Class Notes | 2000s

Ally writes for this issue.

Where in the world is Ben Roberts? He writes, “I’ve been residing in Stamford, Connecticut, the last two years but will be moving back to Tampa, Florida, with my youngest brother Graham in May. I’ve been leading the road warrior life, splitting my time between the USA, Philippines, Colombia, and India, while building and scaling outsourced offshore/nearshore teams. I’m in the Philippines as we speak and headed to Africa next month to begin scouting locations for the next new business in Nairobi, Kenya. When I’m not working, I’m training for the Head of the Charles Regatta WeScrew alumni event this fall. Look forward to reconnecting with fellow Wes alums at the 15-year reunion!”

Speaking of globe-trotting, guten Tag from Alex Footman.Alex is living in Berlin with his wife, daughter, dog, and two self-proclaimed “bad knees.” You can tune into world news for Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle if you want to see our classmate in action.

“Hello!” from Sophie Reagan, who will always be Sophie PC in my heart. She writes, “I am still living in Washington, D.C., with my husband, daughter, and dog. I am loving life at Deloitte— not something I would have ever seen for myself as an English major—all the more so since making the change to be a chief of staff as part of our Government & Public Service Practice. In TV-watching news, I am still recovering from last week’s Vanderpump Rules scandal, and I have truly appreciated everyone’s well wishes during this fraught time.”

Happy second wedding anniversary to Kate Gavriel!She was married during the pandemic in 2021 and asked whether celebrating her second anniversary was newsworthy. I think so!!!

Christian Skorik writes,“I currently live in the Boston area with my partner and I manage a small sales team for a Canadian biotech company called STEMCELL Technologies. My days are pretty routine and I would welcome a chance to connect with any Wes alums that happen to be close by/in town for a visit. So, let this be a beacon to such folks! Reach out and I will give you a tour of my city’s excellent breweries.”

Bryan Wieland and wife Nicole welcomed their second child, the beautiful Scarlett Wieland, in mid-March. Welcome to the world, Scarlett!

Evan Coleman has a new position as a litigation attorney with U.S. Department of the Interior. He and his wife and their 2-year-old son, Reece, are getting ready to welcome a little girl next month. She will be named Robyn.

Effective September 2022, Arielle Linsky, PhD,accepted a position as assistant professor of psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine. She works as a clinical psychologist providing treatment for children, adolescents, and adults with anxiety and related disorders (among other things).

Ben Smyser has been elected to counsel at Finn Dixon & Herling LLP, focusing on corporate finance. He currently lives in Pelham, New York with his lovely wife Elanor and two wonderful daughters, Naomi and Hazel.

Nicole Gray is living her “best” (i.e., best given some unfortunate circumstances in 2022) life in Los Angeles. She is currently working as a social scientist for the FDA Center for Tobacco Products. She will soon be adopting two cats.

Emma Komlos-Hrobsky writes, “I had a baby! My husband and I welcomed our daughter, Paloma Lyra Hicks, in July. She charms us with her passion for her toes, acrobatic rolling, and what may be the world’s most perfect belly button. I returned to my job as senior editor at Poets & Writers Magazine in January and do my best to not ask my coworkers if they’re getting cranky and need a nap.”

Sally Rosen Phillips is working as a vice president of creative at This Machine Filmworks, a production company founded by director R. J. Cutler. Her work focuses on development of documentaries. In September, Sally and her husband Eric welcomed their first baby, Hope. Along with their Lagotto Romagnolo, Enzo, the family resides in Los Angeles and enjoys weekly Thai food delivery from Pa Ord Noodles. Thanks to Thai Gardens’ introduction many years ago, pad see ew remains a staple of the order.

It has been an amazing 12 months for Patrick and Andrea Senat. They got married in New York City and gave birth to Malcolm Barack Senat.

Correction: In the last issue I wrote that  “Maya (Bass) Bery” welcomed her first child. Maya Bass and Maya Bery are two different individuals. My apology to them both and a hearty congratulations to Maya Bery on her first child!

Greetings classmates! Megan Kretz Harrington here with your 2007 class update. As I write, I’m looking at two feet of snow, but hopefully by the time you read this you’re enjoying warmer temperatures and a good start to your summer.

A bit of news from our classmates:

Himanshu “Heems” Suri is working on a new album! Patrick Meaney is also making moves in the music and art world. He wrote and directed the indie music romance film The Brink Of, which will be released by 1091 this summer. Recent Wes grad Olivia Crowell ’21 acted in the film and worked as a PA on set.

Dawid Wiacek writes, “I’ve been tending to my ailing dog who recently turned 13. He’s still got his pep and obsession with treats, so that’s a good sign. Also, I’m going to be a first-time uncle, so that’s exciting. On the work front, this spring I’m celebrating my fourth anniversary of formal ‘solopreneurship’ as the founder of Career Fixer LLC, and 16 total years as a career and executive coach of helping folks navigate career pivots, layoffs, difficult conversations at work, and everything in between. I don’t want to sound like I’m selling anything, and if any fellow Wes grads want to casually chat, I’m always happy to lend an ear, gratis. I got off Instagram some years ago and I’m resisting TikTok, but you can find me on LinkedIn. I continue to volunteer as an occasional mentor and career advisor for Wesleyan students, and I encourage my fellow alums to do the same—your experience and even just you lending an ear once or twice a year carries more weight and impact than you know!”

As always, if you have news (big or small!), please send it to your class secretaries.

Please send news and updates to classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

Please write your class secretary.

Please write to your class secretaries.

After 15 years in Boston, Samantha (Gillombardo) Larson and her family relocated to her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, in July 2021. Samantha started a home organizing business in Holliston in 2018 and has recently reopened in Shaker Heights! In March 2021, she, Emily Teitsworth, and their families reunited in southern Arizona for a visit punctuated by hiking, swimming, admiring Saguaro cacti, and consuming record-breaking amounts of guacamole. It was perfect.

John Graham lives with his family in Tbilisi. They welcomed a third child, Ilian Diasamidze-Graham, into the family. John is running a tourism company featuring hiking and cultural tours in Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, and Ethiopia; www.JohnGrahamTours.com.

While she still tries to think of herself as a New Yorker, Coe Will Hoeksema is back in her hometown of Hartford after living in Brooklyn for 17 years. She left her NYC architectural marketing job and joined a tech firm based out of San Francisco that focuses on knowledge management for architecture firms. She and her husband Craig work remotely and spend their limited free time fixing up their 115-year-old house and chasing after their three sons, Owen Calder (7), Luca Sinclair (5), and Eliot Wilder (2). She welcomes Wes friends to reach out if you’re ever passing through Hartford, there’s plenty of room for guests!

After two-and-a-half years of training, Ariana Mufson recently earned her AASECT certification (American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists) as a sex therapist and is proud to add CST (certified sex therapist) to her credentials. She works as a psychotherapist in private practice out of Newton and Brookline, Massachusetts.

Please write to your class secretary or send news to classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

It’s strange, the class notes that came in just happen to be only from good friends. It’s almost as if I forgot to do any outreach whatsoever and sent a pleading SOS out to them the night before the notes were due. If that were the case, I’d be very grateful. Maybe someday I’ll have the opportunity to thank them for some situation like that, but probably not since it would never happen!

Ben Stanko has spent the last 15 years working for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation as an arborist and is currently managing the Street Tree Management Division of the department. He is very excited to help with the implementation of the new Philly Tree Plan, the city’s first strategic urban forestry plan (https://www.phila.gov/programs/philly-tree-plan/). He lives in the neighborhood of Mount Airy with his wife Kim and their two sons, Theo (10) and Louis (5). He is always happy to see other Wesleyan folks at the schoolyard of the local public elementary school.

Jesse Kudler has been active in political organizing in Philadelphia, currently volunteering with progressive candidates for city council and mayor. He has been enjoying returning to live musical performance and has been a part of the Balinese gamelan ensemble the last few years. He’s recently taken up a bit of rock climbing as well.

Joey Conover has moved on from building houses to helping others buy and sell houses, currently including a couple of Wes alums who have a cute, two-bedroom renovated and centrally located house with a dependency out back coming on the market this spring. She is at Nest Realty. Give her a call if Charlottesville is tempting you!

Here in Boston, I’m still recovering from the intense effort of baking a (kind of weird looking) cake in the shape of a giant Lego head for my son’s seventh birthday. The things we do for love.

Sending my best wishes to everyone,

Mara

Please send news to your class secretary or send news to classnotes@wesleyan.edu.