Class Notes

Those with class notes, please contact:

Class Notes Editor

Hi Class of 2011,

Great updates to read below. Thanks to all of you who contributed!

Kim Prosise is currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. She works as a performing artist and talent agent with her events company, Gold Arrow LLC, and spends her free time writing, hiking, and trying new desserts. She contributes to a number of causes and has become particularly passionate about premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) awareness.

Mallory Cruz writes, “I was recently invited to contribute a chapter to the book, Sincerely, Your Autistic Child. It was published back in April. It’s an anthology written by autistic individuals where we talk about our experiences growing up autistic and what we want relatives of autistic children to know and understand.”

Barbara Fenig and Patrick Cline welcomed their daughter, Eleanor, on April 8, 2021.

Ameen Beydoun (Film Studies) who is currently living in San Diego, California, tells us, “I published my first graphic novel called Habibti Pada. Available at www.ameenbeydoun.com. I was product manager for EdTech Company in Nairobi (2018–2020), launched a solar refrigeration startup in Dakar, Senegal (2018), and received a masters and MBA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies 2016–2018.” From 2015 to 2016 Ameen was an English teacher at Peace Corps Comoros and also an English teacher at Peace Corps Liberia from 2012 to 2014.

Tyler Wuthmann graduated from naturopathic medical school last month. He tells us, “An odd four years to be in medical school for sure but informative. I’m excited to start my residency in Seattle, Washington, in September. It is an integrative residency focused on family medicine and primary care at Bastyr Center for Natural Health.”

Eliza Gordon is starting her third year as an elementary school principal in Austin, Texas. She returned to the University of Texas at Austin to begin her doctorate this summer in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy in the Cooperative Superintendency Program with the hopes of completing her dissertation in three years.

Jacob Mergendoller graduated from New York University’s School of Social Work in May and started working as a psychotherapist at a community mental health center based in Manhattan (and anywhere else Zoom is available).

Thank you!

Greetings Class of 2010! We’ve got a great column this time around, with book releases, podcasts, and as usual, new jobs, babies, and weddings:

First off is Gina Yeomans reporting that she has started a new position as assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) in April. Nate Green ’09 and Gina still live in the Washington, D.C., area with their two sons, Auggie (3) and Milo (1).

Sam Schilit ’10 MA ’11 and her twin sister published their father’s book, A Moral Tail: The Life and Times of Woodchuck Village, posthumously! This illustrated chapter book is intended for kids of all ages and can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers worldwide. Please consider grabbing a copy for your little future Cardinals: all book sale profits go to Montgomery Hospice.

After a decade in New York City, Tony Zosherafatain is finally ready to embrace more chill vibes in Los Angeles (he will miss New York pizza though). He’s looking forward to new endeavors in the film industry, the sunshine, surfing, and plenty of hiking. If you’re also in the Los Angeles area, feel free to reach out to connect!

Ben Kuebrich reports that he’s launched a true crime podcast called Algorithm (find the podcast at algorithmpod.com)!

Gloria Fanchiang shares: “It’s been just over a year since moving to Los Angeles to pursue music, and I recently released a song called “God Who Sees Us” which speaks to anti-Asian hate.” Gloria adds, “I would love to connect with Wes friends locally and/or on the internet!”

Jonathan Killeen married Alisha Wielgoszinski on a beautiful July afternoon in New Hampshire. The couple was surrounded by a “strong Wes Lax showing,” including Nick “the Jiggler” Ajello, Jason Ben-Eliyahu ‘09, Lonny Blumenthal, Gavin Brennan, Colin Campbell, Nick Hayes ‘09, Dan O’Brien, Bo Pratt, Ram Sivalingam, Matt Ward and Field Yates ‘09. David Layne and Ashley Kass were not in attendance as they were busy tending to their newborn baby girl, and future Cardinal, Charlotte, who was born just days prior to the festivities.

After eight years in Philadelphia, Shannon Sun-Higginson and Andrew Murphy recently returned to New York City this summer. Shannon is currently directing two episodes of an upcoming HBO docuseries about Asian American cuisine, while Andrew recently graduated from an MD/PhD program at UPenn and is now starting his psychiatry residency at Columbia. They’ve been spending their days catching up with old friends Samantha Sherman ’09, Tara Kahn Rooks, Seth Rosen, Ian Park ’11, and Aaron Izakowitz.

Finally, Dylan Marron contributes: “I’m finishing up my first book and it’ll be out in January! Conversations with People Who Hate Me retraces my steps through the social experiment I’ve been doing for the last four years in which I call up internet strangers who have sent me negative or hateful messages and try to understand where they’re coming from. It’s out January 18, 2022!” Dylan’s book can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers.

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

Those with class notes, please write to your class secretary.

Those with class notes, please write to your class secretary.

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.