Class Notes | 1990s

Gloria (Weber) Plaks kicks us off with great energy: “Hi Wes fam. I like to think of you to lift my mood during these crazy times . . . Nicole, Nana, Janine, Novi, Kinshasa, Kandi, Jaime, Freddy, Jason, Mel, Carole, Ale, Caliente Peeps & La Casa Crew (sorry I can’t list you all, I would be here all day). . . . The memories of our times at Wes together still make me smile today.  My hubby and I are holding down the fort with four kids in a pandemic school year.  We are both still school teachers . . .  me in high school with big kids and him in elementary school with 3- to 7-year-olds. . . .  Through all (the pandemic madness), we are happy that we are there for the students. Then we come home to four kids, ranging from 2 years old to 15 years old, and a new lovely madness begins . . . dinner, homework, playtime, dishes, organizing, showtime, and maybe a little yelling (but VERY LITTLE).  I couldn’t do it without the support of my husband, Eric Plaks, who always steps up without me needing to say a word and my mother who we call on CONSTANTLY to pick up sick kids from school, to give us date nights, to drive kids to doctor appointments.  I am blessed, happy, and my heart is full.  Hope you are all doing well.  If you are out there struggling, I wish you strength.  Take care!”

Movin’ on up: In Biz Journal, Bozoma Saint John shared the story of her career path that led her to being the chief marketing officer of Netflix. Saint John “reconsidered her medical-career goal after being inspired by an African American Studies class during her freshman year at Wesleyan.” Kate Whitman Annis was appointed as the executive director of the NJ Devils Youth Foundation. More on that move here. Zack Becker was recently promoted to the rank of commander with the Houston Police Department, taking charge of their Midwest patrol division. “I’ve been with HPD for over 21 years now—time has absolutely flown by.”

Adam Birnbaum and wife Alem bought a 117-year-old house in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, where they live with daughter Sonya, who’s going to be two in May. “We’re in the middle of renovations, which we hope will be done before Sonya reaches retirement age.”

Sahra Halpern and Dan Engler are marking 12 years in Oakland, California, where they live with kids Hanna (12), Adam (almost 10), a poodle named Pepper, and two cats. “After 15 years at Schwab, I left in the early days of the pandemic for a large community development financial institution (CDFI), a nonprofit lender that provides financing for affordable housing and small businesses in underserved communities. Dan continues to grow his practice at Cox, Castle & Nicholson, providing legal services in real estate. We are looking forward to resuming travel this year, with trips to Montana and Maine and hoping to cross international boundaries as soon as possible!”

The world seems to be bringing Wes alums together of late. From Eve Fox: “The smallness of the world was confirmed again for me when former class of ’99er, Megan Wolff, joined the staff of Beyond Plastics, the nonprofit led by former U.S. EPA regional administrator Judith Enck, where I’ve been the digital director for the past few years. Megan’s our new policy director and it’s been great to reconnect with her.”

Alison MacAdam left NPR several years ago and is working as a freelance story editor for documentary podcasts and radio. Some recent projects include 544 Days and a series for NPR’s Embedded. “I also have the pleasure of working with Eve Abrams ’93 on an upcoming podcast series called Hot Farm (it’s not porn, I swear) from the Food and Environment Reporting Network. Still living in DC and enjoying time with Wes friends, old and new.”

This “small world” trend hit your class secretaries, too. Darryl sends greetings from cold Maine, where he shared that Bates just hired Matthew Coyne ’12 as their new head football coach.  “Another Cardinal becomes a Bobcat!” I (Kevin) had a similar experience at my last company, where we hired the supremely talented Jiun Kimm ’10 as our head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I’ve been fortunate to have a couple of run-ins with other classmates too. In late December I joined a group of graduate school classmates for dinner, which included Mark Zubko and his wife Alex Charters Zubko. My most random run-in was Marnie (Randall) Craycroft, who spent time on the same tiny island in Maine that we did last summer. It’s a small world, but Wesleyan is all over it!

Amy Davenport is still in Carrboro, North Carolina, where she lives with her spouse and their three children (6, 6, and 8). She’s entering her seventh year as a nurse-midwife at UNC Chapel Hill. She recently stepped down from her role as postpartum medical director, because, well, “pandemic and that whole work-life balance thing.” She plans to spend that extra time reading, knitting, baking, and riding her Peloton.

Kate Wetherhead still lives in New York, splitting her time between NYC and Putnam Valley with her husband Jeff Croiter (who, coincidentally, was the lighting designer of Broadway’s Freestyle Love Supreme, co-conceived by and starring Wes alum Anthony Veneziale!) This summer, Kate will be in Chicago, Illinois, premiering the Broadway-bound musical The Devil Wears Prada as part of the writing team, along with Sir Elton John and Shaina Taub. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, Prada begins performances at the Nederlander Theater July 21, 2022. If you’re in Chicago this summer, come check it out!

Peter Isbister lives in Decatur, Georgia, with his wife Robyn Painter and their three kids, Mira (12), Eliot (8), and Ezra (8). He is an attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center in the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, representing immigrants detained in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is still in touch with his good friend David Lubell, who now lives with his family in Berlin, Germany, after spending a few years also in Decatur, Georgia, and with Rachel Wellborn who has long lived in Atlanta.

Sara Brenneis and her family were in Madrid in the spring of 2020, just hitting their stride during a year-long sabbatical when . . .  well, we all know how that worked out. After Spain’s strict six-week lockdown when their two young boys were not allowed outside, they were grateful to return to the wide-open expanses of Northampton, Massachusetts. Sara has her hands full as professor and chair of the Spanish Department at Amherst College and full-time childcare juggler. She caught up with a very bearded Nick Coleman on a recent trip to Wisconsin and has enjoyed some Zoom happy hours with Margaret (Solle) Salazar and Rebecca Alson-Milkman. Sara wants to know: Anyone else up for a swing through Middletown for our 25th?

Speaking of Margaret Salazar, she was just appointed to a post in the Biden Administration.  She will be serving as HUD regional administrator, advancing the administration’s efforts in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska), starting this past February.

Marianne Benet lives in Rye, New York, with her three sons. After her divorce, she started rowing crew again, and competed at the Head of the Charles last October, for glory and to raise money for the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, an organization that is close to her heart because her middle son was born with this rare genetic disorder. This May, she and Heather Marciniec celebrated their combined 90th birthday (45 + 45) in Key Biscayne, Florida, with Erin (Fieler) Collins, and Miki Kawashima, whose daughter, Elia Matrician (’26) will be attending Wes next fall! While there, they partied and reminisced with Ken Anderson, who lives in Key Biscayne and works in finance. Finally, she has a new love (and Wesleyan connection), Mario Manna ’00, also divorced, and a wonderful father to three extraordinary children. This year, they traveled with their six kiddos to Disney, Key Biscayne, and skiing in Vermont. Of note, she sent her notes in from Cartagena, Colombia, where she had just spent a day visiting the historic walled city with her dear friend, Isabel Vega, who is now living in Colombia and working on her independent film projects. Isabel is happy, healthy, and always involved in creative endeavors: She produced and directed a documentary called La Corona (The Crown) that was nominated for an Oscar and now, many years later, is at Sundance for the second time. The film is about a beauty pageant at a Colombian prison for women.

Abe Forman-Greenwald was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award last year as a producer on the Netflix series Big Mouth and was looking forward to the debut of their spinoff series Human Resources, which came out on March 18 of this year. Also, now that live music is back, he’s been enjoying going to concerts with fellow ’98er Sascha Paladino here in Los Angeles.

John Speck is excited to be in the midst of his third year as a software engineer, and still finding time to make music with exceptional New Yorkers. He has two daughters, ages 3 and 7, who are thriving in the quality public schools of South Brooklyn. They explore nature as much as possible these days: Prospect Park, Jersey, and Miami(!). He had the good fortune of seeing Harrison Owen and his son, Russell, recently, and recommends Harrison’s book Niji Umi (“for children ages 0–100”).  He also had a fun hiking adventure on the Appalachian Trail with Jason Gonzalez and Dave Montgomery ’97 last summer. Jason has recently completed an MBA and continues his impressive tenure as an attorney at the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and has four adorable children with his lovely wife Ayisha.

In harder news, Cassie Colletti Mecsery shared that her husband Sean Mecsery has been fighting glioblastoma for the past two years while she manages their family and their family business in Cos Cob, Connecticut. Unfortunately, there are no approved treatments and she asked people to look for their GoFundMe to help as they work to pay for his experimental treatments and support their two children, ages six and two.

Finally, we sadly lost Angie (Montgomery) Arnold in December 2021.  At Wes, she was a triple major in English, film study, and African American history, and afterward got an MFA at Columbia, and an MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She published her first book, Rivers Under Water, in 2018, a story of a woman who searches for love and spiritual liberation over the course of three generations in the Deep South; and she wrote and produced an off-Broadway play, The Standard Upgrade. She also won the Miss Black Connecticut Pageant.  She leaves behind her beloved husband, Artis Arnold III, and many family and friends.

We also sadly lost Christopher Lawrence Rosaschi in February.  He will be missed by his children, his family, and so many who knew him.

Hello all!

By now, our reunion celebration has taken place and we hope many of you made it back to campus.

We received a couple of updates before reunion:

Arik Preis wrote in from NYC. He has three daughters—Scarlett and Edie (both age 14) and Nessa (age 12)—and is a partner at Akin Gump, practicing bankruptcy/financial restructuring.

Erica (Schiller) Burnell is living in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, son, and daughter, and recently switched careers to occupational therapy. Erica said, “I’d love to hear from anyone who I’ve lost touch with!” You can reach her at schill.erica@gmail.com.

Remember to log into the digital Class Book at https://wesleyan.brightcrowd.com/1997/sign-in/  to see what our classmates have been up to and to create your own page.

Thinking of you and sending all of you our absolute best wishes!

Hello, fellow ’96ers! I hope this update finds you well.

We have two newly published authors in our midst! In January Jacob Ward published his first book, The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World without Choices and How to Fight Back. It combines interviews with the top minds in behavioral science and cutting-edge reporting on technology to warn readers about the danger that AI is about to do to our most important critical faculties as what Google Maps did to our ability to navigate from place to place. Jake is a technology correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC and debuted the book on the TODAY Show. He lives in Oakland and regularly sees Shola Olatoye and Matt Strozier, Susan Yee, along with Walter Einenkel ’97 and Clara Petit ’97.

Samantha Greene Woodruff published her first novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife. As the title suggests, the main character, Ruth, is the wife of a charismatic doctor who is championing a new treatment in the 1950s, the lobotomy. As the doctor begins to operate recklessly on his patients, Ruth realizes she is the only one who can save them. In addition to buying Sam’s book, you can also read this piece she wrote for Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/my-life-changed-41-after-lifetime-anxiety-1668523.

Daniel Cohen and Mara Kailin are close to 20 years in Denver. Dan’s entrepreneurial COVID baby is Two Tails Story Co. (ttstoryco.com), a start-up founded on the attachment between people and their dogs. The B2C e-commerce company will offer unique, fully personalized books and art. Thanks to the Wes grads that helped Two Tails get started! And Mara left her role in community mental health after 18 years and has been consulting and working with private behavioral health companies (and teaching, taking private clients, and more). The two of them are beginning to wonder about life after their oldest— Eli (16)—goes to college in a couple of years.

Rallie Snowden writes: “I am still living in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with my 11-year-old daughter Porter and my 3 ½-year-old son Miguel. The kids, plus being in my eighth year of working in the counseling center at Washington & Lee University, keep me pretty busy. Cheers to all my fellow Wesleyan alums!”

Finally, Ben Meyer informed us of his cross-country move: “My wife and I relocated from LA to Brooklyn this summer, for her work. My kiddo, Bash, is in fourth grade with Amelia, daughter of Elizabeth Meister ’92, whom I know from grad school in Chicago. She’s always introducing me to other Wes folk in the South Slope. We’re swarming around here! East Coasters, give me a shout.”

It’s always great to hear what folks are up to—please continue to send us your news.

Katy writes for this issue: We are all thinking of each other, through the local and global challenges of this moment, and I hope these notes find you well.  It’s been lovely to hear your updates.  Read up below on how your classmates are spending their time and talents: composing, writing, serving others, braving major career changes, and making the most of everyday life.

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I won a 2022 NEA translation grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to continue my work translating a transnational Italian author who survived the Holocaust.”

Pat Charlemagne writes: “My EdD from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education was conferred in December. My dissertation will be available via ProQuest: ‘The Unexpected Value of the Coronavirus Pandemic in Elevating the Importance of and Essential Need for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Serving as Youth Development Professionals.’”

We also got word that Simona Kwon joined the New York City Board of Health in 2021.

Christine O’Brien writes: “Alternating between treading water and drowning as an emergency physician in San Francisco.  Enjoying beautiful hikes and my 10-year-old daughter on my days off.”

Sarah Kirkland Snider announces: “In June, at Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic will give the world premiere of my orchestral work Forward into Light, inspired by the American women’s suffrage movement (originally scheduled to premiere in 2020). The same week will see four NYC performances of my Mass for the Endangered, which was released as an album on Nonesuch/New Amsterdam Records last year. Wes friends: holler at me for tickets! I live in Princeton, New Jersey, with my husband, son Jasper (13), daughter Dylan (10), and two dogs.”

Stacy (Theberge) Taylor, still in the Portland, Maine, area writes: “Our son Niko is in first grade, and I have met quite a few families who have moved to town from NYC and other points afar. (One of the only benefits of the pandemic.) Last summer we had two Wes visits: from Ed Lee (who is in Boston) and Bo Bell and family. It’s great to see other Wes folk in Maine. Let me know if you plan to be around Portland and I will treat you to a lobster roll . . .  or two.”

Carrie Turner (née Fischer) exuberantly writes: “For anyone thinking of making a midlife career change, just know that it CAN be done! For 20 years (after a short-lived stint in the world of musical theater), I had a successful run in luxury retail management. Two years ago, I decided that it was time for my next act—and after much soul searching and hard work, I am now in human resources and loving it. I am grateful to a few Wesleyan alumni along the way who gave me great advice, but mostly it was all about the hustle . . . and if I can do it, anyone can.  My partner Nils and I welcomed a new addition to our household two years ago: a French bulldog named Rousseau. Nils and I also still make electro-pop music as Nite Haus, and we still live in NYC. I am still BFFs with Brett Aristegui. Best wishes to everyone out there.”

Keep sending us your news and updates—we love to hear from you!

Greetings and salutations to all. Prayerfully, everyone is doing well and is thriving. I am happy to report that my family and I are weathering the pandemic well. Early on, I discovered a knack for sewing and got creative with mask designs that were highly functional, attractive, and at times humorous. I also count myself fortunate to have been able to work from home, as this luxury allowed me to further immerse myself in two of my passions, cooking and baking. I mastered baking sourdough and ciabatta bread, complete with flavorful homemade starter, and enjoyed preparing new culinary delights for lunch every day. Since then, I have returned to the office on a hybrid schedule and started an Aerogarden, which is flourishing with my favorite fresh herbs. I am forever thankful to my family and friends who help me eat all of my creations. Additionally, I am still writing and have added painting to my repertoire as well. My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the entire Wesleyan community. I hope that everyone stays encouraged and safe.

Johanna W. Schneider has been elected to the partnership at Hemenway & Barnes LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. She has more than 20 years of experience advising public and private clients on real estate development projects and real estate litigation. She is also active in industry associations and serves on her town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Aram Sinnreich writes that he just signed a contract to publish his first novel. Tentatively entitled SavePoint, the novel was coauthored with his sister, Rachel Hope Cleves, and will be published in 2023 by Rebellion Publishing under the pen name R. A. Sinn via its Solaris Books imprint.

Elizabeth Toohey writes “I’ve never sent in news, but thought I’d finally try it!” (We are so happy that she did!) She adds that she is living in Brooklyn with her husband, 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, and teaching journalism as an associate professor of English at CUNY. She spent this fall in Cambridge, Massachusetts,  on a fellowship at the Nieman Institute for Journalism at Harvard, where she enjoyed hanging out with Jaclyn Friedman ’93.

Hi Wes friends!  I am writing these notes from Naples, Florida. Things are great in the Sunshine State, but I still remember wandering across the Wesleyan campus on a beautiful snowy day, or borrowing a tray from the dining hall to slide down Foss Hill (in lieu of a sled).  As the years pass, I’m even able to look back at some of those all-nighters and brutally difficult exams with rose-colored glasses. Okay, that’s probably more than enough nostalgia; I’m happy to share some news including travel overseas, a new film, and some amazing career updates.

Jamie Bachrach writes, “Tim and I are still running a wine logistics and distribution company based in Litchfield County, Connecticut.  Our younger daughter Esmee is a sophomore day student at the Taft School and plays soccer/ski races/rows crew, depending on the season.  She’s hoping to get her braces off before masks are no longer required at school; at this rate, she’s probably in luck. . . .   Our older daughter Logan is halfway through a three-year undergraduate degree in politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University and loves living (and traveling) abroad. She’s also managed to play soccer/ski race/row crew while in college.  With Tim’s sister’s family, the four of us had an amazing trip to South Africa in August 2021 to celebrate the life of Tim’s mom, who passed away a year ago—and to reunite with Tim’s extended family in Cape Town.  Next up for March 2022 (fingers crossed) is travel to Iceland to see the northern lights and to celebrate Tim’s 50th birthday.”

Jacob Bricca is celebrating the broadcast premiere of the documentary Missing in Brooks County, which he produced and edited–it aired on Independent Lens on over 450 PBS stations across the country on January 31, and streamed for free for the month of February. The film, which had a five-city in-person theatrical run and garnered over 20 awards at film festivals worldwide, tells the story of the migrant death crisis in south Texas through the eyes of two families who are looking for their missing loved ones, and was co-directed by his wife, Lisa Molomot.

Jodi Samuels writes: “I’m still enjoying my work as director of strategic support for colleges and scholars at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. My portfolio focuses on partnering with the community colleges to provide scholarship and emergency aid to students along with grants to the colleges themselves for certain types of educational programs. Over the past year, we’ve seen four people transition out of our team but have also welcomed five new team members, so the ‘great resignation’ has definitely had an impact, but we’ve also seen lots of new talent come into our organization. My spouse, Evan, and I managed to take a wonderful trip to northern Italy in early October for a small group tour that focused on the wine, food, and history of the region. This year, we’re hoping for travel to Hawai’i and Iceland in addition to our usual family destinations of Denver, Austin, and Chicago.”

Tristan Taormino just finished her first year of an MPH graduate program at George Washington University. Her new book, a memoir, will be published by Duke University Press in 2023. Tristan was recently named a Distinguished Sexual and Gender Health Revolutionary by the University of Minnesota Medical School Program in Sexuality for her two decades of work in sex education.

Dear Classmates:

Happy spring! I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our 30th(!) Reunion later this year. But for now, here’s the news from the class of 1992.

Andrew Draper is working at an education-tech start-up from his apartment in Brooklyn, where he lives with his 16-year-old son. Leaving Brooklyn, Jonathan Liebson has jumped the East River again and returned to Manhattan. For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, he published a photographic memoir of that day with The American Scholar online.

Over the summer, I made a quick escape to the Pacific Northwest, where I got to see my senior-year roommate Simon Fulford, who is working at Parrott Creek Child & Family Services. They are launching a major capital campaign this year to increase their residential and community-based treatment programs. In addition, Simon will have a chapter titled, “Listen and Let Me Heal My Pain: Justice for America’s Children” published in the UK-based Monument Fellowship book series this spring. All the while he continues to look over his three boys (now 10, 14, and 19).

Anne Paris is also in Portland, Oregon, with her partner Ben Root, and her son lives with them half time. Anne is mostly working as a freelance writer and analyst, doing work for tech firms and education nonprofits. “During COVID I bought a camping trailer, and so I’m looking forward to doing some ‘work-from-camper’ road trips after my son goes to college in the fall of 2023. I try to squeeze in some time for poetry, painting, and traveling, and I’m looking forward to leading a writing and art residency in eastern Oregon in the spring.”

Sarah Guernsey is still teaching 6th grade math and is excited to be in-person after being virtual for most of last year. She and Adam Blumer ’91 are empty nesters, having sent both of their boys to college. Sarah just finished working as part of the transition team for the new mayor of Framingham; she was one of the co-chairs of the education subcommittee. After that she has been keeping active by serving on the executive board and the bargaining team for the teachers’ association.

Welcome first-time notes contributor Melissa Doty who lives in West Virginia and sums up the past 30 years as follows: “Current husband, Steve, and I share five adult kids who have pretty much flown the nest. Over the years I’ve been a mom, a business manager, and a nonprofit director, but in 2016, I started painting and now that’s what I do! (Come say hello over on IG@melissadoty.art.)”

Linda Perlstein lives in Seattle where she just started a new job at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with their Global Communications team to supervise writing projects, particularly those in the voice of the foundation and its leaders.

Joy Lewis writes that her son graduated Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC, this past June and is now a freshman at Wes (class ’25).

Maurice Harris currently lives just outside of Philly and is working for the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. His third book was published in 2019, and it’s called The Forgotten Sage: Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and the Birth of Judaism as We Know It, from Cascade Books.

Chris Arndt is going on his seventh year in Telluride since moving out of NYC in 2015. His sons Alden (12) and Graham (10) ski downhill, cross-country, play lacrosse, and enjoy the outdoors. He continues to work on environmental issues some but spent a lot more time in the past few years getting back into playing bass and music, especially last year. He recently recorded an album in Nashville.  The album, Lost Bags, is a mix of new and old original songs, many of which date back to his Baggage Claim days at Wes. Check out more here:  https://mailchi.mp/7a6bfc1da80e/introducing-the-doc-project.

Jay Hardwig writes from Asheville, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife of 25 years, Nita Smith. They work as teachers for students with blindness and low vision. Jay recently published a middle-grade novel, Just Maria.  Just Maria is the story of Maria Romero, a blind sixth grader who is trying her hardest to be normal—learn more and order your copy at jayhardwig.com.

Lori Coyne started a new role with her firm in May 2021 as a senior environmental sustainability consultant in Environmental Resource Management’s (ERM’S) Sustainability, Strategy, and Disclosure service area. Lori is also an empty nester as her daughter went off to UVM (which she chose over Wesleyan!).

That’s all the news for now. Please send Paul and me your updates. And hope to see you at Wes in May!

Please write to your class secretary.

Hi all.  Here’s what we have:

Dave Dowsett writes from Portland, where he is practicing dentistry and focused on the connection between oral and systemic health—understanding how the mouth bacterial biome plays a role in disease and health. “It’s a cool, geeky way to really think about prevention rather than simply early diagnosis and treatment. I think my true love with health-care practice is caring for athletes of all ages and their unique needs. I am currently the secretary for the Academy for Sports Dentistry—a group of about 250 dentists across North America, who spend a lot of time making sure athletes are safe, performing at their best, and fixing them up when trauma happens. I’m looking after kids’ soccer clubs, my daughter’s high school teams, the Portland Winterhawks WHL/CHL hockey team, and even a few Olympians. It can be really fun, and you get to meet amazing people from all around the globe.”

Dave is “still married to his dental school love, Kristi (who stopped practicing almost 18 years ago after our first was born). She was raised in Honolulu, and we have been so very lucky to have spent lots of time there with her family over the years. I have three kiddos: Kekoa (15-year-old boy), a sophomore at my alma mater Jesuit HS—he is all theater, math, and art. Currently, he is playing the part of Sheldon Plankton in the upcoming performance of SpongeBob, the Musical in March. I see him at Wes so perfectly. Lehua (17-year-old girl), a junior at all-girls St. Mary’s Academy and a soccer nut. We watched the Wes women this fall make it to the national semis. Super cool.  We have a neighbor whose granddaughter is going to Wes next fall to play and this has really piqued Lehua’s interest, sooo . . . we’ll see. Maile (19-year-old young woman) is a first year at American University in DC, studying chemistry. She really wants to be a forensic scientist and would love to be Abby on the show NCIS.  She loves DC and the East Coast, so I may have lost her. . . .  When Kristi and I dropped her off last August, Laurie Malkin came down to spend the weekend. Had an absolute blast exploring the city, the food, laughing, and reconnecting. In fact, Maile and Laurie hit it off so well that Maile spent a good part of Thanksgiving break in Jersey and in NYC. She even got to go skating in Central Park and hang out with Bethel Gottlieb and her kids. I am still jealous.

“We plan to be back out visiting at spring break, in an attempt to do the college-tour thing. And the Broadway thing. And the trip-down-memory-lane thing.  Please COVID, give it a rest.”

The older daughter of Edward Ungvarsky and Olivia Smith ’91 is off to New York City next fall to Fordham University—Lincoln Center Campus, with an intended major of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and a fashion marketing minor. “Yowza, they say! The kids and staff at Bridges Public Charter School, which Olivia founded to support children with and without special needs, have weathered COVID-19 well.” Ed walks their pandemic shelter rottweiler and practices some law.

Catharina (Lina) Schuetz (Will) writes from Dresden, Germany, with news that her eldest, Florian, joined the class of 2025 at Wes. “He is lucky to have real classes with live faculty, and is enjoying himself immensely . . .  I get nostalgic when he sends pictures from campus.”

Finally, congratulations to entrepreneur Raquel Graham who pitched her company Roq Innovation, which she founded in 2014, on Shark Tank in January, and landed a deal with two of the Sharks!  Raquel’s company creates innovative apparel accessories. The cаtаlog includes Nekz, а more mаnаgeаble аnd less cumbersome аlternаtive to scаrves; Heаdlightz Beаnies, which hаve а powerful light аttаched to them; and light-up gloves аnd heаdbаnds. Rаquel hаs been written up in Forbes and has аppeаred on Good Morning Americа аnd The View. Her products have been sold on the Home Shopping Network and featured on Mаrthа Stewаrt’s Americаn Mаde and on Oprаh’s Fаvorite Things lists. Raquel wants to keep innovating exciting products that make a real difference in people’s lives and plans to launch three new products in new categories. You can watch a clip of Raquel on Shark Tank at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkmfiS0GD9M. And this just in, Raquel was invited to speak at Wesleyan’s TedX event in April.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer and, as always, looking forward to hearing from you!