Marina King and Michael Glasser got married in Brooklyn this past September! Their officiant was friend Conor Hunt, and they had lots of Wes pals in attendance, including Marina’s brother, Aiden King’14 and Trustee Emeritus Darryl Hazel ’70. They’re living happily in New York City with their rescue dog, Cashew.
Back row: Khalilah Lushiku, Alessandra Cervera, Rachael Metz, Connor Justice, Sam Furnival ’15 (appearing as an apparition), Beth Alexion, Arthur Halliday, Jamie Ember, Lucy De Souza, Sarah Hoynes, Conor Hunt Front Row: Rebecca Brand, Michael Glasser, Marina King, Lizzie Paquette, Jennifer Cummings
Tim Israel writes: “Living in Oakland with the Jack Reuter and Ella Geismar. Come thru!”
As for me, I’m halfway through my first year of residency and still loving Albuquerque!
Eric Lopez has tied the knot with Yuki Davis (of Brown University, the Wesleyan of Rhode Island). After a COVID date turned into a willingness to share space as the world ends, they affirmed their love with a double-feature Boston/Los Angeles wedding celebration—alongside Andrew Kang, Jasmine Masand, Emily Garvin, Antonio Robayo ’16 (honorary ’15), and Anders Dohlman.
We hope that 2025 is treating you and your loved ones well so far and that peace, joy, and connection continue to find you all as the year goes on.—Best, Christopher and Chelsie
Julia “Jay” Benedith writes, “In addition to running my business, J. Benedith Coaching Services, I am the director of Alumni and Network Engagement at Teach For America, and I am a career advisor at George Mason University. On a personal note, my fiancé, Ben, and I are getting married on June 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C.!”
President Michael Roth and Julia “Jay” Benedith at Reunion & Commencement 2024.
In October Alyssa Bonneau married Frank Fineis ’13 in downtown Chicago, officiated by Jana Keaton (née Heaton). They were joined in their celebrations by Will Feinstein ’13, Charlotte Cottier ’12, Gus Spelman ’11, Kristen Raddatz ’13, Carlo Francisco ’11, Molly Stern, Lindsay Schapiro, Madalene Smith-Huemer, Sam McAllister, Adam Brudnick ’13, Jacob Eichengreen ’13, Nate Jacobs ’13, Ross Gormley ’13, Max Bevilacqua ’12, Sam Barth ’13, and Justin Pottle ’13. Not in attendance was the couple’s perfect Westie puppy, Lauda, who was not allowed in the building.
Wesleyan representation at the Bonneau-Fineis wedding.
Shortly after their 10th wedding anniversary, Maureen Gorman and her husband, Aurélien, celebrated the arrival of their son, Frédéric Gabriel Grèzes Gorman, November 25, 2024, in Paris.
Clemence Kim writes, “Hi all. First time updating (I think) and like a lot of people, life has been wild the past 10 years with many events (both good and bad). But I am doing great these days working as an attorney in D.C., living in a lovely Eastern Market townhome with Emily Hilton ’18 and the legendary black cat of 202 Cross, Gweng. Yes, Gweng is alive and well. She has beaten cancer (twice) and is turning 13.
“I dunno how many Wes alums would come to D.C. over the next four years, but please let me know if you are in the area and want to hang or need a couch to crash in.
“Speaking of which, I will be in France with Emily, who will be attending INSEAD, from August 2025 until June 2026. Feel free to ping if you are in the area during that time period and want to hang.”
Leslie Lai writes, “This fall, my humble abode transformed into party central as I got together with Marianna Silva Ilagan ’15, Xian Hui Ang ’15, Michael Leung ’15, David Mai ’15, Ka Ya Lee ’13, Reese Sy ’13, Angela (née Lo),and Paul Hanakata. The seed for this shindig was planted way back when I visited Marianna in San Francisco (good times!) Next thing I know, the universe worked its magic and brought our amazing friend Xian Hui back to the U.S.—and right here in Boston! It was too much laughter and food; it was the perfect way to reconnect and make new Wes memories.”
Please enjoy the following updates from your classmates:
Raghu Appasani writes, “I’ve been living in San Francisco since 2022, running my own concierge integrative and addiction psychiatry practice, [and] continuing to support mental health initiatives like MINDS Foundation. Recently launched a new start-up and raised a successful pre-seed round that is focused on helping teens and families flourish in the digital world.”
Miriam Berger has been based in Jerusalem with The Washington Post covering the Israel-Gaza war since October 2023.
Emily Gershen is living in Detroit with her husband, Dion, her two toddlers, Milo and Naomi (Wesleyan Classes ’43 and ’44), and her two dogs. Life is typically chaos but is almost always fun. In her free time, she’s working in e-commerce consulting for interior design and home brands.
It has been great to visit with Wesleyan friends like Adam Fishman, Lizzy Steiner ’14, and Brigitta Glunk when they’ve come to town and she was overjoyed to celebrate the wedding of Victoria Garcia and Terrence Word ’11 in Colorado a few years back alongside many fellow Wes alums! If you come through Detroit, feel free to reach out!
Marjorie Romeyn-Sanabria writes “I graduated from law school in May, and I am currently clerking for a state judge in New Jersey. I’m learning a lot and looking forward to joining this profession!”
Sarah Schorr married her partner, Eric, in April in Pasadena, California, after three cross-country moves and almost a decade of dating. The wedding was awesome and attended by Alex Kinney, Emily Steck, Francesca Buzzi, Adrienne Leach, Haley Baron, John Snyder, Lowell Wood, and Caroline Fox. Everyone is even hotter and cooler than they were in college. Sarah lives and works in Pasadena as a mental health therapist and Pilates instructor.
Sarah Wolfe and Chip Gianfagna welcomed Charlie Alfred Wolfe to their family in September. He joins big brother Emmett (age three) in their household in Watertown, New York, where they are enjoying paddling on all the beautiful lakes and rivers in the area.
I’m happy to share that this past January I got married to my now-husband Travis at a beautiful ceremony in Westlake Village, California. We met in our MBA program at USC, which we’re excited to be finishing up later this year. We had an amazing time and got to celebrate with family and friends, including Ashley Garrett.
Thanks to those who contributed and feel free to pass along notes at any time!
Greetings, Wesleyan community! Please enjoy the following updates from the Class of 2010:
Aaron Freedman andNikole Yingerhad their first baby, Ishai W. Freedman, and got some great hand-me-downs from Zeke and Dame (children of Sarice Greenstein and Erica Rome, respectively). They are looking forward to entering the Class of 2046 together.
D’or Seifer and Eoin CalleryMA ’10 live in Limerick, Ireland. D’or’s first poetry collection, On Being Un/Able to Walk Through Walls (with cover by Eoin) was published by Revival Press in February. D’or’s website can be visited at www.dorseifer.com.
Finally, Jon Killeen and his wife, Alisha, welcomed their second daughter, Meredith Jane Killeen, on December 26, 2024!
Thanks, as always, to those who contributed, and if members of the Class of 2010 ever have a note to share, please pass it along to DavidALayne@gmail.com.
The Class of 2008 has started 2025 in an exciting way! Johnathan Thayer has been awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor at Queens College, CUNY, where he teaches classes in archival studies and public history. He is the author of Citizenship, Subversion, and Surveillance in U.S. Ports: Sailors Ashore (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) and co-editor of Negotiating Masculinities and Modernity in the Maritime World, 1815–1940 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).
Matt Haywood writes, “Thought it would be fun to mention that I met Chloe Jeng ’15 while playing pickleball in D.C. I was wearing some Wesleyan joggers and she recognized the logo. We’ve since gone on to play in a league together and wound up winning the whole thing!” He submitted a photo as well and notes that the “third woman pictured is Marissa Daftary. [She] and Chloe met through mutual friends Emily Garvin ’15 and Jasmine Masand ’15.”
Matt Heywood, Chloe Jeng ’15, and Melissa Daftary
Lauren Goldman was married to David Cooper in November 2024 and also admitted to the New York Bar that same month. She says, “I am currently working as an eviction defense lawyer in the Bronx.”
Maya Bass is the program director for a brand-new family medicine residency program at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. This program will create 10 new family docs each year. Building it has included opening up two new family medicine offices in downtown Camden. She writes, “2025 is a big year as I will be graduating my first class! Our mission is to foster the growth of compassionate, innovative, and highly skilled family physicians. We strive to provide inclusive and evidence-based medical care, with an emphasis on empowering our community through health and education.”
Hello, Class of 2007—I can’t believe we are already in 2025. A new year brings exciting news all around. I ran the New York City Marathon in November, which was an amazing experience. I also started a new job and now run the tax legal group at Ameriprise Financial. My co-class notes editor, Megan Harrington, reports that there was a mini-Wes reunion at the Indianapolis marathon in November. She was able to run a few miles with Allison Torpey and celebrated afterward with former track teammates Brittany Morse ’08 and Steph O’Brien ’08.
In the spirit of Wes classmates getting together, Deirdre Salsich stays in touch with Acacia Stevens Marinello, Johanna Goetzel, her sister, Mairead Salsich Viegas ’04, Felicia Appenteng, Jennifer Timm (Latin American studies majors represent), and loves hearing from Estrella Lopez and Eugene Dayanghirang. She is delighted as all get out that women’s crew earned the silver (!) medal at NCAAs in 2024 and is so proud of the athletes and Coach Pat Tynan. She mentors Wes students whenever she can, especially scholarship/financial-aid recipients but will talk to anyone who would like help with navigating career search/exploration. Career coaching has been one of the best investments, personally, over the years. She still misses Professor Ann Wightman; may she rest in power and peace.
Whitney Matthews recently switched jobs and is now the deputy inspector general/director of investigations at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Eric Altneu had his second kid, Miles, this summer, and Simon Au has started to believe in the power of karma as seen through the tireless antics of his four-year-old son.
