Class Notes | 1980s

Doug Abel was recently nominated for an editing and writing Emmy for his work on HBO’s Chimp Crazy, which shares DNA with another project of his, the COVID-era phenomenon Tiger King. Other recent editing projects include the documentary You Had to Be There, about the 1972 production of Godspell that launched the careers of several well-known comedians and performers, as well as The Sinner starring Bill Pullman. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, Jenny, two dogs, four cats, two chickens, and a rotating cadre of rescued foster animals.

Eileen Mullin became a living liver donor for her brother in October, donating 60% of her liver and recovering surprisingly quickly with no complications. Although she lives in New York, she spent a month in Colorado for the procedure and follow-up care. She notes that they are at the upper edge of the age cutoff for liver donors, but that kidney donation has a much wider age range, and she hopes—after reaching the 12-month mark—to donate a kidney as well. She describes the experience as truly life changing.

Oona Metz decided that the best way to deal with an empty nest was to have another baby—this time, a book. After 30 years as a therapist, including 15 specializing in women navigating divorce, she decided it was time for a book baby and then had to figure out how to write, publish, and promote it. Remembering that her Clark first-floor neighbor Lucas Janklow had family ties to publishing, she reached out. He immediately “walked her proposal down the hall” to Mel Flashman ’98, a dream-come-true literary agent. The book sold, followed by a year of weekend writing and another year learning book promotion. Four years later, a one-pound book was born: Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women, now available wherever books are sold.

Peter Badalament has launched an educational consulting company, The Principal, which provides individualized guidance to families of high school–age students, while he continues to serve as principal of A. R. Gould School at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in Maine. With three decades of experience as a teacher and school leader, he consults on academic placement, securing appropriate school supports, and planning for postsecondary pathways.

Sarah Risser relocated from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis–St. Paul—a place she will probably always consider home—to Portland, Oregon, in 2022 and has been enjoying the change tremendously. She spends a fair amount of time advocating for improved road safety and active and public transit, primarily with Families for Safe Streets. She is very proud of her daughter Nina, 28, now in her second year at Harvard Law School and continues to grieve the loss of her son, Henry, who was killed at age 18 in a vehicular crash in January 2019; he was not at fault, and Sarah survived the crash. She is still rowing with the Willamette Rowing Club, hiking as much as she can, and working toward a more consistent sauna and cold-water plunge practice.

Michele Chase reports that her son, Alessandro Kashap ’25, graduated with a mathematics major and has entered the workforce in New Jersey, working in health-care consulting with ZS Associates. She is otherwise enjoying what she calls “free birding” (a positive spin on empty nesting), with travel for work and pleasure, hiking in the Bay Area, the occasional pickleball game, and visits to her children in New Jersey and San Luis Obispo, California.

Michele’s global work at Gilead Sciences in 2025 took her to Paris, Dublin, Vienna, Munich, Amsterdam, and multiple trips to London, where part of her team is based, and she enjoyed extending those visits to take in art, culture, and performances. She also enjoyed a family trip to Greece this summer to connect with part of her roots. She and a group of classmates—including Susan Paley, Caron Selati, Jennifer Levine, Michele Barnwell, Stephanie Dolgoff, Natalie Dorset, Betsey Schmidt, Lesley Savin, Laura Flaxman—have continued the tradition of gathering annually since reconnecting at their 25th Reunion.

Kim Slote recently earned her Master of Social Work from Florida State University and will soon be relocating to Philadelphia, with big changes ahead. She would be happy to hear from classmates in the area.

Holly Adams reports that her daughter and her partner welcomed a baby, and her son got married. Life continues to be good as a full-time performer, and her pet project—a quirky sci-fi mystery podcast called The Mysterious CHIRP—has just launched its second season. She sends warm wishes to the Class of ’89 for a wonderful 2026.

Nina Karnovsky is a professor of biology at Pomona College, a small liberal arts college similar to Wesleyan. This past fall she served as the convocation speaker, where she reflected on how her liberal arts education at Wesleyan shaped her life’s journey. Her talk can be viewed athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5YXg1FTosc&t=7s.

In July 2025, Kelem Butts began a new role as executive director of Uptown Dallas Inc., a public improvement district in Dallas. He reports that the position is a great fit and that he feels completely in his element, combining civic engagement with an extroverted role he truly enjoys. He adds that it is a nonprofit that requires no fundraising, and that life is good.

Jen Feldman serves as rabbi at Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, now in her 24th year helping to build Jewish community there. Over the years, she has enjoyed having many fellow Wesleyan alumni as congregants and seeing children from the synagogue head off to Wesleyan. She also made a summer trip to New York City, where she spent time with longtime friend Natasha Kurchanova ’88 and her husband, Ron.

When not practicing employment and labor law for employers, Jeffrey Naness plays keyboards in several Long Island–based bands and ensembles, including The Breakfast Club (’80s), Common Ground (’80s), Society Road (classic/yacht rock), and Memory Lane Acoustic Trio. He extends a cordial invitation to classmates to check out upcoming gigs and follow the bands on Facebook and Instagram.

Stephanie Dolgoff is the editor of Prevention magazine and feels lucky to be doing work she loves, even as the industry, in her words, “circles the potty” and resources are tight. She is still learning and taking that as a win. Her daughter, Viv, graduated from Sarah Lawrence in May and is working and writing, and Willow is finishing college, teaching art at Trans formative Schools (a trans-founded program for queer kids) and reading to the wee ones in drag.

Laura Flaxman moved to Oahu and would love to connect with other Wes folks in the area. 

Alissa Berman retired in 2024 and remarried that September. Life is very good, and she is loving not having to “report in” to anyone anymore. Her husband’s son welcomed a baby, making her a grandmother as well—a role she notes is much easier than parenting. She remains in Rhode Island with no intention of leaving and wishes everyone a wonderful 2026.

Jeff Brez is living in Rome with his husband of more than 30 years, Adriano, and their 11-year-old twin boys. He currently works in the Office of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He and other Wesleyan alumni have started a Wes group in Rome, and classmates are welcome to send him a cell number to be added to the “WesinRome” WhatsApp group for raucous monthly aperitivos and general camaraderie. He can be reached at jeffreybrez@yahoo.com or via LinkedIn.

Daniel Cantor is a full professor and head of the BFA Acting Program at the University of Michigan and appreciates having space there to pursue freelance work as well. Recent projects include performing in Waste at Marin Theatre Company and acting in the indie film 30-Year-Old Bar Mitzvah. Upcoming work includes directing a short film he wrote and returning to Marin Theatre to perform in Pictures from Home. A few years ago, he appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt. He has one daughter, Olive, who will graduate from Boston University in May as a film major. He remains in regular touch with Pete [Ward] Farnsworth and Ted Skillman ’91 and recently reconnected with Eric Slovin and Mike Rubens ’90 while in New York.

Sherry (Lehr) Föhr is still teaching English at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany, in the same building where she once took classes through the Wesleyan exchange program during junior year. Her department continues to send one or two students to Wesleyan each year. She walks to work through the scenic old city, with an office view of the famous castle, and still marvels at how lucky she has been to have such a great job in such a great place—especially considering that she never managed to get into an English class at Wes.

Phineas Baxandall took part in a strong Class of ’89 showing at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Nietzsch Factor, which also included a celebration of Vicious Circles, co-founded by classmates Lisa Brush and Laura Flaxman. He shared an Airbnb with Roger Kent, Ted Bardacke ’90, Rob Featherstone, and Ezra Brownstein ’91 (now Ezra Shales).

After 30 years on what he calls the “dark side,” Andy Nakahata recently accepted an appointment from California Governor Gavin Newsom as chief executive officer and executive director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank). The IBank is the state’s only general-purpose financing authority, with a broad mandate to support infrastructure and economic development through bonds, loans, credit enhancement, and the leveraging of state and federal funds. Andy notes that the role has been a significant change but one he is thoroughly enjoying, offering the chance to learn new areas and make a meaningful impact. He credits his Wesleyan liberal arts background as strong preparation for this career shift and adds that he is having a great time in the role as he starts off 2026.

Happy spring, classmates. Hope you’re enjoying the season wherever you are. Steve writes for this column.

Elline Lipkin’s third book, Girl in a Forest, was published by Trio House Press in October 2025. It was a bright spot in a challenging year that started tragically: “My home was one of 9,400 structures lost in the Eaton Fire that tore through Altadena on January 7 and 8. Most of 2025 was spent on ‘recovery,’ and now that we’re past the one-year mark, I’m hoping much of 2026 will focus on ‘restoration.’” Elline’s looking forward to a panel with Kate Bernheimer on the use of fairy tales and myth in contemporary writing at the Associated Writing Program Conference (AWP) in Baltimore in March and hopes to say hello to any alums who might be there.

Christie Trott stays active with substitute teaching and volunteering at a women’s correctional facility after retiring from full-time teaching. Her highlight of 2025 was time spent with her dad, Steve Trott ’62: “At 86, he is busier than I am—regularly performing magic shows and lecturing on the Supreme Court and Beethoven for his fellow retirement home residents (many of whom are retired Stanford professors). I aspire to be just like him at that age!”

Her husband, Brad, will join her in the retirement club this year, and they look forward to adventures traveling and hiking as much as possible. They’re also in another highly popular club with ’88ers: the kids in college club! Daughter Sam is a (third generation!) Wesleyan sophomore and son Josh is a Stanford freshman. She also wants to say she’s proud of Wesleyan President Michael Roth for his courageous leadership and for speaking out in stormy political times.

Peter will write for the next update. Thanks for sharing your news and please keep it coming. 

Hello, Friends!

We are reporting continued connections with Wesleyan friends—even across class boundaries.

Melissa Marks says, “My son, Archie Caride ’23, opened a curatorial project space in Brooklyn and included my work in his inaugural exhibition! The space is called Chorus, and the show features three other Wesleyan artists: John Bell Rush ’23, Kelly Nano-Miranda ’23, and Pelumi Sokunbi ’25!” Melissa’s husband, Vicente Caride ’85, was instrumental for his support. Melissa installed a three-wall, permanent, mural installation at a new Rutgers University hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey! She had a solo exhibition at the Shirley Fiterman Art Center in New York that included improvisational wall drawing while the gallery was open. 

Wendy Blum got together with many WesFriends recently, including a clothing swap at Sumana Rangachar’s with Pauline Frommer ’88 and Michele Ahern; a meal with Eddie Zas,Simon Heart, and Johanna Van Hise Heart; and another with John Fitzpatrick and Muzzy Rosenblatt! She met with Lee Cohen Hare,Mitchie Topper, and Molly Rabinowitz. She and Christie Trott ’88 saw John Proctor is the Villain. In Massachusetts, Wendy saw Paul Gosselin ’88, Nancy Nachbar ’89, Steve Morison ’88, and connected with Steve Kullback ’89. She is still dancing with George Russell ’83, and she saw Meg Fry ’91 and Emily Fraenkel Faulkner ’86. She had a surprise meeting with Jada Shapiro ’99 and her spouse, Dan, and spent time with Debby Hamilton in California. Finally, she joined many of our class in rooting for Michael Bennet in his Colorado governor campaign!

Ken Sabbag continues to thrive in Pasadena, California, with his wife, Maggie, and three college-age daughters. With a nearly constant schedule of on-campus activities, having an empty nest means a life of constant travel across the country. An orthopedic hand surgeon, he says his work and life are pretty steady. When he got engaged 24 years ago, his future in-laws nicknamed him “the annuity,” but Ken is looking forward to winding down to work on his bucket list. They were planning to go to Patagonia in January to visit the namesake of his favorite clothing line. Ken saw crew coach Phil Carney at the Head of the Charles Regatta last October and cheered loudly for the Cardinal crew.  

Lisa Ranghelli met up in Salzburg with Karen Goldenberg, her frosh quad mate on third floor Clark, to visit Alpine villages. She celebrated Trisha Lindemann’s 60th in NYC, along with Janet Lieberman. Lisa recently caught up with Eve Halper, who moved with her husband from Arizona to Colorado. Lisa keeps regular contact with Rachael Nusbaum ’88 and they hang out in NYC whenever Rachael comes east from San Francisco. Professionally, Lisa has enjoyed working with Sinead Keogh ’14 at the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, where she oversees the Research and Evaluation Department. A previous coworker there was Victoria (Ramos) Hill ’15. Lisa says it’s great to see smart, committed alumnae in the field of public health.

Sarah Plagenz Liepert met up with her freshman roommate Jenifer Goldman Fraser for Mistral Music’s December concert. She credits this magazine’s profile piece (some 20 years ago!) on founder/flutist Julie Scolnik ’78 for introducing her to Mistral’s chamber ensemble. Sarah serves on the board and invites those near Andover or Brookline to come to a performance. Jenifer plays violin in an orchestra at Groton Hill Music Center, and Sarah might be inspired to pick up her flute again!

Book news! Jason Loviglio’s book, Empathy Machines: This American Life, Podcasting, and the Public Radio Structure of Feeling, came out in January 2026. Jason is a professor at the University of Maryland. Rebecca Bratspies’s co-authored book, Environmental Justice: Law, Policy and Regulation, was also published in January, and another co-authored book, Teaching Environmental Law in Context, will release in the spring of 2026. Rebecca welcomes visitors to check in with her in New Orleans.

Paul Zoltan has moved with his wife and their eight-year-old daughter Natalia from Dallas back to Cleveland, where he represents immigrants facing deportation.

Margaret Sheppard Kelly has been serving as an environmental scientist at the EPA in Washington, D.C., for the past 35 years. She says 2025 was an exercise in uncertainty. She made it through colleagues’ voluntary and involuntary departures; a reorganization; new limits to ensure taxpayers’ money is used wisely (or slowly); and the longest-ever government shutdown, although her group was exempted. Margaret expects 2026 will continue the adventure.

Steve Shackman and his firm secured a landmark win in New York’s highest court, clarifying that “good guy” guarantors are released once a tenant properly surrenders a space—no landlord sign-off required. The decision has been recognized as a major shift in commercial leasing law. Go, Steve!

The days are lengthening in January, but by the time you read this, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will be enjoying more sunlit evenings.

We’re getting closer and closer to our 40th Reunion, classmates. Debbie and I hope to see you there. 

As for class notes,we have some very sad news to report. Sharon Alison Kost passed away peacefully at her home on December 16, 2025, attended by her beloved husband, Sam Koszer, and sons, Joshua and Bryan Koszer, following a courageous and determined battle with multiple health problems. Sharon earned her BA in biology, psychology, and philosophy in 1986 at Wesleyan, an MS at New York University in psychology, before completing clinical training at the Ackerman Institute for Family. Her obituary notes that her career as a social worker was a true calling, where she offered compassion, guidance, and unwavering support to those in need. 

Erika Levy shares that she is still enjoying her work as professor of communication sciences and disorders at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is very much looking forward to our reunion, not only to reconnect with fellow ’86ers, but also to celebrate her daughter’s graduation from Wesleyan.

Eric Heinze writes: “My latest news is the publication, with the MIT Press, of Coming Clean: The Rise of Critical Theory and the Future of the Left. It is featured in a number of news outlets and podcasts, in the U.S. and internationally, including New Books Network, hosted by Caleb Zakarin ’20. [My] op-ed for Merion West on Trump’s destruction of free speech is currently featuring in their Top 10 of 2025.

Kris Bluemel announced that she “is proud and relieved to report that my book Enchanted Wood: Engraving a Place for Women Artists in Rural Britain was published around Christmastime by the University of Minnesota Press. It has nearly 90 illustrations, so you don’t have to read it to enjoy it. You can just admire the wood engravings. Research for Enchanted Wood was supported by a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship at Newcastle University and a publication grant of the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I’m still professor of English and Wayne D. McMurray and Helen Bennett Endowed Chair in the Humanities at Monmouth University. Very recently, I’ve moved into a position of associate dean at Monmouth, finding myself a late but eager bloomer in academic administration. George Justice, who I did not know when we were English majors, has been a great help with emails and published advice.” 

Ethan Knowlden reports: “Retirement for me turned into sitting on three nonprofit boards, which somehow wasn’t feeding my desire to serve sufficiently, so I’m now a candidate for city council here in Scottsdale, Arizona. My first campaign since running for class president in eighth grade—which I won. This will take up most of my 2026, but I still plan on attending our 40th Reunion. Hope to see you all there!”

Mike Sealander writes: “I’ve spent the last 25 years in eastern Maine, pretending to be back to the land while running a small commercial architecture firm. I’ve become obsessed with achieving bilingual status (Japanese). Any classmates or nearly classmates who want to relive conversation hour, feel free to reach out.”

Monica Jahan Bose writes: “Hello, from occupied Washington, D.C.!  We are hanging in there during this deeply disturbing time for our nation. I am continuing my art and activism. I am collaborating with a young Black artist friend, Autumn Spears, on a duo project called ‘Braids & Threads: Connecting Legacies’ at Washington Project for the Arts in Dupont Circle. If you are in D.C., please get in touch. Michael Bennett ’87 and I are still in D.C. and our two girls are women now. One graduates from Bryn Mawr in May and wants to be a vet, and the other is in grad school in Portland, Oregon, for nursing/midwifery and is soon getting married. In the past year, I have seen classmates Kathryn Lotspeich Villano and Susan Lanham and had phone visits with Sarah Porter, Debbie Alter-Starr, and Julia Joun. I am reading Kristen Bluemel’s new book, Enchanted Woods. I highly recommend it! Sending New Year wishes for resilience to my Wes friends!”

News from Tierney Sutton: “40 YEARS! Good lord. I should have known based on the fact that my son, Ryan, is almost 30. He is a competitive video gamer and travels as much as I do. I’m married to a Parisian guitarist, Serge Merlaud, and for the last 10-plus years, I split my off-the-road time between LA and Paris. (Trying to convince Serge that LA really is nicer from November to March.) This spring I will release my 16th (or 17th) CD as leader. It’s entitledSpring and is a duo set with piano virtuoso Tamir Hendelman. I’ll be touring throughout 2026: in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Cleveland, Buffalo, Nashville, Ann Arbor, Green Bay, Denver, Durham, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Paris, Brussels, Tel Aviv, and more. . .  The tour climaxes on May 22 at Wesleyan for the 40th Reunion! Sure hope to see you guys (there) OR on the road! For more information: tierneysutton.com.”

Bennett Schneider writes: “I was officially hired by the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles as a performer for their annual music education plays that teach school kids about classical music. Just marked the 30th anniversary of the Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which I helped found. This means I’ve been an orange drag nun for 30 years now! Karen Escovitz sent me some pieces of her beautiful pottery last spring. Have been hanging out with Lisa Rosen, Al Septien ’85, Wan Yeung MA ’17, and talking to Melinda Newman, Nathan Gebert ’85, Cobina Gillitt ’87, Ellen (Limburg) Santistevan, Peter Braverman, Raph Worrick ’88, Julia Barclay-Morton, Pauline Frommer ’88, Peter Wetherbee ’85, and just had a visit with Debbie Alter-Starr.”

Jonathan Harber reports: “One project that I have been working on (as founding chairman) is Runway Green (www.RUNWAYGREEN.org), a nonprofit, public-private partnership that is reimagining education and workforce development. It is creating pathways for New York City students and families to thrive and build a better world. In partnership with the National Park Service, we are developing an unprecedented education and workforce development ecosystem on some of our region’s most ecologically rich parklands at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field. I, strangely, also just record an album.”

Jeff Liss reports: “My wife and I have settled into living in Turtle Bay on the east side of Manhattan. I now work for a large distributor of dental and medical products and services, responsible for business-to-business eCommerce. I am counting down the days to early retirement when I can follow one of my passions, which is to be a New York City tour guide. I passed the exam last year to get licensed and have started slowly offering walking tours to friends and family. If you are visiting, or live in, New York City, I’d be happy to tell you about the history and stories of Midtown East! Check me out at www.beyondthesights.nyc.”

Lydia Crawford writes: “I retired from my legal career in 2024, with a goal of sitting less—and now I wonder if my body can keep that up! I volunteer at a food shelf and deliver food to elders. I got my lifeguard certification (humbling to be in the class with mostly 16-year-old high school swimmers), so my actual job is lifeguarding a few hours a week, with the benefit of free membership to the community center where I swim and take exercise classes. My husband, Phil, and I adopted a stretch of highway in Minnesota, so we regularly pick up trash—we always find a few interesting items and then dream up stories of how a manual typewriter, a bottle of olive oil, or 50 pounds of butchered venison came to rest by the side of Highway 30. We have traveled a bit more, including some backpacking trips in Colorado and California, and will hike part of the Inca Trail in May. Our two adult children are gainfully employed and living in the Twin Cities, so we see them fairly often. Minnesota has been my home for 35 years and it is a wonderful place, contrary to the negative and disturbing attention the state has received of late.”

Dana Leslie Goldstein writes that she is a playwright and lyricist living in Brooklyn, New York. Her play, Go Down, Moses, which was inspired by events at Wesleyan in the ’80s, will have its premiere production in NYC in May 2026. “It would be great to see Wes alumni there!” Dana is also working on a commission to write the new musical, Song of Judith, for National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene and KEAKA Productions. And she was lucky enough to have James Hallett in the cast of her musical CHOICE(s) last spring. Dana is a librettist and lyricist in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and also develops her work with PlayGround–NY, Brave New World Rep, and The Workshop Theater.Dana’s husband, Rob McIntosh, not a Wes alum himself, frequently games with Jonathan Fried ’89, who is one of the few people around with a more expansive board game collection than Rob and Dana’s. Nerds! Dana’s kids (also nerds) are grown and now live in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, which means she finally needed to face her fear of flying, a subject that comes up (usually comedically) in several of her plays.  

Ellen (Limburg) Santistevan writes: “2025 was a uniquely challenging year personally as well as nationally. The good outweighed the bad, as it usually does, if I put my mind to it.  

In addition to my bodywork practice, I teach a fair bit of continuing education. I also took a part-time job at a motorcycle repair shop, a fun way to change up my environment and skill set so my brain doesn’t fossilize. I am thoroughly enjoying the chance to be in ‘beginners mind’ and not having to be an expert in my field.

“I purchased a 1968 Harley Davidson/Aermacchi Rapido as a restoration project. I joined the Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA), and my chapter mates and friends have been an invaluable resource for getting the bike roadworthy. After getting her all the way down to the frame, we are now rebuilding, and it is so satisfying to see the bike come back together. The AMCA is a true nerd herd; I have a special admiration for these geniuses.

“I have been dealing with hypercalcemia for over a year, which has a variety of unpleasant effects. Luckily, it did not turn out to be a sign of multiple myeloma, but a benign parathyroid tumor. Unluckily, the only cure is surgery (in January). 

“Travel highlights in 2025 included a road trip to help my daughter bring her 1972 VW Beetle from Tucson to a mechanic in Minneapolis, where she now lives. We trailered it through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and finally Minnesota. We had a blast. I came home on a different route and hit little roadside attractions and Americana. I think every person, especially national politicians, should trek through the Heartland and see what it’s about. My second big adventure was going to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for the 85th anniversary. 

Tim Burke and Karen Escovitz have asked me to go (to the 40th Reunion), but I am somewhat allergic to reunions.”

“It’s been a busy year for me (Scott Michaud) between work and play—I’m still speechwriting for the U.S. Space Force, helping shape the culture of the newest branch of our nation’s military. This recently included a behind-the-scenes visit to Kennedy Space Center for a rocket launch . . .  amazing technology by very, very smart people. I’m still learning from these space nerds daily, although, unsurprisingly, I’m still a long way from becoming a rocket scientist. In October, I gave a presentation at the Professional Speechwriters Association World Conference on the challenges and benefits of speechwriting in the federal government, a topic that is near and dear to my heart. And, yes, it is more challenging now than ever.

“In more personal news, my eldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD, which led my wife and I to the uncomfortable realization that we’d both been living with similar symptoms. We’re adjusting to this and taking some comfort in the knowledge that we’ve lived our lives the way we have with good reason. Now we are rolling up our sleeves to ensure our two daughters are better equipped to navigate the modern world than we were growing up. Apologies to my classmates who had to put up with Scott’s ‘Small Attention Span Theater’ way back when.”

Debbie Alter-Starradds, “I’m really looking forward to our reunion as a chance to travel East to see old friends from Wesleyan—it’s been a while. When my husband and I travel, it’s usually “off-grid” (hiking, kayaking, nature immersion) in our campervan and/or to spend time with family and close friends. For several years—last time was in in fall, 2021—travel was also to Ukraine to visit our older son. Both our grown sons live in Northern California now and are going into my field as therapists and/or social workers with a public policy orientation respectively—cracks me up! We see them a lot and took them and their partners to Puerto Vallarta last spring to celebrate my cancer-free status. 

“I became a clinical social worker after being an RA at Wesleyan and receiving encouragement to become a therapist. My passion is more so activism and being a social worker at large, helping people who don’t know where to turn. I’m now retired, following my passions and taking care of my 89-year-old mother. My lifelong dream I keep working on is building community across Spanish- and English-speaking populations and diverse cultural groups here in the Napa Valley. Our young people and their parents are over 50% Latino, and our agricultural industry (grapes) was built by, and is maintained by, immigrants. I would like to network with fellow alumni working on immigration issues.

“I picked up Kris Bluemel’s new book, and I have Elaine Taylor-Klaus’s older book, The Essential Guide to Raising Complex Kids. I’m hoping to pick Elaine’s brains re: ADHD, which runs in my family too. I love Jennifer Natalya Fink’s (’88) books as well.”

Marc Stein’s sixth book, Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s, was published by the University of Chicago Press in March. In April, he’ll begin a one-year term as the president of the 6,000-member Organization of American Historians. “I still remember my amazing history classes at Wesleyan—taught by Henry Abelove, Eugene Golob, Jill Morawski, Phil Pomper, Rosalind Rosenberg, Vera Schwarcz, Clarence Walker, and a few others.”

Scott Rosenzweig was elected to the Montana State Assembly in 2024 (by just 17 votes!), and he is now running for state senate.

In other Montana news, Dave Given has lived almost four years in Lolo, Montana, three and a half of those retired. He notes it’s “quite the change from 30-plus years in Natick, Massachusetts! Zero regrets though, with no end of outdoor fun, be it on foot with the dogs, on horseback (my wife, Irene), off roading (me), or even rafting the many rivers out here. Here at the house, we’ve had elk, bears, and one mountain lion, so there’s that too.” Dave points out that the elk don’t necessarily come to the house; they have several acres!

Margaret Bracken Thompson sent along several wonderful pictures from our Reunion last spring.

Hello, Classmates,

As I write to you, we have just crossed over into 2026, though you won’t read these notes for some months.

I start with some sad news about two classmates. We have learned of the December passing of Adrian (Menapace) Quattlebaum, of ovarian cancer, from her sister Gianna ’86.  Her obituary is found here.

We have also learned of the passing of Andy Hodges last September. He was mentioned on the In Memoriam list in the last issue, but we wanted to be sure you were aware. His obituary is here.

Karen (Rothblatt) Zilberstein writes that she was honored at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Angels in Adoption Celebration in Washington, D.C., in recognition of her research and clinical work with children and families involved in the child welfare system. The award was presented by Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), who nominated her for the honor. Her book on clinical work with child welfare–involved families will be published by Guilford Press in fall 2026. On a personal front, two of her three children are now married, with a granddaughter on the way.

Joel A. Fein chimes in with his “30-plus-year update.” He is a pediatric emergency medicine doc at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and a professor of pediatrics at Penn. His research and advocacy have been in the area of violence prevention, and he founded and co-directs the Center for Violence Prevention at CHOP. His wife, Vicki, is a fellow pediatrician, and they have three sons. (His eldest just turned 30—my own son is hitting that milestone this year.) Typical Wes detail, Joel has a hospital-based, eight-piece Beatles cover band called Osler Circle that raises money for CHOP (his Wes band was Bad Habits);  www.oslercircle.com. Joel celebrates his “wild and fulfilling ride!” 

Publishing news! Eileen Kelly says that Kirkus Reviews named her novel, Small Wonder, a Best Book of 2025 and one of the Top 100 Indie Books of the Year. And while she did not write in to plug her book, I want to give a shout-out to fellow Alpha Delt Pagan (Pamela) Kennedy, whose nonfiction book, The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story, was one of NPR’s “Books We Love” of 2025.

I’ll also mention my own work, a new CD of songs co-written with Michael G. Ronstadt (under my pen name of Z. Mulls), entitled Less Hospitable Terrain. You can find it on Michael’s Bandcamp site.

I hope this note finds you well, wherever you are.

Our class hasn’t had a secretary for a while, so—miraculously or foolishly—I, Marion Wilson, volunteered. I was partly motivated by a desire to reconnect with friends I haven’t heard from or seen represented in the magazine (I wasn’t even receiving the class notes email myself!). So, here we are. By way of introduction: I’m living in Brooklyn, working as an artist, teaching at Sarah Lawrence College, and running a seasonal project space on a refurbished houseboat on Martha’s Vineyard (come visit!). Many Wesleyan friends have visited me there including Kay McCabe, Andrea Smith, Lyle Aston Harris ’88, Mary Freeman, Dan Haar ’81, Abby Carter, and Alice Appley ’82.

Aviva Goldstein writes: “I am retired but engaged in public health projects and volunteering with immigrants; continuing to swim in open water (Rockaways)/pools (three to four miles a week); traveling, mostly by bike. Living in New York, where I get around almost entirely by bike. My new ‘retirement activities’ are creative writing, learning Spanish, and ping pong—all humbling. Most of my life, I would read a short story and say, ‘I could do that.’ Not so easy. Need my 10,000 hours. May need 20,000 for ping pong. My husband is my buddy on traveling, biking, Spanish, ping pong, and life. My two boys are mensches, giving me hope for the future.”

Marc Mowrey writes: “I worked as volunteer professor for two months in the philology department at the National University of Lviv in Ukraine. Air raid sirens, bomb shelters, and memorials to fallen heroes are a regular part of life in Ukraine. Everyone has been touched by loss. From my window overlooking a church, I often heard a military band playing a dirge for a killed son or daughter of Lviv. Despite the losses, my hundreds of students remained upbeat, hardworking, and in good spirits—future leaders of the free world!”

Sue Peabody has put her COL degree to work teaching European history at Washington State University Vancouver, near Portland, Oregon, for the past 30 years. Currently on her (final?) sabbatical, funded by a Humboldt Research Award, she is living in Bremen and Berlin for six months. Watch for her forthcoming graphic memoir, Many Names: The Life Journey of a Sudanese Poet (LSU Press series, Noire/e: Race and Belonging in the Afro-French World, 2026), with author Moneim Rahama and illustrator Lena M.

Andrea Smith shared that as an anthropologist she has been teaching at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, since 1999. She researches memory, forgetting, and colonialism. Her latest book, Memory Wars, looks at how an assault on the Haudenosaunee during the Revolutionary War is remembered today. She has a fabulous 18-year-old son and lives in rural New Jersey. And she celebrates her first time writing into our Class Notes.

Megan Norris writes she has stepped down from being the first female CEO of her law firm (Miller Canfield, the oldest firm in Detroit), although they seem to find plenty for her to do so still goes to work every day. For the first time since 1986, when she takes a vacation, she will really be on vacation. Megan writes, “We intentionally go places where we have plausible deniability regarding phone access. Both my husband and our daughter, Taylor Matthew ’17, are in education and have summers off. I am told that next up is the full Camino de Santiago.”

Karyn Ellis writes with both good and bad news. Her 17-year-old daughter broke four bones in her back while training in freeride skiing, then her mother passed away at age 90 in the fall. However, as scoutmaster of a male/female (aka brother/sister) Scout troop in California, “we got our first four girls to the Eagle rank in 2025.” The nonprofit she founded two years ago to help Evyn’s ski team has done well. Competitive tennis, gardening, skiing, yoga, settling her mother’s estate, and multiple pets take up what little time remains.

Jaime Grant is finally empty nesting having sent her late-life baby off to Waseda University in Tokyo this fall. She released Polyamory for Dummies at the beginning of 2025, and debuted Kink for Dummies in November ’25. Her latest health report on LGBTQ+ women, What’s Killing Us?, was released in October through the National Center for LGBTQ Rights in San Francisco. She’s looking forward to an artists’ residency in Hyannis on Cape Cod this winter.

Lynn Ogden says: “Ralph and I enjoyed a blessed year with the arrival of our first granddaughter, Luana Adé. And her aunt [our daughter], Emi Ogden-Fung ’19, and Ian Brok eloped to Colorado in June. They moved east in November, and Emi is with a start-up in NYC. We were able to celebrate Emi’s nuptials in September and the holidays together in Ohio.” 

Claire Gleitman writes: “I’m currently serving as dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences at Ithaca College, where I’m also professor in the department of English—and I continue to regularly teach my favorite course, which I call Dangerous Women in Drama. My husband, now retired, and I live contentedly in Ithaca, New York.” 

Suzanne Smith shares: “I live with my son in northeast Los Angeles and work at an elementary school in a nearby community. Grateful for Medicare—one of the very few perks of aging—and a Wesleyan education in European imperialism and Latin American history. Thanks, Wesleyan, for your continuing commitment to the humanities and social sciences in the face of raging anti-intellectualism.”

Lisa Kennedy says: “I am celebrating my 25th year as a residential Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Hollywood, Florida. And hard to believe that I am about to begin my 40th year living in southeast Florida! Yet, my heart still belongs to my New England–Boston roots and, as such, I enjoyed a beautiful fall trip to Vermont, as well as trips to New York (to visit my daughter, who lives in Astoria), a trip to North Carolina, and a cruise to Iceland. My next big trip, and topping my bucket list, is a fall cruise to Japan. Hopefully some of the four years of studying Japanese at Wes will resurface to my frontal cortex and guide me somewhat.”

Steve Hubbell writes: “I live in Brooklyn. I direct a fellowship program at Open Society in New York, supporting the work of public intellectuals in seven global cities. I have three kids: one son who is finishing up at Oberlin, a daughter studying acupuncture, and a younger son who will be a freshman at Brown in September.”

Nicholas Herold: “We operate in and out of a gorgeous Second Empire Victorian in Portland,” that has a hot tub and a pool. “[We] have had the pleasure (and rarely otherwise) of meeting and hosting lovely and interesting people. We’ve met people from all over the world, including from both sides of the equator, and dream of starting a humorous podcast for our amusement and possibly for the amusement and edification of others. We are happy to offer all Wesleyan alumni a 10% discount on stays.”

Eileen Kelly-Aguirre has finally extricated herself from paid employ and is happily spending the school year with her husband in Pacific Grove, California. Come the new year, she will be the daytime “granny nanny” for her first grandchild, supporting her daughter’s return to her DEI leadership work at Stevenson. They will return to northwest Connecticut come summer, with an eye to relocating back to Spain in the near future with the extended family.

Shelley Stephenson writes, “I’ve recently settled in Helsinki, Finland, with my husband of 30 years and my high school–age son. My daughter is graduating this year from Bryn Mawr. After a PhD in Chinese and a career in international higher education, I now work as a consultant and am active in progressive politics both in the U.S. and Finland. I’m happy to meet up with any Wes alums in the area!”

Tim Brockett says that 2026 “greeted me at my new winter lake camp in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It is a quiet and peaceful place where I read good books and go for walks in the surrounding desert. I have family in Henderson, and they frequently visit. The kids love the camp, and we are all building memories. I sell books during the summer in Montana and volunteer my skills to the local HOA. My health is good, and I hope I have another 15 to 25 years left to be a part of the lives of the people I love.”

Melissa Hendricks writes, “I have retired from my job as director of the Johns Hopkins MA in Science Writing Program. On my retirement bucket list [is] returning to my bio major roots: I’m looking forward to volunteering for conservation and field biology projects.”

Greetings, classmates.

Jonathan Weber’s first book, City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco (Simon & Schuster) comes out June 9. The book chronicles the city starting in the ’90s—in its post-hippie phase, still reeling from a recent earthquake, the AIDS epidemic, and the assassinations of its two foremost politicians—to the rise of the internet and becoming the global capital of technology. As a longtime San Franciscan who read the manuscript, I’m excited about the launch of his exhaustively reported and lively book. After turning in the manuscript, Jonathan and his wife Karen spent time traveling in Europe and Southeast Asia; ask him about his encounter with a baby elephant.

After 13 years as host of public radio’s Marketplace Morning Report, David Brancaccio will become Marketplace’s “Secretary of the Future,” a senior correspondent focused on policy and personal financial decisions with long-term consequences. The beat is inspired by Kurt Vonnegut, who spoke out on the dangers of short-term thinking in a TV interview with David. “No country has ever had a Secretary of the Future,” Vonnegut said. “There are no plans for our children and grandchildren.” Prior to his transition, David produced a series about rebuilding after the California wildfires, centered on neighbors along one street in Altadena where David and his wife Mary also lost their home. Sorry for your loss, David, but eager to hear what you’re doing in the future.

David Hessekiel sold the two brands that made up his social impact conference and digital information business, Engage for Good and the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum, to a pair of social entrepreneurs. Now he’s having fun returning to his roots in journalism (he wrote not just for The Argus, but The New Haven Register, where he met his wife, Andi, when they were cub reporters), writing for The Rye Record, where Andi is the deputy editor.

Over the past several decades, jazz musician Bill Anschell has been writing short pieces poking fun at the gigs that non-marquee jazz artists, including himself, play to make a living. At first, he just sent them to friends, then some got attention on online jazz sites and The Wall Street Journal, which wrote that one story “is being passed among economist-bloggers as a comic case study in market dysfunction.” Bill has updated, expanded, and collected all the pieces in Benched, which is self-published and available through most online booksellers.

Gabriel Cohen has a nonfiction book coming out in March titled The Frankenstein Fix: Why Big Tech Goes Astray and What We Can Do About It. He also has a crime novel, Where You’ll Find Me, coming out in August, inspired by the true story of a guy who stole a bucket of gold from the momentarily open and unguarded armored truck in Manhattan.

Michael Lucey has spent his time since January at All Souls College, Oxford—the last sabbatical of his UC Berkeley career. He’ll retire on January 1, 2027, which he views as an extended sabbatical for writing, playing music, and doing yoga. While in Oxford, he’s been working on a couple of projects, including a new translation of André Gide’s novel The Counterfeiters.

Courtney Briggs Melton has practiced law at Derrick & Briggs, LLP, for 32 years and currently serves as president of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. She is based in Oklahoma City with her husband, Tim Melton, and their three girls, and has enjoyed reconnecting with Wesleyan friends while traveling, including Susan and Nick Webb ’84, Susannah Gray, George Russell ’83, Janice Okoomian ’83, Belinda Davis ’81, and Peter Appelbaum ’81.

Seeking adventure, Bob Russo, John Brautigam, Michael Greenstein, Anthony Pahigian, Tom Davis, Mike Levine (and brave spouse Liz Allison), along with Steve Davies ’83, ventured to northern Minnesota for a five-day canoe trip. They experienced a downpour, some questionable and questioned navigation, political commiseration, and three varieties of biting insects. That was balanced by Bob and Steve’s successful fishing and cooking, beautiful campsites, challenging portages, and the awesome silence of the Northwoods.

I’m sad to report that Philip Helfer, the son of longtime Wes professor James H. Stone and a Middletown friend to many in our class, died recently in Santa Barbara after a brief illness.

On a personal note, thanks to those of you who read my (Laura’s) Guardian article about assisted living and answered with such thoughtful notes about your own experiences with aging relatives, your plans for aging well, and some smart ideas about what we can do as a society to improve the situation.

Liz Feigelson wrote that she continues to be inspired by so many of her Wesleyan friends: “Denise Joseph to draw, Mary Purpura ’84 to plant, Pearl Raz ’81 to learn, Renée Green ’81 to experience art, and Heather Baker-Sullivan to hold onto old friends.” May we all continue to be inspiring and hold on to those old friends!

Finally, a few book suggestions from our classmates:

Catharine Arnold: This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

Liz Feigelson: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride; The Book of Hours by Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows); and My Friends by Fredrick Backman

Emilie “Bunny” Attwell: Careless People by Sarah Wynn Williams; and She Kills by Skip Hollandsworth. Emilie also sent in this photo:

And one final photo: Some of our classmates gathered last summer at Bruce Crain’s lake house in Morris, Connecticut, to celebrate Class of ’82 Medicare Day.

Warmly,

Laura and Michael

Greetings from Bloomington, home of the 2026 NCAA undefeated national football champions: the Indiana Hoosiers! So proud of my adopted hometown team—go IU!
 
I was in Zurich this December visiting my middle son, and I had the great pleasure to indulge in a delicious, random, last-minute meal with my old C-2 roommate Deb Chapin—in a charming restaurant, over a bottle of wine, in downtown Basel on Christmas Eve—when we both discovered that we were in Switzerland at the same time. Here’s to spontaneity (and an excellent train system)!

Leora Freedman wrote in from California, where she has been working mostly in legal positions in higher education. She retired in August 2024, then served as a mediator and consultant last year, before deciding that she wasn’t quite ready for retirement. She recently accepted a position directing the Civil Rights Office at her alma mater, UCLA, and enjoys a five-minute commute to her office!

“About two years ago,” Leora writes, “Todd Martin graciously organized a really fun Zoom reunion for several Foss 10 and 10-person friends (Anne Standley, Mary Austin Dowd, Barbara Parrot Katz, Carole Muller, Lily Whiteman, and Stephanie Hutter ’82). We discussed how much we would like to reconvene with old friends at the next reunion (including John Ross, Greg Andris, Alan Mairson, and Sean Moran).” 

Speaking of Reunion . . . it is our REUNION YEAR and is sure to be a good time! Put the dates in your calendar: May 22–24, 2026. Registration opened in March, so be on the lookout for reminders and Zoom gatherings. And perhaps do as I did: Reach out to a group of old friends and start planning to meetup!

Chris Graves, now retired as global CEO from Oglivy, where he helped launch their behavioral science practice, founded his own consultancy called The Resonance Code, which deploys his award-winning behavioral science approach to better decoding humans and predicting (or understanding at least) behaviors. “I do pro bono work, such as serving on the board of www.Community.Solutions, a non-profit working to mitigate homelessness. I am also an advisor to the Muhammad Ali Center, and on the advisory board of an AI start-up that builds modular green power to get data centers off the grid.”  Chris adds that his daughter, Julia Graves ’17, married Keenan Burgess ’16 on a beautiful day in August atop the roof garden of the Aspen Art Museum. Julia lives in Brooklyn and works as a software developer for an AI company specializing in legal and financial services.

Paul DiSanto enjoyed dinner recently in Mystic, Connecticut, with Rick Ciullo, who was in the area from his home on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, for meetings at the Hartford Insurance Company, for which he still works. They were joined by Jim Baker and his wife, Diane, who live between Fisher’s Island, New York, and the Connecticut shore. Tim O’Brien and his wife, Linda, drove down from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Pete Pezzelli came from Narragansett, Rhode Island. There was much talk of children, grandchildren, world affairs, and aches and pains, along with plans to see each other again at Reunion. Jim and Tim are retired but staying busy; Jim, in particular, with his four grandchildren. Pete is still running his family’s long-term health-care business. Paul shared: “Lynne and I have a two-year-old grandson, and we are glad he and our son and daughter-in-law are moving to Hanover, New Hampshire, soon from Denver. Our older son also lives in New Hampshire, so we are eyeing a potential move to the Granite State at some point, though I still greatly enjoy my work in the Wes Advancement office.”  

Barry “Pono” Fried is still operating theaward-winning, bespoke Open Eye Tours in paradise, interpreting and sharing Hawai’i’s vibrant culture, precious nature and wildlife, rich history, expressive language, myths and legends, music and art, tasty local food, humbling sacred sites, breathtaking beauty spots, less-visited authentic country villages, quieter places buses can’t access, and more, since 1983. With his master’s in education, and decades of teaching and guiding experiences, Pono offers authentic Hawaiian cultural immersion. If retirement beckons you to Hawai’i, reach out to him at www.openeyetours.com for what is certain to be an unforgettable adventure!

Charlie Spiegel attempts sanity from his law offices in the Bay Area in much of the same ways he did as a Wes student. He has been active as a leader of several political activist groups, raising money for swing-state grassroots voter organizations thru Action-SF.com, and organizing LGBTQ volunteers in TheBillys.org. “And I still use skills learned at The Hermes,”Charlie says, “to write and promote political letters to the editor of local newspapers. Shout-out to the national impact and leadership of Wes President Michael Roth. Further Wes-based sanity comes from regular morning city park walks with Nancy Traub Chirinos, visits to the suburban NYC home of Nick Radcliffe and Pam Bolton ’85, P’18, and international online communication with Anne Stevenson Yang.

Delcy Ziac Fox celebrated Gary Shapiro’s milestone birthday in August ’25 with former InTown 21 housemate Jim Sullivan ’82, P’19 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Delcy is pleased to announce that her son, Liam, is engaged, with a September ’26 wedding near Portland, Oregon, is planned.

Carl Latkin is still researching at Johns Hopkins University and is pleased to have recently published an article in Wesleyan’s journal of great multidisciplinary work, Climate Change, on the link between the health and well-being impacts of experiencing extreme weather events and climate change activism. “Regarding my existence,” says Carl, “I still haven’t been caught for impersonating an academic, and I still enjoy developing, implementing, and evaluating public health harm-reduction interventions. Being labeled as ‘an enemy of the people’ is also interesting. However, working with colleagues in Ukraine gives me a perspective on our current situation.”

I conclude with sad news regarding the tragic death of our dear classmate Dr. Anne Videtti Robinson P’13, wife of Dennis Robinson ’79, P ’13 and mother of Emily (Jason),  Michael Robinson ’13 (Lia ’13), and Catherine. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, colleagues and patients. Her life was rich in love, gratitude, and service to others.

Positive news and happy antidotes from the Class of 1980.

Joel Tillinghast: “I climbed Mt. Fuji last summer.” Here are some photos taken during Joel’s descent:

Wendy Davis Beard: “I visited my daughter in Florence at the end of 2025.”

Dan Connors: “I did enjoy going to the last No Kings protest with my fellow Missourians, and I keep waiting for the tide to turn. Highlights [from 2025] were vacations in the Ozarks, a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and my first venture to Universal Orlando in over a decade. Now tax season is calling me, and it’s time to put my CPA license to good use. . .”

Mark Zitter: “With two daughters living in NYC—Tessa ’21 in Brooklyn and Sasha at med school in Westchester—my wife, Jessica, and I will get an apartment on the Upper West Side and split our time between there and the Bay Area. But we’ll mostly be on the road this spring while we’re on a 25-city theatrical tour for Jessica’s new documentary, The Chaplain and the Doctor. Meanwhile I’m spearheading a national initiative with multiple funders to accelerate AI adoption among nonprofits and launching a blog and video channel on leadership in the business and social sectors. More on both at markzitter.com.” 

Marty Saggese: “In March I will step down, after 24 years, as executive director of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). I don’t use the word ‘retire,’ so I’m looking for suggestions on a new word to describe what you do after ‘graduation’ from working? I have been spending a lot of time in Venice, Italy, where I bought an apartment, and I hope to be there and travel even more this year. I’d love to see any classmates there, so I will agree to host an ongoing Wesleyan soirée in my garden (with wine or Aperol) as any of you pass through Venice.”

Melissa Stern: After traveling to museums throughout the States for 13 years, my interactive mixed media project is coming home to NYC. The Talking Cure (highlighted in the Wesleyan University Magazine in 2013 and shown at Real Art Ways in Hartford) will open on March 5, 2026, at A Hug From The Art World, 112 Tenth Avenue, NYC. The show will run through mid-April 2026. I’ll be doing some public events during the run of the show. Stay tuned! https://www.ahugfromtheartworld.com/

Debbie Lipshutz: “I am actively volunteering with ctc4progress.org in Pennsylvania. This highly focused and effective work is encouraging infrequent voters to vote in the midterm elections, to help recover our democracy.”

John Singer: “As classmates with whom I’ve stayed in closer touch know, about 12 years ago, after multiple back surgeries, I have idiopathic bilateral denervation below my knees. This is a fancy way of saying the muscles in my calves, ankles, and feet don’t really work. About four years ago, my son’s now mother-in-law (who is a physical therapist) offered to take me to the person who she thinks (and I now agree) is the best orthotist in Maryland. It was a life-changing experience as I was fitted with ankle-foot orthotics (AFOs)—think of them as lower leg braces—that permit me to lead a pretty normal life again. Among other things, I can walk without the risk of tripping and stand without wobbling. I could walk my son down the aisle without assistance when he got married two years ago (the Honorable Brad Moss officiated).

“In the four years that I’ve been using AFOs, each of them, separately, have snapped and broken (they are made of carbon fiber). I discovered that most insurers will only pay for a new orthotic every five years, including replacement ones when an orthotic breaks, as I found out is not uncommon. Using my AFOs as an example, an AFO can cost around $1,100 each (I wear two) so many if not most people—even those with insurance—are out of luck for potentially years if their orthotic breaks and they cannot pay for a new one out of pocket. Another barrier, even for those with insurance, are significant co-pays even when there is coverage.

“The life-changing nature of AFOs that I’ve experienced and the seemingly insurmountable barriers that some people face in obtaining these medically necessary devices has made working toward making orthotics more readily available a passionate cause for me. I’ve taken two concrete steps toward this goal so far. I am working toward the passage of a law in Maryland that will require insurers to pay for replacement orthotics whenever they break, absent abusive use. I will be testifying before the Maryland Senate, invited in support of the bill next week. Though it is cold in Maryland, so the legislators can see my AFOs, I will be wearing what could charitably be called ‘Bermuda wear,’ shorts along with a sport coat, dress shirt, and tie. On a more personal note, Karen and I are working toward sharing our good fortune by creating an endowment at the Johns Hopkins Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department (where I’ve been treated) to provide financial assistance to people who cannot otherwise afford to obtain orthotics. After working with the Hopkins bureaucracy since last July, the endowment (AFOs for All) should be up and running in the next month or so. Our goal is to raise at least $250,000 and Karen and I will match the first $125,000 in donations. If you’d like to learn more, you can email me at regnisj@gmail.com.

“There is an overabundance of issues that our world faces. I hope through my efforts I can help to address one. The availability of orthotics certainly is not one of the more visible problems, but I can assure you that it is critically important to those individuals who would benefit from them. My hope is that there will come a day when no one ever  is told by their physician, physical therapist, or orthotist that there is a medical device out there that that can make you safer and improve the quality of your life but, unfortunately, your insurance will not pay for it or you cannot  afford to pay for it out of pocket so you will have do without it.

“On another subject, I swam freshman and sophomore years. Though I no longer compete, I started back up with masters swimming probably about 25 years ago and swim about three to four times per week. I mention this because the water is my happy place and aqua therapy really helped me with rehab after my back surgeries. At age 59, just before I retired, I got recertified as a lifeguard so that I could help out with aqua therapy one day a week at a spinal cord injury center in Baltimore until COVID. While I like to think I provided some help to therapists and the patients, I can say with certainty that whatever I gave I more than got back in inspiration from the patients, many of whom were paraplegics. Sometimes I did CrossFit with the patients, and Karen would ask if I was the only one not in a wheelchair. While this was often the case, on a good day I could do two pull-ups. Some of the patients could do multiple pull-ups while strapped to their wheelchairs. The experience really showed how with hard work and adaptive athletic equipment you can overcome most anything. On a very minor level, because of safety issues mounting and dismounting, I switched from a traditional bike to a self-powered recumbent tricycle. When I ride here outside of Charleston, where we have our winter beach home, when asked about the trike, I tell people I have the fastest beach chair on the island. I sometimes ride with Lew Gitlin ’79. Lew had a stroke about five years ago and he and his wife now live on Kiawah Island. Lew needs an upright motorized trike, but the important thing is that he’s still getting out and riding.” 

Will Rowe: “A group of us mostly ’80 graduates touch base on Zoom calls a couple times a year—me,  Jonathan Selzer, Jonathan Nimer, Ken Freeman, Joel Tillinghast, Andy Boname, Richard Levine, Dan Connors,David Engstrom, Leszek Pawlowicz ’79, Dave Loucky ’82, and Teresa Kosciuk-Rowe ’81 (my wife). Really wonderful to be together!

“I’m grateful for many volunteer opportunities to lift communities, especially in these chaotic and uncertain times. Thankful for a racial unity group that I’ve been co-leading for some seven years, with [the] mission to build and sustain a beloved community through education, service, policy, and prayer that fosters repair, healing, and unity. Were young, old, black, white, brown, single, married, city, suburban, and country raised, and raised in other lands. We are members of different faith communities and come together weekly for connection and engage in many projects and initiatives.

“Enjoy spending time as a volunteer on several boards that support the quality of life of military families (e.g., Blue Star Families, the Foreign Born Miliary Spouse Network), needs of local communities in Washington, D.C. (e.g., Strategies to Elevate People DC), and serve as a volunteer with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission in areas of community resilience, workforce transition, and military-community infrastructure and quality of life partnerships. The common denominator is collaboration, relationships, and community action. Still live in Annandale, Virginia, and expecting second grandchild in March!”

Carolyn Sullivan: “As I write this, I am camped out in a hotel, eagerly awaiting the news that my power has been restored after five days without—thank you, Winter Storm Fern! Nashville has been hit bad. So far I’ve been struck by the following: (1) Nashville Electric Service needs big-time help with their disaster messaging; (2) When something like this happens, being in the present and solving problems as they arise is the only way to survive with one’s sanity intact; and (3) a sense of humor is a critical survival tool!

“I had already determined I wanted to let things play out this year and not do quite so much planning and goal setting, and these events have cemented that approach. The beginning of the year had its own challenges I won’t even enumerate here! Suffice it to say 2026 has come in with a ‘Let’s see what you’re made of!’ It’s somewhat liberating to strip things down to the bare bones and live one day at a time, to be honest. Now that I have a long hotel stay in my future and my laptop and functioning WIFI, I hope to catch up on my neglected Substack, “An Accidental Admin.” It’s been a fun creative outlet (no current plans to monetize). Tentatively plan a trip to the UK with my sister later this year, depending on how stable/unstable our country/the world seems to be. In these trying times, it’s the little things. Hope everyone is keeping keeping on!”

Art Feltman: Dale Wallington ’82 and I, who met at Wesleyan in 1979 and have been together since, just retired from our practices and will spend our winters at an outdoor recreational community in Sarasota, Florida. We will enjoy the other seasons at our longtime Berkshires cabin on Center Pond.

Dale is a psychiatrist and Art transitioned two decades ago from practicing law to vocational and literacy work with immigrants. “We recently marched in an anti-ICE demonstration in downtown Sarasota and will continue to be active in both places to include and support immigrants and refugees in our community.”

Mike O’Brien: “My youngest son, Walter (who is named after my late friend Walter Chmielewski) is a freshman at Savannah College of Art & Design, studying animation. My daughter Dana, who lives in Australia now (and whose mother is Ann Carlson), visited the U.S. in October. I got to see her, and my grandchildren Max and Alice—it was my first time meeting Alice! We met up in Brooklyn and took the kids to the Prospect Park Zoo and to many of the same playgrounds in Prospect Park to which I took my own kids, Dana and Jack, when they were little, decades ago.

“I played music at a Bob Dylan–themed open-mic fundraiser organized and emceed by Dave Stern, in November, in Northampton, Massachusetts.” 

Michael Zackin: “It is still hard for me to believe that our class is so close to the beginning page of the class notes. Mary (Nastuk) and I have continued to be very busy. Mary just retired from her job as a medical editor at The New England Journal of Medicine after almost 20 years and now hopes to spend more time volunteering, knitting, and kayaking. I am still working as a pediatrician, but after over 30 years I have cut back to two days a week. Not ready to pull the plug just yet. I always get excited when I have a patient attending Wesleyan.  

“We are enjoying a bit more time at our house in the Berkshires and spend time hiking, kayaking, running, and biking, but just also enjoying nature. In September, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with a group from Zero Prostate Cancer. Definitely an awe-inspiring trip.

“Our daughter, Katie Roose ’10, and husband, Robbie Roose ’04, and our two grandchildren (Willian and Alden) came east from Oregon to attend our son’s wedding. Also in attendance was my father, Jerry Zackin ’53. Oregon is too far from Massachusetts, and we wish we could see them more.”

Andrew and Jacquie McKenna: “We are excited to celebrate the graduation of our younger daughter, Juliana, this spring from Eckerd College in Florida. She majored in environmental studies with a concentration in marine biology and hopes to work with sharks after she graduates. Our older daughter, Xan, just began a full-time job with the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, Colorado—an outdoor semester school for high school and gap students (https://hminet.org—check it out for high schoolers you know) and continues creating and selling her paintings (https://xanmckenna.com).

“Andrew continues his work running the services at the Boulder Airport (including powered flight and glider schools) and is flying his Bonanza and searching for Amelia Earhart. Jacquie is on staff for the Boulder International Film Festival as the co-lead for the Call2Action series; is on the board for the African Conservation Centre-U.S. (https://accafrica-us.org), which includes hosting a Tanzanian safari in 2027 to raise funds for the organization; is a wildfire mitigation ambassador for her neighborhood, working to reduce the risk of wildfire in her community; is in a course on constructive conversations to encourage better listening and less divisiveness; and plans to return to the workforce to work internationally to protect wild animals.”