Tag: 2000

Allison Larson and her husband Ron welcomed their second child, Erin Madden, in July. She joins big sister Victoria Lee.  Evans Anyanwu writes “Happy to report that I was interviewed by Angela Yee ’97, Charlamagne tha God and DJ Envy on The Breakfast Club, to discuss a mental health app, U; Good? that I co-founded with a friend. You can find the interview on YouTube.”

     Kori Reesee would like to share, “The recent opening of my restaurant, Roc N Ramen, located in the Little Italy section of the Bronx (606 E 187th St., Bronx, NY 10458). Roc N Ramen is a casual eatery serving authentic Japanese ramen with a Caribbean twist. Our motto is Asian Bowl, Caribbean Soul.”

     Theresa Trinder published a children’s book, There Is a Rainbow, inspired by the rainbows made by children all over the world during COVID-19 lockdowns. Called “the perfect pandemic book” by School Library Journal, it’s a testament to our kids’ resilience and hope for a future that’s more safe, kind, and just. From Chronicle Books, illustrated by Grant Snider.

    Calvin P. Warner writes, “The past year has been challenging, but the little things have a habit of rolling along, oblivious to the mayhem wreaked by larger events. Our son Jesse was born March 2020, just as the lockdown started here in Ohio. I finished my fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine in Columbus in September, and we moved back to Cleveland later that month. I’m now working in my first attending physician job at University Hospitals in Cleveland, mostly doing inpatient palliative consults with a smattering of outpatient. Though the transitions have been tough amidst the pandemic, there is a lot of light in the darkness for us.  Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe, and I hope to see you in person in the not-too-distant future. If ever you’re in NE Ohio, look me up.”

     Melissa Stevens and Rob Debbane welcomed their third son Nico this past summer. After 10 years as head of Camron US, a communications agency focused on design and architecture, Sarah Natkins has been made global head of design.

         Ku Yoo writes “I left my private practice to join a client as its general counsel. The company is in the fitness/retail/childcare space. I am temporarily in Phoenix, Arizona for the job (still mostly working from the apartment), missing all the weather back east, and trying to go on outdoor hikes on weekends.”

Those with class notes, please contact: 

Class Notes Editor
classnotes@wesleyan.edu

Can you believe it’s been 20 years since we graduated from Wesleyan?

Bakley Smith writes “Since I last checked in, I got married in 2013 and live in Brooklyn with my wife and our 3-year-old daughter. After a few years in very entrepreneurial projects (with, um, limited success), I began working for a small investment bank here in NYC that focuses on better-for-you food and drink products. I’m still in touch with and good friends with members of the Class of ’00 and will be more so as a class agent this year.”

Claudia Cruz accepted the position of director of internships and experiential learning at the Reynolds School of Journalism of the University of Nevada in Reno. This means that after nine years of living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area she’s headed to the Reno-Tahoe community. She’d love to connect with Cardinals in the area or with those just passing through.

Last but not least, Shawn Green, in Western Massachusetts, is working for Sunpower, helping homeowners convert to solar power.

Avery Esdaile | wesleyan2000@gmail.com

Thank you for all the updates. Reunion year! More details to follow, but plan to attend Reunion Weekend in May.

Khary Cuffe writes, “I moved to Los Angeles last year. I worked at a start up in San Diego for a while as head of business development, but the commute was vicious so now I am an adjunct professor at LMU and work full-time as the director of MBA Career Services at USC Marshall School of Business. I would love to connect with Wesleyan alumni if they are in town.”

Trace Peterson published her second book of poems, Since I Moved In (New & Revised), which features an introduction by Joy Ladin. Trace works as a mentor for the Emerge-Surface-Be program at The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, and also works at Hunter College, where she teaches an original course that she designed in the English department titled Trans and Nonbinary Poetry.

Nicole Lesperance writes, “I signed two book deals this year. The first, a middle grade book called The Nightmare Thief, will be published in fall 2020. The second, a young adult book called The Wide Starlight, will be published in 2021.”

Andrew Bancroft (aka rapper “Jelly Donut”) makes his Broadway debut with Freestyle Love Supreme, a fully improvised hip-hop musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Anthony Veneziale ’98, and Thomas Kail ’99. Andrew is also co-creator of FLS Academy, a school teaching freestyle rap, beatboxing, improv, and storytelling. Learn more and get tix at freestylelovesupreme.com.

Abby Rosenthal Burd drove to San Diego after graduation and hasn’t left. She is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice. Her perinatal online school just launched its first course, Prevent Postpartum Depression. Abby, her husband, Matt, and two daughters often play with Jenessa Pascoe Daugherty and Matt Daugherty ’99, and their daughters.

Leora Wein writes, “I completed my certification in educational therapy. I work in both school and clinical settings as part of a group private practice in LA.”

Ku Yoo writes, “I changed my law firm and joined as a principal at Axenfeld Law Group to grow and head its corporate practice. Still living in Philadelphia.”

William “Billy” Chun reports, “I’m serving as deputy mayor of economic development for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. My responsibility covers all the thriving and emerging industries in Los Angeles: aerospace, sports, tech, entertainment, real estate, tourism and hospitality, health care, cannabis, and mobility. My projects can range from large-scale events like the upcoming 2028 LA Summer Olympics, to infrastructure projects like the expansion of LAX, to bringing Netflix and Warner Music Group into LA, and to promoting economic opportunity. On that last point, I created the Evolve Entertainment Fund, which is an initiative to promote diversity in the entertainment industry. We kicked off the initiative with Ava DuVernay last year and we just launched our summer program with Issa Rae in June.”

Ami Student writes, “I’m living with my boyfriend in downtown Los Angeles, having moved south from San Francisco three years ago. I work for the VA as a psychologist. I primarily work with rural veterans via video telehealth technologies in their homes or local community clinics. Our program’s aim is to provide mental health care to veterans with little-to-no local mental health resources.”

Ali Haider says, “I am a practicing interventional cardiologist in Massachusetts and an assistant professor of medicine. One year ago, I married Uruj Kamal ’09, whom I met at my hospital when I first moved here. I am also a health care influencer on Instagram: @yourheartdoc!”

Daniel Gomez-Ibanez designed electronics for a remotely operated underwater vehicle specially designed to work under ice. He was in the Arctic Ocean on the icebreaker Kronprinz Haakon in September and October at 87 degrees north latitude exploring hydrothermal vents on the Gakkel Ridge.

Working out of Western Massachusetts, Shawn Green was promoted to senior residential solar energy consultant. He represents Sunpower and offers a free analysis and custom design/quote for homeowners. He can be reached at sgreen@wesleyan.edu.

Avery Esdaile | wesleyan2000@gmail.com

Molly Bruce Barton highlights: “I raised $4.5 million in venture capital for my company, Serial Box. Announced a partnership with Marvel to release original stories based on Black Panther, Jessica Jones, Black Widow, and Thor. And my husband, Jack Turner, and I had a second child. My daughter, Sylvie Ray Violet Turner, was born Feb. 8.”

After completing another degree (in engineering), Shawn Green has entered the field of renewable energy, working as a solar energy consultant (representing Sunpower) for homeowners in Berkshire County, Mass.

Cindy Chen writes, “After spending most of my career in health care communications and STM publishing, I pivoted three years ago to work in technology and now I’m  a manager of the ITS project management office at Weill Cornell Medicine. In that role, I was first-author for two papers about clinical research informatics. Definitely not what I’d thought I’d publish back when I was an English major at Wes!”

Matthew Freeman says, “My wife Bethany Caruso ’03 and I welcomed our second child, Olin Wilder, last May. I’m a faculty member in the department of environmental health at Emory University in Atlanta, conducting research on water and sanitation access and enteric infection.”freemanreserachgroup.org

Anna Holland Edwards updates, “Erica Grossman and I just won a case in the 10th Circuit related to police brutality. We are law partners in Colorado and do civil rights litigation. We still have to go to trial and see what happens, and they could ask the Supreme Court to reverse, but this is such a hard area of law to get good law made in these days that I thought we’d share!”

Diana Chuke writes, “Miracle In The Green has finally launched a beauty line. These products change lives, as we strive to empower women across the globe. We offer grants that sustain women-owned businesses. We also give scholarships toward education for less priviledged children. Support us at miracleinthegreen.com.”

Susan Sakash writes, “I’m celebrating six years of living in New Orleans and five of being married to Casey Coleman. We are truly in the land of Wesleyan with friends who span the graduating classes of 1992-2012. Dana Hale and I celebrated our 40th birthdays last September with our families and a bunch of friends including Jason Schwartz, Melissa Stevens and Rob Debbane, Chloe Garcia Roberts, and Mara Voukydis ’01 on beautiful land and a swan-infested pond in Little Compton, R.I. In addition to being deep in the throes of raising 2.5-year-old Levon Alan Danger Kashman, I’m still playing brass music and am in three or four bands, depending on the season, here in New Orleans. I’m about to start The Next Economy MBA, a program designed to help entrepreneurs and consultants learn business fundamentals from a regenerative economy approach.”

Paley Dreier is the president of Type Network. Previously, he served as the general manager of Type Network for two years and of Webtype for six years. In his new role, he will manage all aspects of the business, focusing on content strategy, enterprise and multinational licenses, and custom design projects on behalf of the foundry partners.

A.J. De Ases Hernandez Anderson is living in Miami with her husband Mauricio. Daughter Sienna just finished kindergarten and son Ronin just turned 2. A.J. left her commercial litigation and employment law practice of nine years to join the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project as a senior staff attorney. A.J. is working on impact litigation cases regarding immigration enforcement and immigrants’ rights in the south with a focus on Florida issues.

Scott Fairchild was named the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He will be leading the work to get Democrats a senate majority in the 2020 elections.

Stephanie Eddy Popescu writes from the Upper West Side, where she lives with her husband, Tudor, and two daughters. Clara is 7 and in second grade at PS 333. Natalie is 4, taking pre-K by storm. “I’m thrilled to have joined Glossier as director of programs last summer, and am immensely proud to be part of this innovative beauty company.”

Jenessa Joffe writes, “I’m living in Los Angeles directing films and video content. Last year I directed a comedy and social activism web series called Radical Cram School for comedian Kristina Wong. The series is on YouTube and distributed by women’s comedy platform, WhoHaHa. We successfully crowdfunded for a second season which we are making this year. I’m also collaborating with Amanda Palmer ’98 on a documentary that ties in with her current album. In December, I got married to a wonderful guy named Jim who happens to have grown up right near Wesleyan.”

Avery Esdaile | wesleyan2000@gmail.com