Class Notes | 1990s

Greetings and salutations from Washington, D.C., where nothing (and I mean nothing) is normal. I wrote that last January. Still true.

This is a short update—I’ll call it the post-Reunion issues blues. If you’re jonesing for more, send updates to Adam Berinsky for the next issue. Speaking of said Adam, he stopped doing push-ups during alumni events to appear on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee to once and for all address the controversy of whether he is a virgin. Hear his side of the story by searching Samantha Bee fake news or find it here.

Jennifer Blaine’s new solo show, The Vicissitudes of Travel, premiered in September in Philadelphia as part of FringeArts Festival. Jennifer plays 10 characters as they travel through a loved one’s brain surgery. She writes, “My brother survived brain surgery nine years ago and ever since I have wanted to pay tribute to this journey.”

Kevin Prufer has two new books out this year. The first is about the art of literary translation: Into English: Poems, Translations, Commentaries (from Graywolf Press). The second is a collection of his poetry called How He Loved Them (from Four Way Books). Kevin is the editor-at-large of Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing, co-curator of the Unsung Masters Series, and professor in the creative writing program at the University of Houston and the low-residency MFA at Lesley University.

After 13 years living and working as a rabbi in Eugene, Ore., Maurice Harris and his family moved to the Philadelphia area, where he’s begun work as associate director of affiliate support, Jewish Reconstructionist Communities. His third book, The (Book) of Joshua (Wipf & Stock), is expected in 2018. The book tells of the impact on the shape of Judaism of a rabbi, Joshua ben Hananiah, who lived about 1,900 years ago.

Andrew Springman moved to the Charlotte, N.C., area and works as a Web applications developer for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. His youngest son, Benjamin, was married in Sterling, Mass.

Karl Mergenthaler is active in Wesleyan events, including a summer sendoff for incoming students. He’s looking to connect with alumni passing through Southern Connecticut.

You’re now caught up. Hope to hear from you next issue.

Adam Berinsky | berinsky@mit.edu 

Paul Coviello | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu

I am happy to report that there is lots of news this time so I will get right to it.

Jennifer Teitelbaum Palmer is having a great year representing Maryland psychiatrists as the president of the Maryland Psychiatric Society, the Maryland district branch of the American Psychiatric Association.

The architectural practice of Andre Kikoski, Andre Kikoski Architect, recently hit a big milestone, with over 100 articles in the press this year on three marquee projects! Some excerpts shared by Andre include: One Hudson Yards, their luxury residential building interiors was featured in Architectural Digest for integrating art and artisan work, praised in the New York Times for evoking a boutique hotel, and cited as “suitably seductive” in Wallaper* Magazine. 75 Kenmare, their ground-up condominium designed in collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, was praised in the Huffington Post for “exuding joy and energy,” lauded in Interior Design for its contemporary aesthetic, and written up in the New York Times and The Real Deal, respectively, for architecture that will “set the tone for (buildings to) follow” and brings “subtle gracefulness” and “rich sobriety” to Nolita. 97 Mid Ocean Drive, their $45M oceanfront home in the Hamptons, that was lauded in Mansion Global for its Manhattan style and “flair for clean lines and natural light,” and featured in Cottages & Gardens for its “ultra-modern design” and transparent pool. Curbed Hamptons described the house as “jaw-dropping” and setting a new standard in the Hamptons.

Dan Gilman had a “mini-reunion of some of the East College ‘Aloha Deck’ at his Ocean City beach house in August. Netania Steiner, Jon Bakija, Alan Busby, plus all the wives and kids.  ons of fun getting all the families together. My oldest of four kids just started at Northeastern. Kids going to college! Ah!” Dan went to the alumni son/daughter weekend this fall. He had a great time when he went two years ago and saw lots of ’90 folks there. He is working as an investment banker in NYC and living on the Upper West Side with LB and their 3 other kids (one in high school, two in middle school). Dan’s two smallest kids dance full-time at American Ballet Theater and frequently perform at Lincoln Center with ABT.

Carole Trone headed to the Midwest for graduate school in Madison, Wis., after Wesleyan and “couldn’t pull myself away from this fun town.” This past July, Carole rode 411 miles across the state of Iowa during RAGBRAI with about 30 mostly-Madison friends. They called themselves the MOOKS and you can find their photos and fun on Facebook.

Persis Howe and her family moved from London to the Bay Area over the summer. “It’s been a huge adjustment after 20 years in the UK. The kids are settling into school in Berkeley while I’m building digital services for the City of San Francisco.” Persis would love for any nearby Wes folks to please get in touch!

Kate Hardin is still in Cambridge, Mass., continuing to work at the intersection of energy and climate at IHS Markit. “I have taken on a new project in the past year working on our outlooks for electric vehicle penetration in key markets and assessing the impact on energy demand and carbon emissions. We are still enjoying life in Harvard Square, but really appreciated time spent this summer in rural Wyoming and in the hills of east Tennessee. And the kids are doing well, now 10 and 13!”

David Petti has “decided to take the plunge and change careers. I’ve left the legal profession and I’m in my final year of the clinical MSW program at NYU. Currently I’m interning at the VA in Westchester County New York. I’m enjoying it a lot and I hope to hear from some of my friends in the class of 1990.”

Gabriella Nawi is still head of investor relations at Travelers Insurance, living in Glen Ridge, N.J., where her son is a senior in high school. “I also joined my first nonprofit board this year: Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT), which helps unrepresented people in the NYC family court system, which I’m very excited for and I look forward to engaging more with the Wesleyan community in the area.”

Gregory Lesser, an assistant U.S. attorney, was a member of the team of federal prosecutors, staff, and FBI agents who were presented with the United States Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 2016. The team received the award in recognition of its efforts in the investigation and prosecution of a number of excessive force, civil rights violation and obstruction of justice cases brought against former personnel of the LA County Sheriff’s Department, which have resulted in the convictions of over 20 former Sheriff’s Department personnel ranging from line deputies to former LA County Sheriff Leroy Baca, on charges ranging from excessive force to obstruction of justice. Greg, a 15-year veteran federal prosecutor, participated in all of the cases filed as part of the investigation.

Finally, Karen Fernandez Garity writes from Puerto Rico on her iPhone where, being one of the lucky ones who has AT&T mobile service, she was one of the few who can communicate in all of Puerto Rico. Karen was born, raised and still lives in Puerto Rico, and, “as I am sure you know by now, we were first hit by Irma and only a week later hit directly by Hurricane María. One week later there is no electrical power in all of the Island and only 40% of the Island has water service. I won’t go into details of the horror that our people are going through, as I am sure you have access to more information than us. We are the lucky ones. Our home is solid and withstood the storm well. Only some water damage and a decimated garden. We got water three days after the storm but have no electricity, cable or internet. I feel especially grateful because today we were able to fill our generator. We ration the use of our generator because we do not know when we can get diesel again. Our home has become a refuge for relatives and neighbors who don’t have these luxuries. My husband, my two teenage children and I spent the first five days after the storm clearing debris from neighborhood yards and streets and cleaning up the kids’ school, hoping they can return to some kind of normalcy soon. There are gas and diesel shortages and distribution is not working properly, so food and essential services are limited. Things in the rural areas are much worse than in San Juan, where we live. During this time I am so very grateful for my Wesleyan family who have sent emails, texts, worried for us and have made donations for Puerto Rico. Special thanks to my dearest friend and roommate Jane Randel ’89, Vicki Donnellan ’89, Andy Fairbanks ’90, June Lee ’88 and Peter Schubart ’89, whose messages have brought comfort to me during this terrible time. I pray that I can have better news of our people’s situation soon, knowing I am privileged to have what I need for my family and others who depend on me.”

I’m sure I speak for the entire Wesleyan community in saying that our thoughts and hearts are with all those affected by the recent devastating hurricanes.  I hope we are hearing much better news about progress and recovery by the time of this publication. Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2018.

Vanessa Montag Brosgol | vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com

Ed Hong and a gang of other Wes alumni gathered on idyllic Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vt., during Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate the marriage of their dear friend, Andrew Merz, to the equally hilarious and kind Simone Lichty. Joining their group were classmates Sam Hoyt, Grace Kim, Rebecca Slotnick, Chris Brody, Jesse Feldman, Richard Kruger, and Janice Gabucan Kruger ’98, and our various partners and kids. Ed is happy to report that they are holding up pretty well at 40. Also in attendance were Bill Purinton ’58, Eric Oliver ’88, and Nils Vaule ’98.

On January 9, Jennifer Karlin and her husband welcomed their first son. They have fun introducing him to all their friends, including Laura Plageman, Jonathan Bloch, Ben Work, Christoph Hanssmann, and Lauren Borowsky, and Jen’s current co-resident, Kaitlyn Krauss ’08.

Jose Stevenson and his wife, Dalia, welcomed their first son, Emmanuel Angel, on May 28, born 7 pounds and 15 ounces. They are head over heels in love with him and are adjusting to all the delights and challenges of new parenthood. Jose’s new favorite pastime is staring down at his son sleeping on his chest.

Elizabeth Shulman and her husband, Andrew Mastronarde, welcomed their second redheaded, Canadian-U.S. dual citizen baby on October 5. Her name is Mia Leona Mastronarde. She is a sweet, smiley girl who loves music and finds her brother to be hilarious.

Ike and Liz Botein Walker ’98 live in Acton, Mass., with their two kids, Rachel (12) and Izzy (9). In November, Ike ran the New York City Marathon for the first time, and classmates Dan Ryan, Jac Lahav ’00, Jada Shapiro, and Shanna Handel cheered him on in Brooklyn. In January, Ike started a new job, putting his computer science degree to use as a database architect for GitHub.

Lena Sadowitz moved back to Connecticut with David Andrews ’02 and their four kids (9, 7, 4, 1). Lena works for Loomis Chaffee and enjoys finding other Wes alumni on campus. She is getting used to a less urban lifestyle, including a barn full of bats and a pond full of frogs. They are happy to have more room for their coffee and baking equipment and they welcome Cardinal visitors!

Susan Landau is a neuroscientist at UC, Berkeley doing research on brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease. Susan and her husband, Pierre Garrigues, have a 4-year-old, Gabriel, and a 1-year-old, Claire, who keep them on their toes.

Dani Snyder-Young is joining the faculty at Northeastern University to teach theater. She and her husband and 2-year-old daughter are very excited to move to Boston.

Amy Martin was featured in the Houston Chronicle for her work representing an appellate client who was convicted of capital murder. Her husband, Zack Becker, sat a five-day zen session with friends at the Houston Zen Center—and survived!

Abby Levine, who has the privilege of teaching dance back at Wes, reports with a sad and heavy heart that her dearest friend and our classmate, Andy Williamson, passed away unexpectedly on May 5. Many Wes folks have come together in NYC and Los Angeles to mourn and celebrate Andy’s life. Donations may be made to the Andy Williamson Memorial Scholarship Fund at Shire Village Camp.

Eve Andrias, Hannah Blitzer, and Nina Kontos had a joint 40th birthday party with about a dozen Wes friends.

Kevin and I continue to enjoy life at 40 and hope each of you are celebrating this milestone by partying like it’s 1999. Be good, be well, and be in touch!

C. Darryl Uy | darryl.uy@gmail.com

Kevin Kumler | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Hi, fellow ’98ers. Though 2017 has been overwhelmingly eventful so far, visits from friends help to slow it down a bit. Keeping with my theory that Charlottesville, Va., is the Wesleyan crossroads of America, we got a visit from Emily Lieberman, Jules Cohen, and their three wonderful daughters Lucy, Lola, and Eliza. They stopped to see us on their way from the Shenandoah to the D.C. area to visit Jules’ parents. Our daughters got an opportunity to get to know one another and hang out outside to enjoy the beautiful Virginia spring weather.

In other updates…Kubi Ackerman is director of the Future City Lab, a cutting-edge interactive space at the Museum of the City of New York exploring the key challenges and opportunities that New York will face in coming generations. Kubi invites all Wes students and alumni in New York to come visit the lab.

Abby Elbow writes: “After 15 years of talking about it, I’ve finally taken the plunge and moved to Alaska. I’m very happily living near my brother and nieces and other family, am surrounded by beautiful mountains and water and, at this time of year, 19 hours of sunlight!  I also made a career change a few years ago and became a nurse, and am now working with Alaska Native moms and babies to improve long-term maternal and infant health and social outcomes.”

Adam Borden writes: “I left The Hershey Company about 18 months ago after launching Kisses Deluxe—Hershey’s trade-up to premium chocolate—and returned to Baltimore to work for McCormick, where I manage the Kitchen Basics culinary stock business. We are having dinner with Adam Bakun and his wife, Ann, in November at Blue Hill at Stone Barns—hoping for luck in getting our reservations.”

Yolanda Denson-Byers graduated from Luther Seminary with a doctorate in ministry. Her thesis was titled, Walk Me to Gate: Christian Practices of Accompaniment with Dying People and Their Families. Yolanda is called as a hospice chaplain and bereavement coordinator with St. Croix Hospice in St. Cloud, Minn.

Jim McLean writes: “I’m working as an emergency department physician assistant in Fort Collins, Colo., where my wife, Heather, and I just bought our house and are raising our 2-year-old, Felix. We just moved out here two years ago from Berkeley, Calif. Great hiking, super family-friendly, and tasty beer! Don’t get to see too many fellow alumni out here, but always glad to hear from people!”

Annika Sweetland is an assistant professor at Columbia University in psychiatry and public health, where she does global mental health research. She is happily married to photographer Nacho Guevara, whom she met during her Wesleyan study-abroad program in Costa Rica in 1997 and reconnected with 16 years later.

Dr. Brendan Armm is a leading nationally board-certified acupuncturist, and doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine, specializing in orthopedics, pain management, and integrative medicine. He serves on the faculty of one of the nation’s top Chinese medical schools. He is the founder and clinical director of Lotus Integrative Medicine Santa Monica. Inspired by the benefits acupuncture brought his patients, he created BackInBand®, a self-administered acupressure device that offers affordable and convenient daily treatment for low back pain.

Finally, it is with tremendous sadness that I have to report that our beloved classmate Obi Okobi has passed away. She was principal of City Neighbors Hamilton School, Baltimore City Public Schools in Maryland, and had also worked in various capacities with the Prospect Hill Academy Charter School, The Park School of Baltimore, and Waverly Elementary/Middle School, all in Baltimore; and the Hamden Public Schools in Connecticut. Obi was a source of inspiration and joy to the students, teachers, families, and colleagues throughout the Baltimore district and Connecticut. She personified the love of learning, commitment to students, and dedication to the principles of equity and justice that are the hallmark of a great educator. Obi was an active member of many organizations and communities, focusing on arts and culture, children, civil rights and social action, education, health, human rights, poverty alleviation, and social services. She served as a mentor, motivational speaker, outreach coordinator, and girl’s lacrosse coach. She was an avid runner, participating in several half-marathons. She was on the board of directors of Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio, and also on the board of directors of Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Marcus Chung | marcusbchung@gmail.com 

Jason Becton | jcxbecton@yahoo.com

While Mocon may be gone, the connections among our class are more solid than ever. There was so much love at the 20-year Reunion! After the 20th Reunion Reception, we marveled that no one was seen checking their phones during the evening because we were so intensely focused on being present with each other. Or maybe we didn’t miss our phones because Wesleyan was ALWAYS a cell phone-free zone in the ’90s. Either way, it was a thrill to reconnect with dear friends and to find “new” friends in our class who we hadn’t gotten to meet prior to graduation.

We really appreciate the Reunion Committee’s hard work. And congratulations to Kimberly King, the recipient of the Wesleyan University Service Award!

Attending some of the WESeminars made us realize what a powerful influence Wesleyan has had on us, enabling us to deepen our intellectual engagement with the world during the past two decades. We were blown away by the insight, talent, and raw honesty of our visionary classmates who shared their perspectives on their work at “The Future of Digital Media” WESesminar: Craig Thomas, Sean Brecker, Carter Bays, Santi “Santigold” White, and Maggie (McLean) Suniewick. Also, congratulations to Santi White on her Distinguished Alumni award from Wesleyan!

Some highlights from the weekend included seeing Christine Landry, her wife Megan Reed, and their two children and seeing how much Matt and Amy (Goorin) Fogelman’s two daughters have grown since the last Reunion. We went all fangirl on Mia Lobel, producer of the Revisionist History podcast, and we ran home and watched the 60 Minutes piece on the rise of women’s soccer in Iran, produced by Alexandra Poolos. Jess was delighted to see her frosh year roommate, Erica (Kaiser) Schuyler, when she and her two sons stopped by the Foss Hill festivities on Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed catching up with Lauren Porosoff, Julie (Philips) Wolf, Matt Mulvey, Leelach (Rothschild) de Koven, and Seth Spector at the class dinner on Saturday night.

We wished that we had had more time to spend with everyone who came to Reunion, including…Anita (Mitra) Crabtree, Alexander Grashow, Malayna Bernstein, Abe Velez, Vicki Kuskowski, Genevieve (Kramer) Maciel, Alison (Keimowitz) Spodek, Brent Spodek, Cria Ortiz, Marisa Uchin, Dara Katz, David Goldsmith, Erin Solomon Gaffen, Linda (Chun) Meehan, Raphael Crawford, Amani Willett, Charlotte Scott, Alison Brody, Kim Diaz, Sarah Benatar, Anna Lefer Kuhn, Meg Mullen, Robin (McLellan) Woodworth, Caitlin Meredith, Laura Roberts, Laura Woodrow, Benny Vasquez, Dara Greenwood, Michael Lenore, Tom Griggs, Erin Solomon Gaffen, Austin Applegate, Niko Higgins, James Seo, Ama (Goldsmith) Greenrose Manasse, Yaron Ben-Zvi, Tony Schloss, Brendan Bolton-Klinger, Molly Steele, Sarah Nowygrod Weihmiller, Diego Gutierrez, Jill Abraham, John Walcott, Mark Karvosky, Megan Thaler, Michael Sternhell, Rachel Meeropol, Samantha Abeysekera, Alissa Bell, Cana (McCoy) Williams, Kari Colen, Jessica D’Amore, Stephen McNulty, Michelle Driscoll, Jack Eighmy, Laura (Feldt) Roberts, Steve Guidi, Jade Hoye, Ann Marie (Preissler) Everdell, Kenneth Andersen, Bettina Berg, Mayo Escobar, Josh Arthurs, Ben Harbert, Emma (Ditrinco) Sollars, Amy Trask, Susan Alkasab, Lauren (Tehan) DiLoreto, Woodwyn Koons, Carin (Ivker) Armstrong, Maya Kremen, Alexis Levenson, Joanna Starrels, Nicole (Rodriguez) Leach, Chris Gaither, Heather Burke, Susanne Sreedhar, Rachel Ruane, Sacha (Shapiro) Emerson, Rebecca (Fried) Weisberg, Oliver Henzler, Alan Rozen, Kerry Halpern, Josh Rosenblatt, Jon Gelb, Flo Turkenkopf, Coop King, Jed Byrom, Josh Borenstein, Laura (Flynn) Edmonds, Kayce Davis,  Daniel Hughes, Ria (Mirabal) Higgs, Ryan Cunningham, Ram Subramanian, Matthew Carey, Joy (Langford) Connolly, Nicole (Smith) Padgett, Aileen (Nagle) McDonough, Rachel Rodriguez, Michelle Cho, Michael Vilas, Michael Mittelman, Fawn Phelps, Gaby Alter, Matthew Rattigan, Barbara Grieninger, Kerry (Biancamano) Coppola, Marina Tal, Geoffrey Hand, and Sam Layborne.

We found out from Josh Suniewick that their family is making a move: “Maggie was made president of digital enterprises at NBC/Universal last fall and has been commuting from Philly to NYC daily.  We are both looking forward to having a better life balance and more family time with our three boys. Also we’re excited to reconnect with other Wes alumni in the New York metro area!”

Though he couldn’t make it to Reunion, Abdul L. Rasheed reached out to let us know that he has been commissioned to dance and produce in the U.S., Europe, South America, and Latin America. Abdul is a proud alumnus, singing the praises of his dancer and rehearsal assistant Nik Owens ’12 and dancer Nick Daley ’17.

Lauren Porosoff and her husband Jonathan Weinstein have a book coming out in August called EMPOWER Your Students: Tools to Inspire a Meaningful School Experience. “The book is about helping students notice how their assignments and interactions can be contexts for values-consistent behavior, and to choose those values-consistent behaviors even when it’s hard.”

Andy Hiller wrote, “For the past three years, I have been living in Brooklyn with my husband and 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Dante. We love it here, but do wish we had more green space. A highlight twice a year is when Clara Petit and Wally Einenkel come to town and we get to spend some quality time together. We don’t get to see each other often, but the bond is as strong as ever.”

Derek DiMatteo wrote to us from Indiana University at Bloomington, where he is working on his dissertation on protest literature and higher education. He won the Winchester Fellowship Award from the Wesleyan English Department this year.

Monica Santana Rosen wrote: “I am married and settled in Chicago with my architect husband. I have three children: Antonio (13), Marlo (9), and Ana (we call her Annie B) who is 5. I launched my own consulting firm last fall, Alma Advisory Group. We provide human capital consulting to school systems across the country. I’ve been spending time consulting in Hawaii, Memphis, and Tampa among others. We have a team of nine and I’m loving life as a start-up CEO, helping states, districts, and CMOs find, grow, and inspire excellent principals and teachers, who in turn make great things possible for their students.”

Elizabeth Schneider has an award-winning wine podcast called Wine for Normal People, for people who want to learn about wine in a down-to-earth way, without the snob factor.

Nadia Gardner received her master’s in environmental science and management from University of California – Santa Barbara in 2006. She has worked for Columbia Land Trust as conservation manager for 10 years.  She lives with her partner, Michael Manzulli and 18-month-old son, Matteo Gardner Manzulli, in the forest within a block from the beach on Oregon’s north coast, where they hike and surf.

Breton Leone-Quick was sad to miss Reunion, and wrote to us from Boston, where he’s been with the Mintz Levin law firm for 15 years. Breton lives in Lexington, Mass., with his wife, Katie, and two children, Thomas (8) and Violet (6).

You can check out some photos from Reunion at http://www.wesleyan.edu/rc2017/ and on the Wesleyan University – Class of 1997 Facebook page. Why not start planning to come back for our 25th reunion in 2022? We’ll be there, O’Rourke’s menus in hand!

In the meantime, please continue sending us your updates about work, home, family, travel, books, films, podcasts, and adventures big and small.

Jessica Shea Lehmann | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

Sasha Lewis Reisen | alewisreisen@gmail.com

Hello fellow ’96ers. I hope all is well—it’s getting very hot here in Maryland. Should be lots of pool and beach days this summer. A few of you have written in with updates:

Sam Effron writes in about his promotion to member at the law firm of Mintz Levin in New York. He focuses his practice on venture capital, start-ups and emerging growth companies, fund formation, and crowdfunding platforms. Congrats!

Amy Costa lets us know that a few ’96ers (Flo Stueck, Kate Treveloni, Esme Finlay, and Amy) were inducted to the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame last fall as part of the 1994 women’s soccer team that won the ECAC championship. Also, she was the team physician for USA hockey’s women’s U18 world championship where they won gold in Zlin, Czech Republic, in January. She visited with Kate Treveloni in Prague while she was there.

Nick McQuaid let us know that after 11-plus years in the government, he left the White House at end of the Obama administration, and joined the law firm, Latham and Watkins. He will be focusing his practice in New York, but will continue to live in D.C. He looks forward to being in touch with Wes folks in both cities.

Dara Federman | darasf@yahoo.com 

Dacque Tirado | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

Dear Class of ’95: Bo Bell here, co-secretary for our class (along with my partner-in-crime, Katy McNeil). This is my first time at the helm for these notes, and I want to set it off with a shout-out to my frosh hallmate Cheryl Mejia, who just got married! She and partner, Clare, celebrated with a reception at the Washington, D.C., Pride parade.

I’ve heard a lot from fellow WesCo alums, including Ana Maria Kleymeyer, who started working with a new group in D.C. and will be representing the Federated States of Micronesia in the global climate and ozone negotiations (even if the U.S. president refuses to be part of the solution, many U.S. citizens are still working on these problems), and Danielle Langston, who, with her family, is approaching her third anniversary of living in Brisbane, Australia! Dani is an architect, working on retirement, aged care, and education projects, and stays busy on the side playing a full concert schedule with the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant concertmaster. Her husband, Carl, has an academic position at the Queensland University of Technology, and their kids, ages 9 and 13, are into their brass instruments and identifying Australian bird species.

Anne Bellows Lee writes: “I just moved to a new place in Santa Monica, Calif. Brought my two little girls, a few cats, and the husband with me. I am still working at UCLA in the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs as a project director for research studies of treatment for co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse. We are always looking for intern and volunteer research assistants—so if you, or anyone you know, wants in, let me know!”

Sabrina Prince has relocated to central Harlem in New York, still delighting her healthcare advertising clients while volunteering as a marketing consultant for small business owners in Afghanistan on behalf of Bpeace. She recently came back from Croatia and is looking forward to a summer of rating the best pizzas in New York with Jacqueline Moon.

Jason Segal, who is active in Wesleyan’s Social Entrepreneurship program, writes: “My company, Swift Current, continues to do our best to bring large-scale capital into initiatives to address climate change. Kids Julia (3), Ari (2) and family are enjoying life on the Upper West Side.”

Lauren Monchik is still in NYC with husband Paul Davidson and daughters Violet (10) and Lena (7). She’s a science educator with Growing a Wild NYC, teaching kids in New York public schools, K–12, about native plants and pollinators, as well as working on native habitat restoration. She loves getting to check out neighborhoods and schools all over Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.

My Wes former soccer teammate Jeremy Lurgio says, “Life is great in Montana. I co-directed a short documentary called The Hard Way. It has been a finalist at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, Telluride Mountainfilm, the Vancouver International Film Festival and it was awarded a bronze for the People’s Choice Award at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival in England. It’s an inspiring story of an 89-year-old ultra runner who does things the hard way to maintain purpose, momentum, and vitality. This coming year I will be taking a sabbatical from my job as an associate professor at the University of Montana School of Journalism, where I co-teach a course on how to effectively report stories from Native American communities in Montana. My wife, Caroline, and our two kids, Lachlan (7) and Amelia (4), will be living in New Zealand for the year while I work on projects that explore the relationship of indigenous communities with the news media.”

Andrew Neiman is just living the dream as a St. Louis actor/bartender/adjunct professor of playwriting, screenwriting, directing, and movement. He’s received a commission to adapt Shakespeare’s Richard III into an hour-long hip-hop production for an Illinois middle school, and later this summer he’ll be co-producing and playing the title character in an immersive onsite production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Andrew says, “Cheers, y’all.”

Neil Parekh surfaces! “It’s been several years since I have been to confession/submitted an item for Class Notes. Pam Stumpo ’96 and I moved to D.C. two years ago when I got a job in communications with United Way Worldwide. Our daughter, Emily Margaret Parekh, turned 4-years-old in April. It was great to see Wesleyan’s VP for University Relations Barbara-Jan Wilson giving the Philip Brown Memorial Lecture with Director of Admission Nancy Hargrave in April. Also met Andrew Fairbanks ’90. He did my on-campus interview back in the day. Thanks, Andy.”

Randy Jackson and Brooke Leinwand Jackson are in Inwood (upper Manhattan) with children Ty and Frida (twins, 13 now and about to finish seventh grade), and haven’t moved from NYC since graduation. Brooke is now principal of the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies, a public high school in Chelsea, and Randy has bounced around in the social justice organizing sector for the last two decades—working on the local, state, and national levels—and most recently has landed at ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York (www.alignny.org), where he’s the director of development and planning, fighting for progress in New York City at the intersection of a healthy environment, a fair economy, and racial equity. They they stay in touch with dear Wes friends—especially Dan Smith, Zeke Volkert ’96, and Julia Lazarus.

Shayne Spaulding checks in: “A couple years ago, I moved with my husband, Josh Shepherd, and boys Wiley (9) and Kieran (6) to Swampscott, Mass., after living in Brooklyn, N.Y., for nearly 15 years. Small town living has been an adjustment, but we are enjoying the ocean breezes, our garden and local politics. We live around the corner from Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker. I work for the Urban Institute in D.C., a social policy think tank. Lots to write about these days.”

Jen Levine-Fried started a new job as the CFO of the National Network of Abortion Funds at the end of February. She writes, “It has been a steep learning curve, but so rewarding to be working for an organization that is at the forefront of reproductive, social, and racial justice during these challenging times. Last November, after a work trip to California (which started the day after the election), I was able to visit with Eric Meyerson and Jennifer Parker Dockray. I regularly see Noam Shore and Noah Rumpf, as we all belong to the same synagogue outside of Boston. And we recently moved to an ever-so-slightly larger condo in the South End, and now we have space for visitors that does not involve a couch. Please let me know if you will be in town!”

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Hello from Chicago! In May, I (Samera) met John Lewis for lunch in Boston. It was great to catch up with him after many years. John’s year is already filling up with lots of Wesleyan connections, including dinner with Aaron Yeater. John writes, “Josh Protas, Gabe Meil, and Jonathan Bender are joining me at our family shack on a lake in New Hampshire (outhouse and all). The last time we were there was after Josh’s wedding in the late 1990s. Abby was game for including a reunion with her honeymoon. My wife, Suzanne, and I have three kids, ages 13, 11, and 5, and I’m currently footloose and fancy free after 17 years working for Jonathan Bush ’03 at athenahealth. I’m taking a break, planning to re-enter the workforce in the fall!”

In March, I met Sarah Burke in San Francisco, where we had a lovely dinner with our adorable girls (my twins, Sarah and Norah, and Sarah’s Lanikai) who finally were able to meet. That same trip, I met up with Ben Fineman, whom I hadn’t seen in years, for dinner.

In other SF news, Olivia Morgan and her husband, David Plouffe, moved there recently. David is at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and she is running a gender equity initiative at Common Sense Media. She writes, “Later this month we will release a report on how gender portrayals in movies and on TV impact kids’ development, along with comprehensive guidelines on how to evaluate media for gender equity.”

From Southern California, Stephanie Anagnoson is the conservation supervisor at Castaic Lake Water Agency and “survived the drought.”

Further west, Raya Salter left her lawyer gig at Natural Resources Defense Council and moved to Hawaii a year ago with her daughter to work on climate and energy justice issues as a lawyer and consultant. She also is working on media issues.

On the East Coast, Aaron Passell has been teaching urban studies at Barnard and Columbia for three years, commuting from Philadelphia. He sees Jesse Hendrich and Seth Lewis Levin in the city for drinks or food adventures. He also runs into Amy Fiske ’95 often in Philadelphia, who runs the after-school program where his younger son spends happy afternoons.

David Drogin was promoted to professor as he continues his second term as chairperson of the History of Art Department at the State University of New York, FIT. He recently published “Art and Patronage in Bologna’s Long Quattrocento” in A Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Bologna and “Dialogue of the Doges: Monumental Ducal Tombs in Renaissance Venice,” in The Tombs of the Doges of Venice. Next March, he will present a paper on Jacopo della Quercia in a session he organized, “The Problem of Style in 15th-Century Italian Art,” at the conference of the Renaissance Society of America.

Stephen Frail wrote from Needham, Mass., where he lives with his wife of 20 years and two boys, one completing ninth grade and one completing sixth grade. After spending over 20 years in educational publishing, he joined MathWorks, the leading developer of mathematical computing software for engineers and scientists.

He writes, “I’ve had the pleasure of reconnecting with several fellow alumni in recent months. Sid Espinosa was visiting Boston, and so Dan Lennon, Raman Prasad, and I met Sid for dinner to celebrate our frosh year at Foss 7.” Raman, Dan, and David Mulei have planned a road trip this fall to meet up with Aaron “Hash” Hoshide, who teaches economics at the University of Maine.

Dr. Tyrone Williams and I caught up over a Saturday brunch recently. We followed that with an evening out with Tyrone and his wife, and Jennifer Quest-Stern and Kevin Fairley, who are married to each other, have two kids of their own, and are both in the healthcare industry.

Several of us from the class of 1994 have also started a tradition of returning to Homecoming each fall. David Niles, Deirdre Kelly, Sarah Morgan, Jeff Reilly, Joe Pirret, and I all plan to attend Homecoming again this November.

Jonathan Kirsch is a Fulbright Scholar in Cali, Colombia, for a year with his wife (also a Fulbright Scholar) and three kids. He will be teaching at a medical school, his wife will study organic coffee, and his kids will attend a bilingual school.

David Campbell is vice president of integration management at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas.

Matthew Fraser is a writer and one of two people running Salem House Press after teaching and studying languages since 1995, and working at the grammar, middle, and high school level. He writes, “My latest book, Critical Infrastructure for Children; the Astonishing Potential of New England Schools, features what I consider to be strong points of the Wesleyan Sustainability Action Plan. I also did a comparison of the Wesleyan plan with similar progressive efforts at other universities throughout New England. I enjoyed presenting my previous book, Ideas for America; Let the Sun In at Wesleyan’s Earth Month in 2015, and I am looking forward to presenting my newest book to some idealistic hearts and minds at Wes soon.”

Please continue to send in updates, and if anyone finds themselves in Chicago, please get in touch!

Samera Syeda Ludwig | ssludwig@nixonpeabody.com

Caissa Powell | cdp2000@hotmail.com 

Chris Richardson has been named trauma medical director at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.

Lisa Brown writes, “Daniel Handler ’92 and I just published our latest literary collaboration: a picture book called Goldfish Ghost. It’s about a dead goldfish. In other news, our son’s fish just died. Coincidence?”

Noah Rosen became an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Hofstra School of Medicine. He remains the program director of the neurology residency at Northwell Health, and the director of the Northwell Headache Center.

Monique Schaulis is living in San Francisco where she has a great job at Kaiser San Francisco, split between emergency and palliative medicine. She helps dying people opt out of our crazy medical system and focus on what they are hoping for at the end of life. She’s done a lot of work over the last few years with an organization called Vital Talk, which aims to deepen physician, patient relationships by teaching communication skills. Her kids are 8 and 10, and they go to Mandarin school in the city. She still works with Christine O’Brien ’95, and had dinner with Kate Blumberg ’92 and Rachel Williams ’90. She was saddened to learn of the death of Ken Hirsch ’91, a friend and doctor.

Karen Powell and family have moved to Melbourne, Australia. Karen is the director of teaching and a senior lecturer (tax) at Deakin Law School. Deakin University is a large public university with several campuses in Australia. She sold the distillery she founded, Triple Divide Spirits, which is alive and well in Helena, Mont. If any Wes grads come through Melbourne, please do get in touch: k.powell@deakin.edu.au.

Jodi Samuels lives in Sacramento, Calif., with her spouse, Evan, and two cats. She works as deputy director of development and training for the California Primary Care Association, which supports more than 1,100 community health center sites statewide, work she reports feels even more urgent as they fight to maintain the progress they’ve made in California in increasing access to healthcare for all. She volunteers with WEAVE, which provides services to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. She also volunteers for the Alliance Française de Sacramento, and joined the local League of Women Voters to increase her advocacy activities and community involvement. She and Evan have been traveling a bunch (Rome, Austin, and Honolulu) and they’re heading to Panama this winter.

Laura (Davidson) Ross and her husband, Gregg ’90, are moving to Los Angeles in June. Laura will be taking a new job as the head of the upper school campus at the Harvard-Westlake School, and Gregg will be teaching math at the middle school campus of the same school.

Abigail Lorber Clarkson writes, “For years, every time the Wesleyan magazine arrived, I got a pit in my stomach thinking about all the extraordinary alumni who would be profiled, and how humdrum my life seems in comparison. Now I’ve decided to embrace the ordinariness of my life, knowing that there must be many of us who are living quiet lives that may not make headlines, but are nevertheless remarkable in their own way. So here’s the latest from my family. This summer we moved back to Asheville, N.C., after a three-year stint in Austin, Texas, where my husband, J., was in seminary. He received his MDiv degree in May and will be ordained an Episcopal priest in August. Our daughter, Louisa, who has been known to make an appearance in an inflatable T-rex costume, will be starting high school this fall. As of this writing I am looking for a job in Asheville, hoping to continue my role as right-hand-person to top executives.”

After 10 years working at Duke, Anne Beaven is taking a new position running the lymphoma program at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. She’s very excited about the new opportunity, not to mention the commute—a mere two miles from her house. Her son, Eli, is finishing up second grade, and her wife leaves for Australia soon for a six-month stint working with Save the Children.

Casey O’Neill, along with his co-host, Keith O’Brien, won the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s Innovator Award for their show, Casey and the Sports Doctor. The show, which is produced by The Day and is available at theday.com/sports/gameday and on Facebook at GameDay-Connecticut Sports, is a sports talk show that features segments on Connecticut sports as well as national sports. Casey and Keith also took third place in the same category for their work on GameDay, which broadcasts high school sports with ESPN quality production.

Warm regards,

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Greetings, all! It was so great so see so many of our class at our 25th Reunion in May. Drinks were flowing pretty freely so my recall of what everyone was up to may not quite be up to snuff, but I will do what I can. And if I didn’t get your news in this column, please write to Paul or me—especially if we haven’t heard from you for a while. It’s always great to hear from long-lost classmates!

With that in mind, I start off with Mary Newton Lima, who has written in for the first time ever (Go, Mary!). After living in Madison Wisc.; Miami, Fla. (where she got a master’s and met her husband); Boulder, Colo.; and Seattle, Wash.; Mary has been living on Cape Cod since 2003. She and her husband have two daughters. Mary works at a nonprofit organization focused on reducing the environmental impact of fishing industries.

After a long absence from the notes, Tony Brita caught me up on his life. He started a new job in March as an executive director at The NPD Group, which is a market research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y. His eldest son, Teddy, is finishing up his first year at Regis High School in New York City.

More news from the longtime MIA! Chris Arndt and his wife, Patty Jen Arndt, have two boys, Alden (7) and Graham (6). Chris spent most of his time in New York, helping to grow an investment management firm, but left in 2010 to work on clean energy. In 2015, Chris and Patty moved to Telluride, Colo. Chris continues to work on clean energy issues, and also wrote a book, The Right’s Road to Serfdom, The Danger of Conservatism Unbound: From Hayek to Trump.

Matt Glotzer is the CFO and head of Strategy of Intertrust, a tech company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., although he lives in Scarsdale, N.Y., with his wife, son and daughter. Also in the New York area, Sasha Wilson, the co-director of the Bronx Community Charter School, lives in the Bronx with his wife and two daughters.

My Clark 3 roommate, James Wilton, is Collabera’s national account manager. He handles IT staffing and professional services placement. He has a large team across the U.S. and travels to a variety of destinations including San Fran, Dallas, NYC, and Chicago. James’s son, Jack, 16, is just about ready to drive. His middle daughter, Carley, is 13 and his youngest, Lola, is 11. In other Clark 3 news, Karen Salvini and her husband live in California and just celebrated their 18th anniversary.

Simon Fulford moved to Portland, Ore., last July with his wife, Clare, and two of his three sons. Simon is working on criminal justice reform efforts and is loving being back in the U.S. after 12 years in the U.K.

Alison Miller got tenure at The University of Michigan School of Public Health. Her daughter, Ella, just graduated from eighth grade. Her son, Wesley, finished third grade and is a massive basketball fan—taking after his dad, Scott (a fact I can attest to on both counts).

In further news on the academic promotion front, Shura Pollatsek just got promoted to full professor of costume design at WKU, and is working on a second book.

Tamara O’Neil is retiring from the military in 2017, after 20 years as a Navy JAG and excited about taking the next step in her career, which is TBD. In January, Kate Edwards started as a research scientist at Datacolor, where she makes instruments to measure the color of paints and textiles. She still lives in Pennington, N.J., with her family. Also on the East Coast, this fall Diego von Vacano ’93 will be a visiting associate professor of political science at Yale.

Wendy Moore Hershey reports a plethora of life changes. In 2016, she remarried and she joined Asset Consulting Group. She is a consultant to nonprofit foundations and endowments, but will also work with family offices and private clients.

Dan Fortmann moved to Paris last year and has been front office manager at Hapimag since January. Anyone who is planning a trip there should look him up!

In other globetrotting news, Elizabeth Liang has continued to tour her intercultural solo show, Alien Citizen: An Earth Odyssey, which has been all over the U.S., Panama, Iceland, Spain, South Africa, and Singapore. It was made into a movie that will be available on DVD this summer.

I close with news of additions to the Wesleyan family. Sarah Tunik teaches high school English and lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Dan Oppenheimer ’89. Their eldest son, Simon ’21, is headed to Wesleyan this fall!  Also joining the campus is David Meek’s son Daniel ’21. David’s wife is Lisa Brown ’90, so that’s two multi-generational Wesleyan couples in one class!

That’s all for now. Be sure to keep Paul and me updated with your news!

Adam Berinsky | berinsky@mit.edu 

Paul Coviello | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu