SU M M E R 2 0 2 1
MILLBROOK’S MISSION In a community where every student is known and needed, Millbrook prepares its students for college and lives of meaning and consequence by instilling the values of respect, integrity, stewardship, service, and curiosity.
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Living the Tradition of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis UP FRONT 3 Introduction from Headmaster Drew Casertano
4 Millbrook Moments
MILLBROOK MATTERS
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50
FEATURES
50 Letters to an Educator
This collection of letters to an educator illuminates the profound influence
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Academics
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Quotables
30
Athletics
38
Arts
46
Student Life
ALUMNI
and impact Drew has had on so many individuals within the Millbrook School
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Class Notes
community. Drew is an embodiment of the idea he has kept in front of us all for
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In Memoriam
31 years—the simultaneous pursuit of the best self and the common good.
67 Toasting Millbrook’s First Lady
Excerpts from tributes to Linda Casertano given by Bill McNamara ’75, former board chair, and Tyler Casertano, second of her three sons and incoming head at The Haverford School, on the occasion of the presentation of an honorary Millbrook diploma to Linda Casertano.
ON THE COVER
72 A lumni Educators
S U M M ER 2 0 2 1
So many Millbrook alumni shine in their chosen fields that it’s never difficult to find great stories to tell. In this edition, we highlight a few who faithfully carry forward the spirit of lifelong learning that so many discover during their years at Millbrook.
73 Jim Eagen ’88 75 G eorge Reyes ’90 78 Joanne Lembo ’91
80 Tony McKinley ’98 83 Kristina Dowtin ’00
Photo of Drew and Linda Casertano by John Dolan P ‘13, ‘15, ‘17 taken in Casertano Hall, spring of 2021
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Director of Donor Relations & Development Operations
a m ag a z i n e fo r a l u m n i , pa r e n t s and friends of millbrook school
Trish Rexhouse Gift Entry Manager & Administrative Assistant
Melissa Pastre
EDITOR
Michelle Blayney DESIGN
Administrative Assistant & Database Manager
Proof Design
Bonnie Lodevole
Farnham F. Collins ’53, GP ’17 William L. Crossman ’74, P ’09 Lucy P. Cutting P ’77 William R. Hettinger ’77, P ’01, ’04 David D. Holbrook ’56, P ’82, ’83, GP ’11, ’12, ’14 Bruce B. Huber ’47 Thomas E. Lovejoy ’59, P ’86 William B. McNamara ’75
Administrative Assistant
CONTRIBUTORS
Michelle Blayney, Tyler Casertano,
Sarah Sartorini
Jonathan Downs ’98, Bill McNamara ’75,
Director of Communications
Alex Pearson, Jeff Zelevansky
Michelle Blayney
PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS
Assistant Directors of Communication
Michelle Blayney, John Dolan,
Alex Pearson and Jeff Zelevansky
Jonathan Lopez ’02, Sarah MacWright, Yannis Malevitis, Alex Pearson, Jeff Zelevansky
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MILLBROOK is published by the Communications Office and Alumni & Development Office of Millbrook School for alumni, parents, and friends
Chairman
William L. Menard ’78, P ’09, ’12, ’12
of the school. Contents may be reproduced
Vice Chairman
or reprinted only by permission of the editor.
Paul M. Solomon ’61, P ’98
Opinions expressed do not reflect the official position of Millbrook School.
Treasurer
Richard A. Stuckey P ’00, ’03, ’09
Phone: 845-677-8261 Website: www.millbrook.org
Follow Millbrook at your favorite social media sites: Twitter
Drew J. Casertano Francisco L. Borges ’70 Stephen M. Clement III
YouTube
Trevor L. Colhoun ’95 Morgan C. Conrad ’99 Constantine M. Dakolias P ’22 Nicole Sheetz Frith P ’18 Christopher C. Holbrook ’82, P ’11, ’12, ’14
ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
Millbrook magazine is printed on Finch Fine Bright White Ultra Smooth 100 lb. cover and 80 lb. text. This paper is manufactured with 10% postconsumer fiber using on-site renewable power. It is FSC certified.
For this issue we reduce our carbon footprint the equivalent of...
13 trees preserved for the future 21,009 gal wastewater flow saved
Theodore S. Karatz ’96
5,380 lbs net greenhouse
Sean McManus P ’18
gases prevented
Gordon S. Pennoyer ’99
Director of Advancement
Gilbert P. Schafer III ’80
Nancy Stahl
Lisa P. Selz P ’12, ’17
Assistant to the Headmaster for External Affairs
Paul Simons ’83, P ’17, ’19
Robert Anthony ’65
William F. Souder P ’22
Director of Annual Giving & Parent Engagement
Paul Stafford P ’16, ’19, ’23
Barbara Gatski
Charlotte Carroll Tracy ’88
Director of Alumni Engagement
Caroline A. Wamsler, PhD ’87
Colleen McAllister
Jing Wang P ’21
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ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT
Kelly Macaluso Coles ’86, P ’19
Kathleen A. Dill ’85 Linked in
Millbrook School adheres to a long-standing policy of admitting students of any race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its education policies, admission policies, financial aid program, or other school-administered programs.
Secretary
Headmaster
NON DISCRIMINATION
Peter R. Chapman P ’11, ’12
Millbrook School 131 Millbrook School Road Millbrook, NY 12545
2
Honorary Trustees:
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Introduction from
Headmaster Drew Casertano: As I write, it was little more than a year ago that everything changed for our world, our country, and, of course, our school. Facing countless questions without answers, we created an emergency remote learning program for the balance of the school year. Simultaneously, we developed scenarios for the 2020-21 school year, some pretty dismal.
Through it all, we held fast to: • the clarity and strength of our mission, • our commitment to fight to fulfill it to the best of our ability every day, • the strength of our community, and • our goal to thrive rather than just survive. Conversations with our students and parents and alumni have been
Looking ahead, Linda and I are truly happy and excited that Jon and
central to this effort. These have been challenging, encouraging,
Erin Downs will soon occupy Pulling House and will lead Millbrook
and vitally important as we strive to ensure that, according to our
to its centennial and well beyond. No one is more committed, better
mission, all students feel known and needed and that we are a fully
suited, or more capable of sustaining Milbrook’s Momentum and
inclusive community.
leading the school community with love, understanding, and vision.
By the time you read this, we will have completed a full school year
It has been a privilege for us to serve a school whose story is so
together on campus, striving each day to create “a healthy marriage
compelling and mission so meaningful. With our final weeks before
of normalcy and safety.” To describe it as a success would be a
us, we plan to savor each day and to follow the advice I regularly
gross understatement. There is no way to overstate the gratitude
offer to our students to “finish strong” while continuing to do our
I feel for my faculty and staff colleagues’ creativity, courage, and
best to “leave it better than we found it.”
commitment; for our students’ resilience, determination, and positivity; for our parents’ trust and belief in Millbrook; and for our
Onward!
trustees’ partnership and steadfastness to plan for the brightest possible future for Millbrook. The result of this Herculean effort and unstinting collaboration is that we have delivered on our promise to fulfill Millbrook’s mission, and the school has emerged far stronger by every measure.
Drew Casertano Headmaster
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Millbrook Moments
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Navigating the frost on Flagler Quad, Jack Linnartz ’21 is thinking of spring sports upon returning to Case Hall in January. Following the rules and doing the hard work to stay safe made being together on campus an especially sweet victory.
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Millbrook Moments
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On-campus weekends and the balmy fall allow time for advanced chemistry students to stop and smell the flowers…before mashing them up to make paint. Millbrook’s farm yields a bumper crop of colorful blossoms and plenty of inspiration.
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Millbrook Moments
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Boys Hockey Coach Vinnie Sorriento ’96 holds a boards meeting during on-ice practice. As director of athletics, Vinnie led the way for all Mustang athletes to get back to safely playing the sports they love.
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Millbrook Moments
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Biology students take their phenology lab into the trees. The refurbished South Campus Canopy Walkway is another way our students can go above and beyond.
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Millbrook Moments
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Since the show absolutely must go on, several locations on Millbrook’s majestic 800-acre campus are the perfect setting for the first-ever filmed version of Millbrook’s fall play, The Crucible.
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Millbrook Moments
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Millbrook’s Dutchess County campus is never short on beauty, but once in a while Mother Nature goes above and beyond. An early winter sunset lights up the western sky and silhouettes the classic beauty of the Flagler Memorial Chapel.
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Millbrook Matters AC A D E M I C S , AT H L E T I C S , A R T S , A N D S T U D E N T L I F E
Academics The Hudson Valley’s weather was temperate in the fall of 2020, so teachers and students made the most of outdoor learning late into this year’s first term. Botany students reimagined a neglected patch of campus into an eco-friendly and species-sensitive garden, while advanced chemistry students extracted paint pigments from flowers grown on the farm. Maintaining a Millbrook tradition, Mr. MacKenzie and his biology students immersed themselves in the biodiversity that is the marsh. On dry land, Lewis Feuer’s English IV Honors class experimented with novel literary analysis techniques, and Nancy Keller-Coffey led compelling discussions concerned with ideas of wickedness and larger dystopian themes.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
WHAT’S NEW:
Courses, Curriculum & Programming Something Wicked and Life on Mars Starting in the fall of 2020, the English department offered two new electives for VIth form students interested in deeper dives into transcendent literary themes. The fall semester offering, Something Wicked This Way Comes, was inspired by teacher Nancy Keller-Coffey’s re-reading of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which was also presented this year as Millbrook’s fall play. Themes of hypocrisy and distrust permeate the work, interesting to examine amid the deteriorating societal conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the political climate of the 2020 election. Propelled by student-initiated discussions and writing prompts, the class read I, Tituba, a novel that intersects with The Crucible, followed by William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and two fairytales by the Brothers Grimm. Students then connected their understanding of these works and employed the common themes of evil and deceit in “un-essays” they undertook at the end of the term. Their un-essays consisted of poems, drawings, paintings, photography, music, and a board game and demonstrated students’ ability to interpret and present the ideas they gleaned from the source materials. Life On Mars is a second-semester elective in which students explore utopian and dystopian themes in literature. Ms. KellerCoffey assigned Station 11, Brave New World, The Dispossessed, and The Sirens of Titan as jumping-off points for a survey of the genre. She encourages students to “ask questions that may have no answer” as they consider the effects of scientific progress and societal upheaval represented in the books. In contrast to the un-essay project that concludes the fall semester, a culminating essay is the final English assignment graduating seniors undertake at Millbrook. Students can use outside sources and analysis to research and write their in-depth paper, similar to what they might produce for a college literature course. The two new courses complement other unique English elective offerings and prepare VIth form students to delve further into literary analysis.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
Cool Classroom Projects Students Dig Landscape Design Wielding shovels, rakes, saws, and axes, a gang of botany students massed behind the headmaster’s residence and began to put their plan into action. Their goal: to transform an overgrown and slightly unkempt patch of ground by the north side of Pulling House into a sustainable and beautiful garden. Leigh Schmitt’s botany students edged new beds, pruned trees, and did an overall clean-out as part of a landscape design and installation project; Headmaster Drew Casertano happily signed on as their “client.” Before digging in, Mr. Casertano shared with students a brief campus history and details of Millbrook’s campus master plan to further inform their beautification strategy.
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Planting a garden is an inherently hopeful act, and students saw their efforts bear fruit as they sourced perennials from the farm and increased plant biodiversity to create a sustainable agronomy in the yard. Yarrow, purple coneflower, ox-eyed daisies, and lilies are beautiful indigenous plants that should thrive in the sunlight regained after the removal of an unhealthy spruce tree. Vth and VIth form botany students have left their mark on the campus, and they will leave Millbrook this spring with a greater understanding of how their choices and undertakings can be consequential in this place, their home away from home. They will also have discerned how to be better stewards of the natural world at large.
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Academics
Visualizing a Novella In Touch, a novella by Palestinian author Adania Shibli, omissions, silence, and negative space are significant structural and stylistic elements. The non-linear development of this novella can be unfamiliar to students, so English Instructor Lewis Feuer tasked his IVth
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form honors students to create a piece of visual art to represent the book’s prevalent themes—limitation and restriction—and their understanding of the author’s intentions. He restricted students to using only the geometric shapes and line tools available to them in a hobbled version of Google Draw, and all students used the same set of tools to complete their work. “The stakes are the same for every student,” said Mr. Feuer.
“Whether they’re terrified by the act of drawing or feel like
identifiable and familiar to students and generated discussion on
competent artists, working in that unfamiliar space is a lot like
those themes.
reading Touch for the first time.”
Mr. Feuer sees the benefit of using a contemporary visual tool
Wielding laptops and tablets, students broke into small groups
to explore a contemporary written work—it’s a canny way to
to present their work to classmates. The artwork under
immerse readers. Art made in reaction to source material can
consideration introduced elements of the novella that were
provide greater understanding and connection.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
An Immersive Experience of the Natural World Gordie MacKenzie ’79 has been taking his classes mucking in the marsh for many years. Before him, in the 1980s, Bruce Rinker loved to muddy the waters with Millbrook’s science students. In what has become a treasured school tradition, biology students don old clothes and forsaken sneakers, go for a walk in the muck, and gather what they can for examination back in the lab. There is no better way to relate to and establish a connection to our environment than to comb through a muddy netful of native plants and creatures. Due to dry conditions in the Hudson Valley this year, students’ usual route through the marsh west of School Road was too shallow to be much fun. Instead, Mr. MacKenzie took his Vth form biology students to explore a human-made pond known colloquially as the “Second Hockey Rink.”
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Armed with buckets and nets, the class stepped into the waisthigh water in search of specimens to view under the microscope. Students gathered plants, dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, leeches, snails, crayfish, and three small fish as subjects in their unit called “What Is Life?” As they studied the food chain and learned to draw and classify their finds, they kept their samples alive in an aquarium habitat in the math and science center hallway. In carrying on Millbrook’s mucking tradition, some students have their first and most immersive experience of the natural world. They learn that there is life all around, and they begin to see, feel, and understand the idea of habitat. Guided exploration of the muck continues to give context and richness to the 800 acres that we share with so many different organisms.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
Farm To Canvas Davida LaCosse’s Advanced Chemistry Honors students use our farm each fall term as a classroom and laboratory, exploring how artists use chemical reactions to create unique paint colors. Amidst the herbs and vegetables, students gather flower petals from marigolds, echinacea, hairy vetch, and others. They submerge handfuls of petals in 95% alcohol and shake bottles vigorously to saturate the petals and facilitate the plants’ breakdown. After 48 hours, students use a Buchner funnel to remove any solids or debris from the material and then wait for any remaining alcohol to evaporate, leaving only the pigment, a pure plant material. The class transports sienna, purple, orange, yellow, and green pigments from the flowerbeds at the farm to the chemistry lab. To make their extracts useful, the students then add distilled water and mix the result with egg yolk to create one-of-a-kind tempera paints. They use the paint to make art, studying the colors and their interactions on paper. From the farm to the lab to the studio, the flower-petalcolor-extraction-painting experiment encompasses many of Millbrook’s core values and provides a deeper appreciation of the resources available in our outdoor classrooms.
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www.instagram.com/millbrookschool www.linkedin.com - search Millbrook School www.youtube.com/millbrookschoolny SUMMER 2021 •
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
QUOTABLES Millbrook students and faculty engaged in thoughtful discussion and reflection with a variety of speakers this year.
Drew Casertano 2020 Convocation Headmaster Drew Casertano, delivering his final Convocation address, drew parallels between the start to his college career, made challenging by an illness, and the historical start of the 2020-2021 school year. He spoke inspiringly of perseverance, trust, and compassion, invoking Non Sibi Sed Cunctis as a mindset for moving forward.
“The most precious of the silver linings will be what we all will learn from embracing the difficulty, discomfort, and uncertainty of this moment, of learning to deal with the inevitable challenges that life brings with optimism, empathy, and courage.”
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
Peter Chapman P ’11, ’12 Thanksgiving Service During a moving and heartfelt twilight Thanksgiving service on the Flagler Quad, Trustee Peter Chapman announced the board’s resolution to name the dining hall in honor of Drew and Linda Casertano. As Millbrook’s headmaster over the past 31 years, Mr. Casertano has brought to fruition a period of unparalleled growth and development.
“I’m pleased to announce that, henceforth, the dining hall will be named Casertano Hall. A fitting tribute in so many ways, but none more so than acknowledging that Drew and Linda have created a community where everyone has a seat at the table.” –Peter Chapman, Secretary, Board of Trustees
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Lynsey Weatherspoon Black Lives Matter Exhibit Eight Millbrook students curated an exhibit of photographs taken by Black photographers chronicling the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. The group studied photojournalism and selected images of the movement for an exhibit displayed at the Warner Gallery. This group then led an all-school forum featuring artist Lynsey Weatherspoon, who was interviewed by Clara Abreu ’22.
“I think any form of art is a voice. My photos can say what I try to say when I can’t always find the words.” –Lynsey Weatherspoon, Black photojournalist
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Academics
All-School Forum Millbrook welcomed Pulitzer Prize winning poet Jericho Brown and infectious disease expert Dr. Mark Smith ’68 to campus virtually. Through poems and deeply personal stories, they shared their perspectives on the value of respect.
Mark Smith ’68
Jericho Brown Jericho Brown read a selection of his work to a rapt audience during a Millbrook Friday Forum. Though held over Zoom, the privilege of hearing the author’s work delivered live and in his own voice was powerful. Following two other award-winning books of poetry, Mr. Brown won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 2019 collection The Tradition.
“Poems allow me to see the world differently, and they allow me to see into people differently. They allow me some compassion for experiences that I otherwise would not know or understand because I am reading poems by people who are not like me and who have had experiences that I won’t have.”
In the early 1960s, Mark Smith’s father was a development officer working with Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Millbrook’s then Director of Admission Albert Boothby was a supporter of that organization and their mission. This connection led to 13-year-old Mark Smith touring Millbrook in the spring of 1964 and to his enrolling as one of Millbrook’s first Black students that fall. After graduating from Millbrook in 1968, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a medical degree from the University of North Carolina, and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. As an infectious disease expert, Dr. Smith contributed substantially to Millbrook’s COVID-19 protocol development in 2020, and this winter, he spoke to the Millbrook community about his professional life, the Millbrook School he knew as a student, and the elements of his experience that continue to inform his life.
“Community service was one of the things that attracted me to Millbrook, in part because it was such a novel concept and really integral to the school’s philosophy… I assisted in the chemistry lab and then was a headwaiter. But the notion that everyone had a job to do to help the community run…I haven’t been in many communities like that since. It was very powerful, and I was struck by that again when I was back [at Millbrook] for my 50th reunion. Although I don’t wear it on my sleeve, I think it was an important part of my future life in terms of this notion of service and community responsibilities. [I became a doctor,] in part, because it is a helping profession, and in part because I saw it as an avenue for political and social activity.”
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ATHLETICS Mustang athletes used their time this fall and winter to improve fitness, develop personal skills, and engage in team building. While fall sports were limited to intramural play, hockey, basketball, and squash were able to hold competitions in the winter against schools willing to abide by the strict safety protocols that kept Millbrook open and in-person. For fun and bragging rights, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls hockey, and field hockey faced off against faculty teams. Millbrook’s eightman football squad trounced the faculty in a game of flag football before the snow fell. Millbrook’s esports team was undefeated in their inaugural season, and team members stayed sharp with a rigorous cross-fit style workout. All teams held creative strength and conditioning workouts outdoors and indoors to maintain strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Though the pandemic restricted interscholastic sports, Mustang athletes worked hard to stay sharp and prepared. Coaches and trainers conducted comprehensive training programs designed to
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engage student-athletes in place of competition. An upside to the lack of interscholastic games was more opportunities for athletes to connect with their sports and teammates. As restrictions were slightly relaxed and a few interscholastic competitions were held in February, livestreaming, complete with in-game commentary by Millbrook’s own broadcast crew, made it possible for the campus and community at large to come together and support their Mustangs. Flexibility, creativity, and discipline made it possible for Millbrook Mustangs to thrive in challenging times and understand that opportunity always accompanies adversity. This year was a character-builder in every way.
MILLBROOK MATTERS
Athletics
TEAM ROUNDUPS CROSS-COUNTRY Millbrook’s cross-country runners got creative during the fall and competed in virtual 5K races against Salisbury. Instead of competing head-to-head, runners were timed on the course at Salisbury, and scores were tabulated. Millbrook’s cross-country teams were the only fall sports teams to compete in the first term and were undefeated in their short season. Coaches Kathy Havard and Leigh Schmitt agree that there was a great deal of excitement in this opportunity considering limitations brought on by the pandemic, and Coach Schmitt shared this about the experience: “Salisbury’s course is a real beast with lots of hills, climbing, roots, rocks, and technical flowy sections. In short, it’s a true cross-country course. But it was also a true team effort, as the boys and girls combined their overall places for the team score… Millbrook’s positioning, consistent high finishes, and deep mid-pack placement (read: team effort) resulted in Millbrook notching an overall lower score and thus winning the meet, 25-33.”
FOOTBALL In his second year as head football coach, Kadeem Rodgers managed to grow the program despite the lack of any interscholastic games. Millbrook Mustang football is undeniably on the rise after last year’s winning 7-1 season, and Coach Rodgers nearly doubled his roster this year. On the practice field, players and coaches built an abiding brotherhood where the group’s success was based on commitment, love of team, and football. The coaching staff is committed to a student-centric approach that begins with player benchmarking at the start and end of the season. Coaches track player progress in strength, speed, agility, and endurance, and the athletes’ work benefits the boys in football and in every sport they play. “Work in practice can be extrapolated,” said Coach Rodgers, “and I want my team to be able to say that no one works as hard as we do.”
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Athletics FIELD HOCKEY The Millbrook varsity field hockey team worked tirelessly on skills and drills in the fall, and they were thrilled to close the season with a match against Millbrook faculty under the lights on the turf field. Seniors Nikki Bessinger, Olivia Charles, Georgia Franco, Caroline Hopkins, and Emma Schaad were honored by Coach Maria Grant in a pre-game ceremony as scores of student spectators thronged the sidelines. Intrepid between the pipes, Gordie MacKenzie ’79 allowed only one goal, a seeing-eye shot off the stick of Tommi Nash ’22. As usual, varsity keeper Olivia Charles denied all comers, even as competition heated up. As the clock wound down, the faculty made the unorthodox decision to pull their goalie and attempt an all-out offensive blitz. It was to no avail, and, as the final buzzer sounded in the gathering dark, the faculty were shut out.
SOCCER With no opportunity for interscholastic competition, fall soccer was all about skills and drills and team building. Head soccer coaches Ugo Okolie and Gordie MacKenzie ’79 worked the boys and girls varsity teams hard in the fall, hoping that conditions would allow matches to take place but ultimately realizing that the coronavirus would stall any attempts. Looking forward, both teams strove every day to elevate their individual skills, logging lots of time on drills, conditioning, and team building. Our soccer athletes overcame a degree of disappointment and approached every practice with tenacity, drawing inspiration from the indomitable sports icon Rocky Balboa who said, “It ain’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Athletics HOCKEY Millbrook’s girls and boys hockey teams hit the ice in the Bontecou Rink on October 5, several weeks earlier than usual. “You get better during practice,” said Director of Athletics and Boys Hockey Coach Vinnie Sorriento ’96. Training is a year-round necessity for all hockey players, and teams did strength and conditioning work outdoors in advance of on-ice activity. Intense skills and drills work paid off as the boys dominated teams from TrinityPawling, Albany Academy, and others. “It was an absolute tremendous win that we were able to compete and play in six varsity hockey games this February and March,” said Coach Sorriento. “The group was thrilled to get back to something that resembled normal. Going 5-1 in those games was fantastic, but we were especially grateful to put on that Millbrook jersey and compete again!” Girls Hockey Coach Erica Freymann used the early start to keep things on track during an unprecedented time. “When you see how hard they work,” she said, “you want nothing but the best for them.” Their early start has been great for building team chemistry and has allowed additional time for developing skills and systems. The team livestreamed scrimmages and interscholastic games to gain some visibility for seniors and to keep the Millbrook supporters engaged and entertained. “As coaches, we will make sure that our kids are supported,” said Coach Freymann, “games or not.” The varsity girls went 5-1 in the shortened season, including a decisive 4-1 victory over The Hill School, the first-ever win for the Mustang girls over the Rams. “The team has never been closer,” said Coach Freymann. “Skill development and team culture were the main focuses. We’ve learned so much about each other and, more importantly, about ourselves and how strong we really are.”
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Athletics SQUASH Greg Reiss, coach of boys varsity squash, was impressed with the dedication he saw on the courts. “The boys on the varsity squash team trained hard this winter and took advantage of the time they had to raise the level of their games significantly,” said Coach Reiss. “Matches against Trinity-Pawling and Canterbury were highlights of a shortened but exciting season, where all teammates contributed in a positive way to making it a success.” Girls Squash Coach Trip Powers was inspired by his team: “To do the ordinary in these extraordinary times is truly a feat. I recognize this after coaching for 25 years, and I think as the girls get further away from this season, they will look back and think how truly extraordinary this season really was.”
BASKETBALL In his fourth season at the helm, Girls Basketball Coach Pat Stewart has been steadily building the program. At 15-9, the 2019-2020 season was the best in recent memory. Building on that achievement, this year’s team was poised to continue their winning ways. “Their togetherness was fantastic,” said Coach Stewart of his squad. “Everyone came in in-shape and ready to play.” The girls kept in close contact after last spring’s abrupt end to on-campus life at Millbrook, working out via Zoom and sharpening their skills as individuals. “This year’s girls basketball team exemplified a passion for competing, accountability, commitment to high standards, and trust on and off the court,” said Coach Stewart.
Boys Basketball Coach Billy Thom kept faith that his team would have an opportunity to take the court against a NEPSAC opponent. The pandemic made it almost impossible for players to showcase their skills to college recruiters in live games. Still, Coach Thom kept up communication with scouts and managed to schedule several full games. Two senior players are committed to playing at the next level, Charlie Weisberg at Loyola University in Maryland and Seth Caslin at Union College.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Athletics
Sports Commentators With fans unable to cheer in-person for their Mustangs on the court and on the ice, Adam Beck ‘22, Charlie Kaye ‘23, and JD Whiting ‘23 decided to enhance Millbrook’s streaming experience with their live, in-game commentary. Drawing on their love of sport, love of commentating, and their desire to bring the action to their fellow fans, the trio debuted at the boys varsity hockey home opener against Trinity-Pawling and quickly secured gameday fans.
offer an escape for Adam: “Commentating for me is a getaway from the stresses of school or friends, as you’ve got to focus on the action. Plus, it’s enjoyable for me.”
From an elevated platform at center ice, Adam, Charlie, and JD call all the action while controlling the video camera. From the gym, the broadcast team marries their audio to the video feed from an automated Hudl camera. Both cameras feed a live stream to Millbrook’s YouTube channel, where students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni watch the action.
Charlie, who calls Washington, D.C. home, has been a longtime fan of Joe Beninati, play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals, and enjoys the challenge of spinning a game story in the moment. JD, a member of Millbrook’s junior varsity hockey squad, uses his own experience on the ice to transport fans to the arena and “thought it would make the live streams more enjoyable for the viewers.”
Adam is a fan of commentators Tony Romo, Steve Goldstein, Randy Moller, Eric Reid, and Al Michaels. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Adam, “and when Charlie and JD told me they wanted to start too, it seemed like a no-brainer.” Sports
By bringing the game to supporters at a time when fans couldn’t attend in person, they learned to think quickly on their feet, performed a great service, and honed their skills as broadcasters and public speakers.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Athletics
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS Fifteen graduating seniors have committed to playing sports at the college level in the fall of 2021, and seven of those athletes signed letters of intent to play at Division I schools. In November, we held a ceremony in the Firestone Room in the Mills Athletic Center to recognize their commitment to their colleges of choice.
• F rom left to right: Carina Mancini, Jeannie Wallner, Sam Smith, Khya Jenkins, Shakur Mohammd, Owen Wendell-Braly, Kaitlin Bressette, Kimora Jenkins, Jalia Musah, Nick Benton, Nkki Bessinger, Dan Feigelson, Jenna Bressette, Connor Bressette, and Lexi Strykowski.
SIGNINGS
Kimora Jenkins
Jeannie Wallner
Nikki Bessinger
Shakur Mohammed
Basketball, University of Georgia
Ice Hockey, Long Island University
Ice Hockey, Sacred Heart University
Soccer, Duke University
Khya Jenkins
Owen Wendell-Braly
Charlie Weisberg
Basketball, Coppin State University
Baseball, University of Southern California
Basketball, Loyola University Maryland
Other schools where Millbrook students will be playing include Union College, St. Lawrence University, Endicott College, Rochester University, St. John Fisher, Gettysburg College, Bates College, Franklin and Marshall College, St. Edward’s University, and University of New England. Mustang pride is in abundance for all of our standout athletes committed to playing at the next level.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Athletics
Jon Downs Returns to the Diamond Jon Downs ’98 may have the most crowded hat rack at Millbrook.
Esports As Millbrook’s headmaster-elect, he is involved in every facet of school life, from admissions recruitment and retention to major fundraising, to academic programs and faculty professional development. This past fall, Mr. Downs donned another hat, and a familiar one, as head coach of the varsity baseball team. Coach Downs has had a love of the game since childhood. He was a member of the Millbrook baseball team that earned the most wins in school history and went on to captain the Middlebury College team. Later, during a coaching stint at Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey, his team won a league championship and state title, further solidifying his desire to coach. A new blue sport/gray sport model in place this fall allowed spring sports to get started earlier than ever. It was a different kind of fall ball for the team, and workouts were possible thanks to cooperative weather. Coach Downs inherited two powerful D1-bound pitchers in Owen WendellBraly ’21 (committed to USC) and Eli Stowe ’22 (verbally committed to Maryland). Science, data, and self-analysis are key to playing baseball at a high level, and both Wendell-Braly and Stowe maintain rigorous year-round training plans. The team practiced with 13 players, and that number grew to 20 as the spring season started. “It has been completely rejuvenating,” Coach Downs said of his return to the diamond, “I’ve been scrubbing off the rust but picking it up pretty quickly.” Coach Downs put much thought into the wisdom of adding head coach responsibilities to his already busy portfolio and ultimately decided that “it was a great opportunity to support the school in a different way.”
Millbrook’s new esports team is off to a fast start and looking to grow as leagues and governing bodies take shape. Millbrook is affiliated with the North American Scholastic Esports Foundation for general guidance and with the Independent Schools Esports League to construct a network of competitive schools and a seasonal structure. Millbrook’s esports athletes participate in rigorous physical training designed to develop and strengthen the skills they need to dominate. In Ring Fit Adventure, a game for Nintendo Switch, the team interacts with the game console to get through a strenuous workout that incorporates elements of cross-fit, Pilates, yoga, and aerobics to earn scores for participation and skill. This daily program of physical training precedes any gameplay and emphasizes posture and form while sharpening reflexes, motor skills, and coordination. Justin DeFour ’21 and Griffin Mandelbaum ’21 are the two founding members of the team, coached by Nicki and Joe Schermann, and they have competed with other schools in the Nintendo Switch game Super Smash Bros Ultimate. According to coach Joe Schermann, Justin is a profoundly skilled player and very good at bringing out the best in other players. During one match, the opposing coach was so impressed with Justin’s play that he proposed an exhibition match in which Justin singlehandedly faced three opponents simultaneously. Justin won. Aside from the benefits of the physical training promoted by the North American Scholastic Esports Foundation, gamers develop problem-solving skills and have demonstrably better concentration, reflexes, memory, multitasking ability, and both physical and mental stamina than non-gamers. “While esports come in a huge variety of different games, they almost universally require competitors to be able to think, act, and adapt to difficult circumstances quickly, and good communication and cooperation with teammates is crucial,” said coach Joe Schermann. “In this way, esports have also been known to help competitors improve their social skills.” Millbrook’s esports program is ambitious. “Our plan in the future is also to build out the students’ skills so that they have experience commentating on matches, streaming games, editing videos, and all of the other technical aspects of esports that go along with the gameplay,” said Coach Schermann. Beyond the immediately tangible benefits of Millbrook’s new program, many colleges have taken notice of the rise of esports and have begun to recruit for their programs. “The National Association of Collegiate Esports currently has more than 170 competing teams,” said Coach Schermann. “We are already being contacted by colleges who are interested in recruiting our students.”
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Arts Millbrook’s student artists were busy in front of and behind their cameras. This year’s fall play, The Crucible, was performed as a filmed piece, and students learned to act in front of cameras and work as members of the production crew at various locations around campus. Musicians worked in small, socially-distant ensembles and honed their skills in practice rooms. Visual artists painted and sculpted, shot photos, and drew; much of their work responded to the tumultuous times. The Warner Gallery featured the work of Black photojournalists covering the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and Millbrook welcomed the return and acquisition of Question Bridge: Black Males, a video installation focused on issues of race, identity, history, and education.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Arts
THE NEW GROOVE Musical collaboration demands skill on an instrument and the ability to listen to and communicate constructively with bandmates. Led by Director of Instrumental Music Brian Coughlin and previously known simply as Instrumental Ensemble, this year’s version of the class, now called The Groove, hit the ground running. Anchoring the low end with the string bass is Theo Wilton ’23, joined by newcomers Lucas Johnson ’24 on cello and Lily Herman ’22 and Zach Herman ’24 on violins. With four veteran members of the ensemble studying remotely from China and wind players dispersed to meet social distancing standards, Mr. Coughlin has streamlined Millbrook’s instrumental ensemble into a string quartet. Previous incarnations have included brass, woodwinds, and a rhythm section. The smaller group bonded quickly, and they have worked together to select and perform a challenging and meaningful repertoire. The quartet has made a conscious effort to highlight work by Black artists and others previously excluded from the canon for reasons of discrimination. In researching Black classical composers, Theo Wilton discovered Joseph Boulogne, also known as Chevalier Saint-Georges. A Black composer and contemporary of Mozart and Haydn, he is widely considered to be among the greatest musicians of his era. Chevalier’s work isn’t nearly as well-known as that of his white peers, and the quartet is excited to be presenting work by a historically under-appreciated genius. Next, the group will tackle music from more contemporary sources like Earth, Wind, and Fire, and Deep Purple. Beyond shepherding the musicians through a complex piece of music, Mr. Coughlin has been pleased with the quartet’s progress in becoming a cohesive group. This version of The Groove has shown remarkable independence and an artistic vision that springs from a deep love of music and the joy of playing music with others.
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WARNER GALLERY EXHIBITION Question Bridge: Black Males The clarity and direct engagement of Question Bridge: Black Males both belies and amplifies the complexity and vitality of the subject matter. The work was previously shown at Millbrook in 2018 and is now part of the school’s permanent collection. Comprised of three hours of video footage displayed across five monitors, the exhibition shows footage culled from thousands of interviews of hundreds of Black men across America. Chris Johnson, the creator and co-director of Question Bridge: Black Males, envisioned a platform through which Black men could candidly discuss their experiences of life in America by indirectly questioning and responding to other Black men. By engaging primarily with a video camera, the interview subjects can speak more freely on issues of race, identity, history, education, and other aspects of Black male identity. “If you make a safe space for a person to be honest,” said Mr. Johnson, “they
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will use that opportunity to express values and questions and answers that are really important and otherwise aren’t shared.” Mr. Johnson collaborated with Hank Willis Thomas and Bayete Ross Smith, two former Cal College of the Arts photography students, to capture footage and assemble the project. The videos are presented so that the men seem to be conducting a conversation among themselves while revealing elemental truths about the experience of Black men in America. “All these men happen to be Black,” said Mr. Smith, “but they are talking about things that everyone talks about. So, these questions aren’t so much Black male questions; they are very human questions.” Millbrook joins the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and Culture, The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture, and the Oakland Museum by including Question Bridge in its permanent collection. By acquiring and showing the entire work, Millbrook reaffirms its commitment to amplify Black voices on campus and encourage the ongoing use of Question Bridge in curricula and discussion.
MILLBROOK MATTERS
Arts
STUDIO POTTERY A dozen student potters lean over a dozen formless mounds of spinning clay. The day-lit ceramics studio is suffused with the hum of motorized pottery wheels interrupted by words of encouragement and an occasional frustrated sigh. In the yearlong Studio Pottery class led by Shannon Harris, student artists work exclusively on the potter’s wheel. Introduction to Ceramics or 3D Design are prerequisites, so students come to the studio with significant experience in the pinch, slab, and handbuilding techniques of working with clay. Of the potter’s wheel, Ms. Harris says: “It takes time and practice to get comfortable with this machine and to learn all the amazing things we can create with it!” In the first weeks of class, students take time to become comfortable with the wheels and to understand and manage the properties of the stoneware clay they use. Early projects include bowls, plates, and other functional vessels like mugs and lidded forms. The progress from rudimentary to more complex works happens as students are “learning ways to find harmony with their bodies, the machine, and the clay,” says Ms. Harris. The artists build their skills with stoneware clay, mindful of the final project of the year, the creation of a tea set that demonstrates their expertise in the techniques they have learned during the class. In the second semester, students can use porcelain for their work, which requires more careful handling and finishing. Though their approaches to the work vary, all of the students in Studio Pottery love to get their hands dirty!
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Arts
PERFORMING ARTS The Crucible Wringing opportunity from adversity, this year’s fall play came to life as a short film that was crewed, directed, and acted largely beyond the walls of the Chelsea Morrison Theater. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was reimagined by Millbrook Director of Theater Elaine Lifter and undertaken as a live theater performance captured on film, similar to the television broadcast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. The fall play is a long-standing and much-beloved Millbrook tradition. Along with Ms. Lifter, Technical Director Lauren Duffy and Assistant Directors Merilee Weil ’21 and Stephen Peschel ’22 pushed the cast and crew to commit fully to every scene. The ensemble cast learned to act in front of cameras, a much different undertaking than working in front of a live audience, where energy from the crowd can help propel a performance to greatness.
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The inability to stage the play in a traditional theater setting due to ongoing social-distancing requirements forced the department to get creative with locations and production. Over three days, professional filmmaker Andrew Merelis worked with students using multiple cameras to shoot in four select locations around campus. Mr. Merelis then worked remotely with students to edit the performances together into an hour-long piece shared with the school community in a Friday night forum.
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Arts
NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC ARTS AWARDS Caroline Frase ’22 was awarded a Silver Medal in the national judging of the Scholastic Arts Awards, and many of Millbrook’s creative artists made truly inspired work to garner critical recognition and praise in the competition. In regional judging, Millbrook student artists gathered 22 gold keys, 27 silver keys, and 46 honorable mentions for work in photography, drawing and illustration, and ceramics and glass. Regional gold key winners move on to national adjudication and, in Caroline’s case, an additional prestigious award!
Liquid Clocks by Caroline Frase ’22
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Telephone by Sophie Stark ’21
Cube by Paras Musallam ’21
Grandparents by Kyle Prockter ’22
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MILLBROOK MATTERS
Student Life Though campus life looked a little different this year, students and faculty maintained long-standing Millbrook traditions, and an already tight-knit community drew even closer. Students worked together on a new ropes course, welcomed an honorary Mustang, celebrated an ancient tradition, and reinvented one of the school’s oldest dorms.
Low Ropes Millbrook’s new low ropes course joins the marsh boardwalk and canopy walkway as another reason to get outdoors and explore south campus. Comprised of eight elements, the course features two types of climbing walls, a variety of cable crossings, a giant spiderweb to traverse, and an exceedingly tricky group balance platform.
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The obstacles are designed to promote collaboration and team building while students and faculty focus on group dynamics and individual approaches to challenges. Many students have traversed the course so far this year, as it has been used in orientation programming and by sports teams looking to promote teamwork and change up their workouts. In a clearing, a rough-hewn platform serves as a giant seesaw. The challenge begins with two students on opposite ends of the
MILLBROOK MATTERS
Student Life
Lunar New Year Millbrook’s Mandarin students welcomed the Lunar New Year by learning about traditional celebrations and customs. Lunar New Year is celebrated in China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and other Asian cultures. The festival begins at the appearance of the first new moon in the lunisolar calendar, and it lasts until the moon is full, 15 days later. It feels hopeful and reassuring to celebrate the Year of the Ox in 2021. The Chinese Zodiac associates animals with a 12-year calendar cycle, and people are believed to have attributes and tendencies that correspond to their birth year. The Ox is a strong and steady creature, able to maintain a serene disposition in challenging circumstances.
platform attempting to balance by shuffling around until it is steady. Students then step onto the platform in pairs, balancing as all team members join. Cooperation, communication, and problem-solving are crucial in this exercise. In other parts of the course, students guide their teammates to safely complete a blindfolded trust walk through a series of swinging tires, spot each other on climbing walls, and strategize routes across a rope spiderweb. With students spending more time on campus to maintain the Millbrook “bubble,” the low ropes course offers a chance for adventure a short hike from the quad.
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Student Life
Lunar New Year traditions center on honoring ancestors and giving gifts to maintain health and happiness and inspire good luck in the new year. Mr. Wei Guo, our Mandarin instructor, spread good wishes and gifts wrapped in red, a lucky color, to classrooms around campus. His students taught fellow Mustangs how to deliver greetings in Mandarin and rewarded accurate pronunciation with snack bar gift cards. They also decorated the dining hall and hosted a celebratory Lunar New Year feast featuring dumplings, vegetarian spring rolls, braised shiitake mushrooms, oranges, and tangerines. A celebratory Lunar New Year video for Millbrook included remote students sharing celebrations from their homes in China and Vietnam. Highlights included a visit to a neighborhood flower market in Shenzhen, traditional household decorations, and special foods. Mandarin language students also shared dance routines and wished viewers health, prosperity, and success in 2021.
The Girls of Prum The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated many physical changes on campus this year, and perhaps the most significant change is reflected in the rooms of Prum Hall. For the first time, Prum is home to female students. A coveted oncampus address due to the exclusively single rooms and proximity to the dining hall, the living quarters in Prum have been assigned to female boarders to allow greater social distancing among all boarding students across campus. Mostly Vth and VIth formers, the girls of Prum are proud to be part of what may become a new normal at Millbrook. “We wanted to live in Prum,” said VIth former Sophie Stark, “so we stepped
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up and volunteered.” With a high-profile location on Pulling Circle, the dorm was named for Xavier Prum, a math and physics teacher who was dorm master of his now-namesake building from 1941-1953. It is one of the oldest residences on campus and famous for its cozy rooms and shadowy basement that once housed photography classrooms and a darkroom. Eager to make it their own, the 13 pioneering girls living along the long hall on the second floor put a lot of work into personalizing their rooms. “We’ve given Prum a new identity,” says Vth former Caroline Frase, “It’s a whole new dynamic!”
MILLBROOK MATTERS
Student Life Friends of Jaclyn No matter the season, Millbrook athletes are always looking for ways to live Non Sibi Sed Cunctis, and the girls varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams have found the perfect opportunity in a partnership with Friends of Jaclyn (FOJ). This Dutchess County foundation is dedicated to supporting children with brain tumors, cancer, and other diseases. Ordinarily, they will pair an afflicted child (and their siblings) with local high school and college sports teams, clubs, or arts programs, so that the child can enjoy inperson interactions at games, practices, or meetings. However, due to pandemic concerns, FOJ has been matching teams and children spread widely across the country. Girls lacrosse and field hockey head coach Maria Grant facilitated the team adoption of Marissa Robidoux, a six-year-old Arizona girl working hard to recover from the effects of a brain tumor. The teams held a virtual ceremony during which Marissa received a plaque honoring her bravery, resilience, and positivity. “I love being a part of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation and having the privilege to adopt a new teammate,” said lacrosse team captain Jenna Bressette ’21. “This makes me realize that lacrosse isn’t just about practices and games—it’s about serving the community and reaching outside of your comfort zone to have a larger impact. I haven’t even met our new teammate, Marissa, but I am already in love with her. Her perseverance, strength, and resilience really stand out to me, and she’s only six years old.”
The field hockey and lacrosse girls have come up with many ways to engage with Marissa, who participates in cheerleading for fun and to help develop her balance and confidence. The girls planned various virtual events for Marissa, including a campus tour, hockey and basketball games, a cheer session, and a dance-off. The teams prepared and sent a care package full of Mustang swag, arts and crafts supplies, sports gear, and other fun items to Marissa’s home in Arizona. The girls plan to keep Marissa very busy over the seasons and years to come.
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Letters TO AN E D U C ATO R
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In Roald Dahl’s The BFG, the lead character, the giant, says, “Words is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me my whole life… I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.” What a relatable sentiment. With jumbled grammar and creative syntax, the BFG articulates a universal humility we feel when faced with the challenge of expressing what we think and feel. It’s never easy to verbalize what’s in our heads and in our hearts, especially in moments in life when we want our words to represent our thoughts and feelings with perfect precision, accuracy, and clarity. How can we express our feelings for Drew Casertano’s 31 years of guidance and leadership? One way to do it might be to take the time to put “it,” whatever “it” is, in a letter. This collection of letters to an educator illuminates the profound influence and impact Drew has had on so many individuals within the Millbrook School community. Drew is an embodiment of the idea he has kept in front of us all for 31 years—the simultaneous pursuit of the best self and the common good. He has cared for us as individuals, while always keeping the good of the whole front of mind. Much like Drew, this collection—snippets pulled from a much larger number that has been published in a beautifully illustrated book—is not just filled with substance, but it’s also filled with style! In an era of emails and texts, clearly letters still matter to the Millbrook community. I know from working side by side with Drew that he holds the highest regard for the brief handwritten note, or the long form letter, as much as any art form. I cannot even begin to imagine how many notes and letters he has written to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. So, we reciprocate. What a way to pay tribute to Drew, his family, and the transformative impact the Casertanos have had on Millbrook. I cannot imagine a more meaningful testimony than sharing in the form of a letter those thoughts that we hold in our heads and hearts. Introduction by Headmaster-Elect Jonathan Downs ’98
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LETTERS TO AN EDUCATOR
D r e w C a s e r ta n o
You arrived on campus a bright and chipper force, not yet a star but a man in full, ready. I came to the board that very same year, 1990, timid and unsure about how I could contribute but believing that simplicity of purpose and common sense would help. Thankfully, Sandy Burton and Lucy Cutting’s gentle guidance and Ed Pulling’s remarkable philosophy would sustain us both. You jumped into the fray as our leader, and as I think about the challenges we undertook and achievements you delivered, I am struck by what an immense body of work it has been and what a great story is to be told. You taught us around the board table that to have ambition for excellence in everything we do both honors our institutional origin and best serves our kids. You love the kids. You made things happen by strength of will. You reminded us that our fundamental purpose is to form character and instill knowledge and capability into the life of every one of our students, and that there is no better place for this to happen than at a fine boarding school. You have made Millbrook a very fine boarding school, and you have made me proud to be a graduate of this school, trustee, and for a time, board chair. What joy it has been to be a part of it all during your 31 years!
from Bill McNamara ’75,
Board Chair 2000-2012
Edward Pulling was the founder of Millbrook School in 1931. You are the architect of the Millbrook School that exists today. All who know and love Millbrook are grateful to you and Linda. In years gone by, many local residents called Millbrook “The Pulling School.” Now it would be “The Casertano School,” for the present school is your creation.
from Farnie Collins ’53
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Few of us get the chance to enhance the lives of our youth. The contributions you have made to the lives [of Millbrook students] have been exceptional. Thousands have benefitted from your mentorship and from the example of your character. These are no small achievements, Drew. No small achievements indeed! God bless you for all you have done to improve their lives and to show them that character counts above all else.
from Charlie Evans ’58
As you worked so diligently to resurrect our school, you created a culture of determination, excellence, and the blending of old and new traditions to set Millbrook on a positive path upon which to continue building a rock-solid future. Ninety years in, we are getting closer to INEVITABILITY! Thank you for your leadership, friendship, and ongoing support. We will travel hopefully down School Road together again.
from Robert Anthony ’65
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You honored me by giving me the Edward Pulling Community Service Award. We all honor you as a headmaster who has brought Millbrook School into a great future in independent education. One has only to look around the campus to see your physical heritage. Yet, the minds of hundreds of alumni are your greatest achievements as an educator of exceptional talent. from Terry Bennett ’68
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LETTERS TO AN EDUCATOR
D r e w C a s e r ta n o
Over eighty-five years ago, Edward and Lucy Pulling established Millbrook during incredibly difficult times and weathered many challenges to ensure its students had the finest faculty, staff, academic, athletic, and community service programs and facilities. You and Linda have taken their vision, plans, and hopes and ensured that Millbrook has not just endured but changed, improved, and grown, in so many wonderful ways, that Millbrook generations will continue to enjoy its legacy and more, “Better by Design.” Your strength and character have led and carried Millbrook through many good times and tough times, always leading to a brighter future for one and all. Non Sibi Sed Cunctis!
from James M. Cannon IV ’71
I am forever proud of this great school, a place that has always
In your three decades on Millbrook’s campus, you have
taught us to be, act, and do as the motto dictates, Non Sibi
taught countless students, teachers, staff members, parents,
Sed Cunctis, but one that also needed your insistence that
families, friends, and trustees the meaning of friendship,
every student be known and needed. You formed a welcoming
the beauty of family, and the importance of always moving
and accepting community in which students know that
forward to realize ideas and dreams.
never again will so many people be dedicated to helping them succeed. Thank you for your vision and ambition and accomplishments that have made this school as great a place in the world as it has always been in my heart.
Through your leadership, characterized by open ears, a clear vision and purpose, and a big embracing heart, you have moved Millbrook forward, without losing sight of where we have come from. Fully inspired by the vison of our founding
For all you have done over many years at this great place, there
headmaster, you have carried that vision into the future and
is one thing you have yet to accomplish—the act of leaving. I
leave Millbrook a better place than you found it.
offer you the hope that Millbrook’s spirit lives on, sometimes quietly, sometimes prominently, in all of us who have spent time here. It’s the lens through which we filter the world to see the possible alongside the problems; it’s the spirit that pushes us forward to lead lives of meaning and consequence.
from Kathleen A. Dill ’85
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts—and remember, you and Linda might be leaving the Millbrook campus, but you will forever be a part of this community. For that we are grateful.
from Caroline A. Wamsler, PhD ’87
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LETTERS TO AN EDUCATOR
D r e w C a s e r ta n o
Your commitment to the nurturing and blooming of Millbrook cannot be understated: the dedication to the faculty, the expansion and beauty of the campus, the growth and diversity of the student body! What a gorgeous garden to have nourished. (And literally, a garden has been planted as well!) I’m thrilled to bid you good wishes for your next journey and to have been a small part of this one. Huge standing applause for this outstanding legacy!!
from Camille (Rustige) Abbe ’91
As a student, I felt your support in many ways. Glancing over to the sideline during a game, you were often seen chatting with parents, my father, sitting on his folding chair smoking a cigar, among them. You knew the result of that game the next day when I saw you in Schoolhouse or the dining hall, and you were also sure to ask me how I was coming along with my latest research paper. I feel incredibly lucky to have had you as a headmaster during my four years as a student at Millbrook School. I could never have imagined how grateful I would be that my stepson, Ryan, and daughter, Estella, were able to join Millbrook and have the opportunity to experience the wonderful ways in which you lead the community. Though the school has changed in remarkable ways since I was a student, the core values remain the same, and the sense of community has never been stronger. Thank you for all that you have done for Millbrook.
from Eliza Thorne ’95, P ’22, ’24
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Millbrook is inevitable today because of you, which is an incredible gift to our school in and of itself. More importantly, you depart an institution where being inevitable is simply not enough. Why? Because resting on our laurels is something you would never permit. Because you have instilled in this community the confidence and ambition to always want more, to never settle, and to demand excellence in all facets of our program. That is the ultimate and most impactful gift you could have given our school.
from Gordon Pennoyer ’99
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to learn in
I want to congratulate you on an amazing career at
such a warm and thoughtful environment that truly felt
Millbrook while giving my thanks to you for your tireless
like home for the three years I was lucky to be there.
effort, care, and support of the Millbrook community. You
Thank you for always listening to students and never
have helped shape an extremely rare and special culture that
settling, but rather working every day to make Millbrook
students like me will keep with us forever. You have set the
live up to the vision you laid out for it all these years. Your
bar high for students, faculty, and staff to achieve excellence
commitment and dedication have been inspiring, and you
day in and day out.
leave behind a rich legacy.
from Ethan Cott ’20
from Victoria Haschke ’14
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D r e w C a s e r ta n o
The Babcocks feel honored to have had our three boys graduate under your watchful eye. For Holden, Cooper, and Quinn, it was their time at Millbrook that shaped them and continues to influence their choices in life. Lifelong friendships, a chance to explore new interests, a love of learning, and a respect for the environment were just a few of the many important “Millbrook traits” that you fostered so well!
from Mimi and Fritz Babcock P ’06, ’09, ’12
At Choate you were the team leader. Always guiding, always encouraging, and always finding a better way. Years later you would bring your gifts to Millbrook, and your guidance, leadership, vision, encouragement, and constant search of excellence has made Millbrook all that it is today. It has been my sincere privilege over the years to work with you as a parent of Millbrook students, as a trustee, and as a friend.
from Cynthia Gray P ’07, ’11
We will never forget when you promised us that you would find an interest in our children that they had not realized, nurture it, and help bring it out. You 100% delivered on that!!! We entrusted you and Millbrook with all three kids, and although they each had a different experience, it is one of the best gifts we gave them. Thanks to you and all the faculty and staff at Millbrook.
from Kim and Pete Parent P ’08, ’11, ’13
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As a parent, finding a school that shares your values and with whom you can partner comes with some uncertainty. Millbrook, under your leadership, uniquely proved to be a place where parental confidence was certain. Your life’s work—dedication to the formation and education of young adults—is certainly borne from a deep sense of mission and love. You have been a naturally kind, thoughtful, and intuitive person and, above all, that rare non-anxious leader with the nerve to make Millbrook live up to its promise. What a glorious legacy!
from Michael & Catherine Collins P ’09
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LETTERS TO AN EDUCATOR
D r e w C a s e r ta n o
There are few words a parent can draw on to express their gratitude when their child is within someone else’s care. So, know this—your clarity, steadfastness, and unwavering commitment to your role made us both proud and grateful. We will remember you for all you did for Milbrook, our August, and, most importantly, for the love and art of learning.
from Susan and Thomas Plagemann P ’21
I am so very grateful for your leadership prior to and during my son’s first three years at Millbrook. To put it simply, his life, and consequently mine, has been immeasurably enriched by Millbrook. Thank you for your life’s service to superior education.
from Deborah Coconis P ’22
For 31 years, you faithfully instilled in a generation of Millbrook students a transformative curiosity, cognition, and compassion that transcended the school’s borders. Their collective handprint on the world will be your lasting legacy.
from Debra and Stephen Weiss P ’22
For the last 20 years, our families have dropped four children off at the Millbrook campus in your care. You helped us transition to boarding school with IIIrd form readings and cookies. You provided an intimate and supportive environment, encouraging us to try new activities and expand our world. You taught us it was okay to fail, and you helped us to pick ourselves up when we did. You have quite literally helped shape multiple generations of our family tree, and the mark you have left on each and every one of us is nothing short of indelible. We are ever proud to call ourselves Mustangs, who thrived under your watchful eye. With love and gratitude,
from The Blanksteen, Marsal & McCarthy Families (’03, ’06, ’06, ’23)
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D r e w C a s e r ta n o
Although you dramatically changed the physical nature of this campus, your accomplishments went well beyond brick and mortar. You changed the culture of the school while maintaining the integrity of its founder’s vision of community service and the school’s motto Non Sibi Sed Cunctis. You focused tirelessly on the well-being of a physical plant while building an institution of character. Respect, Integrity, Stewardship, Service and Curiosity. These were not just words to make Millbrook look good. They were words that shaped Millbrook and words to live by. You fashioned a school dedicated to principle and invited and cultivated students to become valued caretakers. As Millbrook’s headmaster, you saw that all members of its community contributed to its function and success. You knew the names of all the students, custodial, kitchen, maintenance, and support staff. You knew something about all of them, acknowledging their contributions and worth. Our family has been blessed and honored to work, live, and share in your vision.
from Bill and Cam Hardy P ’92, ’08, ’13, faculty since 1990
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It is hard to fathom and difficult to enumerate the positive impact you have had on Millbrook School and the greater boarding school community. Edward Pulling used cunctis to refer to concentric circles of others, resulting in the collective all. You and Linda have embraced Millbrook’s motto to the benefit of so many of us. In turn, Millbrook has grown and strengthened under your leadership, in large measure stemming from your development of the faculty. The greater boarding school community has watched and emulated your actions, to the benefit of all. Like ripples on a pond, your impact has radiated out to affect the whole surface. We are all better for your efforts and encouragement.
from John and Betty Siegenthaler P ’06, faculty 2001-2020
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D r e w C a s e r ta n o
I’d wager that each of us can point to someone in our past—our childhood or teenage years—who, through some twist of fate, came into our lives and exercised an outsized influence on us, ultimately shaping who we are. An inspirational coach, a demanding teacher, a family friend who was able to “get” you and speak to you in a way your parents never could. As you get up in years, you may not think of them as often, but those special people occupy an exalted place in your affections, and their effect on you never wanes. I know this because I had such mentors in my life, coming of age as
That essence goes by another name. It is mission. “In a community
I did right here at Millbrook. Their presence in my life wasn’t so
where everyone is known and needed . . .” it begins. But it is much
much a twist of fate as it was the very essence of Millbrook then,
more than just words to be read because, for you, mission is not
as it is now. Back then, we had not yet articulated that magical
simply motto. Mission is what drives and directs every action,
phrase “known and needed” that so perfectly sums up the Millbrook
giving that action meaning and consequence. That you were able to
experience for kids like me and for those that came before and
accomplish so much over your 31 years of leadership is because you
since, but that’s what Millbrook was. Mr. Bonn. Mr. Bryson. Ms.
were guided by this mission. You were able to transform Millbrook
Purinton. Mr. Post. Mr. Abbott. To each of them I was known, and
by teaching all of us to understand and believe in that mission and to
to the Millbrook community I knew I was needed. Talk about a
work together with you to fulfill it.
transformative experience! It is no wonder that I really had no choice but to remain committed to Millbrook for the rest of my life. But Millbrook also gave me a second gift, one that again I’d wager few of us get to experience. As a result of being elected to the Board of Trustees in 1992, I began a second chapter of my Millbrook experience, a sequel of sorts, which has been every bit as powerful, rewarding, and transformational as the original. Once again there has been a mentor, a coach, a teacher at the center of that experience—Drew Casertano.
full of meaning and consequence. This is because of those special adults who shaped it during my days as a student at Millbrook and because of a very special one who came to me later in life. How wonderful and bittersweet at the same time it must be to be one of those special shapers of men and women—we call them teachers— to know the profound impact you’ve had on another’s life and then to move on and start all over again with new challenges, new lives to shape. Please know that those of us who have been touched by your life will never forget. We will always hold your memory dear. We will
Your most important gift to Millbrook has been, I think, leading us
always be grateful for the gifts you have given us. Drew, we will no
on a journey to discern the essential being that is inherent in all that
doubt stay close as you move to your next big challenges. But when
Millbrook is and all that Millbrook does. That essence existed before
the distance grows and time marches on, know that your mark on
you arrived. It is intangible and, until you arrived, perhaps remained
this school and your mark on me are profound and indelible. I thank
just slightly beyond our ability to ascertain it. But it was always
you with every fiber of my being for a mission accomplished.
there. You helped us uncover it, and since then you have helped us appreciate it. Nurture it. Burnish it. Cherish it. Share it.
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My life has been a joyous journey and one that has been, I believe,
• SUMMER 2021
from B ill Menard ’78, P ’09, ’12, ’12, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
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Toasting Millbrook’s
First Lady Following are excerpts from tributes to Linda Casertano given by Bill McNamara ’75, former board chair, and Tyler Casertano, second of her three sons and incoming head at The Haverford School, on the occasion of the presentation of an honorary Millbrook diploma to Linda Casertano; she is the second recipient of this honor after Founding Headmaster Edward Pulling.
Many in the greater Millbrook family are
fighting back tears. She loved her students,
County. However, she loved and trusted
likely familiar with the metrics comparing
advisees, and faculty colleagues at Loomis
my father, and besides, it was entirely
Millbrook before my parents arrived
dearly, and she had some reasonable
possible that it would be for just a few
with the Millbrook we know now—the
questions about living in rural Dutchess
years, so my dad said.
historical BCE (in this case Before Casertano Era) vs. AD (After Drew). Those facts and figures focus on the size of the school, the health of the admissions funnel, the number of dollars raised, the quality of the faculty, and the physical footprint of the campus. I would like to turn your attention to a different set of figures. 34, 7, 4, and 0. These were the ages of my parents and of their children when they moved from Loomis Chaffee to Millbrook School in 1990. While my father came to Millbrook with ambition and optimism, my mom, who was seven months pregnant with Will, spent her first tour of Millbrook after the search process
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Toasting Millbrook’s First Lady
The numbers that I draw to your attention next are 6, 3, and 3. These are the ages of my parents’ three grandchildren, Mac, Miles, and Bailey. On Instagram, photos and captions make it clear that to her grandkids my mom is Gigi. You will also know that this name is not simply a title, but rather a lifestyle, a state of being. #LuckyGigi. There is no doubt that my parents have transformed Millbrook, but Millbrook has also transformed them. My mom arrived at Millbrook as a young mother, unsure of Millbrook School, unsure of this area, and unsure of the role of first lady. She leaves as Gigi, the matriarch of Millbrook, sure of the surrounding area, sure of Millbrook School, and as sure of herself as she is sure of her famous banana bread. And, on behalf of my brothers, my father, and Millbrook School, I want to take a moment to thank my mother for that transformation. Because it took work, and it took courage. It took selflessness, and it took love. It was a constant balancing act, and one that my brothers and I surely made more difficult than it needed to be. Why the good Lord, with his infinite wisdom, gave my mother three sons is a question I ask myself often. The simple answer is because she could handle it. She could handle us, just as she could handle the slings and arrows of being the first lady of Millbrook. Those slings and arrows were, in some ways, made more difficult by the way my mom approached the job. You see, while most headmasters have six main constituent groups—students, faculty, alumni, parents, prospective families, and the board—my father had a seventh—my mom. My mother is my father’s biggest supporter. When she is not by his side literally, she is there figuratively. But my mom doesn’t suffer fools. It’s her New England pragmatism and sensibility.
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When someone doesn’t do what they
Even after a long day of working in
are supposed to do, or when an office or
admissions and financial aid and dealing
institution doesn’t do what it’s supposed
with her exhausting three children,
to do, the head should know about it.
my mother was still trying to improve
As such, should you have walked into
Millbrook, to make it its best self. Always.
the kitchen in Pulling House between 8
Like her commitment to her husband,
and 10 p.m. on a weekday, there was a
to her kids, and to her grandkids, her
reasonable chance that you would have
commitment to this institution is
heard my parents debating something
unwavering and unrelenting. She simply
about Millbrook. For this, I give my
cannot help herself from wanting to see
father a great deal of credit. He could
it grow, even when it means that her
have said, “Linda, my job is very hard.
Wednesday night dinner is spent speaking
When I come home, could we please talk
some truth to power.
about something other than Millbrook?”
In 1934, Smith College, my mother’s
But that’s not my father. He breathes,
alma mater, gave an honorary degree to
eats, and sleeps Millbrook. Where he
Helen Boyden, the wife of the legendary
ends and Millbrook begins is, at times,
headmaster of Deerfield, Frank Boyden.
difficult to decipher, and he is constantly
The citation read, “To Helen C. Boyden,
trying to improve both himself and his
who, with some small help from her
institution. So, when his partner and
husband, built a great school.” It is only
first mate tells him about how something
fitting that Millbrook presented an
can be improved, he listens, fires back,
honorary degree to my mother, who, like
listens some more, and then pours
Mrs. Boyden, with some small help from
himself a Manhattan.
her husband, also built a great school.
Mom, on behalf of your family and the entire Millbrook community, thank you. Thank you for your strength, your honesty, your patience, your love, and your commitment, and for using all of those, with some small help from your husband, to build a great school and to a raise a great family. We are all so proud of you and couldn’t feel luckier to have you as our matriarch, our mom, and our Gigi.
– Tyler Casertano
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Toasting Millbrook’s First Lady
I am a graduate of the class of 1975 and was sent to Millbrook to develop some academic focus, as my father would say. That indeed came to me, but I received so much more. I came to have a sense of belonging, confidence, and purpose for which I am deeply grateful. In my 20s I returned to Millbrook as an alumni volunteer and eventually became a new trustee in the Casertano’s first year at Millbrook. What a breath of fresh air they were—young, competent, and driven. Linda and Drew were destined to find each other. Thank God they also found Millbrook. Two beautiful children and one on the way made the story complete. Pulling House was noisy and full of life. As with any great couple, it
Here is how I think about Linda and her contributions to Millbrook School: • Collaboration with Drew – Whether it’s school, home, trustees, parents, or community, she is his partner and his ultimate confidant and counselor, a true
is hard to think of Drew without also
consigliere, a governor. Therefore, all his success is absolutely hers. She delivers.
thinking of Linda. There is rhythm and balance and love in them.
•C ompetence – In her role as Millbrook’s First Lady, in running the Casertano household, in her work at Dutchess Day, Browning Associates, Indian Mountain, and
To understand their rhythm, let us imagine the Casertanos have an airline.
finally, Millbrook School, her performance has always been excellent. There is no
In this world, Drew makes sure all
one in the independent school world that knows more about financial aid, no one!
the passengers are fully prepared for their trip with objectives and
• Hospitality – We think of Pulling House as our home away from home, but a family does actually live there. Linda makes Pulling House a warm respite in a
strategies galore and all the appropriate
beautiful setting for all of us, and it works in a seamless, easy style.
baggage and equipment on board. He would also ensure that they had thought through alternate plans and
• Friendship – Anyone that is lucky to be Linda’s friend knows they are blessed. She is a good listener and an easy conversationalist. I have never heard her say
appropriate tactical re-directs should
anything bad about anyone else, and that is an incredible quality.
obstacles be encountered. The aircraft accommodations are distinctly and entirely first class, and the uniformed staff are nothing short of elegant.
Life for the Casertanos has been filled with hard work, difficult challenges, and much
The cabin is sublime.
joy. Alex, Tyler, and Will are a testament to their unbridled love and parenting done
Linda, on the other hand makes sure the plane takes off on time, that all the passengers are fully paid up, and that the aircraft has enough fuel to get to its destination. The Casertanos are a
commitment. Years turn into decades, new headmasters become ones sought out for advice, trustees become old codgers, but the work remains. There are kids, just like me, that absolutely need Millbrook, and she has made a major contribution in keeping our school such a wonderful destination.
formidable team.
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right. In all of it, Linda did her part with a sense of ease that belied deep efficiency and
• SUMMER 2021
– An excerpt by Bill McNamara ’75
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Alumni
Educators Formative experiences at Millbrook have inspired countless graduates to undertake careers in education, thereby furthering the Millbrook mission and the spirit of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis. Alumni profiled here remember their time at Millbrook as transformative and inspirational and credit both the people and the place with their choice to work in education. So many Millbrook alumni shine in their chosen fields that it’s never difficult to find great stories to tell. In this edition, we highlight a few who faithfully carry forward the spirit of lifelong learning that so many discover during their years at Millbrook.
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ALUMNI EDUCATORS
JIM EAGEN ’88
Leading Innovation in Education Millbrook may have been close to home for Jim Eagen ’88, but his attendance as a student represented a significant, lifechanging first step in his professional and personal journey. Jim grew up in nearby Pleasant Valley, New York, and a family friend introduced him to the world of independent schools, recommending that he consider applying to Millbrook. His initial visit to campus was intriguing, and despite being a somewhat reluctant interviewee, Jim enrolled as a day student and began what he remembers as “the greatest thing that ever happened to me.” Jim came to Millbrook as a slightly introverted, baseball-obsessed, saxophone-playing, IIIrd former and graduated with an entirely “new world view and sense of what was out there.” Athletic Director Rick McWilliams was among the first to connect with him, going to great lengths to allow Jim to pursue cycling as an independent fall sport. Mr. McWilliams was the first of many faculty members to help Jim feel seen, and his support was pivotal. Thus, a life of competitive cycling, achievement, and personal connections were set in motion by the simple act of saying, “Yes.” Jim said, “Yes,” too—to the teachers and coaches who asked him to dig deeper and examine the learning process and his fellow students who came from such a variety of different backgrounds and shared their experiences. A new English teacher, Kathy Havard, made Jim feel that his voice was valuable, that he belonged. Her colleague in the English Department, Arthur Leo, encouraged deep intellectual dives into literature, and Jim learned to think differently about reading and writing. Music teacher Louis Panos was also a tremendous mentor and advisor. After four years as a day student (managing to spend almost as many overnights as the boarders), Jim
was ready for the next step. “Millbrook changed my whole world view of what was out there,” he recalls. After getting degrees in sociology and the arts at Manhattanville College, Jim was without a job but confident that he would land in the right place. A brief adventurous detour seemed apropos, so he joined a friend and set off to ride his bike across America. Towards the end of his transcontinental bike trip, he volunteered at an after-school program for Navajo and Hopi Indian children
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ALUMNI EDUCATORS in New Mexico, and this experience cemented his decision to become a teacher. Making his way back east, he found work at Kildonan School in nearby Amenia, New York. Jim reached out to Headmaster Drew Casertano, new to Millbrook since Jim’s graduation, who offered counsel on a career in education. Drew reinforced positive responses to challenges and being involved in the life of a school. “Drew had a hand in helping me focus my energies,” said Jim, “and to see that I should pursue a career in education.” After his time at Kildonan, Jim landed at Dwight School in New York City, where he taught English and became the middle school dean. He enjoyed working with parents in this role and earned a master’s degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College during his time at Dwight. Several cross-country moves ensued as Jim and his wife, Ellen, an attorney, pursued career opportunities and sought to create a life for their young, growing family. Jim wrote books, launched an educational non-profit, partnering with Cornell University to lead outdoor trips, and enjoyed time as a stay-at-home dad before moving back into education. Recognized as a leader in middle school education, he took on positions at The Harker School in San Jose, California, Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, California, and Manlius Pebble Hill School in Syracuse, New York. In 2013 Jim was offered the opportunity to become the founding head of school at Synapse School, a young, independent K-8 school in Menlo Park, California. Established in the heart of Silicon Valley just twelve years ago, Synapse School was founded on three pillars—leading-edge academics, innovation, and social and emotional learning. The school employs constructivist learning and pedagogy derived from brain research and education theory.
Recently, Synapse built a neuroscience lab on their campus, and visiting researchers and professors from nearby Stanford University are collaborating with faculty and students, helping to track how young learners’ brains transform as they acquire new skills. The curriculum at Synapse continues to evolve, aligning with the spirit of innovation that pervades the area. Synapse also prides itself on offering extensive professional development for faculty, which benefits the staff and the school. Inspired by visits to Millbrook’s campus, a very personalized admission process, and the signature programs offered to students, Jim and Ellen’s daughter, Sarah ’24, chose to attend Millbrook for high school. Sarah is an animal lover, and the Trevor Zoo was a definite draw. Additionally, Sarah saw an opportunity to challenge herself academically and to become an integral part of a community focused on the greater good. As an alumnus and a parent now reflecting on his own Millbrook experience, Jim credits Millbrook with opening his eyes to opportunity and bringing out the very best in himself. “Every kid needs to be seen for who they are,” said Jim. “School should be more than just a list of classes to get through. The pursuit and practice of education should become a way of life.”
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ALUMNI EDUCATORS
GEORGE REYES ’90
An Inspiring Journey: The Perfect Marriage of Education and Art Some people live linear lives with very few twists and turns. Others seize opportunities and, on some level, believe that things happen for a reason. So it has been for George Reyes ’90, who made his way to Millbrook from Paterson, New Jersey, and never looked back. George attended a Catholic school rather than Paterson’s Eastside High School, a profoundly disadvantaged school near his home. He had an hours-long daily school commute that made it nearly impossible to participate fully in school life and, in a time before cell phones, resulted in a lot of unproductive time on the bus. Still, George loved school and was a standout student. George met Ted Moscoso ’89 at a New Jersey house party during his sophomore year and found himself intrigued by the idea of boarding school. Ted talked about Millbrook, mentioning the Trevor Zoo and describing what sounded to George “like a mythical place, where you could just go study and walk to class and not worry about anything.” That night, George went home and wrote a letter to Millbrook. Inspired by Ted, he applied via A Better Chance organization and was accepted with a generous aid package, all of which was news to his parents. After a visit to campus that “felt like a fairytale,” and with encouragement from his parents, George enrolled in 1988 as a Vth form student. “When I went to visit, everyone was just very kind,” George recalled. “I didn’t come from a very kind environment.” George immediately flourished at Millbrook. “I was able to relax and get into learning. Millbrook was safe. Millbrook was beautiful,
and I wasn’t ostracized because I loved learning. Even though I was of a different background from a lot of the other kids, I didn’t feel that same kind of otherness as I had in my previous school.” He wholeheartedly embraced learning and school culture and embarked on a lifelong journey of service to others. George was recognized with Millbrook’s Public Service Cup at graduation, earning this award after volunteering in the local community at the now-decommissioned Wassaic Developmental Center, a home for elderly inpatients with mental disabilities. Millbrook ignited his passions for service, the dramatic arts, and working with the developmentally disabled, and he credits teachers from his Vth form
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year like Mr. Beecher, Mr. Rinker, Mr. Kachtick, and Mr. Wilkinson for the inspiration that has informed much of his life’s work since. When George was accepted to Harvard University, he once again followed Ted Moscoso, who was beginning his second year there. Majoring in the arts with a concentration in visual and environmental studies, he also continued his community service work, volunteering with Harvard’s largest public service organization, Phillips Brooks House, and underprivileged kids in Boston’s South End. George’s interest in film continued to grow, and upon graduating, he was accepted to NYU’s film program. But he was awarded both the Stride Rite Public Service Fellowship and the Echoing Green Public Service Fellowship and so deferred his NYU enrollment while he taught video production to innercity teens as the director of the Community Arts Center’s Teen Media Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While there, he also launched the Do it Your Damn Self!! Youth Video and Film Festival that continues to this day. After two years of post-graduate fellowships, George wanted to make films of his own, and so he entered the MFA program in NYU’s film school and began the necessary hustle to gain experience and produce work. During this busy time in his life, his mother suffered a brain hemorrhage and lost her ability to
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speak and walk. Suddenly he had to develop ways to communicate non-verbally with his mother, and his interest was piqued in terms of communications disorders and help for those suffering. The opposing pull of the glitz and glam of the film world and the service work that meant so much to him had never been stronger. After gaining some experience in film and considering that he might not be suited for the cut-throat industry, George seized an opportunity to become a university professor in Mexico City teaching film history, filmmaking, video production, and editing at Monterrey Tech. He made films and forged lifelong connections as he grew to love Mexico. But the allure of film production was too strong to ignore, and after four years he moved to Los Angeles, once again determined to become part of the industry. George worked on projects, festivals, and nearly landed a writing job, which disappeared during a 2007 writer’s strike. During his downtime, he volunteered in a friend’s special education classroom and “fell in love with it.” The kids, some autistic, some with communications disorders, and some facing other challenges, reacted well to George, and he felt overwhelmingly positive when doing the work. Inspired, he decided to become a middle school special education teacher. The draw towards serving others was too strong to ignore.
With his inborn patience and empathy and his lifetime of service experience to this point, George was uniquely well-suited to work in special education. Early on, he designed a video production curriculum that integrated general education and special education students. “I noticed that the kids with autism love the technical stuff but may not have the social skills,” said George, “And the general ed kids have the social skills but were not typically as involved with the technical side.” His students worked on their interpersonal and communications skills, problem-solving, and technical skills. George was re-engaged with filmmaking, this time in service to others rather than the Hollywood machine. As his video production class became hugely successful, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) asked him to develop the curriculum and distribute it throughout the district. At the same time, he became an instructor and lead mentor in the LAUSD’s Alternative Teacher Certification Program, training other educators to provide effective instruction to students with special needs in urban settings. Missing his own classroom, George moved away from what had become an administrative role and returned to teaching. When invited by his principal to collaborate on an application to become a magnet school, he welcomed the opportunity and was instrumental in reclassifying their K-8 school as the Laurel Cinematic Arts and Creative Technologies Magnet School serving underprivileged kids. Adding Magnet Coordinator to his job title in 2020, George continues to teach video production classes for general and special education students while working with other magnet schools on best practices. He received his Masters of Arts in Education with an emphasis on educational technology shortly before the pandemic, which proved to be extremely useful with the advent of distance learning. The pandemic presented unforeseen challenges, and George pivoted in the fall to help other teachers keep students engaged during distance learning. The pandemic also presented
opportunities, as talented friends from NYU are advising and giving master classes to George’s students. George’s goal is to provide opportunities and access and create representation for marginalized communities by overlaying cinema arts and creative technologies on top of traditional coursework. Millbrook was academically and personally challenging to George, and his time volunteering at Wassaic was restorative. Years later, in his Los Angeles classroom, he feels the same sense of hope and fulfillment in his work. Reflecting on the multitude of experiences and winding road he has traveled, George feels a sense of achievement, “I feel like I’m probably where I’m supposed to be. This is where I’m most useful.”
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JOANNE LEMBO ’91
Making Every Student’s Voice Matter Joanne Lembo ‘91 found her place at Millbrook and has kept the school’s mission close to her heart throughout her career in education. She remembers stellar teachers, engaging course offerings, and one-of-a-kind extracurriculars, but Joanne especially recalls thriving in the environment of service and inclusion during her high school years. She carries those values forward in her work for many years as director of student activities at Phillips Exeter Academy, where she oversees many aspects of student life, a portfolio that has grown to include DEI and equity initiatives on campus. Arriving at Millbrook as a IVth former from New York City, Joanne welcomed the change from city life and immediately felt at home. She spent hours in the Barn, then home to the Arts Department, and had a particular love for photography. She worked in the communications department and the dining hall, immersing herself in the community spirit that pervaded campus. Drew Casertano took over the headship from Don Abbott in 1990, and though Joanne was on campus for only the first year of his tenure, she recalls a perceptible change in school culture with Mr. Casertano’s arrival. The scale of Millbrook was especially appealing to Joanne, and Mr. Casertano “maintained that small-school feel,” she said, “while bringing the school into the 21st century.” Joanne felt a sense of familiarity during a summer visit to Bennington College before her VIth form year. She immediately applied and was accepted. “Bennington was the next great educational experience for me,” Joanne said. As Bennington was modifying curriculum and appointing new faculty, Joanne realized that she “loved education and loved problem-solving…I learned to think strategically and creatively at the same time.”
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• J oanne with wife Lee and child Jax
While earning her BFA in fine arts, Joanne became involved with student activities on campus and participated in a program for Bennington students using photography and film to capture elements of the Mayan language and culture in Chiapas, Mexico. She planned to return to Mexico and continue the work after graduation, but societal upheaval in Chiapas made those plans untenable. Through a friend, Joanne learned of an opportunity in residential life and student activities at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), and her involvement in activities at Bennington provided the experience to apply for the one-year position. Joanne still leans on the valuable training and experience gained during that year at UNH. Another personal connection led to a job as associate director of student activities at Phillips Exeter at the
same time she began pursuing a graduate degree from Antioch New England in organization and management. After four years in the associate position, Joanne became director of student activities at Phillips Exeter, and she has remained at the helm of this department since. All along, Joanne’s approach has been student-centered, and she takes pride in facilitating student ideas and suggestions. Exeter has over 100 student-run, studentsupported clubs, and Joanne sees these groups as a signature feature of an Exeter experience. Joanne and her team work with and for the students to provide a support structure through resource management, scheduling, and faculty involvement. The COVID-19 pandemic has furthered the mission of the Student Activities Office by creating unique programs to engage students living in a lockeddown campus. In addition to the ever-expanding roster of clubs and organizations, Exeter has offered mini-golf, outdoor ice rinks, a student-run comedy club, and an Asian night market this year. Joanne has also joined the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Exeter and is working to bring new and diverse voices to campus. In this role, she primarily works with Queer Students of Exeter but is
engaged in supporting all students “see themselves in the adult population on campus.” Through careful and intentional steps, Exeter has become a more progressive institution, with more to offer BIPOC and LGBTQ+ faculty and students. As LGBTQ+ student coordinator, Joanne has been instrumental in this work and, among other inclusion initiatives, oversaw the opening of two all-gender houses on campus. Joanne and her wife, Lee, are raising a genderqueer child and have embraced the nearly endless opportunities to expose their child, Jax, to the intentional mix of different cultures, beliefs, people, and activities that make boarding school so fulfilling. Jax has thrived growing up on Exeter’s campus and will attend Skidmore College in the fall as a student-athlete on the crew team. Joanne’s work at Exeter is rooted in her desire to “make things better” and in always aspiring to “be a better listener.” At Millbrook, Joanne thrived when feeling known and needed. Like so many Millbrook graduates, Joanne has chosen to live Non Sibi Sed Cunctis and bring this motto to life for those under her guidance and care.
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TONY MCKINLEY ’98
Finding a True Calling in Service to Others Tony McKinley ’98 discovered Millbrook by way of the Boys Club near his childhood home in Flushing, Queens. Founded in the late 19th century on New York’s Lower East Side, the Boys Club provides inner-city boys with a safe place to learn, grow, and be productive. Boys Clubs were established in many New York City neighborhoods, and they continue to offer stable social hubs for young people. The Independent School Placement (ISP) program began in the 1950s as a way to expose Boys Club kids to the academic rigor and social opportunities that independent day and boarding schools can offer. A counselor at the Boys Club encouraged Tony to take the ISP test, and, aware of an opportunity to miss a day of school, Tony agreed. He did well on the test and followed through with visits to several independent schools, including Millbrook, the closest to his home in New York City. Tony chose Millbrook and arrived in the fall of 1994. Though just a train ride away, Millbrook was a different world from the hustle and bustle of Tony’s Queens neighborhood. It was far from a seamless transition. Along with the strain of living away from home and his friends for the first time, Tony struggled with the isolation and singularity of being the only Black student in his class. Feeling uncertain about his place at Millbrook, a heart-to-heart conversation with his older brother early in his junior year inspired Tony to reconsider and seize the opportunities that Millbrook presented. He returned to campus with a different mindset and built relationships with faculty members, who became pivotal to his success at school.
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• P aul Stellato with Tony McKinley
Along with Tony’s maturation as a high school junior, attention from Seth Eilberg, math teacher and basketball coach, and Bob Simonds, Tony’s advisor, made the difference. “Those relationships were impactful in saying that I should give [Millbrook] another try,” Tony recalls. Other elements of life at boarding school also began to fall into place. Diversity initiatives brought students to campus with whom Tony had more in common, and the growing success of the basketball team created a tight-knit community within the community. Among many other lifelong connections, Tony recalls Jon Downs ’98 as a “dear, dear friend,” with whom he spent all
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four years at Millbrook followed by four more years at Middlebury College, where both majored in English. Tony speaks especially fondly of English classes at Millbrook, including a meaningful incident in Paul Stellato’s IIIrd form class. On a cold winter day, Mr. Stellato was returning assignments to the class when he publicly praised Tony’s penmanship as the best he’d ever seen. “A small thing, but for me, someone who was questioning whether he belonged at the school at all,” Tony said, “to know that of all the students in the class, my penmanship was the best, meant that there was the possibility that I could be the best at other things as well. It’s something I carry with me to this day.” Along with his ardent dedication to basketball, Tony’s involvement in community service and the school radio station foretold the momentum and wisdom he would gain as he prepared to enter college at Middlebury, which has similarities to Millbrook in size and location. “I believed in the adults on (Millbrook’s) campus at
the time,” Tony said. “They said that Middlebury was the kind of place that would change my life. Except for the four years I spent at Millbrook, I can’t think of a consecutive four years that have impacted my life as greatly.” After graduation, Tony spent three years working on academic, sports, and social programs at Good Shepherd Services, a non-profit in Brooklyn. In 2005, then Dean of Faculty Kathy Havard invited Tony to participate in a panel for alumni of color on campus. Headmaster Drew Casertano reached out shortly after that to invite Tony to join the faculty at Millbrook. He accepted and settled into a familiar place in Prum Hall, where he had once lived as a student. He coached basketball, taught English, was a dorm parent, worked in admissions, and helped to manage the school store, all while serving as Millbrook’s diversity coordinator. Tony’s early days teaching English full-time were challenging, and he still recalls wise words from fellow-teacher Walker Zeiser: “The most important thing is that you have to be Tony McKinley in the classroom.”
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ALUMNI EDUCATORS he began to look for a change. “I wanted more of a separation between my professional life and my private life,” Tony recalls, “and I started thinking about day schools.” During his job search, Tony reached out to his former teacher, Paul Stellato, who is now the head at Princeton Day School (PDS) in New Jersey. By happenstance, PDS needed someone with his variety of skills and experience, and Tony accepted a job as an upper school English teacher, advisor, and assistant basketball coach. He also joined the Community Multicultural Development Team, eventually becoming its chair. Most recently, Tony has been appointed director of Princeton Day’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program, a full-time role at the K-12 school. While he misses classroom teaching and coaching, his current role transcends every facet of life at PDS and is all-consuming. Tony’s directorship is a senior management position and demonstrates PDS’s commitment to DEI as a pillar of school values. He communicates regularly with deans, department heads, parents, and board members to ensure and increase access to all programs for all members of the community. Tony also meets with students and student groups to gauge the impact of DEI initiatives. “I want to normalize the conversation about DEI work,” he said, “normalize the understanding that DEI work is the work of everyone….we are all responsible for ensuring that all community members have access to all PDS’s wonderful programs. For • T ony with close Millbrook friends Royce Paris ’12 and Jonathan Lopez ’02
maximum effectiveness and impact, DEI initiatives must include faculty and parents and the creation of a common language to
The creation of Diversity Day was one of Tony’s signature achievements as a faculty member, and he was also instrumental in crafting Millbrook’s first Diversity Statement. He recalls lengthy discussions and a collaborative environment with board members, other faculty, and students in the formulation of the document. “I was glad that we were thoughtful and intentional, and we discussed that it was something that we should revisit in time,” Tony said. In the meantime, Tony’s revitalization of Millbrook’s basketball program was paying dividends. Having built a recruitment pipeline, Mustang teams, packed with scholars and student leaders, reliably recorded successful seasons. “We were getting strong student-athletes that were not only impactful on the court but were making positive contributions within the school community,” Tony said. Managing perhaps the busiest and most varied portfolio of any Millbrook faculty member’s responsibilities, Tony realized how much he missed a social life. So after eight years at Millbrook,
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facilitate real communication among all stakeholders.” “I’ve always been deeply interested in and committed to the work,” said Tony. “Entering Millbrook School as a one of one (Black student) in a graduating class, you get your training in this work.” As attention to DEI issues grows, Tony remains in regular contact with Millbrook faculty, including Headmaster-Elect Jon Downs, offering insight from his ongoing work and wisdom from the perspective of a Black Millbrook alumnus and faculty member. Tony chose to challenge himself by leaving behind the familiar and comfortable and seizing new opportunities, a decision that seems to have predestined his life’s work. In May, Tony graduated with a master’s degree in independent school leadership from Klingenstein Teachers College at Columbia, and his career in education is full of continuing potential. “I am certainly committed to education,” said Tony. “The most authentic and truest calling is service to others, and for me, pursuing that calling under the umbrella of education makes the most sense.”
Photo by Jonathan Lopez ’02
ALUMNI EDUCATORS
KRISTINA DOWTIN ’00
A Teacher’s Teacher As an 8th grader, Kristina Dowtin ’00 was intrigued by a high school with a zoo and quickly discovered there were some very special humans across Millbrook School Road. The daughter of a New York City public school teacher, Kristina valued education highly and was confident that she would pursue teaching as her life’s work. It was at Millbrook that her conviction was cemented, as her Millbrook teachers nurtured and developed her lifelong love of learning.
When a middle school math teacher in New York City introduced her to the idea of independent schools, Kristina researched options but applied only to Millbrook. She arrived as a IIIrd form student and spent her first year as a committed zooie. Time spent at the Trevor Zoo assuaged some low-level homesickness, and Kristina fondly remembers the ringtail lemurs. The science department, led then by Bruce Rinker, and classes therein initially engaged Kristina, as she explored the natural world and developed a “sense of place” that students often recall most strongly about their time on campus. After settling in, she
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ALUMNI EDUCATORS found a true home in the English department. Department Chair Paul Stellato drew Kristina into the course content, and, she recalls, “really made her want to learn about literature.” The ease with which Kristina remembers her classwork is telling: “I enjoyed every single one of my English classes. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, but English classes at Millbrook made me sure that I wanted to teach English.” The expectations and workload at Millbrook were significant, but Kristina easily adjusted, especially after an encouraging conference with Mr. Stellato that focused and recommitted her to her studies. Kristina also particularly credits Walker Zeiser, Kathy Havard, and Mark Clizbe with showing her that complex ideas and material are not inaccessible to teenagers. “Teachers made me feel that I could speak my mind,” she recalls, “and I think most learning occurs when kids are asked to think about how the material reaches out to them. At Millbrook, I thought about learning in a different way, as active learning.” In a middle Eastern history class, Mr. Clizbe encouraged students to take intellectual risks and question assumptions. “Nothing was off-limits for consideration,” Kristina said, “We put our misunderstandings on the table and were encouraged to explore.” After graduation, Kristina attended the University of Maryland and majored in English and education. The massive urban campus was a big change from Millbrook’s bucolic setting, but her school choice was intentional, allowing her to get re-acquainted with a big institution, not unlike a big urban school district in which she hoped to begin a career. While the coursework at Maryland was
challenging, Kristina felt exceedingly well-prepared, for which she credits the intensive literary analysis and discussions in her Millbrook English courses. Kristina was actively recruited to work in several urban school districts including Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, DC, and New York. With a letter of intent in hand, she opted to return to her native New York for her first job. With a certification in secondary education, Kristina hoped to work with high schoolers, but instead, she took a position at a middle school in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. She grew to love working with middle schoolers, especially the seventh graders she calls “the middle children of the middle school.” Assigned a particularly rambunctious class of seventh graders, Kristina had them read Fences, by August Wilson, and was thrilled with her students’ commitment and their innate ability to connect themselves to the work through the characters. “I like to watch the seventh graders try on new identities,” she said, “and I was given some latitude in my lesson plans because I was able to make them work.” As much as she enjoyed her middle school students, eventually Kristina moved to Agnes Y. Humphrey School of Leadership in Red Hook, Brooklyn, teaching in grades 9-11 and advising a group of 9th graders, helping them with time managment, strategies to deal with friendships, and how to maintain healthy relationships. When the Department of Education decided to close the school, Kristina was recruited by the assistant principal to join a proposal committee for a new, smaller middle school in Queens, Community Voices Middle School, where she landed as a teacher’s coach. Because of Kristina’s success in the classroom and attention to pedagogical skill and curriculum development, administrators at her new school hired her as a full-time literacy coach, observing and supporting other teachers in their classroom management and teaching styles and offering professional development sessions for all teachers. She developed different styles of coaching depending on the age and experience of those teachers with whom she worked, but she always began by observing and inviting the teachers to share what particular challenges they were facing. Most importantly, she always began by building trust and encouraging teachers to lead the way in their own development as she supported them. Her work expanded from the English department, as she began to work with teachers of social studies, science, and math. “In the beginning, coaching other teachers was difficult. I did things instinctually—it just made sense. How could I convey that to them? This position forced me to be metacognitive about my own decisions as a teacher as I helped identify how they might improve. Some teachers look at the broad strokes of teaching, but it’s really about the individual needs of students in your classroom at that moment.”
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Photo by Jonathan Lopez ’02
She faced the challenges created by a complex system of standards in New York City and New York State that is continually evolving in the state—plus, the principal, the district, and the union have specific goals and guidelines. “For me, improving and supporting the teachers’ practice was my number one priority, and that is what I had to stay focused on.” While Kristina was helping to improve other teachers’ skills, she was also developing a path to taking on more responsibility herself, and she began her pursuit of a master’s degree in educational leadership at Fordham University. Her master’s degree led to her certification to become a building leader, so she was tapped in 2014 to be an assistant principal at her middle school. Only one short year later, a year filled with teacher evaluations, coaching, discipline, and department supervision, she was recruited to work as a district-level coach and academic administrator with the New York Department of Education’s Office of Renewal in New York City, helping teachers at high schools in Queens incorporate data and metrics into their pedagogy. As I have moved closer to the central education office in New York City, the more I have realized how politics makes policy.” “A lot of eyes were on us since this was the mayor’s initiative with specific goals: developing data teams based on a program
developed at Harvard, DataWise. We were looking at how to use student-level data—formative data like interim assessments, teacher-created assessments, and class-based student work—to inform how to make improvements at these schools.” Now, in a similar position with the Manhattan Borough City-Wide Office, Kristina is focused on near-term results in twenty-two schools in New York City’s District 5, working closely with other colleagues to support over 300 New York City schools. Her role has evolved to leadership coaching, supporting assistant principals, teacher-leaders, teacher teams, and principals. She is also facilitating culturally responsive and anti-racist learning sessions, helping teachers and administrators to respond to students and tailor learning based on students’ identities. She is beginning to consider the pursuit of a doctorate, perhaps in educational research. She loves to coach and also has a growing interest in educational systems and structure, and she’ll undoubtedly continue to work in an urban educational setting. Kristina identifies her mother as her greatest mentor but also points to her Millbrook teachers with setting her on the path to becoming an ambitious and innovative educator. “Teachers have the greatest impact on student learning,” she said, “and teachers set the tone for learning.” Kristina draws on her experience with her Millbrook English classes every day. “How I felt in English class is how I want everyone to feel in class.”
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Class Notes Class of 1948 Gordon Lamb is still married after 63 years. He is playing golf and will soon try his hands and feet on the pickleball court, having recently hung up his tennis racquet.
write on current topics and contribute to the Gloucester Daily Times while keeping his hand in poetry. He kept in touch with classmate Gordon “Larry” Mills and his wife, who live in Mexico. He shares, “With
At 90+, Gordon continues to think of his
warm memories of Millbrook and a bygone
six years at Millbrook as “the best platform
era, I watched the recent inauguration of
upon which to have built my wonderful life.”
Joe Biden, which gives me hope for the future. Keep safe and keep working for a
Class of 1950 David Chandler wrote Millbrook to share
better world.”
the sad news of his classmate, Murray
Class of 1955
Stevens, who passed away, saying, “Murray
John Sanford III stopped by Millbrook
illuminated our class with his warmth and
School this summer, visited the zoo, and
conviviality.” David is 87 years old and is still doing well at his home in Melbourne, Australia.
saw the many changes made since he was there last. “Everything is as beautiful as it was back when the Millbrook Hunt would
William “Bill” Jackson moved from an
come through with Mr. and Mrs. Pulling in
apartment in Gloucester, Massachusetts,
the lead,” he said.
about two years ago to a senior home in Danvers, Massachusetts. This past year was difficult with the pandemic, frequent quarantines, and restrictions of all kinds, including not being able to walk outside the
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Desmond Sharp-Bolster has been weathering the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, where he says regulations have been strict. He shares that, “Out here in the country, we get food delivery from our local supermarket. It would be a bit the same as those living in the Millbrook area getting food delivery from Marona’s Market.” Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Desmond is grateful for the absolutely beautiful spring season that he enjoyed and sends his best wishes to Millbrook. Peter Savage spent much of the past year sequestered at home in Baltimore, Maryland, due to the coronavirus pandemic, which he says prevented his usual campaigning efforts for Democratic candidates. While the virus has made volunteer activities difficult, Peter continues to rehearse with two choruses virtually—Bach’s Mass in B minor and Mendelsohn’s Elijah—and looks forward to when they can perform again!
Class of 1956 65th Reunion
building until just a few months ago. Bill’s
Webster Todd Jr. has lived a full life,
daughter is a teacher at Landmark School
dedicating much of it to his passion for
in Gloucester and teaches on Zoom from
aviation. He was inducted into the Aviation
her home in Bath. Bill is fortunate to see her
Hall of Fame and Museum in New Jersey in
from time to time and to communicate with
2019. He was a pilot for over 60 years, is
her by telephone and on Zoom.
the former chairman of the National
He also enjoys three grandchildren—
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),
the youngest attends the University of
helped to construct Princeton Airport,
Arizona, another is a dairy farmer and
was president of Princeton Airways, and is
artist in Maine, and the third lives and
a visiting professor of aviation at several
works in New Zealand. Bill continues to
prominent universities.
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Class of 1957
Class of 1958 Charles “Charlie” Evans Jr. shares that he recently received his vaccine for the coronavirus and is “not so sure I should be that happy because the reason is that I am over 80 and have three serious health issues. But, why not celebrate!” He is back writing a book again after a three-year dry spell. The book is titled Terror in the Keys and is a sequel to Terror on the Bay. Charlie misses seeing his classmates and hopes that things will improve enough to allow for travel by this coming summer.
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Class Notes 1959 Dr. Thomas Lovejoy was recognized in January for his dedication and service at the 50-year anniversary of his election to Millbrook School’s Board of Trustees. Bob Anthony shared comments as board members gathered on Zoom: “Only Founding Headmaster Edward Pulling served our school longer in this capacity than Tom has, so we thought it was appropriate to pause for a moment and acknowledge his lifetime of service to Millbrook that extends broadly… Tom, on behalf of the board of trustees, we thank you for a half century of your time and your faithful service to our school, our students, and to the world in which we all live. You truly model and embody Non Sibi Sed Cunctis.”
Class of 1960 Tweed Roosevelt says that the community spirit that “the Boss,” Edward Pulling, instilled in him still lives. This was evident in his April 2020 article titled “Captain Crozier Is a Hero,” published in print (over one million copies) and online by The New York Times. Tweed sends his best wishes to the Millbrook community.
Class of 1966 55th Reunion Clement Ogden Jr. and his wife, Angel, are retired, have happily relocated to lovely Pasadena, California, and are glad to have left chaotic San Francisco behind.
Class of 1970 Peter Hoyt recalls a brief press conference for Richard Nixon held in 1973: Boys, I’ve some good news and some bad news. The good news is there is no bad news, and the bad news is that’s all the good news I’ve got. “I think that about sums it up for me,” says Peter.
Class of 1961
60th Reunion
Class of 1960 James Currie Jr. earned his private pilot’s license on July 1, 2020, at age 78. He is pictured next to a Cessna 172 N733BR with trainer Mike Brunner.
Paul Solomon has been enjoying time with his grandchildren and future Millbrook Mustangs—Ella is in fourth grade, and Noah is in second grade. Paul continues his commitment to the school in his 25th year as a member of Millbrook’s Board of Trustees.
Class of 1968 Dr. Mark Smith spoke with students and faculty in a February all-school forum on the subjects of leadership, activism, respect, and service. Mark has maintained his connection to Millbrook over the years but never more so since joining Millbrook’s Medical Advisory Committee in 2020. Over the past year, he guided the school on medical matters related to COVID-19. Mark is a board-certified physician, university professor, and nationally recognized health policy expert, and his lifetime of work has been fueled by his passion to support social equality. He credits his years at Millbrook for his commitment to leadership, service, and a life spent expressing Non Sibi Sed Cunctis.
Class of 1969 Peter Duncan has always had a deep passion for woodworking, and over the past 40 years or so, he has endeavored to “up the ante” by trying new and different designs. He came upon the craft of boatbuilding a few years ago after taking several courses at The Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine. Since that time, Peter has built several crafts, including some lake cruisers and a few Adirondack guide boats. He has also endeavored to build and sell custom wooden boat helms.
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Class Notes Stephen Schneiderman wishes everyone associated with Millbrook his very best. He is so impressed with how the school has grown in the 52 years since his graduation and confesses that he is most glad it seems to have preserved its core values as defined by Mr. Pulling.
Class of 1972 Thomas Kellogg is easing into retirement after 45 years of building custom bicycle frames. He plans to do more cycling and traveling with his wife, June, and more visiting with their children and grandchildren. Life is good.
Class of 1977 David Rivera retired in August 2019 and moved to Indialantic, Florida. He is truly enjoying the Sunshine State and wishes all well.
Class of 1979 Peter Lindsley continues to stay busy at Manheim Texas Hobby Auto Auction Detail Shop. He also still enjoys riding his bicycle to and from work with the help of the local city bus in the afternoons, an average of 8-10 miles per workday. He hopes everyone is managing as well as can be expected in “this crazy year of 2020!” He shares that “2021 can only be better!”
Class of 1982 Senator Joshua Newman was re-elected to the California State Senate. During his first term, he successfully guided more than 20 pieces of legislation that supported veteran services and mental health resources, improved local schools, helped businesses create jobs, and protected open spaces. Josh looks forward to continuing his good work on behalf of the residents of 16 cities across three counties in California’s 29th Senate District. He and
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his wife, Darcy, live in Fullerton, California, with their daughter and four “weird but lovable” rescue chihuahuas.
Class of 1988 Susan (Alaimo) Rogers feels very blessed, having survived two heart attacks in July 2020. After the first one, she was hospitalized for 26-hours. After the second
one, which occurred about ten days later, she was hospitalized for almost a week. “I am one of the lucky ones who knew the signs of a heart attack and got the warnings,” she shares. Susan learned that both heart attacks were caused by SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection). She shares the important lesson she has learned: one should not ignore stress (especially stress brought on by COVID-19) and damage caused by years of high blood pressure.
Class of 1985 Kathleen A. Dill received the Wm. Brian Little ’64 Alumni Award for Distinguished Service from her alma mater, Colgate University. As stated at the presentation of the award, “Wherever her career has led, volunteering for Colgate has been central in Kathleen’s life. She’s active in the New York City district club, served on the Women’s Advisory Committee, represents the admission office, counsels students and alumni about careers in finance and communications, and participates with Alumni of Color. On the Alumni Council, Kathleen’s roles included treasurer, member of the Nominations Committee, and chair of the Admissions Committee. She was elected to the Colgate Board of Trustees in 2013 as an Alumni Trustee and completed two three-year terms. A wise and tenacious fundraiser, Kathleen has been a member of her class’s Gift Committee for years, and as she approached her retirement from the Alumni Council and Board of Trustees, she led an appeal among alumni that added more than $10,000 to an assistance fund available to students through the Office of Undergraduate Studies. One veteran staff member who has known Kathleen in all her roles calls her ’as good as it gets for a volunteer.’” Kathleen continues to volunteer for other organizations that are dear to her heart, including Millbrook School, where she is serving in her fifth year as a trustee.
Class of 1989 David Tisch and his wife, Tetyana, have been living in Dutchess County, New York, for the past year with their two sons, James (5) and Jonathan (1). The family loves visiting Millbrook’s Trevor Zoo!
Class of 1990 Caroline (Bozorth) Sayan was elected board president of Dress for Success Northern NJ in January 2021. Her 15 years of women’s leadership experience—including her tenure at Christie’s where she held several leadership roles and launched many initiatives such as the Women’s Leadership Network—plus her passion for empowering women align well with the mission of Dress for Success. Caroline says that “the importance of supporting community right now has never been more critical,” and that she is excited to “contribute to the mission of helping women secure financial independence through professional development.”
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Class Notes Alumni Profiles
ANNA MARTUCCI ’92 Anna Martucci ’92 came to Millbrook in 1989 following a visit to campus that made her feel certain “this is
also learn best in an environment of self-driven exploration. So, Anna returned to Oregon and found work at Cascadia and Sunstone Montessori schools, both in the classroom and in admissions. After an intense span of working and teaching, Anna took a hiatus to travel and rock climb around the U.S. and Canada before resuming her own education in South and Central America to hone her Spanish language skills. Returning to the U.S. to look for new opportunities in education, she soon found a place at the Metropolitan Montessori School in New York City, where she has been since 2014. In contrast to her experiences in Oregon, the Metropolitan Montessori School incorporates many more traditional educational elements in the
my place.” She has been
curriculum. Anna taught for several years before taking on the
in school, one way or
schools. She soon became head of the upper school, comprised of
another, ever since.
fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students. Anna oversees and supports
At Millbrook, Anna lived in Abbott and then Clark and immersed herself in community service at the Trevor Zoo and with work for Amnesty International, becoming head of Millbrook’s chapter in her senior year. Anna played soccer and tennis and tried lacrosse as a senior, earning recognition as ‘most improved player.’ She developed an exceptionally close relationship with Cindy McWilliams, her faculty advisor, whom she recalls as an amazing listener and one of the many special people that made her time at Millbrook so transformative.
role of an exmission counselor, helping place students into middle
faculty, assesses and deploys curriculum, and serves as a dean while continuing to teach and fulfill her counseling duties. Anna is overseeing a time of growth and change at Metropolitan Montessori as the school seeks to add seventh and eighth-graders to the student body. Her role will soon expand to include high school placements and will undoubtedly reconnect her with Millbrook and other independent high schools. In the meantime, Anna’s experiences certainly helped her get through the massive challenges of safely and effectively running an elementary school during the age of
In English class and beyond, Kathy Havard challenged Anna to “think
COVID. Lessons about follow-through and service to others learned at
outside the box.” Anna credits Ms. Havard with opening her mind
Millbrook have been foundational to her success.
in many ways: “There’s something very validating about having a teacher at that young age who makes you feel ok with nontraditional trajectories.” Anna solidified her love of literature and found that the sheer volume of writing required in every course at Millbrook prepared her well for the workload at Boston University,
“Montessori is a philosophy. The whole goal is to foster intrinsic motivation to learn, giving students the tools
where she majored in psychology.
to pursue their interests. You can’t tell children every
Anna interned at an investment banking firm in New York during her
single thing they are going to need in the world, but
time at BU and seemed destined for a job in finance, a familiar path
you can give them the skills to pursue their interests
for many of her peers. In a moment of clarity, she instead chose to chart a different course for herself; after college graduation, she
and become confident learners and risk-takers. It’s
packed up and moved to Portland, Oregon. There, she explored
a deeper approach to education. The piece that ties
a career in education and was hired as an assistant teacher at a
back to Millbrook is the interconnection between
Montessori school. The school environment immediately felt like the right fit, and after a year, she returned to the East Coast to earn
all of the subjects they study. STUDENTS REALIZE
Montessori certification at the Montessori Institute and a master’s in
THAT ANYTHING THEY DO HAS AN EFFECT ON
education at Loyola University Maryland.
SOMETHING ELSE. They develop an understanding of
The Montessori method appealed to Anna on a personal and
interdependence, and they pursue their interests as
professional level. Her own experience, particularly at Millbrook, laid the groundwork for her belief in intrinsic learning as the best and
responsible citizens.”
most natural way to educate young children. Just as she had been encouraged and supported to widely explore her interests during her high school years, she believed that younger students would
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Class Notes Class of 1991 30th Reunion Rufus Wainwright announced the premiere of Unmaking Unfollow The Rules, a behindthe-scenes documentary chronicling the extraordinary creation of his new album, Unfollow The Rules, his first in eight years.
Class of 1997
is regularly “riding the wheels off” of his mountain bike. Lock has taken a break from making custom motorcycles and knives while working on the house but plans to resume those hobbies when it is done. He dreams of Millbrook and cannot wait to come back for a visit when it’s safe to travel again.
the past two seasons and was an assistant coach there from 2014-2018. Agua Caliente had a 48-46 record under Adams, who has experience developing young players in both the G-League and college ranks. Previously, Brian spent five years with the Boston Celtics before becoming an assistant coach for the men’s basketball teams at Harvard University and then Marist College.
Class of 2000
Charlotte (Jenks) Lewis visited the Trevor Zoo with her three boys—Heath, Reed, and Toby—in December 2020. She and her family have spent ample time in upstate New York since the onset of the pandemic and enjoyed their visit to the Trevor Zoo.
Dr. Erin Stuckey is an epidemiologist and program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. While she continues her work on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Erin is also pivoting to use her expertise and network with COVID-19 preparedness and response in vulnerable communities around the world.
Class of 1999
Class of 2002
Lock Baker is living in and restoring a little house in the Santa Monica mountains between Los Angeles and Ventura, California. He lives with his rescue dog, Bingo, and
Brian Adams was hired in October as an assistant coach for the NBA Philadelphia 76ers. He coached the Agua Caliente Clippers, Los Angeles’ G-League affiliate,
Class of 2003 Leland Smith shares much good news from 2020. In May he graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, and in the fall he passed the New York State bar exam. Leland is now working for Allen & Overy LLP in international capital markets, helping countries with sovereign debt problems. In October he married Sophie Eckrich in an intimate ceremony in Washington, D.C. Sophie works in the social impact space— previously as an entrepreneur, now as a consultant. See the Weddings section for additional details and a photo.
Class of 2004 Sean Adams’ first novel, The Heap, was published in January 2020 by William Morrow (Harper Collins), and they recently published a paperback version as well. NPR has rated The Heap as among the best books of 2020.
Class of 2004
Class of 2000 Garrett Meigs shares that despite the chaos of the past year, he and his family have been very fortunate to find solace in the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest. Most recently, they have enjoyed exploring the forests, mountains, and waterways around Olympia, where they moved in 2020 for career opportunities studying and restoring forest ecosystems.
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Eliza Glaister put her catering business on hold during the pandemic and launched Little Egg LLC, which focuses on producing and selling local produce. She sells her wares every Friday afternoon from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. in the lean-to at her family’s place on Hibernia Rd in Salt Point, New York. She also has a selection of bread and pizza dough made by Millbrook School alumnus Morgan Whitridge ’11.
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Class Notes Alumni Profiles
CRAIG TREDENICK ’99 Data-Driven Enrollment Management & Independent School Advancement Craig Tredenick ’99 might be a world away from Millbrook geographically, but he keeps the school close to his heart in his work as director of admissions at the American School of Dubai. A Montreal native, Craig
where he gained experience in admissions. His first directorship was
knew little of boarding
at The Linsly School in West Virginia, where he met his wife, Erica. His
schools but had friends
growing expertise in admissions and enrollment management made
traveling south to play
him an attractive candidate for a directorship at All Saints’ Episcopal,
hockey; they encouraged
a day school in Fort Worth, Texas. During his five years at All Saints’,
him to take a look at
Craig undertook a program for aspiring heads of school. He began
Millbrook. “I was on
to receive recruitment calls and to apply for positions, but hiring
campus for about five
processes can be lengthy and arduous and openings scarce. His job
minutes and just fell in
search called for real introspection, and upon reflection, Craig and
love with it right away. I
Erica realized that they were largely satisfied with their lives in Texas.
knew it was the place
They began to focus on their growing family.
I wanted to be,” said Craig, recalling his first Millbrook visit in 1996. He enrolled as a Vth former and embraced the academic and athletic rigor he felt was lacking in his local public school. The overarching atmosphere of “true buy-in from everyone on campus created an earnest environment for learning,” says Craig.
Though not actively looking, Craig was receiving offers to work in admissions, including a most intriguing offer from the American School of Dubai (ASD) in 2018. While Dubai had not been on their radar, Craig credits his comfort in taking risks at Millbrook with helping him decide to take the job. “Millbrook helped me make that decision because if we went for two years and didn’t like it, it would have been
Craig played hockey and baseball and ran cross country at Millbrook.
an experience, and we could come home. But we were not willing to
He found mentors among the faculty, Headmaster Drew Casertano in
say, ‘What if?’ and have that hanging over our heads.”
particular, and began to discover the appeal of life as an educator. “I still consider Drew to be my main professional mentor, and everybody at Millbrook was so genuine with their sense of community,” he said. Craig cherishes a memory of English teacher Paul Stellato. “He handed me an empty journal in which he had written; ‘For a person who is going to have a life as interesting as yours is going to be, you need to write it down.’”
His experience and growth at ASD have been significant. As a day school in a transient location, ASD has a high turnover in the student population, which Craig must manage. He has gained expertise in enrollment management and strategic admissions in a crowded market. Dubai is home to the most American schools outside of the United States, and, as a rapidly-growing hub for international business, private school enrollments are acutely
For Craig, the school was the embodiment of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis and
affected by economic machinations. Schools that were historically
a place where students walk a line between independence and
oversubscribed now actively compete to fill their student body.
inter-dependence as they discover themselves. Trinity College offered a similar environment, and there he earned a degree in economics while continuing to play hockey and baseball. As it came time to choose a professional path, Craig refocused his aspirations on education and independent schools. “The only way I could truly give back to those who had done so much for me was to try to give back to other kids,” says Craig.
Craig and his family enjoy life in Dubai and have no immediate plans to return to the United States. He has embraced an advancement role at ASD and uses his degree in economics to apply research methodologies, data, and technology in his continuing work to attract new students in a competitive market. Craig is establishing best practices in response to the current climate to solidly position ASD for future growth and innovation. Though no blueprint exists, he believes
He signed on for his first faculty position at Western Reserve Academy
in his mission and has the background, motivation, and tenacity to
in Ohio and, after a year, moved to Christ School in North Carolina,
realize his vision.
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Class Notes Class of 2007 Romy Solomon has been working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to design an experiential curriculum for youth on emotional intelligence and leadership skills. When complete, the curriculum will be implemented in 18 different countries. In 2020 Romy became a faculty member at the Institute for Experiential Learning. She delivers programs such as the Online Experiential Learning Trainer to support educators to lead more experiential, engaging, and fun online meetings as they transition to the virtual classroom. Most recently, Romy began working with the Contentment Foundation, where Kristina Blundon ’07 also works. The organization provides emotional intelligence training for K-12 students, educators, and family members. Together, Romy and Kristina are on a bold and courageous mission to equip one billion people within one generation with the essential social and emotional tools for a fulfilling life centered around wellbeing.
Class of 2008 Sam Augustine had an exceptional year in real estate, with over $75 million in closed transactions, and has emerged as one of the top-producing brokers in Colorado’s Aspen Valley. He moved to the area from New York in 2013, quickly fell in love with the region, and has closed over $135 million in sales since joining Compass in 2017. He is consistently ranked within the top 20 brokers in the Aspen Valley and amongst the top 65 brokers in Colorado.
Class of 2006 15th Reunion Corina Katz-Samuels graduated with a BA in sociology from Hamilton College and then earned an MA in sociology from Columbia University. She is now a digital marketing strategy and planning supervisor at Zenith, an agency of the Publicis Group.
Class of 2007 Stuyve Pierrepont harnessed all that Millbrook taught him, especially about sustainability. He is currently working as a client development advisor for RMB Capital, and in a webinar presented to a wide audience in October 2020, he explored the topic of sustainability, both personally and in terms of an investment portfolio. Stuyve is a passionate outdoorsman and conservationist, a board member of Potomac Riverkeeper Network, and an advocate for the Menhaden Conservation Project. He is also the founder of a blog, Enviro Conscious, and you can follow him and his wife and co-creator, Dana, at www.enviro-conscious.com.
Class of 2010 Mariah Lavitt is pursuing her MBA at Cornell University. During the pandemic she focused on her studies in Ellington, Connecticut. Tate Lavitt is pursuing his MBA at the Judge School of Business at the University of Cambridge, England. He earned his first master’s degree, in philosophy with a concentration in biology, from Cambridge in 2020.
Class of 2008 J.J. Katz-Samuels graduated from the University of Chicago with a double major in philosophy and mathematics and went on to earn his PhD in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan, specializing in artificial intelligence. Upon graduating from the University of Michigan, he worked as an applied scientist at Amazon. He is now a postdoctoral scholar at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington.
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James Matson received an MA in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program and was since hired as an assistant curator for exhibitions at Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum.
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Class Notes René Rodriguez had been working in investment banking and real estate in New York City before moving to San Francisco in 2017 to join the AdTech startup Vungle in their business development and sales division as an account executive. He helps mobile app developers monetize their users through engaging video ad formats, in-house creatives, and user acquisition tools. He brings in new clients (mobile app developers), negotiates the contracts between app developers and the ad network, offers monetization consulting to existing clients, and provides technical support on SDK integrations. Vungle was acquired by Blackstone in 2019 and continues to grow as a mobile platform. During his spare time, he hikes in nearby parks, like the Presidio, walks on the beach, or drives to Tahoe for skiing.
Class of 2011
Hope Nicyper-Meryman is attending Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine after “taking four years in the real world.” She is most interested in small animal emergency medicine and is grateful she could continue her studies virtually amidst the pandemic.
Class of 2013 Elinor Case-Pethica is in her first year as a law student at The University of Chicago.
Class of 2014 Sheldon Freeman attended Denison University after graduating from Millbrook, and there he majored in economics and continued to pursue his interests in sports, particularly basketball. He also rediscovered
an interest in film and media that initially sparked while at Millbrook, leading him to take some cinema courses heading into his junior year at Denison. In the summer of 2017, he was able to merge his media and sports interests together, working as a production assistant (PA) for Jonathan Lopez ’02 at live sporting events; upon returning to school that fall, he joined Denison’s Sports Network as a PA, filming and creating videos of various sporting events and sharing his work on Denison’s digital platforms. After graduating from college, Sheldon joined ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, as a PA, producing highlights, teases, and montages for SportsCenter. In 2020 he was promoted to content associate, and most recently he became an associate producer, now working on the new ESPN+ show, Stephen A’s World.
10th Reunion Alexa (de la Guardia) Carroll received her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience from Connecticut College, where she was a four-year player on the women’s ice hockey team. Upon returning to her home state of Texas, Alexa earned her nursing degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. She is currently a practicing nurse in the Intensive Care Department of Baylor, Scott, and White Hospital in Waco, Texas. She married Greg Carroll in 2020—please see the Weddings section for more details and a photo.
Class of 2012 Joshua Freitas and his wife, Hannah, are living in Alexandria, Minnesota. He is currently working in full-time ministry with Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hockey. He is very busy as the assistant coach for Northstar Christian Academy’s U16 hockey team, a strength and conditioning coach, and co-manager of the Fellowship’s summer hockey camps.
Class of 2013 Caleb King served as class speaker for Columbia Law School’s graduation ceremony on May 20, 2020, joining keynote speaker former Vice President Joe Biden and other presenters on screen. Caleb is a change-maker and community-builder who in October delivered an enlightening Millbrook chapel talk about his experience as a Black student at Millbrook. Caleb is indeed living Non Sibi Sed Cunctis as he advocates for disenfranchised communities and pursues prison reform.
Class of 2013 Gavin Rice attended Furman University, where he majored in neuroscience and conducted research in origins of life chemistry as part of NASA’s Center for Chemical Evolution. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 2017, Gavin moved to Australia and began work towards his PhD. At Venoms Lab, he leveraged his expertise in structural biology to develop first in class medicines to treat stroke and heart disease from spider venom. In 2020, Gavin focused on his continued learning and led the development of a machine learning software for researchers in his field. Upon completing his PhD in 2021, he began a postdoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology in Germany, where he will continue his research in structural biology and machine learning. Gavin has presented his work at numerous international conferences and published it in several scientific journals. His expertise has allowed him to work and travel across the world, and he identifies the underlying attribute of curiosity, the theme of his final year at Millbrook, as a driving force behind his success.
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Class Notes Class of 2016
© Swen Pförtner
Recognizing a real opportunity to follow her passions, Ilayda Koenigsberger has begun a new venture, Melis Creative Communications. Growing up, she loved art and video and always knew she wanted a creative career. When editing a Winter Weekend video at Millbrook, she shared with a friend, Allison Miller ’16, “I think I want to do something like this in college.” Ilayda matriculated to Texas Christian University, and there she majored in strategic communications and minored in art. Her major opened up the world of creative work and its ties to human nature—why consumers act the way they do. For her capstone project she designed a website for students struggling with mental health issues, and her project was then shared widely on other college campuses. When COVID hit in March of 2020, Ilayda began to develop a strategic plan for a design firm she hoped to launch. Shortly thereafter, Bloomberg picked up a video she produced, and she was convinced she could recruit customers and create a successful business model in an age where so much work is being done remotely.
Class of 2015
Courtesy of South Carolina State Athletic Communications
Will Rayman joined the ranks of professional basketball after signing a contract last fall with Tartu Ülikool in the Latvian-Estonian League following a stellar career as a student-athlete at Colgate University. From Tartu, he moved briefly to BG Goettingen in German Bundesliga before returning to Latvia and joining BK Ventspils in February. In college, he was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2017, then posted back-to-back All-League Second Team seasons before ending his career with Defensive Player of the Year and First Team honors in 2020.
Class of 2016 David Bottenberg was awarded the President James E. Clark Academic Excellence Award (and $5,000) for maintaining a 4.0 GPA through all of his four years at South Carolina State University. That feat is impressive enough but especially so because he earned these stellar grades while playing on the Bulldogs basketball team.
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“I think the state of the world can either be seen as an advantage or disadvantage, and it is our job to think creatively and make lemons into lemonade. I would not have been able to make such a bold decision [to start my own business] if it wasn’t for my growth during my time at Millbrook.” When working with clients, she likes to find connections to their brands in non-traditional ways. For example, she might ask a client to share a birthdate or company start date. She uses those numbers to generate a hex code for a primary brand color, and many of her clients have found an immediate connection to her subsequent designs and color choices. Golden Girl Skincare is one recent client, and the photo that Ilayda shares shows her logo and packaging design.
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Class Notes Class of 2015 Hailey Schimmel is working in the Old Masters department at Christie’s Auction House. She wishes everyone at Millbrook all the best.
Alumni Profile
WILL CONTE ’17 In the spring of 2018, several Princeton University students brainstormed how to leverage their time and the
Class of 2016
resources available to them at
5th Reunion Gavin Schneible graduated from Embry Riddle in Daytona Beach in the spring of 2020 and then returned briefly to Millbrook, New York, to work with Millbrook Air. He is now a first officer with Tradewind Aviation and will be flying the Pilatus PC-12 on both scheduled and chartered services. He will primarily be stationed in White Plains, New York, and flying routes up the East Coast to Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Stowe, Vermont. During the cooler months, he will be stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and flying in and out of islands such as St. Barts, Antigua, and Anguilla.
Princeton to have a meaningful environmental impact. Will Conte was one of those students exploring many ideas that eventually evolved into the Sunda Rainforest Project—a collaboration between Princeton and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Their mission is to support a WWF-founded “ecosystem restoration concession” in central Sumatra that covers nearly 100,000 acres of lowland rainforest. The concession sits in a landscape of mega-biodiversity known as 30 Hills, which is home to critically endangered Sumatran tigers, orangutans, elephants, and dozens of other endemic species. This region also has the highest rate of tropical deforestation in the world. The concession is a commercial entity, managed by a local Sumatran team, that partners with surrounding communities to improve their livelihoods using market-based approaches rather than traditional conservation interventions. The collaboration between Princeton students and the WWF created opportunities for students and professors to add value through research and summer internships; additionally, they are raising funds to help restore degraded tracts of land
Class of 2017
and maintain the existing forest. Will traveled with several others to 30 Hills during the summer
Alexis Sher is completing her junior year at Wesleyan University. She spent a semester abroad in Argentina studying at The School for International Training, focusing on social movements and human rights. Alexis will be working a joint internship this summer with Senator Matt Lesser of Connecticut and will begin preparing for her LSATs.
captured extraordinary scenes and interviews on camera, which they compiled and edited into
of 2019 to learn more about ecosystem restoration and lowland forest conservation. There they a film. Aptly named Across Thirty Hills, this film documents the concession’s work and raises awareness about the plight of this fragile ecosystem and its tremendous value to all of mankind. The Indonesian tropical forest ecosystem is one of the most significant carbon stores on the planet. Yet, tropical ecosystems such as 30 Hills often perish when economic incentives of deforestation, like palm oil cultivation, win out over conservation. More than 80% of the natural lowland forest in Sumatra is already gone. Solutions are urgently needed to show how a standing forest has tangible value, and Will is committed to helping find such solutions. When the 30 Hills concession began selling its first commodity, gourmet wild honey, Will was there with his team to film a traditional honey harvest. It’s a dramatic event where men
Class of 2018
from the local community free-climb trees more than ten stories tall to cut down honeycomb
Samantha Besca has been working for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in the Criminal Strategies Unit, assisting with cases and helping craft office-wide reform. Her current focus is on reforming the New York State Diversion Court program, which
serves as proof that products not reliant on deforestation can generate good income.
while angry bees swarm them. Helping them market their honey beyond the local community To learn more about the work of the concession and how local communities are benefiting from and being direct stakeholders in the protection of the Sumatran forests, watch the Across Thirty Hills film premiere on YouTube or visit www.princetonrainforestproject.com.
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Class Notes provides alternatives to incarceration for individuals suffering from mental health issues and drug addiction and for special cases such as domestic violence and human trafficking. Her research into the efficacy of the Human Trafficking Intervention Courts in New York State has been published. She has also worked closely with the Utica
Class of 2019 Ethan Abraham was awarded the Thomas H. Wood Prize in physics at the University of Pennsylvania. This prize is voted on by UPenn’s physics professors, who all recognized Ethan’s great proficiency with physics concepts and overall performance in all aspects of the undergraduate program.
Court system and Utica Police Department to craft wide-reaching reform covering domestic violence responses, arrest practices, and alternatives to incarceration. She credits courses she took at Millbrook with sparking her love of the law and passion for effective modes of dissent.
Noel Rowe ’68 married Patricia Wright in Madagascar on November 30, 2019. Randy Bray ’79 married Pamela on July 20, 2019. Guests included former Millbrook School faculty and alumni—his brother, Jonathan Bray ’76, and his mother, Jean Bray, who worked in the school library and was an advisor to the girls of Millbrook when Millbrook first went coed.
Marriages Michael Dominick ’61 married Jill Clark in Bermuda on October 19, 2020. While there, Mike and Jill visited with Cummings Zuill ’58. They enjoyed a fun rendezvous.
Emily Hottensen ’06 married Tommy Bostwick in New York City on November 27, 2020.
Multiple Classes
Class of 2018 Zack Tuke is a junior at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, having spent his first two years on their Oxford College campus. This option is offered every year to 500 of their 1500 freshmen, who live and study in this self-contained liberal arts college of Emory before moving to the main campus. He is majoring in environmental studies, and while he spent the first semester of his junior year studying remotely due to COVID and then took a gap semester, he plans to return to Atlanta in the fall. Zack played for Oxford’s soccer team both years, moving to starting goalkeeper his sophomore year. The team won their district championship as Zack made 21 saves and allowed only two goals in two games; he earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. This win qualified Oxford to play in the NJCAA National Championship, where the best teams in the country competed. His experience at Millbrook played a major role in his choice of major and decision to continue playing soccer in college.
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Claire Manny ’12 and her sister, Celia Manny ’10, are working in early childhood education in Missoula, Montana, while their sister, Ellie Manny ’06, is cooking down in Jackson, Wyoming.
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Class Notes Multiple Classes
Births Chauntine (Marshall) Donovan ’03 and her husband, Derek, welcomed daughter Inara Mary-Ellen Donovan on June 9, 2020.
Past Faculty News James F. Hejduk
Steve Lewis ’04 and J’nelle Agee ’06 visited campus throughout the fall of 2020, donning masks and bearing gifts, to offer words of support and mentorship to Millbrook’s Black and Latinx students. The duo was part of a larger group of Black alumni who have been in dialogue with Headmaster Drew Casertano, Headmaster-Elect Jon Downs ’98, and Millbrook’s diversity coordinators, Kadeem Rodgers and Rev. Cam Hardy. They have discussed bridging the gap between alumni and current students and advancing Millbrook’s efforts to effect change in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Steve and J’nelle look forward to continuing this important work and to encouraging fellow alumni to join them.
At Millbrook, music teacher Jim Hejduk landed the perfect first teaching job. He was able to conduct great choral music, practice to his heart’s content on the chapel organ, and be blessedly mentored, nurtured, and spoiled by the Clarks, the Groves, the Gadds, the Palmers, and Betty Brown. He “co-coached” the Wood Squad (really supervised by Peter Hoyt ’70) with John Johnson. He was also a frequent dinner guest of Mike and Lynne Blair, all while paying off his college loans thanks to Millbrook’s splendid isolation. In the fall of 1968, he was one of a contingent of 11 new faculty who enjoyed those same enduring benefits. His subsequent moves to Milton Academy, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and Belmont Hill School all benefited from his memorable Millbrook experiences. While retired in Lincoln, Nebraska, he loves keeping abreast of Millbrook School news via Millbrook’s dazzling publications and enjoys seeing the posts of alums Dusty Bahlman ’71, Geoff Chester ’71, Jimmy Cannon ’71, and Geoff Waite ’73 on Facebook.
J’nelle Agee ’06 and Bria Horsley ’14 are producers at NBC Universal, where they have been covering all things news including the 2020 election, Capitol Hill riot, presidential impeachment, and coronavirus pandemic. J’nelle is currently a producer for MSNBC Live with Craig Melvin, and Bria is a tape producer for MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle.
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Class Notes Engagements
Monelle Quevillon ’99 closed 2020 on an extremely high note with her engagement to Rachel Ferrarotto in December.
Steve Giannone ’05 is engaged to Brittany Anne Haines. The couple is currently living in San Francisco, California, and planning a September wedding.
Ethan Vallarino ’07 is engaged to be married to Jamie Barnes. They are planning a September 2021 wedding in Millbrook, New York.
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Lindsey Ronis ’06 is engaged to Peter Mawhinney and will be getting married in Newnan, Georgia, on May 8, 2021.
Charles “Chase” Cochran ’10 is engaged to marry Rachel Fort. The wedding is planned for September 25, 2021, at The Glenview Club outside of Chicago. Chase and Rachel were engaged this past summer in Northern Michigan, and they are eagerly looking forward to the big day.
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Class Notes Engagements
John McCulla III ’10 is engaged to Laura Boucher, and their wedding is planned for February 19, 2022.
Andrew Hughes ’10 is engaged to marry Hilary Andrysick. They have planned their wedding for June 2021 in New York City and look forward to celebrating with family and close friends.
Molly Chapman ’11 is engaged to Ryan Johnson. They are beyond thrilled and cannot wait for the next chapter.
Daisy Barth ’11 is engaged to Nicholas Chretien. Daisy, who graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2019, is the chief graphic artist for the New York fashion firm Zara Terez. Her financé graduated from St. Lawrence College in 2019 and now works in finance in New York. The couple plan to marry in June 2022.
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Class Notes Weddings
Brian Frankenfield ’01 and Lisa Kincaid were married on March 6, 2021, on Lake Norman in North Carolina. Brian and Lisa are building a house in Charlotte, North Carolina, and their new home will be completed by the end of April in 2021. Millbrook friends in attendance included—from left to right— Collin Norton ’04, Brandon Rettig ’01, and Ricky Reichenbach ’01
Jon Peden ’02 and Leah Burrow ’03 were married on October 24, 2020, at the Hawkins Ranch in Texas. Millbrook friends in attendance and pictured here include from left to right: Victor O’Rourke ’01, Hilary Gifford ’03, Courtney Powers ’02, and Cam Bennett ’02.
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Leland Smith ’03 married Sophie Eckrich on October 10, 2020. They held an outdoors and socially distanced wedding off Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., at the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization that preserves historical information from the American Revolution. A few of Leland’s Millbrook friends and classmates attended the festivities including Alexandra (Peterson) Cart ’04, Will Cart ’03, and Mike Reinoso ’03.
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Class Notes Weddings
Philippe Goulet ’06 and Emma Brewer were married on August 1, 2020, at a small socially distant ceremony at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York. Trevor Zoo Director Dr. Alan Tousignant attended the ceremony virtually.
Bobby Hottensen III ’07 married Maria Delgado on January 30, 2021, in Tola-Rivas, Nicaragua, at Rancho Santana with a pristine Emerald Coast backdrop for their nuptials.
Alexa de la Guardia ’11 married her best friend, Greg Carroll, on October 17, 2020. Alexa and Greg are currently living and working in Texas.
Laurel Greenfield ’10 married Jeffrey Botwick on July 3, 2020, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in an intimate ceremony with the New England coast as a backdrop for their wedding. The couple looks forward to celebrating with friends this summer.
Joshua Freitas ’12 married Hannah Lee on September 6, 2020, in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.
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Class Notes Births
Ayumi Hosoda ’01 and her husband, Nate Brown, welcomed Kiko Siena Brown on June 22, 2020. Kiko joins brother Clyde Sho, who is five years old.
George T. Kunhardt ’05, his wife, Jacquelyn Philips, and their son, George Jr., welcomed James Philips Kunhardt on April 18, 2020.
Caragh (Fisher) O’Connor ’05 and her husband, Jeffrey, welcomed daughter Charlotte Byrne O’Connor on April 28, 2020.
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Teddy Kunhardt ’04, his wife, Sarah, and their son, Henry, welcomed Beatrice Kunhardt on May 13, 2020.
Max ’06 and Erin ’07 (Schroth) Kennedy welcomed daughter Ella Anne Kennedy on June 3, 2020.
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Class Notes Births
Geoff Fisher ’07 and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Elizabeth “Bee” Arnold Fisher, in June 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Eliot (Hubbell) Jeffers ’07 and her husband, Connor Jeffers, welcomed twins, MacColl O’Shea Jeffers and Cecelia Hart Jeffers, on December 31, 2020. Mom and Dad say they are the luckiest parents in the world.
Past Faculty Births David Osburn and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their son, Simon Bailey Osburn, on Saturday, April 4, 2020. Quarantining because of the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the blessing of extra time together as a family, for which mom and dad are extremely grateful.
Cooper Babcock ’09 and his wife, Eliza, welcomed their first child, Oliver Ian Babcock, into the world on December 13, 2020.
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Class Notes
In Memoriam We offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of all Millbrook alumni, parents, past parents, faculty, and friends who have passed away recently.
A LU M N I 1939 Page Wodell died peacefully on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99, just shy of his 100th birthday, at Essex Meadows in Essex, Connecticut. He lived there with his beloved wife, Eliza Wodell. Born in New York City, he attended both Millbrook and The Hill School, from which he graduated in 1940; he went on to graduate from Yale University in 1944. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was recruited to fly for the Navy and commenced his service in June 1942. He joined Air Group 19 in June of 1944 as a member of a VB 19 Dive Bombing Squadron aboard the USS Lexington in the South Pacific. He was decorated with the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism after the Battle of Leyte Gulf and was released from the Navy in early 1946. He and his first wife, the late Anne Harrison Beach, had three children, a son and two daughters. After moving to Farmington with his young family, Page turned to politics, winning a seat on the Town Council and subsequently being elected councilman-at-large. In 1976 he married Margaret Stroud Arndt, who passed away in 1996. In 1997 he married Eliza, and they eventually moved to Essex Meadows in 2014. Page was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed fly fishing for Atlantic salmon on rivers in Canada, Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland. Whenever he could, he cast for bluefish off his bass boat in the waters off Fishers Island. He had a good and happy life filled with laughter, a loving family, and wonderful friends.
1941 William “Bill” Porter passed away on January 26, 2021, from COVID-19, three
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weeks shy of his 98th birthday. Raised in Baltimore, he was the son of Naval Captain William H. Porter and Amy Manning Porter. His father died when Bill was 12-years old, when Bill was a student at Millbrook. Following a semester of college at MIT, he applied to and was accepted into the Naval Academy, his calling being spurred on after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After graduating from the Academy and serving a tour in the Navy, Mr. Porter was hired in 1947 by the Headmaster of the Gilman School in Baltimore, Henry Callard, who had been Assistant Headmaster of Millbrook and a father figure to Bill in his early years. Teaching math, science and physics his entire career, Mr. Porter was made head of the science department from 1974-1980. He “made physics make sense” one of his students said, and the labs, mostly built in his own workshop, were always memorable and at times entertaining. His extra-curricular duties included conducting the Glee Club and founding and leading The Traveling Men, Gilman’s a cappella group. He retired from Gilman in 1980. Bill was an accomplished piano player and could be heard often playing Beethoven or Chopin pieces. Like his mother (who lived to be 101), he had a talent for oil painting on canvas; his subjects included maritime scenes and portraits of historical figures, family, friends, and pets. His portrait of Henry and Clarissa Callard was installed in Gilman’s Lower School Callard Hall upon its dedication. He served on the board and committees of the Brewster Ladies’ Library, supported the Brewster General Store and was a Brewster Water Commissioner for many years. He was preceded in death by his wife
of 48 years, Jacquie, and his sisters Penny and Priscilla. He is survived by his sister Barbara; his three children, Dolly (Walter “Bud”), Romeyn (Jim), and Skip (Peggy); five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
1944 Jesse M. Bontecou, a lifelong resident of Dutchess County, New York, died on November 16th, 2020, after a brief illness. Jesse was born in New York City on February 25th, 1926, and was the fourth child of Frederic and Cornelia Bontecou, who moved from Rye to Millbrook in 1927. Several years later, the Bontecous sold the Pullings the property on which they would build Millbrook School. Jesse attended several one-room schoolhouses on and around the Shunpike before entering Millbrook School’s Class of 1944. He attended Yale University before moving on and graduating from the Maritime Academy at Fort Schuyler. Torn between his love of the sea and Rally Farm, the family’s Angus farm in Millbrook, he was lucky enough to be able to pursue both passions. Jesse showed and raised Angus from his well-respected herd and promoted Angus while serving on the American Angus Association board for 12 years. He also was central to growing the crops that his herd of 275 brood cows consumed. His love of sailing and the sea was evident from an early age. At the ripe old age of 13, he built a 13-foot sailboat and singlehandedly, without permission, sailed her from Point Judith to Block Island and back. In 1955 he joined Ray Hunt in England to help crew Ray’s new Concordia, Harrier, at Cowes Week. They did extremely well, winning six out of six races, a feat which has never been bettered.
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Class Notes
Jesse and Brad, Alumni Weekend 2014
In 1956 Jesse purchased Harrier and proceeded to win the Annapolis-Newport race. He raced in many day races in and around Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and the surrounding area and competed in 14 Bermuda Races plus many other regattas. He did extensive cruising up and down the east coast and several long-distance trips, including rounding Cape Horn. As a young Millbrook student, Jesse discovered his love of animals and nature when he volunteered at the Trevor Zoo. His love of birding took him and Gayle, his wife of 46 years, traveling around the world on ecotours, filming their winged friends. Jesse was very active locally in politics, serving on both the Millbrook and Stanfordville town boards, the Patterns for Progress board, the Soil and Water Conservation board, and as a director of the Bank of Millbrook for 36 years. He was instrumental, with his friend George Perkins, in establishing Dutchess Day School. Jesse served as board chair there for many years and then as an honorary board member, continuing to be involved with the
school for over 50 years. When asked why, he responded that he felt he brought a certain degree of continuity to new board members and heads of school. He was a Millbrook School board member from 1950-1954 and was given the Millbrook Medal for 70 years of service and philanthropy. He is survived by his wife, Gayle, stepson Brad, daughter Ruthie (Lincoln), son Timothy (Felicity), five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Ruth Lyon, two sons, Mark ’72 and Jay, brother Frederic “Pete” ’41, and sisters Susan B. DuVal and Harriet B. Harris. This note placed in a cupboard in his summer home in Rhode Island is indicative of his humor. “Please place all pots and pans upside down. Mice can’t defecate up.” We will sorely miss Jesse’s humor, energy, and joie de vivre. Bradford “Brad” Mills died peacefully at home in New Hope, Pennsylvania, on March 18, 2021, at the age of 94. He grew up on Long Island and spent six years at Millbrook. Brad credited Millbrook for turning him into a man. In fact, he often commented that he
sorely needed the discipline that Edward Pulling and the faculty provided to him back in the early 1940s. Brad enjoyed playing football and hockey, plowing the fields, and planting asparagus during World War II. He went on to graduate from Princeton in 1948 with honors in economics and joined the Navy during the Korean War. He returned to Washington D.C. to serve as an officer with Naval Intelligence for four years before immersing himself in the world of finance and investment banking on Wall Street. He joined the firm of F. Eberstadt & Co. in New York City, and Brad and several of his fellow partners bought that division and created their own firm, New York Securities. After serving President Nixon for two-and-a-half years as the first president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Brad came back to New York and founded his own firm, Bradford Ventures, which he ran successfully for over 25 years. Brad joined Millbrook’s Board of Trustees in 1978. He served on the Investment and Finance Committees and was treasurer of the board for many years, as was his father, Dudley Mills, in the 1950s and 1960s. Brad gave the lead gift to Millbrook’s athletic center project in the 1990s, and the building appropriately bears his name. In 2005, Brad was elected an honorary trustee, a position he held until his death. In his leisure time, he was passionate about hunting, fishing, travel, and his beloved dogs. Brad is survived by his wife, Pamela, four children, his sister, Lee Petty, and a host of grandchildren, including Francie (Hardie) Jablonski ’03 and Lucinda Mills ’17.
1946 John G. MacKenzie of Alstead, New Hampshire, died peacefully at home on September 12, 2020. John was born on March 16, 1927, in Millbrook, New York, to Dr. E. Gordon and Alice Caine MacKenzie. His father was Millbrook School’s first and
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ALUMNI/AE
Class Notes longtime physician. John’s love for all things outdoors flourished while he was a student here. He worked at the Trevor Zoo and had a strong connection to animals throughout his life. He was also a gifted athlete, lettering in football, baseball, and hockey. Playing hockey into his fifties, he mentored countless players of all ages, and Millbrook’s annual Alumni Hockey Game is named in his honor. John served in the Navy in World War II as a medical corpsman in San Francisco. He graduated from Cobleskill Agricultural College and was the manager of JD Johnson Company Inc., a wholesaler of plumbing and heating supplies, for thirty-five years. After retiring, John and his wife, Marla, moved to North Carolina. The Hound Ears Club became John’s new playground, where he spent days happily playing golf and improving on nature. John was a quiet and unassuming person, except in dress where he was very dapper. He was a graceful skier and dancer and loved to fly fish and collect shells. In his later years, his lifelong passion for watching birds was the only one he could still enjoy. John is survived by Marla and their two children, Kinter and Jesse ’90, and their spouses, and by his older brother, Gordon C. MacKenzie. He will indeed be missed at Millbrook. John’s nephew is longtime faculty member, Gordon MacKenzie ’79; one grandniece, Cora ’12, also serves on Millbrook’s faculty, and another grandniece, Cate ’15, is also a Millbrook alumna.
Manchester Capital Management. Gordon graduated from Princeton in 1954 and earned his MBA from Harvard in 1958. Gordon was the younger brother of the late Bradford Mills ’44.
A tribute from Bill Jackson ’50 Friends who knew Gordon would not have recognized his transformation in the last twenty years of his life. He played a number of different roles but found his life’s work in Mexico, where he was Larry, a very active spiritual guru. He was also a digital maestro of the first order, a social worker, psychologist, community leader, professional magician, and publication facilitator. He had to find his own way in life apart from family and associates, and sometimes this was a painful process with dead ends. While he was always upbeat and optimistic, what distinguished him was not his apparent happy go lucky character but his deep personal commitment, which he
COVID-19. His wife, Lucia Woods Lindley, predeceased him by four days. Dan and Lucia were an indomitable team for 43 years of marriage. Survivors include Dan’s son from his previous marriage to Amy Harris Hoyt Lindley, Daniel Allen Lindley III, and his children, Hannah and Ethan; daughter Helen Stokes Lindley Kelly and her children, Dylan, Paul, Haley, and Sophia. Dan earned degrees at Yale, Harvard, Florida State, and Loyola University Chicago. He was a schoolteacher, professor of English, and a Jungian analyst. He is the author of two books: This Rough Magic: The Life of Teaching and On Life’s Journey Always Becoming. Dan was a loyal and involved alumnus who mentored and supported the faculty on the art of great teaching, and he received a Millbrook medal in 2015 for his distinguished service to Millbrook. We shall miss his friendship and his considerable wisdom and talents that he so freely shared with the faculty and administrators over the years.
fully realized late in life. Murray T. B. Stevens died recently in a memory-care unit of a retirement community in Arizona. Murray enjoyed his years at Millbrook, participating fully in hockey, track, and Glee Club. He went on to Princeton, where he majored in mechanical engineering, and lived in Minnesota before moving west to Lafayette, California. Murray was president of Kamur Industries, Inc. A
1950
warm, convivial, and caring man, he enjoyed
Gordon L. Mills died of pneumonia
playing golf in his later years. He is survived
related to COVID-19 at his home in San
by his five sons: Murray, Jr., Thomas, Eric,
Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on March 10,
Scott, and Mark.
2021. Survived by his wife, Alicia, Gordon had two children and seven grandchildren. Gordon was a financial analyst and investment executive. He worked for White Weld & Co., Mutual Life Insurance, Co., Continental Group, Texaco, Inc., and
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Dan Lindley
Otto “Tony” L. Spaeth Jr. died on January 13, 2021, at age 86, at his home in Rye,
1951 Dr. Daniel A. Lindley Jr. died peacefully December 18, 2020, after a long battle with cancer, complicated at the end by
New York. Tony was the loving husband of Ann Barringer for over 60 years. He is also survived by his four daughters, Catherine, Jennifer, Bridget, and Crispin, two grandsons, three great-grandchildren,
ALUMNI/AE
Class Notes 1954
and his sister, Mimi. Tony’s contributions
passions were numerous, including sailing,
to the emerging field of corporate identity
education, history, music, the environment,
began in 1964. He was a firm believer in
and wildlife, which were manifest in his
the use of design as a corporate leadership
active involvement in multiple charitable
tool, integrating the social ingenuity of
organizations. His deep involvement on
corporations and the graphic arts in the
the board of the New Bedford Whaling
process of naming and design. He was a
Museum captured all of these interests.
marketing manager in various industries, a
His many sponsorships of at-risk students
consultant, and, since 1990, an independent
in the New Bedford Star Kids Scholarship
identity advisor mentoring many in
Program displayed his foundational belief
the next generation of designers and
in education for lifelong success. His love
identity consultants. Tony collaborated
of music included his alliance with the
internationally and was invited to speak at
New Bedford Symphony and his lengthy
conferences in Brazil, Canada, the Czech
participation on the board of the New Haven
Republic, Romania, and Russia. He wrote
Symphony.
on identity matters for Adweek, Design
Along with music, he fell in love with the
honorary trustee for the past 15 years. He
purpose and mission behind High Hopes
was an executive vice president at Sperry &
Therapeutic Riding in Lyme, Connecticut.
Hutchinson Co. in New York City.
Management Journal, and the Conference Board’s Across the Board. With a degree in architecture from Princeton in 1955 and an
November 28, 2020, with Barbara, his wife of 60 years, by his side. Following Millbrook, John went to Yale and subsequently became a lawyer in his hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. John was a founding supporter of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and an original member of the board of directors. John’s authoritative voice helped define NRDC’s institutional identity as a trusted force for holding polluters accountable, both in the court of public opinion and in the courts of law. John served as a trustee for 35 years and as an
Consistent with Gurdon’s love of horses and
MBA from Harvard in 1963, Tony remained
education, he joined the board, volunteered,
active in alumni public service initiatives.
and initiated a training program for
As an advisor to Princeton’s Project 55
therapeutic riding professionals. Gurdon
Fellowship and a founding director and
had a real connection and passion for the
secretary of Harvard’s The Partners of ’63,
natural environment, contributing a great
he contributed to new paradigms in alumni
deal to land conservation and wildlife
mobilization and civic engagement.
preservation. His New Jersey farmland was placed into the Green Acres program
1953
John R. Robinson passed away on
and now is the home of the New Jersey Audubon’s Wattles Stewardship Center
Gurdon B. Wattles, a longtime resident
in Port Murray. Gurdon was also active
of Little Compton, Rhode Island, died on
with the Sea Research Foundation and
September 27, 2020. He is survived by his
Mystic Aquarium, where he previously
wife, Kathy; daughter, Wendy; sons, Stan
served as a board member. When Gurdon
(Jill) and Alexander; two stepdaughters,
learned of the Audubon Society of Rhode
Kimberly (Robert) and Kirsten; twelve
Island’s opportunity to build an education
grandchildren, including Alex Wattles ’16;
center in Bristol, he helped make it a
and three great-grandchildren. Gurdon
reality and joined the board, realizing
graduated from Millbrook School, Phillips
this opportunity as another chance to
Academy Andover ’53, and Cornell
promote environmental education. Gurdon
University ’57. He was a retired president
was a tireless creator of ideas, building
and director of the former American
structures, or anything that floated. His
Manufacturing Co. and retired director
energy, curiosity, sharp sense of humor,
of the former Eltra Corporation and the
probing analytical thinking, and thorough
Safety Railway Corporation. Gurdon’s
knowledge of history were always on display.
The Honorable Stephen F. Williams, whose opinions reverberated from the bench of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for three decades, died on August 7, 2020, in a Washington hospital. He was 83. The cause was complications due to COVID-19. “When you’re young,’” his daughter, Susan Ellis, quoted her father as saying, “it’s foolish to be conservative, and when you’re older, it’s foolish to be a liberal.” After volunteering in the 1984 presidential campaign, Stephen was named to the prestigious appeals court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. He worked full-time until 2016 when he turned 80; he was still overseeing cases earlier this year. Judge Williams was known for a level of gusto for such things as the arcana of oil and gas regulatory cases that daunted some colleagues and law clerks. After graduating from Millbrook, he went on to Yale University in 1958 and Harvard Law School in 1961 and was assigned to military intelligence in the Army Reserve. In 1966 he married Faith Morrow, a former school librarian. Faith survives him along with
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Class Notes their daughter, Susan, another daughter, Sarah, three sons, Geoffrey, Timothy, and Nicholas, and nine grandchildren. Before his appointment to the bench, he practiced at the New York firm of Debevoise & Plimpton from 1962 to 1966, served as an assistant United States attorney in Manhattan, and taught at the University of Colorado Law School.
108
also loved to travel and, through his work, was afforded the chance to see the world and visit every continent except Australia and Antarctica. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Mary Piper, daughter Elizabeth Stambrook, son-in-law Andrew Moore, and granddaughter Piper Moore.
wife, Elizabeth, daughters Merrill Woodriff (Jaffray) and Chelsea, sons Jonathan (Blair) and Stewart, and his five grandchildren. He leaves behind him a loving and tight-knit network of extended family. Platt grew up in a home perched on a hill in Charleston, West Virginia. In eighth grade, Platt attended Fessenden School, and then
1961
in high school at Millbrook, he expanded
1959
John D. Putney passed away suddenly on
hockey. One evening Platt and a friend took
Dr. Peter J. Stambrook was born in London in July 1941 and died October 1, 2020, in his home surrounded by his family. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1953 and attended Millbrook School. He received a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a master’s degree from Syracuse University, and a PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati for 39 years, former chair of the Department of Cancer and Cell Biology, and a distinguished research professor upon retirement in 2020. He had a strong love of science and a passion for helping students, trainees, and young faculty. Dr. Stambrook served as chair of the Israel Cancer Research Fund’s International Scientific Council for more than twenty years, and he was a former president of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine and the Environmental Mutagen Society. In 2007 he was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2013 the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine awarded Dr. Stambrook the Drake Medal, considered the highest honor bestowed by the college. Peter had a love for sports and possessed a black belt in Judo. In his 20s and 30s, he competed in Judo matches regularly and advanced to the national competition for the US Olympic Judo team. He played in a local soccer league until his mid-50s. Peter
February 26, 2021, on the 38th anniversary
it upon themselves to rid the school’s zoo
of his marriage to Lisa Dillworth Pitney.
of rodents, and during their expedition the
Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in
aquarium unfortunately collided with his
Mendham, New Jersey, John is survived
baseball bat. Upon graduation, Platt took
by Lisa, their two children and two
a celebratory cross-country road trip with
grandchildren. John attended Far Hills
his dear friends Griff Okie and Ted Elliot.
Country Day, Millbrook, The Hun School,
In the fall he continued his education at
and the University of Pennsylvania.
Washington and Lee University, where he
He enlisted in the U.S. Army after his
studied French, joined the swim team, and
sophomore year in college and graduated
ventured around on his motorcycle.
• SUMMER 2021
a love of athletics into football and ice
from Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. As a first lieutenant, he fought in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism and two Purple Hearts by the president of the United States. As a volunteer he worked for the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund, raising money for the building of the wall in 1982. John began his career in Washington, D.C., as a stockbroker and ultimately retired from Legg Mason Wood Walker in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. In retirement, John enjoyed golf, exercise, and daily crossword puzzles.
1962 Platt B. Staunton passed away surrounded by his loving family on January 27, 2021. He was born in Charleston, West Virginia, on March 7, 1943. He was predeceased by his first wife, Leslie, and his brothers, Frederick and Sidney. He is survived by his
In 1969 he headed off to Boston where he met a gorgeous redhead, Leslie, who became his wife. Not soon after, Merrill and Jon were born, and the Staunton family made
ALUMNI/AE
Class Notes Belmont, Massachusetts, their home. After
family. He is survived by Sally, their two
learning the ropes of executive recruiting, he
children, Lindsay Pinchot ’88, and
founded his firm, Platt Staunton Associates,
Steve Jr. ’90, and five grandchildren,
which specialized in medical device and
including Sally Pinchot ’24.
biotechnology companies. In 1984 he lost
over incarceration while driving down recidivism rates to almost “non-existent.” Vernon was a mentor, sponsor, advisor, and friend to many. He was also a volunteer and invaluable member of the administrative
his beloved Leslie. Platt found love again
team at The Boy’s Club of New York. He was
when Gib walked into his life. They married
a superb athlete (he retained Millbrook’s
in 1987, and the family soon welcomed
boys basketball scoring record for nearly
Chelsea and Stewart. In 1994 the family
four decades) and went to Williams College,
relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia,
where he excelled on the court and in
where they became immersed in the local
the classroom. Vernon was an outdoor
community and University of Virginia
enthusiast and world traveler. He remained
athletics. Platt’s true passion was being a
dedicated to the idea of leveraging athletics
dad to his four children. Platt’s family asks
for health and wellness with an extensive
Millbrook friends to consider donating to
network of friends across the globe. His
the Be Happy Team (https://tinyurl.com/
wife, Joan, survives him.
behappyteam) that supports food scarcity and education for young children in Ghana. Edward Opoku ’15, a Millbrook and UVA grad, started the Be Happy Team and has become an extended member of the Staunton family.
1968 Vernon C. Manley died in New York City on November 8, 2020, of a heart attack
1965
while playing tennis. Vernon lived life to
Steven A. Kroll died on July 17, 2020, of
admirers along the way. He dedicated his life
an aggressive form of brain cancer. Steve was eternally youthful and energetic and
the fullest and collected many friends and to public service and was especially devoted to addressing racial and socioeconomic
was happiest competing with his friends
discrimination and its impact on New
and family in the surf, on the tennis court,
York’s criminal justice system. During
or on the golf course. At Millbrook, Steve
his distinguished career, Vernon was an
excelled at soccer, hockey, and tennis. Even
investigator for the NYC Human Rights
as a IVth former, Steve knew what his life’s
Commission, an agent of the Criminal
vocation would be: a stockbroker on Wall
Justice Agency, an assistant commissioner of
Street. After he graduated from Babson, he
special projects in the Deputy Mayor’s Office,
married Sally Lindsley and began his finance
and an appointed commissioner to the
career, initially at Morgan Guaranty Trust
New York State Parole Board by Governor
Co. He became executive vice president at
Pataki in 1999. In these roles he fought
E.F. Hutton in 1981, president and chief
for victims of systemic discrimination
investment officer at SLH Asset management
and the implications on their ability to
after that, and then spent nearly 30 years at
lead productive lives by cutting arrest-to-
Monness, Crespi, and Hardt as a managing
arraignment times, arguing for differential
director. Steve was a passionate family man
treatment of adults and juveniles, and
who absolutely loved his large and extended
implementing community service programs
1972 Gill U. Redpath, a teacher, educator, and longtime resident of Augusta, Georgia, died August 27, 2020, in Evans, Georgia, at the age of 67. In recent years he had waged a valiant struggle against an unusual form of cancer. A tall man with a personality and voice to match, Gill arrived in Augusta in 1990 after accepting a job at Augusta Prep, where he worked in development, marketing, and admissions. He had previously taught at St. Edward’s School in
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Class Notes Vero Beach, Florida. From Augusta Prep, Gill joined the faculty of Augusta’s Westminster School to teach English. Well-read with an acerbic wit and a passion for teaching, one of Mr. Redpath’s former students said about him in a post after his death, “His love of literature, critical thinking, and humor are gifts he gave to all of his students.” Born in Orange, New Jersey, Gill attended The Pingry School before moving on to Millbrook. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania and then received two master’s degrees from Augusta State University: one in counselor education and the other in educational
Peter was a loving husband, doting father, loyal friend, and consummate host. Dedicated to his Bedminster, New Jersey, community, he loved the outdoors, finding a way to blend those passions into his farming business at Bindon Farms. Peter enjoyed cooking, car racing, fishing, and skiing, but he was most passionate about his family, his friends, and his dogs. At the Lorillard home, you were always sure to have a good laugh while eating delicious food and drinking excellent wine. Peter was happiest when surrounded by his family and friends while wearing his colorful Hawaiian shirts and Maui Jim sunglasses.
College to continue his studies in criminal justice. His wife predeceased him, and his daughter, Alicia, and a grandson, Damian, survive him. Pedro Viteri died suddenly on his farm in Guatemala on February 18, 2021. He is survived by his wife, Heidi, and their five children. A long line of Viteri family members have attended Millbrook over many decades including Neto Viteri-Arriola ’73, Francisco Viteri ’77, Andres Viteri ’82, Neto Viteri-Yaquian ’02, Jose ViteriYaquian ’03, Maria Viteri-Yaquian ’07, and Juan Paolo Viteri-Yaquian ’10.
leadership. Gill was an enthusiastic New York Yankees fan and a devotee of Seinfeld. Survivors include his brother, sister-in-law, niece, and other family. Mark Bontecou passed away on July 9, 2020. He was a man with many talents and interests, perhaps foremost being the natural world of plants and animals. His grandparents came to Dutchess County in the 1920s. His grandfather was a joint master and then the master of the Millbrook Hunt from 1932 until his death in 1959 when his grandmother stepped in for two years as joint master to fill the void. Mark valued this heritage. He hunted as a child and young man and never lost interest in the Hunt and our community’s equestrian activities. Mark often said that Farnham Collins ’53 was the best
Andrew J. Robbins of Ocala, Florida, passed away July 22, 2020. Andrew was born in New York City, and after Millbrook he went on to graduate from Green Mountain College in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting. He moved to Ocala, Florida, more than 20 years ago, and in 2004 he married Georgia F. Hachem of Ocala. He is survived by Georgia and a brother and a sister. He is also survived by his foster daughter, Christina Vila, and dear lifelong friends, Peter and Joanne Penny, Bill ’77 and Corinna Hettinger, Bill ’78 and Suzy Menard, Jim ’81 and Leanna Hettinger, Bruce ’78 and Ruth Burton, and his Millbrook advisor, Bob Anthony ’65. A man is rich who has friends.
1981 Gary R. Lieberman died on February 14, 2021, after a month-long struggle with COVID-19. He leaves behind his wife, Shele, and two teenage daughters, Jae and Emmi, who reside in Atlanta, Georgia. Gary grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. After graduating
teacher he ever had. His many friends will
from Millbrook, Gary attended Duke
remember Mark for his varied interests and
University and graduated magna cum laude
his warm, engaging personality.
1976 Peter Lorillard died peacefully on December 7, 2020, after a valiant battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Vicki, and children, Alexa and Screven.
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1977
• SUMMER 2021
1979 David J. Nixon died of COVID-19 on November 3, 2020, in Glen Aubrey, New York, where he lived. David was an enthusiastic and talented athlete who participated fully and enthusiastically in sports at Millbrook; he was a popular member of his class. He went on to Trinity
in 1985 with a degree in religious studies. After working for Citicorp in Baltimore for several years, he went to Emory University and earned his MBA and JD degrees. Gary was a business consultant who worked in financial services, health care, and government contracts. His greatest joy in life was being a father and a husband.
ALUMNI/AE
Class Notes FRIENDS Oakleigh B. Thorne, a former Millbrook School trustee, parent of alumna Eliza Thorne ’95, and grandparent of Estella Blue ’24, was a successful businessman, sportsman, and philanthropist known for his quick wit and irreverent personality. He died on October 7, 2020, at his home in Millbrook, New York. He was 88 years old.
Mr. Thorne is survived by his wife of 50 years, Felicitas Selter Thorne, two sons by a prior marriage, Oakleigh ( Jacqueline Stahl) and Henry Fleming (Karen Warcholak); and two children with Felicitas, Jonathan ( Jennifer Kennedy) and Eliza Thorne ’95 (Michael Barnello). He is also survived by 10 grandchildren.
He was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 1932, graduated from St. Mark’s School, and went on to Harvard University, where
recently in Delaware, he was involved with a men’s singing group and a weekly writing group. His Delaware friends shared, “Our community is bereft of a man with dignity, humor, and intelligence in a time when we need more like him rather than less.” John is survived by Barbara, children Elizabeth, Daniel, Jenna (Matthew), and Megan (Nathan); grandchildren, AJ, Andrew, and Stella; brother, David (Eileen), and many more nephews and nieces. His beloved, beautiful canine companion, Millie, was at his side when he passed away.
he majored in economics and graduated in 1956 after serving in the U.S. Army in South Korea from 1953-1955. Mr. Thorne often claimed that his proudest collegiate accomplishment was in 1952 when he and his roommate attempted to break a world record established by a pair of Russians who slapped each other every ten seconds for
Oakleigh B. Thorne, right, with his son Oakleigh
72 hours. Though the pair did not beat the Russian record, they did receive quite a bit of media notoriety for the attempt.
PA S T FA C U LT Y
He was best known in business circles for his stewardship of the Thorne family holding company, CT Corporation, that ultimately became Commerce Clearing House Inc. (CCH, Inc.) in 1976. In Dutchess County he was widely respected for his participation on the boards of numerous local non-profit organizations and his philanthropy of the Millbrook Tribute Garden Inc., which gave tens of millions of dollars to local charities, schools, colleges, hospitals, and municipalities. He took up polo in the mid-1980s, establishing the Thorndale polo team and co-founding the Millbrook Polo Club (now the Mashomack Polo Club). Mr. Thorne was an avid beagler and supporter of the Millbrook Hunt. He served as joint master of the Sandanona Harehounds from 1963-2012 and also served as huntsman and as president of the Millbrook Hunt for 35 years.
John McMullan, 80, of Selbyville, Delaware, and Salisbury, Connecticut, passed away at his home in the loving care of his wife, Millbrook faculty member Barbara Gatski, and Seasons Hospice on January 3, 2021. He fought a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer with integrity and grit. John was a very unique and versatile man with diverse accomplishments. He taught Spanish at Millbrook and at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, coached wrestling and field hockey, and authored several textbooks. He was considered a master teacher by his colleagues and students. He served on the board of Recording for the Blind and worked in a leadership position for Educational Testing Service to grade the Spanish Advanced Placement Examinations. John loved ’60s tunes, doo-wop music, fishing, and travel. Most
John McMullan, an inspiring master teacher
David Jones, husband of Lynn Richards Jones, passed away peacefully on July 28, 2020, at his home in the Village of Cooperstown, New York. He was 78. A retired English and American Studies teacher, he taught at Millbrook and at Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, Florida. Born on March 10, 1942, in Albany, New York, David was one of three children of Louis Clark Jones, PhD, and Hazel “Billie” Williams. The family moved to Cooperstown in 1947, not long after his father was named director of the New York State Historical Association. In 1971 David and his family moved to Millbrook School, where he taught English, coached baseball and skiing, and served in various administrative capacities, including director of admissions.
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CIRCLING BACK Millbrook’s 6th Headmaster Drew Casertano with Founding Headmaster Edward Pulling This photo was taken on the occasion of Drew Casertano’s investiture in 1990. Neither man knew then that Drew Casertano would guide the school forward for 31 years, almost as long as Mr. Pulling, who was Millbrook’s head of school for 34 years, from 1931 until his retirement in 1965.
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• SUMMER 2021
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