Class Notes | 1970s

Seriously, nearly eight feet of snow in one month? Warming by the fire at home between tours of duty shoveling during this latest blizzard, I take great comfort in the many notes of support as well as updates from fellow classmates, and, of course, the Patriot’s Super Bowl win!

I am so pleased to have gotten a note from Marcy Neuburg. Marcy has just completed 25 years on the faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin; she is working one week a month and divides her time between St. Croix and Wisconsin. Daughter Abigail is attending Hamilton and son Max is moving to Minneapolis-St. Paul this summer where he will be married. Marcy has reconnected with Bob Rees, as Marcy will have many more opportunities to visit. Richard Parad updated that daughter Rebecca is following in his medical footsteps (completing her second year) and son Matthew is making inroads as a successful songwriter. In addition to his clinical care and research responsibilities, Richard is now co-director of the Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine Clinical and Translational Research Program. Peter Guenther expressed his pleasure at the outcome of the Super Bowl, especially in view of the grief all had to endure up to the game. Richard Shulman wrote in regarding the “Volunteers In Psychotherapy” and an upcoming UCLA conference on innovations in mental health, examining the Connecticut program where people don’t pay for their therapy but earn it through volunteer work at a charity or nonprofit of their choice. Susan White, who recently moved to Boston, works at the BU School of Medicine teaching in a new physician assistant program, as well as practicing at the Boston Medical Center. Vanessa Burgess touched base regarding a number of folks: Doug Green’s son will be at Wesleyan this fall playing football (we all have a date to meet at Homecoming), Dave Thomas’ son is a senior at Wesleyan, Dorothy Crenshaw, Marianne DiOrio, and Vanessa got together earlier this year. Dorothy’s PR business is thriving, and Marianne is a senior VP of global communications at Estée Lauder. Vanessa focuses on investments in the health care sector. Her daughter, Jill, is in the Boston area (so, you haven’t called?), and her second daughter, Marjorie, is a freshman at Wesleyan. Wendy Roylo Hee met up with a visiting Yoriko Kishimoto when she was in Honolulu last fall. Yoriko was introduced to Wendy’s new grandchild. Afterwards, travels took Wendy to California and Europe on a river cruise. Bruce Kaplan writes about life in Chattanooga, where his neurology career took him and his family some time ago. In addition, Bruce and his wife, Ann, created “Barking Legs Theater,” where he curates music performances focusing on jazz, bluegrass, and more experimental type music. He built a home on the island of Dominica, where he plans to spend more time in the future. It is available for rent at villapassiflora.com. I am told discounts for Wesleyan folks are available. Carol Cooper is finishing classes for her PhD in Jungian and archetypal psychology; dissertation begins this spring. The experience has been a fine enhancement to freelance and creative writing with her students of Manhattan Center for Science and Math. The Super Bowl brought some family conflict in Hope Neiman’s home: husband and wife splitting allegiances. Hope has been traveling extensively for work, with largest chain restaurants her primary focus. Janet Malkemes sends regards from Charlotte in her annual newsletter, as she hopes to lure more classmates for a visit down south. Jeff Gray enjoyed the company of many classmates at the wedding of his son, Jeffrey, to Emily Gittes last November, including: Bob Nastri, Paul Fichera, Dave Matteodo, and Ken Langley. Heartiest congratulations!! As with most of us, the intense snow couldn’t dampen Jeff’s spirits after the Super Bowl. Judy Allen echoed the sentiments. Joan Martin is enjoying a very active life. While not traveling by air as much (airports are indeed no fun), Joan proudly stated her adherence to most all liberal causes. A number of folks wrote in disbelief at the idea of turning 60 this year: Joe Mabel enjoyed a reunion gig of the Seattle band “The Squirrels” in his living room. Michael Rittenberg is still in medical practice and has four grown children and two grandchildren. One son and daughter seemingly plan to enter the “family business” of urology. Michael works with Cal Dysinger, who is chief of anesthesia at the same hospital. Dave Levy visits yearly to check in on his own parents. David Loder enjoyed playing golf with Barry Raebeck, Jeff Shames, and Andy Silverman ’76. David states, and we all should agree, that we need to do a lot more of this as we move into our 60s…and by “this” I am sure David means getting together with good friends and old acquaintances. Best regards to all!

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

Cheryl Alpert’s oldest son, Eben, will be graduating this year from Tulane with a degree in finance and her younger son, Chasen, is a sophomore at Washington and Lee where he was recruited to play soccer. Cheryl, who spent many years as a marketing executive, is now working as a volunteer with young entrepreneurs while her husband, Tom, has returned to architecture. Cheryl’s mom recently passed away, but not before reaching 100 years old. Cheryl, I hope you’ll consider being our class secretary some day!

Carol Bellhouse is keeping busy with book signings and talks. She now has 14 books in print.

Barbara Birney has settled into a small town outside of Portland, Ore., and would like to hear from any Wes grads out that way. “Settled” may be the wrong word, because in August Barbara is heading to Botswana for two years with the Peace Corps.

Melissa Blacker and her husband, David Rynick ’74, are the resident teachers at Boundless Way Zen Temple in Worcester, Mass., and invite everyone who likes to meditate to visit the Temple and gardens. David and Melissa’s daughter, Rachel, was married this past November.

Robert Buccino, a ’76er who took a year off after sophomore year, is celebrating 33 years of marriage to Mary Bresette. Their daughter, Leonora, is a junior at Grinnell. Rob recently published a book for ad agencies, titled The Pitch Book, that is available on Amazon. Rob and Mary live in Manhattan.

David Cohen reports that Matt Paul, Michael Greenberg, Stewart Shuman, and he just had their third annual get-together, which featured hiking, a great meal and wine, and endless conversation about Wes, politics, and much more.

Sid Cohen writes that, after a 20-year stint at UPenn School of Medicine, he worked at several large companies and start-ups in the cardiovascular and medical device industries. Sid and his wife, Caro, now reside in Pleasanton, Calif., southeast of San Francisco. They have three children who live and work on the East Coast. Sid would love to hear from fellow classmates at sidneyacohen@mac.com

The city of Madrid invited Bob Craft to tour the city as a possible location for a film. While there, he met two other film location managers. The three of them were featured in a televised newscast and in a photo in the Sunday paper.

Like many of us, Lenny Femino and his wife, Rona, are doing more traveling now that the kids have moved out. Lenny’s law practice is entering its 30th year, and he still finds time to run 30 to 40 miles per week. Keep it up Len, but don’t wear it out!

Elizabeth Eisenmann lives in Chelmsford, Mass., which is about 10 miles from the New Hampshire border. The snow this year has kept her busy, but she enjoys the workout. “Let the whiners threaten to move to Florida,” she says, “I will take nor’easters and blizzards over hurricanes and flying cockroaches any day.”

Debra Haffner has been ordained for 12 years and is ABD for her doctorate. She hopes to be Rev. Dr. Haffner by next spring.

Peter Hansen is trying to put more emphasis on the “life” side of the work/life balance equation, and he and his wife did a combined work/vacation trip to Taiwan last fall. Peter is spending more time than ever in D.C., but still regularly commutes to Kansas City, Denver, and Portland for his marketing consulting business.

Karen William Harmin and her husband, David Harmin, both are still working at Harvard Medical School and enjoying life in Cambridge. David became a grandfather last fall and they are enjoying it immensely.

Byron Haskins has also become a grandfather. His son, Josh, who is a director at ESPN, and his wife, Katy, who works at Yale-New Haven Hospital, welcomed Harriett into their family in October. His daughter, Anna, and her husband, Steven, who are both assistant professors at Cornell, welcomed Solomon into their family in December.

Alan Haus started teaching motion picture law and business to MFA candidates one afternoon per week at a local university in San Francisco.

Jim Johnson’s international bicycle tour business, BikeTours.com, has been expanding and now offers 550 tours in 75 countries. Jim, who now resides in Chattanooga, is very active in local bicycle and trails advocacy and is working on a number of projects to establish local parks and bicycle trails.

Ron Kirschner went from being a history grad student to becoming an ER doc; he changed directions again when he was hit by a car and severely injured. Ron is now the medical director of a Midwest poison center that is affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They made the news when caring for an American physician who contracted Ebola in West Africa. Ron is married and has a daughter who will be turning 18 this spring.

Tom Kovar, like several classmates, is enduring the snow conditions in and around Boston. Tom recently heard Jay Hoggard, who lives and teaches in Middletown, playing with a local jazz trio and found Jay’s music “astonishingly great.”

Seth Lerer has finished his term as dean of arts and humanities at the University of California, San Diego, and is enjoying a sabbatical. This spring, Seth will be the Keeley Visiting Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford.

Gerry Rau writes from Taiwan and a decidedly different season and climate. He offers his good wishes to all.

Des Stern Whitney and his wife, Anne, have recently become empty nesters and are enjoying their new found freedom.

Thanks for writing. Keep in touch.

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

Class of 1975,

With Reunion around the corner, I’m hoping many of you plan to spend May 22–24 at Wes. It’s such a great opportunity to reconnect in more than the twosomes and threesomes we’ve stayed in touch with across the years. Beyond seeing the folks you remain close to, it’s especially fun to spend time with people you never got to know as undergrads. That only happens at Reunion. So if you haven’t signed up, get online and do it now!!

Mark Nickerson has released his book, The Wounds Within, about the nature and impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and the veterans, families, and clinical and policy issues involved. Mark majored in psychology at Wes and stuck with it. He has practiced individual and family psychotherapy in Amherst for 30 years and consults widely on trauma and other topics.

For a more specialized audience, Bruce Pyenson was lead author of an actuarial analysis of lung cancer screening and its cost/benefit for Medicare. Bruce and a team from his actuary consulting firm, Milliman, Inc., and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai determined that using low-dose computed tomography imaging to screen Medicare beneficiaries (soon-to-be-us!) for lung cancer is a low-cost, cost-effective strategy to extend lives and reduce cost.

J.D. Moore is approaching his first anniversary on the Connecticut Superior Court. Who says there’s no justice? He has three Wes colleagues on the bench, Bob Nastri ’77, Cesar Noble ’80, and Irene Jacobs MALS ’80, and they were all sworn in together last April. His judicial work has thus far taken him to Hartford criminal court and Litchfield civil court. J.D. organized a mini-reunion in January to take in a concert by Orleans with Steve McCarthy, Paul Margolin, Joe O’Rourke, and all the wives. He’s working on lining up a post-concert meeting with John Hall.

Corinne Kratz started with our class and took the scenic route, graduating with a BA/MA in ’77 and going on to earn a PhD from the University of Texas-Austin. She reports that she’s living in Santa Fe, where she writes and does research, working with Emory University’s African Critical Inquiry Program to support annual workshops and student research in South Africa. She is a professor emerita of Anthropology and African Studies at Emory.

John Tabachnick and his wife, Sherry, look forward to seeing everyone at the 40th. They’ll be coming with son Jeff Tabachnick ’05 and family for a shared reunion (and maybe an intro to Wes for Jeff’s two kids). John has 32 years of private practice in family medicine behind him. He’s chairing a department of 29 primary care doctors in a group of more than 400 mostly specialty physicians.

Ed Van Voorhees is on the move. With children and grandchildren in L.A. and D.C., plus one in Nashville (his hometown), he gets around. Ed and Linda have cut back on work to allow more time for grandkids, and Ed spends a day per week working with The Bootstraps Foundation, which provides scholarships to young people who have pulled themselves up by . . .

Compared to Rachel Adler Hayes, Ed is standing still. Her passport has recently taken her to Italy, Spain, Istanbul, and Dublin. A stop in Seattle included visiting high school classmate Bruce Ferguson ’73. The travel is mostly for Oxfam America, where Rachel is senior director of communications and engagement. Vacations are closer to home, in California and Marblehead, Mass. Rachel’s son is a junior in high school, enamored with basketball and just starting the college search. Besides work and family, Rachel is doing major home projects, but she promised to take a break and come to Middletown this May.

Martha Faller Brown and Bruce Paton checked in from different corners of the Bay Area, letting me know they stayed warm and dry amid the downpours and demonstrations of December. Not long after, the holiday e-mails began to arrive. Brad Kosiba is ensconced with Dorothy in Chapel Hill, retired from his bio-tech industry career, and doing lots of house, community, and family projects. With sons 21, 23, and 26, their nest is mostly empty these days. Like many of us, Brad has replaced the day-to-day parent responsibilities with day-to-day responsibility for aging parents. Debbie Kosich, Brad’s Wes mailbox-mate, is in the same boat—retiring from her geology career with Exxon in Houston and dealing with her mother’s aging. She plans to split her time between Houston and her condo in the Rockies, along with trips to check on mom in Massachusetts. Brian Steinbach hasn’t retired from employment law, but he and Mary also have projects on the home front. This year they achieved something many of us only dream about—paying off the mortgage!

It was terrific to hear from David Leisner that Facts of Life, his latest CD, was released in February. It includes world premiere recordings of works that David commissioned from David Del Tredici and Osvaldo Golijov, whom he considers “two of the most important composers alive today,” plus his own arrangement of Bach’s “Lute Suite BWV 997.” The fruit of many years’ work, the album’s release is a moment of great pride for David, as it should be. The review on Amazon says, “Mr. Leisner is an extraordinarily versatile musician with a multi-faceted career as an electrifying performer, a distinguished composer, and a master teacher. Recent appearances have taken him around the USA, Puerto Rico, Oceania, Europe, Japan, and Mexico. He also serves as artistic director of the Guitar Plus series in New York, a series that features chamber music with guitar.” And his 2011 release, Favorites, was named one of “2015 Records to Die For” on stereophile.com. Congratulations, David!

Thinking back to those undergraduate days listening to David play reminds me that we should note the loss of Jean Redpath (artist-in-residence 1972–1976), who died of cancer at age 77 last August. Jean brought her beautiful voice, deep knowledge of Scottish music, and a biting (and often off-color) wit to liven up any class, concert, or social gathering in our era. I still sing songs I first learned from her.

I had the opportunity to bid on an auction item with a Wes connection at my synagogue’s gala last spring, so I expect to be meeting up soon with Jeff Morgan and his wife, Jodie, for a tour and tasting at their Covenant Winery. They moved from Napa to Berkeley last year, where Jeff built an urban winery to get back to “civilization” and complement the Napa site. For his eighth cookbook being released in March, The Covenant Kitchen: Food and Wine for the New Jewish Table, his editor at Random House happened to be Lexy Bloom ’99.

Retirement is a distant dream for me. My travels now are between home near San Francisco and my mother near Boston. The October trip was a glorious mother-son weekend road trip looking at colleges. Six schools, three-and-a-half days, 700 miles, and lots of talk time. When you read this, Ethan’s college decision should be made, and we’ll all breathe a bit easier.

Thanks in advance to my fellow members of ’75’s Reunion Committee: Karen Freedman, Steve Levin, Roger Weisberg, Charlie Stolper, Mark Schonberger, Dave Rosenblum, J.D. Moore, and Gary Steinel. It’s going to be a great weekend, so bring your family, invite your Wes friends, and don’t miss it!

Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com
860 Marin Drive. Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955

Congratulations on your re-election, Governor John Hickenlooper!!!

Jeanne Demko Chiang, wife of Jaf Chiang, died on Oct. 7. Jeanne spent her entire career at Travelers Insurance as an actuary. She loved music and was also passionate about traveling. Survivors include her husband, Jaf; daughter Jasmine Chiang, a physician, and her fiancé, Ryen Schimerman of Portland, Maine; son Colby Chiang, an MD-PhD candidate at the University of Virginia; and brother Thomas Demko of Cromwell. On behalf of our class, I would like to extend condolences to Jaf and his family.

Pat Mulcahy was featured in Publisher’s Weekly about re-inventing yourself after leaving corporate life in publishing: publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/people/article/65386-publishing-after-a-life-in-publishing.html. Pat adds, “I have so enjoyed re-connecting post-Reunion with members of the class of ’74, members of the women’s group in particular. In December I attended one of Claudia Catania’s Playing on Air sessions at the BRIC Theater in Brooklyn, as did Ellen Driscoll and Jai Imbrey. Well-done short plays with top talent, broadcast on NPR. Shortly thereafter Claudia, Jai, and I went to see one of Ellen’s art shows in Williamsburg, and a few weeks ago Ellen and I went to the Frick Collection with Jai. The creative ladies of ’74 have a lot going on!”

“A follow up from Lloyd Komesar regarding the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival—the window for film submission opened on January 15 and will stay open through June 15. Films can be submitted either through our website [middfilmfest.org] or directly on the Withoutabox or FilmFreeway platforms. My new Festival e-mail address is lk@middfilmfest.org. Hope to see many of you in Middlebury from Aug. 27–30 for our inaugural event. Should be a very entertaining occasion.”

Henry Avis-Vieira reports, “My wife recently won a research grant for developing new approaches to teaching medieval studies at Georgetown University. I have about four more chapters to go on my first book. It’s a young adult fantasy adventure concerning parallel worlds.”

Claudia Catania details, “Our 40th was great fun and particularly satisfying in that it got a number of us back in touch. I ran into Becky Ramsey ’75 visiting Ellen Driscoll and her outdoor art piece at Olana in Columbia County, N.Y., (where my husband, John Cady ’71, and I spend a lot of our time). It was raining and Ellen’s huge mirrored piece looked bejeweled under all the droplets.

“Lots of alums came to view a live Playing on Air recording of a short play by Willy Holtzman. (I founded and produce Playing on Air, which records short plays for public radio and podcast). Bill Pearson, Peter Woodin ’71, Pat Mulcahy, Bob Arcaro, June Anderson, Todd Jick ’71 (thank-you, Lloyd), Inara de Leon ’75, Vicky Bijur ’75, Ellen Driscoll, Orren Alperstein (Seth Gelblum ’75’s wife), Sam Miller ’75, and Jai Imbrey all attended that December recording! Wesleyan alums Frank Wood ’83 in a Lanford Wilson short, and Halley Feiffer ’07 in one by John Guare recorded live other fall evenings. Podcasting is beginning regularly this year so soon you can hear Willy’s play that way, and there is streaming at playingonair.org and public radio.

“Our older son, Max, returned to the States for grad school in technology and education after three years teaching at Liger Learning Center near Phnom Penh. Younger son, Gavin, opened a little restaurant in New Orleans. His food truck is called The Fat Falafel and his restaurant is 1000 Figs. Here’s its Gambit review: goo.gl/IP4yQP”

Bruce Duncan: “I’m on sabbatical this semester, with the goal of establishing a new course in the physics of music. Because I’m on sabbatical, I’m no longer chair of my department, which works out nicely since this semester would have been the last one of my term. We’ll see if my colleagues re-nominate me, as some have threatened to do.”

From Jim Krantz: “My son, Daniel ’11, has been awarded a Jacobson program scholarship at NYU Law and Business schools, a four-year JD/MBA program focused on the intersection of business and law. Sarah, age 20, is a junior at Barnard, deeply involved in her studies of anthropology and art history.”

Monique Witt states, “2014 was a really productive year for us. We finished recording the last two albums for the year (a blues and a jazz), both of which are slated to drop on Valentine’s Day. That brought the number to six. Interloper has gotten amazing press reviews and is playing around the world on jazz stations. We begin 2015 with a hip hop group that takes the music back to the political roots of the 1990s, and then we begin a six-record legacy series. My older son is still spending what open time he has as my lead engineer, and he is also collaborating on a screenplay. My younger is continuing full time at Columbia and part time at Juilliard, performing around the tri-state area, and playing piano for ensemble e. They were at jazz at Lincoln Center (Dizzy’s) in February. Steven’s law firm (Wachtel Lipton) will celebrate its 50th anniversary this week. So everyone is busy.”

Nancy Collins retired from child and adolescent psychiatry earlier than expected in August 2014 for a number of reasons. Medical issues (fractured shoulder 12/24/13, immobilizer, frozen shoulder, hydroplasty, and nine months of formal PT), long commutes, more frustration with the increasing number of parents and kids who felt they didn’t need to actually do anything to get better, and more frustration with insurance requirements that eroded into the time of building relationships and educating families. She expects that her husband, Brian Mahoney ’73, will be mostly retired next winter and they’ll split their time between winters in Rio Verde, Ariz. and spring-through-fall in North Oaks, Minn., gardening. Their adult kids: Katie is an ER doc in the Twin Cities metro; Meredith has her PsyD and is working at Pace University in New York and has a private practice in Manhattan; and  Dan is a computer programmer in Milwaukee and a DJ in electronic house music on the weekends.

Tom Gelsomino writes, “I invited Jesus Christ into my life nearly 29 years ago. He is The Savior, The Messiah. The Way of Eternal Life. I desire to be with all our Wesleyan friends forever.”

SHARON PURDIE | spurdie@wesleyan.edu

 

Jay Rose tells me his son, Adam Rose ’06, was married last October in Seattle. Among the guests were Peter Bernstein, Bill Gillespie, Tim Hinkle ’06, Kingsley Choi ’05, and Rebecca Rabison ’08.

John Spike says after living in Florence, Italy, since 1989, he accepted a post for three years at the College of William and Mary in Willamsburg, Va., where he is assistant director and chief curator at the Muscarelle Museum of Art. His wife Michele is adjunct professor at the Wythe School of Law, also at William and Mary. He says that every summer he returns to Florence, where his son Nicholas married Marcela last October.

David Feldman, aka David Harp, is extremely busy with his harmonica workshops. He just held a Harmonica-Based Mindfulness workshop in Lenox, Mass., in March. It was called “How to Reduce Stress, Increase Mindfulness and Blow Your Blues Away Instantly.” He is offering a one-day “Mindfulness and the Art of the Harmonica: Play Blues, Rock, Folk and Classical Music Today” at Manhattan’s New York Open Center on May 16th and a Harmonica Kirtan the night before. You can reach him at david@davidharp.com.

The intrepid Tom Kelly writes that he is splitting his time between Dallas and San Diego and became CEO of HealthSmart, a health benefits administrator last August. His first grandchild, Aurelia, was born last October. He also said that he and Michael McKenna are headed to the Rugby World Cup in Wales in October. I call Tom intrepid but he was and still is indefatigable. He would sometimes play two rugby games in a row during his time at Wesleyan.

And speaking of Mike McKenna, he writes, “I thought of Wesleyan this morning when I awoke to minus-11 degrees here in Vermont. Bracing but sunny, but made me remember there is no such thing as cold weather, only inappropriate clothes! Also had no less than eight male cardinals at the bird feeders. A veritable conclave! Really pretty against the snow and pine trees.”

Mike says he is sorry he missed our last Reunion but he has a newsy note.

“Writing from my office in our barn, the global HQ of James Farm Creative, a strategic communications consulting firm I started a few years ago, I am happy to report business has grown and we also opened an office in Boston under the name McKenna & Partners,” he says. “Doing some interesting work for a range of great clients and really enjoying it.”

He says 2014 was a good year. He and Lynn spent time in London and had some terrific visits with Peter Smith ’81 and Pete Eisenhardt ’80 and attended some Chelsea games at Stamford Bridge. The Smiths’ daughter is at Wesleyan and is playing varsity squash.

Mike’s “work travels” also brought him in touch with Claire Reade in D.C. and Tom Kelly in New York: “Both are thriving, no surprise there.”

He was also back on campus for the Amherst weekend and saw former soccer teammate Dr. Marion Stoj ’74 inducted into the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame. Soccer captain Kirk Adams was there, as well as Coach Terry Jackson. He said there was a “nice win over the Lord Jeffs.”

In Middletown, Mike also ran into Joshua Boger, who, he said, just did some “amazing photography during a dive off Fiji.” He thinks the photos will be on display in the science building. He also saw Joshua’s new Vertex offices in Boston. “Beautiful and, I’m told, has more square feet than the Prudential Tower,” says Mike.

“In my continuing efforts to become the worst golfer in history, I enjoyed some rounds with Tom Halsey ’72 and Rob Calhoun ’72, as well as Wendy Kravitz,” says Mike. He says his children are well and working in San Francisco. His son, Jake, got married last fall in Sonoma. Jake and his wife, Annie, asked him to officiate, so he got his Universal Life Minister certificate. “I’m finally ordained!” says Mike. “It was really meaningful—outdoors, perfect weather. After leaving Google, Jake joined a start-up digital communications firm and loves it.” After graduating from Middlebury, Mike’s daughter, Lee, became a ski instructor at Jackson Hole for a year and then followed her brother west, where she also is in digital advertising.

While Mike was in San Francisco, he had lunch and caught up with Harold Sogard ’74, who is CEO of an ad agency there. He had just returned from his Wesleyan Reunion and is yet another alumnus with a Cardinal daughter. Mike says he talks regularly with John Hoder, George Doran, and others in the class. “I continue to be amazed by what everyone is doing and realize how lucky I am to know them,” he says.

And what a positive way to wrap up these notes. Until next time,

PETER D’OENCH | Pgdo10@aol.com

Thank you, one and all—nothing but good news this time! This very morning on Facebook I read that Paul Vidich is writing a novel, due to be published in spring of 2016. “It will be positioned as a Cold War spy novel wrapped inside literary fiction, à la Alan Furst, John Le Carre.” I can’t wait!

Chick Hancock wrote, inspired by John Perry Barlow’s ’69 obit of Oscar Look: “I was the fifth generation of my family to go to Wesleyan. My dad was in Alpha Delta Phi. God only knows in what form it exists today. Anyway, when we visited it in 1968, it had changed somewhat from 1936. He said, ‘We, juleps in hand, used to sing across the street to the Psi U’s.’ … When I was at Wesleyan, it was my great luck that David McAllester was teaching the Intro Anthropology course. That led to me becoming an Anthro major, writing a grant proposal that to this day I don’t understand, and teaching on the Navajo Reservation. This led to me becoming a Harley-Davidson dealer, flatteringly profiled in the alumni mag. About 10 years ago I visited Wesleyan with my younger daughter and sat in on a class. In filed the entire hockey team. I didn’t think that this bode well for class discussion—sorry, guys. What followed was extraordinary give-and-take. We subsequently visited another member of the Little Three where the professor had to beg the students to speak.”

Andy Feinstein happily lets me know every time Harvard Law professor Steve Shay is quoted in the New York Times. And Andy himself was quoted extensively on the subject of the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate’s report on the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Brian Hersey—bless him—took issue with my characterization of the usual tone of this column, finding it more “convivial” than “snarky.” “We’re more into mellowness than snarkiness with our age now and, in fact, the insertion of a nap break into our reading of your reports may be required by many of us, given the adrenalin rush it induces,” Hmm. I might have to insert such a break into the writing of the column now…

Charlie Smith, my junior year suitemate, wrote, following the announcement of my election to the ABA environmental section chairmanship, to remind me that I got my start in environmental law working on a National Science Foundation project along with him and future hydrologist Glenn Harris. Charlie lives in Bowling Green, Ky., which, to his surprise, was named by Forbes magazine as the third best place in the USA to which one might retire. Charlie now plans to check out the first- and second-place cities. He was present at Western Kentucky’s epic 67–66 victory over previously unbeaten Marshall. This is football we’re talking about now. The Western quarterback threw eight touchdowns, and deprived Marshall of a New Year’s bowl bid. Charlie has been at Western for 20 years, the last 12 as professor of library public services. He has authored research publications in both geology and musicology. In 2013 he received the President’s Call to Service award, a national-level recognition of volunteerism. And he was elected to the Linnean Society of London.

Could six months go by without a word from Bob “Whizzer” White? Of course not.

“Bob White reports the birth of his grand-niece, India Carson, who was born Oct. 10th, weighing in at 7.2 lbs. The mother, Theresa, Bob’s nephew, Tre, and Granddad Bill “Butch” Carson, are all doing well. For your amusement: St. Croix Diving December 2014: 16 dives; cumulative number of dives: 515. A typical day of diving: I am the one in the red fins; also, 1:04–1:20 is me—note the air bubbles coming from both ends, 3:24; the predator with the big fin on its back is not me; and why did I feel safe with the sharks circling us?—answer: there were two absolute beginners in our group (the sharks know who is who by the arms and legs flailing around). youtu.be/aQApCMnD0LM Insight into the origin of the Whizzer… My interest in diving started with TV character Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt. Mike Nelson, a former Navy diver, did judo—another interest of mine as a kid—in many of the episodes on land and in the water. At the time, I could not do judo. Wrestling became my passion. Recall that my freshman year roommate, Robert Weinberg, was a black belt in judo and brought judo to Wesleyan. Now you understand that my ‘methods of madness’ (a title borrowed from Professor Benjamin Braginsky’s book) were not random events.”

One might point out that some guy named Shakespeare had something to do with that title.

This past October I was privileged to be at Wesleyan for a celebration honoring Rabbi George Sobelman, who died a few years ago. George’s wife, Nina, and all four of their children—many of whom we remember as youngsters running madly around the Wesleyan campus and are now all quite prominent in diverse fields. Also there representing our class were Mike Busman, Karyn Scher, and Rivka Raffel, wives of Eddie Ohlbaum and Chuck Raffel. David Rabban ’71 was one of the organizers, and also among the attendees were Andy Baker ’71 and Todd Jick ’71, Jeff Richards ’69, Bob Wolkoff ’73, Pam van der Meulen ’74, and doubtless others to whom I apologize for my failing memory. A wonderful occasion to remember special times with a very special man.

SETH A. DAVIS | sethdavis@post.harvard.edu
17 Wolf Road, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520

Aloha. Well, I did ask for news and all I can say is, “when it rains it pours,” or if in Boston, “when it snows it definitely snows!!!” I received so much news you are going to have to go to: classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1971. Please read the long version, I could not do justice to your informative e-mails.

Bob Baranoff retired in June and is expecting first grandchild and other things….

Brett S. Goldstein: “After having retired from the rabbinical pulpit in Hollywood Beach, Fla., I’ve officiated at my 1,000th wedding.”

Mark Wallach: “I have become a grandfather: My son, Philip Wallach ’05 and his wife, Vera Krimnus ’05 became the parents of Bina (Wes class of 2036?) in July of 2014.

John Cuddy is getting ready for a fourth year of Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Saw Norm Leong: Sadly his brother died, and happily his stepdaughter just had twins.

Dave Lindorff was in London trying to cadge an interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. That and thiscantbehappening.net is “the only news organization in the US to be labeled a threat by the Department of Homeland Security.”

R. Anderson Sutton: “I’m dean of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa since Aug. 2013, after teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 31 years.”

John Schimmel: “I live in Los Angeles with my wife, Maureen Donley, and three children. After a long career as a bass player and a Hollywood studio executive, now I am a producer and head of linear content for Cloud Imperium Games (the largest crowd-funded project in history).”

Bob Yaro: “I retired as president of Regional Plan Association in December after 25 years with this Manhattan-based urban planning think tank. I’m also teaching at the UPenn School of Design. Expecting first grandchild from daughter Jennifer Yaro ’06.”

Jim Rizza: “Fourth granddaughter, Lilyana O’Connell, born to daughter Jess and son-in-law Aaron, Jan. 5th, healthy and happy. I’m still doing a little counseling, writing, guitar performance, flying airplanes, and semi-serious photography.”

Robin Gillam: “I’m now broken-hearted by the death of my wife, Judy, née Johnson, Oct. 20, 2014. This was the end of a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer that began in early 2011. I mostly have been occupying myself with hobbies—gym, motorcycle, choir and guitar playing, and now cooking and property maintenance.”

David Foster: “My career as a software geek is winding down after 20 years at Oracle Corp. Will retire next year. My volunteer work for the Alzheimer’s Association has me finishing my second year as chair of the board of directors of the Minnesota/North Dakota chapter.”

Bill Davis: “After 42 years with the New England School of Art & Design I have officially retired. My wife, Patty, and I (married in 1969), are still very much together. Our first grandchild, Nate, is now 18 months old. I have been very pleased to see Wesleyan president, Michael Roth ’78, actively promoting the value of a liberal arts education.”

Bob LeRoy is founder and coordinator of Plant-based Prevention Of Disease (p-pod.org).

Bert Whetstone (’71 and MA ’75): “I use my psychology training to do adventure-based team development and leadership training with young people. Please check out my site: drbertwhetstone.com.” After 30 years in New Hampshire, he lives on the Shenandoah River in Charles Town, W.Va.

Andy Glantz: “I still design and build custom, sculptural furniture. And I spend a lot of time renovating our home in Scottsdale, Ariz.”

Alan Epstein: “I have been very active in my research—immunotherapy. I am starting a new cancer biotech company. We now live in Pasadena one mile from the Rose Bowl.”

Warren White: “I am cooking and baking for the poor and homeless through the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, Room in the Inn, Safe Haven, and The Nashville Food Project.

Stewart Malloy: “Three children with lovely wife Claudia—two Brown graduates and one Yale. Three fantastic grandchildren (Stella, Elliot, and Clayton) under 3 have put a new spin on life!! Malloystewart@gmail.com.”

Demetrie Comnas: “Got together with John Billock at the occasion of the christening of his great nephew (his sister’s grandson) here in Pennsylvania. I spend a fair amount of time on our farm in Greece (highgroves.com) and believe that the EU has cut Greece a lousy financial deal.”

Bill Boulware: “I am now living in the D.C. area. My wife has a PR company that specializes in crisis management. If you’ve seen the show Scandal…she is the real Olivia Pope. The show was inspired by her and her work, and she serves as co-executive producer while still running her D.C. firm. My mother is alive and kicking at 91 and still lives in Harlem—-by herself. I co-wrote a book a couple of years ago, Long Shot, that was published by HarperCollins. I’m not involved much with television anymore but it amazes me how well Wesleyan is represented in that field.”

Mary O. McWilliams: “I just retired from full-time work and am enjoying a mixture of corporate and nonprofit board work, civic activities and travel. I’m active but don’t have to rush anymore! maryoliver.mcwilliams@gmail.com.”

Mark Merlis’s fourth novel, JD, will be published by the University of Wisconsin Press in March 2015. Mark was married in June 2013 to Bob Ashe, after a 31-year-engagement.

Vic Pfeiffer: “After retiring in 2008 from a career in healthcare/employee benefits/human resources strategy consulting with The Segal Company’s D.C. office, my wife and I moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore to small historic Chestertown (1706). We renovated an old (1880s) house. Daughter Alex Pfeiffer ’06 gave birth to Riley Pfeiffer Reynolds in Aug. 2014, in San Diego. We had a great visit last June from Pat Callahan and wife Ann Goodwin ’79.”

Blake P. Allison: “I am still architecting away in Cambridge; latest project is a classroom building for a small special-needs school in Lexington. Martha’s Vineyard is quite a crossroad for Wesleyan alums: Bob Julier, Peter Woodin, John Abrams ’75, David White ’70, Morgan Muir ’73, Dusty Carter ’69, Tim Thompson ’73 (from Porter, Maine). Life is good!”

John Lippincott plans to retire in March as president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Last September, his daughter, Sarah Lippincott ’07, married Brendan O’Connell ’08. In retirement he expects to continue to use his expertise to advance educational institutions. lippincottj@verizon.net

Graeme Bush: “I am still the chair of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, coming up on my 15th year in that role. Kids are all great—Emmy is in real estate in NYC, Jenny is in Tel Aviv working with an incubator called Elevator, Sam is in Vietnam traveling before he finishes at Oregon and starts at Guggenheim Partners in June, youngest, Andie, is going to Lehigh in the fall, and Wendy and I will—finally—be empty nesters. Wendy is very involved in several organizations that foster Arab Israeli engagement. gbush@zuckerman.com.”

Fran Pawlowski (The Gallup Pole): “After more than 40 years, I retired from full-time teaching  last May. My legal business, Gallup Process Service, has been an interesting sideline since 1978. My wife (Delphine) and I are the proud parents of seven children and 11 grandchildren. I look forward to our 45th Reunion with great anticipation and hope to see many, many classmates. If you’ve never attended a Reunion, or haven’t for a long time, I invite you to attend our 2016 event. Peace.” I think Fran said it the best: See you in 2016! Aloha.

NEIL J. CLENDENINN | Cybermad@msn.com
PO Box 1005, Hanalei, HI 96714

Aloha, all. We approach our 45th Reunion (May 21-24). See WesConnect for more. Meanwhile, here’s some news from some of your classmates.

We begin by offering our sympathies to Bruce Williams, who lost his mother just before Christmas. The surviving parents of our classmates are getting up there. I know some of us cringe a bit whenever the phone rings at late hours. Let’s wish the parents well.

Thanks to Jerry Schwartz, who, I believe, was last in New Britain. He continued to say he’s officially retired but still managing websites “here and there.” Also says, “I’ve been editing other people’s fiction, and have an item or two of my own almost ready to publish. I do audio and video editing, too. All of that is just for fun. In other words, it doesn’t bring in any money.” Jerry also wrote, “I’m in touch with Al Zimmermann, who lives in NYC. We get together a few times a year for dinner and theater. I also get to see Jerry Barton once a year, when he comes back from Austria for a visit. Jerry Barton is a wonderful photographer, and just had a 2015 photo calendar published.” There’s much more, but space limits prevail, so look on WesConnect.

And then, as if by magic, I also heard from Al Zimmermann: “Having failed Retirement 101 twice, I’m trying yet again. Mostly I’m now spending my time managing software development projects on a pro bono basis for theater-related nonprofit entities. It’s still work but, because I’m not getting paid, I can claim to have finally gotten at least part of this retirement thing right. My current project is the re-development of the Internet Off-Broadway Database (iobdb.org) for the Lucille Lortel Foundation.” Well, on behalf of those for whom retirement isn’t in sight, enjoy it for us!

Had an “out of office” e-mail from David Ouimette, who is practicing law. He’s in Phoenix. Still trying to get more details.

Prince Chambliss writes, “Although Lawrence Madlock (long time medical doctor), Thurman Northcross ’71 (continuing his work with business trends), and I all live here in Memphis and share many of the same circles of friends and activities, we don’t get together and share news about WesU nearly as much as we should. I just saw both of them within the past week.” Prince also wrote, “I spent some quality time with Harvey Yazijian in Boston a few months ago when I had occasion to be there for a law school class reunion. I know he and a few others plan to be present in Middletown for our 45th. I look forward to seeing you there.” I’m sure he means the plural “you,” so be there or be square. See more on WesConnect.

It’s been ages since we heard from Brian Silvestro, who practices law, coaches high school basketball, and resides in Southport, Conn. He has four sons “living in four different time zones. John is a captain in the USMC and stationed in San Diego as a C-130 pilot. Tyler is in Brooklyn and is a landscape architect. Jamie is in Chicago and is an architect, and Mike is in Colorado Springs where he works in the hotel business. Jane and I are first-time grandparents to Brooke and Ben born 7/4/14 in Colorado. Life goes on. No complaints. Very blessed.” Brian also mentioned that he “could not get any of my boys to go to Wes.” He’s actually a bit amused by it, except for the costs of college. Congratulations on the grandchild and all else.

Meanwhile, in France, Ward Rinehart is busy with his editing company (“WHO is our chief client, but we are also working for a number of other organizations that work in international health.”) but not too busy to take time out for eye surgery (which, in typical Ward style, led to some interesting versions of the Snellen eye chart) and not too serious to overlook a new story of Boris, the snow-loving cat, entitled Boris Takes a Hike. (Obviously aimed at a generation which doesn’t think of Natasha, Rocky, and Bullwinkle at the mention of Boris.) See jura-eds.com/boristakesahike.html. If you’re interested in the Snellen chart “riffs,” as Ward calls them, you could “Google” the phrase “Jura Snellen,” but that gets you an image of coffee makers or something. (Weird.) Try this link instead: every10miles.com/eye-chart-riffs/.

Not too far away, in Norway, Brad Matthews continues “consulting internationally on productive collaborative innovation and change readiness.” He plans to “spend more time in 2015 and beyond sculpting for fun and profit.” Brad says he’s “staying in close touch with Bill Davis ’71 and Eric Buergers.” He wishes everyone “good living ahead.” Well said. I asked Brad if learning Norwegian wasn’t quite challenging and he replied, “Norwegian is not simply challenging to learn. Add in hearing that’s not as good as it used to be, and memory challenged to remember the English vocabulary that was second nature to me previously, and you have a largely disabling mix.” As they don’t say in Norwegian, I assume, oy.

And speaking of Yiddish, fun-loving Mark Goodman is preparing to travel in Europe after converting a camper. He’s consulted Elliot Daum, who reportedly goes to Burning Man festivals in a motor home, and plans to enlist the help of Andy Leonard, who Mark describes as “pretty knowledgeable in vehicular matters.” Mark also has consulted with David Cantor in Brussels and others. As he puts it, “More meshuggene escapades!”

Sheila and Steve Ingraham visited Kaua’i in October, and Steve wrote this account: “My bride Sheila and I are still glowing from a fall trip to Kaua’i. After surviving the obligatory helicopter ride (doorless!), we met up with a colorful local: an Alaskan transplant, our very own agent Russ Josephson. Not content with merely being the hub in our Wesleyan wheel, he led us through bumpy back country, past flowery vines, singing birds, and waterfalls to his personal paradise: a verdant plot of red earth and palm trees where, one day, he and Vera will put on stilts the most ecofriendly place imaginable. It may even make Ben Stiller, his neighbor on a nearby hill, blush. Just don’t expect Russ to throw out a date for completion. As with Jefferson’s Monticello, projects of this magnitude take time. And anyway, as was drilled into us at Wes, it’s really about the journey, the process, and not the product. Right, Russ? He was a fine guide.” All I did was drive them the .8 mile up the iffy road to our housesite, I promise you.

Embarrassed by undue attention, I prodded and Steve added: “I could also write about the King Kong mountain emerging from the mists. Or about the sea turtles that bounced around in the Poi’pu surf just below our condo. Or about hiking along those spectacular bluffs and walking those gorgeous beaches . . . all of it so therapeutic. But maybe what I miss most are those ocean breezes that were always with us. They never disappoint.” A career in travel writing may await, Steve.

And finally, this from Maurice Hakim: “I am still very active professionally. In fact, I have two companies, Teacrest and Mr. Mo’s Beverages. The former manufactures ready-to-drink organic teas (T42), the latter, organic lemonades (Mr. Mo’s). Most of our business centers on private label. Customers are high-end grocery chains such as Earth Fare, Heinen’s, and Kings Supermarkets.

“My wife and I moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, 11 years ago from Bedford, N.Y. We are now in Jupiter, alongside the beach. Those who attended may remember the birth of our daughter Alexandra just before our 20th Reunion. Wow, she is now 24 (!), lives in Manhattan and works at Bloomberg in the marketing department. She loves it.

“Since our 40th, I have kept close contact with Jim Elston and his lovely wife, Meckle. They now reside full time in S. Bristol, Maine. For the past two summers we have rented a cottage there and have enjoyed spending time with them. Dinner at their house is an extravaganza. Jim, as you know, has a very successful wine importing business. His house has fabulous cellar stocked with some of the best French wines, which he is never reluctant to share with his guests. Always professorial, Jim will guide you through his cellar and provide insight into every bottle.

“I miss being up North, especially during the spring and fall. We’re looking for a cottage along the Connecticut shore, specifically, Clinton or Stonington.”

Listening to music from our college years as I write. I propose “My Back Pages” (Byrds’ version, 1967) as a theme for our 45th Reunion.

Russ Josephson | russ_josephson@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754

We beat the Reunion attendance record for the third year in a row with 94 attendees! It was great to see all of your smiling faces looking as young and carefree as we did 35 years ago. Thanks also to Banning and Seanfor hosting the after-party.

Jim Friedlich wrote in that he, Eric Asimov,Ann Kaplan, Bill Plotch, and Mike Vorhaus enjoyed a wine-intensive meal together at Jean-Georges in May shortly before Reunion. Eric is the prolific wine columnist for The New York Times; Ann, an economist; Mike, the president of Magid Advisors, a global market research firm; and Bill is still thriving as a bond trader.

Jim led a WesSemimar at Reunion weekend on “The Future of Media and Entertainment,” which included classmate Laura Walker, CEO of WNYC. Jim was named chief executive officer of Empirical Media, a New York-based media advisory firm, in January. Jim, Strauss Zelnick, Andrew Vogel ’95, and President Michael Roth ’78 co-hosted a cocktail party for DigitalWes in midtown Manhattan in June, a gathering of more than 150 members of the Wesleyan community involved in digital media and venture-capital.

Karin Kiewra has spent the last few decades as a manager and editor in public relations, marketing, and development (fundraising) roles at Boston nonprofits, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard. She has been living with her partner, John Bach, in Somerville, Mass., for several years, and gets to see a fair bit of her 25-year-old son, Jacob, who works for a rising craft brewery, Jack’s Abby, in not-too-distant Framingham. She’s now the senior campaign writer/editor at Northeastern University, where the students are, as Garrison Keillor might say, all good looking, far above average, and get amazing co-op jobs all over the world. She writes, “If I couldn’t go to Wesleyan all over again, I’d come here.”

Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre spent a month in Madagascar this spring, doing research for upcoming Afropop Worldwide broadcasts. Amazing place. Amazing music. They were pleased to share the sonic spoils with fellow ’79-ers at what’s become a traditional after-hours Reunion bash at Banning’s place in Middletown. You can follow Banning on afropop.org.

Craig McLaughlin relocated to Berkeley. The second edition of his textbook, Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach, was released in July. The book is co-authored with his father, Curtis McLaughlin ’54. In August, he premiered a one-person show at The Marsh, one of San Francisco’s top venues for solo performance.

Ben Solnit and his wife, Audrey, had a great visit over the summer with John Hatleberg ’79 and Rise Dimson. The highlight was a visit to Long House Gardens, where Phillip Petit happened to be making final preparations for a bijou reenactment of his 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers. John claimed their timing was serendipitous, but given his many connections in the far-flung art world, one never knows.

Their daughters are both launched into new full-time jobs: Rebecca (Dickinson ’12) as a middle-school math teacher for Teach for America in Philadelphia, and Anita (Tufts ’14) as a family service provider for South Bay Mental Health in Lynn, Mass.

Julie Hacker has had a busy year. Along with her architectural partner, Stuart Cohen, she has won awards including the 2014 Preservation Award from Lake Forest Preservation Foundation and the 2014 Watermark Award from Builder Magazine. Their work has appeared in Better Homes and Gardens Spring 2014 Special Edition and the following three books: The Kitchen Bible by Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane; Traditional Architecture: Timeless Building for the 21st Century by Alireza Sagharchi and Lucien Steil; and Houses for all Regions: CRAN Residential Collection. She adds, “I continue to race (triathlons) although gone are the days of the IronMan. As my age group gets smaller I place and sometimes win! I made it to Nationals this summer in Milwaukee and raced with the best. The women over 50 are beasts! Just too much work! My son Gabriel just finished his first year at RISD and loved it. He is majoring in film/video/animation in what is called ‘new media,’ which incorporates everything plus the kitchen sink, I believe. As an AIA fellow, I continue to be involved with the Chicago AIA chapter and our CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network) division. Any other Wesleyan architect out there who will be attending any CRAN conferences, let me know.”

Ann Kaplan wrote, “The platform on which my happiness rests is solidly in place. First, work is a pleasure. CAE has been developing tests that measure student learning outcomes. Yes, it can be done. Bill Gates said of one of our instruments, the CLA+, “I think most people would agree that the skills like critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing—the skills the CLA+ does measure—are pretty important.” It’s exciting to work here. Second, my daughter, Ariel, is thriving. She now lives in my father’s old office, which I own. It’s a beautiful studio apartment, high above Greenwich Village. It has so many windows, which display panoramic views of New York, including the Empire State Building. She works near my office as an elite personal trainer and continues to excel as a pole dancer. I am always in awe of her beautiful spirit. Third, my scuba adventures are taking me to beautiful places. I went to Little Cayman and St. John this summer and am deciding between Papua New Guinea, the Maldives, and Palau for next summer. I have amassed enough miles to take another long trip. And, finally, good friends abound. It’s great to live in New York City, where so many roads cross. I hope to see some of you along the way on this wonderful journey.”

Alan Saly’s been working on organizing the participation of transit workers in New York City in the Peoples Climate March, set for Sept. 21. Mass transit is a big solution to the climate crisis!

Daniel Ostrow chimes in: “I’m still in Middletown, owner and chief instructor at the Tat Wong Kung Fu Academy, 25 years in downtown Middletown. I teach students of all ages, from 4 to 74, and love my life in the martial arts. Life is exciting, challenging, and satisfying. Many of the subjects I studied at Wesleyan have daily and direct relevance to Kung Fu, anything from Spanish and French to comparative religion. I wish I had studied Chinese! I have had the wonderful experience of teaching one generation of students, from 5 years old through black belt, and now they’re off to college! My wife, Sarah, has been with me every step of the way as teacher and Kung Fu mama.”

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com 

Ann Biester Deane | Abdeane@gmail.com

Ken writes: Bill Adler divides his time between Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. He’s still writing books and learning Japanese. His daughters are “growing, growing, and mostly grown,” his oldest having graduated from Tufts a year ago, then teaching English for a year in France, and his youngest to be graduating from college in May… “hard to believe.”

Elizabeth (PepPep) Bachman works as an international opera director, and presentation skills trainer, using her operatic background to help public speakers with their stage presence. She is based in San Francisco but spends much of her time in Austria, where, as founder of TOP Opera (Tyrolean Opera Program)—a summer training program in the Austrian Alps—she provides young singers with business, voice, acting, dance, and language skills. She and Gisela Beckermann are married in Austria and are considering a marriage in the U.S. as well.

Geoff Ginsburg and his wife, Pam Douglas, are living, with their two Maine Coon cats, Mombo and Simba, in Durham, N.C., where he is professor of medicine, pathology, and biomedical engineering, and director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Duke University. They enjoy the mix of southern living and the university community. Geoff has fond memories of Wes and welcomes any Wes visitors.

Suki Hoagland sends greetings and well wishes from sunny California. After nine years of living in Switzerland, she and her husband, Jim, have moved back to the States, where both are at Stanford, she as a visiting scholar in the Earth Systems Program, an interdisciplinary undergraduate and co-terminal master’s degree program, and he as a consulting professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment. Their older son is a graduate of the Naval Academy and a captain in the Marine Corps, their second son a Cornell graduate who works as a transportation engineer specializing in green transportation—light rail, high-speed trains, ferries, and bus transit. They love life in Palo Alto, where they ride their bikes to campus, “rarely need a car…have no mortgage, no commute, no pets, no kids at home, just lots of freedom and sunshine.”

Tim Hollister continues to do great work in promoting teen driving safety, for which he has received the 2014 Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement of the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national award recognizing his multifaceted contributions. Tim maintains his national blog, “From Reid’s Dad,” named in memory of his son, which serves as a an important educational resource for parents of young drivers. His blog led to the publication of his acclaimed book, Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving, in 2013. The awards committee specifically notes the extent to which Tim’s research, writing, and public appearances have been done on his own time and without financial support.

Gail Boxer Marcus is CEO of Calloway Labs, a clinical toxicology laboratory in Woburn, Mass. She is married to Peter Marcus ’77.

Lucy Mize and her husband have returned to the States this past year after a 20-year stint overseas in her capacity as a public health adviser, the last 18 having been spent in Indonesia. They are based in Washington, D.C., but she will still be traveling extensively (32 countries) in her new post as senior health advisor for the Asia Bureau of the United States Agency for International Development, while he travels to Africa for the World Bank. Their son Thaddeus ’17 is involved in crew, is an RA, and is in search of a major. Their daughter Belle is a high school freshman (“adjusting well to the culture…although doesn’t understand the rules of football”). Lucy is liking being back, going to ball games with Bill Tabor and gardening with his wife, Elise Fulstone, also seeing Sara Margolis ’81, who is a friend from Mali… “nice to have Cardinals all around.”

Wolfgang Natter sends his hello to all classmates and is pleased to report that his son, Joseph ’17, is enjoying his studies and his involvements in the campus community at Wesleyan… “a special joy to me.” Wolfgang began a new position, as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Penn. He can be reached at natterw@chc.edu.

Julie Scolnik continues her role as artistic director of Mistral Music, a chamber ensemble in Brookline, Mass., which she founded 18 years ago. It’s described as “chamber music the way it’s supposed to be…shrugs off old traditions…with plenty of high jinks and personal connection to the audience.” Julie lives in Brookline with her family; her daughters, Sasha (cello) and Sophie (piano), are students in the Harvard/New England Conservatory Program.

Jonathan Spector and his wife are moving to Woodstock, Vt., after 20 years of life outside Boston, now that their four boys are at college or beyond. They’ve had a ski house for many years in Woodstock, which provides the attraction of Vermont with reasonable flight access to New York City, such that Jon will be able to maintain his work there at The Conference Board.

David Weild continues his work in stock market reform aiming to support economic growth, recently starting IssuWorks, Inc., a business designed to broaden securities distribution for investment banks and corporate issuers. His wife, Christi, is an avid martial artist, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a student of Krav Maga, and a realtor. Their kids—David (13), Kelly and Michael (twins, 11)—are all busy in the Bronxville school system, active in sports. Dave frequently sees Kaylie Jones ’81 (he is her daughter Eyma’s godfather) and Seth Gendler ’79 (he is Dave’s daughter Kelly’s godfather).

Jim Kurose has been chosen for a significant leadership role by the National Science Foundation, as its assistant director for the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Jim has had a long and productive career as a researcher and educator in the field of computer science. He is Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at UMass Amherst, where he has also served as chairman of that department and dean of the College of Natural Sciences. Jim and Julie ’78 live in Northampton, Mass., where they have raised three kids—including a Wes grad (Charlie ’10).

Regards to all,

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com