Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Greetings classmates! Hope these notes find you all heading into a summer with sunny skies and plenty of time to relax and enjoy time with loved ones. Here’s what’s up with a few of your classmates:

Jennifer Atkinson lives in Virginia where she is a professor at George Mason University in the MFA/BFA programs in poetry. Her fifth book of poems, The Thinking Eye, is newly out. More details are at www.parlorpress.com/freeverse/the-thinking-eye. Jennifer lives just outside the Beltway and would love to catch up with old friends. If you are in or visiting D.C. she invites you to look her up.

David Weild IV contributed that he “had the wonderful experience of teaching two economics classes at Wesleyan for Prof. Abigail Hornstein in February: Investments and Corporate Finance from the perspective of how the evolution in low-cost electronic trading and capital markets structure is impacting these disciplines.” Among the students in his class was Paul DiSanto ’81.

Ruth van Eck-Rotholz sent a thoughtful, reflective letter, which began by describing Wesleyan as “a place for her to discover.” She felt its small size and flexibility allowed for “focus on the development of individual ideas.” She continued, “With this naive energy I continued to fulfill my dreams in my first years in the triptych of my life.” At 30, Ruth left the USA and became “an architect for the Supreme Court in Jerusalem where she met and fell in love with Swedish geophysicist Torild van Eck.” They moved to the Netherlands, had two beautiful daughters, Miriam and Rachel, and lived in the summers in Sweden. Sadly, Torlid died in his sleep in 2014, just days before his 65th birthday. Ruth reflected that “this was my own private earthquake and I still feel the aftershocks” and “feels that another transition in her life is occurring now” as she turns 60.

She advises all of us to “Listen around you, be patient, remain humble, and gather strength from Nature, and not from titles, prestige, degrees, or status. See the world as a whole and not divided by political forces but by moving plates. Imagine communicating what is essential without language. Realize that ultimately it is the forces of the earth and how we respect them that will prove to be our ultimate guides.” Ruth, thanks for your openness. I’m sure our classmates join me in wishing you all the best.

Mark Laser is preparing to leave on a challenging sailboat race across the Atlantic as part of the ARC Europe Rally on his boat, First Light. There will be a satellite tracker on board, tracking their progress in real time. Mark has done a lot of work in preparation for this “bucket list” item. He’s been Coast Guard certified as a master captain, 50-ton rated, as well as learned the ancient art of celestial navigation. To learn about the boat and crew and follow the journey, go to firstlight.deligent.com. Bon voyage, Mark!

Cheers to Pat and Nancy McCabe who in April celebrated their 150th Birthaversary; two 60th birthdays and a 30th anniversary all in one night. In addition to Pat and Nancy, other ’78s in attendance were Moira McNamara James and Jodi Wilinsky Hill. Other Wesleyan grads at the festivities were Nancy’s father, Herb Kendall ’48; Nancy’s brother, Richard Kendall ’74, Ellen Gerken ’77, and John Bennett ’79. “Wished we could have been there” came from other ‘78’s Jamer Breene, Hank Mathieu, Bill Tabor, and yours truly.

We know the Class Notes are most of your favorite part of the reading Wesleyan, but are the notes rather a disappointment if we don’t have anything to print? Please don’t be shy or bashful, e-mail us what’s new in your lives so we can share it with your classmates.

Until next time, wishing each of you all the best,

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Another fine (except for the score) Red Sox Opening Day was attended by myself, George DuPaul, Jeff Gray ’77 and Tim O’Brien ’81. A toast was raised in honor of our good friend and brother Brad Toomey ’81, P’18, who passed away suddenly and much too soon. His life was celebrated in Kansas City, where he lived, by Peter Campbell (recently retired to Charleston, S.C., from his CIO role at Sprint), Pete Pezzelli ’81, Tony Difolco ’81, Tim O’Brien, Paul Disanto ’81, Rick Ciullo ‘81, and Lou Scimecca ’81. Another get-together of the DKE brethren was held in Boston where Bill Vernon ’73, Jeff Gray, Dave Thomas ’77, Ken Langley ’77, Paul Fichera ’77, Dave Matteodo ’77, Ralph Rotman ’78, Bill Ahern ’78, Tim Fitzgerald and I were in attendance. It’s been over 35 years and the DKE/Wesleyan bonds are as strong as they were when they were formed.

I had the good fortune to run into Dan Wolf at a local event. Dan continues his role as CEO of Cape Air, as well as a Massachusetts State Senator.

Jake Walles completed three years as Ambassador to Tunisia last September and shares: “I’m working on counter-terrorism issues in the State Department in DC. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with our European partners following the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.”

Melanie Freundlich: “I attended an alumni event in NYC and ran into Ann Biester Deane, also spied Anne Shirrmeister Goldrach. Heavily attended and organized by several illustrious women alumni including Vanessa Burgess ’77, it featured awe-inspiring stories from four amazing Wesleyan women. I am still living in Montclair, N.J., with my husband, Peter, and two daughters, Sophia and Ava (18 and 23), and running my architectural lighting design company on West 38th Street, sometimes collaborating (separately) on projects with architects Mark Ginsberg and Joan Craig.”

Chris Austill is living in Somerville, Mass., and has been a grant writer at the YMCA of Greater Boston for the last 13 years. Chris has a 14-year-old daughter who is a soccer goalie and plays soccer six days a week when she can.

Pamela Dorman is still publisher of her eponymous imprint, Pamela Dorman Books, at Penguin Random House, where she is publishing the bestselling Jojo Moyes and Carolyn Parkhurst ’92, whose new novel, Harmony, comes out this August. Pamela’s twins, Nick and Sophie Krichevsky, are juniors at New Rochelle High School and are embarked on twin college searches—Sophie is liberal arts and Nick is all tech.

Darlyne Johnson: “Still workingz—just GYN now. Had some health challenges but I take my handful of meds/vitamins and keep on moving. Have son in 9th grade and daughter at University of Tampa. Have seen Jim Brenner, Banning Eyre (hosted first book signing party in Milton for his book) and Sean Barlow.”

Craig McLaughlin is living in Santa Cruz, opening a new mediation and counseling business, getting certified in Hakomi, a mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy approach, and awaiting his daughter’s return from her Fulbright year in Morocco. He and his father, Curtis McLaughlin ’54, just signed a contract to produce a third edition of their textbook, Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach. In October, he finished the book tour for his memoir, Passing on Curves: While Death Rides Shotgun, with a spoken word performance at The Trident in Cambridge.

Bethany Kandel is finally done paying for college tuition for her sons! Her youngest son, Jared, just graduated from Tulane University with a degree in finance. Older son Ryan is a graphic designer. She still lives on the Upper West Side with her husband, Gary Fishman, and is a freelance journalist, content contributor, and consultant for websites and organizations. She also works to help breast cancer survivors with the website she founded, BreastCancerFreebies.com.

Jodi Daynard: “My second novel, Our Own Country, was published this past February. The first, The Midwife’s Revolt, became a bestseller last year. The third in the trilogy will be out next spring—I’m about to leave my teaching job forever! I’m happily living in Newton, Mass., with my British husband, Peter, and my two spaniels, Bailey and Rory. My son, Alex, is at M.I.T. getting his PhD in solar chemistry.”

Ben Solnit: “I still work part time for Connecticut Legal Services and serve on a number of nonprofit boards. My wife, Audrey, and I took a course this spring with Herr Doktor Professor Herb Arnold in the WILL program on The Epic of Gilgamesh. Our daughter, Rebecca (Dickinson ’12), is associate dean of graduate support at St. James School, a private middle school in Philadelphia, which serves a low income neighborhood. Our daughter, Anita (Tufts ’14), is finishing up her tenure at South Bay Mental Health in Lynn, Mass., and will attend the Columbia School of Social Work this fall in the MSW program. Audrey and I saw John Hatleberg and Rise Dimson in NYC in January for a joint birthday dinner.

Brian Katten: “I took early retirement on October 1, 2015, after 33 years as Wesleyan’s first full-time sports information director. I continue to do some freelance work and also got certified as a high-school baseball umpire. No grandkids yet but I expect my daughter (Anna ’11) to come through in that department next year!”

Allison Read Tom: “I took early (disability) retirement from my position as associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia. I’m now creating a new life, focused on gardening (well, supervising someone else in the garden), quilting, friends, cat, and grown children. Caitlin, my eldest, is a Ph.D. student in political science at Berkeley. Alanna, my youngest, is finishing her first year at UBC school of law as I write. I’m heading to France this summer for a luxurious week-long quilting workshop, followed by a few days in Paris. A new adventure for me, but I am learning many things and finding deep contentment.”

Martha Bush: “Good news from my side of the world in Rochester, N.Y. Recently we had a management buyout of our company, SIGMA Marketing Insights, and I was made president. Our daughter Lauren is graduating from Harvard so we’ve made our last tuition payments!”

Lincoln Frank continues to live in NYC with his wife, Molly O’Neil ’84, and sometimes-at-home children—two out, two in college (including Harry ’15). Molly just completed her MDiv on her way to becoming a board-certified chaplain. Linc still hits tennis balls with his old teammate David Schenkein, CEO of a terrific biotech in Cambridge.

Lauren Steiner: “I have been running LA for Bernie, the oldest and largest Bernie Sanders volunteer organization in LA. I will be going to the Democratic National Convention as a Bernie delegate in July in Philly and am looking forward to staying with Nancy Katz Colman and David Colman.”

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@aol.com

Tributes to David Clair, who passed away Feb. 19, 2016:

Mike Rosenblatt writes: “I did not know David Clair well at Wes but both he and his brother-in-law Jesse were classmates of mine in medical school. He was a great guy. Sorry to see he was taken from us at such a young age.”

Gary Gilyard writes: “I was shocked to hear about David. We were in all of the same pre-med classes. David was a huge Flyers fan and we would go at it over his Flyers and my Red Wings. Next week we head to Wesleyan for Shelby ’16’s graduation.

Amy Natterson Kroll writes: “What a lovely tribute to David Clair. I am in DC, married to the same guy for more than 30 years, practicing law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. Children are grown. We speak with them both most days. Daughter is an emergency room nurse in New York, married to a great guy. Son is finishing his third year (junior to us) at University of Chicago. We are traveling a great deal now, because we can with the nest empty and we are starting to think about second (third?) acts. We saw Hamilton when Wesleyan held its fundraiser last October—amazing show and amazing Wesleyan evening. As co-class agent: Please remember how important Alumni Gifts are each year and give what you can!”

Alan Jacobs writes: “Beautifully written (about David)…And effective…Here’s my contribution to Class Notes: I’m packing my bags and heading to Wesleyan for Ron Jacobs ’16’s graduation, 36 years after we all wore the robes. Pretty amazing. Ron majored in American Studies and will return to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the music industry. His older brother, Gil, took a little longer to finish school and is graduating on the same day/time from Brandeis, so Sharona will attend that one. I asked Wes to push Commencement back a few hours so I could attend both but that didn’t go over too well. The nerve! Avia finished her first year at Mount Holyoke, playing soccer and double majoring in Fun and Local Excursions. Guy is a sophomore at Calabasas High, where he plays bass clarinet and is the league champ in the 800M. He has a small business as a dog walker but it’s not thriving because the dogs can’t keep pace. When did Class Notes become all about our kids? I’m working on a few interesting feature film projects, coming (one day) to a theater or iPad near you. Most satisfying is a new venture I’m helping Gil launch called Quiver.events, which provides complete listings of all live music in your area. The tag line is: “Follow the Music,” which pretty much sums up my life since Wes.

Ben Wolozin’s entry that missed the previous issue: “I haven’t written notes for ages, but this has been an eventful year, so I figure it’s worthwhile. Most important, I just became a grandfather. OMG!! Here is the backstory: For the past four years I have had the pleasure of having my older daughter, Becky (29), live five blocks from my work site in Boston. Nirvana! She got married to Lou Beckman on Martha’s Vineyard 1.5 years ago; a fantastic guy—with wonderful parents as well, so all is well on that end. Becky and I would have breakfast or lunch together, regularly—or she and Lou would come to our house in Newton and have dinner. Then she graduated from law school (JD and MS in International Education, Harvard—Lou was doing a psych residency at Beth Israel/Brigham Women’s) and they moved down to DC. Having them leave Boston was a loss. However, life goes on, and a new phase began because Becky gave birth to a darling little boy, Sammy, on Dec. 14. So cute!! Of course, now I pop down to DC whenever possible. Meanwhile, on the professional front, I started a biotech company, Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals Inc. (aquinnahpharma.com). The company focuses on drugging RNA binding proteins, and our first pipeline focuses on ALS. Soon we expect to have a second pipeline for Alzheimer’s disease. Starting a company has been exciting and challenging, but it opens up another major avenue in my life and gives a vision for new horizons. These are the major changes. Otherwise, it’s the usual—and enjoyable—aspects of being a 57-year-old Wesleyan graduate. I live with my lovely wife, Danielle Murstein, who is a psychiatrist, and we have been together for 31 years. Our other daughter, Jackie, is 25, lives in NYC, does arts, and just went on a ski trip with me and my cousins to Beaver Creek, Colo. Yay!! So much fun!! Actually—point of note—Jackie just saw the new musical Hamilton, and so we spent the first three days of the trip sharing her ear buds on every chair lift and listening to the incredible sound track of Hamilton, which was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02. What a fabulous and brilliant musical—can’t wait to see it. Bravo Lin-Manuel!!! I am a professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine. My research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases—Alzheimer’s, ALS and Parkinson’s. The work is going great. It’s so amazing what you can do in science these days—totally exciting. Hmm, what else? Age 57 going on 58. The down sides: grey hair, needing to eat less to maintain the fantasy of a youthful figure, the challenges of too many commitments, a house that was wrecked by snow dams last year and took one year of painful renovations, and the passing of my dog Anya, of 15.5 years, who was my faithful running partner and probably the only one who was always thrilled to see me come home. Boo hoo. But, the 50s have generally been good, so those things are real, but small potatoes in the bigger picture. We have lots of room in our house if anyone wants to drop by (Newton, Mass.)!!!

KIMBERLY OFRIA SELBY | kim_selby@yahoo.com

35 Years! I don’t feel much more than 35 years old!  It was great seeing so many of you.  Joanne Audretsch and I were honored to receive Wesleyan Service Awards for doing what we do.  “The West Wing” of Usdan Student Center was dedicated to (and by) Bradley Whitford (congrats!). And, we got to see what we all look like so many years later.

Oh, and next time we meet, in five years, we will be eligible to collect Social Security! 😉

Tonie Kline is “working in pediatric genetics in Baltimore and  my eldest just graduated from Wesleyan!  My older son is at NYU and youngest son is in high school looking at colleges.  Had a fun time at the reunion catching up with friends from freshman year (so really 39 years!).”

Cindy Dorsey came down with her three daughters from Concord, MA, where she works as a psychologist. They met up with her brother Alan (class of ’83). “So fun to show my girls around campus. They couldn’t believe we did back flips out the second floor windows of Butterfield C during the blizzard of ’78 freshman year!  Having the chance to see and give a quick hug to Matty King, Peter Smith, Nancy Parker, Mike Toohey, Tonie Kline, Susan Stone, Matt McCreight, Pete Congleton, and Kate Quigley  made it so worth the trip- it was great to see you guys, after 35 years! Also nice to meet some classmates I never knew at Wes when we were there.”

Michele Choka attended her first reunion “(it only took 35 years!)” and visited with her 15 year-old son, who is interested in attending Wesleyan. “After the admissions orientation session, he asked me how I could possibly have gotten admitted to Wesleyan. :)”  Ah, kids…..

Michele works in the energy industry in Denver, CO as a VP, Human Resources.  “I also have been sitting on a public software company board for the last ten years; CallidusCloud based in Dublin, CA.”

Chris Graves “had a blast reconnecting with ’81 pals” including housemates Bradley Whitford, Dan Greenberger, Josh Manheimer.  “We recreated a photo from our senior year house. We also recreated a photo from a video shoot that included Brad, Erika Goldman, Christina Mata, Julie Jacobson, and cinematographer Paul Schiff. I am sure the value in that 35-year old video is in the payments I may receive to never show it to anyone.”

Chris has been awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to continue his work on brain and behavioral science related to communications. “Ten of us–all somehow connected to behavioral science– will share the palace and will write all day, then come together in the evenings for debates and discussions. It will be a precious and rare opportunity. For about 8 years, I have been seeking out, collecting, digesting and collating primary research on cognitive neuroscience, behavioral economics, social psychology and narrative theory– then connecting them to try to arrive at more effective methods of communication (for example, how to change misperceptions or change someone’s mind on an issue or communicate climate change or vaccinations in a way that actually works). The final output is expected to be a book.”

David Miller writes that “while many of those that I spent large amounts of time with while I was a student were not able to attend (Paul Robinson, and Paul and Karen Neurath being notable exceptions) it was enjoyable, and somehow comforting, that I enjoy the company of Wes 81ers even if it seems that I am meeting them for the first time.  I enjoyed getting to know Matt McCreight, Alyson Myers and Joanne Godin Audretsch better (to name just a few), and hangout (after a 35+ year absence) with Hugh Judge and Andy Hamilton at the reception.  Discussing life on Foss Hill with Steven Blum, Dave Hill ’86 and Ralph Savarese ’86 brought back memories of many previous discussions. Getting a chance for a long chat with Delcy Fox is always a pleasure. My time travel experience was complete when I got to talk with Max Atkinson ’16 and his housemates after commencement.  All in all, a great time.

David went from Middletown to Houston “where I met up with the remote part of my undergrad NASA Robot-ops team, where we had rovers run from our home universities participate in a giant easter egg-like hunt on simulated Moon and Mars terrain.  The only team with an advisor that went to a school without an engineering program won big.  The run was captured on youtube:http://bit.ly/24hueNf.”

He adds, “I wish we had had more time to talk ourselves — of some reason this seemed a busier reunion than usual.”

David Lynch joined the Financial Times as a Washington correspondent, covering white-collar crime. He adds,  “I focus on the Justice Department and SEC.”

Cynthia Costas-Centivany writes from Vejer, Spain, where she and her family have spent part of every summer for the last 20 years.  She has an ongoing botanical garden project that she would like some Wes science departments to get involved in.

Brian Tarbox  received his  5th US Patent for “Tivo for Twitter”, a system to block and record social media posts for TV shows you record, and then play them back to you when you actually watch the show.  “So, no more facebook/twitter spoilers of the big game.”

Jim Steiker has spent the last 30 years in Philadelphia creating and building a firm to promote and accomplish employee ownership. “Have had the opportunity to live out some of the social change values I developed at Wesleyan though I never expected it would result in working primarily with entrepreneurs who want to create a legacy while cashing out of their companies. Now married to Wendy Epstein for 29 years after being introduced by Cindy Schrager (’81) with two very entrepreneurial twenty-something children (both in Brooklyn of course)  who appear as unable to work for anyone else as I am.”

Belinda Kielland writes that she was sorry to miss the weekend, as travels got in the way. She is living in Sag Harbor, Long Island, “with frequent forays into the city to keep abreast of the contemporary art world. I’m a strategic partner in OSL contemporary, a gallery in Oslo, Norway, where I lived for many years, and am proud to serve as President of the dynamic non-profit, Independent Curators International. Who knew where Mr. Paoletti’s Introduction to Art History would lead!”

She adds that her “adult children, Marika and Henrik, both live in London, so my international travels continue. Although it was strange to move back to the US after 30 years in Europe, I’ve now “landed” and have enjoyed the chance to re-connect with old friends. Had the happiest time recently spending some vacation days with Livia Wong McCarthy… she hasn’t changed a bit!”

Speaking of art, Brenda Zlamany wrote to tell me three of her recent accomplishments. She has a portrait commission for Yale’s Sterling Memorial library, of the first female Yale PhD recipients (https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/4278/pioneers); She has curated an exhibition at the Shirley Fiterman Art Center here in New York (http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/sfac/); and she has a portrait on view at the National Portrait Gallery in DC (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/every-three-years-artists-compete-on-view-national-portrait-gallery-winners-180958490/?no-ist)!

Congratulations!

Elisha Lawrence is “living in SF and working as AVP, Global Anti-Piracy & Content Security for ABS-CBN International. My daughter will be a junior next year at Wesleyan and my son will be junior at Stanford.”

James Marcus has been appointed editor-in-chief of Harper’s Magazine and is “very excited and honored to get the gig. Also, am finishing up a book I’ve been writing for three years, called Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Emerson in Fourteen Installments. That will be published in 2017, along with Emerson’s Journals: A Selection, which I’m doing for Penguin Classics. All this will make for a busy spring, but in the nicest possible way.”

I end on a sad note. Paul DiSanto, who could only stay Friday as he attended his son’s UVM graduation over the weekend, notes that “one classmate we really missed at Reunion was Brad Toomey who passed away suddenly at home in Kansas City on April 7.  Brad loved Wes, and was a loyal and enthusiastic WAAV admission rep and a past WAF class agent and reunion chair. He would have loved to be with us at the Reunion, and was looking forward to Commencement next year, as his amazing daughter Mary is a rising senior psych major at Wes.   He is also survived by his wonderful wife Joan, and son Dan a high school senior.

Paul reports that he “was honored to attend the wonderful memorial service for Brad at the historic Unity Temple on the Plaza in Kansas City along with Tony DiFolco, Tim O’Brien,  Lou Scimecca , Rick Ciullo and Peter Campbell ’79. The many speakers talked about Brad’s love of live music, his intensity in sports and business, his wide ranging intellect, his impeccably detailed organization of the many ‘Vail Boys Ski Weekends’, his Irish wit, and most importantly his love for his family and friends.   I heard from a lot of Wes folks, and Gordon Cooney probably summed it up best on Facebook when he said that “Brad found ways to connect with literally everybody he met.”

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

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

The latest edition of our Class Notes Gazette.

Rachael Steinberg Adler writes that she is now entering the third year since founding the Waterfront Playhouse & Conservatory in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We are training professional actors in ensemble in the Meisner Technique of Acting, Alexander and Feldenkrais Movement Techniques, Linklater Voice Technique, Shakespeare, and more, both at the Waterfront and at our sister school in Barcelona, where I teach master classes each year,” she writes.

Rachael’s work in theater is “driven by issues of social justice, which my years at Wesleyan both reinforced and encouraged.

“I’ve found that training acting ensembles, rich in class and racial diversity, to identify and address the historic and personal issues involving judgment, bias, criticism, prejudice, grief and celebration to be, in combination with a vivid imagination, a most effective tool for unleashing the written word and bringing it into full dramatic expression,” she says.

On a more personal note: “I am having the time of my life raising my incredible 14-year-old dancer daughter Sonya, into whose ear I have been whispering “Go to Wesleyan, go to Wesleyan!” since she was 8! Keeping my fingers crossed!”

This from Peri Smilow: “Perhaps our classmates will be interested in knowing that I’ll be publishing my first book this summer. I’ve been a composer and touring musician of contemporary Jewish music for the past 25 years.”

She adds: “This summer will mark the publication of The Peri Smilow Anthology, a collection of sheet music for all of the original songs on my first four recordings (Songs of Peace, Ashrey, The Freedom Music Project and Blessings).

Peri says the anthology is “intended as a resource guide for cantors, song leaders, and other Jewish musicians, as well as non-musician Jewish educators and communal workers, about how to use contemporary Jewish music in all aspects of Jewish life.” (For more info: perismilow.com).

Steve Okun, in a short and sweet note, writes: “My son, Alex ’20, will be attending Wesleyan in the fall!”

Becky Shuster, to whom we extended our congratulations last issue for being named assistant superintendent of equity for the Boston Public Schools, adds in a brief note that she lives in Boston with her 11-year-old daughter, Sage.

Rob Lancefield—who in addition to being a member of the class of ’82, is also M.A. ’93 and PhD ’05—writes that he enjoyed playing a gig on guitar for the first time in way too long, with a group called the Abraham Adzenyah Tribute Band. The band, filled with Wesleyan alumni, was formed specifically for last May’s eight-hour extravaganza honoring Abraham Adzenyah’s retirement after 46 years of teaching Ghanaian music at Wesleyan.

The band featured, among other performers, Abraham Adzenyah MA’79, David Bindman ’85, MA ’87, Wes Brown ’74, and Royal Hartigan MA’83, Ph.D. ’86. The celebration was organized by Robert Levin ’81 and Doug Berman ’84. You can read about the event at this link: newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2016/05/09/adzenyah

Rob also mentions that Wesleyan is working to raise $300,000 to endow a scholarship in honor of Abraham Adzenyah’s legacy at Wesleyan. He asks that those interested in making donations contact Marcy Herlihy—mherlihy@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-2523.

Karen Mohr Maier says she has worked for years as director of research at the world-renowned Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. “I had the honor of putting together a permanent exhibit for the Baseball Hall of Fame honoring Dr. Jobe’s innovation in creating the Tommy John procedure that has saved the baseball careers of hundreds of players,” she writes.

“This is a permanent exhibit in the Baseball HOF’s new wing: A Whole New Ball Game, which features innovations that have impacted the game over the past 40 years.”

Daniel Meier writes that he lives in Berkeley, Calif., with his family and is teaching education at San Francisco State University, where he’s been for the last 20 years.

Once a year, he gets together with classmates Doug Jones, Peter Schochet, Dave Gaieski ’81, and Joe Merrill “for hiking, tennis, and sitting around and catching up.”

He’s also in contact with Roger Hale and a few other alums. He writes that he would “love to hear from other Wes alums around the ’81/’82 classes—Dave Preston ’81, Jeff Sayah, Lindsay South, Cindy Gherman, Christian Vescia and others.”

Martin “Chip” Shore writes: “I’m still with Fidelity (16 years!) and still loving it. I recently became a Certified Financial Planner and am trying to figure out how to take advantage of my new knowledge in the investment management work that I do.

“My wife, Shari, stays busy with her orthodontic practice in Brookline. Our son is graduating from Vanderbilt and is headed to Chicago, gainfully employed as a management consultant. We survived another college application process this year and our daughter is headed to Colorado College in the fall.”

“We are looking forward to being empty nesters, but nervous too, since so much of our lives have revolved around our children,” Chip writes.

Steve Budd writes: “I teach writing and lit. classes at a number of Bay Area colleges. I’m also a regular on the lively Bay Area storytelling, standup, and solo performance scene. I stay in touch with local alums Laura Fraser, Peter Eckart ’86, Marc Mowrey ’83, and Rolando Arroyo (whose sister-in-law, Carolina Grynbal, spent a year at Wesleyan and—how’s this for a coincidence?—is partnered up with my sister Sharon). Shoot me a line at stevebudd3@gmail.com.”

Rosemary Gombar Stutz says: “Did a lot of fun travel: Antarctica, Argentina, Niseko (skiing), Singapore, Raja Ampat (scuba diving), Myanmar (Burma), Taiwan, Italy (Matera and around), Zermatt, Switzerland (skiing, parasailing).

Her daughter, Victoria Stutz, a 2012 Georgetown graduate, just started a new job with Ernst & Young in New York. Her son, Eric Stutz, who got his master’s from U of Chicago in 2013, also works in the Big Apple as of this year, as manager for corporate strategy at SAP America.

In every issue, I hear from at least one member of our class—usually more—who hasn’t written before, which is gratifying. Updates happily accepted from repeat correspondents and newbies alike!

Stephanie Griffith | stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com

Hi, All! Global warming or not, it has been a beastly hot Memorial Day weekend in New Jersey. My daughter and I thought we’d escape the heat and took a ride to the Jersey Shore, only to sit shivering on the beach craving a hot cup of coffee. Ah, well. Best laid plans. Here’s what some other classmates have been doing:

“Marcus Eliyahu Mann (called ‘Marc’ until age 24!) is now a happy and grateful, serious and also often playfully goofy professional personal growth counselor in private practice (relation-shift.org), as well as a passionate writer, poet, and ‘un-rutted’ East-West, mind-body, dogma-free spiritual philosopher in W. Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, Pa., USA, Earth. He has written two book collections: Shame and Magnificence: The Discovery of the True Self, and Its Unveiling — A Record of Personal Awakening to Who We Really Are; and The Conscious Jew: Awakening to the Meaning and Value of the Jewish Anomaly; Distinguishing and Reclaiming the Path OF Jesus from the Myth and Religion ABOUT Him—and the True Reason to BE or Become a Jew; as well as a children’s book: The Colorblind Bower Bird: a Children’s Book for the Men and Women We Are Becoming. He loves his work, private practice, students, and individual and conscious relationship clients (he invites you to come see his site!—and be in touch!), and enjoys a long-since found and grounded sense of the ineffable. He supports and catalyzes others in discovering their selves from-the-inside-out intrinsic authority and creative ownership; in having healthy, co-creative celebratory relationships with self and thus with others; and in how to give up the human addiction to what might be called Outsourcing The Mystery. Having lived in many wonderful places across the U.S. and beyond, and after moving to the now self-recognizing, beautiful ‘Ugly Duckling City’ — Philadelphia—some years ago, he discovered he loves it right Here.”

Glenn Lunden had a pair of mini-reunions with Wesleyan friends visiting NYC. He spent Saturday with Michael Mendelson ’85, his wife Pam, and son Ari, who were visiting from the Washington, D.C., area. Ari is graduating from high school and is keenly interested in Glenn’s line of work, public transportation and urban planning. They met at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn, to receive a personalized and highly idiosyncratic tour from Glenn. On Monday, Glenn and partner Frank Meola got together with friends from the Boston area, Bruce Masi-Phelps ’82 and wife Mary, along with their sons Patrick ’15 (who lives nearby in Brooklyn) and Matthew (who is in NYC for an internship for the summer). Daughter Andrea ’18 stayed at home in the Boston area. Glenn adds, “Bruce and I both missed the 35th anniversary celebration of the Wesleyan Spirits at Reunion this year; we’d helped found the a cappella singing group back in 1981. To the relief of everyone at brunch, we did not break out into song.”

Lisa Kennedy writes that her daughter, Julia, is graduating from high school and will attend Fordham University in the fall. She asks anyone “to e-mail me if you have kids there: lisakennedy137@gmail.com.”

Tuckerman Babcock was elected chair of the Alaska Republican Party.

Three years after Kirsten Wasson left her stable academic life in Ithaca, N.Y., for L.A., and after several jobs in various venues from floral arranger to juice bar girl, she is now the college counselor and internship coordinator at MUSE School, a private high school in Calabasas, Calif. In her free time she hikes, swims in the ocean, and spends time with son Noah, a model and actor in L.A. Kirsten also performs as a storyteller (of midlife adventures) at venues around the city and had two stories aired on KCRW’s UNFictional program. She is finishing a memoir about starting over as a single woman over “a certain age.” Kirsten, I can relate to that!

Karen Adair Miller shares, “Retired life continues to be a challenge, as I am busier than ever! That said, been traveling and am looking forward to being with our WesU field hockey crew in August. Tammy Rosengarten Darcas is flying from Australia to meet Sue Stallone Kelly, Barb Bailey Beckwitt, Karen Adair Miller and Gretchen Millspaugh Cooney for a fun end of summer weekend! “

The women of 77 Home Avenue are also having a summer reunion. Marina Melendez, Lisa Miller, Kathleen Bransfield and I will meet up in NYC to catch up on the last few decades, and toast Marina and husband, Joe Virgadula ’80, on the engagement of their son, Luis. We will also toast and Skype our good friend Deborah Mutschler, honorary classmate ’83, who can’t join us.

Judy Korin has lived in Los Angeles since 1988, and is a filmmaker. Her “recent proud achievements are: co-directing the short virtual reality film, Francis, an intimate story meant to shine a light on global mental health issues that premiered for an audience of 250 policy makers and mental health professionals at the first-ever World Bank/World Health Organization high-level meetings about global mental health and producing a micro-budget independent film, Finding Neighbors, now available on all your favorite digital platforms.”

Heidi Brierley and husband Jim Boyce “moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Heidi’s hometown of Berlin, Conn., to be surrounded again by trees and family. They are also closer to their daughter who is at MIT.” Heidi, thanks for being the only classmate (guilt intended!) to share a recent enjoyable book: Laurie R. King’s latest, The Murder of Mary Russell, and she suggests reading the series in order, starting with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. I spent one day of this Memorial Day weekend completely procrastinating from working on my dissertation (which is finally almost done…well, sort of!) to read The Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline. It is one of those books you just can’t put down.

Amy Appleton writes: “I was delighted to return to Wesleyan to attend the graduation of my daughter, Charlotte Sarraille ’16. Charlotte majored in English and classics. My son, Ben Sarraille ’19 is in COL and sings with the Wesleyan Spirits. I’ve attached a photo from the tent party and one from graduation.” [See classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu]

Cheri Weiss, a fourth-year cantorial student at the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles, has just released a new album of High Holy Days music. Hineni was conceived as a way to bring High Holy Days music and prayers to those unable to attend services through illness or other reasons beyond their control. It is offered free of charge to anyone unable to afford it, as well as to chaplains and other clergy working in hospitals, retirement homes, etc. It’s also for purchase through her website Hazzanit.com/music on CD or digital download format.

Thanks all for contributing. Until next time, Namaste.

Laurie Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

Roger Pincus is covering the class news this issue:

We begin with Charisse Deutch Litchman, who reports her biggest Wes news: her middle daughter, Tess Litchman ’16, graduated from Wesleyan this year and is going on to medical school. Charisse and her husband, Mark, are also very proud of their oldest daughter, who is a third grade teacher in an underserved school system in Michigan, and their son, who is a freshman at Cornell, pursuing engineering. Charisse and Mark are physicians; she is still practicing as a neurologist with a subspecialty in headaches, and he is an allergist and immunologist. As empty nesters, they’ve sold the big house and built a small one on the water in South Norwalk with magnificent sunrises and sunsets

The pipeline of class-of-84 children entering Wesleyan remains strong. Hsiao-chiung Li is pleased to report that her son, Franklin Gu ’20, will be on campus as a first-year student this fall.

Tyler Anbinder has finished work on his third book, City of Dreams, a history of immigrant life in New York City from the first Dutch settlers to the present. It will be published in October by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Felicia Bianchi spent some time with Greg Robbins ’83 and Liz Overton Robbins ’83 shortly before she ran the Boston Marathon on April 18. Felicia ran in memory of her dad who passed away Marathon Monday 2015. She reports that she was “super slow” but that it was worth it. Felicia is still in Atlanta working as a program manager at Emory University. She sometimes sees Steve Sencer on campus.

Susan Freeman-Weiner and Michael Weiner are enjoying an empty nest in Charlottesville, Va., where they’ve lived for a dozen years. Susan is on her third career and is now building the Orange Dot Baking Company, a gluten-free bread company, and developing a network of commercial kitchens called The Kitchen Network. Michael invests in distressed companies with a small Charlottesville firm, recently completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training, and still enjoys gluten. In the fall, all three of their children will be in college, including Max Weiner ’17, who will be a senior at Wesleyan.

Finally, in April, class co-secretary Michael Steven Schultz released a five-song CD entitled Quiet Revels (writing under his professional name of “Z. Mulls”). The CD is co-written with Michael G. Ronstadt, an accomplished cello and guitar player. It features unusual and eclectic songs that feature Michael Steven’s lyrics and (rather shockingly) his vocals as well (the two Michaels collaborated on the music). It’s only available through Z.’s website, zmulls.com, for download or mail order. Almost at the same time, Jen Foster (indie rocker from Nashville) released her double CD, The White Room Sessions, also featuring one of Z.’s lyrics. In other news, son Garrick will be going to Kenyon in the fall and older son Quinlan is finishing his second year at Hampshire.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Caroline writing this time: My semester is over, and I’m getting ready to travel to San Francisco, where I’ll be visiting Jolynn Jones. The two of us will be taking part in The Overnight Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Walking 18 miles throughout the city ought to give us time to catch up!

Rob Menard wrote that he was promoted to clinical professor of plastic surgery (affiliated) at Stanford, and traveled to Hanoi in March to perform craniofacial surgery. He reports that in April he traveled “with my two high school aged daughters to India to perform craniofacial surgery and to watch them do site visits for the charity they founded, the Girls International Fund for Tomorrow girlsinternationalfundfortomorrow.com).”

I received a nice note from Randy Accetta: “I head up a national coaching program for runners, I teach Entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona, and I produce running events in Tucson and Phoenix. Every so often, I’m quoted in Runner’s World and other such places. I live in Tucson with my wife and two young children, a 9-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, both of whom play hockey. Living in the desert, I don’t keep up with Wesleyan folks as much as I should, but I do play in a fantasy baseball league with Chris Gould ’87. Last week, I taught my running coaching course at the New York Road Runners offices, where I saw many copies of books published by Breakaway Books and Garth Battista. I went to a Portland Seadog baseball game last summer with John Brautigam ’82 and Ed Suslovic ’81, both of whom ran cross country at Wes. If anyone wants to come to Tucson, let me know!”

Andy Norman is still alive and well. He enjoys teaching philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, and explaining the humanist point of view at public forums on science and religion, reason and faith, and the origins of morality. He sold his youth Ultimate camp—Camp Spirit of the Game—and is now helping Pittsburgh’s professional Ultimate franchise—the Thunderbirds—grow its fan base. His son, Reece, is studying physics at Juniata College, and his younger son, Kai, experiments with homemade rocket fuel.

And we have a first-time caller (long-time listener!), Barbara Schwartz: “I have never written in but have followed things from afar. For the past 26 years I have had a pleasure of working at Housing Families, a family homeless shelter in Malden, Mass. I currently run a therapeutic after-school program at Housing Families for homeless, formerly homeless, and at-risk kids. I also have a private practice counseling kids and adults and just got my own office. Otherwise, I go hiking in a different national park every summer with my husband. This year we are off to Hawaii. I’d love to hear from anyone who remembers me from Wesleyan days. I still recall those days fondly. barbaras@housingfamilies.org.”

I also heard from K.T. Korngold who said that she and Ellen Korbonski had a great time meeting up at her daughter’s gymnastic meet in Chelsea Piers. K.T. is also “hosting our annual ‘CME|NY Pathways to a Peaceful School Conference’ this July 21, 2016, at the Radisson Hotel, in New Rochelle. Our keynote speaker is Linda Lantieri. I started the conference after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School to bring a day of dedication and reflection to Montessori schools in the region, and the conference has now expanded to attract Montessori teachers and administrators from far and near! Last year we had 30 educators from Shanghai among the participants. Next year, my colleague Martha Haakmat ’87 (head of Brooklyn Heights Montessori School) will be one of our speakers, presenting on diversity in Montessori schools.”

That’s all for now. Hope we all have a wonderful summer!

CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com
MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

If you would like to know what happened at our 30th Reunion, please contact any of the classmates listed in our online notes at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu —and click on “Class of 1986.” All were registered and attended, and we look forward to seeing you in about 250 weekends from now for our 35th Reunion (May 2021). Some also posted photos at facebook.com/groups/wesleyanclassof86/.

You can also go to the Class Notes online to see a partial listing of some of the websites that our classmates have. If you’d like to include yours in the list, please write and let me know. If you tell us about yourself and your work, we can include that info (and the site listing) in the printed magazine.

In news from some who didn’t come to our Reunion, Joe Cassidy retired from the U.S. State Department, having served at overseas posts in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South America during a 26-year career. He is joining the Wilson Center this year, with a focus on international refugee law and humanitarian mega-crises.

Elaine Taylor-Klaus, a parent coach and speaker/author on ADHD, says that she “is supporting the arts by consciously empowering my incredibly talented daughter to fulfill her dreams to be an actor. Forget the glamour—this industry takes incredibly hard work! Bex is currently filming Season 2 of Scream (MTV), and is officially a cartoon character (Pidge) in the re-release of Voltron. My role is to provide emotional support when it’s hard to keep going, and cheer her on every step of the way!”

Ellen Santistevan missed our 30th Reunion, due to her youngest son’s high school graduation and her daughter’s wedding, so “I can comfortably say that my life has never been more full.” For details visit: thirdgoddess.tumblr.com.

And many thanks to those who contributed five years ago to our class gift. There were some large gifts, but also many smaller ones (under $100). We funded the granite benches and terrace/patio between the new student center and the new career center (the Gordon Career Center, named after our classmate Andy Gordon), so it’s a very prominent location for this plaque that recognizes the class gift from our 25th Reunion. Many thanks to all who contribute to the ongoing legacy of our class, our legacy at Wesleyan, or our legacy through your paid or volunteer work in your respective home communities.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Websites

julialeebarclay.blogspot.com
peterdurwood.com
zaharaheckscher.com
elizabethgraver.com
familyeyegroup.com/staff/dr-michael-pavlica
www.ralphsavarese.com
laphil.com/philpedia/bennett-schneider
sealanderarchitects.com
ayeletwaldman.com
If you would like us to mention your webpage in the next issue, please send it ehoward86@wesleyan.edu.

Hello beloved classmates,

I crashed the first day of Reunion weekend this year, so am full of renewed affection for our alma mater. I swear that campus gets more beautiful every time I see it. Here we go:

Claire Conceison has left Duke University for a new appointment at MIT as Quanta Professor of Chinese Culture and Professor of Theater Arts.

Tim Sheridan just published a new kids ebook to support the Sanders campaign. It’s called A Birdie for Bernie and it’s free when you donate to the campaign. Info at birdie4bernie.com.

Elliot Mark wrote in: “I still live outside Boston, where I’ve been since graduating law school in 1990. My wife, Kathleen, and I have three children, and unbelievably, our oldest daughter is about to graduate from high school (Muhlenberg, class of 2020), our youngest is having her bat mitzvah, and our 15-year-old son is already taller than both his parents and shows no signs of stopping. I see Cam Mears pretty regularly and am in touch with Hal Marcus, Chuck Taylor, and Lauren Ariev Gellman ’88. Had the pleasure of hanging out with Dan Weese and Cheryl Towler and their three children when I visited Chicago to see the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well shows last summer. Looking forward to our 30th reunion next year!”

Alisa Kwitney went to see Holly Harrison ’85 and Jim McManus ’85 at Holly’s first solo art show, The Language of Lines, at the Abigail Ogilvy gallery in Boston. Alisa also visited Prof. Kit Reed while on campus with her daughter. Alisa is writing a miniseries for DC Comics and developing Liminal Comics, an imprint with Brain Mill Press. Her 10th novel, Cadaver and Queen, is forthcoming.

From Susan Malestein-Romeo: “This year will be 25 years married to my wonderful husband, Robert Malestein. Yes … someone has put up with me that long. We live in Bridgeton, N.J., a very rural town that is about 45 minutes northeast of Atlantic City. Rob is a judge for the Superior Court of New Jersey and currently sits in the criminal division. I have been a family law attorney since 1990, running my own office. It is hard to believe I have been practicing law that long!! I feel like I should be really good by now 🙂 My husband and I are blessed with two daughters, Samantha, who is a sophomore at The College of New Jersey and plays rugby for her school (just like her mom), and Carly, who is a junior in high school.”

“All’s well for the Paseltiners,” writes Linda Paseltiner. “Phil and I won the Commencement jackpot this spring with each of our boys graduating—elementary school, high school and college. In August we will celebrate our 25th anniversary. So, a big year all around for us.”

Jonathan “JB” Davis writes that “While the post-layoff stay-at-home dad/soccer coach/serious home cook things continue to be awesome, the kids no longer require as many hours a day (Joe is almost 15, Eli is 11, and Abby is 9), so I looked for ‘what’s next’ and am now a startup co-founder.” Here’s our site: month16.com.

Erika Ranee had her first solo art show this spring at LMAK gallery in NYC. It was titled Gasoline Rainbows and featured a new series of paintings and her recent foray into works on paper. Erika was a 2009 artist-in-residence at the Abrons Arts Center, and was awarded a studio grant from the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation in 2011. Her work has been shown in several exhibitions including The Bronx Museum, The Last Brucennial/2014, The Parlour Bushwick and recently at BravinLee programs.

This winter Eileen Deignan caught up with Johanna and Simon Heart in Boulder, Colo. “Sumana Chandrasekhar Rangashar’s family hosted us this spring in New Jersey. I catch up with Doug Neuman periodically here in Boston. Ira Skolnik and I practice right down the street from each other. Had a happy reunion with Shiyoung Roh at a hospital function; she is an ophthalmologist at Lahey Clinic. On a professional note, I was voted a member of my hospital’s board of directors.”

Stephen Warner and Martha Haakmat “are beyond thrilled that our daughter, Georgia Warner-Haakmat ’20, will be attending Wes! As for the two of us, we both continue to be deeply and happily involved in education, Martha as Head of School at Brooklyn Heights Montessori School and me as Head of Lower School at Allen-Stevenson in NYC.”

Hannah Doress ’88 writes in about Alane Freund: “It is an exciting time for Alane Freund—she put her MS, LMFT and Equine Assisted Growth and Learning (EAGALA) training to work to found Heart and Mind Equine, where she offers weekend retreats, psychotherapy and leadership development programs for the 20 percent of the population that is highly sensitive. Heart and Mind Equine is developing a national reputation, drawing attendees from around the county and collaborating closely with high sensitivity field pioneer Dr. Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person. Media coverage of Alane has sometimes called her ‘the horse whisperer’ because of her skill in rescuing, gentling and incorporating wild horses into her work. Doress ’88 and her son Abe have taken part in her youth leadership development programs with these horses [which explains our enthusiasm!]. Alane lives and works with her partner, Monica Zimmerman, an equine specialist and midwife. Her son, Asher Padua-Freund, is a high school student with an interest in neurology.”

Scott Pryce is spending his time between Miami and Washington these days, and would love to catch up with classmates in both cities. “I am in touch with Dan Sharp ’88, Chris Lotspeich, and Rob Campbell from our class. We had a fun reunion with a few other classmates like Alex Scott, and also Colin Campbell at Rob’s wedding last year.”

That’s all the room we have.

Best always,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com