Spring/Summer 2023 Quad

RIVERDALE GOES

Outside

RIVERDALE SPRING/SUMMER 2023 PLUS TRIBUTE TO LOIS ROCHESTER

RIVERDALE CREATORS

ALUMNI PROFILES

Calvin Hill ’65 returned to Riverdale in the spring to speak with the Middle and Upper School students about his time at the school, the lessons he learned, and the importance of relationships. He was introduced by his former classmate Robert Flug ’65, and former and current parents Glenn Dubin P’15,’19 and Deidra Moore-Janvier P’07,’29. Scan the QR code below to watch the assembly.

2022-2023

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Gwen Adolph

Terri Austin, Secretary

Bruce Beal

David Blitzer, Treasurer

Edem Dzubey ’07

Ebby Elahi

Tiffany Ellis Butts, PA President

Chloe Epstein

Renata Garcia

Joe Goldschmid ’04, AAEC President

John Griffin

Anitra Hadley

Sandra Kim Hoffen ’83, Vice Chair

Mark Hostetter ’77

Chris James ’93

Marc Lipschultz

Susan Moldow ’63

Anand More

John Neuwirth, Vice Chair

Dominic A.A. Randolph, Head of School

David Rhodes

Daniel Rosen ’92, Chair

Deborah Sonnenberg

Philip (Tod) Waterman III ’84

Roy Weathers

Vanessa Wittman

Kazumi Yanai

TRUSTEES EMERITI

Michele Cohen

Ted Janulis ’77

Brad Karp

Jane Lisman Katz ’65

Peter Lehrer

Linda Lewis Lindenbaum ’54

Tom Montag

Bill Mow ’55

David Roberts ’80

Harvey Schulweis

Bob Staub ’52

Tom Strauss

Jeff Vinik ’77

David Westin

Tim Zagat ’57

Ada Zambetti

Richard Zinman

2022-2023

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Joe Goldschmid ’04, President

Edem Dzubey ’07, Vice President

Samantha Acunto ’01

George Anagnos ’76

Harrie Bakst ’03

Elizabeth Strauss Clyman ’97

Stefanie Firtell Donath ’91

Lana Jacobs Edelman ’00

Tara Pfeifer Englander ’93

Danielle Englebardt ’94

Betsy Fields ’86

Paul Goldschmid ’96

Susan Golkin ’85

Margaret Heller Greebel ’99

George Igel ’64

Michelle Kirschtein Jacobs ’81

Tiffany Austin Liston ’94

Anthony Melchior ’73

Lara Englebardt Metz ’96

Philip Michael ’00

Shary Moalemzadeh ’89

Allyson Peltz Pennock ’10

Ashley Rainford ’09

Omari Ramirez ’05

Amelia Levin Relles ’87

Michael Roberts ’08

Carolyn Braun Rosen ’92

Peter Rosenblatt ’50

Jessica Elghanayan Shell ’95

Roger Sherman ’74

Andrine Wilson ’02

Jenna Langel Witten ’06

Ahmed Yearwood ’91

Jessica Endelson Zelnik ’98

Dear Riverdale Alumni,

As the end of my final year as Head of School approaches, I have spent many moments reflecting on the 16 years I’ve spent as part of the Riverdale community. It will not be easy for me to leave this June; however, I am looking forward to exploring some of my own passions—educational reform, drawing, writing, time with family and friends —much as we encourage our students at Riverdale to do.

Working at Riverdale has been the pinnacle of my career, and it has been a true honor to be a part of and lead this amazing community since 2007. I have formed some of my closest professional relationships here and have realized some of my most aspirational educational dreams. And I have met innumerable interesting and accomplished alumni whose enthusiasm and appreciation for their alma mater is palpable.

I, too, am immensely proud of Riverdale. Widely considered one of the top schools in New York City for many good reasons, Riverdale’s reputation has never been better. We have become a much more diverse community that better reflects the greater New York community to which we belong. With the support of the Board, we have raised more than $150 million during

Yours,

Dominic A.A. Randolph HEAD OF SCHOOL

the last 15 years, helping us to achieve continued academic excellence while simultaneously innovating to make this place a beacon for educators around the world. We have increased our global reach through innovative programs shepherded by PLUSSED+ and sent more and more students abroad to better understand and embrace other cultures. We have created myriad programs to develop character, ensure and protect campus discourse, and promote interdisciplinary and experiential learning while striving to make our community more inclusive and equitable. And, as you of course know, our alumni go on to engage passionately in their various purposes and seek to “change the world for the good,” as our mission implores us all to do.

I am certain that Riverdale will continue to innovate and be dynamic, since the “spirit that quickeneth,” as the traditional motto states, is the zeitgeist of this place. While I have been delighted to spearhead some interesting initiatives and directions these last years, I am well aware that this dynamic spirit is inherent in the Riverdale community, and I look forward to watching what comes next for the school under the leadership of the seventh head of school, Kari Ostrem, in the months and years ahead.

&

QA

Dominic A.A. Randolph and Kari Ostrem

For the past 16 years, Riverdale has benefited from the leadership of Dominic A.A. Randolph, who has nurtured the minds of our students, instilled the importance of strong character strengths, and helped to create a sense of belonging in our community. As we welcome Kari Ostrem as Riverdale’s seventh Head of School this summer, we have the opportunity to build on this foundation—to deepen our sense of belonging and encourage our school community’s continued growth and development.

Dominic and Kari first met 25 years ago at the Lawrenceville School, where they both taught—he in humanities and she in the sciences. As a new teacher, Kari deeply admired Dominic’s teaching methods and felt he embodied everything she aspired to be as an educator. Dominic similarly lauds Kari as one of the best teachers he has ever seen both in and out of the classroom: “She is truly involved in students’ lives—whether in the dorms or on the ice hockey teams. She’s not just teaching some subject matter, but actually teaching humans and their whole selves. That is something that she has always done really well and something I know she will continue to hold as a priority as she comes into Riverdale.”

On May 3, 2023, Dominic and Kari sat down with Dean of Middle and Upper School Faculty Shelby Stokes and Assistant Head of Lower School for Grades 3-5 Ellen Greengrass to

discuss their decades-long friendship, their impressions of and vision for Riverdale, and how to encourage thriving in today’s students. An excerpt of the conversation can be found below (edited slightly for space and clarity), and the full recording can be viewed online at www.riverdale.edu/HOS_ Roundtable (URL is case-sensitive).

DOMINIC, WHAT HAS IT MEANT TO YOU TO LEAD THIS COMMUNITY FOR ALL OF THESE YEARS AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PASS THAT ON TO SOMEONE ELSE?

DAAR: It has been a pleasure and a privilege to help lead this community— and I say “help” because it is really a team effort. We are all in this together and are all trying to improve the learning experiences for the whole community. I am pleased to see those experiences becoming more profound and transformative. I have also deeply appreciated the generosity of spirit I have felt—and I know that will be extended to Kari and her family, as well.

This community has been very good about allowing us to try some perennial things—focusing on developing really good critical thinkers and reinforcing how to make ethical decisions, for example—while at the same time trying out some new things—such as bringing design thinking into the school, and developing ideas around instilling cognitive skills like resilience, gratitude, and optimism. That spirit of tradition and innovation is something that I hope will continue in the years to follow.

KARI, MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THIS PERIOD OF TRANSITION—WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RECEIVE THIS COMMUNITY AND TO FOLLOW DOMINIC AS A LEADER OF RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL?

KARI: Dominic’s phrase “generosity of spirit” rings so true in how this community has welcomed me. I truly believe that Riverdale is the greatest place in the world to educate a child. Dominic has helped shepherd us to a moment of understanding the whole child—the child who is unique in their own values, fears, hopes, struggles, and wishes—and how we embrace all of that and then help them to become who they want to be.

Dominic has been so successful for so many years here—and many people have asked, what is it like to step into such big shoes? I actually think it takes a hubris that Dominic just doesn’t have to think that I would step into his shoes. Rather, I think he has worked to forge a path and has been able to help navigate where that path leads us. So, now, I am going to keep traveling on that path that he’s begun and maybe bring it a bit more to one side or the other. But, it’s going to be the same in many ways, because it is all for our kids and for our future—and that’s what the focus of this community is. I don’t think there is a leader who exemplifies that better than Dominic, and that is why I’m so excited to walk the path he has started and help shape where that leads next.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY A THRIVING LOWER SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND UPPER SCHOOL LOOKS LIKE, FROM SEEING THE WAY STUDENTS INHABIT THOSE SPACES?

DAAR: I have become fascinated by thinking about what this means for students in each of the divisions of the school. Whether you are a young person in Pre-K or a senior in high school, what does it mean to feel that you have meaning, purpose, and agency in your life? That plays out very differently at different ages, but I really do believe that those things are essential at every age, even if the sense of purpose of a Pre-K student is very different from a senior who is applying to colleges and preparing to move on from the school.

I do believe that sometimes we misdefine what a sense of purpose is. We say that the child is going to become a doctor or they’re going to go to graduate school; we think about what they are going to do with their lives. And, for a Pre-K student, a sense of purpose can be, at recess, being fully in that moment, and playing with sticks and water and getting muddy, and just being in that creative flow, which really provides them with a sense of agency and independence. And there’s actually a lot of good research to show that if

young people feel that sense of purpose, they thrive in a lot of different ways, both health-wise and also how they feel about the world around them.

That sense of purpose begins to give people some sense of meaning, as well. That’s something we’re all working on. One could argue that we’re all sort of struggling to figure out our sense of meaning and place in this world, but it’s like a puzzle that you begin when you’re very young and you need to feel what that process is like early on. They have to feel that they matter and, as I said, the third part is to feel that sense of agency in their lives. They need to feel that they actually control things.

One of the things that I always felt about the strength of this school is not the fact that students come from different parts of New York, but that when they get here, this is their place. They feel a lot of proprietary pride in the space and place here, and that gives them a strong sense of agency and independence.

Again, that’s different when you’re a Pre-K student versus a student in the Upper School who is doing a senior project. But those elements, for me, are what make people feel that they’re thriving.

KARI: That question of, how do we help kids thrive? is what drew me to Riverdale in the first place. I remember when Dominic said that to me, I realized, yeah, that’s it—that’s what we want to do— and it applies to the adults, too. I think that’s a really interesting extension of it, because how can kids thrive if the adults aren’t thriving? So this idea of belonging and purpose and agency needs to be instilled in our faculty, as well. A lot of it comes down to the questions we are asking and what that looks like at each stage. It’s about the ways we ask questions, not just the quality of the question, the depth of the question, the

critical thinking—those are important as well—but who is asking the question and to whom and for what purpose and who is being left out and who is being included. In the Lower School, maybe students pick a leaf off the aeroponic garden as they’re walking by and ask each other, did you like the lemon sorrel or was the kale more interesting to you? There’s a lot of questioning and curiosity. We can see what wonder looks like. And then you get to the Middle School and the questions are more focused on why we are doing this. It sounds cynical, but it’s actually the beauty of being an educator. We

love that question because we know why we’re doing it. We want to tell you how this connects to your life. And then, when you get to the Upper School, you can step out of yourself a bit more and you wonder, What’s the world like for someone who’s not just like me, and how did we get here? How do we make it better? What’s the responsibility I have for everyone so that we’re all belonging?

I’ve had lunch a few times with groups of Riverdale students, and each time I ask them to share a word that describes Riverdale and, generally, that word is community.

We are excited to officially welcome Kari into the Riverdale community during the 2023-24 school year. Join us on campus to meet her in person at Reunion and Homecoming this fall!

Save the Date!

Mark your calendars for Reunion and Homecoming 2023!

Classes ending in 3s and 8s are celebrating their reunion milestones this year. We hope you can join us on campus for a day filled with reconnecting with your classmates and the Riverdale community.

If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering, contact Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement Rachel Horowitz at rhorowitz@riverdale.edu or 718-519-2709.

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Remembering Lois Rochester

We asked members of our alumni community to share their fond memories of Lois. The following responses speak to how beloved Lois was to those she taught and the effect she had on their lives.

ELIZABETH (DINNY) SLOAN LEWIS ’54: “I’m so sorry to hear of the passing of Lois Rochester. I remember her well as our science teacher when I was in the Lower School at the Girls School. She was an excellent and serious teacher who challenged us and respected us. Her very name, ‘Mrs. Rochester,’ inspired our respect for her. She helped us gain an understanding of the workings of the physical world and of the importance of facts. I’m glad she lived such a long, productive life.”

Former faculty member and administrator, Lois Rochester, passed away on January 27, 2023. Lois joined the Girls School as a science teacher in 1950 and continued teaching from 1950 to 1956 and from 1963 to 1976. She was also the former Head of the Middle School at the Girls School from 1952 to 1956 and from 1963 to 1971, the headmistress of the Girls School from 1971 to 1972, and the Assistant Head of School from 1972 to 1976. Her full obituary is on page 40.

MARGO KRASNE ’55: “She was my favorite teacher of all time. I cannot tell you how much she helped me through a difficult childhood.”

SUSAN STEINBERG STERN ’71: “Having Lois Rochester as my Middle School science teacher was a totally memorable and positive experience. Her passion for science and ability to patiently explain challenging material sparked and held my interest. I always admired her leadership style and sense of fairness when she became a school administrator. Always smiling, kind and calm, she stood out as a most approachable and understanding role model. I extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. The world needs more teachers like Lois Rochester.”

DENISE TENNEN ’75: “Lois Rochester taught my science class when I was in 7th grade. I remember her enthusiastic spirit, which made her classes engaging and fun. One specific memory: she had us identify certain minerals by sight, smell, touch, and taste. We worked in small groups. I remember offering ‘tastes like an iron railing’ for one of the items. My labmates were surprised. ‘You’ve tasted an iron railing?’ To which I replied, ‘Haven’t you?’ It was great to be able to approach science using multiple senses and not just our brains. With great fondness and sympathy extended to both Carly and the rest of Lois’s family. She was one of a kind!”

Riverdale Goes Outside

LEARN ABOUT THE EXCITING WAYS OUR COMMUNITY OF ALUMNI, STUDENTS, AND FACULTY ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD OFF CAMPUS

Photos top to bottom: photo courtesy of Rocking the Boat; River Campus student gardening; Student resting on a rock face during a climbing expedition. Opposite page, top to bottom: Tess Rosenthal ’16 rock climbing during a trip to the “Gunks”; Will VanDyke ’20 in Alaska; Amanda Chiles ’17 enjoying a fall hike.

Adam Green ’91

by Maxwell Steinberg ’24

Adam Green started the volunteer project that would become Rocking the Boat in 1995 during a semester off from Vassar College. Influenced by his experience teaching kids about the Hudson River aboard the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, he developed a program that used the process of building and using wooden boats as a way to educate and empower young people from underserved communities. He has received numerous awards and accolades for Rocking the Boat, including an Echoing Green Fellowship, a Union Square Award for grassroots organizing, a Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneurship Award, and in 2014 was named one of 25 international CNN Heroes.

in New York Harbor, which created a very different perspective on my home beyond all of the city’s skyscrapers.”

An affinity to nature became part of Adam’s identity: Once he became a high school student at Riverdale, he spent much of his time away from school outdoors, on camping and backpacking trips. Indeed, he remembers, “The summer after my junior year, one of my close friends and I hiked a couple of hundred miles on the Appalachian Trail through the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia.”

Adam’s passion for the environment did not stop with these adventures. “Coming from a family involved in social and environmental activism,” Adam had “this crazy idea during [his] junior year that we shouldn’t be throwing away our plastic and metal bottles and cans.” Inspired, he found an organization in Inwood that accepted bottles and cans and turned the deposits into contributions to the homeless.

A Manhattan native, Adam Green ’91 jokes, “Sometimes I say I grew up on a small island on the eastern seaboard of the United States.” Adam’s wit reflects his ability to put things in perspective, a quality he developed from a young age. As a kid, Adam got involved with his family in an organization called Hudson River Sloop Clearwater that operates a 106-foot wooden sailboat and works on education and advocacy initiatives related to the Hudson River. He explains, “Every year or so, we [would] go for a sail

After graduation, Adam left the “gorgeous oasis” of the Hill Campus’s nature-filled campus for Vassar College. After spending a few years trying to make his way and determine his next steps, Adam took a semester off during his junior year, volunteering on the Clearwater, the same boat he spent time on during his childhood. Educating young people about the Hudson River during these months away from school motivated Adam’s “excitement about experiential education and teaching, especially through things that impact us.” He reflects, “Working on the Clearwater gave my learning a purpose.”

In 1998, influenced by his love of nature and hands-on learning, Adam founded Rocking the Boat, a non-profit in the South Bronx that, in Adam’s words, “offers young people the opportunity to discover new possibilities both within their community and themselves. Kids at Rocking the Boat build traditional wooden boats from scratch, use them to research and restore the Bronx River, and learn to sail in a community that has

never before been connected to nature.” However, it’s about far more than just boats and nature, as Adam emphasizes: “Really what we’re doing is supporting young people in growing into successful adults and then offering them the tangible and intangible resources to succeed.”

Adam discusses the challenge inherent in being an entrepreneur in “actually making something happen successfully and filling in the gap between inspiration and execution” in the context of his own experience. For example, Adam

describes that when he founded Rocking the Boat 25 years ago, “I was naïve and thinking that kids are going to build this boat and have this amazing transformative experience despite all these other challenges in their lives and family situations, school situations, and economic situations.”

In hindsight, Adam describes this mindset as “more like giving you a nicetasting lollipop and asking you to enjoy it, but when it’s gone, it’s gone.” So, as his organization developed, he recognized

RIVERDALE GIVES ITS STUDENTS SO MUCH IN THE WAY OF INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL THAT WITH A LOT OF DEDICATION, SWEAT, AND PATIENCE, WE HAVE THE RESOURCES AND THE POWER TO REALIZE EVEN THE MOST UNCOMMON IDEAS.

that “actually we need to add on all these extra layers of support and engagement and connection and advocacy,” meaning that “now [our students] have this whole big organization with social workers and multiple levels of program staff who help with college and post-secondary prep as well as supporting alumni with getting scholarships.”

Regardless of each individual’s unique field of interest, Adam considers his work an example for current Riverdale students: “Riverdale gives its students so much in the way of intellectual and social capital that with a lot of dedication, sweat, and patience, we have the resources and the power to realize even the most uncommon ideas.” Adam notes that this position is one of great privilege, sharing, “Like any powerful tool, this privilege should be treated with a great deal of reverence, respect, and humility so that you can use it to the greatest effect.”

Maxwell Steinberg ’24 is a Riverdale junior and the co-editor of The Riverdale Review.

Top left: Adam Green ’91. Additional program photos courtesy of Rocking the Boat.

Embracing Learning on the River Campus

Riverdale’s River Campus is home to our youngest learners, whose education is directly tied to their outdoor surroundings. Head of Lower School Dr. James Duval and the LS team are working to emphasize the importance of incorporating nature into the curriculum: “There is a great deal of existing research, and even more still emerging, indicating that direct access to nature has a significantly positive impact on our mental, emotional, and physical health and well-being. We believe it is an absolute gift for students, families, faculty, and staff to spend so many days of the year in a nature paradise of sorts.” Rather than use the campus and its surroundings as an anecdote in classroom lessons, it becomes the focal point of learning so that questions that originate in the classroom can be examined in the real world. Over time, students advance from appreciating the physical beauty of their campus to discovering the science behind natural landscapes and the role they play in the larger environment.

One place the emphasis on place-based learning is evident is in students’ study of the Hudson River. Rather than have a single Hudson River Studies project, educators have integrated the Hudson River into their everyday lessons. This begins with students going on regular nature walks to appreciate its physical proximity to their campus. Students in first grade are encouraged to think about the orientation of the campus and cardinal directionality,

with the Hudson River being the most visible natural landmark as a point of reference. Then, in second grade, students learn about the five boroughs and the significant waterways that define the city.

The next year, third grade students are taught about how rivers are formed using their class stream tables, and learn about runoff, erosion, and water flow, with the Hudson River and its tributaries acting as

Clockwise from top: Lower School students observing seed growth; Students learning about the Hudson River and navigation; Experiments on river formation and water flow; Students gardening on the River Campus.

the primary context. They also spend time researching the various rivers around the world and comparing them to the river they see on their walks. James says, “Our goal for each of the experiences is to deepen their knowledge of the Hudson River, understand its significance in relation to the ecosystem as well as the human-centered systems in New York City, and appreciate this unique place on the planet.”

Incorporating these experiences into the curriculum across teachers and grades ensures that every student has similar access. James says, “We would never want to create a scenario whereby only the students who happen to have a particular teacher have access to a truly unique learning experience. Therefore, the easiest access point for us is to ensure that initiatives become integrated into our articulated curriculum in such a way that we are able to sustain and enhance experiences over time.” With this focus, all students can become active participants in their education. They not only learn about science from their teachers but see it applied in real-time. Kindergartners ask the question, “Where does my food come from?” and can then go outside to see the garden beds that house lettuce, beans, and other seeds.

This year, third graders collaborated with their kindergarten peers to apply their

Alumni Highlights

TESS ’16

What is your favorite memory of the outdoors from when you were a student?

Definitely getting my first taste of outdoor climbing. We were fortunate enough to take multiple trips out to the “Gunks” to go top-roping, and it completely opened up my world to the sport of climbing outdoors. What little indoor gym climbing there was in New York at the time was fine (and we took a

knowledge of fractions and measurement to build new planting boards and planting grids for the garden. In addition to this gardening experience, students also benefit from the unique opportunity to engage with Riverdale’s collaborative partnership with AeroFarms, which started with the chance to “co-design the specifications for a community farm for the River Campus that is a scaled-down version of the commercial aeroponic farms developed by the company.”

The access students and teachers have to AeroFarms is invaluable because it supplements their studies in a way that fosters their scientific inquiries and promotes a critical consideration of their relationship to nature.

They see the effect of watering seeds over time and notice the difference in using LED lights, and once the vegetables grow, they can enjoy them during lunch and feel a sense of accomplishment knowing they play a part in growing them. Students in fourth grade use the aeroponic farm to contemplate sustainability and the role of technology. James explains, “They examine the variables and function of the aeroponic farm and also microscopically analyze the microgreens, which are composed of specific seed varieties that are more nutrient dense than varieties grown in traditional farms.” Students

become scientists and mathematicians and have the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to experiential projects that utilize their campus.

Students are constantly encouraged to relate their personal experiences to the world around them and consider what it means to share the spaces they occupy. “For our Upper Learning students in grades 3-5, we want them to use their scientific knowledge to begin making connections about the importance of environmental stewardship. We spend a considerable amount of time, especially with our youngest students, attempting to cultivate an appreciation for the natural world. By establishing this foundation, there is an intrinsic motivation to think about the role that all of us can play in the realms of sustainable practices and environmental stewardship,” James shares. The Hudson River extends past our campus, therefore students must ask themselves how they can use their education and knowledge to protect the environment so that everyone can benefit. By extending our education beyond the classroom, students evolve and become increasingly aware of the mechanics of nature, and how we can play a part in the harmony or dissonance of the ecosystems.

few trips to climb in gyms as well), but getting to tackle nature-made routes and deal with the elements felt really satisfying. I still try to go out on as many outdoor climbing trips as I can.

What role does the outdoors play in your life as an alum?

I found my love of climbing while in the Outdoors Club. It wasn’t nearly as big of a sport as it is now, and there were barely any gyms in the New York area, but I knew it was something I was going to do for a long time. I worked at the local climbing wall while in college, and have been working at Central Rock

Gym on the Upper West Side on and off for about four years now. I currently have a full-time job as a video editor, but I coach one of the non-competitive youth teams on Sundays. The climbing community is so warm and accepting, and I would recommend the sport highly to anyone wanting to step out of their comfort zones to try something new.

AMANDA ’17

How did your interest in the outdoors impact your time at Riverdale?

I wouldn’t trade my experiences with the Riverdale outdoor programs for anything. Those trips taught me

that I am much stronger than I think I am. My interest in the outdoors and staying active had a lasting impact on my time at Riverdale. I was able to build community, have fun, and create bonds with both teachers and students to last me a lifetime!

What role does the outdoors play in your life as an alum?

Living in New York City, I try my best to actively carve out time for nature and the outdoors. Whether that looks like getting in my car and taking a weekend trip upstate, visiting friends in other states, or simply taking a stroll through Central Park or Prospect Park—I’ll do anything to get time outside with fresh air and sunlight!

WILL ’20

How did your interest in the outdoors impact your time at Riverdale?

I came to Riverdale from Village Community School, a very small and tight-knit community. Riverdale was a little bit of a cultural change for me, but I came in knowing that I love to be outside, and specifically that from a young age I was big into bird watching— that was a big passion of mine. I figured out quickly that the way that I would be able to pursue that as an extracurricular was by joining the Outdoors Club. As soon as I could, I switched to an activitybased advisory. I learned about what it takes to be behind the scenes to plan trips outdoors, like coordinating trip signups, creating itineraries, considering risk management, and food planning, which I didn’t come in expecting, but

came out really valuing.

I remember participating in an optional backpacking freshman orientation trip. It was two nights and I was definitely in over my head. I was really small in freshman year, and that didn’t help me backpacking. I had a couple of what I call “never again moments,” where I’m sitting there in the woods, thinking, “I’m never going to do this again.” However, Marshall Nicoloff, the former director of outdoor programs, who was my advisor in my sophomore year, convinced me to sign up for the spring break trip. We went out to Utah to the Bears Ears National Monument and did about five days backpacking there, and that’s when I really kind of got hooked and thought, “Okay, I really enjoy this, not just the being outside and the planning of logistics, but also the leadership aspect.” Marshall set up the trips in a way that everybody would get at least two days as a leader or as co-leader of the day. It was a great way to force everybody to step into that [leadership] role, because there was an incredibly good support network for students as they did so. I feel like on that trip in Utah, I really fell in love with being a [leader]. I kept doing it as much as I could at Riverdale. I had an amazing time going on all those trips, as well as being in the Outdoors Club. Marshall was really one of my most important mentors at Riverdale.

What is your favorite memory of the outdoors from when you were a student?

I have a lot of great memories, but specifically for the Bears Ears trip, on the very first day, I was almost having another one of those “never again moments.” We woke up after the first night and it had snowed. There were like two inches of snow. It was absolutely beautiful. We hadn’t descended into the canyon. We were still at the Mesa and we were just looking at this beautiful snowscape, and we had to wait that morning before we could hike down because we didn’t want to descend a very steep terrain when it was slippery. We waited, the sun melted everything away pretty quickly, and that afternoon we hiked down, we dropped over 1,000 feet of vertical in way under a quarter of a mile. It was extremely steep, it was ridiculous. By the time we got to the bottom, everyone was exhausted. I had a blister forming on my foot and my backpack didn’t sit right. I was so thin I couldn’t tighten my waist belt enough to get it down there. My pack was swinging around and it was super uncomfortable. When we got to the bottom of the canyon, I actually swapped waist belts with Jazmin Rogers, director of special projects. I took her women’s medium waist belt and gave her my men’s medium waist belt. From then on, it was fine. I had no complaints. After that, I sort of was able to step into a leadership role and spend more time having fun rather than worrying about my own issues. I see that day as a turning point for me, where I was gaining confidence and being able to really enjoy what I was doing.

TESS ROSENTHAL ’16

AMANDA CHILES ’17

WILL VANDYKE ’20

Student Faculty Rock Climbing Trip

Upper School Counselor, Coordinator of Consent Culture, and Middle and Upper School Health Course Coordinator Allison Finder and Assistant Director of Community Engagement and Affinity Coordinator Ciara Everett consider the outdoors to be a special place for them both as leaders of the school and everyday human beings.

Ciara says, “I’ve always been very enamored with the outdoors, probably from growing up with mostly boy cousins who loved to play in the park or get a community game of tag going. I stopped engaging much with the outdoors outside of traveling as I got older. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I went back for a hike and was taken aback by the beauty and calming nature of being outside. I want students to have the same feelings of excitement and eagerness when they think of the outdoors. Our amazing Outdoor Education Director, Jake Crowley-Delman, inspired us to continue this relationship by engaging with the incredible work that he’s done since joining the RCS community. It’s interesting to share these experiences with students because there weren’t many outdoor or experiential programs offered in the schools we previously attended while growing up. We love watching students grow and learn in the outdoors and are amazed by the amount of them who come in with knowledge and skills that teach us something new. Being on programs with students and seeing a growth in their interest and abilities reinvigorates the teacher in us. Also, there’s nothing like waking up to a beautiful sunrise or mountainside while outdoors.”

Allison adds, “As a lifelong lover of the outdoors, Riverdale’s robust experiential and outdoor opportunities for both students and faculty initially drew me to pursue a career here. My very first experience going outside with Riverdale was on a faculty hike led by Jake Crowley-Delman in the fall of 2020. The previous school year (my first at RCS) had of course been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this was one of the first real opportunities I had to connect with colleagues in person since 2019. The experience of laughing, exploring, summiting peaks, and making memories with fellow (albeit safely masked) faculty members was a literal and figurative breath of fresh air. While regular meetings over Zoom provided some touchpoints to community and colleagueship, this hike reminded me of the deep importance of interpersonal connection and shared experience in real time. The fact that we were able to have this collective experience in beautiful Black Rock Forest was also a reminder of the importance of place and environment as a connection to humanity, humility, and shared history. A year later, I was

fortunate enough to join 10 other faculty members on a week-long backpacking trip to Bears Ears, Utah, with Riverdale Outdoors. This once-in-a-lifetime experience masterfully embodied all of the unique and powerful experiences that outdoor ed and interdisciplinary studies can provide when combined intentionally and thoughtfully. I left this program with a greater understanding of the cultural landscape of the Bears Ears region, including the history and significant contributions of the indigenous groups who inhabited this land and still consider it sacred today. I also came away with the invaluable experience of connecting with colleagues around a shared experience that deepened our understanding of one another and helped us to develop lasting bonds that are meaningful on both a personal and professional level.”

One of the trips we went on with students this year was a rock climbing expedition in the famed “Gunks” with the support of guides from Alpine Endeavors. Although the majority of the students claimed that they had “never climbed before,” their skill set and confidence level while navigating the

Allison Finder and Ciara Everett

steep rock faces suggested otherwise! We were so proud, not only of their willingness to try new things but also the ways in which they supported one another throughout the day. We were fortunate to have Demond “Dom” Mullins join us on our rock climbing adventure following his visit to the Hill Campus for an Upper School assembly, where he shared about his ice climbing expeditions and his interest in continuous actions to try and reach success. Never one to be bound by the limits society has set for him, Mullins is a pioneering adventurer whose remarkable feats of grit and endurance against all odds are inspiring the next generation of diverse adventurers. He is a member of Team Full Circle, which made history by becoming the first all-Black expedition to summit Mount Everest in the spring of 2022. Mullins is among the most influential voices in the outdoor adventure community, known for his endeavoring spirit and unyielding tenacity, as well as his ability to impart these traits into his teams on the journey to unlocking peak performance to achieve a shared purpose. Mullins’s assembly was a catalyst for some students deciding to join the trip and he really built relationships with those who attended, either in conversation or while belaying for them. We want students to have these new experiences and realize that they won’t know what they like or dislike without at least trying. There is so much land and space nearby us as New Yorkers that we are unaware of and it’s important for people to get to know this land. We hope that students will lean into discomfort, push growing edges, gain confidence, create newfound connections to places and each other, and care and respect for the world, for others, and for the self.

SOUNDBITES FROM STUDENTS:

“I thought that the trip was fun, although it was really cold. I think that rock climbing was a lot harder than I expected it to be, but the challenging part added to it. I think getting to the top and looking around was probably the best part, as there were really nice views.” –OLIVER

GOLDSTONE ’26

“I always wanted to rock climb so it seemed like a cool experience to join. It’s hard to pinpoint one favorite moment but a highlight was definitely when you gaze out from the top of a climb.” –KWESI

SAMUELS ’25

“It was really fun to climb my way up and find nooks to put my feet and hands in like a puzzle. I am scared of heights and thought I would not be able to get to the top, but when I got really high, I wasn’t even that scared anymore! I learned to have perseverance because even if I thought there were no places to go, the climbing instructors would help me find a different path to climb. Though I could not complete all of them, I still did more than I thought I could, and it was an overall amazing experience.” –TANYA

VERMA ’26

“My favorite part of the trip was being able to try something new and challenging. I also enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment after each climb.” –DAMONI

LINEN ’24

“The most challenging part of rock climbing is deciding what path to take up the wall, as it is easy to get stuck on which path to take. Consequently, the most rewarding part is when you figure out a clear path and make it up that part.” –SAGE

LAPPAS ’24

Students, faculty, and Dom Mullins on rock climbing expedition trip.

Students at an overlook during a climbing trip.

BOOK CLUB Our Missing Hearts

We hosted our second virtual alumni book club with a discussion of Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng with facilitator Head of Middle School and Assistant Head of School Milton Sipp. From the publisher: “Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power— and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.” Alumni had an engaging conversation about the book’s themes, the significance of our names, what it means to make a sacrifice, the intentions behind the decisions we make, and whether or not our world could become the world in the book. Stay tuned for more book club discussions this fall!

ALUMNI IN EDUCATION

We were thrilled to host the first Riverdale Alumni in Education group meeting, facilitated by MAGGIE CICCO ’13. Alumni from class years ranging from 1969 to 2013 participated in an engaging discussion about how their experience at Riverdale inspired and shaped their careers in education. Participants approached the conversation from their different perspectives, from working in undergraduate education to being curriculum consultants. We look forward to sharing more information about plans for additional group meetings!

SQUASH EVENT

Riverdale alumni from the classes of 2008 to 2018 were invited to participate in the Young Alumni Interschool Squash Event, together with Brearley, Chapin, Collegiate, Nightingale, and Spence, at The Spence School. Alumni received guidance from Spence coaches and played in a tournament. They connected with each other, reflecting on their shared high school experiences, and loved having the chance to play squash competitively again. Afterward, the evening continued at Dorrian’s Red Hand!

BRONX ALUMNI CELEBRATION

Alums who either grew up or currently live in the Bronx met and reminisced over food and drinks. We were excited to have the chance to support local alumni-owned businesses and are appreciative of DAVE LOPEZ ’03 and Gun Hill Brewing Company and DAMONE JOHNSON ’08 and Island Infusions Catering for providing a great venue to gather and amazing food to enjoy! It was wonderful to see everyone together and we hope to offer similar opportunities in the future.

THE REGINALD ZELNIK ’52 MEMORIAL LECTURE

Juniors in the Constructing America course welcomed Professor Mihir Desai, Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School, and a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, as this year’s Reginald Zelnik ’52 Memorial Lecture speaker. Professor Desai delivered his case study on reparations and the infamous Tulsa race riot of 1921.

CAREER PANEL

Riverdale’s Alumni Association Executive Committee (AAEC) hosted the 12th Annual Career Panel Discussion: Change Agents. Our lively moderator, PETER HERMANN P’24,’29, led a conversation about the paths our engaging panelists, GEORGES CLEMENT ’08, SUZAN JOHNSON COOK ’74, ADAM GREEN ’91, and ALICIA GUEVARA P’33, have taken in their careers, how they define success and if they consider themselves successful, the role that anger plays in their work and motivation, and the advice they would give to students.

Every year, the AAEC hosts this event to educate, inform, and connect members of the Riverdale community in a given field or industry. Past panel discussion topics included real estate, journalism, the restaurant industry, and business and creativity in fashion.

RICK BATES ’57 SPEAKER SERIES ASSEMBLY

LOVIA GYARKYE ’12, current arts and culture critic for The Hollywood Reporter and former editor at The New York Times, was this year’s speaker for the Rick Bates ’57 Speaker Series Assembly. Lovia spoke about her life and how her interest in journalism started by joining The Riverdale Review because her friend did. She then answered questions from the audience about her experiences interviewing celebrities like Lupita Nyong’o, the significance of print journalism, and her inspirations.

Scan QR code to watch the panel.

(password: alumni)

Scan QR code to view the assembly.

Georges Clement ’08, Adam Green ’91, Peter Hermann P’24,’29, Suzan Johnson Cook ’74, and Alicia Guevara P’33

Creators

KATHIE VORHAUS FIVEASH ’65

Kathie Vorhaus Fiveash ’65 wrote Human/Nature, a book of poems published by Penobscot Books. In the collection, “love and loss are woven together with the abiding beauty and complexity of the natural world. Experiences of loss and grief are tempered by gratitude and the will to go on.”

CHLOE MALLE ’04

Chloe Malle ’04 and c0-host Chioma Nnadi release weekly podcast episodes of The RunThrough with Vogue, where they discuss the latest news in fashion. In recent installments, they recapped the red carpet at the Met Gala, brought listeners through the process of creating Vogue’s May cover, and interviewed model and actress Cara Delevingne.

CHRISTOPHER JAMES ’08

Christopher James ’08 performed alongside pianist Lynelle James at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The brother-sister duo presented an evening of music dedicated to their late mother, Robelyn Schrade-James, and late uncle, Randy Schrade, with 80% of concert proceeds benefiting the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

JED LEVINSON ’20

Jed Levinson ’20 wrote a contemporary dramedy, Chutzpah, that was performed for the first time at the Brand New Theatre at USC. The story takes place a month before Clay’s Bar Mitzvah, when he joins “The Pro Wrestling Instagram Federation” and becomes absorbed by online cosplay. The show highlights how “the collision of his digital and real-life personas sets off a whirlwind of conflict and tension, impacting not only Clay, but also those around him in profound ways.” The show will have its NYC off-Broadway debut this November at the New York Theater Festival.

SADE LYTHCOTT ’95

Sade Lythcott ’95 is the CEO of the National Black Theatre, which co-produced the Broadway play Fat Ham with The Public Theater. The show was nominated for five Tony Awards®, including Best Play. Fat Ham is a Pulitzer Prizewinning play by James Ijames “that deftly transposes Hamlet to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility, and honesty.”

CAMERON KOFFMAN ’15 AND DAVID POCHAPIN ’15

Cameron Koffman ’15 and David Pochapin ’15 produced the twoman comedy show, Cellino v. Barnes, “about the notorious personal injury attorneys with the 888 jingle.” The show hit the stage for an extended run from April 13th to May 7th with all 19 shows selling out!

JUDITH MIZRACHY ’91

Judith Mizrachy ’91 recently produced the short documentary The Martha Mitchell Effect, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a 2023 Academy Award®. The film tells the story of the Cabinet wife who spoke out during Watergate and the Nixon administration’s campaign to gaslight her into silence. Named one of the ten best movies of the year by The Washington Post, The Martha Mitchell Effect is now streaming on Netflix.

ERIC RENARD ’83

Eric Renard ’83 debuted a collection of photographs, Urbanity in Black & White, “interpreting the light, shadow, and texture of urban areas, including Manhattan, Paris, London, and Los Angeles. Working in black and white, his high contrast, urban cityscapes and rural landscapes reflect an eerie sense of peace and tranquility, rarely portraying more than a few people” at The Artists Gallery (TAG) in Los Angeles. The show ran throughout the month of April.

Catching up with Asher Young ’13

Asher Young is a New York-based artist, creative director, designer, and producer who began as a magician and creator of theatrical haunted houses, later expanding into designing and directing theater and music shows. Credits include original works Nevermore, Inferno, Reverie, creative direction for concert tours for DPR and Opia, and large-scale installations such as a projection festival with the Beinecke Library; living artwork for Sotheby’s with collaborators as diverse as A$AP Rocky and the Edward Albee Estate; events with Virgin Voyages; the reimagination of Big Apple Circus; and Pathways at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He’s been on the design teams for several new entertainment venues, hotel concepts, and retail projects. Asher graduated from Yale University with a degree in Computing and the Arts and received the Susan J. Smith Prize for Outstanding Contribution in the Arts.

Asher founded and leads CYI Studio.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PURSUE A CAREER AS AN ARTIST? WAS THERE A PARTICULAR MOMENT WHEN YOU KNEW THIS WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO?

I was pretty lucky in that, directionally, I always knew that I wanted to follow what excited me. As a kid, I was a magician for ten years, and then started creating haunted houses—which of course started out terrible, but then over time they became real productions. I was gutting an apartment and doing all this crazy stuff in New York. Thankfully, my parents were super supportive. In the beginning, my parents suggested and prompted me with well-intentioned questions like, “Have you thought about working

PHOTO CREDIT: JAIME PAVON

for Disney?” trying to find a known path for what I was interested in. I never felt that I was going to have a “job” outside of the arts, whether it be theater, entertainment, or whatever.

Creating always has brought me the most joy. For better or worse, I jokingly say that I’m unqualified for anything else. I’m the most happy when I’m creating things. The art and theater path is very difficult, but despite this I have always felt the pull to pursue it, and within the arts my path is constantly evolving.

YOU FOUNDED CHALLENGE YOUR IMAGINATION (CYI) STUDIO, A CREATIVE DIRECTION, DESIGN, AND PRODUCING STUDIO DEVELOPING PROJECTS INTERNALLY AND FOR OTHERS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT “CHALLENGE YOUR IMAGINATION” MEANS TO YOU AND HOW IT INSPIRES YOUR PROJECTS?

I think I came up with the name when I was at Riverdale; nowadays most people just use the abbreviation CYI Studio. However, “challenge your imagination” is an internal reminder of how to continue my practice—to push ideas further and understand where they come from. That is why I am still attached to it. It’s a reminder of what I sought as a kid and not to lose that in the process of continuing to do the work.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS LIKE FOR DEVELOPING THESE LARGE-SCALE IMMERSIVE AND PARTICIPATORY SHOWS?

The short answer is it takes a really long time—depending on the project, a show can take years to fully develop. On the other hand, sometimes you

are given the opportunity to quickly stand up an idea and learn from it for future iterations.

When the form of the work fundamentally requires an audience, the audience is the lead character in the work, so we have to spend a lot of time devising and planning. First, starting from zero, you have to conceive of the show, conceive of the dynamic, conceive of the intention, but then you put it in front of an audience in a workshop, and you’re like 95% wrong. I am exaggerating, but you

are trying to find the best modality for the audience to respond to the idea. Then you do it again. The constant iteration, while sometimes tiring, is actually pretty freeing. The key is knowing what the narrative or conceptual core of these concepts are and continually putting them in front of audiences in various specific forms in the hopes that they are received by the viewer.

Practically, most of my work is insanely logistically complicated, partially because the projects don’t follow a repeatable logic

PHOTO CREDIT: BRIAN TWITTY

PHOTO CREDIT: ASHER YOUNG

PHOTO CREDIT: MARLON CO

Asher Young ’13 (continued)

For me, the question is actually less about the relationship between art and technology and more about how we use technology as a medium to investigate existing questions of ideology or social dynamics. Technology can sometimes highlight or present those questions in novel ways.

Fundamentally, technology is a reflection of us as a society—the good, bad, etc. Right now, we are recreating a hologram we originally developed for an original show for a new piece called Living Memory, and it’s trying to represent loved ones who have passed away. Because memories are ephemeral —how do we create a piece of physical ephemera that reflects that premise as an installation?

I spend a lot of time thinking not about what new technologies might be developed but what ideas we are trying to explore conceptually. Does technology allow us to do that? What are its repercussions? What does it mean to represent a body outside of its physical space? For this piece, it is important to use technology to try to represent a real memory originating from a photo instead of using technology to create a moment that didn’t exist—like making Elvis use an iPhone.

The technology is not showing off its capabilities but instead supporting the piece’s intention.

—each one has a different blueprint. All of them require a talented producing team and a talented set of artists who want to work through new problems, not because they immediately know how to solve them but because they are committed to working through whatever it takes to get to a solution.

YOU USE COMPUTERS, MATHEMATICAL FORMULAS, AND HOLOGRAMS WHEN DEVELOPING YOUR PROJECTS—WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND ART?

We’ve always had technology, right? We are now in an age of a different level of technology, but the concept of technology has existed forever—for example, the wheel is an early piece of technology that transformed early human society. It’s a cliché reference for a reason.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE AUDIENCES TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR SHOWS?

Each show is very different—they all have a different truth that they’re searching for. I’m doing this immersive dinner show right now about building new relationships between people, and I want you to leave with a new friend, a new lover, a new mentor, or whatever is right for you. We did an installation last year at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden about mycorrhizal networks and how

PHOTO CREDIT: ASHER YOUNG

trees communicate with one another or send resources to one another. We used a beam of light to represent unseen connections that are present in our daily lives. I wanted people to walk away not necessarily knowing about the trees, but understanding that these things are connected, and are sharing resources. We did an immersive haunted house based on Edgar Allan Poe, where the audience walked inside various tableaus in disintegrating rooms because we wanted them to experience the residue of Poe’s fractured mind.

It’s a long way of saying that each of the shows has a specific intention that we ultimately want the audience to walk away with.

HOW DID YOUR EXPERIENCE AT RIVERDALE IMPACT YOU? WHAT WAS MEMORABLE ABOUT YOUR TIME AT RCS?

There are two experiences that come to mind. The first starts with another alum—TONY MELCHIOR ’73. He gave me my first job. I was 13 or something and there was an internship program. I was looking through all the alumni postings and everyone had these incredibly long descriptions, but his description was “concerts, call [phone number].” I said to myself, alright, I’m gonna call him. I worked for him on giant festivals and shows throughout high school. I even worked a 48-hour EDM concert at Roseland Ballroom. That was an incredible learning experience. I still talk to Tony all the time.

Second, I remember my senior project—I took over the entrance to the cafeteria. I hung a mannequin and all these panels and did this projection mapping experiment which I called Freefall. It was there for weeks. Riverdale was incredibly supportive and let me try all these

weird ideas. I really appreciated the opportunity to participate in the tech theater program with Derek Brashears, who is no longer there, and to do theater with Amanda Eastman.

YOU TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE UPCOMING IMMERSIVE DINNER THEATER AND THE LIVING MEMORIES PROJECT. ARE YOU WORKING ON ANYTHING ELSE NOW?

I just did an immersive K-pop concert that traveled the world and performed in 45 different cities. You walked in and the first hour was a sound installation, and then at the end the entire set fell down, leaving the performer on stage with a mirror to

confront his identity. We may be working with a museum on a little exhibition this fall. I am also working with some up-andcoming fashion designers on some new ideas, which I am very excited about— more collaborative work, which I find very fun. Just to give you the spectrum, from immersive theater to concert tours to our art exhibitions and installations—we establish every project’s creative narrative through a rigorous artistic process and invite audiences to be the protagonist of the work.

www.asheryoung.com

www.cyi.studio

IG: cyi.studio

Email: asher@cyi.studio

PHOTO CREDIT: JAIME PAVON

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL MARSLAND

PHOTO CREDIT: JULIAN CASSADY

Ade Adeniji ’05

Between New York City and Los Angeles, Ade Adeniji ’05 has carved out a unique path for his creativity.

As a journalist, Ade’s work has most recently been featured in Inside Philanthropy: from Robin Hood Foundation’s focus on rebuilding New York or the generational goals of David and Georgia Welles of the Cricket Island Foundation, to broader topics like Black philanthropy and climate change, he’s been covering the latest in philanthropic news. Ade also writes for a diverse array of outlets including CBS News, Newsweek, WIRED, and VICE, where he shares his thoughts on video games and technology, history and race, politics, film and television, and music (specifically G-funk and ’90s West Coast hip hop). He is also an approved Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Critic through his blog, Soapbox, connecting his current writing to his time as a movie review writer for The Riverdale Review

Early in his time at Riverdale, Ade recognized the importance of commitment and routine, which continues to serve him as he builds his portfolio and strengthens his craft. Ade recalls taking the early bus to get to the track before the sun rose, rushing to classes, and continuing with track practice right after school—and follows that same rhythm as he writes today: “I have the same sort of structure now —I wake up, I work out, and I start writing. Between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. I need to have exercised and be out, and with people.” Ade also remembers the variety of interests

he was able to explore at Riverdale before studying history at Pomona College, including the senior elective Building in the Urban Past with Mr. [Steven] Kolman, which sparked Ade’s interest in maps, geography, and urban planning and influenced his recent VICE article “Why There’s No Room for Suburbs in Open-World Games ” “Some classes were mandatory but my memory is all about those electives and [co-curricular] activities. There were so many layers to those experiences that it gives you a model of how to be independent and self-directed.”

A graduate of Pomona College and the American Film Institute Conservatory in California, Ade recognized how his experiences in and out of the classroom, along with the tools he gained at Riverdale, college, and graduate school, could help him better envision the possibilities of a career on the West Coast. “When I initially came out to LA, my plan was to be a screenwriter but now I see [writing] as a bigger thing and there are many hats that I have worn,” says Ade. Ade’s curiosity about impactful initiatives, the people that drive them, and the many ways donors shape outcomes led him in an exciting direction, telling stories centered on the greater good that inform and inspire.“I became very interested in understanding where [a supporter’s] money goes and how it flows within these spaces because philanthropies can be

a huge way for people to control public life,” says Ade. “I wanted to track those efforts and highlight the results.” As an Inside Philanthropy staff writer, Ade has profiled major donors including Brooklyn Nets owner Clara Wu Tsai, Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark, and most recently, real estate mogul Jorge Pérez of Related Group. Meeting individuals with the potential to produce groundbreaking impact dovetailed with Ade’s growing interest in learning about changemakers in his immediate community. “I’ve discovered it’s not really about the big names at the top, but really about masses of people coming together, trying to empower themselves through things like giving circles [groups with shared values collectively discussing and deciding where to make a combined gift]” says Ade, “pooling collective resources to have power.” Recently, Ade moderated a panel discussion during Black Climate Week, an annual event hosted by The Solutions Project designed to amplify and center Black voices in innovative climate solutions and environmental justice work while calling for investment in communities most impacted by the climate crisis. “Giving circle experts came and talked about institutional philanthropy, equity, and inclusion and leveling the playing field. I want to do more stories that highlight groups of people making a difference in those ways,” says Ade.

Ade enjoys exploring his expansive journalistic reach and speaks fondly of every milestone that has contributed to his journey thus far. When thinking about advice he’d share with Riverdale students who may be considering a career in journalism, he says, “School isn’t the only thing that will prepare you for the realities of this industry. I learned a lot of what I know through mentors, connecting with people on social media, cold pitching, and chasing down editors.” He continues, “Find something you’re interested in, find someone who connects to it, reach out and ask, ‘How can I support? How can I help? How can I work? How can I partner?’” These key lessons have been essential to Ade’s own development as a writer, and ultimately his success, as he sought opportunities to make authentic connections that could support his next steps. He also acknowledges the business side of the industry and the challenges of being a freelance writer and shares, “There are advocacy groups for writers that I’ve worked with for over ten years that have helped me along the way. You have to learn how to manage taxes and ensure payment for your work…. I learned how to break down doors to [find] people looking for new voices.”

Ade admits that he has always loved learning about people, culture, and how shared beliefs bind our society. Ade hears about the personal stories behind significant missions that motivate action along with the intentionality of those who shape our cultural spaces and considers the role of telling their stories an important one. “I’ve always been someone who loves people, but there was a time in my life when I was a lot more introverted. I’m glad that part of my growth has been showing other sides of myself to people and getting that same access to them.”

WELCOME

JALIZ ALBANESE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING

Favorite book: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Favorite place to visit:

I am obsessed with Miami, FL. I did Teach for America there and I wrote my master’s thesis about teacher understanding of racial dynamics between students in Little Havana and Liberty City public schools. The diversity of Latin American culture and politics in Miami is so unique and I like to go back and visit whenever I can.

Highlights from a 6th Grader

Monday: Today in science, we discussed ways to keep our earth clean. Also, a couple of students from the Maru-a-Pula School in Gaborone, Botswana visited the Hill Campus and played really amazing music.

Tuesday: We had P.E. today and it was a lot of fun to work with my classmates to time our sprints and hurdles.

Wednesday: We had rehearsal for this year’s Middle School musical production, Newsies Jr., after school. I can’t wait till we get to perform!

Thursday: Today was a long day so my friends and I made time to play around after school and had a lot of fun.

Friday: I went to the theater for Study Hall and Ms. Quarshie gave out lollipops to celebrate the end of the week!

Class

1949

HELEN VINCENT ATLAS wrote: It would be fun knowing the high points of one’s classmates’ careers. As a trained simultaneous interpreter from Russian and French into English, all three of which I speak fluently, I was hired by impresario Sol Hurok to accompany performing artists and companies from the Soviet Union when he toured here in the 1960s. For some ten years, I had the pleasure and honor of interpreting for the Bolshoi and Kirov ballet companies, the Moiseyev Dance Company, the Moscow Art Theatre, and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra with Kirill Kondrashin conducting, with whom Texan Van Cliburn won Moscow’s first international competition back in 1968. Friendships were formed with some artists whom I then visited when in Moscow and Leningrad—renamed Saint Petersburg again now. The ones I prized the most were with prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, the late Maya Plisetskaya, as well as its artistic director, Yuri Grigorovich. The Bolshoi Ballet frequently toured the United States back then.

1951

DICK BERNHARD provided the following update in his Christmas newsletter: I personally continue to thrive at The Cypress Retirement Community. I’m now 89 years old and mostly enjoying letting the world come to me. I’m still Professor Emeritus of Industrial & Systems Engineering at NCSU and still actively serving, via Zoom, on the NCSU Faculty Senate, the College of

Engineering Executive Committee, and the University Library Committee. I continue to do a lot of work on family genealogy for myself and others. I’ve also been keeping the Find-A-Grave entries up-to-date for my church columbarium, including pictures and informative obituaries. Zoom and YouTube and other nifty modern communication tools are blessings we can all use and enjoy. I routinely now “attend” church services at St. Luke Lutheran Church at the Cornell campus gate in Ithaca, NY, where my dad was president of the Church Council nearly 100 years ago and Cindy and I were married in 1969; Trinity Church in Boston, where I was a regular during my student days at MIT and Harvard in the 1950s; and, of course, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church here in Raleigh, where people in my family have been members for many years. Its columbarium currently holds the remains of my wife, Cindy, and mine will join hers there when my time comes, as it inevitably will.

1955

LESLIE WRIGHT DOW writes: My husband, Bill, and I are now living on St. Simons Island, in a retirement community, which works well “at our age.”

MARGO KRASNE shares: I’m fine! Still working (can you believe!?)— still writing and have gone back to drawing—for the sheer pleasure of it. Finally got to Africa over Thanksgiving—the one thing on my bucket list that had been missing—and will be going to Spain in April with my nephew and his wife to see their new house. Can’t believe our age! At least we

can say, “We’re here!”

GAIL SLAUSON FLATTO reports: I am doing well! Age is only a number and mine is unlisted!

This past Christmas, my son, ADAM ’81, invited the family to his home in California—although it rained most of the time, we were so very compatible together! I even walked three miles in Malibu at a pace that surprised the others! I am on the Board of Advisors for Celebrity Series, which brings talented people from all over the world to Boston. I also am involved with the BAA (Boston Arts Academy), which is the only high school that added “A” (for Art) to “STEM” (Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math), making it STEAM. I also volunteer for the Animal Rescue League, where I concentrate on making kitties feel at home until they are adopted; I’m on the Board of the Prospero Society that provides Shakespearean Plays on the Common outdoors in Boston; I

BILL MOW ’55 IN LA DURING A VISIT WITH TIM ’57 AND NINA ZAGAT

try to walk two miles a day (including stairways) and that makes up for yoga!!

My son, Adam (a Riverdale grad), is a major real estate developer in NYC with properties all over the country and in Europe. My grandson was a chef in a fantastic restaurant in NYC and now is contemplating following the path of TIM ZAGAT ’57! My granddaughter is a therapist in NY.

LOUISE GRUEN GRAYER writes: Steve and I still live in the same old house in Chappaqua, NY. We still go into NYC for theater, etc.; Saturday matinees have become very appealing. Children and grandchildren are all doing well. My children live within an hour’s car ride and the grandkids are in college or recent grads. No complaints. I see BETTY STRAUSS PFORZHEIMER sometimes. A bit ago she sent me an email telling me that our science teacher, Lois Rochester, had died.

JANE SAMET ROGERS shares: I am here in Annapolis near my children and enjoying life. I can’t believe we are 84-85 years old!!! No more overseas traveling for me. I have two old dogs and one old cat. I tell people I’m running an assisted living for animals!! I visited NYC with my grandchildren over Christmas; they wanted to see where I grew up and it was fun!!!! Still playing tennis and occasionally pickleball... Still banging away and studying piano… I am very blessed to have survived COVID and am still able to enjoy my life. Learning to live without Ed is hard.

BETTY STRAUSS PFORZHEIMER reports: Our family has expanded to three children, three in-law children, and seven grandchildren. We look forward to two weddings this summer. I am still on some boards but removing myself a bit as time goes on. And I was so sorry to see that Lois Rochester had died. She was wonderful to us—and I think must have been 24 when she first started teaching science.

SUSAN MERRILL DOYLE writes: I have lived in England since 1977. I love it here in Yorkshire, but of course miss the children, grandchildren, and now three

great-grandchildren, all in California. I will be going to California in April for a visit, but am dreading the long trip. For many years I went twice a year. I was happily married for 45 years, but my husband died 21 years ago.

1956

BILL BORCHARD reports: I am still practicing trademark and copyright law, but am winding down. By 2024, I expect to have transitioned responsibility for all of my clients to my partners. After that, I will continue to write and edit articles for publication by my firm, Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, and will take life easier.

I am enjoying spending the summer in Cape Cod; the winter in Delray Beach, Florida; and spring and fall in Mt. Kisco, NY. My wife, Myra, and our two married children and their families, bring us joy. I hope to do some traveling, too.

I remain in good health and enjoy tennis and boating. But I miss our departed classmates.

1957

TIM ZAGAT and his wife, Nina, got together with BILL MOW ’55 and his wife, Rosa, at the Mows’ house in LA.

YVONNE PAYNE DANIEL writes: Sending best wishes for continued health and happiness to all my classmates. I have two greatgrandchildren now—Lucas, born on Dec 6, 2022, and Melody, age 3—so life is good locally despite the rain floods of California.

SUE JACOBS SCHAFFZIN shares: ED

had a busy travel month in March. First he went to Boca Raton to celebrate his brother’s 90th birthday! Then his son and he flew to CA to visit his younger granddaughter at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Another highlight of that trip was a visit to The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Ed has made it a point to visit all his grandchildren at their colleges.

I, unfortunately, stayed home, recovering from two bone injuries from a bad fall. I’m happy to report that everything is healing well now.

1959

GEOFF HOWARD writes: “Not much news from the Land of 1959. As far as I know, we’re all still here, although TERRE ALPER OTTO writes of a close encounter with the “other side” that fortunately had a happy ending. The encounter involved a thoracic aneurysm and a very serious stroke which luckily happened in the ICU. She writes, “But I am still here, … and actually FINE!

THANK YOU GOD!!!!” Glad you’re still with us, Terre!

This summer, my wife Carole and I will be taking our COVID-postponed “125 trip,” planned for 2020 to celebrate our 50th and Carole’s 75th. We’ll be repeating our honeymoon, but without the pup tent this time, in the Canadian Rockies.

However, there is a mid-summer reunion planned at the home of RON WINSTON and hopefully there will be more updates in the next Quad.

1960

MIKE O’NEIL reports: I’m arranging to buy trout to stock Woodland Brook, something my family has been doing since the 1960s.

JIM AVARY, STEVE GORDON, and DAVE PETZAL ’59 have fished the stream with me—lo these many years ago.

MICHAEL KATZ writes: I stay in touch with JOHN ENTELIS, JEFF BIJUR, BOB KENAS (regrettably deceased) — members of Unbeaten ’58/’59 team—

TIM ZAGAT ’57, NINA ZAGAT, ROSA MOW, AND BILL MOW ’55

and DON GINSBERG, BOB GAYNOR, ED STERN—scholars. I am still in the San Francisco Bay area after 50 years, have a grandson at Drake school on the cross country team—“it is the spirit that quickeneth!”—and a granddaughter at UCSD—how about those Aztecs! I have been retired for too long (from the video games industry). Enjoying daily tennis and cruises to Greek Islands whenever I can swing it. Advice to youngsters—get a profession, don’t retire too early, buy property, Carpe Diem!

1965

RACHEL HADAS shares: I have now happily retired from Rutgers–Newark, where I started teaching in 1981. (My classmate BARBARA FOLEY retired a year or two ahead of me.) Still writing, reviewing, editing… Best wishes to all classmates.

KATHIE VORHAUS FIVEASH writes: A book of my poetry, Human/Nature, was published in 2022 by Penobscot Books Human love and loss are woven together with the abiding beauty and complexity of the natural world. The poems spring from my conviction that the human world and the natural world are deeply interconnected. The imposed solitude of the pandemic finds its way into these poems, along with the strength and comfort I find in immersing myself in my lifelong connections to earth, sea, sky, and wild creatures.

1966

SANDY MACDONALD shares: I am happily resettled in New York City, where I write for New York Stage Review, sing with the Oratorio Society, and seize every opportunity to hang out with my daughter and 7-year-old grand-twins. I’m grateful to ALEXA STELLINGS for reconnecting me to wonderful Riverdale friends with whom I had long lost touch.

1967

MIKE STEIN is thrilled to report: as the Throws Coach, (you know, Heavy Stuff, for distance), of the Hunter College Hawks, that the Women’s Track and Field team repeated as CUNY Outdoor Track and Field champions on May 6, 2023. This extends our recent Winning Streak to Four Consecutive Titles, dating back to CUNY Outdoor in May 2022, CUNY Cross Country in November 2022, as well as CUNY Indoor in February 2023. I have accumulated conference caps and shirts, at a record pace, of which one may never have too many. Next year bodes well, also; so, I will keep you updated.

1969

BOB DRAKE notes: This has been a special year for me of which I am quite proud. I was just named world chairman of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and want to invite all Riverdalians to come and visit this pearl in the crown of Israel. My wife will be getting a Ph.D. honoris causa there in November. In addition, I am celebrating my 50th college reunion at Bucknell in June, and I was informed that I will be receiving the Humanitarian Award for the class of 1973. Otherwise all is well. We have seven wonderful grandchildren and all cylinders are firing in a great way. Lots to be thankful for. Wishing everyone happiness, great health, and wisdom as we all progress through our eighth decade of life. If anyone is visiting the Netherlands, we would love to see you.

1970

BOB KAHN writes: My wife, Linda, and I are thrilled to announce the birth, in November, of our first grandchild, Alice Kahn, who is arguably the cutest baby in the world. Having lots of fun in this new chapter of our lives.

ANDREA ELLISON shares: We’ve been living in Boca Raton for many, many years and enjoying bagels, the beach,

and now, lots of babysitting! We have six grandchildren, ages 5 and under! Such fun, enjoying our three daughters and their (of course) adorable kids! My husband, Mark, and I are still presenting shows for kids and adults at various venues around town. On vacations up North and out West to Cali, we’ve had the pleasure of getting together with a number of those from our class: MICHELLE MOYE MARTIN, HELOISE DEROSIS, DEBBIE FREUND, and AMY DAVIS, and am looking forward to taking the trip across Alligator Alley one of these days to see our Florida West Coast classmates. And now, I have to retrieve about 15 beach balls from the pool that the kids have thrown in!

DEBBIE FREUND writes: I am now working and teaching health economics at UCLA, in addition to sitting on several boards. I’m no longer teaching at the Claremont Colleges.

KEN DAVIES shares: Margrethe and I continue to live on our small farm in Jinja, Uganda, on the Nile, where I am growing vanilla and Margrethe works as the volunteer doctor at Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja. Please look RHHJ up on the web if you are looking for a local charity where 100% of the contributions assist the very poor directly. [My] son Benjamin, 34, and Jessica were married last September, the first official marriage of our five kids. They are scattered, Benjamin and Jess in

ALICE, GRANDDAUGHTER OF BOB KAHN ’70

CLASS OF 1972 CELEBRATES THEIR 50TH REUNION

Alexandria, VA; Daniel, 33, and Martina in Juba, South Sudan; Lukas, 31, and his Jess in Greenwich Village; Emma, 29, in the Philippines; and Johannes, 26, in Paris. I regret the cancellation of our 50th reunion and am looking forward to our 55th reunion in 2025. In the interim, I would love to hear from former classmates at kendavies52@yahoo.com Very best wishes from the Equator to all old classmates and Riverdale friends.

1972

LIZ LASDON writes: The Class of 1972 celebrated their 50th reunion in October 2022 in a packed 36 hours of festivities on- and off-campus, starting with single-sex parties on Friday evening, in deference to the class’s legacy as the last single-sex classes

1976

ANDRE MIRKINE shares: As we always do, the four of us, MICHAEL NASO, LOU BUCCERI, GEORGE XYLAS, and I, got together for some laughs. Friends for over 46 years.

TIMMY GREENE ’80 and GINGER

GREENE BERKELHAMER ’85 share: It’s with sadness that we inform everyone of the passing of our brother, BOBBY GREENE. For those who knew him, Bobby was a star athlete for Riverdale in the mid-’70s as the starting football quarterback, basketball guard, and baseball shortstop. He went on to a very successful career as a lawyer at the SEC. He is survived by his wife and two kids, who are the greatest people you would want to know. His love of jazz and cooking was always a source of great happiness to him. He was a big influence on my life and a great friend to many. He will be missed and his memory (among many others) of a great 40-yard zig-zag run against McBurney will live on forever!!

PETER FELD writes: Earlier in April, PAUL GOTTSEGEN and I had the chance to see a fantastic jazz performance by WILLIAM GALISON ’75 at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village, NYC.

1978

CARL MELTZER shares: I’m happily retired in Goshen, NY, writing another book, jamming around, and raising a five-year-old boy full of wonder.

1979

to graduate at RCS before full coeducation. Activities continued the next day with tours, varsity sports games, and class photos on the Hill and River Campuses. Reunion culminated with cocktails and a 1972 dinner in a private venue, where we laughed, reminisced, and rekindled many friendships.

PATTY GREENE ISEN writes: Enjoying life! See LORI TARNOPOL MOORE and LOREN HECKER TAUFIELD ’78 all the time. Have two green boys, 30 yrs old and 28 yrs old. Living in NYC. Doing real estate with my mother for the last eight years with Douglas Elliman.

CLASS OF 1972 CELEBRATES THEIR 50TH REUNION

WILLIAM GALISON ’75, PAUL GOTTSEGEN ’76, AND PETER FELD ’76

FROM RIGHT TO LEFT: MICHAEL NASO ’76, LOU BUCCERI ’76, GEORGE XYLAS ’76, AND ANDRE MIRKINE ’76

1980

ANDY BERNSTEIN has been named a senior fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), which is associated with Columbia Law School and the Columbia Climate School. His work with CCSI will focus on energy transition issues in developing countries.

1981

MARC TURKEL reports: A group of our intrepid classmates gathered in France’s cote d’Azur this past summer to celebrate the wedding of ANDREW MEYERS to the brilliant and lovely Tanya Gallo. RICHARD SIEGEL, CAROL ROSENBAUM, JASON MALAMUD, JAMES (aka Jimmy) ATKINSON, and SARAH BINGER JAMES, all came together for a stunning and very moving celebration at Andrew’s mountain villa in Vence. After accomplished careers in academics and urban planning, Andrew and Tanya recently launched the Living City Project, an inspired program that uses the city as a laboratory and classroom for high school and college students to develop independent projects to address our city’s urgent challenges.

1982

GWEN PERLMAN shares: [I was] so happy to attend reunion last year. Thank you, TRACY SCHAFFZIN, for hosting a great off-campus party. Last year I started a new position at NYU as Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service after more years in government service than I would like to admit. It’s been a great new adventure. Thanks to my wonderful husband and stepdaughters, I am a grandmother twice over to two wonderful boys.

1983

ERIC RENARD’s collection of photographs, Urbanity in Black & White, debuted at The Artists Gallery (TAG)

on April 5th and ran through April. 29. The flyer for the exhibition describes it as “a collection of photographs interpreting the light, shadow, and texture of urban areas, including Manhattan, Paris, London, and Los Angeles. Working in black and white, his high contrast, urban cityscapes and rural landscapes reflect an eerie sense of peace and tranquility, rarely portraying more than a few people.”

1986

JOHN ERTHEIN writes: It has been ages since I checked in. I am currently pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bainbridge, Georgia (in the Southwest corner of the state), since September of 2020. Back in 2020, I got to visit ALEX ELMAN FOLEY down in Sarasota, Florida. She looks great! I was married from 2004 to 2016 and have three kids, ages 17, 14, and 12. Stop by for some small-town Southern hospitality if you get the chance!

TINA SCOTT POLSKY reports: I am proud to announce I have won reelection to the Florida Senate for a fouryear term. I also continue to practice as a mediator. Enjoying life in Florida with my husband, Jeff, and with two kids in college, playing as much tennis and pickleball as possible.

1987

LAURA STOLAND shares: Still living in Venice with my spouse, two teens, one tween, two dogs, and four chickens. My multiply handicapped brother came

ANDREW MEYERS ’81 AND TANYA GALLO

RIVERDALE ALUMNI AT THE WEDDING OF ANDREW MEYERS ’81 AND TANYA GALLO

ERIC RENARD ’83 PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

TINA SCOTT POLSKY ’86

to live with us recently, as well, so in addition to teaching art and volunteering as board chair for a public Waldorf charter school, I am managing a construction project in our backyard to make some more space and a pool for him. It’s been quite a thing trying to get construction done amid the supply chain issues and other various pandemic delays, but when it’s done, we’ll have a sweet guest apartment available for any class of ’87 families that might like to visit LA.

PETER MILLONES writes: Macy, my oldest, is waiting to hear about college. I had a cup of coffee with PAUL KAHN a month ago and stay in touch with him, but that is about all from RCS. Life is busy but good, and family is healthy, which is the most important thing.

1990

JOCELYN BRANDEIS recently finished judging The Gracie Awards for The Alliance for Women in Media. In addition to celebrating her 30th year in public relations, Jocelyn is commemorating her 30th year writing executive resumes. She is also working on several books.

1991

JUDITH MIZRACHY has been working as an independent film producer in New York. Her latest project, The Martha Mitchell Effect, was nominated for a 2023 Academy Award for Best Short Documentary. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022 and is streaming on Netflix. Her previous film, The Booksellers, premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2019 and was released around the world.

1992

TONY GODSICK ’89 and YUKI YOKOBORI YANAI met up in Japan at UNIQLO LifeWear Day Tokyo 2022 with Roger Federer. Yuki also had an “RCS petit family reunion” in Tokyo with HIRO

YOSHIDA ’90 and TAK SUGIYAMA ’90

1993

WENDY STRAKER HAUSER moved to Cheviot Hills in Los Angeles and is an executive producer and showrunner.

She continues to stay connected to Riverdale alums on the East and West Coasts and recently caught up with TARA PFEIFER ENGLANDER, ALLY

LEVY SAVOCCHI, JULI GOULD PUGLISI, KATE MECKLER, and STEFANIE LERNER COHEN. Plans for a reunion on the West Coast with RCS alums who have transplanted are underway.

1995

RAMI ELGHANAYAN writes: I really miss the Class of 1995 and hope everyone is doing great. I feel fortunate to share that my kids are attending Riverdale now, and I hope they know how good they have it! My wife, Carol, is a huge fan of the school and actively involved as a Class Parent and with the AAPI. I just left Capital One after 10+ years and am taking the plunge to start a real estate fund focused on workforce housing. If anyone wants to grab a coffee or a drink, give me a shout. I am at selghanayan@gmail.com and 917-9916204.

1997

MARIAH MOTTLEY shares: This spring, I will complete nursing school at the Pomeroy College of Nursing at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, NY. One month later, my oldest daughter will graduate from high school. She hopes to study engineering.

TONY GODSICK ’89 AND YUKI YOKOBORI YANAI ’92

HIRO YOSHIDA ’90, TAK SUGIYAMA ’90, AND YUKI YOKOBORI YANAI ’92

FALL 2002 FOOTBALL TEAM REUNION

1999

LYDIA CONTRERAS reports: I got married and live in Austin, Texas, working for the University of Texas–Austin as a chemical engineering professor. I have six-year-old twins and recently co-founded a company (https://griobaby. com/) to change the conversation about the ways we support the well-being of new parents, starting with less stressful feeding routines that are more than milk.

2003

The fall 2002 Riverdale football team had a reunion in October. In attendance were BRAD GALLANT, MATT BARRINGTON, NATE SIEGAL, COACH KEVIN KRESO, BEN SCHORI, COLIN FITZPATRICK, ADAM GROSS, PETER TESSLER, and ADAM HELLER

2005

KUNAL KHAITANI and his wife, Grace, welcomed Isabelle Devi Khaitani on October 17, 2023. Their son, Kaden, will be three years old in July and is elated to have a baby sister!

2006

ADRIAN COHN married Natalie Razdolsky on January 28, 2023, at THE POOL in New York.

SANDY THOMAS shares: My fianće and I are getting married on April 8 in Groton, MA, with OLIVER HUNT [in attendance] (though sadly my best friend and maid of honor went to Horace Mann). After having bought a house in Cambridge, MA, last year, we’re both continuing to develop our careers in tech.

2007

HARRY ENTEN writes: I haven’t gotten married. I haven’t had a kid and don’t

want one. I don’t run marathons, but my girlfriend of over a year ran two in the past year. She, like me, doesn’t drink alcohol and loves soda. We sit around and do whatever we want. Oh, and I go on television to talk about the things I did in high school (i.e., sports, elections, and weather). I did it for free then. Now they pay me to do it. Life is awesome.

CHARLES URWIN shares: An apiculturist by trade, my real passion is ornithology. Happily married.

MICHAEL G. MORENO, owner of MGM Racquet Sports, has been actively coaching both tennis and squash for the last 13 years. In partnership with the USTA, Mike develops a variety of afterschool tennis programs in the Bronx for students in grades K–8 and participates annually in the “Spring Into Health Fair” in Throggs Neck and CitySquash Black & Orange Day at Fordham University. In his spare time, he plays competitive squash as a member of both the 4.0 and 4.5 Yale Club Squash Leagues in NYC.

2011

PETER JANULIS and Alana Miller were married on January 28th, 2023, in Palm Beach, Florida, with many Riverdale alums in attendance! Over the past few years, Peter has worked at The Walt Disney Company, primarily in strategic finance for their streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu. He is now in business school in Boston, where he and Alana both live with their dog, Cleo.

NATALIE RAZDOLSKY AND ADRIAN COHN ’06 WEDDING

SANDY THOMAS ’06 AND FIANĆE

CITYSQUASH VOLUNTEERS, MICHAEL G. MORENO ’07 AND KELSEY BOGLE ’10 AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

PETER JANULIS ’11 AND ALANA MILLER

2013

NATALIA GARCIA-SANABRIA shares: In 2009, I made the life-altering decision to sit next to PETER KANAVOS in 9thgrade geometry. Fast forward to May 2022, and this same person asked me to spend the rest of our lives together. We have been together since 2016 and plan to marry in 2024. Thank you to Riverdale for helping us find each other.

ALEXA JUANITA JORDAN is a writer, marketing consultant, and executive director of the Juanita James Memorial Scholarship Fund (in memory of her late grandmother). She writes about topics like mental health, the gray area of the #metoo movement, and reproductive justice. Her work was recently published in Smith and Kraus’s Best Monologues of 2022, and Resistance is Fertile (a chapbook supporting reproductive rights). She is also a 2022 Premiere Stages Semifinalist (35 out of 655 submissions). Her plays have been produced at various theaters across both the Northeast and Midwest. She recently joined the Leadership Coalition at the Artemisia Theatre in Chicago (where one of her plays was staged in 2022), and she is on the board at CultureHub, a global art and technology community. She loves volunteering with all of her alma maters, and just became the Fund Chair at Vassar and Co-Chair of the Arts Committee at Brearley. Most days, you can find her in the North Woods of Central Park listening to podcasts and waving at dogs. More at alexajuanitajordan.com.

2014

SYDNEY CONNOLLY shares: After four years in marketing at Google, I’m pursuing my passion for health and mentorship as a health & wellbeing coach! I’m officially trained and available to work with new clients while I complete my certification at Duke Health.

2019

AUDREY WISCH writes: Hi, Riv community! Had the pandemic not happened, I would’ve graduated from Stanford this year, but instead, I am heading into year three of running Curious Cardinals. Curious Cardinals connects K–12 students to college mentors to help them discover and pursue their passions. It’s been so special to stay connected to the

Riverdale community given their enormous support throughout my journey, as well as to meet and stay in touch with more Riverdale grads who have been Curious Cardinals mentors (shoutout to the entire Jones family: HAYDEN ’15, CATHERINE ’18, and CHARLOTTE ’18; CECE KING; ELSA CHUNG; AARON MILLER ’20; AVA MILBERG ’20; JULIA KOFFMAN ’18; and more inspiring Riv students who became mentors).

NATALIA GARCIA-SANABRIA ’13 AND PETER KANAVOS ’13 IN HIGH SCHOOL

NATALIA GARCIA-SANABRIA ’13 AND PETER KANAVOS ’13 IN 2023

In Memoriam

Fred Jacobson ’42; GP’35

Janyce Vaughan ’49

William McClellan ’51

John Vance ’51

John Ahouse ’53

Dale Bick Carlson ’53; P’78,’81

Sara Riesner Friedman ’53

Ed Midgley ’54

Jill Brandon Mautner ’58

Jane Goldstone Rittmaster ’59

Arthur Pryor ’62

Dale Hemmerdinger ’63

Rick Rose ’63

Gail Grisetti ’64

Mike Luss ’64

Barry Davison ’74

Bobby Greene ’76

Alix Mxuehlstein Ninfo ’82

Sarah Pliner ’90

Nicholas Ascher ’00

Lois Rochester P’74,’76

John Ahouse ’53

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of John Ahouse ’53 on April 3rd, 2023, at the age of 87. John was born in New York and attended Columbia University in the mid 1950s. He spent the following decade in Germany, as a student, with the US military, and then as a translator.

John was a special collections librarian and archivist at UT El Paso and CSU Long Beach, and ended his career as assistant head of the USC Libraries Special Collections and curator of its American Literature Collection. John collected the writings of political novelist and reformer Upton Sinclair and published a book on Sinclair in 1992. His extensive Sinclair collection now resides within the Archives and Special Collections Department in the Library at CSU Dominguez Hills.

He loved 19th Century French music and published on composer Hector Berlioz. He also wrote about novelist Hamlin Garland and on the postwar division of Germany. Years spent living in Germany gave him particular proficiency with the German language, which helped immensely in his work as a historian and educator of the Cold War with the Wende Museum during his retirement.

One of his last smiles came at the news that the Dodgers won their season opener. John first rooted for the Dodgers as a boy in Yonkers, NY. After the team moved to Los Angeles, John caught up with them when his career brought him to Southern California.

John was predeceased by his son, Gregory, and is survived by his devoted companion, Carolina; son, Jeremy; and his grandchildren.

Alexandra (Alix)

Muehlstein Ninfo ’82

Alexandra (Alix) Muehlstein Ninfo ’82, died at home on Sunday, May 22, 2022, from complications caused by her lifelong affliction with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (Vascular EDS or vEDS). The only child of the late Julia Hopkins Muehlstein and Herbert Muehlstein, Alexandra was born on October 4, 1964, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, where she spent most of her childhood.

There, she formed friendships as early as two years of age that lasted her entire life— friendships so close that they could only be described as “family.” Even though Alix was an only child, she always knew the love of sisters and brothers who adored her.

Alix began her education at Central Presbyterian Church on the Upper East Side of Manhattan where she attended preschool and kindergarten. She next attended elementary school at Chapin School for Girls, also on the Upper East Side. For high school, Alix went to Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, where she graduated in 1982. She then attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where she was a History of Art and Fine Arts major. When her parents divorced and Julia returned to her native England, Alix followed. She attended Ravensbourne College of Art & Design in Chislehurst, England, and completed her Certificate for Foundation year in Product Design, Furniture, and Ceramics.

Upon returning to New York City in 1985, Alix met Matthew Ninfo when they were both employed at Broadway Video. Although there was an instant attraction between the two, Alix preferred to keep their relationship “friendly” as long as they worked together. Alix left Broadway Video to return to England to care for her mother when she fell ill, but after nurturing her back to health, she returned to New York. At that point Alix and Matthew continued where they left off and quickly fell in love and moved in together. They married on April 11, 1992, at the United Nations chapel in Manhattan. Living on East 17th Street in Gramercy Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Alix and Matthew also enjoyed the retreat of their upstate house in Marbletown, Ulster County, New York, in the foothills of the Catskill mountains. During that time, Alix (known professionally as Alexandra Hopkins) worked for several companies in the

television industry before successfully transitioning to banking, working as assistant to the managing director of syndicated loans at Societe Generale. Unfortunately, in 2000 she became ill and was diagnosed with vEDS and declared disabled, very reluctantly giving up her professional career. She preferred to call it “early retirement.”

In 2001, Alix and Matthew were forced to give up their homes in Manhattan and upstate and relocated to the North Fork of Long Island, first living in the hamlet of Mattituck and eventually settling in Cutchogue. In 2004, Alix’s mother returned to the United States to be closer to her only child in her later years and lived with them in Cutchogue. After Julia died in 2015, Alix and Matthew left the North Fork, but remained on Long Island, eventually landing in the village of Patchogue. Finally, Alix and Matthew moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in March of 2022 to start the next chapter of their life together.

Alix was an extremely intelligent, loving, and caring individual. She had a keen mind and a healthy appetite for knowledge, especially when it came to art, literature, music, nature, and cooking. In her professional life, she was a rapid learner and always excelled at applying her knowledge and skills to whatever project she was working on. Even when she became disabled, her thirst for knowledge endured. She was a voracious and fast reader and loved all different types of books, sometimes reading several different ones at a time. She served on the board of The Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library, and was known as one of the library’s power users. The librarians always knew which books to order next based on what she was requesting. Alexandra was a “foodie” who loved to cook and believed that food was an expression of her love. In addition to a well-organized collection of family recipes, she had an impressive collection of cookbooks, old and new, that she used often, to the delight of her family and friends. Her collection was so extensive, her kitchens always had to have room for a bookcase, just for cookbooks.

Alix had a fascination with nature and a love for all living things. She took great joy in watching and learning about all the forms of life she could observe and nurture in her garden, at the beach, or on walks in a nature preserve. She especially loved to feed and nurture caterpillars and watch them transform into butterflies. When it came to nurturing living things, she especially loved and cared for her cats and dogs. Alix hated puppy mills and strongly believed in animal rescues,

In Memoriam (continued)

especially those that fostered cats and dogs so that they always had a loving home while waiting to be adopted. She adopted several pets from rescues through the years, most recently her Pomeranians, Dougal and Pippin. Due to her nurturing nature, their health and wellbeing was always a priority. She lovingly showed them off on their own Instagram feed and was proud of their growing list of followers.

Alix leaves behind a long list of people who love and adore her and will miss her terribly, including her husband of 30 years, Matthew Ninfo; mother-inlaw, Aileen Tyler; sisters-in-law, Virginia Goss, Peggy Cillo, and Aileen Rosin; and brothers-in-law, Salvatore Ninfo and Philip Cillo. Also surviving her are her niece, Sascha Rosin, and four nephews, David Goetz, Edward Goss, Thomas Cillo, and Michael Cillo; and a greatniece, Ariana Goss, as well as many adopted family/friends who have loved her for her entire life.

Memorials may be offered in memory of Alix to Yorkie911 Rescue, Inc., PO Box 2627, North Babylon, NY 11703 or True North Pet Rescue Mission.

Lois B. Rochester

Lois B. Rochester died on January 27, 2023, at Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, at age 94. She was born on April 5, 1928, the only child of Beatrice Frederick Boochever and Joseph Harry Boochever, who died when she was two years old. She was raised in Albany, New York, where she attended St. Agnes School. She graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College with a

major in chemistry.

In June 1950, Lois married Dudley Rochester, who graduated from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1955. They lived in or near New York City for 26 years, except for two years on Army duty in France from 1960 to 1962. They had two daughters, Gwendolen and Carolyn.

While in the New York area, Lois was a science teacher and administrator at the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, New York. She retired as Assistant Head of the school in 1976 when Dudley joined the medical school faculty at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In Charlottesville, Lois earned her M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education. In addition, she was a school and college consultant and the co-author, with her friend, Judy Mandell, of a college admissions guide book, The One-Hour College Applicant. She was active in the local League of Women Voters, serving as president and a member of several committees. Her major interests were education and natural resources, particularly the local water supply.

In 1986, Lois was appointed to Virginia Governor Robb’s Commission on the Future of Virginia and, later, to Governor Baliles’s Commission on Excellence in Education. She was also active in the FOCUS Women’s Resource Center and served on the board of the Funeral Information Society of the Piedmont (FISP).

After moving to Westminster Canterbury in 2004, Lois continued to enjoy her book and mahjong groups. She became an active member of the Residents’ Association, serving as an officer, the chair of the Planning Committee, founder of the Environmental Services Committee, and a member of the Health Committee.

Lois was a life-long learner. She served for many years on the Program Committee of OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute). She enjoyed more than fifty courses on a wide range of topics. She was also a lover of the outdoors. Day hikes and kayaking with Dudley in Vermont and central Virginia were her favorite recreation. A wildlife safari in Tanzania and an eight-day raft trip on the Colorado River were her favorite trips. She maintained her wideranging interests until the end of her life. Above all, she loved and cherished her family and her friends.

Lois is survived by her husband of 73 years, Dudley Rochester; her daughter, CAROLYN ROCHESTER RAMSEY ’76, and her husband, William H. Ramsey; and her son-in-law, Bruce H. Leighty. Her daughter, GWENDOLEN R. ROCHESTER LEIGHTY ’74, died of breast cancer in 2005. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Anna Ramsey Spetta, Nicholas Ramsey, Carl Leighty, and Alison Leighty.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge Foundation or to the Charlottesville League of Women Voters. Read Remembering Lois Rochester on page 7.

FROM THE Archives

The idea that an abundance of outdoor play is essential to student life was a founding principle of RCS when Frank Hackett established it in 1907. In the earliest days of the school, students benefitted from the campus’s hills and river views, skiing and playing hockey during the winter months. Later, some students spent summers in the Adirondack mountains as members of the Glee Club embarked on cycling trips in England. Students participated in co-ed trips to Bear Mountain, reached by crossing the Hudson via ferry, and the Girls School traveled to Europe as part of a trimester abroad program launched in the 1960s.

These types of experiences continue to be an integral part of a Riverdale education. More recent alums from the 1990s and 2000s fondly remember their own cycling journeys across rural Pennsylvania on their eighth-grade trips.

In 2022-23, students traveled to Montreal, Bordeaux, and the southern U.S. border. They also embarked on field trips to explore the boroughs of New York, visit museums, hike, and attend Broadway performances. Whether abroad, out of state, or close to home, Riverdale offered countless opportunities to “get outside” to engage and broaden the interests of every student.

TOP: Students sledding in 1915 yearbook MIDDLE LEFT: Article about the annual eighth-grade bike trip in The Riverdale Review published in June 1997. MIDDLE RIGHT: Class of 2020 on their eighth-grade bike trip - photo credit Athletics Consultant Peter Haley BOTTOM: Girls School sophomores leaving for their trimester abroad in 1964.

Riverdale Country School

5250 Fieldston Road

Bronx, New York 10471-2999

www.riverdale.edu