Class Notes

’15ers had lots to share this round:

Kate Linde wrote in to say that she is “a bicoastal media mogul who works for Wunderkind, loves a California sunset, but can never resist taking a bite out of the Big Apple.” Kate also had updates on other Wes friends:

Alexa Burzinski is now an international art swindler at Marlborough, with ties to Mexico City and Chelsea, Manhattan. . . . Haley Keyko ’16 just got her learner’s permit . . . for the third time! She won’t drive anything but carbon-efficient vehicles. . . . As a doctor at Mount Sinai, Lauren Nelson has been preventing brain injuries by day and learning to drive ambulances at night. (Thanks for the news, Kate!)

Ming Zhu shared: “I first left Shenzhen for Middletown when I was 18, and after having been abroad (Middletown, Boston, San Francisco, Dubai, and back to Boston) for over a decade, now I’m finally back in Asia. I recently graduated from Harvard Business School with my MBA and have since relocated to Singapore to work at Innosight, a global strategy consulting firm founded by an HBS professor, Clay Christensen, focusing on innovation and growth strategy consulting. The four years I spent at Wes was the most formative period of my life so far, where I built the core of network; and that thought got reinforced once again when I moved to Singapore this June and quickly found myself having dinner and drinks with many of my Wes friends who are also based here, as if no time had passed since many of us last met. I appreciate all the friendships and this tight community, and hope we’ll continue to sustain and nourish it together wherever we might be. If you are routing through Singapore, do drop me a note!”

Jessica Seidman recently relocated to New York City, where she joined Condon & Forsyth LLP as an associate attorney in their aviation litigation practice group. She would love to connect with more Wes folk in the area, so feel free to reach out and say “hi!”

Kate Gibbel started a letterpress postcard operation in March 2022 called Send Me Press (https://sendme.press). She publishes one poem every month as a limited-edition letterpress postcard. Earlier this summer, the project was profiled in The Boston Globe! She first got the idea for Send Me Press while chatting with Virgil B. G. Taylor, James Gibbel ’19, and Alex Kelley ’13 in May 2015. Kate looks forward to seeing many of you at the five Wesleyan weddings she is attending this calendar year.

Trevor Dorn-Wallenstein said, “It’s been an incredibly exciting year for me, so it feels like a good time to send in my first class note. After six or seven long years of graduate school, I’ve successfully defended my PhD thesis in astronomy, and will be moving to Los Angeles to start a postdoctoral position at Carnegie Observatories in September. More importantly, I just got married!”

And Steven Susaña-Castillo reports that he moved to San Francisco in July 2022 and is excited for his new adventure.

Those with class notes, please contact classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

Please send news and updates to your class secretary.

Different types of good news to share this round. On the wedding front, Katherine Mullins let us know that she is marrying Omar Hunter Craighill ’09 in September 2022 in Brooklyn, New York, and looks forward to celebrating with many friends from Wesleyan at the wedding.

New babies have arrived too! Luke Erickson and Hannah Berkman welcomed their first child, Oscar “Ozzy” Lawrence Erickson, in Washington, D.C., in February. Everyone is doing well, and Ozzy is lucky to count several Wes babies among his friends. Also, Matt Hurwit and Angela Allan ’11 had a baby this last May in Berkeley, California. Her name is Margot Allan and she’s just started sleeping through the night (thank goodness!).

In the realm of books and education, Dr. Alex Ketchum (FGSS) published Engage in Public Scholarship!: A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication with Concordia University Press this June! Her second book, Ingredients for Revolution: A History of American Feminist Restaurants, Cafes, and Coffeehouses, will be coming out later this fall, also from Concordia. She started her research on this subject when she was a student at Wesleyan University as part of her senior thesis. Both books are available for order in paperback and will be made available in open access later this year. Kamar Thomas wrote in to say he is a “professor of art at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada.Tula Telfair taught me. I will have a book coming out next January tentatively titled The Artists’ Creative Vision.” And AhDream Smith reported that on May 8, 2022, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a master’s in fine arts for acting and completed a three-year acting residency with PlayMakers Repertory Company. Upon graduation, she attained an agent and management and is excited to be relocating back to New York City this fall.

Others wrote in to share about life in general. Sandy Leung said, “In 2020, I was preparing to take the GRE to apply for business school when an opportunity came to make a career shift into investment management, but then the pandemic hit a month after. Two years and two layoffs later, I’ve finally landed at a growing private equity firm where I hope I’ll be able to grow for a few years, and hopefully find the time to take the GRE and apply to business schools to attend part time. In the meantime, I’ve been hanging out with my cat Koji, a gray-and-white rescue that I adopted last year and eating my way through some of NYC’s best local food.” Sandy also said, “Wes alum sightings this year include catching up with David Barach and Will Miller over dinner and visiting Daisy Chen and Neil Ni’s (’14) store, Yoseka Stationery, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for delightful goods and refills.”

And Abaye Steinmetz-Silber is living in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “I work at a nonprofit called Fifth Avenue Committee, building new affordable housing in NYC, and play music on the side. Was great to see so many people at our 10-year reunion in May!”

Hi Class of 2011,

Hope this finds you all having a wonderful and healthy fall. See exciting updates from our class!

Moon Herrick contributes a group note, “I’m living in Brooklyn, just a few blocks away from Elspeth Kelly, her husband Bruce Pettig ’12, and their dog Roo. Elspeth is a practicing clinical psychologist and extremely active member of Muddy Paws Rescue. Reach out to her if you’re looking for a foster or new furry member of your fam!

“Samantha Pearlman and Ross Shenker are a single subway ride away on the UWS. Sammy is killing it as singer/songwriter, and as a member of the singing group America’s Sweethearts. She continues to act and teach singing lessons in between, and is engaged to be married.

“I commute to D.C. for my new job at the Department of State, where I specialize in forest and climate policy issues. I stay with Liza Conrad, who is working tirelessly for Stacey Abrams, and has recently adopted an adorable dog named Otis. Graham Richman is technically based in D.C., but he’s usually on tour with Bartees Strange, being a literal rock star.” Thanks, Moon!

Further west, Jordana Hoyt and David Markowitz are thriving together in Seattle with their wise and ageless dog Willy. Elise Rosenthal is a practicing ob-gyn based in Dallas, Texas, and, incidentally, is engaged to be married. Lauren Goldstein is in St. Louis with her husband and her adorable son, Herbie—the clan’s beloved first born.

Gus Spelman writes, “After ignoring each other at Wesleyan for three years, flirting in Chicago for three more, and then dating for seven after that, Gus Spelman and Charlotte Cottier ’12 were married this June.” Congrats Gus and Charlotte!

Allegra Heath-Stout ’12 and Laura Heath-Stout “Welcomed our child, River, to the world in November 2021. Their current favorite hobbies include scooting around on their belly, splashing in water, eating watermelon, being bounced up and down, riding in a carrier while a mom hikes, and chomping on various objects with their new teeth.”

Becky Eidelman and Todd Rosenthal ’10 welcome their new baby boy, Felix Rosenthal, on March 25, 2022. Congrats!

As always, thanks for the updates!

Greetings Wesleyan community! I hope you enjoy the following updates from the Class of 2010:

Jeremy Berkowitz reports that he has accepted the position of assistant professor of political science at Prairie View A&M University, a public, Historically Black University located just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. He will be starting his position in the fall 2022 semester. His research is focused on the study of terrorism, intrastate conflict, and political violence. His academic and popular work has recently been published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution and the San Antonio Express-News.

After almost nine years at the Tiffany and Co.’s NYC flagship store on 57th Street, Kathy Leung has found a new home just a few blocks away at David Webb on Madison Avenue. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Kathy for your jewelry needs!

Mary Lauran Hall “recently changed her last name to Hendrix and exacerbated the ‘great Class of 2010 reply-all email snafu of summer 2022.’” She also “recently moved to Somerville, Massachusetts, with her partner and baby and invites fellow alumni in the Boston area to get in touch!”

Jeff Katzin is pleased to announce: “This spring I completed my PhD in art history from the University of Pennsylvania, with a dissertation titled ‘Light and Black Magic: Alvin Langdon Coburn and the Potential of Abstract Photography.’ Over the last few years of my doctoral studies, I also began working at the Akron Art Museum in Ohio—I started as curatorial fellow, and I’ve now worked my way up to associate curator.”

Adina Teibloom and Amit Bob are delighted to welcome their first child, Lior Bob-Teibloom, born March 31, 2022, in Jerusalem. Lior is thrilled to have fellow Wes alum Anna Swartz ’13 as an aunt. “We can’t wait to drop Lior off at Freshman Orientation 2040!”

Thanks as always to those who contributed and, as always, feel free to pass along notes anytime at DavidALayne@gmail.com or dlayne@wesleyan.edu.

Hi everyone! This is Asia Neupane and Ally (Heaney) Lamson—we’re really glad to be your class secretaries! Please send any news and updates (or any other ideas) to us anytime this year so that we can include it in the upcoming newsletters. Asia is based in New Haven and Ally is in Philadelphia. Please definitely let us know if you are in these areas too!

Congratulations to Michael Green for developing Lynit, an outlining tool to assist writers in structuring and developing their novels. Michael also finished writing his first book, The End of Nobility, which he has been working on since the age of 15. The book will be released in early 2023.

Paul J. Edwards writes, “Happy to report that I will be starting as an assistant professor of English and dramatic literature at New York University after two years as an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. As well as my engagement to Rebecca Kastleman, assistant professor of English at Columbia University.”

Eugene Wong was named CFO of Boston-based start-up Hometap.

Michelle Katz writes, “Last fall, my partner Robert DeSimone and I finally tied the knot at the Bronx Zoo. Rachel Berkowitz, Nina Cohodes, and Joseph Melendez ’07 were all in the wedding party, and many Wes alumni, ranging from the classes of ’92 to ’10 (with heavy ’09 representation, of course) were in attendance. And, after more than a decade in Brooklyn, we’ve moved to Philadelphia, as I am starting rabbinical school this fall. Would love to grab coffee with any other Wes Philly folks!”

One of those Philly folks is Ally (Heaney) Lamson who is working as an insurance broker for Gallagher, raising three Spanish-speaking daughters, and occasionally playing beach volleyball.

Oriana Korol has been “working as a nature-based therapist for over a year in Canby, Oregon, at the Center at Heron Hill” and was expecting her first child in August!

On August 21, 2021, Ryan Walsh married his wife Kristen at Valley View Farm in Haydenville, Massachusetts. Several Wesleyan hockey alums were there to celebrate, including: J. J. Evans, Bryan Wieland, Scott Burns, John Wierzba, Mike Dorsey ’08, and Michael Ruderman ’11.

After becoming an author in 2019, Kat Cho hit The New York Times bestsellers list this summer with her third published young adult book, Once Upon a K-Prom (Disney Books).

Lynn Favin is back in NYC after starring in an Equity show with CVRep in Palm Springs, California (January–February 2022). Her performance in Life x 3 was hailed by critics: “Lynn Favin’s ‘Sonia’ is a tigress—a no-nonsense mother, polished professional and a flirt, she is no one to mess with”; and landed her full representation with Buchwald, Eris Talent, and Entertainment Lab. She recorded her 17th character on the Emmy Award–winning animated show Robot Chicken this year and received top billing along with Seth Green and Bob Bergen in Season 11, episode 4. She looks forward to more bookings around the country and creative collaborations with fellow Wes alums.  For more news, visit www.lynnfavin.com.

Greetings classmates! Megan here. Victoria and I have a few updates to share. First, we’d like to give our thanks to the class of 2007’s reunion committee. We really appreciate the time and effort they put into our 15th Reunion! Thank you to: Eric Altneu, Liam McAlpine, Estrella Lopez, Tory Masterson, Nishita Roy, Eugene Dayanghirang, Melissa Miller, and Samantha Kantor.

On the career front, we have quite a few exciting updates. Jessica Necheles says, “I moved to Guam last year and it would be fun to know if there are other alumni out in this part of the world. I’m working as an RN at a hospital here, and scuba diving and hiking in my free time.” If you’re in or around Guam, give Jessica a shout!

Jesse Nasta reports that he is starting his sixth year of teaching in Wesleyan’s African American Studies Department. He also became executive director of the Middlesex County Historical Society in Middletown in 2020, hired via Zoom during the pandemic. Jesse says, “I am always happy to hear from classmates who are visiting campus!”

Matt Donne has been moving and shaking as well. He says, “I’m psyched about a new role I just took. I recently joined a new clinical trial start-up called Vial as a senior business development director.”

Jessica Mack has also accepted a new position. She reports, “Starting this fall I’ll be an assistant professor of history at Rowan University!” She continues, “I’ll be teaching digital history and Latin American history and launching a new center for digital humanities at Rowan. Happy to be staying in the Philadelphia area.”

And finally, Cynthia Santiago recently announced her 10-year lawyer/law firm anniversary! She says, “I’ve been assisting people in immigration cases nationwide through our legal pop-ups, hosting a national TV show, and direct representation. By my side is my husband and three beautiful kids Nico (8), Galilee (4), and Bethany (2).”

As always, we’d love to hear about what you’ve been up to! Please send any professional or personal updates to megan.kretz@gmail.com or victoriapinsky@gmail.com.

Those with class notes, please contact: 

Class Notes Editor

classnotes@wesleyan.edu