CLASS OF 1984 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Roger was at the Reunion, and gives this report:

Our class had a strong and lively turnout for our 30th Reunion on Memorial Day weekend, with the numbers picking up substantially by Saturday night, just in time for the open bar reception in Usdan’s west dining wing. A surprise performance by the Wesleyan Cardinals, joined by founding member Mark Randles, was one highlight that evening. Classmates figured prominently in the weekend’s programming, with Karen Donfried receiving a Distinguished Alumna Award and speaking at the Phi Beta Kappa initiation, ESPN executive Rob King appearing on the WESeminar panel “The Changing Face of Sports,” and marine biologist and author Ellen Prager giving a WESeminar talk entitled “Dive into the Story: Ocean Science and Storytelling, Fun for All.” He reports that everyone enjoyed catching up with one another and, in some instances, meeting classmates’ spouses and children. He noted an especially impressive contingent from the 1980–81 Foss 9 freshman dorm, including David Booker, Liz (Buffy) Martin Brouckman, Jim Glickman, Ina Jacobs, Lee Markowski, Cindy Schultze Newell, the aforementioned Mr. Randles, and Heidi Ravis.

Stefan Selig was confirmed as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade in June. According to the Commerce Department press release, he will “help lead our recently launched NEI/NEXT initiative—a program to build on export achievements under President Obama’s National Export Initiative to help even more businesses reach the 95 percent of customers who live outside our borders.”

Mike Lewyn reports that he is spending the 2014–15 academic year in Kansas City as a visiting professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Arya Francesca Jenkins gives us an interesting update: “I am living in McDonald, Ohio, a remote region of this state and the world, where I have the opportunity to write to my heart’s content. I write jazz fiction for an online quarterly, Jerry Jazz Musician, and regularly publish nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in literary journals and magazines. A few months back, I was elected a director of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the living conditions of female Tibetan Buddhist monastics. Our programs benefit young and aging nuns and orphanages in Tibet and India. As I have long been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and a friend of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, whose work has inspired DGLI, I am thrilled to be part of this endeavor. A New York tour is planned for December 2014 and January 2015 that will include stops at the Rubin Museum and The Tibet House in New York City, so perhaps some Wesleyanites will join us there.”

Vicky Fish sends in a short and sweet update to say she and her husband, Hugh Huizenga, are sending their twins off to college. Noah is going to Hamilton and Andrew to Wesleyan, where he has been assigned to Butterfield, just like she was as a freshman! Her first book of short stories, A Brief Moment of Weightlessness, was published in June by Mayapple Press.

Margaret (Marmie) Bowman is still working at the Walton Family Foundation as deputy director of their environment program. She is focused primarily on addressing the problems of water scarcity in the Colorado River basin. She lives in Tacoma Park, Md., with her husband and two kids, both of whom are in high school, so most of her life is spent at sporting events and other parenting adventures.

David Blauer recently gained Series A venture capital for his third software start-up, called Bjönd. Based in Boston, Bjönd makes novel workflow automation, decision support, and behavior change software that applies to most industries. Their first application, called BjöndHealth, invents and automates hyper-personalized workflows that clinicians, social workers and family members execute collaboratively to intervene with patients suffering complex diseases and conditions. The Bjönd staff includes other Wesleyan alumni—CTO and co-founder, Ben Flynn ’03, and engineer, George Bennum ’09.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

CLASS OF 1983 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Summer is over and I’m not sure where it went. Sending sophomores off to college is so much easier and less dramatic than last year. Phew! (Can’t wait till they come home for Thanksgiving.) In the meantime, I just moved to a new home in a quaint little town complete with a river and waterfall and no franchised businesses. I am ready for new beginnings and the new year. I’m not sure why the calendar dictates the new year begins in January. For me, it’s always been September. Seems like there are many changes for our classmates as well… 

Ruth L. Schwartz married her longtime partner, Michelle Murrain, in a small, unconventional riverfront ceremony on September 13th. Ruth is a writer, healer, teacher, and visionary. Check out her new project at hearforareason.org. Suzanne Smith is job hunting for the first time in years and in the middle of a divorce. Suzanne, I am going through one, too. It’s overwhelming, scary, and liberating at the same time. Thanks to Facebook, Suzanne stays in touch with Mike Steinberg, Susanna Sharpe, David Hill ’86, and hometown friends Staci Caplanson and Claudia Florian. She’d love to hear from Tricia Reilly

Ben Binswanger and wife Karen just moved to Fairfield, Conn., and look forward to more frequent visits to Middletown for dinners with Katie Binswanger ’15, Tim Israel ’16, Kiley Kennedy ’16, and Gabriel Weinreb ’18. Steve Sorkin and his wife, Aida, live in Lincoln, R.I., since 1997, also in close proximity to Wes. They enjoy visiting son Mathew ’15, who plays on Wes’s baseball team, which won both the Little 3 and the NESCAC Championship for the first time. Their daughter, Melissa, attends Boston College. Cat Maquire and David Campanelli’s son begins his collegiate journey at Brown University. Stephanie Oddleifson lives in Natick, Mass., and enjoys her job at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care as a data analyst in the Medical Informatics area. One of her daughters attends Colby College and the other is a senior in high school. Stephanie, remember when you introduced me to force blooming bulbs in the winter? Much thanks; I continue the practice. Other nature oriented news…

Naturalist classmate Timothy Brockett lives in Montana where “we arm ourselves for protection from bears and other large predators. Hunting season is a wonderful family time where everyone gets to enjoy the vast outdoors. Many families use the abundant deer and elk to supplement their diet. A few hunt bear but that is a fatty meat. Others hunt wolves and foxes just for fun. The gun laws are progressive so we carry weapons in our vehicles and on our person, and we shoot just about anywhere without a permit or violating the laws. Interestingly, Montana tends to be a very polite society with little crime.” After a long cold winter where the temperature dropped below 30 degrees for several days, and everything freezes within minutes, Tim spent a rejuvenating two weeks in Grand Cayman fishing, hiking, and swimming. And, after the fires that swept through Emigrant Gulch, just north of Yellowstone Park, he spent the summer mining for gold and recovered almost three pounds. Additional summer fun included… 

Susan Kelly, Barb Bailey Beckwitt, Sue Stallone Kelly, Karen Adair Miller, Gretchen Millspaugh Cooney, and Christine Tam Rosengarten Darcas met up in Maine in celebration of their friendship that began 35 years ago at field hockey practice. Barbara Miller Legate reports that while in Las Vegas she saw Chris Wink’s Blue Man Group at the Monte Carlo. Jonathan Chatinover spent the summer broadcasting home games for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks (summer collegiate baseball) with son, Keith, assisting. While there, they crossed paths with Guy Davidson ’16 (current Wes student), son of Guy Davidson (our classmate).

Kenneth Schneyer and Janice Okoomian dropped their daughter off at Marlboro College in Vermont, and their son just started high school and is interested in architectural drafting. Ken didn’t actually win the Nebula or Sturgeon Award this year, but “it’s nice just to be nominated.” He just released his first science fiction collection, The Law and the Heart, and his earlier fantasy stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese, and Czech. Spanish and Italian translations are in the works. Tim Backer just finished a new disc, Platform for Dreams, in which he develops a branch of classical music founded by The Beatles and writes, “It is a great leap beyond my first rock classical album, The Subtle Dawn.” Other professional news…

Janet Milkman works on green building in Philadelphia and enjoys biking, kayaking, and being an empty nester. Cori Adler bike commutes to her faculty position at Antioch University in Seattle and the Cornish College of the Arts. Proud of her neighborhood, which was recently mentioned on NPR, Cori lives with her husband and “brilliant teenage daughter.” Other Wes folk in Seattle include Cliff Meyer ’82, Chris Meyer Wilsdon, and for an all too brief period, Dan Bergman ’85. All, according to Cori, “have a spouse and at least one child, are in good health, and are every bit as scintillating as [she] remembers.”

Lori Kipnes received her master of arts in teaching with a concentration in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from Brandeis. She is the Judaic coordinator at the Frances Jacobson Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel in Boston. Prior to living in Sharon, Mass., Lori had lived in Chicago and Israel. At the time of our correspondence, all three of her daughters were in Israel and under rocket fire. Hopefully, by the time these notes appear in print, a peace settlement will have been achieved. Son Erez, who has Asperger’s and “more than a handful of learning challenges,” is participating in a therapeutic transition program and working part time. 

Mary Freeman lives in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., is director of workforce development for Southwest Solutions in Detroit, and is in the thick of Detroit renewal efforts, particularly with regard to adult education and training. Mary, let’s talk sometime…I, too, am involved in urban renewal in Newark, N.J. I’m writing a grant to open a community center with wrap-around services including healthcare, education, and job training and workforce development, in one of the city’s poorest sections. Perhaps we will meet at the next Urban Affairs conference.

Finally, many classmates expressed their sincere best wishes to Mike Whalen and his winning team. Until next time…Namaste.

LAURIE COHEN | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

CLASS OF 1982 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

The empty nesters, and almost empty nesters, among us are multiplying.

Jennifer Tucker Rosenberg, who works in New York as a psychiatrist in private practice and with children and adolescents in an agency, writes that the youngest of her three children has flown the coop. “We settled our youngest daughter, Raquel, into Barnard, where she joined her sister, Michal, who is a senior,” she wrote. “Our son, Eitan, is a web coder for Vimeo,” she said, adding that it’s “great to have all our kids in the same city—especially a city we love.”

Larry Selzer is still working at The Conservation Fund after 24 years, “and enjoying every part of it.” With his middle son, Ned, starting his second year at the University of Virginia, there’s just his daughter, Ellie, a high school senior, left at home. “Almost an empty nest, though not too sure we are ready for that,” he writes.

Rolando Arroyo, who lives in Oakland, Calif., is celebrating 25 years as a cardiovascular anesthesiologist at Kaiser Permanente. “My daughter is starting her junior year at the University of San Francisco, and my son is taking a break and back home; we almost made it to ‘empty nester’ status!” He wrote that his family this summer went diving and snorkeling in southern Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, and that he has been on a “quest to perfect the art of empanadas baked in my outdoor pizza oven.” Send samples!

Congratulations are in order for Joshua Ehrlich, a clinical psychologist living in Ann Arbor, Mich., whose first book was published in May. “It’s called, Divorce and Loss: Helping Adults and Children Mourn When a Marriage Comes Apart. It is designed for therapists, but also might be helpful for divorcing parents.”

Greg Lewis, who lives with his wife in Berkeley, sent his update via cellphone while he was en route to Busan, South Korea, for a conference on international aerosol research. “Spending my spare time sculling and walking our 3-year-old dachshund,” he wrote.

Gordon Dutter has “no big news” to share, “but you can say that I still teach history at Monroe Community College and live with my wife, pets, and garden in the Western Finger Lakes region of New York.”

David Loucky, a professor of trombone and euphonium at Middle Tennessee State University, performs summers as Principal Trombonist at the New Hampshire Music Festival, a professional summer orchestra in Plymouth. He also is called on at times to play ophicleide—a 19th century predecessor of the tuba. Among his recent performances was one in Nashville, where he recorded extra ophicleide, trombone, and tuba parts to Ben Folds’ Piano Concerto, to be released this year.

Heather Baker-Sullivan wrote “from the tranquil shores of 55,” she’s reflecting on her life’s “quiet and unremarkable pleasures and achievements”—among them “intermittent employment” while raising four children. Currently, she’s an adjunct professor at Westchester Community College, teaching and tutoring English.

She says three of her children are attending university north of the border. “For any of you who are fortunate to have a Canadian parent (me), if not being Canada born (I wasn’t), feel free to e-mail me about how to get citizenship status for your children if they are not yet of college age and you want to explore that possibility: riverliffey4@aol.com. We couldn’t believe it was possible to qualify for domestic tuition, but it was! And McGill is not the only decent uni there!”

Reeve Huston just ended a sabbatical from his job teaching history at Duke University, and is working on a book tentatively titled Reforging American Democracy: Political Practices in the United States, 1812-1840. He lives in Durham, N.C., with his wife, Sally, and son, Isaac, and continues to sing and play guitar, as well as trying his hand at drums and songwriting.

Shelby Haverson wrote that he dropped his daughter Sallie ’18 off at Wesleyan this fall, while Richard Klein, an attorney in Manhattan, writes that he is “proud that his daughter, Nicole Emily Klein ’15, is following in his footsteps and will be graduating from Wes in June 2015.”

Tricia Beard Mosher and her husband Doug, a manager at Walt Disney World, have three children “at varying stages of teen and adult life.” She owns a consulting firm that focuses on social work, organizational development, and child welfare, working with states, tribes, the federal government, and community agencies. “Lucky to be able to do my type of work nationally and occasionally internationally, while having a great family to bring along sometimes, and to come home to.”

Patty Smith is teaching creative writing and American literature at the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, in Petersburg, Va. “Still cycling, and I participated in the 2013 Pan Mass Challenge, a two-day 192-mile bike ride to raise money for cancer research at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.” She’s had an essay appear this summer in Broad Street; A New Magazine of True Stories, and another in the 20th anniversary edition of One Teacher in Ten: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell Their Stories. She also received a scholarship to attend the Key West Literary Seminars in January 2015, where she’ll be taking a workshop in spiritual autobiography.

Joe Fins is on sabbatical during the fall 2014 at Yale University as the Dwight H. Terry Visiting Scholar in Bioethics. He’s also a visiting professor of the History of Medicine at the med school and a senior research scholar at the law school.

Elyse Klaidman writes that she is happily living in Berkeley and working at Pixar Animation. “I love the work I get to do, and the people I get to do it with. And Berkeley has the best weather and food!” she writes. “My oldest son is starting his sophomore year at the Rhode Island School of Design. While we miss him like crazy, my husband and younger son keep me entertained.”

Bob Russo enjoyed what he called “a fun time for a bunch of old geezers. Anthony Pahigian hosted a bunch of us—Mike Greenstein, Steve Davies ’83, John Brautigam, Joe Barrett, and Bill MacNamara—in Bethesda, Md., for a hike up Old Rag in the Shenandoah and for zip lining and white-water tubing on the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry.”

After teaching at the Derby Academy in the Boston area for 16 years, Carl Schwaber several years ago moved to Los Angeles to further his acting career. Since then, he has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in a sketch with comedian Howie Mandel, and he has also appeared on an episode of Criminal Minds. Both scenes can be viewed on his website, carlschwaber.com and he can be contacted via Facebook.

Rachael Adler opened the Waterfront Playhouse & Conservatory in Berkeley three years ago, which she describes as “a professional acting training program.” The mom of a 12-year old daughter, Rachael, who is “healthy, happy, and getting wiser,” was planning this fall to teach master classes in Barcelona.

Also working in theater is Carlia Francis. “In August, I began teaching acting and directing in the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. Previously I taught acting, directing, and playwriting as the Heanon Wilkins Fellow in theatre at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. “The difference in the names is very slight but all other changes are significant. It is the first time in the last nine years I’ve lived in a ‘city’ city, and that is taking a bit of adjustment,” she wrote, adding that with a number of her family members already in Miami, “the move felt like coming home.”

Many thanks for all your dispatches, and more, please!

Stephanie Griffith | stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com

CLASS OF 1981 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Greetings, classmates! It’s been a while since I have reported due to various and sundry electronic mishaps, so allow me to publicly thank my co-anchor, David Block, for pitching in at the last minute on several occasions. Much obliged, David!

Leora Freedman has joined Occidental College (in Eagle Rock/Los Angeles) as its general counsel after spending several years in the Office of General Counsel at California State University. “I am very excited about this new challenge and opportunity,” she writes. “The job keeps me very busy, which is good because our children have left the nest, and I miss them a lot!” Leora’s daughter, Anna, graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 2013 and lives in N.Y.; Leora’s son, Jeremy, is currently a junior at Berkeley. One nice thing, Leora notes, is that “Occidental is a beautiful school and working on the campus reminds me of my days at Wesleyan!” I guess we can’t go back… but we can sure appreciate the memories.

I received news from both Kaylie Jones and Lisa Greim as to how their paths crossed this summer at the Norman Mailer Center’s summer program in Salt Lake City, where Kaylie taught a memoir-writing workshop in which Lisa participated. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve done recently,” Lisa noted, “and it was the first time I’d seen Kaylie since graduation day in 1981! So it was especially fun to reconnect and bomb around SLC!” Lisa reports that she is still living in Denver, still writing, still empty-nesting—and still single!

As to the news from Kaylie: In addition to her writing and her regular university position, Kaylie often teaches at workshops like the one at the Norman Mailer Center. “It was one of the best workshops I’ve ever taught because Lisa Greim came from Colorado to be in the group. We reminisced about old times and our shared mentor, Jack Paton. It was a great gift to spend this time with her.” On a more personal note, Kaylie writes that her daughter Eyrna (a high school senior) spent the entire summer studying kung fu with Shaolin monks in Qufu, China. She is planning on applying to Wesleyan.

“When I brought her to my 20th Reunion,” Kaylie writes, “Eyrna went to Camp Cardinal for the day and said, ‘I like college very much. This is where I want to go.’ She was three and hasn’t changed her mind since!” One of the more exciting developments in Kaylie’s professional sphere is the new imprint she began under the aegis of Akashic Books which, she informed me, “just happens to be a fantastic independent publishing company created by another Wesleyan grad, Johnny Temple ’88.” This New York-based imprint, called “Kaylie Jones Books,” has created an exciting cooperative of dedicated emerging and established writers who are integrally involved in the entire publishing process. What an exciting endeavor!

It was great to hear from Charlie Newell, who deserves congratulations as he celebrates 20 years as the artistic director of the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre. The Theatre is poised to open their most ambitious season yet as they commemorate 60 years of theater. On the slate are two world premieres, a Greek tragedy, a Beckett masterpiece and a classic American musical—all supported by the Center for Classic Theatre at the U. of Chicago. If anyone is in the neighborhood, don’t miss one of these productions! Check out courtheatre.org for schedules and more information.

Ariel Rubissow Okamoto is still heavily involved in ecological issues out in the Bay Area, where she continues to write and publish on California water and ecosystem restoration issues. And speaking of restoration, Ariel writes that she and her family spent several weeks putting their vineyard to rights after the August 2014 earthquake in the Napa Valley. “Who knew so many plumbing and irrigation connections could be broken in 12 seconds,” she muses, “not to mention wine glasses? The tremor was so strong it broke the leg off the iron wood stove and the wheel off the grand piano!” Wow! Fortunately, everyone made it through the quake safely and—luckily for wine aficionados—the Rubissow wine inventory remained intact.

Matt King wrote in with news of his family. Daughter Isabelle ’16 is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen, where Matt and his wife plan to visit later this fall. On the work front, Matt has been asked to take over as the deputy assistant secretary of a new division at the Department of Homeland Security called “Law Enforcement Policy” while still keeping one foot in International Affairs. “This should be fun, and busy,” says Matt, “but it makes the holiday in Denmark seem too far away!” Congratulations on your new position, Matt, and all the best—it’s no easy task in today’s world!

Stephen White tells me that he retired from the military in 2011, is working at his wife Gayle’s property business, and enjoying it very much. Their 20-year-old daughter, Taylor, is living and working in Amherst, Mass. Steve also writes that he was “back on campus just last night picking up the latest sweatshirt!” Go Wes! He sends a special shout out to Jim White ’80, Mike Whalen ’83 and Bryon Lyons ’82.Another alum who was recently on campus is Ed Suslovic, who dropped off his daughter Kate ’17 for the start of her sophomore year. He and Spence Smith ran the Alumni Cross Country Race Sept. 6th., placing “respectably” behind the current set of runners. Ed writes that he and his wife dropped off their other daughter at Smith, where she is following in Ed’s footsteps as a cross-country runner. “I tried to keep up with her this summer with no success. I was hoping that experience would trump age but no such luck.” Son Matt started his sophomore year of high school and is unsure how he feels about being an only child. (My son Christopher found himself in the same boat last year… I think he’s looking forward to college!)

Kathy Prager Conrad, too, was back on campus in June for the graduation of her daughter Caroline ’14, who is now living in New York City along with her sister Liza ’11. This past July, Kathy, Deb Chapin Neebe, and Livia Wong McCarthy reunited at Livia’s beautiful home in Princeton—alas, without the fourth member of the Sunday Night Co-op (me!). Needless to say, a good time was had by all—even minus the Gallo Hearty Burgundy (and yours truly)!

Doug Mannen ’82 checked in from Oregon via Facebook. So much happening in his life! His two oldest daughters are getting married this coming year, child four of five just started college, and the youngest just entered high school. “It kind of feels like the beginning of the end of this phase of life,” writes Doug, a sentiment to which most of us can relate. He laments that he does not see too many Wes alum out in Oregon but this July he had the pleasure of welcoming Mark diTargiani ’85 and his family, as well as Coach Mike Whalen ’83.

Bart Brebner sent along this update: “In September, the following members of the Class of ’81 and ’82 held a dinner party in New York City to celebrate the milestone of their turning 55 in 2014: David Resnick P’13 (and wife Cathy Klema), Jeff Kluger (and wife Jenny), Laurie Jacobs P’12 (and friend, Robert Zorowitz), Jim Bordewick with his wife, Martha McNamara ’83, Amy Horowitz Schorr with her husband, Brian Schorr ’79, Joe Fins ’82 (and wife Amy Ehrlich) and Bart Brebner with his wife, Karen Liepmann ’83. Bart brought with him the Class of 1981 ‘Facebook’ printed in August 1977 and everyone—other than the spouses—agreed that we did not look much different from when we entered Wes!”

And as for me? I keep busy with my various volunteer activities, traveling, and teaching Zumba, which I really love. Our summer took us to Berlin (as usual) and then to the south of France (exceptionally). We happened to be in Nice during the jazz festival—wonderfully serendipitous and great fun! Where else can you sit back, sip champagne and listen to amazing jazz? That’s my kind of festival! All three of our sons are now here in town. Our eldest son, Alex (a software engineer), has returned home to the Midwest after a stint in Seattle working at Microsoft. He is happily ensconced back in Bloomington and gainfully employed in his field, and doing some consulting on the side. Our middle son, James, is a sophomore and studying informatics here at Indiana University, keeping busy with his studies (we hope!), his group house, his music, and his position on the IU Ultimate Frisbee Team. He took a summer class in Germany and apparently very much enjoyed showing the other students around the city of his birth, Berlin—or so it appeared from his Facebook posts! Last but not least, our third son, Christopher, is (maybe?) enjoying his status as “single child” as he enters his junior year in high school. He is a good student and musician (first chair sax in addition to being an accomplished pianist) as well as an athlete (tennis and ultimate Frisbee, whose team he captains); he also volunteers as a chess teacher in a local elementary school. So all in all, life is good!

Please write to me with news of you and yours.

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

JOANNE godin audretsch | Berlinjo@aol.com

CLASS OF 1980 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

For those of you who didn’t hear, our dear classmate Julia Tag Wu Trethaway passed away on July 9, 2014.

Gary Gilyard writes: “I was so sorry to hear about Julia Wu. I will always remember her smiling and full of energy…..so sad. My wife, Linda, and I just returned from taking our youngest Shelby ’17 back to school yesterday. She is a biology major and plays lacrosse for Wesleyan. So far she has lived exactly where I lived when I was a student. This year is William Street. I always love to be back at Wes. She is our youngest. Our middle daughter just got married six months ago and lives in Phoenix (hopefully temporarily), and our oldest is in Chicago. I can’t believe this will be our 35th Reunion. It really doesn’t feel like that long, but neither did my 30th wedding anniversary this past May. We will be back for Homecoming as well as the Reunion! My practice is going well, I am an orthopedic surgeon at the Detroit Medical Center specializing in sports medicine. I love what I do and am not even beginning to think about slowing down. My wife is a NICU nurse at the University of Michigan. I’m really looking forward to seeing as many classmates as possible this May.”

Pam Keon writes: “Thanks for sharing the very sad news about Tag. She touched so many lives in too short a time. My life is full. Although I’ve not had many opportunities to see Wes friends over the years, I was very lucky to reconnect recently with wonderful Lisa Kaufman, whom I’d not seen since graduation day. Over an all-too-brief lunch here in Mill Valley, sitting by the water in the company of her lovely husband, Peter, we attempted to catch up on the past 34 years. It was an impossible but delightful task. I am in the throes of trying to batten down the hatches as I head off in a few days for our first family vacation in 13 years! My son, Will, and my daughter, Mollie, and I are meeting in Ecuador to visit the Galapagos—a trip of a lifetime for us. Mollie just earned her undergraduate degree from Emerson, and Will just earned his graduate degree from Harvard, so it’s an unusual moment in time when everyone is in transition and not fully tied down by vocational obligations.” See complete entry on WesConnect for some interesting special interests of Pam’s.

Alan Jacobs writes: “Recently, I did the math and realized that I would have two kids in college for seven consecutive years. Apparently, we forgot to do that math when we were starting a family. Gil is graduating this year from Brandeis, Ron ’16 is a junior at Wesleyan, Avia is a senior in high school, being recruited/pushed by her dad to play soccer somewhere in the Northeast next fall, and Guy is a freshman in high school. I’m having a great time in the entertainment business here in Los Angeles. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many talented and inspiring people and though my heart will always be in New York, it’s been a great place to raise kids and make movies. Along the way, my company has provided summer internships to over a dozen Wesleyan students, most recently Ming Zhu ’15, Zoe Broad ’14 and Jenna Robbins ’13.

Scott Hecker writes: “Greetings from San Diego, which has now been home for over 10 years for me and my family (wife Gail, daughter Claire, 13, and son Niall, 11). Twenty years after leaving my cushy job at Pfizer to join the crazy world of biotech start-ups, and after twice experiencing the high of going public only to be dashed by seeing the stock price go through the floor, I finally have a modicum of success to report. My latest company, Rempex Pharmaceuticals, was acquired in December 2013 by The Medicines Company (headquartered in New Jersey). We have discovered and are developing a new antibiotic to deal with those nasty bacteria in hospitals that you keep hearing about. And, unlike most biotech acquisitions, we all still have our jobs! We spent a few days in New York this summer, and one of the highlights was seeing The Lion King on Broadway, with Robert Levin ’81 performing one of the feature drum parts. Hoping that Wesleyan will invite Urban Renewal back to play at Reunion/Commencement in 2015 or 2016!

Al Spohn writes: “I’m into year 24 of doing IT at the Mayo Clinic. Married with kids aged 2, 6 and 8… I’ve essentially become the grandfather that can’t run away. Not much else to report. Oh, I also accepted an adjunct faculty position at the Minnesota College of Art and Design this fall.”

Jenny Anne Horst-Martz writes: “I am living and working in Philadelphia, where I am a project manager at a law firm. My husband of more than 20 years is a teacher at a Friends school, and we have two kids. My daughter, Emma, is off to Connecticut College, where Katherine Bergeron—a fellow Catholic feminist of the Fr. Charlie Gonzalez era—is the new college president. It was great to see Katherine again at move-in day, and to hear that Brad Moss is also sending his son to Connecticut College this year. Some of you may not be aware that Connecticut College for Women was founded in 1911 when Wes kicked the women out. Now, both schools are coed with similar missions, but I’ll tell you, the campus at Connecticut College is even more beautiful than Wesleyan, and it retains a good deal of spunk from its origins, embracing the dromedary as its mascot. Go Camels!” See Wesconnect to see the other nine people Jenny mentions.

Reunion 2015 marks our 35th. Hope to see many of you there. 

KIMBERLY OFRIA SELBY | kim_selby@yahoo.com

CLASS OF 1979 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

We beat the Reunion attendance record for the third year in a row with 94 attendees! It was great to see all of your smiling faces looking as young and carefree as we did 35 years ago. Thanks also to Banning and Seanfor hosting the after-party.

Jim Friedlich wrote in that he, Eric Asimov,Ann Kaplan, Bill Plotch, and Mike Vorhaus enjoyed a wine-intensive meal together at Jean-Georges in May shortly before Reunion. Eric is the prolific wine columnist for The New York Times; Ann, an economist; Mike, the president of Magid Advisors, a global market research firm; and Bill is still thriving as a bond trader.

Jim led a WesSemimar at Reunion weekend on “The Future of Media and Entertainment,” which included classmate Laura Walker, CEO of WNYC. Jim was named chief executive officer of Empirical Media, a New York-based media advisory firm, in January. Jim, Strauss Zelnick, Andrew Vogel ’95, and President Michael Roth ’78 co-hosted a cocktail party for DigitalWes in midtown Manhattan in June, a gathering of more than 150 members of the Wesleyan community involved in digital media and venture-capital.

Karin Kiewra has spent the last few decades as a manager and editor in public relations, marketing, and development (fundraising) roles at Boston nonprofits, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard. She has been living with her partner, John Bach, in Somerville, Mass., for several years, and gets to see a fair bit of her 25-year-old son, Jacob, who works for a rising craft brewery, Jack’s Abby, in not-too-distant Framingham. She’s now the senior campaign writer/editor at Northeastern University, where the students are, as Garrison Keillor might say, all good looking, far above average, and get amazing co-op jobs all over the world. She writes, “If I couldn’t go to Wesleyan all over again, I’d come here.”

Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre spent a month in Madagascar this spring, doing research for upcoming Afropop Worldwide broadcasts. Amazing place. Amazing music. They were pleased to share the sonic spoils with fellow ’79-ers at what’s become a traditional after-hours Reunion bash at Banning’s place in Middletown. You can follow Banning on afropop.org.

Craig McLaughlin relocated to Berkeley. The second edition of his textbook, Health Policy Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach, was released in July. The book is co-authored with his father, Curtis McLaughlin ’54. In August, he premiered a one-person show at The Marsh, one of San Francisco’s top venues for solo performance.

Ben Solnit and his wife, Audrey, had a great visit over the summer with John Hatleberg ’79 and Rise Dimson. The highlight was a visit to Long House Gardens, where Phillip Petit happened to be making final preparations for a bijou reenactment of his 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers. John claimed their timing was serendipitous, but given his many connections in the far-flung art world, one never knows.

Their daughters are both launched into new full-time jobs: Rebecca (Dickinson ’12) as a middle-school math teacher for Teach for America in Philadelphia, and Anita (Tufts ’14) as a family service provider for South Bay Mental Health in Lynn, Mass.

Julie Hacker has had a busy year. Along with her architectural partner, Stuart Cohen, she has won awards including the 2014 Preservation Award from Lake Forest Preservation Foundation and the 2014 Watermark Award from Builder Magazine. Their work has appeared in Better Homes and Gardens Spring 2014 Special Edition and the following three books: The Kitchen Bible by Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane; Traditional Architecture: Timeless Building for the 21st Century by Alireza Sagharchi and Lucien Steil; and Houses for all Regions: CRAN Residential Collection. She adds, “I continue to race (triathlons) although gone are the days of the IronMan. As my age group gets smaller I place and sometimes win! I made it to Nationals this summer in Milwaukee and raced with the best. The women over 50 are beasts! Just too much work! My son Gabriel just finished his first year at RISD and loved it. He is majoring in film/video/animation in what is called ‘new media,’ which incorporates everything plus the kitchen sink, I believe. As an AIA fellow, I continue to be involved with the Chicago AIA chapter and our CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network) division. Any other Wesleyan architect out there who will be attending any CRAN conferences, let me know.”

Ann Kaplan wrote, “The platform on which my happiness rests is solidly in place. First, work is a pleasure. CAE has been developing tests that measure student learning outcomes. Yes, it can be done. Bill Gates said of one of our instruments, the CLA+, “I think most people would agree that the skills like critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing—the skills the CLA+ does measure—are pretty important.” It’s exciting to work here. Second, my daughter, Ariel, is thriving. She now lives in my father’s old office, which I own. It’s a beautiful studio apartment, high above Greenwich Village. It has so many windows, which display panoramic views of New York, including the Empire State Building. She works near my office as an elite personal trainer and continues to excel as a pole dancer. I am always in awe of her beautiful spirit. Third, my scuba adventures are taking me to beautiful places. I went to Little Cayman and St. John this summer and am deciding between Papua New Guinea, the Maldives, and Palau for next summer. I have amassed enough miles to take another long trip. And, finally, good friends abound. It’s great to live in New York City, where so many roads cross. I hope to see some of you along the way on this wonderful journey.”

Alan Saly’s been working on organizing the participation of transit workers in New York City in the Peoples Climate March, set for Sept. 21. Mass transit is a big solution to the climate crisis!

Daniel Ostrow chimes in: “I’m still in Middletown, owner and chief instructor at the Tat Wong Kung Fu Academy, 25 years in downtown Middletown. I teach students of all ages, from 4 to 74, and love my life in the martial arts. Life is exciting, challenging, and satisfying. Many of the subjects I studied at Wesleyan have daily and direct relevance to Kung Fu, anything from Spanish and French to comparative religion. I wish I had studied Chinese! I have had the wonderful experience of teaching one generation of students, from 5 years old through black belt, and now they’re off to college! My wife, Sarah, has been with me every step of the way as teacher and Kung Fu mama.

Gary Breitbord | gbreitbo@aol.com 

Ann Biester Deane | Abdeane@gmail.com

CLASS OF 1978 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Ken writes: Bill Adler divides his time between Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. He’s still writing books and learning Japanese. His daughters are “growing, growing, and mostly grown,” his oldest having graduated from Tufts a year ago, then teaching English for a year in France, and his youngest to be graduating from college in May… “hard to believe.”

Elizabeth (PepPep) Bachman works as an international opera director, and presentation skills trainer, using her operatic background to help public speakers with their stage presence. She is based in San Francisco but spends much of her time in Austria, where, as founder of TOP Opera (Tyrolean Opera Program)—a summer training program in the Austrian Alps—she provides young singers with business, voice, acting, dance, and language skills. She and Gisela Beckermann are married in Austria and are considering a marriage in the U.S. as well.

Geoff Ginsburg and his wife, Pam Douglas, are living, with their two Maine Coon cats, Mombo and Simba, in Durham, N.C., where he is professor of medicine, pathology, and biomedical engineering, and director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Duke University. They enjoy the mix of southern living and the university community. Geoff has fond memories of Wes and welcomes any Wes visitors.

Suki Hoagland sends greetings and well wishes from sunny California. After nine years of living in Switzerland, she and her husband, Jim, have moved back to the States, where both are at Stanford, she as a visiting scholar in the Earth Systems Program, an interdisciplinary undergraduate and co-terminal master’s degree program, and he as a consulting professor at the Woods Institute for the Environment. Their older son is a graduate of the Naval Academy and a captain in the Marine Corps, their second son a Cornell graduate who works as a transportation engineer specializing in green transportation—light rail, high-speed trains, ferries, and bus transit. They love life in Palo Alto, where they ride their bikes to campus, “rarely need a car…have no mortgage, no commute, no pets, no kids at home, just lots of freedom and sunshine.”

Tim Hollister continues to do great work in promoting teen driving safety, for which he has received the 2014 Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement of the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national award recognizing his multifaceted contributions. Tim maintains his national blog, “From Reid’s Dad,” named in memory of his son, which serves as a an important educational resource for parents of young drivers. His blog led to the publication of his acclaimed book, Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving, in 2013. The awards committee specifically notes the extent to which Tim’s research, writing, and public appearances have been done on his own time and without financial support.

Gail Boxer Marcus is CEO of Calloway Labs, a clinical toxicology laboratory in Woburn, Mass. She is married to Peter Marcus ’77.

Lucy Mize and her husband have returned to the States this past year after a 20-year stint overseas in her capacity as a public health adviser, the last 18 having been spent in Indonesia. They are based in Washington, D.C., but she will still be traveling extensively (32 countries) in her new post as senior health advisor for the Asia Bureau of the United States Agency for International Development, while he travels to Africa for the World Bank. Their son Thaddeus ’17 is involved in crew, is an RA, and is in search of a major. Their daughter Belle is a high school freshman (“adjusting well to the culture…although doesn’t understand the rules of football”). Lucy is liking being back, going to ball games with Bill Tabor and gardening with his wife, Elise Fulstone, also seeing Sara Margolis ’81, who is a friend from Mali… “nice to have Cardinals all around.”

Wolfgang Natter sends his hello to all classmates and is pleased to report that his son, Joseph ’17, is enjoying his studies and his involvements in the campus community at Wesleyan… “a special joy to me.” Wolfgang began a new position, as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Penn. He can be reached at natterw@chc.edu.

Julie Scolnik continues her role as artistic director of Mistral Music, a chamber ensemble in Brookline, Mass., which she founded 18 years ago. It’s described as “chamber music the way it’s supposed to be…shrugs off old traditions…with plenty of high jinks and personal connection to the audience.” Julie lives in Brookline with her family; her daughters, Sasha (cello) and Sophie (piano), are students in the Harvard/New England Conservatory Program.

Jonathan Spector and his wife are moving to Woodstock, Vt., after 20 years of life outside Boston, now that their four boys are at college or beyond. They’ve had a ski house for many years in Woodstock, which provides the attraction of Vermont with reasonable flight access to New York City, such that Jon will be able to maintain his work there at The Conference Board.

David Weild continues his work in stock market reform aiming to support economic growth, recently starting IssuWorks, Inc., a business designed to broaden securities distribution for investment banks and corporate issuers. His wife, Christi, is an avid martial artist, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a student of Krav Maga, and a realtor. Their kids—David (13), Kelly and Michael (twins, 11)—are all busy in the Bronxville school system, active in sports. Dave frequently sees Kaylie Jones ’81 (he is her daughter Eyma’s godfather) and Seth Gendler ’79 (he is Dave’s daughter Kelly’s godfather).

Jim Kurose has been chosen for a significant leadership role by the National Science Foundation, as its assistant director for the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Jim has had a long and productive career as a researcher and educator in the field of computer science. He is Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at UMass Amherst, where he has also served as chairman of that department and dean of the College of Natural Sciences. Jim and Julie ’78 live in Northampton, Mass., where they have raised three kids—including a Wes grad (Charlie ’10).

Regards to all,

SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com 

Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com

CLASS OF 1977 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Another Labor Day weekend in Boston: Navigating the minefields of moving vans in the already congested streets makes one a bit less nostalgic for going back to school. The updates from our illustrious gang allows me to experience one of the best parts of September, being back in touch with so many classmates.

Here goes: New Manhattan residents Jane Eisner and Mark Berger ’76 have been able to reconnect with all sorts of Wes folks, including Don Lowery, Rachel Balf (visiting from Israel), Cliff Chanin ’75, Vanessa Burgess, and Ethan Bronner ’76. Rachel enjoys her new role as grandmother, which is a recent prevalent theme in these notes. Don Lowery also connected with Iddy Olson while on a recent trip to Chicago. Congratulations go out to Felice Burstein and John Roxby, who are new grandparents to a baby girl. The girl’s dad is Gabe Roxby ’06, so there is a lot of Wesleyan DNA floating around the family.

John Fink sent along an update from his trip earlier in the year: He was in Chicago (watching his son playing in the Western Amateur golf tournament), and connected with a former Wesleyan roommate, Dan Brugioni ’78. John attended a high school reunion, as he grew up in nearby Highland Park. While home in Hawaii is great, all three of his kids are finished with school and reside in Oregon, with a first grandchild due to arrive in mid-November. So, there are early discussions about possibly down the road spending more time on the mainland, perhaps in Oregon.

John Jackson sent along a couple of nice stories about Michele Roberts, who has been voted in as the new executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, making her the first woman to head up a major North American sports union. Fantastic! Jim Lyons sends along regards from Germany. Jim continues as a freelance writer and director: most recently of a new musical about the escape artist Harry Houdini at a larger, subsidized regional theater in Bavaria, as well as writing a WWI musical revue for a small Berlin venue, using original songs, letters, and documents from the era. He has been in touch with Rich Shulman, Mim Wolf, and Jim Melloan, and would like to hear from Phil Stern and Jeremy Caplin. It warmed my heart to hear that Jim is planning to attend our Reunion in 2017; it is never too early to plan! As it turns out, Jerry Caplin wrote in as well, about his first daughter leaving home for Duke University. Now Jerry, with a bit more free time, contact Jim Lyons!

Wendy Giardina wrote in about a wonderful trip to the U.S. earlier this year connecting with Laraine Balk Hope and Jeff Kahn ’76. Wendy has been spending a good deal of time reading 16th- and 17th-century French literature, as well as enjoying hiking and bird watching near her home in Switzerland. Don Ryan wrote in reporting on his son’s May graduation from Wesleyan: Don jokingly brought up the idea for a class contest rewarding the first grandchild to be accepted to Wesleyan. In keeping with a theme from these notes, there will be some serious competition.

Steve Beauchamp wrote about a near-death experience earlier in the year, including some very detailed photographs from his hospital bed recovering from staphylococcal bacterial spinal meningitis. Ugh!!! Luckily, Steve had great support from family and the Wesleyan community including: Dennis Robinson ’79, David Thomas, Vanessa Burgess, Paul DiSanto ’81, Don Citak, Kathy Mintz ’78, Bob Nastri, Jeff Gray, and Bill Belichick ’75. Steve is truly delighted to have made it through to continue experiencing life in his inimitable “go-for-broke” fashion.

Don Spencer and his wife bought a waterside house in Westport to settle into. They plan to build on the site so they won’t be moving from Darien for a couple of years. Daughter Jocelyn ’13 is working in Shanghai and will be starting grad school at the University of London in January. Younger daughter Alyssa is a sophomore at Clark University. Don arranged for Arnie Alpert to present the Oakwood Friends School’s annual Carolyn Dash Davis Gleiter Social Justice Lecture in May. Received a fine note from Ted Stevens, who has been continuing the visits to all the American baseball parks with a trip this past year to Milwaukee’s Miller Park. Ted is looking for updates from Mike Coffey and Iddy Olson. Joan Goldfeder wrote about her work as account director with Taproot, a not-for-profit whose mission is to engage professionals in pro bono service that drives social change. Joan is also launching a new marketing and creative content business with two partners. The company, Grace Creative, will specialize in reaching and motivating women in our demographic group: relentlessly young baby-boomers. Susan Jacobson sent along that in the past year she has joined a consulting firm, Robert Glavin, Inc., as a senior consultant. The firm works with nonprofit organizations on fundraising, governance and management. Richard Parad has a new position at work: co-director of the new Pediatric Newborn Medicine Clinical and Translational Research Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Daughter Becca ’09 just finished her first year of medical school. Son Matthew, the singer/guitarist/songwriter, has moved to LA to become a songwriter. Over the past 12 months he has written three songs that have hit the charts, and just signed a publishing contract with a company called Pulse Recording. Richard enlisted Jane Goldenring to help serve a role as a West Coast surrogate parent. Francis Rath no longer practices law but is still with the Loudoun County (VA) Health Department—as a member of the emergency preparedness group and the MRC coordinator. He is an active volunteer paramedic and assistant chief of the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad. Wife Denise runs a successful horse training and sales farm in Ocala, Fla.

Well, that about does it for now. My sincere thanks go out to all who sent along news. It means a lot to me and, so I hear, from so many of our classmates. My best wishes go out to all for a fine remainder to 2015.

Gerry Frank | Gfrank@bfearc.com

CLASS OF 1976 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Well, I was a little late in contacting everyone and did not expect much. But I got a barrel of news, so here goes.

Sara Avitzour is an active psychotherapist whose lawyer days are long behind her. This semester she is finishing up her master’s degree in English and creative writing at Bar Ilan University. She has published three short stories so far and a full-length memoir. Sara has four grandchildren, three boys and one girl, ages 1 to 5.

Leslie Anderson won the 2014 National Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest with a story about her great-great-grandmother Tabitha, who was born a slave to a wealthy tobacco planter in Virginia. When Tabitha was about 60, she purchased 16 acres from her former owner. The story will be published later this year in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Leslie is the project editor for an index of Virginia Slave Births published by Heritage Books.

Elizabeth (Betsy) Eisenmann writes that she has had three big life events in the past year. Her son and his wife (who live in LA) had twin daughters in Sept. 2013, her mom passed away on Oct. 1, 2013, after 18 years of living with Alzheimer’s disease, and Betsy retired in Jan. 2014, after 29 years as an RN, 28 with Lowell General Hospital.

Jeff Frank, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, got together with his three children for a week in Colorado Springs. (Hey, Jeff, my daughter went to college there.) Son George is a junior at the Air Force Academy; son Nathan, who is with the FBI, and his wife, Amanda, were in from Miami; and daughter Stephanie, who is a teacher, was in from Hawaii.

Karen Gervasoni, who was a great co-manager for the Wes wrestling team, and her husband, Tom Hansen, live on 100 acres in Kennebunk, Maine, with their son, Cole, who will be 16 in November. Karen is retired after 25 years as an actuary. She would love to hear from Janet Brooks, Kat Wilmore, and Diana Brody.

In July 2014, Cathy Gorin had a gathering of Liz Gissen Holder, Ed Papier, and Christine McCoy McNeil ’75 at her summer home near Copake, N.Y. At Wesleyan, they all had lived together at Kappa Alpha house (which was then university housing) and had come to this same summer home back in the spring of ’75. Their mini-reunion was full of wonderful stories and nostalgia.

Debra Haffner is still president of the Religious Institute, an organization she founded 14 years ago, to help religious leaders advocate for sexual justice, and she hopes to earn her doctorate in ministry by 2016. Her eldest got married in May and her youngest is a college senior. She just spent a week with Kath Booth ’78, her college roommate.

David Low, associate director of publications and arts and culture editor for Wes, just had his short story “Elevor” published at Solstice, a magazine of diverse voices. The story, which can be found at solsticemag.org/content/elevor concerns a young Asian woman’s adventures in NYC as she deals with claustrophobia.

Doug Hurd, who was a mainstay of the Wesleyan wrestling team, reports that his son Greg ’10 was a Division 3 New England champion wrestler for Wesleyan and went to Nationals twice. Greg is now in a PhD program in geology at the University of Texas in Austin. Doug’s daughter, Allison ’11, is pursuing dance in NYC. Doug, his wife, Cynthia, and family just returned from a trip to Cracow, Poland, and a hiking trip in the Tatra mountains.

Tom Kovar stays in touch with a lot of Wesleyan folks, including many who share his interest in music, including David Harmin and Karen Williams Harmin, Byron Haskins, Mel Blake, Marty Plotkin, Nat Needle, Libby Horn, Cheryl Alpert, BJ Buckley, Jim Fellows, Dan Cantor, and Winifred van Roden ’77. Tom, it is great that you keep in touch with so many of our classmates. Please encourage them to write in to class notes.

Gerry Rau writes that this fall over a dozen international students from various countries, none of whom speak Chinese, showed up at his church in Chiayi, Taiwan, and that the church is starting an English worship service for them. Gerry is coordinating the startup and will be speaking each week.

Mark Rubin attended Parents Day at Wesleyan this past September where Grace ’18, his youngest child, just started her freshman year. Mark’s niece, Lucy Rubin ’17, is also there. Unfortunately, Mark lost both his father and Eric, his younger brother, in the past 18 months.

This summer, Nancy and I had the pleasure of having Bruce Tobey ’75 and his wife, Pat, to our house for dinner. I also heard from Bill Devereaux ’75, who was president of our DKE chapter at Wesleyan. We have daughters at Bryn Mawr and Carleton and have met many interesting parents and alums from those schools. We both stay busy, and I have developed an interesting sideline by serving as an arbitrator and mediator in business disputes. Had an interesting case involving a well-known race car driver recently. During a break, he showed me a video of his 3-year-old driving an off-road four-wheeler solo and real fast through a bumpy field. When I asked him why his kid was not wearing a helmet, he turned to me with the most honest face and wide-eyed look imaginable. “Because his neck’s not strong enough to hold it up,” he said.

Well, we’ve run out of space. How about writing me for the next issue

Mitchell Marinello | mlmarinello@comcast.net

CLASS OF 1975 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Perhaps I’m not middle-aged anymore. Perhaps your trusty class secretary is slipping. The reminder message I thought I’d sent to all looking for news got composed but didn’t actually get sent at all! So watch for a message in your e-mail box soon, and if you send me updates, there will be notes for ’75 in the next issue.

In the meantime, here are the few tidbits I received over the transom: David Leisner sent a little preview of his recently released solo CD for Azica. There’s also a six-minute video that he had fun making on location in Abiquiu, N.M., in the beautiful Plaza Blanca (White Place). The inspired music is the third movement, “Farewell, R. W.,” of Facts of Life by David Del Tredici, whom David calls “one of our best living composers.” (Search for “Farewell, R. W.” on youtube.) Mitch Marinello ’76 may have this story, too, but ’75 comes before ’76 in class notes, so I get to scoop him.

Cathy Gorlin hosted a wonderful gathering of Wes friends at her summer place near the corner where New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut meet. Split between classes, the guest list was Liz Gissen Holder ’76, Ed Papier ’76, and our own Christine McCoy McNeil. She and Cathy reminiscing about Wes days living at Kappa Alpha and a spring ’75 trip to Cathy’s summer place almost 40(!!) years ago.

Speaking of 40, we have another Reunion coming up, so start thinking about making your way back to Wes next spring.

On the creative front, Kate Ballen has a new play that was produced in New York as part of the Fringe Festival in August. No One Asked Me is about undocumented teens living in the U.S., based on true stories of NYC students. Kate should know. She has been a college counselor at a Bronx high school for the past 10 years and has helped dozens of undocumented students navigate the immigration and college process.

Cynthia M. Ulman | cmu.home@cmugroup.com
860 Marin Drive. Mill Valley, CA 94941-3955