Author: Randi Alexandra Plake

Katy writes for this issue: I’m excited to be sharing your news. Lots to report in 2017!

Leigh (Copperman) Burchell writes: “Life remains groovy down here in North Carolina. Chris ’96 and I are kept busy by our three kids and spend a lot of time at lacrosse tournaments.  Our oldest started high school this year and has her eye on Wes for the film program. The election process was a doozy, both because we are passionate opponents of HB2, the so-called ‘bathroom bill’ here in N.C., but also because of my role running government relations for one of the world’s largest health IT companies. The positive is that my job is never boring!”

Rebecca Fulop writes: “I teach science at Mission High School in San Francisco where I’ve taught for the last 13 years. Recently a book was published about the teachers and remarkable students there (Mission High: One School, How Experts Tried to Fail It, and the Students and Teachers Who Made It Triumph, by Kristina Rizga). I have a 3-year-old daughter and live in Oakland with my husband. I’ve bumped into other Wes grads in our neighborhood.  We bought a fixer-upper a couple of years ago so our free time is completely spoken for!”

Sarah Yuhas Kirn writes: “I am currently serving as the acting assistant commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and enjoying life in Concord with my husband, Josh Kirn ’94, and two daughters.”

Ken Kwiatkowski writes: “Announcing the birth of our second child, Adam, born on Jan. 4.  My wife, Anna, and our first son, Roman, and I, are living in Jersey City, N.J.”  Congratulations, Ken!

Julia Lazarus writes: “I kicked off the new year by spending a lovely long weekend with Tammy (Tracy) Sufi ’94 and our mutual friend Sasha O’Connell (Barnard ’94) in Austin, Texas. Much has changed since we lived there in the 1990s, but still full of music, food, and dancing. In December in San Francisco, I got together with Christine O’Brien, Sarah Zaner ’94, and Zeke Volkert ’96; always a treat. And back in Providence, where I am assistant director of online learning and innovation at Brown University, I’m happy to have terrific Alison Perry ’94 in town, and Claire Reardon ’94 not too far away in New London. Appreciating the ongoing pleasures of the extended Wesleyan crew.”

Ben Lee writes: “Life is good in Los Angeles.  About a decade ago, I traded being a lawyer for brokering residential real estate. The market is booming and I have been busy with a development side business. I have a wife and three great sons. I stay active with Wes by hosting its Annual Admissions Reception for LA applicants every year, so look for it in October because alumni are always included.”

Jason Segal writes: “All good on this front, with fun time with family (Julia is now 3 and tri-lingual—English, Hebrew, and Spanish), and Ari is 11/2 and the smartest/sweetest kid ever. After eight years doing environmental finance, I co-founded a merchant bank called Swift Current focused on the same sectors—starting to really go well. Not seeing enough Wes folks, so please reach out!”

Stacy Theberge writes: “I’m still living outside of Portland, Maine, running after a busy 2-year-old and working with my husband at his animation company, Little Zoo Studio. We worked on the film Rock Dog, which came out in February. If you haven’t seen it yet, track it down! It’s good!”

Lara Tupper writes: “I just got engaged to (singer-songwriter and lovely human being) Bobby Sweet! We live in the Berkshires and often perform together as a guitar-vocals duo. I teach writing workshops at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and I’m at work on a new book, a memoir/ghost story. I loved reading (former Clark 4 resident) Dave Biello’s The Unnatural World. Kudos!”

Matvei Yankelevich writes: “I’m in New York these last 20 years. I am a founding member of the editorial collective of the non-profit Ugly Duckling Press, soon to celebrate 25 years since its inception as a zine at Russian House at Wesleyan. We publish poetry, translation, essays, performance texts, and books by artists. I teach translation at Columbia University and I’m on the writing faculty at Bard College. My novella-in-fragments, Boris by the Sea, was just re-published in a new edition. I recently had dinner with Simone White ’93, now program director for the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church.”

Keep sending us your news and updates—we’d love to hear from you!

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Welcome to the latest edition of the class notes. As I (Caissa) write to you (in mid-January), the weather in NYC area continues to vacillate between imitating spring and then suddenly dropping to Arctic temps.

Ethan Hollander is teaching political science at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. He says, “I loved learning at a liberal arts college, and figured there’d be nothing better than actually teaching at one.” His book just came out, Hegemony and the Holocaust: State Power and Jewish Survival in Occupied Europe, and he explained that “there aren’t many political scientists who approach historical topics like the Holocaust, but with my CSS background, the interdisciplinary approach came naturally.” He and his wife, an economist, who also works at Wabash, live in a beautiful house that is walking distance from work, along with their pet snake named George Michael.

Lin (Zhong) ter Horst is still on Maui, working on her fruit confections. Lin and her husband started Maui Fruit Jewels when they moved from China to Maui. It was a finalist for Best Product and Startup of the Year awards in 2016 from the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association.

Jesse Hendrich is the PTO co-president for his kids’ public school in Brooklyn (PS 9) and is excited to be doing race and racism awareness workshops for staff, parents, and kids this coming month. The school has become a regular setting for affordable housing workshops on a monthly basis in an effort to preserve diversity and equity in the school and neighborhood. Jesse has been in touch with a few ’94 alums: Jonah Ross, Mark Ladov (who lives down the street), Scott Rosenberg (check out his podcast, the History Channeler), Aaron Passell, Nicole Davis, and many more here in Brooklyn. “Also, I am friends with many younger Wesleyanites like Scott Dvorin ’00 and Carolyn Cryer ’01, who are active parents in the PTO.”

Kristy Scanlan serves as co-president of the non-profit organization, Women in Animation (womeninanimation.org) in her spare time. In the past three years, membership has grown to 1,500 members. Her day job is VP of business development for the animation and games group at Technicolor in Hollywood.

Michelle Harris Silbert enjoyed returning to work after a 10-year break raising her daughters. She has made a career shift from social work into career and life coaching. She especially enjoys coaching women in transition, and college students with ADD/ADHD, and find this work both creative and rewarding. Her company is called Ignite Your Sparks! Holistic Career Coaching. Michelle is based in Acton, Mass., but also works by phone and virtually.

Larry Sidney shared big news that he and his wife Kerstin are pregnant with their first baby, due in March. He writes, “Can’t wait to be a dad!” He is competing for the Israeli National Skeleton Team, spending the winter traveling to bobsled tracks around the world, typically training for three days, and then racing for two. Larry is hoping to crack the top 100 in the world this year, with a shot at the Olympics next year. He reconnected with his best friend from Wesleyan, Kristin Gross. “It turns out that she is on the West Coast like me, and doing quite well. After 20-plus years, it’s great to have my Wes friend back!”

Matthew C. Solomon left government service after 15 years at the Department of Justice and the SEC to join the law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton’s D.C. office as a partner.  While he is sad to leave the government, he is excited for the opportunity to practice law at a terrific firm.

Ken Barnett is proud to be performing off-Broadway this spring in The Light Years, a sharp, original, and moving new play by The Debate Society, at Playwrights’ Horizons.

So long for now. Looking forward to hearing more from you all. Send Samera and me your news, notes and updates—we’d love to hear from you.

Samera Syeda Ludwig | ssludwig@nixonpeabody.com

Caissa Powell | cdp2000@hotmail.com 

Hi, all! Here are the latest updates from some of your classmates:

Karen Powell is serving as the inaugural Forge Innovation Clinic Fellow at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, working with fellow law faculty to build a new entrepreneurial law clinic. As of March, she’ll be moving with her family to Melbourne, Australia, to teach tax law at Deakin University’s law school. Any Wes alums in Melbourne? Find her at kp@renthelena.com. Don’t worry, the distillery she founded in Montana is in good hands with new owners.

And speaking of Australia, Jodi Samuels writes, “My spouse, Evan, and I spent the holidays this year in Australia, starting in Melbourne and then heading to Sydney to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I’m about to mark my five-year anniversary at the California Primary Care Association (CPCA), where I’m the deputy director of development and training. I’m responsible for all of our grants management and stewardship, and I also supervise our statewide training and education program, which provides Web-based and in-person learning opportunities for staff and leadership at more than 1,100 health center sites across the state.

“Outside of CPCA, I’m a volunteer at WEAVE, a local non-profit that provides services to women, children, and families who are survivors of domestic violence or abuse. I’m taking Spanish classes at a local community school and trying to work on my pronunciation so that I don’t speak Spanish with a French accent! French is my “first” second language, as I earned my PhD. in French Literature. I continue to enjoy life here in Sacramento with Evan and our two adorable feline fur babies, Calypso and Captain Jack.”

Noah Rosen became the chair of the Academic Headache Center Consortium of the American Headache Society and an associate editor for the journal, Headache.

Brett Sokol wrote, “I’m thrilled to report that Letter16 Press, the publishing house I co-founded to release limited edition hardcover books of vintage photography—yes, old fashioned ink and paper—received its official nonprofit 501(c)(3) status from the federal government. Definitely the first time I’ve ever been happy to get a letter from the IRS! Our first book, an intimate look at Provincetown’s early 1960s bohemian scene, drew raves from both Art in America magazine and the filmmaker John Waters, and is already sold out. Our second book, out now, captures Miami in all its early 1980s falling-apart-at-the-seams glory (letter16press.com).

“A tip of the proofreading hat to my wife, Lisa Dombrowski ’92, who, when she’s not patiently explaining to me the proper use of ‘which’ vs. ‘that’ for the thousandth time, continues her own work as an associate professor in Wesleyan’s film studies department. (Yes, we watch a lot of movies!) Otherwise, I’m still commuting between Miami and New York (and racking up those frequent flier miles), and still writing for Ocean Drive, where I’m the arts editor, and for The New York Times, where I regularly contribute stories about the art world (including a profile of the new Pérez Art Museum Miami director, Franklin Sirmans ’91).”

Jason Moss has been doing a fair bit of traveling. He is expanding his data science training business, Metis, from New York and San Francisco to Chicago and Seattle.

Arik Greenberg and the nonprofit he founded in 2011, the Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace and Justice, is gearing up for its second annual interfaith march in Los Angeles (#InterfaithMarchLA), to promote interfaith collaboration and unity, especially between the Abrahamic faiths. Arik also won the USPA Masters 45-49 Classic Raw 242 pound class in his first powerlifting meet in June (he was the only competitor in that class!). Nevertheless, he is aiming for two state records in that class very soon.

Kim Frederick wrote, “I want to share that I’m excited to go to D.C. to march in the Women’s March with Susan Chun ’93!”

Thanks to all who wrote in! Please keep the news coming. As I say to my students, “Let’s hear from some of you quieter folks!”

Warm regards,

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Greetings and salutations from Paul in D.C., where nothing (and I mean nothing) is normal. Luckily just down the road is a sign of light—the 25th Reunion where we can all gather to talk about anything else. I’m already psyched up, and the posts on our Facebook page suggest I’m not alone. If you haven’t done so already, join our page, Wesleyan University Class of 1992. Folks are planning pre-events and there’s an effort to round up some duffers to play some golf. Please just tell Sam Longley that high score does not win.

Christopher F. Arndt ’92 argues that conservatism is not what it pretends to be and that the American Right created Donald Trump in The Right’s Road to Serfdom: The Danger of Conservatism Unbound: From Hayek to Trump (Bulkington Press).

In case you need some ice-breaker material on the latest from your classmates:

In November, Jeff Kipnis and Lightning Squirrel, along with other comic book creators, participated in a fundraising effort for Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center, a nonprofit agency that delivers advanced disease management and quality end-of-life care. Proceeds benefit patients and families served by BHH.

Unbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design, by E. Shura Pollatsek ‘92, with photographs by Mitchell D. Wilson, is out now from Routledge Press.

Doni Gewirtzman, law professor at NYU, made his CNN debut in January to explain the powers given to the president and answer the question of what Trump can and cannot do legally. I’m thinking he may be asked to come back…often.

Bill Kim, oncologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also hit the TV. He runs a research lab that was featured on 60 Minutes for their work with IBM Watson and how to apply artificial intelligence technology to cancer genomics and patient care. Search for “Robot Sofia” on the CBS News website and you can see him about 10 minutes into the episode.

A Tilted World, a book of poems by Carol Gabrielson Fine MALS ’92, is out now from Antrim House Books.

After two years of living in London, Anne Paris and family are back in Oregon, where she is teaching art, writing, and getting deeply involved in local activism in Portland. Speaking of Brexit (OK, that was a stretch), Simon Fulford, his wife, Clare, who he married in 2016, and his sons, Max and Alec, also recently relocated from London to Portland. For the past six years, Simon ran the UK arm of a South African NGO, Khulisa (khulisa.co.uk), delivering high-impact, short-duration violence-reduction and offender rehabilitation programs in English prisons and schools.

Sasha Cummings accepted an appointment at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as a circuit mediator and is an adjunct professor at USF School of Law teaching civil procedure and mediation.

Joan Matelli took a break from her year of wanderlust to canvass for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire with Ilana Wind Newell ’94. After the holidays she hit road for a week in Cuba with William Kirsner ’91.

Karl Mergenthaler lives in Westport, Conn., with wife Stephanie, and their two kids, Camille and Elise. He got together for dinner with Christine Padian Bolzan, who is heading up the committee for our Reunion. Christine also serves on the President’s Council.

Chris Arndt and his wife, Patty, and their two children, Alden and Graham, moved from NYC to Telluride, Colo., two years ago. He recently published his first book, The Right’s Road to Serfdom, The Danger of Conservatism Unbound: From Hayek to Trump. He also had a piece in Guardian Liberty Voice that mentioned Wesleyan.

Mike Gaddis has been named a principal at Fish & Richardson in the intellectual property litigation group. His practice includes complex business litigation, with a particular focus on trade secret litigation and qui tam/whistleblower litigation.

Kathryn Edgerton-Tarpley teaches Chinese history at San Diego State University.  Kathryn is married to an American Baptist pastor, Van Tarpley, and they have two boys, Peter and Isaac.

So you’re now caught up. Make your reservation and we will see you at Reunion.

Adam Berinsky | berinsky@mit.edu 

Paul Coviello | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu

April Cotte lives on the beach in Pacifica, Calif., with her partner, a retired firefighter, and their 6-year-old, Barry. April homeschools using Hand in Hand Parenting and Deep Nature Connection Mentoring. For 15 years, she facilitated Outward Bound wilderness and cross-cultural expeditions for adults in the northern Chihuahuan desert along the Texas/Mexico border and Copper Canyon. Along the way, she built relationships with local Jumano-Apache residents and knowledge keepers. She continues to support indigenous relations and protect their way of life. April enjoyed the recent visits of Gayatri Gopinath and Tacy Trowbridge ’90.

Julie Yannatta writes, “Some of you took, or remember, the Kundalini yoga class I taught on the lawn in front of Olin at Reunion. Well, my adventures in yoga continue, including teaching at Stars, Space and the Future, a conference in Turks and Caicos in August. I also have a record label called Be Why and we released an album of yogic mantra called, White Sun II, by the artist White Sun. White Sun II was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Age Album.

Nik Bates-Haus had a great time seeing so many people at Reunion, including Michael Reinke, Spencer Boyer (and his lovely wife, Clare Stroud, and their adorable children), Robin Ekiss, Erin Branagan, Adam Hahn, Stuart Rockoff, Kerim May ’93, Alisa Rosen, Elizabeth Reifke, and special guest, Canaan Folk-Reinke, born at Wes in 1991. Nik hung out at Malcom X house, caught one of the final shows at Eclectic, and I think we can all agree with his statement: “Wow, do today’s students have it great with the midnight grilled cheese truck!”

In December, the Healthy School Food Maryland coalition, which Lindsey Parsons coordinates, released School Food Environment Grades for every public school district in the state of Maryland. Check it out at healthyschoolfoodmd.org/2016_grades.php.

Out in my hometown of Chicago, Craig Mannarino has been accepted as a fellow into the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Membership is limited to 500 U.S. fellows under the age of 70. Craig’s areas of expertise include medical malpractice, automobile negligence, pharmaceutical mass torts, and other catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.

Some Perfect Year, by Cameron Gearen ’91, is a book of poems out now from Shearsman Books.

Ann Goebel-Fabbri started her own private psychology practice. Leaving Joslin Diabetes Center gave her the flexible time to write Prevention and Recovery from Eating Disorders in Type 1 Diabetes: Injecting Hope (Routledge Press) in February. It’s based on interviews conducted with 25 women in recovery, and you can find it on Amazon.

Some great news: Jim Adolf published his first play, I Cannot Tell a Lie at George Washington School. It’s been performed in Maine and Michigan.

Justin Bass, who made sure I heard the original version of “Don’t Walk Away Renée” our frosh year, now lives in Berlin, where he’s moved to teach English. He plans to stay until sometime in 2018, perhaps longer. He’d love to reconnect with any Wes alumni passing through!

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

NEWSMAKERS | 1980s NEWSMAKER LAURA HARDIN ’89 Laura Hardin ’89, a damages expert for international arbitrations with Alvarez & Marsal Disputes and Investigation, recently testified for the Federal Republic of Germany in the case of Vattenfall AB vs. the Federal Republic of Germany. This case is related to Germany’s decision to shut down all nuclear plants by the year 2022, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Hardin notes, “This case was very significant. It was the first time the Federal Republic of Germany has been sued by an investor under any type of investment treaty arbitration.” A Russian major at Wesleyan, she earned her MBA from George Washington University and has 20 years of experience calculating damages for international arbitrations.

Class of 1989 Scholarship 

Joanna Korpanty ’18, Chemistry

I am happy to share the names and locations of our classmates who reported on their participation in Women’s Marches on Jan. 21.  While we also received many lovely and moving observations about the day, as well as reports about family and friends who joined, we unfortunately lack the space to include it all here.

At deadline, we heard the following: Stephan Kline, Colleen McKiernan, John DiPaolo, Phineas Baxandall, Jane Randel, Robin Allen McGrew, Kelly Morgan, Rachel Harrison, John Hlinko, Laura Rosen, Stuart Ridgway, Betsey Schmidt, Oona Metz, Elysa Gordon, Saul Halfon, Jacqueline Wheeler Lee, and Karen Turk in Washington, D.C.

Tonya Gayle, Doug Abel, Nan Sinauer, Eileen Mullin, Jennifer Zaslow, Sarah Chumsky, Mike Rempel, Claire (Hoopes-Segura) Burns, Liz Melhado Ward, Caroline Gessert, David Milch, Tzvi Mackson, Stephanie Dolgoff, Natalie Dorset, Phoebe Boyer, Naomi Minkoff, and Jonathan Fried in NYC. Holly Adams in Ithaca, N.Y. Kristen Montast Graves in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Kim Bruno, Sarah Madsen Hardy, Joan Werlinsky, Stephen Buchanan, Peter Badalament, Donna Steinberg, Laura Cherry, Chris Zurn, Lee Ann (Jacob) Gun, Liz (Gisela) Blicher, Amy Wolf, and Kate True in Boston, Mass.

Liz Marx and Michele Barnwell in Los Angeles, Calif. Mark Mullen and Nancy Ross Mullen in San Diego, Calif. Andrew Shear, Lynne Lazarus, Alison Keene, Laura Flaxman (with Hazlyn Fortune ’86) in Oakland, Calif. Amy Randall in San Jose, Calif. Marisa Cohen in Santa Ana, Calif. Ellen Ross Shields in Sacramento, Calif. Amy Berk and Lara Karchmar in San Francisco, Calif. Steve Lewis in Chico, Calif. Emma Gardner in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Joel Brown, Julie Strauss, and Julia Winter in Chicago, Ill.. Kathryn Steucek and Ellen Forney in Seattle, Wash. Maida Barbour in Austin, Texas. Eric Simon in Manchester, N.H. Rachel Heckscher in Maui, Hawaii. Lila Polur Wrubel in Denver, Colo.. Tullan Spitz in Portland, Ore. Susan Turkel in Philadelphia, Pa. Brian Kassof in Fairbanks, Alaska. Dave Keller in Montpelier, Vt. Diane Purvin in Hartford, Conn. Jennifer Levine in Park City, Utah. Michelle Gonzalez in Providence, R.I. Amy Redfield in St. Louis, Mo. Ethan Vesely-Flad in Asheville, N.C.

From abroad: Josh Drew in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Gretchen Long in London. Sherry Lehr Föhr in Heidelberg, Germany. Laura Safran Shepard and Andrew Shepard in Paris. Melissa Herman in Berlin.

In other news, Robin McGrew and her family moved back to D.C. after three years in Athens, Greece. She joined the architecture firm, Cunningham Quill, to work on housing projects focusing on energy efficient buildings and conserving natural resources through landscape design. Her daughter just started at Swarthmore; and her son is finishing high school and applying to college. She feels good to be back, but is already imagining a return to Greece.

Kelly Morgan is working in Boston, managing IT analysts, and raising twin 7-year-old daughters with her husband. From Oakland, Andrew Shear and Lynne Lazarus report they are doing well. He is a deputy state public defender representing death row inmates in direct appeals to California’s Supreme Court; she is a family medicine doc at Kaiser Permanente, but with a new practice in Oakland. Andrew took their son to Wes for his college tour, including a steamed cheeseburger at O’Rourke’s.

Dave Keller is raising two amazing daughters, performing with The Dave Keller Band, and teaching guitar. His sixth CD, Right Back Atcha, is available at davekeller.com.

James Eli Shiffer tells the story of the Gateway District, the oldest quarter of Minneapolis, in The King of Skid Row: John Bacich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis (University of Minnesota Press).

Melissa Herman and her husband are on sabbatical with their kids in Germany. She’s researching identity and achievement among binational and bi-ethnic children, and leaving soon for a Fulbright Fellowship in Balti, Moldova.

Russ Cobe is surprised to find himself turning 50 with a stepson graduating college. He’s been in Charlotte, N.C., for 15 years, where, in addition to his day job, he is the lay leader for Temple Solel, a tiny Reform Jewish congregation. Over the past five years, he has led bar and bat mitzvahs, baby namings, and, unfortunately, one funeral. Apparently unable to escape his religion and music degrees, Russ leads bi-weekly Friday night services with song, prayer, and fellowship for his congregation.

Indy Neidell’s YouTube channel, The Great War, recently passed 500,000 subscribers. He does interviews about the war and hears from teachers who use the series in their classes. He is still doing voice overs, DJing a few times a month, touring periodically, and is launching a company making effect-pedals for guitars and other instruments.

Alex Chee’s novel, The Queen of the Night, is now in paperback. He also has an essay in the Best American Essays 2016, as well as a new 15th anniversary paperback edition of his first novel, Edinburgh. He joined the faculty of Dartmouth College as an associate professor of English. He and his partner of seven years, Dustin Schell, were married on Jan. 7 in their cabin in the Catskills. They chose to marry before Trump took office so that they could be married during the Obama Administration.

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

Michele Barnwell | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Hillary writes for this issue.

Greetings, classmates. I had the good fortune of catching up with Bronwyn Poole in November when I traveled to Chicago on business. My other news is that I adopted a new pup at the end of the summer; he’s keeping me active and smiling.

Robert Wilder ’88 draws on his 25 years of teaching experience to paint a complex, funny, poignant picture of life in middle school in Nickel: A Novel (Leaf Storm Press).

Elline Lipkin writes that she is a research scholar with UCLA’s Center for the Study of Women, but taught at Scripps College this fall as a guest scholar. She also teaches poetry for Writing Workshops Los Angeles, and was appointed the poet laureate of Altadena, a community two miles north of Pasadena. She has enjoyed getting to know Elizabeth Saveri ’87, whom she met in the local Trader Joe’s, and would be glad to connect with other Wes alumni in the Pasadena area.

Jenifer McKim shares her Wes moments from last year: “Met Julie Hobert and Melissa Albert in January for a ski weekend. Reconnected with Sharon Greenberger at the Wes Sons and Daughters Weekend in November. And an unexpected honor: I’m teaching a six-week non-fiction writing class at Wes this winter.”

Steve Morison reports that he’s still in Rome teaching. He recently saw Paul Gosselin in Paris, and Steve Kullback ’89 in Rome last spring.

Amelia G ’88 is the editor of BLT 25: Black Leather Times Punk Humor and Social Critique from the Zine Revolution, a collection of every issue of the punk humor zine.

Tim McCallum shares the announcement of a new son, Logan. He and his family are living happily in Kihei, Hawaii, and while they miss people, they don’t miss the Mainland at all.

All the best,

Peter V.S. Bond | 007@pvsb.org 

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Mark your calendars Class of ’87! It’s our one and only 30th Reunion, and it’s coming May 25-28; be there!

Linda Ryden published her curriculum called Peace of Mind: Integrating Mindfulness, Social Emotional Learning, And Conflict Resolution. “I still teach it full-time at a public elementary school in D.C., and it’s being taught in schools all over the country. I also wrote and illustrated a children’s book called Rosie’s Brain. It’s a story that teaches kids about how their brains work when they get angry and how to use mindfulness to help calm down. My two kids are in college and my husband makes Bullfrog Bagels, the best bagels in D.C.”

Claudia Center has “been at the national ACLU’s Disability Rights Project for nearly three years, working on the intersection of disability and education, policing, incarceration, voting, families, and autonomy. I spent election night texting in terror with Anthea Charles. My job radically changed that night, as the policies being proposed by the new administration and Congress are life-threatening to people with disabilities. I am organizing a singing brigade for the Women’s March Oakland on January 21, 2017, and hope to see several Wesleyan alumni in attendance.”

Wendy Riseborough was in NYC in September for the News & Documentary Emmys. The documentary for which she was supervising producer, American Denial, about implicit bias and racism since the 1940s, received a nomination.

Catherine Dolan Fitch is “excited about our 30th Reunion! I wish I could be returning to campus as a Wes parent, but my children have let me down. My daughter, Anna May, is thriving as a sophomore at Williams, where she is a member of the track team, and my son, Connor, accepted a spot in the class of 2021 at Bowdoin, where he will be playing lacrosse. I am proud that I attended Williams’ homecoming wearing my Wesleyan sweatshirt, and witnessed the Cardinals’ win of the Little Three Championship from the visitor bleachers. My daughter was not as happy with the outcome (or my attire!).”

David Prahas Nafissian is “now a certified life coach! And I’ve returned to composition.  Go here for a free musical gift—my latest work: http://bit.do/In-3 and go here to see my new coaching website: http://bit.do/EAC. Have a beautiful 2017!”

Amy Baltzell writes that she “ran into Susan Anthony, who is a successful artist in Welfleet, where she creates amazing art out of tiny bits of paper. [leftbankgallery.com/collections/susan-anthony] In my professional life, I recently published a book, Mindfulness & Performance, with Cambridge University Press (my Dalmatian keeps me company as I write) and am president-elect of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. Most importantly, my three kids are thriving in our sleepy winter beach town on Cape Cod. My most proud moment this year: Our 11-year-old, Zoey, made the boys travel basketball team and she is a starter. I catch glimpses of Bronwyn Malicoat ’89, who is a busy mother of four also living on Cape Cod, and I hear of Susan (Pratt) Arndt happily living in England. With love to you all!”

David Abramson “just reached 15 years at the State Department working on Central Asia and bracing myself for what comes next. Just hit 20 years since I met my wife, Kelly Hand. Our two daughters, Hazel and Daisy, are 15 and 12, respectively, and our Siberian cat, Basil, is 5. I got the latest album by Tierney Sutton ’86, Sting Variations, which has been nominated for a Grammy (fingers-crossed), and enjoyed reading The Lost Spy by fellow Russian language student Andy Meier ’85. It’s about an American Jewish spy for Stalin who grew up in nowheresville Willimantic, Conn., next to my hometown and down the road from Middletown. I am still in touch with, and see too rarely, Skip Lockhart, Jessica Miller, Janet Ginzberg, Becky Riccio, and John Gould ’86.”

“No momentous updates from me says,” Scott Pryce. “My sons are growing (now 8 and 10) and are the greatest source of joy, and I am blessed with a wonderful wife. We are in the D.C. area, and I travel a lot to Miami for work. I am leading a real estate start up, which is challenging and rewarding in different measures depending on the day!”

I do hope to see many of you in Middletown at the end of May. I, for one, don’t see how anyone could pass up a chance to hang out on Foss Hill after 30 years. Who knows who you’ll run into?

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

Something different in this issue. Responses to the prompt: How are you contributing to society in diverse and extraordinary ways?

Molly O’Brien: “I wear several hats professionally, and one is developing media for museum exhibits all over the country. This doesn’t fall into the ‘extraordinary contribution’ category, but in this time of fake news and suspicion about news-as-propaganda, museums represent a trusted source of information, often presented in engaging ways. Our studio currently has three Wes alumni and an intern!”

Joe Cassidy: “I’m a fellow at the Wilson Center and write on two subjects I care deeply about: the international refugee/humanitarian system and the State Department. My last piece explored loyalty, bureaucracy, and the Trump Administration, and was published in Foreign Policy: http://atfp.co/2hJPOwQ.”

Randy (Levinson) Clancy: “As a co-founder of the CARLE Institute, a trainer for Border Crossers, and an independent consultant, I work with schools and organizations to understand and address racism. As a white woman, I strive to build accountable partnerships with people of color while focusing on the specific roles white people must play in challenging systemic racism.”

Marc Rosner: “I am transitioning between two careers. I’ve been a public and private high school science teacher and technology specialist for 30 years, and hope I’ve taught my 2,500 or so students well. I also have an estate business; my niche is appraisals and sales assistance for families who have inherited coins, jewelry, and other material assets. It’s very satisfying to break up needless fights between siblings, or to ensure a senior citizen gets the most for his or her personal treasures.”

Tamar Rothenberg: “I am a professor and department chair teaching history and geography at Bronx Community College-CUNY, where many students are immigrants or children of immigrants. Most are on financial aid, and most are the first generation to go to college. My goal is to help them find their academic footing, see themselves in complex global contexts, and think critically.”

Matt Pachman: “I currently serve as chair of the Ethics and Compliance Association (ECA). ECA is a best practice community of organizations committed to creating and sustaining high quality ethics and compliance programs within corporations, non-profits, government agencies, and academic institutions. ECA brings together professionals and academics globally to share benchmarks, techniques, research, and new ideas.”

Elaine Taylor-Klaus: “I help parents stay sane while raising complex kids. Five years ago, I created an online resource for parents of kids with ADHD and related challenges, providing support, coaching, and training that is both affordable and accessible. We set out to change the way that parents manage the challenges of raising ‘complex’ children, teaching a progressive, holistic ‘coach-approach’ to parenting. We now do this work with parents all over the globe.”

Sarah Holbrooke: “After over 25 years as a television news producer in NYC, I moved to Telluride to run a nonprofit providing STEM education for kids in rural southwestern Colorado. The research I did at Wesleyan stimulated my switch to science. My love of learning, nurtured at Wes, helps instill the same spark in the 7,000 kids I try to inspire each year.”

Judy Seiff: “I’m newly elected to my community’s school board. Through Yonkers Partners in Education, a superstar organization, I mentor students 9th through 12th grade. I am privileged to work with a new group of seniors annually as I assist them with all aspects of their college applications. The school’s extraordinary diversity reminds me of my alma mater, Bronx Science, where I also volunteer as a ‘practice’ college interviewer.”

Ellen Santistevan: “Taking compassionate action in the world, one client at a time. Through a combination of bodywork, deep listening, and nonjudgmental presence, I allow people to have an experience of themselves as valuable and valued human beings. Especially powerful for marginalized people.”

Charlie Berthoud: “I am surrounded by people doing extraordinary things. I have been a Presbyterian pastor for 25 years, with the last four here in Madison, Wis. People from our church are hosting homeless families at church, providing food and fellowship. Others visit shut-ins, help with affordable housing, work for racial justice, and share money generously with our partners—from domestic violence groups to schools in Guatemala. Together we try to love our neighbors.”

Joyce Burnett: “I remain passionate about health and fitness. I formed a company that focuses on increasing the daily intake of green leafy vegetables. Loice Mae’s Kitchen makes vegetable/fruit smoothies that make your colon dance (smoothkrew.com).”

Lisa Dipko: “I have learned the importance of human connection and ‘living in the moment’ during 16 years of social work with veterans who need nursing home care for dementia and other life-altering/ending conditions. I believe my struggles as a French major have given me an edge in understanding my patients’ communication when their speech becomes unreliable.”

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Class of 1985 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Ali Friend ’19, North Easton, MA

Charles Barber teaches nonfiction writing in the College of Letters at Wesleyan, of all places, and is working on a forthcoming book from HarperCollins, Citizen Outlaw: A Gangster’s Journey.

Amy Nash visited me, Caroline, to take part in the Women’s March on Washington. We looked for, but could not find, Hillary Hess and Kate Holen, and no doubt a few of our other classmates.

CAROLINE WILKINS | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

MARY BETH KILKELLY | mbkeds@yahoo.com