Class Notes

Ann Goebel-Fabbri learned that not all too-good-to-be-true invitations are spam. After daring to hit “reply,” it turned out to really be an invitation to join a team of international experts informing an Inquiry from the UK Parliament, including former prime minister Theresa May. The Inquiry sought information on treatment recommendations for eating disorders in Type 1 Diabetes, Ann’s area of expertise.

Ann and Bill Fabbri’s daughter Kate “is enjoying her first year at Oberlin along with so many Wesleyan alumni kids that we’re no longer sure if Oberlin is the Wesleyan of Ohio or if Wesleyan is the Oberlin of Connecticut.”

Three of Ann and Bill’s Intown 21 housemates have kids at Wesleyan: Debbie (Skolnik) Rosenberg’s son Evan ’26; Achilles (Kiley) Papavasiliou’s two daughters, Phoebe ’26 and Alexis ’24; and Marni (Beck) Pedorella’s son Charlie ’24. Marni’s daughter Ava attends Northeastern and Ava hangs out with Bill and Ann to help their adjustment to empty-nest life.

Carrie Mosher Gadaleta’s daughter Shelby ’24, a junior at Wesleyan, lives in Low Rise and plays for Vicious Circles. Carrie tailgated at Homecoming 2022 and reports the students are incredibly impressive and experienced “a proud moment at alma mater.” Also at the tailgate: Joe Dalton and Cecilia Pohorille McCall.

Carrie works in commercial real estate for JLL in the New York tristate and greater Philadelphia regions. Carrie is Wesleyan’s regional representative for Westchester County, New York, and plans to host a summer event for incoming frosh.

Speaking of Cecilia, as director of Alumni and Parent Engagement at Wesleyan, she provides guidance to a group of alum including Scott Moore, Lexy Funk, Kiff Gallagher, and Pradeep Khurana on a project called WeSpark!, shining light on innovation and entrepreneurship and connecting the Wesleyan community.

Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky produced and directed a docuseries for ESPN+ called Bananaland, which follows the Savannah Bananas minor league stunt baseball team on their 2022 seven-city “World Tour.” The Bananas look like a cross between regular baseball, pro wrestling, and a circus. The New York Times said, “This five-part series . . .  is a ton of fun; the show moves between tryouts and front-office goings on, and everything has a festive, behind-the-scenes-at-the-circus air.”

Look for Laura Belgray’s first book, Tough Titties, on bookshelves in mid-June. Published by Hachette, it’s a true late bloomer, coming-of-age story set in NYC, complete with social humiliations, dating disasters, and work and adulting fails. Or, as her husband calls it, “Loser Sex and the City.” She promises “there’s a little Wes in it.”

Dan Mackta has been the managing director of Qobuz, the French high-quality music service, for five years. Dan, along with Jerry Reid and Dan Krainin, celebrated at Henry Turner’s wedding in western Massachusetts in autumn 2022.

After 30 years in D.C., Jamie Treworgy returned to Maine life, moving to Harpswell in 2021. Maria Snyder got the Maine memo, too, relocating to Portland after leaving a tenured academic position in the Midwest. She works as a freelance editor and translator and is also the member of an immigration legal services team, helping refugees and new immigrants. Maria ran into her former Russian House housemate Stefanie Trice Gill ’92 at a dance party, “where else?”

James Marohn lives in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, and is in his 30th year teaching elementary school kids in an after-school program in Newton. James hosts trivia events in the Boston area, and you can see him in person at the Corrib in West Roxbury. James used to see Michael “the Quizmaster” Lourie frequently, until Michael’s move to Florida. It was awesome to see Caroline Perez when she came to Boston for the Laver Cup in 2021!

Have you seen the international tour of West Side Story? Kate Huston Lambert’s son Ashton Lambert is part of the company through spring 2024, traveling throughout Europe and to several cities in Asia.

Tasos Theodorou writes from Dallas about an online reunion with the cast, crew, and musicians of Working, the musical put on by his frosh RA David Milch ’89. It was a great catch up and the first time they all got to watch the performance together!

Risa (Lasher) May celebrates 25 years of marriage to Brad and the 20th anniversary of their childcare center business in the D.C. area. As one of our dedicated class agents, Risa loves making and maintaining connections with classmates, to which I can certainly relate!

Alys Campaigne now leads climate initiatives for the Southern Environmental Law Center. The change finds her reconnecting with fellow SISP classmate Kevin Greiner. Alys finds herself on the Wesleyan campus to visit her daughter, Livesey ’24 (as well as visits to Haverford to see her son). While in Middletown she’s seen Silvia (Maleville) Molina and Tony Maxwell ’90.

To close, I’ll take this line from Alys’s message to me: “Every year that goes by reaffirms for me what we all know—Wesleyan’s best attribute is its exceptional and loyal alum.”

Ted Bardacke just completed his fifth year as CEO of Clean Power Alliance, the nation’s largest provider of 100% renewable energy, with over 1 million customers in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Ted recently “spent an evening in LA with my thrice-Wes roommate Robert Featherstone ’89, who is shooting a documentary on the history of Ultimate. And still always find time to visit a few times a year with fellow SoCal Wes grads David Igler ’88 and Cynthia Willard ’88, with whom we are currently commiserating about the (hellish, for the parents) college application process for our four boys around the same age.”

Speaking of the college application process, I loved being back on campus last September with my youngest child, high school junior Camryn. Camryn and I toured campus and attended the information session, but the highlight of our visit was meeting up with Sarah Ellenzweig’s oldest son Charlie ’25, who is currently loving his sophomore year at Wes.

Finally, we were saddened to learn of the passing of our classmate Laurie Harrison. As written by Marc McKayle ’88, Laurie was “brilliant, charismatic, funny and authentic.” We extend sincere condolences to Laurie’s friends and family.

Wishing all of you health and happiness this summer.

Please write to your class secretaries. 

Hillary writes for this issue.

Alisa Newman reports that her daughter fell in love with Wes after being convinced to take a tour, and she’ll be joining the first-year class this fall.

Steve Almond writes, “I’m living outside Boston, teaching creative writing at Wes, and excited that the paperback of my novel, All the Secrets of the World, will come out in spring 2023. Twentieth Century Fox has optioned the book for TV, and they’ve made another novel of mine, Which Brings Me to You, into a movie starring Lucy Hale.”

Rich Silverman has retired from the entertainment industry and is working as a real estate agent for Corcoran in NYC, which he’s finding fun and rewarding. “I’ve closed purchase, sale, and rental deals all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens and I seem to be a strong contender for rookie of the year.” In his free time, Rich loves discovering new restaurants and also enjoys attending book discussions. “Most recently, I listened to Wes alum, Andrew Meier ’85, discuss his new book, Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty; Andrew was kind enough to sign my copy at the event. I had a wonderful time this past September at the annual Wesleyan football event hosted by Dave Thomas ’77, and it was gratifying to see the team perform so well. I’d love to connect with any Wes alums in NYC. I’ll always make time for a coffee meetup or a drink. My phone is (310) 413–6654 and my email is Rich.Silverman@Corcoran.com.”

Julie Lenner launched her own consultancy last year after 25-plus years in senior leadership roles in the nonprofit sector, including cofounding All Stars Project of Chicago. She’s happy to discover that helping multiple organizations simultaneously is just as gratifying as working to further one organization’s mission.

Paul Lewis reports, “After four years of work, my new book was just published, Manual of Biogenic House Sections (ORO Editions, 2022), which argues for how plant and earth-based materials can be a catalyst for a reinvention of how we build, by sequester carbon, engage regenerative life cycles, and create healthier spaces for living. It’s a follow-up to the book I wrote with my two partners in 2016, Manual of Section, which has now been translated into seven languages and is frequently found dog-eared on students and architects’ desks. We produced an exhibit about the new book and the problem of carbon released in the making of building materials, which has traveled from Princeton to the AIA NY Center for Architecture and is now at UVA, with many other venues planned for the coming year. I continue to teach at Princeton School of Architecture, and my firm LTL Architects recently completed a new residence hall at Carnegie Mellon University.”

Finally, after working at the Museum of the Moving Image for 34 years—the last 12 of which he served as executive director—Carl Goodman is now president and chief executive of the Florida Holocaust Museum.

Stay well and keep sending us your news!

Hello classmates! When I sent out an urgent request for notes because I lost the deadline in my inbox, you over delivered! Maybe this is a new strategy.

Gennifer Weisenfeld’s new book is Gas Mask Nation: Visualizing Civil Air Defense in Wartime Japan. She is the Walter H. Annenberg Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History at Duke. Her husband, Derek Jones, a principal at the architecture firm Perkins+Will, won an North Carolina AIA award for his library design.

Grattan Baldwin and his wife Cristina welcomed a baby girl, Maria Luce Frederica Baldwin, in March. Luce is strong and healthy, and her parents need sleep.

Hemanshu Nigam runs a new group at Venable LLP, an American Lawyer Global 100 firm in D.C. Venable Blue is a legal and consulting service that helps clients protect their reputation and manage risk online.

Did you see Daniel Rauch quoted in places like CNN, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal? Dan advocates for pediatric inpatient care nationally, bringing attention to the decades-long reduction in pediatric hospital beds, especially in rural and underserved communities.

Sebastian Bennett’s novel Seasons of Yen, based on his experiences in Japanese advertising, was published in 2021, and his story collection, A Taste of Heaven, hit shelves in 2022. Sebastian gave ChatGPt the same 1983 challenge West College gave us: Why is a mouse when it’s spinning? Sebastian suggested it was a trick question that required a creative answer, and the AI engine returned, “The answer to this classic riddle is: The mouse is spinning because it wants to turn into a rat-tat-tat!”

Simon Connor runs a psychotherapy group practice in Seattle, hangs out with his eight-year-old daughter Gemma, and plays in a rock band with David Goldberg, Louie Hallie (son of late philosophy professor Philip Hallie), and Josh Cohen (nephew of late psychology professor Jeremy Zwelling).

Dr. Leslie Cannold lives in Melbourne, Australia, writing a column in Crikey often focused on learnings from the U.S.’s fragile democracy. She joined the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership as Head of Programs, working with Australia’s most senior public and private sector leaders.

Kim Wishart teaches anatomy and somatics to university dance students in Victoria, Australia. This brings her back to 1983, when she took Susan Lourie’s class at Pine Street studio. That class set her on a path of exploring and teaching movement through experiential learning, along with the general Wesleyan encouragement to experiment, create, and improvise. Skills for life!

Josh Bellin’s 2023 novel, Myriad, is a sci-fi thriller about a time-traveling law enforcement agent who goes back in time to stop crimes that have already been committed. This is his “adult” debut since he has published mostly young adult novels, but Josh says it is only for an older audience and not too salacious

John Dorsey’s younger child’s current housing lottery experiences remind him of the 1986 housing lottery. The group negotiations based on the size of the space; the thrill of getting a high number and perusing the offerings! John wound up in 2 and 4 Knowles Avenue, a house that no longer exists, on a street that has disappeared, with people who would continue to be part of his life—David Igler ’88, David Josephs, Holly Campbell Ambler, Sue Romeo Malestein, and Doug Koplow.

Lisa Pavlovsky works for a nonprofit called 10,000 Degrees, placing volunteer tutors in our country’s schools with the most need. She reports that Ron Fortgang continues to work in the field of negotiation; Elissa Wolf-Tinsman teaches at Colorado Academy; and Vivian Trakinski works at NYC’s Museum of Natural History, developing digital experiences. The museum’s newest wing includes a large-scale immersive venue called Invisible Worlds that Vivian’s been working on since Trump was elected president!

From London, Liz Rabineau says tourists are definitely back. She is a busy yet unofficial concierge service, greeting traveling family and friends. Liz enjoys the visits from President Roth ’78, who was hosted by 1987’s own Ian Rosen (also P’23) and his wife Sagra Maceria de Rosen in their Westminster home.

Shortly after the underwater volcano that sent a tsunami toward the island Kingdom of Tonga, Joe Crivelli linked up with friends Giulio Masasso Tu’ikolongahau Paunga  and Jon Hare, Zooming between Suva, Fiji, where Giulio was serving at the University of the South Pacific, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to catch Jon who is the Science and Research Director, Northeastern Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, and Vicenza, Italy, where Joe lives. They also connected Giulio to Jim Flynn (not the same Jim from our class of ’87) at Woods Hole where their researchers are doing important work in that region of the Pacific Ocean.

Josh Calder was featured in a Romper article called “What Our Kids Lives Might Look Like According to Futurists.” He told Molly Langmuir ’03, a fellow Wesleyan alum, that there are many positive paths forward, all enabled by not despairing. Google the article!

Thanks for the fast turnaround! Till next time.

Lots of work and life news from ’86ers:

Scott Michaud: “I have left my position as senior speechwriter to the director of National Intelligence, and I am now the senior speechwriter for the chief space officer, who serves as the director of the recently established U.S. Space Force. This is an exciting opportunity for me to help shape the culture and vision for this newest branch of the U.S. military. Semper Supra!”

Kate Nunn Mini said: “I have recently taken a job at Yale Health Pediatrics. In addition to providing primary care, I am working on several initiatives to address the pediatric mental health-care crisis. I was lucky to be able to see my son playing baseball on our field (sorry guys, he played for Williams). Feeling grateful for whatever chapter this is in my life.“

Ethan Knowlden contributed: “February 28, 2023, was my last day of employment; March 1 was my first day of retirement. I am choosing a little less work and a lot more life, perhaps a little earlier than most.  Twenty-plus years as a lawyer in pharma—the last five for a nonprofit—affords me this option and for that I am grateful. I won’t stop trying to help others, though; for some reason, I think helping to address homelessness in Arizona (where Leanne and I now reside) is my next challenge.”

Josh Pollock: “So life in Ann Arbor is good. I’m semiretired from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, which has given me the time I want to spend with my folks as they move on through their stages. It has even allowed me to get back into the book business (Schulers) where I spent 20-plus years (Ned’s, Shakespeare & Co., The Academy, Borders—about 16 years—and Nicola’s). I’m in sporadic touch with some old Wes friends who are dealing with their own transitional issues, and love hearing from [them] with every email or postcard. If folks are in the area (most likely kids applying or coming to U of Michigan), feel free to reach out.”

Coleman Bazelon shared that in early February he “coauthored a report, ‘Quantification of Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery,’ for the American Society of International Law’s Second Symposium on Reparations under International Law. I collaborated with my partner at The Brattle Group, Alexis Maniatis ’87.”

Erika Levy is still enjoying being professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also enjoying her daughter Maya’s (’26) enjoyment of being frosh at Wesleyan—living in a dorm that didn’t even exist in the ’80s. Erika’s son is working hard as a high school junior. Erika just finished assisting with a fulfilling training of cleft palate speech practitioners and individuals with cleft palate in Mexico. She would love to hear from her Wesleyan classmates.

Tavy Ronen is still living in New York City and teaching at Rutgers University as a professor of finance. She also acts as an expert witness for securities class-action suits.

Hal Ginsberg: “I have returned to broadcasting. After nearly four years as national coordinator at Our Revolution, I resigned effective January 1 in order to build and develop my YouTube channel, Halitics.

“Recently, I have been enjoying virtual visits with Sandy Goldstein, Rick Davidman ’84, Bill Houston ’87, and Steve Shackman ’87. Truly, there are no friends like old friends.

“My family is doing well. My wife Mindy Burke is now into her third decade as a teacher in the Montgomery County Public Schools system. Michael (Georgetown 2020) is a congressional reporter. William (Maryland 2022), like his mother, is teaching in MCPS.”

Bennett Schneider shared: “I’m still a nun, going on 28 years with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Southern Illinois University brought me to their campus to perform and teach a workshop in October 2022. Nathan Gebert ’85 visited on his way from Japan to New York. Currently rehearsing another music educational show for schoolchildren with the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles.”

Mike Sealander: “My news is that I started to relearn Japanese after my daughter decided to take it in college. We went to Japan last fall, and it was lovely being able to speak, if a little haltingly. I’m thinking about taking the JLPT N3 test in Japan this December.“

Tierney Sutton wrote: “This year I released my 13th album as leader, Paris Sessions 2. The album features guitarist (and my husband), Serge Merlaud, bassist Kevin Axt, and NEA jazz master, flautist Hubert Laws. Another project released this year was Chris Walden’s Missa Lubileum Aureum featuring me and Kurt Elling. The project is the first ever Catholic Latin Jazz Mass and features an all-star big band, choir, organ as well as Kurt and me as soloists. It’s glorious music and was in celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary of Ted and Laddie Hall.

“My touring and teaching schedule has picked up quite a bit postpandemic, and I’ve been touring all over the U.S. as well as in Europe and Colombia. In addition to teaching and producing private students, I’m currently on the faculty of The Didier Lockwood School in Paris, France. Since my marriage in 2019, I have split my time between Paris and Los Angeles.”

Ayelet Waldman wrote: “Exciting news on my end this time! My daughter, Sophie Chabon ’17 got married in September to Michael Massone ’14. It was a wonderful wedding in Maine, with lots of Wes friends and family.”

Hello, ’85ers! I had the good fortune to visit campus at the end of January to take part in a very fun mentoring workshop with current women athletes. The more Wes changes, the more it stays the same. I’ve reached that stage of my life where I visit places and say, “That used to be . . . .”  I found myself repeatedly noting, “That used to be a package store!,” which I thought was pretty funny.

I heard from Tim Clark that he, Larry Attia, and Steve Pace ’84 have continued their now 38-year-old tradition of watching a Mets road series together each year. “This year we will be traveling to Camden Yards for a Mets-Orioles set. We also upped the boys of summer ante a bit during the pandemic, with a weekly call on all things Mets and life (quite amazing how some codgers can talk about baseball passionately for an hour even in the off-season during the dead of winter). Two other happy items to report: my daughter Kyra ’23 will be graduating from Wes this coming spring; and I ran my first marathon in the fall (Marine Corp with a sub-4 finish).”

Stephen Schwartz writes that he returned last year to the U.S. after living and working overseas in Asia since 2004. He moved to Indonesia in 2004 as the IMF’s senior representative in Indonesia. In 2008 he left the IMF and moved to Hong Kong where he worked in a variety of banking and economics research positions, most recently with Fitch Ratings. Stephen now lives with his partner Jennifer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where he has been enjoying hiking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. He enjoys the relative peace and quiet after many years of living in the hustle and bustle of Asian cities.

Ellen Campbell is also planning a move to New England: “After a little more than 20 years in Tucson, my husband and I are putting our house on the market and ‘downsizing’ to Vermont. For the past few summers, we’ve been fixing up an old house adjacent to where I grew up . . . it will be our home base moving forward. It’s bittersweet leaving the Desert Southwest, such a lovely place! But new adventures lie ahead. I’ll have lots of barn space for a ceramic/painting studio in Vermont, and will continue teaching yoga classes in person and on Zoom. Winters? We may escape the Northeast (I’m a wimp!) . . . to be continued! Wishing everyone the best as we are so fortunate to be embarking on a new and exciting decade. How did that happen?!!” You can see some of Ellen’s work at www.ellencampbellart.com.

And, finally, it wouldn’t be the class notes without a cryptic yet lyrical note from Christopher Kylin: “Still conspiring to overawe reality with subtle genius and struggling against the bindings of inertia and ennui. In two years, I’ll be celebrated or dead.”

Let us all hope for the former rather than the latter. Take care, my friends, and keep in touch.

Hello again, Classmates. Let me share some updates from our far-flung WesFriends.

Dana Sachs has a new book coming out this year (All Else Failed: The Unlikely Volunteers at the Heart of the Migrant Aid Crisis, published by Bellevue Literary Press).    Much of her research was done while working with Humanity Now, visiting relief teams in Greece. (Her editor Erika Goldman ’81 also went to Wesleyan). Her travels have allowed her to cross paths with a number of friends, and she hopes to make it to reunion next year.

In other book news, Parul Kapur Hinzen will publish her novel Inside the Mirror, about twin sisters who aspire to become artists in 1950s India, to be published by University of Nebraska Press in early 2024. She won the 2022 AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Prize, judged by Brandon Hobson. The novel touches on the art of Bharata Natyam, whom Parul studied at Wesleyan. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and son, after having spent a few years in Wallingford, Connecticut, among horses and old apple orchards.

Susie Kang Sharpe follows up on her November notes with an update that she has recently been accepted as a TEDx speaker and will deliver her speech at the University of Washington (Seattle) in April 2023 (which will already have occurred by the time you receive this).

Sally Bromage Suhr had a lot of news for us last time and wrote in again to report on her minireunion luncheon with Tammy Kahn and Liz Engelberg on a recent NYC trip.    She did not provide a picture, assuring us that the three of them are unchanged from their Wesleyan days.

Michael (Misi) Polgar provides more detail on his Open Educational Resource (OER) on the Holocaust, which we first heard about last August. It is associated with the Sh’ma Project and is free online at https://psu.pb.unizin.org/holocaust3rs/.

It is my sad duty to report the death of our classmate, Christopher Romeo, who passed on March 8. We learned of this from his sister, Susan Romeo Malestein ’87. His obituary at dignitymemorial.com speaks of his time at Wesleyan and the New England School of Law; of his love of fishing, trivia, and the Red Sox; and of his distinguished community service career on the Board of Selectmen and Board of Tax Assessors in Westford, Massachusetts.

I have some personal news of some import. My son Garrick having waited, with great frustration, through the pandemic for a chance to get his life started, has finally spread his wings. I am thrilled that he is now in Taiwan (Taoyuan City) teaching English. Mostly we get pictures of what he is eating.

Finally, I will say again how much I have enjoyed being class secretary for the last 10 years but will welcome a volunteer for the passing of the baton. If interested in details, email me at the usual place.

Until next time,

Michael

Greetings!

Thank you for the memories. Space is limited so I’ve edited a bit. I suppose if I asked all to share their memories, I ought to participate, too. Let’s see . . . happiest memories were hanging in the kitchen with my housemates at 77 Home Avenue, drinking horribly bad cheap wine (ladies, sending hugs) and singing with my freshman roommate at the top of our lungs in Foss 10. (Kitty, do you remember which songs?) Favorite class was Susan Foster’s modern dance, sophomore year. I remember morphing in and out of tableaus with my fellow dancers as if we were one spirit; it was electrifying. In memoriam, I salute sociology professors O’Gorman and Hyman. They are two kind souls who set me on my path—albeit with a short stint in business first. On the Shoulders of Giants, we follow. I bow to them in gratitude.

Tim Brockett reminisces: “The opportunity to connect with professors who were older, wiser, and in positions of power. It was my good fortune to enroll in a geology class taught by Professor Jelle de Boer one fall semester a long time ago. Professor de Boer was brilliant, articulate, knowledgeable, and tremendously caring toward his students. At his suggestion I traveled at my own expense to Costa Rica to work with a graduate student, Larry Lew, for a few weeks. We mapped the bedrock geology of a dense coastal jungle just south of the warring Nicaraguan border. We lived on the beach like Robinson Crusoe . . . . Another gray-haired professor invited me to a party at his home. I brought a lovely date and we danced with other Wesleyan students in his second-floor bachelor apartment. One young student I vaguely knew remained; she sat on the edge of his bed and appeared sad and a little frightened. I wanted to take her with me but she sat steadfast, almost frozen in place. Those were my happiest and most painful Wesleyan experiences.”

Paul Halliday gives a shout-out to a few of the many faculty who had a lasting effect on him including, Vera Schwartz (Modern Chinese Intellectual History) who, “in our first meeting, asked us to think of ourselves as intellectuals—lightning strike”; Richie Adelstein, Brian Fay, and Don Moon (three years of CSS colloquia) who, “modeled how thinking hard could be loads of fun; the ideas they shared remain fundamental to how I think about many things”; Roger Solie (orchestra conductor and chamber music mentor) who, “always conveyed the joy of music, and showed how that joy grows the more you work at it”; and Peter Kilby (Intro Econ) who touted, “Why take economics? You’ll always read the newspaper with a more critical eye.” Paul hears his voice every time he encounters poorly reported or badly misrepresented data, which is all too often.

Karyn Ellis shared a few memories and a bit of decadence: The primal scream after Reagan was elected (“Wow, did people let loose”); wandering the Olin stacks in an altered state and every book “we pulled off the shelves had incredibly deep meaning”; and the famed Taylor Estate parties for which our class is legend.

Mark Kushner remembers the “Come as You Aren’t” parties at Taylor Estate; co-op cooking with Ben Binswanger, Dave Loo, Steve Maslow, and others; dating the now long-married Aileen Mix; the 40 Plays in 40 Days modern drama class; and spring break in Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head with the tennis team.

Pivoting next to classmate news: Jeffrey Shear was promoted to first deputy commissioner at the New York City Department of Finance. Megan Norris writes “Professionally, my long-planned attempt at early retirement failed, and now I find myself as CEO of Michigan’s oldest law firm. A little surprising to my family, since I did not own a suit.” Her daughter, Taylor Matthew ’17, “is an incredibly independent kid who decided to live five blocks from us in Detroit. Though it won’t last forever, I am enjoying it while I can.” Megan adds she wishes AARP would quit sending things!

Roger Blissett is “excited to share that on May 9, 2023, I will be honored at the 25th Anniversary Gala for ExpandED Schools, a New York City based nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all young people in New York City have access to enriching afterschool programs.” A link to the gala is here: Events – ExpandEd Schools.

On a sad note, we recently received notice our classmate Dunbar Gram passed away last August. His obituary can be read at gainesville.com/obituaries/pgai0294414.

Hope to see you at the 40th!