Author: jgibson

Please write to your class secretary:

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

We mourn the loss of our classmate, Sachiko Suzanne Isobe Mallach. Sachi’s husband, Daniel, wrote that she passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family on July 1, 2015, after a courageous five-year battle with cancer. Sachi was a resident of West Goshen Township, Pa., and served as a fundraiser and development officer for several nonprofit organizations. Dan wrote that Sachi loved listening to all types of music, playing the piano and violin, hiking and camping, gardening, laughing, and being with her family. She is also survived by her daughter, Katy, her brother and parents. Please find her obituary: articles.philly.com/2015-07-29/news/64962258_1_new-york-city-fundraising-development. If you would like to send Sachi’s family a note of condolence, Marcy Herlihy, our stewardship person in University Relations (mherlihy@wesleyan.edu), has offered to pass along the messages.

Andrew Oppenheimer has returned from the Netherlands, where he spent three years as a lecturer in European studies at Maastricht University. He has since left academia to pursue an MBA. He and his wife, Jamie, are expecting their first child.

Jessica Sharzer writes, “My first studio movie, Nerve, wrapped production in June and will be in theaters in early 2016. I’m under contract at 20th Century Fox on a TV show based on Urban Cowboy, and adapting a YA novel called The Young Elites for the big screen. I have two great kids—Dante, 8, and Sasha, 5—and I’m about to get remarried to a guy with two kids—mini Brady Bunch.”

Oneka LaBennett is entering her third year as associate professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. She was recently invited to deliver the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Public Affairs Lecture for Syracuse University’s African American Studies Department. She also routinely writes op-eds for the Ms. Magazine Blog and for The Huffington Post. Oneka makes regular visits to New York City to see friends from Wes, and for research and teaching projects. With her husband, Shawn McDaniel, and their dog, Bagel, Oneka is enjoying her new home in Ithaca. She also loved attending the special Wes alumni performance of Hamilton.

Jesse Hendrich writes, “I am still in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, with a psychotherapy practice and a happy family that includes my beautiful wife, Elizabeth Solomon, and our two kids. Our kids attend school with the son of Mark Ladov, whom I see regularly. We recently had dinner with Aaron Passell, who lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two kids and commutes to New York to teach urban studies at Barnard. I am also in touch with Scott Rosenberg, who is putting out a new album this fall, and Nicole Davis, who is also a psychotherapist here in New York City, living in Brooklyn with her partner and three kids. Lastly, I am also in touch with Jonah Ross, who still lives in Portland but we talk on a monthly basis via Skype.”

Kika Stump writes, “I recently earned my PhD in public policy and am still working in Maine as an education policy researcher. While thrilled to be back in the classroom again, teaching at Bowdoin College, I promise I am not cheering for their field hockey team! I had a recent visit at Wesleyan to give a talk on education reform at the Patricelli Center and see the great work being done there by Makaela Kingsley ’98. Topped off by a fantastic dinner at Wes Wings with Ed Thorndike ’89.”

Ken Barnett is happy to be back in NYC full-time after several years in Los Angeles. He recently filmed recurring roles on Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick and Amazon’s Mozart In The Jungle, and he is currently working at Fun Home on Broadway.

Aram Sinnreich recently relocated to Silver Spring, Md., with his family, to begin a new position as associate professor at American University’s School of Communication.

Raya Salter writes, “Pleased to report that I have just been elected VP of the Wesleyan Lawyers Alumni Association and I look forward to serving this Wes community. I also left my gig working for others (I’m an energy and environmental lawyer) to strike out on my own—Imagine Power LLC, where I focus on climate and energy justice issues and clean and renewable power development (including advisory services in New York, Hawaii, and the South Pacific). So I am transitioning from being New York-based to being Hawaii-based.”

John Pollock writes, “I’m pleased to share the birth announcement for my first child, Merritt Winton Pollock. He arrived a month early but still managed to clock in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and 20 inches long, and he figured out how to sleep more than the occasional nap just in time to help us retain our sanity. Although an Alabama baby, Merritt got to meet Katrina Buchau and Leah Bartell ’95 via Skype, and has enjoyed presents from numerous Wes folks that range from clothes to books to personalized blocks and towels. I’ve told him many times how lucky he is to be joining the Wesleyan family.”

Matt Solomon lives in D.C., with his wife and two kids, and he is the chief litigation counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Matt reports that he regrettably missed his 20th Reunion last year (and got dinged by Sid Espinosa for doing so), but did make it to campus last summer on his way back from a Maine vacation. He remarked that while there have been numerous campus improvements, the Foss dorms are as shabby as ever!

Charlotte Castillo continues to travel the world for Viacom International Media Networks—including stops in Milan, Mexico City, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and other places this year. In addition, she was recently promoted to SVP of international brand management and creative at Viacom International Media Networks. She was also among 34 participants chosen to participate in Viacom’s Inspirational Leaders Program, along with Nadja Webb ’90.

Kate Gordon writes: “After stints working at the Center for American Progress and at Next Generation (Tom Steyer’s SF-based think tank), I’m now working on climate and energy issues in the U.S. and China at the Paulson Institute, a think tank founded by former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. It’s based in Chicago and most of our work is in Beijing, but I’m able to do my job from my home in Berkeley, which is good for my two kids (Julia, 8, and Jacob, 4)—at least when I’m not traveling!”

David Niles writes: “My wife and I just had the pleasure of attending a traditional Chinese banquet in Flushing, Queens, to celebrate Joe Pirret’s recent marriage. In attendance were Eliza Comer, Adji Gadson, François Nguyen, and Sondy Youdelman. The robust, 10-course feast was followed by midnight karaoke in New York’s Koreatown where the varied playlist ran the gamut from the Beatles’ “Lady Madonna” to Extreme’s “More than Words” to Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind.” Unfortunately, “Closer to Fine” was not in the system, so Eliza and Sondy didn’t have a chance to reprise their classic duet. Maybe at the next wedding?! See the photo at: classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1994

Jiyoung Lim Gilbreth writes, “My family and I moved to the DC area. For those living or working in and around DC, please reach out and so that we can all get together for a ’94 lunch or drinks.”

Thank you to all who wrote in with updates. Please send us your class notes for the next issue. We look forward to hearing from you.

Jiyoung Lim Gilbreth and Ilana wind newell

94notes@gmail.com

Hi, classmates. We hope you are doing well. It’s always wonderful hearing from Wes friends. There are a few exciting updates, and we hope you keep sharing your news with us.

Aaron Barr writes, “My wife and I are on a 15ish-month trip around the world! Currently in the UK, after doing a 17-day horse trek in Mongolia and exploring Bali for awhile, we’re about to start month 12. If anyone would like to follow our adventures, we’re blogging at nomaprequired.com and facebook.com/nomaprequired.

Sue Henshon received a fellowship in June 2015 to attend a faculty seminar at Oxford University, sponsored by the Oxford Study Abroad Program.

Jodi Samuels shares this update: “I was promoted to deputy director of development and training at the California Primary Care Association (CPCA) in July, taking on a greater leadership role in the organization and continuing to oversee grants development, stewardship, and management, along with supervising our statewide Web-based and in-person training program. My annual fitness goal this year was to run a race every month, and I’ll be finishing up with the Urban Cow 1/2 Marathon on Oct. 4th (I’ve participated in this race annually for the past 11 years, ever since we moved to Sacramento). I’m also in my third year as a fundraising and special events volunteer for WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment), a local nonprofit that provides support to victims of domestic violence.”

Maura Solomon Woosley and her husband, Greg, are happy to report the birth of their daughter, Skylar Mackenzie Woosley, on Aug. 3, 2015. Maura lives in Arlington, Va., and still works at Citi as a managing director for their government affairs team in Washington, D.C.

Thanks so much,

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com

SARAH ESTOW | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Paul writes this time.

Greetings and salutations from Washington, D.C. I hope you all had a wonderful summer. Michele Greenstein and I have been busy with our two kids, Peter and Julia, and enjoyed a week up in Boston and Cape Cod, where we ate great Italian food and lobsters and got chased out of the water by a Great White Shark.

So anyway… the news (I’ll start in New England):

I heard from Susan Hunt Stevens, who is living in Newton, Mass., where she is busy with her two kids, now in third and fifth grade, and WeSpire, the technology company she founded five years ago. Susan was honored recently as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year for New England and travels to San Francisco a lot, where she gets to see Andrea Seebaum and her husband, who recently published Drink Your Carbs. Susan also sends word of recent visits with Kara Fisher Bohnsack, whom she sees for annual girls weekends; Michelle Connolly Specht, her weekly Soulcycle partner; Kathryn Walker Hall, who is back stateside from Switzerland; and Melissa Frankel, my former high school and Wes classmate, who is building a house on the Cape. Hi Melissa!

Jonathan Bell co-founded DUAL, a new architecture office in Providence. DUAL’s focus has been on small, complex projects and creative reuse of underused buildings. DUAL’s current work includes the adaptive reuse of a 19th-century brewery into a theater and artist-focused community and a new three-screen art cinema.

In addition to raising four small kids, Jen Humphreys Rohde was recently elected the Future Council Director for Girls on the Run, Maine Chapter, a self-esteem building, running program for “tween” girls. Jen is excited to use her lawyer/running coach background to lead this newly forming nonprofit, which will help young girls positively navigate negative social messages through growing physically strong.

Chris Chesak may not be in New England anymore… but he is pining to return. He’s taken a new position as executive director of the Family Travel Association and living in Cincy.

Lisa Turner Laing, her three boys, husband, and dog are living in Wisconsin. She is expecting her second novel to be released just before Thanksgiving under the pen name Lisa McLuckie.

Chadwick Canedy and his wife, Bona Yoon, welcomed their first child, Declan Solchan Canedy, on April 20th, 2015. Chadwick is living in D.C., where he is a research physicist and his wife does medical research for the VA hospital system.

Darcy Dennett’s independent documentary about the pit-bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dog-fighting ring was recently premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival. You can read more about the project at championsdocumentary.com. The documentary was awarded the Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless award and Cherry (one of the dogs featured in the film) got to walk the red carpet!

Andrew Draper is still living in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, where he does database migration for hedge funds and freelance copyeditor/writer work. He spends a fair portion of the year near Burlington, Vt., where his kids, now 9 and 12, live, and Cape Cod, where his parents live. He’d be happy to connect with alums in any of those regions.

Kevin Prufer’s new book called Churches was recently named one of the “10 favorite poetry books of the year” in the New York Times Book Review. And last but not least, Ken Lefkowitz has joined the board of NetIX Communications, a European startup that operates a global Internet exchange.

ADAM BERINSKY | berinsky@mit.edu

PAUL COVIELLO | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu

Please write to your class secretary:

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

Hi, all. Our class notes are particularly light this time around so I’m hoping a few more of you can send me e-mails for our next issue. Here’s what we have for now:

Tim Freundlich reports that he has set up camp for the last 15 years in San Francisco, living in the Mission District with spouse Julie and their two boys, Gus (6) and Milo (9). Tim runs across Wes alums left and right in his impact investing and social enterprise work (companies he co-founded: ImpactAssets, Good Capital, ImpactHUBs in a few cities, and the SOCAP Conference). He writes of his plans to journey back to Wes for the Social Impact Summit in mid-November with Mark Mullen ’89 (an ImpactHUB member in SF), so I’m hoping that he’s looking back on a great visit by the time all of you are reading this.

Ben Klau and Joan Gundersen Klau had a good reason to miss our 25th Reunion, as Joan was seven months pregnant with their first child. Avery Josephine Klau was born on July 16 and is “already bringing great joy to both parents (although they’d like it if she could find some time other than 3 a.m. to do so).” Ben is the general manager and co-owner of Mortar, an advertising agency in San Francisco, and Joan is a writer/producer, running the media department for Shaklee Corporation.

Kate Hardin writes that she is still in Boston working in energy consulting, focusing on Russia and the Arctic these days. Kate “would be happy to connect with others working on energy and climate change issues. I was thrilled to see so many friends in Middletown at our Reunion and resolved to do a better job staying in touch.”

Finally, Lara Small Laurence lets us know that she “missed Reunion because my youngest chid, Eyal, became a bar mitzvah that week. It was a great weekend, celebrated with family and friends, including some Wes grads, Jenny Simon Tabak ’93, Jen Hammer ’91 and Tzvi Mackson-Landsberg ’89. A week later, my eldest, Revital, graduated from high school. She is currently a very happy freshman at Bryn Mawr College. My middle child, Tsivi, is a junior in high school, so college touring will start up again in the spring. Earlier in 2015, Jen Hammer, Jenny Simon Tabak and I traveled from New York City to Louisville, Ky., to attend the bat mitzvah of Michelle Elisburg’s ’92 older daughter. While in Louisville, we met up with Sarah Leavitt ’92, and had a great weekend exploring the city and celebrating with Michelle. I’m still happily working as a learning specialist in Manhattan, and living on Long Island with my husband, my kids, and our dog.”

That’s all for now. I’m assuming this magazine will be arriving toward the end of December, so I wish all of you a happy and healthy new year. I look forward to hearing from you in 2016!

Vanessa montag brosgol | vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com

Newsmaker: Melinda Weekes-Laidlow ’89

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow ’89, president of Weekes In Advance Enterprises, is the first social entrepreneur in residence at Echoing Green, with a focus on racial equity. Echoing Green is a global nonprofit organization that provides fellowships, seed-stage funding, and strategic support to social entrepreneurs around the world. In an interview with Echoing Green president Cheryl Dorsey, Weekes-Laidlow called the post, “a wonderful way to leverage my nearly 25 years of experience as a social change agent, attorney, nonprofit manager, systems thinker, professional facilitator, capacity builder, and leadership coach.” Dorsey noted that she looked forward to Weekes-Laidlow offering the foundation “the opportunity to expand and deepen our community through the capacities you bring to the Social Entrepreneur in Residence role.” Weekes-Laidlow is a member of the advisory Board of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Wesleyan. This fall she served as a panelist for Wesleyan’s Social Impact Summit, organized by Wesleyan’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and Office of Alumni & Parent Relations. A member of the ordained clergy, Weekes-Laidlow serves on the ministerial staff of the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York. A College of Social Studies major at Wesleyan University, she earned her doctorate in divinity at Harvard University and her juris doctorate from New York University School of Law.

Jonathan writes: I returned from visiting my daughter, who is a frosh living in Clark Hall, to a burst of e-mail updates from our classmates. Thanks for reaching out, everyone; let’s get to it!

Seth Kaplan let us know that he has a new gig after 16 years as an environmental advocate at the Conservation Law Foundation. He’s done interesting stuff around transportation and urban development, focusing on clean energy and climate change. He also served as vice president for climate advocacy. He is now with a wind energy company, EDP Renewables, where he manages the government affairs for the Eastern Region of the U.S. EDPR is developing in Maine the largest wind farm in the Northeast, which requires frequent trips to Connecticut, where the power will be sold. This project brings him back to designing the lighting for Dar Williams’s senior project and her questions about the origin of electricity at Wesleyan. Seth’s eldest is now in her first year at Barnard College, and his other two kids are in ninth and fifth grades in the Brookline, Mass., public schools.

Melissa Herman begins by noting that merely typing “1989” makes her feel very old. (We all feel your pain, Melissa!) But even with her (self-described) “creaky body,” Melissa has been doing some small triathlons and running races, a family activity with her kids and husband. She’s looking forward to racing in Germany when she goes on sabbatical in Berlin next academic year to teach at Humboldt or FU, depending on the outcome of her Fulbright application. Her three kids will attend German schools, as they did last time they went—further improving their language skills with another dose of immersion. Her oldest is a high school senior applying to universities here and in Germany. Anyone who will be in Berlin in the 2016–17 academic year should give her shout and she will be happy to show you the sights.

Ed Thorndike is still at Wesleyan and getting ready to celebrate WesWings’ 25th anniversary. There will be a series of events leading up to a big party next spring. Sounds delicious, Ed!

John Hlinko is living in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Leigh, an author and architect, and daughters Kate and Ali (not named after the TV show). He is the leader of Left Action, a progressive grassroots activist organization, and he occasionally appears as a pundit on TV news programs, to yell and be yelled at. He recently enjoyed a long weekend in Vegas with Adam Long and Sandeep Wadhwa, where he miraculously didn’t lose money. John often spends his time shamelessly hawking his book, Share, Retweet, Repeat, including in these very class notes.

Jane O’Brien reports that she’s a failed writer—but a successful mother! (At least you have your priorities straight!)

Joel Jacobs is now the parent of a college student: older daughter, Aviva, is a freshman at Pitzer. He’s happy that she’s happy. Joel is still practicing environmental law, doing bodywork with his feet, and acting in community theater. Younger daughter, Talia, is a high school sophomore, and active on the debate team, which he’s been helping to coach, providing a great chance for them to spend time together.

David Levine writes: “On July 25th, 18 members from the class of ’89 and their families gathered together in Roxbury, Conn. Family members included other Wes alumns Todd Snyder ’84 and Gabrielle Mason ’87. Hosted by Stu Berman, Neil Blicher,Alan Cohen, Ricky Kotler, and David Levine. People traveled from Boston, D.C., and San Francisco to be there. We had beautiful weather for a fun-filled day of reconnecting that included swimming, ’80s music, plenty of food, and maybe a little alcohol as well. Notable changes since college included more girth and less hair. Great to see everyone after all this time.” (See the photo and caption in the online notes at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1989)

Sherry Lehr Föhr writes: “I’m still living in Germany, where I run the writing center for the University of Heidelberg. My older daughter just completed her Abitur this past summer and even though she is still living at home for her gap year, I find that having only one kid in school really changes daily life. My younger daughter is in ninth grade and applying to spend next year as an exchange student in the U.S. She’s never lived there, so it is like going to a foreign country to her, but not to me, which is a bit strange. Plus I met my husband when I was an exchange student on Wes’s program in Heidelberg, and look where I ended up… In any event, I am sure my husband and I will find lots of fun things to do when the nest is finally empty, even if it will be just temporary.”

Mark Mullen writes, “My big news is that for the first time in a long time I live in the U.S. In San Francisco. So there’s that.”

Eric Schreiber has moved back to his Mountain View condo in the SF Bay Area after having lived overseas for the last nine years. He is teaching English literature at Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills and is “amused by all the Google Bikes and Teslas I see zipping around this area.”

Another published author in our class, Algernon Austin, has a new book out: America Is Not Post-Racial: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Racism and the 44th President. This title analyzes the 25 million Obama haters in America and concludes with a discussion about how to address the “future of hate” in our country.

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow is excited to be the first social entrepreneur in residence with Echoing Green. She will be focusing on racial equity.

From Camarillo, Calif., Paul Gallo reports he is still coaching baseball at Harvard-Westlake and all is well on the family front, with wife Katie and daughters Madison (4) and Kelsey (2).

Indy Neidell gave us a lovely and thorough update: “Funnily enough, I’ve become a YouTube star the past year. I write and host a channel called ’The Great War’ that follows World War I, week by week, exactly 100 years later in real time, using original film footage from the British Pathé archives. The idea being to construct the ultimate documentary of the war, and also, since it’s YouTube, the first massive interactive documentary of its kind.” Indy already has had 150,000 subscribers and about eight million views. Check it out: youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar. He’s also doing commercial voiceovers and performing with six live bands, but is looking forward to a well-deserved rest in Rio de Janeiro.

Kelem Butts is still suffering through Dallas summers, but is really enjoying working for the AT&T Foundation. He gets to give money away to nonprofits focused on helping kids get through high school ready for college and career. He’s thrilled to finally have a cool “Wesleyan” job after all these years.

Lara Fortune Balter and Steve Balter ’90 just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and are surprised to find themselves this old. They enjoy visiting their eldest daughter (who graduated from Bates in 2014) in Colorado, where she lives and works, and their son, who plays golf at Wake Forest as a junior. They also still have two girls at home: a senior and a freshman in high school. Lara regrets that they are rarely together as a family anymore, but very much looks forward to those times. Husband Steve still works with Chris Galizio ’90, a union that she is not surprised has lasted 25 years. She concludes: “Life is good, all the ups and downs you’d expect, but the years have treated us well.” Amen to that, Lara. Amen.

We really did get a great number of updates this go ’round and we loved every minute of it!!! Thanks so much. See you all again soon… in your inboxes…when we’re clamoring for more news. Be well!

jonathan fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com

MICHELE BARNWELL | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Hillary writes for this issue.

Greetings classmates. You will see that our notes this time around are pretty slim; we hope you’ll update us on your news so that we’ll have more to share next time.

Ilya Vinkovetsky writes, “This year I am a visiting scholar at the University of Helsinki. My work here is about how Russia and Britain, two countries far away from any tea plantations, became cultures heavily associated with tea. Being in Finland is a great adventure for me and the whole family.”

And Pauline Frommer reports, “It’s been a crazily busy couple of years, as my father and I, through a long process, regained ownership of the Frommer guidebooks and Frommers.com. And suddenly I went from a person who had done editorial work for most of her career to being a publisher, and dealing with everything from the cost of paper to the fact that if a book is returned to the publisher the publisher has to issue a refund (making each book a calculated gamble—who knew?). Part of me wished I’d taken more math—okay, any math—at Wes, but a bigger part was grateful for all of the philosophy classes I took so I could remain sanguine when our books sat on the California docks for an extra two months due to a slowdown there by the dockworkers. (And being a Wes grad, of course I was on the dockworkers’ side). Long story short, we’re a small family business once again, which is exciting and exhausting in equal measure. (Oh, and I get to write the Frommer’s EasyGuide to New York City, which means I have an excuse to spend lots and lots of time in museums and at historic sites, and pretend I’m not a middle-aged mom when I go out bar- and club-hopping to get the necessary reviews.)

“I was lucky enough to go to the Wesleyan Mad Men event at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, N.Y., which was superb, thanks to the awe-inspiring curatorial gifts of Carl Goodman, who’s the president of the museum, and his staff. I caught up there with Cobina Gillitt ’87 and Claire Conceison ’87. I was also so happy to get to spend some time with the always delightful Kara Flannery, who is becoming a real maven of marketing, and also a force in the local politics of the Connecticut town she lives in. I look forward to seeing more Wes folks this fall when I head to the Sons and Daughters event at the school with my 16-year-old daughter, Veronica.”

PETER v.s. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Johanna Maaghul is “so happy to have settled back in San Francisco with my husband and family. I have started a new career as a literary agent and am enjoying the wild ride with my authors in the rapidly changing publishing industry. I work mostly in the mind-body-spirit space but do some fiction as well. Many thanks to Julia Druskin for the mid-life career counseling! Our oldest son, David, is now officially a Cal Bear after years in the stands at the Saturday football games in Berkeley as a child.”

Charles Grattan Baldwin started a new job this fall. “I moved to Princess Anne, Md., where I am an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; At UMES I am teaching literacy courses to teacher candidates. So far, I am having a great time teaching and I am very much enjoying the academic life. My daughter, Annika, and I spent some of the summer in Switzerland and Sweden. I turned 50 near Zurich; Switzerland was a great place to have a birthday.”

This fall, the UNC Press is publishing The Transnational Mosque, Architecture and Historical Memory in the Contemporary Middle East, by Kishwar Rizvi.

Tessellati, LLC, a marketing agency on Boston’s North Shore, run by Ben Waxman, “is always looking for interns looking to do good in the world, as they work hard and gain great business experience. Last summer Leah Giacalone ’17 was a terrific addition to our team.”

Emerson Hospital physician and Concord, Mass., resident, Ira L. Skolnik, MD, PhD, has been elected to a three-year term as president of the Massachusetts Board of Dermatology.

Scott Pryce is still in D.C., though he spends a lot of time in Miami. He celebrated Chip Nottingham’s 50th in DC with Breaux Walker ’89 and Colin Dowling ’86 in attendance.

I got a great long e-mail from my freshman hall mate Laura Holmes: “As I write this, I am sitting on the porch of a 1940s farmhouse (old by Oklahoma standards) that I moved to my partner’s property about three years ago. We gutted the house, renovated, and added on to make an amazing place that fits the property and our outdoor lifestyle. I’m watching the total lunar eclipse from the porch,which faces east toward the vineyards and the horse pasture. We have 10 acres, two horses, three dogs, and a cat. During the day, I practice education law, representing school districts throughout Oklahoma, and am enjoying my life at 50. We are having our first wedding in the vineyard with a reception in the barn this coming weekend and are hopeful for a successful new venture. Whenever I get e-mails from Wesleyan, I fondly remember my time in Foss 8 with you, Anne Friedlander, Debra Guss, Nancy Dobrow, Bucko (head resident Kathi Burke ’84), Betsy Datner ’85, Lauren, Mercedes, Christine, Valerie, Kathleen, Jennifer, and all our other hallmates. What a great group to live with our freshman year. I always look back on my time at Wes and think what an amazing place, an incredible education, and unbelievable friends. Of course, if any Wes folks are in Oklahoma, I would love to catch up. Many years ago, a much younger Wes alum played ice hockey for our semi-pro team in Oklahoma City. We became friends, and he had Christmas dinner with my family. I loved being able to share with him what others from Wes had shared with me for several Thanksgivings when I didn’t come home.”

Josh Calder had fun this summer doing a family road trip with the 8-year-old and 2-year-old, from Minnesota back to DC, via Canada. “As it was my birthday trip, I made us visit 43 islands. (I’m hoping to reach an island total equal to my age this year.)”

Karen Craddock also gave me a lengthy update: She is “an applied psychologist and principal researcher focusing on the socio-cultural context of human development, especially among women and marginalized communities, and as founder/president of KCollaborative Connections a relationship-based consultation, training and research practice I am collaborating on projects across multiple sectors. It’s been a pleasure to work as faculty and lead scholar of Relational-Cultural Theory and Social Action with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI) at the Wellesley Centers for Women, primarily exploring connections across race, gender, and relational neuroscience and the impact on social emotional wellness in diverse communities. Recently co-authored an article with JBMTI colleague in Psychology Today on “Stopping the Pain of Social Exclusion.” As chief operations officer for engagement with the Avielle Foundation’s Sodina Project, it is an honor to develop and expand this national storytelling and mapping project with those who have lost loved ones to violence with an overarching aim to create change by cultivating a diverse community of healing, fostering empathy, compassion and connection. Finally, I am very excited to share the launch of my new book as editor and author of Black Motherhood(s): Contours, Contexts and Considerations (Demeter Press), a multi-disciplinary volume of essays and works by an international array of scholars and writers exploring the varying perspectives and experiences of Black motherhood through diverse and intersecting lens. I keep in touch with a few Wesleyan folks quite regularly: Ian Friday, Melinda Weekes ’89, Joaquina Borges, Lydia Esdaile ’85 and several others via Facebook and community circles. I was also thrilled to support and participate in Vashti Dubois’ ’83 The Colored Girls Museum, which opened in September for the Philadelphia Fringe Arts Festival.”

Happy holidays and best wishes for a great new year.

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

Newsmaker: Michael Silber ’86

Michael Silber ’86 was recently named chief financial officer at McKinsey & Company, a leading management consulting firm worldwide. Additionally, he continues to serve as head of the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical health care division, with which he has been affiliated since he joined McKinsey in 1991. “My ‘day job’ and passion has always been serving companies in health care. It’s a great chance to work in an industry that makes a difference, to work with companies that are focused on innovation, and to be a part of trying to bring better products and services to society worldwide,” he says. A graduate of Stanford Business School, he was a studio art major at Wesleyan and recently funded a scholarship in honor of John Paoletti, Wesleyan’s Kenan Professor of the Humanities, Emeritus, and Professor of Art History, Emeritus.

The most important news this winter is that our 30th Reunion is on the weekend of May 19–22. In recent years, Reunion Weekend has coincided with Commencement Weekend, so there are three days of activities, as well as many opportunities for quiet conversation with friends old and new. Please put that weekend on your calendar—we look forward to seeing you there.

If you have some old Wes clothes, please put them aside to bring to Reunion. Kathryn Villano recently wrote on our Facebook page that she still has a couple of WestCo T-Shirts. “Their threadbare, holey state is perfect for jogging in Miami!” In most issues of the alumni magazine, there is a story from Wesleyan’s past. As members of the Class of ’86, we are now at the stage where some of our belongings are considered “antiques.” If you have some unique Wes memorabilia, please consider donating it to the University Archives.

And now for some updates from classmates. Jeffrey Liss and his wife, Susan, have entered the empty nest phase of life. They bought an apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC, but will also be keeping the home in Yardley, Pa. He continues to work for a major retail company.

Robert McCrae has also moved. After 11 years as the head of the Cincinnati Country Day School, he recently became head of the New Canaan Country Day School in Connecticut. Education is his passion. “I believe having a wonderful and happy childhood is the basis for very enriching adulthood.”

Sam Atkinson spent an annual reunion weekend September in New Hampshire with Peter Hammond and Mark Woodbury ’87. Pete’s into raw milk, which apparently contains formaldehyde, as Pete hasn’t changed since college. Sam had dinner in SF last spring with Steve Cadigan and Paul Levitan ’85, where they relived the glory days of Wes tennis. Don Long for president in ’16? It must have been a great dinner, because Steve wrote from California. “Recently had dinner in SF with Sam Atkinson and Paul Levitan ’85 and a few months ago I connected with Scott Donohue, who is also out here. Happy to report everyone is in great shape and our tennis games are better than ever. See you in May.”

From the center of the USA, there were notes from Frank Randall and Michael Tomasson.

Frank: “I’ve called Minnesota home since 1988, currently living in Minneapolis with my wife, Karly Christensen Randall, and children Francis, Nina, and Jens. We enjoy life on the Mississippi, taking advantage of our city’s great bike trails, and still-kicking music scene. In the ’90s I released three albums as a singer-songwriter fronting the Sycamores, as well as an album recorded with fellow Wes ’86 alums from Van Gogh’s Ear, Elliot Sumi, Bob Ryu, and Chris Erikson. … I’m currently senior editor for HighBridge, the spoken word audio publisher for many public radio programs, where I occasionally catch up with Car Talk’s Doug Berman ’84. One of my titles, Mandela: An Audio History (produced by Radio Diaries) was recognized as Best Audiobook of the Year at the 2015 Audie Awards. … I thoroughly enjoyed attending the 25th Reunion, reminiscing with Brian Pass, Chris Erikson, Becky Mode, Brian Mulhern and many others. I hope to see more friends at the 30th!”

Michael has been working at Washington University in St. Louis since 2000 in the departments of Medicine and Genetics, Division of Oncology, and was recently promoted to full professor. “I treat patients with hematopoietic malignancies on the bone marrow transplant service and do research on multiple myeloma, which is going well. Wash U was recently named a center for multiple myeloma nanotechnology by the National Cancer Institute. Three amazing kids: Julia, 19, science and philosophy at the University of Chicago; Ellie, a junior in high school violin-playing, school-paper-writing, lab-going 16-year-old; and Erik, 13-year-old in eighth grade, the lead of the school play this fall, Science Olympiad champ, and obsessed with the Destiny video game. Personal life a little messier, but happy and peaceful at last.”

Sarah Holbrooke is living in Telluride, Colo., these days, running a nonprofit providing STEM education to school kids in rural southwestern Colorado. “If you’re a working scientist, and love to ski, please be in touch as we can host you in exchange for your time spent presenting to various grades at our partner schools in the region! My husband’s film, The Diplomat, about his late father Richard Holbrooke, will be on HBO in November, and meanwhile is touring at international film festivals. Our family traveled to the Balkans this summer for the Sarajevo Film Festival. Our oldest daughter, Bebe, is a sophomore at Brown, so that means lovely visits with Joanna Feinberg, who lives in Providence. I still keep up with Debbie Halperin in NYC, Nancy Cagan in N.C., and Eleanor Roche in Montana. Our middle daughter, Kitty, is at a semester school in Freeport, Maine, Coastal Studies for Girls, focusing on marine science. Our youngest, Wiley, is at home with us in Telluride, rock climbing and looking forward to the ski season. Let me know if you’re coming to Telluride!”

And from northern New Hampshire, we have an update from Emily Cowan: “Writing to tell you how much fun Reunion is. I am one of those who dreaded Reunions because I didn’t think I measured up to the Wes standard, whether in status, excellence, or creativity. I see myself as an average person with an average job, leading an average life. I anticipated feeling quite inferior as I rubbed elbows with the Wespeople who had achieved. This didn’t happen, though. Nobody lorded anything over anyone, I made new friends while enjoying old ones, and I didn’t sink into self-recrimination. I soaked up the wonderfulness of Wes and rediscovered everything I love about it. That was at our 15th Reunion and I haven’t missed one since. I’m still highly average, so if you have any performance anxiety about your life, come to Reunion and find me. I’ll be the one not standing out.”

Some of you may have met Emily’s daughter at our 25th. “At age 7, her biggest reason to look forward to our 30th was the ice cream social that she was too young to go to that year. I’ve been waiting all these years to see if she will still care about it at age 12. What’s lovely is, she decided after that Reunion that she wants to go to Wes.”

Closing thought: Even if your life is messy; if you are recently divorced, if you are having mid-life confusion—please come next spring. We are a community, and we are here to help each other. See you soon.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu