Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

As the Class of 2012 rounds out another year, they are proving to make a difference in the medical field.

JoAnna Bourain was awarded the National Health Service scholarship to dental school this year. She’ll begin at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and will work for four years in an underserved community as a dentist. JoAnna says, “It was highly selective this year (3.8%); my Wesleyan experience definitely helped me to prepare for this experience.”

Lennox Byer is living in San Francisco and attending UCSF School of Medicine. Lennox was awarded funding for a clinical research fellowship. In 2018, after completing this fellowship, Lennox will return to the school of medicine to complete his final year of medical school and will be applying for residencies in neurology.

Katherine Mullins is in her last year of medical school at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and is applying to residency programs in the field of internal medicine.

Sunil Chulani graduated medical school this year and is a resident at Rutgers University hospital in New Jersey. With his busy schedule as a first-year resident, he still manages to make trips to NYC to see Wesleyan classmates.

Tasmiha Khan and Jisan Zaman are also continuing their impact. Tasmiha has returned from Bangladesh and is working as a maternal justice consultant for MomsRising. Tasmiha is looking for any lawyers who deal with religious discrimination cases in higher education. Jisan has gotten involved with grassroots progressive activism in his adopted hometown of Arlington, Va. Jisan is working at a small startup called Dynamo Technologies in the D.C. area. Despite moving jobs and apartments, Jisan has made it to all his Wes friends’ weddings.

Lila Becker is pursuing her MFA in (theater) directing at the University of Iowa. She has enjoyed meeting other Wes alumni in Iowa City and is acclimating to the earnestness of the Midwest. She is looking forward to traveling to Japan with former Wesleyan taiko professor Kaoru Watanabe in November. Her first production, a new play called bad things happen here, opened at the University of Iowa in November.

Congrats to Ernest Turner who started a new job as a senior Android engineer at Synchrony Financial in Stamford, Conn.

Hannah Berkman and Luke Erickson were married on November 11 in Alexandria, Va. They were joined at the celebration by Casey Reed, Becky Baskin, Tom Oddo, Richard Leuchter, Matt Stinson, Sky Stallbaumer, Benjie Messinger ’09, Jamie Sandra Messinger ’11, Julia Alschuler ’11, Lauren Goldstein ’11, Nick Scotto ’13, Alissa Santucci ’13, Justin Metz ’13, Ryan Sblendorio ’15, and Jane ’77 and Tim Klemmer ’77.

Finally, Abaye Steinmetz-Silber is living and working on Gould Farm in Monterey, Mass. Abaye shares, “If you’re in the Berkshires, hit me up!”

As for me, I celebrated my one-year anniversary at Bridgewater Associates and am looking forward to what the new year brings.

Wishing the entire class of 2012 continued success, health, and happiness.

Daisey Perez | deperez@wesleyan.edu

Class of 2011: I hope this update is finding you well! Lots of big wedding news to report! First big news is the wedding of Joe Giaimo to Emily Gatti. While Joe was at Wes, Emily enjoyed her fair share of trips to football/baseball games, Usdan brunches, DKE, and plenty of Main Street restaurants. Their wedding took place in August in New Jersey with many Wes folks in attendance including Alex Sakhno ’15, Eric Eckhardt, Donnie Cimino ’15, Mike Whalen ’83, director of athletics, Dan Dicenzo, head football coach, and Justin Freres, groomsmen and co-captain with Joe. Plus, Matt Coyne ’12, Michael Ruderman, RJ Dabbar ’12, and Nick Seara, groomsmen and co-captain with Joe as well.

Peter Belmonte writes, “I’m very much enjoying coaching, rowing, and teaching geometry in my sixth year at Xavier High School. I’m also enjoying helping Coach Carney with the Wesleyan Men’s Crew team. I’m looking forward to racing my single in the Head of the Charles this October! Go Wes!”

Zuleikha Hester contributes, “I moved to San Diego and am a brand new teacher! I just started teaching a 3-4 grade combo class.”

In more wedding news, Katie Colasacco informs us, “This September, Allie Rowan and I got married in Maryland surrounded by family and friends. We had fellow Wesleyan ’11 classmates Emma Lewis, Devon Hopkins, and Alyssa Arens by our sides on the big day, along with Allie’s sister and brother-in-law Emily ’08 and Dan Austin ’08 (who tied the knot in June). The Rooks were kind enough to play for our reception, and they kept the crowd on the dance floor all night. Allie and I are both thankful for a summer that’s been filled with so much Wes love!” Congratulations Katie and Allie!

Even more wedding news, Garrett Blank writes, “Brian Civale and Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Jameson were married in Boston on October 7 after meeting junior year. Wedding attendees included (among others): Katherine Mechling, Nic Yulinsky, Sam Broadaway, Elisa Shapiro, Dakota Gardner, and me. Brian is a public defender in New Hampshire and Lizzie works at Boston College in their fundraising department.”

And my own update! I finished my doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Southern California in May and took a job at Re+Active Physical Therapy and Wellness, an outpatient physical therapy practice that specializes in neurologic conditions. In January, I will be starting the Schmidt Movement Disorders Fellowship, a neurologic physical therapy fellowship that collaborates with UCLA to help develop physical therapy movement disorders specialists who subspecialize in evaluation and treatment of movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, Huntington’s disease, and functional movement disorders.

Thank you to everyone who contributed this cycle! Keep the updates coming!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Greetings, Class of 2010. See below for the most recent updates from our class:

Elle Celeste continues to do big things as she moves on from the White House: “On June 30 I departed the White House after two years of service to the American people and two presidents. I had the privilege to walk into work alongside some of the most creative and committed public servants I have ever met and saw firsthand how science, technology, and government can come together to propel us forward and improve the world for all people. I know that the world is safer, more accepting, more prosperous, and fairer because of the work we did together. I am now serving as a senior advisor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology while I decide what’s next.”

Eugenie Carabatsos and Nick Miller ’09 got married in Middletown at the end of September. There were plenty of Wes alumni in attendance, including the officiant, Molly Nelson, groomsman, Andrew Bean ’09, and guests Gabrielle Jehle ’11, Margaret Aldredge-Diamond ’11, Sam Friedman, Rebecca Friedman ’11, Paul McClelland ’09, Daniel Tessler ’09, Sherry Cho, Eve Mayberger, Nina Wasserman, Eve Ayeroff, Sabina Friedman-Seitz ’11, and Eleni Healey ’11. Congratulations Eugenie and Nick!

Jesse Bordwin defended his PhD in English literature at the University of Virginia last summer.

Evan Perkoski has returned to Connecticut after several years away and says, “After finishing a PhD at Penn and then a fellowship at Harvard, I moved to the University of Denver to spend a year as a postdoctoral researcher in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Funny enough, I ended up joining the same department where Diego Bleifuss Prados is studying for an MA, and where Erica Chenoweth, former government professor, is now teaching. Now, after a nearly seven-year hiatus, I’ve moved back to Connecticut as an assistant professor of political science at UConn.”

Finally, Eliza Newman married Woody Redpath in a gorgeous and energetic ceremony in Portland, Maine, surrounded by plenty of fellow Cardinals. The group managed a nice picture before the party got too wild!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a note, and as always, feel free to pass along your updates anytime.

David Layne | dlayne@wesleyan.edu

Hi, 2009’ers! Below are some updates on our class:

Oriana Korol is attending graduate school at Portland State University’s social work program after two years working as a wilderness therapy field guide in the desert east of Bend, Ore. She attended Maggie Starr’s beautiful wedding in Hood River and ran into Noa Wotton ’10 at tracker school in Portland.

Reps for Dara Jaffe and Carl Maloni confirm that the two have decided to consciously un-roommate after four years and two apartments together in Los Angeles. The split was amicable and the pair will remain friends, as well as committed parents to their shared art collection and refrigerator. They ask for their privacy to be respected at this sad time.

Claire Kaplan is finishing her MPA degree with an internship at Public Citizen in D.C.

After graduating with an MBA from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley in May, Claire Levy moved to San Francisco, where she works in product marketing at Adobe.

Chloe Wardropper completed her PhD in environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Purdue University, and started as an assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Society at the University of Idaho. She also got married!

Brittany Delany writes, “Expanding my connections in the Coachella Valley and Southern California desert region, life is weaving well. I co-developed a monthly movement peer practice with Sue Roginski ’87 and served as founding member of feminist creative women’s collective Wyld Womxn. Work at La Quinta Arts Foundation and California Desert Arts Council keeps me on my toes for growing opportunities to help make a meaningful impact in supporting the cultural landscape. Extending a true welcome to any Wes alums looking for a special desert retreat to make, build, share, and create.”

Bryan Wieland married Nicole Petitti on September 3 in Cape Cod at Wychmere Beach Club. He had many fellow Cardinals in attendance. And Russell Follansbee married Emma Nitzberg ’12 on September 3.

Thanks for sharing notes and please keep them coming!

Alejandro Alvarado | ale.alvarado12@gmail.com

It seems that the Class of ’08 is largely waiting for our 10th Reunion to catch up, but there are a few notes to share nonetheless.

Rachel Schulman is loving life in Minneapolis, but has yet to run into any Wes alumni. If you’re in the area, get in touch!

Adrienne Shea and Ryan McLaren got married on May 28 in Newport, R.I. There was laughing, there was crying, and there was much Wesleyan reuniting. The wedding party alone included eight alumni: Cory Savereid Satow, Marcia Whitehead, Stephanie Savas Landerholm, Danielle Crystal ’07, Hannah Jackson ’09, Ashley McLaren ’13, Dustin Shea ’05, and Jeff McLaren ’06. Adrienne and Ryan live in Burlington, Vt., with the (objectively) cutest dog in the world, Zoro.

Cory Savereid Satow and Gary Satow MALS’12 had a daughter, Mara, last December.

For her last class notes entry, Janie Stolar was thrilled to report that her rash was clearing up. She regrets to inform you, it came back.

Katie Poor got married in Prospect Park in Brooklyn on a beautiful day in September, with Zoe Holder, Sage Trombulak Ruth, and Alicia Collen Zeidan as bridesmaids. Sam Ruth and Laura Silver attended as well. “Kids” was played and the rest of the wedding guests gawked as the Wes graduates danced like they were at a party on Fountain.

Alicia Collen Zeidan | acollen@wesleyan.edu

Robyn Schroeder is now the director of the Humanities for the Public Good initiative at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is excited to get plugged into the art, culture, and activism circles of the Research Triangle.

Amy Crawford got married in Santa Barbara, Calif., on August 20. Amy and her husband, Jared Schonig, are living and making music in NYC and she is enjoying her work as vice president, supervising producer at Man Made Music. They moved into a beautiful new studio last year and she is always excited to connect with Wes folks working in the field.

Capt. Jesse Sommer is deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, serving as the deputy brigade judge advocate for the U.S. Army’s 3d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. (And yes, in the military, “3rd” is spelled “3d” and we don’t believe in superscript. I know.)

Heather Olins is on the teaching faculty in the biology department at Boston College, creating and teaching courses in ecology and evolution.

Anay Shah finished his MBA at Stanford University in 2013 and joined an early stage fintech startup in Seattle. After four years building the company, Anay and his wife are moving to Nairobi, Kenya! They arrive in January and hope to live and work there for a couple years.

Bob Coppola and Vanessa Jones Coppola and their 2-year-old son, Callan, moved to beautiful New Hampshire as Bob took a job at Dartmouth as the assistant director of athletic development. Vanessa is working remotely for the Handel Group out of NYC as director of operations.

Elizabeth Ody Leary lives in Massachusetts, where she and her two daughters chase frogs through the creek in their backyard.

Dr. Tony Alleyne, the founder and executive director of the Delaware College Scholars Program (DCS), has been named a 2017 “40 Under 40” winner by the Delaware Business Times. Tony accepted this honor at the publication’s cocktail reception in October.  The “40 Under 40” list recognizes “the region’s best and brightest young professionals…who are making a difference with their intelligence, initiative, and innovation.”

Marcella Winearls | marcellawinearls@gmail.com

Mariah Klaneski Reisner, husband Sam, and daughter Aviva are pleased to announce the birth of Zohana Grace Reisner. She was born June 19, 2017, at 8:02 a.m., weighed 8 lbs., 7.5 oz, and was 20.5 inches long.

Meanwhile, Carl Cervone lives in Brooklyn with wife Kidist and their 3-year-old son, Lucas. Carl finished an MBA at Columbia and runs a startup nonprofit called Enveritas that verifies sustainability practices in coffee supply chains.

Sarah Colao Wallach reports some wonderful news after taking a bit of a break from sharing some news: “Dan Wallach and I (and big sister Zoey) will be celebrating the first birthday of our second child, Maisy, this month. I changed jobs within my organization earlier this year—moving out of the general counsel role and into the chief operating officer role at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, whose mission is to grow the state’s clean energy industry.”

Finally, Jenina Nuñez shares some of her own news: stepping into a new role as director of communications at global advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago. Jenina’s appreciating the new role’s fast pace and working in a creative-first environment everyday.

Congrats to everyone for the growing families and wonderful career moves! Do you have an update for an upcoming issue? Don’t forget to send them along to us.

Jenina Nuñez | jenina.nunez@outlook.com

Meeghan Whooley Ward | meeghan.w.ward@gmail.com

Mayuran Tiruchelvam produced the documentary The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin—following the San Francisco author’s journey from a conservative son of the Old South to gay rights’ pioneer. Winner of the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival, Untold Tales premiered theatrically in New York and San Francisco in September, and will broadcast nationally on PBS Independent Lens on January 1.

Alison Plenge and Colin Aitken have made the happy relocation from D.C. to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where Colin is an assistant professor in the biology department at Vassar. Alison works remotely as an attorney in the international corporate group of Norton Rose Fulbright. They are happy to be closer to more Wes friends in the New York region and to have escaped the craziness of D.C. life with their two kids, Nora (3.5) and Lucas (15 months).

Caitlin Snow Clark is a program director for the Worthington Scholars program in Rockland, Maine. The program supports local students with scholarships, mentoring, and professional development opportunities as they pursue two- and four-year degrees in Maine.

Coe Will Hoeksema ended her 10-year stint at FXFOWLE Architects (where she briefly shared many high fives with Steve Scribner ’02) to become the marketing manager for WE Design, a small, woman-owned landscape architecture firm in Brooklyn with a focus on green infrastructure design. She lives south of Prospect Park with her husband and exceptionally charming 2-year-old son, Owen Calder.

In April, Arturo Vidich and wife Julia welcomed their second child, Juniper Auberon. Their son, Ryder Metteya, is almost 4 and is a great big brother. For the last three years, Arturo has been at work on his first novel, a Soviet-era sci-fi fantasy story which was awarded a project grant by Creative Capital. Last year he and his family took a road trip to northern New Mexico for a six-week artist residency. They now reside in BedStuy, Brooklyn.

Katie Nordine is the executive assistant to Leonard C. Goodman, an attorney and philanthropist in Chicago focused on issues related to social justice, reforming the criminal justice system, and supporting workers’ rights. She is enjoying living in Evanston with her two crazy kids, Nils and Valley, her husband, Dave, and their fluffy dog, Kashyyyk. She is thrilled that her longtime Wes buddy, Jacob Goldsmith and wife Rachel, son Ben, and pup Penny, are now just a few blocks away.

Three of the five former residents of 66 Home reunited over brunch in Boston with their families—Andrea Wilson McCoy, Julia Marcus, and Cara Herbitter. Cara completed her master’s in clinical psychology en route to pursuing her doctorate at UMass Boston. This fall, Andrea started a new position as the director of the theater program at Medfield High School.

Ricardo Watson and his family are expecting their second child, another boy, at the end of November. The Watson family spent a week in L.A. with Bobby Joe Clinkscales and his family.

Glen Lindeke was married to Jinwen Guo on February 7, and their daughter, Lotus, was born on June 6. They live in Medford, Mass., and both work as chemists in the pharmaceutical industry. They have enjoyed visits from friends and family including godfather Justin Conroy, Arnab Bhattasali, and Ku Yoo ’00.

Amy Tannenbaum | atannenbaum@wesleyan.edu

Greetings from Los Angeles! First, some birth announcements:

Dana Sirota and husband Josh Schiffrin welcomed their third child, Jesse, to the crew in June. Dana works as a pediatrician in Washington Heights, NYC. Natasha Joseph gave birth to her daughter, Rebelle Harmony Siddhartha Hall, on June 18 at UCSF Betty Irene Moore Women’s Hospital. On March 26, Rachel Kriger and Nick Corso welcomed their second baby, Ayla, into the world in their home, just minutes before their midwife arrived. It was a powerful experience. “We are so grateful to have Ayla in our family,” she said. You can read the whole birth story here at pointsofreturnacupuncture.com.

And here’s a quick update on me (Justin Lacob): My wife, Melanie, and I welcomed our second daughter, Juliette Violet Lacob, on October 4, joining our 2-¹/₂-year-old Scarlett in our expanding family!

Now onto our classmate updates:

Joel Nichols works in strategic initiatives at the Free Library of Philadelphia and is really excited about their project designing early literacy play spaces in three neighborhood libraries. He works on library impact evaluation and sometimes gets to work with Sarah Costelloe ’00. His book, Out of This World Library Programs: Using Speculative Fiction to Promote Reading and Launch Learning, was published last spring, and has a short story in a forthcoming small-press children’s anthology in the spring. He and his boyfriend, Ray, have a four-year-old named Jamie, and see their neighbors, Philip Gentry and Mary Peacock and their beautiful kids, not nearly enough!

Mary is the medical director at Banfield for multiple veterinary hospitals in the region, while Phil has a book coming out in January called What Will I Be: American Music and Cold War Identity. From Amazon: “In the wake of World War II, the cultural life of the United States underwent a massive transformation. At the heart of these changes during the early Cold War were the rise of the concept of identity and a reformulation of the country’s political life. A revolution in music was taking place at the same time—a tumult of new musical styles and institutions that would lead to everything from the birth of rock ‘n’ roll to the new downtown experimental music scene. Together, these new cultural and musical trends came to define the era. Author Philip M. Gentry travels through four very different musical scenes: the R&B world of doo-wop pioneers the Orioles, the early film musicals of Doris Day, Asian-American cabaret in San Francisco, and John Cage’s infamous 4’33”. The lives of musicians, composers, critics, and fans reveal how individuals negotiated the social changes sweeping the country in the initial days of the Cold War.”

Sebastian Kaplan joined a new legal firm, Gerard Fox Law, P.C., and will be opening their San Francisco office. The firm litigates high-stakes commercial and intellectual property disputes. Sebastian says, “It’s an exciting move and I’m looking forward to establishing the firm’s presence in the Bay Area. The other major change this year is that all three of my daughters—Zoe, Juliette, and Naomi—are now in school. Zoe just started kindergarten and one of the other parents in the class is Cindi Stephan ’96.”

Kasia Newman Deuel finally completed her advanced degree, which was a long, part-time endeavor, during which she worked full-time and started a family. She now has a master’s in environmental management and sustainability from Harvard Extension School. Although she developed a fond relationship with Harvard, Wesleyan is still her first love. She was sorry to miss Reunion, but was attending Harvard commencement the same weekend. She lives north of Boston with her husband and three-year old son, and works for The Pew Charitable Trusts on ocean policy.

Ernie Hartner went to Spain with a family of four and returned with a family of five only two weeks before Irma hit Miami. They rode out the hurricane in their new house a week after moving in and are all doing well.

That’s it for this time around. Please send me updates so I can publish them in the next issue!

Justin Lacob | justinlacob@gmail.com

Hey there, 2001. Whoa! Our inbox was inundated with responses to the Class Notes Volunteer Edition. A fine problem to have. So many good works—so little space on this page to fit it all in. Let’s get crackin’.

Sonya Abrams writes that with three kids under six, she’s fully immersed in Mom World but still finds time to volunteer as editor-in-chief of the nonprofit Golden Gate Mothers Group Magazine in San Francisco, which often feels like a full-time job. Sonya has been taking tiny steps to resist the current administration, help organize fundraisers, and connect Democratic speakers with high-visibility forums to spread the word and fight the power. Go, Sonya, go!

After wrapping up 10-plus years in the production department at Simon & Schuster, Mike Homolka now teaches critical reading and writing at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO Scholars) in NYC. This organization works with the Department of Education to serve low-income, high-achieving, first-generation American students, and it is always looking for mentors and part-time instructors. SEO Scholars received a perfect score on Charity Navigator (seoscholars.org).

Rachel Stevens tells us about her hometown’s grassroots organization, Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA). As volunteer board president for NCFA, Rachel has learned a ton about everything from lease negotiations to recycling contracts, and press releases to multi-board relationships. If Rachel wasn’t busy enough, she also welcomed her second child into the world, Eliza Merrill Stevens, on August 13. Congratulations to Rachel and family!

For the last 18 months, Heather Tseng has been volunteering with Paws on the Ground Colorado—an animal rescue organization that pulls dogs out of high-kill shelters and works to find them their “furever homes.” To date, Heather has personally fostered 32 dogs! Bad for Heather’s vacuum cleaner, great for dogs everywhere.

Joshua Kagan is involved with the Buddhist Pathways Prison Project (BPPP)—a nonprofit whose mission is to bring Buddhist teachings of no harm, meditation, and mindfulness into prisons and jails. Joshua spent time inside Solano State Prison with 16 inmates, co-facilitating a daylong retreat that encompassed meditation, yoga, and tai chi. He was struck by how committed participants were to mindfulness practice, as it serves as a refuge from the difficulty of day-to-day prison living. The BPPP is expanding its work and could use all the support it can get. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Joshua at joshuakagan@gmail.com.

Jesse Pietroniro works with Footsteps (footsteps.org), the only organization in North America that assists ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and women as they attempt to explore the world beyond their insular communities. Footsteps offers former ultra-Orthodox Jews a safe, supportive, and flourishing community to turn to as they work to define their own identities, build new connections, and lead productive lives on their own terms.

Eli Sheridan Wise has been living in Oakland, Calif., performing, composing songs, and teaching music to children. This October, Eli will join the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) on its Lavender Pen Tour; an event that takes place across the South that shares SFGMC’s mission of community, activism, and compassion. All funds raised benefit local LGBT programs. Eli will be co-leading a panel on transactivism at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In other news, Eli has several albums out on cdbaby and bandcamp. Visit eliwiseband.bandcamp.com to listen for free.

Dan Firger is hard at work at Bloomberg Philanthropies in NYC, leading Mike Bloomberg’s philanthropic efforts on climate change and clean energy. After the Trump Administration announced it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Dan helped launch America’s Pledge, a new effort encompassing U.S. cities, states, businesses, colleges, and universities (including Wesleyan) that remain committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement (AmericasPledgeOnClimate.com).

John Keith just finished his fourth year as a tenure-track assistant professor in chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. John and his wife, Rose, have two small boys (Bill, 3, likes re-enacting action scenes from Moana, and Danny, 1, likes eating). Between work and family commitments, John managed to get to NYC and SF this past spring to catch up with Will Gladstone, Nikesh Dalal, Alex Su, and V. Hoffman. If anyone is stopping over in Pittsburgh, let John know!

Keep up the great work 2001. We are a pretty impressive bunch—not that you needed any reminding. Thanks for your submissions. Until next time, do-gooders.

Mara Voukydis | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn Sperando | arynsperandio@yahoo.com