Class Notes

Greetings class of 2007! Megan is here to give you the updates on classmates as we approach our 15th (!) Reunion year.

Our ranks continue to grow with many of us expanding our families! Eric Altneu reports that he moved to Philly for his ID fellowship at Temple. And he adds, “My husband (Brookes Hammock) and I had a baby in May, Mabel Rae Altneu-Hammock.” Cortney (Tetrault) Duncan and her husband welcomed their second son, Jaxon Ryder Duncan last summer.  She continues to live and work at Kent School where she coaches the field hockey and lacrosse teams and is the director of athletics.

Peggy Gullick has been making moves in her career. She says, “I’m now the Director of the Center for Human Services Research at the State University of New York– Albany; we focus on social service program evaluation in New York state and beyond. So if anyone’s nonprofit or CBO is interested in contracting with an external group for a formal evaluation, feel free to check us out and get in touch!” She adds, “Otherwise, Nick Field ’09 and I have been in Albany for the past several years, as he progresses through his neurosurgery residency. Our son Caleb was born last spring; not many Wes friends have had the chance to meet him in person so far, but plenty have over Zoom, at least!”

Doug Rubenstein reports that he and his wife welcomed their second child (a daughter) during the pandemic and will be moving back to Los Angeles later this year. He adds, “I’m currently a recruiter at PayPal and I’m also a founder of a startup tech company called CHIP Professionals. Our goal is to provide a marketplace for people to be matched with financial professionals of color in order to improve the retention rates of financial professionals of color, as well as breakdown some of the barriers that people of color have in hiring financial professionals.”

2020 was a year of change for Sarah Sluis. She welcomed her second child, Juniper, and switched coasts to be closer to her family. After vowing not to live on the other side of a ferry, Seattle’s hot housing market convinced her otherwise, and she bought a home in April on Whidbey Island (the Hudson Valley of the West Coast?). She is working for her New York–based job 100 percent remotely, and was recently promoted to managing editor of AdExchanger. She would love to reconnect with any Seattle area–based Wes alums!

Raomej Caro reports that she’ll be attending CUNY School of Law this fall with the support and encouragement of her husband, Andrew Boatti. After the 2016 election and all the havoc that came with it, plus COVID-19 and our societal response, Raomej says, “I felt ready and compelled to get my JD and really lean into pushing for change both personally and professionally.”

Matthew Franco says, “It’s been an odd year and a half!” He continues, “I was teaching at Goucher College when COVID started and then agreed to teach as part of the Goucher Prison Education Project. I taught via Zoom into the prison for a semester, and it was tremendously rewarding. When courses were delayed/canceled for the spring, I began volunteering with Johns Hopkins at vaccination clinics. After volunteering for a few weeks, I stepped into a paid position and am helping run operations for mobile clinics that serve at-risk/marginalized communities. Before I got the job offer from Johns Hopkins, I had already signed a contract for a seasonal job working for the Maryland Park Service in a state park near Baltimore. It’s been a very busy summer, but rewarding!”

Jon Pierowicz has had a busy year. He shares that he recently got married and accepted a job as general counsel at Viridi Parente, an energy storage and battery technology company.

Annie Rorem chimes in with the news that she, along with former Home Avenue residents Erica Pasciullo Cahill, Arielle Cohen, and Nicole Tirado Strayer continue to have thoughtful conversations, late night dance parties, and outdoor adventures—with one fish, one dog, one cat, four husbands, six advanced degrees, and seven children between them.

Wishing you a wonderful fall and winter! As always, please continue to send updates to Victoria or me. And stay tuned for news about Reunion and Commencement in the spring (fingers crossed we can see each other in person)!

Please write to your class secretary.

 

Doro Globus will be publishing her first children’s book Making a Great
Exhibition this fall. Illustrated by the amazing Rose Blake, the book
introduces the journey of an artwork from an artist’s mind to an
exhibition. Doro really wanted to open up the visual art world to children
so they can visualize how a museum works, what it means to be an artist,
and what kind of creative careers are out there. The book is published by
David Zwirner Books where Doro serves as the managing director.

It can be viewed here.

Shannon McIntyre Hooper is making a few major career pivots already in 2021. After completing her executive MBA and graduating in the top 10 percent of the class at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 2020, she added the role of interim chief financial officer to her remit at ReviveHealth, a healthcare marketing and strategy agency where she’s served as chief growth officer for several years. In August, she’ll be leaving ReviveHealth and joining BehaVR, a behavioral health-focused technology company, as chief strategy and product officer. The new role will combine her passions for mental health, new media and technology environments, and high-growth entrepreneurialism.

Chris Lake welcomed his third son. The crew consists of Theodore, age 6; Wolfie, age 3; and now Fritz, age 0. They are moving from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles in September, and feel a bit nervous about it.

Jenny Mariaschin-Rudin and her husband welcomed a baby, Eloïse Chaviva Chloé, in September 2020, while Jenny also spent the pandemic at work as a clinical social worker at a Federally Qualified Health Center in New York City.  Jenny would be happy to hear from anyone in the area and wishes everyone well!

Kate Mitchell is still in Durham, North Carolina teaching high school history, where she welcomed baby Ivy in November 2020. She waited until the election results were finalized to arrive. Happy to connect with other single parents out there.

Molly Greenberg and her wife Nat Wood welcomed twins James and June in October 2020. Being pregnant during the first eight months of COVID certainly helped make quarantine more exciting, and since the babies arrived, they have definitely had their hands full in a wonderful way. The best part is that they are already close friends with other Wesleyan babies and kids, including the children of Cathy Pyenson and Jon McKinney ’04, Ann (Rush) Oliner, Ellie (Terry) Vierling, Eliza Butler and Jake Hudson, Jeremiah Friedman, and Becca Seely ’06. And of course they have a loving and doting aunt in Lucy Greenberg ’07!

Stonecutter Spirits was acquired in the fall of 2020, and Sivan Cotel is taking his first long breath in a very long time. He is currently enjoying a self-imposed sabbatical, while continuing to serve on six nonprofit and government boards. Most recently, Vermont’s state treasurer appointed Sivan to the Vermont Cannabis Control Board Advisory Committee, which is tasked by the state legislature with developing a detailed regulatory framework for Vermont’s upcoming legal cannabis marketplace.

Please write to your class secretaries.

Michael Lewis and his husband, David Scott, adopted a baby boy, George Scott Lewis, earlier this year. They have enjoyed bonding with him by taking long walks around their neighborhood in Berkeley and a few road trips around California.

     Matt Kushner has been slowly emerging from the cocoon of isolation with Lauren Kushner (Brown ’04) and kids Mimi (6) and Tessa (3.5). Matt has been freelancing at Radical Media as the head of pipeline/CG supervisor on a new immersive theater experience called Illuminarium (www.illuminarium.com) whose first show, Wild, premieres on the Atlanta Beltline in July. He’s also excited to have been a small part of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s ’02 In the Heights, getting to do some visual effects on the film adaptation, now in theaters. Lauren is a staff CG artist at the Museum of Natural History in NYC, where she created 3D and 2D screen content for the renovation of the Gems and Minerals exhibit, which opened in June. Mimi is completing a year of virtual kindergarten, while Tessa is finishing home preschool, and both are excited to attend in-person summer programs and first grade and pre-K in the fall. Matt and family are looking forward to re-engaging in the world, and attending some mini-Wes reunions this summer.

Those with class notes, please contact your class secretary.

Thanks for writing in, everybody.

     Kyle Judge is currently working in the music business as an executive and manager of such notable acts who are signed to major record labels such as Young Devyn (4th & B’way/ Island Records), Souly Had (Island Records), Dru Oliver (Grammy-nominated vocal producer and platinum-selling songwriter) and Lyrique J (platinum-selling songwriter on Chris Brown’s Indigo album).  You can find them all on Instagram. He is also the executive producer of a project by Young Devyn released this summer on 4th & B’way / Island Records.

    Raymond Kuo has joined the RAND Corporation as a political scientist, continuing his research on security issues in Asia.

From Andrea Donnelly: “Last I wrote, I’d started a spiritual healing business, We Are Here 2 Remember, which has taken off like a rocketship in the past few months. I am primarily doing spiritual mentorship for founders and CEOs.” She was recently featured on Yahoo, Halle Berry’s new site rē-spin, and podcasts including Chakra Girl Radio and Hello Universe. By the time this is published, a two-part interview with Ali Levine, former Bravo Reality Star, about her work will be released on her podcast Everything with Ali Levine. “My talk with Ali is beyond a dream come true. I was an American Studies major and this feels like the perfect mash-up of my intellectual + spiritual curiosity and forevergreen love of pop culture. If anyone wants to learn more about my work you can email me at andrea@wearehere2remember.com or www.wearehere2remember.com.”

From Jenny Selgrath: “Last year I started a position at the NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary where I do research focusing on the intersection of coastal communities and ocean ecosystems. As a result my pup and I moved to Santa Barbara, which has been a sweet place to be for COVID. Lots of road biking, outdoor yoga, and my first West African Dance class since Wesleyan—this time at the beach.

    Don Kim moved to Century City and hopes there are some Wes folks in the area!

    Amy Larkin Gelbach is living in Richmond, Virginia, and will be teaching life skills to 6th–8th graders at Brookland Middle School this year.

    Karen Gross enjoyed emceeing our virtual 20th Class Reunion, seeing familiar faces, and connecting candidly about life in pandemic times. She recently launched a new podcast called She Rocked It, dedicated to raising the volume on women’s voices (and a clear continuation of her Womanist House days). You can tune in on podcast platforms, YouTube, and at www.sherockedit.com. Karen is also still running her speechwriting and communications consulting company. She currently serves as the speechwriter for one of the nation’s most influential public health leaders.

    Lisa Kagan recently released a book of poetry and art entitled Coming Home to Myself. Spanning a decade of growth and change, this book honors the importance of following your inner compass through exploring nine essential elements of the human experience: courage, passion, patience, grace, faith, resilience, wonder, gratitude, and renewal. Serving as an intimate companion for navigating life’s passages, this collection is an ode to the kindness and generosity that the world desperately needs and the power of turning that caring towards ourselves. You can purchase your copy here:

https://familyheirloomarts.com/products/coming-home-to-myself-poetry-and-art-by-lisa-kagan/

From Brenna Cothran: “I’m happily surrounded by Wes alums wherever I go (not that I’ve been going anywhere this past year). Alice Jankell ’83 and her family live down the hall from my family’s apartment. I’ve been working at the Whitney Museum of American Art as an exhibitions registrar for the past 5 1/2 years, where I collaborate often with Lauren (Tehan) DiLoreto ’97. I’m co-class parent for my son Max’s first grade class along with Georgia (Silvera) Seamans ’98 (I also have a daughter, Sammy, who is about to finish fifth grade). When travel is possible, trips to my hometown mean that I get to see my sister Rallie (Nepveux) Snowden ’96. And of course, long walks with my dog while wearing my (now-20-year-old) Wesleyan sweatshirt have led to many random connections with fellow alums on the sidewalks and in the parks of NYC.

My beloved housemates of 51 Fountain are still going strong! Isaac Eddy was awarded tenure and a promotion to associate professor at Northern Vermont University–Johnson where he is the chair of the Performing Arts Department. He is also on the committee to merge all Vermont State College System campuses to ensure they all remain open and continue to provide affordable liberal arts education to rural Vermonters. He directed an original performance, The Monument, devised by an ensemble of NVU students, which won a national Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival “Citizen Artist” award during the Spring ‘21 semester. One highlight of this difficult year was zooming Wes 2001 artists into his classes including Kate Purdy and Woody Fu.

I also need to admit something to you, dear reader. I didn’t intend to miss the online Reunion and certainly didn’t intend to omit telling you about it. I actually didn’t know about it. Is an email hiding in one of the many confounding layers of purgatory known as spam quarantine (such a charming name prior to 2020)? Probably. Would I have attended and then missed your actual faces and daydreamed/Zoomdreamed of walking all the way up Foss Hill with you instead? Definitely.

Those with class notes, please contact your class secretary.

In 2019, Davis Thompson-Moss opened Crown Heights Healing, a community yoga, reiki and sound healing studio in Brooklyn.  After the pandemic hit, it became a Zoom space for people to meditate, do yoga and stay connected, open to all people, all levels. Much to his joy, Wesleyan friends come through regularly: Chris Coyle, Jake Kheel, Kabir Sen, Phil Frank, Allegra Jones, Josh Harris, Daniel Lawren, Rachel Ostrow, Miriti Murungi, Danny Forster, Keith Witty ’01.  If you’re seeking a physical or meditation practice, reach out at davistmoss@gmail.com.

Although Tara Cohen and her family relocated from the Bay Area to southeast Michigan more than five years ago, it still feels new in many ways. One of her all-time favorite things in Michigan is the wild black raspberry season in their backyard; the gorgeous pinks and purples mark the beginning of summer. There’s never a dull moment at their house with two energetic kiddos (a rising first grader and a preschooler) and their elderly dog and cat. Tara works for the county’s Community & Economic Development Department where she manages the CDBG program for affordable housing and public infrastructure improvement projects. In November 2020, her spouse was elected as Clerk of the Township, so she’s also getting a taste for being married to an elected official, something no one trains you for 🙂 If anyone is passing through the Ann Arbor area, please say hello!

   Katie Redwine has been having an inappropriate amount of fun these days. She has the pleasure of meeting new people every week performing autism assessments virtually and loves the cognitive rigor and emotional depth of those experiences. In her other waking hours, she’s fascinated watching her 12-year-old son navigate adolescence and her 10-year-old son fling himself headlong into every new situation. Both boys earned their black belts in tae kwon do this spring. Katie and her husband have tackled many home projects, and can now do so with harmony, which everyone who’s gone through the renovation process knows is a feat in itself!  Her family has been hosting outdoor bashes during COVID and they’re traveling again, complete with surf lessons in Sayulita.  Plus, Katie was told by several folks that she can now speak Spanish like a 6 year old, which makes her inordinately proud.

   Chad Bartell and his wife Julie took a two-week trip to the Galapagos Islands in May and saw wildlife both above sea level and below. After a COVID-related downsizing at his company of nearly 10 years where he was in-house counsel, Chad now practices business law with a small firm in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. He performs regularly in the summer with the steel drum band he founded in 2016. He and Julie have two boys, 11 and 13.

Rachel Ostrow showed new paintings at Planthouse Gallery in NYC this fall.  The opening was on October 28th.

   Leander Dolphin was elected co-managing partner of Shipman & Goodwin LLP. She previously served on the firm’s Management Committee.  She continues to practice law as a member of and partner in School Law Practice Group and has dedicated her career to advising educational institutions and organizations.

   Erik Rueter gave a webinar about diversity, equity and inclusion for Project Management Institute that has almost five thousand viewers (live plus on demand). He also guest lectured about structural racism in oncology care for Mattitiyahu Zimbler’s ’01 classes on prejudice at Boston College and at Emerson.  His paper on strategies to address racism in oncology care is in review and will hopefully be published in Oncology Nursing Journal.

   Rachel Afi Quinn earned tenure at University of Houston where she was promoted to associate professor in the Comparative Cultural Studies Department and the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program. Her first book Being La Dominicana: Race and Identity in the Visual Culture of Santo Domingo was published with University of Illinois Press in late July. Rachel and her partner Eesha Pandit have been building the social justice South Asian feminist community South Asian Youth in Houston Unite and coordinated their fifth annual summer institute for South Asian youth in Texas this year.

As for your class secretaries, it was a summer of reconnecting and change!  Kevin and his family escaped from their house in New Jersey and spent the summer on Sebago Lake in Maine.  He caught up with Darryl in Freeport and visited Professor Emeritus Richard Miller, who hasn’t lost a beat of his sharp wit.  In September, Kevin started a new gig at Virta Health, working on reversing Type 2 diabetes.  Meanwhile, Darryl and his husband traveled to New Jersey and Ohio to see family who they hadn’t seen for nearly two years.

May the new year be full of good health and wonderful surprises! Hope to hear from you in 2022!

Hello fellow ‘98ers.

It was great to hear from a few of you, and from some farther off spots than usual. Please keep sending in your notes and sightings. I know we would all love to hear a whole range of everyone’s experiences.

Here is the most recent news:

Jehan Manekshaw continues to live in Mumbai with his family—wife Shez and two kids Aden, 7, and Zaya, 3—and have been, like every other family on the planet, dealing with the balance of WFH, Zoomschooling, and staying safe. He continues to run two organizations now in the digital/blended medium: the Drama School Mumbai, and with his wife Shez, Theatre Professionals Education, which focuses on giving schoolteachers the tools from drama with which to do a lot more in their classes. He really misses Miller’s Pond in the summer.

It’s been a long 1.5 pandemic year for Sarah Margon, with both her boys (8.5 and 11.5) doing virtual school until this May (when they returned for just a couple days a week) and her husband and her working from home—sharing an office for much of the time—after nearly 20 years of regular travel for them both. They are nonetheless all healthy and know they are lucky and are so grateful to science for the vaccines that have led to cautiously returning to some version of the “before times.” To that end, Sarah got to join a “just what we all needed” NYC dinner with Amy Rowland (Abbazia), Danielle Woodrow, Emma Cooper-Serber (‘97) and Lauren (Tehan) DiLoreto ‘97 in late May where they laughed and hugged and laughed some more. For the most part, Sarah is now relishing the time at home and with family as she has been nominated by President Biden to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. It’s a tremendous honor, with no lack of urgent issues on which to focus. She reports confirmation will hopefully happen by early fall and then she’ll hit the ground running with a grueling schedule, to carrying out the president’s and secretary’s agenda and restoring the U.S. government’s commitment to meaningful human rights and democracy around the world.

Nathan Eddy reports life is good in London—though lockdown restrictions in the UK have made him miss family and friends in New England. He’s been serving as Interim Director of the Council of Christians and Jews since September. CCJ is the oldest interfaith organization in the UK, and their patron is the Queen. He finds it a privilege to be leading dialogue over Israel-Palestine, Holocaust education, and theological education for clergy and rabbis.

Sarah Miller Lipton is happily working at Kaiser Permanente in the Occupational Medicine department in Panorama City, California. She and her husband Glenn have two boys, ages 8 and 6 years old. They are busy with all the kids’ activities—baseball, soccer, tennis, and swimming! They are looking forward to a nice summer in Los Angeles and enjoying the warm weather. Wishing everyone from Wesleyan good health!

Nathan Camp is returning to Connecticut after two decades out west. He is joining Yale University’s Office of International Affairs and looks forward to reconnecting with New England friends and alumni.

I, meanwhile, have been searching out open camping spots, trying to remember, and slowly regain, the feeling of having real-life social activities, and looking for ways to make the world just a little bit better– so send those ideas too, we could all use them.

Best,

Abby