Class Notes

Bayard Klimasmith reports that Betsy Klimasmith continues as a professor at UMASS Boston, and Bayard serves as an assistant principal at a middle school in Lexington. Their 16-year-old daughter is a junior and Wesleyan made her short list! Meanwhile, their 5-year-old is looking forward to kindergarten next year and “keeping us a lot younger than we had planned; we are in this parenting thing for a loooonnng more time!”

After working in the diplomatic arena as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs during the first term of the Obama Administration, Spencer “Kip” Boyer is enjoying his deep dive into national security. He’s taken the position of National Intelligence Officer for Europe in the National Intelligence Council, the center for long range strategic thinking within the U.S. intelligence community. He’s also an assistant adjunct professor at the BMW Center for German and European Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Jeremy Sacks, preeminent host of Portland, Oregon, welcomed Nicki and Jim Miller to town to “watch the worst Celtics team of our lifetimes defeat my Blazers. After that, we tasted a boatload of beers in Astoria and Portland, visited a craft bike shop with a beer bar and projection room, and ate well. No, Fred and Carrie weren’t there in person. A good time was had by all.”

Also taking Jeremy up on his hospitality was Scott Timberg, who lives in LA with wife Sara and son Ian, 8. Scott’s book Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class, came out with Yale University Press in January, to great acclaim. Subtitled How Sweeping Economic and Social Changes Are Imperiling Artists, Writers, Musicians, and America, the book digs into the roots of what is happening to artists, from the economic recession to social shifts to technological change. Most importantly, he explains why this matters: “When artists and artisans can’t make a living, we all pay the price.”

Jeremy Arnold continues working as a writer for Turner Classic Movies’ website, and his book Lawrence of Arabia: The 50th Anniversary was published by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2012. You will also be able to find Jeremy providing audio commentary on a restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn, being released in May.

In September 2014, Drew Marrochello was officially named Boston University’s director of athletics. Drew joined the BU athletic department in 2005 and is the 13th athletic director in Boston University history.

As many of you read on Facebook or the Class Notes listserv, we lost one of our own in 2014: Jennifer Entine Matz. Bayard sent me this warm-hearted remembrance, “We were housemates senior year and, besides her disdain for the mac and cheese (with mustard and frozen peas) that Joseph and I made, she was just…awesome. A serious loss. A star just went out in our constellation.”

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

As I write this, it is 11 degrees in New York (with a wind chill making it feel like minus-6) so I am hoping for a significant improvement in the weather by the time of your reading. I also hope that all of your calendars are marked for our upcoming 25th Reunion (May 21–24). Here’s what we have:

Rebecca Rossen Pavkovic was promoted to associate professor in the Performance as Public Practice Program at the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of Dancing Jewish: Jewish Identity in American Modern and Postmodern Dance (Oxford University Press, 2014). She was scheduled to give the annual Dr. Cynthia Novack (In Memoriam) lecture at Wesleyan this past January but the event was postponed due to the storm that hit the U.S. Rescheduling is in the works. Rebecca lives in Austin with her husband, David Pavkovic, and their two daughters, Zoe and Lily.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner wrote with the big news that he was appointed as the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (The RAC), “which for 50 years has been the hub of Jewish social justice and legislative activity in Washington, D.C. The civil rights act of 1964 and voting rights act of 1965 were drafted in our conference room, as the RAC convenes coalitions across lines of race, class and faith to advocate for social change. My family and I are moving to DC!”

My former Foss 7 hallmate Carol Lynne Booth wrote that her son, Joshua, is now a freshman in college. He is attending UC, San Diego, and is majoring in computer science. “We spent MLK weekend with him and he did a great job showing us around campus. We are thrilled to have him in San Diego, since it is such a beautiful place to visit. We always stay close to campus at a hotel right on the beach, which is just gorgeous.” Carol’s daughter, Naomi (16), “is starting to drive and also acting in her high school musical, and daughter Maytal (13) is performing in the ballet Sleeping Beauty in the spring.” My big news is that I started a new job this past June. I am the program director of the Jewish Baby Network, a nonprofit that helps build Jewish community for families with new babies. It’s tons of fun working with the parents and getting to play with lots of babies.” Carol will be in Seattle this summer “visiting David’s family, since Josh will be working there. I would love to be able to make it to the Reunion, but it is, as always, over the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, so I’ll have to miss it. I hope everyone has a great time!”

Mark Hsieh sends greetings from Taipei, Taiwan, where his twin boys, Terry and Timothy, just started first grade last fall. They’re keeping him and wife Joanna “plenty busy but also many bedtime stories to share. I’m running and investing in a bunch of ventures from a fine chemical plant to curry restaurant. Don’t worry, we keep both quite separate from each other! Come visit!”

Nick Hardigg is living in Portland, Ore., with his wife Karen and “two kiddos, Ashe and Ellie, enjoying nonprofit advocacy and fundraising work for the city’s parks, especially the underserved. ‘Parke Diem’, everyone!”

Jeanne Kramer-Smyth writes with exciting news: Her second short story has been included in an anthology of science fiction short stories targeting middle grade readers. The 2015 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats. Her first published short story, “In Her Arms,” can be found in Stepmothers and the Big Bad Wolf: Fairy Tale Villains Reimagined. Jeanne lives in Maryland with her husband, son, sister-in-law, and cat.

Nadine Angress is still living in the Boston area (“24 years and counting”) with her husband and 8-year-old son. She continues to work at Fidelity, most recently as a director of operations for Private Wealth Management. She gets together frequently for dinner with fellow swim team members Jennifer Zoltners Sherer ’91 and Michael Mahon ’89. She’s looking forward to seeing old friends at Reunion, as well as watching her nephew, Raphael Linden ’15, graduate the same weekend.

Paige Harding writes that since leaving Wes, she lived in Seattle for several years, earned an M.A. in film studies at the University of Iowa and then moved to L.A. to work at the American Film Institute. After many years at AFI, she joined with a colleague to form an independent production company called One Bird Mocking, of which she is the chief operating officer. One Bird Mocking is preparing to make its first film, a screwball comedy called The Threat of Sex. They are “using a production model inspired by Mark Twain (who pre-sold his books by subscription before they were actually published), in which we plan to finance the film shoot by pre-selling tickets to the finished movie.” Tickets start at $5.00 and can be purchased through the company website at onebirdmocking.com/tickets/. In addition to crowd funding, One Bird Mocking has also created a promotional Threat of Sex mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at iTunes or Google Play. The app celebrates famous women, and they hope users will find it both fun and educational.

Finally, Becky Lloyd DesRoches writes from Lexington, Mass., where she lives with husband David, and two children, Nick (14) and Dawson (8). Becky is a professor of psychology at Regis College, sings with the Lexington Pops chorus, and plays on a 40-and-up soccer team. “Sports, music, and academia—the more things change the more they stay the same. My 14-year-old just released his first full-length CD under the artist name NonRanDom. I’m biased but it’s outstanding original music. Can’t wait to see everyone at Reunion.” That’s all for now. See you in May!

Vanessa montag brosgol
vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com

Let’s discuss how apples (and more) don’t fall very far from trees… As we huddle up to eyeball what’s going on with our classmate, Michael Goldman and his son, 10-year-old Max, and Mike’s 17-year-old nephew, Sam: Max is excelling at playing drums and Sam is competing in the NY State Wrestling Championship Finals. So Sam is clearly super-sporty but don’t let that fool you. Sam was also accepted at Harvard and missed a perfect SAT score by 60 points. Those are the Goldman ‘apples’. Meanwhile, Michael…As founding partner of NCredible Entertainment and Nick Cannon’s manager, he has been busy, y’all. In the last two months alone, they’ve shot 36 episodes of television for multiple networks; have now got 14 episodes of already greenlit material going into production and other amazing treats to come. All good stuff and here’s more talk of more ‘apples’ falling and whatnot:

Jonathan Fried’s daughter got accepted to Wesleyan—making him officially ’89 and P’19. We’re also hearing there are more ’89er’s offspring heading into the class of 2019. With all that ’89 energy, we’re thinking that class is already looking pretty promising!

Jennifer Levine represented the screenwriters for the movie Birdman, and was last seen celebrating the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

We heard from Jeffrey Bowne, who says that last year he left The Hartford Insurance Company (and the Hartford area) to move to northeast Pennsylvania and open up a Sky Zone indoor trampoline park. In his own words: “I bought a franchise with my brother-in-law and we opened in Sept. of 2014. It has been a lot of fun switching gears from corporate life to owning and running a 20,000 sq. foot trampoline park. We’ve met a lot of interesting people and have been fortunate to have more than 50,000 jumpers come through since we opened. I extend an open invite if anyone is passing thru Scranton on I-81.” Jump on it, people!

Eric Simon published his first solo-author college textbook, Biology: The Core. About a third of U.S. college students who take a general ed introductory biology course do so using one of Eric’s textbooks. Also, Eric was thrilled to have been invited last summer to speak as part of Wesleyan’s Summer Science Seminar series.

Amy Berk writes: “I am sorry to have missed Reunion last year but I was happy and energized to hear the reports of my classmates. I remain in the Bay Area and have been busy with my two sons (Benjamin, 10, and Jude, 6) and my wonderful husband Andy Cox (not a Wes alum but he loves going to all Wesevents such as the upcoming one with President Michael Roth ’78).” Amy has been teaching a variety of courses at the San Francisco Art Institute and also at the University of California, Berkeley, extension in the post-baccalaureate program visual arts program. Last summer, she had great family fun with some ’89rs around the country. She’s “already looking forward to the 30th Reunion—I can spin it as a college tour for my eldest!”

Doug Abel continues to work as a film editor here and there, but most of his time and effort is going to help abused and neglected farm animals with the organization he cofounded, Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. The rescue/educational facility is moving in spring 2015 to a new, 150-acre site about 90 minutes from NYC, and will now host summer camps and larger vegan-related events. He was tickled to see that Wes was picked “Most Vegan-Friendly College” in 2012. More info on his doings at WoodstockSanctuary.org.

We also heard from Denise Hill Day y’all. Yay! She and her daughter have moved to Houston. She writes: “All is good, settling in and getting to know this new….foreign land.”

Great stuff going on. ’Til next time…

jonathan fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com

MICHELE BARNWELL | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Hillary writes for this issue.

Greetings Wesleyan Class of 1988. By the time you read this, Boston may finally be starting to melt from the endless snow, and I might actually be able to see some pavement again.

My partner-in-class-notes-crime, Peter Bond, writes: “Zahra and I are settling into our new Rhode Island life. I’ve been able to connect with many area alums. On my birthday, Jim Maynard hosted a round of golf down in Westerly, R.I., with Oli Bennett, Stu Ellman, and me. I ran into Greg Waldron at an undergrad recruiting event in Providence.”

Len Besthoff and his wife and teenage daughters call South Windsor, Conn., home after stops including the Jersey Shore; Roanoke, Va.; and Raleigh, N.C. He sees Dave Hill fairly often, and they run the famous Manchester (CT) Road Race every Thanksgiving, along with the annual River to Sea Relay across New Jersey every summer. Len is now the chief investigative reporter for NBC Connecticut, where he interned during his senior year at Wes. He loves doing this type of reporting full-time, and mentoring young journalists. Len also teaches newswriting classes nearby.

I heard from Julie Schwarzwald: “After 20 years (with a few years of pure mommyhood in the middle) of teaching elementary school—public and private in New York, California, and New Jersey—I have had a career shift. As of July 1, I am the education and youth director at the East Brunswick Jewish Center. My responsibilities include being principal of the Hebrew School and overseeing the youth groups, along with whatever other Shabbat, family, and holiday programs come my way. I am enjoying the new challenges; my colleagues and congregants; and the feeling of being appreciated, respected, and treated as a professional—something that had become lacking in my teaching position. I think the best parts are the hours of leisure time gained by not having any papers to grade! In the meantime, Howard Bochner ’87 has been working for the United Steelworkers Union, based in Pittsburgh.”

And writing in for the first time… Peter Gager reports that he is a neuropsychologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda.

As for me, I’m keeping busy with the PhD program I run at MIT, and am still teaching a tango class at BU every week. I took up crochet as a hobby last year, and ended up opening an Etsy shop because the projects were taking over my apartment. It was fun completing items over the winter for Linda Brinen Stout and Bronwyn Poole.

Peter and I love hearing from you, so please keep writing in.

PETER v.s. BOND | 007@pvsb.org

Hillary Ross | hrossdance@yahoo.com

Dear Classmates:

Thanks for always writing in. Here goes.

Chris Tacy is still living in San Francisco. “I now work for Mozilla Corporation doing Corporate Development. I still travel a lot to Hawaii for outrigger paddling and surfing. I still rarely if ever see other Wes Alum, though I did see David Raymond and Jessica Glass last year in New York City, and had a lovely evening with Jon Lee in Portland a few months ago.”

Claire Conceison is a professor at Duke University but is spending 2014-2015 as a visiting professor at Harvard University and MIT, teaching courses on China, theater, and sports. She just wrote the introduction for a new edition of Arthur Miller’s book Salesman in Beijing (retitled Death of a Salesman in Beijing) being published by Bloomsbury (2015) for the hundredth anniversary of Miller’s birth. She spends weekends in NYC and would love to hear from Wesmates in NY, Boston, and NC.

Nancy (Dobrow) Bean writes that “Life is fun here in the Pioneer Valley – snow snow snow…!!  My family is great – oldest daughter is starting her Clinical Rotation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the middle child is looking at colleges and my youngest is working on becoming a famous pastry chef (she is 10 yrs old and a good planner.)  Mike Bean is selling Organic Coffee and I am busy planning the Nantucket Wine Festival.   I have been traveling a lot for work – France and Napa mostly – and our 19th annual NWF is around the corner – May 13-17, 2015.  Would love Wes alums to join us this year!! Eric Asimov, NY Times Wine Critic (and Wes class of 1980) will be there again… email me and you can get the special Wesleyan Pass…!!  nancy@nwfest.net.  Cheers!

Adam Joseph is alive and well and living in God’s country (Maplewood, NJ) with his lovely wife of nearly 24 years, Susan Kraham (Columbia ’87), three sons, two dogs and a cat. I tried to get my oldest son interested in Ole’ Wes but he chose Colby where he is a freshman. On the career front, I’ve worked in the muni finance business for the last 20 plus years, financing the infrastructure you use every day.  I don’t see too many Wes folks other than my dear friend, the magnificent Dan Bellow, but keep up with more on social media and think about many more of you often and fondly. Recently ran up to Middletown on a side trip from my middle son’s soccer camp, saw my old boss Brian O’Rourke and enjoyed a Graduate Omelet.

Lisa Pavlovsky “is now Manager of Scholarship programs for the SF-based Jewish community federation working half time so I can still be active in the schools of my two sons, ages 10 and 12. Still in regular touch with Elissa Wolf-Tinsman and Vivian Trakinski who are both doing well.  Can’t believe I’m turning 50 this year!”

Dorian Harding-Morick works at Yale University’s library system—and every once in a while travels the ½ hour or so to see Wes and Middletown.

Martha Haakmat writes: “On January 31st, a handful of Wes grads from ’87, and one kooky interloper from ’89, gathered together in Brooklyn to celebrate the group’s first dive into their 50th decade!  Rob Nix (now working at Penn State) turned 50, and Wes friends who celebrated with him in the home of Martha Haakmat and Stephen Warner were Gail Wheeler and Louis Canfield (’89).  Rob, Steve and Martha are planning a giant 50th birthday for them all this summer in Belize, where they will be joined by other friends from ’87, Brian Shelly, Nelly Taveras, Barney Berkowitz, Greg Barr, Wendy Trippe (’89) and Andy Kevy.

Steve Kaminsky married Leslie Repetto (UVA ’96) in March “and we’re expecting a daughter later in February. Had a great time working on two movies last year with Brad Fuller.  Enjoying life in Los Angeles.  Looking forward to fatherhood!”

John Katz and Lisa Dipko (’86) continue to enjoy living is sunny and dry dry dry San Francisco. I am going on 20 years at EPA, currently focusing on green electronics and safer consumer products. Lisa’s work at the VA nursing home continues to provide daily challenges, from flu outbreaks to new programs to marveling at the healing powers of the resident cat (see this link for pictures! http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Miley-VA-Medical-Center-s-healing-pet-cat-5024638.php). I’ve been kept busy coaching soccer and baseball for our 10-year-old Nicky, a particular challenge since I never really played baseball. Lisa sings in the San Francisco Soundwave, a women’s barbershop group that is known for their witty parodies and awesome costumes. We have kept in touch with Michael Foster who is a professor of folklore at Indiana University, though he has spent the better part of the last several years doing research in Japan. Simon Heart and Johanna Van Hise continue to live in Boulder CO with their three kids. Johanna has recently launched her nursing career after a resolute effort to get into and through nursing school. Locally we cross paths with Darya Mead having shared a preschool, and Mark Mowrey who works at EPA (and whose son recently graduated from Wes).

“Joan Morgan here. I’m a doctoral candidate in American Studies at NYU. I was recently awarded the 2015 Woodrow Wilson Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies for my dissertation The Pleasure Principle: Moving From a Politics of Silence To Politics.”

Sarah Plagenz Liepert “intended to write in a year ago, after a wonderful visit with fellow Foss 6-er Marc Benoff. Marc was in Boston on business from Philadelphia, and joined our family for an evening in Lincoln. Marc and I hadn’t seen each other since 1989! Fortunately, we recognized each other — despite his shorter haircut, and my braces (now off!). Marc was in Asia during our 25th reunion, so I shared some of that news. He sent shout-outs to Brad Lubin, Eric Leifer, Johanna Van Hise and many others (sorry — this is why I should have written when the memories were fresh). Marc and his wife have a daughter at Skidmore and a son who is a senior in high school. I had the pleasure of attending my freshman roommate Jenifer Goldman Fraser’s daughter Sasha’s bat mitzvah in February 2014. Sasha is a very accomplished young woman — no surprise! It was also a treat to see Jenifer’s parents, who are ageless. They looked just as young as when I met them in 1983.We now have two in high school: our son is a senior (all the college apps are in!) and our daughter is a freshman. Various sports, drama, and community service keep our family busy. For my part, I enjoy playing in several competitive tennis leagues (singles and doubles) throughout the year.

Natalie Diffloth sent this “Briefest of the brief updates: I’m in graduate school at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany, and am very excited to almost be done with my thesis in Transcultural Studies! Sending a big hello to all my old friends out there.”

John Penney: “Living in Santa Monica CA with wife Julie Rousseau and daughter Celeste Penney.  Working as Chief Strategy Officer for Starz Networks and trying to build a crystal ball to predict the future of media.”

Holly Campbell Ambler is “still living in Cambridge with my husband and two teenage daughters.  I’m working part-time as a child and family social worker. I keep up with Trish and John Dorsey, Doug Koplow and his wife Michele, and Dennis Mahoney and his wife Karen, connecting for dinners, plays, and musical events in Boston. I also see Barbara Lewis frequently, as we went to Simmons School of Social Work together (as “older” students) and now practice in the same field.

Kimberly (Jackson) DuMont works at the William T. Grant Foundation as a senior program officer. For the past 25 years I have been happily married to Mark DuMont (who received his masters from Wesleyan in 1987) and we have two boys and a spirited, 11 year old poodle. Jackson, our oldest son, is a sophomore at Wesleyan who hopes to major in film and Russian studies. Alex, is a high school senior. He is soon bound for Brandeis where he will continue studying music and venture into philosophy. When life slows down, we venture to Maine to spend time off the grid at a small cabin in the woods. Life is good!

Liz Kromelow-Dietz writes “Both my boys are at Wes now and loving it, Max Dietz ’16 and James Dietz ’18. I’m playing ice hockey most days. Still playing bridge. The life of an empty nester.”

Sheila Rhatigan Arcelona “still lives in San Francisco, still works for the District Attorney, happily married to Steve, raising a teenage daughter … San Francisco is changing before my eyes but I still wouldn’t want to live anywhere else … interesting and challenging times.”

Mick Malter wrote that “Jill and I had a busy fall, doing both high school applications for my daughter Astrid, and college applications for my son Ted. Guess which was more work… correct, the NYC high school applications!  Old news, but last year, when my son was a junior in high school, we took advantage of the Wesleyan college prep weekend for alum and staff.  It was a great weekend on campus, getting familiar with the college application process, and seeing Wes. In the small world dept, my daughter goes to school with Helen Reiss’ (nee?) son, and my son goes to school with Dana Goldberg’s daughter. I now have 22 years with the FDNY, and was excited to spend part of last summer on the fire/rescue boats, working the waters all around NY City.”

Sometimes I just have to print a submission as is, like this one from Linda Malias Passaro. “New career road taking me to Rockville MD as COO Chesapeake Bay Candle. Building global home fragrance multi Branded company. Factories in China. Vietnam and USA. Thinking back on what Wes taught me. How Wes prepared me. 3 kids learning a telecommuting mom life. Oldest Leeann at Lawrenceville school junior looking for liberal arts life. Allissa starting HS. Luke 13 starting his first company jewelry line called Luv Picks. Life full. Learned old Wes boyfriend Matthew Delson passed away last year. Life fragile. Enjoyed speaking on career panel at Wes last Feb seeing old familiar faces. Muzzy Rosenblatt and David Hill. Reconnecting with Joanne Melikian and Liza Barrett. Peace in 2015. O.A.R song Peace my go to.”

Lisa Ranghelli is “writing from snowy, cold Western Massachusetts, where I’ve finally embraced winter after 13 years of living here by learning to cross country ski. Better late than never…The rest of the time I (a) raise my son, Noah, who is 12, about to surpass me in height, and obsessed with Magic the Gathering; and (b) telecommute to my job at a national philanthropic research and advocacy organization in DC (National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy), where I’ve been for 7 years and currently lead a project that evaluates large foundations. I also participate in a cool drumming group, Offbeat Womyn’s Drumming Ensemble. I recently hosted Janet Lieberman, who lives in eastern MA, and during the fall I saw Karen Goldenberg on one of her visits home to Amherst from San Francisco. Last summer I rendezvoused with another long-time San Franciscan, Rachael Nusbaum (’88) and her family in Reston, VA to celebrate her birthday. On that topic, I’m looking forward to lots of 50th birthday celebrations with fellow Wes alum this year!

Maureen (Mo) Craig’s oldest son is now a sophomore at Amherst, so we’ve begun legal proceedings to officially disown him.  :-).  Next kid in line for college is currently a sophomore in high school and is interested in any school with a crew team, so Wes might even make the short list.  We’ve really enjoyed the college tour process–and that’s good because we will get to do it four times over. Indeed, life is grand.

From David Josephs: Professionally, after tiring of doing financial services, credit cards, and healthcare transactions, I recently left JPMorgan Chase after 12 years to join First Data, where I’ll be doing financial services, credit cards, and healthcare transactions. But with a different business card. My wife, Holly, and I visited my dad in southern California in December where we took a great hike in the hills and had a fantastic dinner with David Igler and Cindy Willard.  [Wit and Flash, I can already hear you giving me crap for not calling but it was a quick trip, I promise, and we spent a whole day at the Huntington Library with my dad, somehow managing not to see Blue Boy, and didn’t even get outside of Pasadena.]  Aside from that, just typical life in the Chicago suburbs, shoveling snow and looking forward to spring (which I assume will have arrived by the time this sees print).

Amy Baltzell is “living on Cape Cod with my husband while we are both professors at Boston University.  We have three kids: Zoey who loves her unicycle and tap dancing, Luke who loves computer programming and basketball and Shayna who hit 5’8” and loves to dance ballet. I have a book coming out this year, A Cambridge Companion to Mindfulness and Performance.  I am finding meditation a great pathway to joy and appreciation for life just as it is.

Lastly, I am very sad to report that our dear classmate, Annie Ravitz, passed away at the end of January.

Much love to you all,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf

wolfabj@gmail.com

Hope you had a great summer, and we look forward to seeing you on campus next spring for our 30th Reunion. You can already save the date: May 19-22!

Eric Howard | ehoward86@gmail.com

Caroline writing this time, from sunny Negril, Jamaica, where I am on a yoga retreat, which beats February in DC. Let me take a moment to exhort you to come to our 30th Reunion in May—I will be road-tripping with Jolynn Jones and Hillary Hess. I encourage you to get your buds together and head to Middletown. You can register at wesconnect.wesleyan.edu.

I got a nice note from Meg Dunham Dempsey: “I’m in Stamford, Conn., where my husband, Greg, and I have lived for 22 years. After a 15-year business career, I switched gears to be more involved with my young children’s daily lives and to improve the public schools. I worked as a substitute teacher, volunteered as a tutor and mentor for underserved children and worked for 10 years in an advocacy role for the Stamford public schools. I also coached soccer, lacrosse, and sailing. Four years ago I started a business tutoring high school math and SAT and ACT prep. I continue to serve as a volunteer tutor in the public schools.

“Our oldest daughter, Kim, graduated from Bowdoin last May and is teaching high school chemistry in Queens. Our second daughter, Ellie ’18, is a freshman, taking advantage of all Wesleyan has to offer, and our son, Will, was just accepted ED2 to Wesleyan for the class of 2019! It’s so exciting to be back on campus.

“I can’t wait for our 30th Reunion and look forward to seeing everyone in May. Anyone who danced under the tent at our 25th remembers how amazing it was! Those who didn’t need to experience it!” I absolutely second that!

KT Whaley wrote with some fun news: “Ellen Korbonski and I spent some time together at her daughter’s gymnastics meet at Chelsea Piers in Connecticut. It was great to reconnect, watching the kids do those amazing stunts! I’ve also connected with Martha Haakmat ’87; we are colleagues in Montessori education and discovered we share a lot of same values, including as turns out, our alma mater! My eldest daughter, Sarah (18!), was accepted at Newhouse School at Syracuse, and my younger, Emma becomes a bat mitzvah this spring, with my sister, Rabbi Jamie Korngold.

“I am organizing the second annual Pathways to a Peaceful School Conference for heads of school, teachers, and parents of children in Montessori schools, on July 23, 2015, in White Plains, N.Y.”

Toby Milgrome writes: “My husband’s work was featured in the Feb. 9, 2015, issue of TIME magazine, in an article called ‘The next best thing to a cure.’ My son, David, developed type 1 diabetes just before his first birthday. I had been a pediatrician for about two years when he got sick, and was able to get him diagnosed very quickly. David went from being a happy and active toddler, to a skinny, fatigued, spacey kid in less than one week. I brought him to see my partner and David perked up and pretended to be normal, just before he would have slipped into a diabetic coma and died. Luckily, my partner listened to my observations about his behavior over the past week—decreased activity, loss of normal interests, weight loss, lots of drinking and urinating. I was suspecting diabetes even though it is uncommon is someone so young. She got his labs and he was admitted to our ICU that night. Over the years Ed and I taught ourselves to be experts in the care of diabetes in such a tiny person. Knowing this as a parent, pediatrician (for me) and biomedical engineer (for Ed), we started dreaming about automating the treatment to take the endless data gathering and decision-making out of the chronic care. Thirteen years later, the work is actually almost done! Ed and his former graduate student, Firas El Khatib, have developed a bionic pancreas that has been tested in hundreds of volunteers with type 1 diabetes in hospital, summer camp, and home and work settings. It produces phenomenal blood sugar control. The person who wears the device needs to keep it up and running, but the bionic pancreas makes all dosing decisions and keeps the blood sugar nearly normal, nearly all of the time. This will prevent nearly all acute and chronic consequences of the disease while also making diabetes much less of a burden for people with it day in and day out. It is the next best thing to a cure!” That is really interesting!

That’s it for this time; let’s catch up in person on Foss Hill in May.

CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com

MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Hello, Classmates. This is Michael Steven again, reporting, Roger will be your host next time around.

Mark Randles brings us sad news about classmate John Koch, who passed away on Jan. 30 from complications following a cardiac arrest in August caused by a blood clot. John was a member of the cross-country team at Wesleyan, as well as the Restless Knights (and was often heard singing as he made his way across campus).

Ellen Prager acknowledges Mark in turn: Mark’s daughter, Ellie, has become one of Ellen’s best test-readers for her Shark Rider series. (The second book, for middle graders, will be published in May.)

Tom Oey has been living in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China (home town of his wife, Liping Zhang) since 2003. They have two children, Beatrice, 13, and Mark, 10. In October 2013 Tom began a second PhD in global studies at Leipzig University, Germany, writing a dissertation on A Comparative Cultural History of Java and the West, 1814-1817.

Roger Mitty continues his transition from being a practicing gastroenterologist into a suit-wearing hospital administrator. He is now CEO at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Boston, where he had practiced for 20 years. He’s still practicing a bit, but is spending more time with spreadsheets than with colonoscopies these days.

Stephanie Fleischmann has been busy writing. Her musical, The Secret Lives of Coats (music by Christina Campanella), premiered at the Redeye Theatre in October, and made two Best of Minneapolis lists. She’s working on opera librettos for two world premieres: The Property, a Klezmer opera based on the graphic novel by Rutu Modan, for Chicago Lyric’s Lyric Unlimited; and The Long Walk at Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs. She teaches playwriting at Skidmore College.

Michael Lewyn is maintaining a website on the public transit system in Kansas City, to encourage less reliance on automobiles. mlewyn.wix.com/autofreekc

Cathy Reich is sad to report the death of a dear friend, Susan Eakins, who was founder and operator of Montana’s only vegan farmed animal sanctuary, New Dawn. Cathy took over for her friend, overseeing the rehoming of the remaining animals. Some of the cows were relocated within Montana, including the Unsinkable Molly Brown cow (who escaped from a slaughterhouse, led the police on a six-hour chase, and received an official pardon). She is working to ban trapping on public lands, and to outlaw “varmint-killing” tournaments. She recommends Wesleyan’s “How To Change The World” course on Coursera, when it is offered again.

Paul Landau got promoted to full professor at the University of Maryland History Department, renewed contact with the family of his old research assistant in Botswana, and began writing a new book on revolutionaries in South Africa in the early 1960s. Not to mention developing a fear of transoceanic air travel. He has two daughters: Zoe, who makes better jokes than he does, and Penelope, who has taken up figure skating. His wife, Emily, is at work on a book about country music, murder ballads, and social history (while teaching).

J. Peder Zane writes that the University of South Carolina Press will publish his fourth book, a collection of newspaper columns, titled Off the Books: On Literature and Culture, in May.

As recently reported on Wesconnect, in February Shawn Dove began serving as CEO for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement. The program was previously a part of the Open Society Foundations but will now operate on its own. Shawn, who previously managed the campaign at the Open Society Foundations, will bring his 20-plus years of experience working in education, youth development, and community building to his new role. He and his team aspire to: “ensure the growth, sustainability, and impact of leaders and organizations committed to improving the life outcomes of Black men and boys.”

Finally, I want to give a public shout-out and huge thanks to Stuart Remensnyder, who came to my rescue last month. We sent my son off on a bus back to college on a Saturday, not realizing that the dorms weren’t open until the next day; Stu lived close by and swooped in to take him in. Good thing I was nice to him during our year in Gingerbread House.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

I’m sitting here on a Saturday night in early February just after the “winter storm of the century!” LOLs: we only had six inches! I’m listening to sappy Spanish love songs and writing these Class Notes. What can I say, Spanish love songs make me happy and I have no life! Judging from the few responses to my e-mail asking for info from everyone, I have to conclude you all are as busy as I am, running in too many directions. I’m in the homestretch, frantically writing, re-writing and rewriting (did I say rewriting?) my dissertation. I heard from just a few classmates, so these notes will be brief.

Glenn Lunden writes, “I was invited to visit the campus this past fall by the History Department, to give a lunchtime ‘History Matters’ talk to majors (and other interested parties). In my presentation, ‘History Track-Career Track-Railroad Track,’ I spoke about how majoring in history could be relevant to many different career paths. (Perhaps the real reason the History Department invited me to speak is that they were curious how a history major ended up in charge of scheduling New York subway trains.) The students asked a lot of insightful questions; everyone wants to know about the subway, it seems. Afterwards, my life-partner, Frank Meola, and I enjoyed a fine lunch with my thesis adviser, Ron Schatz, and the chair of the History Department, Magda Teter.” Thanks for the update, Glenn. I’d be curious to understand what safety measures the transit authority is taking to ward off any bad doings by bad people. Also, I’m curious about what you think of New Jersey’s infamous “Bridge-gate” affair!

Janet Lambert Preston writes “I teach at Unity College in Maine—the first to divest from fossil fuels!” Pretty cool, Janet. I wonder what other measures the college is taking towards ecological sustainability. It is certainly a growing industry and I hope one here to stay for the long haul.

John Fixx shares, “Two years ago I left a school in Waterbury, Conn., after having served schools as head for 15 years, and my wife and I moved to our beach house in Madison, Conn. Right back into the frying pan, I took a position as head of school at The Country School in town, relishing the short commute. I also coach cross-country and get exercise by jumping to conclusions and dodging the issues. My wife, Liza, and I have two children of the usual ages, with our son a senior at Boston University and our daughter a sophomore at the University of Vermont, near our vacation house, which is convenient for her and her marauding friends. In honor of our son’s graduation, we are off to France this summer for a spell and then back to work. I am up at Wesleyan once a week, training with a bunch of other geriatrics on the indoor and outdoor tracks. I’m so proud of what the Little University was and what it has become.” Agreed, John, “Who knew?!”

I hope to get back to Wes one day soon. I did visit Marina Melendez Virgadula, with my daughter, Hillary, a few winters ago. We had a great time catching up. Definition of a good friend: It may be years since you see one another, but when you do, it is as if no time has elapsed at all!

Heather Rae writes, “I’ve left Maine for Northern Virginia where my partner, Aubrey Gail, and I are building a functional health practice. I am studying for a health coach certificate with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and digging into neuro-endocrine testing and more, with intention of coaching Aubrey’s chiropractic patients along their wellness path.” I like the holistic approach, Heather.

I’ve been part of a medical legal partnership at a Newark hospital pediatric department, which is modeled after one in Boston. We provide ‘upstream’ service delivery, including assistance with medical and educational issues, and a complete social worker work-up to help low income children and their families get the public assistance and educational services they need in order to reduce family stress and improve medical outcomes for the child. (Phew, that was a mouthful!) I’m evaluating the program and as a sociologist also interested in the factors the enhance or constrain the collaborative processes across professional disciplines. Collaborative research is in its infancy and one I plan to research further. Mostly, I’ve been doing a lot of grant writing and talking to venture capitalists in order to find outside sources to keep this project and others like it up and running in Newark and the surrounding urban centers.

Eileen Kelly-Aguirre is enjoying good health after a trying 2014. She left the boarding school world, moved to Massachusetts, and is now executive director of School Year Abroad. Glad to hear the good news, Eileen. Be well!

Lastly, Cat Maguire (that is Maguire with a “g” not Maquire with a “q” as I mistakenly wrote last time—so sorry, Cat) shares she “has been teaching internationally for the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies in Belgium and Mexico, along with her stateside teaching in Charlottesville, Va., and at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. It makes for a hectic schedule, but husband David Campanelli and youngest son Keegan have been doing a great job holding down the home front!

Thanks all for your contributions. Until the next time, Namaste.

LAURIE Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

If last issue’s theme was emptying nests, this time it was finding our bliss and making a bit more time for our graying selves, Class of ’82.

Brian Fahey writes that “after spending my whole life in the Boston area, I’ve moved to Scarborough, Maine, where I’ve always had a second home. With my youngest child off to Brown this fall, we decided to make the move to beautiful Maine. I would love to connect with fellow Wesleyan alums in the Portland area.”

Jim Sullivan, who practices emergency medicine in Massachusetts, wrote: “I will be running in my first Boston Marathon this spring.” He mentions that his son Owen, a high school senior, is looking at Wesleyan.

Sara Lennon, also known as Say White, writes from Portland of big changes now that her children are “basically fluttering from the nest. Any brilliant ideas on how to weather this latest transition?” she asks. “So far my coping strategy is digging in—more work, more gym, more shoveling snow. Anyone out there try something else, like exotic travel, adoption, that first novel, career change, early retirement, spiritual enlightenment? Pray tell if it’s working well.”

Sara’s current distractions include “Homeland, House of Cards, reading, politics, friends, freezing at Sugarloaf, warming up when summer finally arrives around mid-June. Stop by if you find yourself in Portland, I’d advise July or August.”

I got a long, lovely post from Vincent Bonazzoli: “My wife, Paula, and I are getting adjusted to being empty nesters here in Swampscott, Mass. Although we miss the kids, we are actually enjoying ourselves. The house is a heck of a lot cleaner and the refrigerator actually has food in it for more than a day.”

He adds, “I have my own my estate planning and elder law practice in Lynnfield. It’s going quite well and I am coaching and training attorneys in practice development and client maintenance programs. I’m also an instructor at the Boston University certified financial planner program.

His daughter, Danielle, is an artist at Mass College of Art and Design in Boston, after spending a year and a half at St. Andrews in Scotland. Son Matthew is a freshman at Macalester College “in balmy St. Paul, Minn., and is playing football. Very exciting time for all, as Paula and I got to go to almost all of the games,” Vinnie said.

He recently has been in touch with other empty nesters from our class, including Lyndon Tretter, who lives in NYC with his wife Ilyse. “Lyndon has just become a partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP, and is looking to reconnect with Wes alumni in NYC. Also heard from Fran Hack who is living in Northampton, Mass., with her husband, Bob, and has a daughter graduating from Brandeis this year and a son attending NYU.”

Big changes for Virginia Pye, who has a new novel coming out this fall: She’s moving from Richmond, Va., to Cambridge, Mass., as her husband, John Ravenal ’81, is now director of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln “Looking forward to connecting with Wesleyan friends in the Boston area!” she says.

David Shopper writes that he has moved his advertising photography studio to Ipswich, Mass. You can follow his work at davidshopper.com.

Kevin Meacham sends along his new e-mail address: kevmeach@verizon.net.

The news from Paula Anthony: She just completed her PhD in organizational development and change from the College of Business and Technology at The University of Texas at Tyler.

Sophia Brubaker has been married to her husband, Bill, since 1980. (“Yes, I married in the middle of college when he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.”) They’ll celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary this May.

“I Iive in Niantic, Conn., where I direct the Barn for Artistic Youth (a teaching studio for emerging artists of all ages). I designed this community arts program after returning to Rhode Island School of Design in 2001 as an art teacher on sabbatical, and returning to the East Coast from Juneau, Alaska, where I taught middle school art in the public school.” Her website is barn4art@gmail.com, she says, adding that watching children “grow up in art” from finger painting to art college and beyond, is immensely rewarding. “It keeps me young!”

Bill and Sophia have raised four kids, and now are on to grandchildren—two little boys, ages 2 and newborn.

“We keep in touch with my best friend from Foss Hill: Mireille Reichgelt Neumann ’82 and husband Chip Neumann ’82, living in Simsbury, Conn.,” she writes.

Nancy Logue writes that she and Julie Abrams Faude were planning to meet in Philadelphia for the “Love Train” event put on by the city’s mural arts program. The guided tour of 50 rooftop murals also celebrates marriage equality in Pennsylvania. “We live 30 minutes outside the same wonderful city in different directions, and enjoy getting together whenever we can,” she says.

What else is there to say except more, more, more! Write early and often!

Stephanie Griffith | stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com