Class Notes

Mariah Klaneski Reisner, husband Sam, and daughter Aviva are pleased to announce the birth of Zohana Grace Reisner. She was born June 19, 2017, at 8:02 a.m., weighed 8 lbs., 7.5 oz, and was 20.5 inches long.

Meanwhile, Carl Cervone lives in Brooklyn with wife Kidist and their 3-year-old son, Lucas. Carl finished an MBA at Columbia and runs a startup nonprofit called Enveritas that verifies sustainability practices in coffee supply chains.

Sarah Colao Wallach reports some wonderful news after taking a bit of a break from sharing some news: “Dan Wallach and I (and big sister Zoey) will be celebrating the first birthday of our second child, Maisy, this month. I changed jobs within my organization earlier this year—moving out of the general counsel role and into the chief operating officer role at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, whose mission is to grow the state’s clean energy industry.”

Finally, Jenina Nuñez shares some of her own news: stepping into a new role as director of communications at global advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago. Jenina’s appreciating the new role’s fast pace and working in a creative-first environment everyday.

Congrats to everyone for the growing families and wonderful career moves! Do you have an update for an upcoming issue? Don’t forget to send them along to us.

Jenina Nuñez | jenina.nunez@outlook.com

Meeghan Whooley Ward | meeghan.w.ward@gmail.com

Mayuran Tiruchelvam produced the documentary The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin—following the San Francisco author’s journey from a conservative son of the Old South to gay rights’ pioneer. Winner of the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival, Untold Tales premiered theatrically in New York and San Francisco in September, and will broadcast nationally on PBS Independent Lens on January 1.

Alison Plenge and Colin Aitken have made the happy relocation from D.C. to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where Colin is an assistant professor in the biology department at Vassar. Alison works remotely as an attorney in the international corporate group of Norton Rose Fulbright. They are happy to be closer to more Wes friends in the New York region and to have escaped the craziness of D.C. life with their two kids, Nora (3.5) and Lucas (15 months).

Caitlin Snow Clark is a program director for the Worthington Scholars program in Rockland, Maine. The program supports local students with scholarships, mentoring, and professional development opportunities as they pursue two- and four-year degrees in Maine.

Coe Will Hoeksema ended her 10-year stint at FXFOWLE Architects (where she briefly shared many high fives with Steve Scribner ’02) to become the marketing manager for WE Design, a small, woman-owned landscape architecture firm in Brooklyn with a focus on green infrastructure design. She lives south of Prospect Park with her husband and exceptionally charming 2-year-old son, Owen Calder.

In April, Arturo Vidich and wife Julia welcomed their second child, Juniper Auberon. Their son, Ryder Metteya, is almost 4 and is a great big brother. For the last three years, Arturo has been at work on his first novel, a Soviet-era sci-fi fantasy story which was awarded a project grant by Creative Capital. Last year he and his family took a road trip to northern New Mexico for a six-week artist residency. They now reside in BedStuy, Brooklyn.

Katie Nordine is the executive assistant to Leonard C. Goodman, an attorney and philanthropist in Chicago focused on issues related to social justice, reforming the criminal justice system, and supporting workers’ rights. She is enjoying living in Evanston with her two crazy kids, Nils and Valley, her husband, Dave, and their fluffy dog, Kashyyyk. She is thrilled that her longtime Wes buddy, Jacob Goldsmith and wife Rachel, son Ben, and pup Penny, are now just a few blocks away.

Three of the five former residents of 66 Home reunited over brunch in Boston with their families—Andrea Wilson McCoy, Julia Marcus, and Cara Herbitter. Cara completed her master’s in clinical psychology en route to pursuing her doctorate at UMass Boston. This fall, Andrea started a new position as the director of the theater program at Medfield High School.

Ricardo Watson and his family are expecting their second child, another boy, at the end of November. The Watson family spent a week in L.A. with Bobby Joe Clinkscales and his family.

Glen Lindeke was married to Jinwen Guo on February 7, and their daughter, Lotus, was born on June 6. They live in Medford, Mass., and both work as chemists in the pharmaceutical industry. They have enjoyed visits from friends and family including godfather Justin Conroy, Arnab Bhattasali, and Ku Yoo ’00.

Amy Tannenbaum | atannenbaum@wesleyan.edu

Greetings from Los Angeles! First, some birth announcements:

Dana Sirota and husband Josh Schiffrin welcomed their third child, Jesse, to the crew in June. Dana works as a pediatrician in Washington Heights, NYC. Natasha Joseph gave birth to her daughter, Rebelle Harmony Siddhartha Hall, on June 18 at UCSF Betty Irene Moore Women’s Hospital. On March 26, Rachel Kriger and Nick Corso welcomed their second baby, Ayla, into the world in their home, just minutes before their midwife arrived. It was a powerful experience. “We are so grateful to have Ayla in our family,” she said. You can read the whole birth story here at pointsofreturnacupuncture.com.

And here’s a quick update on me (Justin Lacob): My wife, Melanie, and I welcomed our second daughter, Juliette Violet Lacob, on October 4, joining our 2-¹/₂-year-old Scarlett in our expanding family!

Now onto our classmate updates:

Joel Nichols works in strategic initiatives at the Free Library of Philadelphia and is really excited about their project designing early literacy play spaces in three neighborhood libraries. He works on library impact evaluation and sometimes gets to work with Sarah Costelloe ’00. His book, Out of This World Library Programs: Using Speculative Fiction to Promote Reading and Launch Learning, was published last spring, and has a short story in a forthcoming small-press children’s anthology in the spring. He and his boyfriend, Ray, have a four-year-old named Jamie, and see their neighbors, Philip Gentry and Mary Peacock and their beautiful kids, not nearly enough!

Mary is the medical director at Banfield for multiple veterinary hospitals in the region, while Phil has a book coming out in January called What Will I Be: American Music and Cold War Identity. From Amazon: “In the wake of World War II, the cultural life of the United States underwent a massive transformation. At the heart of these changes during the early Cold War were the rise of the concept of identity and a reformulation of the country’s political life. A revolution in music was taking place at the same time—a tumult of new musical styles and institutions that would lead to everything from the birth of rock ‘n’ roll to the new downtown experimental music scene. Together, these new cultural and musical trends came to define the era. Author Philip M. Gentry travels through four very different musical scenes: the R&B world of doo-wop pioneers the Orioles, the early film musicals of Doris Day, Asian-American cabaret in San Francisco, and John Cage’s infamous 4’33”. The lives of musicians, composers, critics, and fans reveal how individuals negotiated the social changes sweeping the country in the initial days of the Cold War.”

Sebastian Kaplan joined a new legal firm, Gerard Fox Law, P.C., and will be opening their San Francisco office. The firm litigates high-stakes commercial and intellectual property disputes. Sebastian says, “It’s an exciting move and I’m looking forward to establishing the firm’s presence in the Bay Area. The other major change this year is that all three of my daughters—Zoe, Juliette, and Naomi—are now in school. Zoe just started kindergarten and one of the other parents in the class is Cindi Stephan ’96.”

Kasia Newman Deuel finally completed her advanced degree, which was a long, part-time endeavor, during which she worked full-time and started a family. She now has a master’s in environmental management and sustainability from Harvard Extension School. Although she developed a fond relationship with Harvard, Wesleyan is still her first love. She was sorry to miss Reunion, but was attending Harvard commencement the same weekend. She lives north of Boston with her husband and three-year old son, and works for The Pew Charitable Trusts on ocean policy.

Ernie Hartner went to Spain with a family of four and returned with a family of five only two weeks before Irma hit Miami. They rode out the hurricane in their new house a week after moving in and are all doing well.

That’s it for this time around. Please send me updates so I can publish them in the next issue!

Justin Lacob | justinlacob@gmail.com

Hey there, 2001. Whoa! Our inbox was inundated with responses to the Class Notes Volunteer Edition. A fine problem to have. So many good works—so little space on this page to fit it all in. Let’s get crackin’.

Sonya Abrams writes that with three kids under six, she’s fully immersed in Mom World but still finds time to volunteer as editor-in-chief of the nonprofit Golden Gate Mothers Group Magazine in San Francisco, which often feels like a full-time job. Sonya has been taking tiny steps to resist the current administration, help organize fundraisers, and connect Democratic speakers with high-visibility forums to spread the word and fight the power. Go, Sonya, go!

After wrapping up 10-plus years in the production department at Simon & Schuster, Mike Homolka now teaches critical reading and writing at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO Scholars) in NYC. This organization works with the Department of Education to serve low-income, high-achieving, first-generation American students, and it is always looking for mentors and part-time instructors. SEO Scholars received a perfect score on Charity Navigator (seoscholars.org).

Rachel Stevens tells us about her hometown’s grassroots organization, Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA). As volunteer board president for NCFA, Rachel has learned a ton about everything from lease negotiations to recycling contracts, and press releases to multi-board relationships. If Rachel wasn’t busy enough, she also welcomed her second child into the world, Eliza Merrill Stevens, on August 13. Congratulations to Rachel and family!

For the last 18 months, Heather Tseng has been volunteering with Paws on the Ground Colorado—an animal rescue organization that pulls dogs out of high-kill shelters and works to find them their “furever homes.” To date, Heather has personally fostered 32 dogs! Bad for Heather’s vacuum cleaner, great for dogs everywhere.

Joshua Kagan is involved with the Buddhist Pathways Prison Project (BPPP)—a nonprofit whose mission is to bring Buddhist teachings of no harm, meditation, and mindfulness into prisons and jails. Joshua spent time inside Solano State Prison with 16 inmates, co-facilitating a daylong retreat that encompassed meditation, yoga, and tai chi. He was struck by how committed participants were to mindfulness practice, as it serves as a refuge from the difficulty of day-to-day prison living. The BPPP is expanding its work and could use all the support it can get. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Joshua at joshuakagan@gmail.com.

Jesse Pietroniro works with Footsteps (footsteps.org), the only organization in North America that assists ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and women as they attempt to explore the world beyond their insular communities. Footsteps offers former ultra-Orthodox Jews a safe, supportive, and flourishing community to turn to as they work to define their own identities, build new connections, and lead productive lives on their own terms.

Eli Sheridan Wise has been living in Oakland, Calif., performing, composing songs, and teaching music to children. This October, Eli will join the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) on its Lavender Pen Tour; an event that takes place across the South that shares SFGMC’s mission of community, activism, and compassion. All funds raised benefit local LGBT programs. Eli will be co-leading a panel on transactivism at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In other news, Eli has several albums out on cdbaby and bandcamp. Visit eliwiseband.bandcamp.com to listen for free.

Dan Firger is hard at work at Bloomberg Philanthropies in NYC, leading Mike Bloomberg’s philanthropic efforts on climate change and clean energy. After the Trump Administration announced it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Dan helped launch America’s Pledge, a new effort encompassing U.S. cities, states, businesses, colleges, and universities (including Wesleyan) that remain committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement (AmericasPledgeOnClimate.com).

John Keith just finished his fourth year as a tenure-track assistant professor in chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. John and his wife, Rose, have two small boys (Bill, 3, likes re-enacting action scenes from Moana, and Danny, 1, likes eating). Between work and family commitments, John managed to get to NYC and SF this past spring to catch up with Will Gladstone, Nikesh Dalal, Alex Su, and V. Hoffman. If anyone is stopping over in Pittsburgh, let John know!

Keep up the great work 2001. We are a pretty impressive bunch—not that you needed any reminding. Thanks for your submissions. Until next time, do-gooders.

Mara Voukydis | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn Sperando | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone who answered the call (begging?) for submissions this time around. Glad to have some good stuff to share!

NEW SURROUNDINGS

Doug Russell and his family recently moved to Seattle, where he joined the child psychiatry faculty at the University of Washington. Dani Snyder-Young just moved back to Boston (with husband and toddler in tow) to join the faculty at Northeastern. Melissa Cantiello completed her lifelong dream of moving to the country last year when she relocated to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York with her husband and two children. As a licensed clinical social worker, she continues to grow her local and web-based psychotherapy practice. Melissa recently enjoyed a visit from Jennifer Dorman. Jennifer is still based in Brooklyn, where she and her husband run a busy design-build landscaping company.

Jason Wong and Pao-Lin Tien moved to the D.C.-area in summer of 2016 with two girls (Zoe, 7, and Emma, 2). Jason works for Novavax, a biotech firm in Gaithersburg, Md., while Pao-Lin had a short stint at the Bureau of Economic Analysis as a research economist, and has now moved to a new position (assistant professor and director of undergraduate studies) in George Washington University’s economics department. They enjoy living in the Maryland suburb of Rockville, and there are lots of Wes alumni around including Rachel Mandal (who works only a few blocks away from where they live) and Nell Robinson. Naomi Huang ’00 also lives just a short drive away.

NEW GIGS

Jordan Vega recently started as a project manager at JPMorganChase in the Business Architecture and Transformation group. Living on the UES for about three years after too many years living in Murray Hill. “It’s ironic because JPM was my first job after Wes. Then after getting my MBA, and six-plus years at a smaller firm, I’m back to same bank where I began. Your email also reminded me the reach out to old friends today, so I’ve been playing phone tag and texting this evening with Geoff Dailey, who was my roommate freshman year in Clark. We both admitted to being the world’s worst former roommate since we only touch base about once year, but it’s always like no time as passed when we do talk to each other.” How about the rest of you? Reached out to your frosh roommate recently?

Ari Gerzon-Kessler had an eventful 2017. In late August, he married Sashi Gerzon-Rose in the mountains outside of their home in Boulder, Colo. William Messer blessed the couple with his presence at their small lakeside ceremony. After serving as an elementary school principal over the past six years, Ari was thrilled to start a new position for his local school district in October as director of parent and family partnerships, working primarily to empower Spanish-speaking families to engage more deeply in the school system. Ari is also working part-time as a financial wellbeing coach as he puts the final touches on a book about financial literacy aimed for people in their 20s and 30s. “Like all good Boulderites, Sashi and I spend much of our downtime in nature going on adventures with our Australian Shepherd pup.”

Katherine Goldberg’s editorial in the peer-reviewed journal, Veterinary Record, “Exploring Caregiver Burden Within a Veterinary Setting” was press released and picked up by several news organizations including CBS, Newsweek, and Huffington Post. The article focused on the first research paper devoted to caregiver burden in owners of seriously and terminally ill pets. No surprise, stress, anxiety, depression, and psychosocial distress are elevated in owners of seriously ill pets compared with healthy pets, and the implications for veterinarian wellbeing are significant. One quote that was picked up in several of the articles, “Arguably, the greatest stressors and most difficult moments for vets have little to do with the animal-related aspects of professional life, but rather the people-related ones. The emotional labor of veterinary medicine is significant; much of this emotional labor is related to client interactions, which can be particularly intense surrounding serious or terminal illness.”

NEW FAMILY MEMBERS

Bill Wilson and Mary Bridges welcomed Louisa Bridges Wilson to the world this February. Jennifer Schockett and husband, Dave, and welcomed their first baby, a boy, Max Lev, in 2016. They also bought their first house in Natick, Mass. “We’re so excited to be settling into our new life!”

NEW HORIZONS

Eve Fox met up with Sarah Benatar ’97 and Jonah Sachs ’97 and all their spouses in late September to celebrate the wedding of Ben Boothby ’97 to Darcy Yellin, overlooking the ocean in Bar Harbor, Maine.

In late September, Arthur Baraf celebrated his 40th birthday with Bill Foster, Alissa Farber, and Greg Tuzzolo ’00 in Providence, R.I., where he is in his 10th year as principal of The Met High School. These days, Arthur is also a Students-at-the-Center Distinguished Fellow, teaching graduate students at Providence College, producing the Student-Centered Learning Podcast, and fathering beautiful 6- and 8-year-old daughters.

Michael Hakim did his first triathlon and feels great! “The fear of long swims in the ocean is now over. It’s a mental and physical challenge and ready for the next challenge that comes my way.” If anyone is in the LA area, please reach out to him at Mike@mikehakim.com. “Wesleyan should postpone all sporting events on Yom Kippur!”

Marianna Ellenberg’s play Pawel and Ebola, which she wrote and will be directing, will premiere at The Kitchen in February. “I will be hosting a benefit for the play in November at David Lewis gallery in lower Manhattan, with a preview performance. All are welcome. The play stars rising independent film actor Hannah Gross as well as Tavish Miller and Erin Mullin from the Wooster Group.” www.mariannaellenberg.com

Suzanne Bouffard has a new book out! The Most Important Year. Here’s a link.

NEW SUBMISSIONS

Several submissions from classmates who have never sent in notes or at least not in the past decade: Erin Morris and fiance, Michael LoCascio, live in Wilton, Conn., with their two pugs. They both work in Stamford where Erin is a market research manager for Charter Communications and Michael is a senior consultant at The Benefit Practice. Madhu Kannapiran finished OSU med school in 2005, and moved up to Minneapolis with his wife, Kelly, a med school classmate. She went to Williams, coincidentally. They’ve been in Minne ever since. “I’m in pulmonary/critical care, and she’s a pediatrician. We’ve got two daughters, a mastiff, two chickens, fish and caterpillars. Life moves fast…”

Kevin Black catching us up on his life as a first-time submitter (woohoo!). “After graduation in 1999, I enrolled in a PhD program at Boston University and received a PhD in experimental particle physics in 2005. For five years I was first a post-doctoral scholar and then a research scientist at Harvard University. In 2010, I returned to Boston University as assistant professor of physics and was promoted in 2016 to associate professor with tenure. In 2017, I became director of graduate studies and associate chair. I have worked at the Large Hadron Collider for the last 12 years and was part of the team that discovered the Higgs Boson in 2012. I got married in India in 2006 and had a daughter in 2010 who is now in the first grade and currently live in Wellesley, Mass., not so far from the college.”

OLD CLASS OFFICERS

Darryl and Bob are bracing for another Maine winter, after enjoying the sun of summer. Kevin and family continue to amortize their investment in an old Toyota Corolla. Professor Dick Miller would be proud.

C. Darryl Uy | darryl.uy@gmail.com

Kevin Kumler | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Did anyone else catch our friend Kate Wetherhead’s opening skit on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in September? Drawing upon her Wesleyan English degree, she read a book on air. The book, The Emperor’s New Wall, served as witty commentary on President Trump’s promise to build a see-through wall at the Mexican border. I loved seeing our classmate on my television!

Also on television in September, Adam Abel’s organization, SkateQuilya was featured on NBC news. The organization is a youth empowerment program that uses skateboarding as a tool to teach art, community building, and leadership skills to Palestinian girls and boys in the West Bank.

In June, Joshua Stedman’s band, Brothers of Others (brothersofothers.com) released a new album, Space. Based in Miami, the band is described as “a trio of multi-instrumental artists…deeply influenced by the pioneers of blues, soul and rock.”

Lisa Ko’s debut novel, The Leavers, was longlisted for the National Book Award for fiction. The Leavers is the story of an 11-year-old whose mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, fails to return home one day from her job at a nail salon in Brooklyn—leaving the boy alone to navigate a new life as the adopted son of a well-meaning American couple in upstate New York.

I love to hear when my Wes friends are connecting with each other and making new memories together. Abby Posner shared with me that she, her husband Alan Rosen ’97, and their daughters spent time hiking in the White Mountains with Jill Kantrowitz Kunkel, her husband Greg ’95, and their sons over Labor Day weekend. As the families summited Mount Lafayette, they naturally trekked while singing “Guns and Ships” from Hamilton, making it a Wes outing through and through!

I don’t know about you, but I’m astonished that we will celebrate our 20th Reunion in May. I’m already looking forward to seeing all of you back on campus!

Marcus Chung | marcusbchung@gmail.com 

Jason Becton | jcxbecton@yahoo.com

Hi, Class of 1997. Thanks for writing in to share the lovely ways you are making the world a better place through your talents, your work and your love for your families and communities.

Huge congratulations to Joshua Dubler, assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester, who is one of 33 national recipients of a 2016 Carnegie Award for his work studying prison abolition. More details here.

Alek Friedman Lev writes, “Desperately jealous of the amazing work that my WOW-buddy Mia Lobel has done producing the fantastic Revisionist History podcast with Malcolm Gladwell, I am hosting and producing Talking Buster Keaton, a podcast about the life and work of the great filmmaker. We talk to Leonard Matlin, Teller (of Penn & Teller fame) and our very own Jeanine Basinger. Go to talkingbusterkeaton.com.”

Congratulations to Trevor Griffey and Allison Perlman on their summer wedding in Seattle. They had a huge Wesleyan Greenhouse 1993-94 posse at the wedding. Courtney Cavellier, Jennifer Kelly-Dewitt and Mike Shen, Kevin Strait, Maria Magana, Ama Greenrose, Sabelo Narasimhan, Caleb Tucker-Raymond, and Caroline Cummins. Plus, Brodie Welch ’98, Lauren Berliner ’98, Monique Daviau (Smith ‘98, attended Wesleyan for a year), Sarah Wilkes ’00, Chris Wade ’00, Katrin Wilde ’92, and Abby Bass ’98 were in attendance.

Andrew Frishman and Leigh Needleman ’96 continue to love living just outside Central Square in Cambridge, Mass. Their two kids attend a Spanish/English bilingual immersion school, together with other Wes kiddos, including Laura Warren ’98’s. Andrew is the co-executive director of Big Picture Learning (bigpicture.org). They are doing amazing work to improve the education system in many places across the U.S. and internationally. Leigh started a new position last year as a liaison between architects and scientists assisting with the coordination of the design and construction of a very large new Harvard School for Engineering and Applied Sciences building just across the Charles River in Allston, Boston. And in their spare free time, they hang out with Jesse ’06 and Annie Leavitt ’06, and Christian Housh, and a number of other Wes folks.

Monica White is in England, teaching medieval Russian studies at the University of Nottingham. She recently visited Kazan and Vladimir with some of her students (Monica, please send us pictures —sounds amazing). In August, she was “delighted to get a visit” from Professor Emeritus Duffy White ’62 and his wife Izzy, who came to the University of Nottingham campus for lunch. “We enjoyed catching up about travels to Russia, our students, and research.”

Kevin O’Leary cannot believe it’s been 20 years since we’ve graduated. Neither can we, Kevin, neither can we. He’s living in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with husband Brian Esser and their sons Keith, 6, and Jason, 3. Kevin is a book collaborator/guide on numerous projects, including Gabrielle Union’s We’re Going to Need More Wine and Bob Roth’s Transcendental Meditation, Strength in Stillness. Kevin’s husband is a family law attorney and advocate for same-sex families, and “he is the bee’s knees.”

We look forward to hearing from you via e-mail. Your class co-secretaries,

Jessica Shea Lehmann | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

Sasha Lewis Reisen | alewisreisen@gmail.com

Hello, all! Thanks to those who shared their news.

Shu-Mei Chan had an exhibition of ceramic works at Sculpture Space NYC in October.

Chris Meredith moved to Bellingham, Wash., to take a position in private practice with a group of three neurosurgeons. His two children are in preschool and pre-K and enjoying the outdoor life.

Colby Evans and Sara Kirchhoff Evans love living in Austin. They sold their dermatology practice last year and are spending more time on gardening (Sara) and coaching fencing (Colby). They visited Japan and Ireland this summer with their children, Quinn, 9, Malcolm, 8, and Ruby, 6. Colby completed his tenure as the chair of the board of the National Psoriasis Foundation and continues to volunteer with the organization.

Shelby Hyvonen writes, “After 15 years in California, we packed up two years ago and moved back East to raise our kids (Fern, 9, and Otto, 7) near family. We are living the quintessential New England small-town life in the Happy Valley (Easthampton, Mass.), just ‘down the road’ from grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a wide community of friends. I’m working at Baystate Medical Center as a clinical child psychologist and my husband, Seth Koen, is immersed in the art world here, both through work and studio practice, with a recent show in the Hudson Valley and an upcoming one in San Francisco (our first trip back to California since our move two years ago).”

Dacque Tirado ran into Stacey Samuel in the NPR offices in D.C., at an event for the NPR podcast What’s Good with Stretch and Bobbito, hosted by Bobbito Garcia ‘88.

Elura Nanos Kish lives with her family in Cherry Hill, N.J., where she is a TV lawyer and media figure. She is a featured columnist for LawNewz.com where she regularly enjoys riling up e-haters who would never have survived Wesleyan. Last summer, Elura and her family spent a great couple of weeks in San Diego with Shana McDaniel, who is an anesthesiologist.

Leigh Needleman shared the following: “Back in February, Ellen Bourque Johnson, Rebecca Bookie Neuburger ’95, Amy Todeschini, and Sasha Dennis Moreno had a long-awaited get-together in Boston. Much fun was had romping around the Boston area and catching up. Everyone is doing great with fantastic jobs, new kids, and great spouses!”

Tracie Bloom writes, “Flock and Rally, the integrated communications firm I co-founded when I moved back to my hometown of Columbia, S.C., just celebrated its seven-year anniversary, and our firm had the pleasure of managing our region’s total solar eclipse tourism campaign this year. It was surreal and amazing, and it was very fun seeing Wes friends across the country post on Facebook about their experiences with totality! 2024 anyone?”

Hope to hear from everyone soon for the next issue!

Dara Federman | darasf@yahoo.com 

Dacque Tirado | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

Katy writes for this issue: Fall brings news from an array of places. This issue I’m particularly glad to share news from people who are writing for the first time, or not since a long while. Please do keep coming out of the woodwork so that we can include you!

Kirsi Baird Barber writes: “I live in Portland, Ore., with my husband, Tony. We’ve been here about 18 years. I received my master’s in education at Portland State University in 2009 and am starting my eighth year working for Camp Fire Columbia, a nonprofit youth development organization serving families across the Portland metro area. I am in my sixth year as the director of our before-and-after-school program, which serves about 750 youth in 12 schools across two school districts. I love working with youth and families, and partnering with schools, state child care professionals, and other local and national out-of-school-time organizations.”

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I’ve just begun teaching Italian part-time at UConn. The new job comes on the heels of a major relocation to Connecticut, after nine years of life in Atlanta. It seemed like the right move now that my son Leo, 5, is starting kindergarten. We wanted him to be closer to family and friends. I’d love to connect with anyone from Wes who is living in the state where we spent our collegiate years! You can actually still e-mail me at my Wes address!”

Cheryl Mejia got in contact, as well. Cheryl is a doctor of osteopathic medicine in the National Spine and Pain Centers in Hagerstown, Md. She particularly appreciates the mentions that she’s had in others’ class notes!

Aisha Claire Mike started her personal image business, Perfectly Claire, a few years ago to help people enhance their appearance and achieve inner clarity. After a career as a model and singer/songwriter working with names like Nike, Puma, Essence, Glamour, Carly Simon, Luther Vandross, and Talib Kweli, this new role came naturally. She now styles on-air talent, corporate executives, media professionals, and full-time moms who all simply want to look and feel their best.

Beth Shilepsky Price writes: “Greetings! I am still a family medicine doctor, but I changed locations almost two years ago and now work at a Navy base outside of Charleston, S.C. I love providing care to the spouses and children of active-duty members and retired servicemen and servicewomen who have dedicated their lives to serving our country. Go, Navy! My husband, Kevin, our three kids (David, 13, Madeline, 11, and Lily, 8), and I had a visit this summer from Steve Belin ’96 and his family. He and his wife, Danielle, have two kids (Zoe and, Jackson) and live in Colorado, where he is a general contractor (and part-time movie assistant director in Hollywood) and she is a teacher. Looking forward to seeing you all at the next Reunion!”

Sabrina Prince is doing well and has relocated to Harlem in NYC. She sees Jacqueline Moon often and attended the christening of the son of Frank Truslow, Theodore Hopkins Truslow, in October.

Hannah Knott Rogers and Tom Rogers are entering their seventh year in Decatur, Ga., and love living in intown Atlanta and 5th congressional district #JohnLewis. Hannah is head of information services at the Health Sciences Center Library at Emory, and Tom is an associate professor in the Department of History there, with a focus on modern Brazil. They have two girls, Dinah (13) and Juno (11), in middle school, and it is not nearly as bad as it sounds. Hannah enjoys conducting alumni interviews for high school seniors applying to Wesleyan.

Keep sending us your news and updates—we’d love to hear from you!

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Hi, everyone. I hope you are doing well. We have exciting news to share, including career updates and a new baby. It is hard to believe that our 25th Reunion is approaching, and that it has been nearly a quarter century since we haunted Mocon and Foss Hill. We hope you will consider returning to Middletown to rekindle old friendships, explore the new parts of campus, and hang out with fellow Cardinals this May.

Jacob Bricca writes, “I’m living in Tucson with my wife and son, and teaching at the University of Arizona. Focal Press will be publishing my first book, Documentary Editing: Principles and Practice, next February. It’s based on my 20 years of experience cutting documentaries, and features interviews with editors such as Geoff Richman (The Cove), Kim Roberts (The Hunting Ground) and Mary Lampson (Harlan County, USA). I’m currently cutting two documentaries: Marriage Cops, which chronicles the exploits of female police officers engaged in marriage counseling sessions with couples of all kinds in northern India, and my wife Lisa Molomot’s documentary Missing in Brooks County, a portrait of a Texas city far from the border where an interior border checkpoint is causing scores of migrant deaths.

Scott Robbins writes, “I am still in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where I am a partner in a five-lawyer firm. My practice focuses on representation of rural water and sewer districts, as well as the general practice of law in small-town Missouri. I was recently elected to the Missouri Bar’s Board of Governors, where I look forward to helping preserve Missouri’s non-partisan court plan, which has been adopted to avoid judicial elections by more than 30 other states.”

Ivan Sheldon writes, “While my favorite job is taking care of three spirited daughters, I also feel lucky to be working in the thriving Chicago technology scene. Specifically I am advising a number of large firms on highly automated driving/the future of mobility and mentoring leaders of small start-ups. Speaking of start-ups, it was particularly fun to meet Leeatt Rothschild ’02 and learn about her great social impact company, Packed with Purpose (packedwithpurpose.gifts). The firm offers corporate gifts with products made by organizations that help individuals and communities in need.”

Antonia Townsend writes, “Jack Townsend Marshall was born May 3, 2017. Recruitment starts young. I’m still running my lingerie business, Enclosed. I’ve recently seen David Derryck, Erica Terry Derryck ’95, Chris Mulhauser ’92, and Jenny Work Blattner in San Francisco and Lucius Outlaw when I visited D.C.”

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com