Kate Linde just got promoted to digital campaign manager for Teen Vogue.

Silvia L. Diaz-Roa worked for a year with the nonprofit DKMS: Delete Blood Cancer to help register people to the bone marrow registry and save lives. Then she started a digital marketing consulting company called DR Digital Studio with her sister and it’s going well so far! She also applied to graduate school and has been accepted to Yale and UPenn.

Andrew Hove has been in Boise (Idaho, for those who may not know where that is…) since graduation working as an analyst at an engineered wood products company called RedBuilt. He’s spent about 40 percent of his working time in Mississippi assisting the management team of a plywood mill rebuilding and refinancing the facility that was leveled by a tornado two-and-a-half years ago. Outside of work, he tries to play music around town about once a week and usually head up to the mountains or camps somewhere right outside Boise on weekends.

Kimora Brock ended her first year in LA with a guest appearance on an Investigation Discovery Channel show called Married with Secrets, and a trip to Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, and Qatar as a yoga model for 2016 Udaya Live, a yoga festival. With the second year just underway, she has moved to Malibu with her partner and launched her company, Malibu Trail Mix, in early 2017. Malibu Trail Mix, LLC, is a 100 percent raw, organic, and sprouted trail mix designed to share the highest quality nutrition and love to the world. Please share the news, follow on IG and like on FB @malibutrailmix, malibutrailmix.com, and info@malibutrailmix.com. She thanks everyone for all of their support thus far and sends love and blessings.

Anthony Antonellis is coaching football and getting his master’s in liberal studies (both at Wesleyan). Previously, he worked at EMC corporation in Boston doing tech sales.

2016 was a great year for William Mendoza. In May, he graduated from Wes again with his M.A. in psychology. Recently, he started working as a research analyst at Ipsos, a market research company.

Anqi Guo got a master’s in finance and risk from the London School of Economics, and is starting her new job at Accenture London in January.

Jenna Starr | jstarr@wesleyan.edu

Two updates this time around. Ali Ozols writes, “For the past two years, I’ve been working as a speechwriter to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.”

Glenn Hartman-Mattson writes, “Right after Wes, I taught human ecology and sustainable design for a year at The Island School, a semester abroad program for high school students in Eleuthera, The Bahamas. The following year I diddled around backpacking, ski bumming, and teaching kids about rocks, and have now made my way back to The Island School. Moving to admin, I do admissions and alumni relations and call Boston home base (with a few cherished trips to the Bahamas).”

Simon Riker gave an update on his production, Me Prometheus: “The New York Theater Festival has accepted our show, and we have the honor to present three performances of it at the Hudson Guild Theatre, a 96-seat theatre in Chelsea. The shows will be July 11, 15, and 16. We are excited about the momentum that the festival is creating for our project and we are excited at the future opportunities it could unlock.”

Mary Diaz | mcdiaz@wesleyan.edu 

This year has been unfortunately uneventful for Bennett Kirschner. Some avoidable health complications have sidetracked his 10-year plan. Regrettably, he accepted a friend’s challenge to see who could eat more bottles of Flintstones Gummy Vites. While he won the challenge, his body was profoundly disoriented by this mineral glut. It has been eight months and he is still functioning at only 80 percent of his former capacity. Let this be a lesson to us all: be careful with vitamins.

James Gardner writes in from Germany, where one of his stepsons just had a baby, so he is now technically a grandfather (believe it or not!). He writes that there is a Facebook group for Wes alumni living in Germany or any German-speaking countries: facebook.com/groups/wesgermany. Everyone living in or frequently traveling to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland should feel free to join.

Benjamin and Vivianne Swerdlow recently bought a home in Richmond, Calif., with their black golden, Shadow, and their degu, Henry. Benjamin is in his second year of a PhD. program in clinical psychology at UC, Berkeley. Vivianne runs a free salesforce administrator training program for job seekers who have been out of work for six months or more, helping mid-level professionals with technology backgrounds gain new skills and find sustainable employment.

Chelsea Goldsmith is still living in Baltimore, still working in non-profit, and still really enjoying both of those things! Highlights of 2016 include learning to use the overcasting foot on her sewing machine, winning gold at Pirate Olympics, and getting engaged.

Marjorie Dodson is going on her fourth year in Beijing. She noshed on spicy rabbit heads with Dan Nass. If anyone is ever in China, give her a shout!

Kevin Curtin shipped up to Boston from NYC. After spending the last year doing private equity, he jumped ship to Jobcase, a startup based in-town. The company is a social media site for empowering America’s workforce.

Evan Okun coordinates nationwide tours for Circles & Ciphers, a Chicago-based restorative justice organization led by young people who are court-, gang-, prison-, and DCFS- involved. Circles & Ciphers opens each event with a spoken word performance, then hosts participants in a restorative justice peace circle to discuss police, and prison abolition. In 2016, they hosted events at Yale University, Hunter College, University of Notre Dame, University of Virginia, and a myriad of other cities across the country. It’s time to dismantle the prison industrial complex, so please contact him directly at: Circles.Ciphers@gmail.com 

The end of 2016 saw Nicole Bonneau graduate from Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Florida Campus as a doctor of chiropractic. She is very excited to be back in her home state of Vermont to practice, as well as to be closer to friends, family, and her fiancé.

In October, Kristen Raddatz became the executive editor for the Chicago Review of Books. Feel free to get in touch if you’re interested in reviewing books, interviewing authors, or writing a lit-related piece for the CHIRB. She’s also still working her real (paying) job as a publicist at the University of Chicago Press, and she’d love to connect with any Wes alumni living in or traveling through the city!

After two years as the deputy media editor at Huffington Post, Catherine Taibi left to join Bloomberg as social media editor, overseeing social strategy on various platforms across Bloomberg.com’s many verticals, including markets, politics, technology, and luxury. Catherine had the privilege of traveling to all three presidential debates and covering each event live, interviewing top political/media figures and celebrities. Post-election, she will continue to cover politics both nationally and internationally.

Ian Waldron writes that Rory O’Neill returned to the United States after three years wandering in Brazil, and was duly roasted by his friends for three hours upon returning. He is acclimating well to American culture and norms.

As for myself, I spent the holidays down under and ushered in 2017 in Melbourne. Tried to smuggle a baby wallaby back to San Francisco, but sadly I couldn’t pull it off. Thanks to all my classmates for writing in and best wishes to everyone in 2017!

Laura Yim | Lyim@wesleyan.edu 

Nathaniel Draper writes in, “The Syros International Film Festival will be held on July 14-19 in Greece. Now going into its fifth edition, the film festival was started by Cassandra Celestin ’13 during her senior year at Wesleyan, along with Jacob Moe (Pomona ’13). It was a self-funded endeavor the first year, and was subsequently joined by Aaron Khandros ’13 and myself, with the four of us making up the core organizational team.

“The festival has since grown to one of the most important art and film events in the region, and has earned recognition in the film world throughout Europe and further abroad. The festival is held every summer on the island of Syros, the capital of the Cycladic islands located just south of Athens, and embeds a rigorous curation of new and old films into many reconstituted spaces on the island, in open-air cinemas purpose-built for the experience. All of which is quite special, since the quality of the programming and the unique experience and community tend to turn guests into devotees who come back again and again.” You can learn more about the festival at syrosfilmfestival.org.

Daisey Perez | deperez@wesleyan.edu

Exciting updates from the Class of 2011!

Tim Dodds reports, “It’s been a crazy and fun year of notables in D.C. After finishing my master’s in June from UPenn, I rewarded myself with a heli-ski trip to New Zealand, only to come back broke, but with a rescue puppy. I’m looking forward to repping the Wes jugg squad as the head lacrosse coach at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Virginia, and building on their #10 national finish from last year.”

Jared Gimbel is in Brooklyn, developing his first video game, Kaverini: Nuuk Adventures, as a co-production with Appetizer Mobile. The game, set in contemporary Greenland, is scheduled for release in 2017 or 2018.

Jon Sheehan, along with other Wes alumni (Sean Corlett ’07, Kim Wittmer ’01, Jacalyn Lee ’79, Molly Steinfeld ’15, and Noel De La Rosa ’01), participated in College Awareness Day at the NYC Department of Education in January.

Steve Hauser and fellow football teammate Nick Seara both married their longtime girlfriends last year with several Wes alumni attending these special events. Congrats!

Jennifer Cheng writes, “I’m still in Salt Lake City, working on my PhD. in neuroscience at the University of Utah. Every now and then I have time for less important things, like climbing and sleeping.”

And, last but not least! Devon Hopkins is moving to Brooklyn after living in D.C. since graduation. He is the new director of content marketing for CARTO, a software platform for creating data-driven maps.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2017!

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Greetings, Class of 2010. Just a few updates to report in this first column of 2017:

Henry Kaplan reports that he is based in LA and is working as a music video/short film/commercial director. He adds: “A short film, We Together, I directed was accepted to Slamdance Film Festival and will be playing in Park City, Utah, in late January! Slamdance is a renowned festival that runs alongside Sundance every year in Park City. The film tells the story of a zombie who comes to remember the person who he used to be before he was a zombie. The film premiered online this fall and garnered a lot of buzz from the online film community. After getting into Slamdance, we’ve taken the film offline and it will have a ‘re-premiere’ at the festival. Find out more  at wetogetherfilm.com.”

Additionally, several Los Angeles-based Wesleyan alumni were involved in the film, including Ben Kuller ’11, producer; Elizabeth Litvitskiy ’15, co-producer; Caillin Puente ’15, first assistant director; Matthew Wauhkonen ’08, digital VFX artist; Peter Cramer ’14, grip; and Jeffrey Kasanoff ’15 and Dan Fuchs ’15 as production assistants.

Sherry Sybertz writes, “I am living in Monterey, Calif., and graduated with an MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. I am working with Dole Fresh Vegetables focusing on transportation logistics, while enjoying all that Monterey has to offer like the aquarium, beautiful hiking, and great weather!”

Dave Brustein writes, “After graduating, my mind was set on becoming an alternative television producer. After working on my latest show, American Ninja Warrior, I harked back to my athletic experience in high school and at Wesleyan. I reached out to my high school, Milken Community High School, a Jewish high school, to become the defensive coordinator of the football team. I want to show that no matter what religion, ethnicity, and nationality you might be, anybody with the right football mindset has the potential to play in the NCAA. My goal is to develop well rounded student-athletes who can use football as a platform for opportunities in college and life.”

Luke Pang oversees international restaurant expansions of Les Amis Group and he’ll be happy to host anyone passing through Singapore. Please contact him at lukepkf@gmail.com.

Hannah Masius reports that she “is living in the Bay Area, [expletive] the patriarchy.”

Michael DeFranco and Jason Krigsfeld have continued to build Lua, a secure messaging platform. They focus on the healthcare market and have launched a patient-facing messaging side of their system to increase doctor-to-patient communication before and after visits. Michael spent time at the Standing Rock camp in North Dakota to support the Sioux’s fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. He is a member of the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, was listed as a featured leader for the Global Peace Foundation, and is serving as United Nations delegate at the UN’s 55th Session of the Commission for Social Development.

Finally, it is with profound sadness that I must report the loss of a dear friend and classmate, Matthew Lamothe. Matt passed tragically on Jan. 16 in NYC, where he was pursuing a successful and burgeoning career as a film producer. Anyone who had the privilege of knowing him at Wesleyan, or elsewhere, would no doubt agree that he was a man with a distinctive enthusiasm for life, and an unflinching loyalty to his friends. I had the pleasure of sharing Hewitt 10 with Matty sophomore year. In particular, I recall how much Matt loved hockey, and he was perhaps the biggest fan of the Cardinal Men’s Hockey team that year. I remember coming home from road trips, exhausted and usually discouraged, to find Matt waiting for the boys to come home to discuss the weekend’s games. It wouldn’t take long for Matt to turn our weekend frustrations into smiles and laughter.

After Wesleyan, Matt stood out as a person who refused to fall out of touch with friends. I looked forward to hearing his news from LA, where he quickly put his talents to use in the film industry. Most recently, he worked for Tommy V Productions, but was perhaps proudest of his work on I’ll See You in My Dreams, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and Intruders, which played at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. As busy as he became with his career, he was always good for a round with the boys when we found ourselves together. Matt lived every day to its fullest, and left his friends with more good memories than we could count. While Matt leaves us far too soon, he leaves us smiling as we reflect on his life, and I’m sure he’d have it no other way. He is survived by his parents, Laura and Dr. Henri Lamothe ’80, and siblings, Barrie, Brooke, Luke, Noah, and Austin.

As always if anyone has notes to add—anytime—feel free to send me an e-mail.

David Layne | dlayne@wesleyan.edu

Hi ’09er’s! Below are a few updated on your classmates.

Chris Mixon was married in Dallas, Texas, in October and had Steve Rebh, Pearce Talbot, Alex Segal, and Carl Maloni keeping him in check.

Max Krafft married his long-time partner, Thomas Zemp (Brown University ’05), in October. Their wedding was officiated by their good friend, Bess Thaler ’04, and several other Wesleyan friends joined in their summer camp-themed ceremony, including Sam Fentress ’04, Dan Stillman ’04, Christopher McDonald ’06, Allison Hughes ’06, Tristan Chirico ’06, Jeffrey Rovinelli ’10, Ben Morse ’04, Ben Abrams ’03, Abraham Lateiner ’04, and Ethan Butler ’04. They currently live in Guadalajara, Mexico, where Max is on a diplomatic assignment with the Foreign Service. His next assignment—to the U.S. Embassy in Oslo—begins this fall.

Emily Reisner is the new program director for school-based programs at Aspiranet, a nonprofit providing family and child services in the Bay Area. She oversees Mouse California, a Web-based technology platform that encourages students from underserved areas to access technology careers, and Experience Corps Bay Area, a literacy program in partnership with AARP, that recruits retired adults to volunteer as reading tutors.

Andrew Dermont married Elizabeth Wolff ’06 on Sept. 10. Many Wesleyan alumni were in attendance, including Rachel Seebacher ’06, Liberty Thomas McAteer ’06, Alexis Krisel ’10, Mufaro Dube ’08, Saul Carlin ’09, Emily Frost ’06, Nick Bullard ’06, Derek Silverman ’09, Catherine Kast ’09, Reid Jewett ’11, Merrill Frew ’07, Gianna Sobol ’06, and Shaine Truscott ’06. For a picture of the festivities, visit classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu.

Jodie Rubenstein reports that she got engaged this past year and will be getting married in September. She and her fiancé, Alex Whitaker, are moving to Denver, Colo., in May, where Jodie will continue her job as regional director at J Street.

Finally, Ally (Heaney) Lamson had a baby, Harriet, on July 3, and is working as a divorce attorney in New Jersey. Ally is going to be the maid of honor in Jodie Rubenstein’s wedding!

Thanks for the updates and please keep them coming!

Alejandro Alvarado | ale.alvarado12@gmail.com