Dr. Joseph J. Fins ’82, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. IOM membership is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. It recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Fins, the author of more than 200 publications in medical ethics and health policy, wrote A Palliative Ethic of Care: Clinical Wisdom at Life’s End (Jones and Bartlett, 2006). He is a co-author of the 2007 Nature paper describing the first use of deep brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state. President-elect of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, he is also a Governor of the American College of Physicians. The past-chair of the Wesleyan Alumni Association, he has served as a trustee of the University. At Wesleyan, he majored in the College of Letters.
Barry Fried ’81 has produced Uluwehi Guerrero’s new award-winning CD, Uluwehi Sings Na Mele Hula Aloha—beloved hula songs. The CD generated seven nominations at the prestigious Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (equivalent of the Hawaiian Grammies) and won the “Hawaiian Album of the Year” and “Liner Notes.” Previously, the CD won the Hawai‘i Music Award’s People’s Choice for “Best Traditional Hawaiian Album of the Year.” Fried produced the album under his new record label, Kaulupono Music, and wrote the string arrangements and played the flute in several selections. An art major at Wesleyan, he earned his master’s degree from New York University.
Daphne Kwok ’84, a Wesleyan Board of Trustee member, was recently appointed by President Obama to serve as chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Her new position will require her to be “the eyes and ears” of the Asian American community. She will continue to perform her current job as executive director of Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California. Kwok was recently interviewed by New America Media and was asked what some of the issues were that she will focus on immediately. She said: “The key issues will include the economy, jobs, education and health disparities. We want to increase the underserved AAPI communities in federal programs. The oil spill in the Gulf and its impact on the Vietnamese community is already a key issue for the Initiative. Vietnamese fishermen have been especially hard hit by the spill.”
Noted author John F. Ross ’81 received the first annual Fort Ticonderoga Prize for Contributions to American History on March 4, 2011. After a national search and in a unanimous vote, the trustees selected Ross for his broad contributions to 18th-century military scholarship with his book War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America’s First Frontier (Random House, 2009), which explores the exploits of the famed and often misunderstood partisan leader Major Robert Rogers. In addition, Ross was also cited for making America’s history accessible through his work as the executive editor of American Heritage Magazine. “John F. Ross is a scholar who understands the importance of bringing history, observation, and experience together when seeking to understand the past,” said Peter Paine, president of the Fort Ticonderoga Board of Directors. At Wesleyan, Ross majored in history. He is also the author of The Polar Bear Strategy: Reflections on Risk in Modern Life (Basic Books, 1999).
The law firm of Miller Canfield has elected Megan P. Norris ’83 to serve a two-year term as a managing director, effective January 1, 2011. She is part of a five-person management administration that works with the CEO to oversee the firm’s offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Poland and China. A principal in the Detroit, Michigan, office, Norris is leader of the firm’s Employment + Labor Law group practice. She counsels clients on employment matters that include discipline and discharge, discrimination, harassment, and tort claims. She is a nationally recognized expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Cited as a “2011 Leader in the Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, she also has been recognized for her work in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Michigan Super Lawyers. A government and music major at Wesleyan, she earned her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Norris is a member of the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees.
Beth Rose ’84, P’14, of Sills Cummis & Gross P.C., was recognized as one of the 10 Most Admired Product Liability attorneys by Law 360: Newswire for Business Lawyers. Rose, whose specialty is defending pharmaceutical and medical device companies facing product liability and mass tort litigation, has “earned a reputation as a quick thinker and a team player,” according to fellow litigators who nominated her for the title. A history major at Wesleyan, she received her JD from Georgetown University Law Center and then joined Sills Cummis.
Todd Snyder ’84 was named one of six Rainmakers of the Year in Institutional Investor (Dec. 2009/Jan. 2010). The feature focused on the people behind six of the world’s top 10 transactions, noting that the economic environment was “perhaps the ultimate challenge for dealmakers.” Considered “a top U.S.-based restructuring specialist at Rothschild,” Snyder had been selected to advise the U.S. government on how to handle the country’s difficulties within the auto industry. Then-Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez called Snyder on Thanksgiving Day 2008 to let him know that Rothschild had been selected the sole adviser to the government in the rescue—and for the next year, Snyder “slept with his Blackberry under his pillow,” so relentless and imperative was communication between negotiators. “We were trying to figure out how the administration could stabilize the industry and preserve as many jobs as possible, but, at the same time, make a prudent and recoverable investment of taxpayer money,” explains Snyder in the article and recalls that the most challenging talks centered on GM’s Opel/Vauxhall operations in Europe. A May 2008 meeting at Germany’s Chancellery building included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, her economic adviser Jens Weidmann, and GM representative John Smith, with then–GM CEO Fritz Henderson, U.S. Auto Task Force’s Ronald Bloom ’77, and Magna International CEO Frank Stronach participating via conference call. Now, Snyder is leading the financial advisory teams in the reorganizations of Tronox and Visteon.
Daniel B. Prieto ’91, an adjunct senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of the newly released CFR report, War About Terror: Civil Liberties and National Security After 9/11. The report addresses a range of issues—from Guantanamo to warantless wiretapping—and how to maintain America¹s longstanding democratic traditions while protecting it from real and serious threats. To download a copy, go to www.cfr.org/war_about_terror. Prieto, who worked for over two years on the politically-charged project, earned his Wesleyan degree in the College of Social Studies and his master’s from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Benjamin Fontes ’86, the biosafety officer at Yale University, is president-elect of the American Biological Safety Association. Fontes, who manages operational safety in all three spheres of biohazards—those from biological, chemical, and radiation sources—credits much of his expertise and interest in the field to Gladys Caspar P’85, who, as his mentor when he began his career at Harvard—affiliated labs and hospitals in Boston, encouraged critical thinking. “In biosafety, there’s very little black-and-white,” he says. “In addition to frequent updates in the pathogens studied, there’s always a new piece of equipment that arrives in a lab—and you have to understand not only how it works when it”s used properly, but also what could go wrong.” As president-elect, Fontes looks forward to increasing opportunities to develop collegial relationships internationally. He was a biology major at Wesleyan and earned his MPH from the University of Michigan.
Andrew W. Seibert ’86 was named to the newly created position of president at SmartMoney, a joint venture between Hearst Corporation and Dow Jones & Co. Previously vice president and publisher of SmartMoney’s Custom Solutions, the custom publishing arm, he will continue this effort, while adding responsibility for the circulation, advertising, and marketing operations of SmartMoney magazine, as well as for SmartMoney.com. He joined SmartMoney in 1999 as creator and head of the Custom Solutions division. At Wesleyan, he majored in the College of Social Studies and then earned an MBA at Columbia.
