Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, by the end of 2014.

John Singer writes: “Have seen a lot of alums in the past several weeks. Had lunch with Dave Fagelson and Jon Nimer, while Jon was visiting DC for work. Had dinner last Friday in Philadelphia with Peter Eisenhardt, Brad Moss and Lew Gitlin ’79. Sadly, Peter was in the US for his father’s funeral. I also regularly see David S. Block ’81. Our wives were roommates at Penn; our children were classmates and go to the same summer camps.

“In December, Karen and I celebrated our 25th anniversary. Our son, Charlie, is a sophomore at Tulane, and our daughter, Amy, is a senior at the Bryn Mawr School, where I regularly see former Clark Hall neighbor, Maureen Walsh ’79, the headmistress. Amy will be a first year student at UVA in the fall. Coming up on 20 years at the Federal Trade Commission. After doing mostly appellate work the past 13 years, I just switched back to doing primarily trial work after being asked by the Director of Consumer Protection to start a new enforcement program concerning deceptive on-line negative option sales. All in all, life is pretty good as we approach our 35th(!) Reunion.”

Walter Calhoun writes: “I am going to San Francisco for my aunt’s, Gertrude Martin’s, 100th birthday party on April 19. Gertrude Martin was married to Louis Martin who received an honorary degree from Wesleyan at our graduation ceremony in 1980 ( I know you remember!). Hope to see Steve Freccero, an assistant United States attorney, who prosecuted Ted Kaczynski the Unabomber while I am there.”

Mike O’Brien writes: “On Feb. 2nd, I joined Dave Stern, Tom Kovar ’76, and a large number of singers, guitarists, drummers, bass players, pianists, and far more ukulele players than you would think likely, at the 6th Annual Beatles Open Mic, an event organized by Dave, in Florence, Mass. I was part of the house band, and over the course of the evening played guitar, keyboard, bass and drums. A personal highlight for me was doing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with Dave on lead vocal and me on lead guitar, a complete role-reversal from the days in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s when he and I played in bands together. One of these years, we will get Jack Freudenheim ’79 to join us for this shindig.”

Melissa Stern writes: “I’ve just returned from a six–week artist residency in Israel. Had great adventures working in South Tel Aviv, far off the tourist trail, in a neighborhood of artists, manufacturing, refugees and motorcycles! Here’s a link to my blog, where I chronicled some of my adventures: speakingintongues.melissa-stern.com/. I continue to write about art for CityArts, here in NYC and once I get un-jetlagged, I look forward to getting back in the studio!”

Liz Sikes writes: “It was a heck of a winter, wasn’t it? Only news from here is that after spending the last two summers in Bremen, Germany on a Hanse fellowship (to study how ancient carbon may be getting into our estuaries). I am really looking forward to being parked back on the east coast for the summer. I’m hoping to be up on the Cape, too, doing some work at Woods Hole. My daughter is surviving her first year at Wes and pretty well—but that’s not really news is it?”

KIMBERLY OFRIA SELBY | kim_selby@yahoo.com

The winter only reluctantly released its grip here in the Northeast. The temperature hit 60 today so there is hope that spring will indeed arrive and that Wesleyan will be thawed out by our 35th.

Just enjoyed another dinner with the Dunn Gaherin crew. Acclaimed author Pete Pezzelli ’81, whose latest novel, The Glassblower’s Apprentice, was just released, attended all the way from the great state of Rhode Island. Jeff Burns ’80, chief of critical care at Children’s Hospital Boston, and Mike Rosenblatt ’80, chief medical officer of Lahey Clinic in Burlington Mass., ensured that the usual cast of miscreants—Gary Breitbord, Tim Fitzgerald, Jeff Gray ’77, Tim O’Brien ’81, and Billy Stack ’81—survived the evening. That festive gathering was closely followed by Opening Day at Fenway Park in celebration of their 2013 World Championship attended by Messrs. O’Brien, Gray, and Breitbord as well as George DuPaul all the way from Macungie, Pa. Dave Thomas ’77 and his son, Spencer, joined for some post-game merriment.

The following is from a recent article in the New York Times: “As president and chief executive of New York Public Radio, Laura R. Walker, 56, oversees metropolitan area stations including WNYC, WQXR, and New Jersey Public Radio. She lives in Brooklyn Heights with her husband, Bert Wells, 56, a lawyer, their 14-year-old daughter, Claire, and their cockapoo, Aki. Their son, Evan, 22, is a senior at Yale and often comes home for the weekend because he is writing his senior thesis on the 9/11 Museum.”

Joseph S. Britton, a highly respected family law attorney with Begley, Carlin, and Mandio, LLP, has written the recently published Library of Pennsylvania Family Law Forms, 2nd Edition.

Congratulations to Jack Buckley, making a difference in kids lives and being recognized for it. “Carsten Haber, a board member of Center for Student Coastal Research (CSCR), points out that whereas many people have helped in ensuring the success of CSCR as an educational and environmentally active facility, Jack is the one that started it all with his vision, foresight, and determination. For those reasons, Buckley has been selected as the Cohasset Mariner Citizen of the Year.”

Sarah Maynard writes “Well, I’m not sure I want to lead with this, coming up on our Reunion, but I am a grandmother. Daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Jerome Chiu, welcomed Eleanor Appleton Chiu and Hudson Maynard Chiu on February 8!” OK, the ice has been broken. Sarah has courageously come forth admitting she’s a grandparent. Fess up. Who else?

Bill Levinson writes “I am still living happily in the bubble of New Hope, Penna., with my wife, Julie. I regularly play and record music at our studio and performance space called For the Music Only. We have produced some notable shows here, including Garland Jeffreys, Chuck Prophet, Alejandro Escovedo, and Bernard Purdie. I am writing from Key West, our winter bubble, where I have been playing piano and accordion with friends at the local gin mills, piers, beaches, and bars. Julie and I are celebrating 20 years of lucky love and marriage. “

W. Lee (Willie) Jones writes from Charlotte, N.C., “I serve as the director of the Capital Planning and Alliance Development Services Division of the Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation Department. We recently completed the award winning Romare Bearden Park.”

Theodor Feibel recently had a viewing of his Chromogenic Image “Young Woman Sitting at Table” at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for the Arts in New York City.

Heard from Jane Marcellus, Ph.D., who writes, “I have been promoted to full professor at Middle Tennessee State University, where I teach media history and cultural studies in the School of Journalism. I also have a forthcoming book, Mad Men and Working Women: Feminist Perspectives on Historical Power, Resistance, and Otherness.

Kim Carrell-Smith has a little to tell: “I’m now officially an empty-nester and proud mother of two daughters—one a Professor of English Language at a Chilean university (Tufts ’11) and the other a public librarian in Baltimore (Goucher College, ’13). My husband and I both teach at Lehigh University and I also direct/teach for an interdisciplinary master’s program in which students work in local nonprofit agencies for a full year as part of their MA curriculum.”

Craig McLaughlin is hanging out in Santa Cruz writing and performing regularly as a personal storyteller. A second edition of his textbook, Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach, will be out in July. His coauthor is his father, Curtis McLaughlin ’54. A collection of stories from his performances, which together compose a memoir, came out this September. It is called Lions and Tigers and AIDS! Oh, My! and, yes, some of the stories are set at Wesleyan.

Kathy Herron writes: “My career has taken an exciting new path. After 28 years of being in full-scope midwifery, I have stopped the obstetrics portion of my practice. I have taken a full-time faculty position with the Midwifery Institute of Philadelphia University. I am still doing gynecology at the independent midwifery practice I started in 2000, Full Circle Women’s Health. It’s great not being on call anymore, but I miss the births and the wonderful people I have been working with at our local community hospital, including fellow alum and Chief of OB, Dr. Larry Mendelowitz ’72. I still live in Pleasantville, N.Y., where my husband, Peter Scherer, is mayor and owns a graphic design firm. Caroline (Skidmore ’10) is the stage manager for a local theater company; Ben (University of New Haven ’13) plays guitar for the band Palehound and is currently on tour at SXSW in Austin.

The Emmy award-winning Barbara Grunbaum has produced, written, and directed a new DVD released in March titled Community Cornerstones: Historic African American Communities from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement. More information can be found at HeritageMontgomery.org.

Howard University announced that one of the nation’s leading pediatricians, Joseph L. Wright, M.D., M.P.H., will chair its Department of Pediatrics June 2014. “We are thrilled to welcome a leader with the experience, expertise, and passion that Dr. Wright brings,” said Mark S. Johnson, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the College of Medicine. “Dr. Wright is nationally renowned for his advocacy, public policy and research endeavors. His commitment to outstanding patient care and service to the community are consistent with our core values here at Howard.”

And lastly, John Papa writes, “I had another Sky View Concert series fundraiser at my house in Avon, Conn., to the tunes of The English Beat. Dancing to the Ska music from Wes was co-sponsor John Majewski, Neil Fitzgerald, Bob Burnett, Billy Schmitt, John Gaebe ’77, Paul Malnati ’77, Sean Mckeown ’77, and Jim Carey ’77. People came from all over the country for this great outdoor event. Figuring out now who the next band will be but the clue is ‘I don’t want to go home’. Also just got back from a get-together in Key Largo with 16 Chi Psi’s and one DKE, hosted by John Gaebe and Neil Fitzgerald. After a breakfast at Riviera CC in Miami with Coach Mike Whalen ’83, we were off to the Keys for golfing, boating, and fishing amongst a few other adventures. The Chi Psi’s made an effort to convert the one DKE, Jim LaLiberty ’77, but even with a potential trade, a signing bonus, and a pillow case walk, he stayed true to the boys on High St. The other Lodge men at the event were Bob Latessa, Bill Schmitt, Bob Burnett, Tom Dwyer, John Majewski, Don Dandelske ’78, Buddy Taft ’77, Sean McKeown ’77, Willy Sillin ’77, Paul Malnati ’77, and Dennis Harrington ’76. Best few days of our lives!”

And may that be the same sentiment after our 35th Reunion in May.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | Abdeane@gmail.com

Greetings, classmates! Thanks to your overwhelming response to the request for updates, we have a full column plus more news and photos online.

Bob Kalb is a professor of neurology and pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine where he is primarily involved in research. His NIH-supported lab is working on two main projects;­—one with relevance to childhood intellectual disabilities and autism, and the other focuses on childhood and adult motor neurons diseases (Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS). Rob and his wife have two sons in their 20s pursuing careers in business and film.

Mary White Giffin sends a shout out to the “other” Mary Frances, Joel, Kate, Anne, and Monica. She splits her time living in both D.C. and Rhode Island, working for the federal government on health policy.

Tim Hollister’s new book for parents of teen drivers, Not So Fast, has had a successful national launch, nsfteendriving.com. Proceeds are going to the Reid Hollister Memorial Fund, which helps low-income families in Greater Hartford with infant and toddler education costs, and several national traffic safety programs.

Marian Read Place reports, “I’ve just published Slowing Down in a Speedstressed World: Practical Skills & Kindly Advice (2014, Amazon), integrating my background as a psychotherapist with the wisdom of numerous interviewees. Offering small steps toward changing a stressful, over-hasty pace of life, my book reveals the connection between slowness and calm, identifies faulty thinking that accelerates our pace, and provides skills for working with the anxiety that inevitably arises when we downshift in our hurry-up world. Readers, whether employees, retirees, parents, or job seekers, will find chapters specific to their challenges. Here’s hoping the book is helpful to busy Wes folk. Questions and networking ideas welcome. marian@slowlutions.com.”

Joe Haddad is excited that his son, Caleb ’17, is enjoying his freshman year at Wesleyan. Joe’s work is good and he spent a week in Lesotho last year, where he’s helping Columbia start the country’s first medical school.

Bill Friedler’s boutique law firm, Friedler Law Group, has joined the firm of Conn, Kavanaugh, Rosenthal, Peisch & Ford LLP in Boston. He will keep himself busy managing the trusts and estate planning and probate administration matters of this new firm.

Lisa Landsman sends her best to all Wesleyan folks and writes that she lives just outside D.C., with husband, son, and standard poodle. After spending the fall planning her daughter’s wedding (which went beautifully), she may consider becoming a wedding planner! Wes folks at the wedding included Diane Burstein and Lisa Halberstadt. Before becoming a wedding planner, she’s finishing up an MPH at Johns Hopkins so she will look for a job doing law/public health first.

Rich Kozlowski, who lives in Gales Ferry, Conn., made a fairly dramatic career shift from a systems analyst in the Navy R&D field to an armed guard at Millstone Nuclear power plant in Waterford, Conn. He loves the job, but not the long hours. He lives in a multi-generational home where the “grandchildren are a hoot, but very active, and his energy level has a hard time keeping up.”

Nancy Chen has moved to Fort Collins, Colo., from Long Island, N.Y., for the mountain lifestyle. Her older daughter, Ariane, is in college at Chapman University in Orange, Calif; her younger daughter, Isabelle, is a junior in high school. Nancy is working on her first book, an autobiographical memoir, and seminars for her professional and personal development business.

Bruce Phillips still enjoys working as a family doc and also practices a lot of yoga, plays tennis, and takes singing lessons. He’s still happily married to Judy and his two daughters are graduating from college. He thought Cheryl Cutler might be amused to know that he performs in a musical once a year and this year he choreographed most of the numbers.

David K. Greenwald is the marketing and production adviser for the upcoming movie project Sammy-Gate, a dark, political satire, that asks the question “Might Sammy Davis, Jr. have been the catalyst that caused Watergate?” Director Noel Lawrence ’93 and his co-screenwriter have unearthed the clues to keep conspiracy theorists up at night. You can get a sneak preview of Sammy-Gate at facebook.com/sammyfilm.

Tom Bledsoe, his wife, Lexi Turner ’83, and family live in Newton, Mass. He and Lexi met after Wes, at the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership where they were both working and which Tom ran from 1990–97. For the past 15 years, he has built and run the Housing Partnership Network (housingpartnership.net), a cooperative of the nation’s top social entrepreneurs in the housing and community development field. They help nonprofit leaders and organizations collaborate through peer learning and shared business platforms. Their teams in Boston and Washington, D.C., include Wesleyan grads Danielle Samalin ’00, who runs their homeownership initiatives, and a partner at Wells Fargo, Megan Teare ’91.

Their daughter, Maddie, has just been accepted into next year’s freshman class. The proud parents look forward to spending more time in Middletown and traveling the NESCAC circuit to watch Maddie and the Cardinals basketball team play throughout New England. Tom is trying to keep up better with classmates and recently had lunch with David Karnovsky and Sue Kaplan in NYC, where David is moving into private law practice after many years in city government and Sue is working on community health issues at NYU.

Our family reached several milestones in the last year: Our 25-year-old daughter married her high school sweetheart last June (fully honing my wedding planner skills), our youngest went off to college in the fall, and Nick and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in May. I’m continuing to enjoy life/wellness coaching as well as the freedom to travel more now that we’re empty nesters. But, we love that our kids are still home often, in fact, several have announced they’ll be around “for the summer”…so much for the empty nest!

Renny Smith, Julie Scolnik, Elizabeth Weiss Ozorak, and Jeff Nesson all sent photos along with their news which can be found at magazine.wesleyan.edu. Click on “Class Notes” and go to 1978. Wishing you all a wonderful summer. Please keep sending us your news, especially if we haven’t heard from you in a while.

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Ken Kramer | sbatesdux@hotmail.com