Tag: 1999

Kevin writes: Limited submissions this time, so please take a few minutes and send in your updates for the next Wes Mag so we can hear what you’re up to! For example, I recently heard from Mark Zubko, but he quickly went to ground again after the Seahawks lost in the Super Bowl. He may have been hiding from Pete Czerepak’s celebrations of the New England victory.

From Greg Brodsky: “Scott Cavanaugh and Ashley Grant ’00 just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in Easthampton, Mass., in December. Word on the street: baby Ezra was locally sourced, and 100% free range.” Greg is still living in Somerville, and is with a tech start-up, OrderWithMe, which helps groups of independent stores to buy together. He works out of Workbar in Cambridge, and occasionally sees Matt Goldstein there. Suzanne Bouffard also just joined.

Speaking of free range—Eve Fox has been busy writing about the hopeful world of sustainable agriculture with a focus on all the cool things happening where she lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Eve also writes about plain old delicious food on her blog: http://www.thegardenofeating.org. She and her family also had a chance to meet up with Makaela Kingsley ’98 and Jonah Sachs ’97 at the tail end of 2014 for a reunion.

Jon Stewart made news with his Daily Show retirement this year. Our own Catie Lazarus was there to get his first reaction on her show, “Employee of the Month.” The New Yorker wrote a nice piece on her repartee with Stewart that is worth a read (and, of course, you should watch Catie’s show!).

Nina Kontos just had a son, Nicholas Kontos Busquet, born in Dec. 2014. Forever a New Yorker (and married to one), Nina still lives in the city and considers herself lucky to see lots of fabulous Wes friends here on a regular basis. She has been working at Google in communications for five years…work takes her to the Bay Area fairly often and so she gets to see Allegra Jones and Caitlin Lang. Fun fact: freshman year Maya Mitchell predicted Nina would have a career in the field of public relations/communications and she was right.

In January, Ellen Sluder started a new position: head of marketing for MedForce Technologies, a software company focused on productivity applications in health care. “It’s only been two months, but I’m really excited about the change, even if I look solely at the elimination of two hours of my previous daily commute. It’s also just been really fun as I’m digging in to rebuild the brand from the ground up and pioneer a proactive marketing program where there previously had been very little.” Ellen’s husband, Stephen, flies for the Conair Corporation (“think hair dryers, not convicts”). “We’ve got a good rhythm down with our two daughters (4 and 1), not that it makes it any easier on me mentally when he gets to leave behind this below-zero NYC weather to spend a long ‘work’ weekend in the Turks and Caicos. I hope he brings back some warmer temperatures for us!”

The Bay Area continues to be a beacon for our classmates. In Oakland, Tara Cohen and Jessica Flintoft welcomed their child, Oscar Rose Cohen-Flintoft, into the world on Dec. 20th, 2014. They could not be more in love with their sweet little one, sleepless nights and all. Danielle Lazier is living in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. “In my 13th year of selling SF real estate and blogging for SFhotlist.com. Recently connected with some old Wes friends in NYC.”

Chris Chambers completed post-production on Aram, Aram—his first feature as writer-director. Jim Gilbane contributed his talents as editor. “Pic is an indie drama set within the Armenian community of Los Angeles. Coming to a film fest near you…or, worst-case scenario, YouTube.”

Laura Zaks writes, “I just completed a two-year contract working for the Inter‑American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, based in Costa Rica, as an international specialist in food and nutritional security for Latin American and the Caribbean. Primarily, I provided technical assistance and advised on policies to increase the availability and quality of food produced through small and medium-scale agriculture in the region. My family also welcomed a baby girl, Sabine Antonia, born in Dec. 2014, who joins her two older brothers, Tiago and Luka.”

Finally, we close with some solemn news. Wesleyan recently learned of the death of our classmate, Marc James Augustine, on Oct. 26, 2014. The full obituary notice is available online.

C. DARRYL UY | darryl.uy@gmail.com

KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Jeff Blumenthal started graduate school at San Francisco State University for geography with a concentration in natural resources management. Dan Shotz’s wife, Emily, gave birth to twins, Zelda and Zachary, on July 10, 2014, in Los Angeles. They join 4-year-old Lily. “Everyone is doing well, except for the part of us that likes to sleep. We have been fortunate to have many Wes friends come to visit the Zs, including Ted and Nora Grip Boretti who flew from Mass. with their girls soon after the arrival. Lindsay Grajewski Beros and her husband, Alex, welcomed their third child, Olivia Jane, in July. Divya Kumar has been doing postpartum support work in the Jamaica Plain area for the past few years and currently oversees prenatal and postpartum programs at a local agency that provides a wide range of programs for children and families. She facilitates support groups for new parents and works as a postpartum doula and lactation counselor in the JP area. Additionally, she created a pilot program to prevent postpartum depression and provide postpartum support for new moms and their families. The program received a second year of funding from the state to support staff in four community health centers across Massachusetts, including Divya’s local health center, Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center (where she also serves as a staff member). The center provides comprehensive perinatal support for all patients—screening new moms for postpartum depression and other perinatal emotional complications, offering information and education, and connecting families to resources both within the health center and in the community. By offering all of this within the health center, they are changing the way they care for new moms and families by reducing barriers to services and information and increasing access to necessary support and resources. Last December, Divya wrote a piece for MotherWoman’s Huffington Post blog about the importance of support groups for new moms. Here’s a link: huffingtonpost.com/motherwoman/it-takes-a-village-to-rai_b_4393052.html. And finally, Divya and husband Dan Koulomzin celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this past August! Their little ones are 7 and 5. In other health-related news, Ed Holzwarth founded a new company, Pattern Health Technologies, to build preventative health apps for individuals and software for healthcare professionals to better manage chronic health conditions, track important health metrics, and prevent serious health events. He continues to lead his other company, Little Green Software, which is a mobile app development firm. Aimee Dawson and husband Ewan welcomed a baby girl, Tessa Munro MacKenzie, in December. She enjoyed six camping trips around Québec this summer snuggled in the tent with her big sister, Fiona. Being north of the border, Aimee still basks in maternity leave, but will take up her dental drill again soon. Liz Shulman and her husband, Andrew Mastronarde, have also become expatriates. Liz joined the faculty of the psychology department at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. They are enjoying the Niagara region, which features friendly people, lots of wineries, and very few guns. Marianna Ellenberg will appear in the fall issue of Cahiers du Cinéma. She will be featured in the article “New York Girls” with an interview about her new film The Deflowering of Ariella Von. Liz Garcia and her husband welcomed a baby boy, August, this summer. He joins older brother Wilder. In June, Liz participated in the Shasha Seminar on the Road: Wesleyan Women in Hollywood. Not only did she get to share the panel with Jan Eliasberg ’74 and Jane Goldenring ’77, but she loved meeting recent graduates and catching up with Dan Shotz, Jim Gilbane, and Chris Chambers. Professor Jeanine Basinger put President Michael Roth ’78 on the spot and made him agree to a Wes women in directing seminar. Classic Jeanine and an all-around lovely experience. Seth Dellinger writes: “I have just become certified as a teacher of Awareness through Movement, the group learning format of the Feldenkrais Method. This method is a unique form of movement education that uses novel sequences of actions to stimulate the formation of new motor patterns in the brain, making it possible for the nervous system to reorganize itself. Because the brain controls the muscles, this work creates the possibility for students to release long-term habitual muscle contractions and discover flexibility, better posture and more lightness and ease in movement. It has been effective in improving the quality of life of patients with central nervous system disorders as well as raising the performance level of world-class athletes and musicians, and all manner of people in between these extremes. I am now teaching Awareness through Movement classes in Washington, DC. To learn more about my classes, check out my Facebook page (Seth Dellinger, Awareness through Movement) or my blog: movelikeachild.wordpress.com, or contact me directly at sethbdellinger@gmail.com. Thanks!” Kim Varner Wetzel welcomed her second child, Cecil, in April and a new job in August with a fast-growing Alaskan telecom company, GCI. Tim Higgins, a certified financial planner who lives near Boston, has written another book, Unconventional Investing, this time with co-author Michael Hajek. Kirkus Review calls it: “Wise, authoritative and carefully documented; should stimulate deep thought in those who are willing to break free of the conventional investing mode.” You can find the book and more info on Amazon as well as at unconventionalinvesting.com For Kevin, life as a family of five is not easy, by any stretch, but at least is beginning to seem normal. Despite an amazing admissions cycle with a 63 percent increase in applications, it was the summer of transitions for me. Not only did my dean announce that she will be stepping down at the end of November, but I also had to hire seven new staff members. Happily, one of my newest admissions counselors is Maurice “Mo” Hill Jr. ’14, so Wesleyan is slowly taking over the Kenyon admissions office. I will serve as the interim dean of admissions and financial aid come December while the search for a new dean is underway. Kevin and I enjoy hearing from you, so please continue to share your news with us! C. DARRYL UY | darryl.uy@gmail.com KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com

1999 ARCHIVES | HOME
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Class Notes has entered the social media age! Several submissions for this issue were first posted on WesConnect. The new magazine site (magazine.wesleyan.edu) also has a Class Notes section where we can post overflow information and photos, so please start submitting them!

Farrah Darbouze married Jessica Heard in December. The wedding was in Bethesda, and our classmate Nichole Morris was also in attendance.

Imani “Grace” Duncan-Price dropped us a note to let us know she is now based in Kingston, Jamaica. “I was honoured to be appointed a senator for the Government of Jamaica in 2012, so a significant part of life now focuses on reviewing laws for my country. But I still have my day job as chief strategy officer for JMMB Group (regional financial services company) and of course enjoying my young family as we all grow. So link me if you come this way. One love.”

You may have seen BatKid on the news this year? One of our classmates was involved! From Allegra Jones: “I’m happy to report that San Francisco’s BatKid saved Gotham City on Nov. 15! I’ve volunteered as a member of the Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC) of the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation for seven years, and this was by far the most exciting, inspiring, community-building event in which I have participated. Seeing the city come together to help grant 5-year-old Miles’ wish to become BatKid was a true joy. #SFBatKid”

Mark Zubko and family are now living in Brooklyn. They recently moved back to the US from London. Mark’s wife, Alexandra, recently co-founded a travel-review company (Triptease).

As for your class secretaries, Darryl is continuing to take over Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, one admissions class at a time. Kevin and his wife survived their first year with twins (Owen and Norah), with their older daughter, Claire, pitching in to help. When not chasing toddlers, Kevin is helping ZocDoc expand its business across the U.S., providing real-time access to healthcare for all!

After the last Class Notes, Kevin heard from Beth Rauen Sciaino, who lives in nearby Morris County. Beth is the associate rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Ridgewood, N.J. She and her husband have a daughter, 6, and son, 1.

We hope our class has a solid turnout for the 15-year Reunion in May…in the meantime, please send in your updates so we can share!

C. DARRYL UY | darryl.uy@gmail.com

KEVIN KUMLER | kevinkumler@gmail.com

Darryl writes: Dr. Katherine Goldberg’s Ithaca-based veterinary practice officially became Whole Animal Veterinary Geriatrics & Hospice Services, PLLC., in late August. The new name more accurately reflects the unique focus of the practice and emphasizes the specialized care that it provides. Katherine’s practice is the only one in the region, and one of very few in the world devoted exclusively to geriatric support, hospice, and palliative care for pets. Wesleyan’s Science in Society Program definitely provided an excellent foundation for development of unique perspectives on bioethics and healthcare systems in general, which contributed to Katherine’s unique career path within the veterinary profession.

Jake Fleisher lives in L.A., working as a comedy writer. His latest project is a Web-series funded by Yahoo called Tiny Commando. He co-created it and wrote all 12 episodes. This action/comedy stars Ed Helms (The Hangover, The Office), Zack Levi (Chuck), and Gillian Jacobs (Community). To watch this family friendly and safe-for-work series, go to screen.yahoo.com/tiny-commando.

Ursula Ogno Sfraga continues to manage a software development and consulting firm in Juneau, Alaska. She and her husband, Philip, adopted their 3-year-old foster son on May 3, 2013. Joshua joins older brother Aiden, age 7.

Daniel Gibson was promoted from counsel to partner at Cantor Colburn. Co-chair of the design patent practice group at Cantor Colburn, he is experienced in both domestic and foreign preparation and prosecution of patent applications in a variety of mechanical, electrical, and design fields.

Shirley Fan saw Naoko Tsunoda in NYC this fall. Naoko lives in Atlanta, Ga., and works for the tea company Teavana, developing lines of teas for the brand. As for Shirley, she moved back to NYC with her husband and son after spending five years in Chicago. She just published her first cookbook (May 2013) called The Flying Brownie (http://amzn.to/17rYhsl). It’s about putting together the perfect care package for your loved ones, and was inspired by her time at Wes!

On July 20, 2013, John Raby married Louisa Schroeder in Falmouth, Maine. Andrew Hopewell, Ben Cohen-Leadholm, Mike Stevens, and I were all groomsmen and Esther Perreault Roy ’00 was also in attendance. John is the head of the history department at Thornton Academy and was promoted to captain of the Saco Fire Department. Andrew works on the comprehensive plan for Spotsylvania County, Va., which is among the country’s fastest growing localities. His wife, Lindsey Poulin Hopewell, who is working on her doctorate from George Mason University in Public Policy, was not able to attend the wedding, since she was home taking care of their two kids, Anderson and Aibreann. Ben is a consultant for Denneen & Company and lives in Brookline, Mass., with his wife, Jamie, and two kids, Addison and Jackson. Mike continues to pursue his passion for music as the musical director for PhillyBloco, a high energy group that performs Brazilian samba, funk, and reggae. He lives in Philadelphia with wife Sara Janiki Stevens ’98 and son Oscar. Esther married her high school sweetheart, Chris Roy, and they live in Nashua, N.H., where she works as a naturopathic doctor and natural health educator. Even though John never did his Caddyshack gopher dance impression, we all had a great time at his wedding!

As for Kevin, he and his wife, Keara, are just trying to keep their eyes open! Two moves and two additional kids have kept them very busy. They are now settled in Glen Rock, N.J., and Kevin is enjoying life in the ’burbs and commuting into SoHo.

Don’t forget, 2014 marks our class Reunion of 15 years! So save the dates: May 22–25, 2014! Hope to see many of you back on campus!

C. DARRYL UY and KEVIN KUMLER
darryl.uy@gmail.com
kevinkumler@gmail.com