Among Friends Spring 2016 by Moorestown Friends School

Spring 2016 MOORESTOWN FRIENDS SCHOOL

Among Friends

MFS Mock Primary Election Through the Years

Mission Statement Moorestown Friends School is a community rooted in Quaker values and dedicated to the pursuit of educational excellence for a diverse student body within an academically rigorous and balanced program emphasizing personal, ethical, and spiritual growth. Fall 1987, revised May 2011

Contents

Spring 2016

From the Head of School

Nearly $3 Million in Gifts Help Endow Camden Scholars Program

Notes from Pages Lane

Fox Tracks

Career Day

Coding Program Unveiled in the Lower School

About the Cover

Feature: MFS Mock Primary Election Through the Years

Pictured: History Teacher and Mock Primary Election Coordinator Judy van Tijn is pictured with all 12 Democratic and Republican candidates during the 2016 MPE.

Class Notes

In Memoriam

Spotlight on Student Artwork

Moorestown Friends School 110 East Main Street Moorestown, NJ 08057 (856) 235-2900, www.mfriends.org Published By The Development Office Editor, Director of Marketing and Communications Mike Schlotterbeck Managing Editor, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Stephanie Huie

Graphic Design Alison Judah ’86, Hypno Design

Associate Director of Development Beth Stouffer

Photography Curt Hudson, Stephanie Huie, Mike Schlotterbeck, and Alumni and Student Contributors

Director of Annual Giving Julia Applegate ’10

Head of School Larry Van Meter ’68

Development Office Staff Roberta Fenska, Sue Giacchetto, Sarah Rosenson

Director of Development Stephen Zakroff

Moorestown Friends School admits students without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, gender, or sexual orientation. All photos are identified from left to right unless otherwise indicated. SPRING 2016

In the “MFS Mock Primary Election Through the Years” feature beginning on page 18, see a scrapbook collage of Mock Convention/Primary “artifacts” and read about the quadrennial tradition’s history, the 2016 MPE, and alumni involved with politics, public service, and media.

Printed on recycled paper. AMONG FRIENDS

Title See more Mock Convention/ Primary “artifacts,” like these materials from Larry Van Meter’s 1968 journal, on pages 18-29.

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SPRING 2016

From the Head of School

MPE and Authentic Learning The frenzy around the primary election season reminds us of the hoopla we experienced a few months ago as the entire Middle and Upper School enthusiastically engaged in the Mock Primary Election (MPE) — a multi-week, quadrennial event at MFS that dates all the way back to 1960. As you may have heard, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump emerged victorious. Saturday Night Live would have a much more difficult time depicting our student candidates as they eloquently and fervently debated each other on important campaign issues, minus the personal attacks that have become so commonplace today in debates. Organizing and leading the 1968 Mock Republican Convention (as it was then configured) was my Senior Project at MFS. It was probably my most memorable student memory – anywhere. Consistent with future MFS Mock Convention/Primary outcomes, the student body in 1968 got it ”wrong,” nominating Nelson Rockefeller rather than Richard Nixon, who eventually emerged as the “real” nominee. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Nixon and Herbert Hoover were the nation’s two Quaker presidents.) MPE, masterfully led by History Teacher Judy van Tijn, with a big assist from History Department Chair Clark Thomson and a cast of dozens, is a perfect example of project-based learning. Students engage in the process as candidates, campaign managers, and other political functionaries. Rather than just focusing on sound bites and campaign craziness, the candidates and their staff become experts in the positions of the “real” candidates. As educators have known for millennia, the best way to understand something is to teach it to others. In order to convey those positions convincingly to their fellow students, the candidates need to understand complex policy issues. Student-politicians also learn something about marketing — how to package complex ideas in crisp statements easily understood by the target audience. They also learn about advertising — how to translate those ideas into catchy visuals and slogans. Project-based learning, a key component in a larger educational concept called authentic learning, is at the center of current thinking on pedagogy. Researchers have found that, typically, students quickly forget at least 90% of what they have read in textbooks and at least 75% of what they hear in lectures. But these same researchers have found that students retain most of what they learn when they have an opportunity not only to see and hear, but do. Authentic learning is about doing. Our Lower School students are currently engaged in computer language coding, an offering so unusual for young students that a story about our program was picked up by the Associated Press and ran in Washington, DC and in Miami — and even as far west as Kentucky. For Middle and Upper School students, Intensive Learning has for three decades provided opportunities for authentic learning. Clearly, MFS has been ahead of the curve on project-based learning for 50 years. Weaving project-based learning into a college preparatory program remains a challenge. Colleges still expect a number of courses in various subjects, sometimes referred to as Carnegie Units, a useful but archaic system that dates back 100 years. We will continue to provide the content that colleges demand in their applicants, and gladly so. Our talented faculty provides that content effectively. But the real magic in the MFS program is in coupling a strong factual foundation with authentic opportunities for deeper learning. Sincerely,

Larry Van Meter ’68 Head of School SPRING 2016

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The 2015-16 Camden Scholars pictured with Director of Camden Scholars Program Dorothy Lopez (top right)

Nearly $3 Million in Transformative Gifts Kickstart Campaign To Permanently Endow Camden Scholars Program Head of School Larry Van Meter recently announced four lead gifts totaling nearly $3 million to begin to endow the school’s Camden Scholars Program. The Program has a 40+ year history of providing nearly fulltuition scholarships for academically talented students with financial need from Camden to attend Moorestown Friends. The school is seeking funds to permanently endow the entire Program. Len Shapiro, ’60, Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Saltchuk Resources, a holding company in the Pacific Northwest involved with maritime business, fuel distribution, and real estate, along with his wife Pat, have donated $1 million in the form of a charitable lead annuity trust. Judy Faulkner ’61, Founder & CEO of Epic Systems Corp., a privately held company that sells healthcare software, and her husband Gordon, have donated $900,000. MFS Trustee Bill Haines, Owner and CEO of Pine Island Cranberry Company, and his wife Nadine, parents of an MFS alumnus and grandparents of a current student, have donated $500,000. MFS Trustee Mindy Holman, Chairman of Holman Automotive Group, and her husband Frank Beideman, parents of two MFS alumni, have also donated $500,000. “I am extremely grateful to these lead donors for making such significant commitments to our school and to the Camden Scholars Program,” said Larry Van Meter. “Many inspiring success stories

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have come out of the Program, and these gifts help ensure that the school will always be able to offer these opportunities to talented students from Camden. These gifts put us well on the road toward our goal of fully endowing the Camden Scholars Program.” Mathematics Teacher Dorothy Lopez is the Director of the Camden Scholars Program. “I am fortunate enough to interact with our Camden Scholars on a daily basis,” said Lopez. “These students add so much to our community. They are bright and talented and work very hard inside and outside the classroom. On behalf of our Camden Scholar students and alumni, I would like to thank these donors for ensuring that these scholarship opportunities will always be available at Moorestown Friends School.” The Camden Scholars Program at MFS has a long and unique tradition of providing opportunities to students with demonstrated academic potential and financial need from Camden. Currently, two scholars enter MFS each year in seventh grade and one in ninth grade. During a typical school year, there are 16 Camden Scholars at MFS (4 in Middle School and 12 in Upper School). The Camden Scholars receive a nearly-full-tuition scholarship to attend MFS. Lunch, books, fees, technology resources, and transportation via a school-supported bus are all covered by Moorestown Friends. More than 110 Camden Scholars have earned MFS diplomas and moved on to attend some of America’s most selective colleges and universities. SPRING 2016

Camden Scholars Endowment “With this commitment, Pat and I hope to inspire others to provide support for this wonderful program. Every gift, irrespective of its size, makes a difference in the lives of these students.” – Len Shapiro ’60

Beginning in the 1970s, MFS partnered with A Better Chance, Inc. (ABC), a national non-profit student search, referral, and scholarship organization to bring highly promising Camden students to the school. The goal of ABC was to increase the number of promising minority students in independent schools. When scholarship funding from ABC ended in 1983, the MFS School Committee made the commitment to fund the school’s Camden Scholars Program moving forward. Len Shapiro ’60, Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Saltchuk Resources, grew up in the Erlton section of Cherry Hill. “I never dreamed where my business career would take me,” said Shapiro. “My wife Pat and I now are enjoying the privilege of giving back, with meaningful financial support to organizations like MFS. I’ve returned to campus in recent years and met some of the impressive students who are part of the Camden Scholars Program. With this commitment, Pat and I hope to inspire others to provide support for this wonderful program. Every gift, irrespective of its size, makes a difference in the lives of these students.” Len is a graduate of Florida Southern College and has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School. The Shapiros reside in Mercer Island, WA. Judy Greenfield Faulkner ’61, Founder and CEO of Epic Systems Corp., also grew up in the Erlton section of Cherry Hill. She has grown Epic from a startup with one and a half partners into an industry leader with an 1,000-acre campus in Verona, WI with over 9,500 employees, and an estimated annual revenue of $2 billion, with a singular focus on healthcare software. Judy has served on the Obama administration’s Health Information Technology Committee. In 2011, she received the MFS Alumni Association’s Alice Stokes Paul Merit Award. In 2015, she signed the Buffett Pledge, committing 99% of her assets to philanthropy. “Moorestown Friends is where I learned to love math which took me to computer science and to creating Epic,” said Faulkner. “MFS also taught its students the joy of learning, strong values, curiosity, speaking up, the honor system – which helped shape my life and influenced the culture of Epic. I am pleased to support my alma mater and the Camden Scholars Program.” Judy is a graduate of Dickinson College and earned a M.S. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin. Judy resides with her husband Gordon in Madison, WI. MFS Trustee Mindy Holman is Chairman of the Holman Automotive Group. Mindy has served on the MFS School Committee since 2011. She is Chair of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey and is a co-founder SPRING 2016

and Vice Chair of the Community Foundation of South Jersey. Her husband Frank Beideman is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Holman Automotive. “Camden is about 10 miles from Moorestown, but by the luck of the draw, growing up in one place or the other has staggering differences,” said Holman. “Frank and I have long had a level of involvement with nonprofits in the city, mostly through our relationships with the United Way and Urban Promise. We have gotten to know many great kids who have flourished despite an environment that I, honestly, could not have imagined. When given support and opportunities, the resilience of these young people is amazing. The Camden Scholars Program is a way to link our desire to even the playing field for some Camden students with our love for Moorestown Friends.” Mindy and Frank reside in Moorestown and are parents of two MFS alumni: Brad Beideman ‘12, a student at Emerson College and Joe Beideman ‘15, a student at Elon University. A fourth generation cranberry grower, Bill Haines’ company is the largest cranberry grower in New Jersey and fifth largest in the nation. His wife Nadine is an attorney. Bill is on the Board of Directors at Ocean Spray. He is a former mayor of Washington Township, and served on the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders, where he was instrumental in the expansion of the county’s farmland and open space preservation programs. Bill has served on the MFS School Committee since 2014. “Nadine and I have been blessed to have many opportunities that others do not,” said Bill Haines. “The Camden Scholars program is a wonderful program and this gift allows us to share our good fortune with talented, hard-working students who might not get the chance to receive a great MFS education otherwise. The quality and depth of the education at MFS and the caring, giving atmosphere created by its people makes it a special place. Our direct experience at MFS through our son and granddaughter makes the school one of our priorities for giving.” Between them, Bill and Nadine have six children. Bill is the father of MFS alumnus William S. “Tug” Haines III ’97. They live in Medford.

“MFS also taught its students the joy of learning, strong values, curiosity, speaking up, the honor system – which helped shape my life and influenced the culture of Epic. I am pleased to support my alma mater and the Camden Scholars Program.” – Judy Greenfield Faulkner ’61

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Notes from Pages Lane

Notes from Pages Lane This section of Among Friends takes its name from Pages Lane, the road that bisected the Moorestown Friends School campus prior to the construction of Stokes Hall in 1986.

March 11-12 Students performed the play To Kill A Mockingbird, and paid tribute to the late author Harper Lee.

March 9 Kindergarteners in Emily Bowditch and Kenya Barber’s classes celebrated “Read Across America” week with Dr. Seuss books.

February 27 Jahdiel Brown ’16 earned a first place prize for her “Chop To It!” social media marketing campaign in the Healthy Lifestyles Business Competition, hosted by the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. 6

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January 18 Four MFS female student-athletes joined over 150 peers from over 50 PA/NJ high schools at the first annual Live Like Blaine Foundation Leadership Conference at William Penn Charter School: Elizabeth Mayer ’18, Chloe Jones ’18, Alexis Watson ’18, and Alyssa Runyan ’18. The mission of the Live Like Blaine Foundation is to empower and inspire young women to become leaders through fitness and athletics.

January 19 During a 30-minute showcase spoken completely in Spanish, five students in Josie Paolello’s Spanish 4 Honors course, Dragon Ding ’17, Sarina Patel ’17, Natalie Zakroff ’17, Andrea Kinzler ’16, and Alex Horn ’17, presented a summary of their work developing a robot designed to help alleviate lower back pain for students carrying heavy backpacks. FALL 2015

January 6 Members of the Class of 2015 visited to share their college experiences with juniors and seniors: Rachel Tarter (George Washington), Spencer Kelly (Howard), Emily Tatum (Johns Hopkins), and Brian Pansius (Bates).

January 2 Andrew Rowan ’19 made a special guest appearance on Fox29’s Good Day Weekend and provided the weather forecast for the broadcast.

December 15 Two new scoreboards in the Red Gym were dedicated in memory of the late Floss Brudon, who was associated with MFS from 1949-2008. The scoreboards were a gift in appreciation of Floss by Linda Van Name ‘70.

December 3 Science Department Chair Dr. Barb Kreider and Chester Reagan Chair Priscilla Taylor-Williams announced their retirements at the end of the 2015-16 school year. Look for much more in the Fall 2016 issue of Among Friends.

November 11 The Diller Library hosted the Presidential Quilt Project, a special exhibit of 43 historically accurate presidential quilts, leading up to the 2016 Mock Primary Election. FALL 2015

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Notes from Pages Lane Phil Lippincott Shares Principles of Leadership The Leadership Styles and Skills class (co-taught by Head of School Larry Van Meter and Upper School Director Justin Brandon) and Friends School Legacy class (taught by Chester Reagan Chair of Quaker and Religious Studies Priscilla Taylor-Williams) welcomed guest speaker Phil Lippincott, Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Scott Paper Company, and former non-executive Chairman of Campbell Soup Company. Phil is also the Assistant Clerk for the MFS School Committee. He shared with the Upper School students his principles of leadership and thoughts on how MFS students can achieve their leadership potential. A Quaker as well as a graduate of Friends Schools, Phil noted that the principles of peace, equality, compassion, and fairness influenced his approach to leadership, and were mirrored in the advice he offered to students. Phil’s Guiding Values and Beliefs are detailed as follows: • Always do the right thing morally and ethically. • Treat everyone with dignity, respect, and honesty. • Meaningful relationships can only be built on trust. • In conflict resolution, always strive for a form of “win/win.” • True ownership of a goal/direction requires participation in the initial decision-making process. • The whole is almost always greater than the sum of the parts.

MFS Community Mourns Loss of Fourth Grade Teacher Margaret McKee The Moorestown Friends community continues to mourn the loss of Fourth Grade Teacher Margaret McKee, who passed away on December 29, 2015, after a battle with brain cancer. Margaret was a beloved Lower School teacher who began her career at MFS in 1997. She is survived by her husband Charles Duffy and their daughters Kara, MFS Class of 2001, and Laura, MFS Class of 2005. Her former students range from the Class of 2006 through the Class of 2023. A Memorial Meeting for Worship was arranged by Margaret’s family and held on March 5 in the Moorestown Friends Meeting House. “Margaret was a teacher who challenged her students to work hard and to think critically, but always with a twinkle in her eye,” said Head of School Larry Van Meter. “She loved her students, and they both admired and loved her in return.” A passionate learner, after obtaining a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University, Margaret continued her studies by pursuing post-graduate work at Temple University, Cabrini College, and New York University. “Margaret loved learning, literature, and history, and she inspired those loves in her students and peers,” said Lower School Director Kelly Banik. Margaret enjoyed traveling and had a great appreciation for other cultures. In 2009, Margaret received the Zekavat Summer Sabbatical and traveled to Nuremberg, Germany to study at The Waldorf School. Several parents of Margaret’s former students established the Margaret McKee Lower School Endowed Book Fund in her memory. It will provide annual resources to purchase books and materials for the Lower School section of the Diller Library as well as Lower School classroom book collections. Visit www.mfriends.org/mkee to make a memorial gift. 8

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FALL 2015

Notes from Pages Lane

Head of School Larry Van Meter with Brenda Kyle’s fourth grade class

Thinking of Margaret McKee For the remainder of the school year, fourth graders will help Head of School Larry Van Meter manually wind the grandfather clock in Stokes Hall once a week. Unveiled in 2009, the Hollinshead clock was built over the course of five years by Mr. Van Meter and a small group of students in the MFS woodshop. “A couple of years ago I explored with [the late Fourth Grade Teacher] Margaret McKee the idea of having fourth graders wind the tall clock,” said Mr. Van Meter. “When I wound the clock in the presence of kids, they were always intrigued by the weight-driven mechanism and the idea that the clock uses no electricity. Thinking about Margaret caused me to remember this idea.”

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Fox Tracks “Oh What A Night!” On November 12, MFS sports history was made as the Girls’ and Boys’ Soccer teams captured NJSIAA South Jersey sectional championships on the same night, on the same field at Holmdel High School. The girls’ team downed Holy Spirit, 3-2 in double overtime as Chloe Jones ’18 knocked in the gamewinner following up on a Alexis Kasper ’18 shot. Alyssa Runyan ’18 and Chloe Chen ’18 were the other goalscorers as the Foxes celebrated their second consecutive South Jersey title. In the nightcap, the boys’ team blanked Holy Cross, 2-0 with goals scored by Chris Grahn ’16 and Eric Price ’16. Goalkeeper Josh Murdy ’16 was stellar with 12 saves to earn the shutout.

Captains Matthew Mullock ‘16, Chris Grahn ‘16, and Kieran McMenamin ‘16 with Coach Mike Schlotterbeck.

2015 NJSIAA South Jersey sectional champs

Chris Grahn ‘16 opened the scoring for the Foxes.

Josh Murdy ‘16 extends his body to make a save in the second half. 10

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2015 NJSIAA South Jersey sectional champs

Kieran Lees ‘18 was the team’s leading goalscorer. FALL 2015

Nia Francis ‘16 was a defensive stalwart for the Foxes. AMONG FRIENDS

Fox Tracks

1 On February 3, the Athletic Department held a National Signing Day celebration for Boys’ Soccer player Matthew Mullock ’16. He signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at St. Joseph’s University and is pictured with his parents, Norm and Maria, and brothers Mitchell and Ryan. He scored 17 goals and dished out 13 assists to help lead the Boys’ Soccer team to the NJSIAA Non-Public B South championship. Matthew received AllState recognition in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Matthew’s twin brother Mitchell ‘16, a starting center back for the soccer team, will continue his collegiate baseball career at Vassar College. 2 The Girls’ Fencing Sabre Team of Erin Chen ‘16, Chloe Chen ‘18, Carly Rosvold ‘18, and Carolyn Feigeles ‘18, captured a bronze medal at the NJSIAA Squad Fencing Championships. In addition, Erin Chen placed sixth in the NJSIAA individual state championships and was named First Team All-State at sabre. 3 Grace Kim ‘17 was named Burlington County Times Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. 4 Evelyn Feigeles ’14, who missed the entire 2014 season due to injury, had an outstanding rookie year on the Arcadia University Women’s Soccer team as their starting goalkeeper. She earned 10 shutouts, tying her for second on the Knights’ single-season list, and 16 wins, placing her second on the program’s single-season list. The team won the ECAC DIII South Championship. She is pictured with her father Steve.

5 The Class of 2015 had a large number of athletes who earned spots on varsity collegiate rosters in 2015-16: Macey Cropski (Florida Atlantic Cheerleading), Sarah Henig (Drew Soccer and Basketball) David Howarth (Colby Soccer), Spencer Kelly (Howard Tennis), John Nutaitis (Catholic Basketball), and Alaina Shivers (Mary Washington Field Hockey). 6 As a freshman soccer player at Drexel University, Vanessa Kara ’15 was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s 2015 Rookie of the Year. She also earned Second Team All-CAA and All-Rookie team honors. Vanessa scored 11 goals and dished out 3 assists, setting single-season program records for goals and points (25) in a season. She also matched the program record for game-winning goals in a single season with four.

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Long-time MFS Coach Joe McAleer was inducted into the South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame on February 14. Joe coached Girls’ Basketball and Girls’ Tennis in the 1980s and 1990s and his teams enjoyed a great deal of success, winning Friends League and South Jersey championships. Pictured are: Ryan McAleer ‘93, Fred Moriuchi ‘65, Joe McAleer, Shane McAleer ‘92, and Joe Pat McAleer, who attended MFS from 1996-99.

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Career Day

Mel Baiada • Managing Partner at BaseCamp Ventures • President of BaseCamp Business • Partner at Grapevine Development • B.S./M.S. Drexel University

Mel Baiada Offers Entrepreneurship Advice on Career Day Mel Baiada, a successful entrepreneur and MFS trustee from 2001-2010, was the keynote speaker for Upper School Career Day on March 10. He and his wife, Diane, are Moorestown residents and parents of two MFS alumnae, Caitlin ’06 and Emma ’10. Mel began and closed his address to the juniors and seniors with a simple idea: reach for the stars but keep your feet on the ground. “Your path will never be a straight journey,” he said. “Nobody has an immediate level of success, but you should always head in the direction of your dreams and eventually you will end up in a good space.” Like many of the students sitting in the Meeting House, Mel wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do for a career. After spending two years at Burlington County College, he transferred to Drexel University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a focus on computers and control theory. “I always liked solving problems and figuring things out,” said Mel. “But I knew I wanted to start a business. My father and brothers had businesses, and business was what I eventually wanted to do.” He explored a few different industries, working for a number of companies, including RCA Government Systems (now Lockheed Martin), ADP Brokerage Service in Mount Laurel, and his brother Mark’s company, Bayada Home Health Care. He also returned to Drexel to earn a master’s degree in communication. “In the early stages of my career, I did a number of different things to see what I liked and what I didn’t like,” said Mel. “After getting a solid education, figuring out what you don’t like is just as important as discovering your interests, and that’s something 14

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that only comes with experience. Working for large companies is valuable because it teaches you structure and the basic moving parts of the business. These lessons are beneficial when you do something on your own.” Mel then shared with the Upper School students a key concept in business that helped him attain success with his companies Bluestone Software and Bluestone Consulting. “Reading books and trade magazines and websites is imperative to understanding where the markets are going,” said Mel. “Bluestone did well only because I picked a good market and the company did a good job of meeting commitments and keeping customers happy. Technology and computers were trending in the late 80s and the Internet was the next thing in the mid 90s. We were providing software services and IT programming in the online space, and that’s where people were spending their money. I was driven, but the most important factor was selecting the right market.” In 1999, Bluestone Software went public, and it was purchased by Hewlett Packard the following year. With those earnings, Mel and his wife, Diane, provided the lead gift that made the Moorestown Friends Field House complex possible. Additionally, later in 2000, Mel reinvested his earnings from selling Bluestone to establish the venture capital firm BaseCamp Ventures in Moorestown, where he has hosted numerous MFS students for their Senior Project. To conclude his keynote address, Mel shared one more thing with the students – reading material. “There’s this book by Brian Tracy called 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires,” said Mel. “He offers great advice, like develop your unique talents, dream big dreams, work longer and harder. If you refer to this list once a year and work on one to two things, it will benefit you greatly. Strive to reach for the stars.”

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CAREER DAY PRESENTERS

Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church

Albert DeNittis, MFS Parent Chief of Radiation Oncology Lankenau Hospital

Sean DiStefano ‘05 Senior Development Engineer Smith & Nephew

Kristin Bromley Fitzgerald ‘97 President Ransome CAT

Brad Geyer, MFS Parent Attorney, Founding Partner GeyerGorey LLP

Scott Herman, MFS Parent Networking Channel Director, East Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Harrison Krohn ‘11 Account Executive Barclay Group

Takashi Moriuchi ‘92 Founder and Partner Estancia Capital Management

Blenda Riddick, MFS Parent Director, Corporate and Gov’t Affairs United Airlines

Amanda Turner Rivenburgh ‘03 Second Grade Teacher Moorestown Friends School

Whitney Pennington Rodgers ‘03 Associate Producer NBCUniversal’s “Dateline”

Alyss Vavricka ‘08 Client Strategist L2, Inc. AMONG FRIENDS

Rhonda Cates, MFS Parent CPA, Asst. Director, Retirement Plans

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First graders directing “Beebot” to move through a maze

Coding Program Unveiled in the Lower School Lower School students (Preschool - Grade 4) have been diving deep into code during the 2015-16 school year. MFS is one of the few schools in the United States to provide Coding classes to all Lower School students, including 3-year-old preschoolers. The course is part of the Lower School’s “specials” rotation that also includes Art, Music, Physical Education, Library, Quaker Education, and Computer Science. Students participate in Coding class twice every six days. “Whether your child becomes a doctor, chemist, librarian, lawyer, or computer programmer, he or she will be equipped with valuable computational thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills developed from an early age through this program,” said Lower School Director Kelly Banik. MFS has hired a full-time Coding Teacher – Elizabeth Kahn. Kahn has a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in psychology from Temple University. “This is the language you need to speak to technology,” said Kahn. “The foundation of coding is algorithms, which translate to programs. For instance a step-by-step process to brush your teeth is an algorithm that you use everyday.” Teamwork and collaboration skills are constantly being developed in Coding classes. Programmable robots with names like “Beebot,” “Dash,” and “Dot” are often used for lessons and problem solving. 16

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“Our students are going to be able to build, and understand what’s behind, interfaces and interact with technology on a much higher level.” – Coding Teacher Liz Kahn A common activity for Kahn’s preschool and prekindergarten students is to push buttons on “Beebot” to send codes to the bumblebee-shaped robot to carry out certain commands. Her students may direct the robots to knock down some blocks, follow a maze, or move a certain amount of spaces to reach a distant object. Additionally, Kahn folds unplugged activities into her curriculum, like a “Robot Turtles” board game that teaches algorithmic thinking. Beginning in kindergarten, the Lower School students use tablets to write sequences into a program called Blockly, which teaches young programmers to code using a drag and drop coding language. Blockly uses sequential blocks that help coders make their very first program. The “Dash” and “Dot” robots respond to Blockly and students can command their robot to flash colorful lights, dance, blink, and even say hello. “There is a lot of group work and paired programming,” said Kahn. “A large amount of trial and error takes place and it works well when there is a ‘driver’ who is operating the technology and a ‘navigator’ who is talking through the sequence.” In her classroom which has a very open design with bright colors, cushions, pillows, and “soft spaces” conducive to creativity, Kahn has “Coding Vocab Words” displayed prominently, one of SPRING 2016

which is featured in class each week. Some examples: Algorithm, Program, Language, Pair Programming, Persistence, Sequencing, Loop, Debugging, Pattern Matching, Conditionals, Binary, Event, Function, Variable, Decompose, and Abstraction. The goal of the Coding program is to prepare Moorestown Friends students for a world that is heavily reliant on technology. “We are teaching our students to understand technology beyond the interface (iPhone, tablet, etc.) level,” said Kahn. “Our students are going to be able to build, and understand what’s behind, interfaces and interact with technology on a much higher level.” The Lower School Coding program evolved from a school wide Strategic Planning process which identified possible additions and alterations to the curriculum in the areas of 21st Century skills and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). An article in a recent edition of Harvard Magazine noted that as technological innovations drive virtually every industry and shape social spaces online, students who have computational knowledge “have a jump-start in access to these careers, and they have insight into the nature of innovation that is changing how we communicate, learn, recreate, and conduct democracy.” “We’re constantly assessing our curriculum and this program has already demonstrated the ability to build persistence and resilience in our students,” said Banik. “So, in addition to the obvious computer science skills that this program develops, our students are being equipped with tools necessary for a 21st Century professional.”

Kindergarteners can use tablets to program their robots to win a race!

Fourth graders learn about coding and the importance of teamwork through paired programming.

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MFS Mock Primary Election Through the Years

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Mock Primary Election A History of “Getting It Wrong” Since 1960, during every presidential race, Moorestown Friends Upper School students have campaigned earnestly on behalf of the Democratic and Republican candidates as a uniquely immersive American civics lesson. From 1960 to 1996, MFS held Mock Political Conventions, during which students acted as the campaign managers and delivered impassioned speeches to rally support for their nominee. Developed and refined over the years by Social Studies teachers G. MacCulloch “Cully” Miller and others, including Sandy Heath, Ed Dreby, and Margaret Barnes Mansfield, the Mock Political Convention simulated national politics and typically featured the party that was out of power at the time. In 2000, the quadrennial tradition transitioned to what is today’s Mock Primary Election. To mirror the real election, if an incumbent president is running, the school only holds a primary for the other party. Continuing the tradition in 2016, History Teacher Judy van Tijn and History Department Chair Clark Thomson led this year’s Democratic and Republican primaries. Upper School students portrayed the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on the campaign trail, participating in debates, town hall meetings, and the Primary Election. Students representing the candidates became well-versed on pressing issues in American politics, such as national security, gun control, immigration, LGBTQ rights, climate change, education, healthcare, and the federal budget. During the many MPE programs, the students had the opportunity to become informed voters and learn about candidates’ positions on these topics before they cast their vote for President of the United States. This 56-year quadrennial tradition provides students with experiential political, social, and historical lessons that extend far beyond any chapter in a textbook.

1960

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Since 1960, MFS has only twice correctly selected the candidates who would go on to win the party’s presidential nomination. In 1988, Michael Dukakis was selected at the MFS Mock Political Convention, but lost in the general election to Ronald Reagan. In 2008, the votes of the MFS constituency mirrored the actual primary election results as John McCain won the Republican primary and Barack Obama was chosen as the Democratic nominee.

Year

MFS Nominee(s)

Actual Nominee(s)

1960

Stuart Symington

John F. Kennedy

1964

William Scranton

Barry Goldwater

1968

Nelson Rockefeller

Richard Nixon

1972

Hubert Humphrey

George McGovern

1976

Mo Udall

Jimmy Carter

1980

George H.W. Bush

Ronald Reagan

1984

George McGovern

Walter Mondale

1988

Michael Dukakis

1992

Jerry Brown

Bill Clinton

1996

Arlen Specter

Bob Dole

2000

Bill Bradley/ John McCain

Al Gore/ George W. Bush

2004

Dennis Kucinich

John Kerry

2008

John McCain/ Barack Obama

2012

Jon Huntsman

Mitt Romney

2016

Donald Trump/ Bernie Sanders

To Be Determined

SPRING 2016

Mock Primary Election Turn Back the Clock to... the 1968 Mock Political Convention Head of School Larry Van Meter was the 1968 MFS Mock Republican National Convention Chairman. As part of his role in coordinating the event, Mr. Van Meter kept a well-organized binder with copious notes, news clips, and promotional material from the convention. Planning for the 1968 event included a trip, along with 1968 MPC Executive Secretary Susan Stapler Kelemen ‘68, to Washington DC and Republican National Headquarters. Below are some reflective (and some humorous) passages from his notes: and Sweet-Talking Threats, Counter-Threats, school in those last mood which dominated the “Indicative of the prevailing collaring of seventh ing the convention was the few days immediately preced threats, counterpleas for campaign funds, the graders in the halls, the vain then broken. In short, coalitions were formed and threats, and sweet-talking as e to that found in real had come horrendously clos the tone of things at school ored candidates, I ed for the victory of their fav conventions. As delegates hop vention.” prayed for a successful con

Promotional Blitz “Soon, signs bega n appearing in the halls, rooms were headquarters and seized for candida flags, buttons, and te’s pamphlets began Friday it was diffic to dot the halls. By ult to find a vacant spot on any floor an looked there was a d everywhere one poster saying some thing like “Nixon’s the Guv!” (for Nelso th e One” and “We luv n Rockefeller).”

d Parade The Evening Picnic an as the Mock Political tival atmosphere in 1968 fes a of re mo ch interesting mu s There wa nic and parade. Some the evening after a pic in ded clu con on nti Conve notes: in Cemetery the green Errant Leaflets Land aders were gathering by ring an end and the par several ed pp dro “As the picnic was nea times and led over the school a few ry ete cem the shed, a private plane circ in them landed fortunately, the bulk of bundles of leaflets. Un across Main Street.” “Wild Gyrations” Ensue a Rockefeller Wins and s as Rockefeller won by nge emerged victoriou cha of s stle ed apo du sub the , re “In the end s and the mo d gyrations of the winner wil the er Aft . 57 for e 3-1 vot 21 vote of proceeded with the rcised by the losers, we gan, paroxysms of agony exe ure President Ronald Rea V.P. candidates were fut the g on Am . ent sid Vice Pre s Percy.” ation to Senator Charle who lost the MFS nomin

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The Importance of Candy “Unfortunately, Bowers Candies, with whom we dealt, no longer stocked their colorful cans which had ‘GOPeanut Crunch’ and elephants on them. In 1964, this was sold in sufficient quantities to make the mock convention self-supporting, but sinc e it was unavailable to us, we ordered the regular cans of Peanut Crunch, English Toff ee, and Mixed Nuts.”

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Mock Primary Election On Thursday, January 14, Moorestown Friends School hosted the 2016 Mock Primary Election (MPE). The program included the traditional entrance parade, political speeches and debates from the candidates, final campaigning efforts, educational workshops, and casting ballots. The keynote speaker was SJ Magazine Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Marianne Aleardi, who provided an informative presentation to students about women in politics. A diverse offering of workshops covered topics and featured activities related to politics or governance, but involved a wide spectrum of activities, including Harry Potter and leadership, introduction to Islam, social activism, ISIS and foreign affairs, the musical Hamilton, the current state of affairs of Venezuela, Black Lives Matter, and the impact of public speaking. Twelve students represented the men and women in the presidential race: John Barton ’17 (Bernie Sanders), Andrew Cates ’16 (Martin O’Malley), Connor Cronk ’17 (Chris Christie), Dragon Ding ’17 (John Kasich), Andrew Landesman ’18 (Jeb Bush), Andrew Lin ’18 (Ben Carson), Ian Millstein ’18 (Marco Rubio), Emily Mitchell ’18 (Carly Fiorina), Isaac Munoz ’17 (Ted Cruz), Tyler Rutherford ’18 (Rand Paul), Nick Tursi ’17 (Donald Trump), and Rachael Whitley ’17 (Hillary Clinton). Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump were the winners of the primary. The selected running mates for each nominee were Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz.

The three Democratic candidates were Andrew Cates ’16, Rachael Whitley ’17, and John Barton ’17.

There were nine Republican candidates. Standing: Nick Tursi ’17, Isaac Munoz ’17, Tyler Rutherford ’18, Ian Millstein ’18, Andrew Landesman ’18, and Connor Cronk ’17, Kneeling: Dragon Ding ’17, Andrew Lin ’18, and Emily Mitchell ’18.

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SPRING 2016

Notable Quotables from the 2016 Candidates “As a Democrat, I did not expect to agree with many of Marco Rubio’s stances on various issues, but by representing him and learning about the logic behind his ideas, I began to see some of the light behind Republican party ideas. Representing Marco Rubio has taught me that regardless of political party affiliation, all candidates’ ideas are aimed towards creating a better America.” - Ian Millstein ’18 “MPE was more than just a simple extracurricular activity. It was a great way for me to expand my horizon in politics and realworld issues. As a child, I never watched the news or followed politics, but now, especially because I am growing older, I need to be able to keep up with how the world is evolving. Whoever is elected will become the new leader of the United States, and being knowledgeable about what he/she may do is very important. Especially because I will be voting in the next election, this is a great way for me to introduce myself to the world of leadership and politics.” - Dragon Ding ’17 “Ten years from now, I’ll remember the feeling of walking into the gym and seeing so many people, excited, and embracing this MPE tradition and enjoying American politics. I loved seeing the community unified together, even if they didn’t agree, and still willing to listen. To me, it was a testament to how great the MFS community is and I think the experience showed what America is really about. It’s important for young people to understand things that are going on in our country. Sometimes young people make judgments without understanding the situation or the context, and MPE can help students understand the political process better.” - Isaac Munoz ’17

Isaac Munoz ’17 (Ted Cruz)

“I saw over the summer that Donald Trump was running, and I thought representing him would be fun since his opinions are much more memorable than any other candidate. I knew MPE was going to be a lot of work, but being Donald Trump was the best way to have the most fun with the political process. I did have many conversations with Mrs. van Tijn though on the necessity to tone down quotes or how to portray Trump in a Quaker environment. I think Trump ended up winning the Republican primary because, as Mrs. van Tijn likes to put it, Middle Schoolers can be compared to a swing state. I wanted to get the Middle School to laugh and connect with them by making myself funny, but still take the process seriously and discuss policy too.” - Nick Tursi ’17 “The day of MPE felt more real and authentic to me than I expected. I felt actively engaged and it was easier for me to get into character as Hillary. For the full day, I wore a pantsuit just like Hillary, and the yearbook staff followed me around all day to live-tweet. I learned so much about candidates and policies, I don’t know if I’ll ever be as educated about another election again since I really lived as a politician campaigning for five months.” - Rachael Whitley ’17 Rachael Whitley ’17 (Hillary Clinton)

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AMONG FRIENDS

MFS Mock Primary Election TH RO

Ben Spielberg ’06 Campaigning for Social Justice

UGH THE YEARS Emily Jones ’08 Clear and Concise for Her Radio Audience

Many MFS alumni have entered or aspire to careers in politics, public service, journalism, media, and more. A large number credit their

Dante Bucci ’14 An Ambitious Start to a Budding Career

experiences at MFS, and in some cases, refer directly to the MPE/MPC as a catalyst for their career path. In the following feature, several

Judith Wallner ’95 The Strategic Marketing Behind Winning Elections

alumni describe their careers and how their MFS experiences shaped their path.

Anya Gelernt-Dunkle ’09 Politics is Her Lifeblood

AMONG FRIENDS

SPRING 2016

Title

Ben pictured at MFS with Dennis Kucinich

Ben Spielberg ’06 • B.S. Stanford University • Research Associate and Project Manager at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities • Founder of the 34justice blog

Campaigning for Social Justice Today, Ben Spielberg advocates for his political beliefs on his blog, 34justice, but, twelve years ago, he was standing on a stage in the Field House Gym championing the beliefs of Dennis Kucinich, the candidate who ultimately won the Mock Primary Election 2004. As a sophomore, Ben was one of the youngest students participating in MPE that year, but he was eager to be involved and volunteered to represent Dennis Kucinich. “I was super excited to run as Kucinich as he was one of the first politicians I really admired in Congress,” said Ben. “At the time, he was one of the few people in the House that was opposed to the Iraq war, in support of gay marriage, and his stances on the issues were much more aligned with mine and not completely mainstream within the Democratic party. Few people in Congress had a consistent record advocating for disadvantaged populations and standing up for the public good. He did what was right and was willing to take a stand as a politician for something that was unpopular at the time.” In terms of campaigning on behalf of Kucinich, Ben thought that Kucinich’s values and his record were already appealing selling points for the MFS community, so he and his campaign team focused on heightening candidate exposure. The strategy of Ben’s campaign team, including Ben Jones ’06 and Mike Borden ’04, was to emphasize the consistency of Kucinich’s record and assert to voters that, although they may not have heard of him, Kucinich was the ideal candidate whom more politicians should emulate. Ben and his campaign staff were quite successful in gaining traction for a SPRING 2016

fringe candidate, as Kucinich eventually won in a huge landslide at MFS. “MPE is something I still tell people about to this day when people ask me about my political views or how I see things,” said Ben. “It convinced me that if you have a candidate with a compelling record who is advocating for disadvantaged groups of people, that candidate can become viable and widely popular. MPE reinforced a belief that the issues I care about and think are really important to people are winning issues. They speak to people’s values and are not as radical as they can be portrayed to be.” After the election day, the wave of energy surrounding Kucinich carried on as the actual Dennis Kucinich visited MFS in the spring of 2004. After his MPE victory, Ben’s father suggested that he write to Kucinich’s campaign to inform them of the Mock Primary tradition at MFS and Kucinich’s victory. Kucinich agreed to give a speech at the school, and Ben, named a High School Coordinator for the Kucinich campaign, provided an introduction. After MFS, Ben graduated with a degree in mathematical and computational science from Stanford University. For the next few years, he worked in California public schools as a Teach for America corps member, a member of the Executive Board of the San Jose Teachers Association, and as a math instructional coach. He now resides in Washington, DC and is a Research Associate and Project Manager at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute that pursues federal and state policies designed to reduce poverty and inequality. Ben also started a political blog called 34justice after the 2008 presidential election with Jon Zaid ’05, an MFS baseball teammate, and another friend from Stanford. “I originally started a political email list where I would email my thoughts about the election and issues related to the health care debate to families and friends,” said Ben. “Some people would email me back and engage with me on issues, so I thought a better outlet would be a personal blog to have more of a voice in national debates.” The blog has become especially well-known for its coverage on education, and his articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, EdWeek, and other media outlets. Between the blog and his full-time position, Ben is enjoying advocating for the causes he finds important and engaging in earnest political discussion. For the foreseeable future, he believes his passion for politics will remain ignited, and he will continue to be an active proponent for social justice. AMONG FRIENDS

Mock Primary Election “At MFS, if you’re someone that actively wants to foster public speaking and research skills, there are a lot of avenues like Model UN or Student Government, but there is no comparison to the level of immersion or engagement that you get through Mock Primary.”

Emily Jones ’08 • B.A. Brown University • M.S. Columbia University • Host and Reporter, Morning Edition on Georgia Public Broadcasting Savannah

Clear and Concise for Her Radio Audience When Emily Jones was in fourth grade, she noticed a headline of a newspaper article about the 2000 Mock Primary Election at Moorestown Friends. It was the first time she had heard about MFS or MPE, and the story about the unique school tradition made quite the impression on Emily and her parents. She was enrolled in public school at the time, but Emily knew that she was going to participate in MPE. The next year, she found herself as a fifth grade student at MFS, and in 2008, Emily fulfilled her dream and was an MPE candidate representing Hillary Clinton. “I really wanted to be Hillary,” said Emily. “I just liked her and was excited about the idea of our first woman president, although initially our campaign was trying not to focus too much on that aspect. We didn’t want to alienate voters, so we tried to focus more on policy and Hillary’s platforms, which also reflected her real-life strategy. Towards the end though, it was clear to us that we didn’t have much of a chance at MFS versus Obama since he was so popular with young people, so our strategy switched to full girl power. We had a couple of Middle School pals that were great supporters, and we made posters, pink T-shirts, and decorated pink and purple cookies to hand out during election day.” Although Barack Obama did end up becoming the MPE Democratic nominee, Emily thoroughly enjoyed being involved with MPE and it remains one of her favorite memories and academic experiences at MFS. “I’ll always remember the work of putting together the campaign and speeches,” said Emily. “My campaign manager, Anna 26

AMONG FRIENDS

Leh ’08, and I mostly spent our time hammering out positions, writing speeches, and memorizing Hillary’s stances on the issues. Going through the entire political process and figuring out what to do to try and win was just so much fun.” MPE was such a whirlwind of activity and shaking hands that most of the election day is a blur for Emily. Wearing her Hillary pantsuit, she was kept busy all day and likened the experience to a theater performance and being an actor in a political play. Today, Emily works in Savannah, GA as a host and reporter for Morning Edition on Georgia Public Broadcasting and, although she is not involved in politics, she believes MPE helped cultivate a skill set that would be invaluable for any career. “In-depth research and speaking publicly about what I know in a partially scripted, partially off-the-cuff way, that’s what I do every day as a broadcaster and reporter,” said Emily. “MPE was an invaluable experience that helped me develop my skills of speaking clearly and concisely before I graduated from high school. At MFS, if you’re someone that actively wants to foster public speaking and research skills, there are a lot of avenues like Model UN or student government, but there is no comparison to the level of immersion or engagement that you get through Mock Primary.” Before Emily landed at GPB Savannah, she worked for the Wall Street Journal Radio Network, WHYY in Philadelphia, and WBRU and Rhode Island Public Radio in Providence. She studied history at Brown University and broadcast journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

The 2008 MPE candidates with Emily third from right

FALL 2015

Mock Primary Election

Dante Bucci ’14 • B.A. Candidate American University • Class of 2018 Undergraduate Senator • Intern on Capitol HIll for Arkansas Congressman Tom Cotton

An Ambitious Start to a Budding Career American University sophomore Dante Bucci has wasted no time immersing himself in the Washington, DC political culture. He has already secured a Capitol Hill internship with Arkansas Congressman Tom Cotton, and, at American, he is studying political science and business, as well as serving his second term as an undergraduate senator. Dante cites the 2012 Mock Primary Election, during which he represented Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, as one of the first experiences to spark his interest in American politics. “There’s nothing else like MPE, and I do think the experience helped guide me down the path I am on today,” said Dante. “Before MPE, I knew that politics was something I was interested in, but I never thought it could be something I would care so much about on a deep, personal level or that it could be a future career. It was a wonderful experience to represent a candidate, and the part I loved most was getting to talk to people about the issues. I still have pictures and the Burlington County Times front page article that had me, the Italian kid, waving my hands around. My candidate may have come in last in votes, but MPE is something I won’t forget.” Impressed with the candidate performances during MPE 2008, Dante volunteered to portray a candidate in the 2012 presidential race during his sophomore year at MFS. He chose to represent Newt Gingrich as he seemed to be the most logical candidate, being a familiar Republican party leader as the Former Speaker of the House. “I wanted to represent exactly what Newt Gingrich said in my portrayal of him, and that’s probably why I came in last,” said Dante. “I would take his talking points directly from debates and news SPRING 2016

organizations and I vividly remember, during one of our debates, I quoted him stating that global warming was not real and [Science and Engineering Department Chair] Dr. Kreider walked out of the room. I got a lot of boos, but my goal was to be straight with my talking points and accurately represent the candidate. I was told I did a good job as a speaker, but students couldn’t get behind my candidate.” Learning how to communicate effectively and being attuned to an audience’s disposition were two of Dante’s most significant takeaways from the experience. According to Dante, his MPE campaign strengthened public speaking and interpersonal communication skills, and also helped him learn to articulate opinions respectfully. It was an insightful precursor to college-level debate classes at American. However, when he reflects on his memories of the day of the Mock Primary, Dante recalls the rush of emotions and the miniscule details that contribute to successful political campaigns. “I was very excited listening to the keynote address by Michael Smerconish, and I looked down and saw that I didn’t have my American flag pin on,” said Dante. “I was so upset, I thought, how can I be a real Republican without my American flag pin? So I called my dad and he brought it to me and then the rest of the day I was running around in my complete suit and tie trying to garner votes. It was an amazing and unique day, a fun experience all around, and I was glad to be a part of it.” Although Dante as Newt Gingrich didn’t win the votes of the MFS student body, his performance and enthusiasm made an impact and helped him earn an internship working for Michael Smerconish on his independent political radio show at Sirius XM. Dante also interned for the Republican National Committee during Chris Christie’s gubernatorial reelection campaign. “Being involved with MPE definitely is one of my most cherished memories of my 12 years at MFS,” said Dante. “The school really shaped my life. It shaped me politically, being an argumentative conservative, and shaped me religiously as a Quaker. It taught me how to work smarter, not harder. I think the MPE experience really lent itself to the MFS mantra of being yourself and considering other points of view and establishing your own perspective.” Looking towards the future, Dante remains ambitious. He believes his career path will include some political involvement, and Dante hopes to serve on a local level by helping solve problems that people care about. AMONG FRIENDS

Title “Working in politics requires a lot of dedication, as you can work weekends, nights, and be on call all the time, but I work for clients I believe in and I believe in my candidates”

Judith Wallner ’95 • B.A. Vassar College • Partner of The Strategy Group • 2012 Reed Award Winner

The Strategic Marketing Behind Winning Elections Judith Wallner has established herself as an award-winning force in the political world, with 17 years of experience in Washington, DC In her current position as Partner of The Strategy Group, a leading national Democratic direct mail firm, Judith focuses largely on marketing strategy for federal, state, and local campaigns, but she also serves as a lead consultant to a number of national independent expenditure programs. In 2012, one of Judith’s mail pieces for her client EMILY’s List won the Reed Award from Campaigns & Elections magazine for the best direct mail piece on behalf of a Democratic congressional candidate nationwide. “Working in politics requires a lot of dedication, as you can work weekends, nights, and be on call all the time, but I work for clients I believe in and I believe in my candidates,” said Judith. Prior to her current role, Judith worked as the Policy Director of the Democratic Policy and Communications Center in the U.S. Senate in 2011. Earlier in her career, from 2005 through 2008, she served as the Research Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. During her tenure, Democrats took back the Senate in 2006. Judith recalled the amazing celebrations that evening and cites that moment as her proudest professional achievement. Her first step inside the Beltway was in 1999, when she obtained an internship with EMILY’s List, an organization that helps elect pro-choice Democratic women to office at every level of government.

AMONG FRIENDS

“EMILY’s List is my client now, but that was where I had my first internship,” said Judith. “They had an opening in their research department, and I liked research in college so it sounded like a good fit, but I had no idea how hooked I would get on campaigns and elections. In my work, I helped track women’s health legislation on the Hill and I assisted in writing research memos on potential congressional candidates.” Although she studied political science at Vassar College, Judith didn’t originally envision herself entering politics. “I did initially intend on going to law school, but after my first year or two working in politics, I realized it was the right path for me,” said Judith. “I just really loved that I could help get people elected who believed in the same things I believed in. Of course, you have to lose campaigns along the way, too, which is always hard but it’s a reality.” During her time at MFS, from second grade to graduation, music was Judith’s favorite subject. Instrumental Music Teacher Davie Weiner was one of her favorite teachers, as well as the late English Teacher John “Doc” LaVia. She recalls spending time with the Shakespeare Club in Doc’s office and having incredible memories with that group. What Judith misses most though is Meeting for Worship. She fondly remembers attending Meeting for Worship every Wednesday, and, with her hectic career in DC, still wishes she had a dedicated hour every week for silent worship. To the community of young people at MFS, Judith encourages them to vote in upcoming elections and be engaged if they have an interest in politics. “Go and see how everything works firsthand,” said Judith. “Go work on a campaign, knock on doors for a candidate. Pay attention to local and state campaigns, too, because I had no idea how much power state legislatures really have until I started working in politics. You can still volunteer and be involved even if you’re not 18 years old. If you want to see a candidate elected, your support will help them.”

SPRING 2016

Mock Primary Election

Anya Gelernt-Dunkle ‘09 • B.A. Tufts University • SuperPAC Researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics

Politics is Her Lifeblood There’s one particular childhood story about Anya GelerntDunkle that her parents often like to tell family and friends to illustrate just how politically minded their daughter was at an early age. On election day in 2000, the Gelernts had just flown into California for a family reunion, and a nine-year-old Anya awakened her jetlagged parents at 4 a.m. Anya was intently watching TV, and she was very angry that the CNN news reporters wouldn’t tell her who won the presidential race, which ultimately was not decided in favor of George W. Bush until December by the U.S. Supreme Court. So, her parents would say, after that moment it came as no great surprise to anyone that Anya would become actively involved in politics throughout both her academic and professional careers. Naturally, the 2008 Mock Primary Election at MFS was a perfect fit for her. “I’ve loved politics since I can remember, it’s my lifeblood, so MPE was right up my alley,” said Anya. “I knew I wanted an opportunity to be a part of it in any way that I could, but I believe a lot of roles that year went to seniors and perhaps a few juniors in my class. I wasn’t a candidate, I wasn’t a campaign manager, but I wanted to do something so, instead of waiting for someone to pick me to do something, I created my own role in the system. That MPE was an especially hectic year because both parties were running since there was no incumbent, but MPE Coordinator Judy van Tijn still wanted to make the primaries as accurate as possible, so I saw an opportunity to do that. What I did was act as the President of Elections, which was not really an existing position, and I created a computerized system for party registration, ballot issues, voting, and I formed an election court. MPE also exposed me to the concept of SPRING 2016

being able to create your own role in a system.” In fact, that trailblazing attitude helped Anya earn her next role in the field a few months later. “When I was 17 years old, I interned on a congressional campaign for John Adler,” said Anya. “I just kept showing up, the team kept giving me things to do, and eventually I became part of the inner circle. I wasn’t even old enough to vote!” After graduating from MFS, Anya studied political science and government at Tufts University in Medford, MA. She gained experience in Washington, DC as a political consulting intern at Crossroads Campaigns, a PAC administrator and client manager at Evans & Katz LLC, and as a political assistant at J Street policy advocates. Today, Anya works as a SuperPAC and Committees Researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group that maintains a public online database tracking the effects of money and lobbying on elections. She focuses on campaign finance research to gather data, such as how much a campaign is spending on a media buy or how much of a campaign’s budget is dedicated to “Get out the vote” projects. For young people interested in the political world, she offered a few words of advice. “Find really cool things that you want to get involved in and just do them,” said Anya. “In DC, everything is about making connections with people, about who you know and meet, and you’d be surprised by how much more you’ll like networking if you’re engaged with something you are passionate about. So talk to a whole lot of people, don’t be afraid to ask someone for help or advice, and go for it.”

Anya, with “security detail,” delivers results for the 2008 MPE.

AMONG FRIENDS

Class Notes

1957

1960

On Sunday, February 14, the MFS Choir provided musical leadership for worship at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, which is across the street from the State Capitol. Martin Lehfeldt ’57 assisted with the arrangements at his church, where the Choir joined in fellowship after the service. The Choir was on a five-day trip through the Southeast, with stops at Monticello and New Garden Friends School in Greensboro, NC. The Choir also participated in the Underground Railroad Tour at Guilford College, attended a choral workshop at the University of Georgia, visited sit-in sites from the Civil Rights Era in Atlanta, and took the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Tour.

1946

1957

Charlie Rose reports that he is still living in Newtown, PA and enjoys being an active Princeton alumnus. He has recently traveled to South Carolina and New Zealand.

See photo of Martin Lehfeldt above.

1950 Maurice “Maurie” Stevenson and his wife, Anne, have two great grandchildren, Eli, 2½ years old, and Wyn, 6 months. He shares that his family continues to increase as he also has a new granddaughter-in-law, Marcy, who married their grandson, Brad Stevenson. Hank Lumb and Joan Lumb ’49 share: “If anyone is in the West Palm Beach, FL area and would like a tour of The Norton Museum of Art (Chinese, Contemporary, American, and others) contact us at hlumb@bellsouth.net.”

1952 Arthur Brecker has moved to the beach in Wells, ME after 20 years of living in the countryside in Center Lovell, ME. Galt Siegrist has five daughters and nine grandchildren. He and his wife, Alicia, are living “on the wetted perimeter of the Chesapeake Bay, anxiously awaiting the predicted sea-level rise.” Galt is looking forward to the 65th class reunion next year.

AMONG FRIENDS

Ronald “Peachy” Roberts was inducted into the South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame. He taught physical education in the Vineland and Cherry Hill school districts for 40 years, and he coached soccer for 27 years. At MFS, he was a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, baseball) and was most influenced by Herm Magee and Bob Taylor. He later played soccer and ran track at Springfield College. From Springfield, he earned a B.S. in physical education as well as a master of education degree.

1958 Shelly Lario Towers is enjoying her family of three sons and seven grandchildren, all of whom live in Cherry Hill. She is still in the travel business and trying to see the world! Brenda Kumpf Donahue is recovering from heart valve repair surgery and is grateful for her returning energy. She is feeling great! Brenda shares that MFS continues to amaze her with its vitality.

1960 See photo of Tom Stackhouse above. See class reunion photos on page 31.

Tom Stackhouse ’60 is still working as a psychologist in nursing/rehab homes in Plymouth, the Falmouth area, and Martha’s Vineyard, MA, but is now considering retirement. He and his wife, Barbara, have recently moved from Falmouth to Pocasset on Cape Cod, just a few miles up the road, to an old fixer upper. They have spent many hours clearing land and doing interior projects. Tom and Barbara enjoy camping and hiking in the National Parks around the country, and have traveled for a few trips overseas and MFS Alumni Weekends. Tom is involved with the Falmouth Theatre Guild (even after his self-proclaimed “horrible performance” in the 1960 senior play). He also sings with the Greater Falmouth Community Chorus. His son has moved to California and is doing very well with his own online marketing business, “The Perfect Impact System” golf instruction. His daughter lives in Newport, RI and is involved in teaching and ballet.

1961 See photo of Bill Archer on page 32. Karen Sieg Barton continues as coordinator of the Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition and was recently appointed to the board of Bryn Mawr Beautiful in recognition of her concern for the physical appearance of the community. Her husband, Bob Barton, is a volunteer for Bryn Mawr Hospital, Ludington Library, the SPRING 2016

Class Notes

1960 The Class of 1960, in keeping with its tradition of “destination reunions,” which has included the Seattle/Puget Sound Area and the U.S. Virgin Islands, celebrated its 55th this past November in Maui, HI. Seven members of the class, and four non-alumni spouses were able to make it to Hawaii: Tom and Kris Ries Brunt, Harold and Linda Goodman, Steve and Sheila Lebow Gross, Dick and Bob (Barbara) Manchester, Len and Pat Shapiro, and Martha MacNeal Zweig. The Shapiros hosted the gathering, with alumni coming from the USVI, Washington, Texas, Northern Vermont, New Jersey, and Delaware. While the next class get-together is not set yet, Len is hoping that some classmates will accompany him when he returns to Europe to complete the El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Northwest Spain.

Sharing a meal, down the left side of the table are, in the foreground, Steve Gross, then Bob and Dick Manchester; facing them across the table on the right are, front to back, Tom Brunt, Kris Ries Brunt, Harold Goodman, Linda Goodman, and Martha MacNeal Zweig.

Since many of you missed it in the last Class Notes, here is Sheila LeBow Gross, then and now. Len Shapiro hosted the 55th reunion gathering for his class in November 2015.

Bryn Mawr Fire Department, and the Main Line Macintosh Computer Users Group. They are both active in peace advocacy and frequently participate in anti-war and anti-drone demonstrations. Diana Myers Zanzot reminisces about her early morning bird walks with Chester Reagan in fifth grade. Those memories make her appreciate the beautiful birds she feeds every day, especially the cardinal, her state bird of Virginia.

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Among the many activities the Class of ’60 shared was walking a meditation labyrinth; seen here Dick and Bob Manchester.

1963 Stephen Balaban sends his regards to his classmates, hoping they are all healthy and doing well. David C. Campbell’s daughter, Jenny, is working at UCLA as a psychologist/art therapist in an innovative program treating veterans with PTSD. She and her husband live in Venice Beach. David is semi-retired, working a few days a week in the ophthalmology practice he recently sold.

Marion Lev Schorr and her husband, Stephen, are still living in sunny San Diego. As they are both retired, they are traveling quite a bit now and having a lot of fun. Their son, Warren, recently moved to the Allentown area in Pennsylvania and is Vice President of Marketing for Crayola, the crayon manufacturer. Their daughter, Crys, lives close by and is getting involved in graphic arts. Crys and her daughter, Shayla, went to Italy with Marion and Stephen in November, and they all had a great time. Marion shares, “Plenty of room in our AMONG FRIENDS

Class Notes

1961

Albert “Bert” Williams and his 1926 Nash Light Six car were featured in the September 2015 issue of Hemmings Classic Car, a collector-car magazine. Bert acquired the car from a local Moorestown garage around 1957 when he was ten years old for $150, money he saved from cleaning basements, washing windows, and weeding gardens. Unknown to him at the time, his Nash was not a standard car but the product of a very short-lived subsidiary called the Ajax Motors company. Bert believes his car is only one of 12 remaining sedans from the two model years. A current Stuart, FL resident, he is proud to only be the second owner of the 1926 car.

1967 Bill Archer, as the town crier, helped Kathy Orr from Fox 29 with the annual Moorestown Samaritan Tree of Life Christmas Tree Lighting. house if anyone comes out to the West Coast. Please look us up.”

1964 Janice Van Meter Stavenick is a volunteer docent at Morven, the home of Declaration of Independence signer Richard Stockton, in Princeton. Morven was also the official residence of New Jersey governors for many years.

1965 Hal Coxson continues to work as a traditional labor lawyer and is Chair of the Ogletree Deakins Government Relations Practice Group in Washington, DC. He has been in private practice for 43 years. The firm specializes exclusively in representing management in labor and employment law disputes and has 800 lawyers in 48 cities, including London, Berlin, Mexico City, and Toronto. His wife, Mimi, is an artist and spends much of the time painting in their home on Cape Cod (Chatham). Together, they are the proud parents of Chris (lawyer), Amy (businesswoman), and David (architect), and have three grandchildren.

1966 Betsy Ward Alexander has retired from Dartmouth College after 39 years, but still lives in the same place in New Hampshire, with most of her children and grandchildren living nearby. She sings with, and does 32

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administrative work for, a local 40-voice choir. The three things she appreciates most about retirement are sleeping more, road trips, and having the time for reflective thought. Martha Sawyer DeLuca and the Reunion Committee call upon their classmates to be a part of class history at the 50th Reunion this May during Alumni Weekend. They share this message with their classmates: “The Class of ’66 is gearing up for the 50th Reunion this spring on Alumni Weekend, May 6-7. We are trying to contact each member, encouraging their participation in this landmark event. After all, you only graduate from high school once! So far, we have classmates coming from Washington state, New Hampshire, and points in between. Needless to say, we’re hoping for a good turnout as we haven’t seen some of the class since June of ’66 and would like to renew old acquaintances. I am sure we’ll have a wide variety of experiences and life stories from over the course of 50 years, and new/old friends to find. So ’66ers, if you haven’t as of yet decided to attend, please contact any member of the Reunion Committee (Martha, Kenn Arning, Debbie Ohler Bowman, Caroline Brunt Moriuchi, or Dave Nelson). Martha can be contacted at martha.sawyer66@comcast. net.”

Paul DiMaggio retired from Princeton University in January, where he taught for 23 years, and started a new job as Professor of Sociology at New York University. He is looking forward to life in New York and excited to start a new adventure at this point in his life. He and his wife, Carol, will live in her Columbia apartment during the week and keep their place in Princeton. Both their sons live in New York. Their older son, Daniel, released a new album in 2015 (indie rock with traces of British folk music: Foremost and Fair by Home Blitz, available on Spotify, iTunes, etc.). William, their younger son, is enthusiastic about his new job at the Natural Resources Defense Fund. Tom Hedges continues to see patients but is spending more time teaching and doing research in neuro-ophthalmology. He is also spending time with his grandson, Zephan, especially sailing.

1968 Laurie Mitchell works as an art teacher for North Main Street School, a public K-5 school, in Pleasantville, NJ. She reports that the school was the only New Jersey recipient of a three-year Apple ConnectED grant. The grant is part of an initiative by President Obama to provide support to schools where at least 96 percent of the students are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program. Every student will receive an iPad and all staff will receive an iPad and a MacBook Air for school use. Apple is providing extensive training by the Apple staff and Apple store employees SPRING 2016

Class Notes

Provost Michael Kotlikoff ’69: Named Acting President of Cornell University Michael Kotlikoff is serving as Acting President of Cornell University. He was named to the interim position on February 19, while President Elizabeth Garrett was on medical leave. Sadly, President Garrett passed away from colon cancer on March 6. In August, Michael was appointed provost at Cornell. The Provost serves as Cornell’s chief academic officer and chief operations officer, as well as the president’s first deputy officer. Previously, Michael was the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine since 2007. He first joined the Cornell faculty in 2000 as professor of molecular physiology and served as chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences from 2000 to 2007. Prior to Cornell, he was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania for 15 years, chairing the Department of Animal Biology from 1995 to 2000. He earned a B.A. in literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, his V.M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, and a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of California, Davis, in 1984.

from Atlantic City. Laurie is confident that teaching with an Apple TV and iPads in the classroom will change how she teaches, but more importantly, how her students will learn. She shares: “This is a very exciting school to be teaching in!”

1969 See article about Michael Kotlikoff above.

1970 See photo of Larry Hinds at right. Patricia Benner rescued a small house in Corvallis, OR that is the oldest in Oregon to be built by black pioneers. Patricia, a retired river ecologist and historian, and her husband, Tony Howell, purchased the house in 2004 as it was about to be burned as a fire department training exercise. With local historians, Patricia pieced together an account of the house at 641 NW Fourth Street and its original residents, Hannah and Eliza Gorman. In 2015, the Gorman house was added to the National Register of Historic Places and became part of a seven-stop bus tour by the Salem-based Oregon Black Pioneers Association. Deborah Rivel’s book, Birdwatching in New York City and on Long Island, will be released on May 3.

1971 Judy Loane is enjoying her new position as a Partner Engagement Manager for the NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development (LWD) in Trenton. She is SPRING 2016

involved in individual and team work on some strategic new initiatives for the Department to help simplify and streamline the job search process for NJ job seekers.

1970

Kurt Klaus reports that everything is lovely in Miami. Francie Bobbe Pearce earned a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Virginia Commonwealth University last year. Her thesis show “Into the Fray” was held in August at the Downing Gross Cultural Arts Center in Newport News, VA. In December, she wore a cap and gown for the very first time!

1972 Paul Harrison is finishing his fourth year as a major gifts officer at The Middlesex School in Concord, MA after 35 years of teaching history and coaching soccer. Paul is playing in an Over-57 league, and playing in an MFS alumni soccer game is still on his bucket list! His daughter, Nina, is a senior at Boston College; she has taken a position with GE which she will start this summer. His son, Sam, has just returned from the South Pole where he spent the past year running a telescope looking for the beginning of time. Paul is looking forward to the 45th reunion!

Larry Hinds lives in Hawaii and works part time operating tour boats. He is also a member of a Federal Disaster Medical Assistance response team as a medic. He still has a house in Florida, but spends less time in the Sunshine State. Larry is also playing a bit of music locally and does volunteer gigs at nursing homes and the VA hospital in Honolulu. He is helping his nephew build a house in Waimanalo, HI and enjoys being a pilot seeing the nice sights from the air. He wishes everyone at MFS the best.

1973 Gloria Borders is an Executive Producer on the new Vin Diesel/Samuel L. Jackson action movie XXX3, which began shooting in December in the Philippines.

Notes with this icon are Among Friends web extras. See page 40 for more details.

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Class Notes

1985

1991

Howard Snyder was selected to the Men’s 45+ Soccer team representing the United States in the 2015/16 Macabbi Pan American games in Santiago, Chile. USA defeated Great Britain to win the bronze medal! Howard is sixth from the left in the back row, immediately to the left of the two goalies who are in the back row and in the blue shirts.

1997

Karen Abele Scheu graduated with honors from the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 2012 with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. Presently, Karen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in the graduate program. In June 2015, she was recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award.

1995

An annual Christmas Pollyanna party with the Rutherford ’99 family, Fitzgerald ’97 family, Alexis Siemons ’01, John Campisi ’99, and Winkelspecht ’98 family.

See photo of Howard Snyder above.

summer as the Commander of the U.S. Army Garrison Rhineland-Pfalz. His wife, Shelly, continues to volunteer at Bush Hill Elementary School and Mark Twain Middle Schools (MTMS) in Virginia. She and their daughter, Katie, are active in their church. Katie, 14, is an honor student at MTMS and is a member of the drama club. She also plays goalie for the Lee Mount Vernon travel soccer team.

1986

1988

1975 Rade Musulin was featured in a New York Times Magazine article on November 10 called “Economists, Biologists and Skillrex on How to Predict the Future.”

1985

Colonel Shawn Wells is currently stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he will complete his two-year command tour this 34

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Dana Calvo was quoted in Maureen Dowd’s November 20 news-making New York Times Magazine cover story, “The

Judith Wallner married Ted Stern (a Sidwell Friends alum) in Washington, DC on May 9, 2015. Classmates Ian Alteveer and Jen Henry Lundgren both attended. Women of Hollywood Speak Out,” about pervasive sexism in the film industry. Calvo, a screenwriter, is most recently the creator of the Amazon drama Good Girls Revolt, about the 1970 class-action lawsuit by women employees of Newsweek against the magazine. SPRING 2016

Class Notes 1999 Nikki Andrews Gladding ’99: Rediscovering Her Spirit of Service In the fall, Nikki Andrews Gladding traveled to Haiti with Mission of Hope Vision Ninety, an initiative to build homes for 90 displaced families and at-risk women currently living in tents in the village of Minotrie. This initial five-day “vision trip” was Nikki’s first visit to Minotrie to see the destitute living conditions of the villagers, understand how funds are distributed, preview the construction sites, and interact with the families that will live in the homes. “The purpose of the trip was to see how much of a difference Mission of Hope can make in people’s lives, whether it be providing families with a permanent concrete home to live in rather than tents, boosting the economy by employing locals and sourcing all materials from Haiti, or distributing land for people to farm with and produce their own food,” said Nikki. “But what is really impressive about Mission of Hope is they help the locals help themselves. They are focused on supporting the Haitian people so they can stabilize and be equipped and empowered to thrive.” The opportunity for Nikki to attend the service trip arose unexpectedly after a career change. She left the civil engineering business she started to join the health and beauty company Arbonne, and a co-worker from Arbonne invited Nikki to join the trip. Although it was a short visit to Minotrie, Nikki called her her trip a life-changing experience. She spoke specifically about how willing the Haitian children were to share and care for each other, although they did not have much themselves. Nikki still keeps in touch with quite a few children through Facebook, and they are looking forward to seeing her again. After Nikki returned to the U.S., she felt she had found some clarity in regaining her spirit of service. “I had been so distracted from what was really important,” said Nikki. “So I shut down my engineering business and went full steam ahead with a position at a health and wellness company. At Arbonne, I finally feel at home. After spending 14 years, from PreK to 12th grade, at MFS where service was such a natural part of the curriculum and culture, I now feel like I am helping people with the work I am doing, and service has become an integral part of my career, as it was with my education. Also, once I came back from Haiti, [Alumni Association Clerk] Meg Parrington Hollingworth ’97 reached out to me to join the Alumni Association Executive Committee. For me, getting alumni more involved to help empower current MFS students is so valuable.” Nikki will be returning to Minotrie, Haiti for her second trip in May or June when construction of the new Mission of Hope homes begins.

1990

1997

Lisa Kastner spoke at a TEDX event at the end of 2015 on “Transformation: The Power of Connecting.” In March, she spoke at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference.

See photo shared by Kristin Bromley Fitzgerald on page 34.

1991 See photo of Karen Abele Scheu on page 34.

1995 See photo of Judith Wallner on page 34.

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Tiffany Taylor Jenkins had open heart surgery on December 8 to repair a previously unknown congenital defect. Registered nurse and classmate Saita Menoken-El Davis helped care for Tiffany in the hospital, and Tiffany shared, “Thanks to her, I’m on my way!” She is happy to be alive and well, recuperating at home with family, and working on the completion of her licensed professional counselor certification.

Share Your News with Friends Moorestown Friends School encourages all alumni to share their news for Class Notes. To contribute, please email communications@ mfriends.org with updates on your life and any high resolution photos you would like to submit for publication. If you prefer, you can also write to Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Stephanie Huie, Moorestown Friends School, 110 E. Main St., Moorestown, NJ 08057.

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Class Notes

2000

2000 The Class of 2000 celebrated their 15th Reunion over Thanksgiving Weekend, coordinated by Ashley Brinn and Alicia Resnick Drozen, at Tir Na Nog in Cherry Hill. Pictured in the back, from left, are Jeremiah Appleton, Sofia Beniquez, Stephen Gifford, Kari Myers Johnson, Melissa Maquilan Radic, Kemi Fajolu, Alicia Resnick Drozen, Ashley Brinn, and Lloyd Henderson. Front row: Adam Briggs, Ed Silvey. Not pictured: Meruka Gupta Hazari and Matt Geiger.

2000 See photo of Rob Moose at right.

2000

See reunion photo above.

Elizabeth Thompson Archibald married Dominic William Reid Archibald on October 18. The wedding and reception took place at Michel-Schlumberger Winery in Healdsburg, CA (Sonoma County). Several alumni were in attendance: Elizabeth’s mother, Katharine Darlington ’72, Elizabeth’s aunt, Anne Darlington ’74, Tealin Kelemen ’00, and Meruka Gupta Hazari ’00.

2001

See photo of Elizabeth Thompson Archibald at top right.

2001 See photo from Sara Nicolette Camak at right. Dave Kellom was Art Department Coordinator on the recent major motion picture Creed, a role he also has with the forthcoming M. Night Shyamalan movie Split.

2002 Clark Smith has moved from San Francisco over to the East Bay and is enjoying tending to a small yard. He also hopes to get a dog soon!

2003 See photo from Brent Dickinson on page 37.

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Rob Moose was featured in the New York Times Food section on November 16, where he discusses his extensive wine collection, estimated around Sara Nicolette Camak and her husband, Joseph 500 bottles. Boyd Camak III, welcomed their first child, Jeff Harris has been named Director Charlotte Elizabeth, on December 5. of Duke University in Washington and with her rescued animals, traveling, and Associate Director of Federal Relations for running Disney races. the university, his alma mater. Kristina Durante McLean was married to Ed McLean in 2010 and is currently working as a family nurse practitioner at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she completed both her B.S.N. and M.S.N. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time

2004 See photo of Kristi Hunter on page 37.

2005 See photo from Christine Schantz Palumbo on page 37. SPRING 2016

Class Notes

2003

2006

Brent Dickinson and his wife, Lauren, welcomed their son, Beckett Prinzo Dickinson, on October 2. He weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz. and was 20.5 inches at birth. They were overjoyed to add a happy and healthy baby boy to their family.

2004

Richard “RJ” Durante (pictured on far right) was invited to attend the world premiere of Marvel’s Ant-Man in Hollywood in July. Richard was a personal guest of Paul Rudd, the star of the film, as part of a charity campaign supporting Children’s Mercy Hospital and Autism Speaks. Richard walked the red carpet amongst the stars, stating, “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Paul was one of the nicest people I have ever met.” Richard resides in Haddonfield with his wife Ashley and their two-year-old son Bennett. Natalie Walter is a buyer at Kipling, a handbag and luggage company based in Jersey City.

2005

2006 See photo of RJ Durante above. Kristi Hunter became engaged to Kyle Ryan in November. The wedding date is set for November 2017 at Citizens Bank Park. She is currently working as the Athletic Office Administrative Assistant at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, NJ and is entering her seventh year as a high school official for the South Jersey Track and Field Official Association. Kristi is also a member of the Al Carino Girls Basketball Club of South Jersey, where she serves as the webmaster and blogger. Sarah Geiger has been selected as a member of the Executive Board of New Leaders Council - New Jersey, a national organization that works to recruit, train, and promote the progressive political entrepreneurs of tomorrow, and is a member of the 2015 NLC-NJ Fellows Class. On the Executive Board, she is the NLC Institute Co-Director, responsible for running the training program for the incoming class of emerging leaders. SPRING 2016

Billy Martin’s boat, Ultimate Pressure, won a tiebreaker to come in third this summer in the Lightning World Cup Championships in Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada. He also won an award given to the highestplacing first-time skipper at the races. He is currently the Head Coach of the University of Pennsylvania Sailing Team. He aspires to qualify for the next Olympics sailing competition. Christine Liang works for a Philadelphia education non-profit called 12PLUS. 12PLUS partners with underserved high schools to connect students to college-access services and to cultivate a college-going culture. As the Site Director at Kensington Health Sciences Academy, she works to break down barriers and empower students to achieve their post-secondary aspirations.

Christine Schantz Palumbo and her husband, John, welcomed John Albert Palumbo, Jr. on October 23. He weighed 5 lbs, 13 oz. and was 19.5” long. Christine and John were overjoyed and filled with much love for their little one.

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Class Notes

Make a Gift Online to the Annual Fund for MFS

Hannah Levy ’09: A Satirical, Short Video Comedy Specialist Hannah Levy knows how to make people laugh. As an editor for the Emmy-award winning comedy website Funny or Die, Hannah’s satirical videos have amassed over 600,000 views since she assumed her new role in Los Angeles in October. The videos elevate the unexpected humor found in pop culture, such as a prolonged awkward hug between Steve Harvey and Miss Colombia or James Bond requiring sensitivity training for his treatment of villains. To create these entertaining videos in a two- to three-minute package, Hannah reviews all available video footage and works with the director to decide how to style the piece and cut everything together. “As an editor, it’s my job to take an idea and bring it to life,” said Hannah. “Compared to live or longer form comedy, we can do things with short video that you can’t execute as well on stage or in a half-hour sitcom. We are able to take a preexisting form, like a commercial or campaign ad, and use the familiar language and turn it satirical. I’m lucky at Funny or Die, I have the opportunity to collaborate with super funny people.” Before she moved to Funny or Die, Hannah had been working in Chicago as a video fellow, producer, director, and editor of videos for ClickHole, a subsidiary of the news satire organization The Onion. “My favorite video that I have done so far is a ClickHole video that imagines what the world would be like if no one smoked,” said Hannah, who co-directed, co-produced, and edited the short.”It’s styled like a PSA and, instead of smoking, everyone is playing the trumpet but no one acknowledges the trumpeting.” Hannah was familiar with the Chicago comedy scene, as she was accepted to the highly selective semester-long immersion program called “Comedy Studies” offered by the Second City comedy company in college. Hannah studied Media Production at Brown University in Providence, RI. “Being in my early 20s, I’m so grateful to work in my field,” said Hannah when reflecting on her career path. “When I moved to Chicago, I had nothing figured out and I’m very proud I was able to turn it into something in L.A.”

2008

her classmates Kathleen Osborne and Rosie Reilly, and her cousin Erica Fenza ’11. Rebecca Cope is currently working at the Nicholas School of the Environment Marine Lab at Duke University. She will be living in North Carolina until mid-May, when she graduates with her master’s degree. Rebecca is also co-author of a paper to be published in the scientific journal Proceedings for the National Academy of Science.

Sean Denson and Julie Martin got engaged on Thanksgiving Day 2015.

2007 Anna Tate has moved back into the South Jersey area from Richmond, VA. She also become recently engaged to Michael Ansberry and they plan on getting married in the fall. Her wedding party will include 38

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LeighAnn Matthews was accepted to present at the New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/ New Jersey Bilingual Educators 2016 Spring Conference. The organization is an affiliate of the New Jersey Education Association. The workshop will explain how to effectively use Google Classroom, and highlight the benefits of using Google Classroom, specifically with English Language Learners. LeighAnn is currently a K-5 ESL teacher at East Brunswick Public Schools.

Andrew Bernard spent five months in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from March to July 2015. For the first month and a half, he conducted gorilla behavioral research at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center in Kasugho, North Kivu. Then, he relocated to Kindu in the Congo Basin to work and study conservation and management of African Grey Parrots. He documented his musings on his time abroad on his blog runningfrommurphy.wordpress. com.

2008 See photo of Sean Denson and Julie Martin at left. See photo of Eric Teitlebaum on page 39. Dennis Walter loves working at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Andrea Onorato is currently working as a set designer for the series Westworld, forthcoming on HBO.

SPRING 2016

Class Notes

Visit giving.mfriends.org

2008

Kevin Schlagle served as the Assistant Stage Manager for the Huntington Theatre Company’s world premiere of A Confederacy of Dunces starring Nick Offerman. Wyatt Cain is enrolled in the MFA program at UCLA for screenwriting.

2009 See story on Hannah Levy on Page 38. See photo of Anya Gelernt-Dunkle below.

2010 See reunion photo on page 40. See photo of Buck Smith and Victoria Rodgers on page 40.

Eric Teitelbaum is a year into his master’s degree program in civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University. He has been researching sustainable building technology, focusing on low-energy heating and cooling systems. Eric will be presenting research on novel sensing systems for building controls at the Sustainable Built Environment Conference at the Swiss university, ETH Zurich, in June. Pictured is Eric on top of an experimental radiant cooling pavilion he built last summer at Princeton.

Justin Spencer-Linzie is now the Project Manager for the New Jersey Project for Healthy Kids – Camden, through the YMCA of Burlington and Camden Counties at the Waterfront Technology Center. The project works in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on policy, environmental, and system changes around the health needs of the city.

2009

Anya Gelernt-Dunkle was married to Ezra Dunkle-Polier September 6 at the Collingswood Ballroom. Anya and Ezra met their freshman year at Tufts University. Moorestown Friends was well represented, as David White ’11 and Edward Gelernt ’16 served as groomsmen, and Eva Gelernt ’12 served as Maid of Honor. Kristen Stobbe Jespersen ’08 and former English teacher Katy Rinehart also attended. The couple lives in Washington, DC where Anya is a campaign finance researcher for the Center for Responsive Politics and Ezra is on the press and communications team for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. SPRING 2016

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Class Notes

2010

Director of Annual Giving Julia Applegate hosted the Class of 2010’s five-year reunion at her parent’s home in Moorestown. (Back to Front – Left to Right): Conor Callahan, Robert Rinaldi, Justin Stark, Tim Stoeckle, Buck (Benjamin) Smith, Joe Wittman, Sean Cohen, Jordan Zaid, Andrew Rosenbach, Eric Maertin, Phil Dorsey, Nate Berkowitz, Katy Schlechtweg, Sam Smith, Jessica Walker, Lauren Mannion, Yas (Geoffrey) Guthe, Victoria Rodgers, Colleen Convery, Ally Shaffer, John Meehan, Justin Spencer-Linzie, Elizabeth Waxman, Emma Baiada, Emily Watts, Sarah Madamba, Jill Gonyea, Alison Barton, Meagan Connelly, Clara Fischer, Nicolette Olivieri, and Julia Applegate

2012

2010

Benjamin (Buck) Smith and Victoria Rodgers became engaged on October 18. Class Notes received after March 4 will be printed in the next issue of Among Friends.

Among Friends Web Extras Access additional information, media links, and more by scanning this QR code or by visiting the Among Friends scetion of the school website under “News.”

Bethany Holtz, a senior at Gettysburg College, was selected for a fall 2015 semester internship at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. Bethany was the sole intern chosen for the nationally competitive marine mammal training intern program where she had the opportunity to learn about the care and training of bottlenose dolphins. Bethany plans to pursue aquatic veterinary medicine after college.

2011 Shakeil Greeley is now working in a full-time position with the digital team at GQ magazine in New York City. Ailsa Stevenson has started her own jewelry business. In addition, Ailsa sells photography artwork, sweaters, blankets, metalwork pieces, and baby clothes. 40

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Alex Nork graduated from Ohio State in December with a degree in Economics and a minor in Business. He is now working for the French international insurance firm AXA.

2012 See photo of Bethany Holtz above.

2014 Eveyln Feigeles, had an outstanding rookie year on the Arcadia Univeristy Women’s soccer team. Read more in Fox Tracks on page 12.

2015 A large number of classmates earned spots on varsity collegiate rosters in 2015-16. Read more in Fox Tracks on page 12. Go Foxes!

SPRING 2016

Class Notes

Boys’ Soccer Alumni Game 2015 Over 30 alumni attended the annual Boys’ Soccer alumni game on November 28. Kudos to Tom Kennedy ’76, the most veteran player of the group, who put in a strong effort on defense for the Red team. Front: Alumni parent Mel Baiada, Adam Quaranta ’15, Danny Salowe ’12, Andy Cook ’15, Tommy Martin ’15, Trevor Heins ’12, David Howarth ’15, Chris Grahn ’16, Dan Richards ’14, Colin Gregory ’13, Tevin Rivera ’13, Tom Kennedy ’76, Andrew Preston ’06, and Kyle Koste ’11. Back: Varsity Boys’ Soccer Coach Mike Schlotterbeck, Naoji Moriuchi ’94, Steven Mannion ’14, Peter Bader ’14, Cliff Burgess ’12, Nate Riggins ’13, Jim Bonder ’96, Dave Baiada ’95, Mike Stobbe ’09, Justin Stark ’10, Keith Console ’11, Nick Cook ’11, Jake O’Donnell ’11, Peter Barna ’11, Justin Horwitz ’07, Alex Levy ’07, Drew Bachman ’09, and Derek Preston ’09.

Girls’ Soccer Alumni Game 2015 The first-ever Girls’ Soccer alumni match was held on November 28. Twelve alumnae returned to the Athletic Fields to participate. Front: Sarah Henig ’15, Noelle Smith ’14, Kaitlyn Koste ’13, Lauren Lowe ’13, Jill Gonyea ’10, and Hannah Levy ’09. Back: English Teacher and Varsity Girls’ Soccer Assistant Coach Katie Stutz ’09, Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach Keith Harman, Victoria Geyer ’15, Emily McKeown ’15, Rachel Tarter ’15, Emily Einhorn ’04, and Akemi Moriuchi ’04. SPRING 2016

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Class Notes

Field Hockey Alumni Game 2015 The Girls’ Field Hockey team hosted its first alumnae game in nearly 20 years on November 28. Thirty enthusiastic alumnae returned to the Athletic Fields to relive their Upper School days on the fields. Front: Megan Parrington Hollingworth ’97, Mara Cutler Katsikis ’99, Kaelee Geertgens ’13, Ailsa Stevenson ’11, Emily Jones ’08, Ashley Koen Schwartz ’01, Gina Tamburri ’14, Rebecca Salowe ’09, Maeve Kelly ’09, Sophia Demuynck ’09, Gabriela Lestino ’09, Kelly Barna ’09, and Chelsea Norton ’09. Back: Director of Athletics and Varsity Girls’ Field Hockey Coach Danielle Dayton, Former Varsity Girls Field Hockey Coach Julie Williams Sullivan, Angela Dixon Guerrera ’99, Sarah Weiss Domis ’97, Stevi Speller Evans ’02, Alaina Shivers ’15, Nicolette Tamburri ’15, Kailey Burgess ’13, Sarah Applegate ’14, Julia Applegate ’10, Kara Duffy ’01, Emma Giordano ’14, Jennifer Harris ’03, Katherine Churchill ’12, Lauren Brill ’14, Kathryn Schlechtweg ’10, Michelle Marinucci Niewood ’01, and Brianna DeGroat ’09.

Basketball Alumni Game 2015 Basketball alumni returned to the Field House Gym on December 18 to close out a MFS tripleheader. Following the varsity games, the alumni hoopsters entertained the crowd with another exciting game. Front: Jordan Ernest ’14, Pierce Williams ’14, Andy Cook ’15, Steven Mannion ’14, Stephen Dwyer ’12, Justin Spencer-Linzie ’10, Assistant Athletic Director and Math Teacher Ron Obermeier, Mike Cunningham ’12, Sarah Henig ’15, and Emily McKeown ’14. Middle: Wesley Share ’15, Joe Beideman ’15, Shailen Doshi ’15, Tommy Martin ’15, Darshak Thosani ’11, Stephen Haines ’08, Tevin Rivera ’13, Dan Richards ’14, and Alaina Shivers ’15. Top: Assistant Boys’ Basketball Coach and History Teacher Parker Curtis, former Boys’ Basketball Coach Ryan Winkelspecht ’98, Evan Armstrong ’11, Rushabh Thosani ’09, Sean Denson ’08, and Eric Harkaway ’13. Also attending and playing but not pictured Dhalil Sadiq ’14. 42

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SPRING 2016

In Memoriam Arthur Ames ’54 Katherine Chalmers Whitman Arsenault ’40 Don Barovich husband of Margaret Doehlert Barovich ’57 Stephen Berger ’71

Rustico Polutan father of Verna Polutan Mitschiener ’86, Nancy Polutan Teulieres ’88, and Jennifer Polutan ’95 Robert Rogers ’56 Carol Thum Scout ’57 sister of the late Lucinda Thum Mount ’56

Steven Brick former School Committee member, father of Scott Brick ’95, Adam Brick ’99, and Michael Brick ’02

Patricia S. Simone mother of Ryan Simone ’08 and former faculty assistant Wendy Cicero

Elizabeth Shivers Browning ’40

William Boude Smith ’56

Ellen Kline Burman ’54

Ilene Southworth wife of Tracy Southworth ’71

Edmund E. Farrell ’46 brother of Lois Farrell Thomas ’49 John Albert Flick ’35 Mary Taylor Hinkey ’36

Virginia Wallace Trask ’35 Jo Urbanelli former staff, mother of Rick Urbanelli ’71, Lora Urbanelli ’74, Elisa Urbanelli ’81, grandmother of Erica Levin ’93

Philip Gillingham Howard ’41 Carmen Lestino father of Gabriela Lestino ’09 Roger Lippincott ’54 Margaret McKee faculty, mother of Kara Duffy ’01 and Laura Duffy ’05

Carmen Walker mother of Ike Walker ’89 William Washington ’51 father of John Washington ’77 David Zackon ‘75

Nicholas Opalenick husband of former faculty Joanne Opalenick, father of Karen Opalenick-Dean ’81 and Diane Opalenick ’87

Editor’s Note: Full obituaries are found on the MFS website. “In Memoriam” lists the passing of the following: alumni; immediate family of alumni (father, mother, child, spouse, sibling); current parents; current and past faculty and staff; spouses, partners and children of current faculty, staff and administration; current and former trustees; and spouses and children of current trustees. Notices will include any of the deceased’s relatives who are MFS alumni. To locate full obituaries on the MFS website, navigate to “News” in the top menu of www.mfriends.org and then select “Among Friends Magazine.” Alumni who do not have access to the Internet may contact Director of Marketing and Communications Mike Schlotterbeck at 856-914-4434 to request a hard copy of an obituary. SPRING 2016

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Spotlight on Student Artwork

Cal Blumberg â&#x20AC;&#x2122;22, wood container 44

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SPRING 2016

2016 Come Back

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Alumni

Weekend

to Friends

Friday, May 6 & Saturday, May 7 Dinner Among Friends, May 6, 6 p.m. It’s the Alumni Banquet! Celebrate the 2016 Alumni Association Award recipients: Bill Archer ’61 – Alumni Service Award, Kara Duffy ’01 – Young Alumni Award, and Paul Mecray ’56 – Alice Stokes Paul Merit Award; and applaud the faculty and staff retirees: Marge Kelly – Bookkeeper, Barbara Kreider – Chair of the Science and Engineering Department, and Priscilla Taylor-Williams – Chester Reagan Chair, who have 62 years of combined service at MFS.

Saturday, May 7 Activities include Meeting for Worship, a Luncheon in honor of the 50th Reunion of the Class of 1966 and All Prior Classes., a Picnic for the Classes of 1967 through 2015 and their families, Student Guided Tours/Photo Scavenger Hunt, a “State of the School” Report at the Alumni Association Meeting, and a Reception for Former Faculty and Staff. Campus activities end with the 4 p.m. Alumni Networking and Class Reunion Reception at the Greenleaf Main Building. Numerous class reunions are scheduled off campus that evening.

For more information about Alumni Weekend, individual class reunions, and to register online, visit mfriends.org/alumni/alumni-weekend. Remember, this year’s Reunion Classes are the 1’s and 6’s. Questions? Contact the Development Office at (856) 914-4414.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Cinnaminson, NJ Permit No. 81 110 East Main Street Moorestown, NJâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;08057-2949

MFS will be launching a campaign in mid-April to build participation in alumni giving. Watch for it on social media.