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| SEP./OCT. 2005 VOLUME 108 NUMBER 2 | Class Notes |
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81 | My heart went all a-flutter when I received the white envelope with the yellow Class News forms--you must have some news for us! You will soon be receiving information about our 25th Reunion, coming June 8-11, 2006. I haven't missed any reunions thus far, and I have to say that as the years advance, they are more fun.My kids are even talking about it a year ahead of time!
Jared Aldern is looking forward to reunion, too.He reports that he's still living in Ranchita, CA, with his wife, daughters, and three chihuahuas. He left his public school teaching position to start a nonprofit called the Land Conversation, working on environmental history research and ecological restoration in collaboration with American Indian tribes, natural resource agencies, and universities. He reports that his oldest child is studying microbiology at UCLA, his 13-year-old is the spelling bee champion, and his 2-1/2-year-old is a cutie! Nat Comisar had his own mini-reunion and sang with a group of alumni Cayuga's Waiters at Spring Fever in Ithaca this past April. Nat lives in Cincinnati, OH, and recently moved his restaurant,Maisonette, to a more suburban location. You can read up on his new place at www.maisonette.com.
Ted Halpin lives about an hour from Ithaca in Avon, NY. He trains firefighters nationwide for Cornell in farm rescue and firefighting. Farmedic (www.farmedic.com) is part of the Vet college's Agricultural Health and Safety Program. This program blends Ted's farm and firefighting backgrounds to educate rural fire and rescue crews. During the summer Ted went to Europe to train fire instructors there. After a ten-year teaching stint at the UNAM in Cozumel,Mexico, Tina Holman moved with her son Nicholas, now 14, to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where she has lived for the past five years. Tina is teaching ESL and intercultural communications at the Art Institute. Last summer she enjoyed attending Cornell's Adult University (CAU) with her son, and highly recommends it.
Stephen Ward is also residing in Florida, in Keystone Heights with his wife Robin and their three children. He is a sales rep for Consolidated System Inc., a manufacturer of metal decking used for building construction. He also has been a part-time actor on "The FBI Files," "The New Detectives,""Diagnosis Unknown," and "The Prosecutors" TV shows. Steve and his wife love to scuba dive and have seen manta rays and barracuda; they even had an uncomfortably close encounter with a 70-foot whale while 90 feet down and 10 miles off the coast of North Carolina. From Boca Raton, FL, Richard Lovely wrote that he joined Tyco Int'l in September 2004 as VP Human Resources for the Fire and Security Division, which has 90,000 employees worldwide.
Gabe Diaz-Saavrdra is building a new home on a one-acre lot in Bradenton, FL, near Sarasota. The hurricane season held up the process, but he hopes to move in by early next year. This past February, he accepted a position as Southeastern US regional manager with Nature Safe, a division of Griffin Industries, and is responsible for sales and marketing of meal-based OMRI certified organic fertilizers. Congratulations to Bruce McWilliams of Alexandria,VA! Bruce e-mailed to announce that he and his wife Susan had their second daughter, Lindsay Jane, on April 25. Older daughter Madison Grace is 2-1/2. Bruce received his doctorate in economics this past May. Tyrone Taborn of Reisterstown,MD, also received at honorary doctorate this past May from Morgan State U. Tyrone is president and CEO of Career Communications Group in Baltimore, MD.
We also received an e-mail from Jay Ghosh, who has been working and living in Tokyo, Japan, for the past two years. He works for Open TV Asia-Pacific, deploying software solutions for digital interactive TV.Work has taken him to Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia. He met up with PaulWerbaneth '79, who travels to Japan frequently on business for a semiconductor equipment processing company; Jay also saw Julie Fernandez '79, who was able to take two weeks to visit in Japan to view the plum blossoms.
Our class webmaster, Jordan Strub, wrote in before a recent move: "I've spent the last six years designing better slot machines in Las Vegas, but some corporate changes have undone most of my work.Meanwhile,my wife Michele has been commuting for three or four years to her office in San Diego (as a regional general manager for Progressive Insurance).We have decided to move back to Colorado Springs, where she can take a new position with Progressive with much less travel, and where we can spend more time together and with old friends. I will hoist my ‘Software Consulting, Cheap!' banner once again." Jordan can be reached at jordan.strub@usa.net.
Karen Ansbro Leone '84, from Rochester, NY, wants to put the word out to the group of Hotelies that called themselves HOTEL COLORADO: she is planning a Hotel Colorado Reunion during the summer of 2006. For more information, contact her at kansleo@goandgroove.com, or go to www.goandgroove.com.
For those of you who don't know how to reach us, you can send your news directly to the e-mail addresses below, or use the website http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/classes.htm. Please let us know your news and update your e-mail address. Thanks! -- Jennifer Read Campbell, RonJenCam@aol.com; Betsy Silverfine, bsilverfine@adelphia.net; and Kathy Philbin LaShoto, Kathleen_lashoto@equityoffice.com.
82 | Happy fall! Did you happen to catch Jeff Kidwell singing the National Anthem for the Boston Red Sox this past summer? Jeff writes that his day job is still at Cantor Fitzgerald, but he finds time to present at industry conferences and perform. He even sang with Earth,Wind & Fire last October! You can reach Jeff at jkidwell@cantor.com. Or if you were in Cleveland, did you see Bill Henry's photographs? They were at the Cleveland Museum of Art's NEO Show, July 10 to September 4, 2005, the main exhibition for the summer of 2005. Bill's work was one of 80 pieces of art selected from nearly 1,300 applications. Bill writes that the show featured artists working in all media.
In the Boston area is Kathleen Templeton MacVarish, who is living in Braintree. She left the municipal public health field to work in academia; she now manages a New England Workforce Development project at Boston U. School of Public Health. Kathleen writes,"My soccer playing days are long over, but I love reading about the team and hearing about how well they are doing." Mark Hyman (mark@drhyman.com) is in Housatonic, MA, and the author of Ultraprevention, a New York Times bestseller, The Detox Box, and The Five Forces of Wellness. His website is www.drhyman.com, where you can learn more about Mark and his work, including editor-in-chief of Alternative Therapies, medical editor of Alternative Medicine magazine, faculty and board of directors of the Inst. for Functional Medicine, and advisory board of Food as Medicine and Center for Mind-Body Medicine. His family includes wife Pier Boutin and children Rachel Hyman,Misha Hyman, and Thor and Ace Brantly Boutin.
Mike Marrero writes from Manchester, MA, that wife Cathy (Caliguire) '84 is doing a great job of keeping him and sons Tyler, Trevor, and Troy "headed in the right direction." Soccer, basketball, and lacrosse keep the older boys busy while Mike keeps busy as president of his radiology group, Advanced Diagnostic Imaging. He has also started a medical billing company with two of his radiology partners and is happy to report that it's "thriving." EarleWeaver, ME '83, MBA'84, is president ofWhite-Rogers in St. Louis, an Emerson Climate Technologies company. He writes, "Spouse Becky is a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and still enjoying it; Sarah, 8, loves competing in Irish dance; Tommy, 6, plays hockey, soccer, and baseball; Joey, 4, excels in bugging his siblings; and Peter, 2, plays a great game of chase." Joe Allegro writes that kids Nadia, 15,Maya, 11, Eric, 9, Serena, 8, and Remy, 6, are interested in sports including soccer, baseball, and karate. Dorothy Meeker Wolfe is president of Global Resources Options and is "trying to interest our daughter in Cornell."
Randall Smith (rlsmith3@sbcglobal.net) e-mailed from Livermore, CA, that he is VP of marketing and sales for Aprio Technologies Inc. of Santa Clara, CA, an electronic design automation (EDA) company. Randall writes that he's "been in this industry, including time off during my undergrad, for 25 years now. I've been an officer or founder of three companies that have been sold, the normal liquidation strategy in this area (plus one other company as director of Japan sales)."He adds that he's been married 21 years and has three children. Henry Herz wrote from San Diego that he recently left Computer Sciences Corp. to become the director of technical services at TechFlow, a small Web portal and eProcurement services firm. Also in San Diego is Peter Linz, a captain in the medical corps of the US Navy and named chairman of the Dept. of Medicine at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, and David Knowles who, after four years as VP of engineering of Cymer Inc., is now VP of marketing for new business development. He writes, "It's a welcome change that brings new challenges and a lot more international travel."
The message from Lynn Stefanowicz (lstefanowicz@mac.com) is, "After living in a church rectory for nearly ten years, my husband and I purchased our first home in Old Bridge, NJ."Her husband, David Hermanson, began a PhD program in theology at Drew U., and she began a new position as manager of business operations for behavioral health services for Meridian Health Care in Monmouth County, NJ. Outside of work, Lynn and David spend time with son Noah, 9, playing basketball and baseball. She adds, "To round out the new house experience, we adopted a 3-year-old boxer, named Lexi."
Congrats to Randolph Hunt, who was named Civil Engineer III for the New York State Dept. of Transportation, having served as acting civil engineer for the NYS DOT. Randolph is also a member of the board of directors of the Baruch College Alumni Association and NYC Interagency Engineering Council. Kristan Peters-Hamlin joined the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski as a partner in their New York office; she had previously been at Pillsbury Winthrop. Janice Pegels is in Binghamton, with husband James Jewell and children Adrian and Marcella, where she is a doctor at Complementary Medicine and Healing Arts.
Angelo Alberto, BArch '83's firm, Alberto & Associates, specializes in urban redevelopment and traditional architecture and urban design. He has redevelopment projects in Trenton,Wildwood, Bayonne, and Gloucester City, NJ. He adds that daughter Elizabeth, 16, is the New Jersey state tennis champion (high school). Angelo is in occasional contact with Richard Economakis, MS '96, a professor at Notre Dame, Michael Lykoudis '77, BArch '80, dean of the school of architecture at Notre Dame, Jennifer Knapp Crawford, BArch '83, Dan Heyden '81, and Fred Schmitt, BArch '83, MArch '87.
Clare Ludgate started her own hedge fund consulting business in London, with clients in Sweden, Austria, France, and Switzerland. She does a lot of traveling and loves it, and also joined the Cornell Club of London, "which does wonderful events, including a Thanksgiving dinner for us homesick expats!"Write to Clare at ludgate@dsl. pipex.com. And on the other end of the spectrum is Mary Ellen Hawker Hartwick, who writes, "I retired from full-time work at the ripe old age of 51 and love it. Now I can do whatever--whenever." -- Nina Kondo, nmk22@cornell.edu; and Mark Fernau, mef29@cornell.edu.
83 | It's a wonderful problem to have too much news for one column. Our mail cup runneth over this time, thanks to the myriad of news submissions with your class dues payments, your e-mail updates, and my co-correspondent David Pattison's e-mail blast from this past spring.We're still trying to catch up with all the reports from our classmates, so without further adieu . . .
Brad and DinaWolfman Baker are delighted that their oldest child, Audrey, will be making Cornell a family tradition when she enters as a freshman in the fall. Dina and Brad, who live in suburban Philadelphia, look at this as a great excuse to visit campus more often. Proud mama Kim Leffert announces the birth of her first child, Daniel Isaac, on February 13. Kim and husband Ed Silverstein "can't wait to bring Daniel to the next reunion!"
Ken Balick writes that he, wife Eve (Newman), JD '87, and their daughters Lara, 8, Julia, 6, and Caroline, 3, recently moved to Kinnelon, NJ. Ken's consulting work focuses on international business development, helping companies expand to Asia and Europe via cross-border partnerships. Says Ken, "I'd love to reconnect and hear from old friends--time goes by like a blink of the eye." Ken can be reached via e-mail at kbalick@optonline.net. Michelle Wildi DaValle and husband Dennis are busy raising their three children (Austin, 11, Brandon, 8, and Madison, 5) in Lake Forest, IL, but found time to catch us up on old friends Karen Carruthers, also raising three kids in suburban Illinois, and KarenWright, who lives in the South of France.
From John "Ralph" Russek Jr., we hear that he was recently promoted to general design division manager at the Pidcock Company, a civil engineering firm in Allentown, PA. In January 2004, Ralph retired from the Navy Reserves as a commander after more than 20 years of service. Ralph and his wife Dawn, a country line-dancing enthusiast, have two children. Daughter Erin, 16, enjoys riding and showing her quarterhorse "Herbie Goes Solo," while 13-year-old Erik is fascinated by Cornell men's ice hockey, in addition to the toughest video games.
Penny Nemzer, DVM '87, confesses, "There is a bit more stress in my life as my 16-year-old son Eric is now driving." Penny and spouse Dan Taitz, JD '86, live in Scarsdale, where she is a veterinarian and avid gardener. In December the family traveled to Costa Rica, where they celebrated daughter Sarah's 14th birthday in Punta Islita. Twins Alec and Zachary, 10, round out the Nemzer-Taitz family. Stewart Glickman and wife Sarah have children Daniel, 4, and Rachel, 3, and the family is still growing. Stewart works for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and in his spare time serves on the board of the South Mountain YMCA in Maplewood, NJ.
Thresa Mosely Gibian and husband Stephen '79 have made their home near Ithaca, where Thresa is an interior designer and active community volunteer with organizations such as the Cascadilla Boat Club and Historic Ithaca Inc. They have children Anya, 15, and Galen, 12. Ira and Sari Glass Langstein, along with children Samantha, 12, and Joel, 8, live in the Westchester suburbs, where Ira is a dentist and Sari is an attorney for IBM.Writes Jesse Hammerman, "Middle-aged life with a 16-year-old daughter, 13-year-old son, beautiful wife of 19 years, and my own business for 20 years gives me a lot to be thankful for." Jesse lives in Westport, CT, and is president of H&H Woodworking Inc., an architectural and custom cabinetry firm.
After taking off five years to raise Eli, 5, and Reuben, 9, Ellen Ilivicky Siegman has returned to the workforce part-time and is now a certified court mediator for Florida's Pinellas and Paseo counties. Ellen would love to hear from her former Sigma Delta Tau sisters at esiegma1@tampabay.rr.com. Laura Berkowitz Lokker, JD '86, also took a few years off from practicing law to focus on her family and rethink her career. She decided to return to school and is pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology at Rutgers. Says Laura, "Although the New Brunswick campus is not as scenic as Ithaca, being surrounded by the vitality of a large university has reminded me of the many good times I had at Cornell, both as an undergrad and law student." Laura and husband Brian live in Montclair, NJ and have three children ages 12, 9, and 6.
Steven Ciabattoni, a radiologist at NYU Medical Center and chief of radiology at the Manhattan V.A. Hospital, keeps in touch with several old school chums, including Susan Ades, who lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and two daughters and works for the National Zoo; Katy Keib Johnson, an attorney in Syracuse and mother of three; and Andy Hahn, JD '86, a New York City attorney with two children. Steven has lost touch with some of his buddies and would love to hear from Mark Morrissey and Andy Schrauth.
Jane Serling is living in San Diego with husband Neil Sjoholm, daughter Naomi, 16, and son Daniel, 2. She is enjoying being a toddler's mom again and works as an epidemiologist for RTI Int'l. Jane interviews Cornell applicants in San Diego and is amused that they always ask her, "Exactly how cold is it in Ithaca?" Jane says she really misses Cornell at times and finds herself thinking about college often, now that she has a daughter approaching college age. Mark and Kimberly Osborn Rhodes pass along some sports news from Westfield, NJ. Seventh grader Amanda plays on a year-round regional soccer team and was also selected to play on a summer Super-Youth League New Jersey team. Eighth grader Chris was an all-star running back for his league champion football team this past fall and will be playing lacrosse this spring.Mark and Kim try to keep up by playing competitive tennis. This summer,Mark (as Scoutmaster) will join Chris and other area senior Boy Scouts on an eight-day trek through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In their spare time, Kim is finishing up her fifth year on the Board of Education, and Mark is internal counsel for the mergers and acquisition practice at Citigroup's investment banking department.
From Columbia, SC, AndrewWalsh reports that he is happily married to a Boston girl and lives with two Labs whom he treats like children. Andrew works as dispute resolution director for the South Carolina Bar, and in his spare time enjoys organizing and hosting occasional Cornell get-togethers with his fellow South Carolina Cornellians. Rebecca Slivka,MArch '86, has also encountered a number of Cornellians, thanks to her growing involvement in competitive Scrabble events, and hung out with John Karris '85 and David Weiss '82 at a tournament in Reno last January. Rebecca has been director of Seattle's Scrabble Club since 2001. After five years as chair of the art department at Smith College, John Davis is taking a leave of absence to spend a semester as a visiting professor of American studies at Doshisha U. in Kyoto, Japan. I was also glad to hear from another Texan in our midst: Andrew Bucki lives in Dallas, where he is director of design for FedEx Kinko's.
Lindsay Ruth writes, "When I was a student, I never dreamed I'd be working for Cornell Alumni Affairs and Development 22 years later! After a career in public libraries, I have returned to Cornell and am thoroughly enjoying working for the university. Feel free to contact me if I can ever provide any assistance related to Cornell (ldr28@cornell.edu)."
I'm out of space for this column, so if you don't see your news here, please be patient; it will appear soon. Keep on sending your updates to: -- Dinah Lawrence Godwin, dinah.godwin@earthlink.net; or David Pattison, d.pattison2@verizon.net.
84 | Since quite of bit of class news comes from East of the Mississippi, the first part of the column hails from such places. Scott Eskwitt has been appointed Chief Counsel, River Development LLC in Red Bank, NJ. Scott is a real estate developer involved in redeveloping undervalued New Jersey properties. Scott's family includes daughters Kate and Clara, who play softball and lacrosse. Congratulations to Stacey Fried, MS '94, who ran in the More Marathon in New York City's Central Park on April 10, 2005.
Saul Gitlin is an executive VP of Kang & Lee Advertising in New York, putting his linguistic and cultural prowess to work. Saul has also just completed a manuscript for his first children's book, about China. Saul and his wife Aviva, a psychologist, live in White Plains with their son Guy and daughter Cali. The Gitlin family traveled to Aviva's home country of South Africa in March and to China in the summer. I still remember when Saul practiced Chinese on the wipe-off boards on our dorm doors in Donlon! Saul writes that he would love to hear from old friends and acquaintances from Cornell at ssgit@aol.com. Jose Nieves was recently promoted to a full professorship in information technology and computer science at Lord Fairfax Community College in Warrenton, VA. Jose is also teaching doctoral-level courses at Capella U.
Marcy Dubroff is in touch with Esther Rubin '86 and other former Sun photographers.Marcy also stays in touch with Karen A. Johnston, DVM '90, and they swap kid and dog stories.Marcy is entering her 12th year in Lancaster with husband Steven Ulrich, and at Franklin and Marshall College.When she's not at work, she's busy chauffeuring Ryan and Caroline to their various activities. She's actually thinking of a career change to the limo business! Marcy still freelances as a photographer and is finally training for her bat mitzvah! Dennis Mitchell was recently promoted to assistant dean, Columbia U. School of Dental and Oral Surgery. Dennis lives in Teaneck, NJ, with his wife Bridgette.
Lew Senft writes from Land O Lakes, FL (it's not just a brand of butter!) that he had a very bad accident in 1999 when a steel door fell on him. After four operations he is back on his feet. He moved down to Florida in 2003 and is making contributions to "church, people in need, and getting politicians elected for the good of our society." Lew is working full time for Publix Supermarket.He met President Bush at a campaign rally in New Port Richey and has a position as a precinct representative for the Pasco County Republican Party. Lew has seen Allen Rolli, Michael Vinson, and Emil Manzo, all of whom send their best wishes to the class.
Peter Kaufman just started a new documentary film production company called Intelligent Television. Peter and wife Ellen are raising their children Sophia,Henry, and Charlie in New York City. Gregory Jamrosz, DVM '93, lives in Whitesboro, NY, and married Joanne Vassallo on April 9, 2005 in Utica, NY. Robert Pancotti worked for 18 years in the journal and book production departments of the medical publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (formerly Raven Press), but is now a senior development editor in the medical book division of McGraw-Hill. In his spare time, Robert takes drawing classes and volunteers at the American Museum of Natural History. Lisa Rosen Sonek joined Microsoft a couple of years ago as a business development manager, after 20 years in sales and business development in high tech. Lisa is enjoying the experience of being at such a world-class company. She lives in Lynnfield, MA, with her husband Greg, PhD '86, a professor of electrical engineering, and their daughter. Lisa and Greg met at Cornell 22 years ago when Greg was finishing up his PhD.
Michelle Ehrenreich Haigh and I both had sons in the same school here in New Jersey, but Michelle and her family are moving to Cambridge, MA, where her husband John is the new executive dean of the Kennedy School at Harvard.Michelle is taking a sabbatical from the world of employment to help the family of four make the transition to Beantown. Dan Caloras wins the award for hardest writing to read! Dan is happily married to a busy physician wife, Sheila Kendrick, and they have two children who came into their lives from Ethiopia four years ago. The family enjoys skiing and gardening. Dan and Sheila practice general medicine together in a rural town in New Hampshire on the Connecticut River. In his spare time, Dan is medical director of a local hospice agency. Dan is also affiliated with Dartmouth, teaching medical students.
News from points West of the Mississippi and from outside the US: Patricia Shin Ranunkel lives in Paris with husband Charles and children Olivier and Béatrice. Patricia is a partner in the European equities firm Cheuvreux and enjoys golf, skiing, sailing, and squash. Robert Geise thoroughly enjoyed reunion last year. Since then, he has been developing his infectious disease/HIV practice in Monterey, CA. Robert and his partner Tim welcomed the arrival of their daughter, Lucy Elizabeth Gleason-Geise, who was born on Father's Day, June 19. Baby and both dads are doing well. Norma Poole is the owner ofWine and Vine Ways, a wine education and customized tour business in the Napa Valley (www.wineandvineways.com). Now that the movie Sideways has made headlines, I will bet that business at Wine and Vine Ways will be booming!
Cedric Leighton is still in the USAF and received a Bronze Star for work in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He will relinquish command of the 316th Training Squadron in July and return to the Pentagon, going to the Joint Staff after two years in West Texas. Cedric is married to Amy and they have a young son, Samuel. Kathy McCullough writes that Marty Heebner is co-writing two craft books, Beading with Wire and Vintage Jewelry Designs, and is featured in a third Designers' Book ofWearable Shoes. Kathy attended the Austin Film Festival in 2004 to head two screenwriting seminars at their screenwriting conference, and another conference in July 2005 in Las Vegas, "How to Beat the Odds in Hollywood." Keith Friedenberg, founder and past president of the Libe Slope Tanning Society, 1981-1984, writes that he started a solo practice in gastroenterology in November. Keith and wife Belinda live in Kirtland, OH, with their newest child, Shane, born July 4, 2004, who joins siblings Bryn, Ryan, and Reid. -- Lindsay Liotta Forness, fornesszone@aol.com; and Karla Sievers McManus, Klorax@comcast.net. Class website, http://classof84.alumni.cornell.edu.
86 | When Lisa Hellinger Manaster, our class president, asked me to become a class correspondent, I couldn't refuse. I was reminded of so many conversations we had as college roommates, when one of us would invariably convince the other to do something. ("Let's go study up at Uris.""We have to go to that afterhours party.""Let's rent that house on Linden Avenue.") While time marches on, there is comfort in knowing that some things never change and my friend of 20 years can still get me to say yes.
What I didn't anticipate is how great it would be hearing from classmates I have not seen in decades. Your news reflects how well so many of us are doing in our personal lives and careers. All the stories are interesting, and some are even newsworthy. Gayle Reichler Mazlish was featured in an article published in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences magazine this winter. Gayle is the inventor of Gayle's Miracles--30-calorie, all natural, gourmet chocolate truffles. Gayle has also authored two books on nutrition, Active Wellness and Active Wellness: Feel Good For Life, and a cookbook, Gayle's Feel-Good Foods. If too many sweets find you in need of a dentist, you can look up Betsy Mead Noel, who lives in Ithaca and has joined the dental practice of Richards and McCutcheon. Husband Andy is Cornell's very own Director of Athletics, and the couple welcomed daughter Amelie Elizabeth last October.
New arrivals to our Cornell classmates include Danielle Epstein, born last year to Andrew and Allison Epstein. Andrew writes that he has a thriving commercial and civil litigation practice in Fort Myers, FL, and describes his daughter as "the greatest addition to our world." John Pakutka spoke with equal joy about his son Noah Alan, who was born this year. According to John, he and his wife Joyce have experienced little but sheer joy since Noah's arrival. John is also busy with his company, the Crescent Group LLC, which works with hospital systems, law firms, and politicians interested in health policy. John says they have developed a sizeable practice helping clients with research in mass toxic tort cases and healthcare organization bankruptcy cases.
Steven Getman is the Seneca County Attorney and is helping the public in a different way. According to a news article published in a local newspaper, Steven's office, in conjunction with other agencies, collected over half a million dollars for taxpayers in 2004. Steven's office is responsible for the prosecution and defense of all civil actions and proceedings brought by or against Seneca County.
Apart from exciting careers, some classmates reported fantastic vacations. Lisa Korfhage Pannell wrote about an outrageous Outward Bound trip she made with her husband Phil this year. The pair took a trip in their home state of Minnesota, which included four days of dogsledding and six hours of cross-country skiing. The couple camped in near-zero temperatures and awoke to snow drifts on their sleeping bags. Lisa reported jumping into an icy river through a hole cut in the ice.What does Lisa do on a regular day? She invents new products for the Yoplait division of General Mills. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear about a new frozen concoction in their product line sometime soon! Lisa is also a mom to their 4-year-old son.
Other inventors in our class include Beth Lucey, MBA '96. Beth was the leader on the redesign of the French's mustard bottle, which obtained a design patent. After that, she exited corporate America and is now working in real estate and studying to become a soul-focused (energy) healer. Beth also shared the sad news of the passing of her father, longtime Cornell agronomy professor and department chair Robert Lucey. Her family is selecting a tree to be planted in the Cornell Plantations in memory of her parents. Beth lives in Pompano Beach, FL, and gets to see longtime friends Debbie Goodman Ferencsik, mom to daughter Olivia, and Marty and Peg Hall Rauch, who have four kids!
Denise "Didi" Barcomb Frechette is mother to four children: Hannah, 15, Nate, 14, Laena, 11, and Isaac, 2. Didi writes that she lost her son Luke at age 4 to pediatric cancer. Her family has begun the Lukie's Soul Foundation with the goal of raising $100,000 for a teaching classroom at the new CNY Children's Hospital. To learn more, visit the website at www.lukiesoul.org.
In other exciting news, Eve Seaman Edwards performed Violetta in La Traviata and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni this May with the Amici Opera of Philadelphia. Eve is a soloist with the Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company and Symphony Orchestra. Melissa Lea is EVP, Director of Business Development for Mullen, a top advertising agency in Boston. She recently co-chaired a symposium for the Boston Ad Club, which hosted the global chief marketing officer of McDonalds and the publisher of the New Yorker. Melissa is mom to children Kelsey, 4, and Spencer, 1-1/2. She also shared news of Sharon Longaker Vibert '87, who is living in a Paris suburb with her husband and three sons. And Margaret Tockarshewsky is getting her master's at Columbia in historic preservation.
Other news from Boston comes from my old friend Kenan Nacar, who is working as a financial planner for American Express. I caught up with Ken last fall at the bar mitzvah of Michael and LisaManaster's son (a very proud moment for their family and a fantastic party!). Ken was accompanied by his then-girlfriend Stephanie and the pair looked so happy that it was no surprise that their engagement ensued a week later. Lisa and Michael attended their wedding in Palm Beach last weekend and said it was a beautiful affair. Also attending were Ken's fraternity brothers Steve Georgaklis '87 and George Gavris '85.
MichaelWagner reported that wedding bells rang for Jennifer Braman last year. Jennifer moved back to Honolulu from Cleveland, where she had spent the last eight years. She practices law at Roeca, Louie and Hiraoka, and just became a mom to son Jack.Michael and his wife Lori (Spydell) live in Shaker Heights, OH, and have children of their own. The Wagners keep tabs on a great number of Cornell friends. Lori recently celebrated her 40th birthday with Carol Getz Abolafia, Sidney Solomon Neuhaus, and Laura Nieboer Hine in Miami. Laura lives in Illinois with her twin boys, 12, and daughter, 7.
On a very sad note,Michael reported the death of Donny Howell '85. Donny was living in Maui, HI, where he managed the sales end of a vacation ownership project for Marriott. He died of a heart attack in his sleep while attending Jazz Fest in New Orleans. A service was held in Hobart, IN, and was attended by over 20 Cornell friends. Mike shared that Donny was an accomplished sales professional, surfer, music aficionado, cook, and close friend to many.Michael also filled us in on Martin Schulz, who works as an international equity portfolio manager for National City Corp. Martin is a major in the Army Reserves and has been deployed in Haiti, Afghanistan, and other Central Asian and Middle Eastern nations. Thank you,Martin, for helping to keep us all safe.
Would you e-mail me if you know of any newsworthy Cornellians who are living in Long Island? I am a partner at Elements, a regional lifestyle magazine launched three years ago, and am always looking for compelling stories on individuals and businesses of interest on Long Island. My work e-mail is donna@elementsmagazine. com. That's it for now. Please be sure to write me or Hilory with any news.We look forward to hearing from you! -- Donna Mandell Korren, dk26@optonline.net; Hilory Federgreen Wagner, haf5@cornell.edu.
87 | Where were you and what were you doing when you first heard that Cornell's 11th president had quit? I actually heard it from my wife, who was in New Orleans, and she had learned the news from a Cornellian in Scotland the day before! How is that for a global Cornell community! Out here on the West Coast, former Big Red soccer goalie and my fellow U-Hall 5 resident Hugh O'Gorman now makes his home in Culver City, CA.His lovely French wife Nathalie is a principal architect in the L.A. firm ofWilliam Hefner and Assoc. Their daughter Lila was born October 24, 2004. Hugh is the head of acting with the California Repertory Theatre Company at Cal State Long Beach, where he oversees the BA and MFA acting programs. About 12 miles south, you will find Liz (Kallenbach) and Peter Bell '86 in Manhattan Beach. "Peter and I have left the East Coast after 12 years outside Philadelphia to allow him to pursue the career of his heart in L.A. No, not acting! Peter is now CEO of Cure Autism Now, a nonprofit dedicated to funding research into the causes of and treatments or cures for autism, a rapidly growing developmental disorder that now affects one in every 166 kids born in the US. I volunteer for CAN and manage our kids Avery, 6, Derek, 10, and Tyler, 12, who has autism.We are adjusting to L.A. traffic and enjoying seeing our West Coast friends, especially Brian Parmelee '86 and his wife Susan (Stiff). I am excited to be celebrating our big birthdays with Lisa More Bienstock, Elyse Harney Morris, and Emily Sawers Berlinghof '86 in Palm Springs in April 2005."
In the Bay Area, June D. Bell and husband Neil Mendelson have been married and living in Foster City since 2001. Their son Samuel celebrated his second birthday in March 2005. June sent in her news with a spiffy business card attached. She is a freelance writer for the National Law Journal, Dallas Morning News, and other newspapers and magazines.What is so great about being a freelance writer, you ask? "No commute or pantyhose! Home office!" is June's retort. In a recent e-mail from Rana Glasgal, ME '92, I spotted a new job title in her signature block: "'Tis true! I got promoted after my boss's retirement in February. I now have two jobs! I'm responsible for all the institutional research duties I had before, plus oversight of the decision support systems database and tools, two analysts, and a 200-strong user community." Rana is now known around Stanford as Associate Vice Provost for Institutional Research and Decision Support. She and husband Bruce are avid ice hockey fans and play in local leagues several times a week. This past spring, as the Big Red men's team was playing in the ECAC and NCAA tournaments, Rana and Bruce hosted viewing parties at their hockey club. Over 20 alumni of different years showed up to root for Mike Schafer '86 and his squad.
This past summer Rana celebrated turning 40 in style by jetting to Europe with Sarah Breinig Saul, Vicki Davis Spencer, and Alexa Coin Florence. The gals rented a villa in Italy. La dolce vida! And speaking of new jobs, former Seattle resident Brent Vallat, ME '89, quit his old job back East on March 11. "Today marks the conclusion of my 14-year career at American Express. I have decided to focus my energies in the near term on pursuing a new career in financial services out on the West Coast." Brent is now senior VP in the consumer credit group of Wells Fargo Bank's strategic risk management division.
In the Rockies, David Ehrlich was named one of the 25 most powerful people in Colorado by 5280 magazine. The former executive with Kroenke Sports has branched out: he is an executive VP with the Bonham Group and has formed a new sales company within the firm. David described the new venture as a strategic sales and consulting company focusing on issues that come along only every so often, like a naming-rights deal, for example. Also in the sporting world, Phoenix Suns president Bryan Colangelo was honored as the NBA's Executive of the Year by the Sporting News in May, after emerging from his father's shadow to engineer the third-biggest turnaround in league history. It was the first time a father and son have won the award. Bryan played for three years on the men's basketball team and earned a varsity letter during the 1986-87 campaign.
Over in the Midwest, Karen M. Rowehl, MS '92, of St. Louis Park,MN, has been working as a registered dietitian for the Eating Disorders Inst. at Methodist Hospital since March 2004. In Kansas City,MO, Allen Wright is married to Stacey (Strassberg) '90. Allen wrote about their three children: "Jared, 10, Trevor, 8, Owen, 5, and Eric, 3, now have the coolest parents around. Stacey and I recently opened an inflatable party zone in Shawnee Mission, KS. Stacey has re-entered the work force to run the business while I continue to manage a call center for Ford Credit. If all goes well, the glimmer of hope that is early retirement could become a reality."
Outside of Columbus, OH, fellow class officer Amy Janower Weinstein was busy packing up her brood to move back to New York: in May, husband Sam was named chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. Melinda G.Weir dropped us a note from the Big Apple: "Had a big get-together this April in NYC as my husband Erik Sorensen and I celebrated our 40th birthday with a bunch of Cornell friends. Since we met in U-Hall 2 in 1983, we have now officially spent more of our life together than apart! The following classmates joined us: Ellen Rosefsky Cohen, Margot Leffler Milberg, Deborah Mei, Kathy Taylor Calhoun, Gregg and Jill Barnett Kaufman, Adam and Lisa Lederman Kaufmann '92, Karen Hirsch '85, DVM '89, Randy Karmen Guttenberg, and Bob Litkovitz (as well as other Cornellians from different classes). A good time was had by all."
Elsewhere in the Empire State, Mark Frucht is married to Lori (Rothstein) '90. Mark writes that he joined Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest bank, as CFO for their US operations in November 2004. "Twins Matthew and Samantha turned 6 in the spring." They live in Plainview, NY. Amit Batabyal reported in from Upstate: "I am the Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics at the Rochester Inst. of Technology. I like my job at RIT and I enjoy living in Rochester, NY, with my wife Swapna and daughter Sanjana." Amit also published his third book, entitled Stochastic Modeling in Range Management: Selected Essays.
Former state assemblyman Daniel J. Fessenden has been named the executive director of the Cornell Agriculture & Food Technology Park (CAFTP) in Geneva, NY. Dan took the helm in September a year ago, having worked for the Carrier Corp. in Syracuse from 1999 to 2004. Ten years ago, he received the ALS Alumni Association's Young Alumni Achievement Award. Philip Bobbs '05, the recipient of our class Tradition Fellowship, has established a Tradition Fellowship in his own name and made a contribution of $500 to the Save the Music Foundation, as part of the senior recognition program under the Cornell Commitment program.
We will have a wrap-up report from Ithaca on the July "39 Again" gathering in our next column. Send falling leaves and your news to--Tom S. Tseng, ttseng@stanford.edu; or Debra Howard Stern, dstern39@yahoo.com.
88 | Hello, fellow classmates. As I write this, the Cornell community is stunned by the news that Jeffrey Lehman '77 is stepping down from his post as Cornell's 11th president due to irreconcilable differences with the Board of Trustees on how to best execute a strategy for Cornell's future. President Lehman made his announcement during the State of the University address during Reunion Weekend in June, surprising those in attendance. Needless to say, this has sparked much conversation and conjecture within the Cornell family of students, alumni, faculty, and staff.While I do not want to use this column as a forum for expressing personal views, I believe it is important for classmates to know where they can get more information on this event, the role and responsibilities of the board, and contact information for making their views known.
With that in mind, please allow me to refer you to the website for the trustees at http://www.cornell.edu/trustees as a starting point. From this page, you can find links to the university's charter and bylaws, as well as listings of trustees and committee chairs. If you would like to review news about what happened back in June, try the Cornell news site at http://www.news.cornell.edu. Use the menu item labeled "News" near the top of the page to get to the "Monthly Index." The index page will allow you to access news by month and year going back as far as 1996.
Now, for classmates news. Let's start in my neck of the woods, the Bay Area. Marc Cohen writes that he has been living in San Francisco for 15 years, the past eight of which he has worked as a software instructor for a company called Zephyr-TEC.Marc teaches speech recognition software to students with physical injuries or other disabilities that render them unable to use a computer keyboard and mouse.Marc's work helps these students keep their jobs or return to the job market if they have been out of work. In his personal life,Marc participated in a historic event at San Francisco City Hall last year when he married his partner of five years, Dave. Family and friends gathered at City Hall for the occasion, and a few months later,Marc's brother and sister-in-law in New Jersey hosted a celebratory party. Classmate Shu Costa (née Shu Foo) attended the party, and Marc and Shu had a wonderful time catching up.Marc and Dave were disappointed when the same-sex marriages were nullified by the state courts the following August, but they and their families and friends still consider themselves a married couple.Marc keeps in touch with many San Francisco-based Cornellians, including fellow '88er Nick Daniels.
Also living and working in San Francisco is Meea Kang. Meea is the president of Domus Development LLC, a real estate development company specializing in innovative affordable/sustainable communities. She and her husband of six years, Gary Ahuna, welcomed their first daughter, Alana Tae-Su Ahuna, into their family in November 2004. In keeping with new baby news, we have Richard Colvin who has been staying up late with his wife Helen Raynham and their third child, daughter Claire, born in March of this year. Next is a note from Julie Friedman, JD '93, who, with husband Bob Negris, brought their second child, Jonah Anthony, into the world on St. Patrick's Day. Julie was taking a six-month maternity leave before returning to her work with the Mental Hygiene Legal Service in Albany, NY. She says that taking care of two small children (son Luca turned 3 in April) makes college and law school "seem like a breeze." Our last item of baby news comes from Kristina Lamont Kramer. Kristina and her husband Scott were excited to announce the arrival of son Aaron in November 2004. Kristina says that Aaron's big brother Alex, who will be 3 in August '05, is very happy to have a playmate.
Back on the Hill, we have word from Kristin Kroll Ramsay that she, her Michigander husband, and their children Joshua, 6, and Makenna, 4, moved back to Ithaca in November 2004. Kristin says that Ithaca is the perfect location for her business, Seneca Crunch: The Finger Lakes' Finest Granola! She is also working as a temp in admissions for Cornell while she ponders whether to continue as an entrepreneur or return to full-time formal employment. Another classmate who has gone "independent" in business is Laureen Pottynski. Laureen became a business owner in October 2004 when she purchased (with her best friend and associate) the Springfield, PA, animal hospital where she had worked for the past 11 years.
One classmate with an interesting combination of professional pursuits is Delaney Ruston. Delaney is an academic physician, with a focus on medical ethics. She is also a documentary filmmaker, whose current project is a personal documentary about reconnecting with her schizophrenic father. Interested classmates can visit www.unlistedfilm. com for more information. Delaney is married to Dr. Peter Small and has two young children, Chase and Tessa. Continuing with other classmates in medicine, regular writer Joel Goldberg reported that he and wife Hilary left the U. of Minnesota to return to Boston in July of this year. Both Joel and Hilary accepted positions at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Hilary as a pulmonologist specializing in lung transplant, and Joel as a colorectal surgeon. Cathleen Skelly Whelan, MD '97, is an "overworked primary care physician." Cathleen wrote in May that she and husband Joseph have a daughter named May, who was 20 months old at the time.
Thomas Bottoni lives in Tidewater, VA, and practices emergency medicine at a busy community hospital. In March, Thomas was appointed assistant medical director for the Port Warwick Emergency Department for Peninsula Emergency Physicians. Thomas has been married to wife Dawn since leaving the US Navy in 2002. Another '88er who served in a branch of the military is Susan Nyquist Houston. Susan retired from the US Air Force and now volunteers at her daughter's school and is a Girl Scout Brownie leader. Susan's husband Greg teaches at the AFNORTH International School, which provides education for children of Allied Forces Northern Europe.
That's all the news for now. Next time,my fellow correspondent Suzanne should have some of your responses to the questions she posed in her "We Want to Hear from You!" e-mail from last April. By the time you read this,my wife Ann and I will have attended Cornell's Adult University (CAU) in July. I'm taking a class titled Meritocracy in America, led by economics professor Robert Franks.With the resignation of President Lehman still quite recent, I expect there will be very lively discussion both within and outside the classroom at CAU. I look forward to reporting on the experience, which will hopefully include contact with fellow '88ers. Until next time, I wish you peace. -- Steve Tomaselli, st89@cornell.edu; and Suzanne Bors Andrews, smb68@cornell.edu.
89 | Many of us have been celebrating 20th high school reunions this summer and some classmates are already thinking ahead to 2009 and our Cornell 20th! Stacey Chervin wrote recently, "Now that we are done having babies, we should make it to the next class reunion." Stacey's now-completed family includes husband Eric Sigda, daughter Lauren, and new baby Caitlin Tess, born last October. Stacey reports that Lauren and Caitlin have already become best friends. Stacey was promoted this year to senior VP and associate general counsel at Sotheby's, the art auction house.
Congratulations to all those '89ers who welcomed babies in the last year! There are several other new arrivals to report. Dana Post Adler wrote,"My daughter Eliana Chloe was born on August 13, 2004. She was two months early, weighed a mere two pounds, seven ounces, and spent nine weeks in the NICU at Englewood Hospital. She is now 7 months old, smiling, happy, and big! Her brother Harrison, 8, and sister Caroline, 5, are truly enjoying her." On September 2, 2004, Rob Lis and wife Alicia had their third daughter, Sophia Ann. Rob reported from Ambler, PA,"Her big sisters Taylor and Devon are thrilled!" Rob works as the VP of sales and alliances at Synygy Inc., a Philadelphia-based software company. Steve Sinaiko also celebrated a birth in September. He wrote from New York City, "My wife Jessica and I welcomed a son, Nathan Elijah, on September 16, 2004. He is a great joy!"
Josh Gibson wrote this spring from San Francisco, where he's a clinical faculty member in psychiatry at UCSF, that he and his wife Tanya (Egan) had a little daughter, Dylan Amelia, on March 9, 2005. Bruce Zolot wrote from NYC that he and wife Joan now have two children ages 3 and 1. Stacy Baskin Paton kept us updated with the news that she and husband Craig and their daughter Jordan, 7, and son Jeremy, 5, have moved from New Jersey to Glenview, IL, a Chicago suburb.
Tami Seaman is working as a family physician in a group practice in Troy, NY. She and husband Mark Fountain have kids Emma, 5, and Adam, 2-1/2. Elizabeth Petri wrote, "I'm very happy to have retired from banking and to have been running my own business full-time for eight years." Elizabeth's business, the Petri School of Irish Dancing, experienced some excitement this year. Her student, Gabriella Wood, 13, won the 2005 World Championships of Irish Dancing last spring in Ennis, Ireland, only the fifth American woman ever to achieve that honor. Elizabeth was the co-chair of the 2004 North America Irish Dance Championships in Philadelphia, a five-day event attended by more than 4,000 Irish dancers from all over the world.
Antoinette LaVecchia starred in two off-Broadway shows in 2004, both critically acclaimed: Magic Hands Freddy (opposite Ralph Macchio and Michael Rispoli) and String of Pearls (opposite Ellen McLaughlin,Mary Testa, and Sharon Washington). She's also busy as a professor at NYU's Graduate Acting Program and a member of the Workshop Co. at the Actor's Center. Jeff Spector lives in Bethesda,MD, and works for MCI.He was promoted to senior employment counsel in August 2004.His wife Robin continues to work as an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection.When he wrote his news in May, their daughter Ellen was 5 and finishing Kindergarten, and son Avi was 2-1/2. Jeff recently renewed contact with Dave Scher through work. Dave works for Kroll Ontrack. Jeff also works with Jeff Rackow '88 at MCI and keeps in touch with Dan Goldman '91 and Randall Singer '91.
Rounding out the news pile are a couple of marriages. Susie Kupferman provided some more details about her marriage last summer to Mike Raskin, mentioned by a friend in a previous issue of the magazine. Their wedding took place on August 1, 2004, in Newport, RI.Mike is a real estate developer from Seattle. Susie finished her urogynecology fellowship and has started her own practice and is making a new home in Seattle. Karen Kugal Goodman was succinct about her own marriage, writing, "I got married in October to a wonderful man!" Her news form yields the information that the mystery man is Larry Goodman and they live in East Meadow, NY. Congratulations to both couples, and thanks for sharing your news. Enjoy the fall, classmates, and stay in touch! -- Anne Czaplinski Treadwell, ac98@cornell.edu; Mike McGarry, mmcgarry@dma-us.com; Lauren Hoeflich, laurenhoeflich@yahoo.com; and Stephanie Bloom Avidon, savidon1@hotmail.com.