Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Karen Murgolo is still surviving in book publishing and is editorial director of the nonfiction imprint, Grand Central Life & Style, at the Hachette Book Group. She works with fun chefs like Mario Batali, edited Ellen DeGeneres’ Home book, and is editor of Gwyneth Paltrow’s bestselling, It’s All Good, and upcoming It’s All Easy. Fun fact: She is currently working with Candace Nelson ’96, founder of the Sprinkles Bakeries and judge on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars on her amazing cookbook, The Sprinkles Baking Book: 100 Secrets From Candace’s Kitchen.

Janet Grillo directed the feature film Jack of the Red Hearts, starring Famke Janssen (X-Men, Taken) and AnnaSophia Robb (Carrie Diaries, The Way Way Back); the story of a teenage con artist who convinces the desperate mother to hire her as live-in caregiver for her child with severe autism. Jack Of The Red Hearts won the Jury Prize at the inaugural Bentonville Film Festival, founded by Geena Davis to promote gender equality in filmmaking; played festivals here and abroad, winning 11 awards; and will open in 25 AMC theaters nationwide on Feb. 26th. It will air on Lifetime in April, Autism Awareness Month.

F.X. White writes: “My three children are growing up too fast. Sophia is looking at colleges, and I hope she considers Wesleyan. I’ve been active on the Bernie Sanders campaign, and in fact am running as a delegate for Maryland’s Eighth District pledged to him. Still haven’t made it to a Reunion in all these years, but keeping in touch with a bunch of Wes folks on Facebook, which has been fun. Working as a software developer and writing a book about the year off I took in ’78. The education I had in the COL still sustains me. Recently started a book club with some neighbors. Also coaching a fourth-grade soccer team. Life is good. Best to all.”

Peter Scharf writes: “I’m also in Boston, rather Cambridge. I’m cataloguing the 1700 Sanskrit manuscripts at the Houghton Library at Harvard with the help of two assistants from India. We’ve finished about half of them as of now (Feb. 3) and include them in our Sanskrit manuscript catalogue at sanskritlibrary.org under Reference. I plan to head back to IIT Bombay to teach linguistics in the fall.”

David Hafter writes: “Like many of my classmates whose parents struggle with health and life-management issues, I have my challenges. Otherwise, however, I feel pretty lucky. My 50s have been more exciting than I anticipated. For a therapist, getting older is generally a good thing and I am enjoying running a program for Yolo County schools, where we do one-to-one brief therapy (early intervention), group counseling and mental health presentations/assemblies. I also do trainings for clinicians around California. For fun, I re-formed my Wesleyan band, Wealth of Nations, with a great group of guys who, like me, started playing music young and never stopped. I have gone from solo performing in the basement of Wesleyan frats, to playing with the Original Wealth of Nations (with James Marcus, Kathy Bergeron and Vic Tredwell) at Wesleyan to the new full, seven-piece rock band, playing my originals, lots of Dead covers and other great music from our era. Playing with these guys is more fun than I could put into words. My son, Noah, also a singer/guitar player, is settled in Seattle. So, no complaints here, at least not now; I’m enjoying the moment.”

Wendy Buskop writes: “Daughter Jacqueline ’19 is now in her freshman year. She needs internships in earth and environmental science, if anyone can help out. Contact her at jbuskop@wesleyan.edu. Celebrating 25 years this year of Buskop Law Group—a private practice law firm providing patent drafting, filing, and issuance of patents and trademarks, with five patent attorneys and clients in 23 states and 15 foreign countries.”

Your own Jenny Boylan has left the faculty of Colby College after 25 years, and taken on the new role of Anna Quindlen Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University. “This has me in the classroom in New York in the spring semesters; each May I return to Maine, where my wife, Deirdre Finney Boylan ’82, and I live on Long Pond, in Belgrade Lakes. It’s been a super busy and crazy time, and I beg for you to forgive me for the inevitable alumna boast-o-rama. Ready? I continue as the national co-chair of GLAAD, the media advocacy nonprofit for LGBTQ people, and also serve as a trustee for the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. On the writing front, I’m a contributing opinion writer for the op/ed page of the New York Times, with an essay appearing about every six weeks or so, or whenever I can think up something to say. My new novel, Long Black Veil, comes out in spring of 2017 from Penguin Random House; let’s call it a literary thriller with a twist. And I’m introducing my new line of fragrances, called KABOOM. No, wait, I’m only kidding about the fragrance. But I am not kidding about this: I’m a consultant and a cast member on I Am Cait, the E! Network reality show about Caitlyn Jenner, on which my primary role seems to be explaining to Cait that Everything She Knows is Wrong. It’s a weird position for me to be in, since playing yourself on TV turns out to be harder than pretending to be someone else. But I continue to believe that visibility brings acceptance, so on I go.

“I loved seeing so many old friends at Wesleyan at our Reunion, and receiving the Distinguished Alumna award from the University was one of the great honors of my life. It is weird to think that I am being feted for being an out trans person; the very thought of coming out when I was a Wesleyan student seemed like the most unlikely turn of events I could imagine. But the world has changed, I reckon. Just like a lot of people I know. And my beloved Wesleyan classmates not least.”

KIMBERLY OFRIA SELBY | kim_selby@yahoo.com

Joanne writes this time: Greetings from the heartland! Although my eyes gaze upon an idyllic Indiana landscape where a pair of fawns cavort in the snow, my thoughts have skipped ahead to the possibilities of spring, and with that, our forthcoming (gulp!) 35th Reunion. We hope that many of you have reserved the week-end of May 20–22, for a return visit to our alma mater for what is sure to be a wonderful weekend filled with rekindled friendships, warm memories, and much catching-up! The Reunion Committee has done a phenomenal job and has come up with a great slate of events which can be accessed online at wesconnect.wesleyan.edu/class-1981. If you have not yet reserved, it’s not too late! Just follow the links at the website above—registration is fast and easy. And definitely check out our Wesleyan Class of ’81 Reunion webpage on Facebook for some interactive fun. We need your input and comments there for a real trip down “Memory Lane.” The members of the committee have collectively donated countless hours of time, energy and creativity to the planning process. On behalf of the entire class, I would like to thank my co-chairs, Delcy Ziac Fox and Nancy Parker Wilson, as well as Kofi Appenteng, Bart Brebner, Rick Ciullo, Kathy Prager Conrad, Paul DiSanto, Sharon Fierstein, John Giammatteo, Lisa Greim, Keith Krakaur, Elisha Lawrence, Beck Lee, Liza Page Nelson, Livia Wong McCarthy, Matt McCreight, Dave Miller, Dave Resnick, Bradley Whitford and last but not least, our fearless liaison at Wesleyan, Kate Quigley Lynch ’82. Come early enough to join us for a cocktail party on Friday night. Our class dinner on Saturday evening will feature a few exciting guests: a current professor, Courtney Weiss Smith, as well as all-time favorites Rich Adelstein and Andy Szegedy-Maszak. The time in between will offer Wes seminars, impromptu get-togethers, and other forms of fun and frolic. As events get finalized, the Reunion Page will be updated—so make sure you check it frequently, particularly as May approaches. Looking forward to seeing you in Middletown on May 20th!

Keith Krakaur writes from across the Big Pond, where he and his wife, Nancy, recently relocated. Keith is a partner at Skadden Arps, where he has worked for the past 21 years, and will continue his white-collar criminal defense practice out of their London offices. He acts as the head of the firm’s enforcement and investigations practice in Europe; Nancy will be moving her photography career over with his. As for the kids? “Well, our three sons, Matthew ’14 (23), Daniel (21), and Jonathan (18) will have to suffer the hardship of visiting us abroad as they pursue their television writing, music, and who-knows-what careers in the U.S.,” says Keith. “On days when I think how lucky I am to have an interesting job that has allowed me to see and meet people in most corners of the world over the years, my family is happy to remind me that at least I tried to be as creative as they are when I was in college!” Certainly, that is one of the benefits of our Wesleyan education: the opportunity to explore unchartered territory, try new things, and yes—even “be creative” when we never really thought we were! Thanks for the reminder, Keith.

Delcy Ziac Fox notified us that she left the world of higher education for a foray into the private sector. She is now director of marketing and communications at Albany Valve & Fitting Co., Inc., in Schenectady, which is a newly created position. Albany Valve is a distributor of Swagelok fluid flow components. “Working with industrial customers is a 180-degree turn from my 16 years in higher ed,” explains Delcy, “but the marketing principles remain the same. One of the best things about the new job,” she notes, “is that the distributorship has an office in Essex Junction, Vt., the home of Gary ’77 and Miriam Stern Sturgis ’81. Delcy, Gary, and Miriam enjoyed reminiscing over dinner recently when Delcy and her daughter visited UVM. We may move here and there and around the world, but old Wesleyan friendships never die!

Dave Robertson wrote in from his office at the Wharton School, where he is a professor of practice, to let us know about a new radio show he hosts. He can be found on Sirius XM’s Channel 111. The show, Innovation Navigation, is recorded live every Tuesday between 8 and 10 am. It is also available as a podcast on iTunes. Dave’s guest on May 19th was old friend and classmate Matt McCreight. Matt does innovation consulting for Schaffer Consulting. “We had a wonderful conversation about the meaning of ‘innovation’ and how companies can become more innovative,” recalls Dave. To hear Dave and Matt, you can download this particular podcast at bit.ly/innonavipod. For more on the show, see the website: innonavi.com.

Kathy Prager Conrad, her husband, Jamie, and daughters Liza ’11 and Caroline ’14 recently returned from a magnificent journey to Antarctica. “It was extra special to be able to be all together for such a fabulous trip,” says Kathy. Despite almost being thwarted by a major blizzard in the D.C. area, they were able to make it to Buenos Aires in time. After a few days of enjoying the local sites, they embarked on their cruise. Looking at Kathy’s pictures on Facebook had me both in awe of the beauty of the place and its wildlife—and shivering! “Yes, I really did the polar plunge,” recounts Kathy, commenting on a photo of her entering the water in a blue swimsuit, feet-first. “Water temperature was an invigorating 30 degrees F (it doesn’t freeze because of salinity)!” She adds, “The shot of vodka and hot chocolate warmed us right up when we scrambled back aboard!”

That concludes our news for this trimester. I will look forward to catching up with you at Reunion May 20th to the 22nd.

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

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

Summer is over and the September back-to-school craziness finally subsided. Today I bought some mums and pumpkins to welcome fall. Thankfully, Hurricane Joaquin headed out to sea and all New Jersey had was lots of rain. I hope these class notes find you safe and warm enjoying the next change of seasons.

Harry Gural started a new job as Democratic staff director for the Joint Economic Committee, a House-Senate committee that produces reports and holds hearings on economic issues. Glad to be back on the Hill after a year-and-a-half working for a nonprofit on corporate tax policy, he writes, “The Senate is eerily quiet—guess I’ll always be a House guy. My four years with Barney Frank were about as good as it gets.” Harry sees David Hart, who lives just a couple miles from him in D.C. and speaks to Alison Neely and fellow head resident Marty Dobrow.

Helen Kohane Kobek published a new book Everyday Cruelty: How to Deal with Its Effects without Denial, Bitterness, or Despair. “It is a guide to understand what everyday cruelty is, how it affects us in body, mind, emotion, spirit, and behavior. The book explains what it is about everyday cruelty that makes it so hard for us to ’shake’ and then offers hundreds of tested, practical strategies for dealing with this challenging daily experience.”

David Steinhardt, also recently rewrote and published his honors thesis, once a novel, into a 46,000 word novella. It is a “psychological and political pilgrimage thriller of ideas, now called The Book of Paul or Yet Another Columbus Avenue Jaffa Gate Type Situation.”

Ken Schneyer’s latest story, “The Plausibility of Dragons,” will appear in Lightspeed Magazine in November. He teaches legal studies and literature at Johnson & Wales University in Providence. Spouse Janice Okoomian teaches gender and women’s studies at Rhode Island College and this term has a new course called The Whole Enchilada: Food, Gender, Identity, Power. Daughter Phoebe studies dance and Latin at Marlboro College in Vermont and son Arek’s passion is theater and creative writing in high school.

Nicholas Herold sent an update of his activities the past few decades. “In keeping with my lifelong disinterest in doing anything long enough to become an expert, or anyway, highly paid, I started working as an EMT in the Boston area…I’m riding in the back of an ambulance, having just dropped off an elderly man at a rehab center. He has had a full life himself, having been career Army and Air Force, and as a Navy careerist, provided coffee service to aliens in Roswell, New Mexico. He was kind enough to make me a sergeant. As for me, I was a bartender at a country club and a high end restaurant, worked to get Massachusetts’ universal health care law passed, did health care services research, was the business manager for a health care for the homeless organization, and fished 20 tons of herring out of the Bering Sea. For several years I’ve provided pro bono management consulting services to nonprofit organizations, most recently the Arlington International Film Festival.” Nicholas is close touch with David Eggers ’82.

Cheri Litton Weiss married Dan Weiss in 2012. Dan is a hospice and palliative care nurse studying for his doctorate in nursing (DNP). Cheri finished her second year at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJRCA), where she is studying for the cantorate, her lifelong dream. She continues to run her real estate company, Top Coast Properties in La Jolla. Between selling homes, attending weekly classes in Los Angeles, and watching daughter Emma play water polo for UCSD all over California, she does a lot of driving and has discovered the beauty and entertainment value of audio books.

Matt Ember and Laurie Sklarin ’84 celebrated daughter Sydney’s wedding. Younger daughter Jamie Ember ’16 was maid of honor and accompanied by Arthur Halliday ’16. Classmates Glenn Duhl, Mark A. Armstrong, Melissa Duggan Pace ’84 and husband Chris Pace ’82, Jeff Resler ’84 and Ed Decter ’79 attended.

Brad and Lele Galer celebrated their 27th anniversary and are now empty nesters. Their sons are spread across the U.S. Alex is an editor for the comic book company BOOM! Peter is a senior at Vassar, and Simon is a sophomore at Connecticut College. Lele is an established artist (painting and steel sculpture) in the Brandywine area of Pennsylvania, and Brad is chief medical officer for Zogenix Inc. Brad and Lele founded in 2005 and run the Galer Estate Vineyard and Winery in Kennett Square, Pa., which has become a nationally acclaimed winery, winning more than 90 blind wine competitions in Napa, Sonoma, and the Finger Lakes. They invite Wes friends to stop by and share a glass on them!

Eileen Kelly-Aguirre finished her first year in new position as executive director of School Year Abroad, a high school study abroad program/school in its 50th year. Glenn Lunden is “now an official beggar on behalf of Wesleyan, courtesy of the ’This Is Why’ fundraising website at wesleyan.edu: thisiswhy.wesleyan.edu/home/story_detail/249.”

Rita Fernandez Lurito is an empty nester and travels a lot. Her youngest son is a junior at Wes and spent the summer in Japan. Rita and family developed and launched a free wine app to help select wine tailored to your taste and budget. “Corkscrew” can be downloaded from the Apple Store or directly at smarturl.it/Corkscrew.

Lynn Ogden dropped off daughter Emilie Ogden-Fung ’19 at Clark Hall after a two-week trip to France and London. Lynn joined Boyden Global Executive Search as partner in the San Francisco office for consumer and nonprofit clients and recently had drinks with Dan Vigneron. 

Mitchell Plave’s son, Aaron Plave ’15, graduated from Wesleyan this past May, majoring in computer science. Aaron works as a Web designer and computer programmer for the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena. Daughter Leah studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Yehuda Hanani, a well known cellist. Mitchell continues to enjoy the banking regulatory and legislative practice at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C.

Karen Adair enjoys retirement but says she is busier than ever. She sits on the Wes Athletic Advisory Council and the Northwood School board in Lake Placid, N.Y. All five of her family members are off doing their own thing. Karen writes, “The book The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up has truly influenced my daily existence. Gotta tell you…all is cleaned out and tidied up. The poor kids will never recognize a thing!”

Thanks for the info on favorite books and volunteer activities. Until next time, namasté,

Laurie Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

It’s Michael Steven this month, and we have a short list of updates to kick off 2016.

Big news from CFA director Pamela Tatge. Pam, who has led the CFA for 16 years, was just named executive and artistic director of Jacob’s Pillow, the long running dance festival in the Berkshires.

Blake Nelson’s young adult novel, Recovery Road, was made into a TV drama for ABC Family, and premiered at the end of January. You can easily find ways to stream episodes of this series.

Stephanie Grant continues to teach fiction writing at American University, where this spring she hosted Wes grad, the novelist Alexander Chee ’89, whose novel The Queen of the Night was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in February. Most recently, Stephanie published an essay about her mother’s postpartum depression on the New Yorker site: newyorker.com/books/page-turner/postpartum.

Paul Landau’s daughter, Zoe Lillian Landau, is celebrating her bat mitzvah. Her sister, Penelope, is still a couple of years away. Paul’s partner, Emily, published a book about interracial houses of prostitution in the turn-of-the-century, newly Segregationist New Orleans, called Spectacular Wickedness, two years ago. He is hard at work on his third book, this one about Nelson Mandela and other participants in the near-revolutionary situation in South Africa in the very early 1960s.

Margaret Bowman left her job as deputy environment program director at the Walton Family Foundation and is now a consultant on western water and impact investing. She’s still helping to ensure that there is enough water across the American West for rivers, communities, and agriculture, but now she is focused on ensuring that private investments can help drive the needed changes

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Class of 1985 Scholarship

Ali Friend ’19, North Easton, Mass.

Lucy Lehrer and I had fun texting while watching Grease Live on TV. (Is TV a thing anymore or was that streaming?) I know you’ll agree that Lucy and Marc Sholes ’84, in the ’92 Theater were the best Patty Simcox and Eugene Felsnic ever. Lucy Lehrer is a licensed clinical social worker/therapist in Manhattan.

Hilary Jacobs ’85, P’18, is a psychotherapist and author and I have enjoyed her New York Times Opinionator pieces over the past few months. I caught up with her over dinner recently, and she let me know her exciting news that she will be publishing a book with Spiegel & Grau in 2017. If you are curious to learn more until her book comes out, visit her blog at hilaryjacobshendel.com.

Joel Goldberg is senior counsel for Netflix in their LA office. His daughter, the talented actress and singer Julia Goldberg, alerted his loyal Wesleyan friends that Joel was featured on the cover of Boston College Law School Magazine. Congratulations, Joel! “It’s not like I’m jealous,” said John “JK” Kilborn, a Boston-based EPA lawyer, also a BCLS alum and very much a Goldberg devotee. (I agree with JK that the next, best scoop will be about government lawyers working in obscurity.) John and Lisa Riceman Kilborn ’86 live in Winchester, Mass., and have two daughters. Lisa is working on health and tech marketing projects through the Complex Stories collective (complexstories.com) with Jim McManus ’85. Lisa spent a number of years as a marketing executive in the technology sector, and is now enjoying her expansion into varied industries and is delighted to work with Jim. Jim is a prolific fine artist (jim-mcmanus.com) as well as accomplished visual communications designer.

Can’t wait for the revival of Becky Mode ’86’s 1999 comedy Fully Committed, opening this month on Broadway, starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson playing 40 different roles. I know that Becky and Chris Erikson ’87 (guitarist and NYC journalist) have also been super busy raising their two kids in Brooklyn: every once in a while I bump into Becky on the F train and catch up on family and neighborhood stuff. She never mentioned the Broadway show; I got a mailer!

I attended Sons and Daughters weekend in November 2015 with my youngest, and recommend it for anyone with family members starting the college application process, and not just for those thinking of applying to Wesleyan. I really enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces including Molly Renfroe-Katz ’87, Jon Roemer, Jennifer Flackett ’86, Amena Ali, Barbara Becker, Pauline Frommer ’88, Patty DeBenedictis Popov, Timothy Clark, Richard Yancey, Caroline Wilkins, and Eileen Coppola and everyone’s kids, of course.

Richard C. Yancey (AIA, LEED AP) is the founding executive director of the Building Energy Exchange, Inc., (be-exchange.org), an independent, nonprofit organization that connects the New York real estate and design communities to energy and lighting efficiency solutions through education, exhibitions, technology demonstrations, and research, at their resource center in downtown Manhattan’s Surrogate Courthouse. He and his wife, Inger Staggs Yancey, have three sons and live in Brooklyn. Inger is a New York and Washington State-registered LEED accredited architect and the founder of Brooklyn Greenroof; she designs and builds systems for supporting live plants on rooftops, and has numerous projects on display at brooklyngreenroof.com. Rich and Inger are proponents of passive house design and I always love learning from them about the latest in quiet, cost- and energy-efficient buildings.

Jon Roemer (jonroemer.com) continues to amaze and delight with gorgeous photography and now, a specialty in architectural video. We missed Grace Farrell Roemer at the Sons and Daughters weekend, but Grace attended a few years ago with daughter number one, so this was Jon’s turn. Grace stays busy as associate director of survey research at Mathematica Policy Research in Princeton, where she specializes in federal data.

Everybody’s busy! What’s next? Until next time, be well!

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

We will be meeting soon in Middletown for our 30th Reunion, so here is a brief update from some of your classmates.

Dan Barrett has a new book: Social Psychology: Core Concepts and Emerging Trends (Sage Press); he is a professor of psychology at Western Connecticut State University, happily married, and living in Redding, Conn. In the same field, Alex Rothman remains busy with research and teaching as a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota and continues to enjoy life in Minneapolis. Son #1 is at Bowdoin, so there’s only one at home who is barely surviving now as the sole focus of attention. Alex looks forward to catching up with folks in May.

Also in Minnesota, Lydia Crawford is still with Wells Fargo, working in the law department as a consumer credit attorney, and her husband Phil Davies is also in the financial industry as an editor writer for the publications of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Neither of us would ever have thought that our careers would lead us to banking, but such are the vagaries of life. Our two kids appear to have outgrown us in every way—Owen (17) quite literally, as he is the tallest in the family by several inches—although we do manage to have dinner together almost every night and have a little family outing most weekends just to take us away from our respective screens, work, activities, etc.”

Tavy Ronen lives in NYC with her 16-year-old daughter and is a finance professor at Rutgers University. She is the founding director of the Business of Fashion Programs at Rutgers Business School and of the Business of Fashion Research Center. Tavy is the academic affiliate of Stanford Consulting Group and provides expert testimony on securities litigation cases, primarily in matters relating to credit markets and market microstructure. When not working on the above, she runs The Yarn Company, a groovy art-fiber yarn store in Manhattan, which she owns with her brother.

Elaine Taylor-Klaus says her business, ImpactADHD.com continues to expand globally, providing behavior management and parent training for parents of complex kids around the globe. Last year, she did workshops in London and Melbourne and she’s also working on a book.

Paula Holm Jensen noted that after 22 years as a lawyer, 18 years in Portland, Ore., and 11 years in solo practice (IP, technology licensing and commercial contracts), she joined one of her long-time clients as general counsel this March. “For fun, I sing in a choir dedicated to performing Bach cantatas and other baroque works, and I root for Portland’s pro soccer teams: the Timbers, Thorns and T2. I haven’t missed a Reunion since graduation, so you’ll find me—as always—at Alpha Delt.”

Ellen Santistevan wrote about her children: “My children are taking center stage as they move into adulthood. My youngest son, Mark, graduates from high school this spring. My middle child, Dorothe, is getting married one week after that (and so I’ll miss Reunion). My firstborn child came out as transgender last spring and now goes by the name Felix. That’s been perhaps the biggest one to deal with, although overall, planning a wedding is more stressful. My eldest daughter, Lauren, has a sweet little girl that I get to baby sit sometimes, and her older son is going into high school this fall.”

Daniel Seltzer writes about his music. “I could write about empty nest, work stories, feeling my age…but I’ll just say that I’ve finally gotten back to playing music and love it passionately. While trying to make up for lost time, I’m playing funk/rock/blues/jazz with a variety of people in NYC and am always interested in meeting others who enjoy group improv with a deep groove. All the other stuff seems easier to deal with when you’ve got music in your life.”

Monica Jahan Bose is living in Washington, D.C., after many years in Tokyo, New York, and Paris. “I am still married to Michael S. Bennett ’87 (not the Senator!). We met in 1987 at Columbia Law and we have two daughters. I spend most of my time on what I call “artivism,” art and advocacy. Since 2012, I have been working on a collaborative project called Storytelling with Saris with women from my ancestral village in Bangladesh, drawing attention to issues of gender and climate change. This year, I am trying to make a film about the project.”

Brian Grzelkowski escaped D.C. after 10 years there. He moved with his son and wife Beatrix to rural Bucks County, Pa. “I had already switched from a career in international humanitarian aid to high school teaching, so trading a bustling city for an old stone house and some acres of land seemed like a good step in regaining quality of life. Beatrix has reestablished her psychotherapy and distance-counseling practice and I’m now rediscovering some of the outdoors and lumberjacking skills of my childhood in Maine. With the exception of regular taunts from brazen and hungry deer, we’re all settling in nicely, and hopefully a few Wes folks to stop by for a visit.”

From our Facebook Group, Nicholas Waltner says his daughter will be going to Wesleyan this fall. Timothy Burke notes he won’t be at Reunion; it’s exam period at Swarthmore. Andrea Wojnar Diagne is working to promote reproductive health in Africa. George Justice hopes to come to Reunion; he’s dean of humanities at Arizona State University and recovering (I hope) from his own nasty cancer year. Sandy Goldstein is living in Westchester, N.Y., and Mike Sealander “is alive and living in eastern Maine.” And the closing update: Steven Meyer and his wife, Julia, had a daughter in October—perhaps Elena will go to Wes 18 years from now!

Susanna Wenniger and Rudd Kierstead are still married after 23 years! Still living in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Rudd is still working in healthcare, now as director of Physician Network at Weill Cornell, and still creating amazing food for all their friends. Susanna is still working for Artnet.com as the senior specialist of photographs for the online auctions. She writes, “We have a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old who are polar opposites in every way imaginable. I see a lot of Shirley Hedden ’82, as our kids went to the same neighborhood school and we are still part of the same Mom group for the past 12 years. Rudd lunches with Ben Sternlieb ’85 on a weekly basis. And I was thrilled to get a visit last summer from Sarah Flanders, who is practicing as a psychiatrist in Pittsburgh. Seeing her again made me realize how much I want to reconnect to so many of the people whom I have fallen out of touch with! I hope to make it to Reunion.”

Several have written me saying, “We’re not yet sure whether we can make Reunion, but are going to try. We know it’ll be a lot of fun!” See you soon.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Am I the only one excited about our 30th Reunion next year? (Don’t answer that.) By now, most of us have either embraced or are recovering from the trauma of turning 50. Many of us with kids are becoming empty nesters if we haven’t already, while some of us are starting new families—not to mention new careers! Whatever phase of life you are going through, please keep sharing it with us.

Let’s start with Holly Campbell Ambler: “I live in Cambridge, Mass., with my husband and two teenage daughters … sort of. My oldest, Nora, age 18, is currently living in Florida pursuing her interest in ballet (I still consider that living at home because I can’t get used to the idea that children grow up). My other daughter, Louise, is in 10th grade, and may even agree to visit Wes on her college visits next year! I am working as a social worker in an elementary school in Boston, a job I began this year. I see Trish and John Dorsey frequently, as well as Doug Koplow and family, and Dennis Mahoney. I also had fun catching up with many Davids (David Glotzer, David Josephs, David Igler ’88, and David Witkin) and their families when a few of us met in Chicago last May … did we really turn 50!?”

I love when different people write in about the same events, and I assume DJ is talking about the weekend Holly just detailed above. David Josephs writes: “I will soon be suffering from an empty nest, as my daughter graduates from college in May and I got a great new job. I just joined Visa and am semi-relocating from the Chicago suburbs to San Francisco. Also, a few of us from the class of ’87 who lived on or around what was then Knowles Avenue got together over Memorial Day (2015) weekend to celebrate our collective 50th birthdays.” (Everyone above was listed plus Cindy Willard ’88.)

Susan Arndt “got remarried in August, to Tracey, who is wonderful. She’s from the Gold Coast in Australia so shares my love of the ocean and the beach. Our relatives came from across the globe to share a big house in the country with us for a week and it was a really happy time. Tracey gave birth to our son, Tommy ,on July 8, and his older brothers Jake (11) and Angus (9) are besotted (as are we, of course). They are both growing quickly and filling as much time as possible with baseball, table tennis, gymnastics, music and, of course, Minecraft (homework, what’s that?). Tommy on the other hand is discovering the joys of food (more, please!) and trying desperately to crawl. After an early career in start-ups, and 10-plus-years running big delivery projects mostly in the media space, I’m back to my roots leading delivery for V-Nova, a small high-potential startup in data and video compression software. I keep in regular touch with Peg O’Connor, Amy Baltzell, and Stacy Owen. We’re still in London, where real estate prices are ridiculous but international access amazing.”

Dave Ryan is “currently living the dream, as a mostly-stay-at-home Dad … while working as the associate head writer of Days of Our Lives. My wife, Rachel, and Ripley, our 5-year-old daughter, accompanied me to the Oaxaca Filmfest, where my screenplay, Coffin, just took the top prize.”

Amy Baltzell is the editor of “a new book coming out, which I am very honored to be part of.” You can read about Mindfulness and Performance (Cambridge University Press) at cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/psychology/applied-psychology/mindfulness-and-performance. She adds, “I also became a teacher trainer for the mindful self-compassion program, which I am planning on bringing to sport. I started late with kids—so my tap dancing 10-year-old, rapidly growing 12-year-old basketball player and very tall 14-year-old ballerina are keeping me wildly busy.”

Matt Nestor is “proud and excited to say that my daughter, Miranda ’20, will be at Wesleyan!”

Brad Lubin’s daughter, Gillian ’20, will also be starting Wesleyan next fall and playing lacrosse. “Gillian’s decision to apply to Wesleyan ED1 was made several days after attending the Wesleyan fundraiser performance of Hamilton. Currently, the Hamilton soundtrack can be heard most nights throughout the house.”

In Dallas, Paul Zoltan helped to found the Child Refugee Support Network. Under his supervision the CRSN has, since August 2014, hosted more than 30 legal clinics to assist families and unaccompanied children complete and file applications for asylum. He’d love to hear from any Wes alums in Dallas—especially if they might be inclined to lend a hand.

Josh Bellin has a new novel, Scavenger of Souls (young adult science fiction), due to be published Aug. 23, 2016, by Simon & Schuster.

Sloane Smith Morgan writes that she has been “happily ensconced for the past 20-plus years in the SF Bay Area, and the last eight years I’ve been having great fun being part of the start-up team at Sungevity, currently the largest privately held solar company in the U.S. When not evangelizing about solar, I’m having fun with my husband, Nick, and our three sons, enjoying the best of California’s great outdoors, gardening and cooking with friends and family, and poking fun at expensive SFO real estate, customer experience, and ‘disruptive’ Bay Area tech.

Peg O’Connor “has a new book out this January titled, Life on the Rocks: Finding Meaning in Addiction and Recovery, with Central Recovery Press. It is part memoir and part philosophical ruminations on addiction as both cause and consequence of suffering. Since western philosophy has been grappling with questions about suffering, the meaning of life, and what counts as a good life or a life of flourishing, philosophy has a lot to offer anyone affected by addictions. Just about everyone in the US is somehow affected by addiction, whether one’s own or a family member’s or friend’s addiction.” [Ed. note: See page 16.]

That’s all the news for now. I hope everyone has a great summer! Much love,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

Peter writes for this issue:

Andy Stewart won his third election as Orangetown, N.Y., town supervisor and is “excited to work on local government stuff for another two years. Rachel Grob and I are headed toward the 30th anniversary this September of our meeting in the reading room of the Science in Society Program, and just moved to a new house in Nyack, N.Y., a village on the Hudson River where we have lived since 1996. She is researching, publishing and organizing on issues of health care reform, working for the Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. We recently brought our daughter, Talia, to the Wes campus for the Sons and Daughters program for learning about the college application process, and Rachel and I got a kick out of showing her our old haunts.”

Benjamin Junge is teaching anthropology at SUNY-New Paltz: “Had a great mini-reunion with Schuyler Frautschi and William Weiss last summer—The gents came to Beacon to see me make a fool of myself in an XTC cover band! On other fronts: I’ve just started a three-year, NSF-funded study of class mobility in Brazil; very exciting!”

Joey Xanders reports, “I am the proud mama of a baby kitten called Halo. She brings me great joy! I inherited this kitten from Clarence Thomas (CT) at the same time I signed on to manage him. CT is a young hip hop/R&B artist/musician from East Oakland. I’m also managing a music collective CT created called UMC (United Music Crew) filled with young urban rappers, singers, and gospel artists. On the other end of the spectrum of life, I have consulted to create a new fellowship for healthcare. It’s called the Carol B. Emmott Fellowship for Women Leaders in Healthcare. (I produced a 90-minute documentary on Carol which lead to the creation on this fellowship.) Lastly, I’m working on my book proposal on my experience as the founding director and co-creator of The Moth. If you attended The Moth anytime from 1997-2001, shoot me a story! All said, I’m most blessed with my 12-year-old son, Magnus, who is a stellar soul and ardent basketball player. Please drop a line if you’re in California.”

Bobbito Garcia shares: “Recently directed my second film, Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives (stretchandbobbito.com), and have been touring the world to promote the release. Also have the fourth season of my basketball tournament Full Court 21™ World Final (fullcourt21nyc.com) coming this summer, with qualifiers in Beijing, London, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago, Ghana, Mali, New Zealand, Toronto, and Vancouver. I’m most busy though raising my 2-year-old son.”

Cher Gray advises: “I am living a modest life in South Florida (been here over 20 years.) I am a freelance consultant in advertising. Always looking to extend my clientele list. Bummed that I haven’t had the time/opportunity to visit Wes in some time, but would like to change that in 2016.”

Andy Goldman writes in from the Pacific NW: “In September 2015, I was selected to become the Arnold Distinguished Professor at Gonzaga University, where I’ve been working now for 14 years. I’m very honored to have been selected, and for the next three years I’m appointed to act as something of a ‘champion’ of the humanities, working to promote them at our school and in our wider community. If anyone has any ideas on how I might best do this, I’m all ears (goldman@gonzaga.edu). This summer I also began as the field director for a new excavation project in Sinop, in northern Turkey on the Black Sea coast. We’re exploring ancient Sinope, a Greek colony and later the capital of the Pontic kingdom, with support from the NEH and National Geographic.”

David Silverberg chimes in from the Midwest: “I’m now director of the Telego Center for Educational Improvement at Ashland University in Ohio. We do university outreach to K–12 school districts to address contemporary needs for professional development, grants, curriculum audits, special events, etc. I am also a faculty member with ASCD International and, in that position, provide training and research for school districts around the country. I live in the Cleveland area with my wife and two children, now 7 and 9.”

Bruno Oliver recently hit the 20-year mark in Los Angeles. “I would have considered the very idea [of living in LA] ‘insane.’ It’s ‘home’ now, but I still yearn for Chicago—the Lake, Lincoln Park, apartments with long hallways, and neighborhood bars with half-lit Old Style signs that beckon safety in a snowstorm. Still acting, hopefully I’ll be on your TVs more this year than last. Also teaching, coaching, and consulting for actors. Last year I became board president of Sacred Fools Theater Company, one of the busiest and most important forces in L.A. small theater.”

C.C. (Crichlow) Clark: “I live in Arlington, Va. I have been doing college visits with my son. The last time I was on campus I ran into Eric Greene ‘90. He is working at UCLA. I also had dinner with Ingrid Gordon this summer when she was in northern Virginia for work.”

Steve Morison is in Rome with his wife and daughter, “working and living at St. Stephen’s School. All is well. In the last month, I’ve visited with Paul Gosselin and Amy Madigan Simmons ’91, both in Paris.”

PETER V.S. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Class of 1989 Scholarship

Joanna Korpanty ’18, Bristol, Conn.

Kristen Montas Graves writes: “It was a sad occasion that brought a number of us together for a mini Wes reunion the first weekend in December. For those of you who may not have heard, beloved Professor Jerry G. Watts passed away Nov. 16th. Jerry only taught at Wes for a few years of his career, yet for those of us who knew him, he was a major part of our Wesleyan experience, and his influence shaped the trajectories of many of our own careers today. Al Young ’88 assisted Jerry’s wife, Traci West, in organizing the event, which took place at The New York Society for Ethical Culture. He, along with his wife, Carla O’Connor ’88, my husband Fred Montas ’88, Amy Randall, and Eric Greene ’90 all gave moving tributes, highlighting his intellectual acuity and the genuinely caring manner he had with all whom he met. Many Wes folk were in the house including Hellura Lyle, Allison Downer, Melinda Weekes, Schuyler Allen ’90, Jessica Roseman ’90, Julie Doar-Sinkfield ’90, Eve Goldberg ’90, Yanique LeCadre ’88, Ian Friday ’87, and Dianne Stewart ’85. Our hearts were heavy, but we felt the light of his presence as we shared laughs and hugs remembering a truly great man.” Kristen also saw Mary Kate O’Toole Mellow over the holidays.

Laura Hamilton Hardin lives near Houston, with her second husband, Dan Hardin, and two children from her first marriage. On 25 acres, they have 10 dogs, 10 horses, about 20 chickens, two potbelly pigs and two cats. Daughter Samantha (18) is studying animal science at Texas A&M and is planning to pursue a veterinary degree, and son Michael (16) is starting on the Magnolia High School JV football team. Laura provides expert testimony on damages issues for large international arbitrations. She recently resumed horseback riding to relieve the stress of her demanding career.

Amy E. Randall teaches history and women’s and gender studies at Santa Clara University in California. Her latest publication, Genocide and Gender in the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Survey (Bloomsbury) is a collection of genocide studies that examines gendered discourses, practices, and experiences of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the 20th century. Amy and Mathew Reed ’91 have two children, Zaria (7) and Zeiler (12). They inspired Amy to perform last year in the parent/staff/faculty cast of Annie at her daughter’s school.

Alexander Chee’s new novel, The Queen of the Night (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), was released Feb. 2, 2016. His first novel, Edinburgh, is being reissued and has been optioned by the composer Stefan Weisman and the librettist David Coates, who intend to adapt it into an opera. Alex lives in NYC with his partner, Dustin Schell, where they are adapting The Scarlet Professor (Barry Werth’s biography of Newton Arvin)into a feature film. This fall he will be a visiting writer at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Andrea Morse is married to her reading and budget-travel partner, best friend and love of her life, Bill Kehr. They live in the Chicago area, where she has her own clinical psychology practice. She recently gave birth to their son, Zander Asher, and has two wonderful step-kids: one in college, the other heading to medical school. In her teensy spare time she performs with a professional Hawaiian/Polynesian dance company.

Liz Marx left being a casting director several years ago to become a college counselor. While she hasn’t yet had one of her kids attend Wesleyan, she remains optimistic!

Rabbi Jen Feldman recently celebrated 13 rich and rewarding years serving Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jeffrey Naness is practicing law on Long Island, representing businesses in employment and labor matters. He is married, with two sons, Jonathan and Michael, and plays keyboards in a charity rock band (Equity) and a Latin jazz quartet (Gazpacho Bop).

Eric Simon published the second edition of his college biology textbook Biology: The Core. Eric’s books have been translated into seven languages and are used in more than 40 countries. He still lives in rural New Hampshire with his wife, two boys (12 and 14), 20 or so chickens, three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and a leopard gecko.

Karen McVey Fussell remains happily married with two children (9 and 12). She lives on 45 acres near Bangor, in a 100-plus-year-old farmhouse, which they recently renovated. She has been finance director for a neighboring city for the past 15 years, a job she loves and that allows her to work on many diverse issues, including recycling and the development of a next generation waste-to-energy facility.

Dave Keller is living in Montpelier, Vt., raising two daughters, and being a musician. He’s excited about a new album of original soul/blues songs that should be released in September. His last CD was a “breakup album”, so he’s thinking of this one as his “over-the-hump album.”

Jeff Brez and his husband, Adriano, are daddy and papa to twin boys, born November 2014. They also recently gave away their already-adult daughter at an unforgettable wedding in SoCal. Jeff is with the UN Department of Public Information in New York, where he partners with both NGOs and the creative community to raise awareness about UN issues around the world.

After more than 20 years, Jane Randel left the fashion industry and started a social impact consulting firm, Karp Randel LLC. She also cofounded NOMORE.org, and is one of four advisers to the NFL on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault education. She has done similar work for NASCAR.

Stephanie Dolgoff writes: “All hail, Susan Paley, who orchestrated getting 10 of us to Sonoma from as far as NYC (Natalie Dorset, Betsey Schmidt, and I) and West Virginia (that would be the serene and brilliant Lesley Savin). Much and varied wine was consumed and sorely felt (at least by me) for some time after. The Micheles (Chase and Barnwell) were as lovely as when they were roommates on Foss 6, and Caron Selati looked like she must have carried her two now-teenage babies in her handbag, in such great shape was she. Jennifer Levine, fresh off numerous professional triumphs, and I bunked together, and Laura Flaxman and I got to spend some time discussing how nice it is to have finally embraced our relatively benign vices.” Stephanie also saw Lynne Lazarus and Andrew Shear at their home in Oakland, Calif.

Melissa Herman is going through the college process with her son, which brings back her own memories and nightmares of that experience. She is looking forward to another sabbatical in Berlin where her son can check out the—free!—German universities. There, she will also work on a research project on German and American understandings of race.

Indy Neidell is still in Sweden, where he is producing a channel called The Great War, which follows WWI exactly 100 years later in real time, week by week, using original footage from the British Pathé film archives.

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

Michele Barnwell | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com