Author: klynch02

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Matt Sienkiewicz is an associate professor and chair of the Communication Department at Boston College. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, Carrie Benedon, his son Leon (four), his daughter Dottie (one), and his mother Faye.

James Burke and his partner Hilary welcomed their third son, Charlie, in May of this year. Older brothers Monroe and George appear to have accepted the newcomer. James runs the Client Success team of a (former) fintech start-up, acquired by Nasdaq earlier this year shortly before the world fell to pieces.

Ben Rhatigan still lives in Barcelona and is heading up a brand strategy agency, and finally got married to his Spanish husband.

Cara Herbitter recently completed a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. They started a postdoctoral research/clinical fellowship at VA Boston Healthcare System focused on the intersection of sexual and gender minority stress, trauma, and substance use. Cara lives in Jamaica Plain with their wife, Xiomara Lorenzo ’05, who is a director on the digital strategy team at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Cara and Xiomara remain grateful for connections to other Wes alum near and far—since everyone is just a Zoom call away.

The third volume of Tejas Desai’s international crime trilogy The Brotherhood Chronicle: The Dance Towards Death, was published on September 16, 2020 and became a #1 Amazon Bestseller on its 

opening day. His short story collection Good Americans (2013) was an Award Finalist in the 2020 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards Content in the Fiction-Urban category and has experienced revived interest due to the political situation. During the toughest months of the pandemic in NYC, he was privy to many of its harsh realities since his mother is an essential worker at Elmhurst Hospital Center, the worst hit hospital in Queens. He hopes to use this and other experiences, observations and anecdotes while writing the anthology sequel to Good Americans (The Human Tragedy, Vol. 1), tentatively titled Bad Americans.

Mayuran Tiruchelvam was appointed the George and Judy Marcus Endowed Chair in Social Justice Fiction Filmmaking at San Francisco State University. He made the cross-country move in August. In addition to teaching, he supports grassroots social justice movements, with an emphasis on stopping the growth of armed white supremacist groups.

Amy Tannenbaum Gottlieb | atannenbaum@wesleyan.edu

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Greetings. I write from the past (at least a few months prior to when you are reading this). With the speed of news these days, there is something a little comforting and quaint to me about sitting down to write these notes. We received fewer messages this time, considering, well, this time. My heart is with all of you experiencing hardship and pain, whether related to the pandemic or this enduring crisis of racism and racist violence. While I don’t have the lived experience or wisdom to speak too meaningfully to either, I’ll recommend the Harvard Implicit Bias tests for those of us who are white and haven’t already checked them out: implicit.harvard.edu.

Thank you to those who were able to write in and/or modestly agreed to let me share their news.

Lerner/Carolrhoda has bought Emily Barth Isler’s debut middle-grade novel, After/Math. When 12-year-old math whiz Lucy moves to a town that experienced a devastating school shooting four years ago, she must navigate her classmates’ lingering traumas as well as her own grief over a very different family tragedy. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Bradford Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.

Emily says, “I will be doing a post-pandemic book tour and hope to see as many Wes alums as I can in the various cities I visit. I will also be doing school visits (and school Zooms!) so if any librarians or middle school teachers out there are looking for authors to visit classrooms, please be in touch!”

Michael Homolka continues to teach grammar and critical writing at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity in NYC. On the creative front, some of his recent poems have appeared in The Antioch Review, Colorado Review, and Prairie Schooner. “Most importantly, my wife and I have welcomed into the world our beautiful son, Alejandro, who laughs often at our inanity and already loves to play guitar.”

Andrea Donnelly has good news: “After an over 20-year study of myriad energy healing modalities, herbs, flower remedies, and meditation, I officially launched my healing arts business, We Are Here 2 Remember, this summer. I specialize in helping people navigate change and transition, and managing the complexities of modern life. I offer personalized individual sessions, coaching, ceremonies and distance healing. I have always been intellectually and spiritually curious, and deeply committed to the marriage and integration of the two in my own life. I am beyond happy to offer what I’ve learned to others. Feel free to contact me at andrea@wearehere2remember.com or wearehere2remember.com to book a session or find out more information!”

Mary Robertson is continuing her work as an executive producer with the New York Times Presents, and raising Malcolm (five) and Maxine (almost two). I’m always excited and never surprised to hear about Mary’s achievements, which include multiple Emmys for her team this year. The episodes, which include a searing piece on the killing of Breonna Taylor, are streaming. 

Woody Fu will be performing in the New York ABC Discovers Talent Showcase. 

Don Kim moved to Los Angeles and hopes there will be in-person alumni events soon!

I (Mara) have a new position as acting director of parole advocacy for my public defender agency. The job has ballooned since COVID-19 compelled the courts to consider more that can be done to assist prisoners, who have no chance of social distancing or proper PPE and very high levels of risk due to age and health conditions. While working from home with a little kid present can feel really hard, the stories I’ve heard from incarcerated parents remind me to hug my kid tight and appreciate the sheer amount of times I get to hear that little voice say “Mama” per day. Yesterday he managed to record the word onto his light saber toy, and hearing it distorted, sped up and slowed down as he slayed the air, seemed like a fitting tribute to all of us working caregivers during this surreal time.

Mara Voukydis | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn Sperando | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

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2020—what a year it’s been. As I write these notes, the election is a month away and the nation continues to struggle through two pandemics, COVID-19 and racism. I hope each of you has been able to stay connected, experience joy, and find the light even during the darkest days. 

Jennie Rabinowitz shared that her amazing husband, Dan Jamieson, has been working long, brutal hours as an ICU doc at Georgetown University Hospital in D.C. during the COVID-19 crisis. During the thick of it, regular Zoom calls with Wes friends including Paul Ohan, Heidi Golden, Demian Mason, Jessica Sanders, Kate Slevin, Danielle Feldman, Dave Cope, Avra Fox-Lerner, Steffie Kinglake, Rachel Ostrow, Vivian Lee, Simon Frost, and Jen Rizzuto Congregane ’01 kept him energized. Thanks, Dan (and all frontline workers), for all that you have done and continue to do to care for others. 

Adam Birnbaum got married in May 2019. He and his wife are living in Flatbush, Brooklyn and welcomed a new baby, Sonya Hiwot Tedeneke-Birnbaum, on May 22. 

In the fall of 2019, Suryo Soekarno and his family visited Ken Hijino and Kaoru Tokumasu ’00. Ken is a well-respected political science professor at Kyoto University while Kaoru is a freelance English-Japanese translator working with many local NGOs. They have a lovely house in the countryside just outside of Kyoto, Japan.

Last January, Erin Morris attended the Mentorship Workshop for Wesleyan Women’s Athletics. It was great to speak with current athletes and see Emily Rauscher. While walking through Freeman Athletic Center, she ran into Bob Chiapetta (manager of intercollegiate operations at Wes), who immediately said, “Hi, Smiley” (his nickname for Erin when she was a student playing ice hockey), as if 20 years had not gone by at all!

In June, Russell Isaacson and his wife moved to Lake Wylie, South Carolina from NYC, and they had their first daughter, Olive Corinne, on August 18. Russell started a new role at Ally Bank in October doing business development in their point of sale lending group.

This fall, Hong Qu started his PhD in network science at Northeastern University. His faculty advisor is another Wes alum, Professor David Lazer ’88. He plans to investigate networked social movements aiming to regulate technologies such as Big Tech and AI. He lives in Flushing, NYC with his wife and two boys (ages four and five), but hopes to move to Boston when the pandemic subsides.

Kareem George was recently appointed to the prestigious Travel + Leisure magazine advisory board, which is a select group of 27 of the country’s top travel advisors. As part of ongoing dialogue with Travel + Leisure’s editorial and business teams, these world-class advisors share their expert opinions and insider perspectives on the latest developments in the travel industry and their read on ever-evolving consumer trends. Kareem and his travel design company, Culture Traveler, continue to attract national attention. In the September issue of Luxury Travel Advisor, Kareem was profiled in the cover story, which explored his artistic background, entrepreneurial motivation, and the vital role of personal connections to the success of Culture Traveler. Hopefully, we’ll all be able to safely travel again in 2021.

In the meantime, Kevin and I wish you all peace, happiness, and good health in the new year. Be well, stay safe, and keep in touch.

C. Darryl Uy | darryl.uy@gmail.com

Kevin Kumler | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Nancy Shane Hocking is currently working at JetBlue where she works in flight operations and manages their Pilot Gateway Programs. These programs are pathways that those with little or no flying experience can follow to one day become JetBlue pilots. She is also honored to report that she is one of 20 people appointed by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao to serve on the Youth Access to Jobs in Aviation Task Force. The purpose of the task force is to develop and provide recommendations and strategies to the FAA on how to encourage and facilitate youth in America to pursue jobs in aviation. The airline industry is certainly challenged these days due to COVID-19, but they are all doing their best to keep things moving forward. At JetBlue, they are lucky to have a member of our board of directors who is a Wesleyan alumna: Ellen Jewett. Wherever you find a Wesleyan graduate, you’ll find someone who is working to do good and take care of people.

Marcus Chung and his husband have been sheltering-in-place in San Francisco, joining thousands of people in the mental exercise of wondering if life in the suburbs is the next move for them since they haven’t left the confines of their little home in months. Besides longing for a world where he can be social and mobile again, and hoping for a country that will heal with a new administration, he has been leading the supply chain team for online underwear company ThirdLove. He has also joined Wesleyan’s Alumni Trustee Nominating Committee and looks forward to learning more about the process to elect alumni to the Board of Trustees. If anyone has ideas of alumni who would be strong trustee candidates, please send them his way! 

Jessica Golden Cortes has just been elected president of the Wesleyan Lawyers Association. She would love to hear from any classmates in the law who may be interested in getting involved in networking or mentoring events around the country. Anyone interested can find the group on LinkedIn. 

Nathan Eddy is enjoying work in Jewish-Christian relations in the U.K. and is serving as deputy director of the Council of Christians and Jews. 

Tina Harris is currently an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and has been living there with her partner George and son Thomas (six years old) for the past ten years. Her latest research focuses on aviation in the Himalayas. She started feeling nostalgic about Wes again after watching the last few seasons of BoJack Horseman during lockdown, so if there are any classmates living in the Netherlands or close by, please feel free to reconnect. 

Michael Lawrence-Riddell is the executive director of Self-

Evident Media, which he founded in September 2019. They are creating highly accessible, engaging multimedia resources for educational communities to use in their quest to honestly and rigorously understand the history of systemic racism in order to envision and build a just future. Michael is doing this work with a number of other Wesleyan graduates including advisory board members Nicole Rodriguez ’97, Makeda Mays Green, Chrishaunda Lee Perez, and Eric Soto-Shed. Check their work out at: selfevidentmedia.com.

Abby Elbow | aelbow@gmail.com

2020 has shown us the importance of staying connected to our loved ones near and far, and that includes our Wes fam. We enjoyed hearing from everyone who wrote in to share how they are doing. 

Kevin Carr O’Leary wrote: “We are good here in Brooklyn, thankfully. My husband Brian and I have two kids through adoption, Keith, 9, and Jason, 6. Brian is a family law attorney and we are coming up on 20 years together. I am a book collaborator, focusing on memoir. My most recent was Jessica Simpson’s Open Book, and my next one is out December 1 with Ruth Coker Burks. It’s called All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South.” Kevin, we loved Open Book and can’t wait to read your next book. Congratulations to you and your husband on your milestone anniversary! 

1. Elijah Hawkes wrote: “I’ve got a book out last spring, drawing from fifteen years as a public school principal in NYC and Vermont, it’s called School for the Age of Upheaval: Classrooms that Get Personal, Get Political and Get to Work. Also, my work in a rural Vermont school confronting racism has been featured recently in a special podcast series by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Sounds Like Hate (chapter 2).” We will definitely be adding your book to our shopping cart and podcast episodes to our playlists. 

In addition to running her business, 3am Writers LLC, Aileen McDonough has been working as director of communications for the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team this year. The team’s story ignited on social media, and gained international press in the lacrosse world and beyond. Aileen explained, “The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) are the originators of the game of lacrosse, or ‘medicine game.’ INL is ranked 3rd in the world and is the only Indigenous team sanctioned 

to play at this level. The team had been denied a place at the 2022 World Games, which prompted an outcry in the lacrosse world, including a social media response, a petition that garnered over 50,000 signatures, and stories that were picked up by CNN, Sports Illustrated, Sky News, CBC, etc. In an act of stunning generosity, awareness, and allyship, Team Ireland voluntarily vacated their spot to make way for the Iroquois team to play.” So inspiring! We are so happy that the Iroquois team will be playing their game in the 2022 World Games. 

Alek Lev wrote that he might have had to wait for an entire new form of media to be invented, but he has finally made a Hollywood sale. Coming up in just a few months will be the premiere episode of his new podcast, Meeting Tom Cruise. A part of the Dan Patrick Podcast Network (Dan Patrick, whom Alek remembers watching in WesWings on a nightly basis) and produced by iHeart Media, the show is hosted by a duo of Tom Cruise super-fans who haven’t ever met their idol—the greatest and craziest movie star of all time—as they interview, and desperately envy, some lucky bastard who has. (Alek, in the background, produced the show and mocks it all mercilessly.) We’re not trying to change the world. We’re just trying to meet Tom Cruise. (And we’re wondering whether this is the better Waiting for Godot for our age. Love!)

Matt Albinson is teaching high school computer science in the East Bay and expecting his first child in November. (Congratulations, Matt! So exciting.) He finds time to play disc golf with other Nietzsch Factorians Ben Snyder, Sam Borgeson, Andrew Levine, Jason Monberg ’95, and Chris Wilmers ’95.

Lauren Porosoff has a new book coming out this March, The PD Curator: How to Design Peer-to-Peer Professional Learning That Elevates Teachers and Teaching. Lauren explained, “It applies the same psychological science that all of my books draw upon to professional learning.” Keep those books coming, Lauren! 

Keep your updates coming, dear classmates. Sending you our best wishes for a healthy and safe winter.

Jessica Shea Lehmann | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

Sasha Lewis Reisen | alewisreisen@gmail.com

Those with class notes, please contact: 

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Greetings ’95ers! Bo Bell here. Sorry that I missed you all at the virtual reunion, but hoping we can do it for real next year! Here’s what’s been happening with your classmates.

I consider it to be a smashing success that I finally got dear friend Hannah Knott Rogers to send in some notes! “I am still a librarian at Emory’s Health Sciences Center Library and go to work in person every day and feel great about it—the university mostly has things 

under control—only a handful of cases among residential students (knock on wood). Our girls (14 and 16) are channeling their inner rage and future Wesleyaness into phonebanking for Generation Ratify, Sunrise Movement, student government and lots and lots of art and creative writing. Super shout out to every teacher out there hustling every day to make something that’s totally not normal seem ok. Other positives: no colds, lots and lots of family time, many trips to ramble in the north Georgia wilderness, and plenty of energy put towards plants and food. I haven’t seen anyone from our class in person, but have definitely enjoyed an uptick in texts, calls, and reluctant video conferences with old friends. I am thankful daily for the friends and experiences at Wesleyan and optimistic that my kids will be able to have a comparably meaningful college experience in the near future.”

Matthew Duffy is still living in Oakland, now in his fifth year as school superintendent in the Bay Area with his family, trying to stay healthy and sane. He recently had a great reconnect with Sherwin Yoder, and is also staying in touch with Malcolm Edwards and Brooke and Randy Jackson.

Lara Tupper writes from Maine: “I have become a chicken mama during the pandemic. Our eight hens bring us tremendous joy. My Zoom calls with Chelsea Farley ’95, Laura Pinsof ’95 and Mireille Abelin ’96 have been a saving grace. And my new book, Amphibians (a collection of short stories) will come out in March 2021 from Leapfrog Press.”

Lauren Monchik is still in NYC with husband Davison and two daughters (ninth grade and sixth grade) and is a new science teacher and loving it. 

Cheryl Mejia reports on her experience during quarantine: “Telemedicine has the sweetest commute. Trying to teach rural folks to be more open-minded so that they exercise more, eat healthfully, and act in ways that help them get more health care providers to their underserved areas. So many skilled services come from minorities, so try not to scare them off with your political signs promoting exclusion! Also, stayed in an RV for the very first time ever. This might have been the bright side of COVID-19, since the in-laws got one for the now-limited ways of travel. I miss Son “Jackson” Tran, one of my only local Wes pals that I knew. Now I got no one, to my knowledge.”

Ian Boyden writes with some news! His first book of poetry—A Forest of Names—was published by none other than Wesleyan University Press. ianboyden.com.

Old pal Julia Lazarus checks in: “The past months have been defined largely by toddler entertainment and management activities (for my daughter Ellie, now two), but I am also working on a fellowship with the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities that is exploring the relationship between cultural participation and civic health. It’s been nice to reconnect with my interest in the ways arts and humanities can deepen our engagement with public life. At the same time, it’s been a weird time to have just stepped away from working in online education­: what a thing to see people so suddenly ramping up in those practices (and grappling directly with what’s challenging and what opportunities there are for something interesting and new to take place).”

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com