Tag: 1984

Roger Pincus brings you the news this issue. Here is the latest from our classmates:

David Silbert reports that he has been in Lancaster, Pa., for 21 years, where he specializes in pediatric ophthalmology and eyelid surgery. He is excited about his new practice, Conestoga Eye, which opened on October 20, 2015. The practice is community-focused and includes domestic and international medical mission work. The website is conestogaeye.com.

David and his colleagues lead medical missions to Honduras and Ecuador, where they do rural outreach, screening children for vision issues and providing exams, glasses, and surgery for children who require it. This last year they were accompanied by 10 local high school students who helped run their clinics. Their next mission will be in April 2016.

In addition, David received a $135,000 grant with the School District of Lancaster to set up an eye clinic, KinderSee, at George Washington Elementary School, which provides care at no cost to economically disadvantaged children. The clinic provides glasses and treatment for amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (eye misalignment), and other eye disorders. For more: kindersee.org

David was one of 19 individuals selected for the Leadership Development Program for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. His project is to further expand KinderSee to reach more needy children in Lancaster County.

He has also been involved in clinical research and is an author on more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has lectured nationally and internationally, including, in 2015, the AAPOS pediatric ophthalmology meeting in New Orleans, the Pan American Academy of Ophthalmology in Bogotà, Colombia, and the European Strabismological Association meeting in Venice. He has been invited as a guest lecturer and was scheduled to visit Iran for the 25th Annual Congress of the Iranian Society of Ophthalmology.

Arthur Haubenstock reports that he and Amy Whiteside have been living in San Francisco since the day before the earthquake in 1989—they really didn’t want to miss it. Amy is now director at the Fraenkel Gallery, one of the leading photography galleries in the country, where she has been part of the family for 25 years. Arthur and Amy are nearly empty nesters, with their older son a junior majoring in applied math at Harvey Mudd College and their younger son a high school senior in the throes of college applications. With the boys starting off on their new adventures, Arthur was inspired to start one of his own and has just co-founded Sustainable Energy Strategy Partners. His work focuses on the rapidly evolving markets and regulatory environments for clean energy resources—including groundbreaking developments in California and Hawaii—as well as on heavily regulated energy transactions. This is exciting stuff for policy, environment and energy wonks like Arthur, plus it offers plenty of opportunities to work with quite a few great Wes alums, including Michael Aylward ’04, Theresa Cho ’86, Lisa Frantzis ’79, Ezra Hausman ’85, Mike Jacobs ’85, and Zeb Zankel ’05.

Francesca Jenkins’s writing life continues to thrive in Ohio. Finishing Line Press will publish her poetry chapbook Silence Has a Name in January 2016, and copies are now available for presale. She recently received a Pushcart Prize nomination for her poetry, and you can read a section of her memoir-in-progress, Running in Time to the Sea, in the current issue of Provincetown Arts Magazine. In addition, Francesca, who writes under the name Arya F. Jenkins, has been performing readings of her work at various venues throughout Ohio since October 2015.

Mark Randles reports that a group of Wes alums calling themselves Baseball Across America traveled to Seattle for a weekend in July to watch some major and minor league ballgames and experience the sights and fine cuisine of Seattle. In addition to Mark, attendees included Bart Truscott ’83 and Nancy Palmer (exchanged at Wes from Holyoke 1983–84), Jim Glickman, Mike Bailit, and Bill Barry. They highly recommend Safeco Field, as well as Steelhead Diner in Pike Place Market. They are already looking forward to next year’s trip (their 16th)!

Mike Lewyn moved to Pittsburgh in August to teach at the University of Pittsburgh for the year. He is busy writing law review articles. Half a dozen of them have come out this year, including publications at the University of Hawaii Law Review, the Real Estate Law Journal, the Fordham Urban Law Journal, and the Washburn Law Review. Mike’s articles can be found at works.bepress.com/lewyn/doctype.html#article .

Christopher A. Romeo has checked in to tell us that after more than 35 years in the Boston area, he is pleased to be back home in southern Connecticut (Old Lyme), making a fresh start on his law practice.

Finally, Roger Pincus and his wife, Jamie Pincus, are proud to report that their daughter Heather ’19 arrived at Wesleyan in September. She is enjoying classes, making new friends, and just loves it at Wesleyan.

Roger Pincus | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger Pincus is your reporter this issue. Here is the latest news from our classmates:
Linda Johnson Dougherty has let us know that her husband, Patrick Dougherty, was featured on CBS Sunday Morning on March 15. Linda made a brief appearance, too. The link is cbsnews.com/news/a-north-carolina-sculptor-branches-out/. Linda and Patrick live in Chapel Hill, and Linda recently celebrated 10 years at the North Carolina Museum of Art, where she is chief curator and curator of contemporary art.

Bruce McKenna was back on campus for Commencement, where he had the pleasure of watching his daughter, Madeleine ’15, graduate. Stephanie Oppenheim and David Weinstein were there, too, and were thrilled to watch their son, Matthew ’15, graduate.
Randy Frisch is a music publisher in New York City, working with music from around the world. The songwriters he works with include Gary Mezzi ’83 and Bill Anschell ’82.

Simone Zelitch’s fourth novel, Waveland, was published in May 2015; it focuses on Beth Fine, a Freedom Summer volunteer, and her experiences in Mississippi in 1964 and the years that follow. Another novel, Judenstaat, is forthcoming in June 2016 from Tor Books, a science fiction press. Judenstaat is an alternative history about a Jewish state established in Germany in 1948. Simone hopes to spread the word about these books and would love to reconnect with old classmates at szelitch@ccp.edu.

Michael Massen began work in January as a software developer for Continuum Analytics, doing front-end work on big data applications. The firm is based in Austin, but Michael is able to work for them remotely from New York City, where he lives. Michael also recently completed work on his second book on figure drawing, Figure Drawing in Proportion. It will be published by North Light Publications at the end of the year. Michael also enjoys leading workshops in figure drawing throughout the year as well, mostly at the Art Students League.

Laura Simon continues to live in Bethany, Conn., and works at her outpost as wildlife ecologist for the Humane Society of the United States. She is challenged to keep up with her son, Jack, who at age 12 is an avid citizen lobbyist and spends many of his waking hours lobbying for various animal protection and environmental bills at the State Capitol. Laura recently ran into Ted Kennedy Jr. ’83, who is now a Connecticut State Senator.

aura would love to hear from any old Eco House roommates: kealeylaura999@gmail.com.
Michael Lewyn is moving to Pittsburgh for a visiting professor position at the University of Pittsburgh’s law school, where he will be teaching property, wills, environmental law, and a land use law seminar.

Tyler Anbinder had a great time at Daphne Kwok’s Wesleyan Chinese New Year’s event back in March in Arlington, Va. The class of ’84 was well-represented, including by Rhonda Lees, whom Tyler met on his first day at Wesleyan in 1980. Tyler also enjoyed meeting Daphne’s parents at the event. In addition, as an American historian, Tyler is excited to be going to see Hamilton on the special Wesleyan performance night this coming October.

Cathy Reich had a busy spring surviving the hectic end-of-year events and crises of a combined junior/senior high school in rural Montana—proofreading the yearbook, folding graduation programs, pushing kids to graduate, dealing with emotional outbursts and teenage love gone awry, etc. In her spare time, Cathy has been attending monthly book club gatherings, participating in chair yoga and stability ball classes, eating weekly dinners with local seniors at the Senior Center, and keeping her geriatric pets in reasonable shape. Cathy is also active at her Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (Missoula), including by helping lead a service (Blessing of the Animals) and hosting the occasional vegan potluck. In her other spare time, Cathy has been participating in Energy Balancing Funshops and meetings (energybalancing.com). She is working on a Virtual Teacher certification on Coursera and teaches American English to students in Malaysia online and via e-mails.

Susie Kang Sharpe is still enjoying internal medicine practice in Springfield, Mo. She also has been doing a lot of art, music, and traveling. Through May, Susie had six exhibits of her watercolor and acrylic paintings displayed during 2015. She has a son in college (Washington University, St. Louis) and a daughter in high school, and reports that her post-divorce life has been wonderful.

Shakir Farsakh reports that as a recently minted diplomat, he is serving as the commercial attaché at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada. Shakir’s wife, Hasna, works in global banking for HSBC, and his daughter, Jenna, will be starting her second year at the Lycée Francais de Toronto in kindergarten.

Blake Nelson’s novel, Recovery Road, is being adapted into a television series for ABC Family—for more see: m.etonline.com/tv/164564_nashville_actress_lands_troubled_role_on_abc_family_drama/
Paul Baker’s current found-object sculpture series is about the connection between smell and memory: pbakerart.com. Paul recently had a near-brush with fame and just possibly, fortune, when one of his sculptures was accepted for an exhibit to be sponsored by Christopher Brosius, whom Brooklyn-based Wesleyanites may recognize as the self-appointed bad boy of perfumers. Brosius was relocating his store and was open to aroma-themed art to display in the new area. Paul had hoped to come out from San Francisco to see his sculpture installed.

Unfortunately the lease fell through and Brosius had to make do with a much smaller space—and no art. But if anyone else is interested in creating a show about the intersection of chemistry, art, and memory, Paul is open to it!

Lee McIntyre’s book, Respecting Truth: Willful Ignorance in the Internet Age, was scheduled for publication on June 28 by Routledge Publishers, with a book launch party set for July 19 at Newtonville Books in Newton, Mass. Lee states that the book fights back against “science denialism” on such topics as climate change, evolution, and vaccines.

Hello, Classmates. This is Michael Steven again, reporting, Roger will be your host next time around.

Mark Randles brings us sad news about classmate John Koch, who passed away on Jan. 30 from complications following a cardiac arrest in August caused by a blood clot. John was a member of the cross-country team at Wesleyan, as well as the Restless Knights (and was often heard singing as he made his way across campus).

Ellen Prager acknowledges Mark in turn: Mark’s daughter, Ellie, has become one of Ellen’s best test-readers for her Shark Rider series. (The second book, for middle graders, will be published in May.)

Tom Oey has been living in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China (home town of his wife, Liping Zhang) since 2003. They have two children, Beatrice, 13, and Mark, 10. In October 2013 Tom began a second PhD in global studies at Leipzig University, Germany, writing a dissertation on A Comparative Cultural History of Java and the West, 1814-1817.

Roger Mitty continues his transition from being a practicing gastroenterologist into a suit-wearing hospital administrator. He is now CEO at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center of Boston, where he had practiced for 20 years. He’s still practicing a bit, but is spending more time with spreadsheets than with colonoscopies these days.

Stephanie Fleischmann has been busy writing. Her musical, The Secret Lives of Coats (music by Christina Campanella), premiered at the Redeye Theatre in October, and made two Best of Minneapolis lists. She’s working on opera librettos for two world premieres: The Property, a Klezmer opera based on the graphic novel by Rutu Modan, for Chicago Lyric’s Lyric Unlimited; and The Long Walk at Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs. She teaches playwriting at Skidmore College.

Michael Lewyn is maintaining a website on the public transit system in Kansas City, to encourage less reliance on automobiles. mlewyn.wix.com/autofreekc

Cathy Reich is sad to report the death of a dear friend, Susan Eakins, who was founder and operator of Montana’s only vegan farmed animal sanctuary, New Dawn. Cathy took over for her friend, overseeing the rehoming of the remaining animals. Some of the cows were relocated within Montana, including the Unsinkable Molly Brown cow (who escaped from a slaughterhouse, led the police on a six-hour chase, and received an official pardon). She is working to ban trapping on public lands, and to outlaw “varmint-killing” tournaments. She recommends Wesleyan’s “How To Change The World” course on Coursera, when it is offered again.

Paul Landau got promoted to full professor at the University of Maryland History Department, renewed contact with the family of his old research assistant in Botswana, and began writing a new book on revolutionaries in South Africa in the early 1960s. Not to mention developing a fear of transoceanic air travel. He has two daughters: Zoe, who makes better jokes than he does, and Penelope, who has taken up figure skating. His wife, Emily, is at work on a book about country music, murder ballads, and social history (while teaching).

J. Peder Zane writes that the University of South Carolina Press will publish his fourth book, a collection of newspaper columns, titled Off the Books: On Literature and Culture, in May.

As recently reported on Wesconnect, in February Shawn Dove began serving as CEO for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement. The program was previously a part of the Open Society Foundations but will now operate on its own. Shawn, who previously managed the campaign at the Open Society Foundations, will bring his 20-plus years of experience working in education, youth development, and community building to his new role. He and his team aspire to: “ensure the growth, sustainability, and impact of leaders and organizations committed to improving the life outcomes of Black men and boys.”

Finally, I want to give a public shout-out and huge thanks to Stuart Remensnyder, who came to my rescue last month. We sent my son off on a bus back to college on a Saturday, not realizing that the dorms weren’t open until the next day; Stu lived close by and swooped in to take him in. Good thing I was nice to him during our year in Gingerbread House.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Roger was at the Reunion, and gives this report:

Our class had a strong and lively turnout for our 30th Reunion on Memorial Day weekend, with the numbers picking up substantially by Saturday night, just in time for the open bar reception in Usdan’s west dining wing. A surprise performance by the Wesleyan Cardinals, joined by founding member Mark Randles, was one highlight that evening. Classmates figured prominently in the weekend’s programming, with Karen Donfried receiving a Distinguished Alumna Award and speaking at the Phi Beta Kappa initiation, ESPN executive Rob King appearing on the WESeminar panel “The Changing Face of Sports,” and marine biologist and author Ellen Prager giving a WESeminar talk entitled “Dive into the Story: Ocean Science and Storytelling, Fun for All.” He reports that everyone enjoyed catching up with one another and, in some instances, meeting classmates’ spouses and children. He noted an especially impressive contingent from the 1980–81 Foss 9 freshman dorm, including David Booker, Liz (Buffy) Martin Brouckman, Jim Glickman, Ina Jacobs, Lee Markowski, Cindy Schultze Newell, the aforementioned Mr. Randles, and Heidi Ravis.

Stefan Selig was confirmed as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade in June. According to the Commerce Department press release, he will “help lead our recently launched NEI/NEXT initiative—a program to build on export achievements under President Obama’s National Export Initiative to help even more businesses reach the 95 percent of customers who live outside our borders.”

Mike Lewyn reports that he is spending the 2014–15 academic year in Kansas City as a visiting professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Arya Francesca Jenkins gives us an interesting update: “I am living in McDonald, Ohio, a remote region of this state and the world, where I have the opportunity to write to my heart’s content. I write jazz fiction for an online quarterly, Jerry Jazz Musician, and regularly publish nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in literary journals and magazines. A few months back, I was elected a director of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Initiatives, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the living conditions of female Tibetan Buddhist monastics. Our programs benefit young and aging nuns and orphanages in Tibet and India. As I have long been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and a friend of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, whose work has inspired DGLI, I am thrilled to be part of this endeavor. A New York tour is planned for December 2014 and January 2015 that will include stops at the Rubin Museum and The Tibet House in New York City, so perhaps some Wesleyanites will join us there.”

Vicky Fish sends in a short and sweet update to say she and her husband, Hugh Huizenga, are sending their twins off to college. Noah is going to Hamilton and Andrew to Wesleyan, where he has been assigned to Butterfield, just like she was as a freshman! Her first book of short stories, A Brief Moment of Weightlessness, was published in June by Mayapple Press.

Margaret (Marmie) Bowman is still working at the Walton Family Foundation as deputy director of their environment program. She is focused primarily on addressing the problems of water scarcity in the Colorado River basin. She lives in Tacoma Park, Md., with her husband and two kids, both of whom are in high school, so most of her life is spent at sporting events and other parenting adventures.

David Blauer recently gained Series A venture capital for his third software start-up, called Bjönd. Based in Boston, Bjönd makes novel workflow automation, decision support, and behavior change software that applies to most industries. Their first application, called BjöndHealth, invents and automates hyper-personalized workflows that clinicians, social workers and family members execute collaboratively to intervene with patients suffering complex diseases and conditions. The Bjönd staff includes other Wesleyan alumni—CTO and co-founder, Ben Flynn ’03, and engineer, George Bennum ’09.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Roger Pincus is your host this issue. Thanks to everyone who’s submitted news to us—here it is:

Michael Misi Polgar is an associate professor of sociology at Penn State University in Hazelton, Pa. His work includes sociological research on gendered variations in service learning. He and his wife, Michele, are happily busy with three daughters, but he finds time to volunteer in his community as a soccer coach.

Andy Peretz has avoided the winter blues as he practices commercial litigation and entertainment law in South Florida, where he represents entertainment companies producing music festivals and cruises. He also plays drums in area bands. The music-loving gene has been transmitted to both Andy’s teenage son and daughter, who enjoy attending rock shows with their dad.

Laura Simon remains in Connecticut working as the wildlife ecologist for the Humane Society of the United States. She proudly reports that her 10-year-old son, Jack, participated in a successful lobbying effort that culminated in a new state law giving students a choice to opt out of dissection.

Paul Gross has spent the last five years applying everything he learned in business to medical research by becoming board chair and the most active volunteer for the Hydrocephalus Association, the largest patient advocacy organization, for his son’s common but poorly treated brain condition. Paul had founded a clinical research network in neurosurgery a few years earlier and merged the two organizations so they wouldn’t be competing with one another for funding. He serves on the advisory council for one of the National Institutes of Health and travels often between Seattle and D.C. In his free time, Paul races mountain bikes in his home state of Washington.

Speaking of biking, Aaron Gershenberg has done several fundraising rides per year since graduation; last year, his team (Silicon Valley Bank) raised almost $1 million for Best Buddies, an organization that benefits the intellectually and developmentally challenged. Aaron also has joined the board of First Move, an organization that promotes the inclusion of chess in the second and third grade classroom. He works closely with Magnus Carlsen, current world chess champion.

Steven Herzog has been living in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his girlfriend/partner, Carrie Jabinsky, for about five years; they have a 3-year-old daughter, Sasha. Steven’s two older daughters are both doing well—Rachel is a junior majoring in classics at Barnard and Charlotte is a freshman at Kenyon planning to double major in theater and math. Steven continues working as a litigation counsel for Paul Weiss in New York, handling commercial cases and pro bono work on death penalty cases. He invites any classmate in or visiting New York to look him up.

Jeff Mehlman reports that he and wife Lynne Bono Mehlman are still in North Andover, Mass., where they have lived for more than 25 years. Jeff continues to work as a management and information technology consultant in the capital markets and Lynne is an accomplished painter in the classical tradition: lynnebmehlman.com. Their son, Jake, and daughter, Julia, are sophomores at the University of Denver and Bowdoin College respectively. Jake took a year off between high school and college, during which he walked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. He now enjoys his access to the Rockies and competing in rugby. Julia is thriving academically and as president of her social house. She also has had success competing as a sprinter.

Mark Randles continues to be a ball of fire when it comes to socializing with other Wesleyan alums. In March he attended a birthday party for Melany Kahn ’86 in New Hampshire. He reports that Michael Bailit and Jim Glickman were among those present. Days earlier, Mark spent time with David Booker, Mike Murphy, and Shakir Farsakh. David is a lawyer with Credit Agricole, Mike is with Morgan Stanley, and Shakir is with the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration. By the time you are reading this, Shakir may be reporting to Stefan Selig, whom the President has nominated as Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.

Chuck Schneider is enjoying touring in support of his novel, A Portrait in Time, which was released in print in January 2014. And Michael Lewyn’s book, A Libertarian Smart Growth Agenda: How to Limit Sprawl Without Curbing Property Rights, was published by Lambert Academic Publishing. Mike continues to teach at Touro Law School and blog on urban affairs.

Finally, class co-secretary Michael Steven Schultz is happy to announce that his son Quinlan will be a freshman at Hampshire College this fall. In addition, Michael Steven was delighted to catch Beth Kaufman ’86 and Mark Miller ’88 with their band, Spuyten Duyvil, at Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville, Pa. Beth is a powerhouse singer and anyone in New England or the NY/NJ/PA area should keep an eye out for their tour dates at sputyenduyvilmusic.com.

Michael Steven Schultz
mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Roger PincuS | rpincus84@wesleyan.edu

Happy winter, fellow classmates. Roger Pincus and I (Michael Steven Schultz) are your new class secretaries, and this is our first set of notes. I won the coin toss and will be your host this month, and Roger will take over next time. Thanks to all who took the time to send us a little news.

Chuck Schneider mentions in passing that he is a practicing medical oncologist at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute in Newark, Del. But he’d really rather talk about his fiction. A Portrait in Time, a thriller set in the contemporary Paris art world (and in 19th-century Paris, as well), is available in an Amazon Kindle edition (and soon in print). (charlesjschneider.com)

Paul Baker checks in from San Francisco to let us know about his November art show, featuring some new works. He and Scott Schryver call themselves “Art Men” (artmenart.com). The opening featured a signature whiskey-based cocktail called the “Jackson Pollock” (In past years, Paul was an exhibit designer at the Cleveland Museum of Art).

Don Rea left Bucknell University after 16 years and is now the technical manager of Arts People in Portland, Ore., (providing online ticketing and donation services to nonprofit theater and art organizations).

Mike Heydenburg checks in to say that he can’t really talk about much of what he’s doing, but he did get his second master’s of science from the National Intelligence University.

Lawrence Wiedeman also is unable to discuss too many details of his work, but does take time to mention a cardboard paddlewheel boat, a cow chip hurling soda bottle rocket, and 1930s golf clubs, among his non-work distractions.

Rick Davidman continues to work as an art dealer in NYC. He owns DFN Gallery (dfngallery.com), which is no longer a physical space but creates art exhibitions in several venues. Rick also acts as financial adviser to many artists, dealers, architects, and other members of the art/design world.

Hsiao-chiung (Helene) Li went to Hong Kong in 1993 after law school and still hasn’t left. She is no longer practicing law, but is married and is raising a family there, and often acts as a Hong Kong interviewer for Wesleyan.

Ellen Prager is back from the Galapagos Islands. As science adviser to Celebrity’s small cruise ship, Xpedition, she is able to make the trip several times a year. Like many of our classmates, she is also an author—her children’s illustrated book, Sea Slime: It’s Eeuwy, Gooey and Under the Sea, comes out in February, and she is starting a middle-grade fiction series with the book, The Shark Whisperer (available in February).

Michael Lewyn lives in Midtown and teaches property and environmental law at Touro Law Center on Long Island). He publishes articles on municipal planning and related issues, most recently in the Real Estate Law Journal. His writings appear regularly on two urban-planning blogs, the Planetizen (planetizen.com) and the Congress for New Urbanism (cnu.org/cnu-salons).

Joel Fein is part of Osler Circle, an almost-all-doctor Beatles cover band from CHOP (Childrens’ Hospital of Philadelphia), and played a gig at World Café Live in November (oslercircle.org).

Sally Bromage Suhr is celebrating 25 years of marriage and an empty nest (in Marietta, Ga.). She has left her second-grade teaching job after 11 years. Her daughter, Abby, graduated from UGA in May and is a kindergarten teacher at a charter school in Brooklyn; Dylan is a junior at Georgia College; and Anna is a freshman at Savannah College of Art and Design. She wants to know if Cathy, Melissa, Liz, Tammy and Jon are coming to Reunion.

Speaking of Reunion, Gail Jenkins Farris is already planning the 30th Reunion and is looking for submissions for a slide show (send to gailfarris@aol.com). Her daughter, Kim ’14, is graduating this year, and daughter Jen ’16 is also at Wesleyan (currently a sophomore).

See everyone in May?

Michael Steven Schultz and Roger Pincus
mschultz84@wesleyan.edu
Rpincus84@wesleyan.edu