Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin | Winter '14

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

WINTER ’14

Courage/Risk /Reward Alumni offer fresh approaches to solving societal issues

In this issue:

STATE OF THE SCHOOL

LIFE IN THE SIXTIES AT ROSEMARY HALL

BEING LED TO LEAD: Penny Bach Evins ’90

FRONT COVER Teammates Lukas Hochmeister (right) and Sherpa Ang Dorjee (left) helped adventurer and activist Cason Crane ’11 complete the ascent of Mt. Everest in May 2013 as part of the Rainbow Summits Project. See story on page 16.

RIGHT detail of mixed media, 2013 Conceptual Portraiture

by Lucy Davis Phillips '01. Her exhibit Patterns in a Lonely Crowd will be on display at the Paul Mellon Arts Center January 6–March 14, 2014.

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

WINTER ’14

Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is published fall, winter, and spring for alumni, students and their parents, and friends of the School. Please send change of address to Alumni Records and all other correspondence to the Communications Office, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492-3800.

Choate Rosemary Hall does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices on the basis of age, gender, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, or non-job-related handicap.

Printed in U.S.A. 1314-067/17 M

Editorial Offices T: (203) 697-2252 F: (203) 697-2380 E-mail: alumline@choate.edu Web site: www.choate.edu Director of Strategic Planning & Communications Alison J. Cady Editor Lorraine S. Connelly Design and Production David C. Nesdale

Class Notes Editor Henry McNulty ’65 Contributors Emily Brenner Paul Danielson ’84 Penny Bach Evins ’90 Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63 Courtney Jaser Kimberly Norman Magaly Olivero Tochi Onyebuchi ’05 John Steinbreder ’74 Joanne C. Sullivan Leslie Virostek

Ruth Walker David Webb Lindsay Whalen ’01 Photography Donald R. Bennett Deron Chang John Giammatteo ’77 Ian Morris

Contents | Winter 2014 f e a t u r e s

d e p a r t m e n t s

5

2

On Christian & Elm News about the School

8

30 34

Alumni Association News

Living Our Values A culture defined by integrity, respect, and compassion State of the School: A vibrant, dynamic school community looks to its future

16

Courage/Risk/Reward Choate’s Social Entrepreneurs

26

Nostalgia: Rosemary Hall in the Sixties A reflection by Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63

Classnotes Profiles of Architect and Urban Planner Andrés Duany ’67; IMG Sports and Entertainment President George Pyne ’84; Iconix President Veronica Chou ’02; Rebellion Photonics CEO Allison Lami Sawyer ’03; and Applico CEO Alex Moazed ’06

54

In Memoriam We remember history and political science teacher Zachary Goodyear and former registrar Lynne England

58

Scoreboard Fall Sports Wrap-up

60

Bookshelf Reviews of works by Joshua Kendall ’77, Kristen Fielder Kittscher ’92, Emily Oster ’98, and Vanessa M. Gezari

64

End Note Penny Bach Evins ’90, Head of St. Paul’s School for Girls, “Leans In”

Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees 2013-2014 Samuel P. Bartlett ’91 Michael J. Carr ’76 George F. Colony ’72 Alex D. Curtis Thompson Dean David R. Foster ’72 Robert B. Goergen, Jr. ’89 John F. Green ’77 Linda J. Hodge ’73 Christopher M. Hodgson ’78 Brett M. Johnson ’88 Vanessa Kong-Kerzner Cecelia M. Kurzman ’87

Edward O. Lanphier ’74 Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57 James A. Lebovitz ’75 Kewsong Lee ’82 Robert A. Minicucci ’71 Marshall S. Ruben Henry K. Snyder ’85 Jeanette Sublett Thomas M. Viertel ’59

Life Trustee Charles F. Dey Bruce S. Gelb ’45 Edwin A. Goodman ’58 Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. ’57 Cary L. Neiman ’64 Stephen J. Schulte ’56 Edward J. Shanahan William G. Spears ’56

Editorial Advisory Board Christopher Hodgson ’78 Judy Donald ’66 Howard R. Greene Jeein Ha ’00 Dorothy Heyl ’71 Henry McNulty ’65 John Steinbreder ’74 Monica St. James Francesca Vietor ’82 Heather Zavod

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on CHRISTIAN & ELM | Newsworthy

ST. JOHN HALL GROUNDBREAKING

Sixth Former Named Siemens Regional Finalist

On October 10, Choate Rosemary Hall broke ground on the new St. John Hall designed by world-renowned architects Pelli Clarke Pelli. The 35,000-square foot facility is proposed to achieve a LEED-Gold certification and scheduled to open in 2015.

In addition to providing a teaching space for applied mathematics, the new St. John Hall will be a model for interdisciplinary education and will accommodate a wide scope of academic inquiry. Courses such as architecture and robotics will share the building with sculpture and biotechnology. New courses such as visual mathematics, engineering, and renewable biofuels will add to the variety of disciplines studied in close proximity.

In addition, the new building will be home to Choate’s first i.d.Lab which will serve as a catalyst for the curriculum. Designed to support hands-on learning, the lab will also foster collaboration and creativity with opportunities for students to work in teams. Says Headmaster Curtis, “We hope students and teachers will use the i.d.Lab to think through a challenge in front of them, to create a project, or to undertake a group endeavor. In the next few years, it is our intention to create i.d. spaces across the Choate campus in classroom buildings as well as dormitories as a catalyst for learning.”

Ji Won “Cindy” Lim ’14 of Wallingford, Conn., was named a Regional Finalist in the 2013-2014 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, & Technology. The Siemens Competition, a program of the Siemens Foundation, is the nation’s leading science and mathematics research competition for high school students. The annual event, administered by the College Board, awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 in individual and team categories.

For the competition, Cindy and Peter Shim of the Pingry School studied a number theory problem regarding the existence of the smallest number that is not expressible as a combination of a sum, or difference between a Fibonacci number and a prime. Says Cindy, “While not necessarily of immediate practical significance, it is an example of advancement of our knowledge in an old and challenging field.” In the last five years Choate has had 5 Semifinalists, two of whom were Regional Finalists, in the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.

Phoebe House Dedication On October 18, Choate Rosemary Hall dedicated the Headmaster’s house on Rosemary Lane, Phoebe House, in honor of Phoebe Evans Dey P ’78, ’81, ’83, and wife of former President and Principal Charles F. Dey (1973-91). The Headmaster’s new home is a gift of William ‘Ted’ Little ’49 and his wife, Frances.

Other named buildings in honor of previous heads of school include St. John Hall, dedicated in 1958, in honor of Headmaster George St. John (1908-1947) and his wife Clara St. John; Seymour St. John Chapel, rededicated in 1998, in honor of Headmaster Seymour St. John ’31 (1947-1973) and Shanahan Field in honor of Headmaster Edward J. Shanahan (1991-2011). Ruutz-Rees, an administrative office building and meeting space, presently undergoing renovation, is named in honor of Caroline Ruutz-Rees, first headmistress of Rosemary Hall (1890-1938).

Faculty Chairs Awarded

Where Are They Now?

Students and faculty gathered for the School’s 124th Convocation on September 3. At the ceremony Dean of Faculty Katie Levesque announced the awarding of three faculty chairs, two of them to alumni of the School. The Independence Foundation Chair was awarded to Latin teacher Mary Liz Williamson ’94; the Lawrence M. Gelb Chair in American history was awarded to History, Philosophy, Religion, and Social Sciences Department Head Amy D. Foster; and the William G. Shute and John Ed Wilfong Chair was awarded to Third Form Boys Dean and English teacher Gordon Armour ’76.

Three cast members from the 2002 spring musical production of Chicago have found their way respectively onto the Broadway stage, the small screen, and the New York supper club scene.

Rebecca Faulkenberry ’03, who played Roxie Hart in Chicago, made her Broadway debut in the role of Sherrie in Rock of Ages and then went on to play Mary Jane in Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark. Dan DiTomasso ’02, who played Billy Flynn, has been cast in The Witches of East End on Lifetime. Barrie Kreinik ’03, who played Velma Kelly, recently appeared in a cabaret show at Tom Viertel ’59’s Broadway Supper Club, 54 Below.

Pulitzer Prize Novelist visits Choate

Choate Website Wins Best School Mobile Website The newly redesigned Choate public website (www.choate.edu) was recently awarded Best School Mobile Website by the Web Marketing Association’s 2013 MobileWebAwards.

The Web Marketing Association (WMA) created the MobileWebAwards Competition “to honor excellence in mobile websites and apps and showcase the best in award-winning mobile development.”

The WMA is an industry organization that works to set high standards for online marketing and push for excellence in development of websites.

The redesigned public website was created using responsive design. No matter what device you are using to visit the site – whether phone, desktop, tablet, etc. – the content of the site is displayed correctly.

Junot Díaz, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and fiction editor at Boston Review, visited classes on December 12. Diaz received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in 2008. A 2012 MacArthur Fellow, his recent short story collection, This Is How You Lose Her, was nominated for a National Book Award. His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker magazine, which has listed him as one of the 20 top writers in the 21st century.

Bulletin | Winter 2014 3

2 1 4

3 6

5 1 Ji Won “Cindy” Lim ’14 of Wallingford, Conn., was named a Regional Finalist in the 20132014 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, & Technology.

Cindy is pictured here signing the banner presented to each finalist’s school as Associate Headmaster Kathleen Lyons Wallace and Headmaster Alex Curtis look on.

2 On October 18, Phoebe House was dedicated in honor of Phoebe Evans Dey P ’78, ’81, ’83, wife of former President and Principal Charles F. Dey. The new home is a gift of William “Ted” Little ’49 and his wife Frances. From left, Ted and Fran Little, Alex and Beth Curtis, and Phoebe and Charley Dey.

3 Three faculty chairs were awarded at the School’s 124th Convocation on September 3.

From left, Dean of Faculty Katie Levesque; Amy D. Foster, the Lawrence M. Gelb Chairholder in American history; Gordon Armour ’76, the William G. Shute and John Ed Wilfong Chairholder; Mary Liz Williamson ’94, the Independence Foundation Chairholder, and Headmaster Alex D. Curtis.

4 Cast members from the 2002 spring musical Chicago are making their mark on the Broadway stage, the small screen, and the New York supper club scene. From left, Rebecca Faulkenberry ’03, who played Roxie Hart, Dan DiTomasso ’02, who played Billy Flynn, and Barrie Kreinik ’03, who played Velma Kelly.

5 Pulitzer Prize Novelist Junot Díaz, center, visited classes on December 12 and gave a reading of his work in Getz Auditorium.

6 Members of the Math Department and Student Council leaders are flanked

by Chairman of the Board of Trustees Michael J. Carr ’76 and Headmaster Alex D. Curtis at the October 10 groundbreaking for the new 35,000-square foot St. John Hall, scheduled to open in 2015.

4

Snapshot On October 11, the Choate

Rosemary Hall community partnered with Kids Against Hunger, an international humanitarian food-aid organization, in an all-school Service Day to address the growing issue of food insecurity in the United States and around the world.

Bulletin | winter 2014 5

Dear Members of the Choate Rosemary Hall Community, In the fall 2013 Bulletin, we shared with you Choate Rosemary Hall’s recently completed Strategic Plan, and we want to thank you for your enthusiastic response. We have begun implementation of the Plan with the first section, which has as a main theme the care of our community, with particular focus on student health and safety.

Let us begin by assuring you that our initiatives in this area are not a result of any recent events at Choate but rather our examination during the strategic planning process of the recent stream of news regarding the difficulties other institutions have faced, ranging from breaches of campus safety to boundary crossings by figures in positions of authority. Given this context, the Board of Trustees has devoted significant time over the last year to this topic and remains in unanimous agreement that the wellbeing and security of our community is – as it always has been – the School’s utmost priority. Our Board is committed to being proactive in our thinking and preparation by continuing to review (and revise, as necessary) our policies, procedures, and communications.

Earlier this year, this review led us to establish a committee charged with the creation of a single document that defines – clearly and unequivocally – the expectations we hold of everyone at Choate. We are pleased to include our new Statement of Expectations on the next two pages. Together with our Mission Statement and Statement on Character, this document reaffirms our collective responsibility to promote a culture defined by integrity, honor, ethical behavior, and good decision-making, as the Strategic Plan delineates.

Our review also made clear how important it is to have open lines of communication and provide readily available support to ensure a cohesive and respectful school culture. Thus, we take this opportunity to remind you that we are committed to addressing any report of harm to our students, faculty, and staff in a thorough and comprehensive manner. This care and attention extends to all members of our community, whether on campus now or in the past. Anyone with a concern in this regard should not hesitate to contact Associate Headmaster Kathleen Lyons Wallace (klw@choate.edu) whose responsibility it is to address such matters. Please know that any such communication will be handled confidentially.

As we begin to implement our strategic vision for the future, we are building upon a solid foundation of demonstrated care for our community. As we write, we have educators, students, and countless members of our broader community carrying out thoughtful, creative, and enthusiastic work in support of all facets of the Strategic Plan. Throughout the section that follows on the State of the School, you will learn more about how we – the collective Choate family – are moving our school forward today, for tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Carr ’76 Chairman, Board of Trustees

Alex D. Curtis Headmaster

6

statement of expectations At the heart of Choate Rosemary Hall is a culture defined by integrity, respect, and compassion. All members of the community have an obligation to know and uphold Choate’s values and strive to embody them in word and deed. we therefore expect that all members of the community will:

• respect other people and their privacy and property, both within and beyond the School.

• treat all human beings with dignity, refraining from behavior that intimidates, insults, threatens, bullies, coerces, abuses, exploits, harasses, humiliates, or demeans.

• support and promote a school climate that does not discriminate against any individual or group.

• use words constructively, avoiding gossip and other inappropriate or unproductive dissemination of information.

• maintain high standards of honesty, avoiding deception, half-truths, and deliberately misleading words or behavior.

• exemplify principles of responsibility and fairness in daily life.

• observe safe behavior and report unsafe conditions or practices.

• cultivate compassion and seek to serve others, both within and beyond Choate.

These community standards apply to our words and behavior not only in personal interactions but also in all forms of electronic media and communications.

We expect that each member of the community will take truly constructive action when these expectations are compromised. Doing so means not being a passive bystander, but rather acting in the best interests of those involved, even in situations when different values of the School (e.g., loyalty and honesty) are in tension with each other. While constructive action often means addressing concerns about inappropriate words or behavior directly with those involved, at other times it means reporting concerns to a Choate employee.

Students are encouraged and empowered to report concerns about violations of these community expectations to any trusted adult at the School, who will assist the student with next steps. Adults must report to an appropriate person as delineated in the Faculty and Staff Handbooks.

The School maintains clear and transparent policies, which are explained fully in relevant handbooks, to handle any violations of our community standards and protect all members of the community. Any behavior that violates these standards and/or adversely affects the wellbeing of an individual or the community will be subject to appropriate action, from a reminder about the importance of community standards to official disciplinary response, including possible dismissal from the School or termination of employment.

Choate will not tolerate retaliation against anyone who makes a report in good faith about violations of our community standards; no one should hesitate to make a report out of fear of retaliation. Conversely, all community members must understand that intentionally making a false report is a violation of our behavioral expectations and that doing so may, after appropriate investigation, result in disciplinary action.

This Statement of Expectations clarifies not only how each of us is expected to behave as a member of the Choate Rosemary Hall community but also how we may expect to be treated.

We understand that living out these values requires responsibility, judgment, and courage. We strive to be gracious, supportive, and compassionate toward others as we work to embody our values more fully each day.

Bulletin | winter 2014 7

living our values Choate cultivates a school environment in which all members of the community feel valued, safe, and part of something greater than themselves. Adults in the community work to understand the developmental needs of adolescents, support their emerging identities, and promote their healthy growth, embracing the responsibility to provide a clear and consistent structure for students and engage them in conversation about our community standards.

Safety and Wellbeing

Modeling

• Every member of the community has a responsibility to support a safe school environment by refraining from harmful and unsafe behavior and reporting such behavior when observed.

• Adults are expected to identify and report suspicions of harassment, abuse, and sexual or other misconduct and will not engage in such behaviors themselves. In addition to their reporting obligations to the School, all employees are mandated reporters of suspected abuse or neglect of students as specified by Connecticut state law.

• Adults have an obligation to model through both language and behavior the values and expectations we have as a school, being especially conscious of their actions at times and in places when students can observe them.

• Older and returning students must take seriously the power of their example on younger and newer students, accepting the responsibility to model and transmit the values and character of Choate Rosemary Hall.

Interpersonal Boundaries and Power Dynamics

• Adults must be alert to the power imbalance in their relationships, whether with students or other adults, and be especially attuned to ways in which others may perceive their words or actions given that imbalance.

• Students must also be mindful of the power they have in various roles at school. They must use their roles constructively, always avoiding intimidation and abuse of authority.

• Adults must not lean on students for emotional support, share personal information with students to an inappropriate degree, or engage in any behavior that blurs the lines between adult and student.

• Adults and students alike must be conscious of their choices regarding language, dress, personal space, and physical touch, understanding that their choices affect others.

Information, Confidences, Trust

• Knowing that information has power and value, members of the community must take special care to safeguard personal information with which they are entrusted, always striving to promote the dignity of others.

• Students and adults alike have an obligation to protect confidential information shared by others unless that information raises concerns that someone’s physical or mental health may be at risk. In such instances, adults must share the information through appropriate channels at the School; students are encouraged to do the same.

In the context of responsive, genuine relationships, all members of the community help others to develop a sense of belonging, encourage empathy and compassion, and promote an environment that is kind, generous, and open to the free flow of ideas.

As members of this community, we acknowledge that our actions reflect not only on ourselves but also on the School as a whole and therefore strive to live in a way consistent with our values.

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Choate Rosemary Hall

State of the School Alex D. Curtis, Headmaster

When I came to Choate Rosemary Hall three years ago, I was struck by its remarkable history, the welcoming atmosphere on campus, and the dynamic approach to teaching and learning that occurs every day in the classroom. It has always been extremely important to me to build upon these already existing strengths and to make them even more distinctive.

This State of the School reflects how we have indeed continued to foster those characteristics which both define and differentiate Choate and which advance our position as a leader in education in the United States and around the world.

As we grow and evolve, we are, as ever, committed to the principles upon which our School was founded. Character development has long been a hallmark of the Choate Rosemary Hall experience, and it continues to be a foremost priority. As our recently published Strategic Plan notes, we remain a “vibrant community of principled individuals from diverse backgrounds united through common purpose, active engagement, and mutual respect.”

We take responsibility for living out our values seriously – and by so doing, we continue to make this a most extraordinary place to live and to work. This year, we have been able to implement the majority of the short-and medium-term action items that the Task Force on Community set for our Strategic Plan. Faculty, staff, and students alike have all enjoyed our new Community Weekends – a wonderful way for the entire school to come together. As part of Community Weekend this past fall, we hosted a day of service that involved the entire School

working together for the greater good. It was exciting that this year’s Service Day was featured on the JFK Presidential Library and Museum website as part of the video series An Idea Lives On, as an example of the continued legacy of service modeled by the late president and Choate graduate.

As I look out my office window in Archbold, I can see our long-term planning and vision for the future coming to fruition, literally: the construction of the new St. John Hall is underway. I am awed not only by the project itself, but also by the thought of the incredible learning that will soon be happening on that site. In addition to providing spectacular classrooms for our mathematics, computer science, and robotics programs, St. John Hall will house our i.d.Lab, which is an example of our commitment to engaged student learning through experiential education, creative endeavors, and project-based curricula. Last summer, I had an opportunity to travel with Choate administrators and faculty to Silicon Valley, where we witnessed first-hand the creativity in today’s science and technology industries. Our i.d.Lab will similarly provide a space for our students to imagine, invent, discover, and dream.

Every step of the way, we are – as articulated in the Strategic Plan – integrating innovation with traditional strengths. We are profoundly appreciative of our history and tremendously excited about our future.

As you continue to read about the state of our school, you will, I hope, be just as enthusiastic about all that lies ahead for Choate Rosemary Hall.

Bulletin | winter 2014 9

Kathleen Lyons Wallace, Associate Headmaster

The recent restructuring of various offices and positions results in both new and old duties for me as Associate Headmaster. My office moved to Archbold, creating a Headmaster’s Suite there, which made space available in Hill House for the expanded Dean of Faculty’s Office. And just as my physical space has changed, my responsibilities have also evolved in accordance with action items in the Strategic Plan.

While general oversight of academic and curricular matters has shifted to others, I am working with interested faculty on two significant programmatic initiatives: the development of new courses for the i.d.Lab when St. John Hall opens in 2015 that will have at their core principles of design thinking and the need to learn from failure; and the creation of online offerings, for both the summer and academic year, some of them in collaboration with colleagues from the Eight Schools Association. These are exciting projects in large part because they promise to be the leading edge of curricular development to come; thus, our new Director of Curricular Initiatives is deeply involved in these endeavors.

My work with the College Counseling Office enters a new era as we begin what promises to be a long-term collaboration among that office, the Admission Office, and Summer Programs. Our goal is to improve identification of our students’ strengths and weaknesses upon entering so that, as they complete their academic journey here, we build on the former and address the latter, ultimately preparing our young charges better for what comes next. One aspect of this objective is to use Summer Programs as a “lab school” for the academic year (hence, our offering the course, Design Thinking I, during the coming summer).

A comparable effort to group related endeavors under one umbrella brings the work of the Sustainability Committee and that of the Kohler Environmental Center closer together, in part with the implementation of the Sustainable Food Project at the KEC this past summer. It is my hope that the Sustainability Committee will become an important policy-setting committee for the entire campus.

And what about our iPad Program, now in year two? It, too, is evolving as we’ve shifted the focus from implementation to pedagogy.

Specifically, the iPad 2.0 Steering Committee is looking at how to ensure we are using iPads most effectively in our academic program.

The committee is working to identify specific recommendations for professional development, more opportunities for peer-to-peer teaching, and instructional initiatives that can be piloted and shared by members of our faculty.

In this first year of implementation of the Strategic Plan, excitement, enthusiasm, and energy abound as members of the community work creatively and collaboratively to realize its promise.

Imagine What is y(our) signature?

One of the main questions we all ask ourselves during our teenage years is Who am I? What is my identity? So much of high school is finding out who we are, building relationships, finding passions, and discovering our path to college and beyond.

Dream

i.d.Lab @Choate

Helping students to find that identity is at the core of Choate Rosemary Hall’s educational endeavor. Providing students with the opportunity to dream, imagine, discover, and invent will allow them to differentiate their work and themselves from those around them.

Invent

Discover

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JFK’s

fifty

year Katie Levesque, Dean of Faculty

The newly reconfigured Dean of Faculty’s Office, which now includes the Director of Faculty Development, the Director of Curricular Initiatives, the Director of Studies, and the Director of Global Programs, has been busy as all members of the team have fanned out to focus on their respective priorities.

The Director of Studies continues as a liaison between the Dean of Faculty’s Office and the Dean of Students Office on academic policies and procedures, student placements, directed studies, and individualized student support. The Director of Faculty Development oversees faculty recruitment, orientation, and ongoing professional development. This year’s newly revamped faculty orientation program provides support for and mentoring of new faculty, and, more important, shares the culture of Choate and our educational philosophy.

Aware of the unique requirements of residential education, we have been thoughtful in our hiring process. As we gear up for a new recruitment season, we are committed to finding the best teachers who have a diversity of skills, experiences, and backgrounds. We encourage current faculty to pursue various avenues of professional development, whether it be attending the multi-disciplinary TEDMed conference, the Learning and the Brain conference, Ed Tech’s iPad Summit USA, NAIS’s People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference, or discipline-specific conferences.

Meanwhile, the Director of Curricular Initiatives focuses on ensuring that our curriculum is as strong and dynamic as it can be and preparing our students for the world they will inherit in higher education and beyond. The curriculum we’re building integrates technology, education, and creativity into a 21st century program that will prepare students for innovative thinking and creative collaboration. The Director of Global Programs, working closely with the Dean of Students Office, provides appropriate support and direction for all school trips, both domestic and international, including the oversight of safety concerns.

Finally, as co-chair of the committee that developed our Statement of Expectations, I was privileged to work with others to articulate prominently our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of every member of the community. Through the shared language of this document we state who we are and what it means to live and work at Choate together, where our values and expectations align.

legacy inspires

1 , 200

c h oate community

members to package

175,000 Meals

Bulletin | winter 2014 11

Our student programming this year has focused on the shaping of character. In school meetings, students are being encouraged to try something new or pursue an interest, without being afraid to stumble or become discouraged when they fall short. –James Stanley

James Stanley, Dean of Students

This year, the Dean of Students Office has focused on implementing recommendations from the Headmaster’s Task Force on Community, including this goal from our current Strategic Plan: “We value shared experiences and traditions that shape character, build cohesion, generate school spirit and foster lifelong connections.”

Community Weekends, instituted last year, continue to promote community cohesion. This fall’s Community Weekend began on Friday, October 11, when the entire school gathered for Service Day in which the community partnered with Kids Against Hunger, an international humanitarian food-aid organization. More than 1,200 students, faculty, staff and trustees stood shoulder to shoulder in the Worthington Johnson Athletic Center to assemble 175,000 pre-packaged meals that were sent to International Care Ministries for distribution among some of the poorest communities in the Philippines. In the evening, fans enthusiastically supported the girls volleyball and boys soccer teams. An even larger group enjoyed hypnotist Brian Imbus, who performed in the Arts Center on Saturday night, and the dining hall was packed with students for Sunday’s a cappella brunch.

In an expression of school spirit, a record number of students, more than 350, traveled to Deerfield on seven rooter buses to support their peers in athletic contests on Deerfield Day. Record numbers have also applied to be student ambassadors for the School as members of the Gold Key tour guide program.

Under the leadership of our new Director of Spiritual Life Allyson Brundige and members of the Student Council, efforts to celebrate and encourage service have continued. A series of events have been organized to recognize the late President Kennedy ’35 and his call to

service. A multi-faith celebration of his life and the civil rights movement was held in the chapel in early November; in December, five faculty members shared reflections on Kennedy’s life during school meeting, and in January a student panel will discuss the importance of service in their lives.

Our student programming this year has focused on the shaping of character. In school meetings, students are being encouraged to try something new or pursue an interest, without being afraid to stumble or become discouraged when they fall short. They hear this reinforcing message from supportive adults: “Learn from your experience, be persistent, work through challenges, and be gritty!”

At last fall’s special program, Dr. Jackson Katz, a noted gender violence prevention educator, spoke to students and faculty about the influence of socialized norms created by the media, and encouraged bystanders to take action. During a special school meeting three Olympians – former speed skater Dan Jansen, Paralympian Navy Lt. Bradley Snyder, and figure skater Sasha Cohen – spoke about nurturing the dream of Olympic achievement as well as learning to handle adversity and setbacks. Monthly advisory group meetings offer opportunities to have conversations about character that extend beyond special programs.

In these small group settings topics such as living online and the role of bystanders are discussed in an effort to help students consider their roles in a larger community.

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Expenses

Richard Saltz, Chief Financial Officer

Fiscal year 2013, which ended on June 30, was another good year for the School’s operations. Operating revenues of $50.6 million exceeded operating expenses, and the surplus was reinvested in plant maintenance.

This decision was made to address the School’s deferred maintenance backlog. The endowment ended the year at $317.8 million, an all-time high due to the one year return of 13.5 percent, gifts of $7.3 million, and a draw with a prudent effective spending rate of 4 percent.

As we enter fiscal year 2014, all indications are that the School continues to be in sound financial shape. The construction of the new St. John Hall math, computer science and robotics building project will add 35,000 square feet of new, technologically advanced academic space to the campus. The design team working with architect Pelli Clarke Pelli included the Headmaster, math department chair, associate headmaster, director of facilities and chief financial officer.

Every year, the School spends about 9 percent of its operating budget on facilities maintenance and repairs, ranging from painting to faculty residence renovation to roof replacement to improvements of the grounds. The new St. John Hall will help alleviate potential repairs to the aging current facility, affording the School the opportunity to invest its resources in other projects.

Regarding risk management, the School is committed to insuring a safe environment for students, faculty, staff, faculty, families and visitors.

As reported in this issue of the Bulletin, the School has consolidated its practices in a new Statement of Expectations. In addition, we continue to conduct emergency drills and recently hired a professional to evaluate safety procedures. We are working with the Town of Wallingford to explore ways to make crossing the two main streets through campus safer for everyone – pedestrians as well as drivers.

As the implementation of the Strategic Plan unfolds, the Finance Team is committed to determining the support required to achieve its goals through gifts or operating revenues. Our goal of providing competitive salaries, professional development, and enhanced residences for our faculty will require additional resource allocation.

Expanding the student experience at Choate, whether residential, academic, or athletic, will also require a redistribution of resources.

It is a challenge to keep our resources aligned with our institutional priorities, but one we are eager to accept.

7%

Administration

9%

Facilities

13%

Academic and Student Programs

16%

Capital/Interest/Debt

55%

Wages and Benefits

Bulletin | winter 2014 13

Other Income

Annual Fund

6%

Revenues

10% Daniel J. Courcey III ’86, Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations

Endowment Draw

Tuition and Fees

25%

59%

Fiscal 2013 was a notable year for Choate Rosemary Hall and the School’s Alumni & Development Office. From a fundraising perspective, we experienced record-breaking results in annual giving ($4.9 million in contributions from alumni and parents) and capital and annual fund support of $19.39 million in total gifts. The School successfully raised the funds necessary for the construction of the new St. John Hall, the building of the Headmaster’s new residence on campus, and the complete overhaul of the Ayres-Yankus Field.

Thanks to the Board of Trustees’ Faculty Tribute challenge, Choate secured $287,000 in new Annual Fund gifts from 589 donors – and more than 125 heartfelt faculty reminiscences. Our office added a new Coordinator of Volunteer Programs position, which has significantly helped bolster our class agent ranks, and we continue to receive significant support for an important new endowed fund – the Beyond the Classroom Fund – which offers all students the chance to secure funding that will allow them to take part in transformative experiences outside the classroom at least once in their Choate career, regardless of their ability to pay.

Alumni all over the world warmly welcomed Dr. Curtis with wellattended receptions throughout the United States, as well as in England, Switzerland, Korea, and China. The School’s Alumni Association, ably led by President Chris Hodgson ’78, launched a new Connecticut Regional Club, which is now a vibrant part of our global alumni network, and we continue to offer a growing variety of programs around the country, and overseas, to meet the interests of our alumni community. The Association also plans to introduce a new electronic alumni directory that will help us all stay connected.

The Development and Alumni Relations Office is blessed with an impressive team of volunteer leaders who assist us in our work. The Annual Fund has two exceptionally talented co-chairs in Chris Vlasto ’84 and David Hang ’94. And our 2012-13 Parents Fund Council was ably led by Jan and Cynthia Van Eck P ’14, whose co-chairs include Allain and Kat Bellemare P ’14, Michael and Maja McGuire P ’14, and Jose and Trisha Suarez P ’15.

Thanks to a talented and committed Young Alumni Task Force, the Alumni Office and the School’s Alumni Association continue to explore new ways to connect with graduates via online resources and social networking opportunities. The future is decidedly bright for our school, and we in the Development and Alumni Relations Office are excited to be part of it.

New student applications

2,018 New students enrolled

269 0 states an

m3 fro

d…

30 Countries

Class of 2013 ▶ Eleven National Merit Scholarship

Competition Semifinalists ▶ Two student Semifinalists for the 2013

U.S. Physics Olympic Team ▶ A Semifinalist in the 2013 Intel Science

Talent Search Competition ▶ One ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award

Winner and a U.S. patent holder!

Fall 2013

Ray Diffley, Director of Admission

In addition to our annual task of enrolling outstanding students, our emphasis this year is on our efforts toward implementating the School’s strategic plan. With outreach and accessibility in mind, Admission will work to expand our presence nationally and internationally. We strongly believe that the unique educational opportunities we provide should be introduced to more families and students who may be perfect for Choate but have not had the opportunity to learn about our school.

We remind ourselves regularly that prep school is simply an option, not a necessity in the minds of many wonderful candidates. Our charge is to make sure they understand how transformative the experience can be for those who commit themselves to a life of learning and the values of Choate.

In preparation of our expanded outreach efforts, the entire Admission Team has benefitted from newly instituted external messaging meetings.

Geared toward those of us who interact with audiences beyond campus, these meetings bring faculty and staff who host presentations or meet with applicants or alumni on the road together to learn how best to convey key messages from Choate, be they programs, values, or experiences. We have all benefitted from Dr. Curtis’ talking points as we share Choate news with prospective families near and far.

With 2013 in the books as yet another successful admission cycle that brought new students from 30 states and 30 countries (the most geographically diverse class ever), we embraced the challenge of moving to farther corners of the globe this year. To spread the word about Choate, Admission hosted or sponsored events at 91 venues in 29 states and 14 countries between September and December.

Our alumni, current parents, and friends have been crucial supporters of this expanded travel schedule, and we have been exhilarated with the feedback we have received from both traditional and new audiences around the world. At a reception in Istanbul, one parent summed things up when he approached me after the event and said, “Choate is providing just the kind of innovative education a parent dreams of, and I want my daughter to be a part of your great school.”

Bulletin | winter 2014 15

Marcia Landesman, Co-Director College Counseling Office

Alison J. Cady, Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications

Starting in July 2013, I was pleased to join the Choate College Counseling Office (CCO) as Co-Director.

I spent 12 years in the Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions and two years in the Swarthmore College Admissions Office. In between, I had a career as a New York commercial litigator. My professional experience has always focused on advocacy – whether for clients or applicants. I am happy to continue in this path as Co-Director of College Counseling, where advocating for our students is key to our success.

Additionally, in my new role I aim to educate our colleagues in admission about our school initiatives like our Strategic Plan whose goal is “to prepare students to achieve success in higher education and to be adaptable in a rapidly changing world.”

This, of course, includes preparing students and families for the rapidly changing college admission landscape. My experience tells me that outstanding students do not always gain admission to colleges for which they are qualified simply due to lack of space. As an admission officer, I had to say “no” to students from excellent schools who had fabulous academic records, strong testing, and delightful personal qualities. In the next year, I hope to continue to educate students and families to be ready for the competitive realities of 21st century college admission, while also articulating to colleges the distinguishing qualities of our students and their Choate experience.

As I write, my colleagues and I in the CCO are about to start a new counseling cycle with fifth form students. Before we begin to build their college lists, we will engage students in a process of self-reflection. We will help them understand the limitations of college “ranking” lists, while exposing them to a vast range of colleges and universities and encouraging them to research at least one school they have never even heard of before.

Simultaneously, we will work to educate parents about the changing college admission landscape. By focusing on “fit,” we ensure that students will be pleased with their college choices not just on the day of their admission decisions, but for the next four years as well and beyond.

Early this year, Choate launched a new redesigned responsive website.

Taking advantage of new technologies and the demand for social media, we have integrated new features to promote our vibrant campus to prospective families, alumni, and neighbors. I invite you to visit the website to view news, events, and the SounderBoard – our social media mashup page – to get a sense of all that is happening here.

Reflected in the new website design is a distilled version of the Choate crest, the shield. The new design has been introduced to the school community in a new graphics and standards guide which gives us options and standards to insure that we can strengthen our identity and brand across various media. We are working to differentiate the Choate experience from others and build unique brand recognition.

To that end, we are moving toward a unified look and feel to our publications, materials, and apparel. The newly redesigned Bulletin is both easier to read and more attractive.

In addition to updating the School’s visual identity, the Communications Team has worked on streamlining our messaging. Inspired by the Strategic Plan and the School’s desire to be viewed as a forward-thinking and innovative option for talented students, we have teamed up with the Admission, College Counseling, and Alumni and Development Departments to ensure we are all consistent in the way we present Choate.

We have refined the messages we use in all of our electronic, print, and verbal communications to be more consistent, and more reflective of the dynamic school we represent.

The i.d.Lab concept, discussed elsewhere in these reports, has been particularly exciting for our team. We are energized by the challenge of merging the vision of the collaborative, innovative, creative classroom with the perception of our traditional academic strengths. Currently, we are integrating this exciting curricular initiative into our promotional materials. Our goal moving into 2014 is to develop a comprehensive communications plan to promote today’s Choate - Integrating Innovation with Traditional Strengths.

Our goal moving into 2014 is to develop a comprehensive communications plan to promote today’s Choate - Integrating Innovation with Traditional Strengths. –Alison Cady

16

Courage/ Risk/ Reward Choate’s Social Entrepreneurs and their Enduring Commitment to the Greater Good

Bulletin | winter 2014 17

/by magaly olivero

An eclectic group of Choate alumni have made social entrepreneurship their life’s work. As visionaries able to seize opportunities others miss, these innovative thinkers offer fresh approaches to solve pressing societal issues such as poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and access to health care. While their areas of focus vary, they all credit Choate for nurturing qualities that have been critical to their success as social entrepreneurs The Everest Base Camp trek on the south side is one of the most popular trekking routes in the Himalayas and is visited by thousands of trekkers each year.

– the ability to think independently, the courage to take risks, and the social consciousness to serve the greater good.

18 COURAGE / RISK / REWARD

Cason Crane ’11

sending prayer flags Now a freshman at Princeton University, Cason Crane ’11 spent the last two years traveling the globe to climb the Seven Summits – the highest peak on each continent – to support the Trevor Project, the nation’s leading suicide and crisis prevention service for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning young people.

“The statistics are shocking,” Cason says. “Suicide is the third leading cause of death of young people in the United States, and GLBTQ youth are four to eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers.” Cason has raised $135,000 for the Trevor Project through an initiative called the Rainbow Summits Project.

He caught the mountaineering bug when he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with his mother during spring break his first year at Choate. “I was immediately hooked,” says Crane, who was a varsity triathlete in swimming, track, and cross-country.

He became involved with the Trevor Project after a friend committed suicide. “It was devastating,” he says.

“All we can do now is look to the future and see how we can prevent this tragedy from happening again.”

Bringing prayer flags with messages honoring people who have committed suicide to the summit of Mt. Everest was the highlight of the two-year endeavor to conquer the Seven Summits. “The wind will carry the prayers to all corners of the earth,” he says.

As the first openly gay person to climb the Seven Summits, Cason also hopes to inspire other gay athletes. “There are young people who don’t feel comfortable pursing their athletic dreams for fear of being harassed because of their sexuality,” he says.

While at Choate, Cason was instrumental in bringing “Fearless,” a photo exhibition of portraits of openly selfidentified LGBT athletes on high school and college sports teams to the Paul Mellon Arts Center gallery.

Cason Crane ’11 is the first openly gay mountaineer to scale the seven highest summits on the six continents. Pictured here on Mt. Everest last May.

There are young people who don’t feel comfortable pursing their athletic dreams for fear of being harassed because of their sexuality.

Bulletin | winter 2014 19

Erin Brennan Allan ’93

helping single mothers In a suburb of Nairobi lives Erin Brennan Allan ’93, founder of Toto Knits, a company that employs single mothers to knit organic clothes for export around the world.

Erin was enjoying the good life in Manhattan as an assistant to magazine editor Tina Brown when she witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

“I decided I needed to do something more meaningful with my life,” she says. She sold her West Village apartment to work at a school for children with special needs in Kenya. “I thought I would do my Mother Teresa year and ease my conscience.”

A year has turned to a decade for Erin, who lives with her husband and two children in Langata between the Nairobi National Park and a giraffe sanctuary. “The pace of life is much slower compared to New York, where everything is done in a millisecond,” she says.

The idea for Toto Knits developed as Erin became friends with Mary Wambui while working at the school.

Like many local women, Wambui was struggling to raise three children on her own, unable to find work with her traditional artisan skills. “I got to know her story and her struggle as a single mother,” Erin says.

top Mary Wambui, an arts

and crafts teacher, trains and manages a group of 200 knitters in Kenya.

RIGHT Erin Brennan Allan ’93 works on the design and marketing for Toto Knits, a line of organic cotton knitwear ethically made by a group of single mothers in Kenya.

Today, Erin works on designs and marketing, and Wambui trains and manages about 200 knitters who earn a fair trade wage. “The women are paid by the piece so they can work as much or as little as they want, depending on the needs of their family,” Erin says. Toto Knits uses organic cotton and bio-friendly dyes to create “pieces that are meant to last so they can be passed on to other children.”

The entrepreneur still draws on lessons she learned at Choate. “We were given lots of independence to make our own decisions,” she says. That’s something I’ve always taken with me and something you need to be self-employed.

I also learned that having a business isn’t just about getting ahead for yourself. It’s about creating opportunities for other people to thrive.”

20 COURAGE / RISK / REWARD

Charles Nichols ’07

turning a profit farming As co-owner of SunCulture, Charles Nichols ’07 designs and installs solar-powered irrigation systems that make it easier and cheaper for farmers in drought-ridden Kenya to grow their crops.

Take Peter Kimani, a farmer in Ngcha, Africa, who last year grew 60,000 shillings’ (about $700) worth of maize and potatoes on his one-acre plot using hand-drawn buckets of water to irrigate the land. This year, Kimani is on track to increase his yield by 300 percent using solar water pumps and a drip irrigation system. He grew 600,000 shillings’ (about $7,000) worth of cabbages, tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, carrots and spinach during the first growing season, and has two more seasons to go. The extra income means he no longer must choose between feeding his family or educating his children.

“Peter doesn’t have to make those kinds of decisions anymore,” says Charles. “He can feed his family, pay for health care if his baby gets sick, and send his kids to school, even college, which was unimaginable before.”

Kimani is not alone. In one year, SunCulture has installed 25 systems and employs 11 full-time employees who are local residents.

A serial entrepreneur who comes from a long line of Choate graduates, Charles said the time he spent with classmates and faculty at Choate was among the pivotal experiences that shaped his life. “For the first time in my life,” he says, “I felt I could gain acceptance for being myself.”

He sees the opportunities in Nairobi and the rest of Africa as endless. “There’s a fire here, and it’s not just in the expatriates,” he says. It’s in the locals, too. They realize that for the first time in their lives, Kenya isn’t just a developing country. It’s a country on track to becoming a regional power.”

Bulletin | winter 2014 21

Jos Thalheimer ’01 is combining his passion for food and sustainable culture in the creation of a biodynamic farm.

Jos Thalheimer ’01

cultivating the next generation Jos Thalheimer ’01 never considered himself a social entrepreneur until his recent move to Maine to establish a biodynamic farm. Yet his decade-long experiences cultivating the next generation of philanthropists have placed him in a pivotal position to assist social entrepreneurs.

“I try as much as I can to live a life that benefits others beyond myself,” he says.

Jos wasn’t always comfortable with philanthropy as part of a family that inherited the legacy created when his great-grandfather founded the American Oil Co. (Amoco).

At Choate, he told classmates he was a scholarship student.

“It wasn’t until senior year that I told a friend my family actually funded a scholarship,” he says.

His perspective changed while living in Argentina before college. “I witnessed the social, economic, and political collapse of the country,” says Jos, who was so moved by the events that he began working for a nonprofit agency.

“I saw people who were in need get help, and I was a part of making that happen,” he says.

As a college freshman, Jos attended a retreat sponsored

by Grant Street, a peer support group for young Jews whose families are involved in philanthropy, operated as part of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. He went on to work for Bronfman Philanthropies and later founded Slingshot, an organization that connects future funders with innovations in Jewish life that support students and teachers, environmentalists, artists, and activists.

In another modern interpretation of an ancient tradition, Jos left Manhattan a year ago for Rangeley, Maine, to combine his passion for food and sustainable agriculture.

He is looking for land to create a biodynamic farm and expects to eventually partner with nonprofit agencies so more of his crops reach residents in need.

“This new piece of my life feels extremely entrepreneurial, terrifying as well as joyful,” he says. “You want to be smart about the risks you take. But life is more fun when you push yourself a little.”

This new piece of my life feels extremely entrepreneurial, terrifying, as well as joyful. You want to be smart about the risks you take. But life is more fun when you push yourself a little.

22 COURAGE / RISK / REWARD

top Using the lake itself as

a highway, the LTFHC team continues to deliver medical care, distribute vital supplies, and revitalize lakeside clinics in sub-Saharan Africa.

RIGHT Villagers on the shoreline eagerly waiting the LTFHC which brings healthcare and other services to hundreds of thousands of isolated people in the Lake Tanganyika Basin.

Bulletin | winter 2014 23

Dr. Amy Lehman ’91 set up the LTFHC in 2008 as a small-scale project whose primary goal was to create a healthcare infrastructure for one of the last real wildernesses on earth.

I couldn’t believe there were so many suffering people living around the lake who were completely cut off

from the rest of the world.

Amy Lehman ’91

floating health clinic Amy Lehman ’91 was on track to becoming a general thoracic surgeon when a typhoon wiped out the airstrip during a visit to the Lake Tanganyika Basin, forcing her to walk along the coastline. “I couldn’t believe there were so many suffering people living around the lake who were completely cut off from the rest of the world,” she says.

Today, Amy is the founder and driving force behind the Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic (LTFHC), which for half a decade has brought health care, education, and other services to people in one of the last undeveloped and parts of the world. “Our efforts are making a difference,” she says. “We’ve touched around 300,000 people so far.”

Amy Lehman admits she “pretty much marched to the beat of my own drum” during her years at Choate: “I questioned a million things all the time and refused to take anything for granted.”

So it’s not surprising that when faced with the dramatic health care needs of isolated people living in the Lake Tanganyika Basin in sub-Saharan Africa, Amy saw an opportunity to establish the Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic, where others may have taken for granted that nothing could be done.

The idea for the floating health clinic crystalized when Amy, following a week of night shifts at the intensive care unit, estimated it had cost $2 million to keep critically ill patients alive with interventions many would not have even wanted.

“I thought of the tens of thousands of young lives we could save in Africa with that kind of money,” says Amy, noting the area’s high maternal and child mortality rates and an overall life expectancy of between 45 and 48 years.

Amy’s interest in the region dates back to her time at Choate, when she would pile into a car with faculty member Jessie Cosnard and a classmate to travel to Yale to audit a post-colonial African literature course taught by Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

These days, she spends much time in the Lake Tanganyika Basin, an area rich in natural resources but also fraught with challenges – limited cell phone coverage, nonexistent or rudimentary roads, and civil conflict that has left millions dead and displaced – making the region vulnerable to warlords with growing affiliations to global terrorists.

Amy says her organization has succeeded by building partnerships with local health ministries and tribal leaders.

The next step involves raising funds to build a state-ofthe-art hospital ship to provide education, information, and medical services to local residents and the growing international workforce.

24 COURAGE / RISK / REWARD

Patrick Ryan ’86

transforming urban education Patrick Ryan ’86 has been doing pioneering work transforming urban education for more than two decades. His efforts have earned him the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

“I never thought of myself as a social entrepreneur back then,” says Patrick, who “grew up with a sense of justice” both at home and at Choate.

We didn’t realize we were creating a blueprint for social change.

The Georgetown University graduate originally planned “to make a difference in the world” by holding elected office, but changed his mind after working on Capitol Hill. “I realized that the idealism I had at Choate was not matched by the realism of Washington,” where the competing goals of politicians and interest groups left little room for innovation to solve complex social issues.

Instead, Patrick began teaching in Chicago’s West Side, a move that set in motion a successful career as a social entrepreneur. While teaching, he noticed that city schools needed a “pipeline of passionate and well-educated teachers

just like the teachers I had Choate.” So he established The Inner-City Teaching Corps, which has brought talented new teachers to urban classrooms for the past 21 years.

In 1999, Patrick and his brother Robert Ryan ’88 opened Chicago’s first charter school, the Alain Lock Charter School serving mostly poor African American children in the heart of city’s West Side. The school was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the country’s top schools for closing achievement gaps.

“That’s when I started thinking that great teachers needed great leaders,” says Patrick; that led to the creation of the Accelerate Institute. A partnership with Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, the Accelerate Institute is the first urban principal training program to develop “achievement accelerating” leaders for schools in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other cities.

“We’re on a mission,” he says, “to identify people with the potential to transform urban schools across the country.”

Mark Pasculano ’83

Finding balance in life After a long and successful banking career, Mark Pasculano ’83 felt it was time to shift gears and pursue a profession where he could give back and “have a little more fun,” he says, by working as the chief sales officer for Tickets for Charity in Boston.

“Early in your career, you measure success by how much money you make. But the older you get, you measure your success by the kind of impact that you make,” says Mark.

Tickets for Charity has raised more than $10 million for over 100 partner charities by working with performing artists, professional sports teams, and theaters to offer fans access to premium seats. Every ticket purchased supports some of the world’s most respected nonprofits.

The idea behind the firm is to “turn buying into giving,” says Mark. “We are taking away money from the scalpers and putting it to good use.”

Choate was instrumental in teaching him the value of finding balance in life. “I appreciate the importance of hard work and giving it 110 percent all the time,” Mark says. “But it’s also important to work in an environment where you’re having fun.”

Bulletin | winter 2014 25

Don MacKinnon ’86 with Dr. Patricia Nsamoah and Christy Turlington at the Tema Hospital in Accra, Ghana.

We were connecting people and products and causes in a way that had never been done before. Now every company is expected to do the same.

Don MacKinnon ’86

promoting artistic freedom and social justice Don MacKinnon ’86 has come a long way from his days making “mixed tapes” to share with friends at Choate to earning the ACLU Bill of Rights Award for his “commitment to promoting artistic freedom and support of projects that promote social justice.”

Don sold his first business, Hear Music, an innovative retailer focusing on emerging artists, to Starbucks to create the company’s music platform. Then one day his boss said: “Bono [the Irish musician and social activist] is coming to talk to us, and I don’t know why.”

The “why” was a pitch from Bono to the Starbucks chief executive to join Product (RED), the organization that Bono and Bobby Shriver created to help fight AIDS in Africa. Starbucks declined at the time – though years later it joined.

But Bono didn’t walk away empty-handed. He and Shriver eventually convinced Don to help launch (RED) in the United States. “It was irresistible,” Don says.

Don spent the next six years overseeing (RED)’s entertainment platform, driving money to the Global Fund and bringing their fans into the (RED) community. Through its partnerships with companies such as Apple, Nike, and Gap, (RED) has raised more than $220 million to fight AIDS. “We were connecting people and products and causes in a way that had never been done before,” he says. “Now every company is expected to do the same.”

Don credits his work ethic to the “amazing teachers” at Choate. “There was a real ‘why’ behind the work they were doing that filled their life with meaning,” he says. Creating Viewpoint, a current events magazine, with classmate Patrick Ryan was another turning point.

“Starting Viewpoint with Pat was one of the first real entrepreneurial experiences I had, giving me the thrill of creating something out of nothing,” says Don. His latest venture, Milq, is an online curation of cultural content.

“I love building things.”

26

nostalgia } from the Archives

The author, Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63, in her Rosemary Hall uniform.

Bulletin | winter 2014 27

We could be very, very silly…

by Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63

My career at Rosemary Hall was largely undistinguished, and it wasn’t always happy. Subject to procrastination, distraction, and sheer laziness, I did my work at the last minute, or sometimes not at all. Midnight on Sunday often found me in my closet with a flashlight writing an essay that was due in the morning. One of my teachers called me a “parasite” because of my habit of feeding off the students who had actually done the required reading – I couldn’t help it.

28

there were so many more interesting things to do during study hall…

Top Rosemary Hall Dining

Far right Outside the main

Hall with Optima Boards. The boards are now located in the freshmen section of Hill House Dining Hall.

building, from left, Laurie Reynolds ’62, Sara MacVane ’63, Pamela Perkins ’61 with head of the arts department Elizabeth Riley Perkins Shaw ’36 at the wheel of her 1954 Plymouth.

Bottom Shakespeare Week

at Rosemary Hall. Girls gather round the Amphitheatre.

passing notes, writing silly sonnets, drawing cartoons, making faces at a crony across the room. Though I tried to operate under the radar, I spent a lot of time in the Headmistress’ office: not for anything destructive, mean or hurtful, mind you – just infractions born of exuberance, a need for attention, or poor judgment.

Like checking myself out of the Infirmary without telling the nurse because I felt much better, thank you, and thought it was time to get back to daily life. Or being put on academic probation because I was too busy writing epic poetry about my latest unrequited crushes to do my schoolwork. Or spending a Saturday morning with a friend setting up a tin-can telephone between our dorms, discovering it didn’t work, and leaving the string lying across the path so the ancient dean, Mrs. Macquire, would trip on it in the dark. Or on a day trip into Manhattan with two other miscreants, using a falsified ID saying I was 18 years old to be served a Budweiser. At lunch. At Schrafft’s.

If this kind of thing was always happening, and I was always getting into trouble and feeling miserable and sorry for it, you would think it would have added up to one big three-year nightmare. But it didn’t. There were so many things about school that I loved that they far outweighed the unhappy times. I loved being summoned to Chapel each morning by the bell, the service, the hymns, and dreamily scanning the names of all the alumnae on the ceiling. I loved the black and white floor of the dining hall and the mottoes painted on the walls here and there throughout the school. I loved the Italianate buildings, (in aggregate affectionately called “The Pink Prison”) and the courtyards and nooks among them, and the little stream that ran beside the hockey field, bordered by lilacs, flowering cherry and apple trees. I loved the Amphitheatre, where each June a Shakespeare play was presented by the students. I even loved the gym, where I covered myself with shame by never being able to do a sit-up.

At Rosemary we lived with the daily presence of our alumnae, as their names were everywhere: on wooden boards in the dining hall, on the Chapel ceiling, on nametags in the tams we wore. How we gawked at the alumnae when they came back for Founder’s Day in the fall! They wore tweed suits and big pearls. They seemed ancient, and they all had three names. Darcy Macomber Hetzel, Frances Moffat Tighe, Elizabeth Chittenden Lowry– these were legendary figures!

We could be very, very silly. At leisure we walked into town giggling, hooting, shrieking, tripping each other, and hogging the sidewalk all the way to Nielsen’s ice cream shop, where we loaded up on hot fudge sundaes and bought

Bulletin | winter 2014 29

At leisure we walked into town giggling, hooting, shrieking, tripping each other, and hogging the sidewalk all the way to Nielsen’s ice cream shop, where we loaded up on hot fudge sundaes and bought white chocolate for the trip back to school. white chocolate for the trip back to school. We rolled our knee socks down and our skirts up, pulled our tams down around our ears and wheeled around the courtyards screeching. At dinner we saturated our napkins with water and threw them up to stick on the ceiling, later, we hoped, to fall on an unsuspecting faculty member.

I felt safe there, embraced. It was a place to try out new ways of being myself. I discovered the history of art there, learned how to read critically, and first knew the joy of gaining real proficiency in a foreign language, things which have stayed with me, and which comfort and interest me to this day.

But most of all, I loved it for giving me many of my dearest friends, who have accompanied me through my life, accepted and sustained me, laughed and cried with me. I’ve never had to explain to them how I felt about Rosemary Hall, or about the bond we have. They understand.

Magically, my gratitude has transposed itself onto Choate Rosemary Hall, as the natural heir to the school I knew.

Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63 received the Alumni Association’s 2013 Distinguished Service Award at Reunion Weekend.

30

Alumni Association | News & Events choate rosemary hall alumni association mission To create, perpetuate, and enhance relationships among Choate Rosemary Hall alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and friends in order to foster loyalty, interest, and support for the School and for one another, and to build pride, spirit, and community.

OFFICERS Chris Hodgson ’78 President Ed McCormick ’78 Patrick McCurdy ’98, Vice Presidents STANDING COMMITTEES Admission Colm Rafferty ’94 Chair

REGIONAL CLUB LEADERSHIP Boston Larry Morin ’58 Pat Clendenen ’84 Connecticut David Aversa ’91 Kate Vitali Childs ’95 London Alicia Forrey ’00 Kate Aquila ’92

Annual Fund Chris Vlasto ’84 David Hang ’94 Co-Chairs

Los Angeles Tom Nieman ’88 Stan Savage ’92

Campus Programming Ed Keating ’83 Chair

New York Jason Kasper ’05 Eliza Buddenhagen ’06

Communications Jeein Ha ’00 Chair

Rosemary Hall Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63

Michele Judd Rittler ’98 Vice-Chair

San Francisco John Smyth ’83 Tara Elwell ’99

Nominating/Prize Susan Barclay ’85 Chair

Washington, D.C. Anna Lindel ’03 Patrick Holley ’’90

Regional Clubs John Smyth ’83 Chair

Beijing David Barrutia ’94 Gunther Hamm ’98

Parisa Jaffer ’89 Carolyn Kim ’96 Vice-Chairs

Hong Kong Ronna Chao Heffner ’85 P. Jamie O’Donnell ’80

Student Relations Mike Furgueson ’80 Chair

Seoul Ryan Hong ’89

Shantell Richardson ’99 Vice-Chair ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS Dan Courcey ’86 Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations Mari Jones Director of Development and Alumni Relations Monica St. James Director of Alumni Relations Leigh Dingwall ’84 Faculty Representative

The fall was a busy season for the Alumni Association, with a variety of events held across the country and on the other side of the world. At events geared toward young alumni to those that drew large and diverse crowds, Choate alumni never failed to bring the spirit of the blue and gold!

Speaking of being forever true, we’re sending out a sincere thank you to all those alumni who enthusiastically responded to the November eNews’s call for volunteers. So many of you expressed interest in not only helping out today’s students but also those students who make up Choate’s bright future. If you haven’t yet responded but would like to help out a student club, host a mug night, or join the Volunteer Alumni Network, contact Monica St. James at mstjames@choate.edu.

San Francisco

Washington D.C .

Thailand Sunpitt Sethpornpong ’84 Chali Sophonpanich ’79

NYC

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PAST PRESIDENTS Woody Laikand ’53 Susan Barclay ’85

Painting the Door Blue: Deerfield Day 2013

Paris

While Choate may have lost this year’s Deerfield Challenge, the Wild Boars were the undisputed winners on Deerfield Day, taking more than half of the contests, including a decisive win in the boys varsity football match-up, 27–0. The fact that the games were held at Deerfield this year did not deter the Choate faithful: Seven full buses of Choate supporters hit the road and took over the Deerfield campus, more than doubling the usual Deerfield population! In addition, we had our most successful virtual tailgate parties to date, with joyful gatherings taking place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, DC, NYC, London and Paris – and that’s just to name a few!

Bulletin | winter 2014 31

Start Up//Choate Expanding Alumni Network and Mentor Events A career networking series founded and spearheaded

by Miles Spencer ’81, Start Up//Choate brings together the best and the brightest in the start-up universe. It’s the rare event that connects thinkers and entrepreneurs dreaming of the next big thing with experienced boundary-breakers and financial backers, but that is just what Start Up//Choate does. Start Up//Choate events have been held to standing-room-only crowds in New York with equally popular sessions held in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Limited to the coasts in 2013, look for Start Up//Choate to hit cities in between in 2014!

Chill with Choate Designed to bring together young alumni with members of Choate’s in-house Alumni Relations team, Chill with Choate events were held at ice cream and yogurt shops in college towns across the country. Meant to garner support for Alumni Relations-sponsored events, and to learn what kinds of events young alumni want to see, and ultimately attend, Chill with Choate also provided young alumni the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and contribute to the future of Choate’s relationship with its young alumni.

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest, held at Two Roads Brewery in Stratford, featured Connecticut alumni enjoying craft beers and a first-of-its-kind happening at a Choate-sponsored event: a surprise proposal – Jim Vitali ’99, brother of Katie Childs ’95 and Lisa Vitali ’93, popped the question and received a resounding “Yes!” in return!

EverTrue to Gold & Blue!

Coming this spring, alumni will be able to stay connected with the mobile app EverTrue, which features a geo-location functionality to help you find alumni when you are traveling, moving to a new city, or scouting a new market. The app puts the Alumni Directory on your phone and takes connecting to a whole new level.

Watch for more information regarding opt-in/opt-out in the eNews and the spring edition of the Bulletin.

Staying connected is about to get a whole lot easier!

top The immensely popular Start Up//Choate event at Applico in

bottom Connecticut alumni gathered for Oktoberfest event at

NYC featured panelists Beth Ferreira ’92, former VP of Etsy, now with Fab.com and Krish Arvapally, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Mojiva. It was hosted by Alex Moazed ’06, founder & president of Applico, and was moderated by StartUp//Choate founder, Miles Spencer ’81, Vaux les Ventures LLC.

Two Roads Brewery in Stratford. From left, Chris Novia ’91, Adam DiMartino ’89, David Aversa ’91, Thomas Lengyel ’91, Jay Waller ’91, and JJ Fritzell ’91.

32

Alumni Association | News & Events

1 2

3

4

5

6 1 A small but mighty Choate contingent turned out at this year’s Head of the Charles Regatta and included Larry Morin ’58, Jorge Mestre ’84, Lovey Roundtree Oliff ’97, and Rebecca Hill ’97.

2 Several Choate alumni participated in the Poland Spring 5-Mile Race Marathon Kickoff in late October. Fran O’Donoghue led the team of 12, which included Ben Broderick ’05 and Angelo Coclanis ’05, through Central Park – and then led them straight to breakfast on Choate, hosted by Selby Nimrod ’05.

3 Where else would Tom Yankus ’52 and Bob Williams ’49 be but on Cape Cod? Here they are joined by Joseph Swiacki (Billy’s son), Billy Swiacki ’74, and Ed Snook ’74.

4 An alumni reception on “The Environment and Global Health” was held in Pasadena on November 13 and featured

panel moderator Geoff Cowan ’60, event co-host Connie Brines, USC Institute of Global Health faculty members Sofia Gruskin and Kiros Berhane, and key panelist and event co-host Jonathan Samet ’63.

5 Choate alumni gathered at the USS Bunker Hill in San Diego. Taking in the impressive sights with David Horowitz ’87, Commander Jason Patterson, David Howell, Chip Clowney ’70, Russ Davis ’74, Ken Peters ’73, and Bill Boyd ’51.

6 Coming to a college town

near you: Chill with Choate!

Young Choate alumni in the NYC area, including Jessica Chu ’12, Teodor Deliev ’12, Tessa Enzy Tookes ’13, Caroline Collins ’13, Vanessa G. Sergeon ’06, Kendall V. Dacey ’06, and Jacky Tzu Yi Yang ’12, reconnect over froyo.

Bulletin | Winter 2014 33

1

2

Calendar of Events January

1/9 CT – Winterfest at Max Downtown 1/9 Shanghai – Headmaster’s Reception at Sir Ely’s

Restaurant, The Peninsula 1/9 NYC – Class of 1974 Pre-Reunion Kickoff Party 1/12 Bangkok – Headmaster’s Reception at Chatrium Hotel Riverside 1/16 DC – Winterfest at The Metropolitan Club 1/29 Boston – Winterfest at Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drink 1/30 San Francisco – Winterfest at Pier 23 Café 1/30 NYC – Class Agent Gathering at ABC Studios

February

2/8 NYC – Brunch with Doug McGrath ’76, book writer for

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Algonquin Hotel 2/11 Vero Beach – Reception and luncheon at Windsor Club 2/13 NYC – Alumni and Parent Phonathon 2/14 Naples – Tour of the Naples Botanical Garden and luncheon 2/25 Palm Beach – Brownell Society Reception at

3 1/2 New venue, old friends! Our biggest crowd yet turned out for

the Choate Rosemary Hall Holiday Party in NYC on December 12 – there’s no better way to celebrate the season! Special thanks go out to John Meadow ’98 for his graciousness in hosting us at his fabulous No. 8.

3 The Alumni Club of Hong Kong kicked off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving celebration at Grappa’s with more than 40 of their closest friends. Special thanks go out to Sandy Wan ’90 and Jennifer Yu ’99 for working so hard to put this special dinner together!

Mar-a-Lago TBD – NYC – Young Alumni Happy Hour

Spring Career Networking Events TBD – DC Start Up//Choate Panel Discussion,

Career Networking and Mentoring TBD – Boston Start Up//Choate Panel Discussion, Career Networking and Mentoring TBD – NYC Start Up//Choate Panel Discussion,

2014

Career Networking and Mentoring

2014 is your Reunion Year. So don’t miss it.

Reunion Weekend wouldn’t be the same without you! Make plans to reconnect and celebrate with your classmates, teachers, and teammates. Watch your mail and inbox for schedule updates, events, places to stay, and the incredible programs planned for you. We look forward to seeing you soon!

2004

1999

1994

1989

1984

1979

1974

TBD – NYC – Pre-Reunion Happy Hour for Class of 2004 TBD – NYC – Pre-Reunion Happy Hour for Class of 2009

April Alumni Awards Presentation 4/17 – Sixth Form Transition Dinner – Campus* 4/17 – Fifth Form Pizza Party with Young Alumni – Campus* TBD – Annual LA Brunch

Save the Date May 16 –18, 2014

2009

March

1969

1964

*Alumni are invited to attend the Sixth Form Transition Dinner or the Fifth Form Pizza Party.

If you are interested, please contact Monica St. James at mstjames@choate.edu.

Honor Guard (classes celebrating post-50th Reunions)

34

Classnotes | News from our Alumni

Send Us Your Notes!

We welcome your submission of classnotes or photos electronically in a .jpg format to alumline@choate.edu.

When submitting photos, please make sure the resolution is high enough for print publication – 300 dpi preferred.

If your note or photograph does not appear in this issue, it may appear in a subsequent issue, or be posted online to Alumni News on www.choate.edu.

To update your alumni records, email: alumnirelations@choate.edu or contact Christine Bennett at (203) 697-2228.

Daniel B. Conron ’44, Class President, Editor of the Choate News, and School Seal Prize winner, would be celebrating his 70th reunion this May. He passed away in 2009.

Bulletin | Winter 2014 35

1940s ’46 C

Smithsonian Channel producers tracked down Robert Rust to interview him about his role in the untold story of Richard Pavlick. In 1960, Pavlick tried to kill President Kennedy a month before he was sworn into office. Rust prosecuted him while serving as the District Attorney in Florida.

’47 C John T. Downey was honored on November 22, 2013 with the CIA’s Distinguished Service Cross, the highest award given by the agency. Since the founding of the CIA in ’48, only 30 recipients have been so honored. A number of his CIA buddies from the early 1950s joined him in Washington for the presentation and a celebratory dinner. ’48 c Former Ambassador Eric M. Javits writes, “My memoir, Twists and Turns, has now been published in a soft cover version that can be ordered from Amazon books or Barnes & Noble on the Internet. There is a good bit about my days at Choate from 1945 to 1948, including stories about both St. John headmasters and other members of the faculty, including J.J. Maher, Mr. Shute, Mr. Kline, George Steele, E. Stanley Pratt and others. My wife and I reside in Palm Beach, where a number of other Choate alumni also live.”

1950s ’50 c

Jay Davis writes, “Martha and I now reside in Sarasota, Fla., from November to May. Please send names and contact information of other Choaties in Sarasota, especially from the ’50s, and maybe we can start a club here.”

’51 rh Peggy Hart Rogers writes, “Last May during Reunion Weekend, four of the Class of 1951 met at the old Greenwich campus for the service at St. Bede's, followed by a lovely luncheon at the Lascala Restaurant located down at Greenwich Harbor. Diana Brothers McGhie, Eunice Beers Hunter, Joan Stulman Gilbert and I were the ones to represent the Class of 1951. Franny Chaffee Taliaferro and Elisie Guion Pierot wanted to be with us but were tied up with other engagements. I did manage to get another trip to Scotland last October to see family and friends.

I missed Joan Stulman Gilbert by a day or so at the Dublin Airport as she was taking her granddaughter on a trip to England and then on to France. I exchange e-mails with Cindy Austin Zimmerman, who lives up in the Adirondacks where she is having all sorts of ‘challenges.’ Now and then I am on the phone to Emily Howe Buttaro, who also is having her ‘challenges’ out in Aberdeen, S.D. I had a wonderful phone conversation with Marilyn McManus Bauch, who lives out in Arizona. If she had come out to New Jersey a few weeks sooner in May, she could have joined us for our ‘reunion’ luncheon. Maybe next year!”

’55 C Jere Packard writes, “I’m still working, despite a defibrillator and a few other aging ills! I teach 85 students in three sections of Western Civilization at Misericordia University. Youngest son graduated from Temple Law last May and is now living with Ingrid and me while clerking for a local judge. Three lawyers in the family does seem a bit much.”

Jack Winkler extends an open invitation to members of the Class of 1955 to make contact if they come to London. He writes, “I live very near the center of the city and would welcome the chance for Reunion meetings with classmates unseen for half a century. A brief biography explaining how I happen to be in London might be in order: At Choate I won an English Speaking Union Exchange Scholarship to Highgate School in London. The experience stuck.

After university at Stanford, I returned to London to work as a business journalist and, apart from some short residences in Hamburg, Moscow, Berlin and Florence, have been here ever since. Professionally, I studied sociology at the London School of Economics, then followed an academic career in social policy at several British universities, ending up as Professor of Nutrition Policy at London Metropolitan University, walking distance from where I live now.” ’56 C

Robert L. Graham III writes, “Next year, I really am retiring! I have been working half time in the over seven years since I officially retired. A clergy person’s life is not something one does, but rather who one is called to be, so one does not really ever ’quit.’ Joan retires early this coming year as well, so I think we will do some traveling and catch up with our six grandchildren, now spread all over the world, before they all graduate from university, under- and post graduate studies. We look forward to May and Reunion.”

George Tidd writes, “My wife, Vera, and I cruised to Panama Canal during Christmas and New Year’s aboard the Seabourn Cruise Lines. Having been brought up in the Long Island Sound area, I miss the ocean, especially since we have been living in the Sierra Nevada mountain region.”

’57 rh Val Ramsey writes, “After 24 fabulous years in Pebble Beach, Wally and I moved to south Florida two years ago and are loving our new life in Palm Beach Gardens. It has been busier than I ever imagined.

Between modeling and speaking engagements, I also came out with a new book this fall: Creating What's Next – Gracefully with a foreword by my wonderful friend Ali MacGraw '56. It has been so much fun reconnecting with her. She is as beautiful inside and out as ever. If any Rosemarians are down in Palm Beach this winter, I would enjoy seeing you! My contact information is val@valerieramsey.com.”

’59 C

Sandy Morehouse writes, “I am alive, well, happy, self-employed managing our family farm, hunt club and organic farming operation, while still married to the same woman for the past 50 years. Life is good! I wish the same for all the other ’59ers.”

top Jim Pollock ’45 had lunch with Alan White and Dick Cretella in

Branford, Conn., this summer. The classmates are planning to be at the 70th Reunion in 2015. bottom Val Ramsey ’57 (left) came out with a new book this fall:

Creating What's Next – Gracefully with a foreword by her wonderful friend Ali MacGraw ’56.

Tom Viertel writes, “I’ve been crazily busy with our new nightclub, 54 Below, here in NYC. We opened in June 2012 and we’re quite a hit! We’ve won a bunch of awards and had the great fun of presenting theater luminaries like Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Bebe Neuwirth, Norbert Leo Butz and many more. We recently broke ground at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn. (where I chair the Board), for an $8 million addition to our plant so we can begin to teach musical theater to college students.

Fellow Choate Board member Marshall Ruben and his family have been very active and supportive at the O’Neill, and so have Herb Kohler ’57, former Board Chair, and his wife, Natalie Black. I’ve recently been appointed Executive Director of the Commercial Theater Institute, the only official training ground for Broadway producers. I’ve spent a lot of time teaching there, and I’m looking forward to continuing to build it. Life goes flying by, but I love my partner, Patricia Daily, and my kids, Jessica ’89 and Joel and their families, so I count myself among the very lucky. I’m in my final year of a 10-year term as a Choate Board member and it has been a truly wonderful experience.

The School is blessed to have a great faculty and staff – you all do an amazing job.”

’59 RH Susan Brooks writes that she lost her husband of 38 years last June.

36 classnotes

1960s ’60 C

The classmate with the youngest family, Stewart Flory, already the father of a 4-year-old daughter, became the dad of two more in July when his wife, Ellie, delivered twins, a boy and a girl.

From North Carolina comes word from Gary Gischel, "In September my son, Tyson, and I completed the YMCA Triathlon here in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. – my first, and his fifth. I did finish second in my age group, but as most of my friends asked: How many were there? Not too many over 70. Needless to say, a great experience to compete with my son. Also in September I met up with Charlie Goetz, Wade Logan ’62 and Gil White ’62 at a UNC ATO fraternity weekend.”

Peter Gregory reports from New York: "I am having a great time running money at Morgan Stanley and have found a new passion in my life, granddaughter Caroline Benabib. She is 3½, and is truly the most beautiful and charming young lady imaginable.

Our daughter lives in Santa Monica and we go out and visit every six weeks."

John Henderson and wife, Ann, visited Kai Lassen and his wife, Marion, last summer at their home in Wilmington, Del., and toured Winterthur Museum and Longwood Gardens.

David Hopkins writes, “I’m still working as Senior Advisor at the Pacific Business Group on Health, a San Francisco-based coalition of large companies that are constantly searching for ways to buy health care for their employees that is high-quality and affordable. The first step is to have doctors and hospitals be transparent about their prices and outcomes. Our home is in Palo Alto, Calif., where we have lived for nearly all the time since we were married in 1965. We also have homes in Seal Harbor, Maine, and on the Big Island of Hawaii, which means we get to spend time in a lot of nice places.

We feel very fortunate. My wife, Rosemary, and I recently finished a fabulous two-week tour of parts of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. I recommend a visit to these places for those who haven’t been here yet. It is a fascinating part of the world.”

Jo Johnson, an admitted baseball buff, wrote that he read "a wonderful book this summer entitled Stolen Season – A Journey through America and Baseball’s Minor Leagues by David Lamb. Lo and behold, the inspiration for the book was a chance encounter that Lamb had in Los Angeles with Geoff Cowan! ’What interested me,’ he wrote in the preface, ’was not that he was a film producer, writer or university professor in constitutional law. It was that he owned a professional baseball team, a minor league club in northern California called the Stockton Ports.“ Jo and Gracie plan to be in Ponte Vedra, Fla., from late January till early April, so if you’re in the area, he’d love to hear from you.

Stu Lamb writes, "Still working hard as ever at my bio refinery here in Stuart, Fla., making 10 million gallons a year of biodiesel from many different green feedstocks, including waste vegetable oils. Playing golf with my wife, Kim, as often as I can on weekends and still spending a good part of the summers in Portugal and Nantucket. We have the best golf courses in the country right here in South Florida, so grab your sticks and stop by for a visit. All characters welcome."

Alex McFerran reports, “Grandchild number eight arrived in early September, Never thought I’d ease into retirement as seamlessly as I have. I serve on a number of not-for-profit boards, and still ski with our kids, in-laws and now grandkids. Though I vowed I would never do it, Freddy, my wife, and I have spent winter and early spring time in Florida, like the Johnsons."

Preparing with about 25 percent of his Choate class for his Yale reunion, Otto Trautz wrote: "you’ll see that retirement hasn’t taken hold. Quite the opposite, as I feel an urgency to make the most of my opportunity to continue doing what I can for the good order, that is, our great state of Vermont. Daughter, Katie, is doing music. Son, Nicholas, and wife, Katya, are at the University of Virginia, where he’s deep into his PhD program in Tibetology."

No grass grows under Ken Wydro’s feet as he reports that "the theater and music business is better than ever." In October he wrote about opening two new, original musicals, We Are and Alive! In December he and his wife, Vy Higginsen, took their musical Mama, I Want to Sing for a six-week tour in Japan. And then in the spring of 2014, he will be involved in the producing end of two shows headed for Broadway, Rocky (a musical) and All the Way (a new drama).

’61 RH Diana Dent Calderon writes, “After losing my dear husband of 33 years five years ago, I moved from Anna Maria Island to Sarasota, Fla. Now I can enjoy all the wonderful arts that Sarasota has to offer without having to drive 45 minutes to an hour! I am thoroughly enjoying the convenience of everything at my fingertips. Downsizing is a good thing as it made me clear out a bunch of things that, hopefully, will be useful to others. The remodeling and creative/ fun side of moving is complete for now, which leaves me enjoyable moments working on my outdoor space, getting dirty and looking quite disheveled - but enjoying the results. Besides season tickets to the Sarasota Ballet, Symphony and Opera, there is always a myriad of other theater at my disposal. I am enjoying helping out at the Salvation Army, did travel to Paris with four of my friends last year and spent three months at my home in the N.C. mountains.

Leaving on a Caribbean cruise with another four gal pals, to have a rest and catch up with my Kindle. I wish all my classmates, whom I so enjoyed seeing at our 50th, a joyous, healthy, New Year.”

’63 rh In mid-August Jean McBee Knox had a heart attack; it was a big scare, but she has an excellent prognosis.

Tina Close had arthroscopy on her knee and her hip was replaced in October.

Sandy Little Beard and her husband moved two days after her 50th Reunion in May, and two days after that she ended up in emergency surgery for a blocked bowel from scar tissue. Ten days later they went to Europe for a river trip that had been planned for more than a year.

Other classmates have been traveling too: Margo Melton Nutt and Margo Heun Bradford took a two-week trip to England in October, seeing London and the Lake District. They lunched with Donna Dickenson in London. Donna and husband, Chris, had a grand two weeks in Hawaii last summer.

Penny Griffith Dix and her husband went to Prague and on a Danube River trip in October. Betsy O’Hara Stiefvater had a grand post-Reunion four-island visit to Hawaii. In October she flew over from Germany to visit daughters P.J. (in Brooklyn) and Ella (in Miami).

Chris Murray McKee and husband, Tom, went to Costa Rica in October, where they visited old haunts from their 10-year stint there in the Foreign Service.

’60

My son, Tyson, and I completed the YMCA Triathlon here in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. – my first, and his fifth.

I did finish second in my age group, but as most of my friends asked: How many were there?

Not too many over 70.

–Gary Gischel '60

Bulletin | Winter 2014 37

2 1

3 4

5

6 ’65

1 Leigh Johnson Yarbrough ’66 visited her

3 Richard E. Burney ’61 at the wedding of

5 Jeff Sturges ’66, President and CEO of

sister Lucina (Tina) Lewis ’64 in Newport, Rhode Island last June.

his daughter, Edith, in June 2013 which took place at their home in Ann Arbor, MI. With Richard is his wife of 43 years, Mary, Edith and Charles, and Ben Burney.

Resolute Racing Shells, sponsored the International Women’s Super Eight at the Head of Charles this year. They won in a RESOLUTE, just like the ones that Choate rows.

4 Tina Close ’63, with sister Glenn Close ’65, bottom left, and their mother, Bettine Moore Close, RH ’42. Also in the picture are brother, Sandy, and sister Jessie.

6 Foster Gamble ’66 and his wife, Kimberly, created a documentary, Thrive, that has already been seen by more than 20 million people in 27 languages.

2 Wayne Strickler ’62 is owner of Neverland Toys. He and his wife, Sheila, live in Tucson.

In early November, Alice Chaffee Freeman, Margo Heun Bradford, Margo Melton Nutt and Cindy Skiff Shealor traveled to Charleston, S.C., for a four-day gathering of Rosemarians from the classes of ’63 and ’64, organized by Libby Goltra Winthrop, Sally Steele ’64 and Sarah Boynton Cothran ’64. A fabulous time was had by all! Afterwards, Alice continued on down to Florida for a visit with Holly Smith.

Doreen McClennan Gardner has moved from Dana Point to Morro Bay, Calif., following her retirement last summer. Margo Melton Nutt has been honored for her 25 years of service to Dartmouth College with a rocking chair. No retirement plans yet!

Vermont Arts Council board member Reeve Lindbergh Tripp was one of the hosts of an event on October 6, at the Athenaeum in St. Johnsbury to celebrate the arts in the Northeast Kingdom.

Frazier, her husband, Kevin, and their daughters, Ellis, 10, and Campbell, 9, live an hour away, thus we see them with regularity and enjoy being supportive. Son, Whitney, his wife, Kelli, and their daughter, Morgan, 18 months, live in Newport so we get to see them only four or five times a year. I have had the distinct pleasure of sailing in several disabled events over the last several years and can truly say that the experience has been most rewarding and inspiring. These men and women from all walks of life, backgrounds and different lifechanging injuries are simply remarkable. Dick Pinkham came for a visit recently, and spent a couple of hours with Hallie, since I was on the water. Very much looking forward to our 50th Reunion in May!”

Peter Senné visited his daughter, Holly, in Newport Beach, Calif., last fall where she works with the Marriott Vacation Club, and reports that he and Kathy were able to enjoy a seaside dinner with Sue and John Meyer. John is doing some consulting work with a company called Rohrback Cosasco Systems, the world leader in corrosion monitoring technology (sounds really sexy, John). Peter writes that “after he used a few terms like microcor and quicksand wireless transmitters, linear polarization resistance and my favorite, AUP, for access under pressure, I was lost – but he did seem to know what it was all about and is apparently having some fun with it.” John’s son Brendon, Summer Programs ’07, will be attending Quinnipiac University in the fall and Susan is then planning to go back to work. By the way, John reports that Peter Meyer ’65 (almost), after being continuously deployed for most of both wars in the Middle East, “will still be flying overseas when everyone is out of Afghanistan.”

C Henry McNulty writes, “Anne and I spent some time in London in October. We decided to see the musical Spamalot; the London production involves getting an audience member up on stage with the actors. Guess who was selected! So now I can say I’ve made my on-stage début in a West End musical.”

’66

’64 C

Dan Rugg writes, “I retired from my position as Sailing Master at the Naval Academy as of September 2010 after 21 years. Hallie and I continue to live in Centreville and enjoy our reasonably quiet rural area. I continue to sail and support US Sailing as an instructor trainer, work with couples who have recently purchased a boat or have gone from one size to another and are looking for some training. Daughter,

My espionage novel, Flowers From Berlin, hit No. 1 in Amazon Kindle espionage fiction this year.

–Noel Hynd ’66

38 classnotes

’66 c

Joe Sweeney writes, “I retired in 2013 after a 40-year career as a lawyer, including 25 years as the head lawyer of two public, high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, Applied Materials and MIPS, and moved from the San Francisco Bay area to Southern California. My friend of 15 years, Nancy Handel, and I married in Maui in 2011. My older son, Patrick, graduated from UCLA, and is an actor in Hollywood. My younger son, Kevin, is biochemistry major at UC Santa Cruz. My sister, Denise Hartman, retired as an executive at VISA, and also moved from the San Francisco Bay area to Southern California. If friends are in the area, please visit us in Newport Beach.”

’66 RH Leigh Johnson Yarbrough writes, “The past year has been a busy one, especially now that all three of my children are living close by. Last August my oldest son, Edwin, and his family moved from Charlotte to Chapel Hill. He has just opened a new office for Cresa, which is located in downtown Durham. He has a 3-year-old daughter and a oneyear-old son. My daughter, Christina, lives in Raleigh, where she works for Duke Energy. She has two sons, ages 2½ and 1, both of whom keep her busy! My youngest son, Andrew, lives in Durham, and is working

for Square 1 Bank at their downtown Durham branch. In June I went to visit my sister Lucina (Tina) Lewis ’64, in Newport, Rhode Island. We had a great week exploring the area, and visiting with family. She relocated there from Boulder, Colo., last May, and is enjoying her new surroundings.”

’67 C

Lou Barnes writes, “I am celebrating my 25th anniversary as author/publisher of nationally syndicated “Mortgage Credit News” and mortgage banking in Boulder, Colo., where I regularly see Tom Ayres, astrophysicist at CU. We were together in Choate’s last 2nd Form, 14 young men in ’62; eight of us made it all five years!”

Rick Rosenthal recently produced/directed a new thriller, Drones, which had its world premiere at the London Film Festival and its U.S. premiere at the Austin Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter (London) says of the film, “A topical thriller about the ethics of remote-control warfare... Both leads give excellent performances, with Matt O’Leary showing potential to follow Ryan Gosling’s path from baby-faced child star to laconic, sardonic, left-field sex symbol...The final scene should prove unsettling for liberals and conservatives alike."

’67 RH Helen Truss Kweskin and her husband, Ed, are the proud grandparents of Sylvia and Simon Averbach. With only 15 months between the children, both parents and grandparents are very busy! Helen continues to teach high school English at the King School in Stamford, Conn., and remains actively engaged with educational work in Rwanda.

’69 RH Helen Halpin writes, “2014 is going to be a big year for me. My son, Derek, and his wife are expecting their first child (my first grandchild) in February and my daughter, Geneva, is engaged to be married this spring. My middle son, Josh, is studying forensic science as a freshman at the University of North Carolina, and my son David is a freshman in high school at Ardingly College in West Sussex, south of London. My husband, Scott, just had both of his knees replaced, and I am thoroughly enjoying retirement in Southern France.”

Vicki Spang writes, “Life is good and pretty much the same: I am the head of marketing at a 600+ attorney law firm based in Los Angeles. I also have an apartment in San Francisco, where we have an office.

I take advantage of being in LA by attending awards shows (went to the Grammys last year) and snapping photos of celebs, with or without me in the picture, whenever they are amenable.”

top left Vicky Spang ’69 posed with former President Clinton when he spoke at a conference sponsored by her San Francisco firm.

bottom left RH ’69 classmates Elise Hume Papke, Marfy Field Hodgman, Cathy Lee Davis and Connie Ferguson had a reunion in Rhode Island last fall. Lots of reminiscing, laughs, and lobster.

above From left, Phil Snyder ’68 and his brother, Rob ’69, were winners of the Grand Prize at the First Annual Yellow Ape Film Festival in Huntington, L.I., for their film, A Farewell to Arm. They received the award from the festival organizer, Jim Haggerty.

Bulletin | winter 2014 39

Classnotes | Profile

Andrés Duany ’67

New Urbanism comes of age Not many Choate alumni can claim to have founded a movement.

Andrés Duany ’67, however, can. Andrés, a founder with his wife, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, of the Miami-based architectural firm DPZ, is also a founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, which The New York Times described as “the most important collective architectural movement in the United States in the past 50 years.”

It promotes dense, walkable mixed-use communities that accommodate old and young, rich and poor, and offer access by multiple modes of transport. New Urbanism makes room for the automobile, but unlike the sprawling suburbs, gives pride of place to pedestrians. New Urbanists see streets as places in themselves, not just channels for vehicular traffic. To create their new places, New Urbanists have promoted new zoning laws and have used an elaborate community brainstorming process known as a charrette.

“Our single biggest problem is that we have prevailed,” Andrés said in a much-discussed keynote address at CNU 21, the 21st gathering of the Congress, last May. “We have actually become the paradigm.”

And now, as this movement enters its third decade, Andrés is calling for a “lean” urbanism, a movement with more “agility” and less bureaucracy. In fact, his firm is working on “pink codes” – proposed design codes that would involve “a lighter shade” of red tape. (He likes phrases like this that have to be explained, he observes; otherwise there’s a danger that people will hear you and only think they know what you mean.)

CNU 21 was held in Salt Lake City, where the intense, provocative, sometimes cigar-smoking Andrés may have seemed an odd cultural fit. But he and his colleagues had high praise for the achievements of the 19th-century Mormons as city-builders and placemakers, laying out street grids and taming the land, in the Salt Lake Valley and across the American West.

In an interview, Andrés identified 1876 as the year he would like to go back to. He laments today’s elaborate building codes and regulatory processes – “where … every project has to have reams of drawings.” He wants to get back to a time of “leaner” public process, where decisions could be made at what he calls “the right level” – the local sheriff, perhaps, or the neighbors on the block.

And not everything has to start big. New York, he reminded his listeners in Salt Lake City, began as “a Dutch shantytown.”

The 21st century, he says, really began in 2008. That was the point when the bursting of the real estate bubble revealed profound weakness not only in the housing sector, but throughout the economy; when the reality of climate change finally took hold in public consciousness; and when people gained a new awareness of America’s ongoing energy challenges. “We’re not going to run out of oil,” he says, “but the cheap stuff is gone. And this country is, more than any other, based on cheap energy.”

Against this backdrop, which Andrés calls “the great pall,” he envisions New Urbanists charging in to save the day. But he says New Urbanists represent “the light cavalry,” as opposed to the “heavy armored divisions” of organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council, which sponsors the LEED energyefficiency program.

New Urbanist architects, engineers, and developers got clobbered along with everyone else in the real estate sector a few years ago. But the dense, walkable mixed-use neighborhoods that New Urbanism promotes tended to hold their value better than suburban sprawl. And the walk-to-work lifestyle, with its light carbon footprint, has come to look like a good sidewalk-level response to the triple threat Andrés sketches out: persistent economic weakness, an urgent need to move away from fossil fuels, and the end of cheap energy.

Andrés has a simple test for a building code: “Does it let you build Charleston?”

Charleston, S. C., with its distinctive local architecture and human scale, is the kind of place that people love. But it’s also the kind of place that can be impossible to build under today’s typical zoning regulations and building codes.

The tide is turning, though; “building Charleston” still isn’t easy. But it’s getting easier. And Andrés Duany, the 2002 Alumni Seal Prize Winner, is part of the reason.

Ruth Walker is a writer in Cambridge, Mass.

40 classnotes

Elsie Garfield writes, “I retired from the World Bank in December 2007. My husband, Woody, and I sold our house of 23 years in May 2013 and have moved from Northern Virginia to the suburbs of Charlotte, N.C. We are buying a house being built in Tega Cay, S.C. Our oldest daughter, Lizzie, is living in Brooklyn, N.Y., and working as an assistant designer for a company that designs and manufactures clothes for Target. Our daughter Kara is a junior at Hollins University, which has an excellent creative writing program. Look forward to our 45th Reunion.”

Sara Woodhull writes, “Not much new – still loving my job at Wright State University. I am the Director of Development for the College of Liberal Arts (major gift fundraiser). On October 4, 2013, our 5th anniversary, Clyde’s youngest daughter got married on Maui with 20 of us in attendance. This also included his 94-year-old mother, who had a blast and tried to do everything with us.”

1970s

’75 C Kevin Weiss writes, “After five years in Bloomington, Ind., running a self-publishing company, we sold it to Penguin and I have move south to Phoenix to run SkyMall.” ’75 RH Annis Campione-Karpenko and her husband, Steve, welcomed granddaughter Haley Ruth Ryval born to daughter Alta, and her husband, Jonathan Ryval, on September 6 in London, Ontario.

Annis’ daughter Cordelia took up her post as minister of St. Paul’s United Church in Ajax, Ontario, in January 2013, so while Annis and her husband greatly enjoy their life in Quebec, they are clearing off their calendars and making more time to visit their girls and granddaughter. Annis will complete her MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College in June 2014.

’76 C

Douglas McGrath’s new musical, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, currently in previews, opens January 12, 2014, in the Stephen Sondheim Theater.

James Olcott writes, “I am working in the suburbs of Philadelphia each week where I serve as an IT Functional Lead for AmerisourceBergen. I am in Philadelphia Monday – Thursday and would love to meet other Choaties in Center City Philadelphia to plot revolution. After work, of course. My son Grant is currently Choate Class of 2015 and earned his varsity letter in cross country this past fall.”

’76 RH

Lisa Helme writes, “Our daughter Elizabeth got married on September 22, 2013, to Eric Schnoerr in Newport, RI. She is a Senior Associate at ICR, he is a banker with Wells Fargo and both live in Richmond.

Daughter Allison graduated from UConn and is now working on her MBA. She is currently with Langan Engineering. Our son Chris is a junior at Fairfield

’77 I was pleased to meet some other parents

and Alumni at a Bangkok brunch reception this fall hosted by Jack Kingsley ’87. It was great to connect with other Choaties!

–Bonnie Hutchinson Zellerbach ’77

University working on his Engineering Degree. All are well and happy. For the last 3 years I have been working with Chip Horton C ’76 to launch Direct Swap, the first online platform for derivatives trading created with the Dodd Frank End User Clearing Exemption in mind.

It’s been wonderful working with my old friend to develop his vision and bring it to market. We are beginning the process of fundraising now. My husband and I also launched Coastal Angler Magazine Rhode Island last January, and we will be launching Coastal Angler Magazine Long Island in February.

These will be followed by the launch of Boldwater TV in these markets - fun but terrifying."

’78 Anne Levine writes, “I had a great time back on campus for our 35th Reunion. It was my first time at Choate since graduating. Two of my best friends, Jonathan Baker and Joan Bigwood, flew in from California for Reunion. We all had dinner with Joe Rhodes III, Betsey Koffman, and very special attendee, Stephen Baker ’48, in Wallingford to kick off the weekend. The 7th anniversary of my weekly radio broadcast, The Anne Levine Show, on WOMR FM, is coming up in May.” ’79 Brooke Cohn writes that she visited campus and Lisa Zolkiewicz in June with her husband, Tim, and daughter, Victoria, 11. Her oldest son, William, is a sophomore attending SMU in Dallas. Her middle son, Edward, is in 9th grade playing football and basketball.

Brooke and family still live in Oklahoma City, where Brooke teaches part-time at a local university.

She also recently started in private practice as a licensed addictions counselor. She plans to attend her 35th Reunion.

Tim McKay was recently named the boys Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach at Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati.

Brad Welch and Lou Varsames traveled on a mission trip in July to Tanzania, Africa, together from Tampa with their families.

1980s ’80

Alan Reid, his roommate, Chris Ryan, and floor mate Tony Forstmann convened a high level meeting at Nobu last month. The trio debated challenging The Maddox Raiders to replay the 1980 Softball Championship. Bungalow, known better for their high competence in Ultimate Frisbee, upset the highly confident Raiders and are ready to do it again.

Kenny Tung joined Geely Holding Group as its chief legal counsel and has been taking an inside look at one of the most entrepreneurial enterprises coming out of China since 2010. Since February, Kenny has been working on establishing an R&D center in Sweden, IPR-related issues, various joint projects with Volvo, as well as discussions with players in the alternative energy vehicles and supply chain in various parts of the world.

’81

Donald Kirby had dinner this past summer with fellow classmates Marc Cosnard and Greg Viscusi in Paris…great fun!

Nike Irvin writes, “I was on the cover of Aspen Idea (www.aspeninstitute.org/about/magazine). As a Henry Crown Fellow, I was in Aspen over the summer for the first ever Aspen Global Leaders Action Forum.

We were asked to write our action pledge up on these large outdoor walls, and when I recorded mine, they captured the image. To my surprise, I landed on the cover of Aspen’s magazine, in the company of real action heroes like Gabby Giffords and Richard Branson. By the way, my pledge is to help Los Angeles develop into a lab for nonprofits to restructure, merge, partner for greater sustainability.”

Tiva Kasemsri writes, “I have recently been appointed Associate Chief Medical Officer at University Medical Center in Lubbock, TX, where I remain Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center."

Bulletin | Winter 2014 41

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5 1 Todd Ackerman ’85 recently competed in the Lake Placid IronMan. The race consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run.

2 Lisa Helme ’76 and husband, Mike, and their six children, from left, Chris, Kendall, Julia, Mike, Lisa, Hunter, Liz, and Allison.

3 Annis Campione-Karpenko ’75 welcomed granddaughter Haley Ruth Ryval born to daughter Alta and her husband, Jonathan Ryval, on September 6 in London, Ontario.

4 Class of 1976 classmates, from left, David Teeple, Phil Stimpson, and James Olcott on the beach in Southampton this past summer.

5 Tom Wall ’76 hosted a gathering at his home in Westerly, R.I., to honor Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed. From left, Diana Kellogg ’80 and her husband, Neil Burger, Sen. Reed, Tom and his wife, Nancy, Congressman David Cicilline, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, and Chris Wall ’80.

6 Andy White ’74, Ken White ’44,

Jim White ’72, and Mike Southworth ’74 gathered for a White Family wedding and, here, a cookout in Rye, N. H.

42

Classnotes | Profile

He’s Got Game

When George Pyne ’84 says football changed his life, he is referring specifically to his postgraduate year at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Now the president of the sports and entertainment division of IMG Worldwide, George was a self-described underachiever when he arrived in Wallingford from Milford (Mass.) High School.

But he joined the football team at Choate, playing so well that he was recruited by Brown University.

Once there, he went on to be football captain and

earn All-Ivy honors while completing a degree in political science. Then he began what has been a business career that has included a stint as chief operating officer of NASCAR, the race car association, and his current position at IMG, the global sports, fashion and media behemoth famously started in 1960 with a handshake between Cleveland lawyer Mark McCormack and golf legend Arnold Palmer.

It has been a strong and steady climb for George, and he attributes so much of his success to the life lessons and opportunities football provided. “The game helped me achieve my potential,” he says.

All of which makes it appropriate that last September, George became the first person ever inducted into the National Football Foundation’s Leadership Hall of Fame. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1947 and with more than 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, is dedicated to building leaders through football. In many ways, George is a perfect example of the very deep influences and positive impacts the game can have on those who play it.

His grandfather and father played in the National Football League, and so did his younger brother, Jim ’90. But making the sport a profession for George was a problem, given his size. He was tall enough, at 6'5”. “But nobody wanted a 235-lbs. lineman,” he says. So he used what he had learned in football to pursue other professions.

George toiled for a spell in the family real estate business, and then went to work for the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. From there, he moved to the Portman Companies, a commercial real estate business, and after helping to develop a strategic plan for a $2 billion debt restructuring, he pro-

| George Pyne ’84 | posed that the firm get into the sports and special events division. In time, it did just that, putting George in charge of those operations. In a bit of business kismet, one of his clients was the NFL Players Association. Another was NASCAR, which was blossoming from a modestly successful regional entity into a national powerhouse.

It wasn’t long before the folks at NASCAR asked George to come on board full-time; he did so in 1995, starting out as head of new business development. In time, he became chief operating officer, holding that position until he moved to IMG in 2006. In his role as president of that company’s sports and entertainment position, he not only oversees IMG’s formidable client representation group but also its lucrative consulting and licensing divisions as well as what is known as IMG Performance, aimed at developing sports performance research, products, and services. George is also responsible for starting the company’s college sports division in 2007, then building it into the nation’s leading collegiate marketing operation, representing the NCAA and more than 200 American universities.

To be sure, it has been a remarkable run for George. And all these years later, he continues to attribute much of his success to playing football.

“Football afforded me the opportunity to go to Choate and Brown,” he says. “It also taught me things that helped me a great deal in business.

Like how to overcome and deal with adversity, and also the importance of toughness and perseverance.

I wouldn’t be where I am without it.”

John Steinbreder ’74 is senior writer for Global Golf Post, the weekly digital golf magazine, as well as the author of 16 books.

Bulletin | Winter 2014 43

’82 Andrea Learned, based in Seattle, recently joined the Social Voice Branding alliance as Senior Social Strategist. She continues to write, speak and share on Twitter and Google+ on the topic of sustainable business leadership. She authored an article in the Oct. 23rd issue of The Guardian called “Where Are the Women Leaders in Sustainable Business?”

Page Vincent writes, “I was married in May 2013 to Arthur Gosnell. We just moved back into our house in North Salem, N.Y., after a fire. I am placement director for Rippowam Cisqua School, which means I have the happy task of recommending Choate to my students and their families. I have three daughters, Dorothy in grade 7, Hope, a junior at Cornell, and Missy, a senior at Tulane, also three stepsons and a stepdaughter. So sorry to miss the upcoming Class of ’82 50th birthday, but I will be attending my daughter’s college graduation that weekend.” ’83 Cammie Phillips Hunt writes, “It was great to be back on campus for our 30th in May! At the Alumni Fun Run, I met Heather Chichester Pettis ’93. It was a great connection to make, as we live in nearby towns and have seen each other at several local road racing events. Speaking of which, this year has been one of my most successful years on the Road Race/ Triathlon scene. I’ve landed on the Age Group podium six times, and took home the award for top local female finisher at the Pumpkinman Half-Iron TRI, finishing in a time of 6:20:32.”

James D. Reardon writes, “My wife, Heather, and I spent a weekend in New Orleans. Dan Feibus hosted us in his box at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch the Saints defeat the Cowboys in November.

Dan is busy with a new project in Louisiana and traveling often. Dan spoke highly of his memories of Zack and Julie Goodyear while he was at Choate.”

’82

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’84

Ellen Jawitz and Lizzie McEnany recently met at their place of employment, Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Boston, where Lizzie has worked for seven years as a clinical psychologist. Ellen recently joined the staff, after spending the past several years in private practice as a criminal defense lawyer. After attending a June wedding at Choate, and seeing several faculty members from the old days, Ellen pulled out The Brief and was stunned to discover that one of her co-workers is a fellow Choatie.”

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’85

Josh Futterman writes that his company, International Skill Verification Services (www.skillverification.net), will have its public launch in January.

“We are a groundbreaking, new, interview-based college admissions assessment process that is heading towards joining the TOEFL, GMAT, SAT and other exams as a new standard in international student admissions, and eventually in domestic admissions,” he writes.

Jeff Hamond ended his 12 years as a senior Senate staffer in late 2011 and has been building a government relations practice focused on philanthropy at Van Scoyoc Associates, a well-known Washington lobbying firm.

Michael Mullin is the author of TaleSpins, a collection of three alternative fairytale retellings for YA readers.

Scott Weinhold writes, “I’ve just started a tour as the Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang, China. It’s a three-year posting, and I welcome any Choate alums who are in the NE China area to come by and say hello,” he writes.

3 4

5

Andrea Learned authored an article in the Oct. 23 issue of The Guardian called “Where Are the Women Leaders in Sustainable Business?”

1 Cammie Phillips Hunt ’83 at the 2013 Maine Triathlon For A Cure.

2 James Conway ’85 married Hengameh Lavasanifar in June 2013. The couple lives in Massachusetts, where James is a clinical psychologist. He also teaches cognitive behavioral therapy at Salem State University.

3 Mark MacLeod ’83, right, had a friendly wager on the outcome of the Choate-Deerfield Football game with co-worker Tim Smith (Deerfield ’85). If Choate won, Tim had to wear Mark’s Choate jersey all day at work. Fortunately for Mark, Choate won 27-0!

4 Former mathematics teacher, football coach, and dean, Lou Young (center) presented at the ceremony honoring George Pyne ’84 into the newly established National Football Foundation’s Leadership Hall of Fame. From left, Tara Pyne Kennelly ’86, Tom Towers ’84, Lou and George, and Joe Madden ’85.

5 Ward Caswell ’84 married Andrea Moskal on August 3, 2013, at Willowdale Estate in Topsfield, Mass. Alumni in attendance included, from left, Dr. John de Jong ’74, Ward and Andrea, Matthew Hawkins ’84, Claudia Saunders ’84 and Andrew Gate ’84. The couple lives in Needham, Mass.

44 classnotes

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Bulletin | Winter 2014 45

’86 ’86

Jerry Farrell, Jr., was made a Knight Official of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, which was created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1572. Prior American recipients of the award have included New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Jerry Farrell, Jr., former Connecticut Commissioner of Consumer Protection and former Wallingford Town Council Vice Chairman, was honored

by Prince Victor Emmanuel IV of Savoy, the head of the Italian royal family, at an investiture ceremony held at the Pontifical Urban University in September.

Jerry was made a Knight Official of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, which was created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1572. Prior American recipients of the award have included New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Jerry lives in Wallingford with his wife, Natalie, and their children, Michael and Emilia.

Jeffrey W. Kemp moved to another Koch Industries Company last September to become Associate General Counsel – Litigation for INVISTA, a role in which he manages all litigation for the company.

’87 Libby Applebaum Harrison writes “I am keeping busy as mom to Stephanie, 7, and Hannah, 5, but get a break from 9-6 every day at Miramax, where I oversee the department that manages our rights in over 700 films. Occasionally, I get to spend some time alone with my wonderful husband, Dan, usually catching a Dodgers game.” ’89

1 Jerry Farrell, Jr. ’86, former Connecticut Commissioner of Consumer Protection, was invested as a Knight Official of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus at a ceremony held at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome in September. He received this honor in recognition of his charitable and civic work.

2 Geoff Tracy ’91 completed

his first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, in October. He is proud of his Choate roomie, Dan Kamensky, who finished his first marathon, the NYC Marathon, the following week.

3 Kirstin Bruner LeightonLucas ’91 and husband, David Leighton-Lucas, welcomed Miles Phoenix Leighton-Lucas on August 24, 2013, in Washington, D.C. He joins big brother Tamerlane, age 2 ½.

4 Tricia Parziale Fusilero ’89 is co-creator and Executive Producer of a new television series on PBS called Family Travel with Colleen Kelly. Here she is with business partner and host, Colleen Kelly, right, on location at Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo, Ireland.

5 Penny Bach Evins ’90 joined her mentors, former Director of the Paul Mellon Arts Center Paul Tines and former Dean of Students Lolly Hand at her investiture ceremony as Head of School of St. Paul’s School for Girls in Brooklandville, Md. Also pictured is former Choate Spanish teacher Joan Hurley and former math teacher Sarah Hurtt Stehman ’06.

6 Keith Wilding ’89 and family on a Labor Day Weekend hike outside Galehead Hut in the White Mountains.

7 Allison Gillmor Cameron ’89 has four daughters, from left, Ginger, Ruby, Sadie and Piper.

The family lives in Watch Hill, R.I.

Tricia Parziale Fusilero writes from Chicago, “My latest news is that I am the co-creator and Executive Producer of a new television series on PBS called Family Travel with Colleen Kelly. The series launched in October and is spreading quickly across the USA. As I prepare for season two of the series, I need families in each location and would love to include my fellow alumni, their kids and grandchildren.

Please email me (tricia@travelfilmproductions.com) with suggestions for family friendly destinations and let me know if you would like to be part of the show.”

Keith Wilding writes, “We’re happily living in New Hampshire with our two kids. This past spring, I started work as Professor and Lead Instructor for NHTI - Concord’s Community College’s Paramedic Medical Education. In the spare time between classes and raising children I continue to work as a Paramedic in the Boston area. Heather continues her work as a Project Manager at PC Connection. This past year we got to see the independent school admissions process from the parenting side, as our daughter started 7th grade at The Derryfield School. We can’t believe we’re rapidly approaching our 25th Reunion, and look forward to catching up with our classmates in May! Until then, you can catch us on the slopes in New England, acting the part of wandering ski bums each weekend while taking in as many different ski areas as we can!"

1990s ’90 Mike Minadeo was named as a speaker at the prestigious SxSWedu 2014 conference in Austin.

His presentation, "Games in the Classroom: United Colonies ARG,” will discuss new frontiers in education, specifically how intrinsic motivation, knowledge transfer, and self-driven inquiry can be fostered in middle and high school students through alternative reality gaming. ’91

Sally Gindel Brink relocated to Clifton Park, N.Y., in September with her husband, Damon (Williston Northampton 1989), and son James Arthur, age 3½. She visited with Marci Faye Kupersmith Carroll in NYC in December. She is a life coach and small business consultant and is also focusing a lot of time on supporting parents in a pilot international education program that her son has been in since he was three months old. She writes, “It is my passion!”

Ayanna Brown writes, “After eight years at Children’s Hospital Oakland, I have moved on to Telecare Corp., where I am Associate Director of Revenue Cycle Operations. Telecare provides recoveryfocused services for persons with mental illness and complex needs. I am still living in my wonderful hometown of Oakland, Calif. Life is full and busy with my three daughters who are now 16, 9, and 2.”

Susannah D’Oench writes, “I have been in San Francisco for many years now. I lead Knowledge Management for RelayHealth, a part of McKesson focused on Health Information Technology. While I love the Bay Area, I head back to New England often to see my family and visit my sister, Sarah ’89, her husband, Tom, and my 3-year-old nephew, Benjamin. I got a chance to catch up with Mike Fleisher and his lovely wife, Melody, this fall, after Tift Merritt's ’93 wonderful Hardly Strictly Bluegrass performance in Golden Gate Park.”

Francisco (Kiko) Gros writes, “After 20 years, I went back to Choate with my 15-year-old daughter, Julia, who is considering applying. Since I graduated from the University of Richmond in 1994, I have been living back home in Brazil. We have two other children, Tomaz, 11, and Isabela, 7. Hopefully the three kids will become as big Choate fans as their father is.”

Serena Lourie writes, “On October 27, 2013 we opened a new wine tasting room in downtown Healdsburg, Calif. This new tasting room spotlights masterfully crafted cool-climate pinot noir (from both the nearby Russian River Valley and the remote Mendocino Ridge) and Alsace-style whites, by the glass, the bottle, or on tap – a first for Healdsburg. Reserve in advance, or you can walk in and do a signature tasting at our tasting bar.

Cartograph is located at 340 Center Street.” www.cartographwines.com

46 classnotes

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1 1 Seventeen Choaties were in

attendance at the wedding of Chris Nelson ’95 on May 27, 2012, in Healdsburg, Calif. Back row, standing from left, Jeff Hamrick ’94, Timmy Booth ’94, Mr. John Eldert, Matty Nelson, PJ Orthwein ’94, Mrs. Sue Eldert, Nely, Alissa (bride), Mr. Charlie Holmes, Andy Watts, Chris Wynne, Jason Matlon, Ben Badger.

Front row, kneeling from left: Dave Crisp ’94, Chris Casey ’94, Chris Govil ’95, Rob Hatch ’94.

2 John T. Chiavaroli ’98 married Kathryn Mary (Gee) Grandonico ’98 on top of Mt. Sugarloaf in South Deerfield, Mass., on June 22, 2013. John has returned to Choate as a history and language teacher, and head coach of the Boys Varsity soccer team.

3 Kristen Fiedler Kittscher

4 Chris Staudt ’95 and Robin Ried ’00 were married on July 14, 2012, on Nantucket. Chris is a Director at Emigrant Capital, and Robin is the Head of Urban Development and a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum. From left: Ted Newman ’00, Martha Blackman ’00, Jeein Ha ’00, Caroline Staudt ’00, Nabil El-Hage, Melanie Ried ’94, Robin and Chris, Laurel Ried Langworthy ’97, Alexandra Fenwick ’00, and Stephanie Ogden ’00.

5 Lee Ann Richter ’99 and her

husband, John, welcomed a daughter, Jane Elsie Farden, on October 6, 2013. She joins big brother Jacoby, 2. The family is living in Washington, D.C., where Lee Ann is doing a fellowship in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.

’92 is enjoying book tours for her debut novel, The Wig in the Window, the first in a new mystery series for kids age 9 and up. Here are eager readers at Warwick’s Bookstore in La Jolla, Calif.

4

Alison Roxby is an attending physician in infectious diseases and HIV medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. In addition to seeing patients, Alison does clinical epidemiology research with HIV-positive women in Africa, studying reproductive health and contraception. Alison’s family, husband Brian Rulifson, and Thomas (3) and Anna (6), will be spending a month in Kenya this winter while Alison gets her latest project underway.

’92

’96 Our company, Zoobean, is a discovery platform and service that curates book and app selections for each one-of-a-kind child.

–Jordan Lloyd Bookey ’96

5

Kristen Fiedler Kittscher has been on a book tour with her debut novel, The Wig in the Window, the first in a new mystery series for kids aged 9 and up. She writes, “It’s been so much fun seeing Choaties across the country: Celia Chang, HeeJin Yim, Caitlin Thompson, Lacey Tucker, and Char Caprio all came out to celebrate at launch events. I’m still happily living in Pasadena, Calif., where I’ve taught writing for the past 10 years.”

’94 Simone Balch writes, “After calling Atlanta home for the past seven years, our family moved to Baltimore last February, and so far love the vibrancy of the city and quirkiness of Baltimoreans.” Simone works for Diamond Dragon Advisors, an Asian-based placement agent that raises capital for private equity funds. She visited Hong Kong in November and had fun catching up with Elaine Tung, Duncan Miao, Laura Kiang, Tania Wong ’95, Michelle So ’95, and Derek Yu. ’95

Melissa Rethy Bauman writes, “After getting married in 2005, Joel Bauman ’96 and I lived in Philadelphia for seven years, where I worked as a child trauma therapist, Joel completed a residency in neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and we welcomed our two sons, Eben, now 5, and Jude, 3.

Then we were off to Boston, where Joel completed a fellowship in complex spinal surgery at New England Baptist Hospital. This year, we moved back to the New Haven area, where Joel became the newest member of CT Neuroscience, PC. We’re very happy to be back ’home,’ and living so close to Choate again.”

’96

Jordan Lloyd Bookey writes, “I recently left my role as Head of K-12 Education at Google to startup a new venture with my husband, Felix.

Our company, Zoobean, is a discovery platform and service that curates book and app selections for each one-of-a-kind child. Every book or app from Zoobean is handpicked by a team of experts…who also happen to be parents and librarians! These curators also provide reading guides with literacy tips and fun activities for the books selected for each child. As it happens, two of our curators are connected to Choate: Josia Lamberto-Egan ’95 and Chrissy Khachane, wife of Anil Khachane ’96, are both a part of the broader curation team!”

Daniel Murphy writes, “The Murphy family has created a co-working space in downtown Providence, R.I. for entrepreneurs, The Hatch Entrepreneurial Center. It launched on September 18, 2013. The family renovated 6,000 square feet above the branch to support the growing economic initiatives in Rhode Island, where unemployment has been among the highest in the nation. In order to combat the ‘brain drain’ every May, where students from the 11 local colleges and universities graduate and take their human capital to other cities and states due to the lack of opportunities in R.I., the Hatch provides a cost-effective space where entrepreneurs can network, collaborate and create.”

Bulletin | Winter 2014 47

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6 Andrew Lurie and his wife, Jae, welcomed a son, Abraham Blue Fox Lurie, on November 16, 2013.

’97

Nick Yee writes, “My new book on the psychology of online games and virtual worlds will be in print in January 2014. The book’s title is The Proteus Paradox: How Online Games and Virtual Worlds Change Us – And How They Don’t.”

’98 John T. Chiavaroli married Kathryn Mary (Gee) Grandonico on top of Mt. Sugarloaf in South Deerfield, Mass., on June 22, 2013. Matt Chiavaroli ’99 (best man), Peter Grandonico ’94 (groomsman), Abby Ferguson (bridesmaid), William Gilyard, Jim Vitali ’99, and Matt Kokoszka ’99 were in attendance.

John and Gee first met in 1997 at Choate Rosemary Hall, and they rekindled their relationship at a Choate Christmas party in Manhattan. Gee owns a real estate business (Lincoln Real Estate) with her brother, Peter Grandonico, in Amherst, Mass. John has returned to Choate as a history and language teacher, and head coach of the Boys Varsity soccer team. John and Gee have just finished renovating their Victorian home in Northampton, Mass.

Amanda Todd Lynch lives in Greenwich, Conn., with her husband and two children. She has recently joined Round Hill Partners, where she works in residential real estate sales.

’99

Derek Brashears has gone back to boarding school as the Resident Designer and Technical Director for Hotchkiss.

Wilhelmina Summers is currently teaching Gesher at Sinai Akiba Academy in West Los Angeles.

She lives in Santa Monica and loves living by the beach – even if the water is SUPER cold!

Mei Lan Ho-Walker writes, “For the past three years, I have been living in Sydney, Australia, where I work at BT Financial Group. If you are ever in Sydney, contact me for a Choatie Reunion!”

1 Elizabeth Chahine ’99 and husband, Andrei, welcomed their second son, Oscar Tomas.

He joins big brother Mikhail.

The family recently moved back to Connecticut from Chicago.

2 Clare Maisano Bever ’96 and her husband, Ted, welcomed their second son, Nicholas Donato Bever, on June 17, 2013, in Baltimore. He joins proud big brother, Christopher.

3 Krista Olson ’96 and her

husband, Major Andy Ching, USMC, welcomed Evelyn Kristine on March 7, 2013. Andy was deployed to Afghanistan at the time of her arrival, but was joyfully welcomed home in August. Evelyn joins big sister, Abigail, age 6, and big brother, Preston, age 3.

4 Jonathan Brodsky ’96 and wife, Catherine Brodsky Heroy ’97, welcomed a son, Rypp Giles Brodsky, on October 3, 2013.

5 Alex Fleming ’97 and his wife, Mary Katherine Brooks Fleming, welcomed a son, Richard James Fleming, on April 15, 2013. The family lives in Denver, Colo., with their daughter, Cheyanne, age 2.

6 Tadd Spering ’99, founder of Stylinity, Shantell Richardson ’99, Stacey London of What Not to Wear and Stephanie Ogden ’00 at Stylinity’s Style Stage event in October.

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Classnotes | Profile

Fashion Veronica Chou ’02:

Icon What does it take to be named to Forbes.com’s list of “Asia’s Most Powerful Businesswomen”?

For Veronica Chou ’02, it takes a killer travel schedule. “I travel about every three days,” she says. “I’ve done four cities in one day, or nine cities in two weeks.” The president of Iconix China, Veronica is in the business of introducing well-know American fashion brands such as Ed Hardy, London Fog, and Madonna’s Material Girl to the Chinese market. Her company is based in Hong Kong, and she spends much of her time flying to Ningbo, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and other large and mid-sized cities in mainland China to meet with partners who will help set up and launch retail stores.

In fewer than five years, Iconix China has introduced 13 brands into the Chinese market, selling them at numerous retail locations, including 30 Badgley Mischka luxury brand stores and 400 stores for the youthful All-American Candie’s brand.

China’s booming economy and emerging middle class have produced a favorable environment for marketing American products, but there are challenges, says Veronica. One is that American brands are not as globally well known as Americans tend to think: “A lot of brands that I grew up with – for example, Ocean Pacific – we have not launched in China yet, because there’s no beach or surf culture. Therefore it’s not as popular as you would expect.”

Iconix China’s strategy has included accommodating the tastes and needs of the Chinese shopper without compromising the integrity of the brand. For example, in China there is a much greater demand for down jackets than there is in the United States, so Chinese stores have expanded offerings. “Also, Chinese are little bit more conservative, so they don’t like clothes that are too sexy,” notes Veronica. “Overall, we keep the American designs. There’s a reason why we want to bring these brands to China and not create our own. There are slight changes, but not much.”

Growing up in Hong Kong, Veronica came to Choate, as so many others do, to gain an excellent educational foundation in math, science, English, and history. What she also got was quite a bit of tutelage in J.Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, and other classic fashion brands from her roommate and other friends. “It really helped me to understand the American market. It’s something that to this day is useful to me,” she says. “I was able to see and learn in America. And now I have to teach people in China about these brands.”

While at Choate, Veronica designed costumes for school theater productions and considered following in the footsteps of her mother, a former fashion designer. Ultimately, though, she favored her father, a businessman and longtime Choate trustee, by majoring in communication and minoring in business at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. “Both the Choate education and the USC education really prepared me for the business side of the fashion industry,” she says. In 2008, after a year of working for Citibank, Veronica started Iconix China as a spinoff of the U.S.-based Iconix Brand Group brand management company.

Today, she enjoys the work for both its entrepreneurial and fashion aspects. She also finds constant networking and collaborating with various people, from her local partners to advertisers and the media, to be stimulating and exciting. But the biggest reward, she says, is “to be able to open stores, and see them come to life, and to see people on the street wearing our brands. That’s very satisfying.”

Leslie Virostek is a freelance writer.

Bulletin | Winter 2014 49

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2000s ’00 Sarah L. Maxell Crosby writes, “In 2013 I accepted a new job as web content strategist for Dartmouth’s Web Services department. I’m having so much fun working with departments across campus to improve their sites. The one thing I miss about my previous job: sharing an office with Christina Cook ’86!”

Otessa Ghadar has written a textbook on New Media, The Wild West of Film. It covers everything, from the ground up, relating to digital media and post-Internet art. She’ll be embarking on a book tour soon. She is also gearing up to host and plan the second Annual DC Web & New Media Festival, plus an industry symposium; last year’s event was a great success: It was covered in the Washington Post.

Stephanie Ogden writes, “On October 30, Shantell Richardson ’99 and I attended an event by fellow Choatie Tadd Spering ’99 for his start-up Stylinity. Shantell and I got styled by Stacey London of What Not to Wear in clothes from The Limited and got to show off our looks and strike a pose on Stylinity’s Style Stage.”

’02

Dan DiTomasso has been cast in The Witches of East End on Lifetime.

Robert Grajewski recently took the position of President at Edison Nation Medical (www.EdisonNationMedical.com), a healthcare and medical device incubator and online community.

Edison Nation Medical’s mission is to stimulate healthcare innovation by providing healthcare professionals, inventors, entrepreneurs and everyday people a confidential and easy way to submit their healthcare and medical product ideas and inventions, which are then reviewed by our expert development and medical teams for clinical efficacy, licensing and commercialization potential.

’03 Barrie Kreinik appeared at Tom Viertel’s ’59 Broadway Supper Club, 54 Below, in October. She’ll be singing in the weekly cabaret show, Backstage.

1 Simone Chao ’00 hosted a dinner for Choate alumni from the classes of 1997-2004 on October 30 in Hong Kong.

Seated, from left, Lambert Lau ’97, Simon Yeung ’98, Roland Yau ’00, Cheline Yau ’98, Angela Fan ’98, and Aaron Painter ’00.

Standing, from left, Elissa Gaw ’00, Maria Wu ’97, Patricia Yeung ’97, Simone Chao ’00, James Wolf ’97, Christopher Yu ’01, Henry Lau ’02, Simon Ng ’01, Kristal Hui ’01, and Clifford Chow ’02. Standing above Kristal, Arthur Mui ’04.

2 Jennifer Barry ’03 married Julien Jomier on June 22, 2013, in Burgundy, France. Classmates in attendance included Lucie Patching Bruckner and Elizabeth Farabee. The couple lives in Lyon. Jen is completing a Masters in Public Affairs at Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris.

3 Mike Velez ’00 and his wife, Choate science teacher Catherine Caldwell, welcomed their first child, Maddox Ann Velez, on March 10, 2013.

4 Erica Melief ’01 and husband, Ben Slusser, welcomed a daughter, Andrea Catherine Slusser, born on September 27, 2013. The family resides in Seattle, where Erica is a postdoctoral fellow at Harborview Medical Center.

5 Sam Muglia ’01, fashion trend forecaster for Macy’s, is pictured here showing us what’s cool in the global fashion zeitgeist, after Fashion Week in September in NYC. 6 A Thanksgiving mini-reunion was held in New Haven for members of the Class of 2002 and their significant others, from left, Sam Deka, Ann Miller Deka, Maya Varthi, Nisha Bhat, Pamela Cortland Brown and Mat Brown.

Classnotes | Profile

Allison Lami Sawyer ’03

Pioneer Woman The CEO and co-founder of Houston-based startup Rebellion Photonics, Allison Lami Sawyer ’03 is, at 28, a pioneer in business and science.

The company uses optics technology to photograph chemical reactions. Its lead product is the Gas Cloud Imaging camera, an invention of Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Robert Kester, which allows oil and gas clients to “see” chemical spills in real time; it’s a development that has the potential to revolutionize refinery safety.

Headquartered in the energy capital of the world, Rebellion Photonics already counts two of the big five oil and gas companies as clients, and has brought in $2 million in revenue since its founding in 2009. The next year promises to bring enormous growth, with Allison spearheading a $10 million dollar capital raise to expand operations.

The company was named The Wall Street Journal’s 2013 Startup of the Year.

“It’s been an intense battle all the way through,” says Allison.

A native of Huntsville, Ala., an alumna of that city’s fabled Space Camp program, Allison hungered for academic rigor that brought her to Choate as a fourth former – a far cry from her small southern school, where evolution was not taught and girls rarely made it through calculus. At Choate, Allison’s vision for the future began to take shape, guided by the encouragement of math teacher, the late James Phelan. “He took me seriously and he took my talent seriously,” she says. “He had expectations.”

When she was accepted at the University of Colorado, Boulder, it was Phelan who directed her toward the engineering program, which she had not previously considered. In UC Boulder’s applied physics program, Allison found exactly what she was looking for: a way to pursue science and bring the results into the real world.

“I was the only woman to graduate from my program, in my year,” Allison says. Still, she remained steadfast in her course, continuing her studies at the University of Leeds in Scotland, where she earned her master’s in nanophysics.

It was there that she felt pulled toward business, influenced by her parents, who are small-business owners in Huntsville.

She knew that as an entrepreneur she could make unique use of her science background, and applied to MBA programs strategically, ultimately choosing Rice University with the understanding that its strong graduate level science programs would provide opportunity. “I knew I was looking for a technology,” she said.

There, she met optics researcher Robert Kester.

Immediately, the path to commercialization was evident. “That was my million-dollar moment,” she says.

At the time, Kester was exploring applications in medical technology, where the camera could be used to study cancer cells. It was Allison who opened his eyes to the possibilities in oil and gas. The two joined forces, and when she graduated in 2010, Rebellion Photonics became her full-time commitment.

Allison says she knew that Kester had invented a technology with big market potential, but she never anticipated the obstacles she would face convincing others of this truth. She imagined they would find a receptive audience in Silicon Valley, but was met with resistance. “To me, Silicon Valley was like Mecca,” Allison says. “In my head, I had made it to be this meritocracy. And then I get out there and find it’s home for some people, but not me. It’s a

fraternity.” She began to see that as a female entrepreneur developing hardware for big oil, she would have to pave her own way.

“We self-funded,” she explains. “We went out and sold everything we could think of. We won some large defense contracts. And then we started selling, not to oil and gas, where we wanted to be, but to medical researchers. It was enough to pay the bills. To get in on an oil refinery required more investment than we were able to raise.” Early contracts, along with funds won by her through business plan competitions, allowed Rebellion Photonics to build a foundation. The silver lining of their early struggle is that Kester and Allison retain full ownership of the company, a rarity in hardware.

Though her work now takes place outside the lab, her fluency in science and business remains a vital asset. “There hasn’t been a day in the last four years that I’ve come to work prepared for what I was going to face,” she says. “You don’t need to be perfect, you just need to get the big stuff done.” It’s a lesson she hopes to share with her employees, and in particular with women in science and business.

In fact, it was with a vision for what it might mean to other young women in the field that she entered The Wall Street Journal competition: “I want people to see there are female hardware CEOs out there.”

Lindsay Whalen ’01 is a Truman Capote Fellow in the Brooklyn College MFA progam.

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Bulletin | Winter 2014 51

’04 Grant Carpenter writes, “In June 2013, after a year working for a software company in LA, I became General Counsel for Cyber2Media and xyz.com via Beverly Hills. Cyber2Media is an Internet advertising and development company. Xyz.com is an Internet Registry Operator and Registrar bringing new domain extensions, such as .xyz and .College, to the internet.

I’m always happy to meet up with and network with Choaties out on the west coast.”

Rebecca Jones is excited for her recent promotion to the Sex Crimes Bureau at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. She’s been at the office for a bit more than a year and is loving life in Phoenix, where she recently bought a house.

Rachel Saltzman Tennis writes, “I moved to California in August to begin a two-year honors attorney fellowship in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, Office of Regional Counsel, in San Francisco.” ’05 Vanessa Dube writes, “I am now a 2L at the George Washington Law School, but sometimes I feel like I’m in Wallingford; my Choate classmates are (literally) everywhere I go. My apartment is one block away from my GW Law classmate Shanellah Verna, and I see David Bloys on a regular basis (generally, to eat pancakes). I found Caitlin Pizzonia in a GW elevator, took a 15-person class with Gwen Coleman ’04, and ran into Emily Zandy ’03 on the street. On Labor Day weekend, Dan Sobol and I rounded out the bridal party for Betsy LippittJulia, and Tracy Ginder-Delventhal did a fantastic job officiating. And last, but certainly not least, Jane

Mosbacher ’04 has inspired me to join her in starting a DC Chapter for USACares, a great organization that supports military families. I hope all Choaties in the DC/MD/VA area can come out to some of our events later this year!”

Charlotte Fraser earned a master’s degree in nutrition from Framingham State University and is also a registered dietician. She hopes to be practicing in New York City soon.

’06

Charlie Depman writes, “I moved to China in August to take a fellowship at the newly-formed New York University Shanghai (NYUSH), NYU’s second degree-granting global campus after Abu Dhabi. I am teaching academic writing to our inaugural class of 300 freshmen (half Chinese, half international students). NYUSH, a China-US joint venture, has an exciting startup atmosphere. I am also working on my own writing, practicing my Chinese, looking for business opportunities, and playing squash with Yuh Won Lee ’04.

’07

Daniel Marquardt and Zach Remsen visited Matthew Sanger in Denver in October to watch Mark Nemec play professional hockey for the Colorado Eagles.

’08

James Gilloran is living in Boston and working as a Financial Planning Associate at Argent Wealth Management.

Andrew Silberstein writes, “My electronic dance music startup, Boomrat, was recently acquired

by Live Nation Entertainment, and I will continue to operate it from their Los Angeles offices.“

’05 I am now a 2L at the George Washington Law School, but sometimes I feel like I’m in Wallingford; my Choate classmates are (literally) everywhere I go.

–Vanessa Dube ’05

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1 Shannon Sweeney ’03 married Tyson Seely on September, 28, 2013, in Woodstock, Vt. Choate alumni in attendance, from left, were Andrew Brady ’04, Matron of Honor Caitlin Babiarz Kobelski ’03, Lucy Voelk ’03, Maid of Honor Erin Sweeney ’05, Kate Harvey ’03, Shannon and Tyson, Caroline Howe ’03, Dan Leventhal ’03 and Drew Marvin-Smith ’04.

2 Alexander McMahon ’01 and Emma Anderson McMahon ’01 welcomed a daughter, Oona Hazel McMahon, on July 29, 2013. The family lives in Manhattan.

3 Samuel Chao '04 and his wife, Jee Eun Park, welcomed a daughter, Alexis Yen Yi Chao, on October 2, 2013.

52 classnotes

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1 Choate ’07 classmates attended a rooftop brunch hosted by Chelsea Laverack ’07.

From left: Zach Remsen, Greg Van, Lily Haydock, Hilary Copp, Chelsea Laverack, Briana Fasone, Grace Kelly, Kiki Kazickas, and Corey Sherman.

2 Nicholas A. Panzica ’09 was

commissioned an Ensign in the Navy in November. He will be headed to Naval Air Station Pensacola to become a naval aviator. He is pictured with his sisters, from left, Michelle Panzica ’07, and Kimi Panzica.

3 Elisabeth Roberts ’11 is

a junior at the University of Southern California, majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in cinematic arts. She is currently interning for Conan on TBS. 4 Jenny Bierce ’05 and Colin Judd ’05 traveled to Tanzania to summit Africa’s tallest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro, last August. They

ascended the Whiskey Route to the top of the 19,341-foot peak in just four days, then traveled to Zanzibar for some much needed beach time and relaxation.

5 Betsy Lippitt ’05 married Raul Sigmund Julia on August 31, 2013, at the Julia Farm in the Catskills. Choate theater teacher Tracy Ginder-Delventhal acted as the Master of Ceremonies.

Other Choaties in attendance, includes from left, Caroline Bourdeau ’05, Jill Russo ’05, Courtney Clark ’05, Raul and Betsy, Vanessa Dube ’05, Kati Vaughn ’05, Daniel Sobol ’05, and Emily Reid ’05. The couple, both actors, met in 2009 at the Flea Theater in TriBeCa. 6 CJ Bernstein ’11 and Director of Community Service Mary Pashley at the top of Mt. Galena in Colorado last July. The summit is at 12, 893 ft.

’10 Lenny Futterman writes, “Last summer I raced for the US National Rowing team in the Men’s Single Sculls at the Under 23 World Championship in Linz, Austria. This is the third time that I have been on a National team in four years. After returning from Worlds, I raced at the US Senior National Team Trials.

I placed second in the Single Sculls. I hope to row in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”

Michael Grisanti accepted a job at Lockheed Martin in Owego, N.Y., as an associate hardware engineer starting in the summer of 2014, after he graduates from Cornell.

Bo Ra Kim was elected Chair of the Executive Committee of the national Sierra Student Coalition, the youth chapter of the Sierra Club, the oldest environmental organization in the nation. ’11 Elisabeth Roberts is currently a junior at the University of Southern California, majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in cinematic arts. She works for USC’s student-run news show Annenberg TV News and entertainment network Trojan Vision, and writes for USC’s online multimedia website magazine, Neon Tommy. She also works as an undergraduate research assistant for the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (www.ijpc.org/) and as an Annenberg Ambassador for the admissions office. She is currently interning for Conan on TBS.

Alex Tenney writes, “Jake Orthwein and I, both juniors at the University of Southern California, were recently elected as presidents of our Greek organizations for the upcoming year. I was elected as the President of the Alpha Nu Chapter of Delta Gamma, and Jake was elected as the President of the Zeta Delta Chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha in November.” Alex adds that Legally Blonde was based on the chapter of Delta Gamma at USC. The sorority in the movie is called "Delta Nu," combining the chapter and fraternity names from the USC sorority.

former faculty notes

Lou Young, former math teacher, form dean, and head football coach writes, “I continue to use Choate as the benchmark for many of my initiatives in my schools since. After Choate, I worked for 10 years at Woodstock Union High School, in Woodstock, Vt., then onto Seabury Hall School on Maui, then to the Academy of the Pacific and now Le Jardin Academy on Oahu.” Lou was recently asked to present at George Pyne’s induction ceremony into National Football Foundation’s Leadership Hall of Fame.

Classnotes | Profile

There’s An App For That Alex Moazed ’06 Silicon Valley is where much of the magic happens in app developement, and with the help of some friends – old and new – you might develop a mobile application for dressing up your personal photographs with special effects filters and sharing them.

You raise $500,000 in seed funding before your launch, and after you launch, $7 million from a variety of investors joins the pile. The year after your app is launched for the Android, Facebook purchases it for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. If you’re Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, you see success. You see the $400 million you’ve made based on your ownership stake in the enterprise. If you’re Mark Zuckerberg, you see a chance to take on Twitter’s Vine app in the video-sharing application battlefield. But if you’re Alex Moazed ’06, you see, in Facebook, a company that hasn’t yet figured out its business model. You see missed opportunity.

In the world of app development, Alex has the necessary dirt under his fingernails. At 20, too young to secure outside funding, he maxed out his personal credit cards to create the NYC Transit app for Blackberry, “which gave timetables for NYC’s public transportation options.” It swiftly became the nation’s top selling travel app.

Creating apps didn’t cure Alex’s itch to build. If anything, it aggravated it. At Babson College, classmates and fraternity brothers starting their own businesses, pursuing their dreams, surrounded him.

So, he decided to do the same.

In 2009, Applico was launched as a full-service consulting and mobile app development firm to address the business needs of a connected world.

Shrinking devices have brought about mobile development’s ascendancy. And it is this need that Applico serves. So far, Applico has worked with such clients as the Mayo Clinic, Philips Healthcare, DirecTV, General Motors, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Pearson Publishing and AT&T, among others.

Applico’s success and Alex’s unique insight into the industry have made him a sought-after speaker.

He's made appearances in Fortune and Entrepreneur, as well as guest spots on CNN and Fox News.

“The enterprise application market is still in its infant stages, but mobility will be critical for future employees and customers,” writes Alex in a LinkedIn Networking Group entitled “Cultural Innovation: People, Values, Culture of Innovation.”

Not only does Applico develop apps, contributing to the Connected Revolution that is changing the way businesses relate to people and the way people interact with each other, but it is also helping others create and launch their own apps. “Selling the spades became a much more reliable and bigger business than digging for the gold,” Alex said in a 2012 interview.

Which brings us back to Facebook. “You can see now where they [Facebook] launched a messenger application just for chat,” said Alex in a Fox Business interview. “They have Karma for gifting, Glancee for location-based. They have these different initiatives that let people focus on a particular utility per application. When you go to mobile, you need to simplify that down to the core value of whatever it is that your company provides.” They haven’t yet found that magical product, he insists, that thing that will monetize their traffic, that’ll get them breakaway numbers.

Applico’s business model has gone through at least five iterations, adapting to the challenges facing mobile app developers in this day and age.

And each time Applico has broken down the cathedral, they’ve put something more versatile and robust in its place, something even more capable of attacking just the challenges that a platform like Facebook is confronting.

Tochi Onyebuchi ’05 is a second year student at Columbia Law School.

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IN MEMORIAM | Remembering Those We Have Lost Alumni and Alumnae

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Thomas James Camp Jr., 95, a retired Army Brigadier General, died November 4, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Jim came to Choate in 1933. He was in the Cum Laude Society and won School prizes in math and science. After graduating from Yale, he began his Army career, serving in an artillery unit in Europe during World War II. After the war, he earned a master’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He then served in Germany, South Korea, and Vietnam, where he was Director of the Military Assistance Program for Vietnam and Cambodia. After retiring in 1972 as the Army’s Deputy Chief of Legislative Liaison, he joined the staff of St. Albans School in Washington, where he was an administrator in charge of business matters. Jim enjoyed golfing and fishing. He leaves his wife, Margaret Camp, 6200 Oregon Ave. NW, Apt. 252, Washington, DC 20015; three sons, including Thomas Camp ’67 and Lawrence Camp ’69; and seven grandchildren.

’46 C Davis U. Merwin, 85, a retired publisher, died October 28, 2013 in Bloomington, Ill. The son of the late Davis Merwin ’17 and Josephine Underwood Merwin ’21, Dave was born in Chicago, and came to Choate in 1942.

He was in the Choral Club and the Glee Club, was a Campus Cop, was Editor-inChief of The Literary Magazine and won a school prize for writing prose. After graduating from Harvard, he joined the Marines, serving in the Korean War. He then returned to Bloomington and joined the family business, the Daily Pantagraph newspaper, which had been owned by his great-great grandfather.

He was later President of Evergreen Communications, Bloomington; publisher of the Pantagraph; and later President of Wood Canyon Corp. He was a member of several newspaper organizations, including the American Newspaper Publishers Association, and was a Chairman of the Inland Daily Press Association. Dave also was active in civic and charitable groups, including Radio Free Europe and the Parklands Foundation. He enjoyed nature, fishing, hunting, and river rafting. He leaves

his wife, Sharon Merwin, P.O. Box 1665, Bloomington, IL 61702; two children, including Fell Merwin ’78; two stepsons; and three grandchildren.

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Thomas R. Justi, 81, a retired chemical manufacturer, died September 11, 2012 in Paoli, Pa. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., Tom came to Choate in 1945; he lettered in squash and was in the Press Club. After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania and service in the Navy, he joined the family chemical business, H. D. Justi Co. Tom enjoyed golf, music, and time with his family. He leaves his wife, Betty Justi, 152 Daylesford Blvd., Berwyn, PA 19312; a son; and three grandchildren.

’60 5C Homer B. Russell Jr., 70, an architect and city planner, died October 28, 2013 in Manchester, Vt. Born in Chicago, Homer came to Choate in 1955. He was art editor of The Literary Magazine, co-art editor of The Brief, secretary-treasurer of the Rod and Gun Club, on the Sixth Form Advisory Committee and in St. Andrew’s Cabinet.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Princeton and a master’s in architecture from Harvard, he became an architect. Starting in 1986, he was the Director for Urban Design at the Boston Redevelopment Agency, and was considered an expert in the development, preservation, and restoration of port cities. Gdansk, Poland, and Kobe, Japan were among the cities he advised. He also served on a team to develop a planning framework for the suburbs of Tanashi and Hoya, Tokyo, in an effort to control sprawl. A Trustee of the Boston Foundation of Architecture, Homer won several national architecture awards. He leaves a daughter, Sarah R. Stefanak, 2613 Dorset West Rd., Dorset, VT 05251; a son; four grandchildren; two brothers, including Rod Russell-Ides ’64; and a sister.

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Robert H. Hunt Jr., 71, a retired design engineer, died of leukemia August 16, 2013 in Kennebunk, Maine.

Born in Worcester, Mass., Bob came to Choate in 1958; he was in the Radio Club and was president of the Model Railroad Club. After graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he first worked for Amar G. Bose, the pioneer in stereo speaker technology. He later installed electrical and electronics systems in luxury yachts, then worked for Corning Inc., the specialty glass company, in Kennebunk. In retirement, he founded a company that digitized player pianos. Bob enjoyed boating and music, and was a Mason. He leaves his wife, Susan Hunt, 52 High St., Kennebunk, ME 04043; two children; a grandchild; and a brother.

’65 C Stephen C. Bryant, 66, a retired investment manager, died October 15, 2013 in Naples, Fla. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Steve came to Choate in 1962. He was captain of varsity football, also earning letters in basketball and track, where he set a school javelin record. He was also on the Student Council and the Dance Committee, and in St. Andrew’s Cabinet, Gold Key, the Press Club, and the Spanish National Honor Society. After graduating from Wesleyan, Steve became an investment manager in Boston, retiring in 2003 from Massachusetts Financial Services.

He enjoyed sailing, golfing, playing tennis, and traveling. He leaves his wife, Patricia Bryant, 26310 Devonshire Court, Unit 202, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; and three brothers, William Bryant ’59, Henry Bryant ’60, and Douglas Bryant ’67.

Walter C. “Skip” Green, 66, a boat builder and furniture maker, died October 22, 2013 Born in Dallas, Skip was at Choate for two years starting in 1961. He was on the staff of The Brief and was in the Art Club, the Press Club, and the Automobile Club. After attending the American School in Puebla, Mexico, where his family lived, he graduated from Middlebury and Rutgers. He became an avid sailor and for 35 years was a wooden boat builder, sailing the Eastern Seaboard on large sailing vessels, owning a boat shop, and teaching boat building and repair.

He later was involved in logging, house

building, and furniture making. In 2005, Skip earned a Paralegal Associate degree and developed a searchable database of superior court decisions in Maine. He leaves his partner, Karen Betts, 335 Mill Creek Rd., Islesboro, ME 04848, and a sister.

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Christopher Leach, 62, a writer and publisher, died November 7, 2013.

Born in Atlanta, Chris came to Choate in 1966. He lettered in wrestling, was Features Editor of The News, and was in the Chime Ringers Guild and the Glee Club. He then went to Princeton, where he teamed with Steve Forbes and other undergraduates to publish Business Today magazine. After college, he established New Jersey Monthly magazine; later he was the editor of Inc. magazine. He co-founded a custom publishing business in 1995, and later was a consultant for the custom publisher EPS Communications. He enjoyed sports, particularly Boston sports teams, and dogs. He leaves his wife, Yvonne Leach, 4 Main St., Wenham, MA 01984; son Sean and daughter Christine ’03; and his mother.

’74 RH Deborah A. Starr, 56, an editor, died of cancer August 25, 2013 in Poway, Calif. Born in Middletown, Conn., Debbie came to Rosemary Hall in 1971. She was on the Student Activities Committee and the Chapel Committee, and was in the French Club and the Horticulture and Garden Club. After graduating from Bucknell, she worked at Boston’s Museum of Science and was later managing editor of Horticulture magazine. Until 2000, she was managing editor of Stereophile magazine, and was then an editor at garden.com. Earning a master’s degree in spiritual philosophy, she became a counselor and healer in Austin, Texas and Santa Fe, N.M. She enjoyed gardening, photography, and travel in the high desert. She leaves her husband, Jerry Christopher; her parents, John F. Starr ’51 and Beverly Starr, 830 Heron Cove Circle, Venice, FL 34285-6155; two sisters; and a brother.

Bulletin | winter 2014 55

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Sean B. Peterson, 34, a sculptor, died September 27, 2013 of complications following a stroke in Farmington, Conn. Born in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Sean came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1992; he was in the Cum Laude Society and on the Environmental Action Committee; was captain of crew and won a rowing award; and won the Mark Pitman Prize for general excellence. Shortly after graduating from Swarthmore, Sean suffered a serious injury and was in intensive care and rehabilitation for many months.

Afterward, he lived in New Mexico, where he was a metal sculptor; some of his works were exhibited at School in 2010. He leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Brad Peterson, 28 Hunters Crossing, Burlington, CT 06013; and a sister, Darya P. Glass ’01.

Faculty, Staff, and Trustees Robert S. Allyn, who taught English and math at Choate for 12 years, died of cancer August 16, 2013 in Portland, Maine. He was 88. Born in Philadelphia, Bob served in the Navy during World War II, graduated from Princeton, earned a master’s degree at Boston University, and joined the Choate faculty in 1950. He taught English at first, then both English and math, and at the end of his time at School taught math only. During the summers, he led tours of Europe for young adults.

He left in 1962 to become assistant headmaster of North Yarmouth Academy in Maine. In recommending him for the job, Choate Headmaster Seymour St. John wrote that Bob was “a man of high principles, of a lot of drive

(just what any school needs!), and of Joan F. Blevins, who worked in sound educational ideas. He organizes Choate Rosemary Hall’s Development things up to the hilt. Even though it Office for 28 years, died July 26, 2013 was not really his job, he organized in Wallingford. She was 66. Born in a soccer schedule and later a tennis Portland, Maine, Joan worked at Choate schedule involving hundreds of boys, from 1979 to 2007, most recently as a and followed through magnificently.” gift information processor. “No matter In his later years, he taught at Yarmouth what came her way, Joan let nothing High School and was an investment get her down and always maintained broker. He enjoyed tennis, playing her positive outlook on life,” said Dan bridge, and singing in the choir of his Courcey ’86, Executive Director of Congregational church. He leaves his Development and Alumni Relations. wife, Nancy Allyn, 58 Rebecca Lane, “She was our very own Energizer Bunny.”

Yarmouth, ME 04096-7138; three Joan also looked forward to her annual children; eight grandchildren; one family reunion at their camp in Maine. step-grandchild; a sister and a brother.

She leaves her husband, John Blevins,

60 Park Pond Circle, Wallingford, CT 06492; and two brothers.

Zachary Goodyear…Reminiscence and Appreciation (1944-2013)

When we lost Zack Goodyear, we lost a dear, dear friend and colleague.

Zack cared about the business of life: living, designing and conducting one’s life. He embraced the study of history, especially political science, but he cherished people above all, and his interest in things political stemmed from that. He always wanted to know how people behaved and how they arrived at their choices.

He loved his family – his parents, Stephen and Mary; his wife Julie RH ’65, and their children Justin ’91 and Trevor ’95; his daughters-in-law Chiara and Alia; his grandchildren Luca, Rafe, and Tessa, and Trevor’s and Alia’s baby-yet-to-come; his own siblings Abby, Jessie, and Toby; and Julie’s family Ted and Hollis Clark, Kenyon and Manny – and he loved his friends. His affection was grandly reciprocated.

Zack studied and practiced politics at every level – local, state, national and international – and he engaged joyfully in the politics of our School.

He was a dedicated teacher, and he committed enthusiastically to other roles at school: living in dormitories and advising students, shepherding Icahn Scholars through Choate and beyond, directing public speaking programs and competitions, advising The News.

He looked to his parents, and Julie’s family, perhaps especially to his own mother Mary, for his models. In her, he found a generous spirit, positive in all ways, always ready to forgive the failings in others. I recall how philosophic and, in some ways, hopeful Zack was at the time of her death. He spoke of his mother with palpable pride and deep respect.

Zack epitomized civility and good breeding.

In all things he was a model himself: a gentleman of the first order, he embraced liberalism, both politically and personally. When he spoke at faculty meetings, everyone listened intently. At his home he was the consummate host. Zack and Julie loved to gather their friends, jazz playing in the background, and, along with his wife, he watched out for every guest. No one was ever left out. Zack loved to laugh, and he appreciated life’s foibles and ironies. At Justin’s wedding, we heard “The Star Spangled Banner” before the bride walked down the aisle, and when it ended, Zack spoke aloud, and in the imperative tone: “Play ball!”

When Zack learned that he had a dangerous disease and that he might not live into an old age, he made a deliberate decision not to change things.

He and Julie loved their lives – their life together, their life with family and friends – and they chose, simply, to live that to its fullest. Even as late as last spring, Zack wasn’t sure he was ready to retire. As a consummate sports fan, he followed his beloved Mets unfailingly. He played tennis and, in earlier years, some softball.

Zack cared about living; he just wasn’t interested in the encroachments of the end, even his own. For example, he spent much time during his final sabbatical, even then knowing he was ill, campaigning for Barack Obama. For our final substantive visit with him, in early October, Zack set the agenda: We would talk about baseball.

Disappointed that his Mets weren’t in the postseason, he nevertheless looked forward to this year’s baseball play-offs – and since the Red Sox

were soon to play in the World Series, he picked our brains about all the Sox players, whom to watch and why, to help him better appreciate each game.

And he saw some games, too! In these ways as in so many others, right to the end he remained true to his interests – and to himself and to what he stood for.

Zack lived a rich and full life, but he didn’t deserve to die so young. We’ll all miss our good friend, a guidepost to us for our own lives.

David Webb was a member of the Choate faculty from 1970-2012.

An on-campus memorial service was held on January 5, 2014 at the Seymour St. John Chapel. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in memory of Zachary Goodyear to The Choate Rosemary Hall Foundation, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492.

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Howard P. Dodge, who taught mathematics at Choate Rosemary Hall for 12 years, died October 1, 2013, in Portsmouth, R.I. He was 77. Born in Newburyport, Mass., Howard graduated from Harvard, earned a master’s degree from Wesleyan University, and began a four-decades-long teaching career.

He taught at Wilbraham Academy (now Wilbraham & Monson) in Massachusetts; at Spartanburg (S.C.) Day School; and at St. George’s School, before coming to Choate in 1972. Howard chaired the Mathematics Department at School for several years, and in the early 1980s was given the title Director of Computer Education. He was among the first to teach computer science at Choate, and he also had the responsibility of keeping the systems up and running. Then-President and Principal Charles F. Dey told Howard at the time that he was “particularly indebted to you for the skillful way you have helped to shepherd our School into the Computer Age.” He also praised him as “a man of deep convictions who is willing to fight hard for his beliefs.”

He leaves his wife, Marjorie Dodge, 133 Emmanuel Dr., Portsmouth, RI 02871; a son, Laurence Dodge ’77; a daughter, Katharine D. Marshall ’79; and two grandchildren.

Deborah D. Fekete, who worked for 25 years in the School’s bank and financial office, died November 20, 2013 in Meriden, Conn.

She was 91. Born in Howland, Maine, Debbie started working at Choate in 1959 in the campus bank; it closed in the 1970s, at which time she continued in the Financial Office, handling the school’s bank-related work. She also determined eligibility for employee benefits and prepared annual reports concerning these benefits for the government. Debbie retired in 1984. She was a founding member of the Choate Women Retiree Luncheon group, and enjoyed reading, knitting, and travel with her husband, Gabriel Fekete. She leaves three children, including Douglas Fekete, 7 Mapleview Rd., Wallingford CT 06492; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

lynne england…reminiscence and appreciation (1936-2013) When Lynne England, Choate Rosemary Hall’s Registrar from 1977 to 1990, began, the year’s schedule was established over weeks and weeks in summer by placing small chips of color-coded cardboard into slots on a felt-covered wooden board and then covering them with pencil hash marks for each student assigned to a particular class. That method seems utterly primitive now.

Memories like these made Lynne unforgettable to her friends, but her legacy to the institution is no less significant. Her sense of fairness made her a leader in the fledging Women’s Group in the late 70’s when most faculty wives were hesitant to question the role of women in the School’s culture.

Her presence in the group made it more acceptable to the community as a whole. She successfully

Lynne’s warmth, humor, and gentle sympathy with colleagues and students became legendary. Almost every adult in the school had his or her own story of some encounter or escapade with Lynne to smile over. –Joanne C. Sullivan There was never a slow season in the Registrar’s Office. Lynne had to contend with myriad special requests from faculty with young children, idiosyncratic classroom preferences, and chronic oversleeping problems. Somehow she cheerfully accommodated them all. “Ms. Empathy and Efficiency” I used to call her. She was also responsible for producing the most sacrosanct of all documents, senior transcripts.

Lynne’s warmth, humor, and gentle sympathy with colleagues and students became legendary.

Almost every adult in the School had his or her own story of some encounter or escapade with Lynne to smile over. The North Main Street tag sales she presided over every June with Diane Generous were legendary in Wallingford. Tales of her thoughtful kindnesses were told and retold. When, for example, my widowed mother moved to a house near campus, many of my colleagues wished me well on moving day, but it was LBE who delivered a huge pot of vegetable soup for Mom’s first meal. She had stayed up until the wee smalls of that morning cooking it.

Always perfectly dressed, whether for greeting “distinguished visitors” or painting the picket fence beside her faculty residence, Lynne simply had style. The home she made with husband Bob Barber, the school’s Business Manager, was beautifully decorated, and fresh flowers were a hallmark of her décor. She frequented tag sales and auctions and delighted in finding something “just dahlin” to give friends as perfect and unexpected gifts – like the teapot she gave me inscribed “Women are like tea bags. You don’t know what they’re made of until they’re in hot water.”

presided over the entire sequence of record-keeping improvements from ditto machine to tractor feed and Xerox, and finally to desktop computer.

Lynne’s experience and personality were invaluable to the success of Charles Dey’s 1982 Curriculum Review Committee, the initiative that established the single school’s academic philosophy entering its second century. In the nearer view, she understood the whole range of problems and concerns of young teachers as well. Totally approachable, Lynne supported them with a gentle word when she “heard things,” cheered them on with notes when progress occurred, and rejoiced with them in every triumph of boarding school life.

Several now “old pros” at the School owe their good start to her.

A force for good always, a team player who never sought the limelight, an unquenchably blithe spirit, a loyal friend and discreet counselor, Lynne England came to her “quittin’ tahm” too soon, but has left us with an ideal image of the dedicated female educator. Move over, “late greats” of Choate and Rosemary Hall, and welcome her. And, by the way, get ready to paint those pearly gates white!

Joanne C. Sullivan was former Vice Principal for Academic Affaris.

An on-campus memorial service was held on October 25, 2013 at the Paul Mellon Arts Center gallery.

Bulletin | winter 2014 57

Celeste Cheatham O’Neil, who was a Trustee of Choate Rosemary Hall from 1981 to 1987, died October 13, 2013 in North Palm Beach, Fla. She was 77. Born in Augusta, Ga., Celeste, known as “Wiki,” attended the Madeira School, the Spence School, Finch College, and Columbia University. She was Chairman of the Board of the Owen Cheatham Foundation, named for her father, the founder of the Georgia-Pacific Corp.

An active supporter of the arts and education, Wiki was a trustee of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Museum of Broadcasting, Musica Sacra, and other organizations. She leaves her husband, Stephen E. O’Neil, 435 East 52 St., Apt. 9-D, New York, NY 10022-6445; two sons, Kenneth Kennerly ’83 and Owen Kennerly ’87; five grandchildren; seven stepchildren; and 18 stepgrandchildren. Another son, the late Charles Kennerly ’85, also attended Choate.

Adolf S. Pzedpelski, a master carpenter at Choate for 39 years, died October 26, 2013 in Wallingford. He was 90. Born in Wallingford, Pep, as he was known, served in the Army in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, he became a carpenter at Choate, retiring in 1985. At his 25th anniversary at School, then-Headmaster Seymour St. John said of Pep, “When a job needs to be done, you have the creative imagination and the skill to think it out and accomplish it effectively. Respected by us all, you are a craftsman and a pro.”

He built the home he and his family lived in, was an avid birder, and enjoyed experimenting with tree grafts. He leaves his wife, Helen Pzedpelski, 981 North Farms Rd., Wallingford, CT 06492; three children; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a sister.

Henry G. Stifel Jr. ’46, who was a Trustee of Choate Rosemary Hall from 1986 to 1992, died September 18, 2013. He was 85. The retired chairman of a photogravure company, he was also the head of a pioneering paralysis research foundation. Born in Wheeling, W. Va., Hank came to Choate in 1942.

He earned varsity letters in football, basketball, and track, and was captain of the basketball team. He was also on the Student Council; in the Press Club, the Choral Club, the Glee Club, and St. Andrew’s Society; was president of the

Western Club; and was voted by his classmates as “most likely to succeed.”

After graduation from Princeton, he served in the Air Force, attaining the rank of lieutenant. He then was vice president and general manager of Xerox of Canada until 1964, when he joined Armotek Industries of Palmyra, N.J., an engraving firm for the gravure and flexographic printing industries; he eventually became its CEO and Chairman. In 1982, his son, Henry III, was left paralyzed after an automobile accident, and Hank devoted much of his life to finding a cure for the paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries. He founded the Stifel Paralysis Research Foundation, which he then merged with the American Paralysis Association; it later became the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which he chaired.

Thanks to the work of the foundation and other groups, significant progress has been made in helping injured people regain function. An avid skier, golfer and sportsman, Hank was a world traveler, touring France, Nepal, Kenya, Morocco, and many other places; at age 72 he went heli-skiing in Canada.

Besides his work as a Choate Trustee, he served on many other boards, including those of the Pingry School, the Vero Beach Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He leaves his wife, Charlotte Stifel, 100 Wilson Rd., Apartment 91, Springfield, NJ 07081; three daughters, including Amy S. Quinn ’80; his son; and nine grandchildren. Hank was a member of The Choate Society, those alumni and alumnae who have left a bequest to the School.

Our condolences to the following: John F. Starr ’51 whose daughter Deborah Starr ’74, died in August.

William ’59, Henry ’60 and Doug Bryant ’67, whose brother, Stephen Bryant ’65, died in October 2013.

Dolph ’61, Peter ’64 and Steve Orthwein ’64, whose father; and Peter ’94, Stephen ’98, Lukens ’06 and Jake ’11, whose grandfather, died in November 2013.

Rod Russell ’64, whose brother, Homer Russell Jr. ’60, died in October 2013.

Wife Julie Clark Goodyear ’65, and sons, Justin ’91 and Trevor ’95, whose father, retired Choate teacher Zachary Goodyear, died in November 2013.

Thomas ’67 and Lawrence Camp ’69, whose father, Thomas J. Camp Jr. ’36, died in November 2013.

Laurence Dodge ’77, and Katharine Dodge Marshall ’79, whose father, former Choate teacher Howard Dodge, died in October 2013.

Fell Merwin ’78, whose father, David Merwin ’46, died in October 2013.

Kathleen and Elizabeth England ’84, whose mother, Lynne England, died in August 2013.

Amy Stifel Quinn ’80, whose father, former Trustee Henry Stifel ’46, died in September 2013.

Kenneth ’83 and Owen ’87 Kennerly, whose mother, former Choate Trustee Celeste O’Neil, died in October 2013.

Darya Peterson Glass ’01, whose brother, Sean Peterson ’96, died in September 2013.

Christine Leach ’03, whose father Christopher “Reggie” Leach ’69, died in November 2013.

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Scoreboard | Sports Wrap-up The Wild Boars distinguished themselves in several championships. Boys varsity cross country ran a strong Founders League race to capture a record 15th title – Choate has won more than all of the other League schools combined. Boys varsity soccer also had a strong season, finishing 11-3-3 and just missing a playoff berth. Girls varsity soccer finished the season as Founders League champions and the #1 ranked team in New England. The girls took on Noble and Greenough School in the title game and after four overtime periods without a score, Choate ended its season as New England Class A Co-champions. The girls varsity volleyball team was able to successfully defend its New England crown, taking down Loomis Chaffee in the final and earning a second consecutive title.

Boys Cross Country Varsity Season Record: 8-0 Captain: Riley O’Connell ’14 Highlights: First undefeated season since 1997; Won Founders League Championship; Placed 3rd in New England Championships.

Girls Cross Country Varsity Season Record: 1-5 Captain: Emily P. McAndrew ’14 Highlights: 4th in Founder League Championships; 9th in New England Championships

Sara DeMarsilis ’14

Field Hockey Varsity Season Record: 9-6 Captains: Caroline L. Buckholtz ’14 & Brooke M. Hodgson ’14 Highlights: Close losses to Westminster in OT and Andover 1-0 Football Varsity Season Record: 4-5 Captain: Connor J. Dintino ’14 Highlights: Crushed Deerfield 27-0 Boys Soccer Varsity Season Record: 11-3-3 Captains: Maximilian I. Daigle’14 & Andrew D. Mines ’14 Highlights: Strong year for the boys just missing the New England tournament

Clay Holmes ’14

Girls Soccer Varsity Season Record: 16-2-2 Captains: Amelia K. Schneider ’14 & Sara J. DeMarsilis ’14 Highlights: Finished the season #1 seed in New England; Founders League Champions; WWNEPSSA League Champions; Co-Class A New England Champions Girls Volleyball Varsity Season Record: 20-1 Captains: Elizabeth L. King ’14 & Aminata M. Coulibaly ’14 Highlights: Finished the season #1 seed in New England; Won the New England Championship for second consecutive year

Luke Nguyen ’15

Boys Water Polo Varsity Season Record: 4-9 Captains: John V. Pescatore ’14 & Clayton R. Holmes ’14

Go Choate!

Deerfield Day 2013

Chelsea Swift ’15

Bulletin | winter 2014 59

Channing Corbett ’14 & Ami Coulibaly ’14

Brendan Craven ’14

Claire Marshall ’ 17

Riley O’Connell ’14 (center)

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bookshelf

Alumni authors lay bare the peccadilloes of America’s obsessive innovators, the conventional wisdom offered to expectant mothers, and the moral dilemma of those facing unconventional warfare. And a page-turning mystery for young readers adds a dash of good fun.

The Wig in the Window

By Kristen Fiedler Kittscher ’92 | Reviewed by Courtney Jaser

The Wig in the Window Author: Kristen Fiedler Kittscher ’92 Publisher: Harper Collins About the Reviewer: Courtney Jaser is a librarian at the Andrew Mellon Library.

Kristen Kittscher ’92 succeeds in writing a humorous, page-turning mystery for young readers in The Wig in the Window. The main character, Sophie Young, is a typical middle school student trying to fit in at school, please her parents, and have a few adventures in the process. Her best friend and next-door neighbor, Grace Yang, is her partner in crime. Both of the girls are smart, fun and brave. They share high goals for their futures; Grace hopes to become a spy for the FBI, while Sophie dreams of becoming Professor of Asian Studies at Oxford.

Sophie and Grace innocently begin snooping on their neighbors, fueled by Grace’s desire to get a headstart in her career in the FBI. The two are curious about one neighbor in particular, the infamously phony and bizarre Dr. Agford, the school guidance counselor. The girls are wary of her from the start, and one night find her acting very suspiciously. Yet Agford always seems to have a reasonable explanation for her strange actions. Sophie and Grace are not convinced that she is innocent, so they keep their investigations going despite pressure from their strange neighbor and their parents to stop their spying.

In the meantime, Sophie befriends the outcast Trista at school. Although Trista is bullied and a loner, Sophie forges a friendship with her that is based in sharing a common purpose: exposing their guidance counselor for the phony that she seems to be. The girls are able to get to know each other beyond their initial judgments. Trista surprises Sophie with her strength in being an outsider and standing up to her bullies, as well as her helpfulness in the investigation.

The story carries many twists and turns as the girls learn more about Agford and attempt to determine whether they are letting their imaginations get the best of them, or whether she is not who she claims to be. As is typical in pre-teen friendships, Sophie and Grace experience their share of conflict as things get tense with their research into their neighbor, but they learn about themselves in the process and end up closer after all is said and done.

The author does an excellent job of creating realistic characters that young adults will be able to relate to. This includes the insecurities, the potentially reciprocated crush, and the attempt to forge their way in the world by asserting themselves even when everyone around them is telling them to “behave.” In a sense this is a coming-of-age story, as the girls are learning about the broader world as well as themselves through their neighborhood adventure.

Kittscher has written a story with depth that is also incredibly fun to read. It’s refreshing to read about girls with serious ambitions and interests. This is an ideal book for children grades 4 and higher, although as an adult I enjoyed it very much as well; it can serve as a great conversation starter with young people about perceptions, ethnicity, and self-assertion.

Bulletin | winter 2014 61

Expecting Better

By Emily Oster ’98 | Reviewed by Kimberly Norman

Expecting Better Author: Emily Oster ’98 Publisher: Penguin About the Reviewer: Kimberly Norman is a mathematics teacher at Choate and a first-time mother.

Pregnancy, especially for first-time moms, is a roller coaster ride. It is both a blessing and a curse that today's mothers have easy access to so much information about pregnancy. In addition to recommendations from their doctors, they can use ovulation calculators, week-by-week pregnancy updates, nutrition guidelines and other pregnancy tools available on the Internet. Googling questions about miscarriage rates, foodborne illnesses and pregnancy complications can lead mothers-to-be to a variety of websites usually containing conflicting information and unregulated by doctors.

Emily Oster's new book, Expecting Better, is therefore a must-read for expectant moms! An associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, she presents data – hard numbers from reputable trials – and lets the reader decide what is best for her and her pregnancy. She writes: "The value of having numbers – data – is that they aren't subject to someone else's interpretation.

They are just numbers. You can decide what they mean for you." This is the approach that she uses in her classroom, and how she had hoped that her doctor would present information during pregnancy.

"I try to teach (my students) that making good decisions – in business and in life – requires two things,” she explains. “First, they need all the information about the decision – they need the right data.

Second, they need to think about the right way to weigh the pluses and minuses of the decision for them personally. They key is that even with the same data, this second part – this weighing of the pluses and minuses – may result in different decisions for different people." When she didn't get the data she desired from her doctor, Oster conducted her own search of trials and studies throughout the world to be better informed about the decisions she was making throughout her pregnancy.

She has done the hard work for her readers: combing through studies, assessing their validity, and providing as much data as possible to aid in making decisions. She doesn't say what will work best, or which guidelines to follow; instead, she empowers readers with the knowledge needed to make the best personal choices. It’s a refreshing change from the list of dos and don'ts of pregnancy usually provided to an expectant mom during her first prenatal visit and throughout pregnancy!

Oster's book is in five parts: Conception, The First Trimester, The Second Trimester, The Third Trimester, and Labor and Delivery. Each part contains a series of topics with facts and studies relevant to that period in pregnancy. Another useful aspect of Oster's book is her "The Bottom Line" summaries at the end of each chapter, which can be used for quick references and refreshers.

One thing that differentiates Oster's book from the multitude of pregnancy books available today is her willingness to share personal stories about her own pregnancy with her daughter Penelope as well as conversations with her pregnant friends. She candidly recounts her own thought processes and discussions with her husband, which led to certain decisions about screenings, diet, and labor and delivery throughout her pregnancy. By the end of the book I felt that I knew Oster, and that we had met for coffee (yes, the evidence supports having up to two cups a day!).

Though data driven and extremely informative, Oster's book is also personal, engaging, funny and a quick read. Throughout my third trimester I used the information presented by this book to guide my decisions and to ask questions of my obstetrician, and I feel better prepared for the choices I made during labor and delivery. My only regret is that I did not read Expecting Better earlier in my own first pregnancy.

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America’s Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation

By Joshua Kendall ’77 | Reviewed by Emily L. Brenner

America’s Obsessives: The Compulsive Energy That Built a Nation Author: Joshua Kendall ’77 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Reviewer: Emily Brenner is a freelance reviewer and former member of Choate’s faculty.

The Declaration of Independence and Thomas Jefferson’s two terms as President are predictable elements within any text on early American history. These days, many historians go well beyond the political basics to discuss elements of Jefferson’s personal life, including his infamous relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings.

But no historical text I’ve ever encountered includes analysis of this particular founding father’s obsessivecompulsive nature.

Joshua Kendall ’77, however, focuses his analysis precisely on Jefferson’s more neurotic peccadilloes.

The detailed lists our third President made to calm himself amid stressful times, the intricate systems he devised to organize his library, and the complex algorithmic equations he employed to recalculate the national debt after authorizing the Louisiana Purchase are examples of the compulsive energy that Kendall claims made Jefferson, and the six other individuals he profiles, “obsessive innovators.”

Throughout America’s Obsessives, Kendall applies psychiatry to his analysis of seven American superachievers. This approach allows Kendall to turn the old Great Man (or Woman) view of history on its head.

According to Kendall, what made his chosen greats “great” was also their biggest flaw – obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, or OCPD. Kendall argues that this often ignored and misunderstood condition was the source of energy that drove many of the nation’s most significant innovators.

After profiling Jefferson’s obsessions, Kendall explores those of ketchup king Henry Heinz, librarian Melvil Dewey, sexologist Alfred Kinsey, aviator Charles Lindbergh, cosmetics tycoon Estée Lauder, and baseball slugger Ted Williams. They occupy different historical eras and fields of expertise, but according to Kendall, they all fell prey to their obsessions with order, schedules, cleanliness, and control that define OCPD. These traits provided the dynamic energy that drove these super achievers toward both innovation and, at times, self-destruction.

A writer, not a psychiatrist, Kendall takes some risk in applying psychiatry to biographical analysis.

But he supports his diagnosis of the group in convincing fashion through anecdote after anecdote of the shared drive for control. The same perfectionism that led Williams to a .344 batting average, for example, pushed Lauder to build her cosmetics dynasty from a word-of-mouth business to a multi-billion dollar megacorporation. But there were costs for each along the way.

On the darker side, Kendall explains the startlingly destructive impact that each figure’s compulsions had on his or her personal relationships. Unfortunately, fixation with order and perfectionism left little room for his super achievers’ spouses, children and friends.

Their obsessions also led to surprisingly reckless behavior. Kendall notes that Kinsey’s “mania for collecting, counting and organizing” led to his remarkable field research on the gall wasp as well as his groundbreaking surveys on human sexuality. But the same obsessions, says Kendall, turned Kinsey toward his own sexual deviance and away from monogamy.

Returning to Jefferson’s liaison with Sally Hemings, this unusual relationship begins to make sense in the context of OCPD. “In Sally,” Kendall observes, “a woman thirty years his junior, whom he happened to own, Jefferson might well have found just what he was after.” Control.

Amusing yet convincing at the same time, American Obsessives reveals that there is much more to the story of our nation’s great innovators than simply intelligence, creativity or wealth. Kendall shows that virtues and vices went hand in hand to give America’s obsessive innovators their incredible drive and competitive edge.

Bulletin | winter 2014 63

The Tender Soldier – A True Story of War and Sacrifice

By Vanessa M. Gezari | Reviewed by Col. Paul Danielson ’84

The Tender Soldier – A True Story of War and Sacrifice Author: Vanessa M. Gezari Publisher: Simon & Schuster About the Reviewer: Col. Paul Danielson ’84 is an Army Reservist and a veteran of multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Time and distance often provide a healthy perspective when exploring the significance of historical events.

It usually means the action is resolved, and history’s rough draft has already been sketched. The conflict in Afghanistan does not fit the model. This war – the longest in the history of the United States – continues, and yet there are already scholars looking back to analyze it. Vanessa M. Gezari contributes to this discussion in her book The Tender Soldier – A True Story of War and Sacrifice.

The book explores the Human Terrain System (HTS), an ambitious U.S. military project that aimed to provide battlefield commanders with useful information about local culture. A crude army is only good at destroying enemy forces and infrastructure. In contrast, a sophisticated army, especially one involved in an asymmetrical war like Afghanistan, needs to function more like an intelligence service and a diplomatic corps. Success is predicated upon building trust with the indigenous people and deflating the espirit of the insurgency. The HTS program embedded social scientists in combat units with the hope of generating a richer understanding of the subtle cultural dynamics at play in contested areas. The concept was sound.

The execution proved to be flawed.

Gezari tells this HTS saga with an engaging style.

As a journalist, she has a knack for seeing the human side of events. She weaves the individual stories of the key personalities of the program into a broader

narrative. The focus is primarily on Paula Loyd ’90, an alumna of Choate and Wellesley, who is attacked while on patrol with an HTS team. She suffers terrible burns after an Afghani sets her afire. Her sacrifice is in some way noble, but it takes on a tragic tone when one considers the ultimate failure of the HTS program as a whole.

This well-researched book uses Loyd’s story as a springboard to explore some broader topics, and it is here that the reader must face some uncomfortable questions. There is the moral dilemma of what constitutes murder on a battlefield. When Loyd’s teammates capture her attacker, one man acts rashly.

This forces everyone to ponder who is a combatant and who is not. Whose death is an execution and whose a combat casualty? The ethical dilemmas faced by the civilians in the program are also highlighted. There were academics still sensitive to the fact that anthropology as an early field developed under the darker aspects of British colonialism. With that track record, some debated whether the HTS program was an extension of research or simply military intelligencegathering in disguise. Many social scientists had angst about participating in the latter.

Ultimately, Gezari’s book shines a light on the way a government pursues its goals. To be sure, there are lessons to be learned from all mistakes. However, in the dirty business of war, the cost of errors is high because it is paid with the lives of a nation’s best and brightest.

B

b o o k m a r k

18 ways to play a better 18 Holes Author: John Steinbreder ’74 Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing

Cassandra Author: Thomas Ochiltree Publisher: Red Cat Tales, a new publishing imprint by Noel Hynd ’66, specializing in fiction and graphic novels.

Defense Environmentalists and the dynamics of global reform Author: Thomas K. Rudel ’64 Publisher: Cambridge University Press

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end note |

Being Led to Lead Penny Bach Evins ’90

It is really quite unlikely that my trajectory would be so connected with Choate Rosemary Hall.

New Orleans was next on my path, and to my delight and in a serendipitous fashion, my husband, an educator, and I were hired to be administrators at Isidore

Let's face it, I was an interesting case study. I left what folks in New England Newman School at the same time as Lolly Hand and Paul Tines, former Director of considered a step above the swamp, New Orleans, to attend Choate Rosemary Hall the Paul Mellon Arts Center. I sat around the table in an administrative room, yet as a fifth former. This made my applications to colleges a bit more interesting than again, with them. It was natural, beautiful and a heck of a lot of fun. Having fun some others. The world seemed a bit more “flat” then, and whether my peers and on the job and improving upon programs delighted me and I found my Choate I were less curious, or the speed of communication which depended on the pay sweatshirt and donned it often as I felt proud and privileged to be a part of Choate, phone in Archbold, was a factor; the truth is that few of my peers drifted far away even if in a satellite way. from their ZIP codes for their education or long weekends. I was somewhat of

Just before leaving New Orleans, Mr. Generous, Ms. Hand, and Mr. Tines joined an outlier and knew I wanted to soak up every opportunity to be a Choatie. I said me and my husband for dinner. So, off to Baltimore to take on the role of Head of y'all and travelled with my own spices, but other than that, I had more than what I St. Paul’s School for Girls. I was asked whom I wanted to speak at my investiture. needed while a student during my two short and rich years as a Choatie.

Paul and Lolly graced me with their presence. I was able to show and tell the girls

After graduation, I stayed in touch with Tom Generous, my Garden Party date. in my care that these lasting relationships with faculty, staff, and coaches matter No longer in his class, his letters, emails, or calls, the passion he instilled in me for and are impactful. Choate taught me the joy of being ordinary in an extraordinary trying my very best and crafting relationships with my faculty was and is still front environment. The prestige of Choate on my résumé has been responsible for my and center on my dashboard. callback more than a few times. However, when I take the stage as a professional

Fast forward to Atlanta, where Lolly Hand, my dean at Choate, and I were and person, I have less fear of failure and more certainty about the gift of high neighbors in our practice as independent school administrators. She kept me in standards than most in my company. I thank Choate Rosemary Hall and the countline and continued to tell me to work hard, learn from the best and brightest, and less opportunities to make a difference and find my way within a safe, nurturing, to strive for excellence and keep my southern heart. I “leaned in” and as a result, rigorous, sophisticated and relevant community. think our symbiotic relationship began to flourish.

My investiture will remain a special day for me because I got to attend a gathering where I felt known, valued, understood and driven in an educational setting as a professional woman.

Penny Bach Evins ’90 is the tenth head of St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville, Md.

A love

of learning – and the desire to pursue it...

...our students embrace and exemplify this every day.

Whether taking risks in Life Drawing, conducting experiments in Microbiology, or testing a hypothesis in Research Topics in Modern Math, Choate Rosemary Hall students build the foundation for who they will become and how they will tackle the many challenges the world puts before them.

It all begins at Choate Rosemary Hall.

But it can’t happen without your support. Please give generously and send your donation to the Annual Fund at Choate Rosemary Hall, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford CT 06492, give us a call at (203) 697-2389, or go to www.choate.edu/donate to make your gift online.

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NEW HAVEN, CT PERMIT #1090

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Summer

CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL NEW FOR 2014!

THE KOHLER ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER SUMMER INSTITUTE

Engage in ecological studies as well as work in the Center’s gardens.

DESIGN THINKING Learn about the design process and

the principles of project-based learning.

STUDY ABROAD Join one of our programs in China, France,

Jordan, Spain, or new this summer – Dingle, Ireland.

June 29–August 1, 2014 learn more and apply online at www.choate.edu/summer

The Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is printed using vegetable-based inks on FSC-certified, 100% post consumer recycled paper. This issue saved 101 trees, 42,000 gallons of wastewater, 291 lbs of waterborne waste, and 9,300 lbs of greenhouse gases from being emitted.