Tag: 1979

Hi, all. I am writing this in late March, before our 45th Reunion, but by the time these notes appear in our mailboxes, it will be somewhat after the reunion. I will update everyone on turnout and highlights in the next (Fall) issue of these class notes.

Lisa Frantzis sent an update. “I am transitioning out of 40-plus years of clean energy consulting in April 2024. It has been such a fantastic ride, and I owe it all to Howard Brown and the College of Science and Society at Wesleyan for getting me started in this career. I still plan to stay engaged in the work through boards and additional side-consulting projects, but I am also looking forward to spending more time with my family, playing music, and having more freedom! I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, so if any of you are around the area, feel free to reach out. Now that I will not be working full time, I can spend quality time with former Wesleyan friends!” Sounds like a great plan, Lisa. Congrats on your retirement!

Mark Silbey also checked in with news on his retirement. “I recently retired from a wonderful career in orthopedic sports medicine. I had the pleasure of working with the U.S. Soccer Federation, ATP tennis tour, and several professional baseball teams. I’m now splitting time between New Hampshire and Florida. I still seem to be keeping busy in this life of leisure— skiing, playing golf, playing pickleball, and working on cars in my spare time. Looking forward to reunion.”  Mark, kudos on what sounds like a great career and a busy and fun retirement!

Jono Cobb shared news on his continued involvement with Wes and on his upcoming travel. “A number of us have been meeting virtually through the spring, under the fearless guidance of Maureen Walsh,planning our 45th. I am looking forward to a small cruise ship and bike trip in Portugal shortly after reunion.” Thanks to you, to Maureen, and to the rest of our reunion planning group for all your collective efforts!

Pamela Dorman is now senior vice president and publisher at Pamela Dorman Books/Viking at Penguin Random House, where she has spent most of her publishing career. Recent highlights include Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series, Ashley Elston’s First Lie Wins (a Reese’s Book Club Pick), and Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street, all New York Times bestsellers.  She lives with her husband, Stuart Krichevsky, a literary agent, in New Rochelle, New York, and a Tibetan terrier, Benson. They have adult twins, Nicholas Krichevsky, a software engineer, and Sophie Krichevsky, a local newspaper reporter.

Phil O’Connell provided this newsy update. “I recently became the chairman of the Boston Wesleyan Law Alumni Association. I am eager to hear from Wesleyan grads who are Massachusetts lawyers. Although superannuated, I am still practicing law in Boston and am the office managing partner of the Boston office of Dentons U.S. LLP. My sixth grandchild, Philip Aloysius O’Connell IV, arrived in October 2023. I was in 13 plays while at Wesleyan and have a keen interest in Wesleyan theater; I’m eager to hear how things are going on that front. I can be reached at poconnelljr755@gmail.com.”

And here is a great write-up from Debbie Mincer about a recent group trip. “I traveled to Tanzania this past February on a trip sponsored by Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre, both class of ’79 and founders of Afropop Worldwide and Peabody Award winners. The amazing three-week trip centered on an African music festival in Zanzibar, musical and cultural events in Dar Es Salaam, and included a beach resort on the Indian Ocean and safari!” In addition to Sean,  Banning, and Debbie, “in attendance were Matthew Jarvinen, Richard Sussman, Ralph Maltese,and Sheila Peck ’81.” Thanks for sharing, Debbie. So great that you all were able to be part of such an amazing trip! And Sean Barlow wants you all to know that the next Afropop Tour to Tanzania is February 2025. Info@afropop.org

Here is a photo from the trip that Debbie sent along.

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for the submissions!

Peter Campbell sent a nice update. “My wife, Joyce, and I are living in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Still spend plenty of time in Boston or on Cape Cod. At the most recent Homecoming, Jeff Nesson ’78 shared a picture of Joyce and me at a DEKE Christmas Party, so we go back a ways. I have retired from the corporate world but am involved in a more entrepreneurial venture that keeps me in it a bit. In the last few years, I have reconnected with friends from Wesleyan, many who I had not seen for a long time (you know, life gets in the way) but who I have always held close. Folks from those four years are overrepresented in my list of dear friends; I was lucky that way.”

Willie Jones shared news on his continued involvement with a special venture in the Charlotte area. He writes: “I’ve been very busy as the director of the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department. We are continuing to work on how we interpret and share the stories of the enslaved at some of our historic and cultural resource sites that were formerly plantations. In November of 2023, I received an Excellence in Leadership Award from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Branch of the NAACP for my efforts on the Historic Latta Reimagined Project. We’ve taken an innovative approach to community engagement that was required for this project. When the county opted not to renew its contract with the 501(c)(3) that had previously operated the site for decades, I worked with other county staff and community stakeholders to engage in a holistic assessment of best practices for interpreting difficult historic stories, including slavery. The guiding values developed for the Latta Project—Truth, Transparency, Compassion, Transformation, and Unity—have proved to be useful as Park and Recreation staff work side by side with community partners to plan for the site’s reopening in 2026. We’ve taken a major step forward but still have a long way to go.”

And here is a great article about an honor he recently received:

“County’s Park and Recreation Director Honored with Charlotte’s Men of Change Award”

“Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Director Lee Jones recently received the 2023 Charlotte’s Men of Change Award from the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and the Levine Museum of the New South.

“Charlotte’s Men of Change recognizes Black community leaders for their work as business owners, teachers, political and justice activists, trainers, and visionaries. The Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition Men of Change: Power, Triumph, and Truth inspired this local annual honor. Charlotte’s Men of Change was on display at the Levine Museum and the Gantt during 2023.”

Kudos, Willie.  Amazing work and a great recognition!

Reminder: We are heading toward our 45th Reunion next May. Please save the date May 23–26, 2024. Our class has historically had record or near record attendance levels at our earlier reunions, so it should be fun! If you are interested in becoming a reunion ambassador to help with planning or would like to update your contact information to stay informed, please email Destiny Lopez (dlopez@wesleyan.edu) or Gina Driscoll (gdriscoll@wesleyan.edu).

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for the submissions!

Heidi Mastrogiovanni reached out with the following note about a recent honor:

“I’m delighted to have been named co-ambassador for the Los Angeles chapter of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for published writers.”  Congrats, Heidi. Great news!

Michael Livingston shared this news with us: “Retiring and adjusting.”

Jake Walles reports:

“I’ve been retired from the State Department now for about six years. I keep myself busy as a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, writing and commenting on Middle East affairs. I stay in regular contact with Jim Sheehan and Al Spohn ’80 and look forward to catching up with other Wesleyan folks at our reunion next year.” Sounds like an interesting and enjoyable way to keep engaged and still be able to enjoy retirement, Jake!

And last but certainly not least, this news from our former class secretary, Gary Breitbord.

“He’s baaack. Just when you thought you’d never have to read another Breitbord Bloviation, I have submitted the following for your reading (dis?) pleasure. My wife and I are enjoying our fully retired life in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Living in paradise where every day is Saturday. Or as my cousin says, ‘Every day is blursday.’

“There have been many gatherings of the DKE brethren and other assorted cohorts. Had a great Red Sox opening day and Bruins game extravaganza with George DuPaul, Peter Campbell, Frank Hauser, and Jeff Gray ’77.  A great time was had by all. I have seen the aforementioned Dr. DuPaul and his lovely bride many times, even got to meet his new grandson, Colin. They purchased a wonderful place right downtown in Falmouth Village. Perfect spot to venture into town to partake of the library, many fine shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors as well as numerous summer events. We had another wonderful ‘boys’ gathering at the Breitbord abode that included George, Jack Buckley, Bill Conley, and the Grays. The weather cooperated, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

“Had a great round of golf with Messieurs Dave Thomas ’77 and Paul Fichera ’77 along with Wesleyan’s head football coach Dan DiCenzo. (As an aside, Dan has graciously accepted the role of faculty advisor to the undergraduate DKE brothers.) It was a gloriously beautiful Cape Cod day filled, of course, with many stories of which some, I believe, were actually true. I’d like to say my golf game held up to the level of fun we had, but ain’t no way that could happen.

“The true highlight of the summer was our trip with the Buckleys to Montana to visit with the estimable Jeff Laszlo ’78 on his ranch near Ennis. We all agreed it was a trip of a lifetime that we plan to do on a regular basis. Jeff was the consummate host, taking us on tours of the remarkable 15-year (and counting) restoration project he has completed and continues to improve every day through his diligent stewardship of the family’s 13,000 acres. The Granger Ranches have been in his family for four generations. Laz took over the operations from his mom. He has managed to use modern ranching techniques—it is a working ranch with over 450 head of cattle, coupled with extensive wildlife preservation techniques including humane fencing and shared grazing. On any given day, you can see true diversity of flora and fauna.  To get a glimpse of this massive effort, the largest restoration project in Montana, check out Stewardship with Vision as well as some pictures below.

“Many more summer and fall events planned (Jono Cobb we will get together) after I write this, but that’ll have to wait for another time.”

Thanks, Gary, for a fun and informative update!

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for all the submissions!  Be safe and happy.

Denise Giacomozzi reached out with the following note about a worthy volunteer opportunity that she is involved in and hopes others may want to join her. “My news is that I now volunteer for ENGin, a U.S./Ukraine-based 501(c)3 nonprofit, which urgently needs volunteers to practice English online with Ukrainian youth and young adults. I hope other Wes folks will check it out at www.ENGinprogram.org.”

Doug Pavlak shared this news with us. “Happy to report that my son, Gunter Haug-Pavlak ’23, is going to graduate this year as a member of the class of 2023.  He is the only one of our seven children (blended family) to go to Wesleyan. I otherwise am swamped in my practice in neuromuscular medicine here in Portland, Maine. My wife Norma continues to fight the plight of the elderly in her job in adult protective services for the great state of Maine.”

Julie Hacker is busily engaged and happy professionally and otherwise. She writes: “I organized with my partner and husband (part of the Cohen & Hacker team) the National AIA CRAN (Custom Residential Architectural Network) 2022 Symposium, which was held in Chicago. It was sold out in three weeks and was a great success. I am the VP of Sponsorship and Development for the AIA Chicago chapter and serve on the national and local CRAN steering committees. So . . . pretty active in my AIA chapter representing a residential voice in architecture. My firm, Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects LLC, is alive and kicking while trying to save our historic building stock.

“I continue to take my weekly musical theater classes even though my singing is subpar—a great group which keeps me laughing, and I get to perform! My son, Gabriel Cohen, is thriving in LA doing his studio work as a sculptor while managing an art gallery.

“I am definitely older but feel pretty ageless, which is the way I like to keep it. I have overlapped frequently with Joan Craig, our classmate and a wonderful architect in Chicago—in fact she now has a terrific architect working for her who used to work at my firm—small world.”

In news from Spain, Cliff Hendel and his family (now including two grandsons) remain in Madrid, which he first visited on a Wesleyan semester-abroad program in the fall of his senior year. He continues to work—in English, Spanish, and French—as an international commercial and sports arbitrator, using (or pretending to use) his multijurisdictional legal qualifications as attorney (New York), solicitor (England and Wales), avocat (Paris), and abogado (Madrid).

His sports work—involving international labor contracts in soccer and basketball—has been particularly rewarding, and particularly “global,” of late. As deputy chair of FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, he has been invited to a number of interesting destinations, including New Zealand for the draw of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Doha (Qatar) for the final of the 2022 Men’s World Cup, Rabat (Morocco) for the final of the 2023 Clubs’ World Cup, and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) for the biannual conclave of the FIFA Football Tribunal, among others. He is looking forward to the upcoming annual meeting of the members of FIBA’s Basketball Arbitral Tribunal in Schlauss-Elmau (Garmisch, Germany), an Alpine resort where the G-7 has met.

He has also made a minor contribution to historical literature, having penned a chapter on the relation between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington in a Spanish collective work on historical pairs called “A La Sombra: Actores Secundarios de la Historia.” An English version under the title “Hamilton and Washington: The Architects of America” was published in the NYLitigator (Vol. 26, no. 2, 2021). His other writings are more prosaic and professionally oriented, such as an article “The Past, Present and Possible Future of the Spanish Renewable Energy Arbitration Saga,” published in the NYSBA International Law Practicum (Vol. 31, no. 1, 2018).

He would be delighted to welcome any Wes alums who visit Madrid on business or pleasure.

Anne Peters sent us this update: “I made a ‘shake up your life’ series of changes and married screenwriter Eric Roth (writer of Forrest Gump, Dune, A Star Is Born, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Insider, and House of Cards among others). He has two amazing movies coming out this year, one, Killers of the Flower Moon, is directed by Marty Scorsese, and the other, Here, is directed by Bob Zemeckis. We live between Santa Monica and Condon, Montana, and I still work long hours running my clinical diabetes program at USC. My son, Maxwell Votey ’14, graduated from NYU Law School and started working at Kirkland and Ellis in NYC with a dream of becoming an art law lawyer. My step-granddaughter, Maya Donovan ’20, lives in Brooklyn and is an aspiring singer.”

Mark Ginsberg was just appointed a commissioner of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (“LPC”). The LPC is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation. It is responsible for protecting NYC’s architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation. The agency is comprised of a panel of 11 commissioners who are appointed by the mayor and supported by a staff of approximately 80. There are more than 37,800 landmark properties in New York City. His bio on the commission’s website notes that Mark is a founding partner of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, with over 40 years of professional experience, and his national leadership in sustainable design, resiliency, and housing is widely recognized. The focus of his work is centered on community-based design, affordable housing, and sustainability. He lives in a historic district in lower Manhattan.  Congrats on your appointment, Mark. Sounds like a great way to contribute your time and expertise!

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for all the submissions!  Be safe and happy.

Willie Lee Jones shared a great article about him and good things happening in the Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Parks and Recreation Department, which he heads:

“County’s Park and Recreation Department and Director Receive Top Honors”

“The Charlotte American Institute of Architects recently awarded Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Director Lee Jones with the AIA Charlotte Citizen Architect Award at its 2022 Design and Service Award Ceremony.

“The AIA Charlotte Citizen Architect Award recognizes the work of architects who serve as elected or appointed officials, public administrators or institutional leaders and establish and contribute to the development of laws, regulations, policies, or initiatives that promote excellence in architecture.

“In addition to Director Lee’s award, the County’s Park and Recreation Department received the Great Public Space Award for Romare Bearden Park at the City of Charlotte’s Urban Design Awards. The goal of the local awards program is to recognize and celebrate quality urban design in Charlotte, while encouraging continued community discussion around what makes for unique and great places.”

Lauren Steiner sent us this update: “Smack in the middle of the pandemic, two years ago, I decided to move to Asheville, North Carolina, after 33 years in LA. I call it my third act. Act 1 in the Northeast. Act 2 on the West Coast. Act 3 in the South.

“I fell in love with this small city in the Appalachian Mountains 10 years ago and started seriously thinking about moving here five years later. It took the pandemic to light a fire under me. I moved with my 25-year-old son who easily found work in the restaurant industry in this thriving tourist town.  I love living on 2.5 peaceful, quiet acres on the top of Butler Mountain at 3,500-feet elevation where I am an easy 15-minute drive from downtown. I love the fact there is no traffic here and so much to do and see in the realms of art, crafts, music, beer, food and outdoor recreation.

“I am still doing political activism and am happy to report Madison Cawthorn is no longer my congressman, although we got a more intelligent Republican, who will probably be worse. My Facebook/YouTube interview show The Robust Opposition is six years old now.

“And because of the appreciated value of my LA house, I now have the privilege and pleasure of adding philanthropist to my roles and am happily supporting many local causes and organizations.

“If anyone should find themselves my neck of the woods, please don’t hesitate to look me up. Laurensteiner57@gmail.com.”

Michael Sills is still in Dallas working as a noninvasive cardiologist in a very large “hybrid” group. He has stepped down as managing partner but remains program director for their training program and the imaging department at Baylor University Medical Center. “I am continuing running distances when I can but am most proud of our four children who have given us eight grandchildren. I don’t see retirement in my future as I keep committing to new projects.”

Daphne Raz writes: “My husband Phil and I still live outside of Lexington, Virginia, and are entering the phase where work for money is optional. We think about moving closer to family, but this is a great place to be with climate warming, less great for the culture wars. Still, someone has to do it!”

Ben Solnit lets us know about happenings in his life. “I continue to work as a part-time lawyer for Connecticut Legal Services in Waterbury, Connecticut, doing consumer law for the elderly. Sadly, I am now older than the low end of our definition of ‘elderly’!

“I am president of Morris Land Trust, an all-volunteer conservation organization in our hometown of Morris, Connecticut. Check us out at www.morrislandtrust.org.

“My wife and I have recently volunteered with Washington Refugee Resettlement Program and New Milford Refugee Resettlement. Each is a co-sponsor with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services of New Haven and each welcomed a family of six from Afghanistan to New Milford, Connecticut, in April of 2022. Audrey tutors them in English and I am working on their asylum applications.

“Our older daughter Rebecca is a human resources consultant for Veris Insights in Washington, D.C. and recently competed at the Women’s National Club Ultimate Frisbee Championship in San Diego.
Our younger daughter Anita is a licensed clinical social worker for Mt. Sinai in NYC, treating children and adolescents; she also is a volunteer with Mt. Sinai’s human rights program.”

Martha Bush shares: “This past spring, my husband John Tracey and I celebrated the marriage of our daughter Lauren. I ‘semiretired’ from being the chief marketing officer at our regional foodbank, Foodlink. I’m still doing a bit of consulting while trying to figure out this retirement thing.”

Peter Cherr sent us this wonderful update: “I shared a while ago about my ‘Haiku in the Time of Corona Virus’ Project that I began in March of 2020 when corona virus hit and it was truly bad. My hope for ‘Haiku in the Time of Corona Virus’ was, and is, that each day I might bring some inspiration to others, perhaps a bit of peace and calm, and even humor, during these trying, stressful times, perhaps offer some solace and give people a moment of respite from all the craziness around us . . . that it might be of help to people in some small manner.

“On April 12, 2020, the project officially began by launching on Instagram, posting a new haiku with an accompanying photo every single day, and by having a haiku (not put on Instagram and without a photo) from the project published by kindovermatter.com, who since then have continued to publish haiku pieces once a month. Since the launch of my project, despite having fallen and shattered my shoulder and losing much use of my left hand, I have not missed a day of writing a new haiku and posting one with a photo on Instagram. On November 1, I wrote my 1250th haiku for the project. If people would like to check out my project on Instagram, my page is @peter_c_cherr and the project is #haikuinthetimeofcoronavirus and they can find addition haiku pieces monthly in the Poetry Corner of kindovermatter.com.”

That’s it for this issue. Be safe and happy.

Hello everyone. I hope all of you are well and thanks to all who sent news for me to share here. As I write this in August of 2022, it is a beautiful sunny and warm day here in San Diego. My husband and I just had a wonderful visit from our adult children—our son joined us from San Francisco and our daughter flew in from Philadelphia to spend a couple of weeks. I’m sure we all agree that it is great to be able to share time with loved ones again!

Amy Radin sent this lovely note: “Writing to share that we joyfully celebrated the wedding of our son Jared Radin ’12 and Annika Butler-Wall ’12 on July 3rd in San Francisco. It was a beautiful day full of sunshine and love at the General’s House at Fort Mason overlooking the Bay. Enjoyed being with the many other Wesleyan ’12 graduates in attendance and fellow alumna and Annika’s sister, Karisa Butler-Wall ’05.”

Heidi Mastrogiovanni writes:  “I’m having way too much fun writing The Classics Slacker Reads book series with series creator Cristina Negrón (who is married to celebrated marathoner Amby Burfoot ’68) and Deb Martin. So far, we have paid irreverent homage to Moby Dick, Madame Bovary, The Scarlet Letter, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby next on our horizon.”

Michelle Morancie shares the following: “I ventured into politics for the first time this past spring and was elected to the school board in Fulton County, Georgia, in May. My opponent is contesting the outcome. He claims that there were ‘inconsistencies’ in the tabulation of votes but didn’t provide any evidence. I’m hoping that the case will be dismissed by the fall. In the meantime, I am moving forward with training and will begin my four-year term in January 2023.” Congrats, Michelle, on this new chapter of your life!

Jim Flynn is still raising money for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and having a great time. He writes, “The science is amazing, and I’m happy to offer tours to classmates. Claudia Mosher ’78 and I are living nearby in Bourne, Massachusetts.”

Denise Giacomozzi shares: “My husband and I just returned from the Denver area after joyfully babysitting our granddaughter, 8-month-old Willow, daughter of our daughter Kristen May ’10.  While there, we got together with Bruce Doenecke and his husband Tom. Bruce still sings (and is president of the board) of the choral group, Ars Nova, which has quite a reputation in the Boulder area. Check out their online concerts (Bruce did not tell me to say that but they are fabulous). Next week I am looking forward to seeing Elaine Winic who will meet up with me at Chautauqua. My July 2020 plans to go there, of course, were canceled. Last night I concluded two years of volunteering for the COVID Grief Network as that organization is being subsumed into another that has paid staff. Please everyone take care of yourselves. My focus will return to writing letters for Vote Forward urging democrats to vote.  As the Rev. William Sloan Coffin was reported to have said, ‘If you want to have hope, do hopeful things.’”

Matt Okun sent the following news: “It has been a busy year for me and my wife, Annie Wong. We moved from Seattle to Aspen Hill, Maryland, to be closer to our grandchildren. We now have six between us! Two live in Alexandria, Virginia, two in Philadelphia, and the newest addition, Kian, in Brooklyn. I am very happy with my job as a staff developer at a middle school in Kensington, Maryland, and we have spent a lot of time working on our house and its gardens. So far no COVID for us, even though my school has had many cases. Blessings to all and cherish your health!”

Roelof Prins updates us: “I’m a long-lost class member of ’79. Transferred in from Leiden University in January 1977 as a junior and only spent two years at Wesleyan, which was a great time and a lifetime experience. I loved Richard Adelstein’s class at CSS! I am now (already many years) back in the Netherlands, where I run a philanthropic foundation called De Verre Bergen (for those who want to try their hand at Dutch: www.sdvb.com). I miss all my good friends from WesU and would love to catch up with them!”

That’s it for this issue. Be safe and happy. And, as Denise said, please everyone take care of yourselves.

Timmy “Fitz” Fitzgerald contributed that the members of the All-Decade Team gathered for a great evening of celebration this past October 29th.  A nice dinner was followed by a few speeches and the presentation. Members of the team from 1979 are as follows:  Tony Basilica, Kevin Bristow, Joe Britton, Neil Fitzgerald, Tim Fitzgerald, Bob Latessa, Dennis Robinson and John Papa.  Dennis Robinson gave an eloquent speech about our pal, Joe Britton. It was an outstanding night!

Jono Cobb sorrowfully wrote that he lost his wife of 32 years, Suzzanne, last July after a long battle with cancer. So sorry for your loss, Jono.

In case you didn’t know, Laura Walker was named the 11th president of Bennington College in August of 2020. She writes, “It’s been an honor and it’s been a privilege to be president of a great college and I always look to Michael Roth for inspiration and hope as we define the future of this extraordinary college!!”

Clifford Hendel is staving off retirement by maintaining his practice as a commercial, sports, and investment arbitrator—handling cases in Spanish, French, and Portuguese as well as in English. Additionally, he occasionally forays into nonlegal writing, including a short article in the current issue of NY Litigator (a publication of the New York State Bar Association’s commercial and federal litigation section) about the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.

Steve Koplowitz has a new book! On Site: Methods for Site-Specific Performance Creation, published by Oxford University Press, will be available this spring (April–May). “It chronicles best practices and methods in creating site-specific performance, something I’ve dedicated over thirty years of my career. It covers many topics of production and navigating the world of art-making aiming to support artists both young and experienced. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/on-site-9780197515242?cc=us&lang=en&#.  And after 15 years of living in Los Angeles, Jane and I are moving back to NYC in May to start new adventures and projects.” Welcome back!

Denise Giacomozzi’s daughter, Kristen May ’10, gave birth to their first grandchild in October, Willow Autumn Whittle-May. “My husband and I spent an extended time nearby and have been able to get to Colorado again recently.  (Altitude is a challenge for me unfortunately.) I continue to volunteer for the COVID Grief Network, which provides free grief support for young adults who have lost a loved one to COVID.  The support is via 8-week grief groups on Zoom and has participants from the U.S. and abroad. I also volunteer for my church’s COVID Task Force.”

Matt Okun and his wife Annie Wong took a leap of faith and sold their home in Seattle.  They packed up their stuff and sent it to DC.  They moved to be closer to their  grandkids (2 in Alexandria, Virginia; 2 in Philadelphia.) By last July, it all came together and they landed in Aspen Hill, Maryland, where Matt is a staff developer at a middle school in Kensington.  They love living in greater DC and are sure it will even be more fun when and if the COVID restrictions are lifted. Matt has seen Casey Dinges and a bunch of high school friends.  Matt is looking forward to being at Wes U in June when his nephew, Alex Okun ’21 and his brother Steve Okun ’82 will be there for Alex’s delayed graduation.

Afropop Worldwide, the Peabody Award–winning public radio program that Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre have produced for the past 34 years, has won another honor. globalFEST, the New York–based presenter and promoter of global music, has awarded the program its Impact Award, a recognition from the professional community for sustained commitment and, well, impact! https://afropop.org/articles/afropop-wins-globalfests-impact-award. The news arrives just as Banning is heading off to French Polynesia to lecture about music on a small ship. COVID be damned!

Jim Friedlich wrote that his extremely talented wife, Melissa Stern ’80, is on quite an artistic roll:  Her drawing and sculpture exhibition, Does She or Doesn’t She (art about women and their hair), opened in Chicago in the autumn of 2020. A 20-year retrospective called Stronger than Dirt, ran in Kingston, New York, throughout last summer, and a show called Housebroken, of work done during the pandemic, debuted in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this fall. Next up is The Talking Cure, at the Fullerton Museum outside of Boston in Brockton, Massachusetts. The Talking Cure, which marries sculpture with spoken word art, has been traveling to museums throughout the U.S. for over a decade. Come visit if you are in the Boston area.

After 12 years of being your co-class secretary, it is time to pass the pen. This is my last issue and I thank you all for sharing your excitements, sorrows, challenges, and triumphs. If you are interested in becoming the next co-secretary, please reach out to either Diane LaPointe, myself, or Liz Taylor at classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

Hello everyone.  Diane reporting the notes this issue.  As of this writing this year is a welcome relief from the sequestering and stress of 2020 and early 2021. Hopefully this will continue into 2022.

I have followed the updates on various social media and televised interviews of fellow Wes alum, Scott Gottlieb ‘94, former FDA Commissioner, and he has been a wonderful resource for information on COVID-19.  He is a learned voice who echoes the tempered, but at the same time, hopeful optimism of most of us less scientifically knowledgeable folk.

Reunions with family and friends have been joyful for so many, and many of the notes I have received from our classmates show that the pandemic was a time to assess what is really important—with accelerated retirements, investing time in new or rekindled interests and passions, and reunions with loved ones being the theme.

Kim Carrell-Smith writes: “I retired from my teaching/administrative job at Lehigh University in May, as did my husband John. Like so many other folks, the pandemic just made me decide that life is too short to battle bureaucracy, even if I will miss my grad student Community Fellows, and working with local governments and nonprofits. But I’ll continue to be active in local issues like affordable housing, historic preservation, and equitable development in my ‘other side of the tracks’ part of town. One of my kids is in Baltimore running the city’s public library system’s digital equity work, and the other child (are they children when they are over 30?) and family are about a mile from us in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, so John and I are part of the pandemic village that is happily helping to raise the next generation.”

Fred Baurer, an old friend from Foss 4 our freshman year, updates us that his original manuscript, “Psychodynamic Treatment with the Addicted Person,” has been accepted for publication in the upcoming issue of the journal Psychodynamic Psychiatry. The lineage of this work has Wesleyan roots, the intellectual influence of Henry Abelove and passionate spirit of the magnificent Cheryl Cutler.  Fred is an addictions psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in Philadelphia, living in Center City with Sharon Pollak, life partner of 42 years. He writes, “Parenthood has been amazing, grandparenthood is otherworldly!”

Katharine McKenna shares the following about an exhibition of hers in Arizona through December 2022:

UNFRAMED: A PHOTO JOURNEY THROUGH NAVAJO AND HOPI NATIONS, 1977–1978 at the Arizona Heritage Center, 1300 North College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281. On view: April 2021–December 2022.  Experience a photo journey across Northern Arizona with contemporary artist Katharine L. McKenna. During a college gap year, McKenna spent the summers of 1977 and 1978 volunteering at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. While there, she assisted the museum in collecting woven rugs, pottery, baskets, and jewelry for the museum’s annual Navajo Arts and Crafts show. She documented her experience by journaling and taking photographs of the 24 trading posts she visited, and the countless miles she traveled through the Navajo and Hopi Nations in Northern Arizona.

This exhibition features McKenna’s black-and-white images and Native American artifacts from the Arizona Historical Society Collections. Visitors can travel along with McKenna and read excerpts from her journal that she kept during this time period.

The accompanying journal, Navajo Collecting Trip: A Journal into the Remote, is available on Amazon, where the description says:

“Dissatisfied with classes, lectures, papers and exams, Katharine L. McKenna quits college in upstate New York and heads west to volunteer at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff—to get an education. Intimidated at first, McKenna becomes a willing apprentice and rises to the occasion within a short time; she soon falls into her role at the Museum. McKenna is exposed to hands-on archaeological surveys and ethnology while working with scientists at the Museum’s Research Center. McKenna soon finds herself racing thunderstorms across the Navajo Reservation, to collect hand woven rugs, pottery, baskets and jewelry for the Museum’s annual Navajo and Arts and Crafts Show.

            “Written with straight forward clarity in 1977, 19-year-old McKenna documents her experiences in this formative journal with both words and photography. While covering more than 600 miles of dirt road to visit 24 remote trading posts, she encounters trader characters as well as notables such as Charles Loloma, the famous Hopi jeweler, and H. Baxter Liebler, the missionary who founded St. Christopher’s in Bluff, Utah.

            “McKenna returns to college at Wesleyan University with new direction and interest, fortified by the merits of a “gap” year long before the term became popular.”

Ron Cooper sent this update.  “After retiring from more than 30 years in the corporate world, I rekindled my interest in photography. My first photography book, We Are Santa (Princeton Architectural Press, New York) was published in the fall of 2020 and features photographs, profiles and interviews with 50 top professional Santa Clauses. It was for a (short) time, the #1 Christmas book on Amazon. My new book, Celebrating Humanity: Faces from Five Continents, a collection of monochrome portraits, was published in fall 2021 by Studio Photiq in the United Kingdom. My photographs have been exhibited in more than 50 juried group shows and five solo exhibits in the United States and Europe, and published in consumer magazines, newspapers and photography journals.”

Bill Conley reports on a gathering on Cape Cod hosted by Gary Breitbord and his wife Colleen. On a perfect early summer afternoon at Gary and Colleen’s retirement home in Falmouth, Massachusetts, close Wesleyan friends rejoiced at being able to see each other after at least a year and a half. ’79ers Tim Fitzgerald, Jack Buckley, George DuPaul and Bill were there with their respective spouses and also included dear friend Jeff Gray ’77 and his wife. Network news satellite trucks were kept away from smothering 24/7 coverage of the event with quick thinking by Gary who disguised himself as Lin-Manuel Miranda and drew crowds away while shopping for ice in Falmouth Center. Discourse among the party goers quickly descended into the stalest of college stories, politics, bad jokes, and amazingly, all departed the festivities still good friends. We were all so thrilled to be together, vaccinated and un-masked to revel in each other’s company and deepen our bonds even further.

And, finally, Rachel Bashevkin shares the sad news of the loss of Paul Hammer.  She writes:  “So many of us in New Haven are grieving the loss of friend, citizen, activist, and mensch Paul Hammer. He died on Sunday, June 27th.”  Rachel remembers him as a unique character who was well known and liked by many on the Wesleyan campus and later in New Haven.  A moving story of his life can be accessed at the following link to the “New Haven Independent.”  On behalf of our class, we send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/paul_hammer_dies_at_64/?fbclid=IwAR0nQnanTiQB5v1nMaZ94z2WxPiot7EuhVsTWlm7cWiy-gL2mmyO–MIOXA#.YNyYZLOetiI.facebook