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As I write this, the summer is coming to an end. I hope everyone made some wonderful memories with family and friends. My daughters are seniors in high school, so it is going to be a busy year here. Over the summer I saw Peter Chandler for a fun dinner in Washington, DC, and met up with Emily Faith Rothman in Boston. I saw my sisters Humera Syeda ’90 and Sohera Syeda ’96 regularly, and we said goodbye to both of our parents—our dad passed in January, and our mom passed in August—who were so proud of us for being Wes grads. 

A little Wes history and family connection: For 32 years my dad was a professor of physics at Norwich University in Vermont. North and South Colleges on High Street were built in 1825 for a military academy. In 1829, Connecticut refused to grant the academy a college charter, so the school moved to Vermont, received its charter in 1834, and then became Norwich University. After sitting empty for a couple of years, in 1831, Methodist leaders acquired North and South Colleges and founded Wesleyan University.

Raya Salter’s nonprofit, the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center, which she founded, celebrated its five-year anniversary. She also was appointed this year to the New York State Permanent Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Kate Foster writes that she is “still living in Baltimore, working for Rails to Trails Conservancy as the senior director of trail development and equity. “My work mostly centers around equipping underinvested communities across the US to develop multiuse trails for walking, biking, and running, using equitable development principles. Both of my kids are out of college—one is a freelance photojournalist in NYC and the other just moved back to Baltimore and is taking the LSATs and preparing to apply to law school. I’ve done all the big life changes in the past few years—divorce, empty nest, new house/new neighborhood, major career pivot. It’s been a rough few years (!) but things are settling down. In my free time, I’ve been organizing in my neighborhood to build deeper connections and support for vulnerable neighbors. I spend a lot of time working out at my local gym and walking and hiking with my dog and my friends. I’ve just joined a local tool library and am having fun learning new skills in woodworking, plumbing, and electrical, so I can be a DIY pro with my new house. This fall I’m looking forward to volunteering with a local tutoring program that works with Latinx high school girls.”

Dan Brown writes that after closing his digital design agency after 18 years, he started a new consultant company and has been self-employed for 20 years. He writes that “last spring I started a podcast about disinformation, which has now featured three Wesleyan alums, including Elise Gould ’93, Susannah Fox ’92, and Nick Suplina ’00. It’s called Unchecked: The Architecture of Disinformation. Please listen!”

Additional news in Dan’s life is that his 20-year-old son is about to start his junior year at Duke University as a biology major with a concentration in marine science and will be doing a semester abroad in Australia this fall.

Dan’s 15-year-old son got involved with ultimate Frisbee this past year, which turns out to be a great way to reconnect with Wesleyan alums. He is on the same Maryland high school team as Bill Goldberg’s kid. At an event for his DC–area summer league team, he ran into Jiyoung Lim Gilbreth whose son was on the same team. Elise Gould ’93 also has kids in the summer league, and they saw each other at a tournament in Philly.

Dan gives some advice too. “Another great way to meet Wesleyan alums in the DC area? Get a dog! Months before Wendy Weber and I recognized each other from Wesleyan, our dogs became best buddies. Walnut (mine) and Whiskey (hers) still play in Wendy’s yard whenever they get a chance.”

James Longley recently completed a new documentary feature film called Mohabat, working with Academy Award–winning documentary producer Alex Gibney and legendary Hollywood producer and former Wesleyan student William Horberg ’80. Filmed over two years in Afghanistan during Taliban rule, Mohabat is a coming-of-age documentary that offers a unique insider view of Afghanistan after NATO forces departed. Mohabat will premiere in fall 2026. 

And finally, Nicole Phelps dropped off her son, Nik Baker ’30, for his first year.