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!
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 has attended several workshops recently
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.
Nicole Zell ’93 passed away on June 4, 2019. A singer/songwriter, Nicole majored in English while at Wesleyan. She leaves behind three young children. She was 48.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
Hi, everyone. I hope you are doing well. We have exciting news to share, including career updates and a new baby. It is hard to believe that our 25th Reunion is approaching, and that it has been nearly a quarter century since we haunted Mocon and Foss Hill. We hope you will consider returning to Middletown to rekindle old friendships, explore the new parts of campus, and hang out with fellow Cardinals this May.
Jacob Bricca writes, “I’m living in Tucson with my wife and son, and teaching at the University of Arizona. Focal Press will be publishing my first book, Documentary Editing: Principles and Practice, next February. It’s based on my 20 years of experience cutting documentaries, and features interviews with editors such as Geoff Richman (The Cove), Kim Roberts (The Hunting Ground) and Mary Lampson (Harlan County, USA). I’m currently cutting two documentaries: Marriage Cops, which chronicles the exploits of female police officers engaged in marriage counseling sessions with couples of all kinds in northern India, and my wife Lisa Molomot’s documentary Missing in Brooks County, a portrait of a Texas city far from the border where an interior border checkpoint is causing scores of migrant deaths.
Scott Robbins writes, “I am still in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where I am a partner in a five-lawyer firm. My practice focuses on representation of rural water and sewer districts, as well as the general practice of law in small-town Missouri. I was recently elected to the Missouri Bar’s Board of Governors, where I look forward to helping preserve Missouri’s non-partisan court plan, which has been adopted to avoid judicial elections by more than 30 other states.”
Antonia Townsend ’93 with son Jack
Ivan Sheldon writes, “While my favorite job is taking care of three spirited daughters, I also feel lucky to be working in the thriving Chicago technology scene. Specifically I am advising a number of large firms on highly automated driving/the future of mobility and mentoring leaders of small start-ups. Speaking of start-ups, it was particularly fun to meet Leeatt Rothschild ’02 and learn about her great social impact company, Packed with Purpose (packedwithpurpose.gifts). The firm offers corporate gifts with products made by organizations that help individuals and communities in need.”
Antonia Townsend writes, “Jack Townsend Marshall was born May 3, 2017. Recruitment starts young. I’m still running my lingerie business, Enclosed. I’ve recently seen David Derryck, Erica Terry Derryck ’95, Chris Mulhauser ’92, and Jenny Work Blattner in San Francisco and Lucius Outlaw when I visited D.C.”
Chris Richardson has been named trauma medical director at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y.
Lisa Brown writes, “Daniel Handler ’92 and I just published our latest literary collaboration: a picture book called Goldfish Ghost. It’s about a dead goldfish. In other news, our son’s fish just died. Coincidence?”
Noah Rosen became an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Hofstra School of Medicine. He remains the program director of the neurology residency at Northwell Health, and the director of the Northwell Headache Center.
Monique Schaulis is living in San Francisco where she has a great job at Kaiser San Francisco, split between emergency and palliative medicine. She helps dying people opt out of our crazy medical system and focus on what they are hoping for at the end of life. She’s done a lot of work over the last few years with an organization called Vital Talk, which aims to deepen physician, patient relationships by teaching communication skills. Her kids are 8 and 10, and they go to Mandarin school in the city. She still works with Christine O’Brien ’95, and had dinner with Kate Blumberg ’92 and Rachel Williams ’90. She was saddened to learn of the death of Ken Hirsch ’91, a friend and doctor.
Karen Powell and family have moved to Melbourne, Australia. Karen is the director of teaching and a senior lecturer (tax) at Deakin Law School. Deakin University is a large public university with several campuses in Australia. She sold the distillery she founded, Triple Divide Spirits, which is alive and well in Helena, Mont. If any Wes grads come through Melbourne, please do get in touch: k.powell@deakin.edu.au.
Jodi Samuels lives in Sacramento, Calif., with her spouse, Evan, and two cats. She works as deputy director of development and training for the California Primary Care Association, which supports more than 1,100 community health center sites statewide, work she reports feels even more urgent as they fight to maintain the progress they’ve made in California in increasing access to healthcare for all. She volunteers with WEAVE, which provides services to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. She also volunteers for the Alliance Française de Sacramento, and joined the local League of Women Voters to increase her advocacy activities and community involvement. She and Evan have been traveling a bunch (Rome, Austin, and Honolulu) and they’re heading to Panama this winter.
Laura (Davidson) Ross and her husband, Gregg ’90, are moving to Los Angeles in June. Laura will be taking a new job as the head of the upper school campus at the Harvard-Westlake School, and Gregg will be teaching math at the middle school campus of the same school.
Abigail Lorber Clarkson writes, “For years, every time the Wesleyan magazine arrived, I got a pit in my stomach thinking about all the extraordinary alumni who would be profiled, and how humdrum my life seems in comparison. Now I’ve decided to embrace the ordinariness of my life, knowing that there must be many of us who are living quiet lives that may not make headlines, but are nevertheless remarkable in their own way. So here’s the latest from my family. This summer we moved back to Asheville, N.C., after a three-year stint in Austin, Texas, where my husband, J., was in seminary. He received his MDiv degree in May and will be ordained an Episcopal priest in August. Our daughter, Louisa, who has been known to make an appearance in an inflatable T-rex costume, will be starting high school this fall. As of this writing I am looking for a job in Asheville, hoping to continue my role as right-hand-person to top executives.”
After 10 years working at Duke, Anne Beaven is taking a new position running the lymphoma program at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. She’s very excited about the new opportunity, not to mention the commute—a mere two miles from her house. Her son, Eli, is finishing up second grade, and her wife leaves for Australia soon for a six-month stint working with Save the Children.
Casey O’Neill, along with his co-host, Keith O’Brien, won the New England Newspaper and Press Association’s Innovator Award for their show, Casey and the Sports Doctor. The show, which is produced by The Day and is available at theday.com/sports/gameday and on Facebook at GameDay-Connecticut Sports, is a sports talk show that features segments on Connecticut sports as well as national sports. Casey and Keith also took third place in the same category for their work on GameDay, which broadcasts high school sports with ESPN quality production.
