Dear Classmates, I was lucky enough to see a lot of my favorite Wes people this spring. In May, Jeremy Mindich and I co-hosted a campaign fundraiser at my place for our beloved Senator from Colorado, Michael Bennet. Among those who came to support him were Brad Lubin, Lisa Abroms Herz, Dave Davenport ’88, Bill Shapiro, Michael Pruzan, Lucy Lehrer ‘85, Sarah Williams ’88 and Sharon Greenberger ‘88, as well as my sister Hilary Jacobs Hendel ’85. I also had a lovely long dinner and sleepover in NYC with Martha Sutro. I had at least two meals with Lisa Abroms Herz, and I got a great night out with Matt Paul and his (and Naomi Mezey’s) ever-fabulous kids. An embarrassment of riches!

Speaking of Naomi Mezey, starting this summer she will be the associate dean for the JD program at Georgetown Law. “The up side of taking on an administrative job like this is that I’ll get a chance to learn new skills (like being a decider) and think hard about legal education at a time when it is in flux. The downside of this job is that I won’t have much time for teaching or writing a book and that I’ll have to go into the office every single day of the week. I may also have to shower and wear nice clothes. I should note that the Wesleyan graduates who go on to become my students are uniformly awesome people.”

John Fitzpatrick was kind enough to write in about a Wes wedding that he had just been to. “Jeff McCarthy ’89 was married this past June in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Park City, Utah. It was attended by Chris Olinger, Mike Pruzan, Mike Olinger ’89 and me. Jeff and Whitney organized a weekend of mountain biking, hiking, dancing the night away and general frivolity. A good time was had by all.”

After five years of living in Mexico City, Lucille Renwick moved back stateside (“for a little while,” she says) to N.Y. this summer, where her husband will work as a deputy sports editor for The New York Times and Lucille will look for work in communications/PR. She’s excited about reconnecting with Wes friends Sumana Chandrasekhar Rangachar, Amy Baltzell, Yvonne Ilton ’88, Sarah Williams ’88, Ruth Bodian ’88 and many more. Lucille is planning on running the 2015 NYC marathon to mark her return to New York and her upcoming 50th. She welcomes any Wes runners to help her keep pace.

Since graduating, Evelyn Shapiro “has been working in design and marketing, both in publishing and higher ed. At the same time, I’ve been teaching Alexander Technique privately to dancers, English teachers, and lawyers. This spring those two worlds came together when I wrapped up the design and development of my 75th title, a scholarly book called Alexander’s Way. Last fall I was honored to attend Clarinda Mac Low and Peter Stankiewicz’s beautiful wedding celebration in Brooklyn, where many a guest had Wes connections. Happily, my daughter made fast friends with the other kids there, including Chris Lotspeich’s girls. At home in Illinois, we are full on with a busy life including my partner, clarinetist Solomon Baer’s chamber music concerts, our son Mario’s (10) near-obsessive passion for soccer, and Hannah’s (7) intricate inner world of stories. We are looking forward to our second trip back to Guatemala, Mario’s birth country. I wish Kim Sargent-Wishart didn’t live so far away, but I relish her wit and wisdom and family pix from afar. I’ve also stayed in touch with our classmate Anna Luhrmann Dewdney, who is living her dream of painting kids’ books in Vermont.

Charles Grattan Baldwin is happy to report that he earned his PhD in literacy from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education and graduated this May. “I am now getting used to being called “Dr. Baldwin.”

Frank Barrett said it was “uplifting to catch up with Brad Vogt in NYC last month before we listened to Steve Genyk speak positively of his childhood friend and Wesleyan hockey teammate Ken Cain, during a 50th birthday party hosted by wife Susan Cain. Not long afterwards in Boston, Genyk and I had a ball connecting with old teammates Don Gillis ’84, Dave Blauer ’84, and Ed Colbert ’89. An uplifting night of reminiscing and laughter started on the back deck of the The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, courtesy of host Ted Galo ’85, who is the museum’s site manager. Oddly, all former Cardinals mentioned here are “Little Three Champions” without a shared title, a feat that has been accomplished just twice in 44 years of Wesleyan men’s ice hockey. Steve Genyk also wrote in about the same party, saying how great it was to see everyone, but wondered where A.J. Salerno and John Brais ’86 were.

Steve Kaminsky writes that his daughter, Juliet Margot Kaminsky, arrived Friday, Feb. 27th. “We are over the moon! Oh yeah, and I turned 50 yesterday. Woah!”

Scott Pryce and his family are enjoying quality of life in suburban Washington, D.C., after a short stint (a second one) in São Paulo. He shuttles every week to Miami for work, and would love to connect with Florida-based classmates.

Oy, the spring after next will bring our 30th Wesleyan Reunion. So don’t make any plans for Memorial Day Weekend 2017! Or better yet, put it in your iPhones now!

Dear Classmates:

Thanks for always writing in. Here goes.

Chris Tacy is still living in San Francisco. “I now work for Mozilla Corporation doing Corporate Development. I still travel a lot to Hawaii for outrigger paddling and surfing. I still rarely if ever see other Wes Alum, though I did see David Raymond and Jessica Glass last year in New York City, and had a lovely evening with Jon Lee in Portland a few months ago.”

Claire Conceison is a professor at Duke University but is spending 2014-2015 as a visiting professor at Harvard University and MIT, teaching courses on China, theater, and sports. She just wrote the introduction for a new edition of Arthur Miller’s book Salesman in Beijing (retitled Death of a Salesman in Beijing) being published by Bloomsbury (2015) for the hundredth anniversary of Miller’s birth. She spends weekends in NYC and would love to hear from Wesmates in NY, Boston, and NC.

Nancy (Dobrow) Bean writes that “Life is fun here in the Pioneer Valley – snow snow snow…!!  My family is great – oldest daughter is starting her Clinical Rotation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the middle child is looking at colleges and my youngest is working on becoming a famous pastry chef (she is 10 yrs old and a good planner.)  Mike Bean is selling Organic Coffee and I am busy planning the Nantucket Wine Festival.   I have been traveling a lot for work – France and Napa mostly – and our 19th annual NWF is around the corner – May 13-17, 2015.  Would love Wes alums to join us this year!! Eric Asimov, NY Times Wine Critic (and Wes class of 1980) will be there again… email me and you can get the special Wesleyan Pass…!!  nancy@nwfest.net.  Cheers!

Adam Joseph is alive and well and living in God’s country (Maplewood, NJ) with his lovely wife of nearly 24 years, Susan Kraham (Columbia ’87), three sons, two dogs and a cat. I tried to get my oldest son interested in Ole’ Wes but he chose Colby where he is a freshman. On the career front, I’ve worked in the muni finance business for the last 20 plus years, financing the infrastructure you use every day.  I don’t see too many Wes folks other than my dear friend, the magnificent Dan Bellow, but keep up with more on social media and think about many more of you often and fondly. Recently ran up to Middletown on a side trip from my middle son’s soccer camp, saw my old boss Brian O’Rourke and enjoyed a Graduate Omelet.

Lisa Pavlovsky “is now Manager of Scholarship programs for the SF-based Jewish community federation working half time so I can still be active in the schools of my two sons, ages 10 and 12. Still in regular touch with Elissa Wolf-Tinsman and Vivian Trakinski who are both doing well.  Can’t believe I’m turning 50 this year!”

Dorian Harding-Morick works at Yale University’s library system—and every once in a while travels the ½ hour or so to see Wes and Middletown.

Martha Haakmat writes: “On January 31st, a handful of Wes grads from ’87, and one kooky interloper from ’89, gathered together in Brooklyn to celebrate the group’s first dive into their 50th decade!  Rob Nix (now working at Penn State) turned 50, and Wes friends who celebrated with him in the home of Martha Haakmat and Stephen Warner were Gail Wheeler and Louis Canfield (’89).  Rob, Steve and Martha are planning a giant 50th birthday for them all this summer in Belize, where they will be joined by other friends from ’87, Brian Shelly, Nelly Taveras, Barney Berkowitz, Greg Barr, Wendy Trippe (’89) and Andy Kevy.

Steve Kaminsky married Leslie Repetto (UVA ’96) in March “and we’re expecting a daughter later in February. Had a great time working on two movies last year with Brad Fuller.  Enjoying life in Los Angeles.  Looking forward to fatherhood!”

John Katz and Lisa Dipko (’86) continue to enjoy living is sunny and dry dry dry San Francisco. I am going on 20 years at EPA, currently focusing on green electronics and safer consumer products. Lisa’s work at the VA nursing home continues to provide daily challenges, from flu outbreaks to new programs to marveling at the healing powers of the resident cat (see this link for pictures! http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Miley-VA-Medical-Center-s-healing-pet-cat-5024638.php). I’ve been kept busy coaching soccer and baseball for our 10-year-old Nicky, a particular challenge since I never really played baseball. Lisa sings in the San Francisco Soundwave, a women’s barbershop group that is known for their witty parodies and awesome costumes. We have kept in touch with Michael Foster who is a professor of folklore at Indiana University, though he has spent the better part of the last several years doing research in Japan. Simon Heart and Johanna Van Hise continue to live in Boulder CO with their three kids. Johanna has recently launched her nursing career after a resolute effort to get into and through nursing school. Locally we cross paths with Darya Mead having shared a preschool, and Mark Mowrey who works at EPA (and whose son recently graduated from Wes).

“Joan Morgan here. I’m a doctoral candidate in American Studies at NYU. I was recently awarded the 2015 Woodrow Wilson Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies for my dissertation The Pleasure Principle: Moving From a Politics of Silence To Politics.”

Sarah Plagenz Liepert “intended to write in a year ago, after a wonderful visit with fellow Foss 6-er Marc Benoff. Marc was in Boston on business from Philadelphia, and joined our family for an evening in Lincoln. Marc and I hadn’t seen each other since 1989! Fortunately, we recognized each other — despite his shorter haircut, and my braces (now off!). Marc was in Asia during our 25th reunion, so I shared some of that news. He sent shout-outs to Brad Lubin, Eric Leifer, Johanna Van Hise and many others (sorry — this is why I should have written when the memories were fresh). Marc and his wife have a daughter at Skidmore and a son who is a senior in high school. I had the pleasure of attending my freshman roommate Jenifer Goldman Fraser’s daughter Sasha’s bat mitzvah in February 2014. Sasha is a very accomplished young woman — no surprise! It was also a treat to see Jenifer’s parents, who are ageless. They looked just as young as when I met them in 1983.We now have two in high school: our son is a senior (all the college apps are in!) and our daughter is a freshman. Various sports, drama, and community service keep our family busy. For my part, I enjoy playing in several competitive tennis leagues (singles and doubles) throughout the year.

Natalie Diffloth sent this “Briefest of the brief updates: I’m in graduate school at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany, and am very excited to almost be done with my thesis in Transcultural Studies! Sending a big hello to all my old friends out there.”

John Penney: “Living in Santa Monica CA with wife Julie Rousseau and daughter Celeste Penney.  Working as Chief Strategy Officer for Starz Networks and trying to build a crystal ball to predict the future of media.”

Holly Campbell Ambler is “still living in Cambridge with my husband and two teenage daughters.  I’m working part-time as a child and family social worker. I keep up with Trish and John Dorsey, Doug Koplow and his wife Michele, and Dennis Mahoney and his wife Karen, connecting for dinners, plays, and musical events in Boston. I also see Barbara Lewis frequently, as we went to Simmons School of Social Work together (as “older” students) and now practice in the same field.

Kimberly (Jackson) DuMont works at the William T. Grant Foundation as a senior program officer. For the past 25 years I have been happily married to Mark DuMont (who received his masters from Wesleyan in 1987) and we have two boys and a spirited, 11 year old poodle. Jackson, our oldest son, is a sophomore at Wesleyan who hopes to major in film and Russian studies. Alex, is a high school senior. He is soon bound for Brandeis where he will continue studying music and venture into philosophy. When life slows down, we venture to Maine to spend time off the grid at a small cabin in the woods. Life is good!

Liz Kromelow-Dietz writes “Both my boys are at Wes now and loving it, Max Dietz ’16 and James Dietz ’18. I’m playing ice hockey most days. Still playing bridge. The life of an empty nester.”

Sheila Rhatigan Arcelona “still lives in San Francisco, still works for the District Attorney, happily married to Steve, raising a teenage daughter … San Francisco is changing before my eyes but I still wouldn’t want to live anywhere else … interesting and challenging times.”

Mick Malter wrote that “Jill and I had a busy fall, doing both high school applications for my daughter Astrid, and college applications for my son Ted. Guess which was more work… correct, the NYC high school applications!  Old news, but last year, when my son was a junior in high school, we took advantage of the Wesleyan college prep weekend for alum and staff.  It was a great weekend on campus, getting familiar with the college application process, and seeing Wes. In the small world dept, my daughter goes to school with Helen Reiss’ (nee?) son, and my son goes to school with Dana Goldberg’s daughter. I now have 22 years with the FDNY, and was excited to spend part of last summer on the fire/rescue boats, working the waters all around NY City.”

Sometimes I just have to print a submission as is, like this one from Linda Malias Passaro. “New career road taking me to Rockville MD as COO Chesapeake Bay Candle. Building global home fragrance multi Branded company. Factories in China. Vietnam and USA. Thinking back on what Wes taught me. How Wes prepared me. 3 kids learning a telecommuting mom life. Oldest Leeann at Lawrenceville school junior looking for liberal arts life. Allissa starting HS. Luke 13 starting his first company jewelry line called Luv Picks. Life full. Learned old Wes boyfriend Matthew Delson passed away last year. Life fragile. Enjoyed speaking on career panel at Wes last Feb seeing old familiar faces. Muzzy Rosenblatt and David Hill. Reconnecting with Joanne Melikian and Liza Barrett. Peace in 2015. O.A.R song Peace my go to.”

Lisa Ranghelli is “writing from snowy, cold Western Massachusetts, where I’ve finally embraced winter after 13 years of living here by learning to cross country ski. Better late than never…The rest of the time I (a) raise my son, Noah, who is 12, about to surpass me in height, and obsessed with Magic the Gathering; and (b) telecommute to my job at a national philanthropic research and advocacy organization in DC (National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy), where I’ve been for 7 years and currently lead a project that evaluates large foundations. I also participate in a cool drumming group, Offbeat Womyn’s Drumming Ensemble. I recently hosted Janet Lieberman, who lives in eastern MA, and during the fall I saw Karen Goldenberg on one of her visits home to Amherst from San Francisco. Last summer I rendezvoused with another long-time San Franciscan, Rachael Nusbaum (’88) and her family in Reston, VA to celebrate her birthday. On that topic, I’m looking forward to lots of 50th birthday celebrations with fellow Wes alum this year!

Maureen (Mo) Craig’s oldest son is now a sophomore at Amherst, so we’ve begun legal proceedings to officially disown him.  :-).  Next kid in line for college is currently a sophomore in high school and is interested in any school with a crew team, so Wes might even make the short list.  We’ve really enjoyed the college tour process–and that’s good because we will get to do it four times over. Indeed, life is grand.

From David Josephs: Professionally, after tiring of doing financial services, credit cards, and healthcare transactions, I recently left JPMorgan Chase after 12 years to join First Data, where I’ll be doing financial services, credit cards, and healthcare transactions. But with a different business card. My wife, Holly, and I visited my dad in southern California in December where we took a great hike in the hills and had a fantastic dinner with David Igler and Cindy Willard.  [Wit and Flash, I can already hear you giving me crap for not calling but it was a quick trip, I promise, and we spent a whole day at the Huntington Library with my dad, somehow managing not to see Blue Boy, and didn’t even get outside of Pasadena.]  Aside from that, just typical life in the Chicago suburbs, shoveling snow and looking forward to spring (which I assume will have arrived by the time this sees print).

Amy Baltzell is “living on Cape Cod with my husband while we are both professors at Boston University.  We have three kids: Zoey who loves her unicycle and tap dancing, Luke who loves computer programming and basketball and Shayna who hit 5’8” and loves to dance ballet. I have a book coming out this year, A Cambridge Companion to Mindfulness and Performance.  I am finding meditation a great pathway to joy and appreciation for life just as it is.

Lastly, I am very sad to report that our dear classmate, Annie Ravitz, passed away at the end of January.

Much love to you all,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf

wolfabj@gmail.com

Let’s begin with happy news from Ira Skolnik. “In April my wife and I attended the wedding of Steven Meyer ’86, where I was the best man.  Steve is an attorney in Boca Raton, Florida, where the wedding was held at the Polo Club.  Steve married Julia Maskivker, who is a professor of government at Rollins College in Florida.  She has both brains and beauty and has finally made an “honest man” out of our boy Steve!  Also at the wedding was Chris Pearson ’86 and his entire family, who flew in all the way from California to celebrate with Steve and Julia.  The weather was perfect, as was the celebration.”

Nancy (Dobrow) Bean has “Wes on the mind as some of my daughter’s friends and my niece (Sarah Dobrow-class of 2018) head off to Middletown this Fall!   Her dad, Marty Dobrow, was class of 83!  Crazy to watch my 19-year-old daughter Maddi going off to her sophomore year in college (Simmons), how long ago was it that I was packing up for my Sophomore year at Wes – a long time ago. We are ending a long and eventful summer on Nantucket.  I commuted to my Boston office mid-week and worked remotely as much as possible.  My husband Mike was out on weekends. Summer was filled with kayaking, biking, adventures and Jules (16) and I competed in our first triathlon. We are still alive and we FINISHED – that was the goal!  I am loving work – producing the Nantucket Wine Festival and The James Beard Foundation Taste America Tour along with some other fun food and wine events – very fulfilling, learning new things always!  I am heading to Paris and Bordeaux for work this September – someday I will live there halftime.  So family is great, work is great – and I am surrounded by a lot of people who are very passionate about what they do!

Alisa Kwitney is writing freelance for DC entertainment and starting a new job teaching part time at Kildonan, a middle and high school for students with dyslexia. I’m also going to be teaching McDaniel’s online romance writing certificate program, starting in January.

Kelly Washburn started a job in Development and Membership at Romemu, a synagogue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. “I’m back in the city after a year living in Woodstock, and would love to be in touch with local Wes alums.”

Kim Sargent-Wishart is “full-steam-ahead trying to finish my PhD by the end of the year. Then in January we’re moving a few hours west of Melbourne to Warrnambool, a smaller city on the coast (known for the annual spawning migration of the Southern Right Whales, among other things). It will be hard in many ways to leave the bright lights of the city but I think the fresh ocean air will more than make up for it, plus space for growing boys to run around – and for old friends to come and visit!”

David Abramson is “in my 13th year at the State Department, my 9th working as a Central Asia analyst (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan), keeping my Russian skills alive.  I try to keep one foot in the academic world, publishing and teaching the occasional anthropology course at Georgetown University.  I recently returned from a vacation in Maine with my family.  En route I visited Skip Lockhart and Jessica Miller in Needham, MA.  In June, John Gould ’86 and Becky Riccio ’87 and their two boys visited us in DC.  My wife, Kelly Hand published a novel, “Au Pair Report,” last year, which is available via Amazon, etc.”

After 17 years teaching in the Drama Department in the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU, Cobina Gillitt has accepted a new position as Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance in the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase College, SUNY starting fall 2014. Cobina is also currently the dramaturg for a chilling new original horror opera by Elizabeth Swados about a Golem created by Rabbi Loew in 16th century Prague to protect the inhabitants of the Jewish ghetto during the “blood libel” when Jews were being accused of using the blood of Christian children to bake their Passover matzos. The opera will premiere in NYC in February 2015.

Stafford Smith received tenure as a professor of photography at Grand Valley State University this spring. He’s also writing a paper about how photographs really do steal our souls.

Ian Rosen and his wife, Sagra, continue to thrive “completing our 18th year in London, with our daughters Isabel (13) and Olivia (6).  We spent a wonderful summer holiday in Spain and are planning more travels in the coming months. I continue to work in the sustainability sector, overseeing investments in renewable energy projects. Of our classmates, I remain in closest contact with Vitaly Fiks who lives in Connecticut with his wife and daughter.

Wendy Blum wrote in to report that Debby Hamilton (a holistic pediatrician in CO) published a book, Preventing Autism and ADHD. Wendy “sees Dave Cole when he comes to Brooklyn in the spring to compete in the NYTimes Crossword Puzzle conference (6 of em in 2 days!). He now lives in Chicago.”

Scott Pryce has moved back to the US after 20 years in Europe and South America.  He and his family, living in the US for the first time, are in the DC area enjoying American culture and family.  Scott has moved back to found and head a US real estate business.

Amy Stahl met her husband, Bill Hulley, in graduate school at Naropa University in Boulder. “Finally escaping Boulder in 2010, we are thrilled to have landed in magically green Portland (OR), right across the street from Dana Buhl ’88.   I serve as the director and teacher for Dharma Ocean Portland, and was ordained this summer as a Chaplain in that Tibetan Buddhist lineage.  My Dharma Ocean siblings include Andrew Merz ’99 and Douglas Goetsch ’85 — we just spent three weeks together in Crestone, Colorado at The Blazing Mountain Retreat Center.  I provided the (almost 30) flower arrangements for the duration of the retreat, since I have studied Sogetsu Ikebana (Japanese floral arrangement) for about four years.  I had the pleasure of spending yesterday with Pierre Hecker ’88 and his wife, Julianne, who were in town from Northfield, Minnesota.  We celebrated our 30th anniversary as friends, having met at the orientation square dance on Andrus field in 1984!

Muzzy Rosenblatt “was in M’town briefly for 25th reunion of my RA hall. Dinner with Alex McClennan Dohan  and David Dohan, Jim Levine, Claire and Scott Burns; great fun. None have strayed from Wes, physically or spiritually. Sunday was chucking the disk on Foss Hill with Ethan Flad and Alan Cohen (and Alan’s N-Factor to be son), joined at brunch by Laura Flaxman. And then a truly inspiring, must-read speech by Ted Shaw on civil rights, freedom and equality, and the critical role of liberal education and Wes. My life is good and work rewarding, and it helps to have Wes well represented on my board, with Julia Hodgson the newest member, joining Andrew Goffe, Todd Snyder and Richard Swanson. And speaking of Boards, I am truly honored and thrilled that so many of you elected me to serve as alumni trustee. I’m cramming for my first meeting, and have to say it kind of feels like being a freshman all over again. Wonder if our orientation will include a lap-sit of all the trustees on Andrus Field.”

This year Robert Norden received the National Historic Preservation award from The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a citation from the Bergen County historical society for 25 years of living history, and the Rockland County Historical Society’s award for preservation and stewardship of a national landmark. “I can’t believe it has been 25 years since I restored Americas oldest tavern…. come visit!”

Clarinda Mac Low just completed a Master of Fine Arts in Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice from The City College of New York-CUNY. “Yes, after 25 years as a professional art-maker, in several fields, I finally got an advanced degree! I am also getting married, to Peter Stankiewicz, whom I met through two of my best Wes friends, Chris Lotspeich ‘88 and Dan Sharp ‘88. After a few decades of dancing around each other, Peter and I became an item in 2006, and now we’re making it official. Chris is raising two great girls with his wife, Amy Dunn, and doing excellent work on micro-grids with Celtic Energy.  Dan has a successful practice as a psychiatrist, in Manhattan and White Plains. I was lucky enough to see Evelyn Shapiro and her beautiful son recently and briefly in NYC, and I’ve been skyping every once in a while with Kim Sargent-Wishart. I also had a nice long chat with Mark Sussman ’86 recently while we trekked across Brooklyn. He lives, teaches, and performs in Montreal and Brooklyn with his wife and two rambunctious sons. My organization, Culture Push (which I started with Aki Sasamoto ‘04 and Arturo Vidich ‘03, has been doing well. Our mission of cross-sector conversation and civically engaged art practice is very Wes, I’d say, and I continue to have contact with recent Wes grads through our internship program. I also see a lot of Lydia Bell ‘07, and other Wes folk scattered across the graduating decades. The Wes mafia is alive and well in my life, thank goodness.

Liza Smith is “on sabbatical and will be road tripping from California to Maine to visit family and friends, eat lobster, see the leaves turn, and acquire a puppy. After crossing the country again, I will be moving to Portland, OR for 9 months–because I can! (My sabbatical project has to do with online teaching.)”

Eric Lotke has a new novel out, Making-Manna. Read all about it (and him) at www.making-manna.com.

Kevin Pratt is living in Corte Madera, Ca with my Brazilian wife of 10 years, our 5-year-old daughter, Gabriella, and our 3-month-old foster baby!  We live about 10 minutes away from Catherine Schram ’89. I was in New York in April and stayed with Shawn Cuddy ’86 and James Hallett ’86, saw Cobina Gillet and Maureen McSherry ’87, and my dear friends Vashti Dubois ’92, Ian Friday ’87, and Tim Raphael ’84. I work in the family real estate business by day, and write screenplays and play music at night.  My fantasy is that I’ll return to the stage as Daddy Warbucks with my daughter playing Annie…Wes folks always welcome here in Marin!

Amanda Jacobs Wolf |wolfabj@gmail.com

Hi! So much news, so little space. So here goes. Please see online notes for many more details—I had to edit mercilessly.

Bill Shapiro wrote: “As many of you know, Chris Molnar died—tragically and unexpectedly—in January of 2013. It was an extremely difficult year. Chris and I were no longer married but lived a couple of blocks apart and had been raising our two kids together. I’m happy to report that the kids, despite missing their mom tremendously, are doing really well. Couldn’t have done it without my girlfriend, Naomi, and support from Chris’ Wes friends. Workwise, I’m now leading strategic ventures and partnerships at Fast Company magazine. And then there’s this: I helped Keith Richards write a children’s book called Gus & Me, which is out in September.”

After 20 years in education and five years as a life coach, Lisa Pavlovsky is now manager of scholarship programs for the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.

Claudia Center writes, “In March, I will leave my longtime (19 years!) position as a disability rights attorney at the Legal Aid Society—Employment Law Center. In April, I will join the ACLU Foundation’s Equality Center as a disability rights attorney. I will be working out of the ACLU’s San Francisco office.

Beth Mix is working for the Manchester Youth Service Bureau coordinating positive youth development programs and advocating to keep kids out of the juvenile justice system. She is married and is raising two young sons.

Amy Baltzell is working on a new book entitled, The Cambridge Companion to Mindfulness and Performance. “I have 23 authors from around the world contributing chapters…We are learning that when we help performers accept unwanted thoughts and feelings—instead of trying to change them—that this helps tremendously with high-pressure performance and learning new skills. Other than that, our 8-year-old girl, Zoey, is playing boys’ lacrosse and is an avid Irish step dancer; our 10-year-old boy, Luke, is unicycle–crazed, and Shayna, our 5’7″ 12-year-old, is a ballet dancer.”

Elizabeth Kromelow Dietz got her coach’s level- one certification with USA Hockey last fall and instructed group and private skating lessons at Lasker Rink in Central Park this season. Krom’s younger son, James Dietz ’18, will attend Wes, joining his brother, Max Dietz ’16. Fun!

Last July, John Snyder left his position as director of the teaching clinic at Baystate Children’s Hospital and joined Amherst Pediatrics, a small private practice in Amherst, “I also remain actively involved in promoting science-based medicine, including writing for sciencebasedmedicine.org.

Andrew Hall has been playing jazz bass with a few different groups here in the New York City area. “When I’m not working, I’m either cooking, fooling about with our pair of Bengals, getting dirty in the garden, playing tennis, or just lolling around our lovely Jersey City townhouse with my wife, Lauren. Anyone heard from Andy Liss ’88?”

Sue Roginski has really planted seeds and rooted herself in Riverside, Calif. She is committed to making the city a “hub” for dance. She’s hopeful a few new events will encourage dancers to stay: Trolley Dances Riverside and dance­STORM. Check out info on placeperformance.org and visit Sue if you are in L.A….please?

Eileen Deignan has “had a good year for catching up with Wesleyan friends while in Colorado. Johanna Van Hise Heart and Simon Heart are in Boulder with their three beautiful children. Eric Peterson is back in Denver after a few decades away in Zaire and Arizona. He and his wife, Anne, also have three beautiful children. Eric is a family medicine physician. Eric and I had a great time looking through pictures and recalling adventures in his orange VW bug. I live in Newton, Mass., with my husband Victor and two sons.”

Simon Connor is married to Melissa Hadfield and lives in Seattle. He works as a psychotherapist in private practice, and plays in a rock band.

From Andrew Gaines: “I expect others of you have, or are about to have, the similar experience of crossing the big 50. I think it’s a moment for which one can make any meaning, complete any yearning, or simply allow to pass with a wee bit of recognition. That said, I recognize that as I near this supposed threshold life is fuller, busier and more engaged than ever. And my work as executive director of Ashby Village (ashbyvillage.org) continues to deepen and grow.”

Linda Malias Passaro headed back to Wesleyan for the career weekend in February. “Reconnected with old classmates and helped students on interviewing skills and developing ‘personal brands.’ Working now on getting summer interns and some graduates into permanent job placements. Amazing how the campus has grown but the spirit of the school remains so consistent after all these years! The visit was good for my soul.”

From Tim Sheridan: “After 10 years with Razorfish, I’m now digital creative director at Burrell Communications in Chicago and I’ve also been teaching at the Chicago Portfolio School.”

AJ Salerno “got a visit from Ted Galo ’85 and new girlfriend this weekend—dinner and laughs. Ted is JV hockey coach at Hingham High School. Ran into Tony Antonellis ’86 and his wife at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival in October. He gave me a hard time for wearing an Amherst football hat that my cousin gave me! From the looks of things, you can actually wear a Wesleyan football hat with pride for the first time in a while.”

Hope Salzer became president of her local League of Women Voters. “Even more exciting, I was voted to the board of a California-wide, grassroots, public education advocacy organization. The organization, Educate Our State, educateourstate.org, has taken the courageous step of filing a public ballot initiative in California that would prevent the state from siphoning off 25 percent of the local property taxes that are allocated to K through 14 education (schools and community colleges) and using it for other things.”

Lastly, I (Amanda) just want to report that Rob Campbell became a father this past February (a baby boy), and had a Broadway show open a month later. He was amazing in the play about LBJ and is overjoyed albeit exhausted. Such good news. Another highlight of the season was seeing Matt Paul and Naomi Mezey—love them always.

Until next time,

Amanda Jacobs Wolf | wolfabj@gmail.com

1988

Muzzy Rosenblatt may even be more ubiquitous in NYC than he was at Wesleyan. In the span of a couple of weeks this past fall, I ran into him at a fundraising breakfast for our favorite US Senator (Michael Bennet), I saw him moderate a fascinating panel of some of Wesleyan’s most illustrious New York public policy minds (John Rhea, Shola Olatoye ’96, Sharon Greenberger ’88, John Alschuler ’70) at a “Future of the City” discussion regarding the challenges our new mayor will face, and then I opened up my New Yorker magazine on Nov. 11 to find a letter Muzzy wrote on the work he’s done with the BRC! And he did it all wearing his big red cardinal costume!

In addition to Muzzy, I was lucky enough to lay eyes on a number of classmates recently. I saw Rob Campbell give an amazing performance at Playwrights Horizons last November. I ran into Michael Pruzan at a book party for his sister-in-law Tracey Winn Pruzan ’85, and I got to have a long overdue lunch with my old roomie Lisa Abroms Herz. I also saw Molly Renfroe and her husband, Dan Katz ’85, at a party this fall.

Mark Pinto wrote in: “Little change here. Still living in Tacoma, Wash., with my partner, Jeff Williams, and working as a residential real estate broker. Just got back from a great trip to Barcelona. Looking forward to seeing classmates Jennifer Bush and Grier Mendel in Seattle in a few weeks.”

Imagine my delight to receive this e-mail from Joss Whedon: “For reasons too complex even for me to understand, I have not been killed. I have however had my consciousness transferred into the body of a very old (and rather bald) man, and I’m planning a strongly worded letter on the subject. I am splitting my time between LA (which is a desert) and England (which is like Eden except you can eat an apple and nobody gets huffy about it), where I’m working on a startlingly original idea I call a ‘superhero franchise.’ My progeny, in fifth and third grades respectively, are thoughtful, funny, and considerate, so I am demanding a paternity test. In my spare time I enjoy not having any spare time. I keep in touch with almost no one from our days of salad except Thomas Plotkin ’86, whom I seldom actually see but who lives forever in my heart and should really get a place of his own.”

Also in West Coast news, Richter Hartig was promoted by Starz to senior vice president for original programming production finance.

Joshua Bellin writes “The big news in my life is that my debut novel, a young adult science fiction novel titled Survival Colony Nine, has been accepted for publication (it’s due out next year).”

Stephen Porter reports that he is “happily living the midwestern whitebread life in St. Paul, Minn. I work as a research scientist at the local VA hospital studying antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Melissa and I have now been married for 21 years. Our son, Daniel ’16, is a sophomore at Wes. This was entirely his idea. He is living in WesCo, is in CSS, and claims to be working really hard. Wesleyan has truly proven to be a great fit for him. There is nothing like watching your child thrive at your alma mater to prove what a great school Wesleyan truly is!”

“Thanks to the support of many Wes alums and other good people,” writes Tim Sheridan, “we hit our Kickstarter goal in July. The book, Thunder & Lightning: a Story for a Stormy Night, is now available at thunderlightning.bigcartel.com.

Leslie Cannold wrote, “I do have news! My third book, The Book of Rachael, which went into a second printing here in Australia is being published in the US this December! It will be the feature title for my publisher, and continue to be prominent in their advertising through January as it is seen as a great holiday gift for anyone (Christian, Jew, Atheist, Feminist, etc.) who likes a ripping historical yarn with great sex. You can find out more about the book here: cannold.com/articles/article/the-book-of-rachael.”

Nancy Dobrow Bean “lives in the Pioneer Valley, Western Mass., with my husband, Mike, and our three daughters, Grace (9), Julia (15) and Maddi (18). Maddi just started her freshman year at Emory in Atlanta this September. Big change in the household! The girls are all singing and dancing, playing soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, skiing, hiking… we don’t sit around much! Mike sells organic coffee and our house generally smells like roasted coffee and wine. We are surrounded by farms, the Mt. Tom and Skinner Mountain Range, Mt. Holyoke Mountains, and the Connecticut River. We are also adjacent to our rivals at Amherst College! My event marketing and production company, Wise Up Events, is based in Boston. We just wrapped up production for the Taste of WGBH Food & Wine Festival in September, and the James Beard Foundation Taste America Tour in October. Now we gear up for full pre-production for the Nantucket Wine Festival. I am co-owner and director of the NWF. It takes about 11 months to produce, includes 50 different events over five days, and takes place every May. This May will be our 18th annual festival. I stay in touch regularly with my BFF Sibyll Carnochan Catalan, and would love to connect with other Wes alums! Best to reach me at: nancy@wiseupevents.com or cell: 617/755-5523.”

Joe Crivelli wrote in to tell me he regularly posts information on WesConnect, but that it feels like his own personal blog since he can never find other classmates posting. Feel free to join Joe and post your news on WesConnect, too—maybe it will catch on.

Have a happy and healthy 2014!

Amanda Jacobs Wolf
wolfabj@gmail.com