Michelle V. Anderson-Lyn ’84, M.D., was one of 10 Houston-area women cited by Texas Executive Women for her success in business and community service. An attending physician at Texas Children’s Hospital, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and medical director of the pediatric emergency center at Ben Taub General Hospital, she also serves as medical adviser for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program at Texas Children’s. A biology/psychology major at Wesleyan, she earned her medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her husband is Kurt Lyn ’87.
Amy Andrus ’93, MD, a 2008 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, received the annual William D. Kaplan, MD, award, recognizing the graduate who best combines humanism with the study of clinical medicine. She was also inducted into the national Gold Humanism Honor Society for her “demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service.” She plans to pursue an obstetrics and gynecology residency after a year of research.
Brendan Armm ’98 was named the 2004 Student of the Year by the American Association of Oriental Medicine, the premier acupuncture organization in America, for his involvement in professional organizations, activities, academic performance, and community service. Armm completed his master’s this summer and plans to open a private practice as an acupuncturist in L.A. while continuing his studies at the doctoral level. At Wesleyan, he majored in music.
Eric Asimov ’79, a columnist on food and wine for the Dining In, Dining Out section of the New York Times, has been named chief wine critic. “Eric is an authority in the worlds of wining and dining who has earned the trust of readers and colleagues alike,” said Sam Sifton, dining editor for the newspaper. “He has a rare and wonderful palate, and a big brain filled with memories of wines tasted, spat out, and savored. He has a populist’s touch to explain it.” Asimov is co-author of The New York Times Guide to Restaurants 2004. His previous book, $25 and Under: A Guide to the Best Inexpensive Restaurants in New York, was published annually by HarperCollins from 1995 to 1998.
The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) has named John Summers ’80, P’12, as the new chair of its board of directors, on which he has served for more than a dozen years. Summers is a shareholder in the litigation department at Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller. His practice includes complex commercial litigation including health care, intellectual property, and construction. In addition to his involvement with TRF, Summers is involved in professional organizations including the American Law Institute, and he also serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. Summers graduated in 1984 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and was awarded the Mark E. Lefever Prize for Law and Economics. An economics major at Wesleyan, he earned his degree with high honors. He has served the university as a trustee.
Michael K. Banbury ’85, MD, has been named the W. Samuel Carpenter III Distinguished Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at Christiana Care’s Center for Heart and Vascular Health. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Connecticut, Banbury completed his cardiothoracic surgery training as both a clinician and a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Currently, he is chief of cardiac surgery for Christiana Care Health Systems in Delaware.
Kenneth Schweller ’68, professor of computer science and psychology at Buena Vista University in Iowa, has been named chair of the board of the Great Ape Trust. The trust is a scientific research facility in Des Moines, dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools, and intelligence, and to the preservation of endangered great apes in their natural habitats. The trust is home to a colony of seven bonobos, and will collaborate with the organization Bonobo Hope, also in Des Moines, to fundraise for the international effort to support bonobos around the world. Schweller, who majored in English at Wesleyan, received his PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Illinois. He teaches courses in artificial intelligence, software engineering, compiler theory, and programming languages at Buena Vista.
Frances Goitia Padilla ’81 was appointed president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, a nonprofit that has lobbied for universal health care in the state. Padilla, who joined the foundation in 2004 and served as executive vice president, succeeds Juan A. Figueroa, the founding president, in September. The foundation employs an activist philanthropy approach to build a movement for universal health care by funding results-oriented outreach, education, and mobilization. Padilla directed the foundation’s research and policy initiatives, which culminated in the development of Connecticut’s historic SustiNet health care reform policy in 2009. Padilla currently serves on the Governor’s SustiNet Health Care Cabinet, charged with overseeing the implementation of federal health care reform under the Affordable Care Act with state-based health care reform initiatives. A psychology major at Wesleyan, she holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) presented its sixth annual Emissary Award to Greg Zlotnick ’86, a longtime water leader whose involvement with the association spans more than a decade. ACWA President Paul Kelley says, “Greg Zlotnick is in a class by himself when it comes to sustained involvement and dedication over the years.” Zlotnick’s involvement in the issues surrounding water management in California was inspired by his CSS honors thesis, “Rivers of Controversy: California Water Politics, A Primer.” Zlotnick served over 10 years as an elected member of the Board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Silicon Valley’s water management agency, chairs ACWA’s Groundwater Committee, and is in his 13th year on the ACWA Board of Directors. After receiving a BA from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan, Zlotnick graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and became a member of the California bar.
New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced the appointment of Polly Greenberg ’90 as chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau. She joined the office in 1993, starting in the Appeals Bureau and later in the Investigations Division. After leaving the office in late 2000 for private practice, Greenberg returned in 2005, and prosecuted primarily organized crime cases. She was appointed deputy bureau chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau shortly after its creation two years ago, and has been instrumental in setting bureau priorities and in collaborating with outside agencies to broaden the reach of the bureau. She has supervised wiretap investigations, as well as investigations into and prosecutions of securities, bank and mortgage fraud, and international and domestic money laundering. She graduated from Wesleyan with high honors in American studies and received her law degree from New York University School of Law.
