CLASS OF 1997 | 2026 | FALL ISSUE

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Hi everyone,

We have lots of good news to share from our class—thank you to everyone who reached out with updates!

Jae Emerling is professor of modern and contemporary art in the College of Arts + Architecture at UNC Charlotte. He has recently been named associate dean for research. He lives in Salisbury, North Carolina, with his partner Megan and three kids (Sylvie, Genevieve, and Calvino).  

Josh Borenstein wrote: “The Borensteins are all good! I finished my first year as the program chair for the theater management program at Yale, and I feel so lucky to work with such amazing and passionate students. My wife, Kate Hagmann-Borenstein ’98, is an assistant attorney general for Connecticut in consumer protection, and we just celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. We have two daughters—the first is a junior at Mount Holyoke College, and the second is in the seventh grade and about to become a Bat Mitzvah!”

Becky Lichtenfeld runs a human rights foundation called InMaat Foundation, which is based in New York and supports documentary film projects, as well as organizations working on gender justice. She was executive producer on two films nominated for Oscars this year: Come See Me in the Good Light and Cutting Through Rocks. She also does mitigation work on federal death penalty cases—very different contexts, but the same core belief that storytelling can shift how people see and what they understand. Becky also reunited with Wes band The Solids and has been joyfully singing with them alongside Gaby Moss ’98, Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Josh Suniewick, and Pat Butler ’98.

Kerry Halpern wrote: “Big news for me—my daughter, Piper Skoglund, will be attending Wesleyan in the fall as part of the Class of 2030. I could not be prouder, and now I get to add the P’30 to my name.” (So excited for you and Piper, Kerry!)

Raphael Crawford and Tom Griggs are working together as partners at Boulder24, a talent advisory and consulting business. The two of them coach senior executives, run leadership and negotiation programs, and advise boards and CEOs. The work has taken them from boardrooms in Louisiana to the pyramids of Mexico this year. Both say building something with a friend at this point in a career is a rare thing, and they are enjoying it.

Abe Velez wrote: “This month I had the joy of some alpine backpacking with Bret Sparling in Washington’s Cascades, our first such outing in many years. This summer also included a wonderful visit with Adam Rodnitzky and his wife in their Bay Area backyard. Reunion vibes of our Wes band Mama L’Oshen! Alex Poolos, Jenn Baik, and I sometimes go for Prospect Park walks. I continue to do AI business development for Adobe and rang in my 50th with a second career transition—a part-time master’s in mental health counseling.”

Josh Arthurs and Malayna Bernstein are beginning their sixth year as faculty at the University of Toronto—Josh in Italian studies and Malayna at the Faculty of Information. Josh’s new book, Forty-Five Days: The Fall of Mussolini and Italy’s Reckoning with Fascism, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press in February 2027. “Our son Eli ’27 is entering his senior year at Wes, while Carlo is starting the global education program at McGill. The life of empty nesters awaits!”

And one more update: Craig Thomas’s debut novel That’s Not How It Happened comes out in paperback on November 3 from HarperCollins/Hanover Square Press. 

We look forward to seeing you at our 30th Reunion next May!

Sending you all our best!

Sasha and Jess

JESSICA SHEA LEHMANN | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

ALEXANDRA (SASHA) LEWIS-REISEN | alewisreisen@gmail.com