Class Notes | 1990s

Embarrassed by my paltry previous edition of class notes, I turned to the handy mass-email strategy of soliciting information—and boy, did you all respond! We have an abundance of news to share, so please make sure to go online to view those notes that didn’t fit in the printed magazine.

Sadly, I begin this edition with tragic news. Our classmate Michelle L. Salisbury passed away on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Michelle worked at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority as a senior project manager. She is survived by her husband, Jon D. Orris; mother, Judy Salisbury; grandfather, Edward M. Salisbury; brother, Brian E. (Cristen) Salisbury; and nieces, Elliote and Reilly.

In 2014 Sara Brenneis, published her book Genre Fusion: A New Approach to History, Fiction, and Memory in Contemporary Spain, welcomed her son Charlie in October, and achieved tenure in the Spanish department at Amherst College.

Nadia Khan also welcomed a son in October 2014: Iago Khan Martell. She and her husband, Hector, left the Bay Area for Austin, Texas. Hector works at Mell Lawrence Architects and Nadia is “‘working from home’ as I scheme up where to put my modern, sustainable architecture stamp moving forward.”

Anthony Veneziale and his partner welcomed their second child, Ociela, in 2014. Anthony partnered with Thomas Kail ’99, Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, and Bill Sherman ’02) on a live improv rap show, Freestyle Love Supreme, that aired on Pivot. He also started a new show/company, Speechless, which gives improvised PowerPoint presentations and helps companies make better presentations on stage and on camera.

President Obama recognized Dave Lubell, executive director of Welcoming America, for their immigration integration efforts. In a Dec. 2014 event in Nashville, President Obama said, “David’s initiative is expanding across the country… This is what makes America exceptional. That we welcome strivers. We welcome dreamers from all around the world.”

Nadine Forrester Mills and husband Gregory welcomed daughter Angelique. Nadine was also inducted into the Middletown, Conn., Hall of Fame for her accomplishments in track and field.

In Paris, Becky Cohen is enjoying the semester abroad she never experienced. She, husband Jake and two daughters moved there from Boston last summer. Becky teaches at the Lycée International: “Jake is taking care of the homestead and finding more time for biking and art; the girls are immersed in French schools! It is a fantastic adventure, and we are trying to see as much as we can before heading home, either this summer or next!”

Dahlia Schweitzer is pursuing a PhD in cinema and media studies at UCLA. She published Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer: Another Kind of Monster, a book examining artist Cindy Sherman’s only film.

Also in LA, Guillermo Brown is working on his next music releases with his bands Pegasus Warming and Thiefs, with whom he’s touring.

Jessica Cortes hosted a Wesleyan Lawyers Association (WLA) cocktail event in New York at her firm, Davis & Gilbert, LLP. The event attracted approximately 40 alumni; see the group’s LinkedIn page for more information.

Lia Salza Goldstein encourages those in D.C. to visit the neighborhood art space for children that she calls Little Loft in Capitol Hill. A second location is about to open in Takoma Park, where Lia lives with her husband and three children.

Michael Sternhell and his wife expanded their family in Dec. 2014 with baby girl Iris Sternhell.

Georgia Silveria Seamans also welcomed a daughter, Colette, in March 2014. She encourages all in NYC to check out the projects she’s planning for Washington Square Park Ecology.

For the past 12 years, Amanda Green has taught film studies and English at Berkeley High School. When she’s not teaching or spending time with her husband and two children, Amanda finds time to teach jujitsu and aikido in nearby Oakland.

The faux bois furniture that Mike Christie-Fogg makes was recently featured in Architectural Digest and Traditional Home magazine. His furniture is distributed through David Sutherland.

Abe Forman-Greenwald is filling our FaceBook feeds with content as a video producer at BuzzFeed Video. His short videos have racked up more than 150 million views in total. Recently he’s been focusing on documentary shorts about subjects of identity and social justice. He tweets about his projects at @filmingdocs.

As founding VP of Operations, Tali Schmulovich is working to build Global Health Corps, a nonprofit developing a pipeline of leaders focused on global health. While she is based in New York, Tali has worked in Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.

Laura Polania, a psychiatrist focusing on women’s mental health, has expanded her private practice to Brooklyn, where she lives. She keeps up with Christine Rizkalla, an emergency pediatric doctor, Rebecca Preiser, who’s finishing up her doctorate in clinical psychology, and Sarah Kless Seigel, who is practicing pediatrics.

Thanks to Instagram, I learned Penelope Linge and her family were vacationing on Maui at the same time I was. I loved having an unplanned Hawaiian get-together with my former Wes swimming teammate who’s now the CFO at HelloGiggles, an online community covering pop culture, love, friendship, style, and news.

Sourav Guha is back at Wes: a visiting instructor of government, teaching contemporary Indian politics. This follows earlier stints back on campus as assistant dean of admissions, institutional research associate, and assistant provost.

In Cairo, Jaime Nelson El-Helw opened FLOW Wellness Center, which offers activities for mothers to develop positive bonds with their children. She, her husband, Sherif El-Helw, and their three children return to New England every summer to visit Jaime’s family, including her grandfather, Ted Nelson ’41, who lives in Rhode Island.

Arshad Chowdhury and his wife, Anika, welcomed a baby boy to their family in Brooklyn. Arshad is CEO of an exercise app company, Power 20, and co-founder of Crowd Interactive, a Web development company.

As Director of Wesleyan’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Makaela Kingsley inspires current Wes students to create projects and organizations that change the world for the better. She also gets to connect with classmates focused on social impact, including Amir Hasson, CEO of Oxigen USA and a serial social entrepreneur, and Rebecca Knight, who writes about business and will be presenting a business plan and pitch workshop for social entrepreneurs at Wesleyan during the spring semester. Of course, Makaela also spends time with husband Matt Kingsley, associate head coach of men’s basketball at Yale, and their children, Amelia and Eli.

Nathan Eddy, his wife Clare, and their two children, Mahalia and Elise, landed in Marylebone, London, in Aug, 2014. Nathan is pursuing a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Clare is serving as a minister in the Church of England.

Jessica Browning and her husband, Jerad, are busy with two daughters who arrived within the last year-and-a-half! Although sleep deprived, Jessica is hanging in there and is a college counselor at a K–12 school in Asheville, N.C.

David Schleifer is working with Chloe Rinehart ’14 at Public Agenda, where they conduct research on domestic policy issues including healthcare, education, and democratic participation.

In Brighton, England, Erica Nelson is an independent consultant on global public health projects, having completed a post-doc research fellowship in anthropology with the University of Amsterdam. She and husband Dylan Howitt have been in England since 2008. Their daughter Sylvie, 4, just started school in Sept, 2014.

Aimee Miles co-founded FOGG Theatre, a musical theatre company in San Francisco that commissions, develops, and produces musicals with a Bay Area focus. The company’s first musical, The Cable Car Nymphomaniac, enjoyed rave reviews and sold-out shows every night. Aimee also leads the education wing of the company, which offers performing arts programming and summer camps for kids. Aimee adds, “Thank you, Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown, for all you taught me!”

Scott McCracken received a fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. He will be teaching a course at UPenn in March.

In Cambridge, Mass., Nella Young runs a fellowship program that places architects with community development organizations through Enterprise Community Partners. She regularly bumps into Kirsten Von Trapp in Davis Square, where Nella lives with her husband and son.

David Greengrass and wife have a son, Ben, born June 2014. They live in D.C.; David works as a counsel on the House Judiciary Committee.

Joshua Steadman’s company, Videoo, is the technology behind a new campaign aiming to connect people through acts of love. The #Share1Love campaign will donate $1 to “charity: water” for every “random act of kindness or love” video uploaded.

Angela Pellegrino-Grant welcomed twins Lena and Silas Pellegrino-Grant in June 2014.

MARCUS CHUNG | marcuschung98@gmail.com

Jason Becton | jcxbecton@yahoo.com

2015 has brought forth new beginnings for many of our classmates. As I begin my third year as your Class Secretary, Alumni of Color Council Member and Wesleyan Fund Class Agent I fondly reflected upon my relationship with Wesleyan through the years. Whether it was the Career Resource Center, the Dean’s Office, my professors, or my friends—I have found Wesleyan to return to me what I have placed into it. I enjoy hearing from everyone and learning about life after Wesleyan. I believe this platform is an outlet to re-establish connection for many of us. Please be encouraged to make a new or recreate an existing WesConnect.

Neily Buff wrote that in January, as Florida legalized gay marriage, she and her 11-year partner, Kelly Kingston, were married in their home state. Exactly one month earlier, they had their first child together—a girl.

Andrew Frishman (@andrewfrishman) shared: “Leigh Needleman ’96 and I just bought a place in Cambridge, located about halfway between Harvard and MIT. We’re excited to be living just a block from our 5-year-old daughter’s school and a 10-minute walk from her younger brother’s daycare. Leigh’s a neuroscientist at Harvard and I am on the leadership team at Big Picture Learning (bigpicture.org). We get together regularly with Laura Warren ’98, her husband and children (who are similar ages to ours). Andrew is excited to be collaborating with Daniela Lewy ’99, who will soon be entering the final year of the Harvard EdLD program, which he finished in May of 2014. Andrew also connects regularly with Arthur Baraf ’98, a principal at the flagship Big Picture Learning school—The Met High School, in Providence, RI.

Carly Burton (@carlyburton7) says: “I’ve been in Boston for the past 12 years and just moved to a new house in Jamaica Plain (one block from our old house). I married my wife, Mo, in 2009 and in October 2013 we adopted our daughter, Clea. We got the call we were matched on the evening of Oct. 18, the day before my birthday. Clea was born on Oct. 22, and we got to meet her that day! It has been a joyous adventure. She is an active toddler who loves to dance and walk backwards and see how long she can pull the tail of the cat before getting in trouble. I’ve worked in advocacy since graduating from social work school at BU and my path has crossed with many Wes alums along the way, from Fawn Phelps to Melissa Shannon ’94, to former Rep Steven Walsh ’95, to Senator Dan Wolf ’79. Currently, I work at an LGBTQ advocacy organization and though I don’t see as many Wes alums in my professional world, I am lucky to see Karen Carniol ’98 and Ginna Smith Reeder ’98 and Liz Murray ’96 pretty regularly, which is wonderful.”

Dr. Joshua Arthurs (@Jwarthurs) and wife Malayna Bernstein are both professors at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.V., Josh in modern European history and serving as director of graduate studies, and Malayna in curriculum and instruction. Along with their boys, Eli (10) and Carlo (6), they are enjoying life as Mountaineers, and welcome any Wes contacts in West Virginia or the Pittsburgh area.

Michelle Conceison (@ProfConceison) lives in Boston runs her own music management and marketing company, Market Monkeys (@MarketMonkeys marketmonkeys.com). Here she manages Canadian songwriter Rose Cousins (rosecousins.com) and her record label, Old Farm Pony Records (oldfarmpony.com). Michelle is also a professor in the music department at Northeastern University and she serves on the Board of Folk Alliance International, the organization that represents folk music worldwide.

Sean Brecker (@seanbrecker) moved back to the US after 11 years away (seven years in Singapore and four in England). His wife, Heidi, and three kids (Felix, 5, and girl/boy twins Eiffel and Dashel, 3) moved to Los Angeles in 2014. Sean is the CEO of Headspace, a guided meditation app. Sean would love to hear from any Wes alums in southern California!

Aileen Nagle McDonough (@3amwriter) lives in Rhode Island and serves as the chief executive of 3am Writers, a communications and content strategy firm that focuses on creative social media and online identity for businesses. Aileen writes stories as “Honda Mama” on wehearthonda.com; she also teaches social media classes at Cape Cod Community College. In addition, Aileen devotes time to her own creative writing. In 2014, she was back on campus to attend Wesleyan’s Shasha Conference on The Novel, and two of her essays were published in Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England.

Aileen has been married for 15 years to Kirk. They have two children: a hockey-playing, mohawk-sporting 11-year old son, Shane, and a redheaded 8-year-old daughter, Cate, who loves Irish step dancing and glee club. Aileen keeps up with Wesleyan friends on social media and meets up with ’97 classmate Michelle Driscoll in Boston or Providence whenever busy schedules allow.

Matthew Way (WayFilm.de) completed his debut feature, “The Genital Warriors” and was very pleased to have celebrated the World and German premieres of it in Moscow and Berlin respectively at the Moscow International Film Festival, one of 15 A-list festivals worldwide. Visit genital-warriors.com/trailer for more information.

Derek DiMatteo wrotes, “I’m three years into the PhD program in English literature here at Indiana University, Bloomington, and have just settled on my qualifying exam committee members. Terrifying to think I will have to do my orals this coming September, but also elated to be done with coursework at the end of this spring.”

At the top of March, Abdul Latif was chosen as one of three 2015 winning choreographers with the Joffrey Academy of Dance, the official school of the Joffrey Ballet, to display his most poignant pieces to date at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Learn more at Joffrey.org/WinningWorks.

Cheers to all of the new beginnings thus far. Looking forward to hearing more.

Kimberly King | kimberly.king715@gmail.com

Hello, fellow ’96ers. I hope this finds you well. I know during winter months we all think back to the wonderful memories of our years at Wes!

Nikki Lewis, living in Raleigh, is director of marketing at Epic Games, the makers of Gears of War, Unreal Engine, and the upcoming Fortnite.

Chung Ma has moved south of the Mason Dixon, from NYC to RVA (Richmond) with his family. He landed a sweet gig managing money for Virginia’s pension fund. He says leaving NYC was a tough choice but the proximity to skiing, beach, and myriad outdoor activities has kept his entire family busy. RVA is a wonderful blend of smaller city and progressive mindset. He further added he went out to Las Vegas to be a part of Alex Fong’s and Sylvia’s wedding. Big Wes reunion there—13 in all!—John Kong, Jason Kim, Ingrid Wong, Phil Cho and his fiancée Wendy Wu ’97, Howie Bae, Susan Yee, Diana Ip, Emily Chang, Andrew Fuys, Susan Ha, Barrett Feldman, Chung Ma, and of course Alex Fong.

Arwen Anderson calls San Francisco home and is happy to be a working theater actor, and along with partner Rod, to have welcomed a son, Rowan Anderson Gnapp, into the world. He is absolutely amazing and keeps them on their toes!

Darrah Carr and husband David Byrne welcomed their daughter, Ettamoya Darrah Byrne, on Nov. 24th; she joins big sister Cavan and big brother Eamonn. Darrah’s dance company, Darrah Carr Dance, celebrated its 15th anniversary season at NYC’s Irish Arts Center.

Elana Pavloff moved back to NYC from Toronto in June; she says she missed real bagels and humid summers. She just started a new job at OMD as the NA Lead for the Visa client. Since her clients are in San Francisco she travels to the West Coast a great deal, so much that the flight attendants know her by name.

Nine years ago, Amalia Mayita left photojournalism to join her family’s coffee business in El Salvador, where they’d been growing coffee for five generations. If any NYC Wes alums want to try this delicious coffee, they can find it at Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, which offers Talnamica and Natamaya. This year’s harvest is available this spring and summer. Amalia admits to being obsessed with Instagram, so check her out @AmaliaMayita.

Alejandro Wyss and Marissa Wyss ’97 have re-located to Los Angeles, where he now runs operations for SpeedNews Aerospace & Defense Events.

Anuj Desai and his wife, Joanna Baum, have a baby girl. Little Ziya is happy and healthy, and Anuj lives close to veteran parents Billy Kheel, Ben Bell, and Becca Cutter ’97.

Colby and Sara Evans live in Austin with their three children, Quinn (7), Malcolm (5), and Ruby (3). They have expanded their dermatology practice, which now has seven medical providers across three locations. In July, Colby will become chair of the board of directors of the National Psoriasis Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (psoriasis.org).

James Weinberger is living happily in Brooklyn along with half of the alumni of all of Wesleyan, his wife Erica of 15 years, and sons Eli (11) and Nate (7). (Both were kindergarten students of the amazing Semeka Smith-Williams ’97 at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights.) He is lucky enough to be practicing copyright and trademark litigation as a partner at Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu and recently gave an appellate argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, where he represented DC Comics in a lawsuit about whether the Batmobile was protectable under copyright law. He is looking forward to our 20th Reunion next year.

Mary Pagones published her first novel, The Horse Is Never Wrong, available on Amazon and from most other major booksellers in e-book and paperback form: amazon.com/dp/B00RYFUDCY/

DARA FEDERMAN | darasf@yahoo.com

DACQUE TIRADO | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

Khaim Morton ’95 writes: “I’m now the chief of staff to assembly member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who represents the 54th California State Assembly district. It includes Los Angeles, Westwood, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, and Culver City. I also recently got married. My wife and I both live and work in Sacramento, Calif.”

Andrew Hindman ’95 plans to attend the Reunion with his spouse.

In 2014, David M. Perry published more than 45 articles on topics such as higher education, disability, and police violence for CNN, Al Jazeera, the Chronicle of Higher Education, etc. In February of 2015, Penn State University Press will publish his book Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. He interviewed Wes President Michael Roth ’78 here: chronicle.com/article/PresidentsPublic/150879/

Katy McNeill writes, “I’ve been living in the Boston area for 13 years (probably with many of you close by but we just haven’t run into each other). Still working in the MIT Libraries (same place but evolving role). I look forward to seeing everyone at Reunion; I’ll be bringing my family: wife Sharie and our two daughters, 9 and 5.

Cheryl Mejia sends an update that’s “pretty much similar to last update. Finishing last year of residency. Got some good potentials, yet looking for a PM&R job, with focus on interventional and sports med. Marriage is legal in Florida now! I am engaged to Clare Madrigal, a quick ER nurse who will be relocating with me. Think you already know I’m VP of Women In Medicine, annual conference and network of LBT physicians.”

Dwayne D. Busby is now executive director of development and alumni relations at the University of Houston—Clear Lake. He still lives in Houston with his wife, two daughters (9 and 7), and his mom. Go to yourhoustonnews.com/bay_area/news/ and look up “Busby” for an article about his career news

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

Raya Salter Moore writes, “I’m a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council focusing on electricity policy. My daughter is 14 and in high school. Still living in New Rochelle, N.Y. Saw Hayley Buchbinder and her family (adorable two young sons and hubby) this past summer.”

Jon Morgan says, “I’m in Dallas (my hometown) and run a corporate public relations firm, Perry Street Communications. My wife, Liz Seabury ’95, is assistant general counsel at a restaurant company, Le Duff America. We have two boys: Henry, 10, and Oliver, 7.”

Jennifer Cunningham says, “Hello, all. I’ve never written an update before so I will keep the last 20 years brief. Moved to Denver, moved to London, left the glamorous world of telecom, and now live in Boulder County with my husband and two kids. I recently started Ask Why Films to lend a voice to social issues. Our first documentary is Disruptive Ed—a film to inspire audiences to reimagine education in their local schools and effect the necessary changes.”

Charlotte Castillo writes, “Greetings from NYC…I am working hard being a mom to my 5-year-old ‘lil man’ and as VP of international brand management for Viacom Media Networks—driving brand strategy and creative for our consumer products business around the world! It’s a fun job that takes me around the world—London, Singapore, Milan, Paris, Panama City, São Paolo, among others, including (hopefully) Sydney next spring. And one thing all these cities have in common—Wesleyan! I’ve seen Wesleyan tees, bumper stickers, and more in almost all of these cities! That is truly why! I’m in touch with the fabulous Patria Rodriguez ’93, Cynthia Centeno ’93, and Lisette Nieves ’92—all doing their thing in media, education, and nonprofit worlds, respectively.”

Tanya Bowers and her husband, Martin Valadez Torres, welcomed their son, George Israel Valadez, on Oct. 15th. Tanya moved to Washington State’s Tri-Cities from Washington, D.C., in the late summer 2014. She welcomes contact from Wes alums who find themselves in eastern Washington State. Tanya says, “I am on the Wesleyan Alumni of Color Council and interested alums should reach out to me if they want to get involved.”

Cris Ruggiero writes, “I have been living and working in Pittsburgh, for the last six years at the University of Pittsburgh. I’m an associate dean in the School of Arts and Sciences, and I oversee the College of General Studies. The College serves about 2500 students, through degree, non-degree, and certificate programs as well as housing the Osher lifelong learning program and the University’s Office of Veteran Services. I enjoy the diversity of our student population and the programs we provide. I live in the city with my husband, who is an assistant professor of biological sciences at Pitt, and our 5-year-old daughter, who is in kindergarten. I’ve also been volunteering for the past five years with a mentoring program called Strong Women Strong Girls, and I still do Wesleyan alumni interviews. In terms of Wes people in Pittsburgh, we see Brant Hasler often; he is an assistant professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine at Pitt. Otherwise, I saw Julie Beattie Reeves and Jon Bender during a quick conference trip to Denver. Both are doing well, and Julie and I compared job notes as she is now working in higher ed as an associate vice chancellor of brand marketing for the University of Denver.”

Thank you to all who wrote in with updates. Please keep sending us your news.

Jiyoung Lim Gilbreth and Ilana wind newell
94notes@gmail.com

Hi Wes ’93ers. Whenever you write, it reminds us of the wonderful experiences we had at Wesleyan. Fortunately, Wesleyan memories didn’t come to an abrupt end in May 1993; we continue to create new ones whenever we revisit the campus, reconnect with a classmate, or attend a Reunion. Thanks so much for sharing your news; we have career updates, trips around the world, and a b’not mitzvah in these notes.

Aaron Barr writes: “Things are actually pretty exciting for me and my wife, Anner, right now. We’re into month three of a year-long round-the-world trip! I’m currently e-mailing from Vilcabamba, Ecuador, after busing today from Saraguro, where we spent a couple of days meeting different indigenous artists. Loved it! If anyone is interested, we’re blogging at nomaprequired.com and Facebook-ing at nomaprequired. Always glad to hear from fellow Wes- lums!

Paul Foster sends this update: “I am an otolaryngologist (ENT) doctor in Miami. I have two kids, Emily and Alex, 10 and 11. We like mud runs, horseback riding in Colorado, growing multiple varieties of heirloom tomatoes, and the occasional skiing trip, like this last winter, when my daughter proudly joined the ranks of snowboarders and my son developed new records for straight downhill speed, not necessarily a good thing. Although many may remember me as a member of the Wesleyan Spirits, I don’t sing much anymore, except in the operating room.”

Arik Greenberg keeps busy lecturing at Loyola Marymount, serving as the academic dean at Sierra State University, and heading up the Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace, and Justice, an interfaith activism group. He is also renovating his parents’ house in Long Island, writing a book, The Exile, and keeping busy with numerous other projects in academia. Arik saw Dan Kapelovitz and Noel Lawrence at a screening of Dan’s movie, Triple Fisher, in Hollywood this past fall.

Mike Heman e-mails: “I’m living in Boston with my wife, Megan, whom I met at Wes when she transferred for a semester from Wellesley. I’m a professor of biology at MIT and director of the MIT grad program in biology. My research lab works on cancer therapy, and we’re hosting an undergrad from Wes for a research internship this summer.”

Sue Henshon’s novel, Andy Lightfoot and the Time Warp, was published on Amazon Kindle.

Dina Kaplan’s update: “After two years traveling the world (I know, rough life) I just launched a new company called The Path, which teaches ancient meditation techniques but in a modern way, to a very modern audience. Come join us and/or say hi if you’re in NYC or L.A.!”

Jason Moss writes, “Having worked at Kaplan Test Prep since 2007, I recently launched a new business (as part of Kaplan) called Metis (thisismetis.com), which accelerates people’s careers in data science. Right now, we do this by teaching intensive 12-week ‘bootcamps’ in New York. Aside from work, I’ve been blogging about billiards movies (billiardsmovies.com), running races like the Tough Mudder, re-reading the whole Harry Potter series to my son, and developing a liking for single malt Scotch.”

Stacy Olitsky moved back to Philly and is an assistant professor of teacher education at Saint Joseph’s University. She also plays banjo in several local bands.

Antonia Townsend writes: “I had a birthday party, where I got to see David Derryck and Erica Terry Derryck. We are in year two of selling sumptuous knickers here at Enclosed (TheEnclosed.com). I’m thrilled to report we can count several classmates as customers! While living in San Francisco we are spending every weekend we can up in Tahoe, so let us know if you are near the lake!”

Sadie Van Buren congratulates Dennis Toner ’95 on his promotion to enterprise sales manager, Cloud, at Microsoft. She and Dennis connected in 2014 through their work at BlueMetal Architects, and in her new role as director of strategic alliances at BlueMetal. She is looking forward to many more years of working with Dennis as a partner.

Jessica Gutow Viner and Dan Viner celebrated the b’not mitzvah of their twin daughters, Gaby and Rebecca, in November. They live in Nashville, where Dan practices ENT, and Jessica works for Vanderbilt in admissions. Son Jacob, 11, is following in Dan’s shoes on the soccer pitch.

John Weathers writes, “I have moved back to Philadelphia and although missing Colorado, I’m adjusting again to life in the big city and being a single dad. In addition to spending time with my two wonderful daughters, Rose (9) and Eden (7), I’m now a senior researcher at the 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education, where I have research and development projects including a large project in Egypt funded by USAID to develop innovative secondary STEM schools. Still playing bluegrass, old-time, and folk music and recently started a project to take people on music and arts adventures to different parts of the world. If you’re interested, you can check out the project at culturalbridgeproject.com or on Facebook: theculturalbridgeproject.”

Smokey Fontaine writes, “After seven years as CCO of Interactive One, I launched my own digital creative agency this year called a+ (aplusdream.com), dedicated to high-end original content, experiences, and strategy. Was proud to work with Paramount Pictures, as one of my first clients, on the film Selma. My beautiful wife, Stephanie Addison-Fontaine, was elected to the Tenafly, N.J., Board Of Education, becoming the first Black woman to ever serve in one of New Jersey’s highest performing school districts.”

Thanks so much for sharing all your news!

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com

SARAH ESTOW | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Adam writes: Greetings, all! As I write this, my kids are home from school for the sixth day in the last three weeks and I’m looking at 30-foot pile of snow from my window. It was so big that it actually made the local news as it became a makeshift neighborhood ski slope. It’s been a heck of a winter here in Boston. Otherwise, though, things are well. I continue to live in a 500-person graduate student dorm at MIT with my family and remain gainfully employed as a political science professor.

Last November, I went to D.C. to give a talk at George Washington University and spent a day with my old housemates Chris Heikemian and Jon Pratt. It was great to catch up, but even better, just a couple months later Jon got engaged to Bridget Lines. Jon and Bridget met in Pakistan, both working for the State Department, and will be posted together in China as their next assignment.

It was great to hear from a bunch of my old Clark 3 hallmates as well. Ruthbea Yesner Clark lives in Brookline, Mass., and has a terrific job —as a smart city expert—writing, researching, and consulting with cities and vendors around the world about emerging technologies in urban environments. She is planning her first trip to Saudi Arabia for a project there. Sam Robinson lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughter, 11. Sam has been practicing architecture in Philly since 1998. In 2011, he started his own firm, and in 2013 formed a partnership with Jane Ahn—Ahn + Robinson Studio. They do primarily residential renovation work in the city. Finally, Anne (Jennings) Paris and her family (husband Marc, son Duncan, 10) are taking a hiatus from their lives in Portland, Ore. Over the summer, they moved to London, where they plan to be for two years. They are renting in Kew near the Thames and living out every English major’s fantasy of getting to know England. Duncan is enrolled in a state primary school. Marc works as a software design consultant, and Anne is a part-time teacher at a small private school. She keeps up with what’s happening in the States by reading Sarah Guernsey’s and Adam Blumer’s live coverage of major cultural events and trends on Facebook.

Jill Slater proudly (though belatedly) announces the birth of Slater Ande Schwartzberg. She and Jill share a birthday of 12/12. Slater is 14 months old and loves to dance. Jill continues to develop her second career as a sustainable food systems consultant, building on her first career as a city planner.

Mark Hunter is moving to Burlington, Vt., in April with his wife of six years. He published his first book in 2014 and his executive leadership coaching company (Pinnacle Coaching) is 10 years old this year and going well. Also on the publishing front, Kristina Milnor’s second book came out last January: Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii (Oxford, 2014).

In other New England news, Dina Amsterdam is a visiting scholar at MIT, bringing the practices and principles of InnerYoga to a variety of projects at the MIT Media Lab. She’s normally based in San Francisco and Marin County.

Also in New England, Jonathan Bell wrapped up his first year of running his own architecture practice in Providence. Alongside teaching drawing and design studios at RISD and Roger Williams University, he has been occupied with a number of projects, including an addition to a 1950s Better Homes and Gardens plan house, and renovations to a 1920s service station, to be repurposed as a natural-chewing-gum company’s headquarters.

Maurice Harris started a new job as rabbi/senior educator with InterfaithFamily (interfaithfamily.com), a national Jewish nonprofit organization supporting interfaith couples and families and providing training and resources to Jewish community organizations on welcoming and inclusion of interfaith families. He still lives in Eugene, Ore., with his wife, Melissa Crabbe, and their two children, Clarice and Hunter.

Amy Larson continues to practice law at a small firm in Portland, Ore. She and her partner welcomed their first child into the world in September. Also, Amy had the chance to see Eric Leach ’92 a while back at his wedding in NYC.

Also on the West Coast, Rick Barot has been living in Tacoma, Wash., for 10 years now, directing the low-residency MFA program in creative writing at Pacific Lutheran University. His third book of poems, Chord, will be published by Sarabande Books in July 2015. He’s also the poetry editor for New England Review. Corinne Drumheller lives in Seattle with her husband, David, and their two children, Talia (7) and Zane (2).

Chris Chesak just took a job as director of partnerships with Intrepid Travel and reports that he, Karen Cacase, and Mike Flynn ’93 received a warm and vibrant welcome from Costas Darras during a recent chance meeting at a restaurant in Harlem.

In November Jennifer Schonborn attended Wesleyan’s Sons and Daughters weekend, which allows Wes alums to come to campus with their kids who are juniors in high school. She brought her daughter Charlotte (an overdetermined member of the class of ’20 since Jennifer’s husband is Rik Treiber ’91), and had a great time being on campus, seeing all the new buildings, and having a nice talk with our frosh dean Meg Zocco. While there, Jennifer ran into David Kane ’92. Though they didn’t know each other at Wes, they had a great time together with their kids.

Speaking of David, he writes, “Ty Jagerson (CEO) and I are partners in an investment crowdfunding platform for clean energy projects called Village Power. Ty and the team cover the West Coast from the home office in Palo Alto, while I run East Coast operations from NYC. We recently won a SunShot grant from the Department of Energy for promising new solar finance models.”

David Shadrack Smith continues to helm a production company in New York, part2 pictures, which just showed its first narrative feature film, I’ll See You in My Dreams, at Sundance this January. Part2 is entering its ninth year and it’s best known for the series This Is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN. This fall, his series, Belief with Oprah Winfrey, will get to air after three years in production around the world.

Heather Claudine Nash continues to practice psychology. Her short collection of poems, The Problem with Loving Ghosts (published under her middle name Claudine), was recently released by Finishing Line Press.

Byron King joined, as director of software engineering, a company providing hardware and software services to credit unions across the country.

Noelle Nelson enjoys living in Atlanta and working at the CDC on vaccine research and policy in the US and globally, with a focus on hepatitis vaccine. She recently returned from Sierra Leone and the Ebola emergency response.

Wendy Moore Hershey was part of the closing bell ceremony at the NYSE on Jan. 29 because of work she does as a field consultant to nonprofit clients at Mercer Investments The biggest fans? Wendy’s kids, ages 6, 6, and 5 who went crazy “seeing Mommy on TV.”

That’s the news for now. Don’t forget to write to me or Paul—we’d love to hear from you!

ADAM BERINSKY | berinsky@mit.edu

PAUL COVIELLO | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu

Bayard Klimasmith reports that Betsy Klimasmith continues as a professor at UMASS Boston, and Bayard serves as an assistant principal at a middle school in Lexington. Their 16-year-old daughter is a junior and Wesleyan made her short list! Meanwhile, their 5-year-old is looking forward to kindergarten next year and “keeping us a lot younger than we had planned; we are in this parenting thing for a loooonnng more time!”

After working in the diplomatic arena as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs during the first term of the Obama Administration, Spencer “Kip” Boyer is enjoying his deep dive into national security. He’s taken the position of National Intelligence Officer for Europe in the National Intelligence Council, the center for long range strategic thinking within the U.S. intelligence community. He’s also an assistant adjunct professor at the BMW Center for German and European Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Jeremy Sacks, preeminent host of Portland, Oregon, welcomed Nicki and Jim Miller to town to “watch the worst Celtics team of our lifetimes defeat my Blazers. After that, we tasted a boatload of beers in Astoria and Portland, visited a craft bike shop with a beer bar and projection room, and ate well. No, Fred and Carrie weren’t there in person. A good time was had by all.”

Also taking Jeremy up on his hospitality was Scott Timberg, who lives in LA with wife Sara and son Ian, 8. Scott’s book Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class, came out with Yale University Press in January, to great acclaim. Subtitled How Sweeping Economic and Social Changes Are Imperiling Artists, Writers, Musicians, and America, the book digs into the roots of what is happening to artists, from the economic recession to social shifts to technological change. Most importantly, he explains why this matters: “When artists and artisans can’t make a living, we all pay the price.”

Jeremy Arnold continues working as a writer for Turner Classic Movies’ website, and his book Lawrence of Arabia: The 50th Anniversary was published by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2012. You will also be able to find Jeremy providing audio commentary on a restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn, being released in May.

In September 2014, Drew Marrochello was officially named Boston University’s director of athletics. Drew joined the BU athletic department in 2005 and is the 13th athletic director in Boston University history.

As many of you read on Facebook or the Class Notes listserv, we lost one of our own in 2014: Jennifer Entine Matz. Bayard sent me this warm-hearted remembrance, “We were housemates senior year and, besides her disdain for the mac and cheese (with mustard and frozen peas) that Joseph and I made, she was just…awesome. A serious loss. A star just went out in our constellation.”

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

As I write this, it is 11 degrees in New York (with a wind chill making it feel like minus-6) so I am hoping for a significant improvement in the weather by the time of your reading. I also hope that all of your calendars are marked for our upcoming 25th Reunion (May 21–24). Here’s what we have:

Rebecca Rossen Pavkovic was promoted to associate professor in the Performance as Public Practice Program at the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of Dancing Jewish: Jewish Identity in American Modern and Postmodern Dance (Oxford University Press, 2014). She was scheduled to give the annual Dr. Cynthia Novack (In Memoriam) lecture at Wesleyan this past January but the event was postponed due to the storm that hit the U.S. Rescheduling is in the works. Rebecca lives in Austin with her husband, David Pavkovic, and their two daughters, Zoe and Lily.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner wrote with the big news that he was appointed as the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (The RAC), “which for 50 years has been the hub of Jewish social justice and legislative activity in Washington, D.C. The civil rights act of 1964 and voting rights act of 1965 were drafted in our conference room, as the RAC convenes coalitions across lines of race, class and faith to advocate for social change. My family and I are moving to DC!”

My former Foss 7 hallmate Carol Lynne Booth wrote that her son, Joshua, is now a freshman in college. He is attending UC, San Diego, and is majoring in computer science. “We spent MLK weekend with him and he did a great job showing us around campus. We are thrilled to have him in San Diego, since it is such a beautiful place to visit. We always stay close to campus at a hotel right on the beach, which is just gorgeous.” Carol’s daughter, Naomi (16), “is starting to drive and also acting in her high school musical, and daughter Maytal (13) is performing in the ballet Sleeping Beauty in the spring.” My big news is that I started a new job this past June. I am the program director of the Jewish Baby Network, a nonprofit that helps build Jewish community for families with new babies. It’s tons of fun working with the parents and getting to play with lots of babies.” Carol will be in Seattle this summer “visiting David’s family, since Josh will be working there. I would love to be able to make it to the Reunion, but it is, as always, over the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, so I’ll have to miss it. I hope everyone has a great time!”

Mark Hsieh sends greetings from Taipei, Taiwan, where his twin boys, Terry and Timothy, just started first grade last fall. They’re keeping him and wife Joanna “plenty busy but also many bedtime stories to share. I’m running and investing in a bunch of ventures from a fine chemical plant to curry restaurant. Don’t worry, we keep both quite separate from each other! Come visit!”

Nick Hardigg is living in Portland, Ore., with his wife Karen and “two kiddos, Ashe and Ellie, enjoying nonprofit advocacy and fundraising work for the city’s parks, especially the underserved. ‘Parke Diem’, everyone!”

Jeanne Kramer-Smyth writes with exciting news: Her second short story has been included in an anthology of science fiction short stories targeting middle grade readers. The 2015 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. Her first published short story, “In Her Arms,” can be found in Stepmothers and the Big Bad Wolf: Fairy Tale Villains Reimagined. Jeanne lives in Maryland with her husband, son, sister-in-law, and cat.

Nadine Angress is still living in the Boston area (“24 years and counting”) with her husband and 8-year-old son. She continues to work at Fidelity, most recently as a director of operations for Private Wealth Management. She gets together frequently for dinner with fellow swim team members Jennifer Zoltners Sherer ’91 and Michael Mahon ’89. She’s looking forward to seeing old friends at Reunion, as well as watching her nephew, Raphael Linden ’15, graduate the same weekend.

Paige Harding writes that since leaving Wes, she lived in Seattle for several years, earned an M.A. in film studies at the University of Iowa and then moved to L.A. to work at the American Film Institute. After many years at AFI, she joined with a colleague to form an independent production company called One Bird Mocking, of which she is the chief operating officer. One Bird Mocking is preparing to make its first film, a screwball comedy called The Threat of Sex. They are “using a production model inspired by Mark Twain (who pre-sold his books by subscription before they were actually published), in which we plan to finance the film shoot by pre-selling tickets to the finished movie.” Tickets start at $5.00 and can be purchased through the company website at onebirdmocking.com/tickets/. In addition to crowd funding, One Bird Mocking has also created a promotional Threat of Sex mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at iTunes or Google Play. The app celebrates famous women, and they hope users will find it both fun and educational.

Finally, Becky Lloyd DesRoches writes from Lexington, Mass., where she lives with husband David, and two children, Nick (14) and Dawson (8). Becky is a professor of psychology at Regis College, sings with the Lexington Pops chorus, and plays on a 40-and-up soccer team. “Sports, music, and academia—the more things change the more they stay the same. My 14-year-old just released his first full-length CD under the artist name NonRanDom. I’m biased but it’s outstanding original music. Can’t wait to see everyone at Reunion.” That’s all for now. See you in May!

Vanessa montag brosgol
vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com

Jeff Blumenthal started graduate school at San Francisco State University for geography with a concentration in natural resources management. Dan Shotz’s wife, Emily, gave birth to twins, Zelda and Zachary, on July 10, 2014, in Los Angeles. They join 4-year-old Lily. “Everyone is doing well, except for the part of us that likes to sleep. We have been fortunate to have many Wes friends come to visit the Zs, including Ted and Nora Grip Boretti who flew from Mass. with their girls soon after the arrival. Lindsay Grajewski Beros and her husband, Alex, welcomed their third child, Olivia Jane, in July. Divya Kumar has been doing postpartum support work in the Jamaica Plain area for the past few years and currently oversees prenatal and postpartum programs at a local agency that provides a wide range of programs for children and families. She facilitates support groups for new parents and works as a postpartum doula and lactation counselor in the JP area. Additionally, she created a pilot program to prevent postpartum depression and provide postpartum support for new moms and their families. The program received a second year of funding from the state to support staff in four community health centers across Massachusetts, including Divya’s local health center, Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center (where she also serves as a staff member). The center provides comprehensive perinatal support for all patients—screening new moms for postpartum depression and other perinatal emotional complications, offering information and education, and connecting families to resources both within the health center and in the community. By offering all of this within the health center, they are changing the way they care for new moms and families by reducing barriers to services and information and increasing access to necessary support and resources. Last December, Divya wrote a piece for MotherWoman’s Huffington Post blog about the importance of support groups for new moms. Here’s a link: huffingtonpost.com/motherwoman/it-takes-a-village-to-rai_b_4393052.html. And finally, Divya and husband Dan Koulomzin celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this past August! Their little ones are 7 and 5. In other health-related news, Ed Holzwarth founded a new company, Pattern Health Technologies, to build preventative health apps for individuals and software for healthcare professionals to better manage chronic health conditions, track important health metrics, and prevent serious health events. He continues to lead his other company, Little Green Software, which is a mobile app development firm. Aimee Dawson and husband Ewan welcomed a baby girl, Tessa Munro MacKenzie, in December. She enjoyed six camping trips around Québec this summer snuggled in the tent with her big sister, Fiona. Being north of the border, Aimee still basks in maternity leave, but will take up her dental drill again soon. Liz Shulman and her husband, Andrew Mastronarde, have also become expatriates. Liz joined the faculty of the psychology department at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. They are enjoying the Niagara region, which features friendly people, lots of wineries, and very few guns. Marianna Ellenberg will appear in the fall issue of Cahiers du Cinéma. She will be featured in the article “New York Girls” with an interview about her new film The Deflowering of Ariella Von. Liz Garcia and her husband welcomed a baby boy, August, this summer. He joins older brother Wilder. In June, Liz participated in the Shasha Seminar on the Road: Wesleyan Women in Hollywood. Not only did she get to share the panel with Jan Eliasberg ’74 and Jane Goldenring ’77, but she loved meeting recent graduates and catching up with Dan Shotz, Jim Gilbane, and Chris Chambers. Professor Jeanine Basinger put President Michael Roth ’78 on the spot and made him agree to a Wes women in directing seminar. Classic Jeanine and an all-around lovely experience. Seth Dellinger writes: “I have just become certified as a teacher of Awareness through Movement, the group learning format of the Feldenkrais Method. This method is a unique form of movement education that uses novel sequences of actions to stimulate the formation of new motor patterns in the brain, making it possible for the nervous system to reorganize itself. Because the brain controls the muscles, this work creates the possibility for students to release long-term habitual muscle contractions and discover flexibility, better posture and more lightness and ease in movement. It has been effective in improving the quality of life of patients with central nervous system disorders as well as raising the performance level of world-class athletes and musicians, and all manner of people in between these extremes. I am now teaching Awareness through Movement classes in Washington, DC. To learn more about my classes, check out my Facebook page (Seth Dellinger, Awareness through Movement) or my blog: movelikeachild.wordpress.com, or contact me directly at sethbdellinger@gmail.com. Thanks!” Kim Varner Wetzel welcomed her second child, Cecil, in April and a new job in August with a fast-growing Alaskan telecom company, GCI. Tim Higgins, a certified financial planner who lives near Boston, has written another book, Unconventional Investing, this time with co-author Michael Hajek. Kirkus Review calls it: “Wise, authoritative and carefully documented; should stimulate deep thought in those who are willing to break free of the conventional investing mode.” You can find the book and more info on Amazon as well as at unconventionalinvesting.com For Kevin, life as a family of five is not easy, by any stretch, but at least is beginning to seem normal. Despite an amazing admissions cycle with a 63 percent increase in applications, it was the summer of transitions for me. Not only did my dean announce that she will be stepping down at the end of November, but I also had to hire seven new staff members. Happily, one of my newest admissions counselors is Maurice “Mo” Hill Jr. ’14, so Wesleyan is slowly taking over the Kenyon admissions office. I will serve as the interim dean of admissions and financial aid come December while the search for a new dean is underway. Kevin and I enjoy hearing from you, so please continue to share your news with us! C. DARRYL UY | darryl.uy@gmail.com KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com