Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin | Spring '18

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

In this issue:

CHOATE UNFURLED Time and Space for Teaching and Learning

HILARY KNIGHT ’07 Fighting for Gold and Equality

SPRING ’18

AUSTEN ROGERS ’18 Reflections from Choate's Global Programs

SPRING AWAKENING The Science Center’s resident penguin admires the flowering magnolia.

The penguin, a gift to the School, was originally housed at the American Museum of Natural History. It was collected on Admiral Richard Byrd‘s first expedition to the Antarctic in 1929.

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

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

SPRING ’18

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, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic predisposition, ancestry, or other categories protected

by Connecticut and federal law.

Printed in U.S.A. CRH180220/17.5M

Editorial Offices T: (203) 697-2252 F: (203) 697-2380 Email: alumline@choate.edu Website: www.choate.edu

Classnotes Editor Henry McNulty ’65

Director of Strategic Planning & Communications Alison J. Cady

Contributors Joel Backon Lorraine S. Connelly Karen Crouse Donald Firke Connie Gelb ’78 Katie Jewett G. Jeffrey MacDonald ’87 Henry McNulty ’65 Will Morris Austen Rogers ‘18 Brianna St. John

Editor Lorraine S. Connelly Design and Production David C. Nesdale

Communications Assistant Brianna St. John

Photography Al Ferreira Brian Lowe Ross Mortensen

CONTENTS | Spring 2018

departments

2 3

4

60

Letters

Remarks from the Head of School

Bookshelf Reviews of works by Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57, Amy Smith Charity ’95, E. Glen Weyl ’03, and Tochi Onyebuchi ’05

64

End Note

Empowering Student Creativity by Joel Backon

On Christian & Elm News about the School Q&A with Trustee George F. Colony ’72

26 30

f e a t u r e s

Alumni Association News

Classnotes Profiles with Trustee Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57; Genealogist Tom Wilcox ’63; Paul Bottino ’83, Cofounder and Executive Director of the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (TECH); Carolyn Royston ’83, Chief Experience Officer at the Cooper Hewitt Museum; and the Tyler Rigg ’90 Foundation.

51 56

In Memoriam Remembering Those We Have Lost Scoreboard Winter Sports Wrap-up

Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees 2017-2018 Alexandra B. Airth P ’18 Kenneth G. Bartels ’69, P ’04 Samuel P. Bartlett ’91 Peggy Brim Bewkes ’69 Michael J. Carr ’76 George F. Colony ’72 Alex D. Curtis P ’17, ’20 Borje E. Ekholm P ’17, ’20 Gunther S. Hamm ’98 Linda J. Hodge ’73, P’12

Ryan Jungwook Hong ’89, P ’19 Parisa N. Jaffer ’89 Brett M. Johnson ’88 Daniel G. Kelly, Jr . ’69, P ’03 Vanessa Kong Kerzner P ’16 Cecelia M. Kurzman ’87 Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57 James A. Lebovitz ’75, P ’06, ’10 Takashi Murata ’93 Tal H. Nazer P ’17 ’19 Peter B. Orthwein ’64, P ’94, ’06, ’11 Anne Sa’adah

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Choate Unfurled Time and Space for Teaching and Learning

18

Equitable Play Olympic Gold Medalist Hilary Knight ’07

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Life Trustees Bruce S. Gelb ’45, P ’72, ’74, ’76, ’78 Edwin A. Goodman ’58 Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. ’57, P ’84 Cary L. Neiman ’64 Stephen J. Schulte ’56, P ’86 William G. Spears ’56, P ’81, ’90

Finding the Artist Within Reflections from Choate’s Global Programs

Editorial Advisory Board Judy Donald ’66 Howard R. Greene P ’82, ’05 Dorothy Heyl ’71, P ’08 Seth Hoyt ’61 Henry McNulty ’65 Michelle Judd Rittler ’98 John Steinbreder ’74 Monica St. James P ’06 Francesca Vietor ’82 Heather Zavod P ’88, ’90

Rosemary Hall From the Archives: Katherine Carlebach ’68

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2

Letters

FACTS MATTER When I read ”Facts Matter,” the Q&A with Lee Hockstader ’77 in the Fall 2017 Bulletin, I was disappointed that Lee did not mention Jim Lebovitz ’75. As President of the News in 1974 to 1975, Jim played a key role in reviving the News after it had been shut down. And by naming Lee as one of the Managing Editors when Lee was only a fourth former, Jim placed Lee in position to become President the following year. I started writing for the News as a third former at the end of Jim’s tenure. I also spent a little time with Jim during my senior year at Choate, when he was President of the Yale Daily and showed me around Yale. I remember him as a warm and avuncular presence.

network at your fingertips.

Now alumni can connect

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE In 1959, I entered the Second Form and lived in Mem House. The only thought of energy conservation was that if you left your room without turning off the one overhead light a sixth former would remove the light and you had to pay 25 cents to buy it back. That was a hardship as you could probably buy something substantial from the Tuck Shop in those days. The Tuck Shop was located in the basement of the laundry then.

Alan Lowrey Brown ‘64 Kamuela, Hawaii

with the School and each other in new and exciting ways with a personalized news feed, a simple but powerful networking tool, the ability to host your own informal alumni gatherings, and so much more.

DULY NOTED On page 33 of the Winter 2018 Bulletin, in two photos submitted by Larry Morin ’58, the captions were switched. Here are the photos with correct captions.

Diehl ’59 reunited in October as part of Larry’s trip to California in celebration of his 55th Stanford Reunion.

Our new mobile app puts the power of the Choate alumni

Jim Altschul ‘78 New York, N.Y.

LEFT Larry Morin ’58 and Dick

Personalized content at your fingertips.

RIGHT Lin Smith ’58 and Larry Morin ’58 had a lively post-Thanksgiving lunch in Westbrook, Conn.

Visit the App Store or Google Play and download the app today!

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 3

Remarks from the Head of School

Dear Alumni and Friends of Choate Rosemary Hall, We are finally enjoying spring on campus, after enduring four Nor’easters within a three-week period. We likewise are celebrating the greening of some new initiatives on campus as reported in this issue – the implementation of a new daily schedule, a curriculum review, and a lifelong wellness program, among others.

In late April, we welcomed a New England Association of Schools and Colleges Visiting Team of 12 educators from peer schools to evaluate and validate our stated educational goals.

The accreditation process, which takes place every 10 years, encourages an educational institution to conduct a rigorous, comprehensive self-assessment of its learning community. As Director of Curricular Initiatives Katie Jewett notes in her article, “Choate Unfurled: Time and Space for Teaching and Learning” (p. 12), truly transformational education can only occur through continuous self-reflection and future planning. Rethinking the daily schedule and creating structures like the Lanphier Center, St. John Hall, and soon the new Colony Hall, as Jewett says, “encourages the people and ideas of our community to interact in ways that have catalyzed initiatives large and small in many domains, from student wellness to academic life. But it is the breaking down of social barriers and community building that fertilizes and then ensures the ongoing growth of a school.”

The gold standard in education, as in sports, is often achieved through challenging rigid social strictures and structures, as attested by Olympic gold medalist Hilary Knight ’07. Knight, the second alumna to win Olympic gold in ice hockey, has gained visibility as an advocate for equitable pay for U.S. women’s hockey. Earlier this year, she and her fellow teammates threatened to boycott the World Championships over the pay issue. (See “Equitable Play: Fighting for Gold and Equality” p. 18.) Knight’s medal, and mettle, are testaments to her strength of character.

Knight notes, “It was super important for our self-development as young women that we stand up for ourselves and for a cause, really, that was much greater than ourselves.” The ability to think critically and take principled stands, whether for equal pay or safer school environments, is for the betterment of future generations.

Choate Rosemary Hall is proud to be a leader in transformational educational experiences – whether creating the time and space for better learning opportunities or teaching our students to think critically and take principled stands. We can’t wait for Choate’s next chapter.

With all best wishes from campus,

Alex D. Curtis Head of School

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ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | NEWSWORTHY

Dr. Kerry Murphy Healey Presents Stevenson Lecture On April 2, the History, Philosophy, Religion, and Social Sciences department hosted Dr. Kerry Murphy Healey, who presented the Stevenson Lecture. Since 1976, the annual lecture, named for Illinois governor, two-time presidential candidate, and UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson II ’18, has brought to campus speakers who have made a distinguished contribution to public life and who might inspire students to public service. Dr. Healey is the current President of Babson College, the first woman to hold that office. While serving as Lt. Governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007, she collaborated on ground-breaking health care reform legislation for the state with Governor Mitt Romney. In her remarks, Dr. Healey shared stories from her own experience in politics and as president of Babson, bringing home the idea that entrepreneurs can be catalysts for social change. This year’s Junior Fellow Sarah Bonnem ’19 delivered a brief interpretation of the life and work of Adlai Stevenson before Dr. Healey’s address.

Filmmaker Ken Burns Gives Phillips ’61 Family Lecture On February 20, filmmaker Ken Burns gave the 2018 Ambassador S. Davis Phillips ’61 Family Lecture. He discussed his work as a documentarian, the ever-evolving nature of truth, and how his documentaries continue to remain culturally relevant in the face of unchanging human nature. Interviewed

by Ananya Karanam ’18 and Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan ’18, Burns spoke about the importance of being able to re-evaluate historical events. Burns commented that his own work has been based on continuously

asking the same questions, and always approaching the answers from different paths. He encouraged students to do the same. Earlier in the afternoon, Burns' digital curator, Don MacKinnon ’86, previewed a new iPad-exclusive app of Burns’ best work for history and digital video classes. MacKinnon and Burns attended a student reception with a Q&A in the Sally Hart Lodge & Alumni Center.

Guests of honor included Ambassador Phillips ’61 and his daughter, Lucy Phillips Yared ’01.

Student Debaters Compete at Worlds Choate Debate team members Charlie Yockey ’19 (right), of Springfield, Ill., and Baji Tumendemberel ’18 (left), of Milford, Conn., traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, April 9–15 to compete on the U.S. team of high school debaters at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships. In the past five years, six students have qualified for Worlds. In 2014, two students traveled to Lithuania, one student went to Pittsburg, in 2016, and one student traveled to Australia in 2017.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 5

Choate

WALLINGFORD NEWS FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES:

Investment Strategy Approved

Book signing with author Matthew Quick at Wallingford’s inaugural One Book, One Town program.

One Book, One Wallingford On April 4, Choate, in conjunction with the Wallingford Public Library, hosted the inaugural One Book, One Town program at the Paul Mellon Arts Center. Author Matthew Quick spoke to an audience of more than 300 residents and signed copies of his book, The Reason You’re Alive.

Last June, a group of Wallingford librarians and community leaders met to select a book and plan a series of related programs on the book’s core themes: PTSD, the political and military aspects of the Vietnam War, and a panel discussion with Vietnam War veterans. Choate librarian Courtney Jaser, who was on the selection committee, says, “This book was chosen because we felt that it would appeal to a diverse range of readers throughout Wallingford, and it speaks to the political extremes we are experiencing as a country. It is relatable and has a depth of character development that encourages readers to experience a variety of perspectives, and perhaps develop empathy towards those with opposing views. We also thought that Matthew Quick would be a recognizable name to many because he wrote Silver Linings Playbook, which was adapted into a movie.”

ROTHBERG CATALYZER AT CHOATE

On April 8, the inaugural Rothberg Catalyzer annual competition was held at Choate. Three teams of students worked collaboratively with Lin i.d.Lab Director, Dr. Travis Feldman, in a marathon all-day session, to find solutions to the problem of emergency medical relief during disasters. Sponsored by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg P ’17, ’19, founder of medical device incubator, 4Catalyzer, the Rothberg Catalyzer Competition is an interschool challenge that brings together teams in a human-centered design challenge that aims to find new ideas for improving and transforming human lives. In a close competition, a pediatric medical device, “ReBuild-A-Bear,” won the challenge. The team will represent Choate, the only high school invited to compete, with catalyzer teams from Brown, Penn, Yale and Carnegie Mellon at Brown University at a future interschool competition.

At the April 20 meeting, the Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees considered a number of items brought forth by the Investment Committee. The Board approved a “Statement on Investment Responsibility” that will guide future endowment decisions. The statement outlines a series of principles for future investment, one of which states, “the endowment will be invested only with managers that meet high ethical, investment, operational, and performance standards.”

In addition, the Board voted to accept the Investment Committee’s commitment to consider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards for future investments – a set of criteria investors use to make socially conscious investments.

The Board’s decision was informed by an ad hoc committee on fossil fuels, with input from a team of dedicated students and faculty, and more than two years of ongoing conversations about how to identify sustainable investments that meet both the School’s sustainability and investment goals.

The new investment strategy is in keeping with the School’s 10-year effort to make sustainability an integral part of Choate’s curriculum, student life, and current operations. With that in mind the Board adopted the School’s 2014 Sustainability Goals and accepted the Investment Committee’s recommendation to cease investments, beginning July 1, 2020, in any new fund or partnership with greater than 50 percent of its investment activity in fossil fuel exploration and production.

The adoption of these recommendations places Choate Rosemary Hall within a relatively small group of schools and universities that have made a commitment related to sustainability. The School is proud to be a leader in sustainability education and sustainable investing that will impact future generations.

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ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | Q & A

with

George F. Colony ’72

At school meeting on January 16, Head of School Alex D. Curtis announced the naming of the new auditorium being built adjacent to the Paul Mellon Arts Center. Named in honor of Trustee George F. Colony ’72 for his lead gift, and made possible through the generosity of many other lead gifts, the new 50,000-square-foot Colony Hall will bring the entire school community together.

George is Chairman of the Board and CEO of Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. He is a member of the School’s Board of Trustees and the 2005 recipient of the Choate Alumni Seal Prize.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 7

“My voyage took me away from Choate for many years – but it brought me back to the place where my teachers and friends helped me to see the meaning and potential of life.”

BULLETIN: Forrester’s tagline “Challenge Thinking: Lead Change”

and an accompanying video on your website are intriguing: “This is your moment, your responsibility, your legacy. The time is now to act.” How has your business philosophy influenced your own philanthropic actions? Did it give you the impetus to step forward as the lead donor on the new auditorium project?

GEORGE F. COLONY: If I have a business philosophy, it is to always live a little bit in the future. The next 30 years at Choate Rosemary Hall are going to be dynamic and filled with change – it will be critical that everyone at the School be able to sit together in one place and converse, appreciate, learn, dream, and communicate. That’s why Colony Hall made sense to me.

B: You have always marched to the beat of a different drummer. In a family of Exeter graduates, you chose to enter Choate in fall of 1969 as a fourth former. You were editorial chairman of The News from 1970–71 and then again in 1971–72, varsity squash captain, and a member of the Cum Laude Society. You were also a member of Choate’s fledgling Computer Club. Still, you found time for music, playing your guitar and banjo. Are you happy that part of your legacy for Choate students will be a greatly enhanced musical experience?

GFC: In my time at Choate we had two concerts that brought all of us together and galvanized our community. The James Cotton Blues Band and Livingston Taylor united us and gave all of us a collective moment of joy. My aspiration is that Colony Hall will be the place where many, many of those moments are hosted – moments that students will remember 40 years after they have left Wallingford.

B: Mounir Sa’adah, your former Choate history and philosophy teacher, and father of your Choate Board colleague Anne Sa’adah, once commented, “George handles ideas seriously not only because they excite his curiosity, but because he is also searching for anchors in his life. I do not know where his search will lead him, but while it is on, he is well-occupied.” He glimpsed that you were as capable of embracing the journey as arriving at a specific destination. Reflecting back, has this been true?

GFC: Mounir Sa’adah was one of my most inspirational and wise teachers – he was my Yoda before Yoda existed! He taught me the power of ideas and the power of curiosity – and helped me appreciate the voyage. In his class we read Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha – a story of quest and discovery that I still reference.

My voyage took me away from Choate for many years – but it brought me back to the place where my teachers and friends helped me to see the meaning and potential of life.

B: In your remarks when you received the Alumni Seal Prize in 2005, you spoke of arriving at Mead House with two pieces of electrical equipment: a yellow electric Corona typewriter and a record player for your vinyl records. At the front line of the digital revolution for 40-plus years, you commented, “You could say my life has been dedicated to changing that room at Mead House and the lives of students who live at Mead House today.” How do you imagine Colony Hall will change the lives of Choate students today and in the future?

GFC: My goal is that every student will have three fantastic memories that happened in Colony Hall – whether it be a concert, a dance performance, a school meeting, a debate, or a speech. My aspiration is that what happens in the Hall will change lives.

B: A quick follow-up, are you still a fan of vinyl?

GFC: No. The Allman Brothers, Joni Mitchell, Reverend Gary

Davis, and Traffic albums from my Choate days are framed and are hanging on my walls at home. I have flipped too many records in my life – now I prefer Spotify.

B: You gave this advice to Choate students a few years ago:

“Wherever you go in life, embrace and drive change. Get on the inside of organizations and move them to change for the better.”

What advice would you give students who are hoping to be the change agents who will shape the next technological revolution?

GFC: To avoid getting lost in the technology fog, stay focused on customers – who you serve. By designing outside-in you will avoid unnecessary motion and wasted time and money. Remember that at the end of the day it’s not about tech, it’s about solving a problem for someone.

B: You have a reputation in the technology industry for your willingness to make bold, sometimes brash, predictions about technology trends. Do you have a bold prediction for Choate Rosemary Hall?

GFC: I’m not sure if it’s a prediction or an aspiration, but here goes … That in the next 30 years (by 2050), there will be another President of the United States who attended Choate Rosemary Hall. We certainly have the raw material – amazing students, an excellent curriculum, the development of character – that could make this possible. I look forward to seeing a Wild Boar in the White House!

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ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | On Campus

SCREENWRITER GEOFFREY S. FLETCHER ’88 ON CAMPUS At school meeting on April 24, Geoffrey S. Fletcher ‘88 received the 2018 Alumni Award – the highest honor the School bestows upon its graduates. A graduate of Harvard University and NYU’s Tisch Graduate Film Program, Fletcher is the first African American to win an Academy Award in the category of writing, directing or producing for his screenplay, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. While earning his M.F.A. in directing at NYU, Fletcher’s work won numerous awards, including one from the Directors Guild of America. When accepting the award,

he shared a memory of the first time he visited Choate’s campus. ”When we passed this building (the Paul Mellon Arts Center) everything slowed down,” he said. ”My 12-year-old mind had an uncanny premonition: Whatever this place is ... it’s hard.” In his remarks, he acknowledged his Choate mentors and his parents who instilled in him the belief that he could do anything he wanted, as long as he worked hard. His mother, Dr. Bettye Fletcher Comer, a retired educator, and stepfather, Dr. James M. Comer, were on hand for the presentation. While on campus, Fletcher met with students in Kate Doak’s Playwriting and Screenwriting class.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 9

10

Global Perspectives

F I NDI NG

T H E ART I ST

W ITHIN

By Austen Rogers ’18

Reflections from Choate’s Global Programs During March break, 14 students and three faculty members traveled to Cuba for an eight-day cultural immersion experience.

This is the first Choate-sponsored student trip to Cuba since the American flag was raised at the U.S. Embassy in 2015.

On our first day in Cuba, we met Nicolas, a man with long silver hair and a brightly patterned shirt, in his art studio in central Havana. He kindly allowed our group to wander through his workspace. The warm breeze and puffs of grey dust floated in through the studio’s open windows, mingling with the vibrant paintings that covered each room from floor to ceiling. When we sat down with Nicolas, the first thing he told our group was that just like us, he was a teenager. We laughed for a moment, until he abruptly asked us in Spanish, “Why are you laughing? It’s the truth. I am young.” I quieted quickly, unsure how to take the artist’s odd sense of humor, though his eyes continued to smile outwardly at us. As we sat in a circle in the main room of the studio, Nicolas embraced our questions about his life as a Cuban artist. He generously shared his thoughts and stories with us. As we listened to the artist, his painted figures around the room and looking down at us from the walls, I felt as though Nicolas truly gave us a piece of his experience. He told us, “When you are hungry, you will find food. When you are cold, you will find a coat. When you are an artist, you will find a way.”

As an artist myself, not only did I feel that Nicolas was imparting an important piece of advice to us, but I also felt as though he was sending us on a mission to find our own way as artists. Of course, this mission, for many of us, had begun far earlier than our encounter with Nicolas – and for all of us, it will extend far beyond our time in Cuba. In any case, I felt that Nicolas was challenging us to search for a piece of ourselves in Havana.

In the one week we spent in Cuba, we embarked on adventures unlike any I had ever experienced. Each day was long and exhausting, but every morning I couldn’t wait to continue the

expedition. I began most of my mornings on the balcony of our residencia, Casa Natalia, in the historic Vedado neighborhood of Havana. The cool morning breeze usually warranted a jacket. Sitting on the balcón, I would crack open my sketchbook and finish thoughts from the day before. Below me, neighbors shared quiet conversations on the sidewalk, and occasionally a 1957 Chevy rolled by. From the balcón I enjoyed the sounds and little wonders of Havana just after sunrise. Hummingbirds frequented the palm tree by the house and neighbors exchanged loaves of bread. After a few moments of relaxation, our busy day would begin. The group filed into the dining room for a delicious breakfast, complete with fresh juices. Then, we would pack up our bags, including sunscreen, bug spray, water, a couple of Cuban convertible pesos, and of course, our sketchbooks and pencils.

Throughout the week, we visited many different corners of Havana. We stopped by museums, schools, a senior center, a fortress, and even the Bay of Pigs. In the evenings we danced salsa, learned to play Cuban dominoes, and practiced our Cuban slang. With every new experience I felt like I unlocked another tiny piece of Cuba. By the time we reached the end of the week, I began to see beyond the colorful buildings and vintage cars that crowded my initial unidimensional vision of Cuba. Although a week was not nearly enough time to build a comprehensive understanding of the country, it was enough to sense the many layers of the island’s past and present I had not previously considered. My personal key to Cuba was my sketchbook. It was my way to the real Havana, and I felt fortunate to have a connection to the immense population of artists, makers, and innovators in the city. Although I no longer get to wake up in the residencia and enjoy the view from the balcón, I continue to travel through my life with my sketchbook and pencils tucked under my arm, looking to find my way as an artist – as Nicolas said.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 11

I B E GA N M O S T OF M Y M OR N I NG S ON T H E BALC ONY OF OU R R E S I DE NC I A. T H E COOL MORNI NG BR EEZ E U S U AL LY WAR R ANT E D A JAC K E T . S I T T I N G ON T H E B A LC ÓN, I W OU L D C R AC K OPE N MY S K E T C H B O OK A N D F I NI S H T H OU GH T S F R OM T H E DAY BE F OR E.

LEFT My personal key to Cuba was my

sketchbook. This drawing shows fellow students Jeanne and Marja sketching in Parque Almendares. The greenery in the park was both a beautiful break from bustling Havana and also an insight into the Afro-Caribbean religion of Santería.

BELOW The view from a square in Old Havana.

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Feature

Choate Unfurled Time Creating and Space for Teaching and Learning Time

and

For a long time, I believed that time and space were the best lenses through which to understand a school. Both daily schedule and campus architecture are windows into a school’s priorities because they deal with these two precious commodities.

Here at Choate Rosemary Hall, time and space have helped to frame the latest chapter in our own evolutionary narrative, but they tell only part of the story. Even after taking into account what Choate has done with regard to time and space over the past five years, we would have little to show without the inclusive community-building that has been an essential component of our school’s progress.

What does community have to do with curriculum, buildings, and the way we organize our time? Everything. It is the people in our community who have opened it up and are filling wider, more transparent spaces of greater mobility while calling for a daily schedule that offers bigger blocks of time to accommodate more dynamic, interdisciplinary learning that is pushing beyond the boundaries of traditional academic departments.

By Katie Jewett |

14

Several new faculty listed a commitment to diversity as well as the School’s vision for systematic, sustained professional development of all faculty as selling points.

program: faculty matters are seen through the lens of academic offerings, and curricular decisions take full advantage of the energy and expertise of those who make up our teaching corps. Members of the Dean of Faculty team now include: A Director of Studies, who keeps the School “ship” running, overseeing the details of day-to-day academic life, A Director of Global Programs, who oversees numerous short and long-term programs abroad in athletics, the arts, community service, and language immersion, A Director of Faculty Development, focused on faculty hiring and optimizing professional development systems and opportunities,

Choate has always been a vibrant collective of teachers, students, staff and families. However, efforts made over the past decade have invigorated the community and broken down barriers between people in ways that have impacted many realms. Faculty and staff handbooks and directories are now combined rather than separate, seniority is less of a prerequisite for administrative positions across the School, and all of the adults on campus are issued the same opportunity for feedback via a Campus Climate Survey each year.

Whereas 10 years ago we had no women or minorities among our Community Safety staff, now we do. This is but one illustration of the fact that the composition of our faculty and staff has diversified.

With these changes have come opportunities to be more connected to each other as well – community weekends, community potlucks, combined faculty-staff meetings (and next year, in Colony Hall, all-school meetings that will include students, faculty, and staff). Our annual all-hands-on-deck Community Service Day, which includes our Trustees, has given us a sense of a strong and meaningful collective identity.

Our communal strength has also grown through diversifying our community and building a greater awareness of equity and inclusion on campus. We are more attuned to our blind spots and to multiple perspectives. The conversations we are having are richer, more multifaceted, and in many ways more challenging than ever. Including more voices and thinking creatively about breaking down traditional barriers or structures are other elements of what is moving us forward, and that work is – and should be – ongoing. Not coincidentally, the opening-up of our institution has also played out in our leadership structure.

Five years ago, our Head of School, Dr. Alex Curtis, combined two positions, Dean of Faculty (focused on personnel) and Dean of Academic Affairs (focused on program) into a single coordinated team of five people who now comprise the Dean of Faculty’s Office. The notion of distributed leadership – a wide multiplicity of voices at the helm of an institution – bolsters its strength. The new structure of the Dean of Faculty’s Office ensures a synergy between people and

A Director of Curricular Initiatives, who explores innovations in teaching and learning, imagining where the School should be programmatically five to 10 years out, And, finally, The Dean of Faculty, who oversees and coordinates this team in conjunction with the Head of School.

Together, our job is to ensure a purposeful, systematic, and informed evolution of the School’s program. While some of us spend a lot of our time on day-to-day matters, others have as key components of their job the mission to think about longer-range, strategic priorities. But the space piece has been equally important because of the essential interactions it affords us each day. We worked to reconfigure an existing office space that we could all share, and our proximity to each other for informal chats and brainstorming sessions has created an important collaborative effect. Most of our endeavors over the last five years have been improved by solicitation of input from many colleagues both within and beyond our team.

One of the most initially intimidating aspects of this transition was the blank canvas in several of our job descriptions; for some of us it was like a class with no syllabus. And yet, that openness conveyed an implicit trust and sense of possibility. It said what we hope to say to our students as we drive them to learn independently: “Go forth, confident in your ability to create something new and better, and make it work.” It gave us autonomy, mastery and purpose in abundance. Dr. Curtis further opened us up to new perspectives and encouraged innovation by supporting visits for our leadership team to a variety of innovative enterprises such as IDEO, Pixar, Google, and Stanford’s d.School. As Director of Curricular Initiatives, I set out on a series of school visits to discover best practices at schools around the country and around the globe. Within my first two years, I traveled to six states visiting 25 schools, including seven colleges and universities, to observe and discuss school innovation.

Encouraged by my colleagues in my own professional “opening up” process, I invited school administrators from around the country to join me on my trip and in the end visited only two of the 25 schools alone. This made for rich conversation about what makes good schools.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 15

Katie Jewett working with students in the Lin i.d.Lab. The i.d.Lab curriculum has grown from the melding and cross-pollination of disciplines and the uniquely creative people who use it.

The takeaways from our outside research and our creative ideas for Choate’s academic program were many, but our initiatives involving the reconfiguration of time, space, and opportunities at Choate would remain unignited if not for the students and teachers who spark them. In alignment with the School’s 2013 Strategic Plan, we have sought over the past five years “to recruit, retain, and support an exceptional faculty and staff who reflect the diversity of the student body and are dynamic educators deeply committed to the entire student experience.” Working with individual department heads, the search for candidates includes attending regional job fairs and discipline-specific conferences to find committed, experienced teachers. In addition to increasing overall applications for faculty positions, these targeted efforts have helped the School increase its proportion of new hires who come to Choate with considerable teaching experience, while significantly increasing the number of new full-time faculty who are people of color. Although many factors attracted these professionals to Choate, several listed a commitment to diversity, our deep and widening curriculum, and our systematic, sustained professional development of all faculty as selling points.

Choate has moved forward, creating structures like the Lanphier Center and St. John Hall that encourage the people and ideas of our community to interact in ways that have catalyzed initiatives large and small in many domains, from student wellness to academic life.

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In a similar vein, Choate has amplified professional development opportunities, especially those that utilize the expertise and perspectives of our own faculty. Whether we investigate building inclusive environments, pedagogical and assessment practices, the neuroscience of learning, or effective applications of educational technology, we encourage faculty to learn from one another. Through nourishing a growth mindset, our office has aimed to create a context in which great educators can lead and create for each other the tools they need to do what they do best. New faculty orientation has evolved into a robust, cohort-based introduction to all aspects of school life for first-year faculty, followed by sustained opportunities for reflection, growth, and leadership in years two, three, and beyond – with opportunities for mutual class visits, feedback, and ongoing dialogue.

The intentional broadening of our reconfigured leadership invites a wide array of voices into our decision making, and includes bringing student voices into faculty professional development, asking our young people to reflect on and share with faculty how they learn best and when they know they have learned something. Similarly, we have invited faculty volunteers to shadow a student for a day, attending all of a student’s classes and extracurricular activities, even to the point of doing their homework where possible. Our opening up is manifest in both mindset and daily practices that seek to cultivate an empathetic, deep and close coordination between people and program. This has in turn led to a broadening of our curriculum. New and veteran faculty members are proposing interdisciplinary courses that address topics and skills in new ways. They include: Cognitive Neuroscience, Journalism, Behavioral Economics, Autonomous Robotics, Music and The Brain, and Alternate Realities, an upper-level Spanish literature and culture course, to name only some of our newest options.

As I return to the classroom after completing my tour as Choate’s first Director of Curricular Initiatives, my own method for evaluating the strength of a school has evolved.

Time and space are indeed important, and I am proud of how Choate has moved forward in both arenas, creating structures like the Lanphier Center and St. John Hall, which encourage the people and ideas of our community to interact in ways that have catalyzed initiatives large and small in many domains, from student wellness to academic life. But I know now that it is the breaking down of social barriers and the building of community that fertilizes and then ensures the ongoing growth of a school. Our increasing openness to multiple voices, our growing awareness of issues of access, equity, and inclusion, and our efforts at creating the time and space for better learning opportunities for faculty and students, make me optimistic. Choate’s ever-unfolding story is indeed one of great possibility. ■ Katie Jewett, Ph.D., has worked with others to oversee innovations in teaching and learning such as the Lin i.d.Lab, the implementation of a new daily schedule, a curriculum review, and a lifelong wellness program.

Field Notes Shadowing Connie Xiao ’18

’18

AT

the start of the 2017-18 school year, students were introduced

to a new daily schedule that includes 70-minute class blocks that meet three times a week, lunch blocks for all students, and two “sleep-ins” a week (until at least 9:00 a.m.) for the majority of the student body. This spring, seven faculty members volunteered to live Choate life from the student perspective for a day, an eyeopening and interesting way to inform what we do as coaches, teachers, and advisers. Here are some notes from faculty member Lorraine Connelly on shadowing Connie Xiao ’18, a day student from Cheshire, Conn.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 17

8:00 A.M.

Although Connie usually has a sleep-in on Monday mornings, on this Monday she takes a make-up BC Calculus exam.

9:10 A.M. After the exam, Connie checks her email and learns that her evening orchestra rehearsal has been cancelled. She spends the next couple of minutes getting started on her honors French homework for the next day until her BC Calculus class begins at 9:40 a.m.

9:40 A.M. The buzz during class? 41 days to Commencement.

Two students are missing from today’s class because of college visits. To get students’ energy going, Dr. Jessica Pfeil has them go to the board to solve some practice AP Calculus exam problems while she checks homework. Often Dr. Pfeil has students begin homework problems on the board. They then take photos of their work on their iPhones, so they can finish the problem in Notability without having to recopy their work. These solved problems also serve as a reference when studying for tests. Connie is a willing and thoughtful participant in classroom discussion and group work as students work on finding derivatives.

Dr. Pfeil distributes five homework problems, and during the last eight minutes of the period, students begin work on tomorrow’s assignment. Connie says that by far, BC Calculus is her hardest class this term.

Class ends at 10:50 a.m., and we head over to the Dining Hall for the first wave of lunch.

10:57 A.M. Connie and her friend from math, Angie, a student from Hong Kong, join a throng of students for early lunch. They chat about Last Hurrah and Commencement dresses. Angie has already purchased her Last Hurrah dress and has posted it to the Class’s Facebook page. Connie has bought her Commencement dress, but not her Last Hurrah dress. She’s thinking dark blue or purple.

11:25 A.M. After lunch we head to the Humanities Center for Contemporary World Fiction with David Loeb. Like a rainy day in summer camp, we spend the period watching Oscar-nominated short films as a break for the class between a short story collection by George Saunders and a Haruki Murakami novel. A Dutch film, A Single Life, and a Japanese film, La Maison en Petits Cubes, both explore some aspect of mortality; a British film, The Silent Child, is about a profoundly deaf four-year-old girl whose parents are embarrassed

by her learning sign language; and the Australian The Eleven o’Clock, a funny short about a delusional patient who takes on the role of psychiatrist. Students were most moved by The Silent Child, and were enraged at parental attitudes silencing their deaf child’s chances for future happiness.

12:50 P.M. Next, we head to the Dodge Shops for Metal and Jewelry-Making with teacher Catherine Adams. I watch students with their various wire projects and Catherine gives a demonstration of the annealing process used on metals, by which a material is made into a soft and workable state. She heats a copper band with an acetylene torch. When the metal begins to show different colors, she looks for a dark red. Once this occurs, she quickly immerses the copper she is annealing into a water bath, and voilà! This demo is in preparation for Wednesday’s class, when students will be making their own rings.

2:10 P.M. We then head to the last class of the day, Cognitive Neuroscience, with science faculty member Emily White. Students are working on a genes and mutations sheet. I join a group working on Trisomy 13, also called Patau syndrome, a chromosomal condition associated with severe intellectual disability and physical abnormalities. Students are asked to research different symptoms, rate of occurrence and mortality rate, and then put their research into Power Point presentations that are to be shared with the class at Wednesday’s meeting.

3:25 P.M. After class we’re off to St. John Hall and the day student lockers to get ready for JV Ultimate Frisbee.

Today’s practice is held in the hockey rink due to inclement weather. Coach Jenn Huddleston does a chalkboard demonstration of backhand drills and two-man Give and Go. When Varsity Ultimate is done with practice the JV breaks into groups of four and scores points by catching the disc in the opposing end zone.

5:20 P.M. Practice ends and it is back to the Dining Hall for dinner – pesto risotto cakes with red pepper sauce and … chocolate chip bars for dessert!

7:00 P.M. Connie’s dad picks her up at Hill House Circle after a long and satisfying day of learning and play.

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Cover Story

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 19

HILARY KNIGHT ’07

EQUITABLE PLAY FIGHTING FOR GOLD AND EQUALITY Among her teammates, Hilary Knight ’07 is known for her playfulness, for never dreaming up a prank that she doesn’t think she can pull off.

But she has a deeply thoughtful side, as evidenced by the tattoo along her rib cage that reads “dum vigilo curo” – Latin for “while I watch, I care.” That side of Knight remained largely hidden from view until last year, when she emerged as the face of the U.S. women hockey team’s fight for equitable pay. | b y K ar e n C r o u s e

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IT WAS A B AT TLE THAT WOULD SHAPE THE TEAM’S SUCCESS at the 2018 Winter Olympics and forever change how Knight, a 28-year-old forward, views her own strength. Looking back, Knight said the unified stance for equitable pay taken by the U.S. team infused the women with an extra closeness and resolve that proved to be the difference in yet another taut battle with their rivals from Canada in the gold-medal game in Pyeongchang. Four years after losing to Team Canada in overtime, the United States got an early goal by Knight and went on to prevail in a shootout.

The 2018 Olympic final was played 38 years to the day after the U.S. men’s thrilling semifinal victory over the Soviet Union, but the victory by Knight and her teammates followed a different script. It was Miracle on Ice meets Norma Rae. This thrilling victory was two-fold. Ahead of the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, the last major tune-up before the Pyeongchang Games, the members of the United States women’s national team threatened a boycott unless U.S.A. Hockey increased their resources and funding. At the time, each U.S. national team member received $1,500 a year from the federation, which forced them to work second jobs and/or seek financial support from family members to cover their cost-of-living expenses.

Knight, a member of the 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams, was one of the fortunate few who didn’t need to augment her hockey-generated income to make ends meet.

She enjoyed the highest profile of any U.S. woman, with endorsements from companies such as Nike, Red Bull, and GoPro.

But Knight remembered what it was like in 2012 when, fresh from leading the University of Wisconsin to two national championships in women’s hockey, she arrived in Boston to train with the United States national team and despaired at the city’s cost of living. With rents in the city averaging in upward of $2,000, Knight had to seek outside income and get creative to survive. She recognized that her high profile made her the obvious choice to be the face of the 23-member U.S. women’s team.

And so, swallowing her fears, she led the public campaign for better pay and working conditions. “Honestly, I was terrified, just because of job security and dream security,” Knight says. “I’d been dreaming for so many years of playing on a team that won the Olympic gold medal and we were so close to that goal.

“But we’d never really been supported by our federation to win a gold medal,” Knight adds, “and it was super important for our self-development as young women that we stand up for ourselves and for a cause, really, that was much greater than ourselves.”

In the end, the women gained a four-year deal that includes an annual salary of roughly $70,000 per player, with performance bonuses that could increase that figure to more than $100,000. They also received more marketing and promotional support and the same level of travel arrangements and insurance coverage as the men’s team, which is composed primarily of N.H.L. players who already are well compensated by their teams.

Fresh off that victory, the U.S. team won the world championship, with Knight scoring the winning goal in overtime against Canada in the final. Eleven months later, Jocelyne Lamoureux’s sleight-of-hand shootout shot delivered the U.S. women their first hockey Olympic title since 1998. For Knight and the five other three-time Olympians on the squad, it was immensely satisfying to add a gold medal to their collection of two silvers.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 21

“We’d never really been supported by our federation to win a gold medal, and it was super important for our self-development as young women that we stand up for a cause that was much greater than ourselves.”

But a funny thing happened to Knight on her way to winning the gold medal that had eluded her. She realized that in the ways that really matter, she and her teammates didn’t need an Olympic victory to validate their success.

Since returning from South Korea, Knight has interacted with people who don’t want to talk about where they were during the Olympic shootout. Instead, they have shared stories of being inspired by the off-ice battle she and her U.S. national team members waged to fight for their own causes. It means the world to her that the ripple effects from the team’s “We too” moment have spread so far and wide – all the way, perhaps, to America’s high schools, where students and teachers are taking principled stands to try to change the status quo.

“It’s really cool,” she said, adding, ”It was another ah-ha moment to see how through sports you can affect other people’s lives.”

Knight experienced her first ah-ha moment when she was five years old. She took skating lessons and loved the feel of the cool wind on her face as she navigated from one end of the rink to the other. She quickly gravitated to hockey and proudly informed her maternal grandmother that she was going to grow up to be a hockey player.

She was stung by her grandmother’s response: “Little girls don’t play hockey.” But Knight’s mother, Cynthia, quickly corrected her. “Get with the times, Mom,” she said.

“Hilary plays hockey.”

Knight laughed as she recalled the story. Her grandmother, she said, has become one of her most ardent supporters. But her initial premise, that girls don’t play hockey, stuck with Knight. One of the first things she said to her mother when they finally met up after the goldmedal game in Pyeongchang was, “Make sure you tell Grandma that we won.”

An eight-year-old Knight was at a sleepover with friends when the U.S. women claimed the gold in the Olympic debut of women’s hockey in 1998. She was a wide-eyed fan then. But even after she grew up to become a 5-foot-11, 172-pound star, Knight never forgot that small girl whose love of hockey would broaden and enrich her life in ways that she never could have imagined.

The memory of her younger self is what spurred Knight to appear in ESPN the Magazine’s 2014 body issue, her strong body serving, she hoped, to counter the messages that bombard young girls to shrink from this world – to be thinner, quieter, more compliant.

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“Angie’s been a total mentor, a great teammate, and a lot of us aspire to continue to fill her shoes.”

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 23

The memory of her younger self has also brought Knight’s future path into sharper focus. She has set her sights on starting a foundation aimed at keeping girls active in sports, not so much to keep alive an Olympic pipeline but to strengthen the framework on which they can build their adult lives. “There are so many healthy things that come from sports, so many life lessons,” Knight said.

And the image of a mini-me that she might one day raise helped spur Knight to fight for better pay – and motivates her now to use the momentum created by the U.S. team’s victories on and off the ice to push for a single women’s professional hockey league. She and others view this as the surest path for financial stability and the game’s global growth. As Knight notes, “If I have a daughter and she falls in love with the game, what career path will she have after college?”

Knight contemplated retiring after the 2014 Olympics, where the U.S. team lost a late 2-0 lead in its defeat by Canada. The idea of spending four more years working toward another possible Olympic fortnight of futility struck her as unappealing. “A lot of people only pay attention to women’s hockey every four years at the Olympics,” Knight says. “But for us, it’s a four-year commitment. We’re training every single day.”

Knight credits the support of friends and classmates like those she made during her Choate Rosemary Hall days for helping her stay the course. “I used to look at them like – they’re all grown up, why am I still playing hockey?”

Knight says. “But they’ve told me, you’re living your dream, why do you want to give that up?”

Knight is thankful she didn’t retire in 2014, and not just because she finally added the one piece of hardware that was missing from a resume that already included the two silver medals and nine gold world championship medals. “The last four years have given me so much more perspective,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to change my past, especially the heartache.”

In Pyeongchang, the only thing Knight was possibly more excited about than winning the gold was receiving her medal from Angela Ruggiero, another alumna of Choate Rosemary Hall. Ruggiero, a member of the 1998 U.S. squad that won the gold, took Knight under her wing in 2010, which was her final Olympics and Knight’s first.

Ruggiero was in South Korea as a representative of the International Olympic Committee, and her duties included handing out the medals at the women’s hockey medals presentation.

“Angie’s been a total mentor, a great teammate and a lot of us aspire to continue to fill her shoes,” Knight says.

But at the medals presentation, to speed up the ceremony, two people from the I.O.C. were enlisted to hand out medals. Ruggiero was accompanied by Tricia Smith, a four-time Olympian in rowing from Canada. It was Smith who ended up placing the medal around Knight’s neck.

That was not how Knight had pictured the moment in her mind, but afterward, in a hallway of the arena, she ran into Ruggiero and they shared a long embrace.

“We hugged it out,” Ruggiero says. “I was so happy for her.”

[Editor’s note: Hilary Knight ’07 will give the Commencement remarks to the Class of 2018 on May 27.]

Karen Crouse is an award-winning sportswriter who has been on the staff of The New York Times since 2005. She recently published Norwich, about one tiny Vermont town’s secret to raising more Olympians per capita than any other place in the country.

Portrait originally displayed in the Katherine Carlebach Room in the Ruutz-Rees building in Wallingford’s Choate Rosemary Hall campus.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 25

from the Archives

Katherine Carlebach ’68 Commemorating the Legacies, Leaders, and Movements of 1968 b y L o rra i n e S . C o n n e ll y Katherine Carlebach ’68 entered Rosemary Hall as a 10th grade boarder in the fall of 1965, and became a day student in the spring of her junior year when her health began to deteriorate. Kate was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a disease that was to take her life shortly after she graduated.

Rosemary Hall Headmistress Alice McBee wrote, “Kate is endowed with sound intellectual ability and unusual intellectual interest in a great diversity of fields. Her enthusiasm and perceptiveness win the attention of other students who look to her for challenging new ideas.

Everybody loves her for her positive, cheerful, outgoing personality, her fine sense of humor, interest in others, and genuinely unaffected courage. She understands the seriousness of her illness and with truly mature consideration has committed herself to living joyfully as a strongly contributing person in her school and her community.”

Soon after graduating from Rosemary Hall, Kate, who was active in politics, volunteered for the presidential campaign of Sen. George McGovern and worked tirelessly for racial integration. In a June 1969 letter to young alumnae, she wrote passionately to her classmates about a “Special Scholarship Fund” established by the School’s Board of Trustees in 1967: “As all of us are well aware, the United States has undergone a revolution in the past few years. Where it was once assumed that all political leaders were white, there are now black leaders – senators, congressmen and women, mayors, and members of state legislatures. In those and other areas, the black citizens of this country are at last beginning to reap some of the rewards of their citizenship.

“It is now illegal for any public school to be segregated, and while Rosemary is a private institution, many of us have felt that in order to prepare girls to live in an integrated community, Rosemary must be integrated. A start was made in this direction several years ago, and this year four Rosemarians are black.

“But the battle for an integrated school is not over. It is not enough merely to accept four girls for one year, and then congratulate ourselves for integrating our school. These girls must continue their education at Rosemary, and others must be given a chance to become students here. The problem is not finding qualified girls who wish to attend classes at Rosemary; it is finding the funds to allow them to do so.”

Kate closed her letter by asking her classmates for a donation of $5 to $10 to keep Rosemary integrated. Six months after penning this letter, Katie died. Donations to the Special Scholarship Fund poured in, in memory of her. Classmate Lucy Winslow ’68 wrote, “For those of us who knew and loved her, the world dimmed in losing the special magic that was hers. However, we must remember that in the last year of her life Kate was concerned not with death, but with life and a project for the future. She saw clearly the necessity for Rosemary to answer the demands of our changing society.”

Kate’s sister, Elizabeth C. Smith, wrote, “Kate worked so hard and felt strongly about so many things, that as long as her ideals are worked toward and reached for, I’ll believe her death not to be in vain.”

For many years, the Katherine Carlebach Prize was the highest prize awarded to a fifth form girl at Prize Day. In 2017, it was combined with the James Eliot Oakes Prize for fifth formers. On the occasion of what would have been her 50th Reunion year, we honor Katherine’s legacy, and her efforts to fund a scholarship for female students of color during the height of the civil rights movement. Her life as an agent of change commemorates and reflects on the legacies of the leaders and movements of 1968.

Today, Choate Rosemary Hall is significantly more diverse by every measure than it was half a century ago, says Director of Admission Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez. “Our students hail from across the country and overseas, representing more than 40 countries and 35 states. One in three are domestic students of color, nearly 20 percent are international, and 33 percent receive need-based financial aid.

These demographic data points aside, students arrive with and explore, during their time on campus, a broad range of interests and passions.”

Katherine Carlebach’s efforts were not in vain.

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION | 1890 Society Event A Conversation with Leaders in Investment and Finance On Tuesday, April 10, more than 90 members of the 1890 Society for leadership giving gathered at the Yale Club of New York to engage with finance legends: Tony James ’69 of Blackstone, Tom Wall ’76 of Kelso Private Equity, Kewsong Lee ’82 of The Carlyle Group, and Rob Minicucci ’71 of Alliance Data Systems, Inc. The panel shared their perspectives on investing in today’s market and then accepted questions from the audience. The discussion covered a wide-range of topics – everything from tax cuts, tariffs and trade wars to big data, technology and cryptocurrencies.

1 3

2

4 1 Tony James outlines six keys to being a successful investor.

2 Choate Rosemary Hall Chief Investment Officer Jason Raiti, moderator,

3 Liz Solazzo P ’16 asks a question of the panel.

4 Rob Goergen ’89, P ’21, ’22, Ken Bartels ’69, P ’04, Tom Wall ’76, and

and panelists Tony James ’69, Kewsong Lee ’82, Tom Wall ’76, and Rob Minicucci ’71

Jim Lebovitz ’75, P ’06, ’10

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 27

Alumni Gatherings and Celebrations

1

4

5

6

2 7

3 1 Alumni and parents welcomed Head of School Alex Curtis to

3 Kate Clarke Lemay ’97, historian and coordinating curator for

4-6 During March break, long-time faculty members Katie Jewett,

Bangkok, Thailand on February 14.

2 On Saturday, January, 20, the 1978 Ice Hockey Team gathered to mark the 40th anniversary of their undefeated season.

Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative, led a private tour of the exhibition Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Nancy Miller, Kevin Rogers, and Tom White spoke with alumni and parents at various events throughout California.

7 On March 1, Ben Pascale ’06, senior account executive at LinkedIn, shared tips and tricks for effective career networking.

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION | Distinguished Service

2018

DISTINGUISHED

SERVICE AWARD

Lee Sylvester, 1982.

LEMOYNE “LEE” DODGE SYLVESTER Lee Sylvester came to The Choate School in 1961 to join her new husband and fellow Nebraskan, history teacher Ben Sylvester. They settled into their first home together – a small faculty apartment on the second floor of Mem House. Shortly after their arrival, Pauline Anderson, director of the Library, asked Lee to help establish a place to house, classify, and preserve materials originated by students, faculty and staff – a documentary history of the School. John F. Kennedy ’35 was President at the time, and there was increased interest from the outside world in the history of the School. Lee, without formal training in the discipline, heartily accepted the challenge. Armed with a degree in history from Radcliffe College, and an insatiable curiosity, a dogged determination to track down facts, and infinite patience for the tedious task of cataloging her findings, Lee was a perfect fit for her new role.

For the next nearly 40 years, Lee collected official documents, institutional correspondence, school and student publications, artifacts, media material, photographs, scrapbooks, oral histories, maps, Rosemary Hall

uniforms, Choate Varsity sweaters – you name it. She organized it all into a coherent system and then, most importantly, turned the collection into an invaluable resource for all to use. Students could use the primary resources for term papers. The Communications and Development offices could reliably reference school history. Alumni had a place to turn for their school memorabilia (and memories!). Anybody could ask Lee the odd question about a particular building, school tradition, or personality and get an answer and a captivating story in the bargain. She also took on the important task of creating and maintaining an inventory of the fine art and furnishings on campus.

For her groundbreaking achievement in establishing the School Archives as an integral and essential part of the School, the Alumni Association awarded its Distinguished Service Award “in recognition and appreciation of consistent and substantial service to the School” to Sylvester at Reunion 2018.

C H O AT E R O S E M A R Y H A L L

AT H L E T I C S H A L L FA M E OF

2018

The Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Association’s mission is 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 Parisa Jaffer ’89 President

London Ian Chan ’10 Ed Harney ’82

David Hang ’94 Vice President, 1890 Society

Los Angeles Alexa Platt ’95 Wesley Hansen ’98

Patrick McCurdy ’98 Past President John Smyth ’83 Vice President, Regional Clubs and Annual Fund

Each year the Alumni Association recognizes outstanding athletes whose contributions and achievements left an indelible mark on the School.

The following alumni were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, May 11, 2018.

Jim Dwinell ’58

Allison Kessler Vear ’03

A varsity standout at Choate, Jim played football, soccer, and baseball, but it was on the ice that he made his mark. As captain of the undefeated ’58 varsity ice hockey team, he led the team, the Housatonic League, and the state in scoring his senior year. Voted Athlete of the Year in 1958, Jim continued his career at Harvard, where he was once again a leading scorer and named to the All-Ivy League team. His lifelong passion for athletics is evident in his 22 years as a PeeWee hockey coach in his hometown of Belmont, Mass.

As first boat coxswain 2002 and 2003, Allison’s steering and motivation of her teammates made the difference in those races. She continued her career at Harvard, where her leadership and steady hand guided her teams to memorable victories. In her time at Choate and Harvard, she embodied the very essence of sportsmanship as evidenced by her competitive spirit and sense of camaraderie. Her determination, strength, dedication to excellence, and courage served as an inspiration to the entire Choate community.

Gavin Jeftha ’88

Congratulations to these outstanding athletes! The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Reception, and Dinner kicked-off the festivities for Reunion 2018.

One of Choate’s most outstanding tennis players, Gavin led both the squash and tennis teams to victory during his years in Wallingford. The Coaches’ Award winner and three-time Upshur Moorhead Trophy winner was, as Coach Ben Foster said, “an inspiration to all the players, to the spectators and to me.” After graduating in 1988, Gavin went on to represent Botswana in Davis Cup play for several years as player, captain, and coach. Today he shares his love of the sport as a tennis pro in Cape Town, South Africa.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Sheila Adams ’01 Carolyn Kim Allwin ’96 Susan St. John Amorello ’84, P ’15 Alatia Bradley Bach ’88 T.C. Chau ’97 Jaques Clariond ’01 Alexandra Fenwick ’00 Margaux Harrold ’06 Elizabeth Alford Hogan ’82 Dewey Kang ’03 Kreagan Kennedy ’10 Lambert Lau ’97 Shanti Mathew ’05 Shantel Richardson ’99 Kathrin Schwesinger ’02 Ally Smith ’09 Jessy Trejo ’02 Jeffrey Veber ’83 Mary Liz Williamson ’94, Faculty Representative

New York Sheila Adams ’01 Jason Kasper ’05 Rosemary Hall Anne Marshall Henry ’62 San Francisco Tara Elwell Henning ’99 Washington, D.C. Dan Carucci ’76 Tillie Fowler ’92 Olivia Bee ’10 Beijing Gunther Hamm ’98 Hong Kong Sandy Wan ’90 Lambert Lau ’97 Jennifer Yu ’99 Seoul Ryan Jungwook Hong ’89, P ’19

REGIONAL CLUB LEADERSHIP

Shanghai T.C. Chau ’97 Michael ’88 and Peggy Moh P ’18

Boston Lovey Oliff ’97 Sarah Strang ’07

Thailand Pirapol Sethbhakdi ’85 Isa Chirathivat ’96

Chicago Maria Del Favero ’83 Jacqueline Salamack ’06

Tokyo Robert Morimoto ’89 Miki Ito Yoshida ’07

Connecticut David Aversa ’91 Katie Vitali Childs ’95

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CLASSNOTES | News from our Alumni

From the Archives SPRINGFEST 1993

Tift Merritt ’93 jams at Springfest 1993.

Merritt, a member of the 25th Reunion, is now a veteran Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician who has released six studio albums. Her latest, Stitch Of The World, has received critical acclaim.

1940s ’45 C

Jack Staub, Jim Pollock and Dick Cretella had a recent reunion luncheon in Palm Beach, Fla. All are happy to say that they are still on this side of the grass and raised a glass in memory of departed class members.

’47 C

Ernest E. Monrad writes, “We have followed the Biblical admonition and gone forth and multiplied.

Two of our grandchildren attended Choate and now Harvard (as I did). I married Elizabeth Haffenreffer (who has Choate cousins) in 1951, which is easily my best achievement.”

Arthur Rouner writes, “Molly and I live in a retirement community in Golden Valley, Minn., returning each summer to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, at our lakeside home on Lake Ossipee, where I still write, and preach, with Molly, at several summer chapels, row my racing shell in early morning, and paddle my canoe up a little nearby river each late afternoon. Molly and I still get to do our reconciliation work together, after 23 years of post-parish work in Africa. Our work is reconciliation through forgiveness, by 3-day healing retreats. Several were held this winter in Rwanda, Uganda, and Nepal. Regular retreats are done through the year in Minnesota and New Hampshire. A blog on my personal work is available at arthurrounerministries.com. A granddaughter will be married in late summer. We are grateful to be alive and well. My Choate education, especially in writing, has meant much to me. My roommates, Jack Downey and Jerry Feuer, have crossed over. I miss them. Blessings on all my remaining classmates.”

’48 RH Edie Thurlow Keasbey writes, “Looking forward to spring and my flower gardens and vegetable garden! I am also in touch with Dorothy Holbrook who reports that Sandy Sanderson is still the busy athlete that she was at RH. The class of 1948 is still to be heard from.”

’93

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 31

Send Us Your Notes!

We welcome your electronic submission of classnotes or photos 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.

32 CLASSNOTES

1950s ’50 C

Jay Davis writes, “I’d like to promote our 70th reunion in 2020, hoping that many are looking forward to attending this auspicious occasion. As for myself, no longer skiing, we relocated from Vermont to Sarasota, Fla., in 2014. I’ve taught in adult education and do volunteer work, and received the 2017 ‘Outstanding Volunteer’ award from the Sarasota Police Department.”

’51 C

Hedrick Smith writes, “I am currently editing a one-hour documentary for MSNBC on one of the great untold stories of American politics today – the success stories of citizen grassroots movements pushing for reforms in our political system to make it fairer, more inclusive, and more transparent. I have been reporting on these movements for the past three years on my website, reclaimtheamericandream.org and did most of the filming last year. The working title is The People vs. the Politicians. We expect to turn in the finished documentary in May and MSNBC plans multiple broadcasts. No broadcast date is set, but our doc is likely to be first broadcast in July or August. Choate Rosemary folk will be particularly interested because the citizens election program for public funding of election campaigns in Connecticut is one of our success stories. It is a model for the rest of the nation, having been in operation through five election cycles. The lesson, as Ellen Freidin of Fair Districts Florida puts it, is that America’s broken democracy can be fixed. ‘If you’re upset about it,’ says Freidin, ’Get out there and fix it.’”

’51 RH Joan Stulman Gilbert writes, “Each year, we would stage a beautiful Shakespeare play in the amphitheater of Rosemary Hall. Thus began my love of the theater. Still going at it by serving as Chairman of the Board of The Schoolhouse Theater and Arts Center in Croton Falls, N.Y. We have 100 nights of productions annually featuring new plays (equity actors only), jazz, soul and folk music, as well as readings.

LEFT Class of 1953 members gathered for lunch in Punta Gorda,

Fla., in March. From left: Arne Carlson, Ted McKee, Bob Lindeman and Woody Laikind.

My passion for the theater and how it enriches our lives continues unabated. Do join us in Croton Falls – northern Westchester County – for a wonderful and enriching evening.”

’52 C John Houx gave a poetry reading of his poems in March at the Flame Tree Gallery in Vero Beach, Fla. ’53 C Woody Laikind writes, “I am donating the diary of Alexander ‘Sandy’ Burr, Choate Class of 1913 to the New York Yankees for display in their museum.

Sandy Burr is in the Choate Athletics Hall of Fame, and his name is on a plaque in Mem House as one of the Choate alums who died in WWI. He spent one year with the Yankees after Choate graduation, and is one of two Choate graduates to play major league baseball. He is also one of eight major leaguers to die in WWI. In his diary, he mentions coming back to Choate for a weekend after graduation.” ’54 C

Jenk Jones writes, “I’m working my 20th year as a docent at The Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northern Oklahoma. I’ve written two books about the Tallgrass, which was the Conservancy’s first large land purchase and encouraged it to ’go big’ around the world. We keep an eye on 2,400 bison, whitetail deer and other critters. I also continue to do tour guiding, give talks on a variety of topics and present slide shows. I spent much of my life covering politics; wouldn’t want to today.”

RIGHT Sandy Alexander ’58, and wife Cathi, had lunch with Dock Murdock in Newport, R.I., during a stopover on a cruise to Montreal.

Bob McIntyre was recently quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle about the closing of a historic beer and hamburger joint in Menlo Park, Calif., the Oasis, a favorite hangout for Stanford students and local families for 80 years. The O, as it’s known, had lost its lease and would be closing its doors. Bob, Stanford class of ’58, started drinking beer there in college, stayed in Palo Alto, and raised five kids on burgers at the O. Says Bob, “It was a sad day as I had spent countless enjoyable hours there during my Stanford days, and because my kids and their friends too grew up loving the place.”

’54 RH Isabel Wien Malkin writes, “I speak to and see Sherry (Rebecca) Sutter Breed and talk and email Bethann Crane Sullivan, my roommate at RH. They both had wonderful marriages and husbands, who, sadly, have been gone for a long time. Sherry lives in Greenwich and has four marvelous children, three boys and a girl. One son lives here in Greenwich and is the Michael Breed who is well known in the golf world. Bethann is in Irvine, Calif. She has a lovely granddaughter and several small dogs. Both Sherry and Bethann are spirited ladies, and those are the ones that do more than just survive. Peter and I have lived in downtown Greenwich for over 10 years, in a small apartment. We have been blessed beyond measure and are grateful beyond measure, with new family members and new generations adding their numbers. The Rosemary campus in Greenwich is now one-half The Greenwich Japanese School and

’53 Bill Crosby ’53, of Vancouver, British Columbia was awarded the Order of Merit for Distinguished Services to the Nation by the President of Peru.

The Vice President of Peru bestowed the honor.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 33

Choate Board of Trustee member Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57, right, and Former Board member Ali MacGraw ’56, left, recently got together.

one-half Carmel Academy, a Jewish school. Both are day schools. The campus is well cared for and the chapel was restored beautifully several years ago. It is used for ecumenical marriages as well as small concerts and theatrical events. Greenwich is very much changed, but offers many opportunities to residents of all ages for full and worthwhile lives.”

’55 C

Peter Elebash writes, ”I recently drove up to Vero Beach for lunch with my classmate, Peter Seed. We reminisced about days of old, when Peter, myself and Jere Packard more or less ran student affairs. So long ago, but still dear to our hearts. My book, The Last Resort, is being re-published with the addition of a section called ‘The Fourth Quarter,’ covering what has happened in my life since the first release in 2014. My wife Jane suggested a better title would have been ‘Overtime’, due to my advancing age! The new book will be released by Legaia Books later this year. We still live in West Palm Beach and go to Newport for the summer. If you ever venture into Newport or South Florida, we would love to hear from any classmates.”

Phil Shailer writes that after Choate, he attended Yale, the Marine Corps, and Duke Law, in that order. At Duke, he met his wife, Midge Anderson, and they moved to Fort Lauderdale, where he practiced law for the next 50 years, including stints in elective office first as Public Defender and then as State Attorney.

He also served for several years as the city attorney of Ft. Lauderdale. Phil and Midge have two daughters, Leslie and Tracy; their son, Steven, passed away in 2009. They moved to Hollywood, Fla., several years ago, he says, “where we enjoy our wonderful condominium right on the ocean.” His only regret? ”We should have made the move sooner!”

Roger Vaughan writes, “No sign of retirement here. The concept has never appealed to me.

I’m lucky enough to do something I like, my brain and my fingers continue to collaborate, and I can do it sitting down most of the time, so why give it up? I had two more books published in 2017. One was Closing the Gap, a book I wrote for World Sailing about a terrific five-year program they have to bring third world kids who love to race boats up to speed. The other book is The Medal Maker, a biography of the world’s greatest sailing coach, Victor Kovalenko, a Ukrainian champion sailor and coach who was

successfully recruited by Australia in 1996. His teams have won ten Olympic medals, six of them gold.

Victor speaks to everyone who competes in any endeavor, at any level. In print from Cardinal Publishing; ebook from Barnes & Noble. In September, 2017, a film I wrote and co-directed with Joe Daniel about the last of the railroad moguls – Of Rails & Sails, the Life of Arthur Curtiss James – premiered in Newport, R.I., to a full house. I’m currently writing a biography of James (1869-1941), who was a leading philanthropist of his generation, not to mention a passionate sailor who put a total of 270,000 miles under the keels of three legendary yachts. And a great guy.”

’56 C Chan Everett writes, “I am enjoying retirement between Ohio and Florida with golf and singing taking up my leisure hours. I was really sorry to have missed Bob Gaines when he was in Vero Beach earlier this year, and perhaps can reconnect at our next reunion.” ’57 C Luis Roche writes, “I continue to write novels (17 of them in Spanish, and 1 in English). Most of them have been donated to the Choate Library. My wife and I have been traveling, first to visit our two kids (Alvaro and Alonso) who live in Washington, D.C. and who own a chain of restaurants called Bold Bite, in Bethesda, Md., and in D.C. Then we traveled to Madrid, where our oldest daughter, Beatriz Roche, lives. She is a professional photographer and writer.

Then to visit our other daughter, Nadine Roche, who lives in Coral Gables, Fla., and is an art dealer.” ’57 RH Gretchen Cooper Leach writes, “Bonjour everyone. My big news is that I have written a book, Letters from Paris. It’s a coffee table book that consists of the letters that I wrote when I was living in Paris and my husband, Howard Leach, was the U.S. Ambassador to France. We had an amazing life that covered a multitude of experiences and venues.

The book has been well received and it brings back memories that I never want to forget. Also, Howard and I are now living in Palm Beach, Fla., during the winter months; the summers are spent in Paris. I have had nearly 10 very fascinating years on the Board of CRH. What a great experience that has been!” ’58 C Archibald Delmarsh Jr. writes, “I arrived at The Choate School campus in September of 1952. I was age 12, 4’11” and a solid 75 lbs. My roommate that first year was Fred Stanton, a fellow about the same size as me. Memorial House was our headquarters. James Taylor ruled the roost and was a formidable and demanding, but fair, English teacher.

By the time I graduated in 1958, I had believed that I held the record for longevity on the Choate scene.

However, upon reading the Choate News, I believe that Phil Lintilhac was in attendance equally as long a time. My years at Choate were filled with a powerful commitment to sports and an equally strong inner

force committing myself to hard work in the area of academics. The years pass quickly. But, memories of Choate are still strong and the years I spent at Choate are among the most joyous of my life. Chris Norris I’ll never forget the greatest center ever!”

’59 C

Mike Harris writes that he has cut back on full time employment with his law firm. He and his wife, Sally, have become passionate photographers.

Specializing in cultural photography, they have had numerous gallery shows and regularly present photo essays to interested groups. Photos can be viewed at mikeharrisphotography. com.

Tim Herty writes, “We were talking about areas of weakness in our bible study at the end of February this year. For myself, I admitted that I was gullible. It goes back to my four years at Choate followed by my four years at The Virginia Military Institute. In those years the honor system was impeccable and everyone was a man of integrity.”

Falconer Jones writes, “Still in Naples, Fla., after 38 years. I have three sons; two living in Naples, one on the West Coast (but still has house in Naples).

Seven grandchildren. If any of you are in Naples or coming, please contact me at (239) 250-0660. My address is 4898 Berkeley Drive, Naples, FL 34112 and email is Falconcove@comcast.net”

Frank Pagliaro writes, “I continue to practice law in both California and New York, but I am taking more time with family since I have four grandchildren ages 9 ½ to 1 ½. My wife and I enjoy traveling and in the last three years we have been to Cuba, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong. This year we spent a week in Oaxaca, and in May we will travel to Namibia and South Africa. I look forward to our next reunion though I think that at this point, we should be having them every 5 years!”

Robert Ransone writes, “I am very blessed to be active in oil and gas activities with knowledgeable and caring partners. Our entity and website name is SRD Capital Advisors, LLC. We currently are advising three clients in the energy space. In addition, I am involved with three other energy consulting roles. I serve on the board of a family office and a private energy company in Austin. I am an emeritus member of the Stanford Petroleum Investments Committee and am on the boards of two energy-related tennis organizations WOTT in Houston and METT, which I founded in Dallas. My wife, Patti, and I are active in our church here in Dallas, and I lead a small bible study.”

’59 RH Patricia Deutsch Winter writes, “Still working as an artists’ manager representing classical musicians, some worldwide. My job requires a great deal of travel, including overseas 3 or 4 times a year. I have three fabulous grandchildren, 13, 14 and 17, who never cease to amaze me. I see Ann Carter Bossi in Maine a good deal; she lives across the water from my home in Maine. I have seen Mary Ann Kraus and Barbara Brittain Edgerton and have been in touch with Judy Wilson Nessa.”

34

CLASSNOTES | Profile

with

Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57

KJ: What were the simple pleasures you missed the most

while living in the Ambassador’s residence?

GCL: It did not always seem appropriate to prop up one’s

feet and leisurely enjoy a good book with a staff of 22 working so industriously around us, so that’s something I missed. Also, there was little opportunity to be spontaneous or have free time. There was always something to do and decisions to make. One had to be “dressed” for any occasion at all times, as you never knew if there was a photographer lurking about.

KJ: I remember when Barclay the “Ambassa-dog” came to the

Gretchen Cooper Leach has published Letters from Paris, a memoir that recalls her life as the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to France from 2001–2005. Here the author shares a few scooplets du jour with Katie Jewett, French teacher and Choate’s Director of Curricular Initiatives.

KATIE JEWETT: Many spouses of world leaders take on

a cause during their tenure. Is this also expected of an ambassador’s wife?

GRETCHEN: Not necessarily, but I wanted to have a cause and I took the notion seriously. I saw this role as one of service to my country in that it was an opportunity to better the image of the United States in France and in the world.

The American Hospital in Paris is a fantastic place that offers excellent care and services. It turned out that they were in need of a new mammogram machine while I was there. I put together an advisory council made up of both French and American philanthropists. We met monthly and despite being told we would never be able to come up with the necessary funds, we raised the $1 million within a year.

Choate campus back in 2009. What role did he play during your time with your husband (Ambassador Howard Leach) in Paris?

GCL: France is one of the most dog-friendly countries in the world, and thus Barclay was very well received there.

He flew over with us and played a huge role in our diplomatic lives. Barclay was invited EVERYWHERE in France – on hunting expeditions in the country and weekend visits to friends’ houses. He traveled on the train with us and was always, always at my feet when I wandered through events at our residence. He was very famous. A friend who is an artist painted many portraits of him. I still miss that dog.

INSIDE Letters from Paris FRENCH CREPES RECIPE

by GRETCHEN COOPER LEACH

KJ: How did your experience as an Ambassadrice change you?

GCL: I was married to the ambassador of France and that is

something that will always be a part of my identity. It can never be taken away. It was an amazing and unforgettable experience which I took very seriously. One is constantly judged when in that role and I still think about that and try to always put my best foot forward wherever I am. People still acknowledge the role that Howard and I played in France. Our time there will always be a huge part of our lives. Creating Letters from Paris was a wonderful opportunity to share this unique experience with others.

KJ: Besides your record of emails written to friends and

family during the four years you lived in Paris, you include some recipes from the Ambassador’s residence. May we share a recipe from the book with our readers?

GCL: Avec plaisir!

By Katie Jewett See Katie Jewett’s review of Letters from Paris on page 62.

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon white sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 3 eggs 2 cups milk 4 tablespoons butter, melted DIRECTIONS: 1. Sift together flour, sugar and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together with an electric mixer. Beat in flour mixture until smooth; stir in melted butter. Let stand for 1+ hours.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately ¼ cup for each crepe. Tip and rotate pan to spread batter as thinly as possible. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Makes 8 crepes.

3. Enjoy!

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 35

1960s ’60 C

Chip Brennan writes, “December 2017 was a tough month for our family. Our 49-year-old daughter, Cindy, was diagnosed with lymphoma and our 10-year-old English Setter died very suddenly …in three hours! Fortunately, 2018 has gotten off to a much better start. Cindy is responding well to her chemo therapy and her oncology team remain very optimistic that she’ll be cancer-free by June.

We recently adopted a 5-year-old English Setter named Max. It feels like he’s been a part of our family for 5 years, not 5 days. I skied for four days in Utah with my other daughter, Lisa, and my granddaughter, Katie. Great fun, and while I still am a more stylish skier … many Austrian Reverse Shoulder ski lessons …Katie skis circles around me. Mary and I had to postpone a trip to London. I’m taking Lisa and her family to Iceland, Denmark and Sweden in June. Lisa’s husband’s family emigrated from Falkoping in western Sweden and they’re planning some reunions. Finally, I’m taking my son-in-law, Whit, Atlantic Salmon fishing on the Jupiter River on Anticosti Island in the Canadian Maritimes at the end of June.”

’60 RH Carolina Minetto Lazzari writes, “After 29 years in the investment advisory and tax businesses I finally retired in May 2016. Much of the past two years has been spent catching up on deferred maintenance on myself, both expected and not.

I am pleased to report that with the completion of cataract removal, it is all over! My husband Lee and I are in the process of selling our way too large, high-maintenance property and plan to relocate to northeast Pennsylvania not only with the goal of reducing our property management duties, but being reasonably closer to family, and enjoying increased accessibility to the cultural life of NYC. We have four grandchildren under 10, and are expecting a fifth this fall. I also have two young adult granddaughters, one married and also expecting a child, my first greatgrandchild, and the other is engaged. My husband and I look forward to amping up travel to Europe and across the U.S. If anyone of my former classmates would like to be in touch, my email is lcml126@outlook.com.

’61 C

R. Morris Adams writes, “At the Indianapolis Alumni Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity’s annual luncheon held on December 15, 2017, I was named “Hoosier Sig of the Year”. It is an exceptionally huge honor, and the entire civilized world wonders just why I was so designated. Methinks they ran out of deserving candidates.”

’61 RH Ann Rippin Rae reports that she and her husband, James, are thoroughly enjoying the renovation of a 1762 historic home near the green in

Guilford, Conn. Daughter Kristin and son Matt live in Fairfield County with the grandchildren, so visits are frequent and full of fun. Ann is active as a decorative arts consultant and interior designer. She writes, “We continue to be active in the Episcopal church, especially in pastoral care. I value the R.H. years more and more and keep in touch with classmates … Altiora Peto.”

’62 C

Deaver Brown writes, “Still chugging along in my entrepreneurial activities starting with Alex Goodwin Levitch with the Umbroller Stroller in the ’70s, APC in the ’80s, and Simply Media since doing software, then audiobooks, and riding the Internet now with 600 downloadable eBooks and audiobooks.

My slowing down is reflected by taking 2 years at Umbroller, 6 at APC, and finally 22! at Simply Media to land Walmart. The endless shelf and the wonderful young people running the Internet make it a cakewalk compared to the old roller derby days of physical retail. Simply’s best-selling Emma Lathen mystery series, up on audio and eBooks and now as screenplays, is my final big project to get filmed. Michael Douglas ‘63 would be perfect to play John Putnam Thatcher, the SVP of a major bank, to peel back the emotional motives to get down to the money. Since I don’t have millions to tempt him, I am playing the role myself; I am cheap and will complete the filming!”

Preston Tyree married Ani Colt on August 18, 2017, and moved into new house in Austin, Texas.

F. John Wilkes, Jr. writes, “Of the many things I never learned while I was at Choate are the cultures, philosophies, art and religions of Southeast Asia.

In March, Gini and I flew to Singapore. We went on our first excursion to visit the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok along with 30,000 other tourists in 90-degree-plus temperatures. We continued our 20-day cruise up the Gulf of Thailand to Saigon, Hanoi, Shanghai, Hong Kong and finally a 3-day stay in Beijing before heading back to Port Liberte. Best to all my classmates. Keep doing those sit-ups in preparation for our 60th reunion. And if you are ever going by Exit 14A on the New Jersey Turnpike Extension, please swing by for a drink.”

’62 RH Davyne Verstandig writes, “I am still teaching various English courses at UConn: African Literature 20-21st centuries, Creative Writing, Survey African American Lit, Major Works of British and American Lit, and more. I am poet laureate of the town of Washington, still a Justice of the Peace, and I give two 4-day Writing Workshops at Wisdom House Conference & Retreat Center in Litchfield, Conn. I try to visit my grandsons twice a year in St. Marys, Georgia as my son-in-law is stationed there at the sub base. Still writing and working on a memoir which includes my various teaching experiences and I still give public readings of my work.”

’63 C

Richard Beach, Professor Emeritus of English Education at the University of Minnesota, recently co-authored the book, Teaching Climate Change to Adolescents: Reading, Writing, and Making a Difference. climatechangeela.pbworks.com

’63 RH Betsy O’Hara Stiefvater writes, “My husband, Clive Atherton, and I have recently moved into our new home in Lagos, Portugal, where we live year round now. We will have a family reunion in July, and my children will all be coming to Lagos with their families, Ella from Miami Beach, Penelope Jane from Brooklyn, and Peter Christopher from Hamburg. It will be exciting for sure. I wish you a successful reunion this year and wish I could be there – but can’t.” ’64 C

Doug Bibby writes in response to the Winter ’18 Bulletin feature on Tom Yankus ’52 and his induction into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame: “I was working on Cape Cod and happened to drive through Chatham on the 4th of July, 1965, when I spotted a “rent-a-cop” who looked suspiciously like Tom Yankus! We exchanged pleasantries, and he informed me that he was scheduled to pitch that very night. I decided to catch the game and was rewarded with Tom’s masterful no-hitter! He was one of the highlights of my time at Choate, and I proudly am the only Choatie to have witnessed his seminal pitching performance!”

Geoff Clarkson writes, “Still living in Greenwich, married to the wonderful Muffy Bullock Clarkson. Sons Geoff Jr. and Josh are happily married and live in Portland, Oregon and NYC, respectively.

Daughter Tracy remains in Costa Mesa, Calif. Two grandkids by Tracy … Kiori, 25, and Makane, who recently got his driving license and is likely terrorizing the streets of southern Calif. After four decades enjoying (at least most of the time) life in marketing and advertising, I finally retired nine years ago joining wife Muffy who retired three years prior after 30+ years in advertising.

For fun, I spend my time maintaining and exercising a couple of ‘60’s vintage race cars and playing guitar for an hour or so most afternoons in preparation for twice-a-month Greenwich Acoustic Music Circle meet ups. Sure as hell can’t complain!”

’65 C

Sperry MacNaughton writes, “We continue to thrive out here on the West Coast. John and Linda Callan made their annual pilgrimage to the warmth of Palm Springs, and we had a short but fun reunion. Mary and I get to see Nick and Mary Cook several times a year. Mary is in her 30th year at Scripps College. She is a full professor of Art History (she’s a Modernist ... what would you expect?) and the newly endowed Director of the Williamson Art Gallery which she has run for 25 years. I have retired from 30 years as a headhunter for colleges and universities and started a new company, AI MaintTech LLC, a reseller

36 CLASSNOTES

of artificial intelligence software products intended for the maintenance operations of heavy industry such as energy companies, cold storage warehouses, large buildings and convention centers, transit companies and aviation. I am partnered with a Sydney, Australia software developer (1Ansah Pty. Ltd.). I have to admit that it is a real challenge but great fun. The kids are doing well. Daughter Amanda is located in Salt Lake City, which gives us a wonderful excuse to do a little traveling. Matt lives in Santa Monica and is active in social media. Sorry that I missed the last reunion; we were cruising the Greek Islands and had our first visit to Jerusalem. We had a lovely time. I couldn’t find the Colossus of Rhodes, but I loved the old walled city. And for all of you who are considering a California move, remember, ‘give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.’ Now that California is a ‘Sanctuary State’, we’ll take whoever wants to come!

No matter what, we still produce the best wines in this great country.”

’65 RH Caroline Fairless released a new book, The God Presumption, in November, 2017, by an independent press. She writes, “I have accepted invitations for several radio talk interviews, and over the winter, with family in South Carolina, colleagues organized three book events. My husband Jim and I continue to facilitate retreats on behalf of The Center for Courage & Renewal, the most recent being held at Mepkin Abbey in SC, site of a former slave plantation. I enjoy the opportunity to design spacious retreats across a broad spectrum of professions and interests; most are earth-based and place-based.” For retreat information visit www.restoringthewaters.com.

Sarah Kernochan writes, “My husband threw a surprise 70th birthday party for me, inviting my closest friends. I was gobsmacked to see Deborah Choate, Lisa De Lima, Margot Botsford (all the way from New Orleans), and Glenn Close. Alas, Wendy Winslow died only a few months before, but Glenniebop and I paid her a Fingernails’ farewell visit and we laughed like

the lunatics we are. Dear Wendybop, how we will miss you. Rosemary friends grow more cherished with every passing year. In other news, I have completed a book-length memoir posted in installments on my blog: sarahkernochan.blogspot.com. It chronicles all my encounters with ghosts, spirits and the spiritual, throughout my life, so I call it a paranormal memoir.

(Currently seeking a literary agent.) I’m also starting work on an FX miniseries based on Truman Capote’s unfinished novel Answered Prayers.”

Susan Hall Mygatt became a grandmother again three times in the past year, with a granddaughter born to her youngest daughter last May, and a grandson born to each of her twin daughters within 18 days of each other in January – she calls these newest arrivals her ‘almost twins’! With the arrival of these three babies (joining her first grandson born in 2014), she feels newly entwined in her daughters’ lives in a deep and rewarding way.

Ann Sears writes, ”Those classmates interested in donating to the Rosemary Hall 1965 memorial bench and tree, in the memory of Julie Clark Goodyear and Wendy Winslow Lofting should contact me at searssunshine@comcast.net. We dedicated the bench and tree at our 50th Reunion.”

’66 C Rod Walker writes, “Maggie and I founded the Blue Ridge PRISM three years ago to battle invasive plants across almost 3 million acres of the northern Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. We have made terrific progress, and recently received the prestigious Dugdale Award for Meritorious Achievement in Conservation from the Garden Club of Virginia. If you are ever down Charlottesville way, let us know and do drop by.” ’67 C Doug Bryant writes, “I retired after a 45-year career in corporate banking, and given the horrible winters in New England, Cammie and I are spending more time in Florida. We continue to be members at the Hillsboro Club in Pompano Beach and we were

delighted to recently sponsor Bill and Patricia Brock for membership. Bill is still a phenomenal tennis player (way out of my league!), and we look forward to spending more time with them. This past winter, we rented for two months in Vero Beach, just a stone’s throw from my brother Bill’s (Class of 1959) place. Dan and Jodie Hunt just bought a house nearby, and I have played several rounds of golf with Tony Childs ‘68. I am growing to like this retirement thing!”

Selby Hinkebein writes, “Calling it a day at the end of May. After selling the family shoe business in 1985, I started my second career as a stockbroker.

Had I known how hard it would be to get started, I probably would not have become a broker. Lucky for me (and my clients) I put a very high percentage of them in Apple in 2004. Apple has absolved me of most of my previous sins. Oh, Cam Platt lives. You can contact him at his New Mexico number, at least when he is in the States.”

’67 RH Leigh Barnard Furda writes, “After five wonderful years living in northern California Greg and I are off on our next adventure. We are moving to Durango, Colorado to live close to our granddaughter, Bentley, age 7. The babysitting starts! I have lived in San Francisco, New York City, Barrington, Illinois, Chicago, the Florida Keys, Santa Rosa, California and now Durango. Every place has been an adventure and I hope this will be our last move but not last adventure. Our door is always open for guests, so come explore the southwest.”

Mary Lou Lange writes, “This year is my 31st working for the state of New York as a psychologist.

I continue to enjoy what I do and the challenges that that I face. The commute is a challenge as well across the new Tappan Zee Bridge - daily! Best wishes to all. Our 50th Reunion will always be in our minds and hearts.” ’69 C

Julian Lines stepped down from the Board of Auroville International after more than 20 years.

He attended Prime Minister Modi’s speech to honor Auroville’s work in ecological restoration in South India. Julian and his wife, Wendy, continue as Trustees of Matagiri Sri Aurobindo Center, where they are constructing a new super-insulated straw bale house outside of Woodstock, N.Y.

’69 RH Page Allen writes, “Life is a gift each day,

LEFT Lloyd Miller ’67 and his wife Marguerite

CENTER Susan Hall Mygatt ’65 became a

moved to Silverthorne, Colorado, from Maryland. Pictured here with their two sons and their wives and first grandson. Another grandson arrived in February 2018.

grandmother again with a granddaughter born to her youngest daughter last May, and a grandson born to each of her twin daughters in January.

RIGHT Page Allen ’69 and partner, Vic John-

son, at their home in Northern New Mexico.

one that I meet here in Santa Fe looking towards the mountains, or, at my partner’s small ranch, looking towards the river that flows southward through his Cottonwood bosque. I am blessed to live in places that the wildlife can enter and depart easily, deer, elk, coyotes and many birds. They are often my models and inspiration in my studio, painting and writing. I show still with the Owings Gallery here, and you can see new work on their website. My grandson, Otis, is 10 and a great boy, enjoying skiing and skateboarding and ever precious screen time. Nieces and nephews are flourishing in their fields, from nursing to fine art.”

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 37

CLASSNOTES | Profile

’63

Tom Wilcox

Discovering His Roots Researching one’s genealogy, says Tom Wilcox ’63, is a combination of detective work and a hunt for buried treasure. He ought to know; for seven years – 2006 to 2013 – he was Vice President and COO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the world’s largest society dedicated to family history research.

The nonprofit Society, with a staff of more than 90, has more than 250,000 members, and every year hears from many more people interested in finding more about their roots. Tom says some of them worry that because it is located in Boston, the Society is mostly aimed at those interested in discovering relatives who came over on the Mayflower. That’s far from the truth, he notes; the NEHGS has close ties to the American Jewish Historical Society and has also had success in helping trace African American ancestors.

Its research specialties include Chinese, Native American, French Canadian, Irish and many other genealogies.

He himself has taken advantage of the service the NEHGS provides. “I knew I had a Revolutionary War soldier on my mother’s side,” he says, “but I have found out a whole lot more about not only my American, but my Irish ancestry.”

The Society’s staff “are phenomenal sleuths,” he says, who not only can steer interested people to the best historical sources but, just as important, “can help them figure out which parts of a mountain of information are good for their search.” Church records, tax rolls, slave census reports – “all of these can help people find out who their ancestors were,” he says.

Tom came to the NEHGS by a somewhat roundabout route.

After graduating from New York University, where he majored in history, he spent 24 years at Hartford (Conn.) National Bank and its successors, leaving as a Senior Vice President in 1994 to become Executive Director of the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine.

“As soon as I started that job,” he says, “I said to myself, ‘I should have done this 10 years ago’.”

The museum position combined two of his lifelong loves: history (“which I always think of as a lot of fascinating stories”) and boating.

Tom grew up in Connecticut’s Fairfield County, but his family vacationed – and still does – in the marine town of Shelter Island, at the eastern end of Long Island. He and his wife, Annie, now live in the Connecticut River town of Essex, and in season may frequently be found on their boat, a Seaway 24 outboard-powered lobsterboat that is also named Annie. In the past few years, in this boat and its predecessors, he has traveled up the Hudson River, down the Intracoastal Waterway to Florida, and much more.

For Tom, retirement does not mean simply sitting back, or even taking to the water. In the fall of 2016 he was named to the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut River Museum, conveniently located in the same town – Essex, Conn. – where he and Annie live. Last year, he was named its Chairman. The museum collects books, art, and other artifacts relating to New England’s longest river.

Tom still remains a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s Council, where his work continues to serve him. “Recently,” he says, “I was to give a talk involving the 19th century riverboat captain Frederick H. Beebe, but I couldn’t find a picture of him – and a picture would greatly enhance the talk.

Using skills that I learned through the NEHGS, and the Internet, I learned that the captain had a son, who had a daughter, who had a daughter, who had a son who now lives in Madison, Conn. I called, left a message, and almost immediately got a call from his wife, who was the family historian and had lots of good information – including photos.”

And Tom continues to find out more about his roots. “Not long ago, I heard about a group called the Flagon and Trencher Society,” he says. “Those are people whose ancestors were colonial-era tavern-keepers. I thought I might qualify, so I did the research.

“It turns out,” he says, “I am descended from four of them.” by henry mcnulty ’65 Henry is a regular Bulletin contributor and classnotes editor.

38 CLASSNOTES

1970s

Jeff Sturges ’66, President & CEO, RESOLUTE Racing Shells, delivered a boat to Choate last summer that was raced by the CRH girls at the Head of the Charles Regatta this fall.

’70 C Jay Moorhead and Rick Petree, co-founders of investment banking boutique Global Power Partners LLC (www.gpowerpartners.com), are leading advisors to developers and owners of renewable energy generating plants around the world. They’re particularly active in solar, wind and biomass-topower, and also see energy storage as a growing asset class. Their projects are both ”utility scale” and “distributed generation” (where the electricity is consumed where it is generated). Jay and Rick are based in NYC and would love to hear from anyone in the Choate Rosemary community with renewable energy projects that need financing. Jay’s email: j.moorhead@gpowerpartners.com. Rick’s email: r.petree@gpowerpartners.com.

Strat Sherman writes, “Meredith and I have become bicoastal, on the way to moving to San Francisco. My work at www.accompligroup.com has been principally in Silicon Valley for years. Would be happy to see old friends on the west coast.” ’70 RH Terry O’Neill, Former President of NOW (National Organization of Women), has been appointed Executive Director of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA). Founded in 1985, NELA’s mission is to advance employee rights and serve lawyers who advocate for equality and justice in the American workplace.” Terry received the Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Award in 2011.

’71 C Frank W. Gerold writes, “It has been both sad and rewarding living in Houston, Texas the past several months. Like thousands of others, our home was

’66

flooded in the Hurricane Harvey disaster. The bottom floor of my home was destroyed. Such an odd feeling striding through knee-high water inside one’s home.

I guess my thinking was that floods only happened to other people on the news! Houstonians demonstrated their care for others in this disaster; kindness and support came from everyone in town; volunteers came from all over the state and country to help. It is good to be alive and good to see the progress of rebuilding.”

Dan McCrimons writes, “I have been actively involved in a general pediatric practice in Sacramento, Calif., for 36 years, as well as teaching medical students, nurse practitioners, and family practice residents.

After 13 years of research and writing, I have finally published a historical fiction novel entitled Diamonds in the Water. It is the first of three books weaving a host of fictitious characters (six generations of one family) who interact with actual historical figures and events . My older son is a school principal and getting married in October, and my other son is finishing his second year of medical school in Chicago.”

’71 RH Leslie Tcheyan writes, “My daughters, Octavia, and Thea, and I, have recently launched a successful, whimsical and colorful jewelry company called Of Rare Origin. Our unique collection is now being sold in notable boutiques across the US and online at www.ofrareorigin.com. Of Rare Origin was even featured in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Ave, NYC! Our brand builds on my 30 years of experience in jewelry manufacturing as well as my daughters’ careers in communications and curation.

Everything is handmade in Italy, so we spend a fair bit of time changing time zones and enjoying pasta!

Check us out at ofrareorigin.com and @ofrareorigin! ’72 C

Haryaksha Gregor Knauer is running a no-gift campaign for U.S. House on the Green Party line in Arizona’s Congressional District 4 this November, as the peace candidate.

Kim Oler writes, “2017 was a good year. Last May’s 45th reunion, like our 40th, was totally cool and perfectly planned. The torrential rains could not dampen spirits thanks to excellent food, an excellent dance band, great seminars from our classmates, and ... great classmates. And having a daughter, Liz, who graduated from Choate in 2004, I must report that the education she received was extraordinary. She thrived at UMass Amherst, and she thanks Choate for challenging her in every way, teaching her good study skills, and generally opening wide her eyes to a broadening world. She will soon be completing a 4-year residency in Ob/gyn at Johns Hopkins and beginning a 3-year fellowship in maternal fetal medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. And ... getting married in October to a terrific guy. Thank you, Choate, for giving our family lots to be grateful for.”

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 39

’73 C

Bruce Burnett writes, “This past November, I sold Antrev, the property management company I founded 35 years ago. The plan is to increase the time and energy that Lori and I have dedicated over the past 10 years to augment Third World social development projects. Since retirement I’ve been working more hours than when I had a real job. Other than the pay, it’s been a great experience.”

’73 RH Martha Alexander writes, “Looking forward to seeing classmates at reunion. I have almost finished writing a children’s book and am doing T-shirt designs. I have started travelling quite a bit – went to Slovenia last fall, to Nicaragua in January, and going to the Grand Canyon and Bryce, etc., in April, and Romania next September.”

Caroline Bissell d’Otreppe writes, “I have one more career in me, and that is to build an integrated community that will transition recent graduates with Autism Spectrum Disorder from student life to independent living and gainful meaningful employment. The site might be the campus of a seminary built in the 1960s overlooking the Connecticut River. The dream is to have this be an integrated community where residents in town will come for recreation and dining and where residents will participate in community life and build on their skills and interests. The challenge is to make this a self-sustaining community, affordable to most, and successful in providing a transitional experience. Join Partnering to Reach Aspirations if you are interested in helping make this a possibility for the many young adults with ASD. Looking forward to sharing student experiences of the past, present, and future at our 45th Reunion in May.” ’74 RH Anne Ayres Mosychuk reports the birth of her first granddaughter. Caroline Mosychuk is the daughter of John and Kristine Mosychuk. John spent several summers working at Choate. Caroline would have been Ted Ayres ’46’s first great-grandchild.

Stuart Tilt writes, “I am happily living in Vero Beach, Fla. – a true paradise! Working in real estate sales which I had done previously for years while living in Bozeman, Mont. Also have a design business, which is a nice dovetail to the real estate business and something I had done while in Wash D.C., years ago. So now I do both! Keeps me busy. Living with Lee Bowden and our three dogs. He and I love to shoot sporting clays, scuba dive, ski and play on our boat.

My son is living the dream as a property manager in Telluride, and my daughter is working for Accenture and living in Seattle. If anyone comes through Vero, let me know so we can catch up! My cell is (203) 5178556, email is stuarttilt@gmail.com.”

’75 C

Classmates John Geoghegan and Linda Briggs McCulloch celebrated life and a 40-year friendship in Sonoma with a bit of wine tasting. They report they are safe and sound after the wildfires!

Bob Kaiser writes, “My life partner of 26 years, Timothy S. Deal, and I were married at Borough Hall, Brooklyn, N.Y., on December 22, 2016. We were never particularly interested in marriage for ourselves, but when we finally did tie the knot we got it, understand it for ourselves and could not be happier.

Tim is a senior associate architect at Robert A.M. Stern Architects in Manhattan, where he specializes in single family residences. I am still practicing and teaching Uechi Ryu karate. I now teach teachers and after more than 40 years’ training I was awarded the rank of 8th degree in August 2017. We moved to Brooklyn Heights 10 years ago and find ourselves surrounded by the names of many former classmates.

We live on Remsen Street, a couple blocks from Pierrepont Street, and not far from Lefferts Boulevard; a daily reminder of great times and friends from my three years at Choate Rosemary Hall.”

’75 RH Maggie Moffitt Rahe writes, “I am working as a fours teacher at Christ & Holy Preschool in Westport, Conn., and I love my job. My teachers at Choate blazed the trail for me in empowering me to teach. Teaching is my passion and I enjoy spreading the love to help others. In fact, the 4-year-olds brought in toothbrushes, toothpaste and travel size soaps to help children in Puerto Rico who are without power. The charitable child giving program was established by our new director and made possible by a family who relocated to Westport from Puerto Rico. Note: the smallest child can make a difference.”

’76 C Jim Bryan has been a litigation attorney in North Carolina for 28 years (Nexsen Pruet, P.L.L.C.). He recently became a Fellow in the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel, a prestigious recognition in his field. He is also the chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section Council. And he is the practice group leader of the law firm’s Torts, Insurance and Products practice group. Bryan has two sons – Shep – Class of 2010, and Warren. He has been married 28 years to Tomi. ’77 C Tim Jones and Lynn Hasting Jones write, “2018 is our 30th year of wedded bliss. As a result, we will be taking a 2 week trip that will start in Geneva for about 4 days where Lynn lived for a while as a young girl, a storied city. We will then ‘train’ our way through the Chunnel, a first for both of us, to London and spend a few days there. We will then fly to Barbados play some golf and relax on the beach thinking about our next 30 years.” ’78 The Class of 1978 had a reunion dinner at Steven Rockefeller’s home in February. The Class of 1978 is excited for their 40th Reunion.

1

2

3

4

5

1 Bruce Burnett ’73, now re-

tired, is engaged in Third World social development projects.

2 Stuart Tilt ’74 is living in Vero Beach, Fla., working in real estate sales and in her design business.

3 Bob Kaiser ’75, right, and his partner of 26 years, Timothy S. Deal, left, were married at Borough Hall, Brooklyn, N.Y., on December 22, 2016.

4 Cary Grinold ’73 and family

celebrating two birthdays, 1 day apart at Amelia Island, Fla. From left, Galen, Kendall, Lynne, Cary, Kyle, Hank.

5 Doug Buck ’75, son John, and wife Bobbie at their house on Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas.

Doug and Bobbie started the world’s first Lionfish Derby on Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos 10 years ago.

40

CLASSNOTES | Profile

Paul Bottino

’83

Welcoming Startups Not since Mark Zuckerberg quit college in 2005 to develop a startup venture called Facebook has a Harvard dropout become a world-famous entrepreneur. For that, Harvard owes a debt of gratitude to Paul Bottino ’83.

That’s because Bottino is charged with making Harvard a place where undergraduates bitten by the entrepreneurism bug actually want to stay through graduation. Now students eager to test blockchain applications or markets for edible insects no longer need flee Harvard Yard. They receive academic credit for such endeavors through Bottino’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (TECH), housed at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

TECH lets students design coursework around their own business venture ideas and also compete for startup prize money. It works in part, Bottino says, because students are pursuing what deeply motivates them.

“There’s a real developmental moment where you’re doing stuff for authority, [and then comes] that moment of, ‘I want to do this for myself. This is what I want to do’,” says Bottino, TECH’s Executive Director. “That is the linchpin of education that sticks.”

Driving questions compel startup-hungry students to investigate everything from demographics to spending patterns, production feasibility to manufacturing costs – whatever they need to know for their venture. He says they learn from educators who act more like an ideas coach or a guide-on-the-side than a sage-on-the-stage who, in traditional education, transmits accepted knowledge for students to absorb.

Innovation education has needed time to take root at Harvard, where traditional approaches have long trumped whatever’s new and untested. Before Bottino founded the Center in 2000, Harvard undergraduates were forbidden to create startup companies. That prohibition was lifted and replaced by a new ethos: “Let’s not be inhospitable to the next Bill Gates,” Bottino says, referring to another famous Harvard dropout who left in 1975 to start Microsoft.

But creating an entrepreneur-friendly environment didn’t happen overnight. When Gates returned to speak at Harvard in the early 2000s, Bottino wrote the introductory remarks, which pointed to the not-yet-realized promise of TECH. “I wrote that Bill was only here for two years. You might need more time. And Mark [Zuckerberg] was in the audience,” Bottino says. “So the next Bill Gates was in the audience, trying to soak up that kind of culture, and we were not promoting it.”

Over the past decade, Bottino has expanded the range of what students can pursue in terms of startup ideas. Now when he studies the 27 headshots of current students on his office wall, each face represents a different type of enterprise that’s getting an early stage tryout at Harvard.

On one level, innovation education is challenging what it means to get a Harvard education. To be sure, students still need to study the likes of physics, mathematics, history and literature. Without such tools, Bottino says, “you don’t know what you’re seeing” when you gather information from various sources for a startup enterprise. It requires that students be nimble learners who draw from a wide array of sources, including potential customers, technical reports and raw statistics. It would be hard to imagine anything more interdisciplinary than formulating a startup, which Bottino regards not so much as a corporate prototype or profit-making vessel. He sees the startup, at least initially, as a “knowledge probe” and a “research modality.”

“That’s the essence of innovation education,” Bottino says.

“Technology, social mores, and attitudes and beliefs are changing.

So all of that change creates opportunities. Old meanings become meaningless. You need to supply the new meanings.”

What Paul and TECH might be disrupting most in the end are attitudes about entrepreneurship. He’s long heard the conventional wisdom: entrepreneurs are born, not made, and it takes a certain personality type to succeed in a startup enterprise.

But Paul sees entrepreneurism as something much more accessible than conventional wisdom would allow. Across 18 years of overseeing TECH at Harvard, he’s come to regard it as a method anyone can learn. What’s more, anyone can benefit from learning it.

“In your law office, your dental office, your factory – anywhere this talent is going to go – you’ll be met with: ‘Hey, things are changing. How do we create new meaning to create new value? Because if we don’t, if we just hold on tight, we’re going to lose’,” Bottino says.

“I’m trying to give these guys an opportunity to experience what it feels like to venture like that … to be at that cusp and innovating.”

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald ’87 G. Jeffrey MacDonald ’87 is an author and journalist who lives in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 41

LEFT Tom Towers ’84 with wife

Liz, and their three children, from left, Tommy (15), Jayne (13), and Brody (10). The family lives in New Canaan, Conn.

CENTER James Reardon ‘83 with the Honorable Dr. Riyad Insanally, Ambassador to the United States from Guyana, in Washington, D.C. on February 17, 2018.

RIGHT Larry Rush ’80 and Lee Smith ’80 attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) Conference in Washington D.C. in March.

’78 Robin Lauren Derby is associate professor of Latin American history at UCLA and has been teaching there since 2002. Her publications include the prize-winning The Dictator’s Seduction: Politics and the Popular Imagination in the Era of Trujillo; (co-editor) Activating the Past: History and Memory in the Black Atlantic World; (co-editor) The Dominican Republic Reader; and articles on Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. She has a book project with fellow alumnus Richard Turits, a collection of shared essays called Terreur à la frontière: le massacre des Haïtiens en République dominicaine en 1937, Watson Denis, ed., to be published with C3 Editions, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2018. Her current book project, which considers werewolves in light of the ‘animal turn’ is based on oral testimony of demonic animal apparitions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and is entitled Werewolves and other Bêtes Noires: Sorcery as History in the Haitian-Dominican Borderlands. She has three boys. The eldest is in the combined fiveyear BA program in Jazz performance and anthropology at the New School, in addition to identical twin boys who will graduate from high school this year and who are trying to figure out where to go to college right now. Her husband, Andrew Apter ’74, teaches African and Atlantic world history at UCLA.

James Isaacs writes, “Looking forward to the reunion in May! I am on my fifth entrepreneurial company-building experience in Silicon Valley. Page and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary, and all three boys are ”launched” – two gainfully employed and one in college. We enjoy family cycling in the summer through Europe and have been to France twice, Czech Republic, Austria, and Ireland.” ’79 Caroline Arlen writes, “I recently moved to San Luis Obispo, Calif., from Durango, Colo., where I had lived for 20 years.” In 2017, Caroline was a recipient of a LAURA Short Fiction Award, named in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and sponsored by Women Writing the West (WWW). You can read the piece she authored, The Tent, at: womenwritingthewest.org/ lauraJournal.html.

1980s ’80 Larry Rush and Lee Smith attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington D.C., where Lee was a speaker on the current conditions in Lebanon and how those are affecting the rest of the Middle East. Says Larry, “Lee was great! Congratulations to my daughter Sarah Rush ’18 on her upcoming graduation from Choate and my son JP Rush on his acceptance to the Class of ’21.” ’81

Tom Colt writes, “My wife, Megan, and I moved to Shanghai in August 2017. I enjoy my work as a college counselor at Shanghai American SchoolPuxi. In early December, I attended a Choate alumni/ parent club dinner on the Bund and had the opportunity to meet school administrators. Megan and I have taken advantage of travel opportunities thus far with trips to Korea (twice, including for the Olympics), Hong Kong, Bali/Lombok, Harbin, and Phuket.”

Michael T. van der Veen was recently elected to the Philadelphia Bar Association Board of Governors. The Philadelphia Bar Association, founded in 1802, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious associations of lawyers in the United States.

Kurt Willett was delighted to work with Choate Choral Director Alysoun Kegel and the talented students of the Festival Chorus singing the title role in their May 4th performance of Part I. of Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. Charles Calotta ’13 sang the role of Obadiah and student soloists included Lily Kops ’18 (soprano), Will May ’19 (bass), Graysen Airth ’18 (Angel), Mia Rubinstein ’18 (Widow) and Scott Romeyn ’18 (Ahab) in this exciting collaboration of students, faculty and alumni in the Seymour St. John Chapel.

In addition, Kurt was pleased to share the stage with chorus members Elizabeth Quinn ’20, daughter of Tony Quinn ’80 and Lily Smyth ’20, daughter of John Smyth ’83.

’82 Lynn Dale, Principal, Lynn Dale Events, was a guest lecturer at both an undergrad and graduate level at the Boston University School of Hospitality.

She spoke on the topics of Special Event Planning and Operations (undergrad) and Meeting Planning & Special Events Management (grad). In addition to sitting on the boards of the Boston Ballet and the Boston Symphony, she has also recently been elected to the Museum of Fine Arts Board of Advisors. ’83

Ricardo Ball writes, “Married for the second time on March 17, 2018 to Adriana Solorzano MD. We co-founded a physical rehabilitation center in Caracas. My Daughter, Isabella ’13, works for Louis Vuitton in NYC and my son, Ricky, will graduate with a degree in Economics in May from Trinity College.”

’84

Patrick T. Clendenen writes, “I will return to Connecticut to practice law with my father and his partner soon. I look forward to seeing more of everyone in Wallingford.”

Janell Denler received her master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia in 1992. Her recent work is featured on the cover of the March 2018 issue of LUXE San Francisco.

Tom Towers writes, “I have been working at Barclays in NYC for the last nine years as equity derivative sales trader, which I enjoy a great deal. My wife, Liz, and I, and our three children live in New Canaan, Conn., where for the last 14 years, I have coached youth football, basketball, and lacrosse. Still playing lacrosse, albeit a bit slower. Last April, I met George Stein, Scott Hickey, Bill Ryan, Greg Williams, Noel Williams, Joe Madden, and Coach Lou Young for a CRH Football get together in Las Vegas, great time. Return trip next April for those interested, ping George Stein!”

42

CLASSNOTES | Profile B: What do you remember most about your Choate experience?

CR: I think I was the only British student at that time. I liked that

there were so many kids from interesting and diverse backgrounds from all over the States. Their parents had different jobs, for example, I remember one friend’s father was a famous folk singer and another friend’s father had started a literary journal. I loved sports and played soccer and learned to play squash. I had a really lovely French teacher, Emily Toll. Choate opened up my thinking and had a big impact on my life. I’m very grateful that I went there.

B: How did you get started in the museum field?

CR: After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, I went back to

the U.K. and got a master’s in social and political thought. I thought I was going to stay in academia, but it wasn’t really for me. So I went into academic publishing and then a few years later decided to become a teacher. I continue to draw on my teaching experience in terms of stakeholder management and understanding how people learn in different ways. While I was teaching, I had a friend who was working for a digital agency that won a contract with Cadbury’s chocolate to make digital learning resources for schools.

It was still very early days for eLearning and I was one of the few people working in this area with classroom experience. At the same time, museums were just starting massive digitization programs in the U.K., trying to get their collections online and shared with the public. There was potential to develop amazing learning resources with some of the most incredible collections in the world.

with

Carolyn Royston ’83

Digital Innovator Carolyn Royston’s new position at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York is so cutting-edge that they created a new job title just for her – Chief Experience Officer (CXO).

Carolyn’s mission is to improve the visitor experience including the digital experience, something she has been doing successfully at leading museums in the U.K. and the U.S. for the past 20 years.

She recently was the inaugural director of digital and information services at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and before that was head of digital at the Imperial War Museums in London. Located in the historic Carnegie mansion, the Cooper Hewitt is launching a new strategic plan to weave digital into everything they do.

BULLETIN: Your older siblings went to traditional British boarding

schools. How did you end up at Choate Rosemary Hall?

CAROLYN ROYSTON: When I was 12, my parents moved to Great

Neck, an area on Long Island. I had been at an all-girls private school in London called Queens College. Great Neck Junior High was a bit of a culture shock, so I got it in my head that I wanted to go to boarding school, but not be too far away from my parents, so Connecticut seemed like a good option.

B: How has digital media changed the visitor experience?

CR: Digital now permeates every area of museum activity. Social

media has also dramatically changed the relationship that museums have with our visitors. Now we can engage in conversations on platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and encourage Instagrammable moments and “snackable content” that people can easily share with their friends. For example, at the Cooper Hewitt we have something called the Immersion Room where people create their own wallpaper, and then they take a selfie, with the wallpaper as backdrop and share it. It’s the best advert for the museum. My job is to think about what’s next for the visitor experience at the Cooper Hewitt and to think about how we can utilize new technologies to create great signature digital experiences. Imagine seeing the Carnegie mansion as it was; or not just making wallpaper but imagining it in your living room or looking at an object and being able to ‘virtually touch it’ and find out information about it as if you’re holding and looking at it.

B: What advice would you give those who are interested in following in your footsteps?

CR: I think museum technologists come from a variety of backgrounds, there isn’t really one specific pathway. There are all sorts of roles within the field ranging from being a software engineer to a product manager and a designer. I do think it helps to have an interest in art, design or history. I think you also have to be someone who is flexible and a creative thinker and to be able to work well in teams and collaborate with others. One of the greatest things about working in a museum is the opportunity to get up close to the collections and to work in wonderful buildings. It really is a privilege.

By connie gelb ’78 Connie Gelb ’78 is an English teacher and freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.

’86

Caleb Foster and Ben Sylvester ’87 licensed their Washington State winery, Gunpowder Creek, in Richland, Wash. www.gunpowdercreek.wine. Caleb, with his 25 years producing wines in Washington and around the world, guides their new project. Lifelong friends, and raised as faculty brats since 1970, Caleb and Ben named their winery for their old home place where as children, they spent many hours jumping over and falling in Gunpowder Creek on campus by the Winter Ex. Once good and wet, they’d head home happy as clams.

Kyle Hopkins writes that she and her husband teach at Buffalo Seminary, an all-girls’ independent school in downtown Buffalo – “He teaches history and I have created and teach a four-year girl-empowerment program. As a teacher, I get sent a lot of links to interesting, thought-provoking, and meaty articles about the education world. I recently received a link to an education article. I opened it and there was a picture my fellow Choatie/classmate, The Rev. Adam Greene, Head of School at Episcopal School, Jacksonville. Say what??!”

The Spirit of Tyler

’87

Jessica Goldberg Carr left her program management job in International Technology at Amazon to return to school to get an MS in humancentered design and engineering at the University of Washington. She ran into fellow alum Jeff Pettiross ’88, who was a speaker at the 2017 Puget Sound World Usability Day conference.

Gabriel Kahn writes, “It finally happened: I have as an undergrad a student in one of my USC classes who went to Choate. She is clearly one of the brightest bulbs in the class, which is encouraging.

She was also born many years after we all graduated, of course, so the shared memories of the place are few. Still, having lived either overseas or on the West Coast for the past 20 years, I’ve had very little contact with Choate, so I appreciate the connection.”

Kevin Kassover has been hired as executive director, New York, for the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (CCRM). He is charged with managing operations and expansion in the New York region for one of the most respected and successful fertility clinics in the world. He writes that he is excited to be back in New York, and is looking forward to connecting with the local alumni. He can be contacted at kassover@gmail.com.

Pebble Kranz, MD was recently recognized as a fellow of the European Committee on Sexual Medicine, joining a select group of only 10 other physicians in the United States with this certification.

In addition to her work in primary care, she now has a private sexual medicine consultation practice with her husband, Daniel Rosen, who is an AASECT certified sex therapist. The Rochester Center for Sexual Wellness www.rochestercenterforsexualwellness.com provides comprehensive evaluation and treatment for sexual concerns in people of all genders.

’90

Tyler Rigg Foundation Trustees, from left, Ginger Knowlton, Kathleen McGee ’90, Kristin Rothballer, David Wood ’89, Hannah Lintner ’90, Kristin Browne, Rusty Rigg, Dedee Rigg, Gerald Rigg, and Ben Sinnamon ’90.

A 20-Year Adventure in Generous, Risk-Taking, Adventurous Philanthropy Tyler Linfert Rigg ’90 was a free spirit and a generous young man who touched many at Choate and beyond through his kindness, love, and loyalty. In 1996, Tyler died in an automobile accident.

Tyler’s family – parents Dedee and Jerry, and brother Rusty – invited a few of Tyler’s close friends from Choate and Kenyon College to meet with them annually to remember him and his life.

Choate friends included: Hannah Lintner ’90, Kathleen McGee ’90, Ben Sinnamon ’90, and David Wood ’89. In 1998, the group established the Tyler Rigg Foundation.

His family witnessed Tyler come alive again through shared memory and storytelling. As his mother recalls, “We set out collectively to honor Tyler’s life by furthering his interests and values. More than anything, he loved his friends. Sharing time with them meant, and continues to mean, the world to us.”

In the past decade, the Foundation, whose work involves social welfare, youth empowerment, disability issues, and environmental stewardship has increased in size. Recipients range from Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farming, encouraging understanding of nutrition, food production, and healthy living; to the Bay Cliff Health Camp, where children with disabilities pursue intense physical and occupational therapies; to The Growe Foundation, which has been at the national forefront of teaching children about healthy eating and caring for the environment; to the FLY Foundation, which helps fund cancer survivors’ daily expenses. To date, the Tyler Rigg Foundation has donated a total of more than $665,000.

The Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and is establishing the “Spirit of Tyler Award,” a one-time, larger grant donation to a specific entity or group. “The main thing,” observes Trustee David Wood ‘89, “is to recover in some way the utter brilliance of Tyler’s life and the importance Choate played in the bright flash that ended for him at age 23.”

To learn more about the Tyler Rigg Foundation, please visit: www.tylerriggfoundation.org or www.facebook.com/TylerRiggFoundation

44 CLASSNOTES

Joel Bauman, MD ’96 was the first neurosurgeon in New England to perform a Mazor X robotic spinal fusion surgery.

Amanda Murray writes, “After the closing of Weinstein Books (the book imprint associated with Harvey Weinstein), I am now an executive editor at Hachette Books in New York.” Last year she also joined her parents as a member of The Murray Team at Corcoran real estate. She and her two children are busy and happy in Quogue, on the East End of Long Island.

Alfred D. Watts led a team of 20 missionaries on a 12-day trip in October 2017 to Bangalore, India, where he built and dedicated a church, conducted a pastor’s conference, ministered to widows, lepers and orphans; and conducted several medical clinics.

’92

’88

’93

Kevin Day writes, “After 4 years in LA, I’ve recently relocated back to NYC. I also just launched a new real estate venture called Evopolis, Inc., which acquires and preserves affordable housing in D.C., and other markets. Looking forward to the reunion!”

1990s ’91 Daniel Langenthal lives in Cambridge, Mass.

He is the Director of the Leadership Development Institute at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. Essentially that means he is an organizational consultant to Jewish organizations in the Boston area helping them with such issues as conflict resolution, board development, visioning work and change management. He is on the boards of MABAT (the non-profit he founded in Israel, www.mabat.org) and City Sprouts which incorporates urban gardening in local public school education. He volunteers with the local Hevra Kadisha. He spends his free time hanging out with friends, seeing live music and playing outdoors.

Len Small and Bene Cipolla recently worked together when Len designed the logo for an event Bene produced at Chalkbeat, the nonprofit news organization where she is executive editor. Len is also the Co-President of ICON: The Illustration Conference, an international arts gathering happening in July in Detroit.

Paul Lantos writes, “I am currently Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine and the Duke Global Health Institute, and I was recently awarded the Early Career Research Award by the Duke Division of General Internal Medicine. I do a combination of clinical work in infectious diseases and general hospital medicine. My research is focused on statistical mapping of infectious diseases. I have run workshops on disease mapping techniques for public health personnel in Mongolia and China. I live in North Carolina with my wife, Dr. Gretchen Green, and our two children Max (10) and Julia (8).”

Sarah Rand writes, “I moved from New York state to a lake community in Danbury, Conn., with mountain views with my two boys, Max (11) and Jack (7) this past fall. Happily enjoying my 11th year at Wooster School in Danbury as a middle school art teacher and dean of students. I continue to pursue photography on my own, and am looking forward to my second trip down to Cuba this spring to photograph for Full Court Peace, a non-profit organization founded by a friend and co-worker of mine that helps to connect communities through basketball in Cojimar and Havana. Looking forward to attending the Reunion this spring and reconnecting!”

’94 David Auerbach will publish Bitwise: A Life In Code (Pantheon) in August. It is a memoir and manifesto of how technology has changed the world, based on his twin experiences of being a software engineer at Google and Microsoft and studying literature and philosophy.

Mercedes Falcon recently started a job in San Francisco as Senior VP in Valuation Research Corp. ’95

James Kaiser married Andrea Rincon in Cartagena, Colombia, on February 10, 2018.

Classmates in attendance included Carlo Portes, Walter Parrs, John Lancefield, Derrick Raptis, and Andrew Gerber.

’96

Joel Bauman, MD was the first neurosurgeon in New England to perform a Mazor X robotic spinal fusion surgery. He writes, “I am currently a neurosurgeon with Hartford HealthCare, operating at Midstate Medical Center in Meriden and also at Hartford Hospital. I specialize in minimally invasive and robotic spinal surgeries.”

Matt LaMotte recently re-connected with classmate and former roommate Dan Hang, at the American Music Awards in LA. Matt is currently living in Los Angeles, Calif., with his wife Jamie and daughter Ellie Rose.

Mike Roberts writes, “My wild and crazy fulltime dad/part-time musician lifestyle has entered a new phase, with my kids (Hank, 9, and Eliza, 5) now both (finally!) in elementary school. With more time for music, I’ve been able to work on some commissions for choral works, including a pretty big one for the Oakland Symphony Chorus that will premiere in April 2019. Still teaching guitar, plus kindergarten music classes at the kids’ school – a hilarious and wonderful experience. Happy 40-ish birthday to the mighty class of ’96!”

’97

Randall Weidberg moved from Boulder to Washington, D.C. this summer for a tour of duty at the United States Digital Service, a tech startup at the White House using design and technology to deliver better services. He writes, “We’re looking for the most tenacious designers, software engineers and product managers who are committed to untangling, rewiring and redesigning critical government services.

Please consider joining for a tour of duty and feel free to email randallweidberg@gmail.com with any questions.”

’99 Lauren E. Oakes is an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University and a conservation scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society. She is working to build the organization’s Climate Change Adaptation Program across the Americas. Her first book, In Search of the Canary Tree, will hit the shelves later this year. For more information, see www.leoakes.com.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 45

1 Joel Bauman, MD ’96

1

’96

performs a Mazor X robotic spinal fusion surgery. He is a neurosurgeon with Hartford HealthCare, operating at Midstate Medical Center in Meriden and also at Hartford Hospital.

2 Bene Cipolla ’91, Executive Director of Chalkbeat models a t-shirt designed by classmate Len Small ’91.

3 Grant Johnson ’88 and busi-

ness partner, Ed Carroll P ’15, have expanded their executive office business, NYC Office Suites, from 4 to 6 midtown locations Their newest location is at Rockefeller Center and the iconic Radio City Music Hall.

4 20 Years Strong! Friends

Angela Ruggiero ’98 and Maria Palomar-Nebot ’98 at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

5 Penny B. Evins ’90 Head of School, St. Paul’s School for Girls in Maryland welcomed former Choate teacher and dorm parent, Joan Hurley, as she spoke to a group of upper schoolers about inclusivity.

Says Penny, “Joan was proud to discuss her years at Choate and what they meant to her.”

6 Sarah Rand ’93 will be heading to Cuba for a second time this spring to photograph for Full Court Peace, a nonprofit organization that helps to connect communities through basketball in Cojimar and Havana.

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46 CLASSNOTES

Future Choaties…

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1 Alexandra Jordan Stinchcomb ’01 and her

3 Annie Oxborough-Yankus Braude ’08 and

6 Kristi Stein Robinson ’97 and husband, Patrick,

husband Josh Stinchcomb welcomed their second daughter, Charlotte Anne, on September 1, 2017.

Allie, Josh, Lily (3) and Charlotte live in New Canaan, Conn.

2 Mike Velez ’00 and wife, Catherine, welcomed their third daughter, Graycen Alice Velez on February 8, 2018. Graycie is getting plenty of love and attention from her two older sisters, Maddie (5) and Ellie (2). Mike is in his 14th year as a faculty member at Choate and is a form dean for the Class of 2018.

her husband, Paul, welcomed a daughter, Riley Alexandra, on October 9, 2017. The family resides on Cape Cod. 4 Catherine Bussart ’95 and Sam Smith announce the birth of their son, Samuel Walter Smith, on January 4, 2018.

5 Trip Todd, ’95 and wife Julia welcomed a son, William Henry Todd V (known as Quint) on October 12, 2017.

were excited to welcome their son, Patrick, and daughter, Matilda, on October 24, 2017.

7 Austin ’03 and Erin Igleheart welcomed a son, James Patrick Igleheart, on January 28, 2018.

8 Jessica Zofnass Barclay ’04, and her husband, Colin, welcomed their second son, Dylan Barclay, on December 4, 2017. Big brother James (age 2) is happy to have a buddy!

9 Lydia Hawkins ’03 and wife, Debbie, welcomed their first child, Oliver Patrick Hawkins, on January 4.

10 Emily Levada ’01 welcomed twins Connor Mason (right) and Carter Ellis Kirtz-Levada (left) in February.

11 Tim Ganser ’01 and Faith Wallace-Gadsden ’01 welcomed a son, Boreas Alfred Sebastian Ganser, on March 12, 2018, at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Lower Manhattan.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 47

2000s ’00

R. Gerard McGeary writes, “I have started a company called Repetere (https://repetere.ai/), which uses machine learning to provide pricing simulations and automated sales/product mix forecasts to multilocation restaurants. We use a restaurant’s own sales history combined with external data such as weather to generate forecasts for our clients.”

’01

Joanna Cantor released her debut novel, Alternative Remedies for Loss, a coming-of-age story, in May. The novel follows 22-year-old Olivia Harris, who finds herself in the scarily open-ended stage of early adulthood while grieving the still-fresh loss of her mother.

Tim Ganser and Faith Wallace-Gadsden welcomed a son, Boreas Alfred Sebastian Ganser, on March 12, 2018. The family lives in Stuttgart, Germany where Tim runs Starline Computer, the family IT business, and from where Faith runs Archimedes Project, her US-based non-profit.

Mina Kazanlieva married Hank Spring in September at the Nassau Inn in Princeton, N.J. She was happy that her Choate ‘01 and HBS ‘11 classmate Caitlin O’Neil was able to join them. Also in attendance was Nathan Cho. After a honeymoon in South Africa and Seychelles, the couple is now back in New York, where they both work in private equity, Mina at Carlyle and Hank at KarpReilly. Says Mina, “Choate changed my life, and the Choate community means a lot to me.”

Emily Levada says her year is off to a great start. In January, she was named one of Remodista’s Women to Watch in Business Disruption for 2018 for her work as director of product management at Wayfair.com. In February, she welcomed twins Connor Mason and Carter Ellis Kirtz-Levada.

Diana Rinehart is honored to be one of 54 contributors to Empowering Women Through Cooking: Stories and Recipes from Jordan. She says, “It is a beautifully written and photographed book. In truth, it is a special compilation of recipes and stories of the many women of different backgrounds who contributed to this effort. It will be available on Amazon.”

’02

Robert Grajewski writes that he has spent the past two years launching and growing the Wond’ry (www.theWondry.com), Vanderbilt University’s new Innovation Center, as the inaugural Evans Family Executive Director. The Wond’ry, in its first year, hosted more than 35,000 participants in programs, workshops, and Makerspace events. It was recognized by the National Science Foundation as an Innovation Corps site, one of 70 universities nationwide to receive this honor, and Robert was recently recognized in the Nashville Business Journal’s ”40 under 40.”

’03

Lydia Hawkins writes that she and her wife welcomed their first child, Oliver Patrick Hawkins, on January 4. “The three of us are now spending a year in Melbourne, Australia while Debbie completes a surgical fellowship and I am on maternity leave from my role as Director of Enrollment at StrathconaTweedsmuir School in Calgary, Alberta. Since arriving in Melbourne, we’ve connected with Reiko Okazaki.

Hope to see everyone at our 15th Reunion in May!”

’04 Alessandra Echeverria writes, “I was promoted to director of AmeriCorps at the Relay Graduate School of Education last summer. I am enjoying my expanded role and managing my growing team.”

Ashley Jacobson recently moved to Chicago as VP, Strategy at Publicis, a global powerhouse in the media/advertising industry. She has enjoyed being back in the city where she graduated from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University with her MBA. Ashley has already gotten involved with the Choate Chicago Alumni Club and looks forward to connecting with more alums. Reach out if you are in the area.

Jessica Zofnass Barclay heads up Institutional Sales for the Black Creek Group, a real estate private equity firm in Denver. She and her family are loving life in Colorado and hope to see some Choaties if they’re in the area. ’06

John Sanders III writes, “After graduating, I went on to play quarterback and study pre-law at the University of Arizona. Immediately upon graduation from college, I was approached about acting in a television show in Los Angeles. What I thought to be a three week adventure, turned into a three-year career of full time acting and modeling. After relocating to Nashville, I was blessed enough to have been recognized by Nashville Lifestyles Magazine as one of their Top 25 Most Beautiful People, joining company such as Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, etc. My “day job” is in that of commercial real estate development and construction. I am currently a director at a national firm, CORE Construction. My experiences (both in the classroom and out) at Choate Rosemary Hall provided me a foundation to build upon, and for that I am grateful.”

TOP Designers Maximilian P. Sinsteden ’05 and Catherine

Casteel Olasky were featured in a February 24-25 Wall Street Journal article for a home they designed on the Channel Island of Guernsey.

BOTTOM Classmates Dr. Erin Taylor ’05 and Eleanor Mullen, CRNA, ’05 work together to care for patients in the operating rooms at Massachusetts General Hospital. Erin is a plastic surgery resident and Eleanor is a Nurse Anesthetist. Lots of Choate love exudes from the room when they are across the drapes from each other.

48 CLASSNOTES

WEDDINGS & CELEBRATIONS 1 Andrew Gelzer ’04 married

8 Christopher Wynne ’95

Kelly O’Neil on the beach in Madison, Conn., on September 9, 2017. Alumni in the wedding party photo include Alan Valenti ’05, Matthew Gelzer ’02, and George Gelzer ’12.

The couple live in Hillsdale, Mich. on their Christmas tree farm and building a proof-of-concept rural solar installation. Drew is COO of his family’s company, H.J. Gelzer & Son Inc. 2 Mina Kazanlieva ’01 married Hank Spring last September at the Nassau Inn in Princeton, N.J. She was happy that her Choate ’01 and HBS ’11 classmate Caitlin O’Neil was able to join them. Also in attendance, Nathan Cho. 3 Some members of the class of 2011 gathered to celebrate a 25th birthday in December in New York City. It was great to catch up over some good wine and food. Attendees: Adi Rajagopalan ’09, Vicky Luh, Kate Furgueson, Alston Gremillion, Danielle Ng, Serena Grewal, Helen Guo. 4 Spencer Young ’06 married LCDR(s) Jeffrey Preston Sharp, Jr. in Waterford, Conn., on July 22, 2017. Classmates in attendance were Spencer Haught, Jonathan Desjardins, Nicole Albino, and Tiffany Kim, and Maid of Honor, Whitney Young ’02.

5 Jason Robert Kasper ’05 married Elizabeth Claire Mainiero on September 23, 2017 at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City, with a reception afterward at the Yale Club in Midtown.

6 Amy Hellman ’02 celebrated her marriage to Corey Grimes on August 3, 2017. Alumni in attendance included: Catherine Agricola ’02, Emma and Alexander McMahon ’01.

Amy was honored to wear a custom-dress and head piece

by Alix of Bohemia – made by Alix Pietrafesa ’03.

7 Lane McVey ’08 and Connor Goggin ’08 were married on June 24, 2017 in Newport, R.I., surrounded by many Choate family and friends. They met in 2005 at Choate as lab partners in Mr. Stowe’s physics class!

married Anna Selezneva in July 2017. Choate Classmates pictured: Andrew Watts, David Crisp ’94, Nicholas Barry, Jonathan Klesch, Christopher Wynne, Adrian Ulrich, Christopher Nelson, Benjamin Badger, Amy Smith, and Matthew Nelson.

9 Marisa Hunter Mingrino ’07 just starred in a new commercial for The Knot - the largest wedding planning magazine and website in the world.

10 Sheila Adams ’01 married Karume James on December 16, 2017, at The Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami, Fla. Attendees included her brother, Joseph Adams, Jr. ’97.

11 Jack Fallon ’08 and Matthew Canaran were married October 14, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. Choaties in attendance were Lauren Provini ’08, Aparna Krishnan ’08, Joan Fallon Williams ’96, Becca Raiser ’96 and Elitsa Nacheva ’08. Chris and Dean Williams were tearing up the dance floor and didn’t make the picture.

12 Elizabeth Lawrence ’06 married Andrew Infante on October 14, 2017 in New York, N.Y. Choate attendees included, from left, Mary Belniak ’05, Laura Kao Swentzel ’06, Drew Stanton ’06, Tiffany Kim ’06, David Smith ’06, and Alex Bautista ’06.

13 Michael Lavigne Jr. ’03 married Lauren Ebaugh in Orange County, Calif., in February. Lauren is a nurse by training working as a patient advocate in Burlingame; Michael leads the communications office at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park.

The two live in San Jose with their dog Jax.

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’07 Kevin J. Conlan writes, “I am currently the Director of IT Strategy and Operations with DCI Resources, LLC, an IT firm with locations throughout Connecticut. DCI is currently training young adults in advanced IT training, at no cost to them. Training is fully funded through the Department of Labor, in a grant known as TechHire. We have had many successes in the past year – we have placed many disadvantaged youth in Connecticut into full-time employment.”

Peter Gault writes, “My nonprofit education startup, Quill.org, was selected by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Education Companies of 2018. Quill.org was selected for using artificial intelligence to help low-income students develop their writing skills through a free, open-source program.

Quill.org was selected along with major education companies like Duolingo and Coursera.

Marisa Hunter Mingrino writes, “I’m a NYCbased TV host, actress, and model. I’ve had the opportunity to interview celebrities on the red carpet, model for major brands and currently have a handful of commercials running regionally and nationally. I just starred in a new commercial for The Knot - the largest wedding planning magazine and website in the world. Follow my journey on Instagram @ marisa_hunter.”

Zach Remsen and Molly West ’06 are second and first-year students, respectively, at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. ’09

Olivia Landau, diamond expert and G.I.A. Graduate Gemologist, has launched her diamond engagement ring company, The Clear Cut, part of Techstars New York.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:

Olivia Landau ’09, diamond expert and G.I.A. Graduate Gemologist, launched her diamond engagement ring company, The Clear Cut. Ato Bentsi-Enchill ’12, relocated back to his home country, Ghana, where he has set up a boutique investment firm, Black Adam Africa.

Former Olympic hockey player Josephine Pucci ’09, recently visited our former girls’ varsity coach Sarah Halsell Nutting ’95 in the Bay Area.

Jarry Lee ’11 walked in a New York Fashion Week fashion show in honor of the #metoo movement.

Jarry is the Deputy Books Editor at BuzzFeed, where she covers culture and books.

’10

Serena Elavia and Tom Stelle will be attending the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University to pursue their MBAs this fall as members of the class of 2020.

’12 Ato Bentsi-Enchill graduated magna cum laude from Hobart and William Smith College with a double degree in international relations and French and francophone studies, and with a minor in African Studies. After graduation, he relocated back to his home country, Ghana, where he has set up an Black Adam Africa, a boutique investment firm specializing in private equity, investment advisory and project financing. The firm can be reached via email at invest@ blackadam.africa. He adds, “We launched our second tech company a couple of months ago, Deals en Route.

We’re getting ready for our beta test in some weeks.”

Eva Kerman just relocated to Buffalo, N.Y., and began a job as a Pediatric Nurse at Oishei Children’s Hospital. ’13 Dominic Konstam writes, “Three months ago my team and I, including a fellow alum Will Sternlicht ’13, launched Tikkit – a mobile-first event platform built to put event management into the hands of everyone. Our goal is to make organizing events for friends, charities, alumni networks, and small music events accessible, easier, and fun. So far, we’ve spread to campuses everywhere and have shown that with the right tools, you can increase attendance, save time organizing, and use the power of data to create the best events possible.”

Walker C. Marlatt just started a job at IronArch Technology in D.C. ’14

Kimber Kristy graduated from Berklee College of Music summa cum laude and was selected as one of the first five elite Paul Wachter Fellows, which provides funding and mentorship for experiential learning in the music industry in Los Angeles, California. She is now living in Los Angeles and is completing post-graduate work at the Grammy Museum, working in Communications and Artist Relations, assisting with public programs, which feature intimate concerts with artists such as Demi Lovato, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lindsey Buckingham, Johnny Mathis, and more.

’15

Andrea Wang received a Shansi In-Asia Grant from Oberlin College to travel to Bangkok, Thailand for an internship with TEA, an LGBT non-profit organization, to research and learn about the context of LGBT issues in Thailand.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 51

IN MEMORIAM | Remembering Those We Have Lost Alumni and Alumnae

’34 C

Lewis R. Donelson III, 100, a retired lawyer, died January 4, 2018 in Memphis, Tenn. Born in Memphis, Lew came to Choate in 1932; he played league hockey and tennis. He earned degrees from Southwestern University (now Rhodes College) in Memphis and from Georgetown University Law School, then co-founded the Memphis firm of Donelson & Adams. The practice merged with others and today, known as Baker Donelson, it has more than 750 attorneys in 10 states. In 1988, Lew represented 77 rural school districts in a suit to obtain a fairer share of education funding from the state of Tennessee. He was also a former State Finance Commissioner and a Memphis City Councilman. He managed several U.S. senatorial campaigns and was on the Platform Committee for the 1988 national Republican Convention.

Choate Rosemary Hall awarded him the Alumni Seal Prize in 1992. He received many other honors, including Memphis Corporate Lawyer of the Year, Memphis City Council Humanitarian Award, a Boy Scouts Distinguished Citizen Award, and the Liberty Through Law Award of the Tennessee Bar Association. A street

’39 C Charles Miner Jr., 96, a retired investment counselor, died March 19, 2018 in Vero Beach, Fla. Born in New York City, Charlie came to Choate in 1936; he was a Campus Cop, played trumpet in the Band, and played league hockey. He then went to Princeton, but left in 1942 to join the Army Air Corps, flying 18 combat missions in the Mediterranean. After World War II, he became assistant to the Vice President of Finance of the New York Central Railroad, and later joined the investment and banking division of Dean Witter. For many years, Charlie lived in Darien, Conn., where he was on the board of the King School. In 1986, he moved to Vero Beach, where he was active in the community, serving as a fundraising Campaign Director for Riverside Theater as well as President of the Riverside Endowment Fund and President of the local Princeton Club. He and his family spent summers in East Hampton, N.Y. He leaves three children, including Charles Miner III ’70, 91 Brett Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

that had previously housed John F. Kennedy ’35. Bill then went to Brown, but left to serve in the Coast Guard during World War II. In the early 1950s he joined the National Broadcasting Company. He was the first producer of the Tonight Show and, later, the Steve Allen Show, and co-produced the Emmy Award-winning variety shows The Hollywood Palace and the Julie Andrews Show. He co-produced the first three Kennedy Center Honors specials. An avid sailor, he was a member of the New York Yacht Club, the Larchmont Yacht Club, and other sailing organizations.

He also enjoyed croquet, and was inducted into the U.S. Croquet Hall of Fame. He leaves two daughters, two stepdaughters, and five grandchildren.

’43 C David H. Donnan, 93, a retired executive of manufacturing firms, died February 7, 2018. Born in Columbus, Ohio, David came to Choate in 1940; he played league tennis, soccer, and squash. After serving in the Army in Europe during World War II, he earned a degree from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. David then was an executive with several companies, including the M. T. Stevens Co. of North Andover, Mass., and the Federal Paper

’43 RH Mary Ann “Maisie” Loeb Kohnstamm, 92, a social worker and musician, died February 20, 2018 in Redding, Conn. Born in New York City, Maisie came to Rosemary Hall in 1938. She was a Prize Day Marshal, a cheerleader, on 1st Team Hockey and Captain of basketball; she also was awarded the Athletic Cup and earned eight bars on the Committee. She then attended Vassar and the Mannes School of Music in New York, and in the 1970s earned a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence. Maisie was a social worker for Family Services in Bridgeport, Conn., and with Green Chimneys, a residence for children in Brewster, N.Y. An adjunct faculty member at Fordham University, she oversaw the field work of social work students. She taught dance and guitar and co-founded a baroque music group called the Tuesday Consort.

She also played the viola da gamba in chamber groups and the Norwalk (Conn.) Symphony Orchestra, and the euphonium in the New Canaan Town Band. She volunteered widely, including delivering food for Meals on Wheels. She leaves five children, including Kathy Piven ’71, 10821 Stevenson Rd., Stevenson, MD 21153;

’40 Bill Harbach was the first producer of the Tonight Show and, later, the Steve Allen Show, and co-produced the Emmy Award-winning variety shows The Hollywood Palace and the Julie Andrews Show. He co-produced the first three Kennedy Center Honors specials.

in Memphis is named for Lew and his late wife, Janice. He leaves a son, Lewis Donelson IV ’67, 600 Bellevue Place, Apt. A., Austin, TX 78705; two daughters; four grandchildren; and a great-grandson. A brother, the late William Donelson ’36, and a nephew, William Donelson Jr. ’71, also attended Choate.

’40 C William O. Harbach, 98, a retired television producer, died December 18, 2017 in Fairfield, Conn.

Born in Yonkers, N.Y., Bill was the son of the lyricist Otto Harbach, who wrote “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” He came to Choate in 1934, and participated in league wrestling, crew, and baseball; he lived in the same Choate House room

Board Co. He was a former Chairman of the Board of the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay, Maine.

He leaves his wife, Kitty Donnan, 1050 Simonton Way, Watkinsville, GA 30677; three children; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. A sister-inlaw, Adelaide Donnan ’42, attended Rosemary Hall.

11 grandchildren, including Matthew Piven ’03; and two great-grandchildren.

A sister, the late Nancy Loeb Weal ’39, also attended Rosemary Hall.

52 IN MEMORIAM 52

’44 RH Serena Chesnut Fitz Randolph Crosby, 92, a retired partner in a real estate company, died January 29, 2018 in St. Augustine, Fla. Born in Birmingham, Ala., Chessie, as she was known, came to Rosemary Hall in 1942. She was General Sports Captain, in the Kindly Club, an Assistant Marshal and on the Chapel Committee, and President of the Dramatic Club.

She also earned five bars on the Committee. She then worked on a farm in Vermont, where she learned to ski. Chessie later was a partner in the Sugar Mountain Resort Development Group in Banner Elk, N.C., later retiring to Florida, but spending summers in North Carolina. She enjoyed golf, tennis, skiing, and meeting new people. Widowed twice, she leaves four children and five grandchildren. ’45 C Warren G. Dennie, 90, the retired president of leather companies, died November 12, 2017 in West Chester, Pa. Born in Gloversville, N.Y., Warren was at Choate for one year; he played basketball and was in the Choral Club. After graduating, he was a Merchant Marine Cadet, and later was a Lieutenant J.G. in the Navy. Warren was President of Warden Leathers and the Logan Leather Corporation. Active in the community, he was President of the local school district, on the boards of the YMCA and YWCA, Chair of the Salvation Army board and President of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp. He leaves three sons, including Todd Dennie ’84, and six grandchildren.

John N. Gosselin, 90, a retired executive with International Business Machines, died February 6, 2018 in Bridgeport, Conn. Born in Greens Farms, Conn., John came to Choate in 1944. He played league hockey, tennis, and crew, and was in the Camera Club.

After graduating from Williams, he went to work for IBM in Waterbury, Conn., and soon thereafter was headquartered in Paris, from where he negotiated computer patent licensing and trade deals on five continents. John retired in 1995 as Director of Commercial Relations, but continued as a consultant to IBM. He leaves his wife, Betty Gosselin, P.O. Box 261, Greens Farms, CT 06838; three children; four grandchildren; and three step-grandchildren.

’47 C Robert E. Rothen, 88, a retired engineer, died December 30, 2017 in Willow Street, Pa. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Bob came to Choate in 1944; he was a Campus Cop, in the Choral Club, and treasurer of the Organ Fund Committee. He then graduated from MIT, where he was coxswain of varsity crew. After earning a master’s degree from New York University, he served in the Air Force. Bob was retired from AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J.; while working for Bell he was project manager for communications at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center in Orlando, Fla., and at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He enjoyed skiing, photography, woodworking, gardening, making chocolates and creating Christmas ornaments.

He leaves his wife, Lucille Rothen, 624 Willow Valley Lakes Dr., Willow Street, PA 17584; two children; three stepchildren; five grandchildren; and five step-grandchildren. ’47 RH Rita Smith Igleheart, 89, an artist, died February 9, 2018 in Atlantic Beach, Fla. Born in Evanston, Ill., Rita came to Rosemary Hall in 1944; she then attended Columbia and the University of Connecticut.

Before her marriage, she designed and constructed dioramas for the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Her many interests included historic preservation, antiques, dogs, and hunting. Rita leaves three children, including John “Jeb” Ebbott Jr. ’76, 108 Woods Point Rd., Manchester Center, VT 05255; three stepchildren; 15 grandchildren; and seven greatgrandchildren. Her husband, the late John D. Igleheart ’45, attended Choate, as did her former husband, John P. Ebbott ’44; her sister, the late Kaye S. Hogan ’44, attended Rosemary Hall.

’49 C

Nevitt Danforth Oates, 85, a retired petroleum geologist, died December 14, 2017 in Chester, Conn.

Born in New York, Dan came to Choate in 1946; he was a Campus Cop and in the Glee Club. After graduating from Williams, he was in the Army in Germany. Returning to the United States, he earned a master’s degree in petroleum geology from the University of Southern California. For many years, he worked internationally, retiring as

Far East Area Manager for Abex Corp. of New York. Dan enjoyed sailing, flying, and horses. He leaves his wife, Audrey Oates, 10 Orchard Rd., East Haddam, CT 06423. A brother, the late Reginald Oates ’49, also attended Choate.

’50 C James A. Brown, 86, the retired owner of a fence company, died January 16, 2018. Born in Meriden, Jim came to Choate in 1946; he lettered in football and wrestling, and was President of the Automobile Club. He attended Harvard, then served with the Army during the Korean War. He was the owner, for more than 30 years, of North Star Fences of Wallingford (previously North Haven Fence Co.). He leaves a daughter and three grandchildren.

William T. Hadley, 86, a retired advertising and marketing executive, died January 13, 2018 in Chandler, Ariz. Born in New Haven, Bill came to Choate in 1950; he was Editor-in-Chief of the Brief, Secretary-Treasurer of the Weather Club, and in the Choral Club. After graduating from Penn’s Wharton School, he served in the Navy, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. Bill worked for many years in the Boston area as an advertising and marketing executive and consultant for several firms, including the ad company BBD&O, the Investment Management Consultants Association, and his own firm, The Hadley Company. He was a former Secretary of the Foxboro (Mass.) Jaycees and enjoyed hiking, biking, and traveling. He leaves two children, including David Hadley, 5 Tanglewood Dr., Rose Valley, PA 19086; five grandchildren; and a greatgranddaughter. A brother, the late John Hadley ’51, also attended Choate. ’51 C Marcus W. Ziegler Jr., 84, the retired owner of a clothing store, died November 30, 2017 in Beachwood, Ohio. Born in Cincinnati, Marc came to Choate in 1948. He lettered in crew and won a School rowing award; was Business Manager of the Brief; was in St. Andrew’s Cabinet; and was in the Current History, Automobile, and Western clubs. After graduating from Princeton, he was a navigator pilot in the Navy. He then was a buyer for the former Halle Brothers department store in Cleveland before owning his own store, Captain’s Quarters, in Rocky

River, Ohio. Marc enjoyed boating, and was a longtime volunteer with the Court Community Service and the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland.

He leaves his wife, Susan Ziegler, 1817 Ridgebrook Circle, Beachwood, OH 44122; three daughters, including Jennifer Ziegler ’82; and four grandchildren. A brother, the late Robert Ziegler ’55, also attended Choate.

’53 C John Vanderveer Gibson, 82, a retired banker, died December 28, 2017. Born in New York City, Van came to Choate in 1948; he was on the Board of the News and was a Campus Cop. After graduating from Colby College, he began his career with Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, retiring as a Vice President. Van enjoyed world travel, deep sea fishing, and golf. He leaves two sons, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. ’56 C

David G. Flinn, 79, the retired owner of an electronics firm, died December 23, 2017. Born in Baltimore, David came to Choate in 1952; he was President of the Model Railroad Club and was in the Rifle Club and the Glee Club. After graduating from Cornell, he spent four years in the Air Force, then returned to the Ithaca, N.Y. area.

In 1965 he opened a ham radio store, which later enlarged to sell stereo equipment and home electronics. He and his family lived on a farm where they raised Clydesdale horses, showing them at state fairs for 40 years. Active in the community, he was on the board of a local theater company, a President of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, and District Governor of the Rotary Club, winning the club’s highest award in 1991. A licensed pilot, David was a member of the East Hill Flying Club. He also enjoyed model railroads, and was on the board of the Cornell Railroad Historical Society. He leaves two sons, including Dale Flinn ’79, 847 Ridge Rd., Lansing, NY 14882; and two grandchildren.

’58 C

David A. Hovland, 76, a professor of psychology, died February 25, 2018 of cancer. Born in Chicago, David came to Choate in 1954. He played clarinet in the Orchestra and was Secretary-Treasurer of the German Club, Vice President of the Mineral Club,

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 53

While in Nashville, Albert Noe was instrumental in the extradition to the United States from London of James Earl Ray, the man who killed Martin Luther King Jr.

’60 on the board of the Literary Magazine, and on the Sixth Form Tutoring Committee and the chess team. He then earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Ph.D. from Harvard. David taught at Vassar for a year, then at the University of Texas-Austin and, for more than 30 years, Park University.

In 2007, he continued to teach online, and moved to Petersburg, N.Y., where he founded the forum Art and Psychology. He enjoyed painting and making mixed-media collages, reading, visiting museums, and attending classical music events. He had served on the board of the Austin Contemporary Fine Arts Association.

With his wife, he wrote America’s Endangered Wildlife. He leaves his wife, Carol Hovland, 469 Jones Hollow Rd., Petersburg, N.Y. 12138; two children; two grandchildren; and a sister.

’59 C Paul Duchin, 76, a retired executive of personnel agencies, died January 28, 2018. Born in New York City, Paul came to Choate in 1956; he played league soccer, basketball, and tennis. After graduating from Rutgers University, he served in the Army National Guard for six years. Paul was an executive with several firms, including the Forum Personnel Agency and Smith’s Fifth Avenue Employment Agency in New York and Graham & Co. Personnel Agency in Newark, N.J. He leaves a sister. ’60 C

Albert D. Noe IV, 75, a lawyer, died December 3, 2017 in Jackson, Tenn. Born in Owensboro, Ky., Al came to Choate in 1958; he was in the Automobile, Current History, and Rod and Gun clubs and was on the ski team.

After earning undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt, he practiced law in Nashville, Tenn.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Jackson. While in Nashville, he was instrumental in the extradition of James Earl Ray, the man who killed Martin Luther King Jr. Al was an avid outdoorsman. He leaves a son and a sister.

’61 RH Theodora Lippitt Gongaware, 74, a physician, died January 9, 2018.

Born in Baltimore, “T,” as she was known, came to Rosemary Hall in 1959.

She was President of her V Form class, head of the Kindly Club, and on the Library and Dance committees. She then earned degrees from Goucher College and the University of North Carolina Medical School at Chapel Hill.

She continued her medical training at Presbyterian Hospital in New York, where she met and married Chief Resident Bob Gongaware; they moved to Savannah, Ga., where she had grown up. For many years, T was Medical Director of the Outpatient Department at Memorial Hospital in Savannah; she was also an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Mercer University and a medical volunteer at Hospice Savannah. An avid gardener, she was a Vice President of the Garden Club of America. She also was on the board of the Savannah Country Day School, the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority, and the Stewart Palliative Care Center. She was active in Christ Church in Savannah and a member of several clubs in Westerly, R.I. She leaves three children, two grandchildren, two brothers, and two sisters, Alice Lippitt Steyaart ’62, P.O. Box 34, Richmond Hill, GA 31324 and Joan Lippitt Varney ’66.

Her grandmother, the late Theodora Wheeler Finney ’07, and her mother, the late Theodora Finney Lippitt ’35, also attended Rosemary Hall.

Mary Keator “Gay” Ramseur, 74, active in charitable causes, died January 7, 2018 in Traverse City, Mich.

Born in Fairfield, Conn., Gay came to Rosemary Hall in 1959. She was a Marshal, played 1st Team tennis, and was on the Dance Committee and the Fire Squad. After graduation, she spent a year abroad in Germany, then returned to Connecticut. She was active in the Simsbury United Fund and the Junior League. She and her husband moved to Florida in 2002 and to Traverse City in 2012. Gay enjoyed cooking, needlepointing belts, and sports, including golf, skiing, sailing, tennis, and field hockey. She leaves three daughters, seven grandchildren, and a brother.

’64 C

Stephen A. Orthwein, 72, a polo player and polo executive, died March 12, 2018 in Wellington, Fla. Born in St. Louis, Steve came to Choate in 1960. He was on the Board of the News, on the Debate Council, and in the Spanish and Rod and Gun clubs. He then went to Yale, where he captained the championship-winning polo team. In 1968, the Yale team played the Cornell team, which was captained by Steve’s twin brother, Peter Orthwein ’64; Yale won. For decades he competed in national and international polo events, winning the Pakistani Open in 1969 as well as many other competitions. In 1988, the U.S. Polo Association gave him the Hugo Dalmar Sportsmanship Award.

He was later Chairman of the USPA

as well as Chairman of the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Fla. He leaves his wife, Ginny Orthwein, 11874 Tilden Place, West Palm Beach, FL 33414; and three sons, including Stephen Orthwein Jr. ’98. Many other members of Steve’s family attended Choate or Choate Rosemary Hall, including his brothers Dolph Orthwein ’61, Peter Orthwein ’64, and David Orthwein ’77; stepbrother Michael Montgomery ’72; cousins Clark Orthwein ’08 and Louis Hager ’49; uncle James Orthwein ’43; and nephews Adolphus Orthwein III ’86, William Orthwein ’88, Peter Orthwein ’94, Lukens Orthwein ’06, and Jason Orthwein ’11.

’67 C Rene Carrillo Jr., 68, a retired minister, died February 14, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Born in New York City, Rene came to Choate in 1964; he was in the French Club, the Spanish Club, and the Geology Club, and was on the editorial boards of the Choate News and the Literary Magazine. After graduating from the University of California-Berkeley, he was at first a buyer for Macy’s department store.

He later earned a master’s degree in divinity from Colgate Rochester Divinity School and became a United Methodist minister. Rene enjoyed nature, hiking, poetry, archery, and photography. He also had been a volunteer with the Branchport, N.Y. fire department. He leaves his wife, Nana Carrillo, 24306 Invitation Oak, San Antonio, TX 78261; two children; four grandchildren; and two sisters, including Nina Carrillo Preyre ’66. His father, the late Rene Carrillo Sr. ’27, also attended Choate.

54 IN MEMORIAM 54

’81 Vikki Hillis, 55, an artist and jewelry designer, died February 19, 2018. Born in Greenwich, Conn., Vikki came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1978, where she completed a directed-study program in printmaking. She later graduated from the International School of Geneva, Switzerland, and earned degrees from Hampshire College and Louisiana State University.

Vikki was an artist, educator, and jewelry designer in Hot Springs, Ark. She leaves a daughter; two sisters; two half-sisters; a stepsister; and her father, William Hillis, 117 Ashlar Village, Wallingford, CT 06492. ’85

Alfred James “Jay” Beyer III, 50, a radiologist, died January 22, 2018, in New Bern, N.C. Born in Worcester, Mass., Jay came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1982. He was President of Christian Fellowship, a student athletic trainer, and in the Chess Club; he also won a School award for historical research and writing. After graduating cum laude from Duke, he earned an M.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Kansas. For many years, Jay was a partner of Coastal Radiology Associates in New Bern. He leaves his wife, Kristin Beyer, 5201 Trent Woods Dr., New Bern, NC 28562; two children; his parents; and a brother.

sewing, knitting and needlepoint.

Passionate about the well-being of animals, she was also a member of the Junior Women’s Club in New Haven and the Homemakers’ Club in Wallingford, and was a volunteer at the Ashlar Village retirement community, where she and her husband, Jack, lived starting in 2001. Besides her husband, she leaves a sister, a niece, and a nephew.

Donald W. Ferguson, a carpenter at Choate Rosemary Hall for 35 years, died December 20, 2017 in Branford, Conn. He was 84. Born in Meriden, Don grew up in Wallingford. After graduating from high school, he was a carpenter’s apprentice at Choate before serving in the Army as a member of the Honor Guard for then-President Dwight Eisenhower. In 1962, he returned to Choate as a full-time carpenter. At his retirement, then-Headmaster Edward J. Shanahan called Don “one of the most soft-spoken, unassuming people ever to grace this school, a man whose impact on the campus, nevertheless, speaks volumes of his craftsmanship, creativity, and pride.” He enjoyed fishing, restoring old cars, traveling, and oil painting. For more than 25 years he was on the board of trustees of Advent Christian Church in Wallingford. He leaves his wife, Kellie Ferguson, 493 North Branford Road, Wallingford, CT 06492; two daughters; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.

Faculty and Staff Barbara Eliason Dilks, an administrative assistant at Choate Rosemary Hall for more than 25 years, died January 17, 2018. Born in North Haven, Bobbie graduated from Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford and from Stone Business College in New Haven. She worked at Choate, part-time at first, starting in 1969. She then was secretary for Headmaster Seymour St. John and later was a secretary in the Alumni Office and the Administrative Support Center. At her retirement in 1995, she was praised for her “willingness to fill any request, for her bright and ready humor, and for her sensitivity.” Bobbie was always interested in crafts, and developed an interest in art, stenciling,

Olga Keyes Fisk, an administrative assistant at Rosemary Hall for five years, died December 21, 2017. She was 89. Born in Oneida, N.Y., Olga attended the University of Washington in Seattle. She moved to Connecticut and worked for the Travelers Insurance Co. in Hartford before coming to Rosemary Hall in 1968, starting in the main office supporting Dean of Students June Everett. In 1971, she moved to Wallingford as an assistant to Headmistress Elizabeth Loomis.

Olga became quite involved in settling Rosemary Hall in its new location.

The 1972 Answer Book, dedicated to her, noted her “endurance and enthusiasm far beyond the call of duty.” She left School in 1973, working

in the Development Office of Brown University until the early 1980s, when she retired. She enjoyed gardening, and was particularly fond of orchids.

She leaves three children, including Susan Fisk Sieloff ’72, 4 Massachusetts Ave., Norfolk, MA 02056, and Brian Fisk ’73; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Alfred J. Sciarrino, who taught history at Choate Rosemary Hall for one year, died January 19, 2018. He was 71. Born in Ithaca, N.Y., Al served in the Army after high school, then earned degrees from the State University of New York at Geneseo, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

He was at Choate for the 1981-82 school year. Before that, he had been an attorney in private practice in Geneseo. Afterward, he taught law at SUNY Geneseo. He enjoyed writing, and published three books. He leaves three daughters, a stepson, and two grandchildren.

William N. Wingerd, who was an administrator and taught at Choate Rosemary Hall for 25 years, died December 18, 2017 in Chambersburg, Pa. He was 96. Born in Chambersburg, Bill graduated from Haverford College, where he played baseball and was sports editor of the college newspaper. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps, after which he studied law for two years, then taught math at a small public high school in Lemasters, Pa. He then earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Bill was a teacher and administrator at two independent schools before coming to Choate in 1966 as a teacher, housemaster, tennis coach and Associate Director of Studies. He was also, for 17 years, Director of Summer Programs; was Chair of the Senior Projects Committee; worked part-time in Admission; and was Chair of the Department of Behavior and Ethics. In 1968, with the help of two Yale Medical School professors, he put together Choate’s first sex-education program; he later authored the book Understanding and Enjoying Adolescence. On his 10th anniversary at School, he was lauded as

“a professional in the true sense of the word: thorough, conscientious, direct and straightforward, sensitive and considerate of other people’s opinions and feelings, all tinged with a sense of humor.” He organized several student trips abroad, including ones to Greece and China. When Bill retired in 1991, President and Principal Charles F. Dey noted that he “has cut quite a figure on campus, with his bow ties, floppy hat, and dance moves. His gentlemanly image places him firmly in an era when dancing was among the social graces.” In retirement, Bill moved back to Chambersburg, where he was on the boards of the Area School District and the Franklin Learning Center for special children. He also enjoyed foreign travel. He leaves his former wife, Jane Steiger; three sons, including Peter Wingerd ’73, 9009 Wonderland Ave., Apt. C, Los Angeles, CA 90046, Frederic Wingerd ’70, and Mark Wingerd ’75; two grandchildren; and a niece, Gail Wingerd ’82.

Our sympathy to the families of the following alumni, whose deaths are reported with sorrow: Howard J. Dirkes Jr. ’49 January 8, 2018 C. Whitney Banks Jr. ’50 January 11, 2018 Roger Hillyer ’52 December 24, 2017 Christian F. Ambruoso ’95 March 15, 2018

Summer Programs what a place to be‌

academic!

JUNE 24 – JULY 27, 2018 Follow your own path to discovery by focusing on a particular area of interest, or by combining passions in our discipline-specific, multi-week programs.

ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT Follow your own path to discovery by focusing on a particular area of interest, or by combining passions in our discipline-specific programs.

We offer 2-week, 4-week, and 5-week academic summer programs for middle school and high school students.

ENVIROTECH FOR GIRLS Create a field guide for local habitats.This four-week program is designed to inspire and motivate middle school girls in the fields of technology, data analysis, math, and biology. Classes are held at the state-of the-art Kohler Environmental Center where you will get hands-on experience across STEM disciplines.

Choate ROSEMARY HALL

L E A R N M O R E AT: W W W . C H O AT E . E D U / S U M M E R

56

SCOREBOARD | Winter Sports Wrap-up

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 57

Boys varsity basketball, girls varsity swimming, and girls varsity squash had winning teams.

Boys varsity basketball, the Number 5 seed, won the New England Class A title by beating Suffield, Tabor, and ultimately Milton. Girls varsity basketball, the Number 8 seed, made the New England Tournament for the second straight year. Girls varsity swimming won the Founders League Championships, while the boys finished second. Swimming and diving saw some great individual performances, including those of Scott Romeyn ’18, Samantha Scott ’20 and Kobe Tray ’19, each breaking their own records. Kobe Tray won his third straight New England title in diving with a score of 465.45. Girls varsity squash earned the Founders League title, beating Hotchkiss and came in top ten in the nation in Division One. The varsity archery team won all its meets.

ARCHERY Varsity season record: 4–0 Captains: Riley Choi ’18, Adedamola Adeyemi ’18 Highlights: Three varsity team members, Riley Choi ’18, Sebastian Chang ’18, and Ariel Zhang ’18, scored in the top three spots for their respective ages and gender categories at the New England Open Archery Competition.

BASKETBALL Boys varsity season record: 22–5 Captains: Caden Dumas ’18, Brad Landry ’18, Jayden Nixon ’18, Jake Sullivan ’18, Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan ’18 Highlight: Won the New England Class A title.

Girls varsity season record: 17–7 Captains: Samantha Gallo ’18, Claudia PagnozziSchwam ’18 Highlights: Beat Deerfield to close regular season; made the New England Tournament for the second straight year.

RECORD BREAKING!

Captain Scott Romeyn ’18 won 50/100 Free at New Englands (breaking the NE Record in the 50 Free both in yards and meters).

Additionally, Scott was honored with the Babcock Award, given to the boy who has contributed to swimming, community, and overall leadership.

ICE HOCKEY Boys varsity season record: 7–16–1 Captains: Jack Hoey ’18, Cal Stewart ’18, Faisal Al-Saif ’18 Highlight: Beat Deerfield.

Girls varsity season record: 6–10–2 Captains: Alexis Takashima ’18, Nicole McGuigan ’18 Highlights: Closed season with a four–game win streak, beating Taft and Cushing.

SQUASH Boys varsity season record: 8–13 Captains: Robinson Armour ’18, Wesley Fang ’18 Highlights: Captain Robinson Armour ’18 played every match in four years as Number 1; named to the All-NEPSAC team; Ryan Kelly ’18, All-NEPSAC honorable mention.

Girls varsity season record: 13–6 Captains: Keeley Osborn ’18, Madison Sakheim ’18 Highlight: Won Founders League and Sportsmanship Award at New Englands.

SWIMMING & DIVING Boys varsity season record: 4–4 Captains: Scott M. Romeyn ’18, Daniel M. Shao ’18, Benjamin Zhao ’18 Highlights: Finished second at Founders League, 6th at New England Championships; Captain Scott Romeyn ’18 broke the New England record in the 50 Free, both in yards and meters. Additionally, Scott was honored with the Babcock Award, given to the boy who has contributed to swimming, community, and overall leadership.

Girls varsity season record: 7–2 Captains: Josephine C. Mah ’18, Caroline A. Quinn ’18 Highlights: Won Founders League; finished fourth at New England Championships; Samantha Scott ’20 broke 50 free Choate record.

WRESTLING Varsity season record: 9–4 Captains: Sam Grabowski-Clark ’20, Matt Cuomo ’19 Highlights: Holden Zegara ’20 won his weight class at Class A championship; Matt Cuomo ’19, Cameron Polemeni-Hagarty ’18 and Sam Grabowski-Clark ’20 also had strong seasons.

58

SCOREBOARD | Winter Sports Wrap-up

1

2

3 4

1 Jordan Obi ’20 going high for a ball against Exeter.

2 Wrestler Tommy Wachtell ’19 against Hotchkiss.

3 Mia Krishnamurthy ’19 in game against Hotchkiss.

4 Cooper Swift ’19 patrolling the blue line on the

power play vs. Taft.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 59

5

6 7

9

5 Co-captain Elliot Sawyer-Kaplan ’18 drives to the hoop.

6 Co-Captain Riley Choi ’18 at Amherst Archery Club in Florence, Mass.

7 Sabrina Kim ’21 gets the puck through to the net from the point.

8 Sam Curtis ’20 rallies along the backhand wall.

8

9 Alli Opuszynski ’20 at varsity swim meet against Miss Porter’s.

60

BOOKSHELF

In this issue, economists propose fundamental changes that will both enhance economic growth and diminish economic inequality; an athlete recounts her improbable journey as she enters the world of women’s professional bicycle racing at age 34, testing her limits of endurance; a memoirist recalls her life as the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to France; and a novelist, inspired by his own Nigerian heritage of gleaming color and gripping mythology, crafts a fantasy for young adults.

Radical Markets

By Eric A. Posner and E. Glen Weyl ’03 | Reviewed by Donald Firke

RADICAL MARKETS: UPROOTING CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY FOR A JUST SOCIETY Author: Eric A. Posner and E. Glen Weyl ’03 Publisher: Princeton University Press About the Reviewer: Donald Firke is the former Dean of Faculty at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Posner and Weyl, true to the title of their book, take a bold, fresh look at current global economic, political, and social conditions and propose fundamental changes that will both enhance economic growth and diminish economic inequality within and across nations. Their cogent analysis of the status quo is coupled with thought-provoking recommendations.

Implementation of their daring and original ideas could spur global economic growth to levels not seen for more than half a century, while simultaneously reducing income inequality significantly.

A concise review of the current global economy reveals two serious, widespread problems that must be faced – sluggish economic growth and rising income inequality. To put it simply, typical citizens in wealthy nations no longer expect to be better off than their parents. Posner and Weyl coin the term "stagnequality" (similar to the term "stagflation" used to describe the high inflation and unemployment of the 1970s) to indicate the extent to which the current economic problems are intertwined. Yet the current situation is somewhat similar to what the classical economists, including Adam Smith, faced centuries ago. And, as Smith and others stressed the role that free markets (a radical idea at the time) could play to improve economic efficiency, Posner and Weyl present radical ways in which markets can once again make the economy both more efficient and more equitable.

Up first is a careful look at ways to optimize property usage. Their suggestion of a "Common Ownership Self-Assessed Tax" on wealth would lead to a radical shift in the concept of property ownership, create widespread, continuous real-time auctions, and encourage citizens to be more engaged in their communities. The revenues generated through such a tax would lead to substantial redistribution of wealth. It would also stimulate economic growth by ensuring that property is put to its most productive uses.

Quadratic voting is perhaps the most exciting of the many original and powerful ideas in the book.

QV requires communities to move from the familiar one-person, one-vote model to a system where individuals can accumulate voting (or "voice") credits that can be used to gain additional votes that express the importance of a specific outcome to the voter.

As a special treat for many alums, former Choate math teacher David Quarfoot is cited in the description of Quadratic Voting, because he led the research that established the validity of QV as an accurate measure of the intensity of preference among surveyed individuals. In addition to its use in surveys and general elections, QV could also be used by elected representatives and would likely help break the political gridlock that seems to afflict many nations.

The authors also propose radical new markets for immigration via the expansion of the H1-B and J-1 visa programs to allow individuals to sponsor immigrants. Additionally, updated anti-trust measures would allow markets to function more freely and efficiently by limiting the ability of institutional investors to influence markets, including the financial sector. Finally, radical markets could transform social media. Posner and Weyl advocate for the creation of markets to compensate individuals who supply tech giants such as Facebook and Google with valuable personal data that is in turn used in the development of artificial intelligence.

Radical Markets provides incisive analysis, provocative diagnoses, and specific solutions to the major political and economic problems of our times. It is a stimulating and compelling contribution to the field of political economics.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 61

The Wrong Side of Comfortable

By Amy Smith Charity ’95 | Reviewed by Will Morris

THE WRONG SIDE OF COMFORTABLE: CHASE YOUR DREAM. DISCOVER YOUR POTENTIAL. TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE. Author: Amy Smith Charity ’95 Publisher: Grinta Press About the Reviewer: Will Morris is Director of Residential Life and an avid cyclist.

The frantic hiss of brake pads biting carbon rims, a muffled grunt, and a moment of weightlessness; then, gravity, and the hollow thunk of carbon bicycle tubes and flesh and bone tumbling across pavement; finally, Amy’s awareness dawns on a tangled mess of teammates and machinery in a roadside gutter in Richmond, Va. She and her team have just crashed, the day before she was set to represent Optum, the top team in women’s professional cycling, at the Team Time Trial at the 2015 UCI World Road Race Championships.

Amy Smith Charity ’95 recounts her improbable journey to that moment (and the moments thereafter) in The Wrong Side of Comfortable, the inspirational memoir she authored after retiring from women’s professional bicycle racing in 2015.

But her story is as much about what it took for her, at age 34, to set aside a steady job in the financial industry, a mortgage in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and a husband and dog, and set off in pursuit of a dream to race a bicycle. There was neither fame nor fortune to be had as Amy traded a comfortable life for a monastic routine of training rides, simulated races, and recovery routines, and even when she earned a team contract she was never sure when the phone would ring and she would be off to a race in Europe or South America.

Bicycle racing is a grunt sport, requiring primarily an ability to endure the pain of repeated and intense physical efforts. Like a box of matches, a cyclist only has so many efforts before they burn out, so they must be tactically astute and dose their efforts, both in training and in racing. Amy first encountered these training principles in the Larry Hart Pool as a new fourth former at Choate Rosemary Hall in 1992, where under Coach Bob Burns, she experienced the structure, camaraderie and discipline necessary to peak for the final race of the season. The result: Amy felt superhuman in the pool for the final race, and

sport had her hooked. In swimming, talent was represented by your practice lane. Amy was in lane six, far from the lane one superswimmers, but in gravitating to grueling events like the 500M freestyle or 200M individual medley, Amy discovered that a lack of talent could be mitigated by her love of suffering through the long burn. Amy also found inspiration in her teammates and in her role on the team. Though she had never played a day of water polo in her life, she was invited to participate in the fall water polo season by Coach Paul Olberman. Not only was it a great way to find a niche, but Amy experienced first-hand the discipline and collaboration that went hand-inhand with striving towards team goals.

Amy’s book offers something for every reader, no matter their familiarity with professional cycling.

Avid cyclists and fans with a deep knowledge of the sport will be satisfied by anecdotes rich with specific details about race tactics, wattage-based interval workouts, Strava segments, and training stress scores. And, while other books offer these insights about male cyclists, Amy’s perspective on the women’s peloton is new and refreshing. But even if you haven’t experienced firsthand the all-consuming fatigue of a hard cycling effort (legs quivering, vision blurred, the taste of blood in your throat), or don’t know the difference between a criterium and a time trial, each of us is seeking fulfillment in our lives. We can all relate to the hard choices Amy describes, the trade-offs she was willing to make, and we can all be inspired by the commitment she demonstrated in pursing her dream.

There is something very right about The Wrong Side of Comfortable, and not just because Amy and her team patched themselves up and successfully raced the TTT in Richmond. Amy reminds us that finding purpose, testing your limits, and stepping away from your comfort zone are ingredients for a life lived richly, whether on a bicycle saddle or not.

62 BOOKSHELF

Letters from Paris

By Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57 | Reviewed by Katie Jewett

LETTERS FROM PARIS: MY LIFE AS THE WIFE OF THE U.S. AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE FROM 2001–2005 Author: Gretchen Leach ’57 Publisher: Vantage Point Historical Services Reviewer: Katie Jewett is the Director of Curricular Initiatives at Choate Rosemary Hall.

From the beginning of her experience as the wife of the ambassador to France, current Choate Trustee Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57 recognized the magic in the great City of Light: “Even now the whole landscape feels like the set to an opera,” she says. “No high rises – just narrow sidewalks, parks, flowers, trees, and the river. Everywhere is a view.”

Fortunately for Mrs. Leach, her time at Rosemary Hall had offered two important ingredients to facilitate her diplomatic work: a strong command of the French language and an understanding of what it means to arrive in a new place and quickly conform to its rules, both the obvious and the unwritten ones. Her new book Letters in Paris is the tale of one grand city and her experience there – an insider’s guide to everything from the best Paris flea markets, fabulous recipes, and stunning photos, to the details of what it’s like to live alongside bodyguards and descriptions of great influencers and historic moments. Written with grace and humor, it is a book that defies being reduced to a single genre and deserves to be savored like a fine Champagne.

As she moved into the Ambassador’s residence in Paris in 2001, the industrious and savvy Leach clearly sensed that she was being given an opportunity offered to few people. She needed somehow to capture that aforementioned magic - to preserve her memories and convey the uniqueness of an uncommon experience. Given that she could not fill her valise with her friends, children and grandchildren to accompany her, she had to find another way to share her Paris sojourn with them. What better way to do so than via the vehicle of the Marquise de Merteuil herself,

the letter? At the end of most of her days as Madame l’Ambassadrice, Mrs. Leach created an epistolary record, a virtual scrapbook of snippets of stories, photographs, invitations and other memorable evidence of her piece of history. And a historic era it was.

Just days after arriving in Paris, the twin towers fell and Mrs. Leach and her husband found themselves representing the United States in France at a moment when our country needed to put its very best foot forward, to rise above rancor and discord, and create the small instants of timeless connection that keep our humanity whole, even through periods of strife.

Instinctively aware that Americans abroad are all ambassadors and that our country is judged in part by the way all of us behave when we are out of our comfort zones, Mrs. Leach has collected her letters into a volume of valuable lessons for any of us setting forth beyond our country’s borders. What may have begun as a gift to her family and an act of gratitude toward the ambassador who made it all possible is in the end a tangible manifestation of Mrs. Leach’s commitment to being “a positive force in the world.”

It serves as an exemplar of “the foundation for positive and productive leadership, contribution to society and lifelong personal development” that is articulated in our very own Central Qualities of a Choate Education.

A small seed of a learning sowed in a single student at Rosemary Hall has been brought to fruition by a strong woman who is dedicated to school, family, country and, fortunately for us, to posterity and the myriad possibilities of the future.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2018 63

Beasts Made of Night

By Tochi Onyebuchi ’05 | Reviewed by Brianna St. John What if you could physically purge guilt from your soul? Imagine if your wrongdoings had a price tag, and for a quick exchange of coins, you could rid yourself of the emotional burden of your sins. It would be as if you had never committed the act – you would be free.

Now imagine someone else carrying that burden for the rest of their life. An innocent person would forever feel the pull of your guilt around their heart.

Would you let someone else suffer for your sins?

The debut young adult novel by Tochi Onyebuchi ’05, Beasts Made of Night, tackles this question and all its consequences. In the city of Kos, sins are disposable, from the smallest lie to the most corrupt and brutal acts. Citizens pay to have their sins purged, but sins do not simply disappear. They must be absorbed by an aki, a person born with the ability to eat sin. After a sin is eaten, it appears as a beast-shaped tattoo on the aki’s body, permanently branding them physically and emotionally with someone else’s guilt.

Seventeen-year-old Taj is the most skilled aki in Kos. His skin is a menagerie of sin. He and the other aki live as outcasts in the slums of Kos, viewed as unclean by the rest of the city. Then, Taj is called to the palace to eat a sin belonging to a member of the royal family. The beast he faces is unlike any he has seen before: it is bigger, fiercer, and more wicked.

Taj’s narrow victory over the sin-beast only throws him deeper into danger, as his power sweeps him into a battle for control of the city. As friends and enemies begin to blur, Taj must fight to discover who he can trust and what role the aki play in the political and moral storm that threatens all of Kos.

BEASTS MADE OF NIGHT Author: Tochi Onyebuchi ’05 Publisher: Razorbill Reviewer: Brianna St. John is Communications Assistant at Choate Rosemary Hall.

BITWISE Author: David Auerbach ’94 Publisher: Pantheon

THE GO-BACKER Author: Peter R. Decker ’52 Publisher: Western Slope Press

Onyebuchi crafts a fantasy of gleaming color and gripping mythology. The novel takes great care to build an engaging, fully-realized world and fill it with diverse characters whose humanity grounds the fantasy around them. Inspired by his Nigerian heritage, Onyebuchi’s Kos is described in rich detail, even as it bears a painfully familiar underbelly: Taj navigates a world marred by prejudice and injustice, where the look of someone’s skin determines how they move through society. Through its darkness, the story crackles with mystery, hope, and magic as Onyebuchi skillfully balances tragedy and humor in this beautiful introduction to Kos. Taj is a fantastic tour-guide through the city, illuminating the novel with his wit, brashness, and vulnerability. Through Taj, Onyebuchi makes Kos feel like home. As Taj confronts both friend and foe at the novel’s heart-racing conclusion, the stage is set for an eagerly-anticipated sequel. Make no mistake: Onyebuchi’s world will shake you, but you will not want to leave.

ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES FOR LOSS Author: Joanna Cantor ’01 Publisher: Western Slope Press

64

END NOTE |

Empowering Student Creativity B y J o e l B ack o n In his 2006 TED Talk, “Schools Kill Creativity,” Sir Ken Robinson, a leading thinker on transforming education, challenges all educators with this: “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” I’d like to propose a variation on his statement that ended up being an epiphany for me as a classroom teacher: “If you’re not prepared to make a mistake, you’ll never give up control of your classroom.”

How does my epiphany relate more broadly to Choate Rosemary Hall’s adoption of iPads as an empowering teaching tool? In one respect, it doesn’t. Choate science teacher and academic technologist Deron Chang often says, “Remember, it’s not about the iPad.” As with many of my colleagues, I wanted to be in control during most of my teaching years. Perfect lessons were the goal, and one amazing thing about Choate is that I can say with confidence I’ve witnessed some of my colleagues’ perfect lessons.

If we empower students, however, life in the classroom will no longer be perfect. My transition to empowering students reminded me of helping my son, Jacob, learn to drive. I was sitting in the passenger seat trying to stay calm and quiet, but terrified that he would forget to check his mirror, not use his turn signal, drive too fast or too slow, or stop too short. Despite all my angst and trepidation, the sessions in the car generally went well. So perhaps I worried needlessly about giving up control.

As I gradually reimagined my daily lessons, one at a time, I quickly saw opportunities for the iPad to play a significant role as a tool supporting my students’ newly charged responsibility for their own learning. In fact, some students gradually discovered that, at times, the iPad was the key tool in support of their success. It was not the solution; they still did the thinking – the heavy lifting – but the iPad helped them navigate the path by empowering them with tools for creating and communicating, exposing their thinking, and organizing their work. Suddenly, my mood changed from fear of failure to a comforting feeling of satisfaction. Some of my colleagues commented that now I was playing a secondary role in the classroom. I invited them to visit and watch. My message was that my role had changed, but not diminished. In fact, I had discovered my true value as a teacher. With a combination of expertise and experience, I was guiding each one of those students or teams of students to personal success, and their iPads were my assistants.

One of the projects was completed in our Use and Abuse of Power elective. The topic was “Economic Inequality and Education,” and after a few days of readings, discussion, and viewing clips from the film Waiting for Superman, students formed groups on their own with the following goal: create something inspiring that makes a statement and offers a plan of action to address the challenges of economic inequality in education. There were no specific instructions, no rubrics, and no constraints placed on their work (as long as it was consistent with community standards). The results, with four classes and homework days of preparation, were breathtaking. Projects ranged from audio interviews of students in three American communities (large, small, and suburban) to contrast experiences with economic diversity, a narrated infographic addressing why education inequality is stunting economic growth, a video scribe presentation (chalk talk) analyzing the impact of our current system of incarceration on education, to a video documentary on education inequality using three global casestudies: China, Jamaica, and Washington, D.C. All were superb, created through the tools provided by the iPad. Were the projects technically perfect? Certainly not, but perhaps more specific instructions and requirements would have resulted in better technical work with far less depth and creativity. I spent years assigning those kinds of projects, almost always wishing that the students had looked further for insights and been more creative in their design and delivery. Letting students take responsibility for their learning, armed with the creation, communication, and organization tools of the iPad, raised their learning to a higher and deeper level.

That’s the symbiotic relationship between empowering students and their primary empowering tool.

Joel Backon is a history teacher and Director of Academic Technology.

He holds the Forest D. Dorn Endowed Faculty Chair.

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ATHLETES ARE PLAYING LACROSSE THIS SPRING… a gift of $95 could buy a goal net.

POUNDS OF COMPOST ARE COLLECTED FROM THE KITCHEN AT THE KOHLER ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER EACH YEAR... a gift of $2,500 could provide reusable water bottles for our students.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL ENJOY THE SPRING MUSICAL... a gift of $1,000 could cover the royalty fees.

STUDENTS ARE STUDYING ROBOTICS THIS YEAR… a gift of $53 can buy motors for a drivetrain.

Whatever the number, your gift makes a tangible difference in the lives of our students.

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