Tag: 2009

Sara Beth Hoffman and Matthew Podolin live in San Francisco and welcomed their daughter, Eva, in February. Their sweet baby arrived three weeks early and likes her panda stuffed animal and lullabies.

Sadly, there are three passings to report: Chris Goy passed away on October 21, 2023;  John Harding ’10, who started with our class, passed away on December 7, 2023; and Alicia Garrison passed away on February 15, 2024. Links to their obituaries can be found online in Obituaries.

Please write to your class secretary.

Ally writes for this issue.

Mr. Jermaine Lewis says he is “in eastern Pennsylvania. Just graduated with [a] master’s in management. Do recommend Harvard Extension. Working in fintech/blockchain. Mr. Baby [had] his first birthday [at] the end of August. Pro and conning on-campus housing for the 15-year reunion.” Your class secretary (Ally) responds, “Wherever you decide to stay, Jermaine, I can’t wait to see you there because I am beyond excited. If you receive an email or text from me, it is because I’ve committed to get as many of our classmates as I can to celebrate how old we are under the tent!!”

Big news for Erik Underwood and Derek Silverman. They started, Basis Climate. It is focused on expanding liquidity in clean energy projects by helping corporations invest in these projects while also reducing their tax liability. Check them out at buildwithbasis.com.

Emily Reisner writes, “I’m a birth doula serving families in Connecticut and I’m also a director at MeshEd, an education start-up, founded by a Wesleyan grad, which engages Wesleyan juniors and seniors as teachers in local middle schools and high school programs, such as coding, podcasting, screenwriting, sustainable fashion, and more.”

Ally writes for this issue.

Where in the world is Ben Roberts? He writes, “I’ve been residing in Stamford, Connecticut, the last two years but will be moving back to Tampa, Florida, with my youngest brother Graham in May. I’ve been leading the road warrior life, splitting my time between the USA, Philippines, Colombia, and India, while building and scaling outsourced offshore/nearshore teams. I’m in the Philippines as we speak and headed to Africa next month to begin scouting locations for the next new business in Nairobi, Kenya. When I’m not working, I’m training for the Head of the Charles Regatta WeScrew alumni event this fall. Look forward to reconnecting with fellow Wes alums at the 15-year reunion!”

Speaking of globe-trotting, guten Tag from Alex Footman.Alex is living in Berlin with his wife, daughter, dog, and two self-proclaimed “bad knees.” You can tune into world news for Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle if you want to see our classmate in action.

“Hello!” from Sophie Reagan, who will always be Sophie PC in my heart. She writes, “I am still living in Washington, D.C., with my husband, daughter, and dog. I am loving life at Deloitte— not something I would have ever seen for myself as an English major—all the more so since making the change to be a chief of staff as part of our Government & Public Service Practice. In TV-watching news, I am still recovering from last week’s Vanderpump Rules scandal, and I have truly appreciated everyone’s well wishes during this fraught time.”

Happy second wedding anniversary to Kate Gavriel!She was married during the pandemic in 2021 and asked whether celebrating her second anniversary was newsworthy. I think so!!!

Christian Skorik writes,“I currently live in the Boston area with my partner and I manage a small sales team for a Canadian biotech company called STEMCELL Technologies. My days are pretty routine and I would welcome a chance to connect with any Wes alums that happen to be close by/in town for a visit. So, let this be a beacon to such folks! Reach out and I will give you a tour of my city’s excellent breweries.”

Bryan Wieland and wife Nicole welcomed their second child, the beautiful Scarlett Wieland, in mid-March. Welcome to the world, Scarlett!

Evan Coleman has a new position as a litigation attorney with U.S. Department of the Interior. He and his wife and their 2-year-old son, Reece, are getting ready to welcome a little girl next month. She will be named Robyn.

Effective September 2022, Arielle Linsky, PhD,accepted a position as assistant professor of psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine. She works as a clinical psychologist providing treatment for children, adolescents, and adults with anxiety and related disorders (among other things).

Please write to your class secretaries.

Hi everyone! This is Asia Neupane and Ally (Heaney) Lamson—we’re really glad to be your class secretaries! Please send any news and updates (or any other ideas) to us anytime this year so that we can include it in the upcoming newsletters. Asia is based in New Haven and Ally is in Philadelphia. Please definitely let us know if you are in these areas too!

Congratulations to Michael Green for developing Lynit, an outlining tool to assist writers in structuring and developing their novels. Michael also finished writing his first book, The End of Nobility, which he has been working on since the age of 15. The book will be released in early 2023.

Paul J. Edwards writes, “Happy to report that I will be starting as an assistant professor of English and dramatic literature at New York University after two years as an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. As well as my engagement to Rebecca Kastleman, assistant professor of English at Columbia University.”

Eugene Wong was named CFO of Boston-based start-up Hometap.

Michelle Katz writes, “Last fall, my partner Robert DeSimone and I finally tied the knot at the Bronx Zoo. Rachel Berkowitz, Nina Cohodes, and Joseph Melendez ’07 were all in the wedding party, and many Wes alumni, ranging from the classes of ’92 to ’10 (with heavy ’09 representation, of course) were in attendance. And, after more than a decade in Brooklyn, we’ve moved to Philadelphia, as I am starting rabbinical school this fall. Would love to grab coffee with any other Wes Philly folks!”

One of those Philly folks is Ally (Heaney) Lamson who is working as an insurance broker for Gallagher, raising three Spanish-speaking daughters, and occasionally playing beach volleyball.

Oriana Korol has been “working as a nature-based therapist for over a year in Canby, Oregon, at the Center at Heron Hill” and was expecting her first child in August!

On August 21, 2021, Ryan Walsh married his wife Kristen at Valley View Farm in Haydenville, Massachusetts. Several Wesleyan hockey alums were there to celebrate, including: J. J. Evans, Bryan Wieland, Scott Burns, John Wierzba, Mike Dorsey ’08, and Michael Ruderman ’11.

Scott Cole has recently become the chief operating officer of Divot Assets (www.divotassets.com), the leading provider of fixed asset inventory services for K–12 public schools.

Sofia Warner and Eric Weiskott welcomed their second child, Theo Warner, into the world last July 4. Sofia, Eric, Theo, and Theo’s older sister Lili live in Brookline, Massachusetts.

From Sophie Reagan: “Still in DC but always a New Yorker at heart. Our daughter is three—not sure how that happened—but we don’t know how old our dog is. Workwise, I’m a chief of staff within Deloitte’s Government & Public Services practice. There are a couple of us Wesleyan alums here! A small but mighty bunch.”

Abby Rosenstein writes: “My husband Neil and I welcomed our baby, Ezra, in September! We live in central Massachusetts, where I work as a nurse practitioner in a community health center.”

Editor’s note: We need a new class secretary! If you are interested, please email: classnotes@wesleyan.edu.

Those with class notes, please write to your class secretary.