Class Notes

In December, KT Korngold received the Wisdom of the Elders Award from the Montessori Accreditation Council of Teacher Education, for her work, writing, and innovation in education. MACTE is the accrediting organization for Montessori teacher education in the U.S. and abroad. In June, she was inducted into the Early Childhood Hall of Heroes, by the Child Care Council of Westchester and received a certificate of recognition from the New York State Legislature. In November, KT opened a new floor at her school, the Montessori Children’s Center in West Harrison, N.Y. KT adds: “I just returned from Hanoi, Vietnam, where I led of team of six teachers to kick-off our Montessori course in infant and toddler education for 35 future toddler teachers in Vietnam. A highlight of the course was hearing the adult learners compare Dr. Montessori to Skinner, Maslow, and Vygotsky in Vietnamese! Plus, I was able to squeeze in a visit to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world heritage site.”

Randy Accetta writes from Tucson: “Life is rolling along down here, but my knees hurt, my hair is beyond thinning, and my 11- and 12-year-olds call me “Boomer.” After getting a PhD in American Lit (thanks to Richard Slotkin for all his great Wesleyan courses), I’ve ended up teaching entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona. My wife and I own a family company, Run Tucson, that coaches runners nationally and produces running events in Arizona, including a half marathon at the Grand Canyon.” Randy also heads up a national coaching program and travels to about 25 cities a year, teaching run-coaching seminars. “Last year I had a great visit with Scott Rosenzweig while teaching in Bozeman!” Randy said, “If any Wesleyan folk are ever in Tucson, track me down and we’ll get together.”

Rob Menard is a practicing surgeon in Northern California. He “was in Paris at the International Society of Craniofacial Surgery meeting in September and got to hang out with Wesleyan best friend, Ethan Beardsley ’86. Rob also traveled to Myanmar in January to do cleft lip and palate surgery in NayPyiDaw.

Despite having been a government major, Dave Given has spent his career as a consulting actuary working on private pension plans. His wife, Irene, and he were married in 1990 and have lived in west of Boston since 1991. Dave writes: “No kids, but we have motorcycles, Golden Retrievers, and horses (Irene’s passion). We love the outdoors and along the way, fell in love with the Northern Rockies. Two years ago, we bought our eventual retirement home in Missoula, Mont. We plan to spend lots of time exploring and getting lost by any means possible.”

Marybeth Pytlik Ellison reports: “It was great to see Danny Weinstein, who took a break from sunny San Diego to come to Connecticut last summer and stay with us. He is using his considerable brain power for things outside the medical field these days. I am still in medicine, specifically developmental pediatrics.” Marybeth teaches at Yale School of Medicine. Her son is getting his PhD and her daughter also teaches. Marybeth’s husband retired from pediatric cardiac surgery and now sculpts full-time “which has much better hours.” She says they “travel internationally often, ski, dance, run, and truly enjoy life.”

Perhaps an excellent prescription for us all.

CAROLINE WILKINS | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Hello, classmates! I apologize for my lapse last time around. We do have some news this month. It’s lovely to hear from you all. It warms me in my (imminent) dotage.

Maureen Sweeney directs the Immigration Clinic at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in Baltimore, where she lives with her husband. Her three adult children joined them on a 16-day trip rafting at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. She would like to give a shout-out for Malu Rydfors to drop a line sometime.

Karen Rothblatt Zilberstein’s book, Parents Under Pressure: Struggling to Raise Children in an Unequal America, has won two 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards since it was published last year (in the categories of Parenting/Family and Current Events/Social Change). In more personal news, after 26 years of working while parenting three children, she is now an empty nester. Despite the creaky joints (and because of the extra time) she has run two half-marathons since the summer; though that is about as much as she is prepared to do.

Steven Barg has left Goldman Sachs after nearly 10 years and is joining Elliott Management as global head of corporate engagement (one of the leading alternative asset managers). After nearly 35 years as an investment banker, he is looking forward to his move to the buy-side. He is now an empty nester and is wondering why he is still putting up with the Northeast winter.

Scott Pearson will be stepping down as executive director of the District of Columbia Public Charter Board at the end of May 2020, after 8.5 years. He has been focused on how public charter schools can play a constructive role in improving public education. With both children in college, he is setting a new course.

Nina Mullen is proud to have been selected as landscape designer of the year by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Her design, Panoramic Haven, in the Oakland Hills of California, converted a vast lawn to a stunningly vibrant, water-wise space with sweeping views for relaxing and entertaining. Her design for her client developed the surrounding natural landscape of verdant green winter and tawny summer. You can see more of her work at mullendesign.net.

Murrey Nelson has been in San Francisco for 20 years, despite her long-abandoned vow to leave and return to NYC after only two. She has concentrated on fundraising for the arts for 14 years and is in her third year as development director of two-time Grammy-winning choral ensemble, Chanticleer. She is active in the theatre community, serving on the board of a Middle Eastern theatre company, Golden Thread. Recently, she was in NYC and caught up with Lea Barth (who is getting ready to send her last child off to college next year). She has also been in contact with Paul Oh and Philip Anker ’86.

I am sorry to not be in closer touch with our Philadelphia classmates. Simone Zelitch’s fifth novel Judenstaat is now available from PM Press (an alternative history of Germany had it been established as a Jewish state). And Julia Lopez has a book of poetry scheduled to be released in the spring and is working at Mural Arts Philadelphia as program manager in the department of art education. (Julia’s blog is juliascarnaval.blogspot.com).

Also, you should see what Vashti Dubois ’83 has accomplished at The Colored Girls Museum in Germantown (thecoloredgirlsmuseum.com). I have been to her space several times and it is extraordinary.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Greetings from seasonally warm New Jersey! Not sure whether to celebrate or be concerned about the beautiful 60° January weekend we had here in the Garden State. I suppose it depends on which side of the aisle you are on. But I’m told to keep these notes nonpolitical, so all I will say is, “Yikes!” Wishing you light and love in the coming decade. Here is the news:

With both kids in college, Lisa Kennedy sold the house and downsized to condo life and is loving it! She is in the residential real estate biz for 18 years and going strong. Now, Lisa is with Coldwell Banker. Daughter Julia will receive her bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and son Adam is a film and TV production major at Valencia College in Orlando. Last summer, Lisa and Adam visited Ken Fuch, who took them on a personal tour of his new L.A. soundstage of Family Feud.

Karen Miller’s five kids are out of college and have started their own journeys. She and her spouse traveled to Africa, France, Spain, and a few other fun spots. When not traveling, she continues to play squash competitively. In June, her daughter is getting married in Lake Placid.

Richard Cho was selected as a 2017 Distinguished Career Fellow (DCI) at Stanford University. Richard has close to 25 years of experience in the energy industry, having served as the CEO and president and/or board member for several companies. For most of his career, he developed alternative energy projects around the world. He is the founder of Ridge Energy Services, a company that is making investments in the energy sector.

Greg LoPiccolo writes, “After 19 years at Harmonix, where I worked on Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and numerous other music games, I struck out on my own last year and founded ToneStone, focused on music creativity for nonmusicians, driven by gameplay. Chris Foster ’92 is collaborating on the design. Look for it in 2021!”

In December, Sue Peabody returned to Réunion Island for the opening of her museum exhibit, L’étrange histoire de Furcy Madeleine, which explores the struggle of one man to become free in French and English legal systems. While in London, Sue caught up with Jenny Boylan ’80 and Deirdre Finney Boylan, when Jenny delivered a lecture on plot, self-acceptance, and love to students, parents, and staff of the American School. Sue began work on her next book, The Failure of the Succès: Anatomy of a Slave Smuggling Voyage.

Mitch Plave sends greetings from Washington, D.C. He serves as special counsel at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is an agency that charters and supervises national banks. His focus is administrative law, which involves the rulemaking process, public input to adoption of rules, and judicial review of rulemakings. Son Aaron Plave ’15, is a software engineer at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Los Angeles. Daughter Leah is a cellist and recently completed a master’s at McGill. Her first CD will be issued this spring. Mitch had dinner with Beth Tractenberg, who is thriving as a wills, trust, and estates lawyer in New York at Steptoe & Johnson.

Charlie Brenner, now an empty nester with a University of Iowa graduate son, and his fiancée bought a beautiful 30-acre farm outside of Iowa City, where they are building a new house and starting a lavender business. They will stock the ponds and plant the first field this spring. As head of biochemistry at UI and chief scientific adviser for ChromaDex, Charlie tweets about metabolism @charlesmbrenner.

Vashti Dubois is at The Colored Girls Museum, which is partnering with the Center for Digital Humanities at the University of Arizona to establish a model for collaboratively producing VR/AR museum experiences to expand and engage audiences. The institutions will create an augmented reality enhanced virtual museum experience that connects a dynamic group of artists, educators, and technologists with everyday women of the African diaspora.

Sheila Spencer kicked off the New Year 2020 in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles with her husband and two kids who are home from college. Her daughter is a sophomore at Sarah Lawrence College studying studio art, and her son is an English major at Reed College in Portland, Ore. She had a lovely dinner with Heidi Mastrogiovanni ’79.

Pam Dolin sends new year’s greetings and writes, “I am a newly minted grandmother to baby girl, Violet Evie! A new chapter in life!”

Tricia Reilly attended Family Weekend to visit her son, Peter ’21, a junior, and ran into her friend and former partner from Tyler Cooper, Bob Allen ’70, who was being honored at midfield during halftime as a member of the last undefeated Cardinal football team—Little Three Champions—on their 50th anniversary. Tricia is the chair of the Labor and Employment Practice at Murtha Cullina, LLP in New Haven.

Nancy Rommelman’s works appear in the LA Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Reason, and other publications. Her most recent book, To the Bridge, A True Story of Motherhood and Murder, was published in 2018. After years on the West Coast, she is delighted to back home in NYC (Chinatown).

Laurie Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

So many wrote and (with apologies) I (Michael) will abbreviate your notes to fit you all within our word limit. Starting with what’s most on the communal mind right now:

David Hessekiel imagines that, like many of you, when he thinks about turning 60 next year his emotions ping-pong between a state of contentment (“It’s been a pretty decent life”) and horror (“Where the $#@! did all those years go and how did I ever get so gray?”). To deal with this: going to Oaxaca to celebrate the Day of the Dead.

Bob Russo and Carol Frueh Russo ’84 and Tom Davis wrote about meeting a crowd—Anthony Pahigian, John Brautigam, Mike Levine, Mark Sirota, Steve Davies, Laurie McFarlane ’83, and Mike and Nettie Greenstein ’84, with families—in Chicago for Joe Barrett’s 60th birthday, “touring museums, eating deep dish pizza, and wondering how we could all be on the verge turning 60 already.” Sue the T. Rex is there, so feel young.

Some big life numbers and events to mark time:

Terri Seligman celebrated 33 years of marriage in December and, in a return to her Wesleyan roots, she joined a women’s Afro-Brazilian samba reggae percussion group. Not “gig ready” yet but hoping to get there. “I see Peter Blauner, Sabrina Allan, Ellen Bender, and Kathy Moss.”

My high school and Wesleyan classmate, Michael Scharf, is now a grandpa. Michael is at Sidney Kimmel School of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, directing the Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program. He and wife Sandy enjoy biking around the Schuylkill.

Susan Cole ’82, MALS ’97 is twice retired and 79 (as of her writing), working for the past 15 years as a volunteer with author Wally Lamb at a women’s prison facilitating a writers’ class/workshop. Turning 60 was just fine, right Susan?

Diana Moller-Marino has been associate professor of theatre at the Hartt School, University of Hartford “for nigh on 20-plus years” and for over 10 years guiding the presentation of In the Company of Others, autobiographical monologues on issues of identity for Wesleyan’s incoming student orientation. In Middletown. “Yeah, I married the mayor’s son!”

Larry Selzer reconnected with Ned Goss and Pat Maguire ’83 in Boston, and Paul Barry in Arlington, Va. “I am still at The Conservation Fund, where I have been since 1990. The Conservation Fund issued the nation’s first ever green bond for conservation and it was fascinating and exciting to work with Moody’s and Goldman Sachs to get it done.” And all three children graduated from college.

More news: Emilie Attwell is again Emilie Attwell. Or Bunny, if that’s how you remember her. “All things happened at the same time—I got divorced, I became retirement eligible, and I dyed my hair purple.”

Matthew Capece and wife Alexis vacationed in Ireland for the first time in September, lodging with local celeb DJ Bubbles in Dublin. “Had a grand time. Came back to the states with 10 pounds of packaged mushy peas. Love the stuff.” Me, too.

Robert Smythe become a company member at Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, Pa., America’s oldest continuously operating repertory theater. Susan Smythe continues to work at Swarthmore College “building buildings” and recently saw John Giammatteo ’81, when he came to document murals being removed from a building prior to demolition.

Richard LeComte moved to Lexington from Alabama, writing and editing at the University of Kentucky. His short play, Redstone, based on his father’s memories of the guided missile school at Huntsville in the 1950s, was produced at a festival on Alabama history by Theatre Tuscaloosa.

Greg Murphy lives in Weston, Conn., and is a financial advisor. “I am active in local politics opposing Hartford and the governor in hopes of resolving Connecticut’s scary finances.”

Richard Klein became a partner at the real estate law firm of Romer Debbas LLP to head up their cooperative/condominium department. He also moved to Port Chester, N.Y., “which I love, great vibe and restaurants.”

Paul Meltzer is “fighting the good fight serving as an at-large council member on Denton City Council in Denton, Texas.”

Greg Lewis is still in Berkeley, still inventing/designing/building air sampling/monitoring instruments (one scheduled to fly on the International Space Station) and still rowing, winning his sixth rowing full marathon. “They are actually the easiest rowing race to win because almost everyone just tries to survive.” Sure, Greg.

David Loucky and his wife, Nancy, have been keeping bees (“tending” bees if you’re from California) since 2013.

Nancy Danielle Kornfeld lives in Nyack, N.Y., and Palo Alto, Calif., running the Helen Hayes Youth Theatre and managing the solo career of her husband Jordan Rudess, keyboardist in the progressive metal band, Dream Theater. It was great to meet up with Nancy again at Peter Eckart ’86 and Laura Fraser’s now Antepenultimate Party, “the evening before the evening before New Year’s Eve.” Soon, Laura, it will conflict with Thanksgiving!

Laura Fraser | laura@laurafraser.com

Michael Ostacher | mostacher@gmail.com

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest where I (Joanne) am visiting my oldest son and dodging the drizzle that is Seattle’s winter trademark. I’ve learned that you can temper the damp with some of Washington State’s red wine—cheers!

On behalf of the Class of ’81, I would like to extend warm thanks to retiring Wesleyan magazine editor Cynthia Rockwell MALS ’19. Cynthia has steered and edited the class notes for more years than I can count in addition to contributing interesting and thought-provoking pieces of journalism to the magazine. She will be sorely missed for her dedication, patience, literary exactitude, and sense of humor. All the best in your retirement, Cynthia! Thank you for all your guidance over the years.

Classmates, in anticipation of our (gulp!) 40th class Reunion, you are cordially invited by Belinda Buck Kielland,Livia Wong McCarthy, and Nancy Parker Wilson to a first-ever Class of ’81 Pre-Reunion on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. An old-fashioned New England clambake will take place at Greenvale Vineyards (Nancy’s family winery) on the banks of the picturesque Sakonnet River in bucolic Portsmouth, R.I. (neighboring town to Newport). Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway): with these co-hosts, you know it will be an amazing party—don’t miss it! If you haven’t already, you should be receiving an invitation in your email soon.  Please contact Liv at Livia2@me.com with any questions.

Dr. Kerry Bernstein wrote in after a long hiatus. She and her husband Wayne Balkan moved to Miami in 1991 to take faculty positions at the University of Miami (now Miller) School of Medicine, a sort of “coming home” for Kerry, who grew up in South Florida. She also convinced Wayne McGill ’78 (from Montreal) to relocate with the assurance that the “hurricanes never hit and the temperature doesn’t go above 90 degrees”. Well, shortly after moving, Hurricane Andrew, one of the worst hurricanes in history, hit the area . . . so much for Kerry’s credibility—in the meteorological domain at least!

Kerry became chair of her department (molecular and cellular pharmacology) in late 2018 and has been associate director of education and training for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2015.  “It’s particularly exciting and gratifying to be part of the leadership team that worked to make Sylvester the 71st cancer center in the nation to be designated by the National Cancer Institute.” Kerry and Wayne have two children, Kyla and Liam. Kyla graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and works in management consulting in NYC; Liam will graduate from American University in May 2020. Kerry adds, “We love getting together with Wesleyan alumni, including locally with Greg Andrisand Ed Gross ’87 and their wonderful wives. Our kids were in school with Greg’s and Ed’s, beginning in pre-K. Brian Hennesey ’04, Wesleyan alumni coordinator, South Florida) deserves a special shout-out for the great happy hours he organizes.

Ariel Rubissow Okamoto is trying to turn over a new leaf at 60—the family had to sell the California vineyard generations had owned for 40 years, and she’s still grieving. Ariel writes: “’It’s the land, Katie Scarlett, the land . ..’ Time to really write that memoir, novel, creative opus—so stand by! Suddenly, missing the Wesleyan orchestra (1/4 of my entire degree as last second violin). Funny the things that pop up with—dare I say it?– ‘age.’” You can now reach her at aro@bayariel.com.

In addition to his many other professional accolades, Dr. Sam Selesnick has recently assumed the position of editor-in-chief of The Laryngoscope, an official journal of the Triological Society, the oldest in the field and the primary voice for otolaryngologic clinical and translation research. For the past 28 years, Sam has been on the faculty at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he is currently professor and vice-chair of the department of otolaryngology, with appointments also in the departments of neurosurgery and neurology. He is also in the department of neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Congrats, Sam!

As we get older, it seems like we are getting busier and more adventurous—and that’s a good thing. My Wes housemate and fellow intrepid traveler Kathy Prager Conrad sent pix from her most recent adventure: cross-country skiing in Yellowstone National Park. “If you like (it) in the summer, you should see it in winter—love the steam and ice!” She did not encounter wolves that day but “got stuck in a bison traffic jam—beats the (D.C.) Beltway any day!” Check out her gorgeous photos on her Facebook page.

I recently returned from a “trip of a lifetime” partial-family safari to Tanzania.  Unfortunately, Son #1 had to stay behind due to a thing called “work.” Son #2 was smitten with Tanzania after living/learning/researching in Olduvai Gorge a few years back and decided to organize this trip before he finishes grad school in the spring. My husband, two sons, and I landed in Arusha and hit several national parks and the Ngorngoro Conservation Area, ending at the Ngorongoro Crater. Experiencing the scope of the wildebeest migration (they travel with zebras and gazelles) is awe-inspiring. Looking a lioness in the eye from eight feet away is spiritual. Observing a mother cheetah and her feeding cubs (spoiler: it was a baby zebra) is experiencing the great circle of life up-close. And the elephants cavorting in the river is like watching a group of young boys at a water hole. Don’t wait . . . do it! Africa changes your life!

David I. Block shared this story: “At a meeting of the Emergency Committee on Rojava in NYC, I mentioned how we brought Murray Bookchin, whose ideas inform their politics, to our conference on social ecology our senior year.

“Wait. What school did you say you went to?” I was asked, by a woman about my age.

“Wesleyan.”

“I thought so,” she replied. “I thought I recognized you.”

“What year were you?” I asked.

“1981.”

“I co-write your class notes,” I reminded Erica Goldman, who gave me permission to note that we met doing what we can to save—not betray—Rojava, the Kurds, and the SDF that defeated ISiS, from the invading Turks.

I had a serendipitous and utterly delightful e-chat with Mark Molina this fall. Mark, still in Connecticut, left the field of law in 2014 and invested early in OrangeTheory. He is now the (obviously fit!) owner of four locations. He told me he had attended Homecoming 2019 with his youngest son Ted ’20.  When I asked if Ted played as well (Mark is a former Wes football player), Mark replied, “No! He’s too smart for that—but he’s kind enough to indulge me and sits with me at home games. He’s a great kid!” Indeed, he would have to be with a dad like Mark. 

And that concludes this issue’s reporting. Hoping that some of you will be able to make the Pre-Reunion in Rhode Island in August.

Keep the news coming!

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest where I (Joanne) am visiting my oldest son and dodging the drizzle that is Seattle’s winter trademark. I’ve learned that you can temper the damp with some of Washington State’s red wine—cheers!

On behalf of the Class of ’81, I would like to extend warm thanks to retiring Wesleyan magazine editor Cynthia Rockwell MALS ’19. Cynthia has steered and edited the class notes for more years than I can count in addition to contributing interesting and thought-provoking pieces of journalism to the magazine. She will be sorely missed for her dedication, patience, literary exactitude, and sense of humor. All the best in your retirement, Cynthia! Thank you for all your guidance over the years.

Classmates, in anticipation of our (gulp!) 40th class Reunion, you are cordially invited by Belinda Buck Kielland,Livia Wong McCarthy, and Nancy Parker Wilson to a first-ever Class of ’81 Pre-Reunion on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. An old-fashioned New England clambake will take place at Greenvale Vineyards (Nancy’s family winery) on the banks of the picturesque Sakonnet River in bucolic Portsmouth, R.I. (neighboring town to Newport). Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway): with these co-hosts, you know it will be an amazing party—don’t miss it! If you haven’t already, you should be receiving an invitation in your email soon.  Please contact Liv at Livia2@me.com with any questions.

Dr. Kerry Bernstein wrote in after a long hiatus. She and her husband Wayne Balkan moved to Miami in 1991 to take faculty positions at the University of Miami (now Miller) School of Medicine, a sort of “coming home” for Kerry, who grew up in South Florida. She also convinced Wayne McGill ’78 (from Montreal) to relocate with the assurance that the “hurricanes never hit and the temperature doesn’t go above 90 degrees”. Well, shortly after moving, Hurricane Andrew, one of the worst hurricanes in history, hit the area . . . so much for Kerry’s credibility—in the meteorological domain at least!

Kerry became chair of her department (molecular and cellular pharmacology) in late 2018 and has been associate director of education and training for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2015.  “It’s particularly exciting and gratifying to be part of the leadership team that worked to make Sylvester the 71st cancer center in the nation to be designated by the National Cancer Institute.” Kerry and Wayne have two children, Kyla and Liam. Kyla graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and works in management consulting in NYC; Liam will graduate from American University in May 2020. Kerry adds, “We love getting together with Wesleyan alumni, including locally with Greg Andrisand Ed Gross ’87 and their wonderful wives. Our kids were in school with Greg’s and Ed’s, beginning in pre-K. Brian Hennesey ’04, Wesleyan alumni coordinator, South Florida) deserves a special shout-out for the great happy hours he organizes.

Ariel Rubissow Okamoto is trying to turn over a new leaf at 60—the family had to sell the California vineyard generations had owned for 40 years, and she’s still grieving. Ariel writes: “’It’s the land, Katie Scarlett, the land . ..’ Time to really write that memoir, novel, creative opus—so stand by! Suddenly, missing the Wesleyan orchestra (1/4 of my entire degree as last second violin). Funny the things that pop up with—dare I say it?– ‘age.’” You can now reach her at aro@bayariel.com.

In addition to his many other professional accolades, Dr. Sam Selesnick has recently assumed the position of editor-in-chief of The Laryngoscope, an official journal of the Triological Society, the oldest in the field and the primary voice for otolaryngologic clinical and translation research. For the past 28 years, Sam has been on the faculty at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he is currently professor and vice-chair of the department of otolaryngology, with appointments also in the departments of neurosurgery and neurology. He is also in the department of neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Congrats, Sam!

As we get older, it seems like we are getting busier and more adventurous—and that’s a good thing. My Wes housemate and fellow intrepid traveler Kathy Prager Conrad sent pix from her most recent adventure: cross-country skiing in Yellowstone National Park. “If you like (it) in the summer, you should see it in winter—love the steam and ice!” She did not encounter wolves that day but “got stuck in a bison traffic jam—beats the (D.C.) Beltway any day!” Check out her gorgeous photos on her Facebook page.

I recently returned from a “trip of a lifetime” partial-family safari to Tanzania.  Unfortunately, Son #1 had to stay behind due to a thing called “work.” Son #2 was smitten with Tanzania after living/learning/researching in Olduvai Gorge a few years back and decided to organize this trip before he finishes grad school in the spring. My husband, two sons, and I landed in Arusha and hit several national parks and the Ngorngoro Conservation Area, ending at the Ngorongoro Crater. Experiencing the scope of the wildebeest migration (they travel with zebras and gazelles) is awe-inspiring. Looking a lioness in the eye from eight feet away is spiritual. Observing a mother cheetah and her feeding cubs (spoiler: it was a baby zebra) is experiencing the great circle of life up-close. And the elephants cavorting in the river is like watching a group of young boys at a water hole. Don’t wait . . . do it! Africa changes your life!

David I. Block shared this story: “At a meeting of the Emergency Committee on Rojava in NYC, I mentioned how we brought Murray Bookchin, whose ideas inform their politics, to our conference on social ecology our senior year.

“Wait. What school did you say you went to?” I was asked, by a woman about my age.

“Wesleyan.”

“I thought so,” she replied. “I thought I recognized you.”

“What year were you?” I asked.

“1981.”

“I co-write your class notes,” I reminded Erica Goldman, who gave me permission to note that we met doing what we can to save—not betray—Rojava, the Kurds, and the SDF that defeated ISiS, from the invading Turks.

I had a serendipitous and utterly delightful e-chat with Mark Molina this fall. Mark, still in Connecticut, left the field of law in 2014 and invested early in OrangeTheory. He is now the (obviously fit!) owner of four locations. He told me he had attended Homecoming 2019 with his youngest son Ted ’20.  When I asked if Ted played as well (Mark is a former Wes football player), Mark replied, “No! He’s too smart for that—but he’s kind enough to indulge me and sits with me at home games. He’s a great kid!” Indeed, he would have to be with a dad like Mark. 

And that concludes this issue’s reporting. Hoping that some of you will be able to make the Pre-Reunion in Rhode Island in August.

Keep the news coming!

David I. Block | david.I.block@gmail.com

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

After working briefly in D.C. after graduation, Jonathan Nimer went west for law school at UC Berkeley and, almost 38 years later, is still in the Bay Area. Following a few years in law firms, he went in-house to Sun Microsystems back in 1990 and then, after Oracle bought Sun in 2010, moved to VMware where he spent the past 10 years. Jonathan says that the front row seat to see the evolution of the tech industry has been fun. He and his wife Alicia Torre, (Williams ’75) have three boys (28, 28 and 25). “Life has been kind to me and my family and I feel very fortunate.“

Susan Carroll has been living in the Triangle area of North Carolina since 2004, after living and working for many years in Geneva, Switzerland, and Cambridge, Mass. She spent about 20 years working in the field of international humanitarian assistance, most of this with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She now directs the Rotary Peace Center at Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a joint graduate program for mid-career world-wide international peace practitioners. Susan’s three children are spread around the East Coast, the oldest a software engineer in the D.C. area, one graduating from Appalachian State University in May and the other taking time off and working for Habitat for Humanity through the AmeriCorps program.

Melissa Stern said that 2020 is starting out as a fun and busy year. Her work will be featured at the Taipei Art Fair in Taiwan from Jan. 16-20. After that she will participate in a show in Long Island City, NY called Claytopia at the Plaxall Gallery. It’s a 12,000 sq. ft. former factory space. Melissa will be having a solo show entitled Strange Girls Shanghai in April at Longmen Arts Projects in Shanghai. She’ll be in China for the opening and hopes to see WesTech folks there!

Irwin Gelman says he especially gets to kvell at the success of his oldest daughter, Audrey, who broke another male glass ceiling by appearing on the September cover of Inc. magazine while eight months pregnant. Audrey’s company, The Wing, is a taking off as a women’s club workspace, and general medium promoting women-to-women business networking. They now have over 10,000 members at sites all over the U.S. and in London, with sites being built in Paris and Toronto. This kvell includes his newest role as a zeide (Yiddish, for debonair grandfather who has retained a full head of dark hair) to a very cute grandson, Sidney Allen, Wesleyan Class of 2042!

Cesar Noble has been in the Hartford, Conn. area since graduation and is a judge of the Superior Court. He says there are lots of Wes grads in the legal community including Carl Taylor ’78 and Bob Nastri ’77 (also judges), Chris Lynch ’81, and Tim Hollister ’78. Cesar has been blessed with three daughters with his youngest graduating from high school this year, his second is in flight school and oldest now lives in Nashville.

After 40 years in the wilderness, Alan Jacobs wrote that he is returning to the Promised Land (Manhattan Upper East Side, of course) and feeling like it’s graduation day all over again. Alan is working on a historical film set in Antarctica and a bunch of short ones on the other six continents. His recent travels allowed him to connect with far-flung Wes friends and family: spent a wonderful weekend at the Berkshires-adjacent home of Vicki Cohen and Kyle Wilkinson, saw Jeff Green on a break from his ER shift in Tel Aviv, Paul Edwards in San Francisco, Dave Stern at his birthday party in NYC, Nancy Danielle Kornfeld ’82 and husband Jordan at their home in New City, New York, and his son, Ron Jacobs ’16, who just started a great job at Live Nation in West Hollywood.

Paul Singarella retired from Latham & Watkins effective Oct. 1, 2019 and opened a family office with his son, Nick. They are focused on large-scale water, energy, and real estate infrastructure projects in North America that are both economically viable and socially valuable. Right now, they are focused on the restoration of the iconic Hotel Laguna next to Main Beach in Laguna Beach—a landmark property on the State’s historic register. Humphrey Bogart and the Hollywood set visited Hotel Laguna in its glory days decades ago.

Ellen Haller happily retired in July 2018 after 30 glorious years on the UC San Francisco School of Medicine faculty. She wrote that her time is now spent “cycling, playing ice hockey, taking a ‘weightlifting for seniors’ (oy!) class, and traveling! My wife is taking a sabbatical in Switzerland, so off I go to keep her company!” Her son, Daniel, will be graduating from Penn in May. He studied molecular and cell bio and was pre-med, but he’s now decided to pursue a career as a professional magician in Chicago. It’s been a passion of his since he was 10, and he’s been offered a few different performance opportunities there starting in late May. “We’re thrilled for him!” (magicofdanielroy.com)

Jacquie Shanberge McKenna | jmckenna@indra.com

Jon Spector has retired from his position as CEO of The Conference Board and is “comfortably settled with my wife, Wendy, in beautiful Woodstock, Vt., getting in shape, improving my tennis, and helping to figure out how best to develop our local economy.”

Ruth Pachman has relayed the sad news that Debbie Stuckey died, surrounded by family and friends, on Jan. 6, following her long battle with breast cancer. Ruth, along with Marilyn Fagelson and Elise Bean, “had visited with her just two weeks before, spending a lovely day trimming her Christmas tree and cherishing what was clearly close to the end of 45 years of friendship that started in Clark Hall freshman year and wound through Delta Tau, the William Street apartments, Foss Hill, and McConaughy. Debbie was a government major and got her doctorate in psychology from Boston University and Harvard. She was a family relationship therapist with her own practice in Washington, D.C. At Wes, Debbie was a fabulous dancer and singer. Her intense joy of music, among countless other things, will be remembered by us and many other classmates.” Debbie leaves behind two daughters, Kiera and Hayley, and a son, Will. Our heartfelt thoughts go out to her family.

Dave Wilson has an active musical career on saxophone and released his fifth album (One Night at Chris’) last summer with great acclaim. Dave lives with his wife, Lisa, in Lancaster, Pa., where he teaches music and owns a musical instrument shop.

Julie Skolnik is a flutist in her long-successful chamber group of 22 years, Mistral Music, and relates a heartening tale of this past year, which made the front page of The Boston Globe. Just as the group was starting a concert piece, an elderly woman in the front row collapsed in cardiac arrest. With doctors present in the audience, CPR was initiated; she came around, pleading from her departing stretcher to just be left alone (“What are you doing? I want to hear the music!”). The group responded with an encore of “Here Comes the Sun” and a visit to her in the hospital. Heart-stopping music, they feel.

Susie Muirhead Bates | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

Retirement and our 65th birthdays are a recurring theme in many of this round of class notes.

This January Mark Slitt celebrated his “Medicare birthday.” Probably among the first in our class to do so. Mark writes: “Heads up to all: You will soon receive an avalanche of mail from insurance companies (maybe even my employer Cigna, depending on what state you live in) about Medicare Advantage plans and invitations from AARP to purchase Medicare supplemental (Medigap) plans through them. Don’t worry, it’s okay, Boomer! You’ll figure it out!”

Mark is still working at Cigna and won’t retire for several more years. He now in his 10th year on the planning committee for the Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival, the longest-running film festival of any kind in Connecticut (33 seasons).

Arnie Alpert plans to retire in June after nearly 39 years with the American Friends Service Committee’s New Hampshire Program. As one of the state’s most respected activist leaders, a fund has been established in his name, the Arnie Alpert Action Fund. AFSC supporters can honor Arnie’s legacy with funds that will help the organization continue the education, advocacy, training, and bold action Arnie has modeled. Arnie enjoys running into recent New Hampshire residents Felice Burstein and John Roxby.

After 35 years in D.C., Rus Hemley has moved to Chicago. Rus will be the chair of natural sciences in the department of physics and chemistry at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Jason Baron continues his fine work in Cambodia through the Chelly Foundation, supporting Chelly scholars at universities in Phnom Penh as well as younger children of Chumkuri in rural Kampot Province. Donations can be made through the Chelly website: thechellyfoundation.org.

Karen Bovard ’77, MALS ’85 retired to Saint Paul, Minn., in 2016 to be closer to baby grandchildren, along with husband Greg Pyke (longtime Wesleyan admission dean). She’s recently back from her 11th trip to Cambodia, this time to celebrate the Arts4peace Festival with friends and family. She spends much of her time sewing as a volunteer for Days for Girls, making reusable feminine hygiene kits that enable girls to stay in school past puberty and help to prevent both early marriage and sexual exploitation of girls in 140-plus countries around the world. Karen continues her theater work (she directed more than 70 shows in her career) as an online reviewer in the busy Twin Cities theater scene.

Mark Ellison writes, “Life is good.” He has been consulting for Rubrik, a data management startup and, thus far has not been told “OK Boomer” by these “youngstahs.”

Mike Coffey continues to beat a path to Southern Cal to see daughter Lanie. She finished grad school in 2018 and started her career as a dietitian/supervisor at a WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Center in L.A. The Coffeys just spent their fourth Christmas season on the West Coast—this one in Santa Barbara. He’ll be heading back to see Lanie for a reggae fest in February. Daughter Jessie is engaged, with a wedding date of Oct. 2, 2020, in Newport. So, naturally, mom and dad are thrilled. While wife Laurie retired, Mike is still GM at Rite-Solutions, a small-ish software development and IT company in Newport.

Mim Wolf had been feeling strong urges to travel and see more of the world over the past several years, and finally, in November 2018, followed through, spending seven months exploring Costa Rica, Germany, Egypt, South India, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Mexico. Mim traveled solo with a backpack and totally enjoyed living in the moment, traveling by public buses, being helped by kind strangers, eating simple vegetarian foods, and experiencing bits and pieces of the various cultures and values surrounding her. She felt completely safe the entire time, and came home from those travels relaxed, rested, and replenished. Since then, Mim is back to private practice as a natural health consultant, in-person and over the phone. She appreciates the many blessings of life in Vermont; she is grateful to have seen a bit of this amazing planet, struggling as it is.

Will Sillin will be an artist in residence at Zion National Park from Oct. 19 through Nov. 16. He will head west a little early to get his Southwest Plein Air game up to speed before the residency. Will is hoping that Buddy Taft and Jim Laliberty will be able join him in the southwest sometime before the residency begins.

Concluding: Here is wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year and new decade.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com