Class Notes | 1980s

We will be meeting soon in Middletown for our 30th Reunion, so here is a brief update from some of your classmates.

Dan Barrett has a new book: Social Psychology: Core Concepts and Emerging Trends (Sage Press); he is a professor of psychology at Western Connecticut State University, happily married, and living in Redding, Conn. In the same field, Alex Rothman remains busy with research and teaching as a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota and continues to enjoy life in Minneapolis. Son #1 is at Bowdoin, so there’s only one at home who is barely surviving now as the sole focus of attention. Alex looks forward to catching up with folks in May.

Also in Minnesota, Lydia Crawford is still with Wells Fargo, working in the law department as a consumer credit attorney, and her husband Phil Davies is also in the financial industry as an editor writer for the publications of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Neither of us would ever have thought that our careers would lead us to banking, but such are the vagaries of life. Our two kids appear to have outgrown us in every way—Owen (17) quite literally, as he is the tallest in the family by several inches—although we do manage to have dinner together almost every night and have a little family outing most weekends just to take us away from our respective screens, work, activities, etc.”

Tavy Ronen lives in NYC with her 16-year-old daughter and is a finance professor at Rutgers University. She is the founding director of the Business of Fashion Programs at Rutgers Business School and of the Business of Fashion Research Center. Tavy is the academic affiliate of Stanford Consulting Group and provides expert testimony on securities litigation cases, primarily in matters relating to credit markets and market microstructure. When not working on the above, she runs The Yarn Company, a groovy art-fiber yarn store in Manhattan, which she owns with her brother.

Elaine Taylor-Klaus says her business, ImpactADHD.com continues to expand globally, providing behavior management and parent training for parents of complex kids around the globe. Last year, she did workshops in London and Melbourne and she’s also working on a book.

Paula Holm Jensen noted that after 22 years as a lawyer, 18 years in Portland, Ore., and 11 years in solo practice (IP, technology licensing and commercial contracts), she joined one of her long-time clients as general counsel this March. “For fun, I sing in a choir dedicated to performing Bach cantatas and other baroque works, and I root for Portland’s pro soccer teams: the Timbers, Thorns and T2. I haven’t missed a Reunion since graduation, so you’ll find me—as always—at Alpha Delt.”

Ellen Santistevan wrote about her children: “My children are taking center stage as they move into adulthood. My youngest son, Mark, graduates from high school this spring. My middle child, Dorothe, is getting married one week after that (and so I’ll miss Reunion). My firstborn child came out as transgender last spring and now goes by the name Felix. That’s been perhaps the biggest one to deal with, although overall, planning a wedding is more stressful. My eldest daughter, Lauren, has a sweet little girl that I get to baby sit sometimes, and her older son is going into high school this fall.”

Daniel Seltzer writes about his music. “I could write about empty nest, work stories, feeling my age…but I’ll just say that I’ve finally gotten back to playing music and love it passionately. While trying to make up for lost time, I’m playing funk/rock/blues/jazz with a variety of people in NYC and am always interested in meeting others who enjoy group improv with a deep groove. All the other stuff seems easier to deal with when you’ve got music in your life.”

Monica Jahan Bose is living in Washington, D.C., after many years in Tokyo, New York, and Paris. “I am still married to Michael S. Bennett ’87 (not the Senator!). We met in 1987 at Columbia Law and we have two daughters. I spend most of my time on what I call “artivism,” art and advocacy. Since 2012, I have been working on a collaborative project called Storytelling with Saris with women from my ancestral village in Bangladesh, drawing attention to issues of gender and climate change. This year, I am trying to make a film about the project.”

Brian Grzelkowski escaped D.C. after 10 years there. He moved with his son and wife Beatrix to rural Bucks County, Pa. “I had already switched from a career in international humanitarian aid to high school teaching, so trading a bustling city for an old stone house and some acres of land seemed like a good step in regaining quality of life. Beatrix has reestablished her psychotherapy and distance-counseling practice and I’m now rediscovering some of the outdoors and lumberjacking skills of my childhood in Maine. With the exception of regular taunts from brazen and hungry deer, we’re all settling in nicely, and hopefully a few Wes folks to stop by for a visit.”

From our Facebook Group, Nicholas Waltner says his daughter will be going to Wesleyan this fall. Timothy Burke notes he won’t be at Reunion; it’s exam period at Swarthmore. Andrea Wojnar Diagne is working to promote reproductive health in Africa. George Justice hopes to come to Reunion; he’s dean of humanities at Arizona State University and recovering (I hope) from his own nasty cancer year. Sandy Goldstein is living in Westchester, N.Y., and Mike Sealander “is alive and living in eastern Maine.” And the closing update: Steven Meyer and his wife, Julia, had a daughter in October—perhaps Elena will go to Wes 18 years from now!

Susanna Wenniger and Rudd Kierstead are still married after 23 years! Still living in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Rudd is still working in healthcare, now as director of Physician Network at Weill Cornell, and still creating amazing food for all their friends. Susanna is still working for Artnet.com as the senior specialist of photographs for the online auctions. She writes, “We have a 17-year-old and a 14-year-old who are polar opposites in every way imaginable. I see a lot of Shirley Hedden ’82, as our kids went to the same neighborhood school and we are still part of the same Mom group for the past 12 years. Rudd lunches with Ben Sternlieb ’85 on a weekly basis. And I was thrilled to get a visit last summer from Sarah Flanders, who is practicing as a psychiatrist in Pittsburgh. Seeing her again made me realize how much I want to reconnect to so many of the people whom I have fallen out of touch with! I hope to make it to Reunion.”

Several have written me saying, “We’re not yet sure whether we can make Reunion, but are going to try. We know it’ll be a lot of fun!” See you soon.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Am I the only one excited about our 30th Reunion next year? (Don’t answer that.) By now, most of us have either embraced or are recovering from the trauma of turning 50. Many of us with kids are becoming empty nesters if we haven’t already, while some of us are starting new families—not to mention new careers! Whatever phase of life you are going through, please keep sharing it with us.

Let’s start with Holly Campbell Ambler: “I live in Cambridge, Mass., with my husband and two teenage daughters … sort of. My oldest, Nora, age 18, is currently living in Florida pursuing her interest in ballet (I still consider that living at home because I can’t get used to the idea that children grow up). My other daughter, Louise, is in 10th grade, and may even agree to visit Wes on her college visits next year! I am working as a social worker in an elementary school in Boston, a job I began this year. I see Trish and John Dorsey frequently, as well as Doug Koplow and family, and Dennis Mahoney. I also had fun catching up with many Davids (David Glotzer, David Josephs, David Igler ’88, and David Witkin) and their families when a few of us met in Chicago last May … did we really turn 50!?”

I love when different people write in about the same events, and I assume DJ is talking about the weekend Holly just detailed above. David Josephs writes: “I will soon be suffering from an empty nest, as my daughter graduates from college in May and I got a great new job. I just joined Visa and am semi-relocating from the Chicago suburbs to San Francisco. Also, a few of us from the class of ’87 who lived on or around what was then Knowles Avenue got together over Memorial Day (2015) weekend to celebrate our collective 50th birthdays.” (Everyone above was listed plus Cindy Willard ’88.)

Susan Arndt “got remarried in August, to Tracey, who is wonderful. She’s from the Gold Coast in Australia so shares my love of the ocean and the beach. Our relatives came from across the globe to share a big house in the country with us for a week and it was a really happy time. Tracey gave birth to our son, Tommy ,on July 8, and his older brothers Jake (11) and Angus (9) are besotted (as are we, of course). They are both growing quickly and filling as much time as possible with baseball, table tennis, gymnastics, music and, of course, Minecraft (homework, what’s that?). Tommy on the other hand is discovering the joys of food (more, please!) and trying desperately to crawl. After an early career in start-ups, and 10-plus-years running big delivery projects mostly in the media space, I’m back to my roots leading delivery for V-Nova, a small high-potential startup in data and video compression software. I keep in regular touch with Peg O’Connor, Amy Baltzell, and Stacy Owen. We’re still in London, where real estate prices are ridiculous but international access amazing.”

Dave Ryan is “currently living the dream, as a mostly-stay-at-home Dad … while working as the associate head writer of Days of Our Lives. My wife, Rachel, and Ripley, our 5-year-old daughter, accompanied me to the Oaxaca Filmfest, where my screenplay, Coffin, just took the top prize.”

Amy Baltzell is the editor of “a new book coming out, which I am very honored to be part of.” You can read about Mindfulness and Performance (Cambridge University Press) at cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/psychology/applied-psychology/mindfulness-and-performance. She adds, “I also became a teacher trainer for the mindful self-compassion program, which I am planning on bringing to sport. I started late with kids—so my tap dancing 10-year-old, rapidly growing 12-year-old basketball player and very tall 14-year-old ballerina are keeping me wildly busy.”

Matt Nestor is “proud and excited to say that my daughter, Miranda ’20, will be at Wesleyan!”

Brad Lubin’s daughter, Gillian ’20, will also be starting Wesleyan next fall and playing lacrosse. “Gillian’s decision to apply to Wesleyan ED1 was made several days after attending the Wesleyan fundraiser performance of Hamilton. Currently, the Hamilton soundtrack can be heard most nights throughout the house.”

In Dallas, Paul Zoltan helped to found the Child Refugee Support Network. Under his supervision the CRSN has, since August 2014, hosted more than 30 legal clinics to assist families and unaccompanied children complete and file applications for asylum. He’d love to hear from any Wes alums in Dallas—especially if they might be inclined to lend a hand.

Josh Bellin has a new novel, Scavenger of Souls (young adult science fiction), due to be published Aug. 23, 2016, by Simon & Schuster.

Sloane Smith Morgan writes that she has been “happily ensconced for the past 20-plus years in the SF Bay Area, and the last eight years I’ve been having great fun being part of the start-up team at Sungevity, currently the largest privately held solar company in the U.S. When not evangelizing about solar, I’m having fun with my husband, Nick, and our three sons, enjoying the best of California’s great outdoors, gardening and cooking with friends and family, and poking fun at expensive SFO real estate, customer experience, and ‘disruptive’ Bay Area tech.

Peg O’Connor “has a new book out this January titled, Life on the Rocks: Finding Meaning in Addiction and Recovery, with Central Recovery Press. It is part memoir and part philosophical ruminations on addiction as both cause and consequence of suffering. Since western philosophy has been grappling with questions about suffering, the meaning of life, and what counts as a good life or a life of flourishing, philosophy has a lot to offer anyone affected by addictions. Just about everyone in the US is somehow affected by addiction, whether one’s own or a family member’s or friend’s addiction.” [Ed. note: See page 16.]

That’s all the news for now. I hope everyone has a great summer! Much love,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

Peter writes for this issue:

Andy Stewart won his third election as Orangetown, N.Y., town supervisor and is “excited to work on local government stuff for another two years. Rachel Grob and I are headed toward the 30th anniversary this September of our meeting in the reading room of the Science in Society Program, and just moved to a new house in Nyack, N.Y., a village on the Hudson River where we have lived since 1996. She is researching, publishing and organizing on issues of health care reform, working for the Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. We recently brought our daughter, Talia, to the Wes campus for the Sons and Daughters program for learning about the college application process, and Rachel and I got a kick out of showing her our old haunts.”

Benjamin Junge is teaching anthropology at SUNY-New Paltz: “Had a great mini-reunion with Schuyler Frautschi and William Weiss last summer—The gents came to Beacon to see me make a fool of myself in an XTC cover band! On other fronts: I’ve just started a three-year, NSF-funded study of class mobility in Brazil; very exciting!”

Joey Xanders reports, “I am the proud mama of a baby kitten called Halo. She brings me great joy! I inherited this kitten from Clarence Thomas (CT) at the same time I signed on to manage him. CT is a young hip hop/R&B artist/musician from East Oakland. I’m also managing a music collective CT created called UMC (United Music Crew) filled with young urban rappers, singers, and gospel artists. On the other end of the spectrum of life, I have consulted to create a new fellowship for healthcare. It’s called the Carol B. Emmott Fellowship for Women Leaders in Healthcare. (I produced a 90-minute documentary on Carol which lead to the creation on this fellowship.) Lastly, I’m working on my book proposal on my experience as the founding director and co-creator of The Moth. If you attended The Moth anytime from 1997-2001, shoot me a story! All said, I’m most blessed with my 12-year-old son, Magnus, who is a stellar soul and ardent basketball player. Please drop a line if you’re in California.”

Bobbito Garcia shares: “Recently directed my second film, Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives (stretchandbobbito.com), and have been touring the world to promote the release. Also have the fourth season of my basketball tournament Full Court 21™ World Final (fullcourt21nyc.com) coming this summer, with qualifiers in Beijing, London, LA, Philadelphia, Chicago, Ghana, Mali, New Zealand, Toronto, and Vancouver. I’m most busy though raising my 2-year-old son.”

Cher Gray advises: “I am living a modest life in South Florida (been here over 20 years.) I am a freelance consultant in advertising. Always looking to extend my clientele list. Bummed that I haven’t had the time/opportunity to visit Wes in some time, but would like to change that in 2016.”

Andy Goldman writes in from the Pacific NW: “In September 2015, I was selected to become the Arnold Distinguished Professor at Gonzaga University, where I’ve been working now for 14 years. I’m very honored to have been selected, and for the next three years I’m appointed to act as something of a ‘champion’ of the humanities, working to promote them at our school and in our wider community. If anyone has any ideas on how I might best do this, I’m all ears (goldman@gonzaga.edu). This summer I also began as the field director for a new excavation project in Sinop, in northern Turkey on the Black Sea coast. We’re exploring ancient Sinope, a Greek colony and later the capital of the Pontic kingdom, with support from the NEH and National Geographic.”

David Silverberg chimes in from the Midwest: “I’m now director of the Telego Center for Educational Improvement at Ashland University in Ohio. We do university outreach to K–12 school districts to address contemporary needs for professional development, grants, curriculum audits, special events, etc. I am also a faculty member with ASCD International and, in that position, provide training and research for school districts around the country. I live in the Cleveland area with my wife and two children, now 7 and 9.”

Bruno Oliver recently hit the 20-year mark in Los Angeles. “I would have considered the very idea [of living in LA] ‘insane.’ It’s ‘home’ now, but I still yearn for Chicago—the Lake, Lincoln Park, apartments with long hallways, and neighborhood bars with half-lit Old Style signs that beckon safety in a snowstorm. Still acting, hopefully I’ll be on your TVs more this year than last. Also teaching, coaching, and consulting for actors. Last year I became board president of Sacred Fools Theater Company, one of the busiest and most important forces in L.A. small theater.”

C.C. (Crichlow) Clark: “I live in Arlington, Va. I have been doing college visits with my son. The last time I was on campus I ran into Eric Greene ‘90. He is working at UCLA. I also had dinner with Ingrid Gordon this summer when she was in northern Virginia for work.”

Steve Morison is in Rome with his wife and daughter, “working and living at St. Stephen’s School. All is well. In the last month, I’ve visited with Paul Gosselin and Amy Madigan Simmons ’91, both in Paris.”

PETER V.S. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Class of 1989 Scholarship

Joanna Korpanty ’18, Bristol, Conn.

Kristen Montas Graves writes: “It was a sad occasion that brought a number of us together for a mini Wes reunion the first weekend in December. For those of you who may not have heard, beloved Professor Jerry G. Watts passed away Nov. 16th. Jerry only taught at Wes for a few years of his career, yet for those of us who knew him, he was a major part of our Wesleyan experience, and his influence shaped the trajectories of many of our own careers today. Al Young ’88 assisted Jerry’s wife, Traci West, in organizing the event, which took place at The New York Society for Ethical Culture. He, along with his wife, Carla O’Connor ’88, my husband Fred Montas ’88, Amy Randall, and Eric Greene ’90 all gave moving tributes, highlighting his intellectual acuity and the genuinely caring manner he had with all whom he met. Many Wes folk were in the house including Hellura Lyle, Allison Downer, Melinda Weekes, Schuyler Allen ’90, Jessica Roseman ’90, Julie Doar-Sinkfield ’90, Eve Goldberg ’90, Yanique LeCadre ’88, Ian Friday ’87, and Dianne Stewart ’85. Our hearts were heavy, but we felt the light of his presence as we shared laughs and hugs remembering a truly great man.” Kristen also saw Mary Kate O’Toole Mellow over the holidays.

Laura Hamilton Hardin lives near Houston, with her second husband, Dan Hardin, and two children from her first marriage. On 25 acres, they have 10 dogs, 10 horses, about 20 chickens, two potbelly pigs and two cats. Daughter Samantha (18) is studying animal science at Texas A&M and is planning to pursue a veterinary degree, and son Michael (16) is starting on the Magnolia High School JV football team. Laura provides expert testimony on damages issues for large international arbitrations. She recently resumed horseback riding to relieve the stress of her demanding career.

Amy E. Randall teaches history and women’s and gender studies at Santa Clara University in California. Her latest publication, Genocide and Gender in the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Survey (Bloomsbury) is a collection of genocide studies that examines gendered discourses, practices, and experiences of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the 20th century. Amy and Mathew Reed ’91 have two children, Zaria (7) and Zeiler (12). They inspired Amy to perform last year in the parent/staff/faculty cast of Annie at her daughter’s school.

Alexander Chee’s new novel, The Queen of the Night (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), was released Feb. 2, 2016. His first novel, Edinburgh, is being reissued and has been optioned by the composer Stefan Weisman and the librettist David Coates, who intend to adapt it into an opera. Alex lives in NYC with his partner, Dustin Schell, where they are adapting The Scarlet Professor (Barry Werth’s biography of Newton Arvin)into a feature film. This fall he will be a visiting writer at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Andrea Morse is married to her reading and budget-travel partner, best friend and love of her life, Bill Kehr. They live in the Chicago area, where she has her own clinical psychology practice. She recently gave birth to their son, Zander Asher, and has two wonderful step-kids: one in college, the other heading to medical school. In her teensy spare time she performs with a professional Hawaiian/Polynesian dance company.

Liz Marx left being a casting director several years ago to become a college counselor. While she hasn’t yet had one of her kids attend Wesleyan, she remains optimistic!

Rabbi Jen Feldman recently celebrated 13 rich and rewarding years serving Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jeffrey Naness is practicing law on Long Island, representing businesses in employment and labor matters. He is married, with two sons, Jonathan and Michael, and plays keyboards in a charity rock band (Equity) and a Latin jazz quartet (Gazpacho Bop).

Eric Simon published the second edition of his college biology textbook Biology: The Core. Eric’s books have been translated into seven languages and are used in more than 40 countries. He still lives in rural New Hampshire with his wife, two boys (12 and 14), 20 or so chickens, three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and a leopard gecko.

Karen McVey Fussell remains happily married with two children (9 and 12). She lives on 45 acres near Bangor, in a 100-plus-year-old farmhouse, which they recently renovated. She has been finance director for a neighboring city for the past 15 years, a job she loves and that allows her to work on many diverse issues, including recycling and the development of a next generation waste-to-energy facility.

Dave Keller is living in Montpelier, Vt., raising two daughters, and being a musician. He’s excited about a new album of original soul/blues songs that should be released in September. His last CD was a “breakup album”, so he’s thinking of this one as his “over-the-hump album.”

Jeff Brez and his husband, Adriano, are daddy and papa to twin boys, born November 2014. They also recently gave away their already-adult daughter at an unforgettable wedding in SoCal. Jeff is with the UN Department of Public Information in New York, where he partners with both NGOs and the creative community to raise awareness about UN issues around the world.

After more than 20 years, Jane Randel left the fashion industry and started a social impact consulting firm, Karp Randel LLC. She also cofounded NOMORE.org, and is one of four advisers to the NFL on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault education. She has done similar work for NASCAR.

Stephanie Dolgoff writes: “All hail, Susan Paley, who orchestrated getting 10 of us to Sonoma from as far as NYC (Natalie Dorset, Betsey Schmidt, and I) and West Virginia (that would be the serene and brilliant Lesley Savin). Much and varied wine was consumed and sorely felt (at least by me) for some time after. The Micheles (Chase and Barnwell) were as lovely as when they were roommates on Foss 6, and Caron Selati looked like she must have carried her two now-teenage babies in her handbag, in such great shape was she. Jennifer Levine, fresh off numerous professional triumphs, and I bunked together, and Laura Flaxman and I got to spend some time discussing how nice it is to have finally embraced our relatively benign vices.” Stephanie also saw Lynne Lazarus and Andrew Shear at their home in Oakland, Calif.

Melissa Herman is going through the college process with her son, which brings back her own memories and nightmares of that experience. She is looking forward to another sabbatical in Berlin where her son can check out the—free!—German universities. There, she will also work on a research project on German and American understandings of race.

Indy Neidell is still in Sweden, where he is producing a channel called The Great War, which follows WWI exactly 100 years later in real time, week by week, using original footage from the British Pathé film archives.

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

Michele Barnwell | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Newsmaker: Melinda Weekes-Laidlow ’89

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow ’89, president of Weekes In Advance Enterprises, is the first social entrepreneur in residence at Echoing Green, with a focus on racial equity. Echoing Green is a global nonprofit organization that provides fellowships, seed-stage funding, and strategic support to social entrepreneurs around the world. In an interview with Echoing Green president Cheryl Dorsey, Weekes-Laidlow called the post, “a wonderful way to leverage my nearly 25 years of experience as a social change agent, attorney, nonprofit manager, systems thinker, professional facilitator, capacity builder, and leadership coach.” Dorsey noted that she looked forward to Weekes-Laidlow offering the foundation “the opportunity to expand and deepen our community through the capacities you bring to the Social Entrepreneur in Residence role.” Weekes-Laidlow is a member of the advisory Board of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Wesleyan. This fall she served as a panelist for Wesleyan’s Social Impact Summit, organized by Wesleyan’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and Office of Alumni & Parent Relations. A member of the ordained clergy, Weekes-Laidlow serves on the ministerial staff of the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York. A College of Social Studies major at Wesleyan University, she earned her doctorate in divinity at Harvard University and her juris doctorate from New York University School of Law.

Jonathan writes: I returned from visiting my daughter, who is a frosh living in Clark Hall, to a burst of e-mail updates from our classmates. Thanks for reaching out, everyone; let’s get to it!

Seth Kaplan let us know that he has a new gig after 16 years as an environmental advocate at the Conservation Law Foundation. He’s done interesting stuff around transportation and urban development, focusing on clean energy and climate change. He also served as vice president for climate advocacy. He is now with a wind energy company, EDP Renewables, where he manages the government affairs for the Eastern Region of the U.S. EDPR is developing in Maine the largest wind farm in the Northeast, which requires frequent trips to Connecticut, where the power will be sold. This project brings him back to designing the lighting for Dar Williams’s senior project and her questions about the origin of electricity at Wesleyan. Seth’s eldest is now in her first year at Barnard College, and his other two kids are in ninth and fifth grades in the Brookline, Mass., public schools.

Melissa Herman begins by noting that merely typing “1989” makes her feel very old. (We all feel your pain, Melissa!) But even with her (self-described) “creaky body,” Melissa has been doing some small triathlons and running races, a family activity with her kids and husband. She’s looking forward to racing in Germany when she goes on sabbatical in Berlin next academic year to teach at Humboldt or FU, depending on the outcome of her Fulbright application. Her three kids will attend German schools, as they did last time they went—further improving their language skills with another dose of immersion. Her oldest is a high school senior applying to universities here and in Germany. Anyone who will be in Berlin in the 2016–17 academic year should give her shout and she will be happy to show you the sights.

Ed Thorndike is still at Wesleyan and getting ready to celebrate WesWings’ 25th anniversary. There will be a series of events leading up to a big party next spring. Sounds delicious, Ed!

John Hlinko is living in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Leigh, an author and architect, and daughters Kate and Ali (not named after the TV show). He is the leader of Left Action, a progressive grassroots activist organization, and he occasionally appears as a pundit on TV news programs, to yell and be yelled at. He recently enjoyed a long weekend in Vegas with Adam Long and Sandeep Wadhwa, where he miraculously didn’t lose money. John often spends his time shamelessly hawking his book, Share, Retweet, Repeat, including in these very class notes.

Jane O’Brien reports that she’s a failed writer—but a successful mother! (At least you have your priorities straight!)

Joel Jacobs is now the parent of a college student: older daughter, Aviva, is a freshman at Pitzer. He’s happy that she’s happy. Joel is still practicing environmental law, doing bodywork with his feet, and acting in community theater. Younger daughter, Talia, is a high school sophomore, and active on the debate team, which he’s been helping to coach, providing a great chance for them to spend time together.

David Levine writes: “On July 25th, 18 members from the class of ’89 and their families gathered together in Roxbury, Conn. Family members included other Wes alumns Todd Snyder ’84 and Gabrielle Mason ’87. Hosted by Stu Berman, Neil Blicher,Alan Cohen, Ricky Kotler, and David Levine. People traveled from Boston, D.C., and San Francisco to be there. We had beautiful weather for a fun-filled day of reconnecting that included swimming, ’80s music, plenty of food, and maybe a little alcohol as well. Notable changes since college included more girth and less hair. Great to see everyone after all this time.” (See the photo and caption in the online notes at classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/class-of-1989)

Sherry Lehr Föhr writes: “I’m still living in Germany, where I run the writing center for the University of Heidelberg. My older daughter just completed her Abitur this past summer and even though she is still living at home for her gap year, I find that having only one kid in school really changes daily life. My younger daughter is in ninth grade and applying to spend next year as an exchange student in the U.S. She’s never lived there, so it is like going to a foreign country to her, but not to me, which is a bit strange. Plus I met my husband when I was an exchange student on Wes’s program in Heidelberg, and look where I ended up… In any event, I am sure my husband and I will find lots of fun things to do when the nest is finally empty, even if it will be just temporary.”

Mark Mullen writes, “My big news is that for the first time in a long time I live in the U.S. In San Francisco. So there’s that.”

Eric Schreiber has moved back to his Mountain View condo in the SF Bay Area after having lived overseas for the last nine years. He is teaching English literature at Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills and is “amused by all the Google Bikes and Teslas I see zipping around this area.”

Another published author in our class, Algernon Austin, has a new book out: America Is Not Post-Racial: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Racism and the 44th President. This title analyzes the 25 million Obama haters in America and concludes with a discussion about how to address the “future of hate” in our country.

Melinda Weekes-Laidlow is excited to be the first social entrepreneur in residence with Echoing Green. She will be focusing on racial equity.

From Camarillo, Calif., Paul Gallo reports he is still coaching baseball at Harvard-Westlake and all is well on the family front, with wife Katie and daughters Madison (4) and Kelsey (2).

Indy Neidell gave us a lovely and thorough update: “Funnily enough, I’ve become a YouTube star the past year. I write and host a channel called ’The Great War’ that follows World War I, week by week, exactly 100 years later in real time, using original film footage from the British Pathé archives. The idea being to construct the ultimate documentary of the war, and also, since it’s YouTube, the first massive interactive documentary of its kind.” Indy already has had 150,000 subscribers and about eight million views. Check it out: youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar. He’s also doing commercial voiceovers and performing with six live bands, but is looking forward to a well-deserved rest in Rio de Janeiro.

Kelem Butts is still suffering through Dallas summers, but is really enjoying working for the AT&T Foundation. He gets to give money away to nonprofits focused on helping kids get through high school ready for college and career. He’s thrilled to finally have a cool “Wesleyan” job after all these years.

Lara Fortune Balter and Steve Balter ’90 just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and are surprised to find themselves this old. They enjoy visiting their eldest daughter (who graduated from Bates in 2014) in Colorado, where she lives and works, and their son, who plays golf at Wake Forest as a junior. They also still have two girls at home: a senior and a freshman in high school. Lara regrets that they are rarely together as a family anymore, but very much looks forward to those times. Husband Steve still works with Chris Galizio ’90, a union that she is not surprised has lasted 25 years. She concludes: “Life is good, all the ups and downs you’d expect, but the years have treated us well.” Amen to that, Lara. Amen.

We really did get a great number of updates this go ’round and we loved every minute of it!!! Thanks so much. See you all again soon… in your inboxes…when we’re clamoring for more news. Be well!

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

MICHELE BARNWELL | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Hillary writes for this issue.

Greetings classmates. You will see that our notes this time around are pretty slim; we hope you’ll update us on your news so that we’ll have more to share next time.

Ilya Vinkovetsky writes, “This year I am a visiting scholar at the University of Helsinki. My work here is about how Russia and Britain, two countries far away from any tea plantations, became cultures heavily associated with tea. Being in Finland is a great adventure for me and the whole family.”

And Pauline Frommer reports, “It’s been a crazily busy couple of years, as my father and I, through a long process, regained ownership of the Frommer guidebooks and Frommers.com. And suddenly I went from a person who had done editorial work for most of her career to being a publisher, and dealing with everything from the cost of paper to the fact that if a book is returned to the publisher the publisher has to issue a refund (making each book a calculated gamble—who knew?). Part of me wished I’d taken more math—okay, any math—at Wes, but a bigger part was grateful for all of the philosophy classes I took so I could remain sanguine when our books sat on the California docks for an extra two months due to a slowdown there by the dockworkers. (And being a Wes grad, of course I was on the dockworkers’ side). Long story short, we’re a small family business once again, which is exciting and exhausting in equal measure. (Oh, and I get to write the Frommer’s EasyGuide to New York City, which means I have an excuse to spend lots and lots of time in museums and at historic sites, and pretend I’m not a middle-aged mom when I go out bar- and club-hopping to get the necessary reviews.)

“I was lucky enough to go to the Wesleyan Mad Men event at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, N.Y., which was superb, thanks to the awe-inspiring curatorial gifts of Carl Goodman, who’s the president of the museum, and his staff. I caught up there with Cobina Gillitt ’87 and Claire Conceison ’87. I was also so happy to get to spend some time with the always delightful Kara Flannery, who is becoming a real maven of marketing, and also a force in the local politics of the Connecticut town she lives in. I look forward to seeing more Wes folks this fall when I head to the Sons and Daughters event at the school with my 16-year-old daughter, Veronica.”

PETER v.s. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Johanna Maaghul is “so happy to have settled back in San Francisco with my husband and family. I have started a new career as a literary agent and am enjoying the wild ride with my authors in the rapidly changing publishing industry. I work mostly in the mind-body-spirit space but do some fiction as well. Many thanks to Julia Druskin for the mid-life career counseling! Our oldest son, David, is now officially a Cal Bear after years in the stands at the Saturday football games in Berkeley as a child.”

Charles Grattan Baldwin started a new job this fall. “I moved to Princess Anne, Md., where I am an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; At UMES I am teaching literacy courses to teacher candidates. So far, I am having a great time teaching and I am very much enjoying the academic life. My daughter, Annika, and I spent some of the summer in Switzerland and Sweden. I turned 50 near Zurich; Switzerland was a great place to have a birthday.”

This fall, the UNC Press is publishing The Transnational Mosque, Architecture and Historical Memory in the Contemporary Middle East, by Kishwar Rizvi.

Tessellati, LLC, a marketing agency on Boston’s North Shore, run by Ben Waxman, “is always looking for interns looking to do good in the world, as they work hard and gain great business experience. Last summer Leah Giacalone ’17 was a terrific addition to our team.”

Emerson Hospital physician and Concord, Mass., resident, Ira L. Skolnik, MD, PhD, has been elected to a three-year term as president of the Massachusetts Board of Dermatology.

Scott Pryce is still in D.C., though he spends a lot of time in Miami. He celebrated Chip Nottingham’s 50th in DC with Breaux Walker ’89 and Colin Dowling ’86 in attendance.

I got a great long e-mail from my freshman hall mate Laura Holmes: “As I write this, I am sitting on the porch of a 1940s farmhouse (old by Oklahoma standards) that I moved to my partner’s property about three years ago. We gutted the house, renovated, and added on to make an amazing place that fits the property and our outdoor lifestyle. I’m watching the total lunar eclipse from the porch,which faces east toward the vineyards and the horse pasture. We have 10 acres, two horses, three dogs, and a cat. During the day, I practice education law, representing school districts throughout Oklahoma, and am enjoying my life at 50. We are having our first wedding in the vineyard with a reception in the barn this coming weekend and are hopeful for a successful new venture. Whenever I get e-mails from Wesleyan, I fondly remember my time in Foss 8 with you, Anne Friedlander, Debra Guss, Nancy Dobrow, Bucko (head resident Kathi Burke ’84), Betsy Datner ’85, Lauren, Mercedes, Christine, Valerie, Kathleen, Jennifer, and all our other hallmates. What a great group to live with our freshman year. I always look back on my time at Wes and think what an amazing place, an incredible education, and unbelievable friends. Of course, if any Wes folks are in Oklahoma, I would love to catch up. Many years ago, a much younger Wes alum played ice hockey for our semi-pro team in Oklahoma City. We became friends, and he had Christmas dinner with my family. I loved being able to share with him what others from Wes had shared with me for several Thanksgivings when I didn’t come home.”

Josh Calder had fun this summer doing a family road trip with the 8-year-old and 2-year-old, from Minnesota back to DC, via Canada. “As it was my birthday trip, I made us visit 43 islands. (I’m hoping to reach an island total equal to my age this year.)”

Karen Craddock also gave me a lengthy update: She is “an applied psychologist and principal researcher focusing on the socio-cultural context of human development, especially among women and marginalized communities, and as founder/president of KCollaborative Connections a relationship-based consultation, training and research practice I am collaborating on projects across multiple sectors. It’s been a pleasure to work as faculty and lead scholar of Relational-Cultural Theory and Social Action with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI) at the Wellesley Centers for Women, primarily exploring connections across race, gender, and relational neuroscience and the impact on social emotional wellness in diverse communities. Recently co-authored an article with JBMTI colleague in Psychology Today on “Stopping the Pain of Social Exclusion.” As chief operations officer for engagement with the Avielle Foundation’s Sodina Project, it is an honor to develop and expand this national storytelling and mapping project with those who have lost loved ones to violence with an overarching aim to create change by cultivating a diverse community of healing, fostering empathy, compassion and connection. Finally, I am very excited to share the launch of my new book as editor and author of Black Motherhood(s): Contours, Contexts and Considerations (Demeter Press), a multi-disciplinary volume of essays and works by an international array of scholars and writers exploring the varying perspectives and experiences of Black motherhood through diverse and intersecting lens. I keep in touch with a few Wesleyan folks quite regularly: Ian Friday, Melinda Weekes ’89, Joaquina Borges, Lydia Esdaile ’85 and several others via Facebook and community circles. I was also thrilled to support and participate in Vashti Dubois’ ’83 The Colored Girls Museum, which opened in September for the Philadelphia Fringe Arts Festival.”

Happy holidays and best wishes for a great new year.

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

Newsmaker: Michael Silber ’86

Michael Silber ’86 was recently named chief financial officer at McKinsey & Company, a leading management consulting firm worldwide. Additionally, he continues to serve as head of the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical health care division, with which he has been affiliated since he joined McKinsey in 1991. “My ‘day job’ and passion has always been serving companies in health care. It’s a great chance to work in an industry that makes a difference, to work with companies that are focused on innovation, and to be a part of trying to bring better products and services to society worldwide,” he says. A graduate of Stanford Business School, he was a studio art major at Wesleyan and recently funded a scholarship in honor of John Paoletti, Wesleyan’s Kenan Professor of the Humanities, Emeritus, and Professor of Art History, Emeritus.

The most important news this winter is that our 30th Reunion is on the weekend of May 19–22. In recent years, Reunion Weekend has coincided with Commencement Weekend, so there are three days of activities, as well as many opportunities for quiet conversation with friends old and new. Please put that weekend on your calendar—we look forward to seeing you there.

If you have some old Wes clothes, please put them aside to bring to Reunion. Kathryn Villano recently wrote on our Facebook page that she still has a couple of WestCo T-Shirts. “Their threadbare, holey state is perfect for jogging in Miami!” In most issues of the alumni magazine, there is a story from Wesleyan’s past. As members of the Class of ’86, we are now at the stage where some of our belongings are considered “antiques.” If you have some unique Wes memorabilia, please consider donating it to the University Archives.

And now for some updates from classmates. Jeffrey Liss and his wife, Susan, have entered the empty nest phase of life. They bought an apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC, but will also be keeping the home in Yardley, Pa. He continues to work for a major retail company.

Robert McCrae has also moved. After 11 years as the head of the Cincinnati Country Day School, he recently became head of the New Canaan Country Day School in Connecticut. Education is his passion. “I believe having a wonderful and happy childhood is the basis for very enriching adulthood.”

Sam Atkinson spent an annual reunion weekend September in New Hampshire with Peter Hammond and Mark Woodbury ’87. Pete’s into raw milk, which apparently contains formaldehyde, as Pete hasn’t changed since college. Sam had dinner in SF last spring with Steve Cadigan and Paul Levitan ’85, where they relived the glory days of Wes tennis. Don Long for president in ’16? It must have been a great dinner, because Steve wrote from California. “Recently had dinner in SF with Sam Atkinson and Paul Levitan ’85 and a few months ago I connected with Scott Donohue, who is also out here. Happy to report everyone is in great shape and our tennis games are better than ever. See you in May.”

From the center of the USA, there were notes from Frank Randall and Michael Tomasson.

Frank: “I’ve called Minnesota home since 1988, currently living in Minneapolis with my wife, Karly Christensen Randall, and children Francis, Nina, and Jens. We enjoy life on the Mississippi, taking advantage of our city’s great bike trails, and still-kicking music scene. In the ’90s I released three albums as a singer-songwriter fronting the Sycamores, as well as an album recorded with fellow Wes ’86 alums from Van Gogh’s Ear, Elliot Sumi, Bob Ryu, and Chris Erikson. … I’m currently senior editor for HighBridge, the spoken word audio publisher for many public radio programs, where I occasionally catch up with Car Talk’s Doug Berman ’84. One of my titles, Mandela: An Audio History (produced by Radio Diaries) was recognized as Best Audiobook of the Year at the 2015 Audie Awards. … I thoroughly enjoyed attending the 25th Reunion, reminiscing with Brian Pass, Chris Erikson, Becky Mode, Brian Mulhern and many others. I hope to see more friends at the 30th!”

Michael has been working at Washington University in St. Louis since 2000 in the departments of Medicine and Genetics, Division of Oncology, and was recently promoted to full professor. “I treat patients with hematopoietic malignancies on the bone marrow transplant service and do research on multiple myeloma, which is going well. Wash U was recently named a center for multiple myeloma nanotechnology by the National Cancer Institute. Three amazing kids: Julia, 19, science and philosophy at the University of Chicago; Ellie, a junior in high school violin-playing, school-paper-writing, lab-going 16-year-old; and Erik, 13-year-old in eighth grade, the lead of the school play this fall, Science Olympiad champ, and obsessed with the Destiny video game. Personal life a little messier, but happy and peaceful at last.”

Sarah Holbrooke is living in Telluride, Colo., these days, running a nonprofit providing STEM education to school kids in rural southwestern Colorado. “If you’re a working scientist, and love to ski, please be in touch as we can host you in exchange for your time spent presenting to various grades at our partner schools in the region! My husband’s film, The Diplomat, about his late father Richard Holbrooke, will be on HBO in November, and meanwhile is touring at international film festivals. Our family traveled to the Balkans this summer for the Sarajevo Film Festival. Our oldest daughter, Bebe, is a sophomore at Brown, so that means lovely visits with Joanna Feinberg, who lives in Providence. I still keep up with Debbie Halperin in NYC, Nancy Cagan in N.C., and Eleanor Roche in Montana. Our middle daughter, Kitty, is at a semester school in Freeport, Maine, Coastal Studies for Girls, focusing on marine science. Our youngest, Wiley, is at home with us in Telluride, rock climbing and looking forward to the ski season. Let me know if you’re coming to Telluride!”

And from northern New Hampshire, we have an update from Emily Cowan: “Writing to tell you how much fun Reunion is. I am one of those who dreaded Reunions because I didn’t think I measured up to the Wes standard, whether in status, excellence, or creativity. I see myself as an average person with an average job, leading an average life. I anticipated feeling quite inferior as I rubbed elbows with the Wespeople who had achieved. This didn’t happen, though. Nobody lorded anything over anyone, I made new friends while enjoying old ones, and I didn’t sink into self-recrimination. I soaked up the wonderfulness of Wes and rediscovered everything I love about it. That was at our 15th Reunion and I haven’t missed one since. I’m still highly average, so if you have any performance anxiety about your life, come to Reunion and find me. I’ll be the one not standing out.”

Some of you may have met Emily’s daughter at our 25th. “At age 7, her biggest reason to look forward to our 30th was the ice cream social that she was too young to go to that year. I’ve been waiting all these years to see if she will still care about it at age 12. What’s lovely is, she decided after that Reunion that she wants to go to Wes.”

Closing thought: Even if your life is messy; if you are recently divorced, if you are having mid-life confusion—please come next spring. We are a community, and we are here to help each other. See you soon.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Caroline writing this time. Not too many notes; maybe we’re still buzzing from our most excellent Reunion. I know that I had a wonderful time reconnecting with everyone!

I heard from Nancy Caciola: “I teach medieval history at the University of California, San Diego, and am about to publish my second book, Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages. It will appear on Cornell University Press in spring 2016. I also am enjoying the single life after a long marriage to Richard Cohen. We finally decided to call it quits and divorced earlier this year, though we remain on good terms. I’d love to hear from any old friends.”

Tim Dyke, who started with us, but finished in ’86, had his poetry chapbook, Awkward Hugger, published by Tinfish Press. Several of us from our freshman house heard Tim read as part of the Writer’s Hotel workshop in June of 2014. In 2015 Tim returned as faculty at the Writer’s Hotel, and Amy Nash took part. Tim lives in Honolulu, where he teaches at the Punahou School.

Gabriel “Jack” Chin was recently named Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC, Davis, School of Law. Jack also writes: “… in March the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and I persuaded the California Supreme Court to posthumously admit Hong Yen Chang to the bar, 125 years after they denied him admission because of his race. For the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Hope Alley ’11, who is my TA in Criminal Law, co-counsel on an appeal of a wire fraud conviction to the Ninth Circuit, and is heading to Alaska to clerk for a federal judge.”

I am sad to report that our class has suffered a loss: George Dixon passed away in September. If you would like to honor George, you may make a donation to the National Kidney Foundation.

Let’s remember to stay in touch with one another.

CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com
MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Roger Pincus brings you the news this issue. Here is the latest from our classmates:

David Silbert reports that he has been in Lancaster, Pa., for 21 years, where he specializes in pediatric ophthalmology and eyelid surgery. He is excited about his new practice, Conestoga Eye, which opened on October 20, 2015. The practice is community-focused and includes domestic and international medical mission work. The website is conestogaeye.com.

David and his colleagues lead medical missions to Honduras and Ecuador, where they do rural outreach, screening children for vision issues and providing exams, glasses, and surgery for children who require it. This last year they were accompanied by 10 local high school students who helped run their clinics. Their next mission will be in April 2016.

In addition, David received a $135,000 grant with the School District of Lancaster to set up an eye clinic, KinderSee, at George Washington Elementary School, which provides care at no cost to economically disadvantaged children. The clinic provides glasses and treatment for amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (eye misalignment), and other eye disorders. For more: kindersee.org

David was one of 19 individuals selected for the Leadership Development Program for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. His project is to further expand KinderSee to reach more needy children in Lancaster County.

He has also been involved in clinical research and is an author on more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has lectured nationally and internationally, including, in 2015, the AAPOS pediatric ophthalmology meeting in New Orleans, the Pan American Academy of Ophthalmology in Bogotà, Colombia, and the European Strabismological Association meeting in Venice. He has been invited as a guest lecturer and was scheduled to visit Iran for the 25th Annual Congress of the Iranian Society of Ophthalmology.

Arthur Haubenstock reports that he and Amy Whiteside have been living in San Francisco since the day before the earthquake in 1989—they really didn’t want to miss it. Amy is now director at the Fraenkel Gallery, one of the leading photography galleries in the country, where she has been part of the family for 25 years. Arthur and Amy are nearly empty nesters, with their older son a junior majoring in applied math at Harvey Mudd College and their younger son a high school senior in the throes of college applications. With the boys starting off on their new adventures, Arthur was inspired to start one of his own and has just co-founded Sustainable Energy Strategy Partners. His work focuses on the rapidly evolving markets and regulatory environments for clean energy resources—including groundbreaking developments in California and Hawaii—as well as on heavily regulated energy transactions. This is exciting stuff for policy, environment and energy wonks like Arthur, plus it offers plenty of opportunities to work with quite a few great Wes alums, including Michael Aylward ’04, Theresa Cho ’86, Lisa Frantzis ’79, Ezra Hausman ’85, Mike Jacobs ’85, and Zeb Zankel ’05.

Francesca Jenkins’s writing life continues to thrive in Ohio. Finishing Line Press will publish her poetry chapbook Silence Has a Name in January 2016, and copies are now available for presale. She recently received a Pushcart Prize nomination for her poetry, and you can read a section of her memoir-in-progress, Running in Time to the Sea, in the current issue of Provincetown Arts Magazine. In addition, Francesca, who writes under the name Arya F. Jenkins, has been performing readings of her work at various venues throughout Ohio since October 2015.

Mark Randles reports that a group of Wes alums calling themselves Baseball Across America traveled to Seattle for a weekend in July to watch some major and minor league ballgames and experience the sights and fine cuisine of Seattle. In addition to Mark, attendees included Bart Truscott ’83 and Nancy Palmer (exchanged at Wes from Holyoke 1983–84), Jim Glickman, Mike Bailit, and Bill Barry. They highly recommend Safeco Field, as well as Steelhead Diner in Pike Place Market. They are already looking forward to next year’s trip (their 16th)!

Mike Lewyn moved to Pittsburgh in August to teach at the University of Pittsburgh for the year. He is busy writing law review articles. Half a dozen of them have come out this year, including publications at the University of Hawaii Law Review, the Real Estate Law Journal, the Fordham Urban Law Journal, and the Washburn Law Review. Mike’s articles can be found at works.bepress.com/lewyn/doctype.html#article .

Christopher A. Romeo has checked in to tell us that after more than 35 years in the Boston area, he is pleased to be back home in southern Connecticut (Old Lyme), making a fresh start on his law practice.

Finally, Roger Pincus and his wife, Jamie Pincus, are proud to report that their daughter Heather ’19 arrived at Wesleyan in September. She is enjoying classes, making new friends, and just loves it at Wesleyan.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu