Tag: 2006

Saad Handoo hit six years of residence in Atlanta with his wife, Mariam Qureshi, and two kids, Lena and Kareem. He spends most of his family time corralling kids between baseball diamonds and soccer pitches.

Maggie Starr says, “I live in Portland, Oregon, near the Columbia River with my wife and two daughters (one- and three-years-old) and our dog. I raise money for an environmental nonprofit, do some fundraising consulting on the side, and try to find as much time as possible for open-water swimming, biking, and getaways around the Northwest. Still a history nerd. Hit me up if you’re ever in the area or looking for Pacific Northwest travel tips!”

Philip Cortes says, “Out in San Francisco, where I am lucky enough to have my Wesleyan BFFLs live nearby (Casey Wilson and Lukas Snelling ’05). Doing the suburban picket-fence deal with my amazing wife, two kids, a four-year-old and a one-year-old. Working on a new company called OMNI, leveraging AI to help patients navigate their care and get better outcomes. Life is pretty good! Turning 40 in a few months. We’re getting old!”

Omair Sarwar says, “I recently decamped from NYC to Austin to launch my firm, GearBox (www.gearboxcap.com), where I spend my days investing in and supporting entrepreneurs and bootstrappers in building their businesses. As a former Wes squash guy, trying to get my head (and racquet) around the local pickleball craze. Would love to meet other Wes folks in the Austin area.”

Libertad Gills, also known as Libby, is currently living in Lugano, Switzerland, where she works as a postdoctoral researcher for the Future of Cinema & the Audiovisual Arts at the Università della Svizzera italiana, in co-partnership with Locarno Film Festival. Her films, writings on film, and video essays are available on her website (libertadgills.com) and Instagram (@libertadgills). She attended the Orphan Film Symposium in April in New York City to participate in a panel on amateur cinema in Latin America. Get in touch if you find yourself in Switzerland or Milan! 

Josh Saffer says, “Jeremy Hunt, Reinhardt Schuhmann, Matt Mulqueen, and I have been living and dying by the coin since October, and recently completed year one of the Rainbow Road Record Exchange.”

Emily Frost, Nick Bullard, Gianna Sobol, and Shaine Truscott celebrated their 40th birthdays. They add, “Well, it was really Gianna’s actual birthday, but we’re all turning 40 this year, so we were all celebrating (!) with a trip to Palm Springs and a sound bath at the Integretron in March 🙂 . . . . We all live in different parts of the country (Massachusetts, Seattle, LA), three of us have kids, so it was a lot of childcare and travel/work schedules  to coordinate to make it happen!”

Ronald Lim remains in Singapore where he recently curated a major retrospective exhibition for the Singapore Architecture Collection that opened in November 2023. In December 2023, he reunited with ex-housemate, Tu Chi Nguyen, in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where she is now based in her work for the World Bank. Together in Abidjan, they met up for dinner with Linda Dempah ’05 whose “slow cosmetics” start-up, Adeba Nature, is gaining traction in West Africa and beyond. Earlier that year, he visited Takahiro Haneda and Erika Ikeda in Tokyo and also caught up with Wilson Co and Louis Caditz-Peck passing through Singapore. He notes that they’re all thriving and growing purposefully! Tu Chi notes that her recent move to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, included her two kids, Philip and Vivien. When Ronald Lim came to visit, he shared the Singaporean urban planning experience with fellow Ivorian architects. She is working on energy issues with the World Bank and looks forward to connecting with other Wes alums in the region. 

Brianna (Zinser) Farrand is a registered dietitian overseeing the bariatric surgery programs at two Northwell Health hospitals: Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. She lives in Connecticut with her two sons, Henry (seven-years-old) and Blake (four-years-old), and her husband, Dan. She keeps in touch with Carolyn Thai, Adina Bricklin, and Emily Privot, though not as often as she’d like! 

Rachel Wertheimer says, “I’m living near my hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with my wife and five-year-old daughter. We live in a co-housing community where we share gardens, social spaces, and mutual aid collectively with our neighbors. I’m a clinical social worker and am starting my 10th year as a middle school counselor at a small independent school. I happily see nearby Wesleyan friends, Rachel Kiel ’07 (who lives down the street!), Katey Rich, and Kate Mitchell ’05 pretty regularly, and there [are] so many others I miss and wish I saw more!”

Mel McCrea received an MA in counseling psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is in clinical practice with Sessions Psychotherapy and is accepting new clients in California.

Lorraine Umwiza Githiora says, “I’m expecting my first child in June 2024! That’s the biggest news I can think of. 🙂 . . . . I am in New York, working as a program manager for CUNY. The granny hobbies I picked up as a child continue to bring me solace—jigsaw puzzles, fiber arts, and baking.”

Elena (Won) Kermah says, “I am currently living in Pennsylvania. I have six kids, who are all being homeschooled. My husband is working on his PhD in Hebrew bible. We returned from living in Israel a few years ago and are planning to do international Christian missions in West Africa as our long-term goal.”

Alex Pfeiffer Reynolds “spent a great four days lounging on the beach and eating tacos with Adam Maxwell and his family, [who were] visiting from Steamboat Springs, down in Las Gaviotas, Rosarito, Baja Mexico. We had a great time catching up and shared some laughs about how we first met, living next door to each other on Clark 1 freshman year!” 

Psyche Cassandra Dunkhase shares, “I continue my work as a professional cellist and teaching artist in the greater Boulder, Colorado, area, where I stayed after receiving a master’s of music degree in cello performance from the University of Colorado. Three years ago I founded Cellists for Change, a nonprofit that aspires to build a more equitable, inclusive, and connected world by investing in young people while making sustained progress toward paradigm shifts within the classical music sphere. Check us out at www.cellistsforchange.org! I travel to Huehuetenango, Guatemala, on a regular basis to work with Escuela de Cuerdas, a school of music partnered with Cellists for Change, and volunteer with a cleft lip/palate medical mission through Rotary International. When not teaching or performing, I enjoy foraging with my herbalist nurse wife out the backdoor of our high-altitude permaculture home, reading in front of a cozy fire with our two orange kittens, and dreaming up Cellists for Change’s next big project!”

Jesse Young married Michele Viterise at a ceremony near their home in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2023, where they were joined by their dear Wes friends Katey Rich, Nat Webb, Nicole Weiskopf, Rachel Wertheimer, Hayley Stokar, Dana Raviv, Paul McElfresh, Rae Kaplan ’07, Jessica Chayes ’07, Margaret Dickson ’07, Lauren Smith ’07, as well as Jesse’s brothers, Zach Young ’08 and Ethan Young ’13! And, yes, they all sang the Wes fight song, as well as MGMT’s Kids (the unofficial Wes fight song).

Nina Eichacker and Johann Patlak and their “two daughters (now eight and six!) are keeping on keeping on in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where we are all loving life in the Ocean State. If you find yourself in those parts, please reach out!” Nina is working as an assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island; Johann is an anesthesiologist working at Rhode Island Hospital. 

Sam Han says, “After living in Perth, Australia, I moved to London with my partner, Ruth, in 2022. I continue to teach sociology and media studies, now at Brunel University. My latest book, The Concept of Tragedy: Its Importance for the Social Sciences in Unsettled Times, was published in April by Routledge. When not reading, writing, and teaching, I’ve been walking around the city with Ruth and making photographs in earnest and have been posting quite a bit on my Instagram (@dolo.graphs).”

Nyasha Foy shares, “I recently celebrated one year at Sotheby’s, as vice president and assistant general counsel, supporting NFTs/digital art and luxury. Outside of work, I have been re-engaging with my passion for art and music, both by joining the Save the Music Foundation Board, while also pursuing creative projects like writing a children’s book and TV shows. Professionally, I am in my second year as board member for the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA), while participating in speaking panels across London, NYC, and Rome. As I start my final year as an alumni-elected trustee, I am enthusiastic about continuing to serve our alma mater.”

Erin Reding Glaser enjoyed getting together with Kate McCrery and Jane Maxson Hendrickson in February for a very fun girls’ weekend. Jane and Erin brought along their daughters, Grace and Ivy, which made for an even more memorable experience. Lots of fun was had by all and they are also looking forward to attending Homecoming Weekend at Wesleyan this year and hope to see other alumni there too! Finally, if anyone lives in the Philadelphia area and is interested in learning more about wheelchair basketball, please contact Erin Reding Glaser. Her daughter plays on a team and they are always looking for more players. It is very fun and inclusive. They even have program chairs that people can borrow if needed.

Dana Wollman writes, “I am living in my hometown of Brooklyn, where my partner and I welcomed our first child, a daughter, earlier this year. I’ve been working at the tech news site Engadget since 2011, where I’ve been editor in chief since 2018.”

Steven Wengrovitz, along with his husband, Dan Freeman, welcomed their second baby girl this August. They’re all enjoying life in Beacon, New York.

Zach Strassburger received the Champions of Diversity Award from the City of Philadelphia Law Department for their work, including creating an inclusive language guide to make legal writing more inclusive and approachable for diverse populations. It can be found at https://www.phila.gov/media/20230530134433/Inclusive-Language-FINAL.pdf. Zach is a deputy city solicitor in the Appellate Litigation unit for the City of Philadelphia Law Department, doing election law, First Amendment law, and more.

Mark Liew is living in China with his wife and three young children, ages eight, six, and four.

Juan Sebastian Moreno completed his third year as a virtual English language educator with English Language Programs, an education exchange program of the U.S. Department of State. The project, sponsored by EducationUSA Panama, helped students in Panama prepare for exams required by universities in the USA. Juan has also accepted the role of ESL/Bilingual Department coordinator at Torrington High School in Connecticut, where he is a teacher of ESL and bilingual STEM. This summer he went with his family and five-year-old son, Hai-Nam, to the three-day 160th Gettysburg Battle Reenactment in which his father participated as Union infantry.

Vivian Lew Hsiung lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two boys. When she’s not working on her counseling practice, she’s outdoors fighting to save her vegetables from slugs.

Arielle Edelman McHenry writes, “I continue to live in Minneapolis with my husband, one-and-a-half-year-old, and six-year-old. I love my work in public health, drug policy, and harm reduction—and talking with Wesleyan students who are interested in the same. Meeting up with Steve Rubenstein and his family for pizza picnics at the lake is a new favorite summertime tradition.”

Nate Baumgart and his wife took a year to travel around the world and blog about it, and now own a food tour company in Denver called Delicious Denver. They had a daughter during COVID who is almost four and he runs the Alumni Association here for Colorado. Any Wes graduates headed out West are welcome to contact him for recommendations about food and dining in Colorado!

Keitaro Nakamoto works as an acute care surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland. He sees Serkan Parlak and his family regularly and hopes to get an opportunity to catch up with everyone IRL sometime soon!

Jane Maxson Hendrickson abandoned any hopes of studying medicine immediately after college in pursuit of a career in the nonprofit sector, which recently resulted in being promoted to her first executive director job. She has three kids and chickens, lives in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut, and is happy to serve as the class secretary so that she can keep in touch with all of you! Please send in notes to keep everyone updated!

Please send news and updates to classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

It was good to hear from several ’06ers.

During summer 2022, Tyler M. Franklin was promoted to partner at Rubin and Rudman LLP. At the practice he advises clients on land use, environmental, and regulatory compliance issues. He is a member of the firm’s Environmental, Litigation, and Real Estate Departments.

And while one is settling into a legal career, another looks elsewhere. Daniel Dykes has retired early from big-law-firm life, and spends his time studying languages, hiking, traveling, and catching up on the books he previously hadn’t had time to read since he started law school more than a decade ago.

Life celebrations are taking place too. Conor Galvin reports he is “getting married in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in December to Samata Narra. Wes alums, Warren Clanton, Quincy Francis, Jimmy Koutroumanos ’05, and Khalia Frazier ’07 will be there.” And on a vacation to France in August 2022, Jesse Young proposed to his girlfriend of five years, Michele Viterise. They plan to get married in fall 2023 in Washington, D.C., where they both live!

In the realm of education, Kate Angell was hired as associate professor and assessment-data management librarian at the City University of New York (CUNY). And Mara Baldwin has “taken a new teaching position teaching drawing at Bard College, where I’ve joined my partner, Sarah Hennies, with our child, Ellis, born in June 2019. I’d be happy to connect with other Wes alumni in the Hudson Valley! In June 2023 I’ll have a solo show at the Everson Museum in Syracuse.”

Also on the East Coast, Julia Kleinman Horowitz shared, “I welcomed my third baby, a girl named Lily, in 2021. My older two children are Charles (five) and Arielle (three). After living in Los Angeles for many years, I relocated closer to Wesleyan and now live in Greenwich, Connecticut. I am vice president and head of content at Epic, the leading digital book platform for kids that grants free access to a 47K library to all students and teachers.”

Erin Glaser wrote: “I now live in the Philadelphia area with my husband Scott and two children Ivy (eight) and Otto (four). Ivy plays on a wheelchair basketball team known as Katie’s Komets. The team is always looking for new team members. Anyone between the ages of six and 18 with a physical disability is welcome to come and try it out. I’m happy to answer any questions folks have about the sport and team. It is very fun and inclusive!

“I was recently appointed to the Abington School Board in Pennsylvania. I am now one of nine school board directors. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and serve the community. I just celebrated my one-year anniversary at Veeva Systems as the talent development program manager. In my role I get to design and deliver training for our over 6,000+ global team. My role focuses on leading training in areas such as leadership development, DEI, coaching and feedback, and building healthy teams. It has been a fun and fulfilling role. We are hiring all the time so if you know of anyone interested in a remote opportunity with a very healthy and growing tech company please reach out.”

Hannah Gay Keao had a lot of challenges and wins this year, from fighting to pass an open-carry ban as a city councilwoman (which passed!) to managing her then 18-month-old through Guillain-Barré Syndrome and multiple hospitalizations this summer. She is so grateful to all her Wes friends for their support, especially Jackie Asadorian Fishbein, Megan Lesko Pacchia, Marianne Reyes Lima, Maggie Elliott Martin, and Allison Joe Offutt who helped Hannah and her husband Brandon so much through the summer. Everyone is healthy and home now!

And finally, Andrew Flint has been disputing a nonsense eBay claim from a sketchy seller, but he’s enjoying nearly every moment of life. At least two out of five moments, which he considers legit. While living in the middle of nowhere he’s developed a satisfying relationship with the various restaurants surrounding him. Just last week he devoured a fish and chips dinner so decadent that it would have made Tallulah Bankhead and Mata Hari blush, probably at the same time. He welcomes your texts. 413.822.1456. “Hit me up if we were friends way back when.”

Those with class notes, please contact: 

Class Notes Editor

classnotes@wesleyan.edu

Those with class notes, please contact: 

Class Notes Editor

classnotes@wesleyan.edu

Please write to your class secretary.