Tag: 2008

The Class of 2008 continues to check in with exciting updates.

Elissa Gross started the first psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy program in the Caribbean. Located in Grand Cayman, in the Cayman Islands, she is co-founder and lead clinician working with trauma, grief, depression, and other issues to support deep healing and transformation. Come visit!

Dana (Powell) Buchbinder from Toronto still loves trees and libraries. She had a musical visit with Ruby Corbyn-Ross in Virginia, while swapping kid updates with Erica (Belkin) Allen and Tanya Llewellyn’s families.

Lyz Nardo Levy writes, “This year marked a big milestone for our family as Mila and Sofia have both entered Livingston, New Jersey’s public school system. Navigating public school for the first time has deepened my appreciation for the education I received at BB&N. I’m grateful to be able to carry forward what I learned as chair of the school’s Multicultural Night and through my work with Livingston’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and Wait Until 8th. We feel incredibly grateful to be raising our children in a community that seeks to share more than just a zip code!”

Matt Ball was elected to the Colorado State Senate, representing his community in central and eastern Denver.

Asli Sonceley tells us: “This is my very first note since graduation. I’ve been based in LA ever since, though my career refused to stay in one lane. I wandered from the film industry to start-ups, from climate activism to psych. Today, I head up marketing at a tech company. It’s ICPs and CTAs all day. For the most part though, I am bossed around by my 14-year-old dog and two kids who regularly add items to the shopping list such as ‘giant remote control monster truck,’ ‘poop,’ and ‘unicorn.’ Sleep update: I average about seven hours, which is up by an impressive 1.5 hours from last year. I think often and fondly of Casey Otto and Dave Harris [who passed away in 2024 and 2008 respectively]. I would like nothing more than a message from an old classmate. So, if you’re reading this, don’t be shy to say hello on socials. Hope you’re all safe and well!”

Finally, Marianna Foos tells us: “This year I finally made it to Mexico, which has been on the list for a long time. At Wesleyan, I took a Mesoamerican art history class and despite loving it, I was struggling with the writing requirements. I’ll always remember how the professor let me (a bio major) write my term paper on maize domestication to keep me in the class. Thank you, [visiting] Professor Carrasco! I drank so much atole in Oaxaca!”

Murder.” Lynn was also a principal in the “VitaminWater: Brooklyn Bridge” commercial directed by Spike Lee and filmed a SAG feature in Atlanta this May. She continues to be repped by Buchwald and Entertainment Lab in NYC, Forward Talent in Georgia, and The Wayne Agency in LA.  Lynn welcomes creative collaborations with fellow Wes alums. More at www.lynnfavin.com!

Anthony Nikolchev writes, “My newest performance [written, performed, and created by me and my partner Gema Galiana’s company, The Useless Room] had its premiere at the 2025 Theater Venice Biennale under the artistic direction of Willem Dafoe. We were presented alongside Romeo Castellucci, Thomas Ostermeier, and Milo Rau. The show, called The (Un)Double, based on Dostoevsky’s The Double, was well received with [one critic] saying, ‘The (Un)Doubleis a dark mirror. It reflects our fears, our conflicts. It is theatre that does not tell but shows. It does not explain, but makes you feel. And it forces us to look inside. Even when we don’t want to.’— Andrea DiMaso, Notizie Teatrali (Venice, Italy). Next show dates are [in] October at La MaMa in NYC.”

Lauren Goldman and her husband, David, welcomed their son, Maximilian George Cooper on April 10 in New York!

Sam Barcelo got married to Christina Mastrocola on May 3 in Newport, Rhode Island.

Though Patrick Armano-Amato and his husband, Dominic, have been living in Los Angeles for five years now, they are excited to have become homeowners again this year. 

Over the summer, Patrick participated in his third AIDS/Life Cycle (a 545-mile, seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for HIV/AIDS prevention and research) as team co-captain for the Merrill Lynch/Bank of America team. While this was the last year that the SF Aids Foundation and the LA LGBT Center co-hosted the ride, both organizations will be creating new rides starting next year, and Patrick fully plans on continuing his participation in this great cause. 

In the beginning of the year, he was elected to be vice president and board member of the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, which provides visibility, advocacy, and business development for the LGBTQ and allied business community. In the fall he will be joining the board of APAIT, an organization whose mission is to positively impact the quality of life for vulnerable communities experiencing behavioral health challenges, housing insecurity, justice-involved individuals, victims of human trafficking, and those at risk for HIV/AIDs and sexual health issues. He is also an active member of the WeHo Chamber of Commerce, the California LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, and, in service to his community, regularly volunteers at organizations such as Project Angel Food, Family Equality, APLA Health, the Williams Institute, Gay for Good, and the Hollywood Food Coalition.   

He is still loving his career at Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor in wealth management, and, within the organization, became the vice chair of the LA Pride Business Council in the spring. 

Later this year, he is looking forward to participating in the Zuma Beach Triathlon to support the Challenged Athletes Foundation and potentially getting his fur baby, Dolce, a younger sibling (who will appropriately be named Gabbana). 

Abigail Hinchcliff, co-founder of Olson Grimsley, will be honored by the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation at its 19th Annual “Raising the Bar” Celebration. Recognized for “speaking truth to power” and “leading through adversity,” Abigail has played a pivotal role in landmark cases, including a $60 million verdict against Enfamil’s maker and ongoing litigation against predatory rental fees. A Yale Law graduate and former first assistant attorney general of Colorado’s Consumer Fraud Unit, she continues to champion justice for everyday Americans.

The Class of 2008 has started 2025 in an exciting way! Johnathan Thayer has been awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor at Queens College, CUNY, where he teaches classes in archival studies and public history. He is the author of Citizenship, Subversion, and Surveillance in U.S. Ports: Sailors Ashore (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) and co-editor of Negotiating Masculinities and Modernity in the Maritime World, 1815–1940 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Matt Haywood writes, “Thought it would be fun to mention that I met Chloe Jeng ’15 while playing pickleball in D.C. I was wearing some Wesleyan joggers and she recognized the logo. We’ve since gone on to play in a league together and wound up winning the whole thing!” He submitted a photo as well and notes that the “third woman pictured is Marissa Daftary. [She] and Chloe met through mutual friends Emily Garvin ’15 and Jasmine Masand ’15.”

Lauren Goldman was married to David Cooper in November 2024 and also admitted to the New York Bar that same month. She says, “I am currently working as an eviction defense lawyer in the Bronx.”

Maya Bass is the program director for a brand-new family medicine residency program at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. This program will create 10 new family docs each year. Building it has included opening up two new family medicine offices in downtown Camden. She writes, “2025 is a big year as I will be graduating my first class! Our mission is to foster the growth of compassionate, innovative, and highly skilled family physicians. We strive to provide inclusive and evidence-based medical care, with an emphasis on empowering our community through health and education.”

Cheers!

Ruby Corbyn-Ross just moved to Charlottesville to attend UVA for grad school for a career shift to speech language pathology. She tells us, “I’ll miss New Orleans, but I’m excited to be back on the East Coast for the next two years. I’d love to see any WesFolk passing through!”

Uly Cubeta (they/she) writes, “My spouse, Jez Cubeta ’10 (them/they), and I are proud of our oldest child, Alina, graduating high school and starting college this fall. It’s been a roller coaster, but we are so happy the judge granted our adoption petition all those years ago.”

I’m thrilled to announce that Amanda Krentzman has agreed to step in as co-secretary to assist me in compiling class notes in the future. Amanda writes:

“Hi Wes ’08! Hope all of you have been great! A little about me . . . I was an econ major at Wes. Outside of that, one of my favorite classes I took was Hazardous Earth, which was all about the natural disasters that could take place at any time. I also loved dance, and I studied abroad in Madrid. After school, I moved out to LA to pursue a career in TV. I have met and continue to meet so many incredible Wesleyan alumni through the entertainment business. I am a TV producer and have worked on shows including Jane the Virgin, Dark, The Rain, Club de Cuervos, and many more. I have been one of the Wesleyan West Coast Alumni chairs for many years and would love to catch up with any of you to hear how you are!”

Please feel free to reach out to either of us with any updates!

John McNeil has been writing science fiction stories for the past few years—visit johnmcneil.me/writing—and is happy to share that his story, “Decision Trees,” was published in the March/April 2024 issue of Analog Science Fiction & Fact.

Marianna Foos writes, “Xue Sun and I did not see the Northern Shrike that was hanging around Middletown in February, but we tried really, really hard and it was really, really cold.”

And finally, I am looking to step back from the role of Class Notes secretary after nearly 15 years. I’ve loved being the first person to hear of all the exciting doings of our class and exchanging emails with old friends and acquaintances. Perhaps someone else from the Class of ’08 is willing to step in? If so, please email me!

Lucia Pier lives in Los Angeles. Last fall she was organizing with local groups to advocate for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. She signed the alumni letter calling on Wesleyan to divest from companies that profit off Israel and its ongoing war in Gaza. Other classmates have also signed this petition, including Jessie Spector.

Lauren Goldman writes: “I am finishing law school on December 15, 2023, at City University of New York School of Law.

            “I have enjoyed spending time with Aleya Brahmachary, Rashida Richardson, and Adit Shah in New York last fall. Last summer, I studied in London at Queen Mary University of London, where I was lucky to see Caroline Janin, Armando de Moura Palha Filho, and Tara Moore.”

Fifteen years after graduation, Shivani Kumar lives in Los Feliz with her partner and two pups. She drives a Honda Accord, uses an electric toothbrush twice a day, has a gynecologist, and pays someone to do her taxes. She changes her air filters once a quarter. She has labeled boxes of “winter clothes” and “spare cosmetics” and her vegetables and fruits are stored separately. Her prescriptions are on autorefill, and all her socks are in pairs. And somehow, with zero intention, she has found herself working in commercial real estate (and even more surprisingly, she is loving it). Basically, Shivani is crushing adulthood. She’s even made a friend or two. If you’re in the LA area, she would love to see you, her fellow Wes alumni, and catch up. You can call or text: 914.649.6575, but please tell her your full name as she almost certainly will not remember you. There’s a 97% chance that you are lost in a blur of college memories that have been twisted and diluted by the Wesleyan lore in HIMYM. Please don’t be offended. But definitely include your full name.

Ben Crane writes, “This year I had two books published: a queer heist thriller, A Man of Lies, and an all-ages graphic novel adventure, Cosmic Cadets: Contact!, which I created with my partner, Mimi Alves (they/them).” 

Kate Krems started as an assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in July. She’s enjoying working to promote economic competition in her new role and being out of the billable-hour grind is a plus, too!

Ben Smyser has been elected to counsel at Finn Dixon & Herling LLP, focusing on corporate finance. He currently lives in Pelham, New York with his lovely wife Elanor and two wonderful daughters, Naomi and Hazel.

Nicole Gray is living her “best” (i.e., best given some unfortunate circumstances in 2022) life in Los Angeles. She is currently working as a social scientist for the FDA Center for Tobacco Products. She will soon be adopting two cats.

Emma Komlos-Hrobsky writes, “I had a baby! My husband and I welcomed our daughter, Paloma Lyra Hicks, in July. She charms us with her passion for her toes, acrobatic rolling, and what may be the world’s most perfect belly button. I returned to my job as senior editor at Poets & Writers Magazine in January and do my best to not ask my coworkers if they’re getting cranky and need a nap.”

Sally Rosen Phillips is working as a vice president of creative at This Machine Filmworks, a production company founded by director R. J. Cutler. Her work focuses on development of documentaries. In September, Sally and her husband Eric welcomed their first baby, Hope. Along with their Lagotto Romagnolo, Enzo, the family resides in Los Angeles and enjoys weekly Thai food delivery from Pa Ord Noodles. Thanks to Thai Gardens’ introduction many years ago, pad see ew remains a staple of the order.

It has been an amazing 12 months for Patrick and Andrea Senat. They got married in New York City and gave birth to Malcolm Barack Senat.

Correction: In the last issue I wrote that  “Maya (Bass) Bery” welcomed her first child. Maya Bass and Maya Bery are two different individuals. My apology to them both and a hearty congratulations to Maya Bery on her first child!

I was lucky enough to attend the fabulous wedding of Zoe Holder and Ben Kornstein in November, joined by Katie Poor, Sage (Trombulak) Ruth and Sam Ruth. Zoe has deep roots in Wes culture, as both of her parents are alum and her siblings studied at Wesleyan as well. Wes faculty even made an appearance! We danced the weekend away with the reckless abandon of our 19-year-old selves, thankful to be together after many years and thankful that we have a little more common sense than we did when we met as freshmen!

Maya (Bass) Bery writes, “My husband Adam and I welcomed our first child, a boy named Raphael Dev, on September 9th.”

Jess M. Jones lives in Philadelphia with her partner, Lindsay Ladd. Jess writes, “I recently brought [Lindsay] for an early Sunday morning campus driving tour and breakfast at O’Rourke’s on a drive home from Massachusetts. I’m an LCSW practicing child and family trauma therapy as well as legal psychedelic-assisted therapy, with a focus on equity and access. I’m also working in research: a phase 1 trial of a synthetic psilocybin analogue for major depressive disorder at a clinical research site in New Jersey and an expanded access site for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in Maryland. My team in Maryland was recently featured in the Netflix documentary, How to Change Your Mind, which was pretty amazing. I’d love to connect with other Wes alums in the field of psychedelic medicine!”

Janie Stolar is rewatching all of The Amazing Race from season one. Her young cat has periodontal disease and colitis so she’s spending thousands of dollars to keep her alive and is doing so without complaint.