Class Notes

Johanna Maaghul is “so happy to have settled back in San Francisco with my husband and family. I have started a new career as a literary agent and am enjoying the wild ride with my authors in the rapidly changing publishing industry. I work mostly in the mind-body-spirit space but do some fiction as well. Many thanks to Julia Druskin for the mid-life career counseling! Our oldest son, David, is now officially a Cal Bear after years in the stands at the Saturday football games in Berkeley as a child.”

Charles Grattan Baldwin started a new job this fall. “I moved to Princess Anne, Md., where I am an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; At UMES I am teaching literacy courses to teacher candidates. So far, I am having a great time teaching and I am very much enjoying the academic life. My daughter, Annika, and I spent some of the summer in Switzerland and Sweden. I turned 50 near Zurich; Switzerland was a great place to have a birthday.”

This fall, the UNC Press is publishing The Transnational Mosque, Architecture and Historical Memory in the Contemporary Middle East, by Kishwar Rizvi.

Tessellati, LLC, a marketing agency on Boston’s North Shore, run by Ben Waxman, “is always looking for interns looking to do good in the world, as they work hard and gain great business experience. Last summer Leah Giacalone ’17 was a terrific addition to our team.”

Emerson Hospital physician and Concord, Mass., resident, Ira L. Skolnik, MD, PhD, has been elected to a three-year term as president of the Massachusetts Board of Dermatology.

Scott Pryce is still in D.C., though he spends a lot of time in Miami. He celebrated Chip Nottingham’s 50th in DC with Breaux Walker ’89 and Colin Dowling ’86 in attendance.

I got a great long e-mail from my freshman hall mate Laura Holmes: “As I write this, I am sitting on the porch of a 1940s farmhouse (old by Oklahoma standards) that I moved to my partner’s property about three years ago. We gutted the house, renovated, and added on to make an amazing place that fits the property and our outdoor lifestyle. I’m watching the total lunar eclipse from the porch,which faces east toward the vineyards and the horse pasture. We have 10 acres, two horses, three dogs, and a cat. During the day, I practice education law, representing school districts throughout Oklahoma, and am enjoying my life at 50. We are having our first wedding in the vineyard with a reception in the barn this coming weekend and are hopeful for a successful new venture. Whenever I get e-mails from Wesleyan, I fondly remember my time in Foss 8 with you, Anne Friedlander, Debra Guss, Nancy Dobrow, Bucko (head resident Kathi Burke ’84), Betsy Datner ’85, Lauren, Mercedes, Christine, Valerie, Kathleen, Jennifer, and all our other hallmates. What a great group to live with our freshman year. I always look back on my time at Wes and think what an amazing place, an incredible education, and unbelievable friends. Of course, if any Wes folks are in Oklahoma, I would love to catch up. Many years ago, a much younger Wes alum played ice hockey for our semi-pro team in Oklahoma City. We became friends, and he had Christmas dinner with my family. I loved being able to share with him what others from Wes had shared with me for several Thanksgivings when I didn’t come home.”

Josh Calder had fun this summer doing a family road trip with the 8-year-old and 2-year-old, from Minnesota back to DC, via Canada. “As it was my birthday trip, I made us visit 43 islands. (I’m hoping to reach an island total equal to my age this year.)”

Karen Craddock also gave me a lengthy update: She is “an applied psychologist and principal researcher focusing on the socio-cultural context of human development, especially among women and marginalized communities, and as founder/president of KCollaborative Connections a relationship-based consultation, training and research practice I am collaborating on projects across multiple sectors. It’s been a pleasure to work as faculty and lead scholar of Relational-Cultural Theory and Social Action with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI) at the Wellesley Centers for Women, primarily exploring connections across race, gender, and relational neuroscience and the impact on social emotional wellness in diverse communities. Recently co-authored an article with JBMTI colleague in Psychology Today on “Stopping the Pain of Social Exclusion.” As chief operations officer for engagement with the Avielle Foundation’s Sodina Project, it is an honor to develop and expand this national storytelling and mapping project with those who have lost loved ones to violence with an overarching aim to create change by cultivating a diverse community of healing, fostering empathy, compassion and connection. Finally, I am very excited to share the launch of my new book as editor and author of Black Motherhood(s): Contours, Contexts and Considerations (Demeter Press), a multi-disciplinary volume of essays and works by an international array of scholars and writers exploring the varying perspectives and experiences of Black motherhood through diverse and intersecting lens. I keep in touch with a few Wesleyan folks quite regularly: Ian Friday, Melinda Weekes ’89, Joaquina Borges, Lydia Esdaile ’85 and several others via Facebook and community circles. I was also thrilled to support and participate in Vashti Dubois’ ’83 The Colored Girls Museum, which opened in September for the Philadelphia Fringe Arts Festival.”

Happy holidays and best wishes for a great new year.

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

Newsmaker: Michael Silber ’86

Michael Silber ’86 was recently named chief financial officer at McKinsey & Company, a leading management consulting firm worldwide. Additionally, he continues to serve as head of the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical health care division, with which he has been affiliated since he joined McKinsey in 1991. “My ‘day job’ and passion has always been serving companies in health care. It’s a great chance to work in an industry that makes a difference, to work with companies that are focused on innovation, and to be a part of trying to bring better products and services to society worldwide,” he says. A graduate of Stanford Business School, he was a studio art major at Wesleyan and recently funded a scholarship in honor of John Paoletti, Wesleyan’s Kenan Professor of the Humanities, Emeritus, and Professor of Art History, Emeritus.

The most important news this winter is that our 30th Reunion is on the weekend of May 19–22. In recent years, Reunion Weekend has coincided with Commencement Weekend, so there are three days of activities, as well as many opportunities for quiet conversation with friends old and new. Please put that weekend on your calendar—we look forward to seeing you there.

If you have some old Wes clothes, please put them aside to bring to Reunion. Kathryn Villano recently wrote on our Facebook page that she still has a couple of WestCo T-Shirts. “Their threadbare, holey state is perfect for jogging in Miami!” In most issues of the alumni magazine, there is a story from Wesleyan’s past. As members of the Class of ’86, we are now at the stage where some of our belongings are considered “antiques.” If you have some unique Wes memorabilia, please consider donating it to the University Archives.

And now for some updates from classmates. Jeffrey Liss and his wife, Susan, have entered the empty nest phase of life. They bought an apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC, but will also be keeping the home in Yardley, Pa. He continues to work for a major retail company.

Robert McCrae has also moved. After 11 years as the head of the Cincinnati Country Day School, he recently became head of the New Canaan Country Day School in Connecticut. Education is his passion. “I believe having a wonderful and happy childhood is the basis for very enriching adulthood.”

Sam Atkinson spent an annual reunion weekend September in New Hampshire with Peter Hammond and Mark Woodbury ’87. Pete’s into raw milk, which apparently contains formaldehyde, as Pete hasn’t changed since college. Sam had dinner in SF last spring with Steve Cadigan and Paul Levitan ’85, where they relived the glory days of Wes tennis. Don Long for president in ’16? It must have been a great dinner, because Steve wrote from California. “Recently had dinner in SF with Sam Atkinson and Paul Levitan ’85 and a few months ago I connected with Scott Donohue, who is also out here. Happy to report everyone is in great shape and our tennis games are better than ever. See you in May.”

From the center of the USA, there were notes from Frank Randall and Michael Tomasson.

Frank: “I’ve called Minnesota home since 1988, currently living in Minneapolis with my wife, Karly Christensen Randall, and children Francis, Nina, and Jens. We enjoy life on the Mississippi, taking advantage of our city’s great bike trails, and still-kicking music scene. In the ’90s I released three albums as a singer-songwriter fronting the Sycamores, as well as an album recorded with fellow Wes ’86 alums from Van Gogh’s Ear, Elliot Sumi, Bob Ryu, and Chris Erikson. … I’m currently senior editor for HighBridge, the spoken word audio publisher for many public radio programs, where I occasionally catch up with Car Talk’s Doug Berman ’84. One of my titles, Mandela: An Audio History (produced by Radio Diaries) was recognized as Best Audiobook of the Year at the 2015 Audie Awards. … I thoroughly enjoyed attending the 25th Reunion, reminiscing with Brian Pass, Chris Erikson, Becky Mode, Brian Mulhern and many others. I hope to see more friends at the 30th!”

Michael has been working at Washington University in St. Louis since 2000 in the departments of Medicine and Genetics, Division of Oncology, and was recently promoted to full professor. “I treat patients with hematopoietic malignancies on the bone marrow transplant service and do research on multiple myeloma, which is going well. Wash U was recently named a center for multiple myeloma nanotechnology by the National Cancer Institute. Three amazing kids: Julia, 19, science and philosophy at the University of Chicago; Ellie, a junior in high school violin-playing, school-paper-writing, lab-going 16-year-old; and Erik, 13-year-old in eighth grade, the lead of the school play this fall, Science Olympiad champ, and obsessed with the Destiny video game. Personal life a little messier, but happy and peaceful at last.”

Sarah Holbrooke is living in Telluride, Colo., these days, running a nonprofit providing STEM education to school kids in rural southwestern Colorado. “If you’re a working scientist, and love to ski, please be in touch as we can host you in exchange for your time spent presenting to various grades at our partner schools in the region! My husband’s film, The Diplomat, about his late father Richard Holbrooke, will be on HBO in November, and meanwhile is touring at international film festivals. Our family traveled to the Balkans this summer for the Sarajevo Film Festival. Our oldest daughter, Bebe, is a sophomore at Brown, so that means lovely visits with Joanna Feinberg, who lives in Providence. I still keep up with Debbie Halperin in NYC, Nancy Cagan in N.C., and Eleanor Roche in Montana. Our middle daughter, Kitty, is at a semester school in Freeport, Maine, Coastal Studies for Girls, focusing on marine science. Our youngest, Wiley, is at home with us in Telluride, rock climbing and looking forward to the ski season. Let me know if you’re coming to Telluride!”

And from northern New Hampshire, we have an update from Emily Cowan: “Writing to tell you how much fun Reunion is. I am one of those who dreaded Reunions because I didn’t think I measured up to the Wes standard, whether in status, excellence, or creativity. I see myself as an average person with an average job, leading an average life. I anticipated feeling quite inferior as I rubbed elbows with the Wespeople who had achieved. This didn’t happen, though. Nobody lorded anything over anyone, I made new friends while enjoying old ones, and I didn’t sink into self-recrimination. I soaked up the wonderfulness of Wes and rediscovered everything I love about it. That was at our 15th Reunion and I haven’t missed one since. I’m still highly average, so if you have any performance anxiety about your life, come to Reunion and find me. I’ll be the one not standing out.”

Some of you may have met Emily’s daughter at our 25th. “At age 7, her biggest reason to look forward to our 30th was the ice cream social that she was too young to go to that year. I’ve been waiting all these years to see if she will still care about it at age 12. What’s lovely is, she decided after that Reunion that she wants to go to Wes.”

Closing thought: Even if your life is messy; if you are recently divorced, if you are having mid-life confusion—please come next spring. We are a community, and we are here to help each other. See you soon.

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Caroline writing this time. Not too many notes; maybe we’re still buzzing from our most excellent Reunion. I know that I had a wonderful time reconnecting with everyone!

I heard from Nancy Caciola: “I teach medieval history at the University of California, San Diego, and am about to publish my second book, Afterlives: The Return of the Dead in the Middle Ages. It will appear on Cornell University Press in spring 2016. I also am enjoying the single life after a long marriage to Richard Cohen. We finally decided to call it quits and divorced earlier this year, though we remain on good terms. I’d love to hear from any old friends.”

Tim Dyke, who started with us, but finished in ’86, had his poetry chapbook, Awkward Hugger, published by Tinfish Press. Several of us from our freshman house heard Tim read as part of the Writer’s Hotel workshop in June of 2014. In 2015 Tim returned as faculty at the Writer’s Hotel, and Amy Nash took part. Tim lives in Honolulu, where he teaches at the Punahou School.

Gabriel “Jack” Chin was recently named Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC, Davis, School of Law. Jack also writes: “… in March the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and I persuaded the California Supreme Court to posthumously admit Hong Yen Chang to the bar, 125 years after they denied him admission because of his race. For the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Hope Alley ’11, who is my TA in Criminal Law, co-counsel on an appeal of a wire fraud conviction to the Ninth Circuit, and is heading to Alaska to clerk for a federal judge.”

I am sad to report that our class has suffered a loss: George Dixon passed away in September. If you would like to honor George, you may make a donation to the National Kidney Foundation.

Let’s remember to stay in touch with one another.

CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com
MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Roger Pincus brings you the news this issue. Here is the latest from our classmates:

David Silbert reports that he has been in Lancaster, Pa., for 21 years, where he specializes in pediatric ophthalmology and eyelid surgery. He is excited about his new practice, Conestoga Eye, which opened on October 20, 2015. The practice is community-focused and includes domestic and international medical mission work. The website is conestogaeye.com.

David and his colleagues lead medical missions to Honduras and Ecuador, where they do rural outreach, screening children for vision issues and providing exams, glasses, and surgery for children who require it. This last year they were accompanied by 10 local high school students who helped run their clinics. Their next mission will be in April 2016.

In addition, David received a $135,000 grant with the School District of Lancaster to set up an eye clinic, KinderSee, at George Washington Elementary School, which provides care at no cost to economically disadvantaged children. The clinic provides glasses and treatment for amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (eye misalignment), and other eye disorders. For more: kindersee.org

David was one of 19 individuals selected for the Leadership Development Program for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. His project is to further expand KinderSee to reach more needy children in Lancaster County.

He has also been involved in clinical research and is an author on more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has lectured nationally and internationally, including, in 2015, the AAPOS pediatric ophthalmology meeting in New Orleans, the Pan American Academy of Ophthalmology in Bogotà, Colombia, and the European Strabismological Association meeting in Venice. He has been invited as a guest lecturer and was scheduled to visit Iran for the 25th Annual Congress of the Iranian Society of Ophthalmology.

Arthur Haubenstock reports that he and Amy Whiteside have been living in San Francisco since the day before the earthquake in 1989—they really didn’t want to miss it. Amy is now director at the Fraenkel Gallery, one of the leading photography galleries in the country, where she has been part of the family for 25 years. Arthur and Amy are nearly empty nesters, with their older son a junior majoring in applied math at Harvey Mudd College and their younger son a high school senior in the throes of college applications. With the boys starting off on their new adventures, Arthur was inspired to start one of his own and has just co-founded Sustainable Energy Strategy Partners. His work focuses on the rapidly evolving markets and regulatory environments for clean energy resources—including groundbreaking developments in California and Hawaii—as well as on heavily regulated energy transactions. This is exciting stuff for policy, environment and energy wonks like Arthur, plus it offers plenty of opportunities to work with quite a few great Wes alums, including Michael Aylward ’04, Theresa Cho ’86, Lisa Frantzis ’79, Ezra Hausman ’85, Mike Jacobs ’85, and Zeb Zankel ’05.

Francesca Jenkins’s writing life continues to thrive in Ohio. Finishing Line Press will publish her poetry chapbook Silence Has a Name in January 2016, and copies are now available for presale. She recently received a Pushcart Prize nomination for her poetry, and you can read a section of her memoir-in-progress, Running in Time to the Sea, in the current issue of Provincetown Arts Magazine. In addition, Francesca, who writes under the name Arya F. Jenkins, has been performing readings of her work at various venues throughout Ohio since October 2015.

Mark Randles reports that a group of Wes alums calling themselves Baseball Across America traveled to Seattle for a weekend in July to watch some major and minor league ballgames and experience the sights and fine cuisine of Seattle. In addition to Mark, attendees included Bart Truscott ’83 and Nancy Palmer (exchanged at Wes from Holyoke 1983–84), Jim Glickman, Mike Bailit, and Bill Barry. They highly recommend Safeco Field, as well as Steelhead Diner in Pike Place Market. They are already looking forward to next year’s trip (their 16th)!

Mike Lewyn moved to Pittsburgh in August to teach at the University of Pittsburgh for the year. He is busy writing law review articles. Half a dozen of them have come out this year, including publications at the University of Hawaii Law Review, the Real Estate Law Journal, the Fordham Urban Law Journal, and the Washburn Law Review. Mike’s articles can be found at works.bepress.com/lewyn/doctype.html#article .

Christopher A. Romeo has checked in to tell us that after more than 35 years in the Boston area, he is pleased to be back home in southern Connecticut (Old Lyme), making a fresh start on his law practice.

Finally, Roger Pincus and his wife, Jamie Pincus, are proud to report that their daughter Heather ’19 arrived at Wesleyan in September. She is enjoying classes, making new friends, and just loves it at Wesleyan.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Summer is over and the September back-to-school craziness finally subsided. Today I bought some mums and pumpkins to welcome fall. Thankfully, Hurricane Joaquin headed out to sea and all New Jersey had was lots of rain. I hope these class notes find you safe and warm enjoying the next change of seasons.

Harry Gural started a new job as Democratic staff director for the Joint Economic Committee, a House-Senate committee that produces reports and holds hearings on economic issues. Glad to be back on the Hill after a year-and-a-half working for a nonprofit on corporate tax policy, he writes, “The Senate is eerily quiet—guess I’ll always be a House guy. My four years with Barney Frank were about as good as it gets.” Harry sees David Hart, who lives just a couple miles from him in D.C. and speaks to Alison Neely and fellow head resident Marty Dobrow.

Helen Kohane Kobek published a new book Everyday Cruelty: How to Deal with Its Effects without Denial, Bitterness, or Despair. “It is a guide to understand what everyday cruelty is, how it affects us in body, mind, emotion, spirit, and behavior. The book explains what it is about everyday cruelty that makes it so hard for us to ’shake’ and then offers hundreds of tested, practical strategies for dealing with this challenging daily experience.”

David Steinhardt, also recently rewrote and published his honors thesis, once a novel, into a 46,000 word novella. It is a “psychological and political pilgrimage thriller of ideas, now called The Book of Paul or Yet Another Columbus Avenue Jaffa Gate Type Situation.”

Ken Schneyer’s latest story, “The Plausibility of Dragons,” will appear in Lightspeed Magazine in November. He teaches legal studies and literature at Johnson & Wales University in Providence. Spouse Janice Okoomian teaches gender and women’s studies at Rhode Island College and this term has a new course called The Whole Enchilada: Food, Gender, Identity, Power. Daughter Phoebe studies dance and Latin at Marlboro College in Vermont and son Arek’s passion is theater and creative writing in high school.

Nicholas Herold sent an update of his activities the past few decades. “In keeping with my lifelong disinterest in doing anything long enough to become an expert, or anyway, highly paid, I started working as an EMT in the Boston area…I’m riding in the back of an ambulance, having just dropped off an elderly man at a rehab center. He has had a full life himself, having been career Army and Air Force, and as a Navy careerist, provided coffee service to aliens in Roswell, New Mexico. He was kind enough to make me a sergeant. As for me, I was a bartender at a country club and a high end restaurant, worked to get Massachusetts’ universal health care law passed, did health care services research, was the business manager for a health care for the homeless organization, and fished 20 tons of herring out of the Bering Sea. For several years I’ve provided pro bono management consulting services to nonprofit organizations, most recently the Arlington International Film Festival.” Nicholas is close touch with David Eggers ’82.

Cheri Litton Weiss married Dan Weiss in 2012. Dan is a hospice and palliative care nurse studying for his doctorate in nursing (DNP). Cheri finished her second year at the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJRCA), where she is studying for the cantorate, her lifelong dream. She continues to run her real estate company, Top Coast Properties in La Jolla. Between selling homes, attending weekly classes in Los Angeles, and watching daughter Emma play water polo for UCSD all over California, she does a lot of driving and has discovered the beauty and entertainment value of audio books.

Matt Ember and Laurie Sklarin ’84 celebrated daughter Sydney’s wedding. Younger daughter Jamie Ember ’16 was maid of honor and accompanied by Arthur Halliday ’16. Classmates Glenn Duhl, Mark A. Armstrong, Melissa Duggan Pace ’84 and husband Chris Pace ’82, Jeff Resler ’84 and Ed Decter ’79 attended.

Brad and Lele Galer celebrated their 27th anniversary and are now empty nesters. Their sons are spread across the U.S. Alex is an editor for the comic book company BOOM! Peter is a senior at Vassar, and Simon is a sophomore at Connecticut College. Lele is an established artist (painting and steel sculpture) in the Brandywine area of Pennsylvania, and Brad is chief medical officer for Zogenix Inc. Brad and Lele founded in 2005 and run the Galer Estate Vineyard and Winery in Kennett Square, Pa., which has become a nationally acclaimed winery, winning more than 90 blind wine competitions in Napa, Sonoma, and the Finger Lakes. They invite Wes friends to stop by and share a glass on them!

Eileen Kelly-Aguirre finished her first year in new position as executive director of School Year Abroad, a high school study abroad program/school in its 50th year. Glenn Lunden is “now an official beggar on behalf of Wesleyan, courtesy of the ’This Is Why’ fundraising website at wesleyan.edu: thisiswhy.wesleyan.edu/home/story_detail/249.”

Rita Fernandez Lurito is an empty nester and travels a lot. Her youngest son is a junior at Wes and spent the summer in Japan. Rita and family developed and launched a free wine app to help select wine tailored to your taste and budget. “Corkscrew” can be downloaded from the Apple Store or directly at smarturl.it/Corkscrew.

Lynn Ogden dropped off daughter Emilie Ogden-Fung ’19 at Clark Hall after a two-week trip to France and London. Lynn joined Boyden Global Executive Search as partner in the San Francisco office for consumer and nonprofit clients and recently had drinks with Dan Vigneron. 

Mitchell Plave’s son, Aaron Plave ’15, graduated from Wesleyan this past May, majoring in computer science. Aaron works as a Web designer and computer programmer for the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena. Daughter Leah studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Yehuda Hanani, a well known cellist. Mitchell continues to enjoy the banking regulatory and legislative practice at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C.

Karen Adair enjoys retirement but says she is busier than ever. She sits on the Wes Athletic Advisory Council and the Northwood School board in Lake Placid, N.Y. All five of her family members are off doing their own thing. Karen writes, “The book The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up has truly influenced my daily existence. Gotta tell you…all is cleaned out and tidied up. The poor kids will never recognize a thing!”

Thanks for the info on favorite books and volunteer activities. Until next time, namasté,

LAURIE Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

Newsmaker: Bonnie LePard ’82

Bonnie LePard ’82 was named executive director of Oatlands, a 415-acre self-supporting National Trust Historic Site and National Historic Landmark, in Leesburg, Va. Previously the founder and longtime executive director of the Tregaron Conservancy in Washington, D.C., LePard had worked with the community and the Historic Preservation Review Board in a successful effort to save Tregaron Estate, a century-old estate designed by renowned architect Charles Platt and famed landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman. Prior to her work at Tregaron, she was an environmental crimes prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice. An English major at Wesleyan, she holds a J.D. with emphasis on environmental law from New York University School of Law. She is a former Trustee of Wesleyan.

Our next Reunion is just around the corner in 2017 (35 years since graduation and counting!) but that hasn’t stopped members of the class of 1982 from taking part in “mini-reunions” when and where they can.

Bob Russo writes that he and Joe Barrett had a bunch of alums to his family cottage on Chappaquiddick in August. (Those from the class of ’82 were Bob, Anthony Pahigian, John Brautigam Tom Davis, and Mike Greenstein, along with Steve Davies ’83.) “We had a blast playing in the ocean and catching up,” he writes.

Vincent Bonazzoli enjoyed a recent mini-reunion as well: “Lyndon Tretter, Ilyse Tretter, my wife, Paula, and I met in Saratoga, N.Y., in August for four days of golfing, eating, drinking, bike riding, paddle boarding, laughing, dancing, and, yes, a little gambling at the track. We even won a few races,” he writes. “Plan to see them again in New York City in December. “

He writes that he and Paula traveled weekends this past fall to see their son Matt play football in Saint Paul, Minn., for the fighting Scots of Macalester College.

Donna Phillips let us know about a recent mini-reunion with Julie Broude-Bordwin and Harold Bordwin at the Fountainebleau Hilton. “After the mind-boggling realization that we had not seen each other since graduation, we spent a few hours catching up on the last 33 years!” she wrote. “Hopefully, it will not be another 33 years until we connect again, since as Harold pointed out, we will be 88 years old by then (gasp)! “Donna has been working for the past 22 years as a pain psychologist at the Rosomoff Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center in Miami. “I just celebrated 18 years with my life partner, Mariluce de Souza,” she writes. “We travel as much as work and finances permit, having been to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Brazil in recent months.”

Donna adds that she has become “an Instagram addict, connecting with people all over the globe through a mutual passion for photography and travel. You can find me @paindocmiami—or better yet, come find me in person the next time any of you decide to take a winter sojourn in Miami!”

Jim Friedlander writes that he and his wife, Liz Irwin, are “involved in all things Cuban.”

They chartered the first legal private yacht to Cuba from the U.S. since the Cuban Revolution in August. In October, they assembled a high-profile group of professionals and diplomats to found the Havana Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to restore, protect, and preserve the city of Havana.

Separately, Liz has been appointed a representative to the United Nations for the Business and Professional Women’s Association and is advocating for women’s rights, as well as focusing on the issue of access to fresh water.

Cindy Rich, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, works as a senior privacy adviser at Morrison & Foerster LLP, helping companies comply with privacy laws and regulations around the world. She writes that her son, Hugo Kessler ’19, started at Wesleyan this fall.

Cindy’s oldest child, André, is graduating in June from MIT and will work for SpaceX in Los Angeles as a software engineer. Her daughter, Mara, will start high school in the fall, so Cindy and her husband, Glenn Kessler, have four more years before they become empty nesters. She writes that she “enjoys traveling with her family to far-off places around the world such as Burma, India, Peru, Vietnam ,and Morocco.”

A “happy and excited” Anne Heller Anderson writes that her daughter, Brooke ’19, is a first-year student at Wesleyan. “I had the honor of being asked to make welcome remarks on Arrival Day to parents gathered to hear President Roth speak in Memorial Chapel. Very fun!” she writes.

Jim Sullivan is also the proud parent of a Wesleyan frosh, one of several from offspring from the class of 1982 to have enrolled in the class of 2019. “My son, Owen ’19, is a freshman at Wesleyan now,” he wrote.

Joe Fins writes that his new book, Rights Come to Mind: Brain Injury, Ethics and the Struggle for Consciousness, was published by Cambridge University Press in September. “I continue to teach medical ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College and am also serving as the Solomon Center Distinguished Scholar in Medicine, Bioethics, and the Law at Yale Law School.”

Fran Strumph writes that she and her husband, Paul Strumph, celebrated the wedding of their daughter, Caroline, to Michael Schnapp in August: “It was a beautiful, fun-filled weekend on Smith Mountain Lake. Wesleyan was well-represented—Jeff Phelon with his wife, Joanne, as well as my sister, Susan Carroll ’80, and Henrik Dohlma with his wife, Christianna Williams.”

Fran says their youngest child, Matthew, is a third-year law student at the University of Virginia. “Paul is head of diabetes clinical development at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, and is working on a very promising drug to treat Type 1 diabetes. I am enjoying retired (from teaching first grade) life at the lake, and traveling as much as possible with Paul.”

Double congratulations to our classmate Charita Cole Brown, the winner in October of a “pitch week” book prize for emerging authors at Vermont Writers’ Retreat. Charita’s memoir, Defying the Verdict: My Bipolar Life, follows her triumphant journey to overcome bipolar disorder—an illness that was diagnosed while she was a student at Wesleyan. She now enjoys a normal, asymptomatic existence, and is the mother of two grown daughters. Charita was one of several finalists chosen from dozens of candidates across North America. Her prize includes a publication deal with Curbside Splendor, a Chicago-based publisher, and a national book-launch publicity campaign led by Meryl Moss Media.

Many thanks for these updates. Keep those cards and letters coming!

Stephanie Griffith | stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com

Save the date: 35th Reunion, May 20th–22nd, 2016. We will have been out for almost twice as long as we were around before we went in!

Paul W. Godfrey, of Farmers Insurance, St. Paul, has been elected secretary of the Minnesota State Bar Association. The office, which he assumed July 1, puts Godfrey on track to become the MSBA president during the 2018–19 bar year.

Barry “Pono” Fried’s business, Open Eye Tours and Photos, received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award for their private tours of Maui. Congrats!

Jim Baker and his wife, Diane, are living in Ridgefield, Conn. Jim retired from Unilever after 32 years (directly from Wesleyan to Unilever) and is now working for a small medical supply company in Guilford, Conn. Jim’s oldest daughter, Carolyn, just got married and his youngest daughter, Kristina, lives in NYC and works for a startup called Class Pass. Jim and Diane spend a lot of time on Fishers Island, N.Y., in the summer.

Pete Congleton recently joined the development office at Vassar College as the director of leadership gifts and gift planning. This is a new, hybrid position that involves leading a team of leadership gift officers in concert with Vassar’s Gift Planning team. Pete is “glad to be back in the Northeast, closer to family and friends, and looking forward to putting his fundraising experience to good use at a prestigious college that often compares itself to Wesleyan.”

After 17 years in Richmond, Va., John Ravenal moved with his wife, Ginny Pye ’82, to the Boston area. He’s now the executive director of deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln. “I managed to arrive just days before the epic winter began, but I’ve had a summer to thaw out, get my director-legs under me, and settle into a new home in Cambridge with Ginny. Our daughter, Eva ’15, moved to New York to pursue an acting career after graduating last spring from Wesleyan. Our son is remaining in Richmond now that he’s finished high school, supporting himself and skateboarding with a team.”

Alison Williams has started a new position as the associate provost for diversity and intercultural education at Denison University (as of July 16). She lives in Granville, Ohio, in a five-bedroom farmhouse (“long story”) 20 miles east of Columbus. “I have lots of room for visitors, as long as you don’t mind woodchucks and deer in the yard! I’m looking for anyone from Wesleyan to help introduce me to the Columbus area. I’m also looking for opportunities to play my oboe. I’ve enjoyed hearing from Wesleyan East College classmates who have children touring the great liberal arts colleges of Ohio (Eric Pallant, Jon Mink) or delivering offspring to grad school (Sara Margolis). I also hear from Michelle Coleman, Pam Delerme, and Cathy Clarke regularly.”

Ellen McHale is pleased to report that her son, Ben McKeeby, is a graduate student at Wesleyan, studying planetary sciences. She is looking forward to spending more time on campus over the next few years! “I also have a book (my first), which is due to be released by the University of Mississippi Press on Oct. 1, 2015. Stable Views: Stories and Voices from the Thoroughbred Racetrack is the culmination of 14 years (and many hours) of ethnographic interviews in the stable areas of the thoroughbred racetracks of the eastern United States.”

Leslie Sundt Stratton and her husband are still happily living in Richmond, Va. Their eldest just graduated from James Madison University and their youngest is now halfway through William & Mary. “I am still an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and looking forward to a research leave for the upcoming year–time split between Vermont and Australia. I am looking at how economic conditions (like the unemployment rate and housing prices) affect progress towards a college degree in the U.S. and Denmark. I will be looking at how couples divide housework time in Australia. I am hoping to see Diane Stein and her family this summer and very much enjoyed a trip to Boston to visit classmates Karen Zallen and Heidi Falk Logan—both married with children (Heidi’s husband is Chris Logan ’80).”

Steve Blum is still teaching at Wharton, and still running a small “wealth management” business and an even smaller law firm. His book Negotiating Your Investments recently cracked the “one millionth” level on Amazon. “Not a million sales,” he adds, “but, rather, there are 999,999 books selling more copies.”

Jeremy Kenner writes from Australia, where the seasons are upside down: “While continuing to make a living as an employee of the Commonwealth (in the agency equivalent to the NIH as an adviser in ethics), I watch my older children (oldest at 29) negotiate adulthood and my youngest (just turned 3) begin the journey toward personhood. Five boys/two generations: it is an unusual path, but one well worth treading. The only other interesting thing I’ve done down here in the Antipodes is build a cabin in northeastern Tasmania at a place called the Bay of Fires. Have a look on GoogleEarth sometime and consider visiting one of the more remote, if very civilised, corners of the planet.”

Neil Foote is starting his eighth year teaching at the University of North Texas’ Mayborn School of Journalism in Denton, Texas. He’s also become co-director of the school’s Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, entering its 12th year, which features keynotes and seminars from the nation’s top journalists, authors and storytellers. “I continue to do consulting with a variety of clients around the country, including the Tom Joyner Foundation, founded by the nationally syndicated radio personality with the same name. In family news, my wife, Jane, and I headed up to Cambridge to celebrate daughter Alexandra’s graduation cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in East Asian Studies. She’s currently pursuing her MSc in environment and development from the London School of Economics.”

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

Joanne Godin Audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

Paul Singarella writes in response to my seeing his family name on the firehouse in Beacon Hill: “That’s right Kim: The Singarellas, going back to my grandfather, were contractors and builders in the Boston area, building not only that sturdy firehouse, now a children’s center, but also part of Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo, part of the well-known Morrissey Boulevard, and the North Weymouth drive-in theater, which supposedly was the first one in the region. I, myself, am not a contractor, although that’s what I did during my summer vacations, starting at age 12. It does not feel like child labor when you are a 12-year-old driving a steamroller. These days, I am working as a lawyer on water scarcity issues, such as representing the State of Florida in its U.S. Supreme Court case against the State of Georgia, asking the Supreme Court to apportion enough of the river flow from upstream Georgia to protect the Apalachicola River and Bay of the Florida Panhandle, and the oyster that bears the Apalachicola name. Heather and I are empty-nesters in Irvine, Calif., with Nick (NYU 2013) living and working in the Bay Area, Natalie a junior at TCU, and Juliette a sophomore at Vanderbilt.”

Paul Oxholm writes: “Sarah, a Lehigh senior, is a double major in finance and marketing, with a psychology minor. Catherine is a Denison freshman with potential interest in one of nine majors. Karen continues to teach at school and coach the girls tennis team. I continue to run a small manufacturing company in central Pennsylvania, serve as a financial adviser for a few families, and watch my hair turn grey. Karen and I are entering a new phase as empty nesters with more anticipation than trepidation. Let’s hope that continues…”

Doron Henkin writes: “In October 2013, riding the joyous wave of advances in rights, I ’gay married’ Victor Hall at a ceremony on the eastern shore of Maryland, in a Jewish-Philippino-inclusive ceremony at Historic St. Martin’s Church in Berlin, Md. It was their first LGBT event, ditto for the reception hall in Salisbury. Nine months later our union was suddenly legitimized in Pennsylvania, when Governor Corbett declined to appeal from a Federal District Court ruling in Harrisburg in favor of the plaintiffs seeking marriage equality—which ended an odd period in which we were married in some states and on some tax returns but not others. Victor was born in the Philippines and worked in a number of nonprofits before going back to (culinary) school. He is now a dessert chef at a downtown Philadelphia restaurant. I continue my legal practice, focusing on business, bankruptcy and real estate matters. Children, Dan and Gil, have graduated college. Gil is in physics graduate school at McGill University in Montreal and Dan is looking for that first real engineering job after college. Daughter Hannah is a senior at the University of Michigan and played on Team USA (Women’s) at the recent 23-and-under Ultimate Frisbee World Championships in London, England.

Rebecca Hayden writes: “I am still living in the Cambridgeport section of Cambridge—I’ve been here since 1981 (with the exception of one year in Munich). My husband and I live a three-block walk from Central Square, which means he can bike to his job at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard, and I can walk the three miles to Brookline High School, where I am starting my 15th year teaching English. It couldn’t be a better match; I’m not surprised lots of BHS students go to Wesleyan. They are fun, challenging, quirky, sophisticated in all the right ways, and inspiring to teach. I still sing seriously and occasionally for money. Currently I’m in a large volunteer chorus and gig quite a bit at retirement communities. They enjoy my repertoire of parlor songs, vaudeville, operetta, spirituals, and the great American songbook. I was really fortunate the summer of 2014 to receive one of the last NEH grants awarded to high school teachers for foreign study—amonth in London studying The Canterbury Tales. It brought back great memories of Hope Weissman’s seminar on Chaucer. I am grateful for good health, a career I love, a happy marriage, and a circle of wonderful friends—many of them from Wesleyan: Almut Koester, Christian Herold ’81, Michael Shulman, and Suzy Shedd (with a shout-out to Randy Baron, too!).

Mark Zitter writes: “I’m the proud dad of three teens, including a high school senior and junior. Both of them are considering Wes as they look at colleges. I’m still running Zitter Health Insights but also am doing a lot with death these days. My physician-wife focuses on end-of-life issues in both her clinical practice and her New York Times columns, and we co-founded a telephone counseling service for dying patients that we sold a few years back. Recently I’ve chaired a series of interviews at the Commonwealth Club of California on dying, including one with Jessica. It’s fun to work together on this important issue.”

Dan Connors writes: “Still living in St. Louis and love our baseball Cardinals while hating our football team that wants to leave for LA. Got my CPA a few years ago and now writing financial articles while trying to help small businesses in the area. Two daughters near college age, neither likely to attend Wesleyan and asking me how crazy I was to go so far away knowing nobody… At work for nearly three years now on my novel, which I may just have to self-publish once I get it done. Looking for Wes grads (or anybody else bored enough) who would like to read and critique it.”

Janet Grillo is delighted to screen the feature film she directed, Jack of the Red Hearts, at The Rome International Film Festival, Alice nella Città, in October, after showing it at four American film festivals since May, and receiving 11 awards. Jack (starring Famke Janssen and Sophia Anne Robb) will open in 15 select AMC theaters across the country on December 4th.

KIMBERLY OFRIA SELBY | kim_selby@yahoo.com

Great snippet from Martha Bush: “An interesting Wes connection and coincidence. I rowed at Wes for a year with Kathy Keeler ’78, who, of course, went on to win Gold at the 1984 Olympics. We each had a single daughter in our late 30s. Those two young women (my daughter, Lauren Tracey, and her daughter, Abigail Parker) are killing it rowing together in the first boat for Harvard! Sadly not for Wes, but a small world, nonetheless.”

Philip A. O’Connell, Jr. has published a novella entitled The Sound of Silk. A work of historical fiction, it is set in the vice-ridden alleys of old San Francisco and the silver mines of the Sierras. It deals with the decline and fall of William Ralston, the man who built San Francisco. It is available on Amazon. Phil is a partner in the Boston office of the international law firm Dentons US LLP.

Jim Friedlich and Stuart Ellman ’88 were co-investors in Business Insider, a business information company sold recently to Axel Springer, the German media concern. Friedlich, a former Wall Street Journal executive, was a seed investor in the company at the time of its founding. Ellman, a partner at RRE, a NY-based venture capital firm, served on its board of directors.

Meg and Michael Gold write: “Shortly after the alumni magazine came with Sean and Banning on the cover (congrats to you both! Meg and I are longterm Afropop fans!) it was time for the annual Globalquerque Festival. What an unforgettable, amazing experience we had Saturday night. We got to see/hear: kassemadydiabatemusic.com. This group from Mali had three men accompanying the singer—one on a weird, gourd-harp thing, one on a sort of boxy guitar, and one on a sort of xylophone. Very trance like, hypnotic. According to the brochure, ’Kulanjan, his 1999 album with blues artist Taj Mahal, was famously cited by Barack Obama as one of his favorite albums of all time.’ facebook.com/OrlandoJuliusOfficial from Nigeria was my favorite—a sort of jazz, R&B, reggae mix called “high-life.” The groove was so intense it made me believe I was a good dancer. cimarroncolombia.com from Columbia had two intense guitarists, bass, two percussionists (maracas, hand-drum box thing) a guy on an electric harp (!!) and a flamenco singer/dancer. Unbelievably good guitar solos and a maraca/foot stomp competition thing. makinaloca.com from Congo had a jazzy, salsa, Cuban sound that was also impossible not to dance to. Everyone is invited for next year. Regards from Albuquerque, Michael & Meg Gold.”

Craig McLaughlin performs regularly at storytelling venues around the country. He can be seen most often in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives, but he has recently performed in Los Angeles, Boston, Albuquerque, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, and Seattle. Passing on Curves: While Death Rides Shotgun, a memoir released in May, is built from the stories he tells on stage. He has just begun working on the third edition off his textbook, Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach. For more, visit cdmclaughlin.com.

Jono Cobb writes: “My wife Suzzanne, daughter Jordan, and I had a great time in October at the Hamilton fundraiser, where Wesleyan raised nearly $1.5M for the scholarship fund. I’ve finished my three-year tenure on the President’s Advisory Council and will miss crossing paths at those meetings with Laura Walker and Lincoln Frank. Have a great fall and winter!”

Laura Tully writes: “After 27 years in the Boston area, I am moving with my husband, Rob Schneider, to Alameda in the Bay Area. The end of my team performance coach role at Philips provided the opportunity to leave the fierce Boston winters and join my brother, Andy Tully ’83, and his wife, Beth Mooney, in the San Francisco area. Our son, Simon Schneider, just moved into a triple-decker in Boston where he’s working for the social media marketing firm, Cortex. We’re looking forward to connecting with other Wes folks out West.“

John Papa shared: “After a two-year hiatus, the Sky View Concert Series fundraiser returned to my house on the hill in Avon, Conn., and playing off the hillside was The Marshall Tucker Band. Very cool to have them in the backyard. My wife, Sara, and I raised $20,000 for a local disability charity—Favarh. In attendance was the co-host John Majewski, Neil Fitzgerald, Kevin Bristow, the elusive Pat Kiley, the invisible Tom Dwyer (he actually didn’t sneak away), Billy Schmitt, and Bob Burnett. From other classes were Don Dandelske ’78, Jim Carey ’77, John Gaebe ’77, Paul, “the Beav” Malnati ’77, and of course Vinny “no hitter” Colelli ’76. It was a very special day that went into the late night. The band was extremely engaging with the crowd, and some of us were able to participate with some songs such as Can’t You See, Heard it in a Love Song, and Fire on the Mountain. Having Wes friends there makes these events all the more special. Gearing up for the next concert even though the band level continues to increase.”

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com 

Ann Biester Deane | abdeane@gmail.com

“Hola amigos!” These notes are being penned in Spain where my husband, Nick, and I are walking the Camino de Santiago/The Way of St. James, in the northwestern province of Galicia. As pilgrims, or peregrinos, we are walking the last 105 km of the Camino through lovely, lush, verdant countryside (made so by healthy doses of rain each week), Along the way we are walking with and meeting fellow peregrinos. In early September, we welcomed our first grandchild, Benjamin. We are also blessed to have him and his parents living just 10 minutes away in Duxbury. We are thrilled to begin the exciting life chapter of grandparenting!!

Pat McCabe, with two partners, is starting Beacon School for Boys in Los Angeles. Scheduled to open next September, it will be the only secular boys school in Los Angeles. There are many independent girls schools in L.A. but none for boys. The school will start as a middle school with a grade added every year until they reach 6–12th.

Sydney Francis sent in a first-time class note announcing she just authored her first book, Steps To Ascension. Sydney lives with Monte Henry ’80, a financial adviser with Dominick & Dominick. Her daughter, Kalina Meilan, a graduate of the Annenberg School of Communications at UPenn, works in communication and public policy for the U.S. Treasury. Sydney describes herself as “a lawyer by training, business affairs manager by design, and artist by choice.” Her book “is the outcome of 27 years of her involvement with meditation and channeling.” She started her metaphysical journey during her Wesleyan junior year abroad in Ghana, an experience that influenced this book. She also co-owned the entertainment business affairs management company, Gracia, Francis and Associates, for many years and currently has a NYC company, New Public Media.

Pete Lewis was smiling after a September jaunt to Middletown and was inspired to contribute these words to our notes: “I try to get to campus a couple of times a year and recently hit the Middlebury football game. Campus looks great; lots of building upgrades and lots of energy. Later, I had a great time in New Haven at the 150th anniversary of the first Wes-Yale baseball game. We had more than 60 Cardinal baseball alums on the field for pre-game ceremonies. Lots of friends to visit with, including Kevin Rose. Remarks were made by former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent and everyone wore throwback uniforms. Wesleyan beat Yale 6–3! He and Kevin Rose teed it up later that week in a golf match against their baseball teammates Chris Vane ’75 and Rick Burpee ’75. These were just a few of the many lifelong friendships that Pete said came from his Wesleyan experience. He lives in Wake Forest, N.C., from where he regularly visits his dad, George Lewis ’53, in New Jersey and his daughter in New Hampshire. He closed with, “Hard to believe we are coming up on age 60. Lots of life chapters behind us but looking forward to many more going forward.”

William Frear checked in from Juno Beach, Fla., with a comment that probably resonates with many of us: “Wesleyan was a great experience and has enhanced my life. The older I get, the more appreciation and gratitude I have for a liberal arts education.”

Gail Marcus, CEO of Calloway Labs, a toxicology lab based in Massachusetts, sent news that she has been appointed to the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Advisory Panel on Diagnostic Laboratory Tests. She is one of 15 members providing expert input to help advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The main input from the panel will focus on the establishment of payment rates for new clinical diagnostic lab tests and the factors used in determining coverage and payments. Gail has received numerous awards and has appeared on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, the Home and Family Show on the Hallmark Channel, and Kyra Phillips’ Raising America on HLN.

That’s all for now. Please send us your news!

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com