Class Notes | 2010s

Please send news to your class secretary.

Erica DeMichiel married Benjamin Freudman (Brandeis ’16) on Long Island in November. Close friends and classmates Courtney Laermer, Ilana Ladis Abrams, and Bailey Softness stood by her side as members of the bridal party and helped make the day truly unforgettable. Erica is settled in New York City and thriving in the hospitality-tech sector at Canary Technologies, where she was recently promoted to the company’s senior implementation team.

Alexandra Nesson and Marcus Holzberg were married on October 25, 2025. They were lucky to be surrounded by many college friends, including five married Wesleyan couples. The celebration even prompted a spontaneous rendition of the fight song, which Alexandra reports was the best party since the Fountain days.

Sarah Schechter shared that 2025 was a lovely year for her creative life. She exhibited her artwork in several art shows and included a playful photo of herself and her paintings at the Spring Break Art Fair. She continues to enjoy creating and sharing her paintings, and she also began playing harp in two bands, Virtual Perfection Cowboy and Truffles. Sarah is currently in her fifth year as a high school art teacher and is grateful that her life remains full of art, music, and learning. She hopes to connect with more of the Wesleyan community in 2026 and wishes classmates a happy, healthy new year. Those interested in seeing more of her creative work can find her on Instagram at @kasualbagel.

Aidan Thor Ravitch sent warm greetings to the class and shared appreciation for the continued connections among classmates.

Hello! Please see updates from our classmates:

Ally Ruchman started a sustainable wedding consulting and coordination business in 2025 year called Greener Unions. She hosted an event in November that was featured in The New York Times! The event was a bridal clothing swap at a local Brooklyn bridal salon. It was so successful that her group planned to host a second event at the end of January 2026. If any Wes alums are engaged and looking for help planning their wedding and finding ways to incorporate sustainability, she’d love to help. The best email to reach her at is aruchman1@gmail.com.

Alton Wang just finished nearly two years of serving as president of the Board of Trustees at Pasadena City College after being elected to the board in June 2022. He is preparing to run for re-election in November 2026!

Since our 2016 commencement, Rhys Langston Podell has lived in his native Southern California, working as a musician, visual artist, and writer. However, in 2025 he took to the road, performing songs from his new album Pale Black Negative in 12 states and 14 cities. Before his nationwide tour began, he also contributed a long-form essay to the Los Angeles Review of Books, critiquing Donald Trump’s illegal deployment of troops to his hometown of Los Angeles.

I am finished with the first six months of ophthalmology training, and it has been a tiring, humbling, and wonderfully rewarding experience! I spent the winter holidays in Albuquerque and enjoyed seeing the beautiful luminarias decorating the buildings in Old Town. I’m praying we get snow soon so we can go skiing this winter!

Stay well,

Mariam

Andrew Kang writes that he is “ecstatic to share that I married the woman of my dreams November 2025 at the Boston Public Library. Our story began like no one else’s—through the Hinge app. But then COVID struck one month into our relationship, and the rest was history.”

Brett Keating and Annie Saperstein ’14 (transferred) married each other on Cape Cod in September, supervised by three generations of more than 30 Wesleyan alums. Aaron Kalischer-Coggins, Zach Dravis, Sara Guernsey, Richie Starzec ’14, Zach Libresco ’13, and Andrew Hove all spoke, sang, and/or carried the groom home, and Richard Saperstein ’83 and Dale Hernsdorf ’85 each delivered toasts to honor their daughter, the bride.

William Henry Sikes writes in with a poem.

Kate Gibbel married her Wesleyan crush Alex Kelley ’13 in October 2025. Her first book of poetry, Little Sound, will be published by the University of Chicago Press Phoenix Poets Series in October 2026.

Silvia Diaz-Roa writes, “After Wes, I did my MPH and MBA at Yale then moved to NYC. I founded a start-up then left the start-up. I’m currently trying out ‘corporate life’ in NYC for the first time—though the siren song of the start-up world will likely pull me back in soon. On the personal front, my partner, Phil, and I moved in together this past year! He came with me to our 10-year reunion and it was so fun walking him down my memory lane at Wes. When I’m not working, I’ve been diving deep into women’s health advocacy and launched a resource site, www.withbea.com, to share what I’ve learned. If any Wes grads are in the health or tech space in NYC, I’d love to connect!”

Armani White shares, “This past year I opened my recreational marijuana shop, Firehouse (www.shopfirehouse.com), in my hometown of Boston. It’s been an almost eight-year-long project that the Boston Globe has covered.”

Ilan Weinschelbaum writes, “I got engaged in 2025! My fiancée is named Ellen, and she is a labor organizer. She’s awesome. We met when we were doing our PhDs at the University of Oregon—hers in theater and mine in mathematics. I also elevated my small business this year. I am a fiduciary, offering comprehensive financial advising/planning services with all associated investment and insurance licenses. If you want to learn about my practice, you can connect with me on LinkedIn.”

Grace Nix says, “2025 was quite a time! After graduating from the CalArts MFA Acting program, I moved to LA proper and dove into the acting world—auditionin’ and bookin’ and auditionin’ and performin’. I’ve also done a lot of casting for verticals (ask if you dare). Enjoying it all and excited for 2026.”

Lizzie Jáuregui celebrates her first year as director of residence life at Saint Peter’s University —a career that she started because of her role as a resident advisor for Clark Hall. She also got engaged to her non-Wesleyan fiancé, Alving Ramos.

Ethan Tucker lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Emilie Pass. He blogs about architecture, music, art, and urbanism on Substack at seven7things.substack.com and is honored to serve as the class notes secretary for the Class of 2015.

Yusaku Takeda completed his PhD at Harvard in 2022 and is now in his fourth year as a tenure-track assistant professor of organizational behavior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Outside of work, in November 2025, Yusaku represented the United States at the World Judo Championships in the masters division (ages 30–35) and placed seventh. His son is now almost two years old and is happy and well. Yusaku is happy to connect with fellow Cardinals in the Chicagoland area or the Midwest—reach out to him if you’d like to get together.

Former roommates Rachel Warner and Rachel Olfson recently reunited in the classroom. After accepting a position as an assistant instructional professor at the University of Florida this past fall semester, Warner welcomed Olfson—a triple board–trained child psychiatrist—as a guest lecturer in her expository writing course for undergraduates preparing for careers in the health professions. The fall 2025 collaboration brought together shared Wesleyan roots and a mutual commitment to teaching and mentorship. Warner and her partner were expecting a baby boy in January 2026!

The Class of 2013 is welcoming many new family additions this season!

Evan Okun welcomed his daughter into the world in March 2025. She’s already a better freestyler than him. Margot Sidman and Matt Lichtash welcomed their second son, Nathan, at the end of December 2025. They’re happily adjusting to life as a family of four! Evan Carmi welcomed his first child into the world in September. He’s been enjoying parenthood and can often be seen walking around Portland, wearing his baby girl in a homemade linen-woven wrap. Ross Gormley lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, works at Cambridge Health Alliance as a psychotherapist, and has a baby on the way in June. He writes here and there for Psychology Today and is always toying with book projects. He gets hot pot once a quarter with Jacob Eichengreen and plays in a virtual band with Henry Robertson. Ross is grateful to have avoided sunburn at the Virginia waterpark with Nate Jacobs and his bachelor crew. Nate kindly asks that no one ever wear a shirt with his face on it ever again. You can find Ross on Instagram and Midway Cafe on Friday nights. 

As one of the many civil servants whose federal service ended abruptly in 2025, James Gardner has redirected his energy toward humanitarian work in Cairo, Egypt, for 2026. He had some great mini-reunions in 2025: eating great, German cuisine with Amanda Morrow in the summer (prost!); finding an uplifting respite with Cristine Khan and Joel Hochman in NYC; playing “country tag” with the phenomenal Barbaralynn Moseman in NYC and Brussels; and enjoying an amazing moment in Cairo with Miriam Manda ’12. Wes alum or prospective students traveling through the Cairo area in 2026 are warmly welcome to reach out over Instagram—inshallah!

Zachary Malter was recently a television game show contestant on season 5 of Fox’s Name That Tune, where he was the winner of his episode. Jeanne McPhee married her husband, Danny Boessenecker, in Laguna Beach, California, in November 2025. The happy couple danced the night away with many Wesleyan alumni, including Ruby Hernandez ’11 and Peter Modera ’11, Katie Schad and Adam Purdy, Laura Volgenau, Ashley Palmieri, and Claire Larson ’15.

Prince Emenalo and his wife welcomed their third child last year, a little girl. He was also selected for Wesleyan football’s 2010s All-Decade Team. “It was nice to be honored at halftime and get to see a lot of former teammates and reconnect on old times. Go Wes!” 

Greetings, Class of 2012!

Please enjoy the following updates from your classmates:

Raghu Appasani writes, “I am living in San Francisco and loving it. Enjoying my career as a concierge integrative and addiction psychiatrist and launched a new venture capitalist–backed start-up called Ginko! Staying in touch with my close Wesleyan friends and regular hikes with Leigh Stewart ’13 and others.”

Alek Barkats and Howe Pearson have just released an album of family-friendly music!

Alek writes, “Howe and I started working on this album way back in 2021. Titles were sent back and forth, and you had to write a whole dang song for the title you got. Luckily we took it easy on each other. We recorded everything ourselves in New Orleans, Oakland, and Philadelphia. You can even hear real live New Orleans rain on the album.

“The album is silly and special and good for your heart . . . so feel we! Hope you and the kids love it.”

Laura Bliss won the award for best feature at the Northern California Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards for her article about the mismanagement of Yosemite National Park under its concessionaire, Aramark.

Ashley Garrett writes, “I lost my job this year with the federal government, but now I am working in my hometown. I am the program manager of Roxbury Worx at The American City Coalition (TACC). We are focused on connecting Bostonians to jobs in the life sciences, biotech, and green jobs.”

Alex Ketchum writes, “In June 2025, I got tenure at McGill University at the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. My books, Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food (with Recipes)! (Arsenal Pulp Press, October 2025) and How to Organize Inclusive Events and Conferences (Microcosm, January 2026), have just come out.”

Jisan Zaman writes, “2025 was an eventful year. At the beginning of the year, I got to spend a little time with my senior year crew, JAMPZ (short for Jisan Zaman, Adrian Rothschild, Michael Inkles, and Zach Tausanovitch), at Orlando, and we checked out Universal Studios and EPCOT. It was my first time, and it didn’t disappoint.

            “Most of the year, we were busy tending to our toddler, Aktaris, as we tackle the challenges of raising a neurodivergent kiddo. As friends and family are building families of their own, it’s great to stay in touch with some of the Wesleyan family we built over decades now.”

Thanks to those who contributed and feel free to pass along notes at any time!

Hi, Class of 2011—I hope this finds you well!

Robert Alvarez writes, “I currently have a successful art practice, based here in Austin, Texas, under the name RF. Alvarez. I make paintings—ones that depict everyday life imbued with a bit of allegory; drawing juxtapositions between a queer modern existence and the history of loneliness and machismo embedded in the Texas heritage. This past year I showed at the Armory Fair and Art Basel, as well as my first West Coast solo in Los Angeles. I’ve had solos in London and New York, and I’ve shown in Rome, Dallas, among others. In the fall I gained my first major gallery representation with Megan Mulrooney Gallery. And I had my first institutional showing at the Palm Springs Art Museum. And at the Armory Fair, I was awarded the Delfina Prize—a very prestigious, three-month residency in London, which I will be doing this upcoming fall. I’m also in the process of turning my studio into an artist’s salon here in Austin: hosting creative workshops, film screenings, art talks, and providing resources to the art community here in town.”

Eliza (Gordon) Sears graduated from the University of Texas’s Cooperative Superintendency Program with her doctorate in May 2024. She currently works with an education nonprofit (The Holdsworth Center) that focuses on building leadership capacity in educators across the state of Texas. She married her best friend, Gage, in March 2025, in Austin, with many Wesleyan friends in attendance! 

Devon Hopkins tells us, “I started a new role at Adobe and am now splitting my time between LA and the Bay Area. Getting married in May right before Reunion and looking forward to seeing everyone there!”

Look out for updates regarding Reunion—15 years!

Best,

Allie

Greetings, Wesleyan community! Please enjoy the following update from the Class of 2010:

Sam Schilit BA ’10, MA ’11 and husband, Jeremy Rosenweig, welcomed their daughter, Brynn Schilit Rosenweig, in July 2025. Brynn is named in memory of Alex Brynn Hartley.Brynn will grow up learning about the enthusiasm, loyalty, inquisitiveness, and generosity that Alex emanated during her time at Wesleyan and beyond. Sam also started a new position as a clinical genetics laboratory director at Labcorp in December.

Chloe Bolton shares, “My brother and I started a design studio: Objects Mathematically Generated. We will be exhibiting at Alcova during Milan Design Week in April. Would love to connect with other alumni in Milan!” Here’s Chloe’s website: omg-home.com.

Finally, Sam Egendorf has started a business with a fellow Wes alum, Sam Walker ’13. The two are partners at Range Renewables, a boutique, clean energy finance advisory firm.

Thanks, as always, to all contributors, and feel free to share notes anytime to DavidALayne@gmail.com.

Hello everyone! Here are some updates from our peers:

Nikolas Ortega is relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area (again) to pursue his MBA at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he’ll concentrate on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and ethical technology deployment. Niko looks forward to connecting with fellow Wesleyan alumni in the Bay Area and helping strengthen our local community through events and gatherings. If you’re in the area or would like to reconnect, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Nicky Yeager is a biology department administrator at NYU and is beginning the interdisciplinary NYU Gallatin MA program to study writing, film, and American studies. They contribute journalism to the Cleveland Review of Books, the Texas Observer, and The Indypendent.

As for me, I recently started a new position as a policy analyst at the New York City Council, where I conduct policy research and analysis on issues related to housing, homelessness, and general welfare.

A huge thank you to all who contributed! And to everyone else, be on the lookout for an email from me about the next issue.