Author: etaylor

Hello all!

By now, our reunion celebration has taken place and we hope many of you made it back to campus.

We received a couple of updates before reunion:

Arik Preis wrote in from NYC. He has three daughters—Scarlett and Edie (both age 14) and Nessa (age 12)—and is a partner at Akin Gump, practicing bankruptcy/financial restructuring.

Erica (Schiller) Burnell is living in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, son, and daughter, and recently switched careers to occupational therapy. Erica said, “I’d love to hear from anyone who I’ve lost touch with!” You can reach her at schill.erica@gmail.com.

Remember to log into the digital Class Book at https://wesleyan.brightcrowd.com/1997/sign-in/  to see what our classmates have been up to and to create your own page.

Thinking of you and sending all of you our absolute best wishes!

Hello, fellow ’96ers! I hope this update finds you well.

We have two newly published authors in our midst! In January Jacob Ward published his first book, The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World without Choices and How to Fight Back. It combines interviews with the top minds in behavioral science and cutting-edge reporting on technology to warn readers about the danger that AI is about to do to our most important critical faculties as what Google Maps did to our ability to navigate from place to place. Jake is a technology correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC and debuted the book on the TODAY Show. He lives in Oakland and regularly sees Shola Olatoye and Matt Strozier, Susan Yee, along with Walter Einenkel ’97 and Clara Petit ’97.

Samantha Greene Woodruff published her first novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife. As the title suggests, the main character, Ruth, is the wife of a charismatic doctor who is championing a new treatment in the 1950s, the lobotomy. As the doctor begins to operate recklessly on his patients, Ruth realizes she is the only one who can save them. In addition to buying Sam’s book, you can also read this piece she wrote for Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/my-life-changed-41-after-lifetime-anxiety-1668523.

Daniel Cohen and Mara Kailin are close to 20 years in Denver. Dan’s entrepreneurial COVID baby is Two Tails Story Co. (ttstoryco.com), a start-up founded on the attachment between people and their dogs. The B2C e-commerce company will offer unique, fully personalized books and art. Thanks to the Wes grads that helped Two Tails get started! And Mara left her role in community mental health after 18 years and has been consulting and working with private behavioral health companies (and teaching, taking private clients, and more). The two of them are beginning to wonder about life after their oldest— Eli (16)—goes to college in a couple of years.

Rallie Snowden writes: “I am still living in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with my 11-year-old daughter Porter and my 3 ½-year-old son Miguel. The kids, plus being in my eighth year of working in the counseling center at Washington & Lee University, keep me pretty busy. Cheers to all my fellow Wesleyan alums!”

Finally, Ben Meyer informed us of his cross-country move: “My wife and I relocated from LA to Brooklyn this summer, for her work. My kiddo, Bash, is in fourth grade with Amelia, daughter of Elizabeth Meister ’92, whom I know from grad school in Chicago. She’s always introducing me to other Wes folk in the South Slope. We’re swarming around here! East Coasters, give me a shout.”

It’s always great to hear what folks are up to—please continue to send us your news.

Katy writes for this issue: We are all thinking of each other, through the local and global challenges of this moment, and I hope these notes find you well.  It’s been lovely to hear your updates.  Read up below on how your classmates are spending their time and talents: composing, writing, serving others, braving major career changes, and making the most of everyday life.

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I won a 2022 NEA translation grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to continue my work translating a transnational Italian author who survived the Holocaust.”

Pat Charlemagne writes: “My EdD from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education was conferred in December. My dissertation will be available via ProQuest: ‘The Unexpected Value of the Coronavirus Pandemic in Elevating the Importance of and Essential Need for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Serving as Youth Development Professionals.’”

We also got word that Simona Kwon joined the New York City Board of Health in 2021.

Christine O’Brien writes: “Alternating between treading water and drowning as an emergency physician in San Francisco.  Enjoying beautiful hikes and my 10-year-old daughter on my days off.”

Sarah Kirkland Snider announces: “In June, at Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic will give the world premiere of my orchestral work Forward into Light, inspired by the American women’s suffrage movement (originally scheduled to premiere in 2020). The same week will see four NYC performances of my Mass for the Endangered, which was released as an album on Nonesuch/New Amsterdam Records last year. Wes friends: holler at me for tickets! I live in Princeton, New Jersey, with my husband, son Jasper (13), daughter Dylan (10), and two dogs.”

Stacy (Theberge) Taylor, still in the Portland, Maine, area writes: “Our son Niko is in first grade, and I have met quite a few families who have moved to town from NYC and other points afar. (One of the only benefits of the pandemic.) Last summer we had two Wes visits: from Ed Lee (who is in Boston) and Bo Bell and family. It’s great to see other Wes folk in Maine. Let me know if you plan to be around Portland and I will treat you to a lobster roll . . .  or two.”

Carrie Turner (née Fischer) exuberantly writes: “For anyone thinking of making a midlife career change, just know that it CAN be done! For 20 years (after a short-lived stint in the world of musical theater), I had a successful run in luxury retail management. Two years ago, I decided that it was time for my next act—and after much soul searching and hard work, I am now in human resources and loving it. I am grateful to a few Wesleyan alumni along the way who gave me great advice, but mostly it was all about the hustle . . . and if I can do it, anyone can.  My partner Nils and I welcomed a new addition to our household two years ago: a French bulldog named Rousseau. Nils and I also still make electro-pop music as Nite Haus, and we still live in NYC. I am still BFFs with Brett Aristegui. Best wishes to everyone out there.”

Keep sending us your news and updates—we love to hear from you!

When we nudged, our fellow ’89ers sent in some good Wes memories. But, y’all (!!!!), wait until you read some of these memories . . . I mean confessions. . . . No, ok—definitely memories :)! Grab a snack and let’s spill the tea:

Lee Ann (Jacob) Gun, whose daughter Emma is a sophomore at Wes (and is loving her experience!), shares: “My freshman roommate and I decided we needed a second couch in our Clark quad living room. So, we set our alarm one night for 4:00 a.m. and set out for one of the Fosses. We walked into their common room, picked up a couch not being used, and walked out, lugging the couch. We struggled to the top of Foss Hill when public safety shined their headlights on us. We dropped the couch and ran. The next morning on the way to MoCon, the couch was there at the top of Foss Hill, students sitting in it. We laughed. We decided we were fine with just the one couch.”

Listen to Lori Lobenstine’s story of what her parents ultimately did after she got arrested on Wesleyan’s campus for protesting: “I forget if it was junior or senior year when we had the sit-in at the president’s office, trying to get Wes to divest from South Africa because of apartheid. Folks were camping in there 24/7 and others were coming and going in support, while other were leading rallies outside. In the end, a whole bunch of us decided we would get arrested instead of leaving willingly. My first arrest! (Not my last.) The best was when my parents sent me a formal card, ‘Proudly announcing the arrest of their daughter . . . ’ like it was a birth announcement. Gotta love being the kid of activists. They were so excited.”

Sherry (Lehr) Föhr remembers “that time during Hurricane Gloria, when we spent hours huddled in the hall of Foss 9, eating a rather eclectic variety of snack foods and telling weather-related horror stories.  That morning, I had to venture out into the storm for a German exam (because why cancel classes for a full day just because of a hurricane?). The classroom was on the top floor of Fisk Hall, where we could see tree branches crashing onto the roof of the frat house next door as we frantically tried to remember various verb endings. When it was finally over, I had to dodge flying bits of shale from the roofs of various old buildings along Wyllys Avenue. It was so nice to get home and be welcomed by my hallmates!”

Hurricane Gloria happened our freshman year and Melissa Herman asks if you remember “putting masking tape on the windows in the dorms? I was biking across campus back to the Butterfields and almost got blown over by the wind. And then it was pretty much nothing compared to our fears and expectations.”

Elizabeth “Betsy” Henry recalls: “It was Uncle Duke Day weekend and I entered the basement of Foss that had been spectacularly decked out with strobe lights, upside-down rooms (furniture on ceilings), velvet everywhere, dark rooms with funky lighting, disco balls, the works, and I get through the maze and there is this awesome band playing this rockin’ song about a magic carpet ride and everyone is dancing and jamming like crazy and the lead singer is this fabulous chick who is belting out this line, ‘Why don’t you ride with me little boy, on a magic carpet ride,’ which is just so catchy. Loved it!  For four years I attributed “Magic Carpet Ride” to this band (which I sadly can’t remember the name of, but always caught their gigs around campus) and danced my heart out every time they played it for years to come. To this day, I still interject ‘boy’ into the lyrics when the Steppenwolf classic comes on the radio and think of that Wesleyan moment. Rock on!”

Checking in from Maine, Karen McVey Fussell mused the following mash-up of good memories: “The spaceship-ness of MoCon, the announcements from the upper deck, Uncle Duke Day, the wonder of an endless supply of Cap’n Crunch.”

Alex Dohan recalls “those crazy evenings in frosh year when we would blow off studying to sneak up to the roof of Judd Hall—for a breath of fresh air!”

Kevin Heffernan writes: “I’d say one of my best memories was playing softball with everyone during senior week. There wasn’t a person who didn’t have a smile on, what with classes over and summer coming.”

Kim Slote wrote in that: “A great memory for me was performing with the Cardinal Sinners in the World Music Hall and how amazing it felt to sing our hearts out and have the crowd be with us every step of the way!”

Phineas Baxandall remembers “that time when the ultimate frisbee team went to Santa Barbara, California, for college nationals was an amazing memory.”

Sending us all greetings from Shanghai, Robin Smith recalls: “that time when I was touring a prospective student around campus, after he finished a late afternoon interview in the administration building and walked into Alpha Delta, when they were having a co-ed Naked Party in the living room. Fun times.” (Also, I wonder if that prospective student ended up WISELY choosing Wes?!?! 🙂 Robin also shared some personal fond memory gems:

“That time when . . .  I would go down to the boathouse in the very early morning, on the Connecticut River, to get ready for crew practice, and the sun was just coming up. Even though it was extremely cold, and steam was rising off the river, it was incredibly quiet and so beautiful.”

“That time when . . . I would leave rehearsal from the ’92 Theatre late at night and meet one of my roommates (a microbiology major), to walk her back home from feeding her cells at the lab. It was our best time to talk and catch up on our day/week and plan for the upcoming weekend.”

“That time when . . . I performed as the character of Babe in Crimes of the Heart, for my senior thesis show as a theater major. Such a wonderful cast and crew to work with in doing that show.”

And the good Wes memories are still being made to this very today; or as Liz Marx aptly says, “It’s a memory that we keep making:  Every Monday night for the past year, Sneep Wadhwa, Anne Liss Johnson, John Hlinko, Lauren Bruck Simon, Adam Long, Ed Aubry, and myself get together for online bar trivia. Our team name is Gross Hall Reunion and we kick ass. We have such fun and our Wesleyan education is put to good use.”

Past met present in this dispatch from James Shiffer: “Last summer, I took a three-month sabbatical from my job at The Star Tribune in Minnesota to reconnect with friends near and far, including many Wes folks. Katrine Bangsgaard ’90 and I laughed about old times while dining in a roadhouse in northern Westchester County. Dan White and I watched humpback whales lunge-feeding in Monterey Bay. Bill Sherman ’90 showed me the magnificent Cascades, including one path along a terrifying sheer cliff. I traveled with my daughter Annika Shiffer-Delegard ’23 to Los Angeles, where Mike DeWitt ’90 took us to the Griffith Park Observatory and gave Annika a surprise gift: the custom wooden sign reading ‘Whispering Pines’ that once graced our Wes-owned house at 37 Home Avenue. I am so grateful for my Wesleyan network.”

Theresa Zinck-Lederer says “Just the other day, when watching my niece and nephew sledding, I commented to my husband about how much fun we used to have sledding down Foss Hill on cafeteria trays from MoCon!”

Kelem Butts didn’t hold back on the good humor with his recent good memory of “that time when Michele (Barnwell) asked for, neigh DEMANDED, we submit to the class notes (and it) was a great reminder of how much Wes meant to me and how much my time there impacts me to this day.  Oh, and my niece was just accepted to Wes, and I really hope she goes so she can get that same Wes experience.”

We hope she chooses/chose Wes too, Kelem.

Clearly, we as a class have shared (and continue to share) in making good Wes memories.

That all said, if you’re reading all this and you did NOT have the best-time-ever at Wes, we sincerely appreciate and embrace you and your experience. Seriously, there are several pain points for so many. We aren’t (ever) looking for any of you to bright side the bs you went through then (or are going through now) either. Each of your/our Wes memories and current challenges are all part of our shared lived experience as classmates and as humans.

We’ve still hopefully got miles to walk together and there’s time to make NEW Wes memories going forward. So let’s make them WITH you at our next on-campus reunion. Deal? (And this is definitely not an official pushy plug, YET!) We’re volunteers. We get nada EXCEPT the fun pleasure of staying connected to you. It would just be really nice to see all of you at our next big reunion, our 35th…?!?! Sheesh!

See you then or see you sooner, around these social media streets.

 

Greetings and salutations to all. Prayerfully, everyone is doing well and is thriving. I am happy to report that my family and I are weathering the pandemic well. Early on, I discovered a knack for sewing and got creative with mask designs that were highly functional, attractive, and at times humorous. I also count myself fortunate to have been able to work from home, as this luxury allowed me to further immerse myself in two of my passions, cooking and baking. I mastered baking sourdough and ciabatta bread, complete with flavorful homemade starter, and enjoyed preparing new culinary delights for lunch every day. Since then, I have returned to the office on a hybrid schedule and started an Aerogarden, which is flourishing with my favorite fresh herbs. I am forever thankful to my family and friends who help me eat all of my creations. Additionally, I am still writing and have added painting to my repertoire as well. My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the entire Wesleyan community. I hope that everyone stays encouraged and safe.

Johanna W. Schneider has been elected to the partnership at Hemenway & Barnes LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. She has more than 20 years of experience advising public and private clients on real estate development projects and real estate litigation. She is also active in industry associations and serves on her town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Aram Sinnreich writes that he just signed a contract to publish his first novel. Tentatively entitled SavePoint, the novel was coauthored with his sister, Rachel Hope Cleves, and will be published in 2023 by Rebellion Publishing under the pen name R. A. Sinn via its Solaris Books imprint.

Elizabeth Toohey writes “I’ve never sent in news, but thought I’d finally try it!” (We are so happy that she did!) She adds that she is living in Brooklyn with her husband, 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, and teaching journalism as an associate professor of English at CUNY. She spent this fall in Cambridge, Massachusetts,  on a fellowship at the Nieman Institute for Journalism at Harvard, where she enjoyed hanging out with Jaclyn Friedman ’93.

Hi Wes friends!  I am writing these notes from Naples, Florida. Things are great in the Sunshine State, but I still remember wandering across the Wesleyan campus on a beautiful snowy day, or borrowing a tray from the dining hall to slide down Foss Hill (in lieu of a sled).  As the years pass, I’m even able to look back at some of those all-nighters and brutally difficult exams with rose-colored glasses. Okay, that’s probably more than enough nostalgia; I’m happy to share some news including travel overseas, a new film, and some amazing career updates.

Jamie Bachrach writes, “Tim and I are still running a wine logistics and distribution company based in Litchfield County, Connecticut.  Our younger daughter Esmee is a sophomore day student at the Taft School and plays soccer/ski races/rows crew, depending on the season.  She’s hoping to get her braces off before masks are no longer required at school; at this rate, she’s probably in luck. . . .   Our older daughter Logan is halfway through a three-year undergraduate degree in politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University and loves living (and traveling) abroad. She’s also managed to play soccer/ski race/row crew while in college.  With Tim’s sister’s family, the four of us had an amazing trip to South Africa in August 2021 to celebrate the life of Tim’s mom, who passed away a year ago—and to reunite with Tim’s extended family in Cape Town.  Next up for March 2022 (fingers crossed) is travel to Iceland to see the northern lights and to celebrate Tim’s 50th birthday.”

Jacob Bricca is celebrating the broadcast premiere of the documentary Missing in Brooks County, which he produced and edited–it aired on Independent Lens on over 450 PBS stations across the country on January 31, and streamed for free for the month of February. The film, which had a five-city in-person theatrical run and garnered over 20 awards at film festivals worldwide, tells the story of the migrant death crisis in south Texas through the eyes of two families who are looking for their missing loved ones, and was co-directed by his wife, Lisa Molomot.

Jodi Samuels writes: “I’m still enjoying my work as director of strategic support for colleges and scholars at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. My portfolio focuses on partnering with the community colleges to provide scholarship and emergency aid to students along with grants to the colleges themselves for certain types of educational programs. Over the past year, we’ve seen four people transition out of our team but have also welcomed five new team members, so the ‘great resignation’ has definitely had an impact, but we’ve also seen lots of new talent come into our organization. My spouse, Evan, and I managed to take a wonderful trip to northern Italy in early October for a small group tour that focused on the wine, food, and history of the region. This year, we’re hoping for travel to Hawai’i and Iceland in addition to our usual family destinations of Denver, Austin, and Chicago.”

Tristan Taormino just finished her first year of an MPH graduate program at George Washington University. Her new book, a memoir, will be published by Duke University Press in 2023. Tristan was recently named a Distinguished Sexual and Gender Health Revolutionary by the University of Minnesota Medical School Program in Sexuality for her two decades of work in sex education.

Dear Classmates:

Happy spring! I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our 30th(!) Reunion later this year. But for now, here’s the news from the class of 1992.

Andrew Draper is working at an education-tech start-up from his apartment in Brooklyn, where he lives with his 16-year-old son. Leaving Brooklyn, Jonathan Liebson has jumped the East River again and returned to Manhattan. For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, he published a photographic memoir of that day with The American Scholar online.

Over the summer, I made a quick escape to the Pacific Northwest, where I got to see my senior-year roommate Simon Fulford, who is working at Parrott Creek Child & Family Services. They are launching a major capital campaign this year to increase their residential and community-based treatment programs. In addition, Simon will have a chapter titled, “Listen and Let Me Heal My Pain: Justice for America’s Children” published in the UK-based Monument Fellowship book series this spring. All the while he continues to look over his three boys (now 10, 14, and 19).

Anne Paris is also in Portland, Oregon, with her partner Ben Root, and her son lives with them half time. Anne is mostly working as a freelance writer and analyst, doing work for tech firms and education nonprofits. “During COVID I bought a camping trailer, and so I’m looking forward to doing some ‘work-from-camper’ road trips after my son goes to college in the fall of 2023. I try to squeeze in some time for poetry, painting, and traveling, and I’m looking forward to leading a writing and art residency in eastern Oregon in the spring.”

Sarah Guernsey is still teaching 6th grade math and is excited to be in-person after being virtual for most of last year. She and Adam Blumer ’91 are empty nesters, having sent both of their boys to college. Sarah just finished working as part of the transition team for the new mayor of Framingham; she was one of the co-chairs of the education subcommittee. After that she has been keeping active by serving on the executive board and the bargaining team for the teachers’ association.

Welcome first-time notes contributor Melissa Doty who lives in West Virginia and sums up the past 30 years as follows: “Current husband, Steve, and I share five adult kids who have pretty much flown the nest. Over the years I’ve been a mom, a business manager, and a nonprofit director, but in 2016, I started painting and now that’s what I do! (Come say hello over on IG@melissadoty.art.)”

Linda Perlstein lives in Seattle where she just started a new job at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with their Global Communications team to supervise writing projects, particularly those in the voice of the foundation and its leaders.

Joy Lewis writes that her son graduated Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC, this past June and is now a freshman at Wes (class ’25).

Maurice Harris currently lives just outside of Philly and is working for the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. His third book was published in 2019, and it’s called The Forgotten Sage: Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and the Birth of Judaism as We Know It, from Cascade Books.

Chris Arndt is going on his seventh year in Telluride since moving out of NYC in 2015. His sons Alden (12) and Graham (10) ski downhill, cross-country, play lacrosse, and enjoy the outdoors. He continues to work on environmental issues some but spent a lot more time in the past few years getting back into playing bass and music, especially last year. He recently recorded an album in Nashville.  The album, Lost Bags, is a mix of new and old original songs, many of which date back to his Baggage Claim days at Wes. Check out more here:  https://mailchi.mp/7a6bfc1da80e/introducing-the-doc-project.

Jay Hardwig writes from Asheville, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife of 25 years, Nita Smith. They work as teachers for students with blindness and low vision. Jay recently published a middle-grade novel, Just Maria.  Just Maria is the story of Maria Romero, a blind sixth grader who is trying her hardest to be normal—learn more and order your copy at jayhardwig.com.

Lori Coyne started a new role with her firm in May 2021 as a senior environmental sustainability consultant in Environmental Resource Management’s (ERM’S) Sustainability, Strategy, and Disclosure service area. Lori is also an empty nester as her daughter went off to UVM (which she chose over Wesleyan!).

That’s all the news for now. Please send Paul and me your updates. And hope to see you at Wes in May!

Please write to your class secretary.

Hi all.  Here’s what we have:

Dave Dowsett writes from Portland, where he is practicing dentistry and focused on the connection between oral and systemic health—understanding how the mouth bacterial biome plays a role in disease and health. “It’s a cool, geeky way to really think about prevention rather than simply early diagnosis and treatment. I think my true love with health-care practice is caring for athletes of all ages and their unique needs. I am currently the secretary for the Academy for Sports Dentistry—a group of about 250 dentists across North America, who spend a lot of time making sure athletes are safe, performing at their best, and fixing them up when trauma happens. I’m looking after kids’ soccer clubs, my daughter’s high school teams, the Portland Winterhawks WHL/CHL hockey team, and even a few Olympians. It can be really fun, and you get to meet amazing people from all around the globe.”

Dave is “still married to his dental school love, Kristi (who stopped practicing almost 18 years ago after our first was born). She was raised in Honolulu, and we have been so very lucky to have spent lots of time there with her family over the years. I have three kiddos: Kekoa (15-year-old boy), a sophomore at my alma mater Jesuit HS—he is all theater, math, and art. Currently, he is playing the part of Sheldon Plankton in the upcoming performance of SpongeBob, the Musical in March. I see him at Wes so perfectly. Lehua (17-year-old girl), a junior at all-girls St. Mary’s Academy and a soccer nut. We watched the Wes women this fall make it to the national semis. Super cool.  We have a neighbor whose granddaughter is going to Wes next fall to play and this has really piqued Lehua’s interest, sooo . . . we’ll see. Maile (19-year-old young woman) is a first year at American University in DC, studying chemistry. She really wants to be a forensic scientist and would love to be Abby on the show NCIS.  She loves DC and the East Coast, so I may have lost her. . . .  When Kristi and I dropped her off last August, Laurie Malkin came down to spend the weekend. Had an absolute blast exploring the city, the food, laughing, and reconnecting. In fact, Maile and Laurie hit it off so well that Maile spent a good part of Thanksgiving break in Jersey and in NYC. She even got to go skating in Central Park and hang out with Bethel Gottlieb and her kids. I am still jealous.

“We plan to be back out visiting at spring break, in an attempt to do the college-tour thing. And the Broadway thing. And the trip-down-memory-lane thing.  Please COVID, give it a rest.”

The older daughter of Edward Ungvarsky and Olivia Smith ’91 is off to New York City next fall to Fordham University—Lincoln Center Campus, with an intended major of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and a fashion marketing minor. “Yowza, they say! The kids and staff at Bridges Public Charter School, which Olivia founded to support children with and without special needs, have weathered COVID-19 well.” Ed walks their pandemic shelter rottweiler and practices some law.

Catharina (Lina) Schuetz (Will) writes from Dresden, Germany, with news that her eldest, Florian, joined the class of 2025 at Wes. “He is lucky to have real classes with live faculty, and is enjoying himself immensely . . .  I get nostalgic when he sends pictures from campus.”

Finally, congratulations to entrepreneur Raquel Graham who pitched her company Roq Innovation, which she founded in 2014, on Shark Tank in January, and landed a deal with two of the Sharks!  Raquel’s company creates innovative apparel accessories. The cаtаlog includes Nekz, а more mаnаgeаble аnd less cumbersome аlternаtive to scаrves; Heаdlightz Beаnies, which hаve а powerful light аttаched to them; and light-up gloves аnd heаdbаnds. Rаquel hаs been written up in Forbes and has аppeаred on Good Morning Americа аnd The View. Her products have been sold on the Home Shopping Network and featured on Mаrthа Stewаrt’s Americаn Mаde and on Oprаh’s Fаvorite Things lists. Raquel wants to keep innovating exciting products that make a real difference in people’s lives and plans to launch three new products in new categories. You can watch a clip of Raquel on Shark Tank at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkmfiS0GD9M. And this just in, Raquel was invited to speak at Wesleyan’s TedX event in April.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer and, as always, looking forward to hearing from you!

Peter writes for this issue.

With sadness we report that our classmate Alisa Kaufman passed away on March 20 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. After graduating Wesleyan, Alisa attended law school at University of California—Davis. She practiced immigration law in California, and is survived by her husband, three children, and two siblings.

Marjora Carter writes, “My first book was just published! Reclaiming Your Community: You Don’t Have to Move Out of Your Neighborhood to Live in a Better One.”

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has announced the appointment of Hubert Allen to its national board of directors. Hubert resides in Chicago, Illinois, and is the executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary at Abbott, the global health care company, where he leads a diverse global team of over 250 lawyers that interact with legal systems in more than 100 countries to support Abbott business all around the world.

Justin Gubar proudly reports, “My friend, Deirdre Davis, received a well-deserved promotion at the end of 2021. After joining American Express a little over three years ago, she is now vice president and senior counsel—Trademark & Copyright, IP Law and Strategy Group. No one better to protect your IP!”

Stephen Gannon has relocated from New Jersey down to Vero Beach and is enjoying the fantastic weather. I had dinner with Stephen and his wife Marta in December, and the new climate is certainly agreeing with them.

Lastly, I am happy to report that my podcast, The CPG Guys, is currently ranked #1 for Consumer Goods Industry podcasts according to Feedspot, and Shopify recognized it as one of the top 10, e-commerce–focused podcasts to follow for people in the CPG/retail industry. We just published our 175th episode.