Class Notes | 1990s

We’ll start off Notes with not one, but two reports from campus:

Tibby Erda Mahler went to Homecoming 2013 and watched Wesleyan beat Williams and win the Little Three outright. A former student of hers plays on the team and Tibby’s son is a quarterback, so she has a whole new appreciation for football. “Campus looked awesome. We ventured down to the ‘new’ fieldhouse and watched volleyball, as my 12-year-old is a player and wanted to see a college game. Felt great to be back on campus. Hard to believe either of my kids could be there in five or six years. I’d be honored, as would my husband and my dad.”

Meanwhile, our very own Trustee, Dan Prieto, has been up to campus twice for board meetings. He’s been impressed by campus and the students. Dan serves on the University Relations Committee, focused on improving career resources for students and improving connectivity between students and alumni in their fields of interest. Dan asks, “If any folks from our class are willing to engage students to get them interested in particular career fields, let me know. We’re starting career-centered Facebook groups to bring alumni and students together. First one out of the gate is WesCareers Finance.”

Moving into the world of art and entertainment, Evie Manieri reports that the mass market paperback of her debut novel, Blood’s Pride, comes out from Tor Books in late January 2014.

Suki Stetson Hawley has been making films with her husband, Michael Galinsky, and partner David Beilinson, for 15 years under the company name Rumur. Together, they’ve made five documentary features and lots of shorts. Three recent efforts include: Battle for Brooklyn, shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2012. It’s the story of reluctant activist Daniel Goldstein as he struggles to save his home and community from being demolished to make way for a basketball arena and the densest real estate development in U.S. history. Along the way, he falls in love, gets married and starts a family while living in a vacated building in the heart of Brooklyn. Who Took Johnny premiers at Slamdance in January 2014, and examines the infamous case of Johnny Gosch, the first missing child to appear on a milk carton. Finally, they are launching a kickstarter campaign for Story of Pain, delving into the state of mind-body medicine in our culture and healthcare system.

Eva Pendleton has a new position as Manager of Integrative Health at NYU Clinical Cancer Center, responsible for developing and overseeing programs to help support patients during and after their cancer journey, including massage therapy, acupuncture, yoga and meditation.

Alisa Rosen is celebrating the first birthday of her daughter, Sophie Anna, in February.

Deborah Sue Mayer is concluding a nine-month deployment as a commander in the U.S. Navy assigned as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for Joint Task Force Guantanamo. By the time of publication, she will be back to her job as the director of investigations for the Committee on Ethics, U.S. House of Representatives, and her new house in Alexandria, Va.

Lindsey Cowell Parsons is now the program coordinator at the Center for Australian, New Zealand, and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University. Speaking of New Zealand, Kristin Elisabeth Sandvik Lush announces an open invitation to couch surf in Aotearoa.

Finally, a bit of news about me: After years in policy and politics, I needed a change. I took some time off and worked on a long-standing project, trying to figure out where in “Russia” my family originated. It became an obsessive, fascinating project ranging across multiple countries in Eastern Europe. Friends asked me to help them, then friends started paying me to help them, and easterneuropeanmutt.com was born. Never in a million years would I have predicted I would become a genealogist! I absolutely love learning the history of family migration, and finding the little stories that make each experience unique.

All the best to everyone—don’t forget to write!

Renée K. Carl
rcarl@wesleyan.edu

Greetings and salutations from Washington, D.C. It’s a beautiful late fall day here with white stuff on the ground, and cancellations and closings on the radio. Michele and I are focused on Nutcracker shows for Julia and piano recitals for Peter, as we pack for a trip to see family and go skiing.

Jeremy Hornik adopted a baby boy at birth, Adler Bishop Quirke Hornik, in September. Jeremy continues to live in Chicago, where he is designing slot machines and running Donna’s Good Things charity honoring the memory of his daughter, Donna, with the goal “to find hope, give back, get inspired. We want a movement, not a charity!”

Maurice Harris, member of the faculty of the Judaic Studies Department at the University of Oregon, recently celebrated the release of his second book, Leviticus: You Have No Idea (Cascade Books). His first book, Moses: A Stranger Among Us, came out in 2012. Maurice and his wife, Melissa Crabbe, are raising two adoptive children, Clarice and Hunter Harris, in Eugene, Ore., where they get to hang out with Randall Phelps, who lived with Maurice in The Bayit: Randy has put away his rubber chicken antics for a career in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Oregon Health and Science University.

James Wilton lives in the Charlotte, N.C., area where he is in his seventh year as executive director of RCS Corporation. RCS is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is expanding into new business lines around oil/gas, solar and other energy verticals. Give James a ring to connect if you are in the energy business or want to know what it is like to be the father of a teenage boy.

Lastly, I heard from Oliver Ryan, well known bachelor/magazine reader/plant care-giver and therapist, on his way to Louisville, Ky., where he was planning to meet with Juliet Cooper Gray and her husband, Mathias. Oliver and Mathias are working together to launch Count It, a new kind of workplace wellness app. Jonathan Bush is on the board of Count It, as is Larry Sosnow, Meg Sosnow’s father. Back at home in NYC, Oliver shares a desk with Dave Kane, who himself is up to his neck in a cool startup, Village Power, founded by Ty Jagerson. If all goes well, this update will be spotted by one of the members of the Wes Mafia who are running the venture capital scene in New York these days!

ADAM BERINSKY and PAUL COVIELLO
berinsky@mit.edu
coviellop01@alum.darden.edu

Hi, everyone! We have some exciting updates—weddings, babies, mini-Wes reunions, marathons, and new businesses. If you haven’t sent an update in years, please send us an e-mail. It’s always fun hearing from a fellow Cardinal. And now, without further ado, here is the news from our neck of the woods.

Joshua Buswell has been living in France since 1995. Now a husband and father, he is hoping to soon become a French national. Joshua is a certified and experienced guide for visitors in Paris and throughout France.

Therése Heliczer Casper writes, “I’m getting ready to go on an exciting trip to South Africa with my family. We have the opportunity thanks to my husband, Corey Casper ’92, who is traveling there for a medical conference. We will be spending Thanksgiving on safari (instead of with Andy Thompson ’92, Jill Fuss ’94, and Matthew Glozter ’92, which has been our family tradition). While we will miss our Wes buds, it will be quite a different experience from eating turkey.”

Jon Chesto sent an update: “This fall, a troika of distance runners from the Class of ’93 made strong showings at various East Coast marathons. Matt Schneider returned to the marathon after a decade away and recovering from knee surgery to quell the doubters by running 3:50 at the Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in Albany, N.Y. He was joined by Anne Noel Occhialino ’94 and her husband, Jon Gannon, who were running together to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Arthur Magni qualified for the 2014 Boston Marathon with his second fastest marathon time, missing his personal best of 3:02 by two minutes at the Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Marathon in Washington. And Jon Chesto ran the Cape Cod Marathon in scenic Falmouth, Mass. His time of 2:41 was good enough to place third overall.”

Jessica Slade D’Arcy and Paul D’Arcy are still stirring up trouble in Austin, Texas. They have three kids in elementary school, including Maya (11), who at 5’7” is believed to be the tallest elementary school student in Texas by numerous experts. When not measuring their children, Paul runs marketing for job search engine indeed.com, and Jessica works closely with charter schools in her role leading a foundation. They were excited to be visited by Carl Byers and Suzi Byers ’94 on their recent swing through Austin.

Kim Frederick e-mails: “On May 23, 2013, my husband, Vincent Webb and I welcomed Theodore Ellis Frederick Webb (5 lb., 6.5 oz.) into our family. Big sister Zora (5) and big brother Isaac (2.5) were thrilled.

Kate Lewis Kenedi is a volcanologist living in Auckland, New Zealand, with husband Chris Kenedi and son Peter. “I am a researcher, currently studying volcanoes in Saudi Arabia, where I have been several times for collaborative work with a university there. The volcanic field near the city of Madinah is potentially active, so we are doing a volcanic hazard analysis to help figure out how much of a threat it is. My son and I do karate together, and I also am an ocean swimmer with a local group. I am working up to the swim from Auckland to the volcano in the harbour—4.5 kilometers! Chris is a neuropsychiatrist and internist at Auckland City Hospital, where he does clinical work and also research.

Ghassan Medawar got married last year, and is living in Dubai. He writes, “I have an advisory business working in partnership with businesses operating in the Middle East or seeking to enter the Middle East markets: fullcircleinvest.com . I’d love to hear from Wes alums in the Middle East.”

Tim Olevsky spent Veterans’ Day weekend in Montgomery, Ala., at the marriage of John Pollock ’94 and Katie Rose. Also in attendance were Rob Mangels ’92, Jennie Van Cleef ’92, Leah Bartell ’95, and numerous other Wes alums. Tim is enjoying life as a band teacher, and the chorus that he sings with will be touring with the Boston Pops during the holiday season.

Casey O’Neill and his wife, Michele, are busy filming season two of their acclaimed childrens’ webtv series Kidsploration (Kidsploration.org) and are excited their 6-year-old son, AJ, has been able to contribute his talents to webisodes!

Karen Powell just opened Triple Divide Spirits, a distillery and tasting room in Helena, Mont. “We’re currently producing vodka, and will be rolling out other products next year. We welcome any Wes alums to stop by when they are visiting! See photos at tripledividespirits.com.”

Maura Solomon married Greg Woosley on Sept. 1, 2013, in Arlington, Va. Her sister, Erin Solomon Gaffen ’97, was the matron of honor, and Lynne O’Connell Murphy was among the bridesmaids. Lots of Class of ’93 alums celebrated the event, including Jen Roff, Julie Han, Joe McLaughlin, Lori Vaughan, Jessica Aronoff, Adam Wolfe, Andy McGrath, and Brad Schiff. Maura is a managing director in the federal government affairs office of Citi in Washington, D.C.

Antonia Townsend writes: “I moved to San Francisco a couple of years ago. I see David Derryck and Erica Terry Derryck ’95, as well as Chris Mulhauser ’92 quite a bit. I’ve recently launched my own business, Enclosed (TheEnclosed.com), a luxury knicker-of-the-month club. I also caught up with Georgia Winston and a few other Wes folks at Lucius Outlaw’s wedding earlier in the year.”

Suzanna Henshon and Sarah Estow
suzAnnahenshon@yahoo.com
sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Danielle Pelletier Fiery: “I am still teaching math at my old high school, Pinkerton Academy, in Derry, N.H. I finally started a master’s program, at Plymouth State University, in neurodevelopmental teaching. I love it! I was back in Middletown several times last summer, taking a GLSP class in adolescent psychology. It didn’t take many trips for me to realize that it’s just too far away (three hours each trip) to take more graduate classes there.”

John Pollock writes, “I got married to Katie Rose in November in Alabama, where I’ve lived for the past seven years. I’m now the coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, which I do through my staff attorney position at the Public Justice Center. In 1991, a group of Wesleyan students with a love of baseball gathered in a Lo-Rise unit to create the Jim Vatcher Fantasy Baseball Memorial League. In 2013, we had our 23rd fantasy baseball draft (23. Just let that sink in), and amazingly, we’re still going with a lot of the original or near-original members: Rob Harper-Mangels ’92, Rich Dansky ’92, Steve Karon ’92, Aaron Siskind ’93, and Chris Joyal ’95. My former Wesleyan roommate, Elizabeth Ehrlich, continues to crank out amazing recipes on her blog, feedemright.tumblr.com.”

Larry Sidney: “This past summer I moved out to Lake Tahoe to work with the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition. We are working on bringing a future Winter Olympic Games to the region. I also just started an executive MBA program at UC, Berkeley.”

Tania Lisa Llambelis has been on sabbatical from her full-time teaching job with Oakland Unified School District in California. While she has been away from the classroom, Ms. Llambelis has traveled solo to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Tania writes, “Patty Pion spent spring break with me in Rio de Janeiro; together we explored beaches, museums, and restaurants!”

Aram Sinnreich’s book, The Piracy Crusade: How the Music Industry’s War on Sharing Destroys Markets and Erodes Civil Liberties, was just released.

Jesse Hendrich writes, “I have left Bellevue inpatient psych and expanded my psychotherapy practice, which is growing steadily and feels great. As for Wes relations, I see Mark Ladov and Nicole Davis, since they both live in my neighborhood and our kids play together.”

Jeffrey Kwan: “I’m living in the S.F. Bay Area, in the town of Atherton, and working as a gastroenterologist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. My three boys (ages 7, 4, and 1) keep me and my wife super busy and active.”

Maggie Nelson just finished a year as the Moseley Fellow in Creative Writing at Pomona. She also received a 2013 Innovative Literature Award from Creative Capital for her book in progress; her most recent book, The Art of Cruelty, went into paperback in 2012 and was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. She lives in LA, where she has taught writing, art, literature, and theory at CalArts since 2005.

Sigrid Schmalzer writes, “Ferdinand’s baby brother, Winston Anarres Close, was born safely at home on May 28, 2013. The first and last parts of his name come from his dad, Winston William Close, and Anarres honors the anarchist-utopian society in Ursula Le Guin’s novel, The Dispossessed.”

Max Belkin shares this update: “I continue to practice psychotherapy in Manhattan and teach graduate courses at NYU. I recently completed psychoanalytic training at the William Alanson White Institute. Please check out my recent post for Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Action/Psychology Today: tinyurl.com/a2okq8y.”

Dan Brown writes, “My second book, Designing Together, was published in June 2013. The book expands on a game I created to help designers practice dealing with conflict. My Web design company is in its seventh year, and serves clients such as Marriott International, Yahoo!, and Cisco, among others. I’ve been lunching occasionally with David Belman ’90, who also owns a design firm in the D.C. area. Sarah and I have two kids: Harry, 8, and Everett, 2.”

Karen Gaffney writes, “I am an associate professor of English at Raritan Valley Community College in central New Jersey, where I currently serve as chair of the English Department. I teach composition, race and pop culture, and gender studies. Wesleyan sparked my interest in social justice, and I’ve been continuing that work ever since, both at the college and in the community. I’m also writing a book about how the stereotypes of ‘rednecks,’ ‘Asian overachievers,’ and ‘illegals’ serve the status quo by dividing and conquering us. I’m looking forward to next year’s Reunion!”

Aaron Passell: “My wife and I now have two boys, 8-1/2, and 8 months. We’ve been living in Philadelphia for the last few years and have been visited here by Seth Levin, Jesse Hendrich, and Scott Rosenberg. I’m teaching sociology at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. (and yes the geography is complicated). The chance to teach at a small, liberal arts college brings home exactly how much I got out of my time at Wes.”

David Drogin is an associate professor and chairperson of the History of Art Department at the State University of New York, F.I.T. He recently contributed a chapter, “The Bentivoglio: Art, Patronage, and Emulation in Fifteenth-Century Bologna” to the volume Bologna: Cultural Crossroads from the Medieval to the Baroque. His continuing work in Italian Renaissance art includes the forthcoming publications: Dialogue of the Doges: Monumental Ducal Tombs in Renaissance Venice, and The Mirror’s Illicit Secret.

Tracy Ferguson Pepperman: “Mike and I just welcomed our fourth boy, Gavin, who joins brothers Michael, Zachary, and Luke. The house is now full, fun, and chaotic! I’m still toiling away as a federal attorney, currently tasked with trying to save the U.S. Postal Service. I have bumped into Wes alumna and former U.S. Attorney’s Office colleague June Jeffries ’75, live around the corner from William ’91 and Katherine Wingfield Barry ’91, had play dates with Alison Bidwell Pearce, and spend a lot of time hanging out with my favorite Wes roommate, Wendy Weber, who is a doctor at the National Institutes of Health. Can’t wait for Reunion!”

Please mark your calendar for our Reunion and Commencement Weekend: May 22–25, 2014.

Jiyoung Lim Gilbreth and Ilana Wind Newell
94notes@gmail.com

Joanna Greenwald is managing partner at Greenwald Law Offices in New York: “We are a general practice with a family law center building only dedicated to divorce and family law needs. It is the only one in New York. Also we can be seen at greenwaldlaw.com, where criminal, personal injury, commercial, and litigation are handled, covering all boroughs of New York and the Hudson Valley.”

Beth Shilepsky Price states: “Things are still going great for us outside of Charleston, S.C. I am a family medicine doctor in a rural area and our kids are now 9, 7, and 4. I recently spoke to Drea Beale, who is keeping busy with her husband and two young daughters in California. She is still teaching and recently ran a marathon. Kristin Dunn ’96 is also in California, living the dream with her husband and young daughter. She continues to do amazing work bookbinding (thank you for the recent book I bought from you!). On a trip to Boston this summer I had the chance to catch up with Camille Mendoza, who is living with her significant other, Paul, in Medford and still loving her job at the Museum of Fine Arts as a graphic designer.”

From the journal of Spencer Douglas: “I thought I’d reach out and let you know that I’ve been in L.A. for about five years now and was just promoted in June to manager, integrated marketing, at Warner Bros., working on feature film marketing. I get to work with filmmakers on all of our tentpole titles and with all different divisions of the company (DC, Home Video, Consumer Products, Videogames, Promotions, Online, etc.), helping them with their various programs. It’s interesting, to say the least!”

Adam French states: “The big news over here is a second kiddo—Ty Carl French. Born on October 16th. The fun continues.

From Douglas Sabo: “I had a nice Wesleyan showing at my recent wedding to Christopher Nichols (Stanford) in Calistoga, Calif. My wedding party included David Smith ’92 and Josh Gilbert, who of course was joined by his wife, Carey Bartell. Also great to have Marcus Chung ’98 there as well. Meanwhile, Chris, Chloe (our 2-year-old) and I can’t wait to share more news in the near future. I’ve recently become vice president and head of global corporate philanthropy and responsibility at Visa Inc.”

Ethan de Seife here: “My wife, Laura, and I, after five years in Brooklyn, quit our jobs and headed north. We now live in Burlington, Vt., where it’s beautiful, quiet, and pleasant. We are contemplating buying little booties for our dog, Dutch, so he can romp in the snow without fweezing his widdle doggie feets. Laura is a speech-language pathologist at a local nursing home, and I’m now an arts writer for Seven Days, Burlington’s ‘alternative weekly’ newspaper.”

Jason Segal and Laura Boucai-Segal welcomed their first baby, Julia Daphne Segal, on Nov. 6^, (7 lbs., 4 oz.). “She has a fondness for crying, guzzling milk and occasionally sleeping, and has already indicated her strong interest to be part of the Wesleyan class of ’34.”

Leigh Copperman Burchell reported a very busy 2013. She loves her job as VP of policy and government affairs for a large health information technology company, and she and her husband, Chris Burchell ’96, moved twice within Raleigh, N.C., to find just the right house in a great neighborhood close to downtown. They are raising their three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and on top of all that, Leigh went through a breast cancer battle this year (that, thankfully, ended with an excellent prognosis) and is now in the rear-view mirror. She wanted to remind everyone to be diligent about preventive care, though—we’re not getting any younger, and it can happen to us!

Some news from DC: Marc Schleifer calls 2013 “an eventful year.” He says, “I got the official, six-years-of-clean-scans, all-clear, we’ll finally say the word ‘remission’ stamp of approval from my doctor early in the year. Then in April, my wife Amber and I wed in Brooklyn (there were some Wes folks in attendance). Then in September we were finally able to start living in the same city, bidding goodbye to our previous NYC-DC weekend commuting life, when she moved from the New York Federal Reserve to a position with the Fed Board of Governors down here. My own career took a fortunate turn, as I became regional director for Eurasia and South Asia at the Center for International Private Enterprise, an economic and political development nonprofit. Meanwhile my wonderful son turned 8 in November, and now my 10-year grad school reunion is looming in April 2014 (with our Wes 20-year not too far in the future)!”

Kimberly Sicard got married in Las Vegas on Oct. 13, 2013: “My fellow ’95ers Joanna Unze Braden and Alexis Williams Coatney attended the wedding.”

Lara Tupper writes: “I’m enjoying my new adventures in freelance land (writing, singing and teaching) and about to begin a post-graduate semester in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. (Time to take my next book to task.) I was pleased to reunite with Chelsea Farley and Laura Pinsof and families in Hudson, N.Y., for late summer ice cream and talk.”

Rob Armstrong gives “The Big News from the Armstrong family”—they are moving to London in 2014, where Rob will be running the Financial Times’ “Lex” column. “We will be living in Balham, south of the river,” he says, adding, “Would love to see any Wes types who are passing through.”

DWAYNE BUSBY
dwaynedbusby@yahoo.com

Let’s start with news from Julia Morrison, who wrote in for the first time! She produced, wrote, and edited her first narrative feature film, the indie romance Hank and Asha, which won the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival and will be released in spring 2014. Watch the trailer at www.hankandasha.com and follow at facebook.com/hankandasha.

Sally Lee lives with her husband and two sons, Zach (4) and Marcus (2), on the Lower East Side. Her organization, Teachers Unite, just produced a documentary, Growing Fairness, about how schools are stopping the school-to-prison pipeline with restorative justice. Check it out at teachersunite.net.

Kirsten Greenidge’s play Luck of the Irish was at the Huntington in 2012 and Lincoln Center Theater in 2013. It won an Independent Reviewers of New England Award in May. Kirsten also received a PEN/America Laura Pels Award for midcareer playwright and a New England Theater Conference Special Award. She was happy to exchange a big hug with Lauren Elmore at a post-show discussion of Kirsten’s play Splendor in Boston, in the same afternoon that Kirsten got to see the closing performance of Ginger Lazarus ’96’s production of her play Burning, also in Boston.

Chung Ma moved from NYC to Virginia when he accepted a new role at the Virginia Retirement System in Richmond, managing an emerging markets equity and currency portfolio. The entire family (Emily, Zoe, and Desmond) moved in mid-August. He writes, “It’s a big change from NY, as we’re living in a place that is three times the size at the same price. We’re going to miss our friends in NYC, but we hope to come up and visit regularly.”

Jimmy Liao is in his fifth year as a professor of biology at the Whitney Lab for Marine Biosciences at the University of Florida. He just received his second grant and tells us that he is also “fishing bass tournaments at the semi-pro level and surfing badly.”

Kelly Bird Pierre is director of enrollment and admissions, K–12, at The Hewitt School in NYC. Children Oona, 11, and Jacques, 8, attend public school in New Jersey, where the family lives.

Emma Jacobson-Sive is still in Los Angeles, sometimes acting and often doing PR for a local museum. She regularly sees Ariel Levy (godmother to her daughter, Charlotte Eve Lapin, named after Eve Crowell), as well as Rebecca Cutter, Mike Stabile, and Kenny Barnett ’94.

Justin Navarro writes, “I recently became a homeowner in Cheshire, Conn., a mere half hour from ol’ Wes! After moving back to Connecticut with the husband for his residency training at Yale back in 2007, we decided to settle down here. Not coincidentally, I’m working for the Yale School of Medicine doing Web project management. Speaking of resettling, I accompanied John Favretto on a cross-country drive from Washington, D.C., to Santa Fe, N.M., where he has now lived for almost a year. Last but not least, I was thrilled to attend Chris Shepard’s wedding to Christopher Norwood this month.”

Ashraf Charania has been with Virgin Galactic for over a year now, as their business development manager, based in Washington, D.C.

Elura Nanos Kish’s reality-TV series, Staten Island Law, completed its first season on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Elura has also been making weekly TV appearances as a legal analyst for Fox News, HLN, Sirius Radio, Current TV, and HuffPostLive—where she aims to bring that Wes-brand of common sense to legal news. Elura still lives in South Jersey with her husband and two kids. She also serves on the board of several charitable organizations and plays piccolo in the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey.

Maria Lourdes Chen Quinn now lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Chris Quinn, and their four children (a son and three daughters). Her youngest child was born in August.

Merry Weaver reports that her son, Adam, was born on Aug. 20, joining his sister, Danica (who turned two in October).

Sarah Wildman writes: “Ian Halpern and I welcomed a baby girl in mid-June (Hana Dorothy Wildman Halpern—named in honor of Ian’s grandfather Harry and my grandmother Dorothy), joining big sister Orli. We’re very conscious of our grandparents’ generation, it seems. I am working on a book for Riverhead/Penguin press on the lover my grandfather left behind when he fled Vienna (tentatively due out in fall 2014).”

Congrats to all on the exciting news! Keep the updates coming.

DARA FEDERMAN and DACQUE TIRADO
darasf@yahoo.com
dacquetirado@yahoo.com

2013 was quite a full year for so many. A few of our classmates were kind enough to keep us posted.

Maria Mirabal Hipps wrote: “I supported my bestie, Nicole Rodriguez Leach, in her New York Marathon run. Dolores Concepcion ’98 was also on hand to encourage our girl Nic as she accomplished this amazing milestone. Thanks to Facebook and Instagram, I am also able to reconnect with many Wes alums, such as Vanessa Rodriguez ’99, Lucria Ortiz, Semeka Smith, Angela Yee, Santi White, Maria Santana Guadalupe ’98 (recent Wesleyan cover girl), Benny Vasquez, and so many more. Love social media. I often marvel at the transformative and inspiring careers we have all pursued, fields in entertainment, finance, education, law, etc. As for me, I continue to practice law and recently celebrated my seventh year at IMS Health Incorporated, where I serve as the senior counsel overseeing contracting matters for the Latin America business unit. I’ve settled in South Jersey (for the time being), married with three healthy, inquisitive, and athletic children ages 10, 8, and 6. I’m still hoping to one day pursue my ‘dream deferred’ of directing and producing documentary films. Fortunately, I know there are several amazing Wes alums in the TV/film industry who I’m certain will do their best to welcome me with open arms. That’s the beauty of the Wesleyan network.”

Robin McLellan Woodworth wrote in after she attended Homecoming: “Tailgates with Kira Markiewicz Fabrizio and husband Dan Fabrizio ’96. Ran into Alex Barth and Sarah Brodsky Barth and a host of other football and BETA folks on campus. Wesleyan beat Williams for first time in about 43 years I think, and so it was very exciting! Looking forward to taking the kids with me to Arizona in March with my husband Mark’s Wesleyan baseball team and then a road trip with team to Southern California. Makaela Steinberg Kingsley ’98 and I took our four kids to Wes Wings, which was nostalgic, yummy, and so much fun! I am traveling quite a bit for work at Nuance, but the kids are healthy and happy, and Mark and I are great.”

Cheryl Goldman Governale (@cheryl_1999) has been living abroad for 10 years now—two in Milan and eight in London, where she is now. We stay connected via Facebook and Cheryl shared, “We welcomed our son, Luca, into the world on Aug. 26. Big sister Sophia is very happy to have someone to boss around! I’m in the midst of a career change, having left finance to train as a photographer.”

It’s wonderful to hear news about our classmates and their latest additions. Osvaldo Pena, wife Jocelyn, and their son, Miles, welcomed baby Mila to their family in November. Romi McVey, husband Hari and their daughter Leela welcomed Sonia Adena Ganapathy on Jan, 21, 2014. And Roxanne Williams Armstrong ’98, husband Kenneth and daughter Kamila also welcomed a new addition to their family: Karissa Hyacinth Armstrong was born Dec. 21, 2013. Lots of sibling love going around.

My old In-Town 22 roommate Steven Tejada and wife Anna welcomed their first born, Yameli Elena Tejada, on Dec. 30, 2013. Tejada continues to travel the world with his one-man-show performance pieces and I witness his excitement on Facebook. Our other In-Town roomy Kevin Strait and his wife Ty are basking in the glory of their twins, James and Langston, who will turn one year in March.

Wes’ Precision creator Abdul Rasheed celebrated in his final concert Rockefeller Brothers Fellow and Lincoln Center Institute Artist-In-Residence fellowship performance There Are No Tangents Part III.

And me, I celebrated Lucria Ortiz’s birthday with sommelier Oz Pena. Awesome experience: wine tasting and learning with friends. I’m still enjoying my family life/work balance. My husband, Rod, and I love watching our son, Cooper, grow like a sprout. Cannot believe he’ll be 3 in July. We’ve bumped into a few Wes friends this season including Marvin Bowser, Angela Tucker ’96, and Taisha Thompson ’95. This spring I enter the master’s in integrated marketing program at New York University. Nothing compares to Wes, however. Working in media at Viacom/BET Networks for the past few years, I’m truly excited to re-enter the world of academia in pursuit of higher education and executing the balancing act at a new level.

In 2014, I’m looking forward to hearing from all of my 1997 classmates. Until we meet again, e-mail or tweet me @BGunlimited.

Kimberly Cooper King
Kimberly.king715@gmail.com

Hello, Class of 1998! I’m writing this installment of Class Notes on a cross-country plane back home to San Francisco. I spent today back at Wes during Homecoming & Family Weekend, so I feel the Wesleyan spirit pretty acutely right now! For this California native, it was as special seeing the fall foliage as I drove to Middletown from New York as it was to simply be on campus again. It’s been well over a decade since I was at Wes in the autumn and it was fun to be back during a time where the promise and excitement of the new academic year is so palpable.

I made the trip to campus for an advisory board meeting of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Makaela Kingsley, the Center’s new director, is doing an excellent job leading the organization and it feels like we have so much potential to make this Center a hallmark of the Wesleyan experience. To me, it simply makes sense to harness the spirit of social and civic engagement so prevalent in all Wesleyan students and channel it to make a real impact through new models in the for-profit and non-profit sectors.

Anthony Veneziale, his partner Caricia Catalani, and daughter Jettaya returned to New York after working on a tuberculosis project with Indiana University in Kenya and Rwanda. He spends time in New York City with Thomas Kail ’99, Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, and Bill Sherman ’02 for their improv rap show, Freestyle Love Supreme. Anthony occasionally sees Abe Forman-Greenwald in Los Angeles and looks forward to catching Giants games in San Francisco when Tom Kawano comes to town.

Another of our class making her impact on the world is Lauren Berliner, who finished a PhD in communication at UC, San Diego. Her dissertation about media pedagogy was based on work facilitating a film program for queer youth. After completing her PhD, Lauren and her partner, Minda Martin, moved to Seattle, where she is now assistant professor in interdisciplinary arts and sciences at the University of Washington, Bothell.

David Edelstein is “living the good life in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, while telecommuting to Japan to help support a global network for peace.” David’s two sons keep him and his wife quite busy and very happy.

Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Daniel Gilbert has just published a new book, Expanding the Strike Zone: Baseball in the Age of Free Agency.

My co-class secretary, Jason Becton, has some exciting news to share. He and his husband, Patrick Evans, finalized the adoption for their second daughter, Elizabeth Elaine, in September. She joins 2-year-old Marian, who is thrilled to have a little sister to complete the Becton-Evans family.

Adam Hinds moved back to New York after two years in Jerusalem with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Before Jerusalem, Adam spent two years in Iraq as team leader of a UN-led negotiation on disputed internal boundaries in northern Iraq. In New York he is switching gears and taking on a “very easy” assignment: the Syria crisis.

Peter Isbister lives in Decatur, Ga., with his wife, Robyn Painter, and their 3-1/2-year-old daughter, Mira. They regularly see Rachel Wellborn, as well as David Lubell and his family, who also live in Decatur.

As for me, in addition to my new role supporting Makaela at the Patricelli Center and waxing nostalgic about Wesleyan in the fall in these notes and on Twitter, I’ve been bouncing back and forth between San Francisco (home), Asia, and New Jersey, in my role as vice president of social responsibility for The Children’s Place. I’m excited for my next visit to New Jersey so I can visit with Neil Seth and his wife, Sylvie, who just moved to Hoboken.

MARCUS CHUNG and Jason Becton
marcuschung98@gmail.com
jcxbecton@yahoo.com

Darryl writes: Dr. Katherine Goldberg’s Ithaca-based veterinary practice officially became Whole Animal Veterinary Geriatrics & Hospice Services, PLLC., in late August. The new name more accurately reflects the unique focus of the practice and emphasizes the specialized care that it provides. Katherine’s practice is the only one in the region, and one of very few in the world devoted exclusively to geriatric support, hospice, and palliative care for pets. Wesleyan’s Science in Society Program definitely provided an excellent foundation for development of unique perspectives on bioethics and healthcare systems in general, which contributed to Katherine’s unique career path within the veterinary profession.

Jake Fleisher lives in L.A., working as a comedy writer. His latest project is a Web-series funded by Yahoo called Tiny Commando. He co-created it and wrote all 12 episodes. This action/comedy stars Ed Helms (The Hangover, The Office), Zack Levi (Chuck), and Gillian Jacobs (Community). To watch this family friendly and safe-for-work series, go to screen.yahoo.com/tiny-commando.

Ursula Ogno Sfraga continues to manage a software development and consulting firm in Juneau, Alaska. She and her husband, Philip, adopted their 3-year-old foster son on May 3, 2013. Joshua joins older brother Aiden, age 7.

Daniel Gibson was promoted from counsel to partner at Cantor Colburn. Co-chair of the design patent practice group at Cantor Colburn, he is experienced in both domestic and foreign preparation and prosecution of patent applications in a variety of mechanical, electrical, and design fields.

Shirley Fan saw Naoko Tsunoda in NYC this fall. Naoko lives in Atlanta, Ga., and works for the tea company Teavana, developing lines of teas for the brand. As for Shirley, she moved back to NYC with her husband and son after spending five years in Chicago. She just published her first cookbook (May 2013) called The Flying Brownie (http://amzn.to/17rYhsl). It’s about putting together the perfect care package for your loved ones, and was inspired by her time at Wes!

On July 20, 2013, John Raby married Louisa Schroeder in Falmouth, Maine. Andrew Hopewell, Ben Cohen-Leadholm, Mike Stevens, and I were all groomsmen and Esther Perreault Roy ’00 was also in attendance. John is the head of the history department at Thornton Academy and was promoted to captain of the Saco Fire Department. Andrew works on the comprehensive plan for Spotsylvania County, Va., which is among the country’s fastest growing localities. His wife, Lindsey Poulin Hopewell, who is working on her doctorate from George Mason University in Public Policy, was not able to attend the wedding, since she was home taking care of their two kids, Anderson and Aibreann. Ben is a consultant for Denneen & Company and lives in Brookline, Mass., with his wife, Jamie, and two kids, Addison and Jackson. Mike continues to pursue his passion for music as the musical director for PhillyBloco, a high energy group that performs Brazilian samba, funk, and reggae. He lives in Philadelphia with wife Sara Janiki Stevens ’98 and son Oscar. Esther married her high school sweetheart, Chris Roy, and they live in Nashua, N.H., where she works as a naturopathic doctor and natural health educator. Even though John never did his Caddyshack gopher dance impression, we all had a great time at his wedding!

As for Kevin, he and his wife, Keara, are just trying to keep their eyes open! Two moves and two additional kids have kept them very busy. They are now settled in Glen Rock, N.J., and Kevin is enjoying life in the ’burbs and commuting into SoHo.

Don’t forget, 2014 marks our class Reunion of 15 years! So save the dates: May 22–25, 2014! Hope to see many of you back on campus!

C. DARRYL UY and KEVIN KUMLER
darryl.uy@gmail.com
kevinkumler@gmail.com