Tag: 1991

To start this column, I have the terrible responsibility to inform those who have not heard that Scott Timberg died by suicide on Dec. 10, 2019. The obituary from the Los Angeles Times only begins to tell of the loss of his wit, intellect, and passion for arts and culture. Michael Lill responded to my invitation to add memories and comments about Scott for the column:

“Scott was one of the first friends I met at college. He was brilliant, witty, and an engaging conversationalist. He had a remarkable depth of knowledge of all the liberal arts—especially music and culture—that rubbed off on all who knew him. It was Scott who first introduced me to jazz and other music. I remember hours spent hanging out listening to Scott expound the virtues of Sam Cooke, Chet Baker, and John Coltrane. Scott and I shared our first college road trip together, the first of many. We lived together for two years, first in Butterfield, later in High Rise. We studied abroad in the same semester and visited each other in our respective destinations. My wife and I celebrated with Scott and his wife, Sara, at their wedding. And I visited with Scott and Sara in April 2019 for a 50th birthday getaway to L.A. Scott will be missed by all who knew him, and my heart goes out to his family for this tragic loss.”

In these times, and always, it is important to remember that people care for you. You are not alone. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24 hours every day, at 1-800-273-8255.

There is no easy transition from this to other class news, but I do have a few additional items to share.

Cheryl Gansecki hit two bucket-list items in 2019. She was interviewed on NOVA for the episode Kīlauea: Hawai’i on Fire, fulfilling a “nerdy childhood dream,” as well as a first-author paper in Science, “The Tangled Tale of Kīlauea’s 2018 Eruption as Told by Geochemical Monitoring.”

After seven years as the planning and urban development director for the City of Portland, Maine, Jeff Levine started a new position in August as a faculty member in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. “I’m excited to be teaching and mentoring the next generation of planners, as well as consulting with cities, towns, and developers in New England on best practices in urban planning.”

Joshua Samuels works as a professor of pediatrics at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston, specializing in high blood pressure in kids, both clinically and in research. The work takes him around the country and world to present talks, a bonus for Joshua.

Dana and Jeremy Stacks and Nicki and Jim Miller are working on their expert badge for the National Park Service, traveling to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in 2019. They confirm that the trees are so incredibly large there is no way to prepare for it, and that the night sky is refreshingly dark. Jeremy also checked off Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota (twice!) on the frolic-and-detour theory of work travel.

Julia Fischer and husband Vincent Collazo celebrated the birth of Cassidy Inanna Fischer on Sept. 10, 2019. Julia writes, “Like any couple, we are amazed and in wonder at the fact of the tiny human who has moved in with us, but the most remarkable thing in our case is our collective age. Some jaws dropped when presented with our news, but our focus is on hopefully passing on a bit of the wisdom we may have collected in our combined 112 years of life experience. I’m finding motherhood to be a real joy, and back to working full-time (from home in Brooklyn) while Vincent is able to be a stay-at-home dad. We are very happy!”

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

David K. Thomson was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court and took the oath of office in February. A Santa Fe native, David invites Wes alumni to apply for law clerk positions.

The year 2019 has brought a big change for Kim Buxenbaum, as she takes on the role of director of special education for the New Jersey Department of Education.

Due to the closure of his Boston Regional Office, Bill Kirsner transferred to his Federal agency’s D.C. Regional Office where he will continue to serve as a regional attorney. Bill has reconnected with some D.C. alumni and looks forward to seeing others in the area.

Monica Edwards Moody is a learning and development specialist for a local agency in the Atlanta area, while growing her business as a certified career coach and trainer at Owning Change. She’s served a number of Wesleyan grads (including me) through her business, from offering coaching and writing résumés to facilitating a group session last year for amazing alumnae in Turks and Caicos. Monica says, “Life in the ATL is pretty sweet, as I enjoy the fruits of a 22-year marriage and watch my girls morph into amazing young women.” The eldest completed her bachelor’s in 2018 from Barnard College and Columbia University and heads to Harvard to complete a degree in arts education. And the “little one,” a high school sophomore and soccer star, has her sights set on Stanford.

Sarah Hughes and husband Jeff Hughes ’93 live in Santa Monica, Calif., with their daughters, Maddie, 15, and Willa, 11. Last year, Sarah left the chief of staff position at KIPP Los Angeles Schools, and now works as a consultant to public school systems. Most recently, she assisted a local school district through a reconfiguration from K-8 schools to traditional elementary and middle schools. Sarah and Jeff spend lots of time on soccer fields, watching their daughters play and watching LA’s professional team, LAFC.

When Opium Moon’s eponymous debut won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album this year, “Thank you, Julie Yannatta” were the first words uttered by the band from the stage. Julie is founder and owner of the record label Be Why Music and this was the second time in three years that she heard her name from the Grammy stage. In 2017, the artist White Sun won Best New Age Album for the Be Why Music release, White Sun II.

Jonathan Moss is transitioning through a divorce by rowing, biking, whitewater kayaking, and working in health care finance in western Massachusetts. Friends and family help balance the new life, and the Wesleyan network plays a key role, as he rowed a double recently with Emma Koramshahi ’16.

Adam Wilbrecht is now a principal at Cuningham Group Architecture, where he focuses on tech innovations for buildings through the Internet of things and wellness monitoring.

Scott Moore joined Wynn Resorts as their chief marketing officer and splits his time between Las Vegas and Boston. Beth Haney wraps up her current role leading operations for The Works!, a children’s museum based in the Twin Cities and she’s looking forward to the next chapter as an empty nester. Daughter Lea ’21 will start junior year at Wesleyan where she studies theater and is actively involved across the arts community. Son Ryan begins his first year at Colby through the global entry program, spending his first semester in Salamanca, Spain. After more than 20 years in Minnesota, this autumn marks the first time when there will be more Haney-Moores outside the state than in it.

Michael Nachmanoff and Kiki Price Nachmanoff’s [’90] daughter Clara ’21 is also at Wesleyan. Their daughter Anna begins Tufts and plans to play volleyball, giving the family two NESCAC college students. Youngest daughter Charlotte starts eighth grade in the fall.

Dan Matz’s daughter is, you guessed it, starting her junior year at Wes, and his son will be in the class of 2023. After 20 years teaching at the same high school in San Francisco, Dan is taking leave to devote himself to woodworking and a bit of travel—a respite that’s been years in the making.

Maria Floyd Cohen reports from Oregon that her son Miles ’23 will be attending Wesleyan. Maria’s architecture business in Portland is doing well.

Michelle Wien teaches biology to postbaccalaureate premedical students at Bryn Mawr College, and has had the pleasure of teaching several alumni over the years. Michelle’s daughter, Julia ’23, is beginning Wesleyan in August.

Please, will someone start a Wes alumni kids spreadsheet for me? I’m losing track!

Joining the NESCAC drop-off parade, Lizandra Vega reports that daughter Julianna will attend Trinity in the fall on the 1823 Scholarship. She and husband Steve Brown live in Westchester, with son Christian, 10. Lizandra is as an executive search recruiter across the beauty, luxury, and lifestyle sectors, 22 years and counting!

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

Sarah Sikowitz lives with her husband, Aaron, in her hometown, Cambridge, Mass., and works at Harvard Business School running the MBA career coaching program. Their son, Emmett, just started kindergarten at their neighborhood school and is loving it. Their daughter, Rose, just turned 3 and is having fun terrorizing the entire family! Also, in higher ed—Gabe Paquette and his family moved to Eugene, Ore., where Gabe is dean of the honors college at the University of Oregon. Gabe, Johanna Richlin ’08, and their daughter, Antonia, welcomed baby Reuben into their family in June. In related but unconnected news, Josh Goldshlagand his wife, Josiane, had a baby girl, Elin Santos Goldshlag, on July 8.

Kate Whitman Annis lives in Morristown, N.J., with husband, Craig, and their four boys: Clayton ,13, John, 13, Walker, 9, and Chase, 7. They all attend The Pingry School where Kate works as the associate director of advancement and the girls’ varsity ice hockey coach. This year, she joined the National Women’s Hockey League as the assistant coach for the Metropolitan Riveters. “For female players, being able to continue your hockey career after college is an incredible opportunity and the NHWL something I am really proud to be a part of.”

Despite January’s government shutdown, our Wes classmates move on. From Zack Becker: “Amy Martin won her election for district judge of the 263rd District Court here in Harris County and was sworn in on Jan. 1. Many thanks to the Wes’ers who helped with the campaign.” (#thisiswhy). Kenny Rios has accepted a new position at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Kenny is their new training program manager. Kenny is continuing a Wesleyan tradition—NCTC’s last director, Nicholas Rasmussen ’87, was also a Wesleyan graduate.

After 15 years at NPR, Alison MacAdam left the “mothership” to take on freelance work as an editor for audio documentaries (“which inevitably means podcasts, but still—radio is alive and well, too!”). Her first job was the podcast, Believed, about Larry Nassar and the women who took him down. “If you want to understand how abusers are able to act with impunity for decades, Believedwill give you a lot of powerful and poignant answers. Hit me up if you want to talk podcasting, narrative, audio journalism, etc.!”

Liz Garcia moved to Brooklyn with her family. She has two young boys and sees neighborhood Wes folk and their kids frequently. This includes but is not limited to Lauren Kesner, Amy (Abazzia) Rowland ’98, Elizabeth LeSure Epstein and Jim Epstein, and Chris O’Falt and his wife Maggie. “Two years ago, I made a movie staffed with young Wes people and shot by Andreas Burgess ’01 (cameo by his wife Sadia Shepard ’97!). I’m trying to figure out how to balance my love of my native East Coast and my West Coast career as a screenwriter/filmmaker. I’ll be at Reunion in the spring (my first!) and am really eager to see old friends.”

Great news! Alejandra St. Guillen is running for Boston City Council at-large. This is the seat formerly held by Ayanna Pressley who was just elected to Congress to represent Boston.

Ari Gerzon’s new book, Money Fit: Six Steps to Financial Well-Being, was just published on Amazon. He wrote, “The seeds of my book emerged 20 years ago, when I decided that I didn’t want to be a broke teacher and was not willing to sacrifice following my passion in order to make more money. I knew that I did not want money to become central to my existence, yet at the same time I wanted to use it to support my growth and well-being. Unfortunately, I had no idea where to start. My hunger to learn about the pathway to financial freedom started as a hobby and grew into an area of expertise.

“I wrote this book for three main reasons:

1) Most of the books about money are too complicated, long, or confusing. Our youth (and people of all ages) deserve information that is concise and clear.

2) I am saddened and motivated by how economic inequality is perpetuated due in great part to a knowledge gap. Young people of all backgrounds can pursue their dreams with greater intentionality if they have access to the key kernels of financial wisdom.

3) Most books about money are just about money. I wanted to write about the important link between financial literacy and overall well-being and growth.”

We hope many of you are planning to come to Reunion! Many of our classmates have been working for several months to plan special events and gatherings. It promises to be a great time to not only reconnect with old friends but to meet classmates that you never knew. Registration and more information about the weekend can be found at wesleyan.edu/rc.

As for your class secretaries, we just keep getting older. Darryl is awaiting another summer in Maine (the payoff for surviving winter in Maine). After six years building out an enterprise business at Zocdoc in NYC, Kevin has moved into an advisory role there and started his next chapter in health care. He recently caught up with Dave Katz ’97 and Chris Gaither ’97 in San Francisco while out there for a conference.

C. Darryl Uy | darryl.uy@gmail.com

Kevin Kumler | kevinkumler@gmail.com

In September, Sam Schneider launched the #CrossWithClams campaign, with graphics provided by Jamie Treworgy. While the hashtag never trended, the effort made a difference, and all are relieved to see the university abandon the rebranding of the logo.

Dan Mackta joined Qobuz as managing director. Qobuz, a Paris-based high-res music service with the reputation of great selection and high sound quality, launches in the U.S. in late 2018.

Brett Hardin serves as the head of the high school at Paideia School in Atlanta. His wife also works at the school as parent education coordinator and all three of their children attend the school (Alejandra, 12th, Carolina, seventh, and Russell, fifth), making it quite the family affair. Traditionally, Paideia has always had a strong link to Wesleyan and four graduates are current students.

Rajal Cohen writes with plenty to celebrate: she received tenure and is now an associate professor in the department of psychology and communication studies at the University of Idaho; and after 11 years with her partner, they married in 2017, just two years after marriage equality arrived in Idaho.

Rajal has also returned to backpacking, after a 30-year hiatus! In 2017 she explored the Seven Devils Mountains in the Hells Canyon Recreation Area, and this past summer, it was a trip to the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains. “Scrambling up the Oregon Matterhorn was challenging—and coming down was harder—but it was worth it!”

Dana and Jeremy Sacks joined Nicki and Jim Miller on a trip to Glacier National Park, along with travel back to Portland via the Empire Builder. Jeremy reports, “There were still some glaciers to see.”

On July 14, 2018, in Brooklyn, Julia Fischer and Vincent Collazo married in the company of family and friends. “It was a wonderful, magical wedding, and we took a honeymoon to Croatia in August.”

George Irvine earned a PhD in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware in May. “It is possible to work full-time, have a family, coach Little League baseball, and earn a PhD—though in hindsight I have no idea how I did it. My Wesleyan liberal arts education really helped me with the PhD’s epistemology seminar. It pays to know Dewey, Weber, Kant, and Hegel when you’re debating how we know what we know.”

Now living in Nashua, N.H., Michael Reinke runs the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter and spends time exploring his New England roots.

After a brief stint in Montréal with his family, Spencer “Kip” Boyer is back in D.C. with affiliations at the Brookings Institution, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Look for Jeremy Arnold’s new book, Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season, published by Running Press and Turner Classic Movies. He also contributed to The Call of the Heart: John M. Stahl and Hollywood Melodrama, which traces the career of classic director John Stahl. Some of his recent commentary tracks can be heard on the Blu-rays of Raw Deal (1948), You Only Live Once (1937), and Ride Lonesome (1959). Look for him on TCM in December as a guest host, introducing Christmas movies with Ben Mankiewicz.

And more news in the world of books: Andrew Junker’s book, Making Activists in Global China, will be published by Cambridge University Press in February. Andy moved to Hong Kong in last January to take on the role of the Hong Kong director of the Yale-China Association.

I’m managing in the chaos of D.C., helped by taking time in other locations. In August, Andy and I spent a week exploring Odessa, and were joined by Maria Floyd Cohen and her sons on an amazing trip through history. From Odessa, I traveled to Warsaw, Poland, and presented at the International Association of Jewish Genealogists. When not wearing out another pair of shoes marching in protest, I continue to provide research to a variety of clients as they explore their families’ pasts.

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

Mark Steele has lived in Boulder, Colo., for more than 10 years, but spends summers in Telluride, where he originally moved after graduation. His freelance art direction, design, and Web business allows him freedom, and the real estate success of his number one client—his wife—allows him to dedicate weekly pro-bono time to local nonprofits fighting for climate and social justice. Last year he had lunch with resilient Shizuko Aizeki, and he crashed the getaway weekend of Tibby Erda, Alys Campaigne, Sara Newmann, and Aislinn McGuire, spending a day showing them quintessential Boulder: bagging Mount Sanitas, wandering Pearl Street Mall, and drinking local brews at the bar in the bicycle shop.

“Colorado is perfect for cross-country convergence,” and Mark is game for more guiding and is currently scheming an epic adventure with Jan Hasselman, Adam Rosen, and Daren Girard ’92 to celebrate being a half century young.

Marcela Von Vacano fights on at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco, serving as a water law attorney. Her husband, James Shafer, is a partner in a small law firm. Their children Nina (10) and Max (7) are thriving, though learning about politics at an early age. “I just saw Heidi Jones, Erin Branagan, and Robin Ekiss. They are beautiful and super fun, as always.”

Deborah Sue Mayer serves as chief counsel and staff director for the Select Committee on Ethics in the U.S. Senate. She was promoted to captain in the U.S. Navy in July, and her reserve assignment is to serve as a military judge.

Curry Rose Mills Hoskey and Robin Crestwell Harris ’90 have sons who play basketball together in College Park. Curry reports, “Robin is the coach of the boys’ ’little league’ basketball team, a fact that gives me great pride. After all, how many teams can say that they are coached by a bona fide college basketball star?”

Scott Timberg is co-writing a book with guitarist and singer-songwriter Richard Thompson, to be titled Beeswing: Folk Rock, Britain, and the End of the ’60s. Faber and Faber will publish it in the UK and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill will handle it in the U.S. Look for it in 2019.

Dorian Hart published the second book in his Heroes of Spira epic fantasy series, titled The Crosser’s Maze. When he’s not writing, Dorian is the stay-at-home dad for daughters Elanor (13) and Kira (10).

Caroline Mosher Gadaleta is a managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle, a global corporate real estate services company. She leads a team of 43 professionals in managing the real estate and facilities portfolio for the number-one premium spirits company in the world. Caroline mentors women in the organization and serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Council. She and her husband, Frank, have two teenage daughters, Shelby and Jessie.

Sarah Sutter hosted Zanne ’94 and Ian Gerrard in Tokyo in February and offers anyone passing through to connect with her. She enjoys receiving inquiries through the Wes Career center about living in Tokyo or teaching abroad.

Kristin Aldred Cheek and Brian Cheek ’92 moved back to New Hampshire, about an hour outside of Boston. Kristen is finishing a PhD from Cornell in human behavior and design (environmental psychology). Brian manages the Manchester Monarchs, an ECHL team, and their children are in high school.

Dana Schultz works for RAND in Pittsburgh, focusing on child and family well-being research and evaluation. She and husband Steve Jackman ’89 are preparing for the next chapter as both of their girls are leaving home. “Our younger daughter, Piper, went to boarding school this year for ninth grade and our older daughter, Reilly, is headed to college in the fall. Reilly found an incredible fit in a small liberal arts school which, alas, is not in Connecticut, but is just the right place for her.”

In September, Jeff Post took his two boys, Andrew and Bradley, up to Wesleyan to take the campus tour. “Yes, we’re starting to look at colleges! That night, we watched the football team play under the lights. It was a fantastic game, as Wes pulled off a comeback win in overtime.”

It is with profound sadness that share the news of the death of April Cotte, who died on Jan. 25. April majored in Latin American studies and sociology at Wesleyan, and devoted her life to striving for environmental and social justice. April is survived by her partner, Brian Young, their 7-year-old son, Barry, her mother Kathi, her siblings Peter and Pam. Appreciation to Gayatri Gopinath and Erin Kelly for informing me of this loss. Your remembrances of April are welcome for inclusion in a future edition of notes.

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

Michael and Kiki Price Nachmanoff ’90 announce that their oldest daughter, Clara ’21, will attend Wesleyan as a member of the Class of 2021. By my count, there are now three kids of 1991 class members who will graduate at our 30th Reunion!

Michael also reports that after serving as the federal public defender for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) from 2007 to 2015, he became a U.S. magistrate judge in the Alexandria Division of the EDVA in March of 2015.

Halle Stanford, with the Jim Henson Company, is executive producing a new series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, for Netflix. Son Max just finished his freshman year at Skidmore College and son Theo just finished kindergarten.

After a period of wandering, which involved three moves in 18 months, Scott Timberg and his family have settled back in LA, in a house near USC with a garage big enough for his books and guitars. Scott, who is working as a freelance writer, will be speaking on his book, Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class, at a conference in Ireland. The Timberg clan saw Jim Miller during a visit to Joshua Tree.

Yvonne Brathwaite is the new director of programs for Global Kids, a nonprofit educational organization that helps young people in NYC and D.C. build knowledge and skills needed for lifelong success, and to participate effectively in the democratic process. Yvonne interacts with two Wes alumni, principals at schools with Global Kids programs: Luis Genao at Manhattan East and Dave Vazquez at the Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists.

Todd Denmark vacationed in Florida, visiting his parents, bowling in the International Gay Bowling Organization tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, and topping it off with a five-day cruise.

Brian Howell writes that Marissa Sabio ’89 is now a program director with Outreach Community Ministries, a new position within an organization she’s been with for 10 years. Their daughter, Hannah, will be a senior at Whitworth University, looking at law schools, positions in the Washington state legislature, and running for Spokane city council in 2020. Sam, 17, is planning to launch his music career, and Ben, 14, starts high school, and hopes to join the state champion bass fishing team.

George Irvine writes that Wendy Bellion was promoted to full professor and a named professorship at the University of Delaware. Their son, Luke, is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, and has vast knowledge of the history of Korean martial arts.  Their son, Griffin, is a star Little League pitcher. Meanwhile, George is halfway through his dissertation on the changing public roles of American research universities and chairs his city’s conservation advisory committee, promoting sustainable energy and land use in their corner of Delaware.

Rebeca Rumayor completed the CLEO pre-law program at NYU Law School to better prepare for law school, while her son, James, attended YMCA sleepaway camp, judo day camp, and Writopialabs Day camp.

Gregory Mandel is now dean of Temple Law School.

Will Barry is now a member at Miller & Chevalier, advising clients on issues involving white collar and securities enforcement, transactional due diligence and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, money laundering, economic sanctions, and insider trading requirements.

Lizandra Vega has joined DHR International as an associate partner in the consumer and fetail practice groups.

Dan Levine and family returned to Bethesda, Md., after a year-long assignment in Chennai, India, where Dan managed leadership development and operations for a technology office The Advisory Board Company has there. Dan has been at ABC 22 years.

Cryptic Michael Reinke writes that he is “enjoying life in the second largest city in northern New England, has seen countless concerts of obscure artists, and has biked 4.3 earth units since 2010.”

Now for the “leaving government” section: Jim Ghiloni is now director of strategy and management consulting for Wolf Den Associates in Virginia. His oldest just completed freshman year at Lafayette College, and he will be visiting Wesleyan with his youngest, “where I look forward to getting a formal campus tour, something I’ve never actually done.“

Dan Prieto is now an external senior adviser to McKinsey & Company, and serves as an advisory board member and consultant for several early stage Silicon Valley tech companies, with a focus on artificial intelligence and security. Dan is an adjunct senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Dan and his wife, Adele, had their second child, a daughter, in May.

Spencer “Kip” Boyer took a more extreme approach, and fled across the northern border with his Canadian spouse, who wanted to use this moment in history to give the family a Canadian experience. Spencer’s splitting his time between Montreal and D.C., doing transatlantic relations and security work with the Brookings Institution, Georgetown University, and consulting firms.

Bruce Peabody and Stephanie Lodish celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in August. Over the summer, they will visit Alexander Parsons, Aimee Blanchard Parsons, and their children, all future Wesleyan artists-in-residence.

Bruce, along with Jeremy Sacks, Bobbi Adams, and Jerome Copulsky attended Professor Finn’s retirement party in New York. Jeremy writes, “Finn’s comments—and the fact of the gathering itself—reminded everyone of why we went to a small, liberal arts college.” After the event, Jeremy and Jerome caught up with Sam Schneider.

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

April Cotte lives on the beach in Pacifica, Calif., with her partner, a retired firefighter, and their 6-year-old, Barry. April homeschools using Hand in Hand Parenting and Deep Nature Connection Mentoring. For 15 years, she facilitated Outward Bound wilderness and cross-cultural expeditions for adults in the northern Chihuahuan desert along the Texas/Mexico border and Copper Canyon. Along the way, she built relationships with local Jumano-Apache residents and knowledge keepers. She continues to support indigenous relations and protect their way of life. April enjoyed the recent visits of Gayatri Gopinath and Tacy Trowbridge ’90.

Julie Yannatta writes, “Some of you took, or remember, the Kundalini yoga class I taught on the lawn in front of Olin at Reunion. Well, my adventures in yoga continue, including teaching at Stars, Space and the Future, a conference in Turks and Caicos in August. I also have a record label called Be Why and we released an album of yogic mantra called, White Sun II, by the artist White Sun. White Sun II was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Age Album.

Nik Bates-Haus had a great time seeing so many people at Reunion, including Michael Reinke, Spencer Boyer (and his lovely wife, Clare Stroud, and their adorable children), Robin Ekiss, Erin Branagan, Adam Hahn, Stuart Rockoff, Kerim May ’93, Alisa Rosen, Elizabeth Reifke, and special guest, Canaan Folk-Reinke, born at Wes in 1991. Nik hung out at Malcom X house, caught one of the final shows at Eclectic, and I think we can all agree with his statement: “Wow, do today’s students have it great with the midnight grilled cheese truck!”

In December, the Healthy School Food Maryland coalition, which Lindsey Parsons coordinates, released School Food Environment Grades for every public school district in the state of Maryland. Check it out at healthyschoolfoodmd.org/2016_grades.php.

Out in my hometown of Chicago, Craig Mannarino has been accepted as a fellow into the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Membership is limited to 500 U.S. fellows under the age of 70. Craig’s areas of expertise include medical malpractice, automobile negligence, pharmaceutical mass torts, and other catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.

Some Perfect Year, by Cameron Gearen ’91, is a book of poems out now from Shearsman Books.

Ann Goebel-Fabbri started her own private psychology practice. Leaving Joslin Diabetes Center gave her the flexible time to write Prevention and Recovery from Eating Disorders in Type 1 Diabetes: Injecting Hope (Routledge Press) in February. It’s based on interviews conducted with 25 women in recovery, and you can find it on Amazon.

Some great news: Jim Adolf published his first play, I Cannot Tell a Lie at George Washington School. It’s been performed in Maine and Michigan.

Justin Bass, who made sure I heard the original version of “Don’t Walk Away Renée” our frosh year, now lives in Berlin, where he’s moved to teach English. He plans to stay until sometime in 2018, perhaps longer. He’d love to reconnect with any Wes alumni passing through!

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu

NEWSMAKERS | 1990s NEWSMAKER CHRISTINE PINA ’91 Christine Pina ’91 was appointed chief advancement officer at Miss Porter’s School, a college preparatory boarding and day school in Farmington, Conn. She comes to Miss Porter’s School from the University of Hartford, where she served as vice president of institutional advancement since 2011. During her time there, the university’s total annual philanthropy nearly doubled. Previously, she served as Wesleyan’s director of major gifts. Pina is a commissioner for the National Council on Philanthropy of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and is also the representative-elect from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to the Harvard Alumni Association. An African American studies major at Wesleyan, she earned a master’s in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

NEWSMAKERS | 1990s NEWSMAKER TANYA GREENE ’91 Tanya Greene ’91 was elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Greene has practiced criminal defense law since 1995 when she was awarded the Harry Blackmun Fellowship to work at the Southern Center for Human Rights, representing indigent capital defendants. Greene now serves as the director of training and resource counsel for the Federal Capital Resource Counsel Project, where she assists federal capital trial teams and leads federal capital training nationally. Awarded the Reebok International Human Rights Award in 1999 for her advocacy for death penalty abolition, she also received the Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellowship for Death Penalty Abolition Leaders in 2012. Greene notes, “As a black lawyer from a family that includes both crime victims and criminal defendants, criminal justice concerns have been a part of my life since childhood.” An African American studies major at Wesleyan, she earned her JD from Harvard Law School.

It’s the quiet, post-Reunion class notes, but there are a couple of people to mention, and their activities are worthy of the spotlight.

Tanya Greene lamented to me about missing Reunion, as she had taken a new position and a work conflict kept her from attending. Tanya now serves as director of training and resource counsel for the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel. She works for the defense on federal capital cases across the country and also trains capital trial lawyers. “I continue to hope to put myself out of business when we regain our senses as a nation and repeal the death penalty once and for all, as we did in New York a few years ago.”

Tanya’s twin daughters are 17, entering senior year of high school, and facing the college admissions process.

Jan Hasselman, a staff attorney with Earthjustice, is representing the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the efforts to stop the progress of the Dakota Access Pipeline. At the magazine’s press time, the case had been denied by a federal judge, but the U.S. Army and the departments of Justice and the Interior said, construction “bordering or under Lake Oahe will not go forward at this time.”

From the court room to the art studio, the Class of ’91 is celebrating the announcement that Vincent Fecteau was named a 2016 MacArthur Fellow, winning the Genius Grant for his “deceptively intricate, abstract pieces” of sculpture. A video about his work and process may be viewed at macfound.org.

Renée K. Carl | rcarl@wesleyan.edu