Tag: 1995

Katy writes for this issue: Fall brings news from an array of places. This issue I’m particularly glad to share news from people who are writing for the first time, or not since a long while. Please do keep coming out of the woodwork so that we can include you!

Kirsi Baird Barber writes: “I live in Portland, Ore., with my husband, Tony. We’ve been here about 18 years. I received my master’s in education at Portland State University in 2009 and am starting my eighth year working for Camp Fire Columbia, a nonprofit youth development organization serving families across the Portland metro area. I am in my sixth year as the director of our before-and-after-school program, which serves about 750 youth in 12 schools across two school districts. I love working with youth and families, and partnering with schools, state child care professionals, and other local and national out-of-school-time organizations.”

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I’ve just begun teaching Italian part-time at UConn. The new job comes on the heels of a major relocation to Connecticut, after nine years of life in Atlanta. It seemed like the right move now that my son Leo, 5, is starting kindergarten. We wanted him to be closer to family and friends. I’d love to connect with anyone from Wes who is living in the state where we spent our collegiate years! You can actually still e-mail me at my Wes address!”

Cheryl Mejia got in contact, as well. Cheryl is a doctor of osteopathic medicine in the National Spine and Pain Centers in Hagerstown, Md. She particularly appreciates the mentions that she’s had in others’ class notes!

Aisha Claire Mike started her personal image business, Perfectly Claire, a few years ago to help people enhance their appearance and achieve inner clarity. After a career as a model and singer/songwriter working with names like Nike, Puma, Essence, Glamour, Carly Simon, Luther Vandross, and Talib Kweli, this new role came naturally. She now styles on-air talent, corporate executives, media professionals, and full-time moms who all simply want to look and feel their best.

Beth Shilepsky Price writes: “Greetings! I am still a family medicine doctor, but I changed locations almost two years ago and now work at a Navy base outside of Charleston, S.C. I love providing care to the spouses and children of active-duty members and retired servicemen and servicewomen who have dedicated their lives to serving our country. Go, Navy! My husband, Kevin, our three kids (David, 13, Madeline, 11, and Lily, 8), and I had a visit this summer from Steve Belin ’96 and his family. He and his wife, Danielle, have two kids (Zoe and, Jackson) and live in Colorado, where he is a general contractor (and part-time movie assistant director in Hollywood) and she is a teacher. Looking forward to seeing you all at the next Reunion!”

Sabrina Prince is doing well and has relocated to Harlem in NYC. She sees Jacqueline Moon often and attended the christening of the son of Frank Truslow, Theodore Hopkins Truslow, in October.

Hannah Knott Rogers and Tom Rogers are entering their seventh year in Decatur, Ga., and love living in intown Atlanta and 5th congressional district #JohnLewis. Hannah is head of information services at the Health Sciences Center Library at Emory, and Tom is an associate professor in the Department of History there, with a focus on modern Brazil. They have two girls, Dinah (13) and Juno (11), in middle school, and it is not nearly as bad as it sounds. Hannah enjoys conducting alumni interviews for high school seniors applying to Wesleyan.

Keep sending us your news and updates—we’d love to hear from you!

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Dear Class of ’95: Bo Bell here, co-secretary for our class (along with my partner-in-crime, Katy McNeil). This is my first time at the helm for these notes, and I want to set it off with a shout-out to my frosh hallmate Cheryl Mejia, who just got married! She and partner, Clare, celebrated with a reception at the Washington, D.C., Pride parade.

I’ve heard a lot from fellow WesCo alums, including Ana Maria Kleymeyer, who started working with a new group in D.C. and will be representing the Federated States of Micronesia in the global climate and ozone negotiations (even if the U.S. president refuses to be part of the solution, many U.S. citizens are still working on these problems), and Danielle Langston, who, with her family, is approaching her third anniversary of living in Brisbane, Australia! Dani is an architect, working on retirement, aged care, and education projects, and stays busy on the side playing a full concert schedule with the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant concertmaster. Her husband, Carl, has an academic position at the Queensland University of Technology, and their kids, ages 9 and 13, are into their brass instruments and identifying Australian bird species.

Anne Bellows Lee writes: “I just moved to a new place in Santa Monica, Calif. Brought my two little girls, a few cats, and the husband with me. I am still working at UCLA in the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs as a project director for research studies of treatment for co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse. We are always looking for intern and volunteer research assistants—so if you, or anyone you know, wants in, let me know!”

Sabrina Prince has relocated to central Harlem in New York, still delighting her healthcare advertising clients while volunteering as a marketing consultant for small business owners in Afghanistan on behalf of Bpeace. She recently came back from Croatia and is looking forward to a summer of rating the best pizzas in New York with Jacqueline Moon.

Jason Segal, who is active in Wesleyan’s Social Entrepreneurship program, writes: “My company, Swift Current, continues to do our best to bring large-scale capital into initiatives to address climate change. Kids Julia (3), Ari (2) and family are enjoying life on the Upper West Side.”

Lauren Monchik is still in NYC with husband Paul Davidson and daughters Violet (10) and Lena (7). She’s a science educator with Growing a Wild NYC, teaching kids in New York public schools, K–12, about native plants and pollinators, as well as working on native habitat restoration. She loves getting to check out neighborhoods and schools all over Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.

My Wes former soccer teammate Jeremy Lurgio says, “Life is great in Montana. I co-directed a short documentary called The Hard Way. It has been a finalist at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, Telluride Mountainfilm, the Vancouver International Film Festival and it was awarded a bronze for the People’s Choice Award at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival in England. It’s an inspiring story of an 89-year-old ultra runner who does things the hard way to maintain purpose, momentum, and vitality. This coming year I will be taking a sabbatical from my job as an associate professor at the University of Montana School of Journalism, where I co-teach a course on how to effectively report stories from Native American communities in Montana. My wife, Caroline, and our two kids, Lachlan (7) and Amelia (4), will be living in New Zealand for the year while I work on projects that explore the relationship of indigenous communities with the news media.”

Andrew Neiman is just living the dream as a St. Louis actor/bartender/adjunct professor of playwriting, screenwriting, directing, and movement. He’s received a commission to adapt Shakespeare’s Richard III into an hour-long hip-hop production for an Illinois middle school, and later this summer he’ll be co-producing and playing the title character in an immersive onsite production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Andrew says, “Cheers, y’all.”

Neil Parekh surfaces! “It’s been several years since I have been to confession/submitted an item for Class Notes. Pam Stumpo ’96 and I moved to D.C. two years ago when I got a job in communications with United Way Worldwide. Our daughter, Emily Margaret Parekh, turned 4-years-old in April. It was great to see Wesleyan’s VP for University Relations Barbara-Jan Wilson giving the Philip Brown Memorial Lecture with Director of Admission Nancy Hargrave in April. Also met Andrew Fairbanks ’90. He did my on-campus interview back in the day. Thanks, Andy.”

Randy Jackson and Brooke Leinwand Jackson are in Inwood (upper Manhattan) with children Ty and Frida (twins, 13 now and about to finish seventh grade), and haven’t moved from NYC since graduation. Brooke is now principal of the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies, a public high school in Chelsea, and Randy has bounced around in the social justice organizing sector for the last two decades—working on the local, state, and national levels—and most recently has landed at ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York (www.alignny.org), where he’s the director of development and planning, fighting for progress in New York City at the intersection of a healthy environment, a fair economy, and racial equity. They they stay in touch with dear Wes friends—especially Dan Smith, Zeke Volkert ’96, and Julia Lazarus.

Shayne Spaulding checks in: “A couple years ago, I moved with my husband, Josh Shepherd, and boys Wiley (9) and Kieran (6) to Swampscott, Mass., after living in Brooklyn, N.Y., for nearly 15 years. Small town living has been an adjustment, but we are enjoying the ocean breezes, our garden and local politics. We live around the corner from Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker. I work for the Urban Institute in D.C., a social policy think tank. Lots to write about these days.”

Jen Levine-Fried started a new job as the CFO of the National Network of Abortion Funds at the end of February. She writes, “It has been a steep learning curve, but so rewarding to be working for an organization that is at the forefront of reproductive, social, and racial justice during these challenging times. Last November, after a work trip to California (which started the day after the election), I was able to visit with Eric Meyerson and Jennifer Parker Dockray. I regularly see Noam Shore and Noah Rumpf, as we all belong to the same synagogue outside of Boston. And we recently moved to an ever-so-slightly larger condo in the South End, and now we have space for visitors that does not involve a couch. Please let me know if you will be in town!”

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Katy writes for this issue: I’m excited to be sharing your news. Lots to report in 2017!

Leigh (Copperman) Burchell writes: “Life remains groovy down here in North Carolina. Chris ’96 and I are kept busy by our three kids and spend a lot of time at lacrosse tournaments.  Our oldest started high school this year and has her eye on Wes for the film program. The election process was a doozy, both because we are passionate opponents of HB2, the so-called ‘bathroom bill’ here in N.C., but also because of my role running government relations for one of the world’s largest health IT companies. The positive is that my job is never boring!”

Rebecca Fulop writes: “I teach science at Mission High School in San Francisco where I’ve taught for the last 13 years. Recently a book was published about the teachers and remarkable students there (Mission High: One School, How Experts Tried to Fail It, and the Students and Teachers Who Made It Triumph, by Kristina Rizga). I have a 3-year-old daughter and live in Oakland with my husband. I’ve bumped into other Wes grads in our neighborhood.  We bought a fixer-upper a couple of years ago so our free time is completely spoken for!”

Sarah Yuhas Kirn writes: “I am currently serving as the acting assistant commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and enjoying life in Concord with my husband, Josh Kirn ’94, and two daughters.”

Ken Kwiatkowski writes: “Announcing the birth of our second child, Adam, born on Jan. 4.  My wife, Anna, and our first son, Roman, and I, are living in Jersey City, N.J.”  Congratulations, Ken!

Julia Lazarus writes: “I kicked off the new year by spending a lovely long weekend with Tammy (Tracy) Sufi ’94 and our mutual friend Sasha O’Connell (Barnard ’94) in Austin, Texas. Much has changed since we lived there in the 1990s, but still full of music, food, and dancing. In December in San Francisco, I got together with Christine O’Brien, Sarah Zaner ’94, and Zeke Volkert ’96; always a treat. And back in Providence, where I am assistant director of online learning and innovation at Brown University, I’m happy to have terrific Alison Perry ’94 in town, and Claire Reardon ’94 not too far away in New London. Appreciating the ongoing pleasures of the extended Wesleyan crew.”

Ben Lee writes: “Life is good in Los Angeles.  About a decade ago, I traded being a lawyer for brokering residential real estate. The market is booming and I have been busy with a development side business. I have a wife and three great sons. I stay active with Wes by hosting its Annual Admissions Reception for LA applicants every year, so look for it in October because alumni are always included.”

Jason Segal writes: “All good on this front, with fun time with family (Julia is now 3 and tri-lingual—English, Hebrew, and Spanish), and Ari is 11/2 and the smartest/sweetest kid ever. After eight years doing environmental finance, I co-founded a merchant bank called Swift Current focused on the same sectors—starting to really go well. Not seeing enough Wes folks, so please reach out!”

Stacy Theberge writes: “I’m still living outside of Portland, Maine, running after a busy 2-year-old and working with my husband at his animation company, Little Zoo Studio. We worked on the film Rock Dog, which came out in February. If you haven’t seen it yet, track it down! It’s good!”

Lara Tupper writes: “I just got engaged to (singer-songwriter and lovely human being) Bobby Sweet! We live in the Berkshires and often perform together as a guitar-vocals duo. I teach writing workshops at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and I’m at work on a new book, a memoir/ghost story. I loved reading (former Clark 4 resident) Dave Biello’s The Unnatural World. Kudos!”

Matvei Yankelevich writes: “I’m in New York these last 20 years. I am a founding member of the editorial collective of the non-profit Ugly Duckling Press, soon to celebrate 25 years since its inception as a zine at Russian House at Wesleyan. We publish poetry, translation, essays, performance texts, and books by artists. I teach translation at Columbia University and I’m on the writing faculty at Bard College. My novella-in-fragments, Boris by the Sea, was just re-published in a new edition. I recently had dinner with Simone White ’93, now program director for the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church.”

Keep sending us your news and updates—we’d love to hear from you!

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Hi from your new class co-secretaries: Bo Bell and Katy McNeill! We’re delighted to take the baton from former secretary, Dwayne Busby. Thanks again, Dwayne, for your many years of service! This is a fun way for us to help everyone in our class to keep in touch with each other from all our various locations, with Bo from his home in New York and Katy from her (new) home in the U.K. Here’s the news this round and we look forward to keeping in touch with you into the future!

Bo writes, “I’m living in the town of Cold Spring in the lower Hudson Valley of New York and working in New York City, leading the digital team for an advertising agency. My wife and I are raising two fun kids, a hound dog, and a small flock of chickens. I semi-regularly meet up with Mike Kleinsteuber over burgers and beers at the Old Town Bar near Union Square, and caught up with Kiersten Miller on her annual summer visit back to NYC from her home in Rome, and with Ben Harbert ’97 and Alison Brody ’97 on a work jaunt to D.C. Finally, huge shout out to Michelle Duff, Liz Fernandez, Rachel Hunt, and the rest of the 1994 ECAC Champion Wes Womens’ Soccer team, 2016 inductees to the Wesleyan Sports Hall of Fame!”

Rob Armstrong writes, “I’ve been living in London for close to three years now, where I write editorials for the Financial Times. When you write anonymously, no one knows you’re American. My twins are 7 and have no accents. I am, despite their efforts, in touch with my former housemates, Russell Agle and Jen Quest-Stern, who have turned out better than anyone expected. If any of you are in town, let’s have a pint.”

David Biello writes, “I’m publishing my first book in November. It’s called The Unnatural World. It’s about the idea that humans have started to make changes on a planetary scale, like the glaciers of an Ice Age or an asteroid crashing into Earth, and what we might do with this new knowledge of our world-changing impacts.” A link to purchase can be found here. “I’m still married and have a daughter and son who are growing like weeds. I got a new job as the science curator for TED Talks, hoping to help spread some good ideas.”

Matt Duffy writes, “I am still out in Oakland. I just started a new job as the superintendent of schools for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, a public school district of 30,000 students in the East Bay, centered around Richmond, Calif. Crazy and amazing! My boys are now 5 and 8, and life is very full.”

Alexis Greeves writes, “I’m living in Minneapolis, working as a mental health therapist for deaf and hard of hearing children. I have a small private practice (hopenandhealingmn.com). David and I have two daughters and are trying to figure out what it means to be raising Midwestern children.”

Ana Maria Kleymeyer writes, “A couple of years ago, I moved back to the D.C. area, where I finished producing a music documentary and continued my work on international climate change negotiations. I’m enjoying the schizophrenic life of a musician/lawyer who refuses to give up the groove.”

Anne Bellows Lee writes, “I am in Santa Monica with my husband, Greg Lee, my two little girls (3 and 5), and three big cats. Working at UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs as a research projects director in substance abuse treatment, also working on getting my LCSW license.”

Michelle Sachs Limaj writes, “All is well in Massachusetts. I took a great job in-house for one of my clients, Agenus, an immuno-oncology company. My kids see a lot more of me, which is extra good because Idriz (whom you’ll recall I brought home with me after the 1999 war in Kosovo, without a college degree or even good English) is now COO for a system of four hospitals in Baltimore. So he commutes home for the weekends, and the rest of us chill M–F on Mommy Time.”

Brandon Patton writes, “My wife had a baby this year, Sylvia Pearl Patton Schroeder. Emily Essley also had a baby earlier this year, Lily Rose Essley.”

Lisa Hastings Rosenman writes, “Burt Rosenman and I celebrated our 17th anniversary this year. We live in western Massachusetts with our two daughters, Hannah, 11, and Leah, 14. Burt is a biology professor at Western New England University, and I’m a school librarian in Hartford.”

Christianne Meneses Jacobs writes, “My only news is that I traveled to the East Coast this summer. I visited with Lauren Sitzer Avery and her family in Boston. Hung out with Ryan Knox in New Haven and we watched Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention while drinking wine. I also stayed with Jeff Levinson and his wife in New York. It was also awesome to see Mark Quinones and his wife, Rachel, when they were visiting Arizona.”

Ethan de Seife writes, “My wife, Laura, and I welcomed a son, Levon Ray, in August 2015. He is cute and round-headed, and he loves to watch birds. When he was about 9 months old, we packed up everything—dog, cats, nursery, a million books and records—and moved from Burlington, Vt., to Santa Rosa, Calif., where Laura got a great job in a local hospital. It’s beautiful here and we hope not to move again for a long time.”

Eric Meyerson writes, “I was in Chicago over the summer with the family, where we got to visit the incredible Temperance Brewing Co. started by Josh Gilbert. Josh and I also got to spend a wacky weekend in New Orleans last fall with Adam Borut, Jason Walta, and Greg Walter ’96. I just started a new job in July. I’m running marketing for media and video at Facebook.”

After a decade teaching at the Department of Performance Studies at New York University, Tavia Nyong’o is now a full professor in American studies and theater studies at Yale. He is dividing his time between Connecticut and NYC.

Bo Bell | bobell.forreal@gmail.com 

Katy McNeill | mcneill40@gmail.com

Rachel Hunt and her family will be moving to Los Angeles this summer as her husband begins a new role at USC. She is excited to meet/connect with Wes folks out there. Her kids (K and grade 2) will begin school at the Franklin Avenue Elementary in August. Please reach out! : )

Stacy Theberge Taylor: “Sorry to have missed our Reunion last spring, but Niko Taylor made his debut on April 30, 2015, which was a little too close to make it possible. I was thinking about all of you, and wish I could have been there to celebrate on Foss Hill. Next time! In my small local mom group there are randomly two other Wes folk… Bryn Sewell ’04 and Jamie Green, who is married to Ezra Steinberg ’01. Ezra is also Makeala Steinberg Kingsley’s ’98 sister. Guess I had to have a baby to find my Wes tribe here in Maine.”

Laura Egendorf and Lauren Sitzer were in Phoenix, Ariz., celebrating Christianne Meneses Jacobs’ 45th birthday. Christianne reports that they enjoyed the weekend at the Marriott Revive Spa and ate real Mexican food for dinner every night. For her birthday, Christianne gifted herself a new 2016 Toyota Corolla.

Leah Bartell still lives in the Boston area, freelances as a violinist, and directs the music program at a small private school in Lexington. She founded her own youth orchestra in 2014, and it is endlessly inspiring to work with young musicians. Leah’s two sons, Adrian, 7 and Bryn, 4, keep her running around and laughing. Though Leah missed the last Reunion, she hopes to make it next time!

Katy McNeill: “Last month we (my wife, two daughters, and I) took a big leap and moved ‘across the pond’ for a job opportunity of mine. I’ve taken a position as the functional director for access for the UK Data Service (the primary archive for social and economic data for the UK), which is based at the University of Essex near Colchester. I look forward to connecting with alums out here (already work with Melanie Wright ’84, who is a colleague at the archive) and if you’re ever in the neighborhood please drop me a line!”

Matthew Gold writes: I’ve recently co-edited (with Lauren F. Klein) a new book out from the University of Minnesota Press: Debates in the Digital Humanities 2016. The book is the second Debates volume—the first was published in 2012 and was accompanied by an open-access, interactive Web version: dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu. We’ll be releasing a new version of the website in a few weeks that will contain the new book, as well. And Debates is now a book series from Minnesota, so more volumes will follow.”

Jeanne Bonner writes: “I have finally, finally added a grad school degree to my résumé—an MFA in creative writing from Bennington. It was hard work (the fantastic faculty included Alexander Chee ’89) but also fun to see what another New England liberal arts school was like!

In April, Dwayne Busby and his family enjoyed a Bajan vacation with Dale Allsopp, Mike Jones, Ayeisha King and Damon Smith and their families. Dwayne still lives in Houston and works at University of Houston-Clear Lake as executive director of development and alumni relations. Though this will be his last Notes as class secretary it will not be his last class note. Once a Wesleyan alumnus always a Wesleyan alumnus. Go, Wes!”

Ed. note: We thank Dwayne Busby for his many years of gracious service as 1995’s class secretary, and we’re delighted to welcome Bo Bell and Katy McNeill as the co-secretaries for 1995. You’ll hear from them soon as they begin preparing for the notes you’ll see in the next magazine in December.

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

Please write to your class secretary:

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

Though I am still not ready to accept that it has been 20 years since we have graduated from our beloved Wesleyan University, I am happy to say happy 20th Reunion to you all. It was absolutely fantastic and mind-blowing to see so many ’95ers in the house enjoying all the festivities, food and fun. And you all looked marvelous! It was also a joy to see the li’l ’95ers, the future Wesleyanites, having fun and meeting their parents’ classmates and families. I won’t begin to name all the folks who I ran into but I will say “thank you all for coming!” You made the 20th Reunion a huge success. And to those who could not make, well … sorry, and we hope you make it to our 25th. On to the notes…

Jason Wiser has an animation going up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC this summer. He is doing facial animation and skin texturing for The Return, a wild piece of interactive theater to celebrate the successful re-assembly of Tulio Lombardi’s marble “Adam” statue which fell and smashed into 28 pieces in 2002. The performances run all July 2015. Official announcement: on.wsj.com/1P8GqZ3

Gabriella Klien recently published a book of poems. It is called Land Sparing and was published by Nightboat Books. It was the winner of the Nightboat Poetry Prize.

Katy McNeill has been living in the Boston area for approximately 13 years “(probably with many of you close by but we just haven’t run into each other…), still working in the MIT libraries (same place but evolving role). I’ll look forward to seeing everyone at the Reunion; I’ll be bringing my family (wife, Sharie, and our two daughters (ages 9 and 5 now).”

Khaim Morton ’95 writes: “I’m now the chief of staff to assembly member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who represents the 54th California State Assembly district. It includes Los Angeles, Westwood, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, and Culver City. I also recently got married. My wife and I both live and work in Sacramento, Calif.”

Andrew Hindman ’95 plans to attend the Reunion with his spouse.

In 2014, David M. Perry published more than 45 articles on topics such as higher education, disability, and police violence for CNN, Al Jazeera, the Chronicle of Higher Education, etc. In February of 2015, Penn State University Press will publish his book Sacred Plunder: Venice and the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. He interviewed Wes President Michael Roth ’78 here: chronicle.com/article/PresidentsPublic/150879/

Katy McNeill writes, “I’ve been living in the Boston area for 13 years (probably with many of you close by but we just haven’t run into each other). Still working in the MIT Libraries (same place but evolving role). I look forward to seeing everyone at Reunion; I’ll be bringing my family: wife Sharie and our two daughters, 9 and 5.

Cheryl Mejia sends an update that’s “pretty much similar to last update. Finishing last year of residency. Got some good potentials, yet looking for a PM&R job, with focus on interventional and sports med. Marriage is legal in Florida now! I am engaged to Clare Madrigal, a quick ER nurse who will be relocating with me. Think you already know I’m VP of Women In Medicine, annual conference and network of LBT physicians.”

Dwayne D. Busby is now executive director of development and alumni relations at the University of Houston—Clear Lake. He still lives in Houston with his wife, two daughters (9 and 7), and his mom. Go to yourhoustonnews.com/bay_area/news/ and look up “Busby” for an article about his career news

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@gmail.com

Calling all ’95ers, calling all ’95ers! ’tis the year of our 20th, yes 20th Reunion. Save the dates of May 21–24, 2015. It is sure to be a fantastic weekend but only if you come. Join and/or check out our Facebook page, groups/30073947769/. We also need your time and, of course, your treasure/s. There are many ways to volunteer and give back; go to wesconnect.wesleyan.edu. Many thanks to those who have already done so. I can’t wait to see you all!—DDB, your dedicated class secretary.

Jacqui P. Rubin and Matthew Healey welcomed a daughter, Isobel Sadie Healey, on May 21. She joins older brother Nathaniel Charles Healey, born on Nov. 22, 2012.

Tamekca Faria married Troy Frisby in September 2014.

Stacy Theberge (now Taylor) traveled around the world for six months, then married her love and partner-in-crime, Jason Taylor, at her parents’ house in Maine. This fall, they bought an old farmhouse near Portland, Maine, and run their animation company, Little Zoo Studio, from it.

Cheryl Mejia says, “I am in my final year of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residency! I will therefore finally be back in the job market after eight years of training. We physiatrists are good at non-surgical orthopedics, including injections, manual medicine, and rehabilitation of stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and cardiopulmonary diseases. A spine and sports (interventional pain management) fellowship wouldn’t be bad either! My gal, Clare, and I are still loving Miami. Drop a line if you are in town! Oh, and my e-mail signature also says that I am VP of Women in Medicine. If you are an LBT physician, you should check us out! Super fun as well as educational. WomenInMedicine.org.”

Amy Casher states, “My husband, daughter, and I are so happy to welcome our newest family addition, Lucas Casher Seibel, born August 25. We recently moved to Concord, Mass., from downtown Boston, and are enjoying life on the Sudbury River.”

Jason Wiser (married name of Jason Wiener) is launching his iPad kids game “DinoTrucks”—about digging up and building dinosaur skeletons—on Oct. 15, 2014, just in time for National Fossil Day! Press release, screenshots, and ridiculously cute trailer video narrated by his daughter available here: YayaPlay.com/DinoTrucks.

Jen Levine-Fried completed her master’s of science in accounting in December 2013, and got her CPA just last week. She is an accountant for a nonprofit in Boston, where she has been living since 2001. Jen is bringing the whole family to Middletown in May for our 20th (husband Matt and kids, who will be 6 and 8). She is looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Jeanne Bonner shares: “Happy to contribute to the class news. I’ve just started a master of fine arts in creative writing program at Bennington College. I continue to work as an NPR station reporter and am the proud mamma of my 2-year-old son, Leo, who can now triumphantly say, “I got ya!” and “I found it!” I am really enjoying immersing myself in reading and writing again, and am re-reading some texts I haven’t read in quite a few years! Hope everyone is doing well.”

Alexis Greeves is living in Minneapolis these days and has a private practice in which she does play therapy with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. David, her husband, and Alexis have two daughters (Ruby, 5, and Eliza, 2). Alexis left the East Coast (she was in D.C. for 12 years) kicking and screaming but is really loving life in the Midwest! Here’s her website: hopeandhealingmn.com.

Ryan Knox spent the summer teaching legal philosophy to pre-frosh at Brown University. He rather liked that Brown waitlisted him and now he was lecturing there! He is spending the fall writing poetry at Westlake, in Hangzhou, China, before returning to Hong Kong and New Haven where he splits his time and his life to achieve balance.

Jessica Peterson lives in Grand Junction, Colo., with her husband, Dave, and their daughters Elena (11) and Claire (6). She is the editor of The Maverick—the magazine for Colorado Mesa University. She also teaches in the mass communication program at CMU. (This is a recent development, after years of working as a reporter, and then as the communications/PR director for Mesa County, Colo.) When not chasing the kids on skis and mountain bikes, Jessica satisfies her inner drama geek by performing in community theater and dance productions, and also does some professional voice-over work. She serves on the board of directors at the Museum of Western Colorado.

(Jennifer) Parker Dockray is celebrating her first year as the executive director of Backline, a national nonprofit promoting support for experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption. Their campaign to open the country’s first All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center was just profiled in Cosmopolitan.com and is slated to open in Indiana next spring. Parker is loving life in Oakland with her second grader, and although she’s grateful to Facebook for keeping her connected to so many Wes classmates, she looks forward to seeing folks in person at our 20th Reunion.

Ana Maria Kleymeyer’s biggest news is that she co-produced a documentary called La Ruta de las Almas (The Road of the Souls) this year. It’s in its final stage of production. Other than that, Ana started her own consulting business—a small project she calls Instruments for Change. She consults on international environmental law as well as art projects with social and environmental impact. And she has moved back to the USA after five years in Europe.

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@yahoo.com 

Wendy Gale is working in literacy and Bible translation with Wycliffe Bible translators in Yaoundé, Cameroon. She sends greetings to her classmates.

Lara Tupper is working on a new book and continues to croon jazz standards in intimate venues in the Berkshires. She is looking forward to putting out a live CD soon.

Ryan Knox is finishing up his third year teaching American literature at an international school in Hong Kong. He will return to Yale University in New Haven on June 1, 2014.

Suzanne Snider and her partner, Robin, welcomed a baby girl, Claude Poppy, last September. Currently, Suzanne is teaching oral history at Columbia University and directs a program called Oral History Summer School in Hudson, N.Y. She is in touch with many Wes friends and looks forward to hearing her Wes housemate, Lily Mazzarella, read at the Poetry Project on April 21.

Josh Gilbert shares great news that Carey Bartell was recently promoted to vice president of litigation at Hospira, Inc.

Wesleyan has meant a lot to us all. So take some time, reminiscence, and go to thisiswhy.wesleyan.edu to tell us your “This Is Why” story. Or just go there to read other Wesleyanites’ “This Is Why” stories. I appreciate all your notes and updates; they mean the world to me and you are part of my “This Is Why” story. In advance, I thank all of you ’95ers for taking the time to tell your stories and for supporting our Wesleyan.

Best wishes from Houston, Texas.

DWAYNE BUSBY | dwaynedbusby@yahoo.com