Class Notes

You’re the best. My last plea yielded so many replies that this is the second edition from months ago, with a few updates.

Amanda Sayle Rinzel started working as programming associate at the Sheen Center in Manhattan. Her new role is to “fill the large main stage theater, our beautiful, super-swanky Black Box theater, and our art gallery artists that use their work to highlight the true, the good, and the beautiful. I feel incredibly lucky to be doing this work in some of the most beautiful theaters I’ve had the pleasure to work in since Wes days.” Son Stanley turned 1, and Julius is “full-on 3 years old, which is awesome and spectacularly exhausting”.

Kyoko Miura writes, “I am serving as chief of staff at SNEHA (nehamumbai.org), a nonprofit based in Mumbai, working in four areas of public health (maternal and newborn health, child health and nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and prevention of violence against women and children) in the most deprived urban slums. On a personal note, I had a chance to catch up with Devyani Srinivasan here in Mumbai and had a Japanese meal together.” Kyoko is always looking for interns and volunteers for research projects, and can be reached at kyoko@snehamumbai.org.

Peter Banks and Sara Shandler have a beautiful 2-1/2-year-old named Hazel. He writes, “We live in Brooklyn, I just (re) started a gig at Atari, and Sara is running the editorial group at Alloy Entertainment (Warner Brothers subsidiary)”.

Wendy Bauman Jeffries and Chris Jeffries welcomed baby Elena Jane Jeffries on Sept. 1, 2014.

Rachel Feinstein Stevens is donating architectural and energy modeling work for a Net Zero duplex for Habitat for Humanity in Easthampton, Mass. She says, “If volunteers can hit Net Zero, anyone can!”

In August, Roger Smith moved to Japan to work for the Town of Matsushima. He is the first foreigner to work in the town hall and his job is to support the recovery from the 2011 tsunami by encouraging tourism to the region. Matsushima is designated as one of the three most scenic spots in Japan and was unaffected by the nuclear disaster, so please visit! In his spare time he is working on a documentary about towns rebuilding as resilient, renewable energy-friendly communities.

Andrew “Roo” Yawitz: “My wife and I welcomed our third child on Aug. 8, a boy named Calvin. I am living in the Central West End of St. Louis, running the music club I opened in 2008, The Gramophone, and also working for a music fan loyalty platform called Tunespeak. Also, if anyone out in Wes world wants to get a true narrative of what went down and of the continued struggles in Ferguson, follow my good friend @TefPoe. (Here’s a hint: It’s not what was on the news.)”

After working for investment banks in Japan, and in various countries in Africa in the humanitarian assistance sector with NGOs and others, Kaori Ura is now moving to Johannesburg to work for World Food Programme (WFP). She married an Eritrean whom she met in Juba, South Sudan, and they’ve lived in Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Cameroon, Senegal, and Italy in the past six years. They have two daughters, 6 and 3.

Winsor Schmidt writes, “My wife, Sandra, and I welcomed our son, Chase, on Aug. 31. We are looking forward to a beautiful fall in Cleveland walking him around the Metroparks!”

Heather Harelik Tseng was selected from 500-plus associates as The Little Clinic’s winner for excellence in leadership behaviors in 2013. She was honored in a ceremony at Kroger’s (the parent company) headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ari Brochin married Sarah Meyer in June. “Sarah’s from Melbourne, Australia, and completed a PhD in international public health from Johns Hopkins earlier this year. We’ve been living in Mae Sot, Thailand, for the last two years, where I’ve been working for the Karen Human Rights Group, a local organization which does advocacy and reporting about Southeast Myanmar. We’ll be moving to Kampala, Uganda, in January, where Sarah will be the director of research for the Center for Excellence in the Study of the African Child at Makarere University. Wesfolks at our wedding included Anthony Clark and Megan Joiner, Tony and Kate McAlpine Guerra, Erika Scott, Cara Herbitter ’03, Xiomara Lorenzo ’06, Joseph Gindi ’03, Joseph Berman ’04, Dana Raviv ’06, and Nancy Kreimer ’74.”

Anthony Clark writes that Kannan Vasudevan married Katie Zaffrann in Sept. 2014. Delicious Indian food was consumed and wild dancing ensued. Rev. Megan Lloyd Joiner officiated the ceremony. A stellar Wes crew was in attendance including Guillermo Barnetche, Tyler Cabot, Professor Ron Ebrecht, Serena Jones ’00, Eleanor Michael and Joey Meyer ’00, Erika Scott, Joel Streeter, and Dave Westman.

Rebecca Hume has been enjoying the freewheeling lifestyle of a freelance graphic designer since leaving her agency job last December. In a slightly less terrifying adventure, she ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon in May with Beth Slepian, now the school programs manager at the Anne Frank Center USA.

Sarah Gollust just kicked off her fifth year on the faculty at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. In April, she and her husband Ezra Golberstein welcomed second son Mattan Benjamin who joined big brother Ilan James. She is finally getting accustomed to the frigid upper Midwest, but still refuses to call soda “pop.”

Will Engel kindly heeded my call to send in anything, even if it is from 2006: “Speaking of 2006, I actually released an album called This Could Be Heaven that year. I am currently writing for Examiner and AXS and live in Los Angeles.”

At this writing (early February) I am snowed in here in Boston. Hopefully I will be dug out by the time you read this. Happy spring, everybody!

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

Many people in our class continue to welcome new babies into their families. Chinelo Dike-Minor and her husband, Randall Minor, welcomed a new baby boy, Obi Minor, in Nov. 2014. Everyone is thrilled, including his big brother!

Demian Szyld and Pia Chatterjee welcomed their daughter Lila on Dec. 24th, 2014. “We are enjoying her smiles and our time together in Brooklyn, N.Y.”

Caroline Cho Reed writes, “We welcomed our third child, a son, in Sept, 2014. His two older sisters are thrilled to have a real live “baby doll” in the house! I’m happily managing and maintaining a busy household schedule but finding some time to do some pro bono communications work for an exercise franchise.”

Melanie Kessler and her husband live in Bristol, Vt., with their two wonderful sons, Ezra (2) and Judah (6 months). She writes, “We manage a small school/community farm and I provide Jewish spiritual education and community programming for a synagogue in Burlington along with organizing community harvest festivals. My husband creates functional metal sculpture and takes care of horses’ feet out of the blacksmithing shop in our backyard. What wonderful joy we have bringing ritual, craft, and celebrations to our home and extended community. Visitors welcome!”

Also, in Vermont, Sadie Danforth Brightman, along with the help of husband Nick Brightman has had an exciting year fulfilling a dream to start a music school. Middlebury Community Music Center is an up and running nonprofit with 20 faculty members and more than 100 students. The vision has long been to create a place for collaboration and diverse music classes for all ages. One of the biggest thrills is having both daughters, now 6 and 4, attending as music students!

Gian-Murray Gianino writes that he and his wife, Maggie Thom, are absolutely enjoying the joys and follies of raising their son, Sebastian Thom Gianino, in Brooklyn. Maggie continues to dance, most recently at BAM with Jodi Melnick, as well as teach at Plymouth Church School in Brooklyn Heights. GM continues to teach and perform all over the map with his theater company, SITI Company, most recently at the Getty Villa in LA.

Ali Haider is an interventional cardiologist in western Massachusetts in private practice with Hampden County cardiovascular associates. He is affiliated with Baystate Medical Center and is an assistant professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a new member of the heart valve team and performs coronary, structural, and vascular interventions.

Shawn Green is working on his third degree, this time in engineering, at Berkshire Community College.

Josh Lerner published two books last year—Making Democracy Fun: How Game Design Can Empower Citizens and Transform Politics; and Everyone Counts: Could Participatory Budgeting Change Democracy? He lives in Brooklyn, where he directs a nonprofit, the Participatory Budgeting Project, and plays Duplo with his son Miro.

Paul Josephs is still working as a musician and educator with Metrosonics Concepts in Brooklyn, NY. He has a new website: pauljosephs.com, as well as metrosonicsconcepts.com.

Ian Moulton writes, “On July 5, 2014, I married Jillian Johnson in my parents’ backyard in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. Lots of friends and family were in attendance, including my brother Sam Moulton ’98. After the ceremony Jillian and I got into an amphibious car and drove into the lake while our guests followed in a pair of pontoon boats. It was a lot of fun. Jillian is from Klamath Falls, Ore. She is director of HR at the online video company JW Player. I work at TouchTunes as a product manager of digital jukeboxes. We live in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.”

I (Hilda) continue to live in Brunswick, Maine, where I work as a school psychologist in the elementary school down the road. My husband, Peter Wiley, is working at Bowdoin College in data warehousing and analytics. We just had our third child in December, Naomi Joy, and she has been warmly welcomed by big sister Simone (7) and brother Ian (5). I will be stepping down from doing class notes, so if anyone wants to take over for me, please send me an e-mail at hildawiley@yahoo.com. Avery is great to work with!

Hilda Ives Wiley and Avery Esdaile
wesleyan2000@gmail.com

Kevin writes: Limited submissions this time, so please take a few minutes and send in your updates for the next Wes Mag so we can hear what you’re up to! For example, I recently heard from Mark Zubko, but he quickly went to ground again after the Seahawks lost in the Super Bowl. He may have been hiding from Pete Czerepak’s celebrations of the New England victory.

From Greg Brodsky: “Scott Cavanaugh and Ashley Grant ’00 just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in Easthampton, Mass., in December. Word on the street: baby Ezra was locally sourced, and 100% free range.” Greg is still living in Somerville, and is with a tech start-up, OrderWithMe, which helps groups of independent stores to buy together. He works out of Workbar in Cambridge, and occasionally sees Matt Goldstein there. Suzanne Bouffard also just joined.

Speaking of free range—Eve Fox has been busy writing about the hopeful world of sustainable agriculture with a focus on all the cool things happening where she lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Eve also writes about plain old delicious food on her blog: http://www.thegardenofeating.org. She and her family also had a chance to meet up with Makaela Kingsley ’98 and Jonah Sachs ’97 at the tail end of 2014 for a reunion.

Jon Stewart made news with his Daily Show retirement this year. Our own Catie Lazarus was there to get his first reaction on her show, “Employee of the Month.” The New Yorker wrote a nice piece on her repartee with Stewart that is worth a read (and, of course, you should watch Catie’s show!).

Nina Kontos just had a son, Nicholas Kontos Busquet, born in Dec. 2014. Forever a New Yorker (and married to one), Nina still lives in the city and considers herself lucky to see lots of fabulous Wes friends here on a regular basis. She has been working at Google in communications for five years…work takes her to the Bay Area fairly often and so she gets to see Allegra Jones and Caitlin Lang. Fun fact: freshman year Maya Mitchell predicted Nina would have a career in the field of public relations/communications and she was right.

In January, Ellen Sluder started a new position: head of marketing for MedForce Technologies, a software company focused on productivity applications in health care. “It’s only been two months, but I’m really excited about the change, even if I look solely at the elimination of two hours of my previous daily commute. It’s also just been really fun as I’m digging in to rebuild the brand from the ground up and pioneer a proactive marketing program where there previously had been very little.” Ellen’s husband, Stephen, flies for the Conair Corporation (“think hair dryers, not convicts”). “We’ve got a good rhythm down with our two daughters (4 and 1), not that it makes it any easier on me mentally when he gets to leave behind this below-zero NYC weather to spend a long ‘work’ weekend in the Turks and Caicos. I hope he brings back some warmer temperatures for us!”

The Bay Area continues to be a beacon for our classmates. In Oakland, Tara Cohen and Jessica Flintoft welcomed their child, Oscar Rose Cohen-Flintoft, into the world on Dec. 20th, 2014. They could not be more in love with their sweet little one, sleepless nights and all. Danielle Lazier is living in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. “In my 13th year of selling SF real estate and blogging for SFhotlist.com. Recently connected with some old Wes friends in NYC.”

Chris Chambers completed post-production on Aram, Aram—his first feature as writer-director. Jim Gilbane contributed his talents as editor. “Pic is an indie drama set within the Armenian community of Los Angeles. Coming to a film fest near you…or, worst-case scenario, YouTube.”

Laura Zaks writes, “I just completed a two-year contract working for the Inter‑American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, based in Costa Rica, as an international specialist in food and nutritional security for Latin American and the Caribbean. Primarily, I provided technical assistance and advised on policies to increase the availability and quality of food produced through small and medium-scale agriculture in the region. My family also welcomed a baby girl, Sabine Antonia, born in Dec. 2014, who joins her two older brothers, Tiago and Luka.”

Finally, we close with some solemn news. Wesleyan recently learned of the death of our classmate, Marc James Augustine, on Oct. 26, 2014. The full obituary notice is available online.

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

KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Embarrassed by my paltry previous edition of class notes, I turned to the handy mass-email strategy of soliciting information—and boy, did you all respond! We have an abundance of news to share, so please make sure to go online to view those notes that didn’t fit in the printed magazine.

Sadly, I begin this edition with tragic news. Our classmate Michelle L. Salisbury passed away on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Michelle worked at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority as a senior project manager. She is survived by her husband, Jon D. Orris; mother, Judy Salisbury; grandfather, Edward M. Salisbury; brother, Brian E. (Cristen) Salisbury; and nieces, Elliote and Reilly.

In 2014 Sara Brenneis, published her book Genre Fusion: A New Approach to History, Fiction, and Memory in Contemporary Spain, welcomed her son Charlie in October, and achieved tenure in the Spanish department at Amherst College.

Nadia Khan also welcomed a son in October 2014: Iago Khan Martell. She and her husband, Hector, left the Bay Area for Austin, Texas. Hector works at Mell Lawrence Architects and Nadia is “‘working from home’ as I scheme up where to put my modern, sustainable architecture stamp moving forward.”

Anthony Veneziale and his partner welcomed their second child, Ociela, in 2014. Anthony partnered with Thomas Kail ’99, Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, and Bill Sherman ’02) on a live improv rap show, Freestyle Love Supreme, that aired on Pivot. He also started a new show/company, Speechless, which gives improvised PowerPoint presentations and helps companies make better presentations on stage and on camera.

President Obama recognized Dave Lubell, executive director of Welcoming America, for their immigration integration efforts. In a Dec. 2014 event in Nashville, President Obama said, “David’s initiative is expanding across the country… This is what makes America exceptional. That we welcome strivers. We welcome dreamers from all around the world.”

Nadine Forrester Mills and husband Gregory welcomed daughter Angelique. Nadine was also inducted into the Middletown, Conn., Hall of Fame for her accomplishments in track and field.

In Paris, Becky Cohen is enjoying the semester abroad she never experienced. She, husband Jake and two daughters moved there from Boston last summer. Becky teaches at the Lycée International: “Jake is taking care of the homestead and finding more time for biking and art; the girls are immersed in French schools! It is a fantastic adventure, and we are trying to see as much as we can before heading home, either this summer or next!”

Dahlia Schweitzer is pursuing a PhD in cinema and media studies at UCLA. She published Cindy Sherman’s Office Killer: Another Kind of Monster, a book examining artist Cindy Sherman’s only film.

Also in LA, Guillermo Brown is working on his next music releases with his bands Pegasus Warming and Thiefs, with whom he’s touring.

Jessica Cortes hosted a Wesleyan Lawyers Association (WLA) cocktail event in New York at her firm, Davis & Gilbert, LLP. The event attracted approximately 40 alumni; see the group’s LinkedIn page for more information.

Lia Salza Goldstein encourages those in D.C. to visit the neighborhood art space for children that she calls Little Loft in Capitol Hill. A second location is about to open in Takoma Park, where Lia lives with her husband and three children.

Michael Sternhell and his wife expanded their family in Dec. 2014 with baby girl Iris Sternhell.

Georgia Silveria Seamans also welcomed a daughter, Colette, in March 2014. She encourages all in NYC to check out the projects she’s planning for Washington Square Park Ecology.

For the past 12 years, Amanda Green has taught film studies and English at Berkeley High School. When she’s not teaching or spending time with her husband and two children, Amanda finds time to teach jujitsu and aikido in nearby Oakland.

The faux bois furniture that Mike Christie-Fogg makes was recently featured in Architectural Digest and Traditional Home magazine. His furniture is distributed through David Sutherland.

Abe Forman-Greenwald is filling our FaceBook feeds with content as a video producer at BuzzFeed Video. His short videos have racked up more than 150 million views in total. Recently he’s been focusing on documentary shorts about subjects of identity and social justice. He tweets about his projects at @filmingdocs.

As founding VP of Operations, Tali Schmulovich is working to build Global Health Corps, a nonprofit developing a pipeline of leaders focused on global health. While she is based in New York, Tali has worked in Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.

Laura Polania, a psychiatrist focusing on women’s mental health, has expanded her private practice to Brooklyn, where she lives. She keeps up with Christine Rizkalla, an emergency pediatric doctor, Rebecca Preiser, who’s finishing up her doctorate in clinical psychology, and Sarah Kless Seigel, who is practicing pediatrics.

Thanks to Instagram, I learned Penelope Linge and her family were vacationing on Maui at the same time I was. I loved having an unplanned Hawaiian get-together with my former Wes swimming teammate who’s now the CFO at HelloGiggles, an online community covering pop culture, love, friendship, style, and news.

Sourav Guha is back at Wes: a visiting instructor of government, teaching contemporary Indian politics. This follows earlier stints back on campus as assistant dean of admissions, institutional research associate, and assistant provost.

In Cairo, Jaime Nelson El-Helw opened FLOW Wellness Center, which offers activities for mothers to develop positive bonds with their children. She, her husband, Sherif El-Helw, and their three children return to New England every summer to visit Jaime’s family, including her grandfather, Ted Nelson ’41, who lives in Rhode Island.

Arshad Chowdhury and his wife, Anika, welcomed a baby boy to their family in Brooklyn. Arshad is CEO of an exercise app company, Power 20, and co-founder of Crowd Interactive, a Web development company.

As Director of Wesleyan’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Makaela Kingsley inspires current Wes students to create projects and organizations that change the world for the better. She also gets to connect with classmates focused on social impact, including Amir Hasson, CEO of Oxigen USA and a serial social entrepreneur, and Rebecca Knight, who writes about business and will be presenting a business plan and pitch workshop for social entrepreneurs at Wesleyan during the spring semester. Of course, Makaela also spends time with husband Matt Kingsley, associate head coach of men’s basketball at Yale, and their children, Amelia and Eli.

Nathan Eddy, his wife Clare, and their two children, Mahalia and Elise, landed in Marylebone, London, in Aug, 2014. Nathan is pursuing a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Clare is serving as a minister in the Church of England.

Jessica Browning and her husband, Jerad, are busy with two daughters who arrived within the last year-and-a-half! Although sleep deprived, Jessica is hanging in there and is a college counselor at a K–12 school in Asheville, N.C.

David Schleifer is working with Chloe Rinehart ’14 at Public Agenda, where they conduct research on domestic policy issues including healthcare, education, and democratic participation.

In Brighton, England, Erica Nelson is an independent consultant on global public health projects, having completed a post-doc research fellowship in anthropology with the University of Amsterdam. She and husband Dylan Howitt have been in England since 2008. Their daughter Sylvie, 4, just started school in Sept, 2014.

Aimee Miles co-founded FOGG Theatre, a musical theatre company in San Francisco that commissions, develops, and produces musicals with a Bay Area focus. The company’s first musical, The Cable Car Nymphomaniac, enjoyed rave reviews and sold-out shows every night. Aimee also leads the education wing of the company, which offers performing arts programming and summer camps for kids. Aimee adds, “Thank you, Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown, for all you taught me!”

Scott McCracken received a fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. He will be teaching a course at UPenn in March.

In Cambridge, Mass., Nella Young runs a fellowship program that places architects with community development organizations through Enterprise Community Partners. She regularly bumps into Kirsten Von Trapp in Davis Square, where Nella lives with her husband and son.

David Greengrass and wife have a son, Ben, born June 2014. They live in D.C.; David works as a counsel on the House Judiciary Committee.

Joshua Steadman’s company, Videoo, is the technology behind a new campaign aiming to connect people through acts of love. The #Share1Love campaign will donate $1 to “charity: water” for every “random act of kindness or love” video uploaded.

Angela Pellegrino-Grant welcomed twins Lena and Silas Pellegrino-Grant in June 2014.

MARCUS CHUNG | marcuschung98@gmail.com

Jason Becton | jcxbecton@yahoo.com

2015 has brought forth new beginnings for many of our classmates. As I begin my third year as your Class Secretary, Alumni of Color Council Member and Wesleyan Fund Class Agent I fondly reflected upon my relationship with Wesleyan through the years. Whether it was the Career Resource Center, the Dean’s Office, my professors, or my friends—I have found Wesleyan to return to me what I have placed into it. I enjoy hearing from everyone and learning about life after Wesleyan. I believe this platform is an outlet to re-establish connection for many of us. Please be encouraged to make a new or recreate an existing WesConnect.

Neily Buff wrote that in January, as Florida legalized gay marriage, she and her 11-year partner, Kelly Kingston, were married in their home state. Exactly one month earlier, they had their first child together—a girl.

Andrew Frishman (@andrewfrishman) shared: “Leigh Needleman ’96 and I just bought a place in Cambridge, located about halfway between Harvard and MIT. We’re excited to be living just a block from our 5-year-old daughter’s school and a 10-minute walk from her younger brother’s daycare. Leigh’s a neuroscientist at Harvard and I am on the leadership team at Big Picture Learning (bigpicture.org). We get together regularly with Laura Warren ’98, her husband and children (who are similar ages to ours). Andrew is excited to be collaborating with Daniela Lewy ’99, who will soon be entering the final year of the Harvard EdLD program, which he finished in May of 2014. Andrew also connects regularly with Arthur Baraf ’98, a principal at the flagship Big Picture Learning school—The Met High School, in Providence, RI.

Carly Burton (@carlyburton7) says: “I’ve been in Boston for the past 12 years and just moved to a new house in Jamaica Plain (one block from our old house). I married my wife, Mo, in 2009 and in October 2013 we adopted our daughter, Clea. We got the call we were matched on the evening of Oct. 18, the day before my birthday. Clea was born on Oct. 22, and we got to meet her that day! It has been a joyous adventure. She is an active toddler who loves to dance and walk backwards and see how long she can pull the tail of the cat before getting in trouble. I’ve worked in advocacy since graduating from social work school at BU and my path has crossed with many Wes alums along the way, from Fawn Phelps to Melissa Shannon ’94, to former Rep Steven Walsh ’95, to Senator Dan Wolf ’79. Currently, I work at an LGBTQ advocacy organization and though I don’t see as many Wes alums in my professional world, I am lucky to see Karen Carniol ’98 and Ginna Smith Reeder ’98 and Liz Murray ’96 pretty regularly, which is wonderful.”

Dr. Joshua Arthurs (@Jwarthurs) and wife Malayna Bernstein are both professors at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.V., Josh in modern European history and serving as director of graduate studies, and Malayna in curriculum and instruction. Along with their boys, Eli (10) and Carlo (6), they are enjoying life as Mountaineers, and welcome any Wes contacts in West Virginia or the Pittsburgh area.

Michelle Conceison (@ProfConceison) lives in Boston runs her own music management and marketing company, Market Monkeys (@MarketMonkeys marketmonkeys.com). Here she manages Canadian songwriter Rose Cousins (rosecousins.com) and her record label, Old Farm Pony Records (oldfarmpony.com). Michelle is also a professor in the music department at Northeastern University and she serves on the Board of Folk Alliance International, the organization that represents folk music worldwide.

Sean Brecker (@seanbrecker) moved back to the US after 11 years away (seven years in Singapore and four in England). His wife, Heidi, and three kids (Felix, 5, and girl/boy twins Eiffel and Dashel, 3) moved to Los Angeles in 2014. Sean is the CEO of Headspace, a guided meditation app. Sean would love to hear from any Wes alums in southern California!

Aileen Nagle McDonough (@3amwriter) lives in Rhode Island and serves as the chief executive of 3am Writers, a communications and content strategy firm that focuses on creative social media and online identity for businesses. Aileen writes stories as “Honda Mama” on wehearthonda.com; she also teaches social media classes at Cape Cod Community College. In addition, Aileen devotes time to her own creative writing. In 2014, she was back on campus to attend Wesleyan’s Shasha Conference on The Novel, and two of her essays were published in Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England.

Aileen has been married for 15 years to Kirk. They have two children: a hockey-playing, mohawk-sporting 11-year old son, Shane, and a redheaded 8-year-old daughter, Cate, who loves Irish step dancing and glee club. Aileen keeps up with Wesleyan friends on social media and meets up with ’97 classmate Michelle Driscoll in Boston or Providence whenever busy schedules allow.

Matthew Way (WayFilm.de) completed his debut feature, “The Genital Warriors” and was very pleased to have celebrated the World and German premieres of it in Moscow and Berlin respectively at the Moscow International Film Festival, one of 15 A-list festivals worldwide. Visit genital-warriors.com/trailer for more information.

Derek DiMatteo wrotes, “I’m three years into the PhD program in English literature here at Indiana University, Bloomington, and have just settled on my qualifying exam committee members. Terrifying to think I will have to do my orals this coming September, but also elated to be done with coursework at the end of this spring.”

At the top of March, Abdul Latif was chosen as one of three 2015 winning choreographers with the Joffrey Academy of Dance, the official school of the Joffrey Ballet, to display his most poignant pieces to date at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Learn more at Joffrey.org/WinningWorks.

Cheers to all of the new beginnings thus far. Looking forward to hearing more.

Kimberly King | kimberly.king715@gmail.com

Hello, fellow ’96ers. I hope this finds you well. I know during winter months we all think back to the wonderful memories of our years at Wes!

Nikki Lewis, living in Raleigh, is director of marketing at Epic Games, the makers of Gears of War, Unreal Engine, and the upcoming Fortnite.

Chung Ma has moved south of the Mason Dixon, from NYC to RVA (Richmond) with his family. He landed a sweet gig managing money for Virginia’s pension fund. He says leaving NYC was a tough choice but the proximity to skiing, beach, and myriad outdoor activities has kept his entire family busy. RVA is a wonderful blend of smaller city and progressive mindset. He further added he went out to Las Vegas to be a part of Alex Fong’s and Sylvia’s wedding. Big Wes reunion there—13 in all!—John Kong, Jason Kim, Ingrid Wong, Phil Cho and his fiancée Wendy Wu ’97, Howie Bae, Susan Yee, Diana Ip, Emily Chang, Andrew Fuys, Susan Ha, Barrett Feldman, Chung Ma, and of course Alex Fong.

Arwen Anderson calls San Francisco home and is happy to be a working theater actor, and along with partner Rod, to have welcomed a son, Rowan Anderson Gnapp, into the world. He is absolutely amazing and keeps them on their toes!

Darrah Carr and husband David Byrne welcomed their daughter, Ettamoya Darrah Byrne, on Nov. 24th; she joins big sister Cavan and big brother Eamonn. Darrah’s dance company, Darrah Carr Dance, celebrated its 15th anniversary season at NYC’s Irish Arts Center.

Elana Pavloff moved back to NYC from Toronto in June; she says she missed real bagels and humid summers. She just started a new job at OMD as the NA Lead for the Visa client. Since her clients are in San Francisco she travels to the West Coast a great deal, so much that the flight attendants know her by name.

Nine years ago, Amalia Mayita left photojournalism to join her family’s coffee business in El Salvador, where they’d been growing coffee for five generations. If any NYC Wes alums want to try this delicious coffee, they can find it at Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, which offers Talnamica and Natamaya. This year’s harvest is available this spring and summer. Amalia admits to being obsessed with Instagram, so check her out @AmaliaMayita.

Alejandro Wyss and Marissa Wyss ’97 have re-located to Los Angeles, where he now runs operations for SpeedNews Aerospace & Defense Events.

Anuj Desai and his wife, Joanna Baum, have a baby girl. Little Ziya is happy and healthy, and Anuj lives close to veteran parents Billy Kheel, Ben Bell, and Becca Cutter ’97.

Colby and Sara Evans live in Austin with their three children, Quinn (7), Malcolm (5), and Ruby (3). They have expanded their dermatology practice, which now has seven medical providers across three locations. In July, Colby will become chair of the board of directors of the National Psoriasis Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (psoriasis.org).

James Weinberger is living happily in Brooklyn along with half of the alumni of all of Wesleyan, his wife Erica of 15 years, and sons Eli (11) and Nate (7). (Both were kindergarten students of the amazing Semeka Smith-Williams ’97 at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights.) He is lucky enough to be practicing copyright and trademark litigation as a partner at Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu and recently gave an appellate argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, where he represented DC Comics in a lawsuit about whether the Batmobile was protectable under copyright law. He is looking forward to our 20th Reunion next year.

Mary Pagones published her first novel, The Horse Is Never Wrong, available on Amazon and from most other major booksellers in e-book and paperback form: amazon.com/dp/B00RYFUDCY/

DARA FEDERMAN | darasf@yahoo.com

DACQUE TIRADO | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

Khaim Morton ’95 writes: “I’m now the chief of staff to assembly member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who represents the 54th California State Assembly district. It includes Los Angeles, Westwood, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, and Culver City. I also recently got married. My wife and I both live and work in Sacramento, Calif.”

Andrew Hindman ’95 plans to attend the Reunion with his spouse.

In 2014, David M. Perry published more than 45 articles on topics such as higher education, disability, and police violence for CNN, Al Jazeera, the Chronicle of Higher Education, etc. In February of 2015, Penn State University Press will publish his book Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. He interviewed Wes President Michael Roth ’78 here: chronicle.com/article/PresidentsPublic/150879/

Katy McNeill writes, “I’ve been living in the Boston area for 13 years (probably with many of you close by but we just haven’t run into each other). Still working in the MIT Libraries (same place but evolving role). I look forward to seeing everyone at Reunion; I’ll be bringing my family: wife Sharie and our two daughters, 9 and 5.

Cheryl Mejia sends an update that’s “pretty much similar to last update. Finishing last year of residency. Got some good potentials, yet looking for a PM&R job, with focus on interventional and sports med. Marriage is legal in Florida now! I am engaged to Clare Madrigal, a quick ER nurse who will be relocating with me. Think you already know I’m VP of Women In Medicine, annual conference and network of LBT physicians.”

Dwayne D. Busby is now executive director of development and alumni relations at the University of Houston—Clear Lake. He still lives in Houston with his wife, two daughters (9 and 7), and his mom. Go to yourhoustonnews.com/bay_area/news/ and look up “Busby” for an article about his career news

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

Raya Salter Moore writes, “I’m a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council focusing on electricity policy. My daughter is 14 and in high school. Still living in New Rochelle, N.Y. Saw Hayley Buchbinder and her family (adorable two young sons and hubby) this past summer.”

Jon Morgan says, “I’m in Dallas (my hometown) and run a corporate public relations firm, Perry Street Communications. My wife, Liz Seabury ’95, is assistant general counsel at a restaurant company, Le Duff America. We have two boys: Henry, 10, and Oliver, 7.”

Jennifer Cunningham says, “Hello, all. I’ve never written an update before so I will keep the last 20 years brief. Moved to Denver, moved to London, left the glamorous world of telecom, and now live in Boulder County with my husband and two kids. I recently started Ask Why Films to lend a voice to social issues. Our first documentary is Disruptive Ed—a film to inspire audiences to reimagine education in their local schools and effect the necessary changes.”

Charlotte Castillo writes, “Greetings from NYC…I am working hard being a mom to my 5-year-old ‘lil man’ and as VP of international brand management for Viacom Media Networks—driving brand strategy and creative for our consumer products business around the world! It’s a fun job that takes me around the world—London, Singapore, Milan, Paris, Panama City, São Paolo, among others, including (hopefully) Sydney next spring. And one thing all these cities have in common—Wesleyan! I’ve seen Wesleyan tees, bumper stickers, and more in almost all of these cities! That is truly why! I’m in touch with the fabulous Patria Rodriguez ’93, Cynthia Centeno ’93, and Lisette Nieves ’92—all doing their thing in media, education, and nonprofit worlds, respectively.”

Tanya Bowers and her husband, Martin Valadez Torres, welcomed their son, George Israel Valadez, on Oct. 15th. Tanya moved to Washington State’s Tri-Cities from Washington, D.C., in the late summer 2014. She welcomes contact from Wes alums who find themselves in eastern Washington State. Tanya says, “I am on the Wesleyan Alumni of Color Council and interested alums should reach out to me if they want to get involved.”

Cris Ruggiero writes, “I have been living and working in Pittsburgh, for the last six years at the University of Pittsburgh. I’m an associate dean in the School of Arts and Sciences, and I oversee the College of General Studies. The College serves about 2500 students, through degree, non-degree, and certificate programs as well as housing the Osher lifelong learning program and the University’s Office of Veteran Services. I enjoy the diversity of our student population and the programs we provide. I live in the city with my husband, who is an assistant professor of biological sciences at Pitt, and our 5-year-old daughter, who is in kindergarten. I’ve also been volunteering for the past five years with a mentoring program called Strong Women Strong Girls, and I still do Wesleyan alumni interviews. In terms of Wes people in Pittsburgh, we see Brant Hasler often; he is an assistant professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine at Pitt. Otherwise, I saw Julie Beattie Reeves and Jon Bender during a quick conference trip to Denver. Both are doing well, and Julie and I compared job notes as she is now working in higher ed as an associate vice chancellor of brand marketing for the University of Denver.”

Thank you to all who wrote in with updates. Please keep sending us your news.

Jiyoung Lim Gilbreth and Ilana wind newell
94notes@gmail.com

Hi Wes ’93ers. Whenever you write, it reminds us of the wonderful experiences we had at Wesleyan. Fortunately, Wesleyan memories didn’t come to an abrupt end in May 1993; we continue to create new ones whenever we revisit the campus, reconnect with a classmate, or attend a Reunion. Thanks so much for sharing your news; we have career updates, trips around the world, and a b’not mitzvah in these notes.

Aaron Barr writes: “Things are actually pretty exciting for me and my wife, Anner, right now. We’re into month three of a year-long round-the-world trip! I’m currently e-mailing from Vilcabamba, Ecuador, after busing today from Saraguro, where we spent a couple of days meeting different indigenous artists. Loved it! If anyone is interested, we’re blogging at nomaprequired.com and Facebook-ing at nomaprequired. Always glad to hear from fellow Wes- lums!

Paul Foster sends this update: “I am an otolaryngologist (ENT) doctor in Miami. I have two kids, Emily and Alex, 10 and 11. We like mud runs, horseback riding in Colorado, growing multiple varieties of heirloom tomatoes, and the occasional skiing trip, like this last winter, when my daughter proudly joined the ranks of snowboarders and my son developed new records for straight downhill speed, not necessarily a good thing. Although many may remember me as a member of the Wesleyan Spirits, I don’t sing much anymore, except in the operating room.”

Arik Greenberg keeps busy lecturing at Loyola Marymount, serving as the academic dean at Sierra State University, and heading up the Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace, and Justice, an interfaith activism group. He is also renovating his parents’ house in Long Island, writing a book, The Exile, and keeping busy with numerous other projects in academia. Arik saw Dan Kapelovitz and Noel Lawrence at a screening of Dan’s movie, Triple Fisher, in Hollywood this past fall.

Mike Heman e-mails: “I’m living in Boston with my wife, Megan, whom I met at Wes when she transferred for a semester from Wellesley. I’m a professor of biology at MIT and director of the MIT grad program in biology. My research lab works on cancer therapy, and we’re hosting an undergrad from Wes for a research internship this summer.”

Sue Henshon’s novel, Andy Lightfoot and the Time Warp, was published on Amazon Kindle.

Dina Kaplan’s update: “After two years traveling the world (I know, rough life) I just launched a new company called The Path, which teaches ancient meditation techniques but in a modern way, to a very modern audience. Come join us and/or say hi if you’re in NYC or L.A.!”

Jason Moss writes, “Having worked at Kaplan Test Prep since 2007, I recently launched a new business (as part of Kaplan) called Metis (thisismetis.com), which accelerates people’s careers in data science. Right now, we do this by teaching intensive 12-week ‘bootcamps’ in New York. Aside from work, I’ve been blogging about billiards movies (billiardsmovies.com), running races like the Tough Mudder, re-reading the whole Harry Potter series to my son, and developing a liking for single malt Scotch.”

Stacy Olitsky moved back to Philly and is an assistant professor of teacher education at Saint Joseph’s University. She also plays banjo in several local bands.

Antonia Townsend writes: “I had a birthday party, where I got to see David Derryck and Erica Terry Derryck. We are in year two of selling sumptuous knickers here at Enclosed (TheEnclosed.com). I’m thrilled to report we can count several classmates as customers! While living in San Francisco we are spending every weekend we can up in Tahoe, so let us know if you are near the lake!”

Sadie Van Buren congratulates Dennis Toner ’95 on his promotion to enterprise sales manager, Cloud, at Microsoft. She and Dennis connected in 2014 through their work at BlueMetal Architects, and in her new role as director of strategic alliances at BlueMetal. She is looking forward to many more years of working with Dennis as a partner.

Jessica Gutow Viner and Dan Viner celebrated the b’not mitzvah of their twin daughters, Gaby and Rebecca, in November. They live in Nashville, where Dan practices ENT, and Jessica works for Vanderbilt in admissions. Son Jacob, 11, is following in Dan’s shoes on the soccer pitch.

John Weathers writes, “I have moved back to Philadelphia and although missing Colorado, I’m adjusting again to life in the big city and being a single dad. In addition to spending time with my two wonderful daughters, Rose (9) and Eden (7), I’m now a senior researcher at the 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education, where I have research and development projects including a large project in Egypt funded by USAID to develop innovative secondary STEM schools. Still playing bluegrass, old-time, and folk music and recently started a project to take people on music and arts adventures to different parts of the world. If you’re interested, you can check out the project at culturalbridgeproject.com or on Facebook: theculturalbridgeproject.”

Smokey Fontaine writes, “After seven years as CCO of Interactive One, I launched my own digital creative agency this year called a+ (aplusdream.com), dedicated to high-end original content, experiences, and strategy. Was proud to work with Paramount Pictures, as one of my first clients, on the film Selma. My beautiful wife, Stephanie Addison-Fontaine, was elected to the Tenafly, N.J., Board Of Education, becoming the first Black woman to ever serve in one of New Jersey’s highest performing school districts.”

Thanks so much for sharing all your news!

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com

SARAH ESTOW | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Adam writes: Greetings, all! As I write this, my kids are home from school for the sixth day in the last three weeks and I’m looking at 30-foot pile of snow from my window. It was so big that it actually made the local news as it became a makeshift neighborhood ski slope. It’s been a heck of a winter here in Boston. Otherwise, though, things are well. I continue to live in a 500-person graduate student dorm at MIT with my family and remain gainfully employed as a political science professor.

Last November, I went to D.C. to give a talk at George Washington University and spent a day with my old housemates Chris Heikemian and Jon Pratt. It was great to catch up, but even better, just a couple months later Jon got engaged to Bridget Lines. Jon and Bridget met in Pakistan, both working for the State Department, and will be posted together in China as their next assignment.

It was great to hear from a bunch of my old Clark 3 hallmates as well. Ruthbea Yesner Clark lives in Brookline, Mass., and has a terrific job —as a smart city expert—writing, researching, and consulting with cities and vendors around the world about emerging technologies in urban environments. She is planning her first trip to Saudi Arabia for a project there. Sam Robinson lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughter, 11. Sam has been practicing architecture in Philly since 1998. In 2011, he started his own firm, and in 2013 formed a partnership with Jane Ahn—Ahn + Robinson Studio. They do primarily residential renovation work in the city. Finally, Anne (Jennings) Paris and her family (husband Marc, son Duncan, 10) are taking a hiatus from their lives in Portland, Ore. Over the summer, they moved to London, where they plan to be for two years. They are renting in Kew near the Thames and living out every English major’s fantasy of getting to know England. Duncan is enrolled in a state primary school. Marc works as a software design consultant, and Anne is a part-time teacher at a small private school. She keeps up with what’s happening in the States by reading Sarah Guernsey’s and Adam Blumer’s live coverage of major cultural events and trends on Facebook.

Jill Slater proudly (though belatedly) announces the birth of Slater Ande Schwartzberg. She and Jill share a birthday of 12/12. Slater is 14 months old and loves to dance. Jill continues to develop her second career as a sustainable food systems consultant, building on her first career as a city planner.

Mark Hunter is moving to Burlington, Vt., in April with his wife of six years. He published his first book in 2014 and his executive leadership coaching company (Pinnacle Coaching) is 10 years old this year and going well. Also on the publishing front, Kristina Milnor’s second book came out last January: Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii (Oxford, 2014).

In other New England news, Dina Amsterdam is a visiting scholar at MIT, bringing the practices and principles of InnerYoga to a variety of projects at the MIT Media Lab. She’s normally based in San Francisco and Marin County.

Also in New England, Jonathan Bell wrapped up his first year of running his own architecture practice in Providence. Alongside teaching drawing and design studios at RISD and Roger Williams University, he has been occupied with a number of projects, including an addition to a 1950s Better Homes and Gardens plan house, and renovations to a 1920s service station, to be repurposed as a natural-chewing-gum company’s headquarters.

Maurice Harris started a new job as rabbi/senior educator with InterfaithFamily (interfaithfamily.com), a national Jewish nonprofit organization supporting interfaith couples and families and providing training and resources to Jewish community organizations on welcoming and inclusion of interfaith families. He still lives in Eugene, Ore., with his wife, Melissa Crabbe, and their two children, Clarice and Hunter.

Amy Larson continues to practice law at a small firm in Portland, Ore. She and her partner welcomed their first child into the world in September. Also, Amy had the chance to see Eric Leach ’92 a while back at his wedding in NYC.

Also on the West Coast, Rick Barot has been living in Tacoma, Wash., for 10 years now, directing the low-residency MFA program in creative writing at Pacific Lutheran University. His third book of poems, Chord, will be published by Sarabande Books in July 2015. He’s also the poetry editor for New England Review. Corinne Drumheller lives in Seattle with her husband, David, and their two children, Talia (7) and Zane (2).

Chris Chesak just took a job as director of partnerships with Intrepid Travel and reports that he, Karen Cacase, and Mike Flynn ’93 received a warm and vibrant welcome from Costas Darras during a recent chance meeting at a restaurant in Harlem.

In November Jennifer Schonborn attended Wesleyan’s Sons and Daughters weekend, which allows Wes alums to come to campus with their kids who are juniors in high school. She brought her daughter Charlotte (an overdetermined member of the class of ’20 since Jennifer’s husband is Rik Treiber ’91), and had a great time being on campus, seeing all the new buildings, and having a nice talk with our frosh dean Meg Zocco. While there, Jennifer ran into David Kane ’92. Though they didn’t know each other at Wes, they had a great time together with their kids.

Speaking of David, he writes, “Ty Jagerson (CEO) and I are partners in an investment crowdfunding platform for clean energy projects called Village Power. Ty and the team cover the West Coast from the home office in Palo Alto, while I run East Coast operations from NYC. We recently won a SunShot grant from the Department of Energy for promising new solar finance models.”

David Shadrack Smith continues to helm a production company in New York, part2 pictures, which just showed its first narrative feature film, I’ll See You in My Dreams, at Sundance this January. Part2 is entering its ninth year and it’s best known for the series This Is Life with Lisa Ling on CNN. This fall, his series, Belief with Oprah Winfrey, will get to air after three years in production around the world.

Heather Claudine Nash continues to practice psychology. Her short collection of poems, The Problem with Loving Ghosts (published under her middle name Claudine), was recently released by Finishing Line Press.

Byron King joined, as director of software engineering, a company providing hardware and software services to credit unions across the country.

Noelle Nelson enjoys living in Atlanta and working at the CDC on vaccine research and policy in the US and globally, with a focus on hepatitis vaccine. She recently returned from Sierra Leone and the Ebola emergency response.

Wendy Moore Hershey was part of the closing bell ceremony at the NYSE on Jan. 29 because of work she does as a field consultant to nonprofit clients at Mercer Investments The biggest fans? Wendy’s kids, ages 6, 6, and 5 who went crazy “seeing Mommy on TV.”

That’s the news for now. Don’t forget to write to me or Paul—we’d love to hear from you!

ADAM BERINSKY | berinsky@mit.edu

PAUL COVIELLO | coviellop01@alum.darden.edu