Class Notes

Hello, classmates, and welcome to 2025. As one of this month’s correspondents signed off, “Hold onto your hats.”

David Boyd Booker left French bank Credit Agricole CIB after 15 years to take the position of head of legal and compliance at CastleOak Securities, a New York–based broker-dealer and boutique investment bank. He still lives in Manhattan (on the Upper East Side) with his wife, Lisa, and son, Conrad (currently a frosh at Northwestern; no, he did not consider Wes).    

Robert Leland is still that “crazy Californian dude you met back in 1980.” His life has taken him everywhere else, even spending five years in China, but in 2000 he ended back in his hometown with his wife. His two children are finished with college, and Robert is considering Europe for retirement. He has enjoyed being an independent financial planner much more than the 20 years he spent doing it with a corporate firm. You can look up Robert in San Francisco.

Murrey Nelson is enjoying retirement and doing lots of volunteer work. She wrote to tell us about her travels to the East Coast in October. She met up with Maureen McSherry ’87 for lunch and a stroll on the High Line in NYC, and with her old friend, Lea Barth, whose youngest just graduated from college. In Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, she and a high school friend met up with Robert Smythe ’82 and Susan (Dinsmore) Smythe ’82 at Robert’s “phenomenal” bakery, Pastry Pants. Robert and Murrey knew each other in high school. Robert, you may remember, started Mum Puppet Theatre at Wes, and he branched out locally into acting before starting the bakery during the pandemic.

Murrey also visited last year (in May) with Stephanie Grant, her NYC roommate following graduation. Stephanie continues to write and teach, while also launching her twin daughters into adulthood.

David Knudsen was issued two patents last fall as part of the intellectual property created at his company, Everything Set. He thanks the firm academic foundation he got at Wesleyan for his success. David’s company focuses on cybersecurity, especially in terms of “smart” home devices. If you’d like to read more about David’s patents, you can find more information on the U.S. Patent Office site: https://www.uspto.gov/. The patent numbers are US-12149543-B1 and US-12081518-B1.

Stephanie Fleischmann continues a successful career as an opera librettist and has several premieres and workshops coming up: In a Grove, music by Christopher Cerrone, will be done at the Prototype Festival at La Mama; The Pigeon Keeper (music by David Hanlon) will be in San Francisco at the Opera Paralèllle in March; Remedios Varios, with music by Carlos Carrillo, will be in concert at Chicago Opera Theater in April; and Claude and Marcel, with music by Alyssa Weinberg and commissioned by West Edge Opera, receives its first workshop in the fall.

Please write to your class secretary.

Dear classmates,

I hope despite everything happening in the world, you all are well and it’ll be a productive and happy year for you and your families.

Carlos Hoyt has just published Diversity Without Divisiveness (Routledge), which he says was written in the spirit of Toni Morrison’s encouragement, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” He has been doing DEI since long before it came to be called “DEI” and says, “I lament that we’ve been bamboozled into a false conflict between those who are pro-DEI and those who are anti-DEI. The truth is that no one is anti-DEI. It’s impossible to be anti-DEI because DEI dynamics are part and parcel of human interaction. DEI is in our DNA, DEI is as elemental as H₂0, DEI is as American as apple pie, and all of us are DEI practitioners.”

I’m looking forward to reading his much-needed book, which he says, is “an attempt to provide this corrective understanding of what DEI is, what’s really in play, answering serious questions about DEI practice, and demonstrating what effective DEI practice can look like.” Congratulations, Carlos!

My old Clark Hall floormate Bruce Mayer writes that he and his wife, Rita, are looking forward to retirement. Bruce has been working for 25 years as a professor at UConn Health (not far from Middletown!) and the second edition of his textbook on cell signaling just came out, so he’s leaving on a productive note. I was sorry to hear that his retirement plans took a difficult turn when their adult son was hit by a car while he was walking in Colorado, where he was living, resulting in serious brain injury. After months in intensive care and a neuro rehab hospital, he is at home with his parents. Wishing Bruce’s son, Pete, the best recovery possible.

Another Bruce on Clark Hall, Bruce Charendoff, writes with very sad news:

“Our classmate and friend, Sheri Lesser Samotin, died suddenly and unexpectedly on January 28, just 10 months after moving from Los Angeles to New York City to live closer to family, including her two sons, Sacha and Noah. At 64, Sheri was looking forward to starting the next chapter of her life, including retirement from the company she founded that has helped several thousand seniors and their families manage the complexities that often come with the slow and steady process of getting older. Her former Wesleyan RA, Amy Rabinowitz ’80, beautifully eulogized Sheri and her strong morals and values and said that from the moment she welcomed Sheri to Wesleyan, she knew they would be lifelong friends.

“I fondly remember my dear friend’s generous spirit as well as her warmth, wit, and drive—Sheri was a force of nature who intuitively knew how to get stuff done. I am shaken by her untimely loss, and I know our classmates will join me in celebrating the blessing of her memory and holding those we love a little tighter.”

Joanne Godin Audretsch ’81 reports that her friend Michael Lucey is still teaching at Berkeley and recently attended a celebration in honor of Professor Henry Abelove’s 80th birthday—“a lovely tribute to a beloved professor who gave so much to his students through his many years at Wesleyan.”

Alex Thomson writes that his tradition of gathering with his old pals continued this year at his home in Scituate, Massachusetts, as it has every year since graduation, with Jack Taylor, Stephen Daniel, John Mooney, Peter Frisch, Kevin Foley, Dan Hillman, and Bruce Crain.

John Robinson has been busy producing shows here and in Europe: Paul Budraitis’ I Love That for You opened in Berlin a few months back and then toured the U.S. The next season of The Uncertain Detective, a fun detective/comedy/noir about a dysfunctional artistic family that runs a detective agency on the side, is now available on YouTube. And Sweetheart Deal, a hard-hitting documentary about sex workers, has just been nominated for best documentary by the INDIE awards. He’ll also be at NYC’s the EstroGenius Festivalin May. 

I saw my co-secretary Michael Ostacher and his wife, Laurie, at my husband’s, Peter Eckart ’84, and my annual Penultimate Party, where Marc Mowrey ’83 showed up in a snazzy jacket and Jonathan Weber took a break from writing a new book . . . about which, more later. Good to stay in touch with my old friends.

A book I co-authored with scientist and MacArthur “genius” Saul Griffith, PhD is due out in Australia in a couple months. Called Plug In!, it makes the case for electrifying everything the next time a fossil-fueled appliance in your life needs to be replaced—to save money and fight climate change. I love my induction stove, and my next car, as my bumper sticker says, will be electric.

Brenda Zlamany continues to impress with her creativity and talent. She recently completed her fourth major commission for Yale University, a portrait of retiring Davenport College head John Witt. Brenda writes, “I’m also thrilled to have several pieces included in Surprises Unknown: The Art of the Wrapping, an exhibition running from February 8 to May 3, 2025, at the Lehman College Art Gallery in the Bronx. The exhibition explores the aesthetics and symbolism of wrapped objects.”

In May, Brenda travels to Newfoundland, for an artist’s residency project she curated titled Reunion: Friendship, Inspiration, and Landscape in Pouch Cove, which will include an exhibition. Later in the year, she will be at Tusen Takk in Michigan during the cherry harvest, painting portraits of cherry pickers as part of her ongoing project, Itinernant Portraitist: Climate in America.

 “I am taking a personal leap by purchasing a house in my ancestral village in Calabria. This mountain will serve as a creative escape and connection to my roots.” We wish her all the best in this next phase of her exciting and accomplished artistic career!

Ellen McHale (parent of Ben McKeeby, MA ’17) checked in from the Capital District Region of New York State, where she has been the executive director of New York Folklore since 1999. “I am entering my 26th year at this cultural nonprofit group that works collaboratively with folk and traditional artists and organizations to bring regenerative practices to bear in order to support the maintenance, cultivation, and nurturing of the diverse cultural heritages found in New York State, including its Indigenous communities. More information available at www.nyfolklore.org.

Ellen was honored this year as a “fellow” of the American Folklore Society for her outstanding contributions to the field. Ellen muses: “I found ‘folklore’ through Wesleyan—through my studies with Mark Slobin in the music department and through a class on folklore and literature. I continue to interact with fellow Wesleyan alumni who are my folklore colleagues, including Maggie Holtzberg ’79, Aaron Paige ’03, MA ’09, Karen Park Canning MA ’91, Andrew Colwell MA ’11, PhD ’18, Jim Kimball MA ’74, John Suter ’67, and many more Wesleyan alumni with whom I share a unique bond.”

Delcy Ziac Fox retired, and she and husband Bill have moved to the Cape full time. Delcy volunteers for the Center for Coastal Studies and also New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance. She celebrated the holidays in Provincetown with former InTown housemates Gary Shapiro and Jim Sullivan ’82, P’19, and then later Jim housed the Foxes overnight when their floors were being done. “You might want to say it was like old times, but 40 years later, bedtime was 8:30 p.m.!” quipped Delcy.

Paul Robinson also seems to be enjoying retirement. “I have officially retired, as of the end of September 2024, and enrolled in an online MFA program to achieve my goal of becoming a ‘famous science fiction writer.’ It’ll take about another year to finish the thesis (novel)—we’ll see where it goes from there!” Good luck to Paul as works on his chef-d’oevre—we eagerly await publication!

Lisa Greim writes that she has “failed retirement,” and now serves as chorale manager and chief fundraiser for the Arvada Chorale, the community chorus she sings with, pursuing a development goal to raise enough to hire contract, production, and multimedia managers at market rates. Lisa says, “I would rather delegate stage management to theater majors and multimedia to ‘digital natives. . .’ because I want to step away at the end of the year and reintroduce myself to my husband, Chris.” Lisa adds, “I would also like to return to volunteering, and to revising the manuscript that Kaylie Jones mentored me through, seven years ago.” Any Wes classmates (singers or non-singers) interested in her fundraising goals can email cololisa@gmail.com.

Joanna Buffington is still “retired” on outer Cape Cod but reports she’s busier than ever.  She has been helping to rescue endangered sea turtles that get trapped in Cape Cod Bay on their way south after feeding further north all summer and fall. She helps patrol the waters, and works in conjunction with Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay volunteer organization, the New England Aquarium, and volunteer pilots (turtlesflytoo.org) who fly the rehabilitated turtles to other facilities all over the world. “I had a personal record of rescuing 34 turtles this year,” says Joanna.  “With all the human drama around us (especially on the news), I find this a mental health savior.” Amen to that!

Brian Tarbox writes, “This was a year of traveling and talking. I gave my talk, What I Learnedabout GenAI from being a Dolphin Researcher, remotely in Kyiv, China, Japan, and in person in Sao Paulo, Rio, New York, Toronto, and Philly. I’ve become a bit of a prepper but deciding whether to prep for a climate disaster, a ‘Musk-agendon’, the rise of the machines, or a nuclear Putin, is always a day-to-day decision. As it used to be written in the East College tunnels, ‘Do not hope to survive in the vampire economy.’”  Adds Brian wistfully, “I miss the tunnels.”

Congratulations to Mark Saba on the publication of his new book called The Shoemaker (Casa Lago Press), about the experience of Italian immigrants in the U.S. in the 1920s, as well as the lives of their offspring generations later as they move around in their new country. For more information, check out www.marksabawriter.com.

My old C-1 housemate, Paul Godfrey, wrote in from his home in St. Paul, telling me he still has a hockey rink in his backyard and is busy teaching his two-year-old granddaughter how to skate like a pro! Retirement is not beckoning yet, Paul reports, so besides skating, he keeps busy as a managing attorney in the Twin Cities. When he needs a break from the city, he heads out to the gorgeous Minnesota countryside with his close companion—no, not with his wife, Mary Sue, but with his hunting dog, Axel (skating reference!).

Another classmate who isn’t thinking of retirement is Rick Locke. He is making his way back to Boston after serving several years as dean of the Apple University (at Apple HQ). “The big news on my end is that I am going back to MIT to serve as dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management (https://news.mit.edu/2025/richard-locke-dean-mit-sloan-0106). It’s been a great few years at Apple, but I am looking forward to returning to university life. The other big news is that our daughter, Juliana, gave birth to a baby boy (Louis William) 18 months ago. Jessica Barton and I are smitten.” Warmest congratulations to Rick as he assumes the leadership of one of the most prestigious university schools in the world!

Congratulations to Livia Wong McCarthy, recently elected to Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and who welcomes feedback. “I will do my best to represent alumni interests well and I look forward to how I can help guide Wesleyan’s path during these unchartered times.”

Lisette Cooper checked in from South Florida where she’s working as vice chair of the wealth management division of Franklin Templeton and visiting her three children whenever possible. “And I would love to see any Wes alum in the area!”

Chris Graves writes, “I retired from Ogilvy, where I had served as both a regional (Asia-Pacific) and global CEO for 19 years. I founded my own company (www.TheResonanceCode.com ) where I decode the human Sensemaking Genome for more effective engagement and behavior change. I am working with the Milken Institute on its Project Prevent to increase the access and uptake to preventive health care. I am also supporting Community Solutions, which is led by an amazing woman who received $100 million from the McArthur Foundation for her work in combating homelessness. She and I were both Rockefeller Bellagio residents. And I joined as an advisor to the Muhammad Ali Center where we launched a new Compassion Index measuring and comparing U.S. cities. I am guest lecturing at USC, Columbia, and NYU. My wife, JoAnn Ward, retired from the D.C. Public Library, and we hope to travel together more. We will be hiking much of Portugal and then taking in the big pro-tennis tourney in Turin. Both our daughters live in Brooklyn. One works in research and is getting her graduate degree in data visualization; the other works as a software engineer for a firm that does AI for legal and financial services and is engaged to be married in August. Both daughters grew up overseas with us, as we were posted to Singapore, then London, then Hong Kong.” 

Steve Mooney: “In some ways, I’d love to have my college experience back. Love to have the opportunity to apply myself and explore my creativity. And while I have no regrets about my four and a half years in Middletown, there’s just so much Wesleyan offered that I was too young and immature to embrace. I studied things that ended up having nothing to do with my future interests, and maybe that’s what college is all about. As for now, Mary and I are happily retired, living in Boston, and proud parents of Ben and Nicole, who are now in their mid-twenties and doing well. I spend my mornings reading and writing personal essays, having discovered my passion for storytelling only recently. If you’re bored and want a night out, come join me and Mary for a Moth StorySLAM in Brookline or Somerville sometime. The host, Steve Almond ’88, author and comedian, is also a Wes grad. Fun for all!” 

Jennifer Boylan: “My new book, Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us, was published by Celadon/Macmillan in February 2025. It’s about the difference between men and women, as I have lived it, as well as a look at the contrast between coming out as trans in 2000 and coming out now. I was helped in the titling of this book by one Steve Mooney, who, when I asked whether Cleavage was a good title or not, laughed so hard he fell out of his actual chair. I thought, ‘Okay, that works.’” 

Lisa Olsson (originally ’78): “I am playing cello with the Yonkers Philharmonic, Westchester Chamber Soloists, and Kort Quartet. I will also have a chapbook of poems published by Finishing Line Press in spring of 2025. Both children are out of the house and all pets, too, so focus will be on long-delayed travel to see friends and relatives. My husband and I enjoy spending time at a family home on the north fork of Long Island.”

Walter Calhoun: “I wouldn’t be the man I am today without Wesleyan. I will bring up old history and family connections to reinforce my family’s significant connections to Wesleyan all these years, which I am not sure Wesleyan put together. But let me start at the beginning. My introduction to Wesleyan came from a postcard sent by Wesleyan in 1975 asking me to apply while I was a junior at New Trier East High School based on my SAT scores. I do not think Wesleyan knew that my cousin-in-law, Terry J. Hatter ’54, was a prior Wesleyan graduate who was then a member of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees.

“During this time in the late 1970s, Terry Hatter was married to my first cousin, Trudy Martin Hatter, whose father, Louis E. Martin, was the liaison to the Black community under United States president Jimmy Carter, a position he also occupied under previous democratic presidents Kennedy and Johnson and later President Clinton. I had always enjoyed a great relationship with ‘Uncle Louie’ and absolutely loved how he was often referred to as ‘the godfather of Black politics’ since he was such a well-mannered, positive, and discreet man who loved to compliment people ‘as a great American.’ While attending the 1980 Wesleyan graduation, Louis E. Martin received a Wesleyan honorary degree, which was given by son-in-law, Terry Hatter.

Finally, Scott Hatter ’92 is a son of Trudy and Terry Hatter, and he, too, attended Wesleyan during the 1990s, while also playing exceptionally well on Wesleyan’s football team.

“Personally, my history was significantly formed on Chicago’s North Shore where my father, Harold William Calhoun (a light-skinned, second-generation ‘Negro’ lawyer from Kimball, West Virginia) and my mother, Lillian Scott Calhoun (a light-skinned ‘Negro’ and daughter of Savannah, Georgia, insurance executive Walter Scott), and their four children were the first ‘African American’ family to ever move in and live in Kenilworth, Illinois, [from] 1965 through 1976. I was their third child. My family had a not always positive unique upbringing in Kenilworth; mine was uniformly positive. In short, I greatly, greatly enjoyed it; my younger sister hated it, and my parents and older brother and sister were more or less neutral. As a light- skinned, first grader at Joseph School Sears in Kenilworth, I enjoyed a tremendous advantage versus my other siblings in my grade-school experience. While there, where I was able to play seven sports,[I] threw a no-hitter for the ultimate, 1972 Kenilworth baseball champion, Kenilworth Cubs, managed by Charlie Castino with son, Bill, brother of eventual Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year, John Castino; won John Dorrer Rebel Award in football in 1972, with quarterback Bill Castino;  and was elected 1972 student council president at Joseph Sears School, despite being the only African American in the school. I  became  an excellent dancer with the Gus Giordano Dance Studio and eventually became intimately devoted to Jesus Christ from becoming an altar boy at the Kenilworth Episcopal Holy Comforter Church. Growing up as the only Black family in Kenilworth impacted me greatly, especially since my four years at Wesleyan were the first years I lived outside of Kenilworth. This changed me significantly, and I loved it after all my individual success at Joseph Sears and New Trier East High School.

“I attended Wesleyan [from 1976 to 1980]. After Wesleyan, I graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1983 [and then] relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where I began an insurance defense practice at Jacobs, Williams & Montgomery, Ltd. and stayed until 1997 when I started my own firm, the Law Offices of Walter S. Calhoun.

“On May 2,  2002, while a partner in Myers, Miller, Standa & Krauskopf, my life was irrevocably changed when I was struck by a car as a pedestrian on lower Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois, sent 30 feet in the air and landed on my face and head where I was knocked unconscious and remained in a coma for 27 days while being hospitalized for another six months. I suffered a significant traumatic brain injury in this accident and still suffer from ‘executive function deficits,’ which complicates thinking and doing two things at once. I have not set foot in a courtroom since the accident and cannot ever see being a trial lawyer ever today.   

“All was not lost as I am still here to tell about it.  

“For the past 12 years, I have been stewardship chairman and now lay leader at the North Shore United Methodist Church, 213 Hazel Avenue, Glencoe, Illinois, where I helped raise my family as a divorced father between 1988 and 2014.

“I first became enamored helping people unable to help themselves at Wesleyan and seeing how the effect of negative realities often disproportionately affected the outcome of people through no fault of their own. As a member of the Wesleyan Argus, the Wesleyan Student Assembly, the Skull and Serpent Senior Honor Society, the Wesleyan rugby team, and Chi Psi Fraternity, I always tried to be a helpful and a friendly member of our Class of 1980. I still find that friendliness, politeness, good and proper manners important.

“In 1988, I joined the Evanston Auxiliary Board of Family Focus Evanston, an all-Black board, which was started by a [wealthy, Jewish,] Evanston woman primarily to help African American women in the maternal health areas. After  becoming vice president in 1990, I served three terms as president of the board; [they] needed to change the bylaws for me to serve the third term.

“When I first joined the FF Board in 1988, I was so depressed and saddened by the conditions the Black community had to work through to obtain academic success, I called a childhood friend from Kenilworth who worked at an international paper company, who sent truckloads of every type of school supply they made until I developed other supply lines to help level the ‘educational playing field.’

“For years, I have been one of, if not the leading, fundraiser for [this group] and now also help our parent company, Family Focus Evanston, [which has] expanded to 11 Family Focus centers all over Chicago but primarily in under-resourced areas like Englewood, Holman, Aurora, and the like.  

“More importantly, I led the charge to change the bylaws and broaden and integrate the board while I have continued to raise many hundreds of thousands of dollars while disabled since 2002 and without having held a regular job at any time since then.

“I have pledged to give Wesleyan $25 a month until November 6, 2027, because of the gratitude I have for the Wesleyan experiences and education and what Wesleyan can accomplish for other ‘once black’ now ‘mixed race’ students.”

Ellen Haller: “I remain deliriously happy in retirement from academic psychiatry at UCSF and spend my days cycling, doing strength and mat Pilates classes, and playing both pickleball, and yes, still true, ice hockey! Oh, and I also do all the household chores because my wife is still working in academic medicine. Additionally, I spend time with my 94-year-old mother and love traveling with my wife and 28-year-old son! Sorry to miss the reunion, but I’ll be playing in a hockey tournament that weekend. Best to all!”

Hi all.  Here is the news that our classmates have shared this time.

Robert Kuhn checked in with this submission. “It’s coming on Christmas now, and my husband, Steven, and I have been living back in Connecticut since the beginning of April (after three years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida). I’m working as the development director for a youth services organization in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Being back up North feels like déjà vu all over again, given that we lived here from 2017 to 2020, but we’re happy to be back. We live not all that far from Wes and very near Hotchkiss, where I went to boarding school. Although we couldn’t make it back to campus for Reunion, we had a great time at Homecoming and spent time with Seta Nazarian and a few other classmates.”

Tina (Binns) Palmer wrote a nice note on her continuing, sustaining connection to a close group of Wes friends. “Please see the photo here of four intrepid pioneers. We are among the first classes of women athletes at Wesleyan and members of the Women’s Athletic House. Every other year we get together near some body of water to reminisce, catch up on news of our families (both human and animal), eat wonderful food, and do puzzles. This year’s gathering included a lazy trip on inner tubes down the Delaware River. Our group consists of Ann Dunham, Carol Scheppard, Alice Cronin-Golomb, and myself.” Thanks, Tina. It sounds like a wonderful group and a great biannual get-together.

Willie Jones shared some updates on his retirement and on some milestones this coming year for him.  “I’m enjoying retired life in Charlotte, North Carolina. My two grandkids have given my life a new spark. In May 2025, I will be attending my 50th Groton School reunion in Groton, Massachusetts.  This will be followed by an August trip to Yellowstone National Park. September will include a return trip to Venice and Vicenza, Italy, to celebrate “Veneto 50”, which is the 50th anniversary of the University of Virginia School of Architecture’s Study Abroad Program. I participated in the program in 1982, living in Venice for six months to complete my master’s thesis at the Arsenale.  I was also a member of the U.S. Castello Basketball Team there, which rounded out a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Thanks, Willie. Sounds like wonderful travel plans for 2025!

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for the submissions! Hope to hear from as many of you as possible for the next issue. It is so nice to stay connected.

Ken writes:

As of this column, the New Year has just been ushered in. Let’s hope for a great 2025 for all.

I’ll start by enthusiastically recommending a visit to Wes if you haven’t had the chance to recently do so. Following a fair hiatus myself, I went to the campus on a beautiful Saturday in September for an afternoon of tennis team alumni-student play. I drove up with our classmate, (my brother-in-law) Steve Greenberg, who did a great job of rallying some troops from our era to attend. Kathy Mintz was there as well from ’78, great to see as always; members from ’79 and a wide range of other years came as well; and last but not least, was the presence of our legendary, 83-year-old, three-decade Wes coach, and still-active tournament player, Don Long, who drove down from Rochester, New York (!) to attend. It was terrific to meet and play with the kids—both the men’s and women’s teams are nationally outstanding—and to spend some time with their highly successful and charismatic coach, Mike Fried. Best of all was just the simple feel of being on campus. 

As for brother-in-law Steve, he continues his very fulfilling lifestyle of full-time ophthalmology practice, family time, and a lot of still-good tennis and paddle tennis. His wife, Hannah, continues her full-time work as well—in the financial sector—and their kids, William, Haley ’14 (married to Spencer Hattendorf ’12), and Kit are thriving. Between the two of us, Steve and I have nine grandchildren . . . and counting. (While tallying, I’ll add that I do have a couple of millennial Wes grads in my clan as well, between my son-in-law, Alec Coquin ’08, and Eli Schned ’05, the brother of my other son-in-law, Paul.) A regular topic of conversation between Steve and me is the “if and when” of retirement—we’ve gotten nowhere with it but take that as a good sign.

BiIl Adler reports that he continues to enjoy life in Japan, which has been his home for the past 10 years. He lives with his girlfriend and cat, writes fiction, and continues to explore that country. He invites everyone to let him know if you’re visiting Japan . . . “I’ll show you around.”

Paul Chill retired in August from full-time teaching after a 36-year career on the UConn Law School faculty—14 years of which he served as associate dean. He will still be able to teach a course every year on a part-time basis, “but without the burdens of administration, committee service, and faculty politics—what a deal!”

Karen Frickenhaus writes from “our tiny piece of paradise in the woods on a pond in central Massachusetts,” where she and husband, Howard, live with their two dogs and two cats in “a little arts-and-crafts-inspired gem” they created and remodeled by themselves over the past 20 years. She just returned from her third yearly adventure in Germany, resulting from the unexpected discovery of a Frickenhaus family clan there; her enthusiastic relatives, “embracing their exotic American auntie,” have immersed her in the cultural treasures and charms of 20 German cities and innumerable villages, an ancient ancestral home, the mountains and cities of neighboring countries, and . . . pipe organ music! Karen still works full time in her own design-and-build landscaping business (The Garden Artist) incorporating an aesthetically naturalist approach. She says, “thanks to Wes for sparking a love of lifelong learning, cultivating my eye for design, and forcing me to keep my toe in the water of the German language!”

Geoff Ginsburg is in his third year as chief medical and scientific officer for the All of US Research Program at the NIH, the mission of which is to build the largest patient database of its kind—more than a million people—to serve as a unique source of health-care research. He reports that over 15,000 researchers around the globe are currently using the database, with a paper being published from it almost daily. “It’s a dream job to be setting a scientific agenda for the nation. My scientific roots were formed at Wes. I am grateful.”

Wendy Kaufman has spent her career involved in both education and the arts, currently focusing on the latter in which she is “proud to serve on the board of the Denver Art Museum. Please come visit! The newest show, Maurice Sendak, received a wonderful review in The New York Times. Best regards and cheers to ’74–’78 memories!”

Kathy Mintz not only attended the September tennis event on campus, but Homecoming as well, where she played in a student/alum/parent round-robin event and enjoyed seeing assistant tennis coach Lucas Pickering’s father (“my old publisher’s league softball captain in NYC”). Kathy continues to live in NYC, where she plays pickleball and squash—and works as an organizer for the annual Tournament of Champions professional squash tournament held at Grand Central Station.

Richard Order reports from Connecticut, where he practices law, that he has just published Reimagining a More Perfect Union: A Better for Modern America, a book “in which I dramatically rewrite and restructure the United States Constitution to make America sane again.”  In the book, Rich explains the history behind many of the current provisions and his how and why of replacing them with a system tailored to our current society. “No legal training is needed to understand it!”

Beth Robinson writes from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that the arrival of her daughter’s baby boy a year ago led her to retire from her long career in global health in order to take care of him on weekdays (“has felt wonderful to support my daughter and son-in-law”). Prior to this, Beth spent her career co-authoring and editing public health works, training journalists and health officials in Africa in the reporting and communication of HIV management, and teaching scientific paper writing in Latin America and Africa; since retiring, she’s switched to writing creative nonfiction, and “very thankful for having had great teachers in COL.” 

Julie Scolnik describes her 2024 as the year to be remembered as “Two Weddings and a Funeral.” Both her son, Sasha, in France, and her daughter, Sophie, in Brooklyn, tied their knots. And after a long and legendary life, her father Louis—”jazz-loving, sax-playing, civil-rights activist, founder of the ACLU of Maine and justice on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court—took his last bow” at age 101.

Susan Southard writes from North Carolina, where she moved eight years ago to support her 96-year-old father, that she’s currently working on her second book while at the same time arranging a 2025–2026 book tour based on the 10th anniversary of her first book, Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War (2015) and the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Japan. Her work focuses on the humanitarian impact of nuclear war, on which she speaks publicly in addition to her writing and welcomes invitations to do so (susansouthard@cox.net).

Jonathan Spector reports that all is well with family and life in Vermont: keeping busy with a lot traveling; helping to produce a “fantastic” Broadway play (Operation Mincemeat), scheduled to open in March ’25; and awaiting the arrival two grandchildren . . . “lots of fun activities in retirement.”

Bill Weiss writes from Pleasantville, New York, where he lives with his wife, Karen. He serves as general counsel for several of Teijin’s (Japan) U.S. corporate operations. Bill had a wonderfully fruitful family year in ’24: of his four kids, two became married and a third presented Bill and Karen with their first grandchild. I must also mention that our class-notes exchange revealed that the child’s father, Bill’s son-in-law Charlie, is none other than a terrific new practice partner in my orthopedic group!

Best,

Ken

Best wishes go out to all for a happy and healthy 2025. The “healthy” part is not one that we take for granted. Several folks wrote in regarding the loss of Mike Balf in 2024: Hank Rosenfeld notably expressed great sadness among so many and always viewed his friendship with Mike as a true blessing. Iddy Olson echoed the same sentiments along with the loss of Danny Zegart. Iddy caught up with Lisa Brummel in NYC postelection. John Fink is now fully retired from Aloha United Way with an eye toward friends, family, travel, music, and sports without management responsibilities or email work reminders. Carol Cooper has a new role as interviewer and copy editor for WestZine, a new art zine launched by progressive folks at Westbeth Gallery. In addition, Carol has joined the Board of Trustees for the public school of journalism nonprofit organization, Press Pass NYC. In April 2025, Carol will be co-presenting a weekend program on connection between C. G. Jung and the Surrealist Movement for the C. G. Jung Institute and Kristine Mann Library of East 39th Street in Manhattan.

Arnie Alpert writes in that “Classmates will remember that a number of us joined a demonstration against the Seabrook, New Hampshire, nuclear power plant in the spring of 1977.  Antinuclear activism continued at Wesleyan for at least several years thereafter. The story of the No Nukes Movement has been captured in two recent creations. A new feature-length documentary, Acres of Clams, has just been released by Eric Wolfe and posted on YouTube. Also, Amrys Williams, a local historian, produced an article, ‘The Radioactivists: Nuclear Power, Weapons, and Protest in Connecticut,’ published in Connecticut Explored Magazine, focusing largely on activism at Wesleyan. (I’m featured in both.)”  Indeed Arnie, we remember this like it was yesterday. Links to the documentary and article are here:

Acres of Clams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPuE9oKh6-I&t=198s

“The Radioactivists”: https://www.ctexplored.org/the-radioactivists/

Many folks relayed thoughts about what for most of us will be entering the seventh decade: the big 7-0. Steve McNutt got a jump on things by turning 70 on December 21: traditionally the shortest day of the year. Steve renamed it the “the longest night of the year.” Steve had his first sabbatical year at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, interrupted by hurricanes and much damage to his home in St. Petersburg. Mark Slitt is traveling to Australia and Morocco in 2025; he is the proud new parent of three kitten bundles of joy.

Barry and Susan Leslie Raebeck celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary last June at home in East Hampton, New York. In addition to three grown daughters, they have five wonderful grandchildren, ages four months to 10 years old. Both have retired from fulfilling careers as educators in 2020. Barry maintains his college admissions consulting business, while Susan maintains the social infrastructure of the community. Barry recently had his third education-related book published by Rowman & Littlefield, Joyful Teaching: Being the Teacher You Admired. He published a book of historical fiction, Tyger on the Crooked Road: William Blake—Painter, Poet, Prophet, several years ago and has lectured on Blake in England. He also is active in civic environmental matters. They spend quality time with ’77ers Liz Hancock and Will Sillin, Rob MacNeille, Jim LaLiberty (and wife, Julie), and Buddy Taft (and wife, Liz), as well as Andy Silverman ’76. They are in touch with other Wes friends, too, and love to hear from them!

For me, 2025 marks a significant year, not only in terms of the numerical age, but by the passing of the torch at my company that I founded 33 years ago. As of January 1, my firm has been sold to four “young-ins” that have been groomed over the past several years with lessons in what makes an architectural practice run in addition to creating beautiful buildings. We worked hard to set the firm up for success in the foreseeable future. Seeing the firm I founded produce meaningful works of architecture and, equally important, be a positive respectful work environment and culture is one of the proudest accomplishments of my life. The fact that the practice will live on and excel makes the transition that much easier. So, 2025 will be a “victory lap” of sorts. My role moving forward in 2026 will be as a consultant or as I like to say to the office: “when the salt-and-pepper hair comes in handy, I am your guy.”  So, as others have noted, lots of travel ahead, while health is good. I am also working in how to assist bringing a level of civility back in dialog, generally getting people interacting and communicating with others in constructive ways in a world where this is sorely lacking.

So, happy birthday wishes along with New Year’s salutations to all.

My deepest condolences and sympathy to all our classmates who were affected by the Los Angeles fires. I know of at least one classmate who lost her home, and I’m certain there are others. (With so many of us working in the film/TV industry, it’s inevitable that some of us lived in the Palisade, Malibu, Topanga, or Altadena.) My heart goes out to you, not just for the loss of your home, but for the loss of uniquely beautiful neighborhoods. I hope the eucalyptus, jacarandas, and oleanders grow back quickly, and that you’re all home again as soon as possible.

Rob Briskin missed the deadline for the last notes by just a few days! Here’s his news from last fall: “It’s been a very long time since I posted anything so here it goes. This is my 40th year in private practice in concierge internal medicine in Jupiter, Florida. I have been on staff at an excellent and rapidly expanding community hospital, Jupiter Medical Center, since 1986 and serve on their corporate board. In the year 2000, I found the first concierge practice in Palm Beach County. I also served on the national board of the American Society of Concierge Physicians about 20 years ago. I have been very active throughout the years in trying to make affordable health care available for all Americans, and I presented in 1996 to the Faith Caucus of the American Public Health Association on using community and faith partnerships to fill in the unmet health-care needs of communities. It was very well received, but Don Quixote ultimately fell short! I have also served on the National Physicians Council for Healthcare Policy in Washington, D.C., a few years ago under Congressman Pete Sessions.

“On a personal note, I have four children ranging in age from 14-year-old twins to my 27-year-old son, who just started law school at the Denver University Law, and a soon-to-be 29-year-old daughter in her second year of a PhD program in clinical psychology at the University of Miami. I live in beautiful Palm Beach Gardens at the Mirasol Country Club with my lovely wife, Limor, who I adore, our twins, a cat and an Australian shepherd named Layla. I also founded a classic rock club at Mirasol, which is going strong in its second year. Of the past two years, I have seen an abundance of concerts, including the Eagles, Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason, the Rolling Stones, John Fogerty from Creedence, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Santana, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Beach Boys, the Allman family revival, the Temptations, and a plethora of very good tribute bands! I’m slated to see Billy Joel at the Hard Rock Café in Hollywood on January 17 for my 71st birthday! I am very active with pro-Israel and Jewish causes and attend the Chabad in Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Synagogue, and Temple Judea. I love pickleball, do spin, and enjoy working out, [as well as] some running and hiking with my wife. We also love to travel, but this is somewhat limited due to the fact that I still work full time and enjoy it immensely. I am a prolific editorialist, and I have published over 100 letters to the editor in The Palm Beach Post. I had one letter published in The New York Times in 1996, which was a legacy to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead!

“I would love to hear from any of my former classmates.”

Robert Briskin ’76, MD, FACP
210 Jupiter Lakes Blvd.
Ste. 3205
Jupiter, Florida 33458
561-746-9404 (o)
561-346-5504 (c)

Alan Miller notes: “In June, during the East-West Center’s International Media Conference, I received its award for Journalists of Courage and Impact, which ‘recognizes the contributions of exceptional journalists from across the Asia-Pacific region.’ I was a student participant at the center in Honolulu, Hawaii, following graduation from Wesleyan.

“In September, the Alumni Association at Ridgewood (New Jersey) High School named me and three other graduates ‘Distinguished Alumni.’ The honor ‘recognize[s] the achievements of alumni who have made significant contributions to society through their personal lives, individual passions, talents, professional accomplishments, and/or community service.’ The awards cited both my careers as a Pulitzer Prize–winning former reporter with the Los Angeles Times and as the founder and former CEO of the News Literacy Project, the largest provider of news literacy education in the U.S. NLP’s award-winning programs and resources are being used by middle school and high school educators and students in every state in the country.

“I was previously honored by Washingtonian magazine as a Washingtonian of the Year in 2020 and was named one of five recipients of the 2022 AARP Purpose Prize, awarded to people age 50 and older ‘who use their knowledge and life experience to solve challenging social problems.’ The East-West Center also presented me with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022.”

Nic Collins has a new book coming out! Bloomsbury says in part: “The book follows a personal chronology of observations and experiences with music, technology, economics and culture—from youthful encounters with John Cage and Minimalism, to the Downtown and East Village scenes of the 1980s, the assimilation of avant-garde sensibilities into European concert halls and global pop, the burgeoning of sound art, and the transformative influence of digital technologies both positive and negative.”

And Oliver Griffith also has a new book out! You can find A Sense of Place:  Journeys of a Musician Diplomat on Amazon. It recounts his career as a foreign service officer in Africa, South America, and Europe while continuing to work as a jazz musician. 

Cheryl Alpert writes: “My oldest son, Eben Timko, married sweet Melissa on November 2 in New Orleans, where they met at Tulane. I have never been to a more spectacular wedding and dance party in my life. The Second Line parade was so joyous! Jon Spector ’78 and spouse, Wendy, came all the way from Vermont to attend. 

“I’m in my sixth year as a REALTOR®, and it’s a very strange market out there after the National Association of Realtors went through major litigation, interest rates went up and down, and up and down, and inventory is sparse. Ceramics is my safe haven. I have a little show this month and am joined by many other local artists including Anne Van Nest, wife of Jeff Van Nest ’75.”

Byron Haskins shared joyous news: “My eighth and newest grandchild, Edie-Jayne Rose was born in Meriden, Connecticut, to my oldest son, Josh, and his partner, Katy, on December 13. Josh works for MSNBC and it was great to see Jen Psaki announce Edie’s arrival to the world on her show. Josh directs Inside. Gabrielle and I were in Connecticut but not long enough to stop in Middletown. After Meriden, we headed north to secure our pied-à-terre in Montreal before returning to Michigan for the holidays. Wishing everyone the best we can get out of 2025!”

And, finally, David Harmin and I have been having a wonderful time for the last six months.  After 20 years of having the best possible time working in Mike Greenberg’s lab at Harvard Medical School, David eased into part-time status in July and eased out of the lab altogether on January 1. He has worked steadily since he was a teenager and is having a glorious time being gainfully unemployed. We got together with Tom Kovar, celebrated the wedding of David’s son, Calvin, and then moved him out of his office on December 19, as HMS closed for winter break.

Sometimes it’s fun to watch the sausage being made, so to speak! That’s how I am feeling about Reunion planning. We have a fantastic, dedicated committee of classmates working incredibly hard to have the best 50th ever. By the time you read this, I hope you have registered and made your travel plans to come to Middletown.

With any luck, you have already received the Class Book that Susan Gans, Cathy Gorlin, Arthur Gaither, Ellen Wayne, and I are devoting countless hours to developing. Clif Grandy has also been a great resource. It’s the yearbook we never had, filled with topical essays, photos from then and now, Argus clippings, bios of as many classmates as we could entice, cajole, and nag into writing (a record number!), and remembrances of some who are no longer with us.

Until then, here’s the pre-Reunion news:

Congratulations to Deborah Marion Brown and Mitch Brown ’73, who celebrated 50 years of marriage in October with a joyous family weekend that started with their eldest grandson’s Bar Mitzvah. The next day, all four children, with their spouses, and all seven grandchildren held the chuppah while the rabbi blessed Deborah and Mitch. Then Deborah headed off (sans Mitch, who doesn’t like group travel) on a congregational trip to Morocco.

Juliet Schor (who we were glad to see on our January virtual social event) still lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with her husband. They both teach at Boston College, and Juliet has recently finished a book on the four-day workweek after three years of research. (Was that three years of four-day weeks?) Check out her TED talk on the subject. She’s also speaking at Wesleyan in February. It was great to see another Massachusetts alum, Rachel Adler Hayes, at our January Zoom as well.

Emely Karandy retired in 2023 as Thanksgiving host, and now one of her kids invites her to the annual celebration. She says, “Somehow this feels nearly as good as getting them through college!” Emely is planning to be at Reunion and looks forward to seeing folks who haven’t been back in a while.

The news is unusually slim this time because so many of you were busy writing your bios for the Class Book and because my request came amid the Thanksgiving to New Year’s swirl.

But back to the pre-Reunion sausage making. It’s been a joy to socialize or work with many old friends and acquaintances. Karin Johnson, who has lived for most of her post-Wesleyan life in Japan, surprised us by calling into the January Zoom . . . from Sweden. Pat McQuillan delivered a great 11th-hour essay after we talked on the phone about needing something on football and DKE in the Class Book. Thanks to persistent Book Committee members, Karen Seymour Leftridge and David Terry both came through with bios and photos at the last minute. I enjoyed year-end phone calls with Joost Brouwer and Brad Kosiba to seek and follow up on book submissions and hear their year-end reports.

Thanksgiving weekend brought an extra and very welcome visitor this year. Susan Gans was in the Bay Area to spend the holiday with family. After all the online time we’d spent by then on Reunion planning, she accepted my invitation to drop by for our family’s traditional post-Thanksgiving leftovers potluck. We had a great time, and I expect her attendance may become an ongoing part of the tradition. 

More recently, I reached out to Susan Moldaw, who I knew lived in the Bay Area but hadn’t seen in decades. After several emails and a video call, we decided to get together for lunch.  Turns out we live 20 minutes apart, and we have a mutual friend who was formerly married to (and is still friends with) Henry Schumaker. It is, indeed, as small a small world as the Disneyland song says!

Steven Miller and Martha Meade ’76 lost their home in the Pacific Palisades fire in January. Fortunately, they are safe and grateful to be able to live in Steve’s mother’s former house that they were going to put on the market.

Looking forward to seeing many of you in Middletown!