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SEP./OCT. 2004 VOLUME 107 NUMBER 2 Class Notes

90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99

90 | Can you believe that our 15th Reunion is less than one year away? Reunion Weekend is a time for rekindling friendships, sharing memories, eating Hot Truck on the Arts Quad, and remembering just how steep Libe Slope is and how tiny our dorm rooms were! But few may realize that Reunion Weekend is also the time when new class officers begin their five-year term of office. Our current co-presidents Paul Tauber and Rose Tanasugarn are now taking names of those interested in filling these offices. The Class of 1990 offices include: president,VP-membership, VP-Cornell Fund, reunion chair(s), webmaster, and of course, class correspondent(s). The specific duties of the officers are described on the Assn. of Class Officers (CACO) website, www.alumni.cornell.edu/orgs/federation/caco.You'll find the class officer descriptions under the "class services" heading. Please contact Paul (pjt12@cornell.edu) or Rose (nt28@cornell.edu) if you are interested in any of these positions.

If you think you might enjoy sifting through stacks of newspaper clippings, press releases, e-mails, and often unintelligible, handwritten alumni news forms, then the job of class correspondent is for you! Alisa Gilhooley and I would also be happy to answer any of your questions, so feel free to contact us. Now, on to the news!

A recent press release from the Dept. of the Navy informed us that Lt. Thomas B. Jordan has recently returned from a deployment on the amphibious transport dock ship USS Ogden.During this deployment, Thomas's unit conducted humanitarian assistance and security missions in Iraq. They also patrolled international waters in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa to deter the transport of terrorist personnel and equipment. The USS Ogden website, www.ogden.navy.mil, has much more information on the deployment, plus high resolution photographs. I have to admit that I checked out this site, and it is quite fascinating! November 11 is Veterans'Day, so I would like to personally thank Lt. Jordan and all the Class of '90 veterans who have served our country in these difficult times. God bless all of you!

More overseas news has arrived, this time from classmate Katrine Bosley. Katrine has left Boston and her position at Biogen and has been spending time in India! She's there "partly for fun/travel and partly to spend some time doing pro bono consulting for a biotechnology institute in Bangalore." She finds her time in India to be "challenging but fun, exciting, and never, never boring."Katrine, have we ever heard of you doing anything boring? Ask Katrine about all of her many international adventures at ksbosley@rcn.com.

Charlie Lynch,MBA '95, has been enjoying adventures of his own, but more of the high-flying variety.We hear that he flies in air shows in his CJ6A Nanchang, a WWII fighter plane that is the Chinese version of a Yak 18A. Charlie's wife Elizabeth (Von Keyserling) says that he loves going upside down.We hear that Charlie, Elizabeth, and their daughter Olivia are ALL flipping over the birth of Michael Richard on Nov. 17, '03. Elizabeth writes that she's surprised that she gets less sleep now than she did on the Hill, but with two young kids and an airborne husband, who blames her for being sleepless?

Other happy parents include Amy Johnson Vogt and husband Derek, who are both financial planners. Their new daughter Heidi Catherine was born, appropriately, on tax day, Apr. 15, '04. Thank heavens they didn't choose to name her "Ira"! The Vogt family, including big sister Ainsley, lives in Glenmoore, PA. Eric '88 and Elizabeth Wagner Boham also have two deductions--er, I mean children: Ama, 3, and Tismark, 16 months. Elizabeth is working as a physician at Canyon Ranch Health Spa in Lenox, MA. Becky Brown Gamble has chosen to be a stay-at-home mom to Nathan, 5, Elizabeth, 4, and Katelyn, 18 months. She lives in Raleigh, NC, with her husband Eric. Becky writes that she missed working at first, but now would not miss the time at home with her kids while they are little.

I tried to come up with a cute transition between a paragraph about new babies and one about a designer of bikini swimsuits. Let's just say I failed! This past June, the Cornell Human Ecology Alumni Assn. announced that Malia Mills, BS '90, was awarded the Recent Alumni Achievement Award for exemplifying excellence in business and entrepreneurship. After a few of Malia's swimsuit creations were used in a Sports Illustrated photo shoot, she founded Malia Mills SwimWear Inc., a company specializing in creating bathing suits with different sized tops and bottoms. Her clientele includes Elle MacPherson and Cindy Crawford, as well as Vogue, Glamour, and Victoria's Secret magazines.Malia has generously recruited several interns from her alma mater and has collaborated with HumEc professors on a project for a student course.Malia has also been a guest speaker for the Cornell Entrepreneur Network. Her website, www.maliamills.com, is a must-see for any woman shopping for swimwear, and it includes directions and descriptions of Malia's three NYC retail shops, as well as an online catalog. Congratulations to Malia on her amazing accomplishments and this prestigious award!

Congratulations are also due to Brent Smith, who has been appointed president of the parts and service division of Alfa Laval Inc., based in Warminster, PA. According to a company press release, Brent previously held the title of VP of human resources at Alfa Laval, a "leading global provider of specialized products and engineered solutions." Brent started his career at AT&T as a labor relations specialist and manager.He also worked in human resources at both Lucent Technologies and Honeywell International.

More to come in the next issue. Please e-mail us with any news about your family, home, jobs, travels, or experiences.We'd love to hear from all of you! And please consider volunteering for one of our class offices. It's a great way to stay close to Cornell and to your classmates. Until next time:-- Carole Moran Krus, clm42@cornell.edu; and Alisa Gilhooley, alisagil@aol.com.

91 | Greetings from the farm. Carl Boehlert, an assistant professor of materials science in the School of Engineering at Alfred U., was honored in a White House ceremony held on May 4. Carl was one of 57 researchers who received a Presidential Early Career Award, the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. His research involves structural intermetallics and metal matrix composites. Presiding over the White House ceremony was John H.Marburger III, science advisor to the President and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology.Alfred University President Charles M. Edmondson noted, "This is a well-deserved honor for Carl Boehlert, who is one of Alfred's most talented young researchers. It is also a great honor for the university and our School of Engineering to have Professor Boehlert recognized for his work." Carl received a citation, a plaque, and a commitment for funding of his work for five years.

Carl was one of seven researchers funded by the US Dep. of Energy and its National Security Administration to be nominated for the Presidential honors. Prior to the White House ceremony, Carl and his fellow Dept. of Energy (DOE) honorees described their work at a ceremony at DOE headquarters, hosted by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. New York State Governor George Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno also recognized Carl as a James D.Watson Investigator through the New York State office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR). NYSTAR funding supports Carl's research into a methodology to evaluate the microstructure-property relationships of biocompatible titanium alloys.

In other news, new babies, new jobs, and new marriages. Jen Gray Moss was "thrilled to announce" that she and husband Brian welcomed their second child, Emeline Moreland, into their family. "Emeline's big brother Will, 2, gives her lots of juicy kisses and introduces her to everyone as his ‘sitter.' " David Hong reported that he just finished up the first year of his own patent and trademark law practice in Santa Clarita, CA. Cassius Drake reported that he and wife Jacqueline welcomed their first child, Noah Robert, on Apr. 12, '04.

Rich McEvoy was recently transferred to London, Ontario (not England), and will be taking on new responsibilities for Labatt Breweries of Canada. On Nov. 3, '03, Greg Dickhens and wife Keala welcomed into the world their second daughter,Malia Eleni. The Dickhens family has relocated to Vail, CO, where Greg is working at the CFO of Vail Resorts Development Co.

Cathy James reports that on Apr. 24, '04, she "got married to her sweetie James Fisher."Cathy's sister Debbie JamesWalend '95 was the "best woman," and husband David '93 was an usher. Other classmates in attendance were Ellen Goode, Loren Bosies, Eric '86,MBA '93, and Heather Tatkon Powers,MPA '93, Jeff Carver, Craig '89 and Liz Collard Richter, Arik Marks, and David Rodger and wife Cindy ReVelle '92. Cathy wrote that her father Chuck James '57 (deceased) was also a Cornell graduate, and she is sure he was there somewhere, "since he never missed a good party!" Cathy is currently doing a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children's Hospital in Boston, and living in Brookline, MA.

Congratulations to everyone on their stellar accomplishments.--Nina Rosen Peek, nsr5@cornell.edu; Dave Smith, docds30@yahoo.com; Corinne Kuchling, kuccori@hotmail. com.

92 | I am a bit jealous of all those other classes that got to celebrate reunion in June in Ithaca. Oh well, only three more years until we all meet again. Until then, here's some news of our classmates.

Habiba Tunau wrote a nice update of her journeys after Cornell. She met her husband Kenton Spencer '93 14 years ago. She was a premed student living in Balch Hall and he was a transfer student living in Ujamaa. After Cornell, they lived in California, where Habiba worked and took graduate courses before eventually taking the MCAT and attending medical school in Charleston, SC. "Living in the South was interesting, but we longed to return to the Northeast, so in '00 we returned to New York, where I attended residency in internal medicine,"Habiba wrote. She has finished her training and now lives in Staten Island, enjoying culturally diverse music, food, books, and travel around the US. Habiba and Kenton have been married for ten years and have three children, ages 4, 3, and 2. Scott and Terra Smolker Samuels are enjoying their new son Nathaniel ("Nate"), who was born Jan. 27. They also have a daughter Marissa and live in Marblehead, MA.

Allison Bergstrom started working with her father at the appropriately named Bergstrom Investment Management in Chicago. She handles real estate-related investment portfolios and spends plenty of quality time with her dad! Allison enjoyed a nice reunion last fall with fellow Cornellians Janice Kean Rappoport, Steven and Sharon Kowar deWaard, and Bart and Pam Fabrizio Barry '93 at the Barrys' home in suburban Wilmington, DE. Allison also enjoys getting together with Lisa Everts and Vicky Lattone at least once a year in Ithaca.

In a note from Jennifer Krain Wurtzburger, I learned she and her husband Rich have sons Ryan and Gavin. They live in Edgemont, NY, where Jennifer grew up. She is a stay-at-home mom and enjoys spending lots of time playing with the kids, playing golf, and traveling. Jennifer Kaminsky Brock is about to celebrate her daughter's first birthday. Lilly Annabelle was born Oct. 15, '03.With husband Mark, they live in Carlisle, MA. Jack and Victoria Hodgkins welcomed Crawford ("Ford") Jackson to their family on Feb. 3. They reside in Boston.

Anthony Sapia wrote news from his home in State College, PA. He and wife Karen have twins, Fiorenzo and Giacomo, who at age 2-1/2 are a handful. "One goes one way; the other goes the other way," he wrote. Anthony's Bistro and Bakery won a Golden Pastry Scoop Award for "Best Bakery Recipe."Anthony's bread, devilish double chocolate port fig bread, competed against thousands to win this national award. Anthony noted that classmate Michael Epstein owns and operates his first hotel, a Ramada Inn with 320 rooms, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

In April, Silvia Serpe, JD '95, joined the law firm Krantz & Berman LLP as a special counsel. She is building her own practice in criminal, employment, and general commercial litigation in New York City. About a year and a half ago,Nathaniel, MD '96, and Beth Pinsley Zoneraich '93 moved to northern Virginia, where Nathaniel joined the Washington Fertility Center as a physician. Beth is the director of civilian agencies in the government solutions department of Home Depot. The couple enjoy their children Rachel, 4, and Alex, who will be 2 in November.

Alyssa Handler and her husband Amato Bocchino welcomed baby boy Evan on March 27. They live in Beverly, MA. Alyssa notes that Brooke Bloom and Lenny Sekuler '93 have a son Shane, and that Patricia Santiago-Muñoz married Omar Gonzalez in Puerto Rico on Feb. 21. Congratulations! Alison Dobes Key had twin girls,Margaret Campbell and Sara Stewart, on Feb. 6. She notes that Anne Dodge Gilchrist and husband Tony had their second child, a girl named Heather Suzanne, on March 3.

Alec Berger lives in Boulder, where he works for KBCO-FM.His official title is production assistant, but, he writes, "I do some of everything at the station--copy editing, audio production, etc.--but most important, I am the fill-in DJ." Alec is on the air every Sunday, 4-8 p.m.; and whenever a full-time DJ is vacationing, he is on the air 7-11 p.m. on weeknights. The station is at KBCO.com on the internet and 97.3 on the radio dial.Dwight and Tammy Helmling Hunter have two sets of twins. Rachael and Catherine are 8, and David and Allan are 2. They are busy building a house in Tracy, CA. Tammy wrote that she won a bid with Contra Costa County to integrate their criminal justice system.

There are two weddings to announce. Vinoo Zachariah, ME '93, married Heather Leahy on Dec. 27 in Cleveland Heights, OH. Vinoo is an assistant to the president of the Cincinnati unit of Time Warner Cable, working on special projects. Stephanie Hochman married Daniel Mollin on Oct. 19, '02 in Closter, NJ. After Cornell, Stephanie went to Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine and is a podiatric surgeon. Rick and Meghan DeGolyer Hauser are enjoying their sons Abe and Sol in Perry, NY. In the spring Meghan had 55 Cornell students come visit her farm as part of a once-a-year Dairy Fellows tour of local dairies. Rick keeps busy teaching architecture at Hobart and William Smith while running his own architecture firm.

"Since I've been off the map for the past too many years, I figured it is time to reconnect,"wrote Greg Paul. "Maybe it was that dinner I had this weekend with our lawyer who went to Cornell back in the '50s or early '60s that inspired me. The way he talked about Cornell was so cool, how women had curfews in Balch and Sage Hall dorms-- one night they could stay out till 12:00, the other till 1:00 a.m. So I signed up for Cornell Alumni Magazine again. Here's the scoop for those '92 classmates. I got married to a beautiful woman,Marie-Francine Richard from Maine and originally Quebec.We bought a house in Arlington, MA, last year and are settling in well."Greg continued that he keeps up with his music, playing jazz saxophone weekly at jam sessions with John Payne Music School in Brookline. Greg works as a technical project manager for a small startup company in Boston called Bonaire Software that does fee calculation systems for the mutual fund industry.

As for me, I'm enjoying being home with my husband David Toth and our son Brayden, 2. David is an endocrinologist at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee, where he stays busier than he'd like. I'm involved with our local Cornell Club of Wisconsin, and get a bit bummed out when I realize we are no longer considered "young alumni." That's reserved for those who graduated within the last ten years!

Please drop a note to us to update us on your life's events. -- Renee Hunter Toth, rah24@cornell.edu; Debbie Feinstein, Debbie_Feinstein@yahoo.com; and Wilma Ann Anderson, info@WilPowerEnterprises.com.

93 | Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the summer.We were a little light on news this month so please make sure to keep sending us your updates.Marriages, births, job changes, moves--we want to know it all! Sue Rhee wrote to say that she completed a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at Harvard's Children's Hospital. Seth Kestenbaum e-mailed that he is still living in Manhattan.When he is not at the office working in the real estate capital markets, he can be found hang-gliding in the Catskills or making repairs to pieces of his growing real estate portfolio. Jeff Drayer also e-mailed. He has just finished shooting a movie he wrote and produced, starring Ed Asner and titled All In. He's in the editing stage right now and we should look for the film in the winter.Whit Watson writes, "After six-plus years as an anchor at ESPN, I moved my family back to my hometown of Orlando in the fall of 2003 to join Sunshine Network, the Fox regional sports net in Florida. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.Needless to say, the weather (and my golf game) is much better.Having a ball with college football, the Magic, the Heat, play-by-play, talk shows, and the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning! Would love to hear from classmates in the area."

Congratulations to Julie Reichgott Prieto and her husband Daniel, who are the proud parents of new son John Timothy, born March 24, 2004. Julie continues to work at Bank One as the head of compensation for the retail line of business. Daniel is working as a Web developer from home, as time permits, while caring for John Timothy full-time. Congratulations to Jeff,ME '94, and Galit Cohen on the birth of their second daughter,Mia Naomi, on June 16. They recently bought a house in Teaneck, NJ, and will be moving in over the summer.

Finally, I am happy to announce my own wedding to Sandy Rosenberg on May 30, 2004 in Niagara Falls, NY.We had a beautiful wedding by the falls with a number of Cornellians in attendance. Among the attendees were Greg, DVM '94, and Andrea Sarkany Riskin, who deserve their own congratulations on the birth of son Michael Yair on February 10, 2004.Michael joins older sister Deborah, 5. Greg and Andrea live in Fair Lawn, NJ, where Greg works as a veterinarian and Andrea is completing a PsyD degree. Also coming in from New Jersey were Scott and Lisa Ness Seidman, who are living in East Brunswick with their daughter Hannah; Valdi and Lauren Bailyn Sapira, MBA '94, who just recently bought a new home in Hoboken and are living there with their 1-year-old son Josh; Jared and Ilene Kutin Ferguson '92, who made the trip from Edison, where they live with their children Jake and Taylor; Rick and Jessica Silber Jentis '94, who are living in Bridgewater with their sons Gabe and Eitan; and Gabriel and Tammi Miller Fox '94, who are living in Hoboken and were married just a week later! (Congrats!)

Shai Stahl came in from Syracuse, where he has been living for the past few years while developing his company, Transcion. Ron and Beth Fisch Cohen came in from New Rochelle, NY, from where Beth commutes everyday to her job in the Manhattan DA's office. Steve Kuperberg and Debbie Feinstein '92 came to celebrate as well. They live in Bethesda with their children Noah and Tali, and Debbie is working as a state's attorney for Montgomery County. Coming in from Manhattan were Evan Bashoff '99 and Carrie Spindel '99. Evan just left a position in sports marketing to attend Columbia Business School full-time, and Carrie is in her fourth year of medical school. Finally, Julie Christie '96 and her fiancé Jack Padden made the trip in from Boston, where Julie works as a financial consultant for AMEX Financial Services.

As for the bride and groom, we live in New York City on the Upper West Side. I am currently working for Mellon in New York City as a consulting actuary (the same job I've had since graduation!), and Sandy works in sports marketing for Professional Sports Publications.We met on a plane going from Buffalo to New York City in September 2002. It just goes to show that sometimes it's worthwhile having a conversation with your seatmate! Please note my new name and e-mail address.-- Yael Berkowitz Rosenberg, ygb1@cornell.edu; Erica Fishlin Fox, ericazzz@aol.com.

94 | Reunion Report

95 | The Class of '95 began the summer with a series of "365-days-to-go" reunion kickoff events in DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and, to make it a truly "international" event, Toronto.With the exception of Toronto, all events were held the same night--June 10--to coincide with the beginning of Reunion up on the Hill.

In DC,my husband Matthew French, ME '96, and I, along with class president Eva Loh, enjoyed reconnecting with a great group, including Vincent and Lisa Gray Bertomeu, Kavitha Chetty, Heather Hamm,Richard Spitalnik, Catherine Minkler, Sid Mansur, Christine Haakenson, Curtis Lando, and Maryam Farzad, among others.Vin has his own optometry practice,while wife Lisa works for Hilton;Heather and Rich are both recent transplants to DC--Heather, an accountant, from Boston, and Rich, back to DC from San Francisco; Cathy works for BNA; Christine is doing her PhD at Georgetown; and Maryam works for the Institute for Genomic Research.As for me, I've recently finished my MBA and moved on to government consulting work with BearingPoint, while Matt was recently promoted to project leader with his company, Information Sciences Institute- East, a research division of the University of Southern California.

Philadelphia coordinator Lisa Powell Fortna and husband Matthew report a small but fun crowd in attendance: Brett and Jennifer Blum Feldman, Edwin "E.J." Dealy, MBA '02, Pat Killian, and Alon Barzilay. Both Jen and Brett are practicing law in Philadelphia; Pat works for Sunoco and has a 1-year-old daughter Maggie; and E.J. completed his MBA at Cornell and is back in the Philadelphia area working in sales.

On the Boston front, Kathy Heppner Trogolo and husband Mike '96 met up with Dave Foti, who is braving a daily commute between The MathWorks in Natick, MA, and his home in New Haven, CT. Dave says that his software development work on MATLAB (any Engineering classmates recognize that name?) is worth the slightly odd hours and extra travel time. Kathy and Dave actually attended high school together in Wayland, MA, so they were able to catch up on several years' worth of news. Dave says he's coming to reunion next year and hopes to see many classmates from the Debate Team.

No reports yet from L.A. and Toronto, but we'll be sure to update you once we get them. In the meantime, check our class website for photos from the events and more information about our upcoming 10th Reunion in Ithaca!

Other news comes from two Hotelie classmates, one of whom, Tony Calabria,may be hosting his own Class of '95 events at his new restaurant in Baldwinsville, NY (a suburb of Syracuse). The other, Sarah Spiewak, graduated from Darden Business School at UVA in May and now works for Thayer Lodging, an Annapolis,MD, hotel real estate venture capital firm started by yet another Hotelie 12 years ago. Another MBA, Ryan Young, has settled in San Francisco after traveling to Australia and New Zealand for what was supposed to be two months.Writes Ryan, "I ended up having such a great time that I extended my trip to 3-1/2 months!"

Back on the East coast, careers are a-changin'. After a total of 12 years in Ithaca as either a student or faculty member, Eric Christensen, DVM '99, finally ventured away from campus to join a small animal veterinary hospital in northern New Jersey.Writes Eric, "The practice is very busy and we are due to break ground for a new facility this spring. Since there are plenty of challenging cases and I'm working with vets that I've known for a long time, I have really been enjoying the job!" On the flip side, Christopher Hill writes, "After many years of saying I would never go back to school, I have proven myself wrong. I just finished my first semester of a joint program between the U. of Vermont and the Miner Inst. in which I am pursuing a master's in dairy nutrition and behavior." In baby news, Thomas and Lecia Van Dam Sequist welcomed son Jackson Philip on March 5, and on March 20, Eleanor Louise was born to Christian '94 and Libbey Smith Gallagher.

Lastly, a bit of sad news that I must pass along. Classmate Capt. Richard "Rick" Gannon, leader of Lima Company, was killed in a battle with Iraqi insurgents in Al- Anbar province, near Iraq's border with Syria this past April. Lima Company was charged with building the area's schools, improving its physical infrastructure, and helping train its police force. He is survived by his wife Sally, sons Richard, Patrick, and Connor, and daughter Maria. Two funds have been established to honor Rick:

The Richard J. Gannon Memorial Scholarship Fund was set up by Major Keith Forkin, a friend of Rick's from the Marine Corps. All donations will be used to support college education for Rick and Sally's children. Donations can be mailed to: Richard J. Gannon Memorial Scholarship Fund, 3104 B Upshur Ave., Twentynine Palms, CA 92277. In addition, the Brother Rick Gannon Memorial Fund was set up by Rick's Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity brothers. This fund is managed by Brian Drumm (BrianD@ shakercom.com). Donations may be sent to: Brother Rick Gannon Memorial Fund, c/o Brian Drumm, 10 Thacher St., #301, Boston,MA 02113. -- Alison Torrillo French, amt7@cornell.edu; Abra Benson, amb8@cornell.edu. Class website: http://classof95.alumni.cornell.edu.

96 | Greetings, Sixers! This year, most of us will be reaching a milestone we haven't celebrated since proudly showing our (real) driver's license at the Palms, and waving a dollar (or was it a buck twenty-five by then?) in front of the bartender for a beer. That's right, a birthday of significance. The big 3-0. Instead of my usual waxing nostalgic about our insouciant days in Ithaca, I'm going to share a note Class Notes received from Liz Rand. "Instead of flying all over the place every time one of us turns 30, we decided to celebrate our collective 30th birthdays in Ithaca in May."Along with Michelle Lauermann Cappellucci, Danielle Piscatilli Robillard, Pat Newman, Becca Schader, Priya Ramamurthy, John Ochsendorf, and Deb Moll, Liz spent a weekend up in Ithaca visiting old haunts ("if they still exist") and wine touring. "Could you ask for a better 30th birthday celebration?"Ahhh, throw some corn nuggets from the Chariot in there, and I totally concur.

Josh Silverman and Carin Lustig-Silverman welcomed Abigail Hannah into the world on March 21, '04. Proud grandparents include another member of the Cornell family, grandma Susan Perlstein Lustig '61. Josh recently completed the MD/PhD program at NYU. Josh, Carin, and Abby are heading to Boston, where Josh will start his residency in otolaryngology (that's ears, nose, and throat for those of you playing at home) at Harvard.Matt and Bonnie Meyer Altman are the proud parents of Jake Benjamin,who was born on April 6, '04.As it turns out, people run into classmates in the strangest places. Bonnie gave birth at Columbia Presbyterian, and Lee Weiss, who lived in Matt's dorm freshman year, assisted with the delivery. Bonnie,Matt, and Jake are living in New York City, where Bonnie is the school psychologist at an Upper East Side private school and Matt is at Hyperion Capital Management, working as a portfolio manager.

Jodi Krantz and Larry Kravitz were married on Nov. 8, '03 in Manhasset, NY. Cornellians in attendance were Heather Salomon Zeitz, Jennifer Hale Rackoff, Marni Kanofsky, Scott Saperstein, David Reiss, Ross Silver, MD '00, Julie Lorber, Mark Buchsbaum '95, and Eric Sherman '95. Jodi and Larry honeymooned in New Zealand and Fiji. The newlyweds are currently residing in Manhattan, where Jodi is an actuary for New York Life Insurance Company and Larry is an account executive at ABC. Nick and Heather Nydam Martinez are living in Denver, where they started their own business selling exclusive car care products. Heather reports, "It's very different from our past careers, but it's going very well!" Good luck to Heather and Nick, and their joint venture, "Detailers Paradise."

Congratulations to Erica Siegel, MPA '97, and Gary Henning, who were married on May 30, '04 at Tappan Hill. London's newest resident and Class Notes' very own Courtney Rubin was Erica's maid of honor. Other Cornellian guests included bridesmaid Pamela Feliciano Colosimo '97, Rick Colosimo, JD '97, Ross '97 and Beth Rubenstein Goldstein '97, and the bride's parents Harvey and Merille Ruben Siegel '68. Erica and Gary honeymooned in Hawaii, and currently reside in Hoboken, NJ.

In an impressive performance of best man duties, David Reiss wrote in to share the news of Ross Silver's marriage to Rebecca Kaplan on June 13, '04 in Springfield, NJ. Bridesmaid Stephanie Silver '98, alumna of the Touchtones a cappella group, traded her bouquet for a microphone, singing for the newlyweds and guests. Other Cornellians present to share the happy day were groomsman Dan Charous, Kevin Lyons, Nate Clark, Scott Saperstein, Jennifer Hale Rackoff, Jodi Krantz Kravitz, and Heather Salomon Zeitz.

Karen Szczepanski recently started a fellowship in neonatology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Karen reports that she'll be "cutting my salary in half and more than doubling my hours!" Good luck! Richard Nunes, BArch '96, and wife Teresa have recently relocated to London, where Richard is conducting his doctoral research with the Bartlett School of Planning, University College, London. Richard and Teresa have been taking advantage of their new locale, recently exploring the Loire Valley in France.

Matthew Wecksell and Catherine Kahn were married on Jan. 18, '04. Cornellians in attendance were Ilan Barzilay and Glenn McAnanama '98.Matthew is completing his residency in anaesthesiology at Columbia. Jennifer Stickler is currently residing in Elmira, NY, and works for Corning Incorporated as a manufacturing effectiveness specialist. Jennifer is mom to a 9-year-old daughter and a baby boy.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in with news to share. If you haven't written recently, give us a shout out here at Class Notes.We'd love to hear from you. --Sheryl Magza- men, SLM1@cornell.edu; Allie Cahill, alexandracahill@aol.com; Courtney Rubin, cbr1@cornell.edu. Class website, http://classof96.alumni.cornell.edu.

97 | It's back-to-school time, so to recognize classmates who are hitting the books again, I'll begin with some graduate school news. Nisheeth Ranjan (nisheeth@cs.stanford.edu) is pursuing a master's degree in computer science with a concentration in artificial intelligence at Stanford. Nisheeth went back to school after six years at Netscape, where he had his hands in engineering Netscape versions 6.0, 7.0, and Mozilla. Douglas Post (douglas_post@yahoo.com) planned to collect his MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business. Theresa Soriano (soriat01@yahoo.com) graduated from Mount Sinai School ofMedicine in New York in 2001 and planned to complete her residency training in internal medicine at the U. of Miami School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Hospital in June 2004.

Tamarra Strawn, JD '01 (tamarra@unckless.com) is working as an AmeriCorps attorney with Legal Aid of Western New York in Geneva on a one-year renewable grant. She's matching area law school students with meaningful volunteer opportunities in underserved communities. Tamarra was living with Rob Unckless, MS '99, and Heather Fiore ("roommates again after six years!"). At Jenn Thom's August 2003 wedding to Josh Santelli, Tamarra saw classmates Brad Marshall, Esra Acet, and Rob Glesmann. After opening her own law firm last year in Miami, Rebecca Cantor Amster (Rebecca@amsterfamilylaw.com) is keeping busy outside of work as well: she's pursuing a master's in marital and family therapy at Nova Southeastern U. and completed the Walt Disney World Marathon--her first--last year. Rebecca caught up with Chad Levitt at their high school reunion over Thanksgiving 2003. Also in Florida are Melissa Pinto Heller and husband Mike, who welcomed daughter Alexandra Nicole on December 20.Melissa is doing municipal bond work for the CFO of Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale).

Under the "footloose and fancy free" category, David Hollman (dah8@cornell.edu) quit his job at Sapient and planned to travel before throwing his hat back in the employment ring. So far, he's off to a good start, traveling to Mt.Marcy in the Adirondacks, the Presidential Mountains in New Hampshire, and Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Doug Herman (hermando33@yahoo.com) is living out his "childhood dream of being unemployed in Los Angeles," after moving from Connecticut in August 2003.Writes Doug, "I'm getting my retirement years out of the way while I can still enjoy them."

Caroline Giroux Ziegler (carolinevziegler@hotmail.com) is working in hotel management in San Francisco. Also in San Fran, Nathan Zaslow (zaslow2002@alumni.law.ucla.edu) is an attorney practicing immigration law. Dan Vené (danvene@hotmail.com) is a vice president at Thomson Financial in NYC.He keeps up with Hunt Doering, Per Heilmann, Ari Cooperman, Ari Chopra, and Nick Rizzo. In Boston, Nina Menezes (nmenezes@alum.mit.edu) works at Massachusetts General Hospital as a research fellow focusing on neurology and musculoskeletal MRI. In 2002, Nina finished her PhD in medical physics from MIT.

Idil Ustun (iu11@cornell.edu) is director of marketing and business development at Emirca Technologies, which offers technology solutions such as Web content and document management, e-business and intranet/extranet strategies,Web portal design and development, and application integration. Idil's responsibilities include global marketing strategy and public relations, brand and market positioning, and sales. She keeps in touch with classmates in Europe, including Celia Koukouli and Nathalie Picquot, and New Yorkers Nicole Pappas, Giovanni Revedin, Arthur Bruhmuller, and Emin Ozgur.

Wedding updates: France-Marie Exantus married Sheldon Jordan on April 25, 2003. Kauai, HI, was the setting of Mei Lee Gallagher (meipurvis@yahoo.com) and Doug Purvis's wedding in August 2003. Classmate Hanako Tokunaga was among the guests. The couple, whom Wente Kao, MS '98, introduced four years ago on a water-skiing trip, reside in Arizona, where Mei is a quality engineer at Amersham Biosciences and Doug is a process engineer with Motorola.Mei and Doug are also avid scuba divers, having made dives at Australia's Great Barrier Reef, in Bonaire, and in Curaçao. Kevin Wilcox and Kathryn Greenberg tied the knot in Washington, DC, on December 6, 2003. Kevin is general manager of the District's Café Deluxe; the couple lives in Chevy Chase,MD.

Nicole Smith and Samuel Chevalier were married August 10, 2003 in Westport, CT. They returned home to West Haven, CT, after honeymooning in Montreal. Nicole works for a family foundation and Sam is a consultant based at IBM. Finally, Dave Rodin, MD '01 (daverodin@yahoo.com) and wife Heather got married in Miami over Thanksgiving weekend last year. Classmates joining the celebration included Sami Lewin, Harley Dresner, Adam Chazan, Jesse Slanksy, Paul Massaro, Marc Schiffman, and Michael Lifland, MRP '98. Both Dave and Heather work at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, he as a urology resident and she as a medical resident.

Are you going back to or finishing up graduate school? Moving? Vacationing with college buddies or honeymooning somewhere exotic? Did you recently welcome a future Cornellian into your family? Your classmates want to know about it! Please pay your class dues (helps ensure we get plenty of space for our class column) and send in your news! -- Erica Broennle Nelson, ejb4@cornell.edu; Sarah Deardorff Carter, sjd5@cornell.edu.

98 | Hi! We tried to "categorize" the news that we have received. Alas, it is entirely impossible to typecast our classmates, let alone organize their latest stories into narrow categories. But here you go:

Births. Leslie Esterrich-Betancourt welcomed the birth of her first son,Matteo Joaquin, on January 23, 2004. Even though they were unable to attend the baby shower, Annette Lippert, Lizandra DeLaCruz, and Kimberly Check '01 sent beautiful baby gifts and their warmest wishes. In the last few years, Leslie has progressed in her career in survey research and was, most recently, director of operations at T.E. Systems Inc.However, she now will be taking time off to stay home with Matteo.As she states, "I love motherhood, and Matteo's big eyes and cute smile have me ‘head over heels' in love with him!"

On September 21, 2003, Sarah Scheid Routh had son Xavier Ryan. That brings the total household to four and gives 3-year-old daughter Emma a little brother. Unfortunately, Sarah missed joining classmates Cara Weisel and Tabitha Garrido as a bridesmaid in the wedding of Mary Clare Kukoda to Sean Reilley in Buffalo, NY. Sarah was in labor during the ceremony so was unable to uphold her duties. She did, however, manage to phone the bride with her news during the early morning celebrations the following day.When the news was submitted, Sarah was nearing the completion of her teaching licensure/master's program and hopes to be teaching high school history/social studies/economics by the time Emma enters kindergarten. She attended her annual mini-reunion with classmates Mary Kukoda Reilley,Nancy Margolies Ginsberg, Dawn Hoffman, Jennifer Brian, and Tabitha Garrido in New York City in January, since they all live there and see each other at least weekly.

Graduation. Valerie Nannery graduated from U. of Virginia Law School in May 2003 and is now working at Public Citizen Litigation Group. John Beaber graduated with a PhD in molecular biology and microbiology from Tufts U. in May 2004. He will be moving from Boston to Berkeley, CA, for a post-doc starting in mid-July after spending a month traveling in the UK. You can reach John at jwb17@cornell.edu. Cheryl Young graduated from Officer Candidate School for the US Marine Corps on December 13, 2003 in Quantico, VA. She is a commissioned second lieutenant and has for the past six months been at intensive training at the Basic School in Virginia. At the time she sent us her update she was planning on going into intelligence after the training is over. Before moving to Virginia she had lived in Los Angeles for 2-1/2 years. She has had a busy life since graduating from Cornell. Before joining the Marine Corps she received a law degree from American U. in Washington, DC. After graduating she worked in the District Attorney's office in the Hardcore Gang Unit and in private practice.

Weddings. Michael Blumenthal married Tara Sievers on March 13, 2004 in Cold Spring Hills, NY.Mike directs recruiting of associates for law firms for Alan Roberts & Associates, an executive search firm in New York. Michelle Lee got married on August 1, 2003 to Erik Choy at the Bel Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades, CA.Many Cornellians had active roles in the wedding, including Kumiko Wada '97 and Karen Li Kuan, who were in the wedding party. Christine Liu '95, DVM '99, and Jeremiah Chan, JD '99, sang at the wedding, while Andrew Hsiai '97 took pictures. (Christine and Jeremiah were married in January 2001.) Other DEA alums in attendance were Gayle D'Alessandro O'Donnell and Carl Winter '99. Tiffany Winslow '00 and Carter Wilding-White '01 were "scroll attendants" (instead of a guest book,Michelle had a scroll-- like the Declaration of Independence--that people signed).Michelle is currently attending Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. She runs into Steve Yang '97 a lot, who is also attending the school. Before school she worked as a store designer for Ann Taylor. She also attended another Cornellian wedding last June when Marcy Adler married Douglas Newman.

Home and Garden. Steve and Linnea Larson Linton have news to share. In June 2003 Linnea got her master's degree in structural engineering, and then Steve and she moved from Boston to Greensboro, NC. She now works for Sutton-Kennerly & Assoc. in the Investigation & Diagnostic Group as a structural engineer, and Steve switched from construction management in Boston to teaching 7th grade math and science at a rural North Carolina middle school. So far they both really like their jobs and are glad to be back in the South. They just bought their first house and are excited to have land for a garden in the spring.

Lifestyle. Pierre Blanc is still at IBM Business Consulting Services in their Paris office, but as of February 2004 was working in Pointe-Norie in the Congo, Africa, for the oil exploration, production, and distribution company TOTAL. Pierre was training the locals and expatriates on how to use SAP, which is in the process of being imple- mented in all TOTAL African affiliates. He says that is an extremely interesting, rewarding, and cultural experience. Veronica Perez is currently at the U. of Oregon working on a PhD in clinical psychology.

Personals. Inquisitive, desperate '98 class correspondents soliciting news and whereabouts of fellow classmates. Cornellian spotting annotated with recent news and happenings preferred, for upcoming class columns. Any location. Subject, content, flavor not important. To reply, contact: -- Gregg Herman, gdh5@cornell.edu; or Erica Chan, hc31@cornell.edu.

99 | Reunion Report

 

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