The Classes

David Orsini ’66 AM, ’75 PhD has new editions of his favorably-reviewed novels The Woman Who Loved Too Well and The Ghost Lovers available online and in bookstores.

W. Curt LaFrance Jr. ’06 MPH was promoted to professor of psychiatry and neurology at Brown. He currently is conducting a DOD multi-site grant studying neuroimaging biomarkers for seizures and traumatic brain injury in veterans and civilians. He is the director of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology at Rhode Island Hospital and the clinical lead for the VA National Telemental Health Center Tele-Seizures clinic, where he treats veterans with seizures around the country from the Providence VA Medical Center. His second and third books, Taking Control of Your Seizures: Workbook and Therapist Guide, from Oxford University Press, were recently translated into French and published by Presses Universitaires Francois-Rabelais 2018. His fourth book was published in 2018, Gates and Rowan’s Nonepileptic Seizures, 4th Edition, by Cambridge University Press.

Paul Tran ’14 was announced as a 2018 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship winner by the Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine. Tran is the first Asian American since 1993 to win the Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam and has placed in the Top 10 at the Individual World Poetry Slam. Tran’s work appears in the New Yorker, in the anthology Inheriting the War, and in the film Love Beats Rhymes.

Vanessa Merker married John Swoboda on Sept. 16, 2018, at the Charles River Museum in Waltham, Mass. Maid of honor Emilie Aries ’09 and guests Rakesh Patel ’09, Christie Ciarlo ’09, and Micah Lapping-Carr ’09 lived with the bride on the second floor of Woolley during their freshman year. Also in attendance was Leiszle Ziemba Lapping-Carr ’09.

Josh Cohen and his wife Jamie announce the Aug. 9 birth of their first son, Landon Reid (future class of ’40 obviously), weighing 5 lbs. 7 oz., happy and healthy.

Edissa Nicolas-Huntsman’s essay FIERCE: Essays by and about Dauntless Women was published by Nauset Press on Nov. 30.

Dylan Brown and E. Alexandra Athos Brown announce the June 27 birth of their son Preston Tyler Brown. They live in San Francisco, where Dylan is a partner at the law firm Goodwin Procter LLP and Alexandra is an academic neurologist at UCSF.

Mark and Jen Russo Dembitz are enjoying living in Singapore after 8.5 years. Mark helps run a small data protection technology firm and Jen manages a travel and lifestyle public relations company. After getting married in December 2012, they welcomed son Julian in 2014 and daughter Elyse in 2016. They write: “Life is busy, kids are growing (too fast), but we are happy and very much engaged in our professional and social lives. We are active in the Brown community, which keeps us close to College Hill emotionally, but miss our US-based friends and the opportunity to return more frequently to Brown."

Amit Trehan and his wife Sara (Yale ’06) announce the birth of their son, Deven Lalit Trehan. Amit and Sara were married at the Pierre in New York in 2015. In attendance were Tejas Raval ’04 MD; Marie Sankaran Raval ’04 MD; Abby Pungot ’02; Nina Desai ’05 MD; groomsman Puneet Masson ’01, Juli Smith ’92 and Alan Kaplan ’80. Amit is the lead U.S. restructuring lawyer and the global head of resolution planning and bank structure for Barclays.

Courtney Overland Graff announced the Jan. 21, 2018, birth of her second child, Robert. Courtney is practicing law in Los Angeles and writes that her chef husband purchased a Cuban restaurant in Culver City, Calif. “For anyone in the area, come dine at El Rincon.”

Quincy T. Bernstine married Rick Hall, CNN senior photojournalist, on Sept. 29 in Brooklyn, N.Y. In attendance were Quincy’s brother Justin Bernstine ’99, Rachel Dawson, Chisun Lee, and Matt Holford.

Patrick W. Hickey is a colonel in the U.S. Army and in June became the chair of the department of pediatrics at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda.
 

November saw Tracee Ellis Ross ’94 on the cover of InStyle Magazine’s “Best Dressed” issue and moderating an “intimate discussion” at the LA Forum with former First Lady Michelle Obama. The event was a stop on the book tour for Obama’s recently published autobiography, Becoming.  

Anne Rouse Sudduth moved to the Boston area with her husband and two teenage daughters. She does environmental sustainability consulting with K-12 schools.

Kathleen Lynch McCabe lives in northern New Jersey with her husband and two children. Kate writes: “I have the honor of serving the students, teachers, and families of Jersey City in my capacity as the principal of Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School. McNair Academic recently won the honor of being ranked the #1 school in the state. (We also had a prom on the TODAY show in May—don’t know if anyone saw that? QuestLove was the DJ. So much fun!) If anyone is interested in getting in touch to compare notes about what works and what doesn’t in school leadership, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at ktlmccabe@optonline.net. Looking forward to hearing from you.”

Kelly K. McCann married Daniel Goodrich on May 12. They live in Costa Mesa, Calif., with his daughter. Kelly writes she has a flourishing functional medicine practice and lectures to colleagues at national and international conferences.
 

The National Law Journal named Burns & Levinson partners Scott Moskol ’89 and Frank A. Segall “Cannabis Trailblazers” for creating one of the first national cannabis practice groups in Boston helping clients dealing with all aspect of the industry, including regulatory matters, raising capital, launching operations, and exit strategies.

Michael Natkin joined Glowforge as vice president of software engineering, where he will lead a team building the world’s friendliest 3D laser printer.

Michael Halloran was named to the 2017 Top 100 in Business by Irish America magazine. He is part of the leadership team at Six Trees Capital LLC, which both invests in and operates FinTech businesses. He frequently writes and speaks about startups in financial services. He and his wife, Denise, have three children and live outside San Francisco.
     

Sean E. Spillane and Steve Intihar won the member/guest golf tournament at Foxboro Country Club in July. Sean writes: “Steve still has that Jack Nicklaus-like putting stroke.”

Gordon M. Sayre teaching at the University of Oregon, where Brook Muller ’87 and Phil Scher ’87 are also on the faculty. Gordon’s son Joshua is a sophomore at Cornell Univ. and his daughter, Hannah is a junior at South Eugene High School.

Dana Su Lee is the proud parent of Graham Lee ’22. She writes: “He’s been quite patient fielding my questions about classes, campus life, and the like.”

Benjamin Filene writes: “Having spent the last dozen years teaching history/museum studies at UNC Greensboro, I’ve taken a position as chief curator at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. I’m excited to be working in a museum again. Meanwhile, our nest has emptied, with one daughter a sophomore at Lawrence University in Appleton—hanging out with Dave Kuplic’s family—and the other having graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and moved to Denver, where she’s been warmly welcomed by Judy Altenberg’s family. From January-May 2019, my wife and I will be headed to Finland on Fulbright fellowships. I’ll be in Helsinki working with the City Museum and would love to connect with any Brunonians coming that way.”

Wendy Shattuck’s father, Merrill B. Shattuck ’48, passed away on Sept. 24. (see Obits).

Sharon Saline’s first book, What your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life, was published in August by Tarcher Perigee, a division of Penguin Random House. Sharon has been busy continuing to see clients, promoting the book in podcasts and interviews, and offering book talks and workshops. View her work and connect with her at drsharonsaline.com.

Robert K. Cunningham and Barbara Shinn-Cunningham ’86 moved to Pittsburgh where Barbara will lead Carnegie Mellon Univ.’s new neuroscience institute.

Jeffrey Bloom trumpeted “Ever True to Brown” every time Brown football scored against Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Sept. 14. He writes: “Unfortunately Cal Poly prevailed 44-15.”

Susan Greenfield’s book Sacred Shelter: Thirteen Journeys of Homelessness and Healing was published by Fordham Univ. Press on December 4. It follows the lives of thirteen formerly homeless people and is written based on extensive oral-history interviews.
 

Edward Dimendberg, professor of Humanities and European Languages and Studies at the UC Irvine, received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the Getty Research Institute. He is in residence at the Getty during the 2018-19 academic year, where he is researching and writing his next book, The Los Angeles Project: Architectural and Urban Theories of the City of Exception and completing a critical edition of the 1935 book on the city by German geographer Anton Wagner.

Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld ’82 was installed as the first female President of Hebrew College on Oct. 15. She spent 15 years working as a Hillel rabbi at Tufts, Yale, and Harvard, before joining Hebrew College in 2003. She has been named one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by The Jerusalem Post and additionally named to Newsweek’s list of Top 50 Influential Rabbis in America.  

Merrilea J. Mayo continues her consulting practice writing qualitative and quantitative reports for nonprofit startup and philanthropic clients. Her latest passion is skills-based hiring, the practice of skipping the resume and pedigree, and hiring solely on the basis of measurable skills. She writes: “Conceptualizing then implementing the systems to make this happen has been unadulterated joy in the use of Brown engineering skills for greater equity and social good (not to mention enough profitability for the systems to more than sustain themselves). It’s been a fantastic ride.”

Yvonne Goldsberry is serving on the Pembroke Center Associates Council.

Lena U. Crandall is serving as a trustee on the Town and Village Board of Scarsdale, N.Y.

Jennifer G. Cooperman is the chief financial officer for the City of Portland, Ore. She is responsible for advising the City Council on the city’s long-term financial health and managing the delivery of centralized accounting, debt, grants, procurement, revenue, risk, and treasury services to city bureaus. “Public service is greatly rewarding.”

Cindy W. Chock continues to enjoy her second career as the clinical analytics manager at Santa Clara County’s hospital and clinics. She writes: “I’m thrilled to bring my data-driven engineering background to advancing evidence-based medicine. Hats off to all the Brown alumni who inspired me to bring the change we want to see in the world.”

Naeem Zafar and Glenn Adler finally found each other in Silicon Valley and joined forces in a new startup (www.telesense.com ) to tackle the problem of stored grain quality monitoring and predictive analytics using IoT (Internet of Things) and AI technologies. They are working together in Sunnyvale, Calif., and welcome collaboration from all classmates who are into AI or AgTech. After raising $6.5 million in funding they have built a team of 20 people and are growing fast. Naeem is still teaching entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley but runs TeleSense full time.

Andrea Murano Campbell has twins—a boy and a girl. She continues to sing on the side.

Steven P. James is living in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife, Maria, and two children in college. He writes: “My last two jobs as CEO of biotechnology companies ended with acquisitions by big pharma. I am currently CEO of Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, an immune-oncology drug discovery company developing a new generation of potential cancer cures. I enjoy occasional ski trips with Jim Diao and Dave Ricci. Being on the board of trustees of a private boarding school in Rhode Island brings me back to Providence at least once a year, which I enjoy.”
 

Donald C. Eversley writes: The Black Alumni Reunion was the best Brown event by far I’ve ever attended. I’m happy to be working in both healthcare and economic development in South Bronx, where I see Lewis Spann ’81 every day.”

Teri Williams Cohee ’79, president of OneUnited Bank, the largest black-owned bank in the county, was awarded the Black Owned Media Alliance Champion of the Year award for her commitment to go above and beyond the call to support and advocate for equality in the media and support for the South Florida Black community.

Stephen Ziobrowski and his wife Anne moved to Providence. He writes: “Our younger daughter Hannah is a PhD candidate at Brown’s School of Public Health, so this was a chance to live close to her and her dog. We have already connected with some Brown friends in Providence, including Stephen Yan ’80 and his sister Donna Yan. If there are other Brown friends lurking in the Providence area, I would be delighted to hear from them.”

Earl D. Varney retired in 2017 but his plans to travel the world were on hold for the first year due to health issues. He writes: “My wife’s cancer is now at bay and I’m on blood thinners, so in 2019 we’ll see some world travel for sure.”

Susan Squires received her acting diploma in May 2018 from the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Georgetown, one week before her youngest son graduated college. Susan writes: “I waited a long time to return to my first love. It would be great to connect with fellow alums in the arts anywhere, but particularly in the D.C. area.”

Elizabeth R. Neblett finished the third edition of English in Action, a four-level series for adults studying ESL. She and her writing partner expect to be doing workshops around the country. Presently they are booked for Seattle, Milwaukee, New York City, and Naples, Fla. She writes that she is still teaching ESL full-time and baking whenever she has time off.

Amy Printz Winterfeld continues to enjoy her non-traditional law career in public health policy. At the local public health agency where she works, they received a 2018 National Advocate of the Year award from the National Association of City and County Health Officials.

Michael G. Dyer writes: “I’ve been very happily retired for some time, the two boys are well out of the house and Sarah, after 40 years, still tolerates me. My life is just busy enough with travel, recreation, house husbandry, photography, unpaid work, and family time. If you’re ever on Boston’s North Shore, look me up.”

George P. Caraberis writes: “With our daughter Jennifer Caraberis ’08 living in South Boston and our son Brant and his family living in Natick, Massachusetts, Janice and I are regular visitors to Camp Bruno for football and lacrosse. We often tailgate with Joan and Mike Bernert ’76 and Fred and Lori Goldstein Polacek ’80.”

Nancy Siwoff Gilston and her husband Bruce write that they are having a wonderful time watching their family grow. Their two sons and their wives have each welcomed a son; Hank was born on Mar. 18 in Nashville and Hudson was born on Apr. 21 in New York.

Susan L. Einbinder is still teaching at UConn but will be visiting faculty at Brown this spring semester. Her new book, After the Black Death, was published in June by the University of Pennsylvania.

Craig K. Civic married Beatriz Elena Mujica on Sept. 22 at Brenton Point in Newport, R.I. Judge Colleen Hastings performed the ceremony and Liz Lussier, a development associate in the division of advancement at Brown, was their photographer. Craig writes: “Beatriz is from Colombia and we met on Match.com in 2007. It was Beatriz’s second marriage and my first. We had a pre-honeymoon last fall with three weeks in Monterey, California, and Maui, Hawaii.”
 

Thomas C. Albertson is living in Redding, Conn., with his wife, Cathey, to whom he has been married 34 years. They have three grown children. Their oldest son is in the Army, a daughter lives in New Zealand, and the youngest son works for a craft brewery in New York City. Thomas worked for 25 years on Wall Street as an institutional equity sales trader and lived in New Canaan, Conn., where he also ran the youth lacrosse program for 15 years. He still follows Brown lacrosse. Currently he is working with Jim Love ’78 at a subsidiary of CVS which bought the company last year.

Jeffrey N. Young was elected to the national board of the National Employment Lawyers Assoc. Jeff and his wife, Betsy Mahoney (Wesleyan ’77) live on the coast of Maine.

Alan Winson married Julie Cullison on Sept. 29 in Kensington, Calif. Clifford Bergman and Marilyn Vaughan were present.

Mark Weston has written a graphic novel for children, Finding the Speed of Light: The 1676 Discovery that Dazzled the World, which tells the story of how a young Danish astronomer figured out the speed of light with nothing more than a telescope and a clock. It will be published in March by Tilbury House and distributed by W.W. Norton. Astrophysicist Robert Pfaff  read an early draft.

Anne Winter West was appointed to the Maryland State Arts Council, is a board director for Enoch Pratt Free Library and Baltimore Outreach Services and is a member of Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle. Her husband, Christopher, is a Maryland state delegate; and her son, Christopher, is an EMT and junior at Towson Univ.

Stephen M. Upham ’78 MD retired in December 2017 and is now seeing patients two days a week at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center in New Haven, Conn.

Josef Machac writes: “I am in my third year of retirement and enjoying family, friends, and travel. I’m staying in shape with Tai Chi, dancing, gardening, reading, writing, and lecturing. I volunteer once a week as a primary care physician at a clinic for the uninsured. In short, enjoying a good life.”

Marcia Spindel Lentz is a psychologist for the State of Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals and is looking forward to retiring in May. She writes: “I’m feeling very well, 11 years post cancer. I’m single again. My best achievement is my two sons: Josh, an architect in Boston, and Aaron, a doctor of physical therapy working in Manhattan.”

David E. Cohen celebrated 25 years together with Alan Tetreault, seven married, and their last child is getting married in March.

Crawford Bunkley announces the Sept. 1, 2018, release of The Twisted Crown, a new historical novel by his wife, Anita Bunkley. The Twisted Crown is the third work of historical fiction by Anita published by their company, Rinard Publishing (Cypress, Texas). The other titles are A Thousand Steps and Emily, The Yellow Rose.

Lynne Brodsky continues to work as a primary care physician. She writes: “My husband died shortly before the 2016 election. Since then I have become very active in my local temple, as well as in politics. I have moved away from partisan activity to promoting voter awareness and civil dialog through the League of Women Voters. I also am working on increasing awareness of racial justice issues among members of our white community.”

Susan Bregman announces the publication of her book, New England Neon. With dozens of original photos and informative text, the book takes an affectionate look at the region’s neon legacy from the shores of Lake Champlain to the tip of Cape Cod. The book includes some Providence signs familiar to fellow alums, including the Avon Cinema—still open on Thayer Street—and the old Shepard’s department store downtown. New England Neon is available wherever books are sold. For a signed copy, you can order the book directly from Susan at her website www.rednickel.com.

Lewisburg Mayor John Manchester ’74 was named a Distinguished Mountaineer by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice for his efforts leading Lewisburg forward for the past 15 years. During his tenure as mayor, Lewisburg was named Coolest Small Town in America in 2011 by Budget Travel, America’s Favorite and Happiest Mountain Town in 2014 by Travel + Leisure, and one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

Paul Zimmering ’79 MD retired from orthopaedic surgery in December 2017 after more than 33 years practicing. Paul writes: “My wife, Betsey, and I spend the summer at our home in Connecticut and winter at our home in Florida. We welcomed our first two grandchildren into the world during the past year. We are enjoying retirement and our ever expanding family.”
 

Bob Watt and Scott Harris won the Senior Member-Guest Open at St. Louis Country Club in October.

Mike Nichols is still in Houston and has retired three times (SYSCO Corp. as General Counsel, Grocer Supply as COO, and Houston Park Board as Interim CEO). He celebrated 42 years of marriage with Marcia Couch (UGA ’74) and has four children and three grandchildren in four different time zones. Life is good spending time with the kids in New York, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and Seattle, plus time on Lake Livingston in Texas. He also enjoys promoting progressive issues as a board member and former chair of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and the American Jewish Committee, where he and Marcia focus on immigration reform. He also volunteered with the City of Houston as a member of the Civil Service Commission and the Long Range Financial Management Task Force. He is still writing but remains unpublished.

Theodore Karwoski retired for a few years then started a new medical device company, Bearpac Medical. He writes: “Back in the fight and life is great.”

Ken Field was granted a Composer in Residence fellowship in October at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. He was music curator for the Celebrity Series of Boston’s “Jazz Along the Charles” event in September, in which 25 jazz ensembles simultaneously performed two sets of Boston-related music along the banks of the Charles River. In March 2019 the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston will present a program of the animation of his late wife Karen Aqua (RISD ’76) with live soundtracks composed, arranged, and performed by Ken with an ensemble of four alto saxophones and drums. He also cocurates the Boiler House Jazz Series at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, Mass.; hosts The New Edge weekly radio program of creative instrumental music on WMBR-FM; and leads his New Orleans-influenced improvisational brass band, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble.

Roscoe Howard was appointed the special compliance coordinator for ZTE Telecommunications of Shenzhen, China, by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Aug. 24. Roscoe is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Barnes & Thornburg, LLP.

Scott Harris reports: “Save the dates for our 45th reunion (and the 50th anniversary of the Open Curriculum) May 24-26. The reunion committee is planning a terrific weekend (including Dean Hazeltine joining us for dinner). Classmates will receive detailed reunion information in March. Our turnout was stellar (20 percent) for the 40th reunion. For more information, contact your class communication officers.”

Bob ’76 MD and Margaret Maier Parker ’77 MD retired from Stony Brook Univ. after 27 years and are planning to move to the eastern shore of Maryland. They will continue with editorial board activities with Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and continue to be active with the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators Network.

Jeffrey L. Purvin writes: “After a long career in business, I’m working full-time with my wife, Francesca, on the University of Fashion website, where she’s handling the fashion end and I’m handling the business end. It’s been a great way for me to learn some new skills and keep my brain sharp in retirement. I’m taking a break from music after rejoining my Brown bandmate, Mark Blumenkranz ’72, ’75 MD, ’76 MMSc and the Fabulous Kangaroos a few years ago in Silicon Valley. I’ve stayed in touch with many of my other Brown classmates, including Mike Byers ’71, Noah Dorsky ’74, Peter Mansfield ’71, Eric Oliner ’72, and Peter Reinke.”
 

Jerome B. Zeldis ’72 ScM is the chief medical officer of Sorrento Therapeutic and president of its TNK division. Prior to that he was the chief medical officer of Celgene Corp and helped create its medical infrastructure. He writes: “To date I have helped develop nine FDA approved drugs and in doing so helped prolong the lives of hundreds of patients with serious medical conditions.”

Timothy J. Thurlow retired in 2014 as senior enforcement attorney with the U.S. EPA and became a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center and the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust.

Alan C. Sparrow announces his retirement in June 2020, at which point he will have been head of school at Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City for 28 years.

Robert B. Shanks writes: “After retiring from Raytheon as vice president of legal international and Washington operations, I managed to flunk retirement. I returned to work as general counsel of the Peace Corps in late 2017. My family is well: Marge is still at the Federal Reserve; daughter Gracie and son-in-law Tim are in Boston; and youngest son Brennan is with a start-up in Los Angeles. Older son Bruce, daughter-in-law Christa, and two grandchildren are in San Diego.”

Alexander T. McMahon returned to New Mexico six years ago. Following 30 years in business, Alexander writes: “I’ve returned to my first vocational love, education, and am teaching business classes at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. At SIPI I also spent two years supporting the Board of Regents, four years as principal investigator of a large NASA grant, and have written grant applications that brought money to SIPI. We live in Placitas, just north of Albuquerque, and our two sons live near where they grew up in California.”

James T. Colby III writes: “Just passed 11 years at VanEck constructing and managing Muni ETFs. With triplet boys now high school seniors, I foresee several more years in the investment universe ahead as the cost of college education seems to rise at a disproportionately higher rate than my annual earnings.”

Wendy C. Wolf’s son, Adam Wolf Axler ’08, married Hannah Copperman ’08 in April. Many Brown graduates attended. Wendy spends four months in Martha’s Vineyard and the rest of the year in Haverford, Pa.

Frederick D.O.D. Giannini writes: “I retired and practice law part-time on the Island of Hawaii. I live in Kealakekua, but not in a little grass shack.”

Patricia L. Gerbarg writes: “Dick and I are reducing our clinical practice hours as our work with Breath Body Mind expands. Collaborating with several nonprofits, BBM programs for trauma recovery are being provided to genocide survivors in Rwanda, refugee children in Bangladesh, and the Boko Haram survivors in Nigeria. No Limit Generation is launching its global educational platform using some of our training videos to teach NGO workers about PTSD and methods to help children refugees recover. For more information contact me through our website breath-body-mind.com.”

Dorothy Laverty Carlson is living on the coast of Maine and has a busy private clinical social work practice. At the end of summer she visited with Merrie Roosa Inderfurth at Merrie’s home in R.I. “Wonderful to reconnect and share Brown memories.”

Leon M. Cammen writes: “My wife, Inge-Lise, and I both retired in 2015 and now live in Edgecomb, Maine. Inge-Lise was a nurse. I began my career as a marine ecologist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine and then moved to Washington to join National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program, serving as national director from 2006 until my retirement. My daughter, Kristina, is an assistant professor at the University of Maine, specializing in marine mammal ecology and genetics. My son, Alex, is an invasive plant specialist with the National Park Service in South Dakota.”
 

Burton F. Boltuch retired as an employment litigator and is now serving as a mediator and arbitrator, while also enjoying traveling.

Susan Cameron Bennett writes: “My main occupation right now is doing Siri presentations and speaker events. I tell the story of the Siri recordings, the voice career business in general, and the effect Siri has had on my life. Contact Wes Stevens for booking info at wstevens@voxuse.net.”

David P. Whitman retired from law practice on Dec. 31. His plan is to write a historical novel set in the Civil War era and explore a number of themes. He writes that he has four grandchildren and was fortunate to be able to hike 95.5 miles along Hadrian’s Wall in England this July with three buddies, and recommends it to fellow classmates.

Sarah Sager writes: “With a daughter in Minneapolis and a son in New York, I welcome the opportunity to meet up with fellow alumni in either place—or at home in Cleveland.”

Mark M. Nunlist ’80 MD is a board member of Vermont Information Technology Leaders and continues his interest in population healthcare. This past summer he completed construction of and launched his Pocketship Puffin boat.

Ann Whipple Marr writes: “Since retiring a few years ago, I’ve been traveling periodically to Haiti, spending time in a number of rural schools outside Jacmel working with teachers and principals on faculty professional development. The experience is both breathtaking and heartbreaking, and nearly every step forward comes with another step back.”

James M.C. Larson is working at St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena Campus in Henderson, Nev.

Douglas F. John writes: “What 70 looks like: married 47 years, semi-retired from law practice, four grandchildren, more travel anticipated (after recovery from surgical repairs of too many sports injuries) and more yearly connections with classmates, including Dale Lee, Sean Mitchell, Eric Olson, and Bobby Rozelle.”

Ronald N. Germain writes: “Much has happened since graduation. After completing my MD/PhD at Harvard Medical School in 1976, I joined the Harvard Medical School faculty, then in 1982 I moved to the NIH. Since then I have led a laboratory devoted to understanding the immune system. My research has been extremely successful, resulting in 400 scholarly papers and election to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), and numerous scientific prizes. Especially satisfying is that the vast majority of the fellows who trained in my laboratory have remained in academia and have had successful careers in science. Science is not the only facet of life I am thankful for. My wife of more than 30 years, Gale, has been an amazing friend, supporter, and mother to our son David, who began doing science projects in first grade. He has recently finished his MD/PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is now a second-year resident. His wife, Mimi, is also an MD/PhD candidate and 20 months ago they added greatly to our family life by welcoming our first grandson, Leo. He is an absolute joy and Gale and I spend as much time as possible visiting him and his parents in St. Louis.”
 

John R. Thelin’s book Going to College in the Sixties was published by Johns Hopkins University  Press in November. It includes a number of Brown episodes and characters throughout the book.

Save the date. The class of 1969’s 50th reunion is just a few months away— May 24-26, 2019. Contact your friends and make plans to return to Providence. Please watch your email for your reunion registration packet, as it will not be sent by mail as in previous years. Dormitory rooms are guaranteed for members of our class who register, but the cost of those rooms has not yet been determined. You can follow the latest updates on class events by joining our Class of 1969 Facebook page, which is open only to members of the class. We will also be updating our class website which is https://sites.google.com/a/brown.edu/brown-class-of-1969. We look forward to seeing you in May.

Ancelin Vogt Wolfe writes: “We are in the throes of downsizing. ‘Throes’ is definitely the right word.”

John M. Wolcott writes: “After six years of retirement (and driving a school bus), a former client called with a project too good to pass up, so I’m back to work. But next time I retire, it’s for real, I promise. Really (I think).”

Jesse Jupiter continues practicing hand and upper extremity care at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jesse is an honorary member of the Argentina Society of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

Karen Witkin Berberian writes: “I love the freedom and flexibility that comes with retirement. I have been taking art classes: watercolor, collage, and drawing. I am about to start a class on embossing.”
 

Joel Bennett retired from law practice and is looking forward to doing more traveling. He writes: “I enjoyed our 50th reunion and thanks again to all who planned and organized it.”

Steve Sumberg was elected to the board of trustees of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for a four-year term in June. The museum is located on the national mall in Washington, D.C.

Joel and Jane Golin Strom attended their grandson’s graduation from Sussex Univ. in Brighton, UK, this past summer. They also visited Antibes, France, and toured Bletchley Park and Chichester in England.
 

David Riedel is still practicing law in Providence with Adler Pollock & Sheehan and still playing the organ in church.

John Hall writes that on the weekend of Sept. 15, five Brown ’67 alumni (part of the Olney House group) assembled on Cape Cod for a weekend of good memories, good food, and good conversation. David Bojar, Ken Brown, Ron Clark, Dan Grocer, and John Hall all missed last year’s 50th reunion, but managed to put together a more personal mini-reunion that was “successful in every way.”

Gregory Fritz retired in January 2018 after 33 years on the Brown medical faculty. He was director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital and Bradley Hospital for most of that time. Gregory writes: “Nine months into retirement still seems like a vacation. When I’m not traveling, I still live in Rhode Island, and hope to see classmates any time they are in the area.”

Drew R. Weinlandt writes: “I am semi-retired, still teaching English at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, and spending time at our condo in Lenox, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. I did a memorable Rhine River cruise. I have been an elder in our Huntington Presbyterian Church doing charitable and community work, which I find quite satisfying.”
 

Hugh Wakefield writes: “On September 30 the University of Maine at Farmington held a celebration of the life for Tom Eastler, who passed away August 30 after teaching there for 41 years. Charles Blood, Ian Haberman, and Hugh Wakefield joined over 500 other friends, colleagues, and former students of ‘Dr. Rock’ to honor our classmate.”

Meryl Smith Raskin has been retired from a long career in IT for 11 years now. She has four grandchildren, three on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. She writes: “After four sons, I am thrilled to have three granddaughters and one grandson so far. Besides enjoying them, I still do a lot of volunteer work for my synagogue and take courses at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Philadelphia. Olivia, 11, and Eli, 9, are the children of our son, Eric ’97 and his wife, Robin.”

Thomas O. Niederer is downsizing from a large house on three acres to a small barn conversion on 196 acres. He and his wife, Wendy, are still active in real estate, forest management, gardening, and tennis.

Charles F. Homeyer and his wife Sara celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their children on an Alaskan cruise. In December their son, Peter, was ordained an Episcopal priest in Grand Rapids. Since May, Charles has been serving a one-year term as president of the resident council of his retirement community.

Ulle Viiroja Holt ’92 AM, ’00 PhD, writes: “This past August I had a first birthday party for my grandson Seneas, who is the latest grandchild to join our family and the first baby for William Holt ’02 and his wife Melissa. His other grandparent is Dennis A. Holt ’65 and his aunt is Denise Holt ’93.

Lila Wolff Wilkinson is developing a consulting business, Performing Your Profession. She writes: “I use theater techniques to train physicians and lawyers in a variety of skills—a systematic approach using embodied learning. Marketing is the hardest part. I have done workshops for lawyers and medical residents and hope to find a forward-thinking medical school to adopt my syllabus, and mid-career docs who need renewal.”

Edward R. Levin celebrated the marriage of his daughter, Emily, with family and friends in Brooklyn in September. David Buskin treated the guests to a rendition of When I Need You Most of All, as he did at Ed’s wedding in 1971. Following the wedding, Ed and his wife, Susan, took a cruise, while David was busy putting finishing touches on his new musical, Victory Train, which will have a reading in New York City in February.

Wendell S. Brown III  ’67 ScM writes: “As my father used to say, ‘I’m still in the harness,’ which for me is a labor of love at UMass Dartmouth. My wife, Leslie, and I take time to visit our new grandson, Preston Tyler, and his parents Dylan ’03 and Alexandra Athos Brown ’03 in San Francisco a couple of times a year. While there we visit my other grandsons, August and Oliver, and their parents, my son Adrian and his wife, Mandy.”

Allen M. Ward Jr. writes that after three years of construction, he and his wife Carol, are finally moving into the duplex the  have been building for themselves.

Diane Jones Sliney writes: “A year and a half ago we left our New Jersey home of 49 years for western Connecticut, where we also have a vacation home with our Manhattan children. This change of venue provides more family time and a return to our New England roots.”

Arnold H. Selengut is happy to announce his grandson, Micah ’22, is the fourth generation to attend Brown. Arnold’s son, Jeremy ’89, was also a Brown graduate, as was his dad, Manuel ’30. Micah’s mother, Jessica Sunshine ’88, ’89 ScM, ’94 PhD, is also a Brown graduate.

David K. Rumsey writes: “Hard to believe it has been 55 years since leaving Brown. I spent three years in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam, was wounded in combat, but remained in the reserves and was reactivated for Desert Storm. I am now retired from a law career and enjoying life with my wife, Michele, and our combined family of eight kids and 17 grandkids. I enjoy traveling and have been to all 30 major league ballparks.”

Jackson W. Robinson writes that he is enjoying reconnecting to Brown through the Library Advisory Council and living close by in Little Compton, R.I., where he has built a carbon neutral home 104 feet above sea level.

David P. Prescott writes: “I am about to mark my ninth year in Santa Fe, after having spent all of my prior life on the East Coast. My wife of seven years, Patricia Cloud, and I continue to travel extensively. This past summer we joined the Brown Travelers Rhine River Cruise, meeting up with Gordon ’54 and Joan Edgley Webster ’58, whom we first got to know on a Brown Travelers Baltic Cruise a few years ago. I keep in touch with my former roommate Lee Berk.”

Robert C. Liotta continues practicing family law with Liotta, Dranitzke & Engel in Washington, D.C. Robert writes: “My wife, Barbara, has attained a level of success as a sculptor with a number of pieces owned by museums and collectors. Of our children, Ben ’07 is a doctor living in San Diego and married to Yeye Zhang ’08, and Joey is working in Barcelona. All is well.”

Eugene V. Blanchard is still practicing law part-time in Plymouth, Mass. In August he married Janice Palmer-Tarbox and moved from Duxbury to Plymouth. The couple is celebrated their nuptials with an extended trip to South Africa.

Raoul N. Smith ’64 AM, ’68 PhD, retired as a volunteer research fellow and editor of the Journal of Icon Studies at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass.

Robert E. Nickerson merged his company Stone Tower Properties into MG Commercial, the area’s second largest commercial brokerage firm.

Lee A. Korhumel has been married for 30 years and has one son and four grandchildren. He retired as senior managing director of Wunderlich Securities in 2014 and continues to operate a small business corporation. He is also president of a family charitable foundation and enjoys creative writing, poetry, and reading.

Michael S. Greenwood and his wife moved to Hiram, Ohio, three years ago to be near their older son’s family. Michael writes: “I have been appointed to the Hiram Village Council for a 3.5-year term—an unlikely follow-up to my 50-plus year career as a tree physiologist.”

Frederick S. Crysler Jr. writes: “I’m finally retired, recently widowed, on dialysis, and  planning to travel some.”

Stephen J. Richman writes: “The dream became a reality when I purchased a Class C motorhome and explored this beautiful country of ours from sea to shining sea. I started before Memorial Day and returned on Labor Day. I’m planning another trip via different route next summer.”

Clyde A. Burkhardt and his wife, Mary, summered in Madison, Conn., and kept busy rowing, clamming, and gardening. They spend winters in Sanibel Island, Fla., cycling and would enjoy visiting with any Brown alums in the area.

James and Carolyn Vose Moreland write: “After 46 years in our home we are moving to Westminster Winter Park, a continuing care retirement community. It is a true challenge to part with two thirds of our stuff with the slides, pictures, and albums being the most time consuming and difficult. We’re hoping to escape the political flyers, robo calls, and junk mail for a few months until they track us down. On the positive side, less dust to clean in the new year.”

Emily Arnold McCully announces her two latest books: She Did It! 21 Women Who Changed the Way We Think, published in November by Hyperion; and Dreaming in Code; Ada Byron Lovelace, Computer Pioneer, to be published in March by Candlewick.

Richard Barker, longtime Narrow River Preservation Association president and Friend of Narrow River, announces the creation of an endowment in his honor. The endowment will be managed by The Rhode Island Foundation and provide yearly grants for the benefit of the Narrow River Watershed.
 

Elkan Abramowitz is still actively practicing law in his firm, Marvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello in New York City. Elkan writes that he is living on Long Island, only ten minutes away from his son, Andy ’92, and daughter-in-law Leslie Stern Abramowitz ’93.

Cheryl Lampe Tennille writes: “To stay abreast of reunion relevance, your co-president attended ’17 and ’18 Alumni Fall Weekends. I found a cheery young staff to coach me and enjoyed easy multi-generational interaction. I even tested some ideas for our next reunion. Personally, I freelance edit small projects and I am looking forward to training in high gear for ski season. What say you, oh so quiet classmates? Let’s hear from more of you.”

Joan Hoost McMaster was honored at the 140th Anniversary Gala of the Massachusetts Society for the Protection of Children for her long and meritorious service on the State Board.

Carolyn Nygren Curran writes: “Spent my 80th birthday with a family reunion by an Adirondack lakeside cottage. It was wonderful to have all the generations together for a week. I returned to prepare for a September IGMA show in Connecticut (my return to miniature pottery show biz after hiatus of many years) but Hurricane Florence had other plans and I had to cancel. My home in New Bern, North Carolina, was fine, but there was so much damage in our area. Let me know if you’re in the area for a visit.”

James Steiner writes: “My wife, Jill, and I are spending eight months in Miami Beach and four months on Fire Island, New York. I’m still working. After selling my business in 2014, my buyer walked away and I got the business back. I’m very happy and still singing. Can’t wait to see my classmates.”

Peter J. Skowronek Jr. writes that he and his wife, Anne, are enjoying retirement as they continue to volunteer in their community. They are also enjoying interacting with their nine grandchildren as they pursue their careers as well.
 

Leonard B. Santos writes: “My wife, Ardis, and I have been enjoying life while residing in the Hershey, Pennsylvania, area. For the last 27 years we have spent the winter months visiting Oahu, Hawaii. During our travels over the years we have also visited the Brown campus on several occasions. I thoroughly enjoyed my discussions with numerous students and was also impressed with the progressive and positive happenings at our alma mater. I hope to see many of my ’59 classmates at our upcoming reunion, for it’s RAH, RAH Brunonia time once again.”

Jane Cayford Nylander is serving as trustee of Old Sturbridge Village and was elected trustee emerita of the New Hampshire Historical Society. She is in the process of completing work on a book about New England parade floats to be published in 2020.

Dudley B. Morrison Jr. writes that he is in his eighth decade and remaining active in Scottish country dance and the church choir. “If all goes well, I plan to attend my 60th reunion.”

Mel S. Lavitt writes: “Wendy and I are living in Park City, Utah, as are our two daughters Kathy Lavitt ’85 and Meredith Lavitt ’92 and our three grandchildren. Life is wonderful in Utah and I am chairman of the Incentives Committee for the Governors Board of Economic Development, as well as being actively involved in the Utah tech community.”

Carol Canner Gjelsvik writes: “I hope to see some Angell Housers at the big reunion. Atle ’60 ScM, ’62 PhD, and I live about 45 minutes south of Providence and are enjoying the beauty and nature on the water near Wickford. We have extra bedrooms if you want to come early or stay later with us, just get in touch. There is a nearby train to Providence and a hotel in easy walking distance. My big push lately is to save the pollinators. My exercise is creating a native plant pollinator garden at a nearby farm.”

Charles Connell writes: “I retired in 2013 after 51 years of teaching German language, literature, history, and culture at the college level. Of those years, 45 were at Cornell College in Iowa, which remained peaceful during my stay. Now we live in a life-care community in Cedar Rapids, where we decline in comfort.”

Virginia Abrams Mead writes: “My husband, Dr. Richard Key Mead, died in January 2016. At the time of his retirement in 2000 he was awarded emeritus associate professor in medicine. He started as a clinical instructor at the inception of the Warren Alpert Medical School, a volunteer position while he continued his practice in primary care/cardiology. I have been teaching decoupage for thirteen years at the Handicraft Club at the corner of College and Benefit streets. Our first grandson is at Cornell, our first granddaughter is at the University of San Francisco.”

Mike Geremia is enjoying living in the mountains of North Carolina in Connestee Falls. “It is like New Hampshire, without the cold,” he writes. He is active in the American Legion, the Transylvania County Honor Guard, the Western North Carolina Museum and the VFW.

Britten Dean writes: “Kayoko and I vacationed for a month in Paris this past summer, our first extended trip to the City of Lights. We saw all the great sights, visited many of the innumerable museums, ate lots of really good food, and improved my French.”

Don Arsenault writes: “I just got back from two weeks in Gig Harbor, Washington, and Vancouver, B.C. I did a little salmon fishing and whale watching. Still playing pickleball five days a week when I am back home. Joyce and I are closing in on our 60-year wedding anniversary and are blessed with relatively good health. Wish my classmates the same thing since we are all moving into our mid-80s.”

Warren Ilchman celebrated a birthday in September with a gathering of friends and family at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Brown classmates in attendance were Joe Blumberg, Walter Goldfarb, and John Monaghan. The MFA was the party site because Warren’s son Frederick was a curator of the magnificent Casanova’s Europe: Art, Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century, on display there. He provided information we had missed in History D-1.”

Robert S. Steven writes: “My wife Margrit Benzion Steven and I are settled in a retirement community in Northern Virginia, near two of our three children, enjoying reasonable health for a pair of 86-year-olds. We will not make the reunion due principally to my mobility issues. Our Foreign Service career left us very much interested in world and national affairs and we follow the news with interest and horror, shared we are sure by many of our classmates. Do enjoy the reunion.”

Stephen Sultan writes: “As always, I read with interest the September/October issue, particularly the feature on Cecile Richards. As a proud member of the class of  ’53 it was disappointing to see continued silence about news from my classmates, though I realize our numbers are diminishing. At 86, I am happy and fortunate to still be upright. I’m a delighted grandpa of three beautiful granddaughters aged 11, 7, and 3. I am now retired five years after being president of Dramatists Play Service for more than 20 years, where I published more than 35 plays by Brown alumni. Judy and I divide our time between our apartment in New York City and a spacious townhouse in Lenox, Massachusetts, the heart of the Berkshires. We still sojourn in Palm Springs, California, for three months each winter. Life continues to be good and worthwhile. Let’s hear more from ’53.

Janet Brof writes: “I’m still teaching—now it’s Russian literature, with my one student with whom I’ve worked for four years. I mean to get back to finishing a memoir about my life in Mexico in the seventies. I feel blessed living near the Hudson River. No children, but good friends in my life.”

Jean Robertson Finn writes: “The furthest thing from my mind was attending my 70th reunion at the age of 91. However my son, Tom ’78, was celebrating his 40th and convinced me to go. I stayed in Keeney Quad and it was convenient for most events. Although understandably the class of 1948 was poorly attended, Gloria Markoff Winston, our class president, and I bonded and attended several programs together and even marched down the hill. It was a wonderful weekend and I was so glad I went. At present, I’m living in an independent community, Waterman Village, in Mount Dora, Florida. I’m very pleased with all the accommodations and the activities available.”

Camille Roman ’90 PhD published The New Anthology of American Poetry, which she co-edited in three volumes with Rutgers Univ. Press. The series received a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award for excellence in literary and social history from the beginnings of the United States to the 21st century. Now a professor emeritus at Washington State Univ. and in phased retirement, Camille has moved to the Providence area and manages writing and editing projects remotely, including a single-author publication. Begun at the John Hay Library as a visiting scholar, it examines Parisian-interpreted “Near Eastern” and “Far Eastern” art in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s and stems from her book Elizabeth Bishop’s World War II–Cold War View, published with Palgrave Macmillan.

Lise Weil ’79 AM, ’87 PhD published In Search of Pure Lust: A Memoir with She Writes Press. Lise was founding editor of the feminist review Trivia: A Journal of Ideas, and in In Search of Pure Lust she documents her immersion in the heady experiment of lesbian-feminism of the ’70s and ’80s, a time when women were reinventing everything from the ground up, beginning with themselves. A dive into Zen practice begins to turn things around, but her struggle to reconcile hot-headed lesbian desire with spacious Zen mind will persist for a good long while. Scenes from Brown include a conversation about Baudrillard and astrology in the Ratty and a dissertation defense that turns uncomfortably personal. More information can be found at https://shewritespress.com/product/search-pure-lust/.

H. Scott Hestevold ’78 PhD retired from the Univ. of Alabama on June 1 after 40 years on the philosophy faculty, including eight years as chair. He has published essays on philosophical problems involving objects, time, and identity and on problems in moral psychology involving mercy and pity. He is currently writing about the nature of space.

Elena Barcia ’77 AM released a translation of Miguel de Unamuno’s Niebla in August 2017. It was published by Northwestern Univ. Press. Elena writes: “It is a humorous and thought-provoking revolutionary novel, an early example of modernism’s challenge to the conventions of 19th-century realist fiction.” Elena works as a film translator and has translated hundreds of films for Hollywood, as well as serving as a translation consultant for directors like Alejandro Iñárritu.

Benjamin Ostrowski ’17 and his father coauthored Penultimate Human Constellation: A Father and Son Converse in Poems, published by Tolsun Books. It is available on Amazon.com.