Class Notes

Hi, fellow ’98ers. I missed you all at Reunion but from all accounts it seems like it was quite a good time. The following are the notes from our class.

Anya Fernald was included in Inc.’s “The Female Founders 100”—women entrepreneurs that Inc. has been most intrigued by in the past year, whose smarts are rattling industries far and wide. Within this group Anya was named one of the “17 Female Founders Built Brands That Started Movements.”

Anya is co-founder and CEO of Belcampo Meat Co. which started as a vertically integrated, certified organic, and animal welfare-approved farm and butchery in Northern California. Belcampo now runs seven restaurants, a burgeoning e-commerce site, and wholesale businesses, along with a hospitality arm that includes meat camps, where wellness-minded participants learn to butcher and cook meat. Anya is working on expansions that will include a box-subscription service for meat, bone broth, and jerky and a new restaurant and butcher shop that will open soon in NYC.

Joshua Stedman writes: “My band, Brothers of Others, had an exciting time over the Wesleyan Reunion and Commencement weekend. First, we were honored to play at our class’s 20th. The next day we performed with The Voice’s brand new champion, Brynn Cartelli. And the following day we sang the National Anthem a cappella in front of 40,000 at Fenway Park on Memorial Day Weekend.”

Nathan Eddy passed his viva for a PhD in Hebrew Bible. He still uses the Bible he bought for Religion 201 with Jeremy Zwelling, complete with Hebrew words he wrote down from that class.

Lynn Chen is directing her first feature film, I Will Make You Mine, which she also wrote, is producing, and starring in. She’s cast John Newman in it too. You can find out more at IWillMakeYouMine.com.

Amy Barnes writes: “My big news in 2018 is that I launched my own investment advisory and financial planning firm, Firebrand Wealth Management, with a focus on planning for women. I also had my second child, a baby boy, born in May. I am living in Seattle with my partner.”

Peter Isbister lives in Decatur, Ga., with his wife, Robyn, and their three kids, Mira, Ezra, and Lucia. Occasionally he sees Rachel Wellborn, who lives in Atlanta. Peter is enjoying his new job at the Southern Poverty Law Center, where he works in the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative. This past summer Peter worked with summer intern Agnes Baik ’09.

After over a decade of handling class notes, Marcus Chung has retired. I want to thank Marcus for taking this on for all of these years and for his dedication to the university and our class. We are looking for new people to help take on our class notes. If you have the time and interest, please contact me.

Jason Becton | jcxbecton@yahoo.com

Thanks for your updates, Class of 1997!

60 Minutes producer Alexandra Poolos has been nominated for an Emmy for her most recent story, a profile of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Alexandra, we’re so proud of you!

It was great to hear from Monica Santana Rosen, who wrote in to share, “It’s hard to believe, but my husband and I celebrated 21 years since the day we first met, which was just after Wesleyan graduation. We have three kids, two boys and a girl, ages 14, 10, and 6. I’m running my own consulting firm and just about to celebrate two years in business.”

Min and Alejandro Santandrea launched a new shoe brand, SantM, and had the launch party during New York Fashion Week in the former studio/home of Jean-Michele Basquiat that was owned by Andy Warhol. “We had a great Wes turn out. Thy Pham flew in from Seattle to help us. Shelby Stokes, Soraya Kernizan, Susan Lee, Susan Ha, and Josh White ’84 were there. Rebecca, the daughter of Professor Emeritus John Paoletti, represented the Paolettis. Also, received a great support from Christian Housh and his wife, Tassia Thomas, Tyler Moriguchi ’95, Michele Lau, Lauren Wolfe, Charlson Choi, and Maggie Suniewick.” Check them out at santm.co (we totally did!) And, because it’s such a small world . . . turns out Min’s kids and Sasha’s kids go to the same elementary school in NYC. And we are having coffee as soon as she’s back from Italy (ah, the shoes!).

We have exciting news from Matt Mulvey and his wife, Katie Sacksteder. They welcomed another boy, Finn Mulvey, into the world in June 2017. Katie and Matt sold their company, BeneVir Biopharm, Inc., to Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson) in July of this year, which made headlines in the hot field of cancer immunotherapy. They will remain at the helm of the company for the foreseeable future and are excited about all of the resources available at Janssen to accelerate the development of their innovative cancer treatments. But, they are most happy about being able to spend more time with their kids now that they don’t have to raise capital anymore. Congratulations, Matt and Katie! And good luck with your work discovering new therapies to fight cancer—how amazing!

Your class co-secretaries have an update. We got to spend the day together in July in NYC. Sasha and her son (age 7) and Jess and her two youngest sons (ages 9 and 6) went to lunch at Russ & Daughters at the Jewish Museum and then to the American Museum of Natural History. We lucked out on the unusually cool weather that came right after a quick summer storm. Roaming around the city together felt magical. And we cannot wait till the next Wes Reunion with all of you (mere seconds away, in 2022)! Until then, send us your photos and updates.

Jessica Shea Lehmann | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

Sasha Lewis Reisen | alewisreisen@gmail.com

Dacque Tirado talks to Shereem Brown often, as they live near each other in Montgomery County in Maryland. He teaches high school in the Bethesda area and looks forward to reconnecting with the Wesleyan Washington, D.C., Alumni Club this fall.

Jullia Chowdhury Quazi has been busy helping her son acclimate to college coursework. At 9 years old, Kairan Quazi is among the youngest college students in the country. He is earning his A.A. degree in mathematics and chemistry at a college in the SF Bay Area, and has his sights set on transferring to a four-year college in a couple of years. Hello, Wesleyan?

Daniela Louisa Bell moved with her husband and 10-year-old daughter to Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico. It was time to get back to her Mexican roots and for her daughter to learn the language and explore her heritage more, meet a million tías and primos (aunts and cousins). And frankly, to eat a lot of amazing food (Oaxaca is a culinary/gastronomic superstar within Mexico . . . and therefore the world, too!). If any Wes folks find themselves contemplating coming to southern Mexico to Oaxaca—look her up! They’d love to show you around this amazing place.

Jayme L. Peta, PhD saw Dana Schneider and Elizabeth Wilson ’95 in New York. Jayme is starting a new position as the assistant director of the office of professional development at Palo Alto University. She said, “I’m so excited to be headed back into higher education.”

Flo Stueck was inducted into the 2018 Wes Athletics Hall of Fame. Flo was the most prolific scorer in Wesleyan women’s soccer history and holds almost every scoring record—most goals in a career (49), season (16), and game (4; tied with two others), and most points in a career (115) and season (37). A captain her senior season, Flo concluded her career with several accolades. She was named to the 1995 NEWISA Senior Bowl, was a Division III All-New England selection, was named the 1994 MVP of the ECAC Championships, was selected to the NEWISA All-Star Team, and earned an All-Star selection by NSCAA/Umbro. Flo was also a member of the 1994 women’s soccer team that was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. Flo co-authored a chapter called “Well-Being: Bisexuality and Mental and Physical Health” in the textbook Bisexuality: Theories, Research, and Recommendations for The Invisible Sexuality (2018, Springer Publishing Company).

Stacey Samuel lives in D.C. where she is a supervising editor at NPR, helping to run the newsroom. She remains best friends with Kristen Worrell and Christianne Rennke Phillips and speaks to both daily.

Nina Erlich-Williams got together with Cora (Stubbs-Dame) Jeyadame in April in Southern California. They spent a leisurely day that included margaritas at lunch, shoe shopping, and a visit with her wife and their adorable kiddos on the beach. In July, Dara Federman and Nina went to San Francisco to visit with Hilary Hoeber, her husband, and their adorable baby girl. Nina enjoys life in Corvallis, Ore., with her husband and two boys. They’re just wrapping up another glorious summer that involved a lot of fresh produce from the garden and canning things like salsa, jams, and pickles. She and her husband, Sev, run a small PR firm that primarily serves nonprofits. If any Wes folks are passing through Corvallis, let her know!

Jesse Wegman lives with his wife, Kyra, and their two daughters, Sami and Natalya, in Wesleyan-stone Brooklyn. In the apartment directly above them, by chance, were Amani Willett ’97 and Ali Kalis, and their sons Satchel and Kai—although they sadly moved north to Massachusetts in the summer.

Jesse is on the editorial board of the New York Times, where he’s spent the past five-plus years writing editorials about the Supreme Court and national legal affairs. He will be taking a leave after the midterms to write a book calling for the end of the electoral college and adoption of a national popular vote for president, which will be published in early 2020, just in time to make a lot of people either happy or angry.

Dara Federman | darasf@yahoo.com 

Dacque Tirado | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

Hi, Wes fam! Many new and long-lost names highlight this season’s edition of ’95 Notes. I personally have seen a number of you recently—highlighted by a June cookout at the Croton-on-Hudson home of Leila Goldmark. We were blessed by the presence of M.C. Campbell, who recently moved to Reston, Va., where she is neighbors with Bill Burton ’74. Also got a note from old friend Julia Lazarus; she and her husband, Steve, were delighted to share the birth of their daughter, Eleanor Lazarus Aurora Parman, in September.

Fall brings the paperback edition of Vanessa Grigoriadis’s nonfiction book, Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power, and Consent on Campus, which describes what she learned talking to students, administrators, and profs at Wesleyan (among other schools) about sexual assault and its aftermath. Vanessa answers many of the questions of sexual consent in national debate, and grapples with the future of the #MeToo movement.

Matt Duffy sends a quick update: “I am just starting my third year as superintendent of the West Contra Costa Unified School District, an urban school district of 30,000 students in the Bay Area. It’s been crazy but really good. We also welcomed a new baby, Luna, into the family last year, which has been an amazing experience for our whole family. I am still in touch with a number of Wes folks, including Malcolm Edwards, Randy and Brooke Jackson, and others. Shout out to the Wes family.”

Rachel Posner and Jody Kuh met up as new members of the Kings County (aka Brooklyn) Democratic Committee, as part of a campaign called #RepYourBlock launched by the New Kings Democrats to transform the Democratic Party from the grassroots up. They’ll be representing their neighbors in shaping the party, ensuring it is increasingly inclusive, transparent, and democratic.

Rafhia Foster writes from her hometown of Philadelphia: “I’m working at Girard College as the director of cultural competencies and admissions. I get to have a mini-reunion and see lots of Wes folks at the NAIS People of Color Conference each year. DJ VanVader ’96 was the DJ for the conference party last year. I felt like I was back at a ’90s-era Wes party. I have two sweet and energetic boys, 9 and 2, who keep me very, very busy. And the biggest update is that I reconnected with a lost love this spring and eloped in August. Lots of good changes! I would love to connect with anyone stopping through Philly!”

Daniel Greene curated a new exhibition, Americans and the Holocaust, which opened in April at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. to mark its 25th anniversary. He’s also teaching history at Northwestern University and living in Evanston.

Rob Armstrong writes: “My wife, Wylie, and I moved back to Brooklyn this September after five years in London. Still writing about money for the Financial Times. Our twins are 9 and going to Brooklyn New School, which is some kind of hippie commune and a big change from British state schools, uniforms, and so on. Still hang out with Russell Agle all the time. Keen to hear from any other ’95ers in the big city.”

Up in Boston, Jason Wiser made comics for the Boston Globe and Franciscan Children’s Hospital and School to help four kids in longterm care envision themselves as superheroes. The comics and stories about these extraordinary kids can be found at bostonglobe.com.

This year, Jason celebrated the bat and bar mitzvahs of Rebecca Fried Weisberg’s [’97] daughter and Nicole Goldstein’s [’96] son.

Boston was also the site of a recent retirement party for Wes Dean of Admissions, Barbara-Jan Wilson, who specifically remarked upon the class of ’95 (her first class admitted at Wes). Katy McNeill, Jen Levine-Fried, Brendan Coughlin, Karsten Cash, and Amy Casher were some of the ’95ers at the event. Amy writes: “We represented our class and reminisced about our singing group connections (in Onomatopoeia and Ebony Singers) and work memories (Brendan and I were both hired by a small consulting start-up called Mainspring, after finishing our MBAs at Yale one year apart, and were acquired into IBM as part of their Strategy & Change group way back in 2001). What a treat to have the opportunity to catch up after all these years.”

Personally, Amy has been designing and making jewelry out of her studio in the SoWa Art + Design District for the past 10 years, living in Concord with her husband and two kids (ages 6 and 4), and recently traveled to San Francisco to link up with Foss 9 hallmates Davina Baum and Alissa Van Nort.

Thanks all of you for writing—keep on keepin’ us up to date!

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Hello from Chicago! The summer flew by and school has started for my twin girls, Sarah and Norah, who are in fourth grade! I continue to practice law at Nixon Peabody LLP in Chicago. Just last week, Peter Chandler came to an event hosted by my firm in D.C. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. It was a gorgeous locale and it was great to catch up with Peter, who works on Capitol Hill as the chief of staff to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan. During the summer, Peter traveled to Europe with Lourdes Arista and other friends and said they had a fabulous time.

Robin Shane has been appointed to a full-time, tenure-track position as an assistant professor of theater at Rider University. Robin will be joining the faculty as the costume designer professor, teaching classes, designing shows, and running the costume shop. Her daughters, Cecily and Miranda, are now in ninth and sixth grade, respectively, and doing great.

Matt Solomon is practicing law in D.C., where he lives with his wife and two kids, and is still in close touch with Jon Liebson ’92, Gideon Stein, and Sul Lunat.

Jessica Sharzer wrote the movie, A Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig that opened in theaters in September.

Jessica is also writing for the Apple reboot of Amazing Stories and raising her kids, Dante, 11, and Sasha, 8, in Los Angeles.

James Longley premiered a new feature documentary film at Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF! The movie is called Angels Are Made of Light, and it’s set in a school in Kabul. He spent three years in Afghanistan filming it.

Kika Stump has a new job in the office of institutional research at Bates College.

Karen Gaffney has been an English professor at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey for 15 years. She published an accessible introduction to race and racism with tools for action called Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox (Routledge, 2018).

Sasha Chanoff lives in Somerville, Mass., with his wife, Marni, and their two children, Hayden, 10, and Lailah, 8. RefugePoint, the organization he started in 2005 to find solutions for the most at-risk refugees, is growing. RefugePoint has main offices in Cambridge, Mass., Nairobi, and Geneva, and staff in about 25 countries around the world.

Matt Fraser has taught and studied languages and written books on education. His latest book, Critical Infrastructure for Children: The Astonishing Potential of New England Schools, asks and answers 165 questions on education.

Charlotte Castillo celebrated her 13th year working at Viacom Media Networks . . . and her first year in a new role as SVP, global franchise planning. Her role takes her around the world, where she sometimes bumps into fellow Wes folks! This summer, Charlotte had a fabulous girls’ trip to Grenada with Patria Rodriguez ’93, Cynthia Centeno ’93, and Lisette Nieves ’92.

Kate Gordon joined the firm Ridge-Lane Limited Partners as a partner in the sustainability practice. She is working on finishing a book on climate risk and “just transition” for communities dependent on fossil fuel extraction—coming out sometime in 2019 from Columbia University Press. Kate writes that her kids keep getting older—Julia started middle school this year and Jacob is in second grade.

This year is our 25th Reunion and I hope to see a lot of our classmates! In the meantime, please continue to send in updates, and if anyone finds themselves in Chicago, get in touch!

Samera Syeda Ludwig | ssludwig@nixonpeabody.com

Caissa Powell | cdp2000@hotmail.com 

Hi, classmates. We have some exciting news in this edition of the class notes. We have a graduation, a few publications, and general updates. Please keep sharing your news with us!

In May, Ethan Fenn graduated from Harvard Extension School with an A.L.M. in teaching mathematics.

Hadley Gustafson writes in, “Aloha and joyous greetings to all. I’m enjoying celebrating life and health in Hawaii. I manage my own photography, video, and design business in Honolulu. Recent projects of interest include photographing the fiery caldera on Big Island (mere weeks before the disastrous eruptions began), photo-documenting the sustainable agriculture (decolonializing and reindigenous) convergence for the University of Hawaii’s Sustainability Department, full-page photographs published in Yoga Hawaii Magazine, and documenting a Lifetime Vitality Award ceremony for original Hawaii 5-0 cast member, Al Harington. I also manage design and marketing communications for a delicious gluten-free bakery, and love dancing, music, and spending time with my family, friends, pet birds, and nature, especially the ocean and mountain-forest. In kuleana, hadleyg23@gmail.com.

Dina Kaplan writes, “Hi, Wes folk! I loved seeing everyone at Reunion, which was so, so amazing. I’m now hosting curated meditation retreats—yes, determined to make meditation social and fun. Let me know if you’re interested in joining and a big hug to the whole class!”

Andy Nordvall published an illustrated fantasy novel, Siren’s Song, and a web comic, My Roommate the Internet, which has over 10k followers. Andy is working on Smuggler’s Cove, which will be published in 2019.

Tim Olevsky e-mails, “What a great time at Reunion catching up with old friends, meeting new friends, and being amazed at all the great things the current students are doing. Wish we had Taiko drumming when we were there! Especially great to see my old debate partner, Kara McCarthy, and reminisce about the time we beat Ted Cruz.”

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Greeting and salutations, Class of 1992. I begin these notes with some very sad news. Jim Kamm died suddenly on June 21. Many of our classmates wrote in to say how much they miss Jim, and we all do.

It’s just entering the fall months in Cambridge as I write this. Hope everyone had a great summer. I spent my summer vacation working at Facebook in Menlo Park, Calif., as a consultant on the newsfeed integrity team, working on undisclosable project, and eating lots of snacks. I spent a couple weeks of my time there staying with my undergrad advisors, Martha Crenshaw (who teaches at Stanford now) and Richard Boyd (who mainly golfs but takes time out to make a mean chili). It was great to see them.

While out west, I also saw Laura Hill and Marc Kuney ’91, as well as Sarah Tunik and her husband, Dan Oppenheimer ’89, who happened to be my frosh year biology TA. It was great catching up with everyone.

Also, on the West Coast is my old housemate, Simon Fulford. After a year of being employed by the State of Oregon, Simon realized that 26 years in the nonprofit sector was hard to shake. He was appointed executive director of Parrott Creek Child and Family Services in Oregon City, Ore., on Oct. 1.

Simon, Jonathan Pratt, and I had a fun weekend in Napa, Calif., in late June during my West Coast swing. Simon wrote, “The less said about that, the better!” Speaking of Jonathan, he’s back stateside after stints in Pakistan and China, working as the chief of staff to Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.

Maurice Harris is living in Glenside, Pa., near Philly, working as associate director of affiliate support at Reconstructing Judaism, along with his wife Melissa Crabbe, and their children, Clarice (18) and Hunter (17). He is finishing up his third book, about a rabbi who lived close to 1,900 years ago named Joshua ben Hananiah and the ways in which he influenced Judaism.

Tamara O’Neil has entered a new phase of life, retiring from the Navy! Having moved in 2012 to Cabin John, Md., she took some time off to attend a women’s yoga and surf camp in Bali before accepting a job with the U.S. Postal Service as an ethics lawyer.

Teresa Van Hoy is now a professor of history at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. This past March, she launched at St. Mary’s University and Crystal City, Texas, a “Year of Remembrance,” focusing press and public attention on German-American internment during WWII. You can learn more about it here at tpr.org.

Jonathan Liebson was excited to see Joe Romano on a recent visit to Chicago. Jonathan lives in Brooklyn and regularly sees John Melnick (and kids), Rich Benjamin ’93, and Matt Solomon ’94, who lives in D.C. His writing has recently appeared in The Washington Post Book World, the Texas Observer, and Chicago Review of Books.

Cati Coe has a new book coming out in 2019 with NYU press, The New American Servitude: Political Belonging Among African Immigrant Home Care Workers.

Chris Chesak consults in the travel industry and is a travel writer.

And in closing, Byron King has issued a declaration, “I challenge our classmates on the East Coast (everywhere, actually) to do better with updates and with reaching out between Reunions. Get to it!”

Hear, hear! Paul and I would love to get your news!

Adam Berinsky | berinsky@mit.edu 

Paul Coviello | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu

In September, Sam Schneider launched the #CrossWithClams campaign, with graphics provided by Jamie Treworgy. While the hashtag never trended, the effort made a difference, and all are relieved to see the university abandon the rebranding of the logo.

Dan Mackta joined Qobuz as managing director. Qobuz, a Paris-based high-res music service with the reputation of great selection and high sound quality, launches in the U.S. in late 2018.

Brett Hardin serves as the head of the high school at Paideia School in Atlanta. His wife also works at the school as parent education coordinator and all three of their children attend the school (Alejandra, 12th, Carolina, seventh, and Russell, fifth), making it quite the family affair. Traditionally, Paideia has always had a strong link to Wesleyan and four graduates are current students.

Rajal Cohen writes with plenty to celebrate: she received tenure and is now an associate professor in the department of psychology and communication studies at the University of Idaho; and after 11 years with her partner, they married in 2017, just two years after marriage equality arrived in Idaho.

Rajal has also returned to backpacking, after a 30-year hiatus! In 2017 she explored the Seven Devils Mountains in the Hells Canyon Recreation Area, and this past summer, it was a trip to the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains. “Scrambling up the Oregon Matterhorn was challenging—and coming down was harder—but it was worth it!”

Dana and Jeremy Sacks joined Nicki and Jim Miller on a trip to Glacier National Park, along with travel back to Portland via the Empire Builder. Jeremy reports, “There were still some glaciers to see.”

On July 14, 2018, in Brooklyn, Julia Fischer and Vincent Collazo married in the company of family and friends. “It was a wonderful, magical wedding, and we took a honeymoon to Croatia in August.”

George Irvine earned a PhD in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware in May. “It is possible to work full-time, have a family, coach Little League baseball, and earn a PhD—though in hindsight I have no idea how I did it. My Wesleyan liberal arts education really helped me with the PhD’s epistemology seminar. It pays to know Dewey, Weber, Kant, and Hegel when you’re debating how we know what we know.”

Now living in Nashua, N.H., Michael Reinke runs the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter and spends time exploring his New England roots.

After a brief stint in Montréal with his family, Spencer “Kip” Boyer is back in D.C. with affiliations at the Brookings Institution, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Look for Jeremy Arnold’s new book, Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season, published by Running Press and Turner Classic Movies. He also contributed to The Call of the Heart: John M. Stahl and Hollywood Melodrama, which traces the career of classic director John Stahl. Some of his recent commentary tracks can be heard on the Blu-rays of Raw Deal (1948), You Only Live Once (1937), and Ride Lonesome (1959). Look for him on TCM in December as a guest host, introducing Christmas movies with Ben Mankiewicz.

And more news in the world of books: Andrew Junker’s book, Making Activists in Global China, will be published by Cambridge University Press in February. Andy moved to Hong Kong in last January to take on the role of the Hong Kong director of the Yale-China Association.

I’m managing in the chaos of D.C., helped by taking time in other locations. In August, Andy and I spent a week exploring Odessa, and were joined by Maria Floyd Cohen and her sons on an amazing trip through history. From Odessa, I traveled to Warsaw, Poland, and presented at the International Association of Jewish Genealogists. When not wearing out another pair of shoes marching in protest, I continue to provide research to a variety of clients as they explore their families’ pasts.

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

I’ve noticed a correlation between turning 50 and prolific writing. Lots of news this time around so heavy editing was required.

Victor Khodadad, is the cofounder of New Camerata Opera that just finished an extremely successful second season. The company’s seven co-founders (all active singers) make all decisions democratically and share all duties. The organization has three branches: NCO, for main stage productions; Camerata Piccola, for children’s operas; and CamerataWorks, for in-house video productions that include The Ives Project, which will be releasing videos of Charles Ives’ art songs on YouTube. Wesleyan Professor of Music Neely Bruce played on the recording of nine Charles Ives songs. Victor gave a Tedx Talk on innovation in the arts in December 2016.

Laurel Stegina is living in Deep River, Conn., and has been working at a planning consulting firm for almost 15 years. Laurel wears several hats, including environmental planner and senior project manager, specializing in NEPA and permitting. Laurel was promoted to assistant director of operations, with a focus on professional development of staff, mentoring, and career coaching. As an owner, she is involved with strategic planning and governance issues. “Although no longer part of the ’monkey wrench gang,’ I remain passionate about environmental and social justice issues.”

After 13 years working for Framingham, Mass., public schools as a counselor (with Sarah Guernsey ’92, Gina Capodilupo ’03, and Cora Jeyadame ’96), Tim Hintz started with Brookline Public Schools this fall. Tim celebrated turning 50 with some local friends, including Amy Robins and Denise Casper. Tim has been cleaning out his childhood home near Chicago, where he had dinner with Andy Griffin, his wife, Catherine, and their daughters, Lulu and Meg. He “found some true treasures, including the Wesleyan pencils given to me by Andrea Morse ’89 when I was accepted (they still work) and an original Wes sweatshirt with the tags from Atticus still on (still fits!).” Tim discovered that his 8th grade diploma was signed by the class of ’55 secretary, Donald Braverman ’55. Tim has twin 15-year-old sons and a 10-year-old daughter.

Persis Howe moved from “dark and cold London to sunny California” to work for the City of San Francisco on their digital services. “My kids love Berkeley, especially having green, blue, and purple hair, and no school uniforms” and Persis is “enjoying not being the loud American always. I’ve already managed to meet a few Wes folks in the Bay Area, but would love to find more! On the downside, my husband is not enjoying the constant changes to U.S. immigration rules.”

Peter Gravin writes, “I know many of us, including me, are celebrating our 50th birthdays this year. Yikes. So, I asked myself, what’s the best way to avoid entering into a mid-life crisis? A baby!” Peter and his wife, Ramona, welcomed Arlo Benjamin Gravin in January and “couldn’t be more pleased with him.” Peter has already been asked (including by an OR doctor!) if Arlo is his grandson, and is “prepared for a sharp increase in those questions as he gets older. It’s totally worth it, though.” Peter is finding parenthood a “great way to keep feeling young and energetic!” He sends congratulations to Kok Chong, who also had a baby last year, and asks if there are any other new parents among us.

On the subject of parents/grandparents, Jeffrey Needelman wrote on his 50th birthday to share the birth of his second grandchild, Nola Afia Asantiwaa Ansuh. Jeffrey reminded me that when his grandson was born over two years ago, I commented that he was the first grandparent I knew of in our class. That’s still the case, but here’s my official request for any other grandparents to please come forward.

Finally, Dr. Debbie Gahr writes about NYC alumni celebrating collective 50th birthdays at her place. Despite their advanced ages, they had a fabulous time! The strong Gingerbread showing included Debbie, Schuyler Allen-Kalb, Nina Grekin, Ed Brown, and Kate Hardin. “To make it a Gingerbread coast-to-coast celebration we FaceTimed Todd Thorner in California (Eric Greene, we need your number!).”

Debbie loved catching up with Carolyn Clark and Dave Patterson, Iriss Shimony, Andrew Siff, Susan Wong, Stephanie Donohue Pilla, Eugenie Kim, and Kati Koerner. There were guest appearances from nearby classes, including Elaine Perlman ’89 and her husband Len Bernstein, Lauren Levy ’91, Marni Pedorella ’91, Melissa Sobel ’91, Becky Rumayor ’91, Lilli Link ’89 and Jay Rosenberg ’83, Mike Santoli ’92, Ellen Friedman Bender ’82 and Sam Bender ’82, and Melissa Resnick P’20 who brought her daughter, Emily Koh ’20.

Debbie’s three children, Rebecca (16), David (13), and Ricky (10), “are all super happy and enjoying their respective tap dance, tennis, and baseball endeavors.” Debbie “appreciated hearing from all the folks who almost made it to this shindig and sent their good wishes.” Debbie’s husband, Roy Pomerantz, enjoyed the party too. Debbie is trying to get him to admit that Wesleyan is way cooler than Columbia.

Vanessa Montag Brosgol | vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com

Michele and I are thrilled to kick off this edition of class notes with a first-time submission from Marjorie Levine-Clark. She and Michael Levine-Clark ’92 dropped off their new frosh daughter, Isabel ’22, at Wes. They are so excited to be back at Wesleyan, living vicariously, and report that Foss 3 looks the same as it did 30 years ago and still has no air conditioning. Marjorie is a history professor and associate dean for diversity, outreach, and initiatives at the University of Colorado-Denver, and Michael is dean of libraries at the University of Denver. They’ve been out west for almost 20 years and love living in Denver. She plans to come to Reunion!

Keeping with the alumni legacy theme, Christopher Roberts writes that he is “pleased (and perhaps more than a little terrified) to report that my daughter, Beatrix ’22, is starting Wesleyan this fall. As a double-legacy (her mother is Alexis Neaman Roberts ’90), Beatrix assured us several times that she was not interested in going to Wesleyan. I guess she changed her mind . . . But now her two younger sisters are really, really sure that they don’t want to go to Wesleyan . . .” Christopher is living in Austin, Texas, where he works at The University of Texas alongside Ward Farnsworth. They had a visit from Stephanie Dolgoff a few months ago. Jeremy Dobrish ’90 and his family spent a week with them last year. He is hoping for more Wesleyan visits this year, though probably not during summer when it’s—almost literally—110 degrees in the shade.

Staying in the Lone Star State, Kelem Butts brings news from Dallas. “My girlfriend of 23 years, Lori Feathers, just pulled off a very Wes-like coup. She retired from practicing law and opened an independent bookstore here in Dallas, Interabang Books. It just earned kudos from D Magazine as the best independent book store in Dallas. I also just had lunch with Caroline Bhupathi ’20 who is working for Girls Who Code here at AT&T (side note, AT&T provides funding to this awesome organization). It’s so encouraging to talk to young Wes students who are totally awesome. Oh, and I am still doing corporate philanthropy at AT&T and I love it.”

Dave Keller just signed a record deal with Catfood Records of El Paso, Texas, and will be going into the studio at the end of June to record a batch of new original soul songs. Jim Gaines, who produced Santana’s mega-hit, “Smooth,” will be producing his record. He’s very excited! He’s living in Montpelier, Vt., and touring as much as possible, while raising two teenaged daughters.

Michelle Gonzalez added a second master’s degree in 2017, this time in clinical social work. She is working with those living with HIV/AIDS, taking care of (or trying to be cool for) her 16-year-old son and living in Providence. She published a paper about “non-offending mothers in child sexual abuse cases” and is teaching online at New England Institute of Technology on health care management and social marketing for MPH students. If you aspire to visit Providence, look her up!

Your erstwhile class secretary, David Milch, joined Baruch College as director of the master of arts in arts administration program and a distinguished lecturer. He also reports that he spent a wonderful vacation in June with Glarb (low-rise) housemate, Libby Neuman Bunn ’90. “Libby and I met up with Alex “Indy” Neidell and had an amazing time drinking and reminiscing our way across Berlin. I returned from that trip to journey to D.C. for the Pride March, where my daughter and I stayed with other Glarb housemate, John Hlinko, and dined with yet another Glarbster, Topher Sebest. Nothing like putting 10 sophomores in the smallest bedrooms ever to create life-long friendships! We are also happy to announce that Adina Hoffman’s new book, Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures, is forthcoming in February from Yale University Press’s Jewish Lives series.”

S. Topiary Landberg just started a very exciting two-year Mellon Curatorial Fellowship at the Oakland Museum of California and is finishing up a PhD in film and digital media at the University of California, Santa Cruz—expecting to defend by June.

Abby Smuckler is planning to come to Reunion (yay!). We’re sure many more of you are too; and we can’t wait to see you! As we continue to gear up for our 30th Reunion (May 23-26, 2019), we are still in need of volunteers to get involved with planning. (Thanks to those of you who are already on the committee!) If you are interested, please contact: Megan Lenzzo, assistant director of annual giving at mlenzzo@wesleyan.edu. Go Wes Class of ’89!

Jonathan Fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com 

Michele Barnwell | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com