Tag: 1993

Hi, everyone! Here’s some news from our far-flung classmates:

Larissa Labay writes, “Chris Thompson and Geoff Union recently hosted a Zonker Harris Day reunion to cheer up all of the Wes folks in quarantine. Live-streamed their concert from Golden, Co. Saw a bunch of familiar faces (virtually). Jason Gedamke, Dave Pazmino, Stacy Olitsky, Joy Roth, Mike O’Malley, Jon Turati, Josh Moore, and Ethan Piper ’92. Felt just like Foss Hill 1993!”

Sylvia Sironi-Rowe is working from home for the Clinton Health Access Initiative. It’s nothing new except that everyone else is walking into her office all the time! She is expanding laboratory systems in developing countries and now focusing on adding COVID-19 response capability into the plan. She is happily married to Ian Rowe, who is running Public Prep, a charter school network in NYC, and working on a book. They are doing their best to parent Camille (10) and Oscar (8) in quarantine, who are simultaneously bored out of their minds and overwhelmed by discreet distance-school assignments. Sylvia and Ian are not teachers but know that even if they were, they would still be the last people their kids want to have taught them how to calculate the angles of a parallelogram. Stay safe, everyone!

Jon Chesto writes, “I do appreciate the connections with old friends at this time in particular. Wish I had more to report on my end. Just life in suspended animation here in Boston.”

Brett Sokol writes: “In this era of screens, I’m trying to spend as much time with old-fashioned ink and paper as possible. To that end, Letter16 Press, the nonprofit publishing house I co-founded, just released its fourth hardcover book spotlighting the work of unsung photographers from the pre-digital era: Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah: Andy Sweet’s Summer Camp 1977. Yes, it’s the golden era of knee-high tube socks, toasted marshmallows, and teenage crushes.

“I’m also writing about the (locked-down) world of arts and culture for the New York Times with recent dispatches on everything from the art scene in Seoul, South Korea, to how independent radio stations are handling the coronavirus, when having DJs even enter their broadcast studios is dangerous. (So many buttons to touch!).

“On a further offbeat radio note, you can now hear David Mittleman on the air every Saturday night into the wee hours on Tucson, Arizona’s KXCI 91.3 FM. He’s spinning avant-garde jazz records that make his (and my own) WESU radio shows back during our Wes days sound like Muzak.

“Also in Tucson, and teaching documentary film production at the University of Arizona is Jacob Bricca, now a member of the prestigious American Cinema Editors society. Singer/songwriter Chris Huff is also hard at work, virus be damned. Touring beyond his home base of Philadelphia is obviously on hold, but you can still catch him and his guitar performing live at facebook.com/huffmusic.

“As for Wesleyan, I’m happy to report that our alma mater soldiers on. I know this personally. I’ve heard my wife, Lisa Dombrowski ’92, an associate professor of film studies at Wes, teaching her classes online via Zoom this past semester as her students have been hunkered down everywhere from Boston to Beijing. Lisa is also at work on a book about the late career of Robert Altman, with lots of juicy material unearthed from his archives.

“Finally, I was saddened to hear that our classmate Max Reich passed away this spring. Max never had much patience for sentimentality or time for propriety—some of you may recall his involvement in the Great Egyptian Mummy Heist of 1990. But I know I’m not the only one Max helped keep sane during our time in Middletown, and after. He will be missed.”

Jessica Gutow Viner was named the new director of admission and financial aid at Harpeth Hall, a college-preparatory school for girls in Nashville, after having served as the associate director of admission and financial aid.

Laura Davidson Ross writes, “Greetings from Los Angeles. In this time of fear and uncertainty for our country, I feel lucky to work in education to figure out how to continue to educate students during this pandemic. I am grateful to report that I have been named the new associate head of school at the Harvard-Westlake School, where I have been serving as the head of upper school for the last three years. I am also finishing my first year of service as an alumni-elected trustee on the Wesleyan Board. It’s been a real honor to represent the Class of ’93 in those meetings, and I am looking forward to helping to continue to guide the university through the next few years.”

And finally, Jessica Sherwood writes from Providence, R.I., “I like to wave from a safe distance at neighbors Olivia Milonas (married to Ben Milligan) and Amy Grundt ’94 when they walk by.”

Many thanks to everyone who wrote in. Please do stay in touch! I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe during these difficult times.

Suzanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hi, classmates! This month we have some exciting updates about travel, careers, and a new film premiere. Please send us an update in the future about your post-Wes life.

Anne Beaven writes, “I just got back from a week in Panama with my wife, 10-year-old son, and mom. It was a fantastic trip. Happy 2020 to all.”

Jorge Campos writes: “2019 gave me another wonderful opportunity to travel to far off places with many fun memories created. The new year began with my return from Mexico via Toronto on my NAFTA trip. My first destination, Zürich, proved a perfect way to indulge in hot chocolate while looking out on those majestic, snow-capped Alps in mid-January. Then off to Africa. Johannesburg energy was upended by amazing Cape Town. Italia called but my next trip wasn’t one I wanted to take. My bright-eyed grandfather (Papagrande) passed away.

“March rolled around and I marched on. This time to New Zealand and a marathon from south to north. April brought me to Singapore, my personal delight. My stay in Tokyo provided another spring surprise with the city blooming all over. After a rare, relaxing period in NYC, it was back on a flight to Hong Kong. My next stop—South Korea—was perfectly timed to enjoy delicious food with kimchi. My return to New York via Frankfurt gave me an opportunity to spend time with my friends in that city. The following month, July, meant my pilgrimage to Mexico to visit family. Shortly thereafter, Japan with a marathon zigzag. Then, Berlin in August followed, which enchanted me. Passing up business trips caught up to me when it became necessary to head south, this time to Brazil. A routine trip put my world upside down. It wasn’t the trips that mattered as much as the people along the way.”

Jaclyn Friedman emails: “My fourth book Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World has been published by Seal Press. It’s an anthology that I co-edited with my Yes Means Yes collaborator, Jessica Valenti, and features brilliant essays from the likes of Tatiana Maslany, Dahlia Lithwick, Representative Ayanna Pressley, and lots more. About to head out on book tour, where I’ll see Wes pals Janice Jones, Shana Boniface, Elizabeth Toohey ’94, and Tristan Taormino.”

Therese Casper is finishing up her documentary film, The Invisible Father, tracing her father’s underground life, and considering both the promise and pitfalls of authentic creativity. You can learn more at pieroheliczer.com.

Noel Lawrence writes: “I am premiering my feature Sammy-Gate at International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film is a dark, political satire about how Sammy Davis, Jr. caused Watergate. Here’s more info: iffr.com/en/2020/films/sammy-gate.”

Jason Rekate is moving back to New York after 14 years overseas in five different cities to be the head of Citi’s Global Corporate Bank in September.

Bronwen Williams Sainsbury writes in, “I completed my MBA at Seattle University and I’m president of a home decor company, Stack Resources.”

Jodi Samuels writes: “I had a job transition in early November and I’m now the new senior grants specialist at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, which is just two blocks from our home in downtown Sacramento. My focus is on strategically building up the government grants portfolio to help reach the foundation’s goal of doubling our impact by 2028 and to support the chancellor’s innovative ‘Vision for Success’ for the entire California community college system. I co-presented a session on mentoring at the national Grant Professionals Association (GPA) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., and served on a panel for another session related to mentoring. My spouse, Evan Smestad, and I spent New Year’s Eve 2020 in Vancouver, B.C., and have plans to celebrate in Iceland next year.”

Emmanuelle Chammah-Slossberg writes, “After growing up and staying in NYC, Matt and I finally decided to take Eva (11) and Mae (7) to get the ‘open-air’ experience and moved to Westport, Conn. I am now a principal at CetraRuddy Architecture, where I have been for the last 11 years. I joined the Board of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU.global). We will be honoring Alexandria Villanseñor, a 14-year-old climate activist and founder of Earth Uprising. Other than thinking about how we can change the world in that way, one piece at a time, we are plenty busy adjusting to our new schools, neighbors and making new friends. So happy to be able to have big dinners and walk to the beach!”

Kim Smith, who resides in Montpelier, Vt., was promoted to the position of program manager at Everybody Wins! Vermont, a reading mentor program that serves over 600 elementary schoolchildren every year.

Diego von Vacano was named full professor of political science at Texas A&M University.

Ari Abel writes, “I am a facial plastic surgeon in Wilmington, Del., and have two daughters—wonderful young women who are 11 and 12. I followed up my brief wrestling career at Wesleyan by serving as the ring physician at several Ultimate Fighting Championships.”

Suzanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Greetings from North Carolina! Here’s some of what our classmates are up to:

Chris Osmond became associate director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at the Reich College of Education of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., where he is beginning his 10th year on faculty. Visit him!

Chris Cowan writes, “My fun news is that I just became the chair of the department of neuroscience at Medical University of South Carolina.”

Antonia Townshend got married to John Marshall in Washington D.C., 1.5 years post-baby Jack. In attendance were Seth Cousins ’91, Grady Clouse ’90, Todd McNiff, Lucius “Buster” Outlaw, Erica Terry Derryck ’95, and Amy Mayhew. David Derryck was home with their kids, but was represented by Erica.

Ericka Shulman Tullis moved with her husband, Paul, and their daughters, Vivian and Sabine, to Amsterdam. Paul will continue his work as a freelance journalist, Sabine will attend the Dutch National Ballet Academy, and Vivian will attend the Amsterdam International Community School. For her part, Ericka—who recently left UCLA after 14 years as a child health policy analyst and research project manager—plans to focus on learning Dutch and pursuing a new career in equine-assisted psychotherapy.

Karen Powell joined the nonprofit board of Sport Climbing Victoria, as her daughter, Grace Crowley, is a member of the Australian National Sport Climbing Team. She’s looking to connect with any Wes alumni involved in competitive sport climbing organizations, regardless of location. In 2019, they’ve traveled to China, Switzerland, France, and Japan for IFSC competitions including the World Championships in Tokyo (the site of the 2020 Olympics, where sport climbing will debut as an Olympic sport). Karen teaches law and was appointed the JD director at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

Many thanks to everyone who sent in their news. Please keep the information coming!

Suzanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hi, classmates. This month we have some exciting news. Thanks to the people who wrote in last minute with updates!

Jason Fischer is living in San Antonio with his wife, Sunny, and sons, Xavier and Kingston. He is a licensed professional counselor while finishing his doctorate in counselor education at St. Mary’s University.

Hadley Gustafson is enjoying a healthy summer in the forest of Upcountry Maui and enjoying documentary, corporate, academic, and magazine photo work on Maui, Oahu, and Big Island.

Michael Hanna has been working for many years as an independent medical writer and scientific consultant in the U.S., Germany, and other countries. He has published a book about medical scientific writing called How to Write Better Medical Papers.

Keith Hay joined the Polis administration in Colorado as the director of utility policy at the Colorado Energy Office. He writes: “I have enjoyed working on climate and energy legislation and serving as an expert witness at the state Public Utilities Commission.”

Sue Henshon’s newest book, Teaching Empathy: Strategies for Building Emotional Intelligence in Today’s Student, will be published by Prufrock Press in October.

Janice Jones is a clinical psychologist and faculty member at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. “I just married the man of my dreams, Zack Medway, whom I met in a yoga class (so very LA!). He came to Reunion with me last year and got a chance to meet some of our classmates before our big day, some of whom came out to celebrate with us, including Jaclyn Friedman, Geetanjali Chander, Jenny Simon Tabak, Larry Yang ’94, and Elizabeth Gilbert ’92. It was the most magical night of our lives!”

Tim Olevsky teaches band and coaches his middle school’s Knowledge Bowl team. “I’m excited to help train the next generation of nerds (or, rather, intellectually curious teens who are excited about learning and knowledge—you know, Wesleyan types)!”

Maren Roush, a business unit manager for NSF International’s Biosafety Cabinet (BSC) program, and husband Nick celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. Their older son will attend University of Michigan and their younger son is entering seventh grade. “This past year has had me offering test sessions for BSC field certifiers—the individuals who perform field testing and maintenance on these important containment devices for microbiological and biomedical laboratories in Thailand, Singapore, England (on behalf of Mongolia and Kazakhstan), and India, with many future international workshops in the planning stages.”

Jodi Samuels is now a director of education at CalSAE (calsae.org) and is looking forward to coming back full circle to her education roots.

Matt Schneider and wife Jean welcomed their second daughter Harriet Saul McCombe Schneider on Jan. 13. “Hattie is is all smiles for her big sister Louise, now 3. Since expecting our second child wasn’t enough change in our lives, we decided that we should also buy our first home and move in, only weeks before Hattie’s birth. And since that wasn’t enough, I thought I would change jobs. And work from home. With a newborn. We live in Brooklyn.”

Emmanuelle Slossberg, husband Matt, and daughters Eva and Mae have moved from NYC to Westport, Conn. “Getting the best of both worlds—city and quiet. Madeleine Lansky hung out with us in January and it was great seeing everyone at the 25-year bash. I’m still the director of strategy for CetraRuddy and we are working on affordable housing projects with HPD.”

John Weathers is a senior researcher at the 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education (21pstem.org), where he led a study of teacher shortages in the Mississippi Delta, funded by the Walton Family Foundation and is part of a USAID-funded project developing innovative STEM public high schools and related university degree programs for educators in Egypt to teach students to solve the grand challenges of Egypt (e.g., lack of clean water, etc.), which has led to many students winning top awards at ISEF and beyond.

Anne Castaneda created CircleTales, a creative tabletop storytelling game, made of bamboo and printed with soy inks. It’s being marketing as an alternative to mainstream entertainment and it’s a great storytelling game for kids aged 9-plus and for adults of all ages. She launched a Kickstarter for it, too.

Michelle Gagnon’s next middle grade novel, The Echo Park Castaways (Harper Collins), will be released under the pen name M.G. Hennessey on July 7.

Lastly, there is sad news to share. Nicole Zell recently passed away. She was the devoted mother of three young boys and lived in Oregon. We will pass along more details when we hear them.

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hi, everyone! I hope you are doing well. Today I’m remembering some of the amazing classes I had at Wesleyan. But I’m also thinking about the students who added such a special dynamic in and out of the classroom—that’s all of you. Since 1989, you’ve inspired me with your passion, intellectual curiosity, and generosity. Here are some updates.

Christopher Cowan writes: “My wife (Jessica) and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in December. I hosted two current Wesleyan students (Jack Wolf ’20 and Nathan Ehrlich ’19) in my lab at Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, S.C.) for a summer research internship in 2018.”

Morgan Harting e-mails: “As I reflect on 2018, one the highlights was seeing so many classmates at our 25th Reunion. I was reminded of what a special connection we share, having spent such formative years together, and the fondness I will always feel even though so many years have now passed since our graduation.”

Nadya Karyo writes in, “I’ve worked the last 20 years at the bespoke creative recruitment firm, Wert&Co., have lived in three apartments in NYC over the last 25 years, and am married to the same person for 13! Guess I’m not big on change. I had a great time at our Reunion last summer with my husband, Jay Cheshes (Michigan ’93), who had a surprise mini-reunion of his own with his Columbia J-school classmate, Jon Chesto. Was sincerely missing Carlyn Henry Mandelbaum, whom I’d love to hear from! I’m also looking forward to another reunion this year as I plan my high school 30th with my dear friend, Jennifer White Karp.”

Paul Martin is a senior vice president and chief diversity officer at Sony Pictures, where he creates initiatives to “help create a culture that embraces and elevates the differences within our corporation and creative families.” Paul resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Laury, and his son, Aaron.

Stacy Olitsky emails: “I am living in the Philadelphia area. I am an associate professor at Saint Joseph’s University, where I research school-university partnerships and equity issues in STEM education and teach courses on social foundations and science methods for elementary school teachers. I love being back in a university environment with great students and colleagues, and I am glad I was influenced by the intellectual and social environment at Wesleyan. In my free time, I play banjo and record with several local bands, mostly accompanying singer-songwriters (Sarah and the Arrows, Kicking Down Doors, Meghan Cary with Analog Gypsies, The Cornerstones, and The Spiritual Window Shoppers). My daughters, ages 10 and 13, also love music and science, and the older one writes songs.”

Jodi Samuels writes about a vacation she took with spouse Evan, who completed four years at Intel, making him eligible for a four-week sabbatical. “We spent Christmas with my family in Austin and then left Sacramento on Dec. 27 with a destination of Sydney, Australia, where we celebrated New Year’s Eve at the famous Opera House with dinner, the opera gala, and two sets of fireworks. We left Sydney on Jan. 3 and spent three nights in Wellington, one of our favorite international cities. From there, we headed to Christchurch and began an eight-day independent tour of the South Island, starting with the TranzAlpine train journey from Christchurch to Greymouth and then lots of coach travel to get us to Franz Joseph (heli hike on the glacier), Queenstown (zip line and sheep station farm tour), Te Anau (Milford Sound cruise in the fjord), and Dunedin (Otago Peninsula wildlife cruise and tour). We’ll finish the tour in Christchurch and spend two nights there on our own before returning to the U.S. on Jan. 16. Then we’re home for a few days before the second part of the sabbatical adventure, which will take us back to Hawai’i for nine days, splitting time between the Big Island and Oahu.”

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hi, classmates. We have some exciting news in this edition of the class notes. We have a graduation, a few publications, and general updates. Please keep sharing your news with us!

In May, Ethan Fenn graduated from Harvard Extension School with an A.L.M. in teaching mathematics.

Hadley Gustafson writes in, “Aloha and joyous greetings to all. I’m enjoying celebrating life and health in Hawaii. I manage my own photography, video, and design business in Honolulu. Recent projects of interest include photographing the fiery caldera on Big Island (mere weeks before the disastrous eruptions began), photo-documenting the sustainable agriculture (decolonializing and reindigenous) convergence for the University of Hawaii’s Sustainability Department, full-page photographs published in Yoga Hawaii Magazine, and documenting a Lifetime Vitality Award ceremony for original Hawaii 5-0 cast member, Al Harington. I also manage design and marketing communications for a delicious gluten-free bakery, and love dancing, music, and spending time with my family, friends, pet birds, and nature, especially the ocean and mountain-forest. In kuleana, hadleyg23@gmail.com.

Dina Kaplan writes, “Hi, Wes folk! I loved seeing everyone at Reunion, which was so, so amazing. I’m now hosting curated meditation retreats—yes, determined to make meditation social and fun. Let me know if you’re interested in joining and a big hug to the whole class!”

Andy Nordvall published an illustrated fantasy novel, Siren’s Song, and a web comic, My Roommate the Internet, which has over 10k followers. Andy is working on Smuggler’s Cove, which will be published in 2019.

Tim Olevsky e-mails, “What a great time at Reunion catching up with old friends, meeting new friends, and being amazed at all the great things the current students are doing. Wish we had Taiko drumming when we were there! Especially great to see my old debate partner, Kara McCarthy, and reminisce about the time we beat Ted Cruz.”

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Well, it’s hard to believe another Reunion has come and gone! We had a great turnout and I’ll just go ahead and speak for everyone . . . a super fun time. Hope to see even more of you at the next one! Here are the latest updates from some of our classmates:

Diego von Vacano writes, “I just saw Pete O’Brien in Kiev, where he’s been living for almost 20 years working in the wind energy sector. I am teaching at Yale this year in political science.”

Paul Arberman writes, “After 20 years living in Israel, my wife and I, with three kids in tow, moved to the U.S. I found a rabbinical position at Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Never expected to live in Florida, but I’m enjoying the work, warm weather, and the chance to vote here in the next elections. Love reading the notes on classmates and happy to hear from anyone in the South Florida area!”

Dana Wishengrad is happily never married, living with her 17-year-old daughter and (editor’s note: wicked cute!) dog in New Jersey, and finding a cure to cancer.

Also curing cancer, Jessica Kirshner writes, “I live in NYC with my husband, Dan Sommers, and our two kids: 7-year-old daughter, Rebecca, and 5-year-old son, Evan. I have been leading a team of scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals developing cancer therapies for over 10 years. We love living in NYC, but I miss my friends Bay Area friends, Darcie Luce and Danielle Mahones, and Elisa Freeling in London.”

Susan Chun had a great time at the 25th Reunion. She brought her 8-year-old son to experience campus, as her wonderful time at Wesleyan will be a part of their ongoing conversations about education, opportunities, and choices. She said it was great to chat with all that she could—and to any and all, keep in touch (susan.chun@gmail.com).

Kirsten Cole writes, “I live in Brooklyn with my spouse, David, and our two kids, Max and Zeke. I’m a professor of early childhood education at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, which, most days, is my dream job. We’re active at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting where we see Morgan Harting and his family. We also see a lot of Jesse Hendrich ’94 as our kids attend the same beloved public school. Finally, though our street in Crown Heights is only one block long, it includes several Wes grads, including our immediate neighbor, Charlotte Hunter ’85 and, until recently, Doris Barry ’84 across the street.”

John Michael Sakalowsky is still racing bikes and writing, living in Newton, Mass., with his wife, son, dog, and many, many bikes. He is the VP of product and design at a Cambridge, Mass., life-science tech startup. He reports that people are always a bit surprised that he majored in English and French literature at Wesleyan.

Andrew Hazlett (andrew.hazlett@gmail.com) writes, “I live in Baltimore with my wife, Geetanjali Chander, who works on HIV and substance use interventions as a physician-researcher at Johns Hopkins. Our daughter Piya (11) is a voracious reader of books, a feminist, and an avid consumer of political news. Wesleyan ’29? After Wesleyan I worked for the Manhattan Institute, a free market think tank in New York, and at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington. Since then, I’ve been a stay-at-home dad and I’ve worked in the nonprofit and social innovation community in Baltimore. I just finished my MFA in creative nonfiction at Goucher College. Now I’m at a crossroads. What I learned and experienced at Wesleyan has framed and influenced my whole life. If you ever want to talk, about our frosh year in particular, send me an e-mail. I’m finally writing about it.”

I’m sorry to have to report the death of Jon-Sam Frank this past September. Sam was a resident of Bay Shore, N.Y., at the time of passing. I know he is greatly missed by his friends and family.

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com

Hi, classmates! Our 25th Reunion is May 25 and 26, and Jessica Gutow Viner is chairing the Reunion Planning Committee. Her email is ddviner@yahoo.com. We’d love to hear from everyone. We have a great committee in place and are looking forward to fantastic participation! There are many great ways to get involved, and we hope to see you in Middletown in May.

Michelle Gagnon emails, “The paperback edition of my young adult novel Unearthly Things will be released on April 10. It’s a modernized, deconstructed version of Jane Eyre set in San Francisco’s high society. I relocated to Los Angeles a few years ago and have finally adjusted to the relentlessly sunny weather. My husband and I live in the Hollywood Hills with our 11- and 12-year-old kids.”

Julie Jette writes, “In President Obama’s farewell speech, he said that anybody who is disappointed in the government should pick up a clipboard and go get some signatures to get on the ballot. Living in volunteer-led towns in New England gives lots of people the opportunity to do that, so I picked up a clipboard and ran for Town Meeting in Brookline, Mass., where I live. In May and November, I vote along with another 240 residents on spending and policy for the town. The rest of the year we represent our neighborhoods on town issues. It’s far from high office, but in these grim political times I feel lucky to be able to serve my community in a small way—and to teach my boys that if you want to make change, you need to get involved, even when it’s uncomfortable. No doubt I’m still influenced by Wesleyan’s activist ethos!”

Stephanie Mohr emails, “I have written a book for a non-expert audience about genetics, biology, and biomedical research called First in Fly: Drosophila Research and Biological Discovery (Harvard University Press). I had the pleasure of attending the Wesleyan Writer’s Conference last summer as I finished up work on the manuscript. The visit reminded me how beautiful the campus is and how great it is that we have places like Wesleyan where arts and sciences entwine.”

Laura Ross writes, “We moved to Los Angeles this summer so I could become the head of upper school at the Harvard-Westlake School. My husband, Gregg ’90, is teaching math at Harvard-Westlake’s middle school, and our daughter, Casey, is in seventh grade there. Our son, Graham, is in fourth grade at the Laurence School. I am thrilled to be back in my home state and hope to see lots of Wes people out here.”

Maren Roush writes in, “I have been working at NSF International for the last 22 years. My current position is business unit manager of NSF’s Biosafety Cabinetry program. With biosafety and biosecurity being such important issues in this day and age, recent years have been increasingly interesting for me. In 2016, I attended the Extended Biosafety Advisory Group meeting at the World Health Organization in Geneva and did a few outreach sessions in Japan and Korea in conjunction with Thermo Fisher Scientific. In 2017, I presented at the Asia Pacific Biosafety Association conference in Ho Chi Minh City and spent a week in Bangkok at the Thai Ministry of Public Health. I have a wonderful husband and the two best sons in the universe—the oldest of whom is a junior in high school and is starting to think about college. I enjoy reading my classmates’ updates and hope all are doing well. Not too many Wes people here in the upper Midwest.”

Jodi Samuels writes from Sacramento, “I have completed volunteer training at the Sacramento SPCA and am now spending several hours each month to ’socialize’ the cats waiting for adoption. One of our own fur babies, Calypso, had some extensive dental work, and now she and Captain Jack are adjusting to a soft food diet. I take Spanish classes at a local organization, Casa de Español, and I was able to really practice what I’d learned when my spouse, Evan, and I took a trip to the Panama Canal area during the winter holidays. Other travel for work, family, friends, and vacation has included Marshfield, Mass., Austin, Denver, Chicago, Madison, Scottsdale, and Honolulu/Waikiki.”

Antonia Townsend emails, “I run Enclosed, my lingerie gift business. John Marshall and I had a baby, Jack Townsend Marshall, last May. As many of you found out decades ago, having a baby is oodles of fun.”

Andy Nordvall is having a lovely time raising two roller-derby- and violin-loving daughters in Los Angeles. He’s also working on a web comic (patreon.com/MyRoommateTheInternet) and an illustrated fantasy novella, Siren’s Song.

SuZanna Henshon | suzannahenshon@yahoo.com 

Sarah Estow | sarah_estow@hotmail.com