Tag: 2001

I (Mara) agree with you. It’s maybe a little weird that I’ve held on to this role for so many years. Aside from the sheer and obvious glamour that comes along with being class secretary—and now co-class secretary, thanks to Aryn—why am I still around? In complete truth, when I hear back from folks I get a little electrical charge of inspiration and motivation. This round was no exception. Thanks. And without further delay…

Since 2014, Sujata Sidhu has been the lead legal counsel for We Are Seneca Lake, defending over 650 charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing related to peaceful nonviolent protests to stop a gas storage project in the Finger Lakes. After years of fighting, the legal team has succeeded in getting most of the charges dropped or acquitted at trial. More importantly for We Are Seneca Lake, the gas company just announced that it was discontinuing its plans to expand its propane storage, which was the primary issue necessitating the civil disobedience campaign. Good timing, as Sujata and her husband, Carl, just had a second baby a few months ago. When she goes back to work, Sujata will be teaching a civil disobedience clinic at Cornell Law School and continuing to practice small-town law.

Last year, Elaine Ho opened an educational childcare center, Kiddie Academy of Cambridge, in Cambridge, Mass.: “Any alumni getting advanced degrees at Harvard and MIT—come to drop off your kids at my daycare! There is something new every day as an entrepreneur. It is quite different from my previous 15 years working as an actuary and I love every minute of it!”

Nora Friedman writes, “Teaching Suzuki violin in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and out of my private studio. It’s a fact that Wesleyan offspring make the best violinists. Openings for ages 3.5 to 7. Anyone interested can get in touch at joyful-violin.com.”

Louisa Michaels works on robots in Pittsburgh, Pa. Her son, Leon, is redheaded, happy, and 7. I can personally vouch for her claim about robots, and also for how awesome her kid is.

Alexis Brooks and husband Brendan Fitzpatrick announce the birth of their son, Callan Brooks Fitzpatrick, on May 12. They live in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of D.C., a short walking distance from Alexis’s work at the U.S. Treasury Department. Jenny Selgrath Rauf was able to celebrate the upcoming birth of baby Callan at Alexis’s baby shower in Chicago last March.

Eric Schultheis writes, “I completed my urban studies doctorate from MIT. I’m moving with my partner to Montpelier, Vt., to join the Healthcare Consumer Advocate Project of Vermont Legal Aid as a staff attorney. I would love to connect with WesTech alumni in the area. My email is eric.schultheis@gmail.com.”

“Still working in Houston for BHPBilliton as an exploration geologist,” Adam Goss writes. “Promoted to principal geologist in January, working on deep-water projects in the eastern Caribbean, namely offshore Trinidad and Tobago. Just came back from an awesome field trip in Central Tobago that totally rocked. My wife, Janice, and two kids, Joaquin (5) and Amelia (3), are enjoying the heat and humidity this summer that Houston is known for.”

Michael Polson was awarded a PhD from CUNY Graduate Center in anthropology for his dissertation on the marijuana economy in Northern California. He finished out his first job at American University, and he is departing for UC, Berkeley with his boyfriend, to commence a two-year writing fellowship. In response to my request for excellent nonprofit nominations, Michael plugged a friend’s nonprofit. “My friend, Alisha Berry, runs Camp Sojourner, which takes girls from Philadelphia who have little chance to leave the city, to the outdoors every summer and provides year-round social justice-based leadership development for those girls in their communities. Alisha is a tireless advocate for the 100-plus girls, mostly low-income girls of color, and puts a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making it run. Their website is girlsleadershipcamp.org;  people can make donations online if they’re inspired.”

Flo Anito wrote a song called “In Your Hands” for a Bolivian-based NGO that her husband and his brother co-founded. The Fuller Center for Housing Bolivia seeks to eradicate poverty housing in the country by building homes for families in need. “They are always looking for volunteers to come down and help build homes in Bolivia,” Flo writes, “and it’s a beautiful country that I think a lot of Wesleyan students and alumni would enjoy visiting” (fullercenterbolivia.org).

Kannan Vasudevan performed at L.A. Opera from June 15-18, in a new opera called Thumbprint. Kannen writes: “It is a fusion of operatic and South Asian musical styles and tells the true story of Mukthar Mai, who has become a pioneering figure for women’s rights. I’ve been involved with the opera for a few years now, including its premiere in NYC in 2014.”

Aryn will be covering the next round, so please send updates her way.

Mara Voukydis | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn Sperando | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

Class of 2001 Wesleyan Scholarship

Daniel Chung ’20, Bellevue, WA

Hey there, 2001-ers. Shout out to the small handful of classmates who contributed to Class Notes this time around.

Amy Prisco Quinn shares that she is an attorney at Bloomberg LP in NYC. She resides in Jersey City with her husband and two children.

Laginne Walker is proud to announce the birth of her first child, Garvey Walker Parker. Weighing in at seven pounds, seven ounces, he is pure baby perfection. Laginne writes that with a firefighter and teacher as parents, she is excited to see how her son will continue to serve the community. In the meantime, Garvey looks forward to regular visits from mom’s co-worker and good friend, Jenny Navasky ’96, as well as Camille Young ’04.

Matt Auerbach is enjoying his second year as principal of an elementary school in Wilmington, Del., that serves low-income/high-needs families. Matt’s daughter, Ayla, attends second grade at his school, and you can bet he’s holding onto these fleeting moments when Ayla still thinks this is as cool as her dad does. Son Noah will join the family next year when he enters Kindergarten.

As for me? Up here in Calgary, Alberta, I’m currently fielding a sudden influx of Canadian visa applications from friends and family since November 8.

Happy Spring everyone. Your Class of 2001 scribes:

Mara Voukydis | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn Sperando | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

Class secretary, Mara, writes for this issue. Sarah Levin writes, “I graduated from Naropa University in May with a master’s in counseling psychology/art therapy, along with my classmate, Regina Rooney ’84. I am living in the tiny and quirky mountain town of Nederland, Colo., and working at a Denver-based agency as a therapist for adults at risk of psychiatric hospitalization due to severe mental illness. It was great to catch up with my old roomie, Katharine Davis Reich, a few months ago.”

Hyunjoo and Don Kim welcomed a daughter, Maddie, in December of 2015.

From Ethan Schapira: “I am living in Brooklyn and have been teaching chess to kids in a few NYC public schools, basically since we graduated! In April, my wife, Dacia, and I were thrilled to welcome our first child, Owen, into our lives.”

Eric Bliss, Elizabeth Collins Bliss, and their son, Nathaniel, 4, celebrated the arrival of Finnley Albert, on March 26. The Bliss clan now resides in southern Maine, where Eric is a veterinarian at a small animal hospital. Liz works for the New York State Migrant Education Program.

Ben Spatz was selected as a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (England’s equivalent of the NEH) leadership fellow with a project to develop decolonial Jewish song-action through a revised laboratory theater methodology. Instead of trying and failing to explain this myself, I’ll direct you to the website at urbanresearchtheater.com.

In 2011, Lisa Weinert launched her own consulting company, Lisa Weinert Consulting (LWC), after working at the Knopf Doubleday Group at Random House as a publicist and editor for eight years and spending one year working on digital marketing campaigns with e-book start-up, Open Road Integrated Media. She has published and promoted a range of authors focusing on topical nonfiction and literary fiction, with a special interest in narrative medicine, women’s leadership, social advocacy, health, and spirituality.

In 2015, she cofounded a new publishing imprint, ARCHER, with LA-based independent publisher, Rare Bird, where they provide full-scale global distribution and top-of-the-line publicity for a range of authors. Motivated by the healing and transformative power of storytelling, in June she created the debut annual narrative medicine program at Kripalu, an immersion with doctors, yogis and literary writers exploring the use and impact of storytelling and compassionate listening in the healing process. She teaches restorative yoga and curates workshops in yoga and storytelling called “StoryFlow” in NYC and is creator and host of a new podcast, Narrative Medicine with Lisa Weinert. Her next program at Kripalu is confirmed for July 9-14.

Mike Homolka’s debut poetry collection, Antiquity, was published by Sarabande Books in July of this year to favorable reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. He is teaching critical reading and creative writing to first-generation high school students in NYC.

Lisa Kagan launched a new website for her business, Family Heirloom Arts (familyheirloomarts.com), in honor of her business’ 10-year anniversary. Family Heirloom Arts is dedicated to helping individuals and families celebrate their life stories and significant life milestones through the creation of illustrated heirloom books. Lisa also offers life storytelling presentations, workshops and retreats through the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by the birth of her son Julius in 2012, Lisa has expanded her business offerings to include the Art of Motherhood program, designed especially for mothers of young children. The Art of Motherhood program focuses on supporting and nurturing mothers of young children to connect with themselves and a community of moms by engaging in the creative process of sharing their stories through art and writing. The Art of Motherhood program offers monthly workshops, as well as publication opportunities for mother artists and writers through the online Art of Motherhood Community Gallery.

Here in Boston, Baby Andreas’s recent hobbies include tentatively engaging in conversation with inanimate objects, squealing in delight, and laughing at our cats, Hazel and Vinnie—who, to his credit, are pretty funny.

Fondly,

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

ARYN SPERANDO | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

<strong>Aryn</strong> writes: Reunion &amp; Commencement 2016 marked our 15th year as proud Wesleyan graduates. Scary how time flies.

<strong>Elijah Carroll</strong> and <strong>Mattitiyahu Zimbler</strong> reported that our Reunion showing was small but strong. I guess it’s just that time in our lives—busy with young families, careers and being a real grownup. Our 50th Reunion turnout is going to be solid.

Eli and Matt attended with <strong>Steve Munno</strong> and ran into <strong>Meg Bartlett</strong> and<strong> Erin Lane-Aaronian</strong> on Foss Hill, soaking up the sun and the nostalgia.

<strong>Meghan Tomb</strong>, <strong>Josh Kagan</strong>, <strong>Ellen and Alex Healy</strong>,<strong> Joe Lampe</strong>, <strong>Sophia Koulomzin Lampe</strong>, <strong>Anthony Clark</strong>, <strong>Peter Colvin</strong>, <strong>Kim Wittmer</strong> and <strong>Andrew Calica</strong> were also sighted around Middletown that weekend. I’m told everyone looks pretty good for approaching 40!

<i>Wes weddings alerts:</i> One possible reason for the modest attendance was that <strong>Beth Slepian</strong> tied the knot with Ellen Finney on the very same weekend. The couple threw a carnival-themed wedding extravaganza, complete with food trucks, lawn games, a bounce house and mini-concert by The Nields. Cantor <strong>Darcie Naomi Shapiro Sharlein</strong> sang during the ceremony, and guests included <strong>Rebecca Hume</strong>, <strong>Liz Stein Rubenstein</strong>, <strong>Jeff Klein Sharlein</strong>, <strong>Eli Sheridan Wise</strong>, <strong>Mary Coakley-Fields</strong> and <strong>Andrea Donnelly</strong>.

<strong>Abigail Kurland</strong> got hitched back in April to Harry Koutsolioutsos. <strong>Katie Haxall Cronin</strong> and <strong>Kirsten Collins</strong> were bridesmaids. The newlyweds headed to Greece in June to party with Harry’s relatives who couldn’t make it to the States for the wedding. Abby works as an assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York where she prosecutes violent, organized crime and human trafficking cases. In 2013, she and <strong>Nick McQuaid ’96</strong> tried a large Latin Kings gang case together.

<i>Big moves: </i><strong>Emily Van Engel</strong> is excited to report that she is going back to school in the fall to pursue an MFA in pictorial art at San José State University.

<strong>Adriana Laser</strong> announced she’s picking up the family and moving to Albany, N.Y., after securing her first real vascular surgery job since finishing her fellowship.

And a word from our co-secretary <strong>Mara Voukydis</strong>: “We welcomed a tiny bronze-haired wonder into our lives on March 19. Andreas is very smiley and curious. We have been calling him ‘The Human Scanner,’ because in this phase he scans his head side to side to take it all in. We can’t wait to share him with his honorary Wes aunts and uncles.”

Congratulations, all. We love hearing about the incredible happenings in your lives. But let’s make a pact—Reunion 2021 or bust! Until next time,

ARYN KALSON-SPERANDIO | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

Mara writes this time: Rebecca Schiff’s first book, a collection of stories called The Bed Moved, was published by Knopf in April. I remember Rebecca’s writing from college and can’t wait to read it.

Adriana Laser contributed two articles, “Becoming SHE” and “Nursing Solace,” which were featured in the book Being a Woman Surgeon, published by Gordian Knot Books.

Christopher C. Jeffries, of counsel at Kramon & Graham, has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Maryland Super Lawyers for his work in business litigation and civil litigation. Chris has been selected to appear in the directory every year since 2010.

Eric Schultheis writes, “I’m about to finish my PhD at MIT in August and then I hope to travel for a few months before continuing my efforts to never stop going to school and to continue collecting degrees.” We wish you well in that endeavor, Eric!

Ross Evangelista sits on the board of a nonprofit art space in Manhattan called Participant, which he notes might be the last of its kind.

Don Kim reports daughter Madison was born last Dec. 8, weighing in at six pounds.

Emily Archibald and Ben Paradise welcomed their second son, Walter Vincent Paradise, in August.

Rebekah Raleigh writes, “I recently became the executive producer at Rotary International, which means I lead a team of photographers, producers, et al, highlighting Rotary’s great works around the world. I’m pretty excited about it. If any Wesleyan alumni are working with Rotary projects around the world, I’d love to hear what they are doing. We’re always looking for new stories to cover.”

Michael Polson writes, “I was just awarded a PhD in anthropology from CUNY Graduate Center for my work on the marijuana economy in Northern California. I’ve just landed a visiting professor job at American University, too, where I’m resurrecting my Wes training in queer and feminist studies for a course on Sex, Gender and Culture. Other than that, I’m living the post-hippie West Philly life and trying to remember what my hobbies were before grad school colonized my existence.”

“We’ve moved to Frankfurt, Germany,” reports Chris Saenger. “I’m still working for USAID, starting a four-year Foreign Service tour at our support platform for the Middle East. Before leaving D.C., I enjoyed a wonderful reunion with 80 Home Ave. housemates and our growing brood.”

Rachel Chasan, husband Uri Felsen, and son, Izzy, welcomed twin boys to the family, Nathaniel Henry Felsen and Leo William Felsen, last July.

Lauren Bloom Hanover is serving as the interim artistic director at Profile Theatre in Portland, Ore., where she lives with her husband and 15-month-old daughter. If you are passing through, get in touch!

Jim Isler edited a narrative feature film, Claire in Motion, which premiered in South By Southwest in March. The cinematographer was Andreas Burgess. Jim and his wife, Emily Barth Isler, welcomed their second child, Max, in January of 2015.

Peter Colvin writes, “I continue to work at the San Diego VA hospital/UCSD doing post-traumatic stress disorder clinical research with veterans. My wife and I have a 3-month-old, Joaquin Ozzy, who looks like a fat baby monkey; we are concerned he is not going to grow up with the East Coast edge. We are embracing the California lifestyle with triathlons and surfing.”

Eli Wise (formerly Eli Sheridan) is finishing his fifth year teaching Orff music and movement at Kaiser elementary school. He’s released another full studio album, Let My Tethers Fall, that’s available at eliwiseband.bandcamp.com. He’s also singing with the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, keeping busy with his private music studio, and collaborating with local musicians and choreographers.

Kathryn Van Nimwegen Lachenmaier is now busy chasing after two little ones, with the addition of her son, Bradley, last May. She continues to enjoy her work at Kindering, serving the birth-to-three population with special needs. She’s especially enjoying teaching a class for children with significant motor challenges, creating a welcoming space for families to have their first preschool experience.

Amy Larkin Gelbach answered my call for praiseworthy nonprofits and writes, “I am back in my beloved hometown and volunteering (alongside my dad, Robert Gelbach ’63) for a great organization called New Haven Reads. We work one-on-one with public school students to help them develop their skill and love of reading.

Lauren Singerman writes in, “In 2015 I co-created, produced, and starred in my Web series, Precious Cargo, which was directed by my buddy, Ben Simington. Precious Cargo is a comedic series about the trials and tribulations of two sisters who tutor the fanciest kids in NYC, and it will be released this spring. I’m currently Salma Hayek’s on-set speech coach for her new film, Drunk Parents, in which she costars with Alec Baldwin.”

Bhavna K. Bhandari Mahal moved to Orlando, Fla., with her husband and two sons. She writes, “I am a NY-licensed attorney, originally from New Jersey, but here in Florida, I am preparing for the Florida bar exam and working as an advocate for special needs children in the public schools. Funding for public services and amenities in the schools is a very different story down here than in the North.” Despite the uphill battle, she is finding the work extremely rewarding.

Elizabeth Savage is practicing law in Portland, Ore., and she and her husband welcomed their second daughter last October.

Erica Gersowitz Bond recently took a job as special adviser for criminal justice and public safety to New York City’s First Deputy Mayor and would love to hear from any alumni working on criminal justice issues or in NYC government.

Just last night I caught up on the latest episodes of The Circus on Showtime, co-executive produced by Mary Robertson. The show intimately tracks the presidential election almost in real time. Riveting stuff. Why am I not surprised?

Thank you for writing in. Until next time,

ARYN KALSON-SPERANDIO | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

Aryn writes this time: Here goes my first stab at doing class notes. I want to say a big “thank you” to Mara for handling them all by herself up until now. We will be divvying up class notes from here on out.

Ross Evangelista is still working as a real estate agent in NYC but he’s looking to grow his business abroad. He will be taking a trip to Singapore in a few weeks to meet clients and investors and will be staying with Russel Antonio ’03 for a few nights, too!

Lauren McCarthy has just published a book with Cornell University Press. It’s called Trafficking Justice: How Russian Police Enforce New Laws, from Crime to Courtroom. Lauren is also still at UMass Amherst working as an assistant professor in legal studies and political science.

Ben Spatz’s book, What a Body Can Do: Technique as Knowledge, Practice as Research was published by Routledge in March 2015.

Since we’re talking about our books, I’ll chime in and mention that I was a major contributor and editor on the marketing book Fix: Break the Addiction That’s Killing Brands, published in February 2015 by Cult Collective, Ltd.

ARYN KALSON-SPERANDIO | arynsperandio@yahoo.com

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

Michael Homolka writes, “I am living in New York City and have recently switched careers from book production at Simon & Schuster to the New York City Teaching Fellows program. I have also had a collection of poetry, titled Antiquity, accepted and it is forthcoming in 2016 from Sarabande Books.”

Elizabeth Savage and her husband of nearly five years, Michael Schopf, are expecting their second child in October. They live in Portland, Ore. Elizabeth is an attorney whose practice focuses on civil litigation.

Ben Spatz’s book, What a Body Can Do: Technique as Knowledge, Practice as Research, was published by Routledge in March. The acknowledgments mention Pedro Alejandro, Cheryl Cutler, and Hope Weissman. He and his partner, Michelle Goldsmith, also welcomed their first child that month as well.

Speaking of babies, in addition to her continued success as a NYC wedding photographer, Sarah Tew is building a body of personal work on home birth, so if any of you pregnant New Yorkers out there are interested in participating, check out her website and get in touch.

Again, re: babies: had an awesome stay with a pregnant Mary Robertson in Brooklyn. She and her husband, Josh, were expecting a baby boy in July.

On a still related note, Don Kim and his wife are expecting their first child in December.
Lauren Royce lives in NYC with her husband and two daughters, who are 5 and 7, and continues to love her career as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice.

Being a list person, I appreciated the following dispatch from Raymong Kuo:
“1. My wife and I welcomed our daughter, Layla, our first child.
“2. We moved into our new home in Brooklyn.
“3. I received my Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University.
“4. I started as an assistant professor of political science at the University at Albany, SUNY, but moved earlier this year to Fordham University in the same capacity.
“5. I regularly see Alexandre Su, who also lives in Brooklyn.”

It was great to hear from Josh Kagan. He recently became the director of business development and sales for Clean Fund, a specialty finance company that provides commercial building owners with capital to do energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. “No kids (yet) though have been married for four years almost to the day.”

I also heard from the wonderful Amos Hausman-Rogers, who writes, “I have been traveling and raising money for charity by donating and seeing if people want to match my donation for home-lessness. I raised a fair bit, and think I’m taking the summer off.”

I still remember seeing Sarah Kozinn perform at Wes and being struck by her talent, so I was especially glad to get her news. “My husband and I moved to Los Angeles in 2013 after almost 12 years in NYC,” she writes. “I am a theater professor at Occidental College and just published my first book, Justice Performed: Courtroom TV Shows and the Theaters of Popular Law (Bloomsbury). Last September we multiplied and had a baby! He’s an adorable goofball. Other than that I’m still acting and writing and hanging with Wes folks out here.”

From Sonya Abrams: “I hightailed it to San Francisco immediately upon graduation and haven’t looked back, and I now have three kids under four years old (Most recent addition, Keira, born in February), so my professional pursuits have been temporarily buried under a pile of sippy cups and Pampers, though I still find time to do some freelance event photography for a public affairs forum.”

Rachel Stevens, in western Mass., had an even more memorable blizzard experience than the rest of us sorry New Englanders. “During the January 27 blizzard—luckily only six inches here, my brother in Worcester got 33—we welcomed Lillian Winslow Stevens! She is spoiling us rotten, and loves visitors.”

My dear buddy Ben Stanko has a message, too. “I’ve moved from South Philly to the Mount Airy neighborhood in Philadelphia. My wife, Kim Massare, and our two-and-a-half year-old-son, Theo, are having lots of fun exploring the woods around the Wissahickon Creek. I’ve also recently been promoted to district arborist in the urban forestry division of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.”

We have a winner for this round’s nonprofit spotlight, wherein I donate to one awesome organization that you nominate. The spotlight goes to Women’s Prison Association, thanks to Samantha Yard. In the fall, Samantha begins a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in PTSD at the Seattle VA. Her husband, Antoine McNamara, continues his work as a patent litigator, and their daughter, Sophie, is about to start preschool.

Samantha, who conducted her dissertation research with women in jail and prison, added that the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) provides services across various stages of involvement with the criminal justice system, and “they have actual outcome data (a rarity) showing that their programs reduce recidivism, which is why they get my vote.” Join me in donating to the WPA this month at wpaonline.org!

Meanwhile, here in Boston, my boyfriend, Nick, and I eloped and bought a house in the city with a little yard, enabling my intense gardening addiction. We adopted two former street cats that are unbearably cute and ridiculous. I’m still working with incarcerated teens, managing a program that gives them access to lawyers. I’m also on the board of Phinney’s Friends, an all-volunteer nonprofit that helps disabled, low-income people in the Boston area keep their beloved pets by providing assistance with their care: phinneysfriends.org. We’re always looking for volunteers, and many tasks can be done remotely!

Thanks, all. I can hardly believe I’m writing this, but I would love to catch up at our upcoming 15th Reunion. Also, starting with the next issue, Aryn Sperandio will join me in writing the notes. So you’ll be hearing from her, too.

You’re the best. My last plea yielded so many replies that this is the second edition from months ago, with a few updates.

Amanda Sayle Rinzel started working as programming associate at the Sheen Center in Manhattan. Her new role is to “fill the large main stage theater, our beautiful, super-swanky Black Box theater, and our art gallery artists that use their work to highlight the true, the good, and the beautiful. I feel incredibly lucky to be doing this work in some of the most beautiful theaters I’ve had the pleasure to work in since Wes days.” Son Stanley turned 1, and Julius is “full-on 3 years old, which is awesome and spectacularly exhausting”.

Kyoko Miura writes, “I am serving as chief of staff at SNEHA (nehamumbai.org), a nonprofit based in Mumbai, working in four areas of public health (maternal and newborn health, child health and nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and prevention of violence against women and children) in the most deprived urban slums. On a personal note, I had a chance to catch up with Devyani Srinivasan here in Mumbai and had a Japanese meal together.” Kyoko is always looking for interns and volunteers for research projects, and can be reached at kyoko@snehamumbai.org.

Peter Banks and Sara Shandler have a beautiful 2-1/2-year-old named Hazel. He writes, “We live in Brooklyn, I just (re) started a gig at Atari, and Sara is running the editorial group at Alloy Entertainment (Warner Brothers subsidiary)”.

Wendy Bauman Jeffries and Chris Jeffries welcomed baby Elena Jane Jeffries on Sept. 1, 2014.

Rachel Feinstein Stevens is donating architectural and energy modeling work for a Net Zero duplex for Habitat for Humanity in Easthampton, Mass. She says, “If volunteers can hit Net Zero, anyone can!”

In August, Roger Smith moved to Japan to work for the Town of Matsushima. He is the first foreigner to work in the town hall and his job is to support the recovery from the 2011 tsunami by encouraging tourism to the region. Matsushima is designated as one of the three most scenic spots in Japan and was unaffected by the nuclear disaster, so please visit! In his spare time he is working on a documentary about towns rebuilding as resilient, renewable energy-friendly communities.

Andrew “Roo” Yawitz: “My wife and I welcomed our third child on Aug. 8, a boy named Calvin. I am living in the Central West End of St. Louis, running the music club I opened in 2008, The Gramophone, and also working for a music fan loyalty platform called Tunespeak. Also, if anyone out in Wes world wants to get a true narrative of what went down and of the continued struggles in Ferguson, follow my good friend @TefPoe. (Here’s a hint: It’s not what was on the news.)”

After working for investment banks in Japan, and in various countries in Africa in the humanitarian assistance sector with NGOs and others, Kaori Ura is now moving to Johannesburg to work for World Food Programme (WFP). She married an Eritrean whom she met in Juba, South Sudan, and they’ve lived in Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Cameroon, Senegal, and Italy in the past six years. They have two daughters, 6 and 3.

Winsor Schmidt writes, “My wife, Sandra, and I welcomed our son, Chase, on Aug. 31. We are looking forward to a beautiful fall in Cleveland walking him around the Metroparks!”

Heather Harelik Tseng was selected from 500-plus associates as The Little Clinic’s winner for excellence in leadership behaviors in 2013. She was honored in a ceremony at Kroger’s (the parent company) headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ari Brochin married Sarah Meyer in June. “Sarah’s from Melbourne, Australia, and completed a PhD in international public health from Johns Hopkins earlier this year. We’ve been living in Mae Sot, Thailand, for the last two years, where I’ve been working for the Karen Human Rights Group, a local organization which does advocacy and reporting about Southeast Myanmar. We’ll be moving to Kampala, Uganda, in January, where Sarah will be the director of research for the Center for Excellence in the Study of the African Child at Makarere University. Wesfolks at our wedding included Anthony Clark and Megan Joiner, Tony and Kate McAlpine Guerra, Erika Scott, Cara Herbitter ’03, Xiomara Lorenzo ’06, Joseph Gindi ’03, Joseph Berman ’04, Dana Raviv ’06, and Nancy Kreimer ’74.”

Anthony Clark writes that Kannan Vasudevan married Katie Zaffrann in Sept. 2014. Delicious Indian food was consumed and wild dancing ensued. Rev. Megan Lloyd Joiner officiated the ceremony. A stellar Wes crew was in attendance including Guillermo Barnetche, Tyler Cabot, Professor Ron Ebrecht, Serena Jones ’00, Eleanor Michael and Joey Meyer ’00, Erika Scott, Joel Streeter, and Dave Westman.

Rebecca Hume has been enjoying the freewheeling lifestyle of a freelance graphic designer since leaving her agency job last December. In a slightly less terrifying adventure, she ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon in May with Beth Slepian, now the school programs manager at the Anne Frank Center USA.

Sarah Gollust just kicked off her fifth year on the faculty at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. In April, she and her husband Ezra Golberstein welcomed second son Mattan Benjamin who joined big brother Ilan James. She is finally getting accustomed to the frigid upper Midwest, but still refuses to call soda “pop.”

Will Engel kindly heeded my call to send in anything, even if it is from 2006: “Speaking of 2006, I actually released an album called This Could Be Heaven that year. I am currently writing for Examiner and AXS and live in Los Angeles.”

At this writing (early February) I am snowed in here in Boston. Hopefully I will be dug out by the time you read this. Happy spring, everybody!

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

Class of 2001, you never disappoint. The rest of the many notes I received are available on Wesconnect and will appear in the next issue, too.Nora Friedman writes the following: “I’ve been teaching violin in Brooklyn for the last 12 years (hard to believe). I’m now the assistant Suzuki violin department head at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and at the Thurnauer School of Music (in Tenafly, N.J.) and teach at the Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood, N.J. I’ve been really, really lucky because I love what I do and find it so exciting to be part of shaping so many children’s futures. My dog and I also have a private studio at home and a few slots are opening up for the summer into fall. It would be so fun to work with the children of Wes alum! I start teaching Suzuki method violin at age 3-1/2.”Brenna Cothran lives in New York with wife Jasmine Ma, who is on the faculty of NYU. Brenna writes, “I work as a registrar for an art advisory firm that helps individuals and corporations care for their collections. Our first child, Sammy, is four and just started pre-K, and our baby son Max was born in April.”Aryn Kalson-Sperandio and her husband and kids spent the best August ever visiting family and friends on the East Coast. Now they’re back in western Canada, and back to work and school, which isn’t so bad either.Louisa Michaels is now the finance manager of Carnegie Robotics in Pittsburgh. Son Leon is 4 and thriving.Tracy Manaster writes: “I am thrilled to announce that my debut novel, You Could Be Home By Now, will be published this December by Tyrus Books. It’s set in a luxury retirement community whose regulations prohibit full-time residents under the age of 55. When a struggling resident, underwater on her mortgage and unable to relocate due to the nation’s ongoing housing crisis, is discovered to be raising her grandson in secret, the story—with the help of a teenage beauty blogger, a pair of young professionals dealing (badly) with a recent loss, and a retiree with reasons of his own to seek the spotlight—goes viral. The book takes on the fallout for all involved. My (presumably insufferable) 17-year-old self told my admissions interviewer at Wes that I wanted a book out by 35—looks like I made it just under the wire. Delivering on a 2001-vintage promise, my housemates at 40 Fountain (Ben Paradise, Emily Archibald, and Nicky Pessaroff ) all have characters named after them, and my husband, Marc Alifanz ’99, scored the dedication.”Jeffrey Lane finished his PhD this summer and just started a professorship at Rutgers University, in the School of Communication and Information on the New Brunswick campus. He is still living in Harlem with his wife, Emily, and now a pooch named Peanut as well.Dispatch from Kavi Reddy: “I left Boies Schiller in 2012 after about seven great years to go in-house at NBC Universal, where I worked as a lawyer, mostly on reality television for Bravo, Style, and Oxygen, and then on acquisitions for Syfy, Chiller, and Cloo. This past spring, I left NBC and am now on the tiny but mighty, two-lawyer legal team at Gawker Media LLC in New York. I love Gawker and love walking to work in Soho from my place on the Lower East Side.”Joanna Weaver writes, “I moved to Louisville, Ky., in the summer of 2013 and have just begun a PhD in experimental psychology at the University of Louisville. I study the cognitive and situational factors that affect learning and performance and conduct experimental research in schools. We welcome all visitors for Derby or at any other time of year!”Alex Gordon’s son turned 1 at the end of August, and Alex has started a new job handling internal investigations at Swiss Reinsurance Company in Zurich.Adam Goss writes, “My wife, Janice, and 2-year-old son, Joaquin, welcomed Amelia Paz Cruz Goss in June to our growing Texas family. She is happy and healthy! Also, I joined BHPBilliton in January as an exploration geologist working on our new Mexico team and preparing for bid rounds following Mexico’s historic recent denationalization of its energy industry. Looking forward to a somewhat cooler Houston fall and winter. If anyone’s in Houston we got a spare room and a pool!”Yvette Luxenberg and Jeff Rose bought their first house this June and their 2-year-old son Jasper still asks, “Are we going home to the new house?” when they pick him up from school!Amos Hausman-Rogers has left his life and job in the Bay Are and is traveling—and still checks his Wesleyan e-mail, by the way. His report: “This summer I visited the town in Poland where part of my dad’s family/ancestors lived untll WWII. I didn’t realize until I got there that I was the first person back there from the family since they left under quite unfortunate circumstances. Powerful and quite healing for me.”Jonathan Osler and Rose Cahn have this report: “March 28, 2013, we welcomed our second daughter, Aya Simone Osler-Cahn, into our family. Jonathan and I have both started new jobs in the past year. Jonathan is now director of the San Francisco Teacher Residency Program which trains new teachers who commit to work in San Francisco’s high needs schools. I received a Soros Justice Fellowship to start an immigrant post-conviction relief project, helping people vacate criminal convictions that would otherwise cause their deportation.”Ben Spatz recently moved to the UK to become lecturer in drama, theatre and performance at the University of Huddersfield. He also finished a book on embodied knowledge that will be published by Routledge in 2015. He and his partner have a baby, Caleb Reza, born March 1, 2014.

Best wishes to all of you.

MARA VOUKYDIS | maravee@gmail.com

First, some contributions from people who wrote in last time, but had to be bumped to this edition because you were all so fantastic at sending me notes. So while it may be a little out of date, here’s a dispatch from Tara Colton: “On Feb. 26, 2013, my husband Jed and I welcomed our son, Benjamin, into the world. He is the most wonderful, curious, beautiful, sweet, silly little boy. I apparently thought having a baby wasn’t enough change in one year, as I returned from maternity leave to a new job, leaving Mayor Bloomberg’s office to oversee program development and planning at FEGS, one of the largest health and human services agencies in the country. We live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, which has one of the best views (and the best tacos) in NYC.”

Chris and Wendy Jeffries are still enjoying life in Baltimore, though they are taking as many trips as they can in their spare time. During their recent travels, they have seen Brian Fair and Luke Cash in Boston and Liz Collins Bliss during a trip to Wesleyan where Wendy and Liz gave a presentation to students on using data and measuring outcomes for schools and non-profits. They also regularly see Adriana Jones Laser, who lives nearby. When they are not traveling, Chris is keeping busy working as a business ligation lawyer and Wendy manages training and evidence-based practice on international child protection issues for the U.S. branch of an international federation.

Steve Gray officiated at the wedding of Erica Gersowitz and Kagiso Bond at the end of November. They were thrilled that so many Wes alums were able to join them for the celebration in Anguilla, including Tanya Ellman, Rachel Chasan, Courtney Orange, Ben Leff, Saj Rahman ’03, Mariela Rosario ’02, Julio Pabon ’02, Dave Bowers, Martha King, and Chuck Duffney ’02.

Rachel Feinstein Stevens moved to Northampton, Mass., and welcomes all friends and passing alums for a visit in the Happy Valley, just an hour from campus. She now works with her husband at their firm, Maple Street Architects, and just completed a deep energy retrofit of their two-family home.

Andee Marksamer, a geologist for Chevron, writes, “My husband, Ken Downey, and I, and our 2-year-old son, Harrison, have been living in Bangkok, Thailand, since Feb. 2013. We are all thoroughly enjoying Thailand…eating yummy spicy food, meeting lots of new people, learning to speak Thai, and traveling throughout Asia.”

Jamie Chin sent in this happy news: “On March 29, 2014, my fiancé, Cory McArthur, proposed to me on Foss Hill at Wes.”

Anthony Clark and Megan Joiner write, “We welcomed our daughter, Arden Lucia Joiner-Clark, into the world on 11/12/13 in New Haven. Anthony finishes in the joint MBA and master of environmental science program at Yale in May. The family will be in Connecticut through the summer. Miller’s Pond, here we come!”

I had the sweetest, most fun visit when Jess Firestone blew into town to tour colleges with her completely awesome friend/former student Julizza in mid-March. After a number of years teaching elementary school in Oregon, Jess has an awesome adventure planned for next year: “I’m taking a much needed break from the testing culture of American public education to teach at Las Terrenas International School in the Dominican Republic. Whale season is January to March and I welcome all visitors to the beach town where I’ll be teaching.”

Have you noticed a new magazine called Modern Farmer on newsstands, basically everywhere? Did you know it is the outfit of our very own Reyhan Harmanci, chief editor? In its first year, the publication garnered two National Magazine Award (Aka ESME or Ellie) nominations. Unfortunately there is no ESME category for Excellence in Baby Animal Coverage, because then they’d be a triple threat.

Please keep the notes coming!

MARA VOUKYDIS | MaraVee@gmail.com