2018 Landon Winter Magazine

L A NDON W IN TE R 2018

COFFEE & COEXISTENCE With a nonprofit organization and a for-profit coffee business, Dr. Tarek Elgawhary ’97 aims to unify communities across the globe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

24

What’s Inside

Landon School Board of Trustees 2017-2018

Features

Chairman: Scott S. Harris ’84 Vice Chairman: Katheryn P. Wellington

P ’11 ’13 ’15 ’18 President: Jim Neill Secretary: Martin J. Weinstein P ’20 Treasurer: Steven C. Mayer P ’16

6 | 2018 Strategic Plan Landon’s new Strategic Plan sets a road map for the school’s next 10 years and beyond.

24 | Where There’s Coffee, There’s a Way

Trustees Emeriti:

Peter J. FitzGerald ’50, P ’83 Knight Kiplinger ’65, P ’99 Lawrence Lamade ’65, P ’00 ’03 Samuel M. Lehrman H ’09, P ’11 Russell “Rusty” C. Lindner ’72

With the nonprofit Coexist and its for-profit coffee business offshoot, Dr. Tarek Elgawhary ’97 seeks to unify communities in conflict areas across the globe.

32 | Q&As

Trustees:

Anderson Arnold ’78 Alexander Baldwin P ’18 Michael Banks ’92 Michael Connolly ’75 Donald Dell ’56 Matthew Coursen ’99 William Eacho III ’72, P ’09 Robert Edwards Jr. P ’17 Jeffrey Freed P ’11 ’13 ’18 Kenneth Jenkins ’78 Aranthan “Steve” Jones II P ’19 ’24 Olivier Kamanda ’99 Douglas Kiker ’93 Kenwyn Kindfuller P ’12 ’14 ’15 Rev. Steve Klingelhofer ’60 Douglas Lagarde John Oswald P ’12 N. David Povich ’54 Harmar Thompson ’90

We talk with “genius grant”-winning human rights advocate Greg Asbed ’81, Magic Giant musician Austin Bisnow ’06, and Landon’s new Director of Alumni Relations Gus Umanzor ’08.

Editor’s Note:

Thank you for your support of Landon and our magazine. We have changed our distribution dates to summer and winter to deliver more current news, photos and event coverage.

32

Please email us at communications@landon.net with your questions and concerns.

Departments 2 18 22 41

Landon Lowdown Arts Athletics

Landon Magazine Headmaster Jim Neill

Alumni News

Editor Meredith Josef

Assistant Editor Tom DiChiara

Contributing Writers Tom DiChiara Derrick Chengery

Our Mission

Landon School prepares talented boys for productive lives as accomplished, responsible and caring men whose actions are guided by the principles of perseverance, teamwork, honor and fair play.

Designer Hillary Reilly

22

On Our Cover Dr. Tarek Elgawhary ’97, photographed November 13 in Rockville, Maryland, is the CEO and president of Coexist Foundation and Coexist Corp, a non-profit organization and for-profit business, respectively, that work together to bring social cohesion to communities in conflict. For more, read the story on page 24. Photo credit: Edgar Artiga

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

Photography Coexist Foundation DN Photo/MagicGiant.com GoLandon.com James Kegley Edgar Artiga Landon Communications Staff Landon School Archives Landon Yearbook Staff MacArthur Foundation Wendy Steck Merriman 1

Smith ’18 Is Youth of the Year

T

he Potomac Chamber

others. Through week-long

Harrison Smith ’18 the

church, Harrison has rebuilt

of Commerce named

2018 Potomac Youth of the Year, given annually to a high school senior who resides in Potomac,

Maryland, exhibits strong scholarship and leadership qualities, and uses his talents to help the community.

“I try to make sure that when

Civility Rules

I

n politics, as in life, civility is of the utmost importance. This was the message retired United States Senators Richard “Dick” Lugar (R– IN) and Byron Dorgan (D–ND) had for students when they dis-

cussed the timely topic of “Civil and Bipartisan Leadership in Uncivil

Times.” Their dialogue was part of Landon’s 2017 Nelson Leadership

LOWDOWN 5 Commit to Play College Lacrosse

F

ive members of the Class of 2018 formalized their commitment to play NCAA lacrosse in 2018–19 when they signed national

letters of intent (NLIs) November 8. Pictured from left to right:

John Geppert will play for the University of Maryland; Joey Epstein

Program, established in 1983 to honor on-campus leader Chris Nelson ’86, who passed away of leukemia in 1982, by exposing students to models of leadership excellence.

that were ravaged by Superstorm Sandy; built a home for a

newlywed couple of limited means in West Virginia;

and repaired a fire-damaged homeless shelter in Athens, Ohio.

“When I’m on a mission, I’m

doing it to check a box; I’m

doing it because I want to do it

and to get the most out of it,”

and it just feels good,” he said.

doing it to its fullest potential Harrison said. “I apply that to academics, to sports, to everything in my life.”

It also applies to helping

— I’m not being graded on it — Harrison is a member of

the Chamber Singers and Bearitones, acts in school

musicals, and is a leader on

— Harrison Smith ’18, Potomac Youth of the Year the riflery, cross country and

academic success and exemplifies

2017 Riddleberger Alumni

perseverance, honor and civility.

track teams. He earned the Scholarship Award for the

the qualities of teamwork, “Harrison is truly an

highest grade point average in

exemplary student and human

Dartmouth Book Award,

Katz said. “I cannot wait to see

the junior class and the 2017

given to a junior who achieves

being,” Form VI Dean Andy

what the future holds for him.”

“When you know people, you’re much more likely to always to

U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years and is a New York Times

best-selling author. “And that’s what’s so important with respect to our

politics today — to try to think through, ‘How do we bring people back together so that they know and treat each other with respect?’ ”

“If you have at least a background of thoughtfulness about you... in

which you understand all the troubles that people have, your ability to

University of Michigan. More seniors are expected to announce their

and persuasive,” added Lugar (grandfather of Preston Lugar ’22), who

college athletics plans this spring.

homes in Bayville, New Jersey,

I try to make sure that when I’m doing something, I’m not doing it to check a box; I’m doing it to its fullest potential and to get the most out of it. I apply that to academics, to sports, to everything in my life.

be civil,” said Dorgan, who served in the Senate for 18 years and the

for Johns Hopkins University; Gilbert Sentimore for the University

of Utah; Mo Sillah for Towson University; and Zach Johnson for the

I’m doing something, I’m not

service “missions” with his

remain civil, to even try to be kindly, is going to be much more effective served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years, received the Presidential Medal

of Freedom in 2013 from President Barack Obama, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in deactivating thousands of nuclear warheads once aimed at U.S. soil.

Although Dorgan and Lugar are members of opposing parties,

the two men spoke of their mutual respect for each other and of the

benefits of civility in achieving political unity. As Dorgan pointed out, a prime example of this occurred when Lugar was able to overcome

bipartisan obstacles to negotiate the deactivation of Russian nuclear warheads pointed at the U.S.

“The lubrication of our democracy is compromise,” Dorgan said.

“Dick and I disagreed plenty, but we’re good friends and we agreed on a lot of things. But if Dick said, ‘Here’s my position,’ and I said,

‘Well, here’s mine,’ and we’re quite a ways apart, the approach we would

generally take was trying to figure out, ‘Well, how do we find someplace in between here that at least moves both of our interests forward?’ ”

2

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

3

LANDON LOWDOWN

Collaborate to Lead

Soccer Wins First Double IAC Title

M

W

ore than 160

hen the final whistle blew on varsity soccer’s 2-0

sophomores, juniors

victory over Georgetown Prep in the Interstate Athletic

and seniors from

Conference (IAC) Tournament championship game

Landon and Holton-Arms

November 2, the Bears earned the program’s first outright IAC title

Schools attended the inaugural

in more than 30 years. The victory also marked the first time Landon

Landon-Holton Leadership

won both the IAC regular season title and the IAC Tournament crown

Summit, a two-day conference

since the tournament’s inception in 2012, and helped the Bears earn

designed to explore the skills and

the No. 2 ranking in Washington Post’s list of the best teams in the area.

values that make a good leader

“I had this year’s starting lineup set November 15 last year — I

and to outline a unified vision

knew this was going to be a special team,” Head Coach Bill Reed said.

the 2017-2018 school year.

these guys.”

At the beginning of the season, we knew what we could be, and –Noah Hannam ’18 we all bought in.

students to think about what we

certainly were after the Bears’ October 20 game against St. Stephen’s

and Drew Parker ’18 spearheaded an offense that tallied 44 goals this

what we could be doing better,

2-1, and lost leading scorer Zach Johnson ’18 to an injury in the

and associated action steps for

“That never happens. There are always question marks. But not with

“The goal is really to empower

There may not have been question marks last November, but there

are doing well as a community,

& St. Agnes. The team suffered just its second defeat of the season,

look at that really closely, and ultimately as a larger group

coalesce around a shared vision,”

said Landon Upper School science teacher and Form IV Dean Ray

Head of School Susanna Jones were featured speakers as well.

Students learned about the

Wright, who taught a senior

merits of listening to understand,

for two years and conceived of the

and practiced “active listening”

English elective about leadership

Leadership Summit after learning about a similar program at Severn School in Annapolis. “The

idea is to then carry that vision

throughout the entire school year, as opposed to naming it and then

not really doing anything with it.”

The Landon students, led

by Student Council President Justin Herbert ’18 and Form

rather than simply to respond,

in conversation. They discussed

the strengths and weaknesses of

their respective schools and took

enjoy. I think that can help

student-athletes could attend.

leadership styles. In small groups

great tool for a leader to have.”

incredibly important and, I think,

an online test to identify their

of mixed Landon and Holton

them to use their leadership skills.

Pingle ’20 said. “You don’t always

played scenarios that would require “It was really interesting to see

unified and inclusive community

Landon thought and how their

Over the course of two

days, students attended several

grades and kids who are new to impressions came across,” Sam Hanson ’18 said.

“The [workshops] really

workshops, led by faculty and

emphasized the act of listening,”

and participated in smaller

learned to engage my classmates

staff from Landon and Holton, breakout sessions often led by

students. Landon Headmaster Jim Neill and Holton-Arms

4

“I’ve learned that a lot of what

makes a good leader is courage

how everybody from different

guided by the motto “Stay True.”

strengthen relationships and is a

students, the boys and girls role-

VI President Trey Armstrong

’18, agreed on a vision for a more

–Ray Wright, Science Teacher and Form IV Dean

Matthew Lowrie ’18 added. “I more about who they are as opposed to a surface-level

conversation about what they

and listening,” Holton’s Annie

“The accommodation factor was

echoed to the kids how important leadership is and how valuable this experience is,” she said.

Landon and Holton have

have to have the most powerful

already had follow-up leadership

position you have and just try and

ensure that they are on track to

role; you have to take whatever lead others.”

Holton Assistant Director

meetings and workshops to

achieve their respective visions.

“I really want this to be

of Athletics Janet McCormick

a case where the leadership

was impressed with the many

throughout the entire year and

helped moderate the summit and ways both schools supported

the endeavor, from faculty, staff

and students sacrificing summer

vacation time to athletics coaches moving preseason practices so

programming is carried

goes across divisions,” Wright

said. “If we can have ethics and

“At the beginning of the season, we knew what we could be, and

process. Rather than fold, the squad reeled off four consecutive shutout

we all bought in,” Hannam said. “I think we represented Landon well

Albans to secure the IAC regular season crown and a 2-0 win vs. Prep

with our hard work.”

victories to close out the season, including a 2-0 triumph over St.

If we can have ethics and leadership permeate the culture [at our schools], I think that could be really powerful.

season, another record for Reed.

to hoist the IAC Tournament cup.

The regular season and tournament victories capped a 15-2-2

campaign that Reed says was unequivocally the “best ever” in his 19

years as soccer head coach. Goalkeeper Alex Freed ’18 and a defense led by Peter Gilbert ’18 and Parker Lotstein ’18 held opponents to

just seven goals over the course of 19 games, a record low for Landon during Reed’s tenure. Johnson, Noah Hannam ’18, Allan Kupka ’18

throughout the season and rewarded the school as well as ourselves

“The majority of us have played together since seventh grade, and

this bond formed throughout those years — we became a family,” Gilbert said. “I remember Mr. Reed saying at the end-of-the-

year soccer party last year [after we’d lost in the IAC Tournament

championship game], ‘I want it all [in 2017]. I want both titles. I want

to go undefeated. This team can do it. It’s special.’ That really drove us to do it for him and for one another.” See more on page 22.

Football Scores 21st IAC Crown

F

or the first time since 2012 and the 21st time

overall, Coach Paul Padalino’s football Bears are IAC champions. To secure a tie with

Georgetown Prep for the title, Landon triumphed 10–3 over Prep, pulled out an emotional 27–26 double-overtime victory over Episcopal in the

Homecoming game, and then defeated St. Albans 42–13 in the last game of the season.

The squad finished their campaign with a 9–1

record, good enough to earn the No. 17 spot in

Washington Post’s poll of the best area teams — the

first time Landon has made the top 20 since 1994.

See more on page 22.

leadership permeate the culture [at our schools], I think that could be really powerful.”

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WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

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LANDON LOWDOWN

Landon 2018 Strategic Plan In the fall of 2016, the school began its first comprehensive

goal-setting exercise in 12 years. The 2018 Strategic Plan challenges us to grow as a school and live our mission to the fullest.

6

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WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

7

LANDON LOWDOWN

Landon’s 2018 Strategic Plan is focused on six key areas.

We spent a year developing the six goals and the associated action steps that make up this strategic plan. This process included commentary

from hundreds of community members and engagement by a 35-person

committee whose voices represented a wide array of Landon constituencies and viewpoints. Through this group’s deliberations, input from our

consultant Pat Bassett, and thoughtful review of community insights, we

refined the plan to its final form, which our Board of Trustees approved in

May 2017. Since then, we have not only begun to map out specifically how and when we will carry out the plan’s important ambitions but also taken initial steps toward achieving some of the goals themselves.

Character

Faculty

Instill in our boys the skills, perspective, commitment, and personal fortitude needed to lead lives defined by our Code of Character.

Recruit, hire, support, and retain exceptional teachercoach-mentors who live and deliver Landon’s mission.

ACTION PLAN

Expand investment in professional development that meaningfully

Strongly advance a culture and experience that promotes ethical

and honorable decision-making, strong character, and the ability to

Advance a challenging and engaging academic program that balances traditional and innovative practices and experiences, that exemplifies the best in boys’ education, and that produces graduates ready to thrive in college and beyond.

supports faculty growth.

respond constructively to the pressures of modern life.

Adopt updated school-wide evaluation system that promotes growth,

Build intentional, new school-wide programming related to ethics,

and highest levels of teaching practices.

leadership, citizenship, life skills, and service.

Regularly evaluate and update our Code of Character, our Civility Code, and our Honor Code to ensure they remain current and

Academics

ACTION PLAN

supports our teacher-coach-mentor model, and advances consistent

Provide greater definition of the teacher-coach-mentor model so that we live out this approach thoughtfully and fully.

dynamic.

Ensure the school is deliberate in how it attracts and retains top-tier

Develop ongoing parent education programming to promote a

Landon mission.

vibrant partnership between school and home.

talent that rewards performance, dedication, and commitment to the

ACTION PLAN Review and update school-wide curriculum in areas to include writing and speaking, STEM, senior projects, Advanced Placement, and programming with sister school Holton-Arms.

Update curriculum “infrastructure” to reflect a comprehensive backward-

designed scope and sequence in terms of skills, content, and outcomes that affirm our program’s goal of preparing boys for college and for life.

Ensure pedagogy and curriculum are consistent with the very best in boys’

education and current research about boys and their overall cognitive, social, and emotional well-being.

Revise the school schedule to ensure it fosters community across divisions and meets the objectives of this plan.

Develop a sustainable, school-wide, and integrated approach to academic technology and technology infrastructure.

Evaluate the college counseling process so that it remains proactive, thoughtful, and supportive.

8

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

9

LANDON LOWDOWN

NUMBERS Community members make up the strategic planning committee

Campus

Resources

Renovate, revitalize, and preserve our exceptional buildings and grounds to support current and future program needs.

Endow and secure Landon’s future while prudently managing current resources to sustain institutional excellence.

ACTION PLAN

ACTION PLAN

Develop and carry out a multiyear comprehensive campus

Invest appropriately in development and stewardship functions to

Address key facilities priorities including but not limited to

Launch ambitious and transformational capital campaign focused

to athletics facilities, and new gathering and collaboration areas.

tuition income.

master plan.

Lower School and Upper School renovations, targeted updates

Undertake facilities condition and capacities analyses to support proper, planned, and purposeful maintenance and use of all

Focus groups were held on campus

Surveys were conducted

spaces on campus.

recharge philanthropic energy.

on endowment growth, facilities renewal, and moderated reliance on

Execute on a long-term financial plan that emphasizes institutional sustainability and broad accessibility to the Landon experience.

Drive demand through admissions and retention practices that are inspired, proactive, and widely appealing.

Vigorously and broadly promote the quality, reality, and value of the Landon experience.

Community

Responses were received and read

Strengthen and enrich the tapestry of relationships that defines the Landon community.

The plan began with:

ACTION PLAN Imbue an authentic respect and appreciation for differences of all kinds through programming and practices that expand students’

understanding of others and that lead to lifelong brotherly bonds.

Promote a robust culture of trust through respect-based communications practices.

Strategic goals

Enrich the school population through broadened efforts to recruit and

Action steps

support students and faculty from diverse backgrounds.

Advance ongoing, thoughtful, and engaging outreach and

programming for all current parents, alumni, grandparents, and

Landon’s last strategic plan was in

10

extended families.

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

11

LANDON LOWDOWN

It’s Academic

The Character Builder them with so that every year every faculty member grows and continues

For example, in the Upper School we have a prefect system where 12

to be better as a professional?

seniors model honesty and respect, and they also teach. Recently, I had

We’re also looking at our daily schedule, looking to revise and

them teaching an ethics lesson to sixth graders. It was a simple lesson

refine it so that it meets our academic goals. I’m leading the Schedule

on organization, but we have found through honor trials that a lot of

Committee to determine what a new daily schedule might look like

times when kids make mistakes it’s because they are not organized.

and what are the new, exciting things that would enable us to do.

The seniors also went to the Lower School and taught third graders.

So we’re trying to get our students to be leaders who teach ethics in all three divisions.

You held a similar position at Boys’ Latin — what did you learn from

We have a great faculty here, and I have been incredibly impressed so far just going into classes and seeing our teachers in action.

–Charles Franklin, Assistant Head of School for Academics

that experience that you plan to apply here?

There are things that we know here at Landon from the decades of

educating boys that work, that we shouldn’t change. For instance, an

emphasis on clear and concise writing — that’s good. What I learned

with my experience at Boys’ Latin is that there’s a way to balance that with innovation, with asking questions like: What are boys who are

going to graduate not just this year but in three, five, seven years going to need when they head out into those environments that maybe we could be better at now?

At Boys’ Latin, I learned that asking those questions gets great

N

ew Assistant Head of School for Academics Charles

Franklin is a former college soccer player and golfer at

Amerherst College with a master’s in education from Johns

Hopkins University. Franklin has worked in the independent school world since 2001. He spent the past eight years at The Boys’ Latin

School in Baltimore, where he served as Upper School co-head and

director of academics from 2013 until he joined Landon this summer.

Here, he discusses his role at Landon, shares the lessons he learned at

The most powerful thing we do is the teacher-coach-mentor work that every teacher on campus does. That daily interaction with the boys is modeling honesty and respect.

–John Bellaschi, Director of Service, Ethics and Leadership

answers from the whole community and especially the faculty that know these boys and know education. It creates a space for conversations

about where we should head with our curriculum, which programs we should have... The conversations I’ve had with folks at Landon have been really encouraging on that front. People love this school, they

love what they do here, but they also have said, “Hey, let’s keep getting better.” When you mesh that together, that’s a really great place to be.

We have in every division an ethics curriculum. For example, in

the Middle School there is a very precise and deliberate curriculum of ethics that we teach every eight-day cycle. In the Upper School, we have regular ethics speeches followed by advisor discussions on the topic. We also bring in outside speakers for our Veterans Day

Assembly, Brinkley Lecture, Nelson Leadership Forum and others.

These are opportunities for boys to hear not only from teachers on

Landon campus but also people outside of campus resonating that same message of character.

Why do you think it’s so impactful for our older students to work with

B

the younger boys?

anfield Ethics Chair John Bellaschi took an expanded role this

Frankly, the younger boys get tired of hearing me and their teachers

for the implementation of the school’s new strategic plan. Below,

more of an impact on a third grader than my word does. As much

year as director of service, ethics and leadership in preparation

Bellaschi talks about what Landon already does to build strong character and reveals how the school plans to expand those programs.

telling them the same thing all the time. A senior’s word really has as the young kids get out of that, the older kids get even more. It’s

an invaluable thing to ask a 17- or 18-year-old to work with a third

grader. I think our seniors are much better men because of it. It’s that interaction between ages, generations, experiences that makes us a

You are also a teacher and a coach at Landon — what has that been like?

What are the main objectives of your new position?

Boys’ Latin, and reveals his vision for Landon’s curricular future.

For those of us who tend to do more administrative work, the thing

I think it’s an effort by Headmaster Jim Neill to double-down on what

How would you describe your role?

I think almost all of us got into this line of work in the first place.

lays out as goal No. 2 — and I’m paraphrasing — to help the boys lead

What programs do you hope to roll out in coming years?

lot of teachers here already doing that on a daily basis, but we’re trying

and leadership efforts more comprehensive, from grades 3 through

The assistant head of school for academics is an exciting role, and I

you always miss is teaching and interacting with the boys, which is why I’m teaching in the Middle School in the ethics program, and I’m

think it has a lot of potential to push Landon forward. There are a

coaching in the Upper School with the J.V. soccer team, so those

our curriculum, grades 3–12. What does that curriculum look like? Is

at independent schools and keep athletics as part of my life. It was

couple different areas that this job helps with. One is the oversight of it all aligned? Is it heading in the right direction, and where can we

head in the future? What innovative places can we take our curriculum so that the whole school moves in that direction?

It’s also working a lot with faculty. We have a great faculty here,

and I have been incredibly impressed so far just going into classes

and seeing our teachers in action. What professional development

opportunities should we be putting in front of them or supporting

12

have both been really fun... I’ve really enjoyed being able to work

a big part of my life during my education. As I look back now, the

wins and losses have all faded, but the people and the coaches that

made an impact on me, just like my teachers and advisors, have been

we’re already doing, which is character education. The strategic plan

lives defined by the high standards of our Code of Character. We have a

The primary thing we’re going to do is try to make our ethics, service

to make that more comprehensive in terms of curriculum. At the end

12. If there are ways to tie in what the third graders are doing to what

of the day, we’re trying to help boys be honest, be respectful, be good citizens and young men of character.

What are some programs you oversaw in previous years and new

tremendous. Getting to be a part of that for students in the classroom

initiatives from this year that are already working toward that goal?

doing this job.

every teacher on campus does. That daily interaction with the boys is

or boys on the athletics field is still a really exciting part of why I love

great community.

the sixth graders are doing to what the ninth graders are doing, we’re

going to focus on that. We’re doing lots of great community service and leadership work already, but that’s an area where we’re going to try to develop a more deliberate schoolwide programming effort.

The most powerful thing we do is the teacher-coach-mentor work that modeling honesty and respect. We also have a number of programs.

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

13

LANDON LOWDOWN

Greens Sale Highlights

Stay Golden

L

andon celebrated its Golden Bears — donors who contribute $2,500 or more to the school

L

andon’s annual Greens Sale & Holiday Boutique, held

in a fiscal year — with a reception September

November 30 and December 1, proved once again to be

23. Thank you to these Golden Bears and to all our

a fun, festive way for Bears to kick off the holiday season.

Bears for your continued support!

Landon families and members of the surrounding community

shopped for gorgeous greens arrangements and unique gifts at

dozens of boutique vendors and munched on treats from our Bear Bakery — all to raise funds for student financial assistance and

faculty enrichment. Thank you to all the volunteers who made the

Kathy Wellington P ’11 ’13 ’15 ’18 with Headmaster Jim Neill and his wife Amy McNamer

event a success!

Martin Weinstein P ’20, Steven Davidson and wife Claudia Callaway P ’18, and Lori Weinstein P ’20

Holly and Jack Leachman ’69, P ’94 ’95

Clockwise: Students get in the spirit with Lisa Hertzberg P ’21 (center) and Pam Taylor P ’21 (far right).

Steve Jones and Noel Bradley P ’20 deck the halls in Lehrman Atrium.

Diehard volunteers decorate campus.

Thank you to Greens Sale Chair Pam Taylor P ’21!

Mojdeh Razavi P ’23 browses the beautiful greens arrangements.

Angela and Michael Willingham P ’25 with Bill and Holly Paul P ’25

Laura and Keith Hoffman P ’17 ’21 ’24 Monica and Anand Desai P ’18 with Kenwyn Kindfuller P ’12 ’14 ’15

14

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WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

15

LANDON LOWDOWN

Next Steps for Bordley, Armstrong

Lacrosse’s Next Leaders

A

t the end of the

continues to dedicate, himself

longtime teacher-coach-

all things Landon.”

2017–18 school year,

personally and professionally to

mentor Rob Bordley ’66 will

With Armstrong’s son Trey

step down as head varsity la-

’18 graduating from Landon in

teaching duties, while Director

head and current director of

crosse coach and cut back on his

June, the former Lower School

of Enrollment, Admissions and

enrollment, admissions and

Community Len Armstrong will

community has decided that

leave Landon to pursue other

the time is right to explore

opportunities in education.

other opportunities. The search

Bordley spent 11 years at

firm Educator’s Ally is assisting

Landon as a student and has

Landon with the process of

tallied another 48 (so far) as a

hiring Armstrong’s successor.

teacher-coach-mentor. In 42

“Len is a man of the

years as head varsity lacrosse

highest integrity, honesty,

to four national championships

seated decency — a man who

coach, he has guided the Bears

Len is a man of the highest integrity, honesty, moral courage and deep-seated decency — a man who listens and provides counsel thoughtfully.

Conference titles, and has won the Washington Post’s All-Met Coach of the Year Award five times. He has also coached

football, basketball and soccer,

taught in both the Middle and

–Jim Neill, Headmaster

Upper Schools, and acted as dean of students, director of

teacher-coach-mentor and is

and, above all, cares deeply

Project chair.

intentionally about leadership

boys of Landon...We will finish

one who thinks deeply and

Camp, and Independent Senior

coach and full-time teacher, he is

not leaving Landon — just scaling back and shifting into a different

role, the specifics of which will be ironed out this spring.

“Rob is the consummate

16

Rob is the consummate teacher-coachmentor and is one who thinks deeply and intentionally about leadership as a discipline to be studied and learned, and about the lessons that history has to teach us.

–Jim Neill, Headmaster

as a discipline to be studied and learned, and about the lessons that history has to teach us,”

Headmaster Jim Neill wrote in a letter to the community

announcing the news. “He is tireless in his own pursuit of

professional and personal growth

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

listens and provides counsel thoughtfully. This is a rare combination, to be sure,”

Neill said. “He has helped to

bring on board a generation of Landon students, served as a

trusted confidant, and worked as a stabilizing presence and

the Landon Summer Boys Day

Bordley’s last as a head varsity

“Following Rob Bordley is a little bit humbling... he’s an institution here,” Ian said. “I’ve known the Bordleys since I was 4 years old.

J.R. and I grew up together... We feel great about the fact that we get to keep Landon lacrosse in the tradition of the family and the culture that Rob has built.”

moral courage and deep-

and 31 Interstate Athletic

While 2017–18 will be

T

he Landon lacrosse program will be in good — and familiar — hands when Rob Bordley ’66 steps down as head coach after the 2018 season: Ian Healy ’00 will take the reins as varsity head coach beginning with the 2019 season, and Bordley’s son J.R. ’00 will serve as associate head coach.

about and is dedicated to the

finalizing the plans related to

his new role and to plan for his

successors in both coaching and

teaching in the coming months, but in the meantime I wanted to share this news so that you can join me in celebrating a

man who has dedicated, and

force for good at the school, and while we are excited for

him as he embarks upon this new professional chapter, we will miss him.”

Ian and J.R. were teammates on Landon’s first national championship lacrosse team in 1999 and played together at the University of Maryland. Ian has been a Landon varsity lacrosse assistant coach and Upper School history teacher since 2015. J.R. has taught Middle School history and coached Landon varsity lacrosse since 2007.

17

ARTS

Performing Arts Artistic Autumn

T

his fall, Landon studio artists created the painting, photogra-

phy and ceramics masterpieces they will submit to winter and

spring contests such as the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards,

Congressional Art Awards and the Best of the Independent Schools Art Competition.

Musicians in all three divisions wowed audiences in Coates

Auditorium with a series of holiday-themed concerts in early

December, and many groups performed on the same stage in February.

In addition, the Lower School Chorus and Little Singers showcased

their vocal talents with a performance at St. Francis Episcopal Church, and Upper School musicians also spread holiday cheer beyond our

campus: The Bearitones and Chamber Singers sang Christmas carols

for residents of Maplewood Park Place senior living community, while the Intermediate Handbell ringers performed at the Collingswood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

On the stage, Upper School actors teamed with Holton-Arms girls

MAD DAY

to perform the musical The Wiz.

THE WIZ

HOLIDAY CONCERTS 18

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WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

19

ARTS

Visual Arts Gallery

Mike Mehlman ’18

Spencer Durbin ’22 Matt Lowrie ’18

Gavin Seasholes ’20

Will Bou ’19

Grade 3 Student Collaboration

20

Tom Mearns ’21

Colin Flood ’22

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

Henry Nichols ’23

21

ATHLETICS

Fall Sports SOCCER, FOOTBALL TOP IAC

F

all 2017 was a season of championships at Landon, as soccer won both the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) regular season and tournament titles, football finished 9–1 to earn a share of

the IAC crown, and cross country claimed the Montgomery County Private School Championships. In addition, water polo finished an

impressive third in the Eastern Prep Championships, and 30 student-

athletes scored individual honors — including 24 All-IAC athletes, six Washington Post All-Met honorees, and two Academic All-Americans.

CROSS COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS Led by All-IAC, All-County and All-State seniors Kevin Tsai ’18, Jace Menendez ’18 and Ari Chadda ’18, the Bears ran to second-place finishes at the Landon Invitational and the IAC Championships, and finished 14th at the Manhattan Invitational against some of the best teams in the country. On the strength of Tsai, Menendez, Chadda and Sam Hanson ’18’s 1-2-4-9 finish at the Montgomery County Private School Championships, Landon edged Georgetown Prep by five points to win the crown for the first time since 2014, as Tsai notched the first individual county title in school history. The Bears closed out the season with a fourth-place finish at the inaugural Maryland Private School Championships. INDIVIDUAL HONORS Ari Chadda ’18: MD Private All-State, All-IAC, All-Montgomery County, Co-Captain; Sam Hanson ’18: All-Montgomery County, Co-Captain; Jace Menendez ’18: MD Private AllState, All-IAC, All-Montgomery County; Harrison Smith ’18: Co-Captain; Kevin Tsai ’18: MD Private All-State, All-IAC, All-Montgomery County, Co-Captain

Jelani Machen ’19: All-Met (honorable mention), All-IAC (1st team); Mo Sillah ’18: All-IAC (1st team), Co-Captain; Davis Walker ’18: All-Met (honorable mention), All-IAC (1st team); Jalen Williams ’19: All-Met (1st team), All-IAC (1st team) SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS For the first time since the IAC Tournament’s inception in 2012, Landon won both the IAC regular season and tournament crowns with a decisive 2–0 victory over Georgetown Prep in the tournament final. It was the program’s first outright IAC title in 30 years and provided the icing on a season that saw the Bears go 15–2–2; defeat Washington Catholic Athletic Conference powerhouses DeMatha and Gonzaga by a combined score of 7–0; and go undefeated against IAC rivals Prep, Bullis and Episcopal. Goalkeeper Alex Freed ’18 and center back Nico Kenary ’18 led a defense that held opponents to just seven goals on the season, and the offense tallied 44 goals to earn the Bears the No. 2 spot in Washington Post’s rankings of the best teams in the area and a No. 8 ranking on Top Drawer’s list of the top teams in Maryland.

INDIVIDUAL HONORS Alex Freed ’18: All-Met (honorable mention), All-IAC; Peter Gilbert ’18: Co-Captain; Noah Hannam ’18: All-IAC; Zach Johnson ’18: All-IAC, Co-Captain;

FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS Quarterback John Geppert ’18 rushed for a touchdown and Davis Walker ’18 nailed the extra point in double overtime to propel the Bears to a dramatic 27–26 win vs. Episcopal in the Homecoming game and keep the Bears’ IAC title hopes alive. Landon defeated St. Albans 42–13 the following week to cap a 9–1 season and earn a share of the IAC crown (co-champs with Georgetown Prep), its 21st overall and first since 2012. The Bears also racked up four shutout victories; defeated Georgetown Prep 10–3 to hoist the Davis-Fegan Cup; and finished ranked 17th in Washington Post’s list of top area teams, the first time since 1994 that they cracked the top 20. INDIVIDUAL HONORS Terrance Bridgers ’19: All-IAC (2nd team); Josh Chapman ’19: All-IAC (1st team); Zayd Delane ’20: All-IAC (2nd team); Joey Epstein ’18: All-IAC (1st team), Co-Captain; Tejon Ford ’20: All-IAC (2nd team); John Geppert ’18: AllMet (honorable mention), IAC Offensive Player of the Year, All-IAC (1st team), Co-Captain; Alex Hagerup ’18: All-IAC (2nd team), Co-Captain; Chazz Harley ’19: All-IAC (2nd team); Mac Hollensteiner ’18: AllIAC (1st team), Co-Captain; Greg Johnson ’21: All-IAC (2nd team);

22

Nico Kenary ’18: All-Met (1st team), IAC Player of the Year, All-IAC; Parker Lotstein ’18: Co-Captain; Allan Kupka ’18: All-IAC, Co-Captain; Burke McLaughlin ’18: All-IAC; Drew Parker ’18: All-IAC WATER POLO HIGHLIGHTS In September, Tyler Sweeney ’18 and Maxim Kapelina ’18 were named to the USA Water Polo Academic All-America Team, setting the tone for a strong season in which a young water polo team finished with a 16–14 record and took third in their bracket at the Eastern Prep Championships, featuring the top prep teams in the East. Ford Bruggen ’20 led the way with 20 goals in three games at that

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

tournament and in the process secured All-Eastern Prep honors for the second year in a row. Only a sophomore, Bruggen scored more than 100 goals this season and is well on pace to set the school record for career goals. The Bears earned impressive victories over McDonogh, Walt Whitman and other local teams. INDIVIDUAL HONORS Ford Bruggen ’20: All-Eastern Prep; Simms Henschel ’19: All-Eastern Prep; Sawyer Gouldman ’19: All-Eastern Prep (honorable mention); Maxim Kapelina ’18: USA Water Polo Academic All-American; Will King ’18: Co-Captain; John Popera ’18: Co-Captain; Tyler Sweeney ’18: USA Water Polo Academic All-American, Co-Captain

23

COVER STORY | TAREK ELGAWHARY

WITH THE NONPROFIT COEXIST FOUNDATION AND FOR-PROFIT COFFEE COMPANY COEXIST CORP, DR. TAREK ELGAWHARY ’97 SEEKS TO UNIFY COMMUNITIES IN POST-CONFLICT AREAS ACROSS THE GLOBE. by Tom D iCh iara

24

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WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

25

COVER STORY | TAREK ELGAWHARY

THREE ORGANIZATIONS, ONE GOAL hen Tarek took over as CEO of Coexist Foundation in 2012, it was a single organization that sought to foster unity in societies around the globe torn apart by differences of race, religion, class and ethnicity. At the time, Coexist did this through educational grants to build schools or fund educational programs. In the years since, Tarek has founded and now spearheads two other entities that work in tandem with the foundation toward its singular goal.

Coexist Corp is a for-profit company that forms partnerships with workers — mainly coffee farmers — in these conflict zones to unite people by encouraging them to work together. And Coexist Research International is a research-and-analysis consultancy through which Tarek uses his communications and religious law background to advise clients,including the grand mufti of Egypt, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, and the Jordanian royal family, as they seek to promote peace around the world.

r. Tarek Elgawhary ’97 has a smile on his face as he struggles, and ultimately succeeds, to

use a forklift to move several hundred pounds

of coffee in a Rockville warehouse. Not 24

hours earlier, he found himself in much different

surroundings in Amman, Jordan, working with religious and political leaders on how to bring peace to the Middle East.

Tarek was in Amman at the invitation of the Jordanian royal family

to serve as an advisor in peace talks between Israel and the State of

Palestine, which have been engaged in a bitter and often violent border dispute. The forklift operation is a skill required by his role as founder

of Coexist Corp, the for-profit coffee company that he and his brother,

but I never articulated it until the charity was formed to bring people

together in these areas that had been divided by conflict. It was what I dividing them. The concept of coexistence that Tarek had wrestled with for years became a flashpoint that would change his future.

In the post-9/11 world, Tarek believed he had to find a way to

fight the intolerance toward Muslims and people of Middle Eastern

they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim,” Tarek said. “When I visited Uganda

a medical doctor was not the right path to accomplish that goal.

THE PATH OF COEXISTENCE When terrorists attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001, Tarek was

descent — people like him — and he concluded that becoming

He left medical school for a GW master’s program in Hinduism and Islam; studied theology and law, as well as spirituality, at

Al-Azhar seminary in Cairo, Egypt; and in 2014 received his Ph.D. in Islamic law from Princeton University.

“With the current political climate, there is no greater

in his first year of medical school at George Washington University.

opportunity than right now for the human race to do something

fascinated by the role of faith in both bringing people together and

have, and the leverage that we can bring to solve some of these

An Egyptian-American and devout Muslim, Tarek had long been

26

official of Muslim law) when British businessmen founded Coexist

Tarek said. “I always had embedded in me this idea of coexistence,

these conflict zones, they are going to know and understand one another

there, it hit me, like, ‘Wow, we did this. This is amazing.’”

director for Egypt’s grand mufti (the country’s highest-ranking

“When Coexist came along, I felt like I was looking in a mirror,”

All profits are then funneled back into Coexist Foundation, which

for the first time and saw the schools that we actually physically built

Tarek was studying at Al-Azhar and acting as communications

to pursue his doctorate at Princeton.

agrarian economies.

and hopefully come together as a community — regardless of whether

therein lies the opportunity for change.”

organization’s New York branch when he later moved back to the U.S.

—Tarek Elgawhary ’97

producers and deliver a much-needed boost to the locales’ mostly

“The idea is that when people are learning and working together in

was fine before, they now want to talk about our problems. And

Coexist’s mission, joined the board of trustees, and took a job with the

avoiding “middle men” to increase financial returns for the coffee’s

and secondary schools for children in the area.

opportunity to educate. Whereas people acted as though everything

as a liaison between the two. He was immediately captivated by

Here’s how these two organizations coexist, so to speak: Coexist

class and ethnicity by building and sponsoring programs at primary

toward ‘the other’ — whatever that means — actually provides the best

bridge the gap between Muslims and the West, and Tarek acted

Tarek has been CEO and president since 2012.

seeks to unite people in these communities across divides of faith, race,

magic of humanity. The fact that there is so much negativity right now

through education grants. Coexist enlisted the grand mufti to help

offshoot of Coexist Foundation, the nonprofit organization of which

Uganda, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Sumatra, Kenya and Ethiopia,

“I firmly believe in the goodness of humanity and that when people

come together and understand one another, it unlocks the creative

Foundation in 2006 to unite members of disparate faiths mainly

Mazen ’02, run out of the Rockville warehouse. Coexist Corp is an

Corp imports and sells fair-trade coffees from areas in turmoil in

problems,” Tarek said, explaining his decision.

powerful because of the resources we have, the technology we

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

had been looking for my whole life, as far back as my days at Landon.”

Coexist partners with coffee farmer cooperatives, such as Peace Kawomera in Uganda (pictured).

THE JUGGLING ACT During his years at Landon, Tarek was Student Council president, a

star of the drama program who memorably played the lead in Fiddler

on the Roof, and had friends from many different backgrounds. He says that his involvement with so many aspects of school life and so many different groups instilled lessons he uses to this day.

“From sports or when I acted or when I was president of the Student

Council and had to try all these cases and Honor Code violations, that all taught me that hard work pays off — but you also have to work

smartly as well,” Tarek said. “That smart part is what I got from the

education. The teachers leave an impact on you. [Math teacher] Steve Sorkin, [humanities teacher] Lora Farnstrom, [drama teacher] Fred Zirm, [history teacher] Rob Bordley ’66 and [English teacher] Fred

27

COVER STORY | TAREK ELGAWHARY

Mora were all very influential. I acted a lot in Landon and Holton plays, which meant a lot of late rehearsals. That taught me how to

juggle multiple things, and acting opened up for me creativity and a

passion for the arts. All those things were the raw material, and they

help me when I need to dig deep down and do what I’m doing today.”

Life at Landon was not without challenges, however. Tarek’s parents

are immigrants from Egypt, and he is Muslim. And although he was

raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Tarek says he always had a feeling of otherness while he was growing up.

“I love Landon,” Tarek said. “But as a Muslim, I was an ultra-

minority at the school [in the ’90s], so I always had this instinct that I had to explain who I was to other people so that I could fit in.”

—Tarek Elgawhary ’97

Tarek’s Landon teachers and advisors noticed this instinct in him —

and saw it as a strength.

“Talking to Tarek was an education unto itself,” Sorkin said. “People

who are coming from halfway around the world and have to assimilate

tell you so much about yourself and about us. I always looked at him as a primary source.”

“Tarek had a sense of conviction about what he thought and what

he did,” Farnstrom remembered. “That was impressive to see in someone his age.”

“He was curious and passionate and would challenge the status quo,”

Mora added. “Many boys would sit there and you could say, ‘And this

proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Earth is flat.’ If it didn’t agree with what Tarek was thinking, he would challenge it.”

Tarek says he didn’t see it at the time, but this desire to explain

himself made him a better communicator and ultimately charted his course in life.

“As I grew older and began to travel, I realized even more that

Above. Tarek hoists a bottle waiting to be filled with Coexist’s cold brew coffee.

being able to translate who you are and what others are saying is an

Left. Tarek translates for H.E. Dr. Ali Gomaa, former grand mufti of Egypt.

translating cultures and beliefs from one group to another. When I was

invaluable skill,” he said. “I always found myself at this intersection of living and studying in Egypt and started a communications business, that really brought home to me that the ability to translate what one

side is saying to the other is something that is needed in every arena — government, business, schools and faith communities.”

28

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WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

29

COVER STORY | TAREK ELGAWHARY

children — with his work with the Coexist charity and consultancy.

A NEW DIRECTION When Coexist’s CEO stepped down in 2012, Tarek took the reins

So he flew to Amsterdam, where his brother Mazen, worked as a

and immediately set out to remedy what he saw as the organization’s

screenwriter. Tarek bought Mazen a good cup of coffee and asked him

two greatest weaknesses: the untapped potential of using economics

to join Coexist.

to drive collaboration, and a reliance on the board of trustees to fund

Today, Tarek leads the charity and consultancy aspects of Coexist,

Coexist programs. Tarek sought to implement a model that would be

while Mazen manages most facets of Coexist Corp out of the

more viable over the long haul.

Rockville warehouse that serves as the coffee-manufacturing and

“A lot of people in the places we operate are farmers,” Tarek said. “I

product distribution headquarters. Mazen fulfills orders, roasts the

realized that if we were able to get them to work together, that would

coffee, brews and bottles the cold brew, and packages the bags. He

make their life sustainable, and therefore the charitable work we do

also takes particular delight in research and development — blending

would be more sustainable. Rather than us having to constantly fund

coffees from Uganda, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Sumatra, Kenya

it, it would fund itself. That’s how we developed the business from

and Ethiopia together to determine what combinations taste best.

the charity. Coexist Corp’s goal is to solve the other half of this social

“I like making the blends. I’m into the chemistry of it,” Mazen

cohesion problem, which is how to get farmers to work together.”

said. “It gives me a sense of fulfillment, a sense of doing something

It was a fairly novel idea for a charity to operate in tandem with

righteous at the same time we’re trying to make a good business out of

a for-profit business that would sell coffee, T-shirts and bumper

Tarek was Student Council president his senior year at Landon.

stickers — yes, Coexist owns the rights to those ubiquitous interfaith

“COEXIST” stickers that feature a Muslim crescent for the C, a peace sign for the O, a combination of the symbols for male and female for

—Tarek Elgawhary ’97

it. And after all these years, to come back here and work with Tarek is good. It feels like home.”

THE FUTURE OF COEXISTENCE

the E, the Jewish Star of David for the X, a pentagram for the dot in

With the Elgawhary brothers working together, Coexist Corp is

T. Others did not initially embrace Tarek’s vision.

manufacturing process automated to further boost production,

selling more coffee than ever. Mazen is working to get the coffee

the I, a Taoist yin-yang symbol for the S, and a Christian cross for the

efficiency and sales. And Tarek is already looking toward future

“I got ridiculed. I remember walking into these very big meetings in

expansion of the business into other goods and regions.

London with the lord mayor, and I was laughed at for selling T-shirts and coffee,” Tarek said. “It just made me double down, and I’m very

Tarek is also very cognizant that the U.S. and the world are at a

proud and grateful that happened. It confirmed my instincts.”

Muslim and Jewish farmers in Mbale, Uganda, by bringing them

crossroads with regard to how members of the human race view and

PEACE (AND PROFITS) AT WORK

gone right back into programs that further foster community in an area

hopes Coexist and other organizations — and individuals — can “seize

Tarek used what financial resources he had to rebrand Coexist and redo the website, and the shift paid off. In June 2015, Coexist Corp forged its first major for-profit partnership — a deal with Peace Kawomera, a cooperative of 2,500 Christian, Muslim and Jewish coffee farmers in Uganda, to import and distribute the cooperative’s coffee. The

various roasts, which boast names such as “The Peacemaker” and “The Diplomat,” are sold at D.C.-area Safeway grocery stores and other

brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as online via the Coexist website.

Peace Kawomera has helped to heal relationships between Christian,

30

together to produce coffee — and the profits from the coffee sales have

interact with those they perceive as different from themselves. He

long torn apart by religious conflict. For example, as part of Coexist’s

the day” to promote harmony.

“Schools Across Divides” program, the Abayudada Schools in Mbale

“Coexist Corp is still in its infancy stage, but the possibilities are

enroll Christian, Muslim and Jewish students. This is a rarity in a

endless,” Tarek said. “There is coffee, tea, cacao, cardamom, chia nut,

cultural and religious lines.

— and the people who produce them in that part of the world have

region where primary and secondary schools are often segregated along

cinnamon, vanilla, cotton — any commodity that we consume or wear Tarek and two of his children show Coexist family spirit.

BREW BROTHERS In 2015, Tarek was struggling to get the for-profit wing of Coexist off

ethical products to provide to consumers, and we can mitigate those social problems through this model.”

the ground as he tried to balance family life — he has a wife and three

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

the same social problems. We could have a whole platform of traceable

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

31

Q&A | GREG ASBED

Genius at Work Each and every day,

HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGIST GREG ASBED ’81

Landon alumni accomplish

AIMS TO CREATE AN ABUSE-FREE WORLD FOR

amazing things. Our new Q&A section shares those captivating stories from the first-person points of view of the alums living them. In this edition, we talk to a human rights strategist who recently received a prestigious MacArthur “genius grant,” the lead singer of a rock band hitting it big, and an outdoor adventurer returning home to Landon as they recount what propelled them down their paths in life.

LOW-WAGE WORKERS.

T

his fall, human rights strategist Greg Asbed ’81 was named a 2017 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Fellow, a prestigious honor that includes a $625,000 “genius

grant,” for his efforts to improve labor conditions for low-wage workers in the agricultural industry.

Asbed developed a unique model called “worker-driven social

responsibility” (WSR), in which workers themselves help establish fair working condition standards and codes of conduct. He also

shepherded the Fair Food Program (FFP), by which purchasers —

including companies such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Burger King — agree to buy only from growers and suppliers that comply with these standards and codes.

WSR grew out of Asbed’s work to combat the injustices of forced

labor, sexual assault and wage theft in the tomato-growing industry

in Florida. In 1993 he, his wife, Laura Germino, and Lucas Benitez

Greg co-founded the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in 1993.

that. Today, the WSR model has been adopted by other low-wage crop

suffered some pretty unconscionable treatment at a very young age,

incredible turmoil in the country, seeing people sometimes make the

in Bangladesh and dairy industry workers in Vermont.

sold twice at age 13. She was sold to my grandfather’s family in the

of a democracy for the first time. It was an education unlike anything I

co-founded the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to do just

workers in Florida and Texas, as well as by garment industry laborers

In the Q&A that follows, Asbed talks about why he made the leap

from neuroscience to human rights.

When did you decide that advocating for worker’s rights was your calling?

T

here are a lot of times when you first realize that you want to do

what you want to do. There’s a family history with human rights.

I’m first-generation Armenian-American. My father came to this

country from Syria, but he was born in Syria because my grandmother was forcibly removed from Turkey in the Armenian genocide and

32

HAVING DNA THAT SOMEONE FOUGHT SO HARD TO PRESERVE AND PASS ON AND SOMEONE WHO FACED SOME OF THE WORST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ALWAYS MADE THE IDEA OF UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS SOMETHING THAT WAS CENTRAL TO OUR THINKING IN MY FAMILY. –Greg Asbed ’81

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

losing her entire family except for her sister and being bought and

end. Having DNA that someone fought so hard to preserve and pass

on and someone who faced some of the worst human rights violations

ultimate sacrifice just to have a voice in their own country, to be part had gotten to that point in my life.

So I was pretty determined when I came back to keep working in

always made the idea of universal human rights something that was

some form of social change, some form of fighting for human rights.

Despite that, I studied neuroscience at Brown, and that’s a field I

with farm workers in Pennsylvania and needed some Haitian-Creole

central to our thinking in my family.

love to this day. But I graduated from college and still didn’t know

exactly what I was going to do, so I went to Haiti. That was ultimately when I realized that I wasn’t going to go back into a lab for a living.

That was not going to be the way that I felt “full” in the world. In

Haiti, I was working with the Peasant Movement during a time of

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

My wife, Laura, who directs our anti-slavery work, was working

translation, which I could provide after having lived for three years in the country, and that was the first time I saw the kind of abuse

and exploitation that was right there beneath the surface of our food industry. Both of us got locked in at that point.

33

Q&A | GREG ASBED

How and why did you develop the Fair Food Program (FFP)?

T

he Fair Food Program was the first practical application of

what became this new paradigm called worker-driven social

responsibility. From the time we founded our organization in ’93

until the early 2000s, we had fought with what appeared to be the

immediate causes of farmworker poverty and abuse, which are the farm owners and the farm bosses, the people who are doing the hands-on things such as sexual harassment, sexual assault and forced labor.

In 2001, we realized that those exploitations and abuses exist

for a reason: The major retail food corporations that have become

farmworkers. If you’re a farmer who’s just barely struggling to turn

a profit, you have a number of inputs in your production — you buy

tractors, diesel, chemicals — but you can’t turn to John Deere or Exxon and negotiate. They have orders of magnitude larger than you are, and negotiations basically go by size.

The only place to reduce costs in labor. Farmworkers were, to that

point, powerless. And so there were decades of stagnant and falling

were going to be absolutely essential to its success. One was

that the workers had to participate from the beginning to the end of the process.

Two was that it had to be enforcement-focused with real teeth. You

Fourth, there is a truly deep-dive audit of the system... they will not

end an audit until they have talked to at least 50 percent of the workers on the job — so that’s 500 workers if there are 1,000 on site. That’s

the only way that you’ll get enough pixels into the picture to make that

there is a “corrective action plan” created. That plan is presented to the

are being violated. The best monitors of worker-rights violations are

agreements we have with the buyers that say they will only buy from

from growers who comply with the human rights-based code of

results we never could have imagined. The power of buyers telling their suppliers, “If you don’t meet these standards, we will not buy from you,” is definitive.

enforced, they’re nothing but beautiful words on paper. And you can their own rights, you’ll never actually find out when those standards workers themselves. They are there when it happens and they know what shapes those violations take.

So how exactly does worker-driven social responsibility (WSR) work?

F

irst, workers design the code of conduct. When workers sit down

and say, “What are the things we’re facing at work that we want to

Finally, when a complaint comes up or an audit shows violations,

grower, and the grower can either do it or not do it. Because of the

growers who comply with the code, the two options are still on the

table, but the one of not correcting the violation is far less attractive

because it means you can no longer sell to 14 of the biggest buyers in the world of the thing that you’re selling.

What are your goals for the future?

T

the buckets workers use to pick tomatoes because pickers get paid by

and not just in U.S. agriculture. It’s in the clothes we wear, the phones

For example, we have a prohibition against the forced overfilling of

CIW co-founders Benitez, Asbed and Germino survey the scene at a Florida tomato farm.

snapshot of an audit clear enough to see.

abused that other people who are not workers will not know.

stop?” workers know the exact sorts of ways that they’re exploited and

the bucket. In the past, farm bosses would require workers to “over-cup,” or overfill, the bucket. Since it’s about a tenth of a bucket you would

have to overfill, every time you fill 10 buckets you’ve essentially done an 11th for free. That’s a wage-theft scheme that took about 10 percent of

o replace the old paradigm with the new, so that it would be a

true paradigm shift in social responsibility and the protection of

human rights in the corporate supply chain. It’s a massive problem, that are in all of our hands, the foods that we eat — it’s in all the

products produced by low-wage workers around the globe. This is a solution that actually works.

What we had before, which was called corporate social

people’s wages. But you wouldn’t know that unless you’re a worker.

responsibility (CSR), was really just public relations by other means...

ideological; it’s practical. They know how they are squeezed, where

own rights.

So the importance of having workers be the drafters of the code isn’t

they are abused, so they work those into the code. The code is specific to the workers’ experience, and it’s much more powerful as a result.

Second is worker-to-worker education. From the moment you’re

hired, you receive a booklet we wrote and see a video we produced

with no mechanisms in place and no role for workers to enforce their

A lot of the basis for your work is driven by doing the right thing and holding people accountable for their actions — was that influenced by your 10 years at Landon?

sessions where the workforce is gathered and we talk about the rights

I

be the front-line monitors of their own rights. That means you don’t

just the best time reconnecting with him. I told him that my 12-year-

about the rights under the FFP. And then we have on-the-farm

and how things are going. By doing that, you actually equip workers to

think so. I definitely look back fondly on my time at Landon. It’s

especially the people that I remember. I got a call after this news came

out about the MacArthur award, and it was Steve Sorkin, and I had

old son knows the word “defenestrate” because if I was doing something

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING WORKERS BE THE DRAFTERS OF THE CODE ISN’T IDEOLOGICAL; IT’S PRACTICAL.

have to rely on a small force of monitors; you have 35,000 monitors

–Greg Asbed ’81

mechanism that is efficient and effective. If it’s fast and it works,

students and the sense of community, the sense that even if you did

1,800 complaints come through our complaint line, the vast majority

see the young person that you are turn into a good adult.

out there in the field 24 hours a day.

Third, for that to have an impact, you need to have a 24-7 complaint

workers will trust it. In the first six years of our program, we’ve had

34

into the claim.

have great standards, but if workers are not involved in monitoring

conduct. In 2011, we launched the program, and since then we’ve had

That downward pressure on prices from retail purchasing giants

hen we were building the FFP, we realized that two things

disembodied call center; it goes to the actual investigators who look

For a decade, we got more and more companies to agree to pay a

face this constant pressure on price...

to force suppliers to lower their prices to just the barest minimum to

drives downward pressure on wages and working conditions for

W

of which are resolved in a week. The line does not go to some

can have the most perfect standards in the world, but if they’re not

small premium to help improve wages for workers and to only buy

be able to survive.

(WSR) model?

real wages for farmworkers because that’s the only way farms could

multibillion-dollar companies have accumulated such overwhelming

purchasing power with what they are able to demand that they are able

How did this lead to the worker-driven social responsibility

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

bad, Steve Sorkin would tell me, “Asbed, defenestrate yourself.”

There was that really close relationship between teachers and

mess up you were part of a family and they wanted you to succeed, to

35

Q&A | AUSTIN BISNOW

The Magic Touch AUSTIN BISNOW ’06 HAS WRITTEN MUSIC ALMOST EVERY DAY SINCE HE WAS A SIXTH GRADER AT LANDON — SO WHEN HIS LOS ANGELES-BASED BAND, MAGIC GIANT, PERFORMED LIVE FOR A NATIONAL AUDIENCE ON NBC’S TODAY AND RELEASED THEIR DEBUT ALBUM, IN THE WIND, WITHIN THE SPAN OF THREE DAYS THIS MAY, IT WAS THE CULMINATION OF YEARS OF HARD WORK AND BIG DREAMS. Together, Zambricki Li, Austin Bisnow ‘06 and Zang (pictured left to right) are “Magic.”

B

efore Austin formed Magic Giant with Zambricki Li and Zang four years ago, he wrote songs for and collaborated with the

likes of John Legend, Adam Levine and Akon. Here, Austin

answers a few questions about how Jim Kreger’s music theory class and Fred Zirm’s production of The Wiz paved the road to success; how he got his foot in the door in the music business; and why he gives back to the community (with a little help from Justin Bieber).

What was your journey to the music industry?

A

fter Landon, I went to the University of Colorado in Boulder. I chose it for the music program but also because they gave me a

spot on the football team. I was studying classical music composition, but I was also writing every day. Ever since sixth grade, I was writing

music every single day. I would bring it to school on my handheld CD

player with headphones and put it on people’s ears and let them hear my music. There were elements of it that were good, but in general it was

pretty bad if you compare it to what you hear on the radio. It was such a learning process. As I went through college, I got better incrementally.

I would try to take meetings. I would pretend I was going to be in

New York so that I could get a meeting with someone who said, “The

next time you’re going to be in New York, let me know...” I would try to get feedback from anyone I knew in music who knew someone. I really liked this artist John Legend, and I ended up interning for one of his producers in New York City when I was a senior in college. So that’s kind of how I got my foot in the door in the industry.

36

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

37

Q&A | AUSTIN BISNOW

How did Magic Giant form?

I

was really drawn to folk music and I really wanted to start playing

music with other artists — not just writing — so I asked everyone I

knew if they knew anyone who played those instruments. I jammed

with a bunch of guys, and one of them was Zambricki Li. When we met Zang, the third member of Magic Giant, things really gelled.

Right after we met Zang, we Google stalked him and saw a video of him salsa dancing and knew he was right for the band.

The new album is out, you played the Today show, and the single “Set on Fire” got big right before you went on tour. What has it been like to have the band take off like this?

R

eleasing our album has been such a nice thing. Ever since we

released it, fans know all the lyrics to all the songs. It’s not just the

“Set on Fire” chorus. It’s just a different level of connection. People

share the most beautiful stories with us. A girl wrote us a letter that

said she was suicidal and that we saved her life through our music.

What do you hope people take away from your music?

people, with our fans. I feel very close with them.

T

What inspired you and music producer Benny Blanco to found the

downs, and we try to focus on being action oriented or solution minded

That’s just such a profound connection that we are having with these

Get Well Soon Tour [a non-profit that brings happiness to hospitalized children through surprise visits from big-name musicians]?

I

t was Thanksgiving, and Benny was over at my family’s house in D.C. because he’s from Virginia. We’d just started to have access to well-

he big picture of our music and the new album is the triumph

of the human will. It’s not like we pretend everything is happy-

go-lucky all the time. It’s just that we know that people have ups and or just really escalating the joy in life. You can dwell on the bad or

amplify the good. Both are true, but we just try to focus on the positive.

What was your musical experience like at Landon?

basically, we said, “Let’s do something with this. Let’s show that we don’t

I

20s. The first one was Valentine’s Day 2011 with Justin Bieber when [the

writing, there aren’t really a lot of people that know music theory or study

established artists. Benny had worked with Katy Perry and Kesha. So

have to wait until we’re older to give back; let’s give back now in our early

concert film] Never Say Never came out, and we screened it in a hospital in Los Angeles. Justin came in and surprised everyone and said, “Hey, how did you guys like the movie?” The kids’ jaws just dropped.

really tried to utilize what Landon offered to the max. A big thing was Jim Kreger’s music theory course my senior year. I really loved that

course, and that set me up for success as a songwriter. In pop music

practically. It was nice having that skill when I got into songwriting and

Earl Jackson was just such a huge champion of me. He was such a

tough teacher... in a good way. One of the great things I got to do was

conduct and lead the band in warmups every day. I would fast-walk to class because I wanted to get there, get set up, and get everyone ready.

After warmup, I would take the liberty to start conducting them in

other things. My senior year, I composed a piece for the concert band,

and Earl let me conduct the piece I had written at a concert. That was the first time I’d ever heard a group play my music and bring it to life.

That was such a thrilling moment.

Another huge moment for me was freshman year when Fred Zirm

cast me as Tin Man in The Wiz. All the other lead roles were seniors, and Fred gave me this opportunity to shine. That had such a lasting impact on me, and I’m really forever grateful.

producing. Having another approach toward it really helped when I was writing songs for other people, which I got into right after college.

The progression of Austin: (Left to right) Bisnow suits up for the Landon Shrimp Bowl, his role as the Tin Man in the LandonHolton production of The Wiz, and a gig with Magic Giant.

The big picture of our music and the new album is the triumph of the human will.

It’s not like we pretend everything is happy-go-lucky all the time.... we just try to focus on the positive.

–Austin Bisnow ’06

38

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

39

Q&A | AGUSTIN UMANZOR

RETURNS TO LANDON AS

that Earl Jackson ever took to China. I also was a varsity football

player here under Rob Bordley ’66 and at Dickinson College. Landon instilled in me an appreciation for balance, for the arts, and for sports.

What appealed to you about taking on this role as director of alumni relations?

L

andon did so much for my family and me, I always knew I had to

give something back. I’m excited about this role because I feel like

it’s a tangible way I can give back to the community, to Landon itself,

to the alumni. [Former Director of Alumni Relations] George Pappas

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS.

’82 helped me out all the time, was always there when I needed to talk to him, and I want to pay that forward.

What has been the best part of working at Landon?

I’m excited about this role because I feel like it’s a tangible way I can give back to the community, to Landon itself, to the alumni.

–Agustin Umanzor ’08

I

t just feels like I’m home. It doesn’t feel like going to the office. I love going to the dining hall for lunch and seeing so many of the teachers

who taught me. I always tell people that I am honored and excited to be in this role, and I really am.

What inspired you to do the Appalachian Trail thru-hike?

I

wanted to find the physical and mental breaking point in my body.

I’ve run three marathons, and you always want to keep pushing that

boundary because you know your body can do more. I really wanted

to figure out what drives me fundamentally as a human being to keep going when nobody is there to motivate me and, in the process, I

learned that life is really about experiences and the people you meet.

Frank Kilpatrick with his wife, Mary Jo, and Judi and Dick

Thompson (pictured above, L to R) went on a 12-day hiking Bob Hanson (pictured second from left) and his son John Hanson

’71 (center) shared in the purchase of the grand-prize-winning steer at the Montgomery County Fair. The steer was owned by Henry

Chiperfield ’18 (far right). Bob and several other young men with

backgrounds in 4-H youth mentoring were largely responsible for the revival of the Montgomery County Fair in 1943.

When Agustin “Gus” Umanzor ’08 Jr. assumed the reins as Landon’s

new director of alumni relations this fall, he said it felt like coming

home. Gus attended Landon for nine years and served on the Alumni

Board; his brother, Jon ’09, also attended Landon; and his father, Gus Sr., was a longtime employee of the school. Here, Gus reveals why he wanted to work at Landon, why he left his job in real estate manage-

40

1966

Doug Parsons visited the

Bruce Adams (pictured above

father, Frank Parsons. Doug is

Peacemaker of the Year Award

Landon rifle range named for his holding the rifle used by his

father during the 1952 Olympic

were helping me — giving me meals, leaving care packages along the

Games.

trail — and I carried that with me. “Be honest”: The whole trail is on the honor system. I prided myself on not skipping a foot of it. And

center) was awarded the 2017 by the Conflict Resolution

Center of Montgomery County.

Bruce has served as director of community partnerships for Montgomery County

“Do your best”: That’s really all you can do every day.

government for 10 years.

What are your goals as director of alumni relations?

and next year we’ll revamp the way we do some things. But really, I just

played tuba in the Ensemble Band and was actually in the first trip

National Park, Utah.

1957

made absolutely no sense to me that these complete strangers

What was your Landon experience like?

came to Landon in fourth grade and did a little bit of everything. I

at the Delicate Arch in Arches

Museum of Art and enjoyed catching up over lunch.

he big one that always stuck out was “Help the other fellow.” It

M

I

Arizona. This shot was taken

Virginia, in April. They toured the Botticelli exhibit at the Muscarelle

Why was that?

his main goal is as director of alumni relations.

ment to complete a 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail “thru-hike,” and what

and state parks in Utah and

Page Cranford, Karl Corley and their wives met up in Williamsburg,

School motto: “Be honest. Do your best. Help the other fellow.”

T

trip through seven national

1954

You’ve said that each day on the trail you thought about the Lower Gus celebrates completing his thruhike of the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail in three months and 29 days.

1962

July 1–December 31, 2017

AGUSTIN UMANZOR JR. ’08

1943

CLASS NOTES

Coming Home

ALUMNI

ost of the people in the Development and Alumni Offices are

1961

new this year, which is good — new ideas, new energy. This year,

we’re taking in any and all feedback and insight to see if it can help,

Stephen Rideout was elected city commissioner for Cambridge, Maryland, in July 2016.

want to keep our alumni connected to one another and to the school — for them to feel the same way I do about Landon.

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

41

ALUMNI

1966 (continued)

1971

Grizzly Bear Get to know one of our Grizzly Bears, alums who graduated 50 or more years ago!

A Different Landon

W

hen Ralph Meima ’45 was a student

Naval Training Station outside Chicago.

on Wilson Lane ended at the school’s

brought with him the lessons he learned, including

at Landon, residential development

front entrance, the shadows of war loomed over

each day, and some students’ transportation had four legs instead of an engine.

“Landon was truly in the country,” Ralph said.

John May (pictured above left) and Scott Watson ’70 (right) are

“Everything after Landon on Wilson Lane as far

pictured with Ellie Weilenmann (center) at a service in celebration of

the life of Ellie’s husband, longtime faculty member and music director Dick Weilenmann. John sang a solo tribute to Dick as part of the Bruce Adams (pictured above left), his wife, Peggy Engel (center), and daughter, Emily, stayed at the fabulous Mill Street Inn run by Skip

Rideout ’55 (right) and his wife, Jennie, during an April weekend tour

musical program held in Landon’s Mondzac Performing Arts Center.

1973 Bill Heavey’s latest book, Should the

of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

Tent Be Burning Like That? A

1967

Professional Amateur’s Guide to the Outdoors, received a very positive

Nicholas Park recently released Vagabond

review in the Wall Street Journal.

Days, a memoir about life on the road in

Danny Heitman writes, “Bill

the 1960s. More info can be found at

Heavey has offered himself as a

vagabonddays1969.com.

personal poster boy for personal

incompetence” and that he “displays

Col. Michael Poore umpired at

a gift for the sublime.” The book

the Western Region Little League

chronicles Bill’s life as a suburban

Tournament in San Bernardino, California.

1970 David McConnaughey’s company, the PlowShare Group, is the

leading social marketing company in the country. PlowShare Group uses communications for good in support of nonprofits in veteran health issues and smoking cessation.

John Zamoiski got married in December 2016. His eldest daughter was also married in July 2017.

42

dad who loves to hunt and fish, with great enthusiasm if not particular

skill. But that idea — that enthusiasm is what matters — is at the core

of Heavey’s beliefs. “Readers don’t have to hunt or fish to appreciate Mr. Heavey’s essays, which are more broadly about the bruising limits of

middle age. With middle age comes liberation, too — the increasing freedom to defy convention without embarrassment. In the book’s

funniest essay, ‘What the Horse Saw,’ Mr. Heavey takes the advice of a

Ralph is pictured with his grandson Hughes, a member of the Landon Class of 2020.

Landon was truly in the country.

Everything after Landon on Wilson Lane as far as the eye could see was forest and farms... Several students rode their horses to school, kept them in the Barn, and then rode them home after school.

–Ralph Meima ’45

as the eye could see was forest and farms... Several students rode their horses to school, kept them in

the Barn, and then rode them home after school.”

Indeed, the Landon Ralph attended for his

final three years of high school, 1942–45, was

very different than the one his son Trip ’78 and

“Banfield was stern, but he had to be,” Ralph said.

It was also at Landon that Ralph came to

appreciate diversity and different points of view. “We had a lot of exposure to students from other parts of the U.S. whose families moved to the area for

war-related work, and to kids from other countries,”

Ralph explained. “Among them was Nameer Jawdat ’45, whose father was the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S., and he and I became really close friends.”

Although the war ended before Ralph’s ship,

the AKA-Warrick, left for battle, discipline and

experience that same Landon, however: She was

he forged his path forward. After two years at Yale

Steve) have experienced. His mother Grace did

Landon’s first regular art teacher from 1942–47.

WWII colored Ralph’s entire Landon experience

— from the quality of the food (“They did the

best they could with what was available”) to the

transportation (“We had a couple of wheezy old buses because it was tough to get anything that ran”) to the composition of the teaching staff

(“Most able-bodied people, including [school

co-founder and then-Headmaster] Paul Landon Banfield, were serving in the war effort”).

There were only 12 students in Ralph’s senior

an appreciation for different cultures were key as

University, he finished his bachelor’s degree at the University of the Americas outside Mexico City.

He spent the next decade working in international marketing, earned his MBA, and in 1961 joined

the U.S. government for a career in international

affairs. His work included India desk officer at the Commerce Department’s International Affairs

Bureau, inspector evaluating State Department

operations in seven foreign countries, and three

years as U.S. consul general in Marseilles, France.

Since retiring from the government in 1980,

class because several of his peers, including Jack

Ralph has operated several entrepreneurial ventures,

they could graduate early and join the war effort.

91 in March and enjoys spending time with his

Leachman Sr. ’45, went to summer school so

Ralph himself missed Commencement. With his 18th birthday approaching in March 1945, he

convinced his parents to allow him to enlist in the

‘If the choice is between five hours of pain and feeling silly, my

the Army. He arranged with Landon to accelerate

Stream magazine.

Commencement was in boot camp at Great Lakes

horseback ride. ‘I’m strongly opposed to physical discomfort,’ he writes.

U.S. Navy, which he preferred to being drafted into

priorities are clear.’” Heavey is a longtime editor-at-large for Field &

his coursework, took exams in early May, and by

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

a sense of discipline instilled by Banfield himself.

grandson Hughes ’20 (son of Ralph’s other son

fellow outdoorsman and wears pantyhose to avoid chafing during a

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

Although he left Landon a month early, Ralph

including a boating products import firm. He turns

wife, Barrie, at their Heron Point retirement cottage in Chestertown, Maryland. But his business days

are not behind him — he is working to launch an

online store related to his hobby of sailing. And he

continues to look back fondly on his Landon days.

“I’ve tried my best to live by the values I learned

at Landon,” he said.

43

ALUMNI

HOMECOMING

Burnell Holland ’01 and Austin Flajser ’00

Morris Davis ’57 and Maury Povich ’57 Alums catch up under the tent.

W.T. Miller ’86 and Chris Thompson ’87

REUNIONS

HOLIDAY LUNCH

Headmaster Jim Neill (center) with Banfield Award winner Syl Miniter ’80 (left) and Kupka Award winner Jonathan Schiller ’65 (right)

Left: Mitchell Pan ’17, Brian Lossing ’17, Cullen Stout ’17 and Cord Peters ’12

Above: Alums reconnect over lunch at Chevy Chase Club.

Alumni Hockey Game

ALUMNI EVENTS Alumni Paddle Tennis Tournament

Top left: Class of 1967 50th reunion dinner Top right: Charles Holton ’67, Mac Jacoby, Dr. Harry Ferris ‘67 and Paul Elliott ’67

Alumni cocktail reception in NYC

Above: Tim Sappington ’67, Roger Locker ’67 and Mike Poore ’67 Class of 1987 reunion party

44

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

45

ALUMNI

1975

1983

John Gill Jr. celebrated the 130-year anniversary of H.A. Gill & Son.

1977 Dr. Roger Blumenthal and Dr. Wendy Post’s son, Ross, who attends

the Friends School in Baltimore, was recruited by Drexel University to play goalie for the lacrosse team.

1999

2000

2003

U.S. Army LTC Todd Minners retired after 28 years of service in

While in Shanghai for work,

Raleigh Martin currently works at the Nation Science Foundation

guests at the end of his retirement ceremony with an impromptu

Mike Ren (H ’99), who lived

Association for the Advancement of Science.

Japan, Haiti, Thailand, France, and all over the U.S. Todd surprised

Will Leahy caught up with

uniform change into jeans, T-shirt, ball cap and flip-flops to recognize

with Will’s family for a month

his transition back into the civilian world.

while an exchange student at Landon in 1998. Mike went

1985 Brian Haney was nominated

by his professional association, the National Association of

Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), as one of their “4 under 40,” recognizing him

as one of the leading banking

professionals under the age of 40.

(pictured above, L to R) reunited at an event for The Nantucket

overtime victory.

Christopher Thompson was promoted to the status of captain in the

Robert Skloff, founder of Silver Pine Capital in Boston, launched Silver Pine’s small-mid cap value strategy in June 2014. Since its

inception, it has had an annualized return of 13.06 percent. That beats

all the mutual funds in the space — the second-best-performing small

cap value mutual fund returned only 10.05 percent over the last 3 years.

1998

nominated as a regional finalist for the 2017 Ernst and Young

Entrepreneur of The Year Award.

46

San Francisco Bay Area for jobs

with Apple and Facebook. They were married in Charlottesville, Virginia, in June 2017, with

several members of the Class of Matt Walker, Paul Kiernan, Ted

Matt Harrigan married Rachel Dahlby June 24, 2017, in Cleveland,

Martinez, Mike Swain, Jeb

groom (holding the Landon banner) in the photo above (L to R) are

Jr. started his own law firm called

Pontius Tax Law, LLC. The firm is located in Rockville, Maryland, and

will focus on IRS tax resolution and tax planning.

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

engaged.

partnership of Fish Sigler LLP.

2001

team in 2012 and before that

Rachel and Will Yavinsky

known as Arnold & Porter Kaye

Simon Frank, July 19, 2017. Will

Jeff was part of the firm’s opening worked at the law firm today

Scholer LLP. Jeff has tried cases before juries, argued Daubert

and dispositive motions, taken or defended more than 100

In December 2017, John Pontius Dr. Mark Baganz was

from Washington, D.C., to the

Dr. Prashanth Rao recently got Jeff Saltman was elected to the

1988

Follow Landon on social media to stay up to date with your fellow alumni!

wife Ashley recently relocated

Aidan Bolger and Matt Wren.

U.S. Navy Supply Corps.

WANT MORE ALUMNI NEWS?

at Landon fondly. Will and his

Gaybrick, Marcus Witowski,

1987

1979

family. He remembers his time

Hughes, David Langdon, Mike

Project in San Francisco.

above, L to R) attended the season-ending football rivalry between Williams and Amherst—and were thrilled with the Williams

now lives in Shanghai with his

2000 in attendance, including

Neil Phillips, Brian Taptich ’88, Matt Holleran and Tom Scott

town of Williamstown, Massachusetts. Tom and Charlie (pictured

2004

on to Columbia University, and

1978

Charlie Pardoe visited Tom Costley’s home, which overlooks the

through the Technology Policy Fellowship from the American

depositions, and crafted more briefs than a shark has teeth.

“Jeff is a superstar who delivers

Ohio. Many 2004 classmates joined him. Pictured with the bride and Chip Fleming, Bobby Mahoney, Mike Faucette, Andy Goldstein, Greg Naing, Mike Pfeifer and Brian Manion.

2005 Mike Frank married Coco McCormick Frank (picture

together above). The

welcomed their second child,

following Bears were present to celebrate

was also recently promoted to

the wedding: Matt

partner at the law firm Hogan

Frank ’07 (best man),

Lovells in Washington, D.C.

Gurmail Thagad

He focuses his legal practice on

(groomsman), B.J.

mergers and acquisitions and

Keyes (groomsman),

other corporate transactions.

Blake Elder, Chris Regan, Will

A-game results to our clients,” said Bill Sigler, a founding

partner of Fisch Sigler LLP.

“It has been and will remain a

pleasure to try cases with Jeff.”

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

Manderscheid, Ben Rosen, Akshay

Rustagi, Peter Yerkovich, Tim McKenna, Nick Rhoads ’08, Marty Klingelhofer (staff ) and David Smith (faculty).

47

ALUMNI

BEARS IN PRINT

2005 (continued) Looking for a good read? Check out these recently published books authored by Landon alumni and faculty...

Nicholas Park ’67

Nicholas’s Vagabond Days is

Dr. Paul Scimonelli

a memoir that chronicles life

In his first book, former

1960s, a time of great unrest

Paul Scimonelli chronicles the

and love on the road in the in our nation.

Bill Heavey ’73

Landon Director of Strings

life of Roy Sievers: “The Sweetest Right-Handed Swing” in 1950s

Baseball. Dr. Scimonelli is busy

co-authoring a new book along

Tony Mills and wife Gracie welcomed their first son, Henry Peter Mills, in August 2017.

Jamie Kirkpatrick

Jamie Kirkpatrick’s second book, Musing Right Along,

is a collection of the weekly

columns the former Landon

director of college counseling

Will Manderscheid married Megan Walsh in November.

2006

wrote for his local newspaper,

2007

Musical Mavericks, about some

musicians who hailed from the D.C. area.

John Fechnay Jr. got engaged to Caroline Langley.

Adeeb Mahmood got engaged to Rachel Morris.

The Chestertown Spy.

with Stephan Moore called

of the most famous trend-setting

2006 (continued)

Will Comiskey is still in the Marine Corps.

Have you recently published a book?

Let us know at communications@ landon.net!

Should the Tent Be Burning Like That? A Professional Amateur’s

Guide to the Outdoors chronicles

Bill’s life as a suburban dad who loves to hunt and fish — even if

Michael Potolicchio married Kerry Ryan Potolicchio October 14, 2017.

he is not particularly skilled in either pursuit.

48

LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

Alex Amaro married Amanda Pogue Amaro September 30, 2017.

Patrick Kain became an esquire.

49

ALUMNI

2007 (continued)

2009

2009 (continued) Brian Reilly has lived in Latin

America working in nonprofits

IN MEMORIAM

and experiential education

since graduation from college.

Stephen L. Werner ’54. January 29, 2017.

lived in Nicaragua, Guatemala,

Daniel J. Devers ’76. May 26, 2017.

In chronological order, he has

Mexico and now Peru — but he

Peter Steele ’66. May 24, 2017.

to be with family and friends; to

Mandell J. Ourisman, father of David ’69, John ’71 and

returns frequently to McLean

Landon to play pillow polo and watch sports; and to Princeton

to volunteer. His time in Mexico

Stephen Shafroth ’44. July 20, 2017.

him up in their home in Mexico

Roland “Rody” Davies Jr. ’51. August 9, 2017.

City and showed him a great

time! Brian’s Bear pride still runs

ceremony held in Woodstock, Vermont.

very strong.

2016

Jake Alter got engaged to Lauren Aitken.

Franco Abdala-Arata finished

2008

Hopkins and spent the summer

up his freshman year at Johns at the London School of

Ammar Mian got engaged to Alina Jamil in November.

Daniel Korengold ’69. July 5, 2017.

was thanks to Mark Findaro ’08 and his wife Ana Paula, who put

Dave Chakola Jr. married Ali Coates Saturday, September 30, in a

Robert ’74, and stepfather of

Economics.

Martin E. Lybecker, father of Carl ’98 and Neil ’01.

September 2, 2017.

Adam “Chris” Slonaker ’49. September 8, 2017.

Mary F. Elbin, mother of William “Kelly” Elbin ’79.

September 8, 2017.

David I. Granger ’50, brother of Christopher ’56.

November 2, 2017.

Lee M. Donovan ’59. November 17, 2017.

Paul A. Conrads ’76, brother of David ’73.

WANT MORE ALUMNI NEWS? Greg Eacho and Stephen Potts (pictured above, L to R) met for

Follow Landon on social media to stay up to date with your fellow alumni!

December 2, 2017.

Henrietta Jaffa, mother of Manif ’24.

December 17, 2017 Warren A. Eisinger ’67, brother of Robert ’69.

December 21, 2017.

Nancy Davis, former Landon teacher and wife of staff member Lowell Davis. January 25, 2018.

Thanksgiving in Singapore. Stephen is stationed in Okinawa with the U.S. Marines intelligence.

After three months and 29 days, Agustin “Gus” Umanzor Jr. hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, trekking 2,200 miles from Georgia to

Maine through 14 states. For more on Gus, read Q&A on page 40.

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LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

WINTER 2018 | LANDON SCHOOL

51

ALUMNI

FROM THE ARCHIVES I Love Landon

The Hoffman Family Challenge

The Hoffman family will donate $50,000 to the Landon Fund if the

Landon community contributes $100,000 between now and March 21!

“We’re happy to support Landon because of all the ways the school has supported our three sons: Mitchell, Jack and Barrett. We challenge those who have benefited from a Landon education to do the same.” –Laura and Keith Hoffman P ’17 ’21 ’24

BEARS IN THE (GREEN)HOUSE! Can you identify the teacher and any of the students pictured in front of the greenhouse in the 1960s? Send your best guess to communications@landon.net!

“Listen Up, Boys!” Archive Photo Identified Thank you to the many alums who wrote in to correctly identify the beloved (and commanding) woman pictured as former art teacher Gladys Georgia. The correct respondents were John

Buren Solberg ’70, Bill Eacho ’72, Peter Pagenstecher ’77, David Peikin ’90, Alan Pierpoint ’68, Jay Rogers ’68, brothers Miles

Ryan ’81 and Patrick ’86, Bryan Snapp ’68, Ted Willard ’81...

and Jeff Georgia ’74, Gladys’s son. “Thank you for this wonderful blast from the past!” Jeff wrote.

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LANDON SCHOOL | WINTER 2018

W W W. L A N D O N . N E T/ M A K E A G I F T

N O N - P RO F I T O RG A N I Z AT I O N U.S. P O STAG E

LANDON SCHOOL 6101 WILSON LANE

PA I D

BETHESDA, MD 20817

B E T H E S DA , M D P E R M I T N O. 7 0 2 7

FSC

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Parents: If this issue is addressed to a son who no longer maintains an address at your home, please send current address information to the Alumni Office at alumni@landon.net.

Painting by John Popera ’18

communications@landon.net

SAVE THE DATES Landon Azalea Festival

May 4 – 6

Alumni Golf Tournament

June 1

Homecoming & Reunions

November 8 – 10