CLASS OF 1985 | 2014 | ISSUE 2
Timothy Jacobs has been an anthropology and sociology professor at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Conn. He belongs to more than 30 hereditary societies and is the genealogist and/or registrar for several of them. A professional genealogist, Tim also paints and makes stringed musical instruments. He is putting together several CDs of his music (some with Victoria Grace Landgraf ’88).
Marc Stein writes: “After sixteen years of living and teaching in Toronto, I’ll be moving to the Bay Area this summer to begin my new position as the Pasker Chair in U.S. history at San Francisco State University. I’m looking forward to my new adventure (and will continue to spend time in Maine, where my partner teaches).”
Michael Banbury, chief of cardiac surgery and chair of cardiovascular surgery for Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del., just finished a “Master of Health Care Delivery Science” at Dartmouth: “The idea is to prepare people in the health care sector to think carefully about the challenges we face in this sector and to develop innovative solutions to the many problems at hand.”
Tim Clark visited Wesleyan with his son, Philip, for Alumni Sons and Daughters weekend. Larry Attia was also in attendance with his daughter. “… the campus looks great, particularly Clark Hall which was decidedly (but lovably) dumpy back in the day. After only a few minutes, my Wesleyan compass kicked in, allowing me to navigate parts of the campus indoors on what turned out to be a very cold day. Had I only kept a copy of my old head resident master keys, I could have done the entire tour underground.” Tim, Larry, and Steve Pace ’84 will continue their now 30-year tradition of watching the Mets play on the road. This year they are bound for Denver. (Tim notes: “John Brown, if you are reading this, please join us in Section 101 — there is a ticket in your name at the will call window.”) Tim also caught up with Celia Vimont whose son is also applying to college.
Shelley Starkvolunteers for Dr. Donald Berwick who is running for governor of Massachusetts. “I interned for Don during one of my summers home from Wesleyan. I spend time with Rosilyn Ford and David Shopper ’81. Ros is a nurse practitioner in Belmont, and David continues to build his photography business on the North Shore.” Living in Attleboro with her husband, Louis Jackson, and their two children, Holland, 12, and Spenser, 11, Shelley works as a health policy consultant in Rhode Island.
John Brown and his wife moved to Jupiter, Fla., when he took a new job with INTECH. They have adjusted very well to life without seasons and “live in shorts and flipflops.” Their new business venture is a wine bar: “We have access to some of the best wines in the world and would love to share them with Wes friends.”
Rich Adams started a new job, “working as a PA on the Ear, Nose and Throat service in Rhode Island, excited to be back in an academic environment and learning a ton. Being the least knowledgeable (and usually oldest) guy in the room, seems to be a trend for me….”
Bekkie Wright finished her 50 States marathon quest! Bekkie was in the Raleigh/Durham area in early February with her father, Jim Wright ’55, for his 80th birthday. “I still have a little speed left at the short distances because I scored as 3rd Female Master (40+) in the Run for the Roses 5K.”
Michael Solomon has a new job at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as the senior regional director for the north east region, where he will oversee FINRA’s NYC, Long Island, Philadelphia, NJ, and Boston district offices. His oldest daughter, Emma,is going to Wes in the fall.
K.T. Whaley bought her mother’s company, the Center for Montessori Education. “We train people to be Montessori teachers. All my work at Wes in problem solving [and] identification, connecting themes, thinking creatively, and honing communication skills, were great training for this position.” K.T.’s eldest daughter, Sarah, is looking at colleges, and Emma is getting ready for her Bat Mitzvah next year.
Jessica Bernstein, a freelance writer and copy editor, lives in San Antonio with her husband, Jonathan Bernstein, a columnist covering U.S. politics for Bloomberg View. They have two daughters, ages 20 and 15, one a sophomore at Mount Holyoke and one a ninth grader.
Chris and Nancy Sinacola are pleased to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Jane Woolf Burress, born in early December to their daughter Alena Burress and her husband, Toby. Alena, a “campus baby” from 1983 to 1985, attended a few Classics Department classes and events. Chris is editorial page editor at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette; Nancy is tutoring Latin. Their son, Jonas, spent five years in the Marine Corps and now lives in Virginia. Their other daughters are finishing college: Mary is a senior at the Art Institute of Boston, and Lucy a junior at Northeastern.
Evan Nelson lives in Virginia and works as a forensic clinical psychologist. His practice has included high profile cases such as Lorena Bobbitt, the DC snipers, the Somalia pirates (of “Captain Philips” fame), and the Atkins case, which led to the U.S. Supreme Court to declare it illegal to execute intellectually disabled defendants. He and his wife (also a forensic clinical psychologist) have been in practice together for almost 20 years. “The older of my two children is a senior in high school, so we visited Wesleyan as part of his college quest (but he has decided to go to William & Mary). I was impressed by the growth of the campus, but I mourned the loss of MoCon and my fond memories of socializing there.”
Amy Nash continues to love living in Minneapolis: “I have been with the same architecture firm (MSR) as a marketing specialist for almost 17 years now. I also nurture my passion for writing poetry and keep my poetry blog (arambler.com) alive. My poem, “Souvenir, Erosion,” will be published in an anthology about Martha’s Vineyard’s Gay Head Lighthouse. I will be attending a poetry workshop at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown this summer.”
CAROLINE WILKINS | mbkeds@yahoo.com
MARY BETH KILKELLY | cwilkins85@yahoo.com