Laura Hamilton Hardin writes: “Lots of milestones for me! I turned 50 on December 31 and decided to get a tattoo to memorialize the occasion! I had my 10th wedding anniversary (second marriage) in April. My son just graduated from high school and will be attending University of Texas in the fall, so I am officially about to be an empty-nester. My daughter is at Texas A&M and got her Aggie ring in May. She is going to graduate next May . . . exactly 30 years after I did and working on her applications for veterinary school. Work is very busy . . . traveling heavily around the world this year . . . have already clocked 140,000 miles on United.”

David Eichler and his wife, Diane, just celebrated 25 years since they first met and will be going whale watching in the San Juan Islands with Craig Morgan, Tara Lennon ’90, and their daughters this summer.

Silvia Menendez was named associate dean for experiential learning at University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. While she’s still a lecturer, she will also be overseeing externship placements and clinical positions for students. If any Wes attorneys working for nonprofit or public service organizations are looking for externs, let her know. Husband Jeff Harman ’90 is a full professor in the department of behavioral sciences and social medicine at FSU’s College of Medicine. Their youngest daughter just graduated from high school and the oldest is going to be a senior in college.

Jeffrey Naness is doing well on Long Island, keeping in touch with some Wesleyan friends through Facebook and some in real life. (Shout out to Steve Ward!). He is practicing law, representing businesses in employment and labor relations matters. His oldest son just finished his first year at Muhlenberg College and his youngest son is going into 11th grade.

Alexander Chee is in Florence, Italy, teaching in the NYU summer creative writing program. During the rest of the year, he and his husband, Dustin Schell, divide their time between NYC and Hanover, N.H., where Alex is an associate professor of English and creative writing at Dartmouth College. His most recent book, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, a collection of essays, came out in 2018.

Carrie Holden Emmerson and her family moved a bit farther south in Maine to the Midcoast Region (Woolwich, Maine, near Bath), and is teaching social studies at Morse High School where she tries to combat the plague of fake news on a daily basis. She lives a mile from a restaurant that sports a giant inflatable lobster on its roof (The Taste of Maine). So, if you’re driving along Route 1 and see the lobster, stop by and say hello!

Phineas Baxandall reports on the continuing tradition (from at least the ’80s) of Wesleyan’s alumni from the Nietzsch Factor ULTIMATE FRISBEE team playing the current team. In addition to Phineas, other alumni who played this year were Ben Usadi ’92, Matt Higbee ’93, Ezra (Brownstein) Shales ’91, Dan Haar ’81, and Robert Featherstone. Unfortunately, while most years the alumni prevailed, this year the youngsters were too fast, and the alumni hadn’t been playing regularly. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time, with the whole crowd of alumni and current students joining to recount their favorite Wesleyan ULTIMATE FRISBEE memories before adjourning for a BBQ in the backyard of one of the current team’s houses.

Emma Gardner is happily living in Petaluma, Calif. with her husband, Patrick McDarrah ’88, and two kids. They have a lot of different projects going on, but the main one is their rug company, emma gardner design. She is very excited to be working on a big tile and mosaic project with a company in Nicaragua and LA.

Mark Seasholes is splitting his time between Phoenix (ASU professor) and Santa Cruz (enjoying life). He would love to catch up with classmates. Visitors to either place should feel free to drop him a line.

Finally, Jonathan and Michele want to make sure everyone has the 30th Reunion in their calendar (May 23-26, 2019). The Reunion Committee is in need of volunteers to get involved with planning for Reunion. Please contact Megan Lenzzo, assistant director of annual giving at mlenzzo@wesleyan.edu if interested. Go Wes!

Jonathan Fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com 

Michele Barnwell | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Hi all. I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer. Here’s what we have:

I’ve started to lose count, but our class certainly seems to have a growing number of Wes parents in our midst. Joining the club are Alexis Neaman Roberts and Chris Roberts ’89 who are very excited that they will be on campus more frequently for the next four years—visiting their daughter Beatrix ’22!

It was also great to hear from Ruben “Bengy” Ballesteros, who remains a staff attorney at Legal Aid in the Baltimore area, specializing in juvenile and foster care cases. Joy Challenger Slaughter moved to Alexandria, Va., and would love to connect with some Wesfolk soon!

Writing to our class notes for the first time is Graham Guest, who has a bunch of great news. First, in 2016, Graham’s philosophical novel, Winter Park, was published by Atmosphere Press. Second, in 2017, Moses Guest, Graham’s band, put out its seventh album, Light. Finally, in 2018, Definition, a work of Graham’s in the philosophy of lexicology, was published by Floating Records Press.

Carol Booth was awarded the Helen Diller Family Award for Excellence in Jewish Education in their Informal Education category.

Carol help started the Jewish Baby Network in the San Francisco Bay Area. The award is for her work with Jewish Baby Network. The award includes $2,500 for Jewish Baby Network and $10,000 for Carol. “The goal of Jewish Baby Network is to bring together Jewish community organizations and funders to create programs for parents with babies and toddlers. The focus is on community building and connection. We add over 100 member families each year and now have two chapters in the Bay Area, and we will add one more chapter in 2019. The award is very exciting for me personally and also for Jewish Baby Network. It recognizes the need for Jewish organizations to create supportive programs for families with babies and toddlers. I love the work, especially since I get to hold and play with lots of babies!”

Carol’s son, Josh, is still enjoying Seattle, and her daughter, Naomi, just finished her first year at Barnard College. Her youngest is finishing her junior year of high school. “I am trying to convince her to apply to Wes, but we will see.” David Booth ’91 is the rabbi at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto. “The congregation is in the middle of rebuilding its entire facility, so currently the synagogue site is a large hole in the ground. The new building should be completed by January. In the meantime, we are truly wandering Jews having services and events all over the community. We leave soon for a four-week vacation to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, which I think will be enough adventures to last us through the year!”

Kate Hardin, in Boston, has taken on a new focus at work, leading a couple of projects on low-carbon transportation, looking specifically at the impact of electric vehicles and ride hailing on global oil demand. Kate and her family are gearing up for summer with their 13-year-old headed to camp in western Massachusetts for a month, and their 10-year-old taking sailing lessons on the Charles. Kate has been in touch with Debbie Gahr, whom she saw when she was in New York recently to see Dear Evan Hanson. “I also wanted to say thanks to Wes for the excellent article in the alumni mag on the book, Blood Sugar—it’s on the reading list!”

Finally, we have Mark Cooper as another first-time class notes contributor. Mark is a professor at the University of South Carolina, and has a new coauthored book coming out in August that might interest folks: Media U: How the Need to Win Audiences Has Shaped Higher Education (Columbia UP). Mark and his coauthor, John Marx, also blog about higher education issues at coopermarx.net.

That’s all for now. Please send news for the next issue!

Vanessa Montag Brosgol | vanessa.brosgol@yahoo.com

 

Well, it’s hard to believe another Reunion has come and gone! We had a great turnout and I’ll just go ahead and speak for everyone . . . a super fun time. Hope to see even more of you at the next one! Here are the latest updates from some of our classmates:

Diego von Vacano writes, “I just saw Pete O’Brien in Kiev, where he’s been living for almost 20 years working in the wind energy sector. I am teaching at Yale this year in political science.”

Paul Arberman writes, “After 20 years living in Israel, my wife and I, with three kids in tow, moved to the U.S. I found a rabbinical position at Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Never expected to live in Florida, but I’m enjoying the work, warm weather, and the chance to vote here in the next elections. Love reading the notes on classmates and happy to hear from anyone in the South Florida area!”

Dana Wishengrad is happily never married, living with her 17-year-old daughter and (editor’s note: wicked cute!) dog in New Jersey, and finding a cure to cancer.

Also curing cancer, Jessica Kirshner writes, “I live in NYC with my husband, Dan Sommers, and our two kids: 7-year-old daughter, Rebecca, and 5-year-old son, Evan. I have been leading a team of scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals developing cancer therapies for over 10 years. We love living in NYC, but I miss my friends Bay Area friends, Darcie Luce and Danielle Mahones, and Elisa Freeling in London.”

Susan Chun had a great time at the 25th Reunion. She brought her 8-year-old son to experience campus, as her wonderful time at Wesleyan will be a part of their ongoing conversations about education, opportunities, and choices. She said it was great to chat with all that she could—and to any and all, keep in touch (susan.chun@gmail.com).

Kirsten Cole writes, “I live in Brooklyn with my spouse, David, and our two kids, Max and Zeke. I’m a professor of early childhood education at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, which, most days, is my dream job. We’re active at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting where we see Morgan Harting and his family. We also see a lot of Jesse Hendrich ’94 as our kids attend the same beloved public school. Finally, though our street in Crown Heights is only one block long, it includes several Wes grads, including our immediate neighbor, Charlotte Hunter ’85 and, until recently, Doris Barry ’84 across the street.”

John Michael Sakalowsky is still racing bikes and writing, living in Newton, Mass., with his wife, son, dog, and many, many bikes. He is the VP of product and design at a Cambridge, Mass., life-science tech startup. He reports that people are always a bit surprised that he majored in English and French literature at Wesleyan.

Andrew Hazlett (andrew.hazlett@gmail.com) writes, “I live in Baltimore with my wife, Geetanjali Chander, who works on HIV and substance use interventions as a physician-researcher at Johns Hopkins. Our daughter Piya (11) is a voracious reader of books, a feminist, and an avid consumer of political news. Wesleyan ’29? After Wesleyan I worked for the Manhattan Institute, a free market think tank in New York, and at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington. Since then, I’ve been a stay-at-home dad and I’ve worked in the nonprofit and social innovation community in Baltimore. I just finished my MFA in creative nonfiction at Goucher College. Now I’m at a crossroads. What I learned and experienced at Wesleyan has framed and influenced my whole life. If you ever want to talk, about our frosh year in particular, send me an e-mail. I’m finally writing about it.”

I’m sorry to have to report the death of Jon-Sam Frank this past September. Sam was a resident of Bay Shore, N.Y., at the time of passing. I know he is greatly missed by his friends and family.

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hello from Rahway, N.J. After 11 years, Rahway still sounds weird to this native New Yorker. I work in Tribeca, so my daily commute is sometimes a reminder of why I left the city but still gives me ample opportunity to visit and immerse myself in diverse culture. After 18 years in legal and compliance, I decided to return to school and work towards my masters’ in adult education.

Aram Sinnreich has been elected chair of the communication studies division at American University, and his third book, A People’s Guide to Intellectual Property, will be published by Yale Press in early 2019.

Sondra Youdelman is based in NYC, and has left Community Voices Heard (cvhaction.org) after 16 years to spend the last year fighting back against Trump with the Peoples Climate Movement (peoplesclimate.org). She’s now settling in to a new role at People’s Action (peoplesaction.org) working to build the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas, to win change through issue campaigns and elections.

Sigrid Schmalzer and Winston Close ’89 live with their two kids, Ferdinand, 10, and Winston “Narri” Anarres, 5, in Northampton, Mass. Winston has taken up barefoot running and creates websites for antiwar, prison-abolition, and other noble causes; Sigrid is active in the resurgence of Science for the People and has published her first children’s book, Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean: Remembering Chinese Scientist Pu Zhelong’s Work for Sustainable Farming.

Tonya Ward Singer is traveling around the U.S. and Canada helping educators break down barriers to equal opportunity and elevate language and literacy learning in K-12 schools. Connect with Tonya at tonyasinger.com and check out her new book, EL Excellence Every Day: The Flip-to Guide to Differentiate Academic Literacy. The book is dedicated to a family in Mexico City that she has not seen since 1993; however, she is bringing her family to Mexico City to meet them soon. She plans to surprise the family with the dedication and gift them the book. Since learning that her New England ancestors were enslavers, she’s been on a path to unpack American history of white privilege and white silence via her own family tree.

George Chang has relocated, along with his wife and two kids, from New York to San Francisco to join Voleon Capital Management as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Voleon is a technology and investment firm that uses machine learning techniques to generate investment forecasts. He’s looking forward to getting to know Wes alumni in the area.

Jesse Hendrich practices psychotherapy and has opened a new office in midtown Manhattan. As a community organizer, he has been working on issues of traffic and street safety, affordable housing, and public education reform in his neighborhood of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (with neighbors Scott Dvorin ’00, Christophe Hille ’96, and Carolyn Cryer ’01). He spends time with Mark Ladov, who lives in the neighborhood and works for the New York state attorney general’s office, and Aaron Passell, who is a professor of urban studies at both Barnard and Columbia. He sees Nicole Davis quite a bit, as she is also a psychotherapist, who practices in Manhattan and Kirsten Cole ’93 as their children go to school together. He and Kirsten do a lot of volunteer and community organizing work together. He also writes that Scott Rosenberg and his wife just had their first child; and Jonah Ross is studying to be a psychotherapist.

Samera Syeda Ludwig | ssludwig@nixonpeabody.com

Caissa Powell | cdp2000@hotmail.com 

 

Katy writes for this issue: I’m very glad to share news from a nice bunch of our classmates. David Aaron writes: “I graduated in May from the Brown University Executive Master in Cybersecurity program. They gave me a nice award too, the Brown Master’s Award for Professional Excellence.”

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I’m the winner of the 2018 PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature for an Italian novel I’ve begun translating (and hope to publish)—a dream I’ve had since majoring in Italian at Wesleyan! It was an incredible thrill to win the award from such a prestigious organization, which, in addition to supporting the written word, safeguards free speech all over the world. An excerpt of my translation is available at pen.org/from-a-walk-in-the-shadows. I’m teaching Italian at UConn part-time, working as an editor part-time at CNN (where I worked in Atlanta as a contractor before moving—back!—to Connecticut last year), and raising my little boy, Leo, whose curiosity and passion for learning could position him well for the Wes Class of 2034.”

Cheryl Mejia’s ups at the moment are her family life and her job, while the downs are catching up on retirement savings and not bicycling lately. She speaks regularly with Amy Hundley, Lisa McQueen, and Son Tran, the latter who is purported to be moving to Canada in the upcoming year.

Nathalie Pérez-Cino writes: “Even though we’ve lived in Worcester, Mass., for 17 years this is the first time my family vacationed in the Berkshires. Must be the New Yorker in me! Now that our youngest has joined her siblings at Worcester Academy, we are finally on the same school schedule again. Giovanni is 15, Isabella is 13, and Christiana is 11. I still can’t believe we now have two kids in high school! It’s been a great year full of new beginnings and emerging talents for our kids. And, not to be outdone by them, I am learning to play the guitar. Three of us ran our first 5K in May and I am proud to say the youngest, Christiana, bested her parents!”

Carrie Fischer Turner, in NYC, writes: “I’m really psyched to announce that Nite Haus’s second album, Saturation, is being released on June 1! We plan on playing a few shows in the city over the summer, and I am just really proud that I have kept my drive to make music intact as I head into my dotage. I’m still in regular contact with one of my best friends from Wesleyan, Brett Aristegui. He lives outside Pittsburgh with his wife and two daughters.”

Matvei Yankelevich writes: “I’m a founding member of the collectively-run, nonprofit Ugly Duckling Presse (UDP). We’re celebrating 25 years since UDP’s inception as a zine (The Ugly Duckling) at the Russian House at Wesleyan. We publish poetry, translation, essays, performance texts, and books by artists. I teach translation at Columbia University’s MFA and I’m on the writing faculty at the MFA at Bard College. My most recent book of poems, Some Worlds for Dr. Vogt, was published by Black Square Editions. My novella-in-fragments, Boris by the Sea, was republished in a new edition by Octopus Books. I had dinner with Simone White ’93. She’s been the program director for the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church for a while. She’ll be teaching at the University of Pennsylvania next year. We just published her new book of poems and a long essay—Dear Angel of Death—at UDP.”

Keep sending us your news and updates—we’d love to hear from you!

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

We start with some sad news today. Elizabeth Ann Bender passed away on Nov. 27, 2017. Our thoughts go out to her family and friends.

Barrett Feldman wrote in with the happy news of the birth of her son, Charles Nathaniel Halpern, born on Christmas 2017. Charlie was named after Barrett’s father.

Marysol Castro became a PA announcer for the New York Mets. She is the first female in franchise history and the second in Major League Baseball. She has also launched a new project, somosonair.com, a show that profiles Latinos in all walks of life.

Sabrina McCormick just got tenure at GW Milken Institute School of Public Health and is about to finish her first feature film, Tribe.

Roshanie Adhin moved to New Rochelle with her family at the end of last summer. She writes, “I love having a backyard, planting a garden, and this year, all three kids will be in the same school. I work at Citi—leading their digital transformation initiatives for the commercial bank. So far, so good.”

Rallie Snowden is in her fourth year of working in the counseling center at Washington and Lee University where she is also the LGBTQ coordinator for the campus. She has a 7-year-old daughter and is in the waiting stage for baby number two. Rallie caught up with Anne Brockelman in Boston.

Neil Charran writes: “I’m still working in NYC for ClearBridge Investments, celebrating 10 years. My daughter, Charlotte, will be 2 in August. You can check out my little lady on Instagram @charlottecharron. I’ve written a sci-fi novel called Gideon Star: The Shields of Gideon Prime and will self-publish it on Amazon later this summer. Philip Dinolfo ’14 is helping me with editing.”

Shereem Herndon-Brown and his family relocated to North Bethesda, Md., after living in Atlanta for 11 years. He owns an educational consulting company, Strategic Admissions Advice. He’s happy to be back east where he can connect with more Wes friends and family. In the fall, his rising ninth grade son will be attending Georgetown Prep, where Dacque Tirado teaches.

Speaking of Dacque, he recently joined Stacey Samuel for an NPR Tiny Desk concert at their offices in D.C. He has spoken to tons of Wes folks recently—Shereem Herndon-Brown, Andy McGadney ’92, Kwesi Fraser, Lucius Outlaw ’93, and Bobbito Garcia ’88. Dacque hopes to make it out to Wes alumni events soon. He congratulates the 2018 Wes lacrosse team, who beat Salisbury 8–6 to win their first ever NCAA Men’s Division III Championship.

Leigh Needleman, Andrew Frishman ’97, and their two kids (5 and 8 years old) vacationed in D.C. Leigh tells us: “We had a wonderful reunion with the families of Sasha Dennis Moreno and Bookie Neuburger ’95. Our kids all had a grand time running around with each other, which was so much fun to witness. While we were in D.C., we had the great fortune of frolicking with Melissa Feldberg Whipps ’97 and her family at a few museums. As for careers, I am the scientist on the design team for the new Harvard SEAS megabuilding in Allston. Andrew continues to push the envelope of the education world as the coleader of Big Picture Learning.”

Ann (Camp) Mason and her husband moved to Middletown, Conn., from South Florida, after a promotion. Ann is now the general manager of the New England branch of Future Metals, servicing aerospace customers from Virginia to Ontario. She has enjoyed participating in alumni events at Wes, especially the female athlete mentoring sessions. She observes that there is no organized list of former Wes women’s rugby players and asks that “anyone living in the New England area or beyond and willing to participate in these mentoring sessions should reach out to me or Karen Whalen, director of athletic fundraising: linkedin.com/in/kbwhalen. I think these young women can greatly benefit from what you ladies can share.”

Kristin Mercer wrote, “My family and I are still living in Columbus, Ohio, where my husband, Joel, and I teach at Ohio State University. Our Ohio-born daughter, Ines, 7, has grown into a real Buckeye who loves reading, running, and swimming. We took a family trip to Spain this spring and enjoyed the rich history, the beautiful natural areas, and steeping ourselves in such a different culture.”

Dara Federman | darasf@yahoo.com 

Dacque Tirado | dacquetirado@yahoo.com

Hi, Class of 1997! We hope you had a lovely summer. Cyrus Bryden writes: “I have been living in Charlotte, N.C., for about 13 years and my partner, Pina, and I have three children (ages 12, 11, and 8). I am employed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and regulate predominantly in the financial services and energy industries. I am an active coaching volunteer for my children’s sports teams (lacrosse, soccer, and baseball). This summer, I hope to reconnect again with David Katz and his beautiful family in Destin Beach, Fla.”

Brent and Alison Keimowitz Spodek are in the Hudson Valley, where Alison is an associate professor of chemistry at Vassar College and Brent is the rabbi at Beacon Hebrew Alliance. His synagogue held a benefit concert with Dar Williams ’89. Photos are online at facebook.com/beaconhebrewalliance. This summer Brent and Alison spent time with Ilana Sumka in Belgium, where she lives with her family.

Josh Suniewick writes: “Maggie and I hosted a Wesleyan reunion party at our home in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Memorial Day weekend. We had so much fun at our 20th last spring that it seems to be the only way to spend Memorial Day weekend. The best part was not only being surrounded by so many Wes friends, but seeing the next generation of 23 possible Wesleyan students having such a blast together.” Go to magazine.wesleyan.edu to view a group photo that includes Maggie (McLean) Suniewick, Josh Suniewick, Amani Willett, Maya Kremen, Joanna Starrels, Niko Higgins, Yaron Ben-Zvi, Tony Schloss, Alex Grashow, Carter Bays, Emma (Ditrinco) Sollars, Emma Cooper-Serber, Katharine Bailey, Kimberly King, and Mike Lenore. Other WesSpouses in attendance were Alejandro Luciano ’96, Juno Shaye ’98, and Ben Selkow ’96.

In other news, beginning July 1, we have four new AAEC officers leading the Alumni Association Executive Committee, including Kimberly King, vice chair.

That’s all for now! Take care and feel free to send us your updates and photos, which can be posted to the class notes website.

Jessica Shea Lehmann | jessica.lehmann@gmail.com

Sasha Lewis Reisen | alewisreisen@gmail.com

Minona Heaviland is living in Santa Rosa, Calif., with her husband and two kids. She’s working part-time in planning and ecological restoration, loving being a mom in the North Bay, and is happy to connect with any Wes alumni around the Bay Area.

Lily Cook has a fellowship to study biomedical informatics at Oregon Health & Science University from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She is a first-year predoctoral student.

From Zack Becker: “Amy Martin is the Democratic Party’s nominee for judge of the 263rd Criminal District Court, in Harris County, Texas. Amy has been a licensed attorney in Texas since 2003 and has spent the majority of her career representing indigent defendants charged with capital murder.”

Shannon (Kelly) and Jeff Tam ’98 have been living in Brooklyn for the last six years. She has been a midwife for 14 years and recently joined a great local practice (Park Slope Midwives). “I occasionally catch a Wes baby.” They have a son (11) and daughter (9). Jeff teaches chemistry at Trevor Day School.

Jeffrey Blumenthal has been getting back to his E&ES roots. “It rocks when a geographer and a geologist cross paths.” (in reference to his bae, Amelia Letvin).

Dan Jamieson and Jennie Rabinowitz welcomed baby Jonah River on May 14. Siblings Elijah (10) and Naomi (7) are over the moon about their new brother. Dan is a pulmonary and critical care doctor at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, and Jennie is busy raising up the wee ones. They live in Chevy Chase, Md.

Mike Hakim has been living happily in Malibu and Beverly Hills with the lovely Sophia for approximately nine years, raising Skyler (8), Lexington (7), and newborn Charleston. “All of us are Gemini and celebrate birthdays within a week.” Real estate investment and development support Michael’s writing, travel documentaries, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Instagram: @beverlyhillsmayor.

Seth Dellinger, a Feldenkrais practitioner, just released his 12-part audio program and e-book, ¡Reimagining Yourself!, a comprehensive program for life transformation through the vehicle of experimental and improvisational movement exploration. More info at sethdellinger.com or sethbdellinger@gmail.com.

From Nina Kontos: “Jake Kheel had a beautiful wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and a number of us got to enjoy a few days there to celebrate (no kids!). Great crew, great times—a magical mini-reunion and we got to visit the beautiful ecological reserve in which Jake oversees. The crew included Dan Lawren, Danny Forster, Davis Thompson-Moss, Kabir Sen, Dan Shotz, Chris Coyle, Josh Harris, Billy Kheel ’96, Ben Selkow ’96, and Katharine Bailey ’97.

Ellen Sluder Cohen is a VP of marketing for RingBoost, the nation’s largest provider of vanity phone numbers. “It’s a fascinating business and I’ll be happy to talk anyone’s ear off about it at the 20th Reunion! My daughters are 7 and 4, and we’re living the full suburban NYC experience. In my time between jobs, I helped my husband build a professional-grade treehouse that will outlast us all. If anyone wants a sweet getaway, all are welcome!”

Sean Huse met up with several teammates at the Annual Wesleyan Men’s Basketball Golf Outing. It was a great day for the groups of Matt Hochstein ’00, Sean O’Brien ’00, Joe Griffin ’00, Josh Janelli ’01, Bryan McBeth ’02, and Brandon McBeth ’02. “Sadly, this group could hit more layups than greens in regulation so there was no winning prize. Coach Joe Reilly is doing a great job with the team, hosting this tournament, and with alumni relations . . . 10 years in a row for this group!” Sean, Pete Czerepak, Tim Syrett, and Geoff Dailey all work on State Street but have yet to have dinner in two years (of trying). “I’m sure many can relate to how busy work, travel, and family commitments can be at our age. We remain confident that a sit down can occur before 2019.”

Mark Zubko moved back to Westchester from London. He has three kids: Nico, Oliver, and Pia, who attend three different schools, which make the logistics somewhat complicated. His wife (Alex) remains way cooler than him.

You may have heard that the Notorious B-JW (Barbara-Jan Wilson) is retiring at the end of 2018. She welcomed in our class for our frosh dinner at the Freeman Center Ice Rink. It seems only fitting that her very large shoes will be filled by one of our own —Frantz Williams Jr. Congrats, Frantz!

As for your secretaries: Darryl and Bob bought a house and moved to Freeport, Maine. Kevin and his wife enjoyed a Saturday Wes ’99 double-header—brunch at Dave Feit’s new restaurant (the Stone & Rail) in Glen Rock, N.J., and getting to see the product of Tommy Kail’s directing brilliance, Hamilton. During brunch, Dave, his wife, and two kids were at the next table over celebrating their 11th anniversary!

C. Darryl Uy | darryl.uy@gmail.com

Kevin Kumler | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Leah Grabelsky is an assistant principal at a NYC public high school and recruiting math, science, and visual/digital art teachers for 2018-2019. E-mail LGrabelsky@hsartstech.org to set up a visit.

Lily Oglesby completed her MFA in choreography from Wilson College in May (and on her graduation day got a job offer to teach at Dickinson College). The San Francisco native relocated to Pennsylvania five years ago for her husband’s tenure-track position in philosophy (though they still spend several weeks each year back in SF Bay). She has enjoyed her time back on the East Coast, choreographing, teaching, performing, seeing old Wes buddies, and raising her 5-year-old son, Benjamin, who starts kindergarten this fall. She adds, “I am writing this from Smith College, where I am at a conference, serendipitously, with recently retired Wes professor of dance, Susan Lourie.”

Suhi Koizumi was honored by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association as one of 17 recipients for the prestigious Best Lawyers Under 40 Award (BU40 Award). The BU40 Award recognizes talented individuals in the Asian Pacific American legal community who are under the age of 40 and have achieved prominence and distinction in their respective fields—be it the practice of law, academia, business, civic and charitable affairs, the judiciary, or politics—and who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Asian Pacific American civic or community affairs. Suhi practices immigration law at Minami Tamaki LLP in San Francisco.

Melanie Grubman purchased 93 acres of land with friends in the beautiful Mad River Valley of Vermont. Located on trails, rivers, and connected to the local school, Living Tree Alliance is a multigenerational, ecologically-oriented initiative, dedicated to redefining community, regenerating land, and revitalizing culture. She writes, “We are building a residential community, a regenerative working lands cooperative, and offering place-based transformative, education programs that nourish the mind, body, and spirit of all participants. We have four more plots available for people to build their homes on our pedestrian village and share in our dream of creating a vibrant space for collaborative land-based businesses, community, and festival life. Check it out at livingtreealliance.com or come camp on the land during one of our regional family festivals.”

Tim Howard writes, “My wife and I are moving to Berlin in May. I will continue to edit the podcast Reply All (replyall.limo), and will be reporting stories from Europe for the show. I’m very excited to meet journalists from anywhere in Europe, and also to get a drink with anyone in Berlin. Please contact me on Twitter: @newtimhoward. Also, I just released my eighth Soltero album, Western Medicine Blues.”

Jordyn Bonds says, “I’m coming up on my 15th year living in Boston, which is just crazy to think about. The big news for me right now is that I started my own company to finally focus full-time on my side project. It’s a data diary app called TallyLab and everyone is welcome to try it out: tallylab.com. Boston-area alumni who I get to see with some regularity (though never often enough!) are Rhiannon Luyster and Lenore Tsikitas Maniaci.”

Dana Hale writes, “I am the sales director for Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Mass. We are an oyster farm who sells our own farm-raised products like wild razor clams, mussels, and a handful of other shellfish grown locally in Cape Cod. We have five sister restaurants and have just purchased a large property that will house our farm, hatchery, events, and some alfresco oceanside dining. My partner, Rafael, is attending MGH, studying to become a physician assistant, and my son, Santiago, works on climbing upstairs when I’m not looking and eating cheese. I’m still in touch with so many Wesleyan classmates. I am most closely located to Chloe Garcia-Roberts and Mara Voukydis ’01. I see them and their lovely families as much as I can. Other dear friends are more far flung, when they read this they’ll know who they are and how much I miss them.”

Ify Chuke-Nwobi writes, “I am the founder of a leading moringa brand, Miracle in the Green. We also have a line of all-natural baby skincare, Mummy’s Miracle. Running this baby and enjoying life with my husband and four kids in sunny Orlando, Fla. Will love to meet up with any Wes alumni in central Florida.”

Avery Esdaile | wesleyan2000@gmail.com

As per usual, our 2001 crew is as overachieving as ever. We enjoyed hearing from all the fearless entrepreneurs among us. Let’s get right to it.

Thank you to Michael Shelley who wrote in about his wild adventures in Austin, Texas. Since 2010, Michael has been the owner-operator of a wildlife removal service that uses safe and humane methods to remove uninvited guests from homes and return them to their natural habitats. When he isn’t rescuing raccoons, snakes, and bats, oh my, Michael stays busy chasing after his two young daughters, Sadie and Mabel.

Comedian-actor Woody Fu’s one-man show was presented at the Magnet Theater in New York and featured in the New York Times. Asian Gracefully takes on topics like immigrant hoarders, Chinglish, what video game characters think about, and how the straight Asian male is the most marginalized group on Pornhub. We’ll take your word for it, Mr. Fu.

Juliana Ansari serves on the board of the Entrepreneurship Foundation in Connecticut, an organization that provides resources and education for entrepreneurs in the area. She works for the women’s health startup, DotLab, developing the first non-invasive test for endometriosis. Based on microRNA technology from Yale research, Juliana helps facilitate the transition of this new test from lab to clinic through her scientific writing and grant development.

Gwendolyn Guarino is a massage therapist with a sweet office in Troy, N.Y. Gwendolyn would be thrilled to see any local or visiting Wesleyan grads for a session (she also teaches a popular couples massage workshop), so get in touch at massageatlux.com. Gwendolyn has a 1-year-old son, Evander Gray Hurd, with her significant other, Jay Hurd.

Paul DePalo is running for Massachusetts Governor’s Council in District 7 (covering 65 municipalities across central Massachusetts). He will be facing Tea Party incumbent, Jen Caissie, in the November elections. Governor’s Council approves or rejects the Governor’s judicial nominations, and Paul’s platform centers on criminal justice reform and ending the school-to-prison pipeline. Find out more at pauldepalo.com. Good luck, Paul!

November 2017’s issue of Washington Lawyer featured the work of Open City Advocates, the juvenile law organization cofounded by Whitney Trevelyan Louchheim. Open City Advocates works with law students to fill a critical gap in youth legal representation in D.C.’s juvenile justice system. Mara Voukydis pipes in to say that she and Whitney have happily crossed paths in their work and were delighted to realize the Wes connection. Mara can attest firsthand to the incredible and inspiring work that Whitney does. Learn more at opencityadvocates.org.

Finally, in the 11th hour, Ben Hurwitz wrote in to share that he, Maneesh Sharma, Josh Cook, and Dave Bihldorff left their daily lives and families to reunite at Joshua Tree in honor of their 20th friendaversary. While not entrepreneurial in the traditional sense, we do admire their commitment to prioritizing what’s important and working hard to get what they want. (There it is. We knew we’d find the entrepreneurial connection if we tried).

Entrepreneurship is not easy, and we are so impressed with our classmates’ willingness to take risks in order to be able to do what they love.

Mara Voukydis | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn Sperando | arynsperandio@yahoo.com