Class of 1974 | 2014 | Issue 1
Planning to attend Reunion? Go to our Wesconnect Reunion site to let us know that you’ll be joining us and see who else is planning to attend.
Also, to get into the spirit of our 40th, please send a “talk about yourself” update to Sharon Purdie. Write about your passions, family news, accomplishments, memories of Wesleyan, friends you hope to see, next careers, travel adventures, or whatever you’d like to share, and we will post them here. Check back often—and it’s okay to send more than one update.
Karla Bell writes: “This is a big year for the family. My son, Daniel graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School on May 22; he has been on law review and will spend his next two years clerking for federal judges around the country. He will marry Rachel Cohen, his classmate from Yale undergrad, this Labor Day weekend. Lots of happiness, success, glad tidings. Rachel C. (known in our house as Rachel 1.5) is warm, engaging, talented, intelligent and saucy–in short, perfect.
“My daughter graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., two years ago, Phi Beta Kappa. She had a passion for teaching children from underprivileged backgrounds, starting all the way in high school; she volunteered over 600 hours at Emory at a federally funded pre-school program. But, for the last two years she has been with Teach for America in an Atlanta charter school in a situation that can only be described as shocking. She is a first grade teacher who, on the first day of class, didn’t have a single book. She has put in 16 hour days and spent weekends going to her kids’ churches and baseball games, but has concluded no meaningful educational reform can occur until America addresses income disparity and segregation. And, she is burned out. She is not going to teach anymore, at least for a while. She is off to Boston as an executive recruiter.
“Adam graduated from Emory this Spring and is still looking for his first job. Mark and I have five kids between us and he is definitely the sweetest, and possibly one of the smartest, but still hasn’t found his place.
“I have had a very difficult year, with medical issues presented to me as dire and incurable. I have disproved the predictions regarding the life-threatening condition, but problems remain that are not insignificant. Not the cheeriest note…
“I am sorry to miss the Women’s Gathering this year. Enjoy it. Enjoy each other. I hope to be there for our next meeting.
“And, please, anyone who wants to open up a conversation, contact me. I have been rather isolated this year because of complicated immunological problems (trust me: when you are wearing a mask and gloves in the airports no one wants to sit next to you). I am not uncomfortable talking about my problems, but I am bored with them. What are you doing? What are you finding rewarding? What would you recommend I segue to as my next profession or identity?
“Again, I will miss you all.”
Chris Neagle writes: “Still living just in Cumberland just north of Portland, Maine. I have been active on our Planning Board for the last 10 years. No longer married as of 2007, but now sharing my life with the most excellent Kat. Very proud of son Scott (Bennington ’05) who is a teacher/musician in Brooklyn, NY about to go to grad school in computer sciences, and getting hitched to a fellow Chewonki lifer next year. Son Jeff (UVM ’09) is a passionate slopestyle skier who manages Skiershop in Stowe, VT who continues to impress his dad.
“My free time is spent on golf courses all over Maine and skiing at Sugaloaf most weekends the lifts are turning, all with a great group of friends. I occasionally run into Rich Estabrook (’74) and his lovely wife Anne at the many concerts and shows in our area. Have partial season tickets to the Boston Red Sox and Portland Sea Dogs, and I still dance as often as I can, so my life is full.
“I am in my 37th year of private law practice in downtown Portland, a great city. After 27 years at one of Maine’s megafirms, i have practiced with Troubh Heisler, PA since 2004, a great group of about a dozen attorneys. Real estate and land use disputes, purchase, mortgage loan and lease transactions, condominium work and more recently mediation fill my days.
“See you next month.”
Jose Goico writes: “Hello everyone. I was a caught a bit by surprise when I read Harold Sogard’s email inviting me to our 40th reunion, but it didn’t take much convincing to say yes. It just felt right, so I thought it would be good to share a bit in anticipation of our getting together in May. As I commented to Sharon Purdie, 40 years is a time-span of Biblical proportions. I want to assure you, however, that I have not been wandering in the desert all this time (at least not literally), but raising a family with Annie, my wife of 36 years. Our three children are all grown and on their own. Jeremy, the oldest, just turned 30 and owns a business, Black Tie Ski Rental Delivery Service, in Mammoth Lakes, CA, along with his soccer buddy and classmate from the University of Rochester. This is their fifth year in business and doing quite well, so if you plan to go skiing at Mammoth, feel free to check them out (mammothskis.com). Madeleine and Sara Alida are 26 and although they are fraternal twins, they look nothing alike. Madeleine (brunette and tall) lives in NYC. She is the administrator of the Hebrew and Judaic Studies Department at NYU, where she did her undergraduate studies, and is completing a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration at the Wagner School. Her sister, Sara, (blonde and short) went to UR like her brother. She is presently in Iquitos, Peru, (in the middle of the Amazon) completing two-years of fieldwork for her PhD in Linguistic and Cultural Anthropology at UC San Diego.
“I don’t think many of you would know my wife, Annie. We met at Wesleyan, but she hails from Lincoln, Nebraska. She was visiting a mutual friend on her way to study abroad in Vienna, Austria. Needless to say, that weekend in the early spring of 1972, proved to be the most auspicious of my life. Annie loves to travel, so shortly after our wedding in 1978, we took a six-month road trip, zigzagging across this immense and beautiful country—camping, backpacking, and snorkeling, while visiting family and friends. This is how we wound up in Santa Monica, California, where our children were born. We now fill our “empty nest” with two Australian Shepherds, and a kitten. Annie loves gardening and has found her work as the CFO of the Connecticut Bar Foundation for the past 14 years truly rewarding because it is the major source of funding for Legal Aid in CT.
“As for me, I continue to work directly with children, adolescents and young adults, as I have for the past 34 years, the last 11 as an Educational Therapist, and 23 as a bilingual urban classroom teacher. Now, some of you would probably remember me through African Music, Jazz, or the Religion Department (soccer, maybe?). Well, all those continue to play significant roles in my life. Zen practice is the crucible where in I wrestle with my Mortality. Soccer and especially Music are my passions, but working with children in an educational setting is my calling. An urban, bilingual classroom is where I would still be, if not for my health, but that is a story for another day and another time. Suffice it to say that leaving the classroom was one of the hardest choices I have ever had to make, but enough of existential dilemmas because all in all, it has been a wonderful 40 years. So let me end on a high note. I continue to play lots of music, mostly live with a great cover band, The Cartells (www.thecartells.com). We play mostly on the Connecticut shoreline. Last year, I also had the good fortune to achieve a life-long dream in music. I released a CD of original music three years in the making. Here’s the iTunes link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=862522205
“I had the privilege to co-write one composition (Snowbreak) and do the Latin arrangement of various others as well as play with some of the most talented Jazz musicians in Connecticut. It is modest by industry standards, but very listenable (according to Harold Sogard). Speaking of which, Harold has asked me to play at the reunion dinner with Wes Brown, Michael Minard, Lloyd Komesar, and Wayne Forrest. I am very much looking forward to it and hope to see some of you there.”
Chris Moeller writes: “Here are some news items from Minnesota:
– Last fall Lee Coplan had dinner with us when he came to town to attend an awards ceremony for the professor who was his Ph.D. advisor.
– Our daughter got married in March.
– In May our son will be graduated from Univ. of Minnesota with a degree in electrical engineering.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the class reunion this year.
Randy (“R.N.A.”) Smith‘s fifth golf book is out. It’s a historical novel focused on enigmatic Willie Anderson, only man to win the U.S. Open three straight times, and his turbulent family. Also note that Randy is the force behind a new website, golf-fiction.com.
Rob Ingraham (Northport, NY) writes: “In 1974 there’s no way I could’ve imagined that 40 years later I’d be motoring up to my Wes reunion to exchange lively banter with my classmates … and also attend the graduation of a daughter (Blair) while a son (Tucker) tells me, in the shortest sentences possible, how his freshman year wound up. That’s quite a whirl in one place, no? My two kids are both 5th generation Wes students, and the old place has not disappointed. Their happiness quotient has soared, and having them both there at the same time this year has enabled me to view Wes with a unique lens. Blair has a nice job lined up in NYC after graduation … the icing on top, for which my bride (June) and I are most thankful. Tucker is looking to spend a second summer working for his beloved Patriots under the watchful eye of Coach Belichick ’75, who knows a thing or two about imparting good work habits, starting every day in the darkness of early morning.
“I’m now 36 years in the sports marketing business, with retirement not an option as these Wes tuition bills can take your breath away. Stress reduction comes in the form of playing guitar in a 60’s/70’s R&R band, which I’ve been hacking away at for nearly 25 years. Those great songs sound better than ever (even when we play them)! And while there are days when I can’t remember my middle name, those distinctive Beatles/Stones/Motown lyrics keep shining through, crystal clear. I also keep busy with volunteer work focused on land preservation, as well as drug & alcohol programs aimed at students & parents in our community, where like many places, we’re fighting an epidemic of heroin overdoses. And finally, winters are especially treasured here because that’s when our refrigerated backyard ice rink comes alive with the sound of young hockey players who are in 7th heaven but don’t always know when it’s time to leave.
“Am looking forward to seeing everybody next month!”
Judy Jay writes: “After 27 years in [medical] partnership with my husband, Barry Shapiro, we closed our private Otolaryngology practice 2 years ago. He joined a large multi specialty group and I work part-time as a medical consultant for a private company doing medical coding review. I’ve enjoyed my free time, a novel experience after all those intense years, and have been able to spend more time doing what I enjoy: skiing, scuba diving, biking and, simply, living without the anxiety of running a medical practice. Our elder child, Rachel [Amherst ’09, Michigan Law ’14], will return to NY from Ann Arbor upon graduation in May with a job in a Manhattan firm and our younger child, Rob [Cornell ’12], loves working at Group M ESP doing sports media marketing. Life is good.”
Ruthann Richter writes: “I recently returned from Uganda as a Global Justice Fellow with the American Jewish World Service. We met with 8 different human rights organizations, including groups advocating for women and girls and the LGBT community. It was an extraordinary time in the country’s history, as the Ugandan president signed the heinous antigay law while we were there. Activists told us stories of public assaults, rape, eviction from homes and offices, summary arrests and police brutality. I have since been writing and speaking about my experiences and will be doing some advocacy in Washington to support U.S. polices that may have an impact on the conditions there, which I found truly heartbreaking.
“Sadly, I cannot attend our reunion. My husband is celebrating a milestone birthday that weekend. It would have been nice to reconnect with people after all these years.”
Chuck Gregory writes: “Lorraine and I celebrated our 30th anniversary on March 9th. I continue to do web development, publishing, and co-host The New American Dream Radio Show, which moved this year to Revolution Radio at freedomslips.com in the 6 to 8 pm time slot on Thursdays. Look for us on the Studio B stream, or visit http://theshow.newamericandream.info.”
Patricia Mulcahy writes: “I hope to make it to the reunion but have to check in with a new client to see what’s up. With deadlines I sometimes wind up working even on holiday weekends – one of the downsides of being a freelancer. But there are plenty of upsides. I have to smile to myself when I read notes from my peers who are retiring and vacationing and so forth because I am working my butt off. But I really enjoy what I do, and can keep at it as long as people keep hiring me. I’m still an editorial consultant: see the website www.brooklynbooks.com for a look at projects. Early in 2014 I finished working with a client who went to Wesleyan, as did her agent – three generations of Wes grads on one project, all by coincidence as far as I can tell (don’t know the years for author Sasha Martin (this is her married name) or her agent Lisa DiMona from Writers House). Sasha’s book Life from Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness will come out in March 2015 from National Geographic. They gave her a contract given the coverage for her blog Global Travel Adventure, for which she cooked recipes from every country in the world from her kitchen in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But her wonderful and very touching memoir turned out to be a little different, with equal measures of a story like Glass Castle. When I read it, I was reminded of the richness of the Wesleyan student body, because the school was always willing to take a chance on people from less-than-traditional backgrounds.
“I really enjoyed another recent assignment, working with Rebecca Eaton, the Executive Producer of Masterpiece on PBS, which Viking published last fall. I got a master class in British drama as well as a crash course in the history of this seminal program.
“I’m also a member of an idie editor group called 5E: Five Editors. Five Perspectives, and have started to do more workshops and teaching assignments, some in conjunction with my colleagues. We have a quarterly online newsletter that discusses all kinds of things in the book biz. I’d be glad to put people on our email mailing list….I can be reached via the Brooklyn Books website. Ironically, I now live in Jackson Heights in Queens. I named my company Brooklyn Books because I thought I’d never leave. But after twenty years, I did. Queens is great – very multiethnic. I told Sasha Martin ’02 that I can sample the cuisines of many of the places she writes about, within walking distance of my apartment (Afghan kabob house, and on and on….).
“All best wishes, and hope to see you (I’ll be a last-minute sign-up if I can manage it…)”
Monique Witt writes: “Ben, my younger son, was just admitted to Julliard so he will be attending both Columbia and Julliard come fall.
“I spoke to Linda Bierer this morning and she has the same extraordinary energy. She is still practicing, doing cutting edge research and publishing research papers on PTSD, while pursuing a very full life. We hope to go running soon.”
Victoria Ries writes: “After Wesleyan, I went to the University of Chicago Divinity School where I earned a PhD in Christian Theology. I felt called to ministry rather than to academia, and have worked in the Archdiocese of Seattle for 35 years. I first worked for three years in Catholic campus and young adult ministry at two universities and with all young adults in Tacoma, Washington. Most of my time has been spent in parish ministry. For the last 25 years, I have been appointed by the Archbishop to provide leadership and pastoral care for two parishes, the first for 10 years, and the second for 15 years‹all due to the shortage of priests. I have also been an adjunct faculty member at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University.
“I married Sam Saracino, class of 1973, in June of 1975. We have lived in Seattle, Washington since 1979. We have a son, Daniel, now 32, who lives in Madison, WI with his wife and two young sons; and a daughter Martha, now 29, who is a prosecutor in Fresno, CA.”
Charles Cocores writes: “I’m still working as the Educator in Residence and Certification Officer at CT College where a Wes grad, Katherine Bergeron, has just been installed as President. Carol and I are hoping to come to the reunion and working on Blaise Noto to be there too as we get to see him a good amount in NC on our frequent runs to SC! We have 4 grand kids that have become an important part of our lives, two, a 9 year old boy and 4 year old girl, from our daughter, Kate Cocores Madura ’00 and her husband Matt. And two, a 4 year old girl and 6 month old boy, from our son Chris and wife, Emily in Mechanicsburg PA. Hopefully, at least one of our grandkids will carry on the Wesleyan tradition! Carol and I are Habitat for Humanity Global Village leaders and between us have done or run trips to Kauai, Molokai, Big Island, Portugal, Guatemala, Honduras and a few other US locations as well. We are planning January 2015 trip to Cape Town, South Africa let us know if you’re interested.”
Joan Catherine Braun writes: “I am thrilled to have been chosen as a finalist for the Bay Area CFO of the Year award in the nonprofit category. I am humbled to find myself sharing that honor with Garfield Byrd, Wikimedia Foundation, and Kenneth Regalia, Bay Area Council. We’ll be joined in the limelight on June 5 by regional finance leaders in large, emerging, and small companies–Deepak Ahuja, Tesla Motors, Sarah Friar, Square, and Thomas Bardwick, Rocket Fuel, are among the finalists in those categories. Last, but not least, I am delighted to be helping Larkin Street Youth Services to raise money for their vital work! See: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/announcing-finalists-ninth-annual-bay-150000750.html
“This is the ninth year that Larkin Street Youth Center, in partnership with the San Francisco Business Times, have celebrated CFOs in the San Francisco Bay Area by soliciting nominations and asking an independent panel of business luminaries to select the finalists and, ultimately, pick the winners. The awards ceremony will be held on June 5. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will win. But win, lose, or draw, having been named a finalist is a tremendous–and unexpected–honor. Not bad for a English and East Asian History major!”
Jan Eliasberg writes: “I’ve completed my move ‘home’ to New York City, living in a spectacular loft in the Financial District. I have magnificent views of the Hudson and the Freedom Tower from every window. Profuse “thank yous” to Steve Goldschmidt ’72 for his instrumental role in helping me find such a fabulous space and negotiating an advantageous deal.
“My daughter, Sariel, was accepted Early Decision at Barnard. She loved Wesleyan and had a great experience visiting, courtesy of Andrew and Frantz, but ultimately decided that she belonged at Barnard…and Barnard agreed.
“My episodic television directing career continues to blossom. My episode of UNFORGETTABLE was the show’s Season Premiere, airing on April 4th to a lovely review in the New York Times. The drama I directed in Charleston, S.C — RECKLESS — will air in June. The television business in NYC is booming, thanks to the City and State’s generous tax credits, so possibilities are opening up and down the East Coast.
“In the meantime, I’m writing and directing an indie feature entitled TRAVELING LIGHT, adapted from my own novel, and am also developing a television series. If that’s not enough, I’m also going to be teaching at NYU Film School in the Fall.
“Now that I’m in New York City, I hope to re-connect with all of my East Coast based Wesleyan friends; my loft has a guest bedroom and a large dining table perfect for dinner parties, eating good food and watching the sun set over the Hudson River. If you’re in NYC, or going to be in NYC, please do reach out: jan@aquinnahfilms.com.”
Blaise Noto writes: “I’m living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and relocated my marketing and public relations firm to the Raleigh-Durham Triangle. I also am teaching Motion Picture Marketing and Distribution at UNC School of the Arts’ School of Filmmaking (one of the top film schools in the country), and also teach a number of Communication courses at William Peace University in Raleigh.
“Last year, I was nominated for a Emmy from the San Francisco chapter of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as a producer of the documentary feature film “When the Mountain Calls: Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan.
“If anyone is in the Triangle area of NC, look me up in Chapel Hill.”
Charisse Lillie writes: “After a wonderful career in government, the last year as City Solicitor of the City of Philadelphia, I joined the law firm of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, in 1992. I practiced Labor and Employment Law for 13 years. My last two years at the firm, I also served as Chair of the Litigation Department. I left Ballard Spahr in 2005 to join Comcast Corporation. I have just celebrated my ninth anniversary at Comcast Corporation. I was the SVP, Human Resources, for Comcast Cable and VP of Human Resources for Comcast Corporation for the first four years. I have been leading the Community Investment Department for the last five years. I still have two titles – Vice President, Community Investment, Comcast Corporation, and President of the Comcast Foundation. My husband, Tom McGill, Jr., continues to practice criminal defense law, mostly in the state courts in Philadelphia. He is an alum of Notre Dame Law School, and is an active mentor of a number of their students and graduates. My daughter Alison is the Public Relations Director for a non-profit seeking to protect girls in West Africa, specifically Sierra Leone, from human trafficking. She is working for the author, Dr. Clara Whaley Perkins, who has written a novel, based in Sierra Leone, IRON BUTTERFLY, whose proceeds are helping to fund the foundation. Alison is handling public relations, the website, tours, interviews and the social media strategy for the foundation. In 2013, she earned a Master of Science degree in Communications from Drexel University. My older children, Leslie and Thomas, III, are working hard in the fields of retail and politics. Between them, they have seven children. Summer, holiday and weekend visits are a lot of fun.
“At Comcast, in addition to the work of Community Investment, I am also doing some work in the diversity arena. I serve as the corporate liaison with our African American external Joint Diversity Council, and as one of three executive sponsors of the African American employee resource group. My passion for diversity in the legal profession and in the workforce remains very strong. After Wesleyan, I attended Temple Beasley School of Law, worked as a federal law clerk, and as a Trial Lawyer in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in Washington. Teddy Shaw and I were colleagues at DOJ. (I am so proud that Teddy is our commencement speaker for graduation this year.) I then worked as Deputy Director at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. I left CLS to earn an LL.M.(Master of Laws) at Yale Law School in 1982. I then went on to be a professor at Villanova Law School for three years and return to the DOJ. In March of 2014, I was privileged to attend a weekend of activities organized by the YLS Black Law Students Association for BLSA Alumni. I participated in a panel discussion focused on leveraging your law degree to achieve success in the corporate world. The conversations were lively and stimulating. I left optimistic about the future of diversity in the legal profession.
“I continue to be very active in my community work. Except for the couple of years in Washington, D.C. and the year in New Haven, I have lived my post-Wesleyan life in Philadelphia. I serve on the boards of Howard University in Washington, D.C., The Franklin Institute Science Museum, the American Arbitration Association and the United Way of Southeastern PA and Southern New Jersey. I also serve on two corporate boards – the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Philadelphia Electric Company(PECO), an Exelon Company. I have recently received awards recognizing my work in the community from The Philadelphia Business Journal, The Philadelphia Tribune, Odunde, Inc, and Associacion Puertorriquenos En Marcha(APM). It is a busy life, a fulfilling life. And there are Wesleyan links to so much of the success I have had in this rewarding and challenging career of mine. I am so looking forward to our reunion. I will be sharing it with my family, because my nephew, Charles “Chipper” Bounds, is a member of the Wesleyan Class of 2014.”
Bill Burton writes: “My life at present can be defined as being a participant in two urban renewal experiments, in vastly different settings. The first is taking place not far from our townhouse in Reston, Va., pop. 60,000, and involves the extension of the Washington, D.C., Metro subway/light rail system to a new station opening this year just a 20-minute walk from our front door. Reston, a planned community or “New Town”, also celebrates its 50th birthday this year as its founder, native New Yorker and now Reston resident Robert E. Simon, celebrates his 100th. The town is very proud of its unique blend of commercial, residential, and open recreational space, the latter which includes lots of woods with winding trails (‘Live, Work, Play’ is Reston’s motto) and views the major changes that will accompany the arrival of Metro with a lot of apprehension and, of course, planning. As property values rise near the station, we have had to fend off an attempt by developers to turn the golf course that surrounds our townhouse community into high-density housing.
“The second is in the town of Jamestown, Colorado, pop. 300, where my wife Laurel and I own a rustic cabin on James Creek that was built by her father and grandfather in the mid-50’s. An old mining town located in the Front Range not far from Boulder, Jamestown was hit hard by the historic floods of last September, with the result that 20% of the homes were damaged or destroyed. Our cabin escaped major damage when the bridge owned by our upstream neighbor clogged with debris and diverted the raging creek away from the cabin, while her house was torn in half. Since the beginning of the year Laurel has spent more time there than here at home, meeting with various disaster-agency representatives and helping our less-fortunate neighbors with damaged properties do the same. The spirited determination of this little town to rebuild following such devastation has been uplifting to witness. Laurel and I met Governor Hickenlooper during his tour of the state after the floods (sometimes it takes a disaster to get to see Hick!). As I write, stream-restoration engineers with heavy equipment are putting the creek back where it was right in front of our cabin, this time with reinforced banks that will hopefully fend off the large spring runoff that is expected. Laurel sits on the front porch and watches them work.
“I am winding down a 30-plus year career with the U. S. Geological Survey. My current focus is the geology of the area in central Virginia where a magnitude-5.8 earthquake occurred in August, 2011 that shook the entire eastern U. S., was felt by more people than any other U.S. quake in history, and whose cause is still a mystery. Laurel is trying to break into the highly competitive field of romance-fiction writing, has written 8 novels, but still doesn’t have an agent–thank goodness she has stream restoration to take her mind off the lack of progress. Our 19-year-old son Theo attends the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, not far from the Civil War battlefield, and is studying GIS and computers. Our 21-year-old daughter Emmeline suffers from depression and anxiety and lives at home, and we are slowly and steadily encouraging her towards a more active, involved life. Laurel and I always feel better after attending our monthly mental-illness support group meetings, when we see the far more severe trials that other parents are going through.
“With age comes wisdom and a more philosophical approach to life. Laurel and I have always taken delight in the natural world and its multi-faceted complexity, whether it be views of birds through a spotting scope or vistas from a mountain ridge, but it all really comes back to people and their relationships, doesn’t it? (Oh, and I still listen a lot to The You-Know-Who!) I look forward very much to seeing all of you at our 40th reunion in May.”
Jose Goico writes: “As Harold Sogard said in his email to me, It’s been too, too long!
“Nonetheless, he was successful at enticing me to attend our 40th Class reunion.
“I am looking forward to connecting with everyone (though admittedly with a slight sense of apprehension). My hope is that many people make the attempt on this landmark year. I look forward to Amy Bloom‘s (’75) reading and maybe even to playing some music with Wes Brown, if Harold has his way.
“Wesleyan was the place of my rebirth; where I came into my self-awareness and critical consciousness. The place where I met my mentors (and my wife, the true love of my life); where I was introduced to the Great Questions and Time-Honored Traditions of Mankind that have sustained me throughout. The start proved a bit messy, to be sure… but oh how wonder-full the journey, how beautifully everything has flowered!
“It is everything that I have wished for and more. My only other wish is that Steve Buttner could have been here for my return, so in that sense it will be truly bittersweet.”
Jim Gilson writes: “I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend our reunion, but wish everyone an enjoyable visit together.
“However, I am happy that four of us who lived together in 200 Washington Street as freshman and have stayed friends ever since will be reconnecting in early August. Paul Liscom and his wife Kim (’75) have invited his roommate Rip Dauster, his wife Marjorie (’75), Mark Decker, his wife Cele, and my wife Nancy and me to meet up at Paul and Kim’s place in West Yellowstone. We’re excited to be with all of them and know that we’ll hear then about our classmates who were able to attend the reunion.
“I’ve also seen Rip and Marjorie at their house in North Haven over the past few years while visiting our daughter, who is studying for her PhD at Yale and is hoping to become a professor of political philosophy. Meanwhile, our son is living with us here in LA, has been studying at UCLA and hopes to become a high school history teacher. Happily, the value of liberal arts learning that was partly instilled in me at Wes apparently remains in our family’s DNA.
“Nancy and I continue in the jobs we’ve had for several years. I’m still an administrator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County – for the past few years I’ve added oversight of the Museum’s administration and operations, HR, and IT (the last of which particularly is a bit of a stretch for me) to my ongoing responsibilities as the General Counsel and overseeing the La Brea Tar Pits/Page Museum and the William S. Hart Museum. Our Museum just completed a $135 million renovation and transformation, so I’ve been pleased to be very busy with our new successes, along with fellow Museum Executive Staff member and Wes alum Karen Wise (’82) among many other colleagues. I hope that our classmates will make the museum part of any plans when visiting LA. Nancy continues working for City National Bank; she moved a few years ago from being the bank’s Controller to overseeing another aspect of its regulatory and reporting compliance, risk management.
“We regularly see other Wesleyan friends in LA. We frequently visit with Dave Rosenblum (’75) and his wife, Sue. Dave, who is on Wes’ Board, keeps us up to date on the big picture of the university’s progress and issues, We had dinner with Jude Schneider (’81) and her husband not too long ago, and I ran into Tony Mohr (’69) at an event last week and caught up on his case-load (he’s a trial judge). I’ve also had the pleasure of continuing my periodic lunches with Bruce Corwin (’62) a friend from even before Wesleyan; a few months ago, he was still glowing from his on-Corwin-field congratulations of the football team for its so-rare Little Three Championship – yes, that was him speaking to the team after the game in the video that Wesleyan posted. Finally, Nancy and I also reconnected with a number of mid-70’s and other Wes alums when Michael Roth gave an inspiring talk at Paramount Studios about the ‘This is Why’ campaign.”
Harold Sogard writes: “Like many of us, I spend a certain amount of every holiday season trying to convince myself that next year will be better if only I take X or Y action. And then, of course, I don’t take that action and nothing changes. But this year I actually did make a resolution for change that I stuck with and implemented. After working for two and a half years trying to rebuild Riney, the iconic San Francisco ad agency, and after spending way too much of that time arguing with our French owners about how best to do that, I finally decided that it was a battle not worth waging any longer and I quit. As I write this, I have been a ‘man of leisure’ for all of three weeks. I’m enjoying it for now, but will soon start to think about and search actively for what comes next. I doubt I will have that sorted out by reunion, so forgive me in advance if I spend some of our time together there asking for advice.”
Charisse R. Lillie: “I have enjoyed serving on the Reunion Committee and connecting and reconnecting with classmates, as I try to convince them to come to our Reunion. I will be there, with my family. I will also be attending the graduation of my nephew, Chipper. His sister Alexandra is also a Wesleyan grad. I am so proud of them both. Although I am no longer practicing law, I maintain my law license. I am enjoying leading the community investment function at Comcast Corporation at Headquarters in Philadelphia.”
Lloyd Komesar: “I will definitely be attending 40R and look forward to great conversations and good times with many of my classmates.”
Mark Decker: “I am recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon, an injury sustained playing touch football during a Rutgers tailgating party back on October 24th. I had the tendon repaired, and then promptly fell and ruptured it again! Now that I have finally progressed past the stage of brace and crutches, I am relearning the joys of driving a car.
“My wife, Cele, and I are fed up with this snowy/icy winter in New Jersey and we are retreating to Aruba later this week. The rumor is there is still sunshine down there. We’ll let you know how it turns out.
“I will most definitely be attending the reunion with Cele. We are looking forward to meeting up with old friends. We will come with pictures of our new grandson, Connor, in my iPhone. They are most definitely worth sharing with friends. See you all in May!
Larry Green is very much enjoying grandparenthood, with three young grandchildren, Andrew, Ariana and Dylan. Larry writes that he finds it particularly fulfilling to see his sons Adam and Nathaniel as wonderful husbands and fathers in addition to being very successful in their respective careers as pediatric oncologist and attorney.
Larry continues his work as a Partner with the Boston law firm Burns & Levinson, where he specializes in business and commercial litigation. Now in his 36th year of legal practice, Larry notes that he has been very gratified to be joined in the partnership ranks by a number of associates whom he has mentored over the years and who have become very fine attorneys.
Having served for 15 years as President and Chair of the American Jewish Society for Service, a nationwide nonprofit sponsoring Jewish teens to perform “Tikkun Olam” work in impoverished communities, Larry recently turned over the reins to a fellow AJSS Board member.
Larry and his wife Denise live in Brookline, Massachusetts, and have a second home in Ogunquit, Maine, where they hope to retire in another five years.
Long active as a Board member of Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Larry authored and published a short book in 2012 entitled Weaving Your Thread in the Tapestry of Judaism.
Finally, Larry is very sorry to be missing our 40th reunion. The extended Green-Berson family, with four generations represented by 45 persons, will be having their annual reunion in Ogunquit on Memorial Day weekend.
Henry Avis-Vieira writes: “Great idea! I’ll provide some color and will definitely be at our 40th with my family.”
Monique Witt writes: “Our news is still music. We merged the smaller label back into our umbrella production company, One Trick Dog Records*, and just released an album by saxophonist Andres Boiarsky (“Crosstalk”); we are about to release an album by the Roy Assaf Trio (“Second Row Behind the Painter”); and we have three albums in the works for this summer release, one of which is out of the archive of the 1979 sessions of Manny Williams and Alida Rohr. This is exciting because Manny was hugely important to the sixties and seventies jazz musicians. We will drop a promo video for “Second Row” in the next couple of weeks.
“My older son Dev is now mixing and mastering for Helsinki Jazz Underground, and has just finished an album for New York Connection. He will be back in the studio with Scot Petito in March to work on his own music. My younger son Ben is a sophomore at Columbia and has just set up Jazz House in the SIC with eight other jazz musicians. He hopes to record an album of original compositions this summer.
“On the theatre front, I continue to work with Alex Montaldo (“Split/screen”) and 3OCD. We have two projects in the early stages of development, “The Walking Man Monologues” and “Piano Conversations,” and we’ve been helping Dan Algrant on his recent film.”
Ken Jacobs writes: “Once every 20 years like clockwork!
“My family life lags about 10 years behind my classmates. My children are 15 and 11, so I’m just starting the latest chapter of the roller coaster ride. My older is an Asperger’s child, so my wife Sharon and I have to work harder to parent him. My daughter goes to a Waldorf school in Rockland County, New York. Waldorf education requires a leap of faith in this competitive world, since the learning path differs significantly from traditional classrooms. But she also has an inner confidence that I don’t see in her public school peers.
“I’ve been a partner in the same law firm, Smith, Buss & Jacobs, for more than 22 years. We represent over 275 condo and co-op associations, about 2/3 in New York City and the rest in the surrounding counties. Our clients range from the smallest condos to Co-op City, with over 15,000 units. Fortunately I like what I do since I’ll probably be working until I’m 72!
“I still play tournament bridge whenever I can — which is not much due to my family and work obligations. My wife and I both fantasize about getting back to swing dancing and singing someday.”
Steven Cutts writes: “In 40 years, I’m not sure that I have ever sent along news for the alumni magazine — shame on me — but there’s a first time for everything, I guess. Here’s what I’ve got to share:
“I’ve been fighting the ‘retirement flu’ that seems so prevalent at this time in life and remain in the classroom in an independent girls school just outside of Washington, D.C. In between planning lessons and grading papers for my history students, I continue to write songs and to record them.
“After 20-plus years of popular music-making, I decided to make those more available by sharing on-line. I’ve built a website and, with a measure of pretentious irony, called it ThePrimeCutts.com. I invite one and all to log on and to listen to (perhaps even download free of charge) any of more than three dozen recordings.
“Last summer I got to greet my old 230 Washington Street next door neighbor Governor John Hickenlooper at a Wesleyan event at Washington’s Newseum. The governor was part of a discussion moderated by President Roth that included as well Colorado’s Senator Michael Bennet ’87 and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin ’79. In a time when it is all too easy to be cynical about politicians, it was reassuring to hear from this trio of sensible and honorable public servants!
“My wife Martha and I stopped in Baltimore in November to have a bite of dinner with John McLucas. It is always great to see John (along with his
sweet dog and a pair of wonderful cats!)
“Then in December, we traveled to Seattle to witness the wedding of Kenneth Hapke who, thanks to changes in Washington State law, was able to marry his long-time partner Bob Delisle. Ken is hard at work as a clinical psychologist.
“Finally, I spoke by phone with Michael Jeffrey on his early-January birthday. He continues to teach history at Brewer High School near Bangor. Michael is still coaching soccer (and, yes, playing soccer) AND is bicycling up a storm, thinking nothing of heading off on a 40- or 50-mile training ride.”
Sharon Purdie writes: “Since retiring from AT&T in 1998, I’ve had the time of my life! (I highly recommend it!) After I retired, my family (Ted, Sherry ’10, and Jeff) and I moved to Sudbury MA (a suburb of Boston) where my husband began work with a biotech company. Retirement gave me the opportunity to spend lots of time with my kids and to support them in their educational and athletic endeavors. In addition, I had time to support not only my current passions of sailing and running, but also to cultivate and nurture a love of alpine skiing. Passions for sailing and skiing led us to purchase a home on the water in Jamestown, RI and a ski home on Okemo mountain in Vermont. After my husband, Ted, retired we sold our houses in MA and VT and moved to RI. We have spent the last two winters in Park City, Utah where we ski every day. Then we sail in RI in spring, summer, and fall.
“Our daughter, Sherry ’10, was a CSS major at Wesleyan. After graduating in 2010, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco for three years. She is spending this winter with us in Park City and teaching skiing at one of the resorts here. She will begin her MBA at Monterey Institute in Monterey CA in the fall. Our son, Jeff, graduated from Trinity College last spring. He works for the New York Peace Institute, a non-profit mediation organization, in Brooklyn and lives in Hoboken NJ.
“Retirement has also allowed me to dedicate more time to Wesleyan. Through my volunteering, not only have I re-connected with a number of classmates, I have also become friends with classmates I didn’t know while I was an undergrad and with alumni from many different class years. In addition, I have had the privilege of working with Wesleyan staff on various projects. Volunteering for Wesleyan is addictive – try it!
“As you ponder whether to attend our 40th reunion, think about classmates you haven’t seen in years and contact them either through this website or via email. (If they haven’t submitted information to this website with an email address, you can find alumni email addresses via wesconnect.wesleyan.edu or email me and I’ll find them.) Hopefully, you’ll all decide to come! I’ve contacted the women who lived on my hall freshman year and at least half of them said they plan to attend.
“Please contribute to this website as often as you wish. Our classmates will appreciate it. Check back often!”
Class notes from 2014, issue 1:
Monique Witt opened her one-act play at the Helen Mills Theater on Nov. 21. You can see the promo video for it at splitscreentheplay.com. The production company has three jazz records in process: the saxophonist, Andrés Boiarsky (played on four Grammy winning albums), the Roy Assaf trio, and a samba jazz group doing Cuban fusion. Dev (Monique’s older son) is running Avidon audio labs and Be (her younger son) is in his second year at Columbia and playing regularly with Winard Harper and Curtis Lundy. Both sons are pursuing performing careers. Steven (Monique’s husband) has just finished representing Michael Dell in the buy-in and Verizon in the buy-back.
Ruthann Richter Hammer has been selected as a Global Justice Fellow for the American Jewish World Service. She will travel with 14 other Bay Area fellows to Uganda in 2014 to meet with some of the AJWS partner groups working for rights for women, girls, and the LGBT community. On their return, they will do advocacy work, including legislative advocacy in Washington, D.C.
Jonathan Weiss lives in Andover, Mass., and has a private practice in psychiatry in North Andover. Son Samuel is working for Apple in Cupertino; daughter Hannah ’12 is living in Australia, scuba diving and having adventures. He spoke with Jon Eddison and got updates on many old friends, including the Born To Lose team.
John Shapiro and his wife, Shonni Silverberg ’76, continue to be engaged with Wesleyan. Shonni is on the executive committee of the Wesleyan Board and John has been involved in the Writing Center. Their older son is in law school at Harvard after getting a master’s in biotechnology and bioethics at London School of Economics. Their youngest is getting a master’s at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU in play- and screenwriting. John and Shonni continue to live in New York City. Aside from managing his investment firm, he is chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Jewish Committee and continues to serve as chair of Lawyers for Children. LFC was founded by Karen Freedman ’75 and includes as board members Seth Gelblum ’76 and Brian Schorr ’79. John is also on the boards of Rockefeller University, The American Academy in Rome, The Washington Institute, and The Jewish Museum.
John has regular contact with Roger Weisberg ’75, who continues a very successful career making documentaries, and David Lipton ’75, who is the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
As of late fall, Jan Eliasberg was in Charleston, S.C., directing Reckless, a new drama for CBS. She is supporting her daughter, Sariel, as she goes through the college application process: visiting Wesleyan was one of the highlights. Sariel sat in on classes while Jan hosted a lunchtime seminar with film students and was interviewed for the “This Is Why” Wesleyan series. As they drove out of town the sun was setting, turning the brownstones of College Row to a golden glow. She felt pleasantly nostalgic and excited for her daughter with so much to look forward to.
Jan, too, is looking forward to this next chapter. She’ll be moving back to the East Coast, to her native New York City, over the summer. She has already reconnected with many old friends (including Steve Goldschmidt ’72, who’s helping her look for her new home…). She’s writing a script for an independent feature, developing a television series set in NYC, and exploring a new avenue of teaching by designing her first online course.
Larry Green’s recent book, Weaving Your Thread in the Tapestry of Judaism, is authored under his Hebrew name, Lev. His primary purpose in writing the book “is to have Judaism become part of the core of those who have never been connected with our religion or have become disconnected.”
Last July, according to a press release received by Wesleyan, attorney Gil Hamberg presented a lecture at the Annual Conference of the Florida Municipal Electric Association.
In June, I traveled to Middletown to run in the first Legends Race led by running legends, Bill Rodgers ’70 and Amby Burfoot ’68. I placed first in my age group. In October, Adrienne Bentman, Scott Brodie, and I participated on the alumni panel of the Campus Transformation through Co-Education event at Wesleyan. Judy Hirschberg Atwood and Pam van der Meulen also attended. During Homecoming, I met up with classmates Ilene Goldstein Rosenthal, Pam van der Meulen, Scott Brodie, Harold Sogard, and Jim Farrell. We all plan to attend our 40th Reunion and are on the Reunion Planning Committee.
In late fall, our daughter, Sherry Sybertz ’10 returned from three-plus years serving in the Peace Corps in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco. This winter, she teaches skiing in Park City, Utah; she’ll start graduate school in the fall. Our son, Jeff, graduated from Trinity last spring, and is working in Brooklyn and living in Hoboken, N.J. We continue to live in Jamestown, R.I., where we sail and bike and travel to Park City to ski.
Mark your calendars for our 40th Reunion—May 22-25!
SHARON PURDIE
spurdie@wesleyan.edu