Greetings. Having just shoveled in preparation of freezing temperatures and the coming ice storm, I’m now warm and cozy inside compiling these notes. You are an amazing group of individuals—Go, Class of 1983!

Mary Freeman’s husband, Andy Levin, was elected to the U.S. Congress to represent Michigan’s 9th District! Lots of her Wesleyan friends followed the campaign and cheered them on. They’re excited to be a part of this next chapter in U.S. history.

Michael Sommer and Taya Glotzer are empty nesters in northern New Jersey. Michael is a trial lawyer at Wilson Sonsini in Manhattan and Tanya practices cardiac electrophysiology. Her hospital system opened a new medical school: Hackensack Meridian-Seton Hall School of Medicine, and she now works with medical students—a new challenge and opportunity. Their son lives in LA and is a software engineer for Hulu. Their daughter is a third-year medical student at Hofstra on Long Island.

Cheri Weiss was ordained as a cantor/hazzan by the Academy for Jewish Religion in May and is studying in the school’s Rabbinic program. She founded the San Diego Outreach Synagogue, an independent Jewish congregation blending tradition and creativity (sdo-synagogue.org) and the San Diego Jewish Community Choir (sd-jewishcommunitychoir.org).

Kate Rabinowitz lives in East Hampton, N.Y., and appreciates the alumni events, especially in New York theater! She runs the Anna Lytton Foundation (annalyttonfoundation.org) with husband Rameshwar Das ’69 in honor of their 14-year-old daughter who was killed in 2013. Kate runs arts and wellness programs in local schools in her daughter’s honor. Her son is graduating from Skidmore in environmental science and geology. Kate is grateful for her time at Wesleyan and what a privilege it is to have an education, tools, and ability to make a difference in the world.

Charlie Brenner writes from Iowa City, where Nancy Rommelmann visited for a book reading. Charlie has done a lot of travel associated with the science of nicotinamide riboside (NR) and launches of Tru Niagen in Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand. His new scientific story about NR addresses the metabolic stress associated with pregnancy and postpartum. A mouse on NR has increased lactation, weight loss, and babies more developed and capable. He is excited to see the clinical trials.

Eileen Kelly-Aguirre, back from running School Year Abroad’s school in Spain after serving three years as executive director, is happily living in her hometown of Washington, Conn., with her partner, Jack.

Janet Binswanger has the greatest job ever: The Curator; affectionately called the director of happiness for Vynamic; a health care industry management consulting firm, based in Philadelphia, with offices in London and Boston. She is aggressively hiring in 2019, so if you know folks who might be interested in joining this dynamic group, e-mail jbinswanger@vynamic.com.

Kirsten Wasson lives in LA, working as a college counselor and internship coordinator at a private high school. She performs stories at events around the city and publishes poetry and nonfiction in literary journals. Hiking, biking, paddle-boarding, and biannual trips to Mexico keep her relatively sane.

Glenn Lunden is obsessed with trains and was named acting deputy chief of rail planning for NYC Transit. He is in charge of planning and scheduling the operations of the New York subway.

Sue Peabody’s book, Madeleine’s Children: Family, Freedom, Secrets, and Lies in France’s Indian Ocean Colonies (Oxford 2017), won three book prizes, including the Society for French Historical Studies’ Pinkney Prize for the best book in French history published by a North American author. Sue is a professor of history at Washington State University Vancouver since 1996.

Jeff Scott practices law in LA at the international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where he is co-chair of the firm’s litigation practice. He sees Patrick Dooley ’84, Steven Maizes ’82, Steve Marenberg ’77, John Keaney ’84, and Judy Korin—all of whom are in LA, too. He took his boy/girl twins to Wesleyan for the Sons and Daughters program, and bumped into a few old friends: Paul DiSanto ’81, Mark Molina ’81, Bill Frischling ’86, and Pat Ryan ’85. He was pleased about how enthusiastically his kids were about Wesleyan.   

Sheila Spencer was unable to attend the 35th Reunion because her daughter graduated from high school. Her son attends Reed College in Portland, Ore., and her daughter attends Sarah Lawrence College. She met up with Janice Okoomian and Kenneth Schneyer at SLC parent weekend.

Namaste,

Laurie Hills | lauriec@rci.rutgers.edu

Royal Hartigan PhD’86 produced We Are One–blood drum spirit. The documentary explores the musical ties between jazz and its West African roots by following the American jazz group, blood drum spirit, to Ghana, featuring Abraham Adzenyah MA ’79, David Bindman ’85, MA ’87, and Wes Brown ’74. It won Best Documentary Feature at the Jukebox International Film Festival and Best Sound/Music Score at the Moscow Indie Film Festival.

Katie Vandrilla MALS’18 published a children’s book, Thumper’s Hospital Adventure, which follows the eponymous toy bunny on an adventure to find his best friend Katie after she is diagnosed with cancer. The real life Katie is a cancer survivor and all proceeds from the book will go to Make-A-Wish. Katie is a high school chemistry teacher and freelance journalist.

Managing Editor Cynthia Rockwell
crockwell@wesleyan.edu | 860/685-3705

While the number of fellows I have the honor of calling for the notes has definitely, how shall I say it, changed, those remaining are wonderful conversationalists! It is springtime and the guys are glad the winter has tucked itself away for a rest. While three of the four I reach out to now live in Florida, that doesn’t always mean getting out is the sunniest experience, especially after this wet winter! But in late March and early April it does.

Bob Porter kicked that pneumonia we mentioned in the last notes but he is still dealing with some shoulder pain. PT seems to be helping it. He reports Doris is well. Bob said it was a very wet winter in Naples and he is very glad to have that behind them. The sun and fresh air is so good for one’s morale. In February Bob and Doris welcomed another great-grandchild, the first girl of this generation! Bob says his “mind is sharp but the body is getting weak.” I can attest to the mind’s quickness as he broke out in song bringing up the words to Amicus Usque Ad Aras. Bob said it might even have been a Yale song but he remembers singing it with fellow freshmen when they went on a trip with an English professor to Mory’s! Perhaps the Whiffenpoofs were performing, and perhaps this professor had a connection to Yale? If the Olla Podrida from ’38 is correct, then there is a certain professor of English who had connections to Yale! What a fun adventure for Bob to share.

Heading north from Naples is Venice, Fla. Art Kingsbury has lived in Venice for 34 years. We figured out this was over a third of his life. Back in the day, most students attending Wesleyan came from the Northeast, or Midwest regions. No one in the class of ’38 came from Florida. But many did retire there. So the thought that one can retire for over a third of one’s life anywhere is another way of saying they are doing something right! Art celebrated his 96th birthday on April 13th. I still can’t imagine entering a university and experiencing almost a full first year as a 16-year-old! Art and Diane are doing very well and are in “fine health.” Their new pet of last year, the cat, entertains them daily. Art’s sons and their families were coming to celebrate his birthday. Visits with family are always enjoyable. He wishes his fellow classmates the best.

I left a few messages for Leonard Weinstein, the class’s other Florida resident, but didn’t actually speak with him. Better luck next time.

The next fellow I caught up with was Curt Smith. It was a very long winter in Rhode Island. While it was spring there, Curt commented on how it didn’t really feel like it, since the color of things was so delayed. He took a trip to northern New Hampshire and he learned from the sugar makers that the sap is also delayed. Oh dear, there goes the price of maple syrup! Curt had a visit from one daughter in February. They had a packed visit, including catching the old classic Arsenic and Old Lace at Rhode Island College. In late April his other daughter will be visiting. Every week he sees his son. He is very grateful for his time with his children. He attended a Jewish Film Festival at a local synagogue and highly recommends the film The Other Brother. Curt says they are trying to revive the singing group at his community. He is staying active, even if it means enduring stares from fellow residents of his community. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet keep him inside! I received a lovely card from Emily Cowan ’86 who now lives in Lancaster, N.H., Curt’s old stomping ground. When she moved there in 2000, Emily said Curt came and paid her a welcome visit. Recently she attended a fundraiser for a local ski area and sat with Curt and his son Philip. She had a wonderful visit with them, discussing which articles they enjoyed in the current alum magazine. “Curtis is the dearest man. And he is so active it just takes my breath away.” Thank you, Emily, for your wonderful card.

Something else that Curt shared with me was an article in the Providence Journal. In January Bill Heisler died. While I haven’t seen an official obituary, the newspaper clipping Curt sent was an amazing tribute to Bill’s time in Providence. “Bill served the Rhode Island community in a multitude of ways as a volunteer leader of most of the prominent nonprofits in our state during his long tenure as a resident, while also serving as CEO of Citizens Bank throughout the 1960s and ’70s.”

I also learned from this article that before the government had passed the Community Reinvestment Act, “Bill had initiated his own version of CRA at Citizens, as an outreach effort to give access to diverse populations.” The Heisler Leadership Fund at The Rhode Island Foundation has been established in his memory. I so enjoyed my conversations with Bill. His last decade was spent at Medford Leas, a Quaker-based senior living and continuing care community. He always had something to share about the importance of community. He also had wonderful stories about his trips that he took well into his late 90s. My condolences go out to his family, and also to the class of ’38. This past year has been a challenging one with the loss of four classmates.

On that note, I have cross-referenced a program from last year’s Reunion’s Memorial Service, with my father’s copy of the Olla Podrida, and I have 15 names on a list. I’ll see if I can find any news from them. I think I’ve got my work cut out for me. Here’s hoping next issue will be full of news from long lost fellows of’38! Until then, enjoy the colors of spring, whenever they decide to peek out, and the warmth of summer.

GRACE BENNETT daughter of the late Walter Bennett ’38 8104 39th Avenue, S.W., Seattle, WA 98136

Edward Mues’s daughter, Kathy, wrote in to say that he would be celebrating his 102nd birthday on April 15, 2019. Ed lives independently in a retirement community in Greenville, S.C., where he enjoys concerts, lectures, exercise classes, movies, parties, and adult learning classes at a nearby university. Until this season, he played golf a few times a week.

He went to Wesleyan (on a full scholarship) because his Patterson, N.J., high school principal, Francis R. North, class of 1897, took him to visit the campus. Kathy writes, “Dad thoroughly enjoyed his college experience. He lettered in football, baseball, and diving, was president of the Neumann Club, and a member of the Eclectic fraternity. Graduating from Wesleyan forever changed the course of his life!”

Those with class notes, please contact: 

Acting Editor Cynthia Rockwell
crockwell@wesleyan.edu | 860/685-3705

Hello, classmates! This month we feature a Class of ’84 book club.

Lee McIntyre has a new book coming out in May entitled The Scientific Attitude (MIT Press, 2019), which concerns how to think about what is distinctive about science, with an eye toward defending it against science deniers. The blurb on Amazon reads: “Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn’t settled science, that evolution is ’only a theory,’ and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines from the public are staples of some politicians’ rhetorical repertoire. Lee McIntyre argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is what he calls ’the scientific attitude’ caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence.”

Francesca Jenkins (who writes under the name Arya) announces her short story collection, Blue Songs in An Open Key, was published by Fomite Press in November. Reviewing it for Booklist, Mark Levine noted, “These are powerful stories with appeal to more than just jazz aficionados.” Besides her literary goals, she had a rich experience as a disaster volunteer with the Red Cross, deployed to help those impacted by hurricanes in North Carolina.

Michael “Misi” Polgar teaches at Penn State Hazelton and has written Holocaust and Human Rights Education, published by Emerald. The book addresses “crucial questions” of how to explore the narrative of the Holocaust by “exploring the way in which we teach and learn about [it].”

Julie Reiss has edited and published an anthology on art and the environmental crisis titled Art, Theory and Practice in the Anthropocene (Vernon Press, 2018).

Apart from the book announcements, we heard from Paul Baker who got his bachelor’s in art history at Wes and went on to a master’s in 1987 at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Paul is a professional sculptor in San Francisco, working in the medium of “found objects” in his own studio.

Paul is working on an elaborate project based on The Grand Tour as it was taken by the upper class in the mid-1890s, heavily inspired by his History of Photography course. He imagines a fictional character, an amateur photographer, whose steamer trunk full of camera gear is stolen on the way to Constantinople; then goes around to the bazaars in the city and buys old lenses and other gear—and builds his own cameras. Paul is constructing the most elaborate and beautiful and creative “cameras” using a wide variety of found objects. You can see some of his work at c-clampstudios.com. He was strongly influenced by Prof. John Risley’s Visual Connections and wood working studio and the ambience of the “monolithic” CFA.

Paul would love to hear from alumni whose relatives made the Grand Tour, especially to exotic locales like Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and the Holy Lands. You can visit his website or write to me and I’ll put you in touch.

We got word that Doris Barry passed away on June 11, 2018. Ricardo Granderson sent a loving tribute: “She had a 30-year career on Wall Street where she managed and inspired staff while battling lupus. A woman of faith who loved her family and friends, Doris was a member of Delta Theta Sigma and on the board of trustees at Concord Baptist Church, where she inspired many of the church’s best and brightest to attend Wesleyan. Doris loved Wesleyan, and her legacy will be evident in the scores of students who attended Wes because she was the university’s number-one cheerleader, especially for first generation students of color.”

Finally, a public service announcement from the Reunion committee, who want to remind everyone to head to campus May 24-26 for our 35 Reunion, featuring a ’84 dance party with “Kung Fu,” a Foss Hill Roll, and the requisite cocktails and dining. I will be there this year and will look for “live news feeds” from you all.

Michael Steven Schultz | mschultz84@wesleyan.edu

Class of 1985 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship
Matthew Querdasi ’21, Seattle, WA

Karen Kleinman and Ellen Campbell are saddened to share the news of the passing of our very good friend and former Wes roommate, Erica Frohman. Erica passed away on Oct. 3 after a courageous fight with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Ellen writes: “Erica, Karen, and I met as freshman roommates at Wesleyan. We all came from different backgrounds: Erica grew up outside of Chicago, Karen outside of NYC, and I from Vermont. We bonded immediately and became fast friends for life. Karen and Erica lived together in the ‘Outhouse’ (Outing Club House) sophomore year, we all shared a place with Kim Johnson senior year.

“Erica, Karen, and I kept in touch as our lives evolved after college: marriages, careers and, most significantly, children. Erica’s sharp intellect and passion for life were always inspirational. She amazed us with her ability to take on new activities on top of a demanding career and a commitment to family. She touched many people with her strength, optimism, and intellect. Erica faced her cancer diagnosis with tremendous courage and stayed positive all along. We miss her so much but also feel her with us every day; it was certainly good fortune that our paths crossed so many years ago on the first floor of Clark Hall.”

CAROLINE WILKINS | cwilkins85@yahoo.com

Remember the on-campus music scene in the 1980s? The Olin Library Archives has a unique collection of student music performances. Seventy-nine audiocassettes recorded by Dana Walcott and Stephen Porter ’87 during our time at Wes. The library is willing to digitize the collection and make it available on the Internet. Some financial donations from members of our class (or other classes) could move this project toward the head of the line. To make a contribution, call the Alumni Office (860/685-2200) and specify that your donation is to support this project. Get a link to the collection here.

From the East Coast, Virginia “Ginger” Murphy writes: “An auspicious series of events has led me to my new job working as a constituent services advisor for our newly-elected Pennsylvania Rep. Melissa Shusterman. Very excited to be participating in the wave of newly elected leadership our voters sent to Harrisburg this past November. Not to mention more female leadership that ever now in our state government!” The district is about 30 miles from Philadelphia and includes the Valley Forge National Historic Park.

Also on the East Coast, a story from New Jersey that it’s never too late to exercise. Emily Zaslow Hourihan is now an Ironman (Ironwoman?): “I completed my first full Ironman in Cozumel, Mexico, last November; a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike race, and a marathon for dessert. My time: 14:08. Perfect day in paradise. Can’t wait for the next one.”

And from Los Angeles, Brian Pass left the big, safe law firm at the end of the year (on his 55th birthday!) and hung out his own shingle (brianpasslaw.com): “I’m enjoying newfound freedom to continue my practice (commercial transactions in tech and new media) on a more personal level that’s more flexible and more efficient for my clients and more exciting for me.”

So, what’s up in your life? Share with me or reach out to classmates you haven’t talked to for a while (or ones you don’t really know at all—although I never knew him on campus, I’m having a beer with George Justice in a few weeks because I’ll be in his hometown).

Eric Howard | ehoward86@wesleyan.edu

Hi! New class secretary here! Thanks to Amanda Jacobs Wolf for her work in this role over the years, and thanks to all who sent me good wishes. The Class of ’87 will always be 20-somethings to me, which makes these notes so mind-blowing. We’re raising kids, working hard, and still checking in with classmates. Read on!

Anne Undeland has been playwriting in the Berkshires, where she gets the chance to see Dan Bellow and Elena Pappalardo-Day ’86 from time to time. Her latest effort, Lady Randy, about Winston Churchill’s extraordinary American mother, is being produced by WAM Theatre in Lee, Mass., in April. Anne says it would be an understatement to say she’s more than thrilled.

We heard from Holly Campbell Ambler in Cambridge, Mass. She and her husband, David Ambler, are experiencing their first empty-nest year as their youngest daughter graduated from high school in June and is now traveling the world on a gap year. Their other daughter is a ballet dancer in Rhode Island. Holly keeps busy working as a child and family social worker, both in a clinic and in a K-12 school in Boston. Happily, she sees Wes friends regularly, Trish and John Dorsey, Dennis and Karen Mahoney, and Doug and Michele Koplow.

In December, Ben Waxman and his wife made the trek to Wes for their 16-year-old to suss it out. Student intern Sam in the admissions office made Wes shine in her eyes. The campus did its thing. And they enjoyed lunch at O’Rourke’s. Steamed cheeseburgers all around!

Chris Roellke and I connect on Facebook, where I get to cheer him on during the annual Vassar College faculty vs. student basketball game. If you want to catch up with his famous enthusiasm, Chris broadcasts the VC women’s basketball games live on the web. Chris is on sabbatical after completing his second term as dean of the college. He is writing a book on the policy and practice of American higher education and working on a project with Jeremy Mindich and Sarah Williams ’88 to support classroom teachers in urban schools.

Kim Greenberg Roellke’s veterinary practice in Millbrook, N.Y., is great, and they have lot of news about their daughters to share: Emma is applying to med school. Liv is an avid equestrian. Julia is a senior at Vassar and on the basketball team there; she took the fall of her senior year off to study food justice in Ecuador, Malawi, and Italy.

If you are a fan of horror films, you have no doubt been aware of Brad Fuller’s work. He produced A Quiet Place which is enjoying success during this year’s awards season. The First Purge was released in 2018, too. Recent TV work includes The Last Ship, The Purge, and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Brad serves on the board of councilors at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Karen Craddock is a visiting scholar at Wellesley College. She is continuing her research and action to elevate the lives and voices of women of color. She is primarily focusing on Native American/indigenous women and African-American/black women—and in particular emotional health, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Karen is working on domestic violence prevention and wellness promotion for Native American women. She is chairing the domestic violence advisory board of the Wampanoag Tribe Women’s Center on Martha’s Vineyard. They are now in the third year of operation, addressing and preventing violence against Indian women.

In the last issue of this magazine, a few lines of my note were dropped in a page turn, and the outcry was muted, to say the least. For those of you who want the whole story, here’s what I reported: Rebecca Zimbler Graziano met up with Steven Shackman and Ira Skolnik to see a Mets/Red Sox game in Boston in September. As seniors in 1987, they may have gone to opening day at New York’s Shea Stadium, but Rebecca is the only one who remembers it. They had a surprise reunion at Citifield during the 2015 playoffs. During their recent Boston weekend, Ira, a licensed town of Concord tour guide, drove them to see the sights in town including Thoreau’s home and gravesite. Lifelong Mets fans, Rebecca, Steve, and Ira are looking forward to seeing the Mets in the playoffs again soon. Rebecca’s son, Sam, is at American University, and she visits Amy Mortimer-Lotke and Eric Lotke frequently when she gets to campus. Amy and Rebecca were lucky enough to grab a day with Grier Mendel in D.C. last April, too.

I hope it’s warmer in the USA by the time you read this. Looking forward to hearing from you. Keep us posted.

Rebecca Zimbler Graziano | rebecca.graziano@hotmail.com

With 2019 already upon us, we have a few updates from our fellow classmates. A number of ’07ers are continuing their career journeys in exciting new ways. Himanshu “Heems” Suri is taking a break from making rap music and settling in to a new role as Spotify’s senior editor of Indian culture. He lives in Jackson Heights, Queens, where he eats all of the food.

Chris Krovatin had a crazy October. He published his third YA novel, Frequency; became U.S. editorial manager for the new Brooklyn office of Kerrang! Magazine; and married Azara Golston ’09. Chris and Azara live in Washington Heights in NYC. Ian MacLeod works as a restoration ecologist regulating the mining industry at the California Department of Conservation. He bought his first house and lives in Sacramento with his wife, dog, and cat. In his free time, he tries to ski, surf, climb, and raft all over California.

Virginia Hermann is living just a stone’s throw from NYC in Spring Valley, N.Y. After completing her eurythmy training back in 2011, she joined the Eurythmy Spring Valley Ensemble, mostly dedicating herself to artistic development and performing. In 2017 she completed an MA in performance eurythmy through a satellite program of Alanus University (Bonn, Germany), and joined the faculty of the Eurythmy Spring Valley professional eurythmy training. Some exciting projects included a Mozart string quartet performance with A Far Cry in the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, a large-scale tour for Waldorf schools in Taiwan and China, and dramatic collaborations with actors, both as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and as Lucifer in Rudolf Steiner’s Four Mystery Dramas.

We also have some updates on the future Wesleyan generation. Kara Schnoes and Jeremy Brown ’08 were surprised and delighted by their newly adopted kiddo, Asher, who arrived on Thanksgiving Day. They are enjoying life in Eugene, Ore. Sarah Sluis welcomed a son, Arthur Howard Gross, last February. His first year has gone by faster than the freshman year of Wes. The Sluis family moved from Prospect Heights to Park Slope, where Sarah occasionally runs into other Wesleyan grads, including her tennis partner, Rashida Richardson ’08. Sarah works as a journalist, writing about digital media and ad tech for AdExchanger.

Megan Harrington | wesleyan007@gmail.com

Victoria Belyavsky Pinsky | victoriapinsky@gmail.com

Class of 2008 Scholarship
Celia Hurvitt ’22, Blue Hill, ME

The Class of 2008 has been taking the world by storm a mere 10 years after graduation! Jeffrey Stein is working as a public defender in D.C. While at Wes, he swam and, until this year, held two school records in the 200- and 400-freestyle relays. He has since replaced swimming with distance running. In November, he won the Marine Corps Marathon and was featured in NBC News and the Washington Post!

Kat Cho is publishing her first young adult novel, Wicked Fox, this year with Penguin Random House. It is based on her Korean heritage and draws from the myth of the gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who can become a woman to lure in men and eat their livers in order to live forever.

Bex Allen writes, “After 10 years in sweet home Chicago, I picked up and moved to Seattle, where I now work in corporate and foundation relations for UW Medicine.”

Lauren Goldman spent New Year’s Day in London with Caroline Janin and her dog, Josephine.

Jinny Jang married her partner, Scot Knickerbocker, in a small Washington, D.C., courthouse ceremony in October. Kate Letourneau and Andy Lubershane ’06 welcomed daughter Eve Shayna Letourneau in December. Eve has fat cheeks and a good attitude.

Sam and Sage Ruth decided to throw away their carefree DINK [double income, no kids] life, and welcomed their son Maxwell “Max” Alexander in November. Learning the fight song is next on his list of major developmental milestones.

Elissa Kozlov writes, “I accepted a faculty position at Rutgers University (jointly appointed to the School of Public Health and the Institute for Health, Health Policy and Aging Research). My family and I are planning to move to northern New Jersey in May. Any Wesleyan folk living in the Jersey ’burbs?”

Lyz Nardo Levy’s daughter, Mila, arrived on Dec. 5, weighing in at a whopping eight pounds, 12 ounces! Lyz and her husband, Dor, are very tired, but over the moon! Lyz writes, “She really is a laid-back baby. Tipsy Scoop continues to grow and we plan to open our second liquor-infused ice cream ‘barlour’ in Brooklyn this spring!”

Alicia Collen Zeidan | acollen@wesleyan.edu

Hi, Class of 2009! Notes from your classmates are as follows: Last May, Matt Connolly received his PhD in film studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is now an assistant professor of film studies in the department of English at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Joe Newman left Ubisoft to start as a technology transactions associate at Fenwick & West, staying in San Francisco, focusing on privacy matters, especially as they affect the video game industry.

Kennedy Odede ’12 and Jessica Posner welcomed baby Oscar Garvey Odede in August! Jessica is the CEO of international nonprofit, Girl Effect.

After working at Sotheby’s auction house for more than five years, Michelle Brown has joined Pentagram, a leading graphic design firm based in NYC, where she works as a project manager specializing in print publications, exhibition design, and environmental graphics.

Graham Immerman’s company, MachineMetrics, a startup leading the effort to bring AI and analytics to manufacturing, has raised $11.3 million in Series A financing. Graham is head of marketing and one of six on the executive team. Learn more at machinemetrics.org.

Dominic Ireland Halliday writes, “Wesleyan wound up turning me into a permanent resident of Connecticut. My wife and I bought a house in Norwalk, allowing us to participate fully in the hallowed state pastimes of grumbling about traffic and taxes. If this kind of thing keeps up, I’m likely to be in the nutmeg import/export business by the 20-year Reunion. Can’t believe that the 10-year is right around the corner—I’m looking forward to attending and hope to see many old classmates on Foss Hill. Going to throw some MGMT bootlegs into the mix as I work in the backyard today. Not much chance of hitting up Mamoun’s food truck after, unfortunately.”

After eight years of working at Lyon-Martin Health Services as trans health manager, J.M. Jaffe created Trans Health Consulting, LLC, a consulting agency.

Thom Sisson and Nina Gonzalez created Mobile Suit Breakdown, a weekly podcast about Japanese sci-fi mega-franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam. Each episode they watch, analyze, and review the iconic anime in the order it was made—researching its influences, examining its themes, and discussing how each piece of the Gundam canon fits within the changing context in Japan and the world, from 1979 to today. Find it at gundampodcast.com.

Jena Gordon and Pearce Talbot were married on Oct. 6 in a beautiful ceremony in Boston. They danced the night away with Andrea Giuliano, Michela Stager Black, Andrew Black, Caitlyn McCann Wong, Eugene Wong, Chris Mixon, Steve Rebh, Rachel Lurie Melikan, Heather Flemming, Kim Lam ’08, Mike Lubrano, Anthony Marsella, Vinny Colangelo, Allan Collins ’08, and Malcolm Hill ’08.

Shane Heckstall writes, “Sup? I started my own business and I’m getting married. Peace.”

Finally, Evan Coleman got married in July 2017 to his longtime girlfriend and got a new job as attorney advisor for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in Worcester.

Thanks for all your contributions. Get excited for our Reunion in May!

Alejandro Alvarado | ale.alvarado12@gmail.com

Greetings, Class of 2010! Just a few updates this time around from our friends worldwide.

Rachel Shopper is now pursuing a master’s in clinical mental health counseling at Western Carolina University.

David Baranger completed a PhD in neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis, and is a postdoctoral scholar working in psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is engaged to Tayler Sheahan and will be married in March in Chicagoland. Miles Krieger is a groomsman.

Jessie Schiewe “gave birth to a website in September . . . called OK Whatever (okwhatever.org), it’s an online publication dedicated to weird news and strange stories. Journalism shouldn’t be boring. Read weirder.”

Peter Hull is engaged to Alexandre Staples, and the couple has plans to marry next year! This summer they moved from Boston to Chicago, where Peter is an assistant professor in the University of Chicago’s economics department.

Elizabeth Plantan has had an eventful year: “My husband and I welcomed our first child—a daughter—in June and I finished my PhD in government at Cornell University in August. I am now a postdoctoral fellow at the Ash Center at Harvard Kennedy School from 2018-2020.” Elizabeth looks forward to our upcoming 10-year Reunion in 2020 (gasp!).

That’s all for this issue! Here’s hoping everyone is well and as always, feel free to pass along your life updates anytime. Thank you to everyone for contributing!

David Layne | dlayne@wesleyan.edu

Hi, Class of 2011. Always great to hear everyone’s updates!

Nick Luby, who double majored in music and philosophy, writes, “Over the last two years I founded and now codirect The Concert Truck, a mobile concert hall that delivers performances of classical music to diverse and unexpected locations. My partner and I have brought music to schools, parking lots, street corners, city squares, restaurants and bars, parks, zoos, homeless shelters, children’s homes, farmers markets, and scenic landscapes.

• Voice of America / NewsGram video 1
• Voice of America story and video 2

From Cheryl Tan, “Not broke, still in Singapore! Learning more about money, starting to work with an Australian agent, shortlisted for the Women of the Future Award (SEA). Won Best Libretto at a short musical festival in KL. The story was about sperms! Have visa in SG (whew). Web series, Derek, is out on Toggle.sg this Valentine’s Day and currently rehearsing a new play about humanitarian workers. It’s intense and really good. Also have regular singing students now and doing grant writing work. Thinking about getting more acting training, maybe in Europe.”

Bulaong Ramiz is a director of the multicultural resource center at Amherst College. She had her first baby this past August, Kimaya, who has already spent some time visiting mama’s alma mater.

Brendan “Shem” Sheehan was in Chicago for the annual Russian baths meetup where he tubbed, sauna’d, and kvassed it up with Charlie Lang, Matt Katz, and Justin Spring ’10.

Kim Prosise is living in Cambridge, Mass., near Davis Square. In 2018 she founded an entertainment company that provides circus and specialty performance art (@goldarrowllc), explored Costa Rica, Nebraska, and Bermuda, and made frequent trips to NYC to visit Gabriel Urbina ’13, Zach Valenti ’12, Ariella Axelbank ’14, and friends.

Timur Khanachet is a fellow at the American Film Institute and will be graduating in 2020.

Mat Larkin writes, “I majored in studio art, and I own a highest-end metal shop in Providence, R.I., called Nine and Two Thirds, specializing in fine art fabrication, architectural metalwork for homes, restaurants, and offices, and custom furniture. We were awarded the DESIGNXRI Design Catalyst Grant to purchase a large CNC milling machine, which is very exciting. We typically work with architects, interior designers, and our own design and engineering acumen to engineer and fabricate custom, large-scale pieces. We have two ongoing public art projects that will be seen on Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway this May, as well as myriad residential and commercial projects.”

McKinley Tennant is living in Bali and working and teaching yoga at a women’s retreat called Goddess Retreats in Semiyak. She is very happy to call this place home. She writes, “My partner opened up a matcha cafe and we have a Bali dog, Maya, who is the sweetest.”

Thanks to all those who contributed! Look forward to hearing continued contributions from our class in the next cycle.

Allie Southam | asoutham@wesleyan.edu

Happy 2019 to the Class of 2012! Last year was an exciting one for many of our Hilltop friends.

Lizzie Simon is in her second year of study toward becoming a family nurse practitioner. She can usually be found playing Ultimate or doing acroyoga, thanks to Wesleyan. She is grateful to be enjoying Seattle with Jennelle Taylor ’15 and Bryce Fintel ’16.

Alyssa Lanz, in LA, a television literary agent at United Talent Agency where she has been since graduation, was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30.

Andrew Dominguez has been shuttling between LA and his hometown in the Philippines for the better part of two years. In LA, he is involved with the local alumni community and helps them support Wesleyan and NESCAC events in the city. In Manila, he organized a gathering for alumni of small liberal arts colleges; there were 20 attendees, half of whom hailed from Wesleyan, with a trio from Williams, and individuals from other peer schools. There is enthusiasm for similar events in the future. Andrew is aiming to build a network of support in LA for Raghu Appasani’s MINDS Foundation. Andrew is active in the alumni filmmaking community in LA, too.

Tess Minter graduated with her MBA from the University of San Francisco in May and started a job with Gartner as a management consultant in state and local government with a focus on homelessness response departments. Tess and her partner bought a condo in Oakland and are expecting to get engaged in the next few months.

Along to more wedding bell news: Hillary Biggs and Grant Covington were married in September, and their wedding had lots from the Wes crowd!

As for me, I am still at Bridgewater Associates and am planning my own wedding for May. Wishing the entire Class of 2012 continued success.

Daisey Perez | deperez@wesleyan.edu

Randy Linder writes: “After getting YTT [200-hour yoga teacher training certification] certified in Rishikesh, India, I traveled for eight months all around India and Southeast Asia. I returned to Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth at the UCSC site to teach my favorite course, Paradoxes and Infinites. After that, I joined Facebook as a data scientist. I can’t wait to see all of you this summer at Reunion.”

Amy Lindland reports: “I’ll hit my five-year anniversary with Indeed.com in June and am a director of sales on our national franchise accounts team. I am also getting married in September. So much to look forward to this year!”

Leah Khambata graduated from Cornell University with an MBA in May and is now in the post-production phase of her short film, (t)here, which she wrote, produced, and acted in while in NYC. She is in LA now working at

ShortsTV while also acting, with hopes to eventually have her own production company that bridges the gap between Hollywood and Bollywood.

Leslie Lai is finishing up her PhD. in psychology at Brown University this spring. Meanwhile, she and her husband are expecting their first child!

Remi Ojurongbe is graduating from Harvard Law School in May and Alexander Mehner is graduating from American Law School in May, too. They are getting married (to each other) in November. Mazel tov!

Andrew Cohen launched a small animation company, Confidential Cartoons, in Los Angeles, alongside his work as a publicist for composers, cinematographers, and production designers in TV and film.

Russell Madison has been applying his analytical skills as a data scientist for Foundation Medicine in Cambridge but will be moving to San Diego this summer to pursue his lifelong dream of having unfettered access to fish tacos and learning to surf. He eagerly anticipates telling people in his new home that if the weather isn’t nice, they just need to wait five minutes.

Alex Nunez has been working for EA Games in NYC, maximizing brand value by slinging partnership deals and playing FIFA at his desk.

After stints in banking in Cleveland and Denver, Troy Sampson migrated west to Los Angeles, where he’s been running the West Coast operations of a customs broker and supply chain shop. He “singlehandedly keeps Bottega Louie in business.”

Dylan Keegan will graduate in May from Vanderbilt with a JD and master’s in finance. He will join the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as an associate after graduation, where the demands of being a corporate lawyer will be challenged by his commitment as the commissioner of one of the “most active fantasy football leagues in North America.”

Patrick Newman is working at Mosaic Media Group in Los Angeles, representing and managing talent.

After working at IBM Watson alongside faithful henchman and close friend, Blair Corbin ’15, Chase Hochman left for greener pastures at Hoboken-based AI startup Innoplexus. When he’s not slinging SaaS or playing squash with Alex Nunez, he “spends his days debating which CAVA server gives the most generous portion sizes with roommate Jackson Ulrich.”

As for me, I am in my second year of law school at Fordham University School of Law (still reppin’ the red and black everywhere I go). I am hoping to become a litigator in the area of white collar/securities.

See you all in May. Let’s make our five-year a good one!

Mary Diaz | mcdiaz@wesleyan.edu 

Peter George has been living in Sydney, Australia, for the past two years and can confirm people do not ride kangaroos to work.

Jimmy Nguyen and Marianna Ilagan moved back to San Francisco last August. They are happy to have finally escaped the snow. Marianna regularly grabs lunch with Marie Valdez and coffee with Erik Islo.

Last summer, Scarlett Perry made a career switch and attended Flatiron School’s software engineering immersive program. She will be starting her first role as a software engineer at an NYC AdTech company in January. She looks forward to connecting with other Wes grads in the field!

Sarah Gerton’s second young adult novel under the pen name Sara Holland, Evermore (the sequel to last year’s Everless), was released on Dec. 31 and appeared at number eight on the New York Times bestsellers list.

Andrew Hove has been in Los Angeles working in music as an artist manager and with a music/tech company. On his down time, he’s either seeing local music or helping Brett Keating get a date with Demi Lovato.

Eva Frieden is enjoying life in San Francisco where she works at Airbnb and trains for triathlons in her spare time; outside of that she keeps busy either getting together with local Wes alumni or convincing far away Wes friends to come visit!

Jon Coombs and Dana Louie live together in Boston. They plan to move across the Charles River to Cambridge when Dana starts at Harvard Business School later this year.

John Pacheco and Tawni Stoop will be getting married this May! She’s on her second year of a clinical psychology PhD program at Penn State University in State College, Pa., and he’s in his first year of medical school at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton, Pa. They’re working hard, living apart when they have to, and still missing their classmates and fun times at Wes every day.

Rebecca Wyzan lives in Brooklyn. She works in talent management at Untitled Entertainment, which represents actors, writers, musicians, artists, and directors. She also produces film and VR projects on the side.

Ming Zhu has been working at San Mateo, Calif.-based Crop One Holdings, Inc.—one of the world’s largest vertical farming companies in the world—and will be moving to Dubai. He’ll be there representing his U.S. parent company as their regional development manager, working with Emirates Airlines with whom they are building the world’s largest vertical farm. Ming would love to connect with any alumni there. If anyone knows any interesting endeavors (both companies and investors) in areas such as sustainability, indoor farming, vertical farming, digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data and sensor application in food/ag, please let him know and he’d love to learn more about them and explore together.

Scattered all over the world since graduation, the 146 Cross Street crew, Adin Vaewsorn, Dylan Awalt-Conley, Matt Burgunder, Dat Tien Vu, Erin Chase, Pierre Gerard ’16, and Michael Leung managed to navigate through time zone differences and reunited over video during Christmas.

Jenna Starr | jstarr@wesleyan.edu

Micaela Kaye was chosen by the Knowles Teacher Initiative as a member of its 2018 Cohort of Teaching Fellows. The Knowles Teaching Fellowship is an intensive and cohesive five-year program that supports early-career, high school mathematics and science teachers in their efforts to develop teaching expertise and lead from the classroom.

Ellen Paik left her job in investment banking and joined New Story, a San Francisco nonprofit that aims to pioneer solutions to address global homelessness. New Story helped develop a 3D printer that can print homes in less than 24 hours and will hopefully be putting this technology to use soon!

Tim Israel lives in Portland, Ore., and started exploring a newfound passion for karaoke. Reach out to Tim with any great go-to karaoke songs.

Chris “Gla” Glabicky is alive and well. Gla is working with Pierre Plantevin, Dara Mysliwiec, Theodore Eugene Sullivan, G. Foley, and Nicole Roman-Johnston on another full-length album. Stay in touch through pdgworld.net.

Abby Gruppuso is opening a liquor distillery in Patchogue, N.Y., The Better Man Distilling Co., with Peter Cornillie ’15. Doors open this summer!

Mike Greenwald is starting another year at the Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn., teaching math (calculus and algebra) and coaching lacrosse and basketball, and is planning to attend a graduate program at the Bread Loaf School of English up at Middlebury this summer. Mike is still running marathons and did a trail running vacation to New Zealand. Mike’s next big race will be the Burlington Vermont City Marathon in May, and the weekend after that he will be running the Covered Bridges Half Marathon with Liz Weinstein, Jordan Sapnar, and Greg Goldstone.

Tabitha Gillombardo is in Cleveland and totally stoked about the Browns. She is the John Lewis Fellow and paralegal at The Chandra Law Firm—a civil rights and constitutional rights law firm. She is learning every day from the firm’s high-stakes litigators, who—with co-counsel—secured the largest settlement in Cleveland history on behalf of Tamir Rice’s family.

Ellen Paik | epaik@wesleyan.edu

Parents Class of 2018 Wesleyan Scholarship
Caroline Pitton ’22, Seattle, WA
Owen Shin ’22, New Canaan, CT

Hello, Class of 2018! How has it already been eight months since graduation?! I don’t know about you, but I would kill for a pail right about now. Anyway, time for some updates!

Steven Kidder is in New Hampshire working with the ACLU. He will be working on their 2020 campaign focused around the idea of getting people to vote like their civil rights depend on it. One goal is getting presidential hopefuls and local politicians to address where they stand on civil liberties.

Meanwhile, in D.C., Matt Renetzky and Hannah Skopicki are finishing their first year of law school at the American University Washington College of Law. When the government is not shut down, they enjoy visiting the National Mall, watching Supreme Court arguments, and “learning how to get away with murder.”

Steven Chen works for Smitten Ice Cream in San Francisco as the innovation and new product manager. Smitten is a Californian ice cream brand known for churning fresh ice cream using their patented Brrr machines. He manages ingredient sourcing, supply chain, and new product launches for eight locations. He works with local farms, family-owned businesses, and craft food purveyors to find exceptional and ethically-sourced new ingredients to feature and amazing stories to tell when new products launch.

That’s it for now, but make sure to write in next time for a feature!

Najwa Anasse | nanasse@wesleyan.edu
Garett Larivee | glarivee@wesleyan.edu

Joel D. Finegan ’54 passed away on Sept. 11, 2018. A full obituary can be found here.

Kenneth E. Schomaker ’57 passed away on March 1, 2019. A full obituary can be found here.