Moses Brown spring / summer 2018
cupola
mb in the world
The Lost City of Ubar Nicholas Clapp ’53
Cara Camacho ’97, Farhad Zaltash ’77, and more!
Moses Brown School Board of Trustees Gabe Amo ’05 Issmat Atteereh P ’13 ’18 John T. Barrett, Jr. ’63 P ’01 Maitrayee Battacharyya P ’20 Neil Beranbaum ’86 P ’22 ’26 ’28 Clerk, Alumni Association Carl Bogus ’66 Elaine Dickson P ’18 ’22 Clerk, Enrollment & Marketing Committee Jane Dietze P ’20 ’23 Recording Clerk of the Board Victoria Ekk Thomas J. (T.J.) Fullam P ’14 ’17 Clerk, Trustees Committee Gary I. Goldberg ’87 P ’17 ’19 ’20 Clerk, Campaign Steering Committee William (Tad) Jose ’78 Shaun Levesque P ’12 ’14 ’17 Treasurer & Clerk, Budget & Finance Cmte. Dele Mabray P ’17 ’20 Mike McGuigan Friends Coordinator Kara Milner P ’19 ’21 ’27 Kaplan Mobray ’90 Mary Lee Morrison
Moses Brown, a Friends school, exists to inspire the inner promise of each student and instill the utmost care for learning, people, and place.
Alisha Pina ’96
—Moses Brown School mission statement
Vincent Porcaro, Sr. ’83 P ’11 ’24 Stephanie Ogidan Preston ’97 P ’22 Jim Procaccianti ’76 P ’19 ’23 Peter Ramsden ’82 P ’16 ’19 Clerk, Buildings & Grounds Cmte. Jane Ritson-Parsons P ’17 ’21 Paul Salem P ’19 ’19 ’22 Clerk of the Board Liesa Stamm
Are you reading Cupola in any unusual or interesting locale this summer? If so, please take and share a pic with us!
Ziad ‘Alex’ Tadmoury P ’19 ’22 Reza Taleghani ’90 Stephen Thomas P ’27 ’30
Thank You!
Dawn Tripp P ’19 ’24
Thank you to Moses Brown trustees who concluded their service
Clerk, Nominating Committee
to the school at the end of this past school year:
Carlton Tucker P ’18
Paul Adler P ’14 ’16
Don McNemar
Marguerite Tunnicliffe P ’21
Peter Crysdale
George Panichas ’83 P ’15 ’18
Michael Hirtle
Brad Shipp ’83
Gardner Lane P ’27 ’28
Heather Tow-Yick ’94
Rachel Littman ’87
Carl Weinberg P ’90 ’94 ’16 ’24
Clerk, Parents’ Association Cecily Kerr Ziegler P ’22 ’24 Assistant Clerk of the Board Elizabeth R.B. Zimmerman P ’94 Clerk, Nurturing Friends Education Committee Matt Glendinning Head of School Frederick Weiss Clerk of NEYM
We also wish to recognize the late Russ Carpenter ’59 who served on the MB board of trustees. His work lives on here at MB with the Russell Carpenter ’59 Program in Teaching Excellence.
Cupola Spring/Summer 2018 Thanks to Guest Editor Sam Jack ’01, p. 20.
Letter from Matt Glendinning .................................... 2 News from Moses Brown Today ................................. 3 Community Perspectives: Emilie Lum ’20 ........................................................ 13 Laura Gladding ....................................................... 14 Brad and Robin Gibbs P ’23 ’25 .............................. 15 Gifts in Action ............................................................. 16 Alumni Profiles:
About Our Cover Filmmaker Nick Clapp ’53 and team searched for the lost city of Ubar in Arabia’s Rub’ al Khali desert, the “Empty Quarter.” See page 22 for more on Nick.
Nicholas Clapp ’53 .................................................. 22 Lauren Vigliotti ’95 ................................................. 27 Marc Patrick ’89 ...................................................... 28
Cupola — A semi-annual magazine for Moses Brown School alumni Editor:
Managing Editor:
Adam Olenn ’91 P ’25 ’27 ’30
Kristen A. Curry
Director of Alumni Relations:
Class Notes:
Karin Morse ’79
Jordan Bailey (editor)
Reunion 2018 .............................................................. 36
Assistant Head of School for Institutional Affairs:
Sam Mandeville (designer)
MBAA Award Recipients ........................................... 40
Ronald Dalgliesh P ’21
Cara Camacho ’97 ................................................... 30 Farhad Zaltash ’77 ................................................... 31 MB Alumni Events & News ....................................... 32
Departing Faculty & Staff .......................................... 42
Photography:
Class Notes .................................................................. 44
Peter Goldberg, David O’Connor, MB Communications
Commencement 2018 ................................................ 58
Designer: Jason Arias
In Memoriam .............................................................. 60
Printer: Colonial Printing, Warwick, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
Reflection: Brian Nichols ’83 ..................................... 64
Contributors: Emily Atkinson Kristen A. Curry Sam Mandeville Adam Olenn ’91 Erik Wilker P ’22 ’26
FSC Placeholder
Cupola is produced by the offices of Communications & Community Engagement and Alumni Relations for alumni and friends of Moses Brown. Your feedback is welcomed. Please send comments to: Cupola, Moses Brown School, 250 Lloyd Avenue,
The next issue of Cupola will focus on...
Providence, RI 02906. Send suggestions, class notes, and address updates to MB Alumni Relations via mosesbrown.org or alumni@mosesbrown.org; 401-831-7350 x114. Moses Brown School is a nonprofit institution. www.mosesbrown.org
Stay in touch!
TRANSCENDING OUR LIMITS Suggestions welcome!
Send thoughts on this issue or suggestions for our next edition to kcurry@mosesbrown.org. Please be sure we have your best email and mailing addresses for MB news and event invitations. Direct address changes, news, or photos to alumni@mosesbrown.org. Follow: www.mosesbrown.org | Facebook. com/MosesBrownSchool | Youtube.com/MosesBrownSchoolNews | twitter. com/MosesBrown | Instagram.com/mosesbrownschool | MB Connects app
a letter from matt glendinning , head of school
Educating Global Citizens If we’re doing
our job, Moses Brown students and alumni
gree program, I learned more about children and leadership from a
should be global citizens, carrying their learning into the real world.
single day on the job as a dean in a summer program at Cambridge
After all, the main function of education is not to teach children how
University in England.
to master ever-increasing amounts of information, but how to learn
In this issue of Cupola, you’ll read about Moses Brown alum-
on their own, adapt knowledge to unforeseen circumstances, and
ni who have done their greatest learning out in the world. One has
solve problems creatively, all with the goal of making our world a
helped lead a global business, one has served our country in the
more just, humane, and sustainable place.
White House, and one has launched an archaeology expedition to
One of the joys of being part of the MB community is discover-
discover one of the great secrets of antiquity.
ing all of the fascinating places our students, teachers, and alumni
Wherever you are as you read this, I hope you are enjoying the
have gone, and the things they learned there. I know that in my case,
rewards of following your curiosity, and that you find yourself well-
although studying archaeology in college classrooms was fascinat-
equipped to handle what you find there. And when you are done, I
ing, nothing could match the first time I applied my knowledge of
hope you’ll tell us what you’ve learned.
the ancient world to an actual excavation of a Roman city in Spain. Similarly, while I had studied school administration in a master’s de-
2
In friendship,
cupola
news from moses brown today
Hope & Lloyd
MB welcomed U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith in April, the capstone event in the inaugural Providence Poetry Festival. For the past 23 years, MB has welcomed nationally and internationally prominent poets to its annual Poetry Series including two past Poets Laureate, Billy Collins and Philip Levine.
New Clerk Beginning this summer, Paul Salem P ’19 ’19 ’22 will be the new Clerk of the MB Board of Trustees. Paul is the parent of three upper school students and married to Navyn, a Quaker and the founder and CEO of Edesia Nutrition, which manufactures ready-to-use foods to help treat and prevent malnutrition in the world’s most vulnerable populations. Paul was first led to MB in 2015 by his children, and since then has become a passionate advocate for all MB has to offer as a Friends school. He has a BA from Brown and an MBA from Harvard and has been living and working in Rhode Island for 25 years, now as senior managing director at Providence Equity Partners. Paul worked overseas for a number of years and has vast governance, nonprofit, and fundraising experience, including nine years on the board of his high school in Massachusetts. Paul is currently in his 14th year — the last four as chair — on the national board of Year Up. He helped found the organization’s R.I. branch and has helped Year Up raise $225 million, enabling the organization to expand to 20 cities with 180 corporate partners serving more than 3,000 students.
Thank you to Rachel Littman ’87 P’22 for her leadership and service to the MB Board. Rachel stepped down as Board Clerk at the end of this school year; she is moving to Texas to support her son Adam, as he continues his professional dance training at the Houston Ballet Academy. She will be succeeded as Clerk of the MB Board by fellow parent Paul Salem (above).
MB’s annual spring fundraiser MBeThere supports scholarship and professional development. Thanks to all who donated. This year’s event raised $90,294.
spring
/
summer 2018
3
MB Announces New Head of Lower School This summer, Moses Brown is pleased to welcome the new leader of MB’s lower school: Osvaldo José (O.J.) Martí. O.J. joined the MB community beginning in July. He was the founding Head of School at Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy, Middle School 2 in Lincoln, and previously worked for Highlander Charter School and Teach for America (Providence and Philadelphia) as a teacher and a leader. He is a graduate of Providence College and has his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania. As a candidate, O.J. distinguished himself for his leadership, expertise, experience, and record of strengthening communities. In addition to his abundant professional accomplishments, O.J.’s genuine, warm, and open demeanor — and great sense of fun — also shone through. Says Head of School Matt Glendinning, “O.J.’s passionate commitment to the public good of education makes him an ideal choice to lead MB’s lower school.” Please join us in welcoming O.J. Martí to Moses Brown.
MB’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) was pleased to host its first Come As You Are Dance at the Woodman Center this spring, celebrating differences and giving LGBTQ+ students and allies the opportunity to socialize with students from other schools. MB welcomed Providence Country Day, Wheeler, and Lincoln to campus.
MB Celebrates Refugees
During fifth grade’s Human Rights Celebration, students shared their 3D representations of utopian communities.
MB students welcomed and celebrated refugees and im-
Admissions News
migrants in April, hosting their second Evening of Ad-
This year former Head of Low-
vocacy for refugee support. The evening was presented by the MB Partnership through Advocacy Club. This year’s event brought in generous donations totaling $1,500 for the Refugee Dream Center in Providence.
er School Jeff d’Entremont will serve in a newly reconfigured role as Dean of Lower School Admissions & Student Life. In this new position, Jeff will return to famil-
MB Robotics Team Heads to World Championships
4
iar territory — overseeing lower school enrollment — and take charge of important enrichment activities such as MB After 3, assemblies, and special events. He’ll work closely with lower school teachers and personnel to coor-
MB’s Upper School Robotics team
dinate and provide academic enrichment as needed. Over the
earned an invitation to the VEX
course of 21 years at MB, in addition to being admissions dean and
Robotics World Championships in
division head, Jeff has taught pre-primary, first, and fifth grades.
Louisville this April. While 15 teams
With his deep education, years of classroom experience, and care
from New England qualified for
for children, Jeff is uniquely suited to partner with O.J. Martí to
Worlds, MB was the only team from
support students and families along their lower school journey.
Rhode Island. The World Cham-
During six years as leader of the lower school, Jeff oversaw sig-
pionships drew almost 600 teams
nificant changes, including launching TRIPs, adding support ser-
from Canada, China, New Zealand,
vices in math and counseling, expanding Project-Based Learning,
Thailand, Puerto Rico, Bahrain,
and adopting new technologies. Please join us in congratulating
Mexico, the UK, Egypt, and more.
Jeff on his new role and thanking him for his service to MB.
cupola
academic news from moses brown
Academic Highlights
Lower School Art Teacher Sarah Barnum will open her classroom at Expo this fall. Stop by her studio in Three Oaks to learn more about art in the lower school.
MB Teacher Named a Fulbright Scholar MB is pleased to announce that upper
ceived a Teacher Recognition Award from
school history teacher Jennifer Stewart
the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
has received a Fulbright Distinguished
In addition to teaching A.P. Comparative
Award in Teaching. Jennifer will use her
Government & Politics, U.S. History, and
semester abroad in the spring of 2019 to
an original course on whistleblowers and
study humanities instruction in Finland.
other “gadflies,” she is an advisor and the
She is interested in learning how Finnish
12th grade class dean, and serves on the
schools achieve top international academ-
Upper School Diversity committee. “Each
ic performance with low- to no-home-
day, I feel fortunate to teach history at MB
work strategies. She says, “Receiving
because it gives me the space to help stu-
the Fulbright enables me to deepen my
dents evaluate the moral questions raised
commitment to innovative teaching and
by actions taken in the past,” Jennifer says.
curriculum development for high school
“I approach my work as a history teacher
students in the humanities while pursuing
with a concern for enduring issues of con-
my interests in student wellness.”
flict, power, and inequality, and have long
Jennifer joined the faculty in 2006 and
been intrigued by the idea of learning from
has taught a wide range of history courses
history. I find history exciting to study and
at MB, chaired the humanities department,
to teach because I am awed by the resil-
taken students to the annual Boston Uni-
ience of ordinary people, and especially by
versity Model UN Conference, and joined
how they deal with circumstances beyond
in MB’s trips to Israel and the Palestinian
their control. In short, I teach history be-
Territories and to Cuba. Jennifer also re-
cause I care about democratic society.”
“I approach my work as a history teacher with a concern for the enduring issues of conflict, power, and inequality, and have long been intrigued by the idea of learning from history.” —faculty member Jennifer Stewart spring
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summer 2018
5
Kudos
New Interim Head of MB’s Upper School
› Science teacher Elizabeth Grumbach
Dr. Gara Field, MB’s Director of Glob-
presented a workshop titled “Laying the Foundation for Global Citizenship in the Elementary Science Classroom” at the Global Education Benchmark Group’s annual conference in Cleveland. › After studying the water crisis in Flint,
al Education & Social Innovation, will serve as Interim Head of Upper School for the 2018-19 academic year. Gara was enthusiastically recommended by many, as she is a proven visionary for 21st-century curriculum and pedagogy. Gara joined MB in 2016, and previously had
Michigan, middle schoolers Skyped
been the principal at Pleasant View El-
with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, whose re-
ementary School in Providence where
search first exposed the city’s crisis and
she was named Providence Elementa-
its effect on children exposed to lead.
ry Principal of the Year in 2013. She is
› Melinda Van Lare has written a series of 65 early reading books for kindergarteners, so students can practice their reading skills and share with family. Started as part of her MB cohort project, she hopes to publish them. (practicemakesbetter.school) › MB students won the 2018 R.I. High School Regional Ethics Bowl State Championship in January.
a well-published and nationally-recognized scholar who regularly keynotes conferences and serves on a number of educational leadership teams, including the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. At MB, Gara has guided travel and service programs; taught Modern World History and Social Entrepreneurship; and led several trips; this summer, she’ll lead students to the Global Student Leadership Summit in Berlin. MB also says thanks and best wishes to outgoing Head of Upper School Rachel Moulton (left), who is moving to New Mex-
› The winner of this year’s Classical Asso-
ico with her family. There, she will con-
ciation of New England’s annual writing
tinue work on her novel Tinfoil Butterfly,
contest is junior Lily Lustig.
due out in fall 2019. A strong connection
› The Rhode Island Center for the Book visited MB to recognize fifth graders for their participation in the Library of Congress ‘Letters About Literature’ contest. Out of 43 semi-finalists for the state of Rhode Island, 11 were MB students!
to MB’s mission and a desire to work within a Friends school environment initially brought Rachel to Moses Brown in 2015. In her three years at MB, Rachel stewarded the upper school through several important changes and was an active member of Providence Monthly Meeting.
6
MB students attended the Reading Across Rhode Island event where Angie Thomas, the author of The Hate U Give, spoke.
cupola
Community Leaders Consider Student Pitch Tackling Food Insecurity In May, MB students proposed a way to address the issue of food inse-
ger. The students received helpful feedback from Social Enterprise
curity and inequality in Rhode Island, presenting to prominent local
Greenhouse entrepreneurs, including Ethan Binder ’15 (Founder &
entrepreneurs, members of the MB community, and elected officials.
CEO of Go Peer) and Liz Newton ’91 (co-founder of Blackstone Val-
MB was pleased to welcome Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner,
ley Academy), as well as MB parents Navyn Salem (CEO & Founder
Rhode Island’s First Gentleman Andy Moffit, Representative David
of Edesia), and Scott Martin (social entrepreneur in Haiti). The class
Cicilline, and Senator Louis DiPalma.
is part of a new program in Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation.
As part of Economics of Social Innovation, an upper school class
In June, it was announced that four juniors from the class —
taught by Dr. Gara Field and Dan Ohl, students worked under the
Brooke Nyman, Teo Milner, Noah Werbel, and Zara Salem — have
mentorship of local industry experts to design, research, and proto-
been selected as finalists in the Lt. Governor’s Entrepreneurship
type an innovative solution to the problems of food waste and hun-
Challenge! They will compete on August 18 at New England Tech.
Senior Projects 2018 with a Global Bent Many of this year’s senior projects explored a global focus. Abigail Lambert ’18 (photo at left) used art to explore Rhode Island’s natural environment. “My goal was to see nature in a different light and create art forms that reflect its beauty. Instead of showing the negative impact humans have on nature, I chose to showcase the natural land and objects we must preserve.” For inspiration, Abigail visited Snake Den State Park and the Farmer’s Daughter nursery and farm. “My senior project fostered a connection between my two passions of art and the outdoors.” Abigail heads to Dartmouth in the fall. Other globally-minded seniors worked on a family farm, studied the erosion of the Rhode Island coastline, shadowed a local business owner in the seafood industry, and took an RV trip to examine Civil War history.
spring
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summer 2018
7
While best known at MB for his talents on the stage, Peter Zubiago ’18 will be behind the scenes this summer, as this year’s Moses Brown Alumni Association Summer Intern. A dedicated scholar, Peter was a National Merit Finalist and Cum Laude inductee. Peter played John Proctor in The Crucible and Monsieur Thenardier in Les Miserables, served on the Disciplinary Committee, played first violin in the orchestra, captained the swim team, was a member of the 4x50 free relay that placed 8th in the state this season, and contributed to the literary magazine and Equal Voice Club. He’s been a member of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and of Improv We Trust, as well as a past recipient of the Class of ’48 Award.
Sixth grader Nathaniel Gray performed strongly at the recent Rhode Island Geography Bee, placing second at the R.I. State Bee. Nate competed against 50 other school winners from all over Rhode Island.
Math teacher Gail Copans is the recipient of the 2018-19 Joseph Olney Sabbatical. Gail will use her sabbatical this fall to learn more about strategies to help students develop their executive functioning skills and how to best support all types of
Ransom Griffin conducted a master class before the reigning U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith’s visit to MB in April (page 4). Ransom led participants though analyses of Smith’s work before she read her poetry in the Woodman Center. Thanks to the MB Alumni Association for hosting this special community MB Connects event.
learners in the math classroom. Middle school Latin students researched famous Roman figures this year and created Instagram-style posts based on their lives and accomplishments using their iPads. Others researched well-known ancient Roman landmarks and created travel brochures to explain their history and significance.
MB Hosts the AISNE Students of Color Conference In April, Moses Brown hosted the 25th Annual AISNE High School Students of Color Conference. MB welcomed nearly
Languages currently taught at MB
450 students and chaperones from independent schools across
› French
› Japanese
New England. MB students led the way, with many guiding
› Mandarin
› Spanish
compelling sessions on a variety of topics from hip-hop to ste-
› Latin
reotypes; sessions were dynamic, thoughtful, and energizing.
8
cupola
arts news from moses brown
The Arts at MB
Upper school staged an ambitious production of Les Miserables this spring that featured student directors, a live orchestra, and cutting-edge projection technology.
Instrumental Music Director Steve Toro is ensuring that the band will play on. Turn to the last page of Cupola to read more about Steve’s dedication to MB music!
In February, MB music ensembles collaborated in honor of Black History Month. The upper school Wind Ensemble performed a piece by Steve Toro, “Like A Mighty Stream,” narrated by Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, while the upper school Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and all three choruses performed “Dry Your Tears, Afrika,” from the movie Amistad.
spring
/
summer 2018
Cool in school: Grammy Award-winning musician and storyteller Bill Harley P ’02 ’05 used the MB campus to film a recent video, “Everyone’s A Little Bit Different.”
9
Dance x 6 Some of Rhode Island’s most sought-after dancers visited MB this winter as visiting artists: Melody Gamba, jazz and musical theatre; Mekbul Tahir, contemporary African dance; Jessica Pearson, contemporary modern technique; Orlando Hernandez, tap; Michael Diaz, hip-hop; and Sarah Wilbur, dance improvisation and social change.
Kudos › Fourth graders Spencer Martin and Constance Schmults were selected to perform with the Rhode Island Elementary All-State Chorus, enjoying the chance to sing on the Vets Memorial stage. › Several students exhibited work in this year’s annual Central Congregational Church High School Art Exhibit. Phoebe Chase ’18 won second place in photography and Alyssa Baker ’20 was awarded a Committee Citation. › MB students received high marks
MB and FirstWorks welcomed a full house
“Changes,” two songs with powerful civ-
to the Woodman Center for Chicago col-
il rights messages. Their performance
lective Manual Cinema’s Lula Del Ray.
featured juniors Jaden Pena (soloist) and
The acclaimed performance group utilizes
Nick Lancellotti (piano). Middle school
puppetry, cinema, sound design, and music
art faculty Dominique Avila ’11 and Adam
to create haunting, immersive stories and
Whitehill ’19 created visual representa-
has been highlighted as a New York Times
tions of the lyrics which were projected
“Critic’s Pick.” Audiences quickly learned
during the performance.
why the collective has cult status at venues and festivals around the world. Manual Cin-
The middle school performed Legally Blonde Jr. this spring.
ema also performed two sold-out daytime
The Woodman Center welcomed Dai-
student matinees on campus for students
ly Special, an award-winning barbershop
from MB and 11 other Rhode Island schools.
quartet this spring, featuring a familiar
After MB, they headed to Amsterdam.
face. The group includes lower school
This spring the upper school chorus
music teacher Chad Putka! Chad’s group
delivered a masterful ‘mashup’ of Bruce
performed Disney favorites, Carole King,
Hornsby’s “The Way It Is” with Tupac’s
“Happy Birthday,” and ‘old-timey’ classics.
at the RIMEA Middle School-Junior High Band Festival this year, scoring the highest possible rating of ‘superior.’ › Upper school science teacher David Moss and his choir, Oure Pleasure Singers, qualified for the season fina-
Friends Fashion Designers from the upper school Textiles class put their work on the runway in MB’s first Fashion Show this spring. In this first-of-its kind culmination, students designed and constructed stunning outfits, with community members serving as clients and models. Kudos to student designers Bella Littlefield, Joe Napolitano, Lucy Tang, and Yue Zi.
le of Sing That Thing on WGBH-TV — and won! › In April, MB’s Versatones hosted A Cappella Fest! in the Woodman Center, welcoming singers from Wheeler and Lincoln.
In March, Island Moving Company visited the Woodman Center, staging Mother Goose.
Zena Tadmoury ’19 models an outfit designed and created by classmate Lucy Tang.
10 Lucia Lopez
cupola
sports news from moses brown
Go Quakers! Girls’ softball won the state Division I title, their first DI championship. Six members of MB’s undefeated team also earned Academic All-American honors from the National High School Coaches Association.
The golf team — which hasn’t lost a regular season match in four years — won the RIIL State Championships. Senior Mackenzie Conley earned All-State honors and a seed in the Girls’ All Rhode Island Golf Championship. Rio Holzworth was named R.I. High School Golfer of the Year.
The boys’ lacrosse team holds an annual fundraiser in collaboration with the Bill Belichick Foundation which supports youth lacrosse within the Providence After School Alliance. This spring, students from the PASA program joined MB lacrosse players at practice.
Ali Blanchard, Oluchi Ezemma,
The MB hockey team earned
and Kari Buonanno (left) were
the 3 seed in the RIIL Division
named Athletes of the Year in
I playoffs. Hunter Gervais was
their respective sports (softball,
awarded the Hobey Baker award
basketball, and field hockey/la-
for outstanding character.
crosse) by the Providence Journal in
Tennis player Kailas Kahler
June. They were recognized at the
won the New England Prep
Journal’s annual All-State celebra-
School A Singles championship.
tion, honoring all the student-ath-
MB’s swim team received
letes named to the All-State teams
the Sportsmanship Award in
during the year. Each sport is
MB’s first year as a Division 1
awarded an Athlete of the Year.
team with the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.
spring
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summer 2018
11
Kudos › Oluchi Ezemma ’18 was named to the ALL-USA Rhode Island Girls Basketball Team and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in girls’ basketball for the second year in a row. Oluchi decided to donate her $1,000 award to Pleasant View Elementary School in Providence. › In April, WPRI recognized lacrosse player Britt DeFeo as its Hometown Sports Hero. The senior scored 67 season goals, earning U.S. Lacrosse
The varsity boys’ basketball team was honored with this year’s Sportsmanship award by the Rhode Island Coaches Association. Ben Klein was also named to the All Division team.
All-American honors. › Longtime girls’ basketball coach Laurie Center was named the USA Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year for Rhode Island. › Congratulations
to
junior
Kari
Buonanno (field hockey and lacrosse) named Schoolgirl Athlete of the Year for 2017 by Words Unlimited this winter. › Arthur Gaskin — resident pro at the Nicol Squash Club, housed in MB’s new Gorgi Family Squash & Education Center — returned to Ireland to defend his national championship
Sabrina Liston ’18 was the recipient of this year’s Ethan Ruby ’93 Most Courageous Athlete Award. See page 41 for more on Ethan.
Track’s Marybeth Fitzsimmons has broken four MB track records so far and two more with MB’s relay teams, beating records in place since 2009.
and won! Arthur is now the 6-time Irish National Champion. › Congratulations to 24 seniors — one-fourth of the graduating class — who will play a sport in college this coming year.
Ali Blanchard ’18 was named Gatorade’s Softball Player of the Year for Rhode Island, the first Gatorade Softball Player of the Year from Moses Brown and MB’s fourth Gatorade recipient in two years. Ali was a member of MB’s Key Ambassador Group and created the group Friends of Fastpitch, which collects and donates gently-used softball equipment to those in need. She will attend Princeton this fall. As a Player of the Year, Ali chose the Maddie Potts Foundation to receive a $1,000 grant in her name, part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program.
The girls’ basketball team won their first State Championship in March. In a tense nail-biter at URI, MB beat Barrington 55-51 after being down by 17 points. Tori Matson and Oluchi Ezemma earned All-Tournament team honors.
12
cupola
Emilie Lum ’20 Student
community perspectives
Global Immersion Contributing to your community A change of view can make all the difference. Gazing out the win-
how the world is influenced and informed by the past.”
dow of her middle school two years ago, Emilie Lum started to daydream
After her freshman year, Emilie also started to broaden her perspec-
about a new kind of school environment. Two years later, that process
tive via TRIPs, going to Kenya last summer and the Dominican Republic
of envisioning ‘something different’ has broadened her perspective to in-
with Dr. Molly Bliss ’86 this March. In addition to experiencing foreign
clude MB, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic.
cultures, these trips have given her a deeper understanding of service.
Emilie joined Moses Brown in her freshman year, drawn by the
“Until my experiences on MB’s Kenyan and Dominican Republic
school’s strong academic environment and engaging opportunities. “My
trips, I never really grasped what service entailed, especially to those who
parents had not heard of MB, but I knew I wanted to be somewhere aca-
face more hardships than myself.” The trips have given her a strong sense
demically challenging,” she says.
of appreciation for what students have at MB, and she’d like to see other
Now, Emilie is involved with Math Team, Science Olympiad, Ethics
students realize the value of TRIPs. “MB TRIPs are amazing. Students
Bowl, Debate, and the Partnership through Advocacy Club. She plays la-
should know that there is financial aid to help them. I think many think
crosse, is a Student Senate representative, and helped plan this spring’s As-
they can’t afford it. Before I went on these trips, I was focused on my own
sociation of Independent Schools of New England conference. As a Robot-
life. They helped broaden my perspective of the world.”
ics Team member, she traveled to Louisville this April for the VEX World
Part of the service aspect of these trips has been building relationships
Championships (see page 4). She was a leader on MB’s winning Ethics Bowl
with other youth, crossing cultural boundaries to realize what they have in
Team and was recently selected to serve on the Disciplinary Committee.
common, as MB shifts students from “doing community service” to more
“MB has been amazing,” Emilie says. “I love my classes. All the
engaged scholarship: building connections and learning from each other.
teachers care and are passionate about what they teach. Everyone is real-
“It’s one thing to hear about another country; it’s another to im-
ly welcoming and open.” MB also has given her the challenge she desired.
merse yourself in it,” Emilie says. “I feel like I built strong relationships
“I’ve had to push myself to adapt to Moses Brown,” she says.
and helped dispel misconceptions on both sides. I gained knowledge of
Emilie might want to pursue medicine and join Doctors Without
the world around me and became less narrow.”
Borders. To realize that dream, she plans to take as many science courses
The trips have been a wake-up call, Emilie says, correcting what she
as MB will allow, and hopes to conduct research with a doctor at Brown to
calls a glorified idea of service: “One person can only do so much. The
investigate gender differences in hypertension.
problems are bigger than you. You can spend a lifetime dedicated to ser-
In addition to her aptitudes for science and math, Emilie has discov-
vice, yet there will always be more work to be done.” Although she now
ered a new love of History, inspired by John Sargent. “Before I took John’s
has a greater appreciation for the challenge, Emilie remains committed
Modern World History class,” she says, “I had been more focused on my
to being part of the solution: “Through compassion and acts of steward-
interests; I didn’t care about history at all. The way he teaches showed me
ship — step by step, action by action, problem by problem — I hope that
how events in the past affect us today. He increased my perspective on
eventually change will come.”
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Laura Gladding
Lower School Librarian
You never know what you’ll discover on a library shelf. For in-
Still, you’re as likely to find Laura on the move as in the stacks. She
stance, Lower School Librarian Laura Gladding discovered her vocation.
founded the fifth-grade Washington D.C. trip, now in its fourth year,
When her son began elementary school, Laura answered a call to volunteer
which was inspired by a visit to the Library of Congress.
in the school library. Being told “you have a knack for this!” repeatedly over
MB has been a supportive environment for Laura in which to say
the years — at different schools and different libraries — Laura realized it
(as she frequently does), “I have an idea …” Most recently, that impetus
was her calling. She earned her library degree from the University of Rhode
for community service found expression in Laura’s work to help establish
Island and joined MB’s faculty in 2013.
libraries in Nepal as part of MB’s partnership with Hands in Outreach, an
Every day, Laura works to instill integrity, respect, and curiosity in
educational sponsorship program for girls in Nepal, which also brought
students, teaching them how to learn in a global community while practic-
Yangchen Lama ’94 to MB. Hands in Outreach needed early childhood
ing good digital citizenship. She develops their love of reading and inspires
teaching and library help. Laura applied for and received a Leonard Mill-
them to use their education and potential to make the world a better place.
er ’51 Grant to bring her library ‘hōkā’ (“knack”) across oceans to start
Her home base is MB’s lower school library, now located in the low-
libraries at two schools for impoverished children in Kathmandu.
er level of Alumni Hall. It’s still full of cozy reading spots, low tables, and
But first, Laura had to make the library as much of a home for others
jam-packed colorful shelves, but the role of the library may be different
as it has been for her. Lending libraries are a novelty in Nepal. People
from what alumni remember from their school days. “It’s so different
rarely read for enjoyment; libraries tend to have newspapers, and books
from what I experienced as a student,” Laura says. “We still do a lot of
are locked behind glass. So part of Laura’s challenge was teaching the
reading, but there is more offered today,” she says. Nursery students con-
teachers, getting them to let the students read and use the 300 pounds
sider fiction and nonfiction, and discuss reading for information versus
of books and materials she brought with her. She demonstrated library
entertainment. By grade 1, they are researching animals of the world and
use and benefits to parents, played games, and shared puzzles and books
by grade 5, they’re ready for middle school, with experience conducting
in Nepali and English to demonstrate how reading with a child, even for
independent research using books and databases.
a short time, can place that child on the road to literacy, important in a
MB’s emphasis on global education and its Quaker values drew Laura
country where only 64% of the population is literate.
(who had started a mission trip at her church). “Kids are privileged in our
She’ll return to Nepal this fall to help open the Strong Roots School/
country,” she says, “and I saw the need for youth to do service. MB’s em-
Community Library, and says, “I feel fortunate that MB has been so sup-
phasis on simplicity and global connections resonated with me.”
portive of my work at Hands in Outreach and of Yangchen’s vision.”
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“I think it was Mark Twain who said that, 20 years from now, it is the
Dubai sits at the crossroads between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the
things you didn’t do that you will end up regretting,” says Brad Gibbs, father
Middle East. “Living in all these places — and especially Dubai — gave our
of Tucker ’23 and Phin ’25. He and his wife Robin have embraced this ad-
kids a broad perspective,” says Brad. “They became comfortable interact-
vice, following career opportunities from New York to London to Frankfurt
ing with people from different backgrounds and developed adaptability.”
to London (again) to Johannesburg to Dubai…and ultimately to Providence.
As the boys grew, however, Brad and Robin began to reflect that they’d
Their peregrinations began with a pair of investment banking opportu-
been away for 17 years. Their parents were getting older. And one place
nities in New York that morphed into opportunities in London. They loved
the boys didn’t know much about — was America.
living in London but, two years into their stint there, an exciting offer came
As they considered returning to the U.S., they had some city-shopping
along for Brad to advance his career — in Frankfurt. The allure of a new
to do. Providence topped the list. “We were focused on reducing friction
adventure was strong. Soon, Brad found himself studying German at night
costs,” says Brad, “and wanted to live in a place where we could put down
while working for Morgan Stanley by day and Robin, who had had a sum-
roots and seek to make a positive impact in the community.” He and Rob-
mer job between her junior and senior year at Brown at Commerzbank and
in also felt that Moses Brown could continue the broad-minded education
was already proficient in German, was busy working on the trading floor at
they envisioned for their boys. “This school is definitely looking beyond
Goldman Sachs. “The most interesting thing about living in Germany,” he
the horizon,” says Brad. “We wanted to nurture diverse experiences for
says, “was seeing the world from a continental rather than an Atlantic axis.”
Tucker and Phin, and MB is helping to make that happen by bringing no-
Two years into their stint in Germany, they began to contemplate where
tions of global citizenship to bear in the classroom.”
to forge the next step of their careers, as well as, hopefully, start a family.
And they are still finding new challenges. Robin is a regional director
New York or London? They decided on London, largely due to a terrific op-
for international advancement at Brown, traveling throughout the Mid-
portunity for Robin at Goldman. Tucker was born there shortly after. Just
dle East and Asia. And Brad, also at Brown, recently earned his M.A. in
over two years later, Phin was born at St. Mary’s in Paddington. At work, Brad
Teaching and will be teaching in the Economics department there next
was focusing increasingly on deals in South Africa. Morgan Stanley asked if
year. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” he says, “and I want to be good
they would consider relocating to Johannesburg. Robin embraced the idea.
at it.” He has thrown himself into the work — he was a long-term substi-
“There were times,” says Brad, “that I thought, ‘What have I done?’ But
tute at Moses Brown for Director of Friends Education Galen Hamann’s
it was great. In the morning, I would drink coffee and watch the hadedas [a
Medical Ethics class and Kelly Joseph’s World Religions and Ethics class-
distinctive African ibis] strutting around the yard under purple jacarandas.”
es while they were each on maternity leave. He also spent the past fall
Although South Africa is a relatively small market, there is a tremendous
teaching World History at Paul Cuffee School in Providence.
pace of activity there. “I worked on a host of interesting transactions,” says
In the classroom, Brad has sought to imbue his students with an appre-
Brad. “There was this wonderful sense of ‘Africa Rising’ and I became in-
ciation for the shrinking size of the globe and our interconnectedness. “In
creasingly interested in what I saw happening north of the Limpopo [the riv-
the religious studies class I taught at MB, I began each unit with a discussion
er separating South Africa from Zimbabwe].” Because of the opportunities
of where in the world the faith was centered, and how we would get there —
that he saw in sub-Saharan Africa, Brad decided to pursue an entrepreneur-
what flights or trains we might take. I wanted to demystify the foreignness
ial opportunity — creating a sub-Saharan African financial institution with
of these religions and locales. Ultimately, I wanted to inspire wanderlust.”
the former CEO of a large global bank. But it came with a catch — it would require relocating to Dubai. For the Gibbs, that was barely a speed bump.
Brad and Robin Gibbs P ’23 ’25 Parents
This year, over 400 MB students — half of the student body —went on some kind of trip as part of their education, so perhaps that inspiration is catching.
gifts in action It all started in 2012-13, with a 229-year tradition of educational excellence extended by a visionary head of school leading
The Human Impact of MB Believes 15 years in, middle school English teacher Maureen Nagle is living proof of the power of MB Believes: Open Access, Expert Thinking, World-Class Teaching, and more. She believes the scholarships provided by Open Access are helping MB flourish.
42 Discernment Dialogues, with
“In the English classroom, what we care about most are stories,” says Mo. “As important
1,000 community members, resulting in
perspectives exposes kids to our wider world. Open Access matters because a diversity
1 vision for the future of education, with 3 guiding principles, our North Stars: Expert thinking Global stewardship Ethical leadership, and 9 distinct priorities, that inspired a $65.23 million campaign, with 3,360 contributors, who have given $48.7 million, resulting in 60,000 sq. ft. of new facilities 70% growth in endowment (now $37m+) 400 students on TRIPs 2X more funding for faculty training COUNTLESS new opportunities for students to be creative problem solvers: Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation Project-Based Learning Engineering & Design
as the stories we read are the stories that we and our classmates share. A variety of peer of stories matters.” One highlight in middle school is the racial justice unit. A few years ago, Mo sought to extend the powerful learning begun with To Kill a Mockingbird, and Galen Hamann (then Director of Friends Education) suggested a new racial justice curriculum. “We help kids engage in uncomfortable conversations about race,” Mo says. “We examine both past and present, and encourage kids to explore their identities.” After first creating safe space by sharing personal objects with family resonance, the class discusses the broader value of diversity. “We consider our media ‘diets’ — TV, movies, social media feeds. Are we giving ourselves the benefit of a diverse set of perspectives?” Guiding students to expand their awareness and build confidence talking about these issues, Mo’s classes discuss current events like the Philadelphia Starbucks incident. Finally, students create a spoken word poem with a partner. “As you can imagine, this is not easy for middle schoolers!” she laughs. Sharing the poems with the entire middle school in the Woodman Center also elevates the students’ sense of accomplishment. These lessons are classic examples of Expert Thinking: synthesizing prior knowledge with new content, perspectives, and current issues, and creating a team project to share widely. Mo is a shining example of World-Class Teaching, and the campaign has accelerated Mo’s growth. “I’ve been able to pursue every professional development opportunity that I’ve sought,” she says, “such as a conference led by the creator of that racial justice curriculum. In a week under her guidance, I explored how to teach diversity authentically, making it about our community, our kids,” she says. “With the campaign’s support, the faculty can explore our specific professional interests, and implement them in the classroom immediately.”
Coding, and 2X more students on scholarship
NAGLE MAUREEN lty
MS English Facu Im pact M B Be li eves inking, TRIPs, Expert Th , ld-Class Teaching or Open Access, W r Woodman Cente
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Ben Cassese ’16 knows firsthand how much MB has grown in recent years. A 12-year student, his interest in math, science, and engineering led him to join with some other students and launch Moses Brown’s robotics club in his junior year. “I was doing robotics in 4H, and wanted to do it through school, so some friends and I got together and made it happen.” That experience was empowering, and gave him the confidence to do it again in college. “Caltech didn’t have a rocketry team,” says Ben, “so we started one. I’m working on the aeronautics subteam, specifically the recovery mechanism. We’re trying to get to 45,000 feet.” While Ben had a positive experience nurturing his talents at MB, he’s impressed by the rapid growth of new programs and facilities that support things he cares about. “I’m kind of jealous,” he says, “I wish we had some of the spaces like the Y-Lab and Robotics lab when I was here!” In addition to his standout work in engineering, Ben discovered another talent during his senior year — he’s a gifted singer and natural performer. With some persistent encouragement by Steve Kidd, he decided to try out for Sweeney Todd, and delivered a fan-favorite performance as Beadle Bamford in one of the final shows in Alumni Hall. “I never thought that would be part of my life going forward,” he says, “but a friend saw the signup sheet for an
a cappella group and convinced me to try out. Now that’s something I do every Tuesday night.” While the Woodman Center and the Y-Lab have dramatically grown two of the things Ben loved at MB, he notes that travel and his relationships with teachers con-
Did you know:
tinue to pay big dividends at Caltech. “The main thing I
New programs in Engineering & Design, Coding, Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, and Project-Based Learning challenge hundreds of children each year to apply their classroom learning to real-world problems.
took away from MB is my relationships with teachers. It’s nice to have experience communicating with them in a more casual way, and it’s made me comfortable working with them on research or as a T.A.” Travel experiences have also continued to be important. Ben went on TRIPs to Colorado with Dr. Jeff Cruzan, and to Cuba with Jennifer Stewart and Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs Debbie Phipps. “I really enjoy traveling and hiking, being outdoors. I’m focusing on classes that require similar trips, like geology and geophysics. This year I’ll be spending three weeks doing some mapping in the Sierras.” Ben also notes that while MB has significantly increased its diversity, it is far greater at Caltech, and that has given him a wider appreciation for other people and ways of being. “It’s interesting to live with different people and see how different backgrounds can lead to new problem-solving strategies.” Overall, he reports that the pillars of MB Believes have positioned him to succeed at Caltech, and he is eager to see what MB does next!
“I’m kind of jealous. I wish we had spaces like the Y-Lab and Robotics lab when I was here!” - Ben Cassese ’16
BEN CASSESE ’16
pact M B Be li eves Im king in Th TRIPs, Expert
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After just two years at Moses Brown, Olivia Cooley ’19 has hit her stride — in academics, athletics, and in helping to build an inclusive community. A track and field “thrower” in shot put, javelin, and discus, Olivia makes a powerful impression. Supporting her learning trajectory are World-Class Teaching, Expert Thinking, and TRIPs. As soon as she visited MB as a candidate, she felt at home. “I’m multi-racial,” Olivia says, “and at my previous school, I experienced some rude comments and injustices. There’s no tolerance for that at MB. Here, we have opportunities to come together as a community, such as affinity groups and the chance to attend the Student Diversity Leadership and AISNE Students of Color conferences.” “I love our teachers,” Olivia declares. “I used to be terrible at math,” she says, but here” — she snaps her fingers — “there was a complete shift. Suddenly algebra made sense. Sasha Doering and Kit Wallach have a quirky way of teaching that makes it fun and engaging.” Kit lightens up new concepts with silly words — “let’s take the f of squiggle…” Olivia recalls, laughing. “Who knew you can express yourself in math class? I’m appreciating a kind of intelligence I never knew I had.”
Did you know: 60,000 sq.ft. of new or renovated spaces have opened at MB in the past 18 months! Woodman Family Community & Performance Center Gorgi Family Squash & Education Center Walter Jones Library Y-Lab Plus over 200,000 sq.ft. of upgraded athletic facilities! McCulloch Baseball Field Wasserman Soccer Field Cooper Tennis Courts
In Elena Mansolillo’s history class, Olivia was struck by how far our nation has come — and hasn’t come — in the last century. The class examined Lincoln’s and Wilson’s beliefs on equality, and considered whether they supported advances for African-Americans and women out of expediency. On the final exam, students chose events between 1870 and 1970, and profiled their significance to women, African-Americans, or working-class white men. “We applied a year of knowledge and thinking,” she says, “and how we’re affected. We could take a vulnerable position and express ourselves about our history.” MB’s annual service trip to the Dominican Republic was personal for Olivia. “I connected with my roots,” she says, “and saw where some of my family came from.” In remote villages, the team set up medical clinics, assisted doctors, and dispensed supplies to nearly 100 people daily. She was shocked to see some women’s anxiety about family planning. “It was heartbreaking to see the fear on their faces, about what their husbands might think,” Olivia recalls. “It was wonderful to play with the children at the end of the day, after helping them and their families,” she says.
“I’m appreciating a kind of intelligence I never knew I had.” - Olivia Cooley ’19
OLEY ’19
OLIVIA CO
es I m pact M B B e li e v king, TRIPs, E xpert Thin Teaching, World-Class enter Woodman C
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“I was an educator for ten years,” says Caylen Sepe P’27 ’30, “and I am in awe — in awe — of what these people do at MB.” She and her husband Paul knew Moses Brown’s great reputation for academics and athletics, but their appreciation for MB blossomed when they took their then four-year-old daughter Abby ’27 to see a student production of The Sound of Music. “She was mesmerized,” says Caylen, “and we realized that MB has so much more to offer.” Now Abby is going into her sixth year at MB, and the Sepes have found that their optimism for MB was, if anything, underplayed. The opening of the Woodman Center has led to an expansion in performing arts
In the Home Stretch Thanks to your generosity, MB has done amazing things in the past ve years. However, the last mile is always the hardest. Please help us reach the nish line!
opportunities, and this fall Abby had the role of Molly in Annie, Kids. “That show awakened something inside of her,” says Caylen. “And if Paul ’30 (rising first grader) gets to see something or perform at the Woodman Center, it’s the first thing I hear about at the end of the day!” Paul (Sr.) adds, “It’s amazing they get the experience of being in a real production.” Both children are busy athletes, and the Sepes say it’s a blessing that their children have such a range of opportunities at school. “MB is creating real renaissance
TRIPS
$881,015 raised $4 million goal
men and women,” says Paul. Caylen loves Head of School Matt Glendinning’s vision that students from a small school in the smallest state need to get out and see the world. “Abby just got back from the White Mountains,” says Paul. “She’s never been away so far, for so long, but she came home with a real sense of independence.” Still, it’s still the daily classroom experience that looms largest. “The teachers are always pushing the envelope,” says Caylen, “and
OPEN ACCESS
$6,571,409 raised $15 million goal
they’re always up on the latest research. When [kindergarten teacher Melinda Van Lare] sent home her early-reading books for Paul, I had friends asking if they could borrow them because they don’t have anything like this.” Paul is enthusiastic about the math instruction Abby has received. “She didn’t love math, but now she comes home excited to think about a problem at different angles — it’s meaningful work, not just memorization.” He also sees parallels between MB’s focus on Expert Thinking and his own educational
WOODMAN CENTER $13,573,227 raised $17.5 million goal
experience. “It reminds me of my time at Brown, Oxford, and Harvard Medical School — it’s about learning how to learn.” The Sepes report that MB Believes has made a huge difference to their children’s education. “Frankly,” says Caylen, “I can’t wait to see where Matt leads us next.”
YOUNG LEARNERS CENTER $15,323 raised $5.6 million goal
Did you know: The number of students receiving scholarship support has doubled in 10 years to 206 students (28% of student body).
ABBY ’27 ’30 PAUL SEPE a nd
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Sam Jack ’01 is an attorney-advisor with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States’ primary provider of foreign assistance.
editor ’ s letter
Global Citizens
Sam Jack’s work today extends around the world, including overseeing legal aspects of projects to improve irrigation as part of a food security program, assist with elections in Afghanistan, and fight crop-eating insects in the Republic of Georgia.
This issue of the Cupola features stories of alumni, parents, and students exploring the world and making their mark in varied ways — as public servants, investors, filmmakers, diplomats, and corporate executives. Each of these voyages triggered a process of self-discovery. For students, gaining perspective is the foundation of a global education. This can start with a class trip to the other side of the world, a challenging book, or a walk across Hope Street.
law. Others may leverage their expertise as agricultural scientists, entrepreneurs, or accountants. The paths of the people who fill these pages have at least one thing in common. Their journeys passed through Moses Brown, where they learned to think analytically and creatively in preparation for encountering a complex world. The world is a big place and is always changing — now get out there!
Upon taking that first step, the immense challenges facing the world become apparent. We know that
Sam Jack ’01 is an attorney with the U.S. Agency for Internation-
economies, political institutions, and the climate are
al Development (USAID), the U.S. Government’s primary provid-
changing. More importantly, these macro-trends have
er of foreign aid, where he focuses on food security and Europe/
a human impact — as Quakers often say, there is ‘that of
Eurasia programs. Prior to joining USAID, Sam was a corporate
God’ in every person.
lawyer in Washington, D.C. He received his undergraduate de-
The need is greater than ever for resilient, dynamic,
gree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he stud-
and dedicated global citizens. But just wanting to make a
ied international relations and Arabic. Sam played hockey at MB
difference isn’t enough — one has to figure out how to best
and he fondly remembers attending Quaker meeting and Tom
effect change. For me, this meant learning to practice
Andrew’s English class.
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An Arabian Nights version of the city of Ubar by the early-1900s English artist Edmund Dulac posed the question: Was Ubar an Arabian Nights fantasy, or was it a real place? 22
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nicholas clapp ’53
The Lost City of Ubar Gold. Pearls. Jade, garnet, topaz. All precious, but in the
pointed him instead to a copy of Arabia Felix. In its pages he discovered
ancient world one substance was prized above all:
the legend of the Lost City of Ubar.
Frankincense.
As a boy, Nick loved telling stories, and credits his teachers with nur-
Legends tell of a fabulous city at the center of the frankincense trade.
turing his passion. As a teenager, he borrowed his father’s 16mm cam-
Located in the Rub’ al Khali (the ‘Empty Quarter’), 250,000 square miles
era and made a series of short films. “It made me realize that this was
of towering sand dunes, this city offered water, food, and safety to passing
what I wanted to do for a living,” he says, and followed his interests first
caravans — at a price. The residents of this fabled city of Ubar grew so
to Brown, then to the University of Southern California for a master’s de-
wealthy that they turned away from God in favor of earthly pleasures. As
gree in Cinema. To help pay the bills, he wrote episodes of the animated
warning to all humanity, the Almighty summoned a wind and shook the
children’s show Davey and Goliath. He then went on to an illustrious career
earth, and in one fell swoop Ubar was swallowed by the sands.
as a filmmaker, working for Disney, Columbia Pictures, PBS, the White
That’s how the story goes in Bedouin legends, in 1,001 Arabian Nights,
House, and National Geographic.
in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and in the Quran (Surah 89:6-13),
Nick is eternally curious, and has written nine books about mysteries
though no one had found a trace of Ubar in modern times. The sto-
that have intrigued him. “There’s always things to be puzzled,” he says, “and
ry caught the eye of Nicholas Clapp ’53, a documentary filmmaker who
it’s fun to puzzle ’em.” With several Emmys and Academy Award nomina-
developed an interest in the Arabian Peninsula after working on a film
tions to his name, and a long history of digging into vexing questions, Nick
about the endangered Arabian oryx. To feed his curiosity, he ventured into
was at the top of his game when he encountered the legend of Ubar.
a bookstore in search of Travels in Arabia Deserta, but the gruff shopkeeper
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It’s a romantic tale, and Nick was captivated — and mystified. Why hadn’t
23
Filmmaker Nick Clapp ’53 and a team searched for the lost city of Ubar in Arabia’s Rub‘ al Khali desert. he heard of it before? So, to satisfy his curiosity, he hit the library. To his surprise, the story popped up time and again. Fabled explorers like Bertram Thomas and T.E. Lawrence (aka ‘Lawrence of Arabia’) had searched for Ubar without success. Was it just a captivating story, or did it contain some kernel of truth? Nick might have let it go, until he stumbled across one of Claudius Ptolemy’s maps of the Arabian peninsula. Drawn in the second century C.E. by the famous Greek cartographer, the map showed a settlement in the middle of the Rub’ al Khali labeled “Iobaritae,” Latin for ‘Ubarites.’ For months he researched — legends, manuscripts, a map, and then nothing; the trail disappeared under the shifting sands of time. One day, Nick saw a news report about airborne radar being used to find Mayan ruins. The story mentioned that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory planned to use this technique on an upcoming flight of the space shuttle Challenger. Inspired, he called the JPL and in an improbable stroke of luck, the operator didn’t hang up, but routed him to Dr. Ron Blom, who listened to Nick’s tale and replied, “Can you make it out here for lunch?” Nick raced to his car. After some discussion, Dr. Blom agreed to use some of Challenger’s scarce scanning time for a pass over the Empty Quarter. When the day came, Challenger zoomed
American satellite overlays, JPL experts ob-
water table robust enough to support a settle-
over the Empty Quarter at hundreds of miles an
served something astounding: under the loose,
ment quite literally in the middle of nowhere.
hour. But the equipment had been plagued with
shifting sands were long, straight lines. The
technical problems and Nick resigned himself
kind of lines that might be left by centuries of
to the fact that the effort was almost certainly a
caravans crossing the desert, densely packing
With the help of attorney George Hedges,
washout — until he received a manila envelope
the sand under them year after year. And those
who raised money and in-kind sponsorships, Sir
with images of the Rub’ al Khali.
lines seemed to converge near a lake bed, thou-
Ranulph (Ran) Fiennes, considered one of the
sands of years dry, but which might have left a
world’s greatest explorers, and professional ar-
By combining these scans with French and
24
Suddenly, Nick wasn’t the only one excited about Ubar.
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early satellite navigation unit. Assembled and
ancient ubar as it may have been
provisioned, they set off into the Rub’ al Khali. Soon, Juris was calling out for the expedition’s vehicles to stop so he could inspect a bit of rock here, a pile of rubble there. This proved frustrating to Ran until Juris identified a shard of early Roman pottery — the first find of any significance in the Rub’ al Khali, and which conclusively proved that caravans had been coming this way for thousands of years. Suddenly, that dark line on the map wasn’t just theoretical. The expedition was not without its challenges. The thing about special tools is that they can break. The team found itself days from the coast, among identical 40-story dunes in every direction, with a satellite navigation system that read only ‘No satellites found.’ Even turning around was a dicey proposition, since their tracks blew away within hours. How could they be sure they were heading toward a place with fuel, or more importantly, water? Luckily, each day for a few minutes before dawn the navigation system would acquire enough signal for them to fix their position. After that brief window closed, they had to navigate by old-fashioned dead reckoning. Nick carefully monitored compass heading, speed, and distance to track their progress. The stakes were high: getting lost in the Rub’ al Khali is deadly. They did their best to follow the line supposedly buried under the dunes, never quite knowing if it was a cosmic fool’s errand. Then one evening they stopped for the night and hiked to the top of a dune hundreds of feet high. There was a valley between them and the next dune. In the fading light, they saw a bright slash running
Nick at Ubar!
chaeologist and Middle East expert Dr. Juris Za-
“the People of ‘Ad’” — had worked to keep oth-
rins, Nick planned and organized an expedition.
ers out, protecting their tribe and secret knowl-
His Majesty Qaboos ibn Said, Sultan of
edge of the frankincense trade routes. However,
Oman, granted the team special permission to
Nick and his team had several advantages over
venture into one of the most unknown and in-
previous teams: Land Rovers, which can cover
hospitable areas on the planet. In addition to
ground at tremendous speeds, an accurate map
the natural deterrents, for centuries the people
of the area (above and below sand) from high-
living in this area — referred to in legends as
tech imaging systems, and most importantly, an
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NIck Clapp digging at the suspected site of Ubar.
across the valley floor. A clear track of packed sand. The road to Ubar. That
from the 16th century, as the tribesman had claimed. It was thousands of
night, they celebrated.
years old. Nick and his team cautiously managed a growing excitement.
The celebration didn’t last long.
Claudius Ptolemy had mapped a wealthy city in this part the Rub’ al
The road soon dove back under the dunes. It came time to make a de-
Khali. Satellite imagery revealed a road they’d seen with their own eyes.
cision: continue chasing it? Fuel and water were running low. To continue
The archeologists had dated the site to well before 900 B.C. The Quran
would be life-threatening. With a heavy heart, Nick and his team turned
described the city surrounding ‘the great well of Wabar’ as a city of lofty
around. A few days later, they chanced upon a remote settlement. Recently
buildings. With its wall, towers, and castle keeps, the site was certainly
built up by the Omani government for the tribesmen who live in the region,
that. And based on the geological record, the site once sat upon a lime-
it was called Shisur, ‘The Cleft,’ after a giant sinkhole beside the village.
stone cavern likely filled with water. When the water dried up, the cavern
Still stinging with disappointment, Nick told of their quest while
collapsed, swallowing the bustling city above. While no archeological site
making small talk over hot tea. One of the village elders said something
comes with a sign saying, “Ubar. Pop. 1,523,” the case was as clear — Nick
to the effect of, ‘If you’re looking for ruins, we’ve got some at the edge of
and his team had actually found the Lost City of Ubar.
town,’ and led them to the remains of a fortress. According to the tribes-
And how do we know it really happened, that Nick isn’t just a master
man, the fortress was about five hundred years old. Interesting, but noth-
storyteller? For one thing, he wrote a book about the experience, The Road
ing like the ancient city they were after.
to Ubar: The Atlantis of the Sands. And as an award-winning documentar-
However, if you haul an archaeologist halfway across the Rub’ al Khali
ian, he made sure to bring cameras on the expedition, producing a film
and show him some ruins, he’s going to want to dig. Juris started with a
that gives audiences a firsthand appreciation for the challenges he and
ridge that extended from one of the ruined walls. Underneath the ridge,
his team faced. Today, Nick and his wife Bonnie hike the badlands of An-
they found that the wall continued for quite a distance, then made an abrupt
za-Borrego Desert State Park near their home in Southern California, and
curved turn. Perplexed, they kept digging, and discovered that here was the
contribute their time and talents to supporting the park. Nick has written
footing of a tower. Soon, they had uncovered a massive perimeter wall with
about the area, and produced a video that shows almost constantly in its
many towers that, based on their knowledge of construction methods, they
visitor center. While Nick is home for about half of the year, he and Bon-
estimated stood 30 feet high. This was no town — it was a citadel. And
nie spend the other half traveling. After all, there are always new places to
within its walls, shards of early Greek and Roman pottery. This site wasn’t
see, and new puzzles to be puzzled.
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lauren vigliotti ’95
Shifting Focus Lauren Vigliotti did
not like to run. While at MB, she played
sports that promised the fewest laps (softball and squash), and with field hockey, she chose her position carefully: goalie. After graduating from MB, Boston University, and Brown (with a master’s in geological science), Lauren worked as an environmental consultant, managing groundwater and soil remediation. She liked the fieldwork, yet the growing desk work that came through promotion left her uninspired. She changed companies, specialties, and made plans to switch coasts. She was looking for something more. “Why not” was the thought that launched Lauren’s running career, certainly not recognizable as a career at that time. In 2004, friends from her gym who were beginning to train for the Boston Marathon invited her to run with them on the weekends. When they completed their training in April, Lauren had accompanied them on all their long runs. She was surprised and intrigued, and she carried the seed of that experience with her west. Soon after arriving in San Francisco, she signed up for her first marathon (a relatively flat rails-to-trails course). Through Bay Area trail running, Lauren met a community, and she began to set ever-larger goals — a 50K race in the Alabama Hills of southern California, then a 50-mile race later that year. And within another year, she had run her first 100-miler (Lauren says running your first is easier than running your second, because you don’t know all that you are in for). By her own admission, Lauren had ramped up too fast and suffered injuries, damaged knees, and a stress fracture in her pelvis. She needed to rest. A five-month break revealed just how much Lauren had come to love running. Enter the curative benefits of physical therapy, careful training, and her brand of “moderation” (four years of running 50-milers and 100K races before completing another 100-miler). Over time, Lauren let go of her environmental consulting career, becoming a practitioner of the healing arts that provided her so much comfort and relief: physical and massage therapy. And she runs and runs — with her friends and with her husband — in races near (California) and far (Monument Valley, the East Coast, France, Australia, and New Zealand). Running has provided Lauren important connections to people and to places. And through running she has learned a tremendous amount about herself: her capabilities (physical and mental), her limits (injuries), and her need to do what most challenges and inspires her. She stays open to adventure. “At the starting line of a big race, you never know where the run will take you,” Lauren says, “and you learn something every time.”
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After working as a professional geologist, Lauren Vigliotti’s new path as an ultra-marathon trail runner has taken her as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Here she is on the final day of the 6-day Desert RATS Stage Race in Moab, Utah.
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marc patrick ’89
Stepping Up to the Starting Line teachers. We were a small class and I was the only person of color, making for a unique experience in the Soviet Union.” He says this gave him perspective to take with him years after MB, when he traveled to Russia for Nike Europe. In addition to sports and trips, he enjoyed a comprehensive experi-
If you were looking for Marc Patrick at Moses Brown, there were sev-
ence, playing saxophone in the band, performing in West Side Story. “I
eral spots where you might find him. Marc was literally all over the MB cam-
gained balance, learning how to be a good writer from teachers like Ran-
pus, initially “the kid waiting on the front step.” Later, you might find him on
som Griffin and how to be competitive from coaches like Doc Odell.” Head
the track or Campanella Field, doing extra work as president of the Athletic
of School Dave Burnham, his advisor, became a mentor and friend.
Association, or working long hours in the summer as part of the grounds
Although he was one of the few minority students at the time, Marc says
crew. Since then, he has traveled the world for Nike, but his educational path
the school’s environment gave him the confidence he needed to succeed. “Be-
took off from the front steps.
ing a minority at MB taught me to just keep showing up. I learned, you have
MB was more than a school for Marc, as his mother worked at MB as
a seat at the table. Years later I would be in situations where I would be the
Bookstore Manager and then Director of Admissions. “MB was such an
only minority in the room. From being at MB I knew there is no need to feel
integral part of my life,” says Marc. “It felt like my second home.” He re-
unequal, just step up. MB never made me feel not heard, valued, or listened
calls the intense curriculum, playing three sports (soccer, track, lacrosse),
to in all my experience there. I was never unnoticed. If anything, it was the op-
and getting to know faculty like extended family. “The rigorous agenda at
posite — I gained a positive sense of being respected, valued, and listened to.”
Moses Brown kept me busy, exposed me to many experiences inside and
After graduation, Marc traveled far from home to attend Southern
outside of the classroom, and gave me a mind open to change,” he says.
Methodist University in Dallas, joining SMU’s Division I track team.
“The word that immediately comes to mind when reminiscing about MB
From there, his advertising career took off and he joined Nike in 1998 as
is discipline. When I graduated, I felt like I was prepared for the real world
a sports marketing manager in its Chicago office. Today he’s the Senior
and frankly, a step ahead.”
Global Marketing Director for Specialty Categories (golf, tennis, and
One experience that stands out for Marc is his 10th-grade trip to Russia
skateboarding), having progressed steadily over the course of his career.
in the glasnost-era ’80s. “Gorbachev was in power and honestly, it was prob-
“My 20 years at Nike has been inspiring, challenging, and rewarding. One
ably a bit risky for us to go,” he recalls,” but our parents had great trust in the
must be open to constant change and adversity on a global scale to be
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If there is anything Marc would change about his MB experience, it would be to gain more exposure to diversity, to gain more experiences with different cultures and ethnicities to help build his own confidence as a minority at the school. He welcomes hearing what the school is doing today. “Empathy is so important. As a person of color, it is important for the MB community to teach and embrace empathy. I would love for students to be self-aware of the unconscious biases that we all have in effort to make the world a better place.”
“Being a person of color at MB was not always easy. It gave me the ability to operate in any situation, but at the same time, I wish I had more exposure to other people of color either inside or outside of the school as a teenager. This is also why attending college in the South was welcome, because it was time to be exposed to different cultures and lifestyles.”
Eighth Grade Graduation
Marc ran Track for MB in the Waughtel-Howe Field House.
With friends at Graduation in 1989. successful. MB prepared me for that,” he says. He’s had 13 different roles and moved his family seven times, working in several different states and at Nike’s European Headquarters outside Amsterdam. Although he’s called many places home in the years since he left Rhode Island, Marc’s appreciative of his time at a place that was a home
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away from home for him. “Moses Brown is a special place for me and my family. We spent so many hours there and so much of our lives there — we don’t take that for granted.”
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Although she was only a student at MB for three years, Cara appreciates her MB experience and its impact on her.
cara camacho ’97
The Public Good
Cara Camacho felt a call to public ser-
She appreciated the chance to travel interna-
Center as an inspiring basketball coach respon-
vice early on and departed Moses Brown with a
tionally as a representative of the United States, in-
sible for teaching her many life lessons (includ-
strong desire to “work for good,” perhaps not sur-
cluding traveling with a congressional delegation to
ing finding the virtues of spending time on the
prising for a former member of the Disciplinary
India during her time at Treasury. “It was inspiring
bench). “I also enjoyed attending Quaker meet-
Committee and diversity initiatives at MB. She
to attend meetings with foreign government offi-
ing at Moses Brown, the opportunity to enjoy
headed to George Washington University, major-
cials as a representative of the U.S. and be able to
quiet contemplation and experience my class-
ing in American studies, and went on to get her
speak on behalf of your country.”
mates’ thoughtful comments.”
MPA at Brown. She relished being in the center of
Cara appreciates her MB experience and its
After over 15 years working in the federal
public policy and advocacy, working on political
impact on her. She describes herself as “an ear-
government, Cara recently joined the private
campaigns and on Capitol Hill for various elected
nest student” in her years at Moses Brown. “I’m
sector. Although her position in the govern-
officials, including U.S. Senator Jack Reed.
grateful for the academic challenges I faced at
ment expired at the end of the last adminis-
Drawn to a career that let her be a part of cur-
MB and that students there knew what was ex-
tration, she admits, “My heart is still in public
rent events and help shape public policy, Cara held
pected. I also appreciate that I was able to attend
service,” and hopes to return one day.
a series of positions in the Obama Administration,
an institution with an abundance of opportuni-
She encourages MB students and younger
including with the Departments of Treasury and
ties in athletics and arts and a committed faculty.”
alumni to follow suit. “If you’re interested in
Defense, and the White House. She served as Di-
In particular, she remembers Jason Gross,
public service, follow your passion. There are
rector of Legislative Affairs at the National Securi-
her advisor and basketball / soccer coach. “Jason
many forms of service — you can serve your
ty Council, where she had a portfolio that included
was an inspiring teacher, able to tailor his in-
country as a civil servant, member of the foreign
sanctions policy, focusing on the Middle East and
struction to students’ individual needs. Looking
service, or in the military, and there are many
Western Hemisphere, and calls that experience the
back, I recognize the faculty’s commitment to
levels of government at which to get involved:
highlight of her career thus far. “I worked among
students. Jason and many of my other coaches
local, state, national. And we need more wom-
a group of dedicated public servants all committed
spent many weekends attending MB games and
en and people of color in politics. Although the
to doing what was right for our country to protect
practices after their classroom responsibilities
media often paints a negative picture of what’s
national security. I was proud to serve on behalf of
ended, even though they had families of their
happening in the world, if you look closer, we
the President, and to represent the United States;
own. As a mother, I have a new-found respect
are fortunate that there are lots of people work-
it was a humbling experience.”
for that commitment.” She also recalls Laurie
ing every day for good causes.”
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farhad zaltash ’77
Mapping a Plan In 1976, Farhad Zaltash
moved from
partment of Transportation for 28 years. He began
Iran to attend MB for his senior year, navigating
as an engineer, designed and managed L.A.’s auto-
a new school and a new country. He faced several
mated traffic surveillance and control system, and
challenges, from understanding and adapting to a
eventually moved up to management, initiating and
new culture to mastering the curriculum and get-
overseeing multimillion-dollar regional transpor-
ting into a good university. Farhad was homesick
tation projects for LADOT. Farhad retired in 2015
as well, not surprising considering he was only 16.
and continues to consult on traffic engineering and
His most serious challenge? He arrived here speak-
transportation planning in Southern California.
ing little English.
Farhad’s work uses not only his engineering
“I did well in math and science but struggled
skills, but also his ability to navigate controversial
with English,” Farhad recalls. He vividly remembers
issues. “Traffic engineering and transportation plan-
the day his English class received their first assign-
ning always impact local communities,” he says. “It
ment: to read 80 pages of a novel, then reduce it to
is most important to listen to and hear from local
a 10-page summary paper. Farhad headed back to
communities about their concerns early on during
his room and started translating the words he didn’t
any project’s planning phase. You need to be able to
understand from a Farsi-English dictionary he’d
compromise and trade-off between an engineering
brought with him: it was a monumental task and a
solution versus what the community wants. . . . Flex-
long night lay ahead. As he was working, two fel-
ibility is a virtue that goes a long way.”
low boarders — Steve Mogilnicki and Gary Rayner
Farhad holds sweet memories of Moses Brown.
— walked by and asked Farhad what he was doing.
“After my initial cultural shock, I came to enjoy
In broken English, he told them. The pair started
life at MB. My fellow boarders became like family.
helping him, translating the words he did not un-
We had great teachers and mentors,” noting two in
derstand into simpler English that he could make
particular who helped him a great deal: Bruce Shaw
sense of. Farhad had brought a lot of pistachios with
and Dalton Winslow.
him from Iran, so he opened a box of nuts. “These
Farhad realizes that a steady approach, with
guys started cracking open and eating the pistachios
assistance from others, can help one navigate near-
as they translated for me for four hours that night.
ly any situation. “Engineering is filled with chal-
Their help continued throughout that year. I am
lenges,” he says. “But these challenges are nothing
grateful to both as well as my other neighbors, Tim
compared to life’s challenges. Any challenge can
Judge and Robert Ida, who also helped me a lot.”
be overcome as long as you have the right attitude,
Today, Farhad fluently navigates English and
plan carefully, think wisely, seek advice from the
more, having made a successful career in traffic
right people, and explore all the available resources
engineering and transportation planning in Los
to tackle any issue.”
Angeles. After MB, he attended the University of
A few years ago, Gary Rayner reconnected with Far-
Southern California, obtaining a degree in electrical
had on Facebook. His first message was, “Farhad, if you
engineering. Farhad worked for the Los Angeles De-
still have any pistachios left, I am ready to help…”
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Farhad Zaltash’s journey has taken him from Iran to Providence to sunny L.A.
Arriving at MB in 1976, Farhad (right) took pictures to send to his family back home, so they could see his new environment and friends such as Bill Land (left).
MB was a home away from home for a homesick boarder and helped Farhad make the next steps toward a career in traffic engineering on the West Coast.
31
Alumni Events
moses brown alumni association
January 6 Alumni Hockey Game at Meehan Auditorium Row 1 L to R: Ryan Fullerton ’08, Adam Pennachio ’01, Sean McGuirk ’05, Ryan Hurley ’97, Colton King ’15, Nate Farrington ’13, Jeff Engle ’00, James Southard ’99, Hunter Gervais ’18; Row 2 L to R: George Panichas ’83, Adam Towey ’18, Brayden Puddington ’09, Alex Towey ’15, George Panichas ’15, Ryan Mulhearn ’16, Sam Greenfield ’14, Jack Steckler ’18, Chase Harrington ’18, Jim Harrington, Dan Harrington ’14, Tyler Poland ’15, Mike McNally ’12, Jason Engle ’98, Bradley Engle ’05, Coach Larry Tremblay.
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The Moses Brown Alumni Association and Moses Brown School partner to provide opportunities for alumni to engage with each other and MB, near and far. If you would like to host an event or volunteer for the MBAA, please contact Karin Morse ’79 at kmorse@mosesbrown.org or 401-831-7350 x191.
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January 27 True Blue True Blue is a new event at MB that celebrates community members who contribute to the strength and vitality of our school: volunteering time, sharing expertise, and supporting MB financially. New Board Clerk Paul Salem P ’19 ’19 ’22 and wife Navyn are celebrating in True Blue style!
February 8 Cambridge Alumni & Friends Reception at the Cambridge Boat Club Thanks go to Bill Barrett ’60 for hosting his fellow alumni and friends at the Cambridge Boat Club. Here Bill (right) is seen chatting with Jon Chase ’64 (left). Below, left: Phillip Gregory ’05, Andrew Fasano ’10, Ash Wall ’05, Becky Swaszek ’10, and Anthony Tracy ’04 caught up over a beer at the historic Cambridge Boat Club. Below, right: L to R Dylan Neel ’11, John Lewis ’09, and Paul Shamirian ’08 are three of MB’s many young alumni who now call Boston home.
February 10 Sugarbush Alumni, Family, & Friends Après-ski Reception @ Sugarbush Resort
L to R Peter Morse ’82, George Panichas ’83, and Sia Panichas
Moses Brown returned to the Mad River Valley and Sugarbush resort for another great après-ski reception. Though the snow was wet and cold that day, the lodge was warm, dry, and full of friendly and familiar faces.
February 21 San Francisco Alumni & Friends Reception aboard The Dark Side Peter Noonan ’63 hosted Moses Brown alumni for a cruise around the San Francisco Bay aboard The Dark Side, his Pacific Mariner 65 at the St. Francis Yacht Club. All aboard with Moses Brown! Some of the alumni present are pictured here with Assistant Head of School Ron Dalgliesh: Peter Noonan ’63, past parent Terri Anderson, Joy Shiragian ’83, Nic Anderson ’03, Ashley Haffenreffer Wagstaff ’82, and Mark Lasser ’88. 34
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moses brown alumni association
March 8 MBAA Winter Reception at the Head of School Residence
April 27
Honoring Habib Gorgi ’74 and Jacob Fain ’01
When we heard U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith would be the 2018 Visiting Poet at Moses Brown, we thought what better way to introduce her poetry to alumni than with a Master Class with Ransom Griffin! Veteran English teacher Tom Andrew and his wife (and past parent) Katherine Bick (top) were enthralled with Ransom’s teachings of Tracy’s poetry. Adam Boaz ’89 (right) didn’t skip a beat in contributing to the class discussion.
May 20 Alumni Lacrosse Game A little cold and rain couldn’t stop the annual MB alumni lacrosse game!
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reunion 2018
Reunion 2018 1948 The Class of 1948 met at Red Stripe for dinner on the Friday before Reunion. Fran Sargent, Ray Mountain and Mary Mountain, Bill Myers, Craig
Shaw, Ray Alvarez and Elaine Alvarez, Helene Myers, Jane Marsello (wife of the late Robert Marsello ’48), Gene Tortolani and Lucy Tortolani.
1963
1968
Don Jepson ’63 and his wife Dee
Clarkson Collins ’68
represented the Class of 1963 at
and Chas Gross ’68
his 55th reunion. They enjoyed the
share a drink in the
company and camaraderie of alum-
Y-Lab before “heading
ni in classes both older and younger
back to study hall.”
than Don’s!
1998
1983: One of Moses Brown’s oldest mysteries… How many ’83ers can fit in one photo booth??
Nate Breindel ’98 hung out with two of his mentors from middle school, Jared Schott and Jim Skillings.
1968 Congratulations to the Class of 1968 on their 50th reunion. Twenty-nine members of their class celebrated throughout the weekend — Doc is still deciding if this is one of the largest 50th reunion classes in MB’s history. First Row, L to R: Bill Roland, David Raphael, Tom Murphy, Geoffrey Lyon, Peter Lolli, Kenneth Hoxsie, Steven Johnson, Peter Lewis, David McWhirter, Robert Sheridan, Mark Smith. Second Row, L to R: Paul Anjoorian, Bradford Barnes, Graham Beckel, Rick Blackall, Gene Bonte, Clarkson Collins, Christopher Fortunato, John Gentile, Chas Gross, Dave Hall, Nick Nicholson ’69, Larry Omprakash Rider, Dick Sauber.
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1958 Richard Turner, Adrian Hendricks, Peter Iovino, Robert Ellis Smith, Bruce Nixon, and Doug Marquis, members of the especially active Class of 1958, had a great showing at their 60th reunion dinner.
1968 Rick Blackall ’68, his wife Shirley, and Dave Hall ’68 chimed in to the singing of In The Shadow of the Elms. B.G. Goff ’53 and Paul Welch ’53 weren’t the only two representatives of their class on campus during Reunion, but they were the only two who made it late enough in the evening to take this photo!
1953
The Class of 1973 spent some time at Reunion sharing stories of the past 45 years and planning for their 50th! L to R: Kevin Stone, Ted Watson, Greg Marsello, Wayne Federer, and Keith Nichols.
1973 1983
Though many from the Class of 1983 return to campus quite frequently, it was great to have them here at the same time! Row 1 L to R: Vin Giordano, Ellen Lavenson Stanclift, Dawn Santana, Vin Porcaro. Row 2 L to R: Chip Baldwin, George Demopulos, George Panichas, Brian Nichols, Joe Settipane, Richard Wasserman.
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reunion 2018
1988 The Class of 1988 parties in the photo booth!! L to R: Celina Vogel, Jen Gottlieb Faber, Angela Perry, Marci Rappoport Talarico, Beth Vadala Zerilli, Tobin Kelly, Jason Lees.
1978: Members of the Class of 1978 enjoyed dinner in the new Woodman Center. L to R: Tad Jose, Eric Schultz, Michael Chazan, Jamie Magee, Doug Scala, Keith Marsello, Kim Canning, Mark McLaughlin, Jeff Husserl, and Tom O’Brien.
The Class of 2008 turned out in force.
2008
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2013
Members of the Class of 2013 enjoyed being back at MB for their first Reunion.
1993 The Class of 1993 celebrated their 25th reunion in the renovated Walter Jones Library and the Class of 2016 Lounge in the Woodman Center. L to R: Herman Yip, Andy Rourke, Phil Petteruti, David Saabye, Brenna Cohen, Jon Rappoport, Tom Vignali, Justin Hughes, Ian Sandham, David Murdock, Alex Doumato.
1998 Great to see the Class of 1998! Row 1: Natasha Agudelo Ramirez, Maryhope Howland Rutherford, Michelle Gomes, Charice Garmon; Row 2: Jacob Brier, Robert McCauley, Jim Roland, Nate Breindel; Row 3: Michael Dallman, Ned Bliss, Jonathan Shank, David Vanech, Dave MacMillan.
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congratulations !
MBAA Award Recipients Moses Brown Alumni Association Recognizes 2018 Award Winners
Richard Sauber ’68 distinguished alumnus award Richard Sauber is one of the top-rated white collar crime attorneys in Washington, D.C. He’s tried dozens of criminal and civil fraud cases and appears regularly for clients in congressional hearings and government agency proceedings. Before this, Richard was a federal prosecutor and was appointed by President Reagan to form and lead the first multi-agency task force to pursue fraud in government contracts. He also is a professor at Georgetown Law School, teaching classes on national security crimes and evidence, and has argued before the Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals. He is general counsel at Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world, and serves on the board at Children’s Hospital in Washington. Dick graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and holds a master’s from Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar) and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.
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Habib Gorgi ’74 P’08 ’10 ’12 ’17 service to alma mater award Habib Gorgi has been a dedicated volunteer for 25 years, serving on reunion committees, hosting and attending countless alumni events, working as a fundraiser and advocate, and serving on the board of trustees. For the past decade, Habib was the Clerk of the Board, helping to lead MB to its most ambitious strategic plan and fundraising campaign in school history, MB Believes. He has spent 1,250+ hours in more than 500 Board-related meetings and been unquestionably among the school’s most dedicated and generous volunteer leaders. Habib is a founder of Nautic Partners, a leading middle-market private equity firm. Habib presently chairs the SquashBusters Providence Council.
Ethan Ruby ’93 25th reunion achievement award Since MB, Ethan Ruby has launched multiple companies, received a U.S. patent, raised millions of dollars for charity, and delivered the 2008 MB Commencement Address. As the founder and CEO of Theraplant, a leading producer of medical cannabis in Connecticut, he is at the forefront of this evolving industry. In 2000, Ethan endured an injury to his spine and was paralyzed from the chest down. With perseverance, courage, and resilience he has continued to thrive in his professional and personal life. He gives back with his time and contributions and delivers keynote presentations on topics such as resilience, disability, and medical cannabis. He received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from Mt. Sinai Hospital. The Ethan Ruby Most Courageous Athlete Award is given annually to an MB athlete who has experienced a significant setback, yet has distinguished him- or herself despite adversity; Ethan usually joins the MB community each year to present this award in person.
Jacob Fain ’01
outstanding young alumnus/a award Jacob is a proud member of the Class of 2001, brother of Irving ’98, and son of Nancy Lerner and Lyle Fain ’63, and was a “13-year veteran” at MB. He is the senior vice president of A&R and head of Global Analytics & Research at SonyATV Music Publishing in New York. Jacob began his career at RCA Records and then Republic Records in A&R. When the opportunity arose to transition to music publishing, he jumped at the chance, as he always loved songwriting. Since starting at SonyATV almost ten years ago, Jacob has signed such artists as The Chainsmokers, Cage the Elephant, Of Monsters and Men, Leon Bridges, Passion Pit, Chase Rice, Parson James, and The Kongos, and is a leader in the use of new technologies and data in the industry. In October, Jacob was named to Billboard’s 40 Under 40: Music’s Top Young Power Players.
Joseph Ribeiro
faculty/staff member of the year award Joe Ribeiro is a beloved member of the MB Athletics Department, serving as MB’s Athletic and P.E. Equipment Manager. He joined MB in 2003. In 2005, the graduating class dedicated their yearbook to Joe, saying Joe is “a member of the Moses Brown community who has selflessly committed himself to those around him. His care for every student and his dedication to our school have been deeply felt.” His kind, helpful, and warm personality is appreciated by students and coworkers alike. He is always ready to share conversation, a smile, or a ‘hello.’ Joe is also one of MB’s most loyal supporters and is a member of The Grove for his consistent support of MB.
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departing faculty & staff
The World to Us
MB says thanks and best wishes to departing longtime employees. We will miss you. After 36 years teaching math in MB’s upper
ings and dances. Clara has probably attended
Trust. She also is a past recipient of the James
school,
to every room in the school and been a loving
T. English Teaching Prize.
Paul Gazin retired at the end of
this school year. Generations of MB students
steward of MB’s people, places, and things.
have known Paul as an exemplary teacher and
Her favorite location to care for on campus was
community member of great integrity. Paul led
MB’s East Wing. She resurrected our buildings
Karen van Tienhoven retired in June.
Mock Trial teams, served as a long-term class
from hard use, our plants from neglect, and
As a teacher, Karen piloted MB’s connections to
dean, and won the James T. English Teach-
found a second life and home for countless
Lucy Calkins and her writing method, and stew-
ing Prize and the Rufus S.D. Bilodeau Faculty
items that otherwise would have been discard-
arded professional development for lower school
Award. During a recent sabbatical, Paul again
ed. Clara was a constant, vital participant in
through Columbia University’s Teacher College.
demonstrated his care for people, working
our school community, always carrying a true
Karen helped establish a phonics program, orga-
at Good Will Industries to help those with
concern for students.
nized a language arts committee to steward liter-
disabilities and barriers to employment and
After more than two decades in lower school,
acy, and served as a key member of our student
working with the VITA program at Federal Hill
After 25 years at MB, upper school English
support team. Outside the classroom, she was a
House, preparing income taxes for low-income
teacher
is retiring
peer leader and generous team player. Karen was
and elderly people.
from teaching and education and transition-
an MB parent for seven years before joining our
Kathy O’Connell
“What I found at MB was a true commu-
ing into a new work area. She had great im-
faculty, so she already appreciated the school and
nity of learners,” Paul says, “where interactions
pact at MB. Kathy relished bringing literature
its Quaker philosophy and taught in second grade
between teachers and students are genuine and
to life for students, even gathering students
for nine years before becoming MB’s language
personal. Good teaching results from gaining
in the Grove to perform Macbeth and other
arts coordinator. “I love this job because I get to
insight into students’ learning styles, abilities,
scenes of study. “Performance brings the lan-
work with all the children — nursery through fifth
and backgrounds, and dealing with each stu-
guage and ideas in a play to life, and it is one
grade,” she says. “What could be better?”
dent as a unique individual who has an innate
of the ways I love best to open literature up to
desire to grow in positive directions.”
my students,” she says. She timed basketball
Clara Freire
games, served as faculty advisor for the Mosa-
Ana Weiner
joined MB’s housekeeping
ic yearbook, and enriched her teaching via a
school year but remains passionate about serv-
department in 1987 and supported nearly every
Miller Grant, the AP Institute, and a Quaker
ing students’ well-being and plans to contin-
kind of event, from Open House to board meet-
workshop based on Parker Palmer’s Circle of
ue teaching. Ana overhauled MB’s fifth-grade
42
After almost two decades teaching fifth grade, left MB at the end of this
cupola
Left-to-right: Paul Gazin, Clara Freire, Kathy O’Connell, Karen van Tienhoven, Ana Weiner, Tom Chestna, Galen McNemar Hamman, and Laura Hunt.
social studies curriculum to be more proj-
in the planning of the school’s new Y-Lab. In
novative educator, collaborating with others
ect-based and aligned with our mission as a
recent years, he stepped into the classroom,
to develop memorable social studies and lan-
Friends school. She instituted a unit in which
showing preprimary students coding, offering a
guage arts units. She modeled a commitment
children design and build utopian societies to
‘junior engineers’ summer camp, and teaching
to life-long learning, social justice, and service
demonstrate understanding of the U.N. Decla-
an upper school programming course.
to others. She was awarded a Leonard Miller
ration of Human Rights, a Civil Rights Café in
Travel Grant in 2012 to join global volunteers
U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and a partnership
This fall, Galen McNemar Hamman will start a new position as the Assis-
with the Institute for the Study and Practice of
tant Head of School at Virginia Beach Friends
tri-clerk, she developed the first multi-day
Nonviolence. “The most rewarding part of my
School. During her time at MB, Galen served
backpacking expedition in the White Moun-
job is undoubtedly my relationships with my
as the director of Friends education, director
tains for lower school students. In 2017, she
students,” Ana says. “I hope to see my students
of upper school service learning, humanities
traveled with MB colleagues to Nepal, working
reach their full potential as global citizens and
teacher, coach, and counselor. As a teacher, Ga-
with Hands in Outreach to help provide girls
become future leaders of the world.”
len developed many signature curricular units
and women access to education. Laura found-
in each division. She led MB’s participation in
ed MB’s Lower School SPARK group (Students
the Quaker Youth Leadership Conference, de-
for Peace Acting with Responsibility and Kind-
the Director of Information Technology at the
veloped the Letting Our Lives Speak student
ness) and helped integrate Quaker values into
Taft School. He is looking forward to returning
group, and established a bi-annual conference
the lower school experience.
to Connecticut to oversee a large department
for Friends educators. “I’ve enjoyed being part
and to serve on Taft’s senior administrative
of a community that seeks to ensure that Quak-
team. Joining MB in 2000 as a network manag-
er Faith and Practice are alive in the school
Ruffin Powell,
er and technical support specialist, and becom-
today, 230+ years after its founding,” Galen
left at the very end of this
ing our director of technology in 2003, Tom
says, “and had the privilege of working with our
year to accept a librarian
oversaw a transformation of campus-wide tech-
whole community. Every interaction reminded
position at Carolina Friends
nology that is hard to comprehend in its entire-
me that the MB community is one that strives
School in North Carolina.
ty. Highlights of his tenure include multiple
to keep the Inner Light bright in each member.”
We will miss Ruffin and her
which students present as participants in the
Tom Chestna is leaving MB to become
strategic and tactical improvements from cre-
on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana and to backpack in Glacier National Park. As a TRIPs
Thanks also to the Library’s who
many contributions to our
ation of the MB cloud/digital campus to new
In her decade teaching second and third grade
community but are glad to
wireless networks. Tom also was instrumental
at MB,
see her continue her work in Friends education.
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Laura Hunt was a caring and in-
43
Class Notes
keeping in touch
1947
1941
Photo cour tesy of The Providence Journal
1944
Henry D. Sharpe, Jr. recently received t he R hode Isla nd Manufacturers Association first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Henry was the longtime president and third generation of the Sharpe family to run Brown and Sharpe, a Providence machine-tool manufacturer founded in 1833. In 1951, at the age of 27, World War II veteran Henry succeeded his father as president, and remained so until he retired in the 1980s.
Congratulations to Theodore “Ted” Low who recently retired as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army. Ted received the title of Emeritus and will keep his flag and rank, but will retire his active responsibilities. He was also awarded the “Commander’s Medal” for outstanding and meritorious service to our nation and the United States Army.
44
Ted Richards was one of 24 Korean War and W WII veterans invited to par ticipate in R hode Island’s Honor Flight this June, celebrating his Navy service as a Lieutenant on the USS Chevalier in Korea 1951-53. R.I. Honor Flight flies war veterans to Washington, D.C. annually. This year, Ted and several other local veterans enjoyed a patriotic day in the nation’s capital, visiting the monuments and witnessing the Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery, and receiving a greeting by cheering bystanders, marching bands, bagpipers, choral groups, and police escorts. Ted and his fellow WWII and Korean War veterans were treated to a day they will never forget!
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1948
Some of the alumni who traveled across the country for Reunion 2018 were Paul Welch ’53, with his wife Luann, and Bill Myers ’48 and his wife Helene, who returned to the Shadow of the Elms from Texas and Florida, respectively.
Congratulations to the Class of ’48 on their 70th reunion, and thank you for your stewardship of learning at MB! Since 1999, there have been 287 applicants and 62 recipients of the Class of 1948 Award for Independent Study & Inquiry. Experiences have ranged from local marine archaeology to working in a Romanian orphanage; from an American Sign Language summer intensive program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. to acting at the New York Film Academy.
1951 Bud Brooks met up with Patrick Petteruti ’17 at the Brown vs. Dallas Baptist University baseball game in Texas.
1953 Nick Clapp and his wife
Bonnie live in Borrego Springs, California. As appropriate for a self-described old guy partial to history and old things, this photo was taken with a 1905 view camera tted with an 1892 lens. See page 22 for a look at Nick’s career.
1954
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Did you enjoy reading about Ralph “Buzz” Mills, Jr.’s tinmen and nutcrackers in the last Cupola? Pictured here alongside his delightful creations are his grandson Joe Kearney, son Peter Mills, Buzz, daughter Kathy Kearney, and son-in-law Kerry Kearney. Look for Buzz’s work in craft fairs throughout Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts.
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A Fallen Elm Tree Thank you to George Chappell ’55 for sharing this poem about Hurricane Carol and its devastation of the Moses Brown campus and city of Providence in 1954. We were a chance meeting of four teen-age boys astride a fallen elm tree trunk on the back path to our
1957
Richard Seiferheld enjoys daily workouts to stay in shape for hiking vacations all over, including recent trips to New Zealand, Scotland, Big Sur, and Monterey Bay. This fall Richard and his wife plan a return trip to New England to spend time in Acadia, eat lobster, and visit friends in the Mad River Valley. He also spends time with his grandsons and volunteers for the California Department of Fish & Wildlife and Land Trust of Napa County.
Providence, Rhode Island, school. It was as if a logger had come by with saw and axe to clear that land again after its teaching beginning. We didn’t have to be there, for the opening had been postponed after Hurricane Carol hit in the fall of nineteen hundred and fty-four, but like proprietors we had come through emergency barricades to witness the wreckage, not to rejoice in the delay. Perched on the trunk like gulls We talked and smoked – forbidden activities when we were in session – as if we owned the place.
Jerry Knowles ’57 and Tom Godfray ’59 faced off at the new Gorgi Family Squash and Education Center at Moses Brown as finalists in the Rhode Island State Squash (75 and older) Championship. Can you guess who prevailed?
In a sense, we did own it, for this was our school, and it had survived the storm that had ooded so much of downtown Providence. Something compelled us to go there. and we felt we had a right to be there. The storm, not the rst in the city, by any means, was almost a way of life that we were proud to have endured. National Guardsmen had sandbagged store fronts to hold back the river, and measured the ood’s height for all posterity, along with markings of previous hurricanes. We knew our tree would have to be removed but for the moment, the land became as dear to us as no other.
1958
Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of the Privacy Journal newsletter since 1974, has published a new book, Faces I Have Known, with up-close glimpses of famous people he has encountered over six decades as a journalist: eight presidents, Fidel Castro, Gloria Steinem, Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Hoffa, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. The e-book is available on Kindle or from Robert at privacyjournal@rcn.com. Thanks to Bob for hosting his class on Reunion Friday!
1960
Thanks to Bill Barrett for hosting the Cambridge Alumni & Friends Reception at the Cambridge Boat Club in February.
—George Chappell ’55 46
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1962
Bruce Rigney recently released Two Years on the Watch: What I Learned in the Secret Cold War Bunker, a book which documents his experiences as both an intelligence and nuclear release officer in the Cold War. Bruce worked in the top-secret Intelligence Watch Officer booth within the deep underground, nuclear-proof bunker that housed the NATO Sector Operations Center in West Germany. The book contains a short chapter about Dwight Hall Owen Jr. ’64 and Moses Brown that alumni will appreciate.
1963
Thank you to Peter Noonan (right) for hosting an MB event aboard The Dark Side in San Francisco in February. Here, Peter is photographed onboard with Bruce Stone ’70 and Kevin Stone ’73. Richard Sherman (left) watched the MBAA Alumni Hockey game at Meehan Auditorium this winter with MB Ice Hockey Coach Larry Tremblay.
Malcolm Farmer III ’57 Advocate for Children, Civil Rights, Played Role in U.S. Civil Rights Movement MB’s fth grade studies the Civil Rights movement each year and for the past few years, students have bene ted from hearing from Malcolm Farmer ’57 who worked in Mississippi in the mid-1960s as part of the civil rights movement. “When I was born, I had two signi cant unearned advantages,” Malcolm says. “I was white and my parents could afford to send me to Gordon, Moses Brown, St. Mark’s School, Yale, and Harvard Law.” Walking home from his law job in 1965, he spotted a newspaper article on a Providence sidewalk, featuring a young black boy being picked up by the Mississippi highway patrol. Malcolm got angry: “I realized that there couldn’t be any black lawyers in Mississippi and they needed lawyers to represent these demonstrators.” Malcolm started volunteering at the Congress of Racial Equality, found a program that took volunteer lawyers, and got his rm to let him head to Mississippi and Louisiana for a month. He was so inspired and ful lled by the work that he decided to do it full-time. “I quit my job, enraged my parents, and upset my rm but I knew it was the right thing to do.” Malcolm spent two years working as a civil rights lawyer in Mississippi, getting thrown in jail, being beaten, having his tires slashed, being held in contempt (when court papers were “lost”), and having a shotgun held to his head for his efforts to defend black people. “It was an unbelievable experience, 24 months of rapid growing up that changed everything for me. The real story of the civil rights movement is not just about Rosa Parks, Dr. King, Jack Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson; it’s about thousands of poor black citizens of the South who had the courage to demonstrate and work for opportunity and rights. These people showed extraordinary courage, demonstrating that working together, citizens can achieve gigantic social change. For the rst time, I realized that people — no matter how poor or disadvantaged, despite color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation — were basically the same. We all have the same values, hopes, and wishes for our families and communities: the desire to be treated humanely in a world where justice prevails. This is more necessary than ever.” After working for the Lawyers’ Constitutional Defense Committee, Malcolm Farmer returned to Rhode Island, serving as executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Crime Delinquency and Criminal Administration. Later, on the Providence City Council, he was a strong early advocate for racial equality and to end discrimination due to sexual orientation.
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1968
The Moses Brown Alumni Association celebrated Richard Sauber this spring with the Distinguished Alumnus Award; see page 40. John Gentile (right) came back to MB for his 50th Reunion this spring and also enjoyed Grandparents Day and Lower School Graduation for his granddaughter Ivy Dumas ’25. Ivy recently completed the fifth grade at MB. Thanks to Chris Fortunato for sharing a wonderful memory of Miss Helen Sadlier, who taught him to read at MB in second grade. “I understood the mechanics of reading, but I lacked the courage to read,” wrote Chris. “Miss Sadlier brushed the hair from my forehead, taught me how to tell time, instructed me to cut pictures of certain things out of magazines, and gently guided me toward words and sentences until I was reading voraciously on my own…When I entered the glamorous world of book publishing, I never forgot the woman who had guided me there, yet I had never thought to say thank you. In our hurried passage through youth, do we ever stop to honor those who set us on a path to our future?” Chris went on to become an editor at Bantam Books. His essay on Miss Sadlier was published in the Providence Journal in May.
Although unable to attend his 50th reunion, John Kirkman stopped by campus in April for a tour with Class of 1968 reunion liaison Perry Buroker.
1970
Former U.S. Ambassador Chris Hill has a new role at the University of Denver: Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement and Professor of the Practice in Diplomacy. The four-time ambassador was nominated by three U.S. presidents, with his last posting as Ambassador to Iraq 2009-2010. Chris received the U.S. State Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the Bosnia peace settlement. 48
1972
1973
Ahvi Spindell and David Barrall are celebrating being True Blue in style!
Keith Nichols and Ken Sargent went “back to study hall” for dinner in the Sinclair Room in celebration of their 45th reunion! cupola
1974
The Moses Brown Alumni Association awarded Habib Gorgi ’74 P’08 ’10 ’12 ’17 with the Alumnus/a Service to Alma Mater Award this March for his outstanding service to Moses Brown. Habib continues to serve MB as chair of the SquashBusters Providence Council.
1975
1977 A young Steve Mogilnicki ’79 and Farhad Zaltash in their MB dorm room, circa 1976. Farhad says Steve was a great help to him when he arrived at MB. See page 31 for more.
Antonio Aponte, pictured center on the set of Tiempo with Joe Torres (ABC7 New York), is founder and executive director of the Latino College Expo. This year they celebrated the 28th Annual Latino College Expo and Leadership Summit at New York University.
1978
The Class of 1978 was in fine form at their Friday evening Reunion 2018 gathering at the Malted Barley.
Classmates Kim Canning and Jamie McGee caught up at Reunion over a glass of wine and beer at the annual Front Circle Reception (which was moved to the new Y-Lab because of inclement weather). David Woronov (mildly) regrets he will not be joining his Class of 1978 classmates for their 40th reunion. “My son and I will be on a photo safari in Africa,” he writes. “We will be in Botswana on the day (and night) of reunion!”
GIVE THE GIFT OF AN MB EDUCATION Apply Today!
mosesbrown.org/admission
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49
As president of Grape Experience Wine & Spirit School in Boston, Adam Chase educates people working in the wine, spirits, and sake industries. He splits his time between San Francisco and Boston, working through the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. Adam has been in the alcoholic beverages field for 15 years and, prior to that worked in retail as a consultant, and as the associate dean of wine studies at Copia in Napa,
1981
1979 Head of School Matt Glendinning, Athletics’ Joe Ribeiro, and MBAA Clerk George Panichas ’83 were happy to celebrate Karin Morse with an announcement that the Service to Alma Mater Award will now be given in her name.
1982
Comedian Tom Cotter was MB’s 2018 Commencement speaker. His address was both serious and humorously lighthearted.
California. He had changed fields after ten years focusing on entertainment and media clients in the advertising and branding industry.
1983 Swearing in new Peace Corps volunteers is one of
Brian Nichols’
favorite assignments as a U.S. Ambassador. See page 64 for more on Brian’s career in the Foreign Service.
View from the MBAA George Panichas ’83 Outgoing clerk of the Moses Brown Alumni Association Over 40 years ago, my parents gave me the opportunity to become part of the Moses Brown community. It was my beginning; it shaped me, and in turn, the children that my wife Sia and I have sent here. It also began my relationship with the Moses Brown Alumni Association, a community of over 6,000 difference-makers in the elds of medicine, law, business, art, athletics, government, education, charity, and beyond. The vitality of that community keeps bringing me back to MB, the place where so many good things begin. Over the past three years, I’ve been privileged to work with the MBAA Executive Committee, Director of Alumni Relations Karin Morse, dedicated MB staff, and a vast 50
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1985
Ted Slafsky, shown here with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of a remarkable federal program, the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which lowers the price of prescription drugs purchased by hospitals, clinics, and health systems serving low-income patients, rural communities, and vulnerable patient populations. Ted is the president and CEO of 340B Health, which represents more than 1,300 nonprofit hospitals using the program to reduce their drug costs. Robert Humphrey has been sworn in as the Municipal Court Judge in Tiverton. Robert has been a trial lawyer for both civil and criminal cases for the past 25 years. He lives with his wife and family in Little Compton.
The mission of the Moses Brown
n
ni
t io
M
A great group of MB alumni hit the slopes in Vail, Colorado, where Bernie Buonanno hosted a gathering. Pictured from left to right are: Matt Widmer, Jamie Munro ’85, Tom Gammino, Rich White, Mike Geffroy, Bernie Buonanno, with Jamie Worrell ’85 and friends from Brown University.
m
es Brow n
1984
2017-2018 MB Alumni Association Board
A lu
Vin Giordano ’83 and Lisa Rocchio ’85 were happy to show their spirit at True Blue, a new annual event that celebrates MB’s philanthropic and volunteer leaders. Their youngest, Olivia, will be a sophomore at MB this fall.
os
A ssoc
Alumni Association is to foster lifelong relationships with the school and fellow alumni.
George Panichas ’83, Clerk Albie Dahlberg ’87, Assistant Clerk Brian Panoff ’94, Treasurer John Baldwin ’94, Recording Clerk Gabriel Amo ’05 Taylor Rotondi Anderson ’02 Cheryl Schadone Cohen ’81 Joanne Debrah ’97 Alexander Egan ’03 Jason Engle ’98 Thomas Frater ’82 Katherine Gorgi ’08 Austin Jaspers ’11 David Keyser ’89 Jane Knowles ’81 Todd Machtley ’00 Vin Marcello ’60 Maggie Moran ’08 David Murdock ’93 David Murphy ’91 Nicole Navega ’89 John Pariseault ’97 Vincent Porcaro ’83 Matthew Romano ’14 Matthew Runci ’64 Miles Rutter ’04 Conal Smith ’06 Ahvi Spindell ’72
network of talented alumni to give back to our community, and to pay forward the strong foundation we’ve been given. Thank you for your support! Highlights over the last three years include:
• Re-establishing MBAA Hall of Fame ceremonies • The Turkey Tailgate, which brings Rhode Island-area alumni together each fall
• Establishing the MBAA stewardship program, which will bring scores of alumni back to campus and into classrooms • Introducing the MB Connects mobile app to facilitate connections between alumni • Revising the MBAA by-laws using time-tested Quaker process • Reestablishing an MBAA formal presence at graduation • Reinvigorating the bi-annual MBAA golf tournament (and setting new fundraising records!) • The largest social event in MBAA history, with over 180 attendees at Tom Cotter’s Alumni Hall comedy show
The MBAA has done much in the past three years, and yet somehow it still feels like a beginning. It could be that there’s still so much to achieve. Now that graduation is just behind us, we’d love you to share your talents contributing to our association, community, and our newest group of alumni. They are now at their beginning, and in the process renew us all.
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Thanks to George Panichas ’83 P ’15 ’18 for sharing these thoughts and for his service to Moses Brown. George served as Clerk of the Moses Brown Alumni Association from 2015-2018.
51
ia
1986
In his free time, Reid Flamer enjoys participating in the Emory University interview process in Miami. “I am impressed with this year’s talented and diverse applicant pool for the Class of 2021,” he writes. “This year, Emor y received 24,000 applications for the fall class of 1,200 students!”
1989
1987
Thank you to Rachel Littman ’87 P’22 (left) for her leadership and service to the Moses Brown Board (see page 3).
Jonathan Silverstein is the artistic director of the award-winning Keen Company in NYC, an Off-Broadway theater company which produces intimate plays and musicals and mentors high school actors. Recently, Jonathan directed Later Life by A.R. Gurney and tick, tick...BOOM! by Jonathan Larsen. This September he’ll be directing the first NY revival of the chamber musical Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon. See more at keencompany.org.
Thanks to Marc Patrick for sharing for this Cupola. Marc lives in Oregon and is celebrating his 20th year working at Nike. Marc has fond memories of his MB days. Marc’s mother, Dorothy, lives near him in Portland and recently celebrated her 81st birthday. Marc and his wife Angela have three daughters and were able to live overseas with the older two. “My kids think the world is pretty small!” he says. See page 28 for more.
1993
Ethan Ruby was honored by the MB Alumni Association in May, receiving the 25th Reunion Achievement Award. See page 41 for more.
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make your gift today!
mosesbrown.org/onlinegiving
1994
1995
After delivering MB’s Commencement address and having what she terms an “Eat Pray Love year,” Joyce Chang, former editor of Self magazine, is back in New York City and busy launching a happiness startup. Her travels last year took her to Patagonia, India, and the Himalayas and helped her envision a new way to navigate life upon her return home. See more at fromtheget-go.com/about.
Lauren Vigliotti
shares on page 27. Here she is pictured during a trail marathon last July in Utah, which took place between 10,000 and 12,000+ feet of altitude.
1996
Josh Berlo and his wife Megan welcomed their son Michael Frederick (right) in January. They live in Duluth, Minnesota where Josh is the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.
1997
Liz Hall Gaston and sister Caroline Hall Levesque ’99 gave birth to Claire and Russell, respectively. The cousins were born two days apart and even vacationed together in Pine Island, Florida this past January.
Cara Camacho
shares her wide-ranging career on page 30. She lives in D.C. with her husband Adam and son Owen.
1998
These days, you’ll find Irving Fain at “the techiest indoor farm in the world” (Fortune), Bowery Farming, of which he is co-founder and CEO. Bowery is a modern farming company that combines the benefits of the best local farms with advances made possible by technology to grow produce you can feel good about eating. Bowery’s indoor farms use zero pesticides, more than 95% less water, and are 100+ times more productive on the same footprint of land than traditional agriculture. The company has been featured in NBC, Forbes, CNN, Bloomberg, and Jeopardy, and was named in Wall Street Journal’s 25 Tech Companies to Watch for 2018. spring
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1999
Calyn Gray Acebes is a licensed psychotherapist who incorporates horses into her work. Her Little Compton-based business, Contact With Horses, provides equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning. Calyn believes that building a relationship with a horse will bring insight to one’s relationships with others and oneself.
2000
Ben Brier and his wife Dasha celebrated a November beach wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with Bryant Baek and his wife Carolina Portillos, Kate Brier ’02, Karin Morse ’79, Jamie and Jeff Engle, Rabbi Jeremy Howard, Larry Tremblay, Josh Lindell, and Jeff Caplain.
Leslie and Matt Parker’s daughter Betsy enjoys cake in celebration of her first birthday.
2001
Jacob Fain (center) received this year’s MB Alumni Association Outstanding Young Alumnus Award at the MB Winter Reception in March. See page 41.
A group of 2000 graduates are pictured here at an annual gathering with their children. Pictured are: Stephanie Lindell and Josh Lindell (with their son, Silas), Jeff Caplain (with sons Rowan and Patrick), Abigail Adams (with daughters Charlotte, Caroline, and Catherine), Jeremy Howard, and Jeff Engle (with daughters Maya and Lexi).
Thanks to Sam Jack ’01 (second from left) for serving as guest editor for this issue of Cupola. Sam works as an Photo cour tesy of USAID/Afghanistan attorney with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is the U.S. government’s primary foreign aid organization, and lives in College Park, Maryland with this family. See page 20 for more from Sam.
2002
2003
Pictured here in MB spirit is Hayden Storm Simon, son of Pamela Granoff Simon and her husband Daniel. The Simons live in Miami. (Hayden was born as Tropical Storm Maria became Hurricane Maria.)
Leah Bernstein Sorrentino ’03 enjoyed gathering at Reunion with Wendy Van Biert, Ransom Griffin, Joe Ribeiro, Willie Edwards, and Ellen Turcotte.
2004
Peter Salmons (right) joined with MB lacrosse captains at the Providence Public Safety Complex this May as part of volunteer work for the PASA organization. A Providence police officer, Peter has also been involved this year in local efforts to end gun violence. Ben Vaughan is a chief resident in Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center. He lives in Boston with his wife Becky and their children.
2005
Parker Cote has been named the best personal fitness trainer in Boston by Boston Magazine and has been featured in Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, GQ, and NBC.
2006
Terry Moran Jr. and wife Savannah welcomed their first child, Terrence Peter Moran III. “T3,” as the Moran family calls him, was born in March.
2007
Jeff Church recently appeared in the Gamm Theatre’s production of As You Like It, playing the court jester Touchstone in the company’s final show in Pawtucket (the theatre moves to Warwick in September).
2008
Lauren Thomas Charness and Max Charness (left) were married last August in Warwick. MB alumni present included Max Mann, Sam Sager, Brett Polacek, Allie Thomas ’10, Robbie Mann ’69, Allie Froehlich ’10, and Ben Froehlich. In 2016, Sam Vaughan married Hannah Kahler in New Hampshire. Ben Vaughan ’04 and Jonathan Poggi were attendants. Sam, Hannah, and their pup Mia live in Somerville, Massachusetts, and he works in Boston as a senior firmware developer for fitbit. spring
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2009
2017
In January, the MB Versatones were pleased to host Alasia Destine-Defreece along with the touring Kenyon College Chasers in the Woodman Center. Thanks for stopping by, Alasia!
Jordan Crystal is now in New York City working for Knot Standard, a custom menswear company. Knot Standard operates eight showrooms across the country and offers everything from casual wear to suiting and formal wear. Check them out at knotstandard.com/nyc.
2018
Ian Cheibub returned to hold a workshop and share his work in the Art of Social Justice Workshop. The show is currently on the second floor of the Woodman Center and will be up through the fall.
Former Faculty & Staff
Congratulations to Peter Thompson (French, MB, 1985-94). Peter has written a book about New England prep school life titled Winter Light (DialogosBooks.com) which may be of interest to alumni. “It’s a fun novel about a somewhat scary prep school, and a young teacher’s long winter!” he says. Peter enjoys reading Cupola. He’s still teaching and is the Language Department head at Roger Williams University; he can be reached at pthompson@rwu.edu.
Senior Dinner Tradition Seniors and their alumni parents gathered on the steps of the Walter Jones Library before the Senior Dinner this June. Bottom row (left to right): Melina and George Panichas ’83, Joe Voccola ’82 and Joe, Frances and Glen Elliott ’76, David Gower ’87 and Ally, Steve Griffin ’84. Top row: Albie Dahlberg ’87 and Eric, Andie and Jim Stallman ’79, John and John Scungio ’81, Chase Griffin. This year’s graduates will head to a range of fine universities located around the world. See the full list on page 58. 56
KEEP IN TOUCH!
Wherever you go in the world beyond MB, share a note, photo, or news for Cupola or sharing on MB social media:
alumni@mosesbrown.org mosesbrown.org/classnote
Be sure we have your email for event invites and alumni e-news!
cupola
Calling All Classes: Stewardship at MB
This July, Andy Kling ’79 and his wife Laurie Heupel visited campus from
involved in the re-introduction of wolves into Yellowstone.
West Virginia to meet with faculty members Tony Pirruccello-McClellan,
Interested in sharing your expertise or volunteering to help the MB
Katie Evans Goldman ’06, and Karin Morse ’79 to offer their resources
community? Would you enjoy speaking to a class or working with a stu-
for the Wolf Project which Katie and Tony lead as part of MB’s middle
dent group to share your expertise?
school science curriculum. Together, Andy and Laurie have extensive ex-
The Moses Brown Alumni Association has begun piloting a Stew-
perience working for the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and
ardship program and in the near future, will adopt a platform and invite
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Andy also is a prolific writer and editor on
alumni to participate.
wide-ranging topics, so they made innumerable great connections which will help as students experience the various perspectives of stakeholders
Thank you in advance for considering volunteering on campus, skyping, coaching, or becoming a senior project mentor/advisor.
YOU CAN’T ALWAYS MAKE IT BACK TO CAMPUS ALUMNI NEARBY, ALUMNI DIRECTORY, CAMPUS NEWS, EVENTS The MB Alumni Association has made it easier than ever for alumni to stay connected to each other and the school. Download the MB Connects app today!
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commencement
Welcome: The Class of 2018! Comedian Tom Cotter ’82
delivered the 2018 commencement address.
“Be open-minded,” he told graduates. “Your path is not etched in stone.” See Tom’s remarkable full address at www.mosesbrown.org /commencement-week-2018/.
Heading out into the world!
Best wishes to the class of 2018 heading to: Bard College
College of New Rochelle
Hamilton College
Princeton University
Barnard College
College of the Holy Cross (2)
Haverford College
Providence College (2)
Belmont University
Colorado College
Ithaca College
Quinnipiac University
Bentley University
Cornell University (2)
Lake Forest College (2)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Boston College (3)
Dartmouth College
Lewis & Clark College
Rhode Island School of Design
Boston University (2)
Dickinson College (2)
Massachusetts College of Art & Design
Rochester Institute of Technology
Brandeis University
Drexel University
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Smith College
Brown University (3)
Elon University
Michigan State University
Stonehill College
Bucknell University (2)
Emerson College
Middlebury College
Swarthmore College
Carnegie Mellon University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Northeastern University
Trinity College
Case Western Reserve University
Georgetown University
Phillips Academy Andover
Tufts University
College of Charleston (2) 58
Gettysburg College
Pratt Institute
Tulane University (3)
cupola
Off they go! These MB “Lifers” in the Class of 2018 spent the most years at MB. They marked the end of their Moses Brown years with a photo at lower school. They now head off to freshman year at college and adventures beyond MB.
After seven years of dedicated service in MB’s College Counseling office, Helen Burke Montague left MB at the end of this school year to spend more time with family. Thank you, Helen!
Union College (3)
University of Southern California
The University of Alabama
University of St. Andrews
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of Tampa
University of Chicago
University of Vermont (2)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Miami
University of New South Wales, Australia
University of Michigan (2)
Vanderbilt University
University of Mississippi (2)
Vassar College (3)
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Wesleyan University
University of Pennsylvania (2)
Wheaton College (2)
for Cupola to: alumni@mosesbrown.org
University of Pittsburgh
Yale University
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University Rhode Island (2) spring /ofsummer 2018
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cupola
condolences
In Memoriam
Rudolph Meuser, Class of 1936, was a star quarterback
William McCormick, Class of 1946, graduated from
in his time at Moses Brown. He earned a B.S. from Lowell Textile
Amherst College and Wharton Business School. He was a veteran
School (now the University of Massachusetts-Lowell) where he
of the U.S. Navy and the Naval Reserve, retiring as a Command-
led one of their last great football seasons before World War II,
er after 20 years of service. Later in life, he earned two master’s
and was entered into the UMass Lowell Sports Hall of Fame in
degrees, one in counseling and one in religious education. He de-
1986. After college, Rudy was drafted into the U.S. Army where
voted his career to business, was employed by several companies
he served from 1942-1947. He became a captain in the artillery of
in Rhode Island, and taught at Johnson & Wales University. With
the 12th Armored Division, participated in the Battle of the Bulge,
great wit, wisdom, a phenomenal memory, and a love of English,
and went on to help push the Germans back to the Rhine. Upon
Latin, and Yiddish turns of phrase, Bill entertained and support-
leaving the military, he worked in textile mills in New York and
ed all who were fortunate to know and love him. (1/4/18)
New Jersey. Rudy married his wife Charlotte in 1944. He married his second wife Ilse in 1966 and was married to her until her
Hiram Emery, Class of 1948, graduated from Harvard
death in 1993. (2/26/18)
College and, in 1956, the Harvard Business School. He served as
Frank Horton, Class of 1941, graduated from Brown
a lieutenant in Korea and was a partner of the White Weld Company in New York City for 30 years, which was later acquired
University and Yale Medical School. Recalled to the U.S. Navy, he
by Merrill Lynch. He was a devoted board member of the Unit-
served for two years as a pediatrician caring for military families
ed Congregational Church of Little Compton, a member of the
who moved to the United States from Germany and Japan. After
Union Club of the City of New York, the General Society of Colo-
serving his country, he moved to Maine and worked as a safety
nial Wars, and the Sakonnet Golf Club. He was married to his wife
officer for Horton Smoked Seafoods in Waterboro. Frank was an
Susan Curtis for 47 years. (10/29/17)
avid fly fisherman and enjoyed beekeeping, blacksmithing, and working in his gardens. He was a member of the First Parish Unit-
John Emery, Class of 1948, graduated from Harvard
ed Church of Christ in Saco. He was married to his late wife Ann
College and Harvard Law School. He served as a major in the
Horton. Frank is the older brother of Donald Horton ’48. (1/7/18)
U.S. Army, and was partner at the Boston law firm Sullivan and
Richard Grosvenor, Class of 1946, graduated from
Worcester since 1968. He continued to work there as senior counsel until his death. John spent his summers on Martha’s Vineyard
Harvard University and received an honorary doctorate of arts
and winters in Stowe, Vermont where he skied well into his 80s.
from Salve Regina University in 2010. During WWII, he helped
He was an avid traveler, gardener, and reader, had a wonderful
with the surveillance and identification of airplanes from St.
quick wit, and was a perennial student. He was married to his lov-
George’s Chapel tower, and later served in the National Guard.
ing wife of 51 years Jody Brown. (2/1/18)
Dick taught art and architecture for 40 years at St. George’s School in Middletown, served on the vestry of Trinity Church, and
Donald Horton, Class of 1948, received an undergrad-
was an active member of the board of directors of the Redwood
uate degree from Union College before earning his master’s and
Library and the Newport Art Museum. His sketches, watercolors,
Ph.D. in marine biology and oceanography from the University of
and oils of Aquidneck Island landscapes and surrounding waters
Rhode Island. In 1960, he established and was the director of the
have been a favorite of visitors and residents for over 60 years. He
marine research institute for the University of North Carolina in
was married to his loving wife, Margot Sullivan. (8/30/17)
Aurora, N.C. He later moved his family to Portland, Maine where he was the director of TRIGOM (The Research Institute of the
spring
/
summer 2018
61
Gulf of Maine), a consortium of universities, including the University of Southern Maine. In the early ’70s he co-founded Kristia
J. Parker Scott, Class of 1951, attended Bowdoin College and received a bachelor’s degree from Bryant College. While
Associates, the only importer of Jotul wood stoves from Norway,
at Bryant he competed as a track hurdler in the old Boston Garden
and later founded and operated Horton’s Smoked Seafoods, sup-
and the original Madison Square Garden. Scotty was a past mem-
plying companies such as American Airlines and Whole Foods.
ber of the Barrington School Survey Committee, Barrington Price
Don established the popular 100-acre Horton Woods hiking
Stabilization Board, and the Barrington Board of Recreation. He
paths for the city of Saco, Maine, was dedicated to liberal politics,
was one of the four founding members of the Barrington Boost-
and was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco.
ers Club, served on the vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, and
He was married to his wife Jean for 35 years. Donald is the young-
was a past secretary of the Barrington Yacht Club. Scotty was a
er brother of Frank Horton ’41. (4/23/18)
long-time director on the Board of the Union Mutual Insurance
George Nazareth, Class of 1948, was a graduate of the
Company, which later became the Union Insurance Company of Providence. He was the retired chairman of Red Farm Studio
University of Rhode Island, and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia
Company after a 42-year career in the greeting card industry. He
University. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War, serv-
was married to Claudia Humphrey Scott for 63 years. (1/30/18)
ing as radar operator and a plank member of the USS Wilkinson. George was the president of the former Providence Casket Company and was a tireless advocate for persons with disabilities. He
Robert Jordan, Class of 1954, was a graduate of Harvard College. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he received an
served as president of the Woonsocket Chapter of ARC, chairman
M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Bob worked in the in-
of a $1.5 million fundraising drive for the ARC of Northern Rhode
vestment business as a securities analyst and portfolio manag-
Island, president of the State Association of Retarded Citizens,
er. While at Oppenheimer and Company, he was commended
and founding board member of the Rhode Island Coalition for
by Institutional Investor magazine. He retired in 1996 from the
Persons with Handicaps. George enjoyed collecting antique au-
investment firm Lynch and Mayer. An outdoor enthusiast, he
tomobiles and had several award-winning cars that he personally
worked with the Sierra Club for years to promote the conserva-
restored. He also enjoyed woodworking, segmented woodturn-
tion of wilderness lands. He served as a lobbyist, backpack tour
ing, and sailing. He was the beloved husband of the late Dolores
leader, and chairman of the Utah Wilderness Task Force. While
Nazareth and is the brother of Alfred Nazareth, Jr. ’45. (2/22/18)
living in Vermont, Bob joined the Catamount Trail Association
Donald Rockwood, Class of 1948, was a graduate
and spent years organizing programs and outreach. He was an expert backcountry skier and proponent of telemark skiing. Bob
of Babson College, where he completed a four-year program in
was married to Judith and along with her leaves four children
three years. While at Moses Brown, he was on the tennis squad
(David, Sarah, Christopher, and Robert), eight grandchildren,
and played trumpet in the orchestra. Donald served in the U.S.
and a sister. (12/10/17)
Army during the Korean War. He was an avid ice boat racer and sailor. (7/24/12)
Bradford Monahon, Class of 1950, received a B.A.
Alan Cameron, Class of 1958, earned a B.S. and an M.S. in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He had a long career as an electrical engineer, and worked at Mi-
from Brown University and an M.A. in forestry from Yale Univer-
tre Corporation, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Total Administrative
sity. He served his country in the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S.
Services Corporation, and other defense contractors. He also
Forest Service in Colorado. He was employed by the R.I. Depart-
spent many years serving in various Carlisle, Mass. government
ment of Environmental Management, and retired as manager of
positions, as well as devoting much of his time and energy to the
the Arcadia Management Area. Brad was an avid skier and loved
First Religious Society in Carlisle, the Savoyard Light Opera Com-
the Rhode Island coastline. He had a passion for music and mu-
pany, and the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. This February he was
sic festivals, was a sports car race driver, and, later in life, loved
named Carlisle’s 2017 Most Honored Citizen. He was married to
riding his bike. He was the husband of Sally Monahon. (2/8/18)
his wife Meredith for 45 years until her passing in 2009. (4/9/18)
62
cupola
Henry August Alves, Class of 1964, served in the U.S.
farm, dating back six generations to 1813. While at Moses Brown
Air Force and was honorably discharged as a Vietnam War veteran.
he served as vice president of his senior class and excelled in
He received two master’s degrees from Bridgewater State College,
wrestling, placing in multiple championships. (1/24/18)
was an avid golfer, and enjoyed dog racing, gaming, and shows. Hank is survived by his wife Tara. (1/17/17)
Richard Sawyer, Class of 1976, graduated from the University of Oregon. He lived in Pawtucket for 25 years and
Richard Moeller, Class of 1968, was an avid golfer
was a self-employed contractor in the Providence area. He spent
since the age of 4. He had a career as a real estate broker in the
much of his time restoring and enjoying his family farm in South
San Francisco Bay area. He had endless energy and enthusiasm for
Royalton, Vermont. Richard was quick-witted, with an incisive
life, a spontaneous sense of humor, kindness of heart, and gener-
sense of humor and a masterful memory for trivia. He loved old
ous spirit. Richard is the son of Richard D. Moeller ’32. (3/26/03)
movies and appreciated art, music, and good craftsmanship. He took a particular interest in spending time with his nieces and
Bradford Penney, Class of 1968, graduated from Brown
nephews and their children. He was a gifted athlete and avid soft-
University and Cornell Law School. He worked on Capitol Hill as a
ball player, playing in several co-ed leagues in Rhode Island and
legislative aide, legal counsel, and lobbyist. He worked briefly as a
Oregon. Richard is the brother of Carl Sawyer ’62, David Sawyer
correspondent for ABC News, covering the 1968 Republican Con-
’74, and son of Carl Sawyer ’30. (12/23/17)
vention in Miami. After law school, he worked for Tillinghast, Collins, & Graham in Providence before going to Washington, D.C. to
David DiLibero, Class of 1978, attended the Universi-
serve on the staff of Senator Claiborne Pell, becoming chief coun-
ty of Perugia in Perugia, Italy. He worked in courts and hospitals
sel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In his later years,
as an interpreter. David was a dedicated caregiver to his mother,
Brad served as counsel to and lobbyist for several nonprofit orga-
and enjoyed flower gardening, riding waves at the beach, cycling
nizations, most recently the Alliance for Clean Energy. (4/14/17)
bike paths, and photographing family life. He is the brother of Ann Mary DeAngelis ’81 and Marisa Rizzo ’85. (4/8/18)
Frederic P. Strauss, Class of 1968, operated his own business representing various manufacturers in the metals industry. Always actively involved in his children’s lives, he
former faculty / staff
took great pride in guiding them toward achieving their goals.
Nicholas Baker was the head of lower school at Moses
He loved to read, enjoyed landscaping, and had a great love of
Brown from 1967-1970. Nick graduated from Milton Academy
animals, especially his two shelties Annie and Java. Fred was
and Harvard College, and spent two years in the U.S. Navy. In
married to his wife Loreen for 38 years.(1/9/14)
1962, he began teaching fifth grade at Milton Academy and mar-
Moses Peabody, Class of 1974, earned a bachelor’s de-
ried his wife Joan. He continued his career in education as head of lower school at Moses Brown, head of lower school at Green-
gree from Boston University, with a major in political science and
wich Country Day in Connecticut, and head of lower school at
a minor in computer science. He participated in the development
Meadowbrook School of Weston, Massachusetts. In 1976, Nick
of automated library systems at the Clinical and Laboratory Stan-
purchased an instant printing franchise in Boston and operated
dards Institute in West Newton, Massachusetts, security systems
it until he sold the business in 1990. In retirement, he wrote six
for Wang Laboratories in Lowell, and teleconferencing software
books: two about the history of Wings Neck in Bourne, Mass.,
at PictureTel Corporation in Danvers. In 2015 Moses retired from
and four about the paintings and artwork of John Prentiss Ben-
IBM in Westford where he served as Lotus system administra-
son, his wife’s grandfather. Throughout his life Nick enjoyed
tor. He assumed full-time management of his family’s ancestral
sailing, traveling, and spending time with his family.
Moses Brown’s memorial notes are based on published obituaries. Please forward to Office of Alumni Relations, Moses Brown School, 250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence, RI 02906; fax (401) 455-0084; email alumni@mosesbrown.org.
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reflection : brian nichols ’ 83
On Diplomacy Brian Nichols ’83, shown at the U.S.-Peru Cacao Alliance Ceremony, recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru.
Learning how to solve problems and deal with people were
transnational crime, and trade imbalances. Diplomats play a crucial
the two most wide-ranging skills I acquired at MB. I remember middle
role in resolving those problems in a way that advances America’s
school trips as a fun way to build esprit de corps and solve problems
interests and promotes a better world. Supporting America and our
as a group. I developed curiosity about the world in classes like upper
allies in dealing with disinformation, irregular migration, or natural
school World History and World Religions — even third grade science,
disasters is more complex than ever. The number and complexity of
learning about the earliest fossils from the Precambrian Era from a
the variables that we deal with has grown dramatically.
teacher who helped discover them. And I played sports throughout my time at Moses Brown; I wasn’t a star but I had a lot of fun.
Technology has transformed diplomacy, but we still have a long way to go to leverage modern tools fully. When I started in the For-
Foreign Service officers deal with a broad range of people. In the
eign Service in 1989, we did not have email or the internet. We typed
same day — sometimes the same conversation — you can be dealing
telegrams on paper and fed them into a machine for transmission.
with the president of a country and a rural farmer with an elementa-
Now, we can secure video chat between Washington and the field,
ry school education or an indigenous human rights activist and the
and information moves around the globe instantly. Social media has
CEO of a billion-dollar corporation. A diplomat’s job is to advocate for
become vital for communicating policies and understanding coun-
Americans and our policies, and to develop a deep understanding of
tries. Diplomats provide context and insight about events for policy-
the country or institution in which you work. You need to talk to people,
makers, rather than breaking news alerts.
understand their culture, build human connection, and cast a wide net
Across countries, policymakers prioritize conflict prevention be-
to ensure you are not just talking to influential people in the capital.
tween and within states. You need to identify the causes and triggers
Genuinely liking other people and human interaction is important to
of conflict and use the various levers of influence to resolve them be-
the work. (Most Foreign Service Officers are extroverts, though many
fore full-scale conflict arises. This can range from community-level
introverts succeed, too.) Sometimes I joke about using the Jedi mind
conflict over natural resources like water, timber, or mines to ethnic
trick, but in reality building relationships happens in a variety of en-
or religious conflict or more traditional great power politics. At times,
vironments from meetings and office calls to meals and receptions to
all of those factors come into play, as we are seeing in Syria now.
formal negotiating sessions. Whether it’s negotiating a treaty with the
To students considering a path like mine, I’d say learn about
Foreign Minister or forging a relationship with the warden of a correc-
America and the world at Moses Brown. Read a newspaper that cov-
tional facility when visiting an American locked up abroad, all inter-
ers the world every day. Build strong written and oral communication
actions matter. Even in a difficult or confrontational situation, under-
skills. Seek out opportunities to study abroad. Investigate internships
standing the official across the table is important to get what you need.
and fellowships in the foreign affairs community. Be nice — interper-
Judgement, empathy, intelligence, patriotism, and strong inter-
sonal skills really matter.
personal skills are essential to diplomacy. Diplomats operate with a lot of autonomy; you require the proper judgement to speak for your
Brian Nichols grew up in Providence; his father, a Quaker, taught English at
country, deal with ambiguity, and strategically approach challenges.
Brown. Brian has served in the Foreign Service in Mexico, Indonesia, and the
Diplomacy has never been more important than now. America faces major challenges: threats to democracy, nuclear proliferation,
64
Caribbean, and served as the Ambassador to Peru. He was recently appointed U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe.
cupola
Mr. T. ensures the band will always play on… When wind and jazz ensemble di-
cussion
ensemble; upper
school
strument or lessons,” says Steve. “I
rector Stephen Toro started at Moses
brass ensemble; a private music
want to make sure that doesn’t stop
Brown, he found a supportive and
lessons program; and in- and out-of-
them from enjoying music.” And so
creative environment, but a music
state music festivals and trips.
program in its earliest stage. Two and
this spring he updated his will, in-
“I don’t have kids of my own,” says
cluding a $100,000 bequest for to
a half decades later, MB’s instrumen-
Steve, “so these are my kids. And I
establish the Stephen Toro Music
tal music program is transformed,
want to make sure they all have the
Education Fund as part of MB’s per-
largely thanks to Steve and his col-
opportunity to make music.” While
manent endowment. For Steve, this
leagues who have helped build a
Steve’s commitment to his students
means he can help children learn,
winning program: lower, middle, and
is widely known, he recently took
even when he’s not there to person-
upper school wind ensembles; mid-
another step in making sure that MB
ally teach them.
dle and upper school jazz ensem-
students for generations will have a
bles; lower, middle, and upper school
strong musical education.
string orchestras; upper school per-
“Some kids can’t afford an in-
To support world-class teaching with a bequest or planned gift, contact Perry Buroker at 831-7350 x289 or pburoker@mosesbrown.org.
“Every day I get to help children become musicians,” Steve says. “This way, I can keep helping them when I’m gone.”
Moses Brown School 250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence, RI 02906 www.mosesbrown.org 401-831-7350
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Providence, RI Permit No. 3264
For the Honor of Truth
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Alumni parents: If this Cupola is addressed to a graduate no longer residing at your home, please contact alumni@mosesbrown.org or call x114 to update his or her address.