Class Notes

Rachel Hunt and her family will be moving to Los Angeles this summer as her husband begins a new role at USC. She is excited to meet/connect with Wes folks out there. Her kids (K and grade 2) will begin school at the Franklin Avenue Elementary in August. Please reach out! : )

Stacy Theberge Taylor: “Sorry to have missed our Reunion last spring, but Niko Taylor made his debut on April 30, 2015, which was a little too close to make it possible. I was thinking about all of you, and wish I could have been there to celebrate on Foss Hill. Next time! In my small local mom group there are randomly two other Wes folk… Bryn Sewell ’04 and Jamie Green, who is married to Ezra Steinberg ’01. Ezra is also Makeala Steinberg Kingsley’s ’98 sister. Guess I had to have a baby to find my Wes tribe here in Maine.”

Laura Egendorf and Lauren Sitzer were in Phoenix, Ariz., celebrating Christianne Meneses Jacobs’ 45th birthday. Christianne reports that they enjoyed the weekend at the Marriott Revive Spa and ate real Mexican food for dinner every night. For her birthday, Christianne gifted herself a new 2016 Toyota Corolla.

Leah Bartell still lives in the Boston area, freelances as a violinist, and directs the music program at a small private school in Lexington. She founded her own youth orchestra in 2014, and it is endlessly inspiring to work with young musicians. Leah’s two sons, Adrian, 7 and Bryn, 4, keep her running around and laughing. Though Leah missed the last Reunion, she hopes to make it next time!

Katy McNeill: “Last month we (my wife, two daughters, and I) took a big leap and moved ‘across the pond’ for a job opportunity of mine. I’ve taken a position as the functional director for access for the UK Data Service (the primary archive for social and economic data for the UK), which is based at the University of Essex near Colchester. I look forward to connecting with alums out here (already work with Melanie Wright ’84, who is a colleague at the archive) and if you’re ever in the neighborhood please drop me a line!”

Matthew Gold writes: I’ve recently co-edited (with Lauren F. Klein) a new book out from the University of Minnesota Press: Debates in the Digital Humanities 2016. The book is the second Debates volume—the first was published in 2012 and was accompanied by an open-access, interactive Web version: dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu. We’ll be releasing a new version of the website in a few weeks that will contain the new book, as well. And Debates is now a book series from Minnesota, so more volumes will follow.”

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I have finally, finally added a grad school degree to my résumé—an MFA in creative writing from Bennington. It was hard work (the fantastic faculty included Alexander Chee ’89) but also fun to see what another New England liberal arts school was like!

In April, Dwayne Busby and his family enjoyed a Bajan vacation with Dale Allsopp, Mike Jones, Ayeisha King and Damon Smith and their families. Dwayne still lives in Houston and works at University of Houston-Clear Lake as executive director of development and alumni relations. Though this will be his last Notes as class secretary it will not be his last class note. Once a Wesleyan alumnus always a Wesleyan alumnus. Go, Wes!”

Ed. note: We thank Dwayne Busby for his many years of gracious service as 1995’s class secretary, and we’re delighted to welcome Bo Bell and Katy McNeill as the co-secretaries for 1995. You’ll hear from them soon as they begin preparing for the notes you’ll see in the next magazine in December.

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

So great to see so many of you at Reunion! A huge thank you goes out to Reunion Committee Chairs Topher Bellavia, Koyalee Chanda, and Sam Effron, and the rest of the committee: Mark Davis, Kate Treveloni Fencl, Sam Fiske, Daphne Frydman, Tracey Gardner, Dana Holahan, Chung Ma, Ann Camp Mason, Pritha Mittal, and Camellia Noriega.

The class of ’96 smashed the 20th Reunion record with 150 alumni in attendance! We were able to catch up and reminisce beginning on Friday afternoon on Foss Hill. The festivities continued: receptions, WESeminars, department gatherings, a class dinner, and of course, an epic dance party.

Shola Olatoye and Jed Hoyer each received Distinguished Alumnus Awards. Shola was honored for her current work as the chair and CEO of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the largest public housing authority in the country, and her earlier work in nonprofits furthering affordable housing. Jed was honored for his current work as executive vice president and general manager of the Chicago Cubs, as well as his previous work for the San Diego Padres and the Boston Red Sox. Koyalee Chanda and Dara Federman received University Service Awards.

There were WESeminars given by Topher Bellavia, Mark Jacobs, Javaid Khan, and Jake Sussman. Steve Collins screened his film, and Javaid (aka DJ Van Vader) spun an all-campus dance party under a tent on Saturday night.

All in all, it was a huge success. For those of you who weren’t able to come, we hope you make the next one! And in other news:

Jake Ward writes: “I was the editor-in-chief of Popular Science until 2013, when I left to start a new career as a television correspondent covering science and technology for Al Jazeera America from the San Francisco bureau. In April 2016 the channel shut down, and I’ve now begun work as the host of a four-hour series for public television about human irrationality, which is due to air in 2018.”

Maria Lourdes Chen Quinn announced that her fifth child, Maria Caridad, was born in May. She lives with her family in Wisconsin.

Kelly Bird Pierre lives in Philadelphia with her two children, Oona (14) and Jacques (10). She is the lower school principal at Friends’ Central School.

Berry Brosi just earned tenure at Emory. He writes: “I’m in the department of environmental sciences and am continuing to conduct research on pollinator declines, including summer field work in Colorado. My wife, Karen, is also a professor at Emory in public health, and we have two daughters, Aviva (5) and Zuria (3).”

It was great to catch up in person, but the 25th is a long way off, so keep sending in your updates!

DARA FEDERMAN | darasf@yahoo.com

DACQUE TIRADO | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

After four amazing years, Kimberly King has so kindly agreed to pass the torch on to us, Jessica (Jess) Shea Lehmann and Alexandra (Sasha) Lewis-Reisen. Thank you, Kimberly, for all your hard work and great news! We are super excited to carry on the project of assembling the Class Notes—it’s always been our favorite part of the magazine.

We were also thinking that these notes can be both updates and a conversation, so please send us recommendations for books, podcasts, shows, or movies. And feel free to send your thoughts/good wishes to the class.

Jess lives in Phoenix, Ariz., with her husband and three sons (ages 10, 6, and 4). “I teach nutrition at Arizona State University. I serve as the faculty advisor for the Slow Food club. Last fall, I got to see Hamilton, which was sublime. If you’re interested in sustainable agriculture and/or if you’re into food, I recommend Dan Barber’s book The Third Plate. I’m always behind on Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, and Girls, but those are some of my top faves.”

Sasha is living in NYC, working at a nonprofit, New York Legal Assistance Group. “Last year, Ez Cukor ’05 and I helped to set up a WEServe volunteer event in NYC, helping low-income transgender New Yorkers to legally change their names to names they prefer or reflect their gender identity. Let me know if you’d be interested in joining us next time. In the meantime, I am trying to learn how to not bring work home (ha!). Last good book I read: Alice Munro’s Dear Life stories collection. Guilty TV pleasure (can’t believe I’m admitting to the first one in print): Grey’s Anatomy and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.”

We were thrilled to hear from several of our classmates in the spring…

Brent Spodek is the rabbi of Beacon Hebrew Alliance, a creative and rapidly growing Jewish community in the Hudson Valley, N.Y. Alison Keimowitz Spodek is the Rockefeller Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Vassar, where she focuses on toxins in the environment. They have two children, Noa (8) and Abe (5). They can be reached at brent.spodek@gmail.com and alison.spodek@gmail.com

Rob MacDonald recently published a poetry collection, Resuscitation Party (available from Racing Form Press). He’s still living in Jamaica Plain, Mass., and still balancing teaching and writing.

Andrew Frishman wrote to let us know that “Leigh Needleman ’96 and I have been hanging out with Laura Warren ’98, as we’re now practically neighbors—we live just a few blocks from each other near Central Square in CambridgePort in Cambridge, Mass. It doesn’t feel like 20 years ago that I was the Head Resident (HR) in Butterfield A, and Laura was one of the Resident Advisers (RAs)… suddenly it is our children who are in kindergarten together! (and our younger children, each aged 3, are taking Spanish classes together two afternoons a week to prepare for the bilingual immersion school that they’ll attend in a couple of years. Leigh and I also had the incomparable privilege of attending the inimitable Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02’s Hamilton in NYC (Hurrah! and Go, Wes!—We felt some serious Wesleyan pride!!!) Just so happened to be the night that the company did a tribute to Prince—touching in so many ways.”

Larisa Ortiz published a book, Improving Tenant Mix: A Guide for Commercial District Practitioners, and was appointed by NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio to the NYC City Planning Commission. “It’s quite an honor and learning experience! On a personal note, my son, Xavier, is 6 and gets better at solving his Rubik’s Cube every day! Makes his mama proud!”

Malayna Bernstein and Josh Arthurs spent 2015–16 in Italy, where Josh was a Rome Prize fellow at the American Academy in Rome. Their boys, Eli (11) and Carlo (7), spent the year playing soccer and learning Italian. Malayna and Josh continue to teach at West Virginia University. Malayna writes, “If Wes friends are ever in Morgantown, drop us a line!” They can be reached at malaynabernstein@gmail.com and jwarthurs@gmail.com

Bryan Sheckman teaches social studies at Lowell (Mass.) High School and was named a 2016 James Madison Fellow.

Cheryl Goldman Governale writes, “After nearly two years in California, we’ve just moved back to London (my third time!), where the kids are enjoying their new schools. I’m still blogging but looking to set up a photography business soon.”

Mei Woo Chin wrote to us on her way back to Dublin, Ireland, where she has been living for the past five years. She had just finished three months in San Francisco visiting family. Mei writes about food, including for Saveur and Lucky Peach. “Last year in Dublin, my partner Tommy Bergin and I founded Skillet, which paired at-risk youth with members of the Dublin restaurant industry, and trained them in the basics of food prep and service.” Mei keeps in touch with us, Sarah Kollman, and Morgan Fahey ’95, and she adds that “the last Wes person I saw was Michael (Mo) Ouyang ’96, who swung by Dublin for a couple of days. Mo is living in Shanghai, married to the contemporary art curator Zoe Zhang Bing. Mo is the creative director for EndemolShine China (he and Morgan Fahey just worked on a version of Superhuman together, an award-winning megahit show in China), owner of two alarmingly cute dogs, and still playing music.”

We really love hearing from you, so please get in touch! You can e-mail your updates, musings, and recommendations to us at our addresses below. Until next time!

Jessica Shea Lehmann | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

Sasha Lewis Reisen | alewisreisen@gmail.com

Marcus writes: We begin this edition of Class Notes with a heartfelt apology. Alan Schlechter sent in a note in December 2015, but we forgot to include it in the last column, so huge apologies and thanks for writing in! Alan met up with Tim Whyte, deputy director of Save the Children in Bangladesh, and the two went camping in Kempton, Pa. The pair “freezed their tuchis off, hiked and cooked veggie dogs over an open fire and drank horrible beer.” It made for a memorable experience and a “wonderful time.”

Those following March Madness this year might have noticed Matt Kingsley, associate head coach of Yale’s men’s basketball, helping to lead the Bulldogs to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 54 years. The team also celebrated their first tournament win (vs. Baylor) in history.

Anya Fernald continues to build her Belcampo empire with the release of her beautiful cookbook featuring a wide range of recipes (including some for cocktails!). Home Cooked: Essential Recipes for a New Way to Cook is available through amazon.com and in major bookstores.

Welcoming America founder and executive director David Lubell gave a TEDxBerlin Talk called “Migration: Why We Need to Talk to Strangers.” He argues that we need to rethink the lessons from our childhood about “stranger danger” if we want to have a better, more welcoming world.

Director of Wesleyan’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Makaela Kingsley recently connected with Tali Shmulovich, who left her position as vice president of operations for Global Health Corps and is now HR consultant and executive coach for Partners In Health.

I found myself in Copenhagen participating in a variety of meetings focused on sustainability in the apparel industry. Sustainability Director for Mountain Hard Wear Laura Schaffer ’00 and I took the opportunity to catch up over several large beers. In addition to talking apparel supply chains, we reminisced about the Wesleyan swimming and diving team and commiserated over the increasingly high cost of living in the Bay Area.

Sophie Middlebrook Hayward celebrated her 40th birthday in San Francisco in May. It was fun catching up with Danielle Woodrow and Mary Lisio, who drove up from Los Angeles and took a break from the world of film and entertainment to celebrate. Sarah Margon, the head of Human Rights Watch’s Washington, D.C., office, also made the trip to San Francisco. Rounding out the Wes crew was Mark Karvosky ’97, who recently relocated to San Francisco from New York.

We know our talented classmates are up to incredible things, so please do send in your notes! We promise to be better custodians of news (apologies again to Alan Schlechter!).

Marcus Chung | marcuschung98@gmail.com

Jason Becton | jcxbecton@yahoo.com

Kevin writes: Was glad to see several folks send in updates, including quite a few first-timers. Amelia Borofsky kicks us off with an offer that I hope someone takes her up on: “Wes folks are always welcome to come visit me in Hawai’i or Rarotonga! Mi casa es tu casa.” Amelia lives in Hawaii and the Cook Islands doing research, writing, and education projects. She has been working on a documentary called Homecoming: A Film About Pukapuka—check it out! “Am still in touch with many Wesleyan folks whom I love dearly and don’t get to see as often as I’d like.”

Massachusetts continues to have a strong pull on our class. Abbie Goldberg lives in beautiful Western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and gaggle of animals, and is an associate professor of psychology at Clark University, where she also directs the graduate program in clinical psychology. She is the editor of the forthcoming Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies, published by Sage—which contains a whopping 450 chapters on topics ranging from asexuality to Stonewall to sexual fluidity to leather culture. She is also a proud founding member of the Western Massachusetts chapter of Girls on the Run, a youth running and empowerment program, which kickstarted its first season in fall 2015. Sarah Sikowitz and her husband, Aaron, moved from Brooklyn to her hometown of Cambridge, Mass., in 2014. They’ve since grown to a family of four, welcoming Rose Elise in Feb. 2016. She joins her big brother, Emmett, who turned 3 in May. Peter Czerepak just moved to the ’burbs of Beantown (Winchester, specifically). He’s still cranking away at BCG, and is the rare consultant who does not travel much.

Russell Isaacson is living in NYC and advising brands on digital media investments for sovrn Holdings. He lives and works in SoHo.

Several first-timers shared big news: Hong Qu and his wife, Sharon, have been blessed with a baby boy, Tristan Qu, in May of 2015. They are expecting another boy in October this year. Hong is working in media and journalism as the CTO for Fusion.

Janel Davis, ordained into the ministry in Oct. 2014, now holds the office of “missionary,” and is “very excited about what lies in store for me!”

Sara Jaffe’s first novel, Dryland, was published by Tin House Books in 2015. She has been teaching creative writing at various institutions in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest—next year at the University of Oregon. Sara lives in Portland, Ore., with her partner and her 1-year-old son.

“The College of the Holy Cross recently promoted five faculty members, including Wesleyan University alumnus Joshua Congdon–Martin,” read the e-mail. Joshua is in the economics and accounting department and specializes in labor, public, and health economics, as well as applied econometrics. After Wes, he earned his MA and PhD from the University of Michigan. A recipient of the Bachelor (Ford) Summer Faculty Fellowship, his work has been featured in the Journal of Urban Economics, European Sports Management, and the Journal of Sports Economics. He has also refereed numerous articles, including “Love, Toil and Health Insurance: Why American Husbands Retire When They Do.” He has five works in progress, one of which is titled “Do Sporting Events Displace Crime? The Case of the Bulls and Chicago.” He has been a member of the Holy Cross faculty since 2009.

Our other Class Secretary, Darryl, has been busy! In May, he reconnected with Jason Fitzgerald, who lives in Astoria, Queens, with his wife Rachel Zack and their daughter, Lily. Given his extensive light and sound design experience that started at Wes, Jason founded Kelson Productions, which provides audiovisual and production management services for live events. During Memorial Day weekend, after eight years at Kenyon College in Ohio, Darryl moved back to New England to be director of admission at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He joins Stephen Engel ’98, who is the chair of the politics department at Bates. As if moving and starting a new job weren’t enough for one summer, Darryl and his partner of 14 years, Bob Brown, finally married. The July 30th celebration was held in a 200-year-old barn at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, Ohio. Wes folks in attendance included Kevin, John Raby, Josh and Liz Scarlett ’98, and Maurice Hill ’14.

Jeffrey Blumenthal was saddened to hear about the passing of Professor Emeritus Jon Barlow. He was one of the best teachers Jeff had at Wes. This spring we also lost Prince, who penned an anthem for our class…he can rest in peace knowing that we’ll always know how to party like it’s 1999 (even if we’re no long capable of doing that).

C. DARRYL UY | darryl.uy@gmail.com

KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com

<strong>Aryn</strong> writes: Reunion &amp; Commencement 2016 marked our 15th year as proud Wesleyan graduates. Scary how time flies.

<strong>Elijah Carroll</strong> and <strong>Mattitiyahu Zimbler</strong> reported that our Reunion showing was small but strong. I guess it’s just that time in our lives—busy with young families, careers and being a real grownup. Our 50th Reunion turnout is going to be solid.

Eli and Matt attended with <strong>Steve Munno</strong> and ran into <strong>Meg Bartlett</strong> and<strong> Erin Lane-Aaronian</strong> on Foss Hill, soaking up the sun and the nostalgia.

<strong>Meghan Tomb</strong>, <strong>Josh Kagan</strong>, <strong>Ellen and Alex Healy</strong>,<strong> Joe Lampe</strong>, <strong>Sophia Koulomzin Lampe</strong>, <strong>Anthony Clark</strong>, <strong>Peter Colvin</strong>, <strong>Kim Wittmer</strong> and <strong>Andrew Calica</strong> were also sighted around Middletown that weekend. I’m told everyone looks pretty good for approaching 40!

<i>Wes weddings alerts:</i> One possible reason for the modest attendance was that <strong>Beth Slepian</strong> tied the knot with Ellen Finney on the very same weekend. The couple threw a carnival-themed wedding extravaganza, complete with food trucks, lawn games, a bounce house and mini-concert by The Nields. Cantor <strong>Darcie Naomi Shapiro Sharlein</strong> sang during the ceremony, and guests included <strong>Rebecca Hume</strong>, <strong>Liz Stein Rubenstein</strong>, <strong>Jeff Klein Sharlein</strong>, <strong>Eli Sheridan Wise</strong>, <strong>Mary Coakley-Fields</strong> and <strong>Andrea Donnelly</strong>.

<strong>Abigail Kurland</strong> got hitched back in April to Harry Koutsolioutsos. <strong>Katie Haxall Cronin</strong> and <strong>Kirsten Collins</strong> were bridesmaids. The newlyweds headed to Greece in June to party with Harry’s relatives who couldn’t make it to the States for the wedding. Abby works as an assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York where she prosecutes violent, organized crime and human trafficking cases. In 2013, she and <strong>Nick McQuaid ’96</strong> tried a large Latin Kings gang case together.

<i>Big moves: </i><strong>Emily Van Engel</strong> is excited to report that she is going back to school in the fall to pursue an MFA in pictorial art at San José State University.

<strong>Adriana Laser</strong> announced she’s picking up the family and moving to Albany, N.Y., after securing her first real vascular surgery job since finishing her fellowship.

And a word from our co-secretary <strong>Mara Voukydis</strong>: “We welcomed a tiny bronze-haired wonder into our lives on March 19. Andreas is very smiley and curious. We have been calling him ‘The Human Scanner,’ because in this phase he scans his head side to side to take it all in. We can’t wait to share him with his honorary Wes aunts and uncles.”

Congratulations, all. We love hearing about the incredible happenings in your lives. But let’s make a pact—Reunion 2021 or bust! Until next time,

ARYN KALSON-SPERANDIO | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

Only one more year until our 15th Reunion! Can’t believe how quickly time flies! On to the notes, with lots of congratulations in order, as always!

A recent wedding: Rachel Miller got married on April 9th, 2016, to Harvard alumnus Jack Steadman at the Metropolitan Building in NYC. The two met in 2012 while working on President Obama’s reelection campaign in Chicago. After the wedding, Rachel and Jack went on an epic honeymoon to Bali and Italy for three-and-a-half weeks. Rachel is enrolled in graduate school for instructional yechnology at Columbia’s Teachers College.

And lots of new babies: In 2014, Daniel Winokur moved with his wife, Anne, back to Albany, Calif., only five minutes away from where he grew up. The same year, they welcomed a new baby girl, Hazel, and a house into the family. In late 2015, all three (minus house) took a trip to Paris and Italy, “learning very well that babies do not exactly appreciate travel as adults do.” In early 2016, Dan switched jobs and is now director of philanthropic partnerships at UpStart, a nonprofit business accelerator in San Francisco. Dan plays squash with Ryan Akers whenever possible.

Sarabeth Broder-Fingert and her wife welcomed their twin baby girls, Ilana and Kai, into the world, making them a family of five on Oct. 17, 2015! Sarabeth is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine and continues to actively recruit promising Wesleyan alumni to her medical school and residency program. Rachel Gooze and her partner, Scott Kaplan, welcomed a baby girl, Talia Judith Kaplan, on Feb. 16, 2016. They live in Washington, D.C., where Rachel is a public health researcher at a nonprofit. And Angie Schiavoni had a baby girl, Vera Schiavoni Kamvar, on April 23, 2016. Her son Dario, 5, goes to Wildflower Montessori School, which is one of dozens of new Montessori schools started by her husband, Sep Kamvar. They are moving from Cambridge, Mass., to Belmar, N.J., in June to be closer to family, and hope to continue starting schools and working in the community.

On the job front: John Milioti is the store manager of Paper Source in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and would love it if any of the billions of classmates who live nearby would come say hi! Sarah McCormack Natonson has had a busy year. She started a new job as a veterinarian seeing dogs, cats and exotic animals in May; got her fingertip bitten off by an iguana in August and made the local news; had a beautiful baby boy named James in November; and will be moving to Portland, Ore., in June for husband Andrew’s neurology fellowship specializing in dementia. Jesse Lava is rooming with Edna Togba in the Northcenter neighborhood of Chicago. Jesse is the director of policy at the Chicago Department of Public Health, where he creates new laws and initiatives to improve health.

Caitlin Hardy is doing her radiology residency; she lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Jeff Raynor, and their daughter, Savannah. Carly Einstein lives in Denver, Colo., with her husband Andy and their 22-month-old daughter, Lily. She is the director of annual giving at the Kent Denver School. And Lexi Keeler resides in Seattle with her wife and three kids, working at Summer Search as a fundraiser. Occasionally, she sees other Seattle-based Wes folks like Josh Blumenstock and Annie Youngerman ’03 (who are about to have a young Youngerstock), Meghan Kelly ’03, and Tyler LePard ’00, among others. Mostly she spends “a lot of time making breakfast, getting little people ready for preschool, making dinner, getting little people ready for bedtime, picking up Lego pieces and collapsing into bed.”

Since graduation, Wichuda (Tang) Wichaidit has worked with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in early intervention in various capacities. Currently, she is a part-time supervisor for the service coordination department at Cooper Kids Therapy Associates. She is also a professional photographer (tangysweet.zenfolio.com) on the side, while juggling two children, a stubborn 8-year-old boy and a feisty 2.5-year-old girl. Since her son entered the NYC public school system, Tang has been leading an enrichment committee of the school’s PTA, which has brought in third-party supplemental in-class music and art programs since discovering that some classes may miss music for a whole year because the school is overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded.

On the media front: Jody Avirgan is hosting and producing podcasts at FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver’s data journalism site owned by ESPN, of all places. He’s covering the presidential election and asks that if anyone can help explain what the hell is going on, please get in touch.

Alex Horwitz has been following Lin Manuel-Miranda and the cast of Hamilton with cameras off-and-on for nearly three years, and is happy to announce that Hamilton’s America, a feature film he is directing and producing, will air this October on PBS. It’s as much a documentary about history as it is a behind-the-scenes look at the show. Lin is an executive producer as well. While working on that, Alex continues to develop his own scripts and edit documentaries and TV.

And for some, new adventures are in store: Allison Brenner is excited to be embarking on a new adventure, and will be moving to Portland, Ore., with her partner and 2-year-old twins this summer. She will continue her research position in social epidemiology at the University of Michigan remotely, and in her free time plans to introduce her kids to the ocean and mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

Lily Seaman will be graduating with a master’s in clinical social work from Smith in August and will be traveling with her partner to Montreal for six months before heading back to Walla Walla, Wash., in 2017 to find a job. She doesn’t “know a soul in Montreal,” so if you or someone awesome you know is in or near Montreal, let her know!

JUSTIN LACOB | justinlacob@gmail.com

Noah and Julia Bruckner Newman welcomed their daughter, Hannah Adele Newman, into the world on May 23rd. She couldn’t have arrived at a better time—Julia just finished her OB/GYN residency program and Noah just wrapped up four years working on Pixar’s summer release, Finding Dory.

Anna Christensen and her husband, Gabe, welcomed their first baby, Maya Judith, on April 10.

John A. Graham defended his dissertation at Princeton University and is graduating in May, 2016. This year, he taught his first graduate course at Yale University, and next year will be back in Tbilisi, Georgia, working on his book and leading wine, music, and culture tours (georgianchant.org/tours). The family welcomed another child, Sebastian, in February.

AMY TANNENBAUM | atannenbaum@wesleyan.edu

Jenina writes: Hi, Class of 2004! Once again, you’ve shared some of the many wonderful, exciting things happening in your lives. So read on to learn more about what your former classmates are up to in work, families and travels!

From the East Coast, Elaina Dellacava seems to have a ton going on. She tells us: “I’m getting married July 30th in Tarrytown, N.Y., to my fiancé, Adam Knowles. We met in residency at Montefiore Medical Center and we are living in Manhattan. Rebecca Weinstein, Morgan Philbin and Sarah Abramson will be at the wedding. I’m chief resident in the outpatient department this year and will be doing a geriatric psychiatry fellowship at New York Presbyterian/Cornell beginning in July 2017.”

Also in New York, Nick Malinowski and David Fine live together in Brooklyn, as they once did on Washington Street in Middletown. “David’s side of the room remains scrupulously tidy,” Nick reports.

Nearby, in Connecticut, Nick Blondin has some great news. “My wife, Rebecca Gordon ’06, and I celebrated the birth of our second child, Daniel Jacob Blondin, on April 5. It was a dual birthday for mom and baby! Big sister Alice loved going to Wes for Reunion & Commencement this year.

“Professionally, I have continued building the St. Vincent’s Brain Tumor Center and now have five clinical trials for cutting-edge treatment of brain cancer, in addition to all the state-of-the-art standard treatments. I am optimistic that these breakthrough treatments will lead to advancements in the fight against brain cancer.”

Heading over to Philadelphia, we have another ’04 classmate who’s been keeping busy. In April Greg Heller started a new job as executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority—the city’s implementation arm for community development. Also his book, Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia, recently came out in paperback.

Sascha Stanton-Craven has been bouncing between coasts recently, continuing his run in Brooklyn of living with Jon Golbe ’06 for a longer period of time than he has with anyone not related to him by blood, and being expertly hosted by Jeff Brenner ’03 and family in Los Angeles while working on Web-to-TV series Decker (with intern Spencer Sheridan ’10), which will run on Adult Swim starting June 17th. Sascha says hello to everyone and hopes you’re all doing great.

Aja Gabel tells us: “Last year I earned my PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston. After spending some time in Japan, I began working full time as a copywriter for Huge in Portland, Ore. Just last week I sold my first novel to Riverhead Books /Penguin Random House.”

Liz Leipzig has some wonderful family news. “I had a baby in January, Logan McKeown Leipzig. Happy, healthy baby. Wish he would sleep through the night! My daughter, Emily, is starting first grade in the fall. She plans to be a paleontologist. I’ll be married to my high school sweetheart and business partner 10 years in September.”

Tajan Renderos also has some great family news and work updates to share: “I’m very busy with the coaching practice that I run, Tajan Renderos Coaching. Our mission is to inspire, challenge, and support young women as they make power moves to go from being stuck in life to soaring. I do this by providing coaching and workshops within organizations that serve young women, where they can learn and apply spiritual principles that are needed to thrive in adulthood. I also have a really cool vlog series that you can check out on tajanrenderos.com. When I’m not at work, Wil Renderos ’05 and I are busy chasing after our 2-year-old guru, Sahai.”

Isaiah O’Rear shares some news on his work in the educational space. “I work at the U.S. Dept. of Education as the project officer for the ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS). The EDSCLS was released to the public in April 2016. The EDSCLS is a Web-based platform that allows schools and school districts to collect, report, and act on reliable, valid, and timely measures of school climate.”

And Mosah Fernandez Goodman was recognized in his new hometown of Omaha! “It was recently announced that I will receive an award in Omaha—10 Outstanding Young Omahans (2015 TOYO! Recipient). The TOYO! is in its 83rd year and is among the top honors within the City of Omaha. It has been getting significant media attention within this region. While the award is certainly a personal honor, I thought it demonstrates that Wes alumni make a difference in communities wherever they go in life… even Omaha.”

Congrats to these folks!

As always, we’d love to hear what you’re up to. To get into the next issue, please send a quick note:

Jenina Nuñez | jenina.nunez@gmail.com

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

Stonecutter Spirits has taken some big steps forward for Sivan Cotel, with their Single Barrel Gin winning double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition last spring, and the release of their Heritage Cask Whiskey this summer!

Anna Talman Rapp is thrilled to announce the May 14 arrival of Adam Christopher Talman Rapp.

Chris Gateman and his wife, Kim, are pleased to announce the birth of their son, John Colton Gateman, born Feb. 27, 2016.

Heather Olins finished her dissertation on microbes at deep sea hydrothermal vents, and finally earned her PhD in May from Harvard. She also recently had a baby—Mattea Olins Albro! She will be starting a job in the fall teaching science at The Fessenden School in Newton, Mass.

Lindsay Clarke and her husband, Shea Gunther, welcomed daughter Sagan Brandes Gunther, on May 4. While home on maternity leave, Lindsay continues to run Breaking Ground, a nonprofit started through her grant from the Christopher Brodigan fund in 2005. Also on the board of Breaking Ground are Alex Moore and Alden Blair.

Maria Nankova and family are still in Brussels. Her oldest daughter turned 9 and her little one started at a Flemish kindergarten. They are translating papers from school in French and Dutch, trying to learn more of these languages. Maria’s career has been on backstage for the past couple of years but this past winter she started a new job at Deloitte on the healthcare economics team. They haven’t had much time to explore Europe, due to full-time parenting and working but would love to host anyone passing through Belgium.

On the fun side, her daughter auditioned for the Brussels Light Opera Company’s production of Wizard of Oz. and was chosen for the show. She was the youngest performer in the cast and they were delighted to watch her. They are also choreographing a modern dance this summer for her company’s party. So, the Wesleyan spirit has been passed on to the next generation!

Maria was also very saddened to have lost a dear friend, Amelia Geggel ’06.

Marcella Martinez Winearls is still in London and excited to welcome her second son, Lucas, on May 3. Respect to all of the parents out there!

Marcella Winearls | marcellawinearls@gmail.com