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Hello friends!
We are deep into the celebration season of 60! Happy birthday to all! Eric Leifer wrote to say that when he reflects upon those of us turning 60 this year, he thinks that we are the lucky ones. Salud!
Trish McGovern Dorsey shared news from a big Wesleyan gathering. She says, “We had a total of 19 people in Nashville over a holiday weekend, including our significant others. We sampled musical venues on Broadway (of course), saw some minor league baseball, took group line dancing lessons, exchanged joke T-shirts and books, and visited many of the city’s great museums. Most importantly, we picked up right where we left off the last time we were all together. It was special beyond words. Grateful to this group for the past, present, and future!” The group, photo below, included Trish, John Dorsey, Holly Campbell Ambler, Debbie Martin Gould, Chris Gould, David Igler ’88, Cindy Willard Igler ’88, Sue Romeo Malestein, David Glotzer, David Witkin, David Josephs, and Doug Koplow.
Ian Rosen has moved from his sustainability business to a pharmaceutical start-up, IntraBio, focused on treatments for neurodegenerative disease. Their flagship product received FDA approval for neurological manifestations of an ultra-rare disease; they are looking for European approval. They are busy with other applications to the FDA and Phase 3 clinical trials for other treatments. Ian’s eldest daughter, Isabel ’24, is working as a paralegal for an immigration firm representing asylum seekers, and he couldn’t be prouder. His youngest daughter is entering her senior year of high school and starting the university process. His wife continues her many business activities. All good!
After more than 20 years at CUNY, Rebecca Bratspies will be moving from the Big Apple to the Big Easy, leaving NYC and joining the faculty of Tulane Law School. She is the first holder of the Oliver Houck Endowed Chair of Environmental Law. She’d love to know if any Wes classmates are in NOLA.
Lisa Pavlovsky made some great class connections recently. She ran into Ron Fortgang at a Bay Area alum event and then joined his 60th birthday celebration on Zoom with Steve O’Neal. In April, Lisa met up with Elissa Wolf-Tinsman in Monterey. Elissa lives in Denver but was visiting her daughter in California where she teaches. They had a great few days catching up. In May, when Lisa was in NYC for her son’s college graduation, Vivian Trakinski gave Lisa’s family an amazing behind-the-scenes tour of the American Museum of Natural History, where she is director of science visualization. The Invisible Worlds exhibit she spearheaded is truly extraordinary.
Michael Bennet is currently serving as the senior senator from Colorado in Washington, but he is running for governor in Colorado in 2026, and many of our classmates are actively working for his election.
Muzzy Rosenblatt celebrated 25 years of leadership at Bowery Residents’ Committee—a nonprofit organization focused on helping those facing homelessness. At a BRC gala this summer, Michael Bennet was on hand to honor Muzzy. Those of us who knew Muzzy at Wesleyan thought he might be the NYC mayor eventually, and his work for BRC is right in line with our expectations. In August, BRC opened the Robert C. Wood Apartments, a housing development that honors Wesleyan professor Robert Wood, one of Muzzy’s key mentors. Who can forget Bob Wood, his government classes, and his wooden worry beads?
Anthony (“Tony”) Salerno was awarded the 2023 Ameriprise Client Experience Award, working in the financial services arena.
I have news of my own to share! I have recently earned my Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)® designation. This is not a career change, but an addition to the editorial and project management work I do in educational publishing. Like many of you, I have been getting the crash course in aging as I help my mom, and I see how stressful the health, social, and financial issues challenges relating to getting older can be. So many people are unprepared for these challenges and are forced to make critical decisions in moments of crisis. I am looking forward to helping people thoughtfully anticipate, understand, and manage their options. Hopefully, our own aging challenges are decades away, but there is so much we can do now to be prepared!
Happy 60!
REBECCA ZIMBLER GRAZIANO | rebecca.graziano@hotmail.com