Class Notes | 2000s

Please write to your class secretaries.

I was lucky enough to attend the fabulous wedding of Zoe Holder and Ben Kornstein in November, joined by Katie Poor, Sage (Trombulak) Ruth and Sam Ruth. Zoe has deep roots in Wes culture, as both of her parents are alum and her siblings studied at Wesleyan as well. Wes faculty even made an appearance! We danced the weekend away with the reckless abandon of our 19-year-old selves, thankful to be together after many years and thankful that we have a little more common sense than we did when we met as freshmen!

Maya (Bass) Bery writes, “My husband Adam and I welcomed our first child, a boy named Raphael Dev, on September 9th.”

Jess M. Jones lives in Philadelphia with her partner, Lindsay Ladd. Jess writes, “I recently brought [Lindsay] for an early Sunday morning campus driving tour and breakfast at O’Rourke’s on a drive home from Massachusetts. I’m an LCSW practicing child and family trauma therapy as well as legal psychedelic-assisted therapy, with a focus on equity and access. I’m also working in research: a phase 1 trial of a synthetic psilocybin analogue for major depressive disorder at a clinical research site in New Jersey and an expanded access site for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in Maryland. My team in Maryland was recently featured in the Netflix documentary, How to Change Your Mind, which was pretty amazing. I’d love to connect with other Wes alums in the field of psychedelic medicine!”

Janie Stolar is rewatching all of The Amazing Race from season one. Her young cat has periodontal disease and colitis so she’s spending thousands of dollars to keep her alive and is doing so without complaint.

I can’t believe it’s 2023—I hope everyone had a fantastic 2022.  As always, we have so much to celebrate and be grateful for!

Tess Amodeo-Vickery is doing well and still living in Italy, where she recently gave birth to a baby girl, Valerie Calliope (named after the muse of epic poetry, thanks to her Wesleyan Classical Civilization degree)! She’s got a new album of original folk/dream/pop songs coming out in 2023, which was produced long distance between Rome and Los Angeles during COVID and her pregnancy, and while the virtual tours she created for her Italian tour company, Clam Tours, were featured in The New York Times article commemorating the 500-year anniversary of Renaissance master Raphael’s death.

Abby Huber earned her certification as a Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ (Spanish) in January 2022 and now works as an interpreter at LPG Ophthalmology in Providence, Rhode Island, putting into practice the valuable training she received from the MIIS Professional Certificate in Spanish Community Interpreting in 2020–21. She loves making communication and connection possible for patients and providers as she promotes ethical and accurate interpreting and translation practices. Abby also has her specialized translation business on the side, at www.ajordanhuber.com, translating from German and Spanish into English not only for health care but also for history projects, particularly handwritten correspondence.

Charlie Congleton is currently in Newport, Rhode Island, and is head coach of boys’ lacrosse and teaches math at St. George’s School. He would love to connect with any Wesleyan folks in the area.

Luke Mecklenburg is married, has two dogs, and is living in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. After obtaining a JD at the University of Colorado School of Law, Luke clerked for Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Rice and then spent seven years as a commercial litigator at Snell & Wilmer, LLP.  In April 2022, Luke left private practice and joined the Federal & Interstate Water Unit, Colorado River Subunit of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to work on protecting Colorado’s significant interests in the waters of the Colorado River. Based on this most recent position, Luke is finally convinced that getting a JD was the right move.  Luke continues to play music, including a recent stint with a local Balinese Gamelan group and with a lawyer group that presents musicals about ethical issues for continuing legal education programs. He also frequently plays ukulele and sings at friends’ weddings with his wife.

Music is in the heart of many a Wesleyan ’07er. “Nick Earhart, Lee Pender, and Nick Nauman have been jamming semiregularly with Jesse McIntosh ’05 at Jesse’s place in Los Angeles. They’re building a musical language together and have enjoyed the opportunity to hang out midweek.”

The ’07 crew is also busy creating and growing the next generation of Wes students.  Grace Nowakoski, her husband Jeff Diteman, and their daughter Florence welcomed a new baby, Alder, last summer, just after moving into a new home. They are really appreciating their yard in all New England’s beautiful seasons! She works with expectant and new parents as a birth doula, group prenatal care leader, and parent support group facilitator.

Frani Rollins and her husband Robert and daughter Lola were excited to welcome a new addition to their family, Jack Rollins, the day before she was awarded tenure at Mercer University where she is a professor of theater. April 2022 was a memorable month!

Ian MacLeod and his wife were very pleased to welcome their second son, Skye, to the world in August. Having two kids is twice the fun and love . . . and twice the work! They live in Sacramento, where they enjoy daily walks by the American River and weekend trips to the coast or up to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Rosa Cohen-Cruz was promoted to director of immigration policy at the Bronx Defenders in early 2022. On April 3, 2022, Rosa, husband Elric, and son Islay  welcomed new baby Perrin Cohen-Cruz into the world. Older brother Islay is doing a great job at showing Perrin the ropes and the family is overjoyed and doing well.

Simon Au is hoping not to repeat the sins of the previous generation, by being too busy with work and not spending substantive time with his kid except on weekends.

It was good to hear from several ’06ers.

During summer 2022, Tyler M. Franklin was promoted to partner at Rubin and Rudman LLP. At the practice he advises clients on land use, environmental, and regulatory compliance issues. He is a member of the firm’s Environmental, Litigation, and Real Estate Departments.

And while one is settling into a legal career, another looks elsewhere. Daniel Dykes has retired early from big-law-firm life, and spends his time studying languages, hiking, traveling, and catching up on the books he previously hadn’t had time to read since he started law school more than a decade ago.

Life celebrations are taking place too. Conor Galvin reports he is “getting married in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in December to Samata Narra. Wes alums, Warren Clanton, Quincy Francis, Jimmy Koutroumanos ’05, and Khalia Frazier ’07 will be there.” And on a vacation to France in August 2022, Jesse Young proposed to his girlfriend of five years, Michele Viterise. They plan to get married in fall 2023 in Washington, D.C., where they both live!

In the realm of education, Kate Angell was hired as associate professor and assessment-data management librarian at the City University of New York (CUNY). And Mara Baldwin has “taken a new teaching position teaching drawing at Bard College, where I’ve joined my partner, Sarah Hennies, with our child, Ellis, born in June 2019. I’d be happy to connect with other Wes alumni in the Hudson Valley! In June 2023 I’ll have a solo show at the Everson Museum in Syracuse.”

Also on the East Coast, Julia Kleinman Horowitz shared, “I welcomed my third baby, a girl named Lily, in 2021. My older two children are Charles (five) and Arielle (three). After living in Los Angeles for many years, I relocated closer to Wesleyan and now live in Greenwich, Connecticut. I am vice president and head of content at Epic, the leading digital book platform for kids that grants free access to a 47K library to all students and teachers.”

Erin Glaser wrote: “I now live in the Philadelphia area with my husband Scott and two children Ivy (eight) and Otto (four). Ivy plays on a wheelchair basketball team known as Katie’s Komets. The team is always looking for new team members. Anyone between the ages of six and 18 with a physical disability is welcome to come and try it out. I’m happy to answer any questions folks have about the sport and team. It is very fun and inclusive!

“I was recently appointed to the Abington School Board in Pennsylvania. I am now one of nine school board directors. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and serve the community. I just celebrated my one-year anniversary at Veeva Systems as the talent development program manager. In my role I get to design and deliver training for our over 6,000+ global team. My role focuses on leading training in areas such as leadership development, DEI, coaching and feedback, and building healthy teams. It has been a fun and fulfilling role. We are hiring all the time so if you know of anyone interested in a remote opportunity with a very healthy and growing tech company please reach out.”

Hannah Gay Keao had a lot of challenges and wins this year, from fighting to pass an open-carry ban as a city councilwoman (which passed!) to managing her then 18-month-old through Guillain-Barré Syndrome and multiple hospitalizations this summer. She is so grateful to all her Wes friends for their support, especially Jackie Asadorian Fishbein, Megan Lesko Pacchia, Marianne Reyes Lima, Maggie Elliott Martin, and Allison Joe Offutt who helped Hannah and her husband Brandon so much through the summer. Everyone is healthy and home now!

And finally, Andrew Flint has been disputing a nonsense eBay claim from a sketchy seller, but he’s enjoying nearly every moment of life. At least two out of five moments, which he considers legit. While living in the middle of nowhere he’s developed a satisfying relationship with the various restaurants surrounding him. Just last week he devoured a fish and chips dinner so decadent that it would have made Tallulah Bankhead and Mata Hari blush, probably at the same time. He welcomes your texts. 413.822.1456. “Hit me up if we were friends way back when.”

Please write your class secretary.

Hi Everyone,

Hoping you’re doing well. Below, some of the most recent updates from members of the Class of 2004:

We hear from Sohana Punithakumar that she’s returned to Seattle after a COVID year “abroad” in Austin. She’s glad to be back in what is surely the most Wesleyan place she’s lived and loved since Middletown. She and her husband Chris welcomed their second child in September. On the work front, she works at Microsoft as a product manager for Xbox.

Ashley Elia Weller tells us: “All is good here. My son is in first grade and my daughter started preschool. Last year I opened my own house-call veterinary practice, Columbus Veterinary Acupuncture! I go to people’s houses and treat their pets using acupuncture, laser therapy, and offer integrative ways to manage their pets’ disease or pain. It’s been really fun and my business continues to grow! I also ran the Columbus Half Marathon this past year! The furthest I had run in a race prior was a 5K!”

Meanwhile, Ho-Tay Ma is living in Jackson Heights, New York, with his wife and toddler son. He has been working in the insurance and reinsurance business since graduation, most recently joining SCOR Reinsurance Company.

Amy Meyerson tells us she’s welcomed her second child in June while finishing her third novel, The Love Scribe, publishing on February 7 from Park Row Books/HarperCollins.

And finally, earlier this year, I (Jenina) had the pleasure of reuniting in Sonoma County, California, with my 9 Vine housemates, Bonnie Oliva-Porter, Monica (Gonzalez) Zuniga, Judivelly Torres, and Cassandra (James) Dixon. We were also joined by some of Bonnie and Cassie’s former Andover classmates to add to the extended weekend! Outside of famous college reunions, my husband and I bought our home in 2021 just outside of Chicago, and I work in international public affairs for a biopharma company, driving communications and patient-engagement strategies in the gastroenterology space.

Thanks!

George Obulutsa is still going strong at Reuters news in Nairobi, where he works as a breaking news correspondent for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Tejas Desai’s latest novel The Dance Towards Death has won 12 literary honors. Despite being hit by an inattentive driver while on his “Road Trip across America” in May 2022, he has continued work on his latest book, Bad Americans (The Human Tragedy, Volume 2). During his research, he has received valuable assistance from many Wes alumni from across the world. Among others, Rachel Luria gave him a tour of the Hamptons; Bianca Sultana called him from Brazil to provide the inside dope on the NYC modeling world; and Vanessa Levine-Smith ’04 has advised him from Michigan on the rigors of social work. He’s deeply appreciative of this feedback and knows more Wes buddies will aid him in developing a great fifth book!

I’m looking forward to our 20th Reunion this spring and hope to see many of you there!

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

Happy New Year Class of 2001! We hope 2023 has kicked off to a great start.

Wei Hu writes in to tell us that after 15 years of regulatory/administrative law and administering public benefits at the NYC Department of Social Services, he founded a boutique New York cannabis law practice (www.mrtalaw.com) last year. MRTA Law counsels adult-use licensee and license applicants and assists ex-marijuana offenders to expunge prior convictions. Wei also accepted an adjunct professor position at CUNY School of Law where he will be teaching NY Cannabis Law: Social Justice and Economic Equity under the MRTA. Wei resides in Manhattan and Ulster County with his wife and two young daughters.

Doctor of Dental Surgery, Julia Jackson, has just launched her new professional bio. In it, Julia shares she was drawn to dentistry because it harmonizes the relationships between art, science, and people. Julia also lectures regularly on implant dentistry and holds several memberships in dental organizations in the Virginia area as well as nationwide. Julia even founded two study clubs: 1st Ladies of Dentistry and The Essentials lecture series. Julia loves her profession, her patients, and doing good works in the community. Check out her full bio in the electronic version of Class Notes. Also be sure to follow Julia on social @socket_grafting_girl.

Matt Auerbach was named the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles Fan of the Year, which includes a VIP trip to the Super Bowl! He’s excited, and we can understand why. The competition must have been fierce. This  article on the Eagle’s website explains the touching background story for Matt’s love for this NFL team:  https://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/matt-auerbach-eagles-fan-of-the-year-an-american-dream-come-true#disqus_thread.

Thanks for all the news and updates. We love hearing from you.

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