Quad Fall 2020

QUAD

+

FALL 2020 /// XLIV /// NUMBER 1

HIGHLIGHT A

HELPER Stories of the COVID-19 pandemic

4

Welcome to Riverdale

featuring new faculty and staff

6 Q&A

Kelley Nicholson-Flynn and Tom Taylor in coversation

10 Poem by Elon Collins ’19 12 15

A Story of Simultaneous Viruses

Creating the Riverdale Learning Community

by Yvonne Payne Daniel ’57

18 Highlight a Helper 28 Mapate Diop ’12

30 Class Notes

November 2020

Dear Fellow Alumni, As we write to you, the fall semester at Riverdale is underway and looks very different from what is typical. Tents are up on both the River and Hill Campuses, allowing for increased distancing and airflow during class time; students and faculty are engaging in a hybrid mode with some days in person and others remote; masks are a must for everyone who is on ­cam­pus; and everyone is feeling the impact of the “twin pandemics” — our global health crisis and the national reckoning with the systemic racism of our country.

It is not an easy time for our country or our community. And yet, we are heartened by the strength of our alumni, parents, and students — some of whom have found innovative ways to make a difference for those who need it most, others who continue to do the important work of advocacy and activism, and everyone who is doing what needs to be done to protect one another.

As the two of us step into the new roles of Alumni Association Executive Committee (AAEC) President and Vice President this year, we look forward to finding opportunities to ­engage our alumni more closely with one another and Riverdale today with more virtual ­content throughout the year such as webinars, book discussions, and panels. We are ­excited to ­create new spaces for connection, including affinity groups for alumni of color, white ­anti-racists, and LGBTQIA+ members of our community, which will begin next month.

We look forward to meeting many of you — even if we cannot be in person — and hope you will contact us with any questions or concerns. In the meantime, please stay safe and take care of one another.

With warmest regards,

Tiffany Austin Liston ’94; P’25,’28,’33 President, AAEC

Joe Goldschmid ’04 Vice President, AAEC

1

E R

P A C

The Class of 2020 celebration took place on June 9 and incorporated the best of the Riverdale Learning Community.

This ceremony was a remarkable labor of love featuring an arrangement of pre-recorded speeches; well wishes from prominent Riverdale community members; a live on-campus presentation by Dominic Randolph, Kelley NicholsonFlynn, and Cat Crocker; and scenes from the Class of 2020 live Zoom call.

On June 2nd, students and alumni from the Classes of 2015 - 2022 attended the very first Virtual Career Panel Discussion: Alumni In Finance. The discussion was hosted by the Alumni Association Executive Committee (AAEC) and moderated

by Edem Dzubey ’07.

The four panelists included Porsche Brooks ’04, Joe Goldschmid ’04, Omari Ramirez ’05, and Robbie Shapiro ’05, all of whom work in the financial sector. The discussion included educational experiences, prior internships and employment, ways to network, and how to prepare for a possible career in the industry.

2

Wes Moore ’96 discussed his newest book Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City with Board Chair David Westin P’13,’20 on Tuesday, August 18, on Zoom. Moore’s book describes how the 2015 death of Freddie Gray while in police custody rocked the city of Baltimore.

During the Q&A portion of the conversation, Moore discussed some of the corollaries between Baltimore and the Bronx, how the Riverdale community functions within the Bronx, and ways his experience as a student of color can be used as a teaching moment for Riverdale faculty and staff today.

Do you or your employer have a job or internship opportunity for Riverdale Alumni?

Whether it is a position for a college undergraduate, a new graduate entering the workforce, or an experienced professional, Riverdale’s Alumni Job Board can connect you with alumni who have the aptitude and skill set you may be looking for. With unemployment rates mounting daily, we hope this will provide our alumni with a resource to connect with and help one another. Please complete the Job Board Questionnaire and contact Robin Gottlieb at 718-519-2703 or rgottlieb@riverdale.edu with any questions.

3

WELCOME TO RIVERDALE! Meg Johnson

Talya Evans

6th, 10th, and 11th Grade History Favorite food: Beef stew served with a slice of sourdough toast, eaten on a cold day

Lower School Learning Research Team Favorite food: Cacio e pepe

Omar Qureshi

Georgia Crane

8th, 9th, and 10th Grade History Favorite book: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

2nd Grade Favorite place: Madrid, Spain

Jen Clayton

4th and 5th Grade P.E.

Favorite food: Chicken fingers

Israel Ramírez Samantha Antosiewicz Maggie Barrett ’15 Lower School Art

Favorite place: Lake George

4th and 5th Grade Spanish Favorite food: Thai

Upper School Athletics Favorite food: Sushi

Nelson D. Arroyo Jr.

6th and 8th Grade English

4

Favorite book: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Tyler M. Perry

Upper School Technical Theatre Director Favorite food: Pizza from my neighborhood restaurant, Bono Trattoria

Tiffani Lynch

7th and 8th Grade English Favorite food: Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles

Jeremy Clifford

7th, 10th, and 12th Grade Math Favorite food: Lobster roll

Kyle Augustine

Upper School Chemistry Favorite food: Homemade pasta

Becca Zimmerman

ALSO WELCOMING:

Upper School History Favorite place: Santiago, Chile

Jasmine Jacob

Pre-K Favorite food: Fried chicken wings

Roisin Brady - Middle School English Jake Crowley-Delman - Middle and Upper School Director of Outdoor Education Emily DiSilvestro - 2nd Grade Billy DuRoss - Lower School Nurse Ruben González-Jiménez - Middle and Upper School Language Rebecca Hidalgo - 2nd Grade Ron Kim ‘97 - Community Activism During Crisis Mini-Course Baunnee Martinez - Middle School Mathematics Ingrid Menendez - Lower School Spanish Nilda Nystrom - Middle and Upper School Nurse Domingo Paulino - 1st Grade Sherlly Pierre - 5th Grade Jennifer Queally - Lower School Nurse Roni Radcliffe - Kindergarten Karen Smith - Lower School Administrative Assistant Tyler Walker - Middle and Upper School Accompanist 5

Q& A

Assistant Head of School for Operations

KELLEY

NICHOLSON-

FLYNN

+

Tom Taylor, who recently returned to Riverdale as the Head of Upper School, speaks with ­Kelley Nicholson-Flynn, who transitioned from the Head of Upper School to Assistant Head of School for Operations this fall. Together they have worked to navigate through the Covid-19 health crisis to ensure the health, safety, and education of our community.

Kelley Nicholson-Flynn: First, I’d love to talk a little about why you came back to Riverdale in this capacity.

What drew you back to the school?

Tom Taylor: One of the things that I’ve always loved about Riverdale is the focus on interdisciplinary education. It speaks to my own academic background with undergraduate degrees in both physics and theater. From an academic standpoint, it’s an appealing place to be. It feeds the souls of our faculty and students in really exciting ways. I have this love for the school and the kind of intellectual community it is, which is one of the key things that brought me back. I’ve been an upper school head for the last seven years, and the opportunity to do a job that I really, really love — and to do it at a place that has a mission I really believe in and a program I deeply appreciate — was just too good to be true. And so this is a confluence of several really positive things in my life.

6

s

Head of the

Upper School

+ TOM TAYLOR KNF: What are you able to bring from your seven years of experience as head of upper school at Breck to the position now?

TT: When you first step into the division head role — and you and I have had this conversation before — you’re not always clear about exactly what the job entails. Returning to a school that I know, in a position that I’ve held, has enabled me to feel just a bit more confident in certain areas.

Having experience in the role allows me to say with confidence, this is what we value, this is what we believe in, and this is the path we should proceed down. Beyond that, I think, to have stepped outside of the New York City independent school world for a period of time has helped me to get a broader sense of independent education, as well as the culture of education outside of the East Coast. I went to an independent school on the East Coast, I worked at Riverdale for nine years, and so living in Minnesota and working at Breck helped inform a slightly bigger view of things that I think will be beneficial to my work here. And, certainly, by being in different school environments, you learn different approaches.

KNF: I can wholly appreciate that, and I’m grateful you are bringing that back to the school.

Now, when you interviewed for this position and decided to return, it wasn’t exactly under these circumstances. Could you talk a bit about what we’ve referred to as the twin pandemics and what it is like to be joining an institution right now?

7

TT: It’s challenging to be sure, in large part because of the pandemic of racism and the national reckoning that has emerged following George Floyd’s murder. I don’t have the most immediate history at Riverdale, and that is both good and bad. Things like the @RivSpeaksOut Instagram account have brought to light concerns in our community that I can bring a new lens to, and I think there’s value in that, but I also haven’t lived through some of the more recent experiences described there, so that is a challenge. I think my own identity informs that work as well. I’m cognizant of the privileges that I bring with me — in my role and my education, but also in the identity that I didn’t choose. And I think that has to inform the work as well. I’m sensitive to and eager to deploy whatever privileges I have in service of that work.

The COVID-19 component has been challenging as well, partly because I’m such a big believer in the coming together of a community and the power of building community in thoughtful and intentional ways. I view that as one of the most important pieces of my job. It also speaks to our ability to heal some of the wounds expressed in @RivSpeaksOut. Since we are stymied in that work by COVID, it makes engagement all the more challenging.

KNF: I really appreciate your remarks about the social justice challenges, and how our country has changed in response to George Floyd. Your graduate work excited a lot of people when you interviewed, because it positions you well to help Riverdale through these challenges. Could you tell us a little bit about that work and how you see it informing the future here at Riverdale?

TT: For context, I’m currently getting my PhD in education, policy, and leadership. One of the things I’ve long struggled with about independent schools is how places that are fundamentally exclusive — there’s an admission process, there’s a high tuition, there’s some exclusivity that is necessarily built in — how can they nonetheless be agents of change and serve to make the world better? And that’s in Riverdale’s mission, too. We want to change the world for the better. So how does that intrinsic exclusivity marry with creating positive change? This line of inquiry has a lot of avenues, but one that was important for me was engaging my own identity as a white male in it. I ended up finding a lot of resonance in research on whiteness, and the ways in which whiteness is replicated by institutions and policies. My dissertation focuses on how specifically independent schools replicate whiteness as a construct, and how that subsequently produces barriers to our equity and inclusion efforts in ways that are often unexamined. If we want to be equitable and inclusive, we have to not just promote efforts in that area, but we also have to dismantle barriers to those efforts, such as the assumption of the neutrality of whiteness.

KNF: Thank you for that. I think that your work and your optimistic disposition in the work is a wonderful match for where our school is right now in terms of DEIB. Two final questions: First, what has changed about Riverdale since you’ve been away?

TT: Certainly many of the people have changed. It is mostly different students, although there are some who are now juniors and seniors whom I remember and whose families I remember. And that has been fun. Many faculty have changed, although, again, there are some familiar faces as well for which I’m grateful. I think one area of growth I’ve seen programmatically is in the expansion of experiential and outdoor education. Some of the opportunities that currently live under that umbrella did exist previously, such as the trip to D.C. for Constructing America, but there’s a deepening of the work that has happened in the past seven years that is really exciting. Dominic and I recently were discussing how we learn not just with our minds, but with our bodies. And I think experiential ed capitalizes on the engagement of our bodies with the world and situations that may challenge us in order to enable really deep and authentic learning. I also think the school has doubled and tripled down on some of the interdisciplinary work. For instance, there’s a course that is simultaneously Spanish language and design — seeing that course as a new outcropping of interdisciplinary studies is really exciting, because I think it shows our commitment to an area that is a real trademark of our school.

8

KNF: So, here we are in September 2020 and you’ve been back for a little over a month. If you read this interview in six months, what do you hope you will have accomplished by then?

TT: I’m hoping for some really practical things at this point. I really hope that we have been successful enough with our COVID preparations and ongoing work for the safety and health of our community. In six months, I hope I can look back and say that we did right by our school community and maintained the health and well-being of everyone — faculty, staff, students, parents. I also hope our faculty has gained more tools and reflection in the area of DEIB. I know that’s an area our faculty cares deeply about and where they have asked for more resources, so I hope we have adequately provided those.

And, I hope our students will have continued the practice of civil discourse. Particularly in the next two months leading up to the election, the importance of discourse and listening is going to be critical. I really hope that, in six months, we can look back and acknowledge that, while it was hard, our students did a great job of listening to one another. I think that would be a tremendous win for our community.

TT: So now I’m going to flip it on you and ask, what has it been like for you transitioning into your new role, what are your expectations for the role, and how have they shifted during COVID? I think when the school created the position of assistant head of school for operations, you wouldn’t necessarily have imagined stepping into the role of health czar, and yet there’s no one I would rather have doing that job than you.

KNF: I’m excited that, after being Upper School head for eight years, I was able to move into a new role of assistant head of school for operations. I loved the connections I made with the students and faculty and families, and in some ways, I loved being the public face of the school. For example, when there was a challenging experience happening for our community, I tried to offer my thoughts about how we could come together as a community to deal with it.

Through that work, however, there were often opportunities I saw that I didn’t have the bandwidth to be able to pursue and that’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in this role. Of course, COVID-19 was not a thing when we decided I was going to change roles; in fact, I don’t think the virus even existed or had made its way to humans at that point. So I did not anticipate that coming back to school during a pandemic would be pretty much at the top of the list of things to work on in this new capacity. At the same time, we had defined the role broadly and I could see the skills that I have would be useful in this setting. For example, there is a need for systems thinking — trying to think about how the different pieces of the school fit together. It’s also super handy that I have a PhD in molecular and cellular and developmental biology right now. I didn’t know why I had that degree as Head of the Upper School, but boy, I know now how useful that degree is. And I feel confident in being able to read the situation as best I can and make recommendations to Dominic and others for how to proceed. In addition to the systems and details, there are other pieces that come into play, such as communication and relationships. As you know, anyone could design a plan for how to come back in a pandemic, but you can’t do it without the humans involved. I think that the relationships that have been able to form, and continue to be able to form, have been critical to accomplishing that.

At the same time, you and I have talked a lot about the school’s DEIB initiatives and how important that work is for the school. All of those systems that I just talked about with COVID also factor into the responses our institution needs to make to what we know about different people’s experiences here. It touches everything — security, hiring practices, everything — and so I feel really grateful for the opportunity to engage with this more closely. Right now, as I spend time digging down into hiring and hiring practices, I can then describe — and as a group, we can respond to — questions about those practices, so that we can continue to transform ourselves into a school that serves everybody in the community the best that we can. ■

9

there are graves for swallowed feelings littered around campus

by Elon Collins ’19 to qualify my blackness is to strangle the only heart I have left it’s on a string skewered through the other hearts of every black person I’ve ever met and loved actually have ever seen and loved cause when Sandra Bland was found hanging in her cell feet dangling head just dangling I died a little bit my mother died a little bit we all died a little bit but I still woke up at 6:15 am grief looks like sweatpants instead of jeans and funerals look like sitting with the only other Black kids at lunch and the wakes are always held in offices blessed by Black teachers who smudge the small spaces in sage with their bodies everyday

This poem is taken from (Afro)dite: A Black Girl’s Guide to PWIs (Primarily White Institutions), a culmination and examination of Elon’s 13-year journey at Riverdale Country School as well as that of 17 other Black girls at their respective private NYC schools. The book aims to be, first and foremost, a resource for and affirmation of young Black women. Second, the book serves as a tool with which to hold private educational institutions accountable for the harm they have caused, while lighting the way for them to do better.

It is the author’s great hope to watch her school grow and change as a result of her willingness to speak up with the clarity and precision that only comes from love.

Elon Collins ’19 is a writer, visual artist, and avid Black feminist. Currently in undergrad at Brown University, Elon is pursuing a degree in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Literary Arts. When not studying, she works as a peer sex educator, staff artist on XO Magazine, and women’s peer counselor with the Sarah Doyle Center for Women & Gender.

F L E SH

BOOK

THE

recently published works by Riverdale alumni Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One (Penguin Random House Canada)

by Emily Heyward ’97 Emily Heyward, co-founder and chief branding officer of Red Antler, the branding and marketing company for startups and new ventures, explains how hot new brands like Casper, Allbirds, Sweetgreen, and Everlane build devoted fan followings right out of the gate.

Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City (Random House Publishing Group) by Wes

Moore ’96 and Erica L. Green

When Freddie Gray was arrested for possessing an “illegal knife” in April 2015, he was, by eyewitness accounts treated “roughly” as police loaded him into a vehicle. By the end of his trip in the police van, Gray was in a coma from which he would never recover.

Wes Moore—along with journalist Erica Green—tells the story of the Baltimore uprising both through his

own observations and through the eyes of other Baltimoreans.

The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma (Harper Collins Publisher)

by Dr. James Gordon ’58 In his role as the founder and executive director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), Dr. James Gordon has created and implemented what may well be the world’s largest and most effective program for healing populationwide psychological trauma. In the compassionate, compelling pages of The Transformation, he invites us on a step-by-step, evidence-based journey to heal the psychological and biological damage that trauma brings and to become the people we are meant to be.

The Bridge

(Scholastic) by Bill

Konigsberg ’89

Two teenagers, strangers to each other, have decided to jump from the same

bridge at the same time. But what results is far from straightforward in this absorbing, honest lifesaver from acclaimed author Bill Konigsberg.

John Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father’s Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial (Hanover Square Press) by Dan

Abrams ’84 and David Fisher On the night of March 5, 1770, shots were fired by British soldiers on the streets of Boston, killing five civilians. The Boston Massacre has often been called the first shots of the American Revolution. As John Adams would later remember, “On that night the formation of American independence was born.”

Yet when the British soldiers faced trial, the young lawyer Adams was determined that they would receive a fair one. In this book, New York Times bestselling authors Dan Abrams and David Fisher draw on the trial transcript, using Adams’s own words to transport readers to colonial Boston.

11

Creating the

One of the hallmarks of a Riverdale education is the expansive campuses that inspire active learning and facilitate meaningful interactions that fortify our connection as a community. The spread of COVID-19 in spring 2020 challenged us in many ways, including how to navigate a new learning environment devoid of these components. As it soon became clear that the pandemic would not be eradicated quickly, our faculty, staff, and administration were faced with the enormous task of designing a flexible experience for the 2020-21 school year that would effectively cultivate learning through engaging curricula with both remote and ­­­ in-person components, providing virtual access for the entire school community while simultaneously securing the safety of our physical spaces, and ensuring that we were prepared to welcome students back in August for orientation to a new, dynamic hybrid-learning model.

In early March, amid the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases and the uncertainty of what it meant for our communities, Riverdale shifted to remote learning — at

12

the time, out of an admitted abundance of caution.

When r­ eflecting on the sudden shift, Dr. Jonathan King, D ­ irector of Technology, notes, “[We] pretty quickly identified the components that we thought would be most useful in remote learning….We repurposed our fleet of on-campus devices so they could be sent home in the event of a shutdown and ramped up a pretty vast shipping/receiving operation in order to provide ­devices and remote support to families.” With online ­platforms already in use, such as Schoology for homework ­collection and Google Meet for remote engagement, Riverdale’s faculty was uniquely equipped to tackle the transition and to help students handle the newly remote learning environment.

When Riverdale ended the school year ­virtually, the team had multiple scenarios to consider for the year ahead. Specially designed courses and ­extracurricular activities hosted remotely ­throughout the summer months allowed both students and ­faculty to test the

flexibility of virtual spaces, ­explore the ­dynamics ­behind digital collaboration, and ­recognize the ­nuances of this new framework. ­Working groups ­composed of administrators, ­faculty, ­learning and technology specialists, and staff from both ­campuses began exploring the possibilities of ­blended ­learning — a mix of remote instruction and ­in-person ­schooling — and Riverdale’s ­ability to ­offer this in a safe and ­meaningful way. “We didn’t want to s ­ acrifice the a ­ cademic program,” says ­Kevin Bailey, who is the a ­ cademic dean of the Middle and Upper Schools, a member of the ­Upper School ­mathematics d ­ epartment, and an ­integral part of the Hill ­Campus working group. “We didn’t want to get rid of the ­science classes that were ­traditionally lab ­courses, we didn’t want to eliminate sculpture or design e ­ ngineering or classes that are typically hands-on. We just thought about different spaces that could be used and different ways we could ­deliver those ­learning experiences.” Despite the ­challenges, certain qualities of the Riverdale experience were ­non-negotiable.

Along with thoughtfully leveraging available tools and existing systems to create the platform for our remote learning community, Riverdale’s technology teams and academic technology specialists guided faculty in the assessment of other virtual learning platforms and tools that could amplify lessons and coursework across all disciplines. More than 200 iPads and Apple Pencils were distributed to faculty to aid their teaching with over 300 Zoom licenses acquired to prepare for day-to-day interactions with students. Licenses for academic services such as Nearpod, Flipgrid, IXL, and Seesaw were also purchased as educators across departments began to renvision their curriculum in a hybrid model. “We have a responsibility to make sure learning happens,” asserts Mr. Bailey about the importance of continuing to offer diverse development experiences despite our circumstances. “Not at all costs, but if we can be safe and we can learn, we have to do that.” Robust professional development workshops were offered to faculty to help them engage in design thinking and consider questions such as: What are some of the most important aspects of active and engaged learning? How do we provide those experiences given our virtual platform and strict safety measures in place for physical spaces and social interactions? How do we address student concerns and ensure equitable access to the full Riverdale experience? With the safety of our school community at the forefront, working groups set forth to conceptualize, design, and ultimately build out a hybrid learning model that encompasses flexibility, adaptability, and durability — all while maintaining

13

the trajectory of our students’ educational experiences.

Each grade and course required a different set of learning tools that would optimize classes ­regardless of a student’s location — ­whether participating remotely, in a classroom, or ­outdoor learning space. New Clever, a ­portal for ­digital learning, provided a foundation for the ­Lower School and created opportunities for students, regardless of age, to engage in ­activities that encouraged social, physical, and cognitive ­development. Additionally, 300 new ­Chromebooks were distributed to Lower and Middle School ­students and 200 iPads were sent to student homes, ensuring access and ­participation. In ­tandem with the technological adjustments made to better connect our school ­community, ­Mr. ­Bailey and his colleagues created a ­schedule that lent itself to remote learning and ­accommodated the varying groups of students who would ­attend school physically on any given day. “We altered the schedule to offer a mix of synchronous and asynchronous time,” explains Mr. Bailey. “We wanted to do everything possible to manage a dynamic community of learners while ­balancing safety, learning, and personal ­relationships ­responsibly. We aimed to make time for some good old-fashioned calculus or ­Constructing America, while also continuing to give ­students room to explore their own interests. ” With remote and physical class schedules for grades Pre-K through 12 being finely tuned to align with our students’ needs, Mike Galligan, director of ­facilities, along with his team and the nursing teams across both campuses moved forward in preparing our school for a safe return to i­n-person learning.

Our sprawling spaces accommodate ­extensive outdoor learning but called for additional technical support and caution, particularly as ­campus layouts were reconfigured to include tents, trailers, and alternative outdoor ­learning ­areas. In total, 35+ tents, including two for ­arrival ­temperature checks, were set up on the River and Hill campuses with more than 30 outdoor wireless access points added to ensure ­outside areas would be suitable for ­high-quality ­video and instruction, 183 wireless access points ­upgraded to allow for higher capacity, and ­internet ­bandwidth quadrupled from 1G to 4G. ­Individual outlets for charging were installed for each ­socially-distanced desk within ­classrooms, tents,

14

and trailers, eliminating the need for ­sharing.

Along with the installation of ­portable standalone hand sanitizers, hand washing sinks, and ­stations, all bathrooms received touch-free faucets, soap, and paper towel dispensers. Various ­spaces around each campus were fitted for carpet tiles with directional arrows to indicate flow of ­traffic and stanchions were placed in a ­ reas where ­traffic would be required to proceed in opposite ­directions. Entry mats, logos, and signs were also installed to remind students, faculty, and staff to socially distance while suggesting ways we can remain healthy and safe. In addition to the ­safety measures put in place to secure our ­spaces when community members are present, electrostatic sprayers, often used by hospitals, were purchased for sanitization of larger spaces on a regular basis. These continuous efforts to care for our physical spaces were only strengthened by the dedication of our school community members who signed COVID Compacts emphasizing their commitment to measures that keep everyone safe, were tested for COVID-19 prior to returning to campus, and participated in regular remote meetings to discuss community norms in the wake of these unprecedented times.

Pulling together all of the pieces that define a school community is no easy feat, ­particularly as we collectively face the uncertainty of a ­pandemic and its repercussions, but despite the challenges, Riverdale has done just that. ­Devoted community members have worked ­tirelessly to ensure that our school is supported in every way — whether offering technical ­assistance and training, providing health and wellness ­consultation, devising a well-rounded curriculum that extends beyond the classroom, or ­building in time to focus on our mental health, the ­activities of these past few months have been nothing short of a team effort.

Filled with motivation to persevere and admiration for his dedicated ­colleagues, Mr. Bailey declares, “Everytime we come together as a community to share in the ­little things that make Riverdale Riverdale, we know that all of this hard work has been worth it.” ■

photo via Shutterstock

photo by Anthony Geathers for Rolling Stone

A Story of Simultaneous Viruses “ONCE UPON A TIME,”

by Yvonne Payne Daniel ’57

I told my circle of ten grandchildren, “I went to the local grocery store, aimed at replenishing my refrigerator and pantry with all the staples and goodies to which we’re accustomed. Suddenly, I had to stop in my tracks just inside the Safeway doors. Nothing was on the shelves that greeted my view. No cans of soup, vegetables, or sauces.

No boxes of cereal, grits, or Bisquick could be found. Just empty shelves.”

of U.S. history into the sunlight of contemporary video cameras. The worldwide, almost instant, communication system was informing the U.S. population that, yet again, unequal justice was meted out live on television. This time, it was the attack of a social virus: another Black man, Mr. George Floyd, was murdered by a white policeman with the help of other policemen and whose words during his eight-minute-and-forty-sixsecond descent into death rang in the ears of the In early March 2020, as I did my routine grocery entire American public. Everyone could see with shopping in Castro Valley, California, I realized their own eyes and hear with their own ears the that news of the [new] Coronavirus, or Covid-19, desperate cries of a man, first to his assaulters had hit not only my country, but my neighborhood. and then to his dead mother: “I can’t breathe.”

Suburban Oakland and its empty stores became integral to deliberations regarding the worldwide People of all ethnicities in the U.S. were convinced spread of a rapidly contagious and deadly virus, that what they saw as police brutality was totally as well as relevant to the series of huge protests disturbing behavior — like gritty sand in our against police brutality. mouths. This was a constitutional line in the sand, a limit. This was ENOUGH. People of all so-called Four to six weeks after the Coronavirus had colors left their homes and flowed through the ravaged almost all of the U.S. and its related streets outside, knowing that was exactly where protectorates, another irreverent and deadly the Coronavirus lay. These were not suicidal virus surfaced from the partially hidden bowels people, although they knew they were risking their

15

very lives in terms of exposure to the Coronavirus.

Nor were these confused people, unsure about what to do or where to go. They were convinced people, multi-racial, multi-class, and eventually, global people, who were committed to not let something like this — the murder of Mr. George Floyd — happen again. The American public was committed firmly to reformulating structures and policies that would seek out and kill the most putrid virus of all, the social virus of racism. The people of the United States were protesting by walking peacefully en masse, thereby hoping to contribute to a better, more equal nation of diverse, healthy people. They marched in an orderly fashion toward police departments in many city governments, in hopes of bringing national attention to the purposeful injustice they had witnessed on television over and over again, and to demand that police brutality stop.

Bottom line, dear Grands, is that we tried to encourage new and thoughtful ways of healthy living and interacting, which the Coronavirus actually generated at first, with acts of kindness as everyone struggled in fear of the deadly virus and yet, wished others well. We practiced and taught the suggested and tested practices recommended by the scientific community that mitigated the medical virus until there was a vaccine or adequate minimizing treatments and, later, we joined efforts to eradicate racism and ensure justice.

We were fighting two dangerous viruses simultaneously: We started with increased talks about race relations — among our circles of friends, neighbors, and countrypersons — in heated, sometimes panicked, and intense discussions, and we joined or supported peaceful demonstrations that we hoped might cause U.S. representatives in Congress and the thenPresident, to work cooperatively for an improved set of democratic policies and practices across the board. In the details, what we did and encouraged involved telling the truth and standing — and perhaps dying — for equality and the democratic process. As the South African activist leader Nelson Mandela is often quoted as saying, “Democracy is an ideal I wish to live for, but if need be, it is an ideal I am prepared to die for.”

I call racism a social virus; although different from the medical Coronavirus, it attacks on multiple

16

levels and from different directions, and also like the Coronavirus, it undergoes multiple mutations in order to decimate, if not totally destroy, certain human beings. Like the social virus that affects all major institutions in terms of foundational biases and inequities, the medical virus is killing more people of color than other people. Therefore, much as we might want to separate the concrete differences between a biological and social virus, and despite the huge complexities of each separate health challenge, we must comprehend their like cores and figure out efficacious treatments for both.

I don’t have a well-thought-through strategy for going forward, nor do I have an elaborate outline of what could work to root out the two deadly viruses, but I do know that healing from these two viruses involves multiple interrelated concerns, that this moment of congruence is crucial, and that everyone is needed in this struggle. Both viruses are complex in nature and will require patient, exacting measures for the long-lasting health of our country and the rest of our world.

My hope and prayers for you, dear Grands, is that you do your part and stay engaged in the struggle for justice, make a contribution to a world—this society, this neighborhood, this family—that is both a site of advocacy for peace and human dignity and a site where the fight lives on actively against potential illness and death from all contagious and untreatable viruses. The medical and social treatments for both viruses involve abundant concern, responsibility, and constant commitment to the relief of suffering and the fulfillment of justice for each and every one on this planet. So, go to sleep with sweet dreams now—and eventually figure out how you will contribute to the possibility of a fair, longlasting, and healthy society for all. ■

About the Author The first Black woman to graduate from Riverdale’s School for Girls, Dr. Yvonne Payne Daniel, member of the class of 1957, was part of a movement to desegregate private schools before the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education would impact the rest of the country. A former student of The Modern School in Harlem, one of the few secular, independent schools in New York serving Black children at the time, Dr. Daniel immersed herself into Riverdale’s dynamic school community driven by her pursuit of success across all aspects of school life. “I was good in music, dance, fourth in the batting lineup for baseball, an aggressive full back in field hockey,” recalls Dr. Daniel, “and although the youngest in my class, I kept up with everyone in all academics.” Along with extending herself across disciplines, including the distinct cultivation of her talents on the piano, she served in leadership positions in the Junior School and was elected Student Government President for her senior year. “My sister, Carolyn Payne Dean Fairley (the second Black woman to graduate from the Girls’ School, class of 1959), and I…had the experience of a Girls’ School faculty and administration that valued equality and reached in a measured way to address some of the inequities within an institution dedicated to young girls,” says Dr. Daniel. Although she reflects fondly on her time as a Riverdale student, the uniqueness of her experience did not escape her. Dr. Daniel goes on to admit, “I also lived alternately with my own people in my own [upper Bronx] neighborhood and I knew it was only my sister and I, among so many other eligible young Black students, who were enjoying Riverdale’s pristine environment on the Hudson and its principled and enriched education. So, despite its strengths, my education was unequal and unfair.”

Dr. Daniel was raised by two Black parents in NYC at a time when schools in New York weren’t segregated by law, but discriminatory patterns in housing and school zoning systems fostered racial divides all the same. She used her education, and her knowledge of the disparities within it, to blaze a path for her passions. “Like so many other Black people and other people of color,” says Dr. Daniel, “my sensitivity to equality and ‘justice for all’ is not simply a personal characteristic; it is a collective conviction that has been a constant throughout my life and I refuse to let the history of our successes—big or little—be marginalized or erased.” Dr. Daniel, a specialist in dance performance and Caribbean societies, went on to earn her PhD in anthropology and authored Rumba (1995), Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candomblé (2005), and Caribbean and Atlantic Diaspora Dance: Igniting Citizenship (2011). Along with producing four documentaries on Caribbean dance and African Diaspora religions, Dr. Daniel is a de la Torre Bueno prize recipient, a Ford Foundation Fellow, and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, and has been a Visiting Scholar at Mills College and the Smithsonian Institution. She is professor emerita of dance and Afro-American studies at Smith College, a position she has held since 2004.

To read the full version of this piece, visit Riverdale’s Alumni Portal.

Of this piece, she notes:

“The racism and Coronavirus we are simultaneously fighting still have to be understood fully and rooted out in several ways, but as rapidly and aggressively as possible. Some ways require a great deal of cultural sensitivity and keen communication skills. Most treatments require some wellness programs, continuous observation, and occasionally life-saving radical treatment. What has been generated worldwide is an opportunity for the radical treatment of both viruses, requiring an alternating but chiseled focus on each virus and persistent and consistent effort by all. I hope my reflections here—for my Grands and for my fellow Riverdalians—encourage more understanding of full equality within our nation and more justice within our neighborhoods. Simultaneously, there in my heart, I have a very deep but rather faded feeling of possibility and healing. Perhaps this deep sliver or faded feeling is hope.”

17

Highlight a Helper began in April 2020 as a social media series on the Riverdale Alumni accounts to recognize and thank all of the brave, generous, and altruistic community members who were contributing in meaningful ways to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read on for stories and updates on some of our featured helpers!

2

3

4 1

HIGHLIGHT

A HELPER 5

6

10

8

9

7

Michelle Goodman ’09 is a nurse in New York City and was on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in mid-March. Since that time, she worked in four different COVID units and the ICU. From Michelle: ”I have always been proud to be a nurse and to be surrounded by smart and inspiring healers every day at work. Going through the horrific challenges of a global pandemic that peaked in NYC only heightened that pride, and showed me how resourceful, resilient, and tough we truly are. Nurses on my unit were redeployed early on as patients started pouring in and filling the hospital. We demonstrated flexibility and bravery as we stepped onto new units with new people trying to fight a new virus we hardly knew anything about. Despite how dreadful some days were, I feel grateful to have a career with endless opportunities to serve my community and help people when they need it most.”

2

5

Julia ’16 and Anna Attie ’16 organized UChicago for Fair Tuition, which is advocated for budgetary transparency, tuition adjustments, and a permanent part-time status option.

From Anna: “I believe that the coronavirus pandemic exposed many of the existing cracks in our higher education system. When my university transitioned to remote learning, so many students were left housing- and food-insecure, and massive unemployment left families struggling more than ever before to afford the cost of a college education. I organized UChicago for Fair Tuition to fight for tuition reductions and a long-term tuition freeze in light of the coronavirus pandemic, but also to change the conversation around tuition and the corporatization of higher education at my university. I believe higher education should be a right, not a commodity. Though I have graduated, I will continue supporting and mentoring the students who are fighting for a University that puts students, staff, and the surrounding community first.”

4

3

Sophia Yapalater ’09 is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. Since March, she has been a part of a virtual visitation program for hospitalized patients and their families affected by COVID-19 visitation restrictions.

The program seeks to enhance communication, comfort, and family-centered care through social and emotional support, orientation to hospital systems, and assistance with remote communications modalities being used by medical teams. Sophia has worked with dozens of families to ensure that they feel present for their loved ones’ critical illness and end-of-life care despite mandatory distancing measures.

In April, Sophia also co-founded Anxiety Marketplace (@anxietymarketplace on Instagram), a clothing resale and mental health awareness platform where 20% of proceeds of each item sold are donated to community organizations and mutual aid efforts doing important work with people impacted by COVID-19. Most recently, in August, Anxiety Marketplace raised over $3,000 for Sistas Van, a mobile community health unit in NYC that serves survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, and thus far in September have raised over $1,000 for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s Fines and Fees program.

1

Alex Hornig ’84 is a firefighter for the City of Milford Connecticut Fire Department and a per diem paramedic with Westchester EMS.

From Alex: “I must express my thanks to everyone who has stepped up to defeat this pandemic. So cheers to the RCS community, our neighbors, and our country. This has been a team effort from the jump. I’m happy to do my small part.”

Jeffrey Nusbaum ’04 works as an emergency physician for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He works in many hospitals throughout the large healthcare system, but spends most of his time in the smaller, more rural hospitals in Northwestern PA. He also serves as a flight physician for the aeromedical transport division, Stat MedEvac.

From Jeffrey: “UPMC continues to be at the forefront of this pandemic on several fronts: we use all the latest therapeutics, place patients on ECMO (extracorporeal life support), and have even developed a few of our own novel therapeutics (most recently a small antibody molecule that was highly efficacious in rodent models).

COVID cases continue to trickle in. Most, unfortunately come from long term care settings, from people who work in cramped working facilities and cannot afford a day off, and from those who continue to deny the utility of masks. I’m very worried about the coming winter. Typically, during winter months, hospitals operate at or above 100% capacity. Emergency Departments routinely ran out of beds pre-COVID and now with COVID and the flu in tandem, this problem will potentially be exponentially worse. Not only will patients be sicker, every patient with a fever will need to be tested for COVID for public health purposes. Despite a one-hour test, which we have in almost all of our departments, the crowding is going to get worse which is going to be a real challenge. We have great leadership within my system so I know we will continue to provide high quality care, but I worry about the country as a whole.”

19

7

Ariel Brettholz ’05 has worked as a pediatric nurse at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/ Weill Cornell Medical Center for the last eight years. At the end of March, all pediatric patients were transferred to another hospital in NYC, and Ariel began exclusively taking care of adult COVID ICU patients.

From Ariel: “I am happy to report that we got our pediatric patients back in June! There are currently less than 100 COVID patients across the seven New York Presbyterian Hospital Campuses. Taking care

of adult COVID patients has made me appreciate and love my job of being a pediatric nurse even more than I already did. I always knew that I wanted to take care of children and had not taken care of adults since nursing school. Taking care of adult COVID patients for three months, especially with no prior experience caring for adult or ICU patients was a very traumatizing experience. It has taught me a lot and made me realize I can truly handle anything. Now, on a day when we are understaffed and I am very busy, all I have to do is think back to my adult COVID ICU days to put things into perspective. I am lucky to

Lissy Szalkiewicz ’04 is a medicine hospitalist at NYP-CUMC. During the peak of COVID-19, she took care of hundreds of patients infected with the novel coronavirus. From Lissy: “New Yorkers supported the healthcare community when we needed it most and for this we will be forever grateful. However, the pandemic is still ongoing and now, again, we are taking care of patients with newly diagnosed acute COVID. As the school year begins and people continue adjusting to the new normal, I advise you to be cautiously optimistic, wear a mask, and wash your hands.”

9

written by Lauren Gilman ’22

As the Director of Emergency Medicine at Westchester Medical, Dr. Ivan Miller ’84 was put to the test this past spring when the novel Coronavirus hit his hospital. The critical and often grim conditions that were present daily necessitated leadership, ingenuity, and tenacity. The sense of unity among the group of healthcare workers led by Ivan was key to the recovery of many infected individuals.

After graduating from Riverdale, Ivan entered the University of Rochester as a pre-med student, but he diverged from this path to become a film studies major. Ultimately, he found his way back after college, taking post-baccalaureate pre-med classes at Hunter College and completing his education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Ivan has worked as an emergency physician in New York since the late 1990s. As a medical director, he supervises a group of emergency physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and nurse practitioners, among others.

The emergency department is typically the first place an individual visits when seeking basic care, especially when they cannot see their primary physician. Ivan saw this influx of patients amplified by the heightened anxiety of people who, knowing that Ivan’s E.R. handles all levels of acuity, came into his care with the hope that they would be properly treated for all of the virus’s potential outcomes. Further, as the only high-acuity referral center from the North Bronx to Albany, Ivan’s team saw an increase in the number of transfers from surrounding care providers who struggled to treat the virus’s severe complications. No matter how many patients come in the door each day, they are “not allowed to say, ‘you can come in and you can’t’;

20

8

everybody comes in and gets seen.”

Ivan made an abundance of changes to his facility’s operations in response to the circumstances presented

by COVID-19. First, he addressed infection control, by slowing things down, minimizing the concentration of patients and visitors in the E.R., and enforcing universal masking. That said, Ivan noted, “We also had t accommodate the huge surge of patients that needed us. We had to figure out ways of being able to see far more patients in a day than we were used to seeing.”

Ivan and his team had to get creative, hiring new staff members and doing some of the work outdoors in tents Both the simple facts and the intricacies of the virus were new, so they had to learn a lot on the fly: “Even figuring out who needed to stay in the hospital, who needed to be on a ventilator, exactly how infectious it was, who needed to wear a mask. There was a lot of reading and discussing of the latest information, and w had to re-educate ourselves and one another.”

Another part of Ivan’s responsibility was rallying his team when they needed support to keep moving forward. “My staff was great,” he notes. “There are a lot of really brave people that work here and elsewhere tha I’m proud of, but still, humans have fear. But we were working as a team, and there’s something wonderful about that.”

Ivan’s work did not go unappreciated and he, along with his team, was uplifted by the New Yorkers who clapped for the healthcare workers each night. “I remember the first night. I was like, ‘what is that?’ And someone said, ‘that’s for you,’ and it was really moving. [In fact,] I worked last night, and people are still thanking [us] for what we do.”

work with an amazing team of nurses, and now we share an even closer bond after going through such a traumatic experience together. While isolated from family and friends for many months, I was so lucky to still have interaction with my fabulous co-workers! I will also never forget the incredible support I received from family and friends during quarantine. People sent meals to feed my unit every day that I worked, my mom and dad dropped off home cooked meals on my days off and my sister frequently showed up outside my window, holding up signs to cheer me on!

8

d

to

s.

we

t at

h

I

I chose the nursing profession because I had a desire to help others. However, I don’t consider myself a “helper” during the pandemic anymore than on a typical day — I was still doing my job of being a nurse, just in a different capacity than I had originally signed up for. I was born and raised in NYC and it’s been sad to see so many people move out of the city and so many businesses close as a result of the pandemic. I still view NYC as my city that I will never give up on! I see it slowly coming back and know it will one day be back to the city that I have always known and loved.”

Katherine Amoresano ’18 helped start “Meals for the Front Lines” and with her team delivered more than 4,000 meals all over New York City from mid-March through mid-May. From Katherine: “It felt good to help, and I was amazed by how appreciative the people we delivered to were.

These people were doing so much for something that was so little, but it was more than a physical meal. It was the psychological impact of being supported and remembered. It was hard to understand: the streets were calm, not many people nor cars, it looked very peaceful. However, I would watch the news and learn that body bags were lining up in the hallways in places that we delivered to. I think it was hard for people that had no connection to the pandemic to understand that it was a war, the bullets are invisible and in the air. Being a helper means being someone who will go out of their way to help others in any way that they can. While that is a simple statement, I hold it to be true. Helping does not have to be an onerous task, even something as simple as a meal can go a long way.”

10

6

written by Lauren Gilman ’22

When COVID-19 roared around the corner and demanded a shut-down of all the restaurants in New York City, Sakura Yagi ’05 broke the bounds of these limitations to safely feed the essential workers of her community.

After graduating from Middlebury in 2009, Sakura moved back to New York where she enjoyed a career for many years in public relations and the restaurant industry. Sakura decided to step into the T.I.C. Japanese Restaurant Group when her father, the company’s founder and CEO, became sick. In an effort to ensure that the company could run without his management, as the T.I.C.’s chief operating officer, she modernized the business model and improved the efficiency of day-to-day operations.

Though the company closed all of their establishments out of precaution in March, Sakura used her accumulated experience in the food industry to independently make meals for hospital workers. It all began when she reached out to her former classmate, Ariel Brettholz ’05, who works as a nurse. The discovery that Ariel and her coworkers were having a tough time propelled Sakura to find a way to be of aid. She remarked that “it’s so important to have that communityoriented mindset of service and helping others in times of need,” an ideology that she attributes

to her father and to her time at Riverdale. Sakura began by scheduling hospital deliveries, which she cooked, packed, and transported all on her own.

Her first delivery included 20 curries, but that number exponentially grew as the donations went on. The next step was fundraising, which she did by reaching out to friends and family, whose individual monetary donations made her project a reality.

For a large chunk of the journey, Sakura handled all of the food-making on her own, which was a remarkable feat. Sakura’s own words prove how truly extraordinary her work was: “I’m not a chef — I’ve worked in kitchens, but I spend my time in front of a computer at an office. When I restarted [our restaurant] Korea to do these donations I had to call so many people to be like, ‘How do you turn on this fryer? How much is a portion?’ I just didn’t want to put anyone at risk.” Though she managed on her own for quite some time, eventually one of her staff members volunteered to help, and with his help, Sakura personally delivered a total of 1,640 curries out of her van.

Embarking on her meal delivery project in such an erratic and unfamiliar time came with a great deal of challenges and risks, but Sakura explained that “you’ve got to do what makes you feel good, and knowing that I could help, I couldn’t just sit around.”

21

The New Members of Rive

Bruce Beal P’22,’25

Chloe Epstein P’24,’26,’26

Christopher James ’93

Tiffany Austin P’25,’28,

is president and a partner of Related ­Companies, the real estate ­developer behind the Hudson Yards project located on the west side of Manhattan. Bruce joined Related in 1995 and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day ­development process for projects across all asset classes ­through­out the ­country, as well as overseeing ­Related’s ­existing ­operating ­port‌folio and the ­company’s ­affordable housing initiatives. Bruce is a trustee of New York-Presbyterian ­Hospital and the ­Citizens Budget ­Commission. He also serves on the Board of ­Directors of the ­Community ­Preservation Corporation, the ­Advisory Board of Harvard’s ­Taubman ­Center for State and Local ­Government, and REBNY’s Executive ­Committee, Board of ­Governors and ­Housing Committee. Bruce ­graduated from ­Concord Academy and Harvard University. He has a daughter in fourth grade at Trinity School, as well as two sons, Brady ’22 and Bowden ’25, who joined Riverdale in the fall 2017.

is founder and president of Chloe’s, the fastest growing non-dairy frozen pop business in the United States. Chloe’s frozen pops are available nationwide in over 10,000 markets (including the Riverdale cafeteria). From 2001 to 2004, Chloe worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.

She graduated from Tufts University and received her JD from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities group. Mr. James is a member of the Investment Committee for the Tactical Opportunities and Blackstone Growth funds.

Prior to launching Tactical Opportunities in 2012, Mr. James previously managed a number of the fi ­ rm’s business development efforts and strategic initiatives across asset classes and investment products. Since joining Blackstone in 2006, Mr. James has led the organization of a number of new Blackstone investment products as well as the execution of the firm’s initial public offering and the firm’s investments in GSO, Pátria Investimentos and Strategic Partners. He has served on the boards of past Blackstone portfolio companies and currently serves on the boards of Blackstone TORO Holding Trust and CDL. Mr. James received a BS from Duke University and a JD from Harvard Law School. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep and Riverdale Country School. He is married to Jessica James, with whom he has two daughters, Chase and Noa.

is the interim execut of Mobilization for Ju (MFJ), a non-profit o providing free legal s over 25,000 poor and New Yorkers. Prior to interim executive dir served as MFJ’s depu for program and dev where she worked clo executive director in program, developme strategic organizatio Before joining MFJ, T general counsel and chief operating offic education non-profit where she oversaw a issues, human resour relations, finance, an Prior to that, Tiffany litigation associate a Thacher & Bartlett L managed a complex case load, including investigations. Prior Thacher, Tiffany inte Judge Lucy Billings, N Court, and MFJ, wher her legal career. Tiffa chair of the New York President’s Committ to Justice, and is on Riverdale Neighborh a social services non Riverdale, NY. Tiffany from Harvard College her JD from Georget Law Center. She and Josh Liston, are pare ’33, Jake ’28, and Luk the board in her ex-o president of Riverdal Association Executiv

22

She is married to Jason Epstein and together they have three children, daughter, Ava ’24, and twins, Charlie ’26 and Oliver ’26.

erdale’s Board of Trustees

Liston ’94; ,’33

Jacqueline Rosen P’23,’25,’28

tive director ustice organization services to d low-income o becoming rector, Tiffany uty director velopment, osely with the n overseeing ent, and onal initiatives.

Tiffany was founding cer for an t organization all legal rces, external nd operations. was a at Simpson LLP where she x commercial government to Simpson erned for NY Supreme re she started any is cok State Bar’s tee on Access the Board of hood House, n-profit in y graduated ge, and earned town University d her husband, ents to Jesse ke ’25. She joins officio role as le’s Alumni ve Committee.

is a real-estate professional with Sloane Square, a real estate brokerage company in New York City. She began her career as a news producer for the CBS News affiliate in Miami, Florida. Jackie then moved to NBC News in New York City where she continued her love of journalism for several years.

Jackie was often sent to ask serious questions to thenMayor Giuliani as well as others in the mayor’s office, working as the Producer for Investigative, Health and Consumer Stories for the NBC News affiliate in New York, covering news throughout the New York City area. Jackie is actively involved in local charities, in addition to serving as a dedicated volunteer for Riverdale in a variety of leadership roles, including President of the Parent’s Association, on the steering committee of Riverdale’s Community Action Day, and as an Annual Fund volunteer.

Jackie graduated from Boston University.

She and her husband, Jordan Rosen ’94, are parents to David ’23, Charlie ’25, and Owen ’28. She joins the board in her ex-officio role as president of Riverdale’s Parent’s Association.

Roy Weathers P’23,’26 is vice chair at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a member of the US Leadership Team. Roy was recently named PwC’s Societal Engagement & Policy Solutions Leader.

He most recently led the National Tax practice for the US and Mexico. Roy serves on the boards of the Pinkerton Foundation, Carnegie Hall and the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club. Roy graduated from Winthrop University and has a Masters in Accounting and Taxation from Clemson University.

He is married to Rebecca Weathers, a former senior manager of brand strategy at PwC, and they have two children, Savannah ’23 and Nolan ’26.

Vanessa Wittman P’25 is chief financial officer of Glossier, the online beauty empire. Previously, she was CFO of Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon; of Dropbox; and of Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Google.

She serves on the boards and audit committees of Impossible Foods Inc., a sustainable foods company, and Booking Holdings, the world leader in online travel and related services. She is an independent member of the FIFA Finance Committee, serves on the board of advisors for UNC KenanFlagler Business School, and is on the executive board of the Educational Foundation’s Rams Club. Vanessa graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and earned her MBA from University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

She and her husband, Drew, have three children: sons Parker ’15 and Mason ’17, both of whom attended Riverdale previously before the family moved to California, and daughter, Riley ’25, who enrolled upon their return to New York in fall 2018.

23

Q&A with Dr. James Gordon ’58 James S. Gordon, MD ’58, is a Harvard-educated psychiatrist and is internationally recognized for using selfawareness, self-care, and group support to heal population-wide psychological trauma. He is founder and executive director of the nonprofit Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C., a clinical professor at Georgetown Medical School, and was chairman (under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.

In your new book, The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma, you mention that everyone will face some sort of trauma in their life. How do you define trauma and how do we know if/when we are experiencing it?

Trauma is a Greek word that means “injury” — to the body, mind, and/or spirit. Our tendency is to think that trauma happens to other people — in a warzone, [for example] — not us. But in fact, everyone experiences trauma at some point in their lives. It may appear in children who are in abusive family situations or live in poverty. Trauma may appear when we are young adults dealing with disappointments in personal relationships or in middle age as we develop chronic illnesses or deal with divorce or the deaths of parents. And all of us, if we live long enough, will deal with the trauma of becoming frail, losing loved ones, and confronting our own death. Right now, we are all feeling a sense of vulnerability and experiencing trauma caused by what is happening in the world: a combination of the coronavirus pandemic and our reckoning with the legacies of genocide, slavery, and racism.

Your book also offers a step-by-step guide to healing the psychological and biological damage that trauma causes. Can you give us an overview of some of those steps and what they entail?

The first step is realizing that trauma is a part of our lives and that it is not shameful. We need to respect our own experiences. We also need to understand that some of the distress that we may be experiencing now — for example, anxiety about new situations or emotional closeness — may be related to previous trauma. Once we become aware of the connection between what we’re experiencing and our trauma, we are in a far better position both to deal with the trauma and to address its consequences.

24

Trauma of any kind can evoke the fight-or-flight response. This is a basic, biological survival mechanism that all vertebrates have. It enables us to fight a predator or escape. Fight-or-flight is meant to be quickly turned on and, just as quickly, turned off when we’re once again safe. When fight-or-flight persists, we remain in an anxious, hypervigilant, agitated state; and have difficulty concentrating and sleeping, making wise decisions, and relating intimately and empathetically to others. Trauma of any kind, if it’s not resolved or if it’s ongoing, can produce prolonged fight-or-flight. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us find ourselves in this state.

The simplest antidote to the fight-or-flight response is “soft belly breathing,” which I teach at the very beginning of The Transformation because it’s so important to helping us restore and establish psychological and physiological balance. Soft belly breathing is a “concentrative meditation.” We breathe slowly and deeply, in through our nose and out through our mouth, focusing on our breath and the words “soft” as we breathe in and “belly” as we breathe out, and on the feeling of relaxation in our bellies. Soft belly breathing, and other similar, quiet, concentrative and “mindfulness” meditations, are the antidotes to the fight-or-flight response. They quiet our bodies, calm activity in the amygdala, increase functioning in our frontal cortex and, in addition, give us perspective on what’s distressing and agitating us.

When trauma is overwhelming and inescapable we may also experience a “freeze” response. This is a last-ditch survival mechanism in which our bodies shut down, we put out pain numbing endorphins, and we remove ourselves psychologically from the overwhelming situation. Freezing, like fight-or-flight, is meant to be quickly turned on and off. When it persists, our bodies grow tense and tight, we shut down our emotions, and have great difficulty connecting with others.

A simple and direct [expressive meditation] that I particularly like, and teach toward the beginning of The Transformation, is “shaking and dancing.” Shaking is very simple: you stand up with your knees bent, shoulder width apart, and begin shaking — up through your feet, legs, chest, neck, and head. This shaking begins to break up the tension in our bodies and frees up emotions like fear, sadness, and anger that we were unable to feel and express when we’ve been traumatized. After shaking for 5 or 6 minutes to fast, rhythmic music, I suggest standing in place and becoming aware of your breath and your body. The third stage is allowing your body to move to music that is inspiring and energizing.

After I’ve taught readers to use concentrative and expressive meditations to come into biological and psychological balance, I begin to share a number of techniques to mobilize our imagination and intuition. I begin with a sequence of drawings — of “yourself,” “yourself with your biggest problem,” and “yourself with your problem solved.” Drawings help us move beyond the limitations of left-brain problem solving to include right-brain creativity. People are surprised to be able to identify a problem and often quite amazed that they can conceive — at least in their drawing — a solution to what had seemed inevitable and insoluble.

I go on to teach my readers to use guided mental imagery to enhance physiological functioning and to solve problems that had seemed intractable. I then share with them ways to use food and herbs, physical exercise, time in nature and with pets, gratitude and forgiveness, to maximize physical and emotional functioning, enhance their connection with something larger than themselves, and loosen the psychological knots in which trauma has tied them. I also provide guidance in reaching out to other people — family and friends, as well as therapists — who are so important in the healing process. At the end of The Transformation, I help each reader create a comprehensive, individualized program of trauma-healing and resilience building.

Your work focuses on the links between mind and body. Can you explain the mindbody connection, and how the mental and physical symptoms of trauma are linked?

Advances in physiology over the last 60 years have made clear the inextricable connection, indeed the complete interpenetration, of mind and body. The hard wiring is there for our thoughts and feelings to affect every major system in our body, and for everything that happens to us physically to in turn affect our brain functioning and every aspect of our thoughts and feelings. We’ve known about the fight-or-flight response and its effect on heart rate and digestion, for a hundred years. More recently, we’ve discovered that similar connections are present between the hypothalamus — the central switching system in our brain — and our endocrine and immune systems.

That means that stress can have negative effects on thyroid function, the menstrual cycle, cellular metabolism, and how well we deal with infectious invaders — on just about every organ and cell in our body.

25

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine has offered self-care resources during the COVID-19 outbreak. Can you provide a bit more detail about these online resources and how members of our community can use them to deal with related suffering or trauma?

We’re presenting a series of free online webinars (15 are already available on our website cmbm.org) on topics like “The Trauma Healing Diet,” “Gratitude Changes Everything,” “Honor Your Emotions,” “The Wisdom of Your Body,” and “Creating Caring Communities.” We also have been offering 8-week-long online Mind-Body Skills Groups (over 500 so far) led by many of our 140 faculty, as well as by clinicians and educators whom we’ve certified. We have also put our entire training program online, and are making it available worldwide.

We have a particular focus on reaching out to frontline health-care workers, individuals and families devastated by COVID-19, and minority communities that have long been traumatized by racism and police violence. The webinars and groups are designed to strengthen resilience as well as relieve the symptoms of psychological stress and trauma and teach the self-care techniques in the same way that I present them in The Transformation. The online training (we just finished the first one) is designed to help participants deal with their own stress and trauma, and then to teach what they’ve learned to those whom they serve.

To your point, right now, we are facing what feels like a watershed moment as so many people come together to confront systemic racism in our country. Can you talk a bit about the ways in which systemic racism leads to trauma for many and how individuals might use techniques to heal the pain they have been experiencing?

There is a clear link between the historical traumas of genocide of indigeneous people and enslavement of Black people and their present-day socioeconomic disadvantages, health disparities, and victimization by police, which in turn have contributed to high rates of chronic illness and dysfunction.

And of course, they are not the only ones who’ve been affected by their traumatic histories. I believe that our collective experience of the pandemic has made all of us far more aware of our vulnerabilities and put many of us in touch with how our family and group history may have contributed to them.

I also believe that the pandemic has opened us, whether we know it or not, to the understanding that we’re all connected to one another — as vectors of the virus and shields against it, and as vulnerable humans. And our growing appreciation of our vulnerability and our interconnectedness has made us significantly more sensitive to that terrible image of the police officer kneeling, utterly indifferent, on George Floyd’s defenseless neck.

It seems to me that that shock, coupled with the reawakened memories of all the other unarmed Black men and women who have been killed by police, has penetrated deeply, urging, if not forcing us, to reckon with the pain that slavery and racism continue to cause.

If we’re going to successfully confront the historical trauma of systemic racism, all of us have to look within and to our own histories. If we are going to understand other people’s trauma and act with wisdom and compassion to relieve it, rather than just reacting against it, we have to first understand our own.

Over the last few months, a major focus of my and The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s work has been on bringing together people of all colors, classes, and ages in ongoing online groups led by our faculty and in the small groups that are the heart of our training. The mind-body techniques we teach help restore physiological and psychological balance, which allows everyone to look at what they have experienced and their attitudes toward themselves and others with greater calm, intelligence, and empathy.

In the small groups, participants are always invited, but never forced, to share what they are thinking, feeling, or experiencing. Many participants have said it is the first time they have ever felt “safe” sharing their feelings about race and admitting their fears and prejudices, and also the first time that they have ever felt truly at ease with people of other races.

26

Andrew Kingsley, Middle and Upper school English teacher, teamed up with Mike Sclafani, 8th grade dean and history teacher, to create this Riverdale-inspired crossword. Did we mention Mr. Kingsley has been publishing crosswords in the New York Times since 2016?

27

MAPATE DIOP ’12 In the fall of 2007, Mapate Diop ’12 was an incoming eighth grader at Riverdale. He remembers that year as a time of change: Dominic Randolph had started as Head of School and the iPhone Touch had just made its debut. He recalls that his teachers — especially Ron Murison, Ricky Lapidus, and Brian Carver — were a source of stability and were salient to his high school experience: “They all really had a lot of strength of character, and I think that is kind of the real thing that Riverdale is trying to impart on you.” Mapate appreciates how well classes like ILS and Constructing America prepare students for their future and how they helped make his own transition to college and other new environments easy. Mapate concludes that Riverdale really does make an impression on students, particularly by exposing them to new possibilities.

28

Fast forward to present day. Mapate is now cofounder of the Detroit-based clothing brand DIOP. The beginning of the business can be traced to a moment when Mapate’s co-founder, Evan Fried, whom he met while they were fellows in the Venture for America program in Baltimore, asked him about a shirt he was wearing. Mapate recounted how his mother actually had it custom made for him.

She would buy Ankara, a colorful and patterned fabric, during trips to her hometown in Nigeria, and have tailors in New York use the material to create shirts. The tailored shirts made Mapate feel special and connected to his heritage. This story was the inspiration for DIOP, which, per its website, “is on a mission to help you feel like you.” Mapate and Evan, neither of whom studied fashion, were encouraged

by Venture for America to start their own business.

They adapted their knowledge from working at

startup companies to establish a distinctive clothing brand with a growing community.

The brand is currently making the best of a tough situation in response to the challenges of COVID-19.

As the severity of the pandemic increased, DIOP’s customers suggested that it start producing masks.

“WE ALWAYS SAY IT’S NOT NECESSARILY THE CLOTHES, IT’S HOW THEY MAKE YOU FEEL AND WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO WITH THEM OR IN THEM.”

Although the initial plan was to manufacture 700 masks to sell to customers already on the company’s email lists, DIOP has now sold more than 175,000. Through the proceeds they received, they were able to raise over $100,000 for more than 50 different COVID relief efforts and charitable initiatives. According to Mapate, “We are just happy to play our small part. We’re happy DIOP people like it.” After adapting and responding to the current situation, the company, Mapate observes, will need to consider future logistics and scaling of the business. He especially wants to continue to grow DIOP’s offerings and to work as closely as they can with their customers to see what fits them: “We always say it’s not necessarily [about] the clothes [themselves]; it’s how they make you feel and what you choose to do with them or in them.”

DIOP’s commitment to their customers is something that sets the company apart from many other brands, and this commitment comprises the core of their business. One of the vital lessons Mapate employed from previous experiences was the importance of developing connections with the first 100 customers. Early customers, Mapate stresses, are “the most passionate about [your product].

They will define what the next 1,000 or 10,000 customers think and the product they get.” DIOP thus made an effort to interview every customer, learning about their habits and motivations, in order to create not only a “demographic profile but a psychographic one.” Mapate found in those interviews that it was important for people not only to see themselves in a brand, but important to hear themselves too. Through these efforts, the company set up a dedicated space on their website called The DIOP Circle, which gives customers an outlet

to share their own stories. It also allows DIOP to solicit feedback from customers, learn how they discovered the brand, and foster a larger community connected to the brand.

The customer interviews additionally highlighted a consistent question people had about the brand, which describes itself as “diaspora-inspired streetwear”: Would it be appropriate for me to wear this? Because of the frequency of this question, DIOP created a page on their website devoted specifically to cultural appropriation. The page not only asks if it would be appropriate for different kinds of customers to wear the clothing but also attempts to provide an answer. As Mapate explains, “We wanted to offer our own position [on the question] because I think our customers and audience are very sensitive and very engaged.

While they may have the language [of cultural appropriation], they might not have the education or inclination. We really wanted to give them a place to start.” The page also offers a phone number to call for more information. Mapate estimates that he likely gets a call about cultural appropriation every two or three weeks. DIOP sometimes receives pushback on their approach to cultural appropriation, but the company reminds people that at the end of the day they are a clothing brand: “The goal is to get people to think critically for themselves and really engage with things in an honest way.”

When not running his business, Mapate enjoys reading. He recently finished Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe and Meet Me in the Bathroom

by Elizabeth Goodman and is currently reading Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener. He has been focused on reading recent histories “because things have changed so drastically, not just in my own life but generally, and I am trying to actively remember what it was like before all of the stuff happened and what led up to this, and I think it’s kind of also how people prepare to think about what happens next.”

What’s next for Mapate? He’s taking things with his business day by day, but returned to Riverdale (virtually) as an assembly speaker for this year’s Middle School Community Day and generously donated a DIOP mask for every middle school student. ■

29

Class Notes

1946 Johan Domenie sent the following note to Patricia Arkin Gerdsen: I came to the United States from Brazil (where I was born) together with my Dutch parents in August 1944 and entered Riverdale living in the dormitory.

Officially I was registered in the class of ’47, but as it turned out I was “present” at the graduation of the Class of ’46 – but did not receive a diploma as I had failed American History

30

(which was all new to me!). I went to Camp Riverdale to take American History – and in 1948, I did receive my diploma – after I had completed two years at Harvard, where I had been accepted at the age of 16 in 1946. I was not an “A” student – closer to a “C” – but at Harvard I did well.

I graduated in May of 1950 and the Korean War began the next month. I had made a “Declaration of Intent” to become a

U.S. citizen in 1948, but needed five years before I could apply for citizenship, which made me eligible for the draft. I spent 2 years in Trieste in G-2 Intelligence, and upon my return began working with a company that had many offices overseas. I married Anne Mahnken and we were sent back to Rio de Janeiro, where I had been born and still had many friends. In 1959 I became Assistant Treasurer at Atlantic Refining in Brazil, and we (Anne, Holly,

Douglas, Deborah, and Mary) returned to the U.S. in the mid 60s.

Here I became Manager of the International Division of New Jersey Bank, and in 1966 joined Wells Fargo Bank International in NYC as an AVP. I ended my banking career as First VP at the New York Office of Bayrische Hypotheken und Wechsel Bank – headquartered in Munich.

I divorced in 1972 and married Mayda

Garabedian, another international banker in 1974. But due to Mayda’s health, we decided to move to Florida in 1987 (taking early retirement) and have been living in Naples (on the west coast) since that date. At the same time, we formed a stock photography office eventually with an office in Atlanta and a representative in Puerto Rico. Seeing the Digital Revolution coming in photography, we sold out in 1994 to a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak and re-retired. While we both worked in international banking, we traveled a lot to Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. After reretiring we have continued to explore the world.

In Naples I have been active at church, served on the boards of two homeowners associations, and was on the boards of six regional organizations.

I have never been a golfer (tried and failed) but have been a sailor for 60 years – mostly racing (including six Marion, MA to Bermuda events); and we had a 40’ boat in the British Islands for 8 years with which the two of us cruised parts of the Caribbean – now fully retired.

1949 Janyce Vaughan called the alumni office in August to say hello. She lives in NYC and has been staying close

to home during the pandemic. Janyce would love to hear from her classmates and encourages them to get in touch with her at 212-6971736.

controls here are keeping us reasonably free of concern over the Coronavirus pandemic.

But we worry about the U.S. and our kids and grandkids there. Hang in there, all.” (pictured)

1951 Felix Santoni writes, “I am doing well except for a defective heart valve that needs to be replaced. As you know, I underwent open heart surgery 26 years ago, and it has been okay until now. They were scheduled to do that in July 2020, but I fell and ended up with a broken left shoulder, which is healing. The doctor that is handling my broken shoulder does not want to do the valve until my shoulder feels better. I am scheduled to see him tomorrow and presume he will tell me when they can replace the valve. We are alive and doing our best.

Still very much involved with the Army and Fort Buchanan as I am still the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army in Puerto Rico but hold the title as an emeritus.

Saturday last I attended a commission ceremony for 29 new second lieutenants, and one received the MG Felix A. Santoni Leadership Medal.”

John Lankester reports from Australia that “Helga and I are both fine but getting a bit creaky. We are thankful that tight

“Greetings from Dick Bernhard in Raleigh, North Carolina! Despite the current sad state of our country and of our world, I personally am doing surprisingly well! I’m now in my 10th year living in a very nice villa right on a beautiful lake at The Cypress Retirement Community in North Raleigh! Even at age 86+ I’m still in apparent good health not needing or taking any prescription drugs and able to walk around the lake each morning when the weather is good and before it gets too hot.

I’ve made a pretty good adjustment to being a widower and continue to have very happy memories of my 50-year marriage to my late wife, Cynthia Petersen Bernhard (19472019). Due to COVID-19 I currently have to spend a lot of time alone, but mainly with that I experience only solitude

and not loneliness!

I’m still actively serving as Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at North Carolina State University (NCSU). I’m on the Faculty Senate and the College of Engineering Executive Committee and serving as ISE Faculty Representative to the NCSU Libraries.

Currently all of our meetings occur via Zoom, not in-person. Also due to the pandemic I’ve declined the opportunity to teach my long-time graduate course on Advanced Engineering Economics in the Fall 2020 term, but I’m still on the books to do it in the Fall 2021 term assuming I’m then still alive and functional and the COVID-19 situation has ameliorated sufficiently to allow it to be done safely and effectively.

I hope that the living members of our class are all safe and well and that RCS is still able to operate safely and well. I look forward to receiving further news about our class and about our school! Warm regards to all!”

And from Dotty Hutton Scher: “Hope you’re weathering these hard times. I’m escaping NYC and enjoying Lake Sunapee, my daughter’s vacation house, and trying to forget what the virus has done to our lives.”

31

Finally, I’m really glad to be in touch with several classmates. Disappointed, however that many of you don’t remain in contact. If you’ve lost, please contact me, Karl Heiser, at krheiser@verizon.net.

1956 From Bob Samuels: “Linda and I are living in Stuart, Florida. I retired from the hospitality industry two years ago and am very much enjoying not working. I always look forward to learning in QUAD what my classmates are doing.”

1957 Paul Dickson just celebrated his 81st birthday, not with a whimper or a whine, but with the publication of an amazing and most timely book, The Rise of the G.I. Army 1940-1941. To honor Paul, his publisher shared excerpts of extraordinary reviews of his book by The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Times on the Amazon website, where the reviews have been almost exclusively five stars. His book is rapidly moving up the best sellers list in this category!

From Sue Jacobs Schaffzin: “In May, Ed’s oldest grandson, Ian Odland, had a virtual graduation from Northwestern University!

We celebrated al fresco

32

in Mt. Kisco, NY. Ian plans to attend medical school after a gap year.

His mother is Tracy Schaffzin ’82. That same weekend, Tracy’s daughter, Julia, graduated from high school at a socially distanced ceremony at the train station. She will be attending the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.”

Marty Zelnik has been selected to serve as a member of the board of directors of the National Center for Jewish Film (NCJF). Housed on the campus of Brandeis University of which Martin is a graduate, NCJF is a unique organization as the largest and oldest resource center for and about Jewish film and provides research and consultation to over 7,000 filmmakers, artists, educators, and organizations. NCJF is a major distributor of Jewish and content films and has collected and restored more than 250 films that are then made available to the public for exhibition and DVD purchase. Marty’s interest in serving on the NCJF board stems, in part, to his professional work as an architect in the design of synagogues including the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. He also has a keen interest in NCJF’s efforts to preserve and circulate old Jewish and Yiddish films in support of maintaining the collective memory of the Jewish people and the State of

Israel.

Warren “Gump” Golde was featured in an article in the January 2020 Cape Gazette, which reviewed his fascinating career in horticulture. You can read the article here.

On Sunday, April 19th, the Class of 1957 held its first... and clearly not its last... virtual mini-reunion. Led by the technically gifted guru Maarten Meckman, an outstanding 40-minute face-to-face exchange took place. The participants included: Peter Ellis (Mississippi), Mario Adler (Brazil), Bob Johnson (California), Maarten Meckman (Florida), Skip Wasserman (Florida), Warren Golde, Jeff Fisher, Doug Warwick, Sue and Ed Schaffzin, Paul Dickson, Marty Zelnik, and Tim Zagat.

Yvonne Payne Daniel recently had a knee replacement, so she indicates she is “content to rumble about in my home, tend my vegetable garden, practice the piano, and cook family dinners whenever the family gathers.” More recently, Yvonne has prepared a PowerPoint presentation on the history of ethnic dance types including amazing photographs that she has accumulated over the years. She has circulated and gifted her presentation to friends, colleagues, and students as her way of offering

an educational and recreational respite to those who are homebound and in isolation as a result of the Coronavirus.

On March 14th, Skip Wasserman and Richard Meade ’56 had dinner together in Sarasota, Florida, with their significant others. Skip lives in Sarasota yearround while Richard and Louise Dittila were vacationing there. (pictured above)

Nina and Tim Zagat and Ana Maria and Roberto Zalles (pictured above) were all in Lima, Peru earlier this year. Tim shared: “Bob has been a longtime banker and financial advisor after graduating from Yale College. The Zalleses have three children, two living in Coral Gables, FL, and one in the New York

metropolitan area. Bob’s younger brother, Jorje Zalles ’59, after attending Harvard Graduate School, became a professor of Business Mediation at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, a university in Quito, Ecuador.

It is with sad news that we report that Shelly Lipsett passed away on April 17, 2020. You can read his full obituary here.

1958 From David Lahm: “I am fortunate in not having had to be in NY since Feb. 19th; my girlfriend operates a bed-andbreakfast in SW Michigan, an almost rural area where ‘social distancing’ was the norm pre-virus because the population density is very light. We were in FL during March, and got back here April 1.”

Alan Coyne: reports, “It truly is sad to reach that 80th year point and see our list of old friends dwindle. Out of our graduating class of 55, does anyone know how many of us are still here? But, of course, we really are fortunate to have had good lives and so many blessings to show for it. Deanna and I are about to celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary and we have four great children and ten vibrant grandchildren.

I frequently wonder why the Lord has kept

me around so long – He must feel that I still have work to do. I am not sure what that work is, but I try being supportive of family and helpful in our community. We have travelled four continents but have enjoyed our Hilton Head Island home for the last 40 years. I do miss New York but have not been there in so many years (except to change planes at JFK). I would enjoy hearing from anyone who would like to contact me: alan@alancoyne and 843-290-2124.”

Phil Proctor writes: “I’ve lost 20 pounds during this pandemonium, and I’ll turn 80 on the 28th!

Melinda and I love you all.” (pictured above) Alex Garvin adds: “You beat me to 80. That happens to me in March.

I beat you in weight loss.

I lost 20 pounds 3 years ago. I am thriving.”

It is with great sadness that we report that two of our beloved classmates have passed away.

Bob Presser on January 25, 2020 and Eric Morrison on June 19, 2020.

Paul Jablow on the passing of Eric Morrison: “Moose was one of a kind…I actually knew him in kindergarten, reunited with him at summer camp and then, of course, when I came to RCS in 9th grade….”

Daniel Silver writes: “How many of us are 80 or older? I just celebrated my 80th birthday in Palm Beach with my children who flew in from the West Coast. I’m spending a couple of months in the Ambassador Hotel that was here on the beach when I was a teenager with David Frankel back in our high school days.

The hotel was built in 1948. I have been living with a woman named Sydne Simon the last six months (though we have been together for two years). We bought a house in Boca West and will close in October. We’ll spend summers together in Westchester, where many of our friends live. We’re in good health and look forward to a new lifetime together. We hope to see David Frankel this summer, COVID permitting.”

1959 Class Correspondent Geoff Howard notes, before we get to some sad news, a few positive items: Mike Otten has gotten deeply involved in a nonpartisan effort to

strengthen the country’s electoral processes before the November elections when the COVID crisis will lead to unprecedented and probably unmanageable numbers of mail-in votes, which could easily result in a constitutional crisis of unimaginable proportions.

If you’re interested — and you should be — you can get the full story at reformelectionsnow.org.

Hats off to Micki Seligson who continues to practice as a Jungian analyst in the Wellesley area, but was recently recognized for her 40 years of work in the field of childcare and outof-school time for children.

In 1978, she founded the School-Age Childcare Project, which became the National Institute on Outof-School Time (NIOST) at Wellesley College. It’s great that we have a “nationally recognized” leader among the Class of ’59, especially a nationally recognized leader who still goes by the name Micki, not Michelle.

Chris Hobson had a close call as he contracted a very mild case of the COVID-19 virus, which, according to him, never felt worse than “fighting off a cold.” He had more trouble coping with his supercharged teaching schedule at SUNY Old Westbury, which featured an online teaching platform plus Zoom for live sessions, which was much harder and more demanding than

33

face-to-face classes.

And these items from Ron Winston, the Class of ’59’s version of the Energizer Bunny, and amazingly, it’s all absolutely true: “I have been working on several things. I’ve created a virtual-reality system, which provides for interaction with other parties in which you can view them without the goggles providing a more perfect virtual-reality experience. My company, Celestium Space, is hard at work building a spacelaunch rocket for satellites, which should happen in the next year. I’m also finishing my book on the history of my family and me. Finally, through my research group, we’ve found a new way to cure cancer. My son is now sixteen years old and stands at 6 feet 2.5 inches.

When he gets up out of a chair it’s more like an uncoiling and is amazing to see. I dearly missed our summer gathering this year, but of course it’s impossible.”

Now for that sad news. We lost two of our members, Peter Parella around Thanksgiving last year and Don Shea this spring.

And that wasn’t all — Tom Garvey and wife Carol lost their son, Tom IV, after a long and difficult battle with cancer. Most in our class are already aware of these losses, but we know that all three had friends in other classes as well.

34

1963 It is with great sadness that we report that Peter Tytell passed away on August 11, 2020. You can read his obituary here.

Peter Philip writes: “My wife, Willa, and I met Steve Marder and his wife Joan for lunch in Northwoods, NH. Pandemic social distancing kept us outside and separated for this picture.

Steve is actively selling real estate to the growing number of people from NYC and Boston who are escaping COVID. I am keeping cool at Hampton Beach, NH for most of the summer.” (pictured above) Peter Philip forwarded the following Class of ’63 communication that took place in April 2020: From Andy Gordon: “Good to hear from you (Peter) and good to have seen you in NYC a few years ago.

I hope you are well and good to hear you’ve taken the stage. Dan, my son, has produced a number of videos for kids with that same set of words ‘take the stage.’ Rebecca, my daughter, as I may have told you, is an astrologer, perhaps leading us out

of the pandemic with the stars in tow.

I continue teaching remotely at the University of Houston. Strange to be so estranged from everything. Dan, who was to have taken a short trip from NYC to Houston, has found himself in Houston for a much longer time, not at all keen to go back to NYC, at least now.”

Steve Marder writes: “Hunkered down and still working as an etailer (never plan to retire); probably the most northern; five kids with six masters degrees (for the youngest in our class — one has two); seven grandchildren — two are bilingual, one in college, two in high school, two in middle school (for the youngest in our class — the two who are bilingual are the youngest and under three); still an entrepreneur (opened a news business venture last year); still and always Boston Strong (having survived the Boston Marathon Bombing).”

Arnie Eggers writes: “Good to hear from everyone. I retired in 2018 as an academic neurologist at Downstate and Kings County Hospital in order to write a book entitled Meltdown and the Neuroscience of Stress, which I got published but it was launched incorrectly as a medical textbook. We are going to reissue it this

year as a popular science paperback, which is what it is. My daughter is living in Oxford in England; we had a wonderful visit with her over Christmas.

My son, after taking long leaves of absence for medical reasons, is back at Columbia College. My brother Howard Eggers is in the middle stage of Alzheimer’s disease and living in an assisted living community in White Plains. I am in quite frequent contact with Charlie Popper, who is still very active in his career as a pediatric psychiatrist at Harvard.”

Adam Powell shares: “On March 10th we were all in Atlanta preparing to present the Georgia election cyber-security workshop, part of our 50-state tour, when word came to shut down. So, we canceled, and we all got on planes back to D.C. or L.A. Three weeks to the day, we presented the first of our online election cyber-security workshops, starting where we left off -- in Georgia -- with that state’s Secretary of State and election officials, plus USC experts from L.A. Tomorrow afternoon we will do one for Arkansas, again starting with that state’s Secretary of State.

Anyone who wants can watch; registration is at https://uscARK.eventbrite. com. So, we will have done six states in person and two virtually, leaving only 44 to go before election

day. We’re saving Hawaii for last, and of course that one will be in person.”

John Levitt adds: “I’m living in San Francisco these days. Moved here in the ’60s, had some adventures, then left, and knocked around doing a bunch of stuff until finally returning to the city.

Ended up working at and eventually running the family ski lodge in Alta, Utah, for a number of years. Also took a slight detour and was a cop in Salt Lake City for seven years. Semi-retired, so I became a writer and published a bunch of mystery and fantasy novels. Learned to play a little guitar and now I have a pretty decent band that was going great until the pandemic shut down all the clubs. So right now, sheltering in place with gf and five rescue dogs. Hope everyone stays well.”

George deWalder responds: “After being a part-time driver for Jaguar Land Rover Asheville for 15 months, I decided to flunk retirement and became the warranty administrator for the dealership at the beginning of March. Still on the learning curve at times but enjoying it.

When COVID-19 happened, my hours were cut in half. No worries. Keep up your good work and stay healthy.”

Paul Safer writes: “All is well here in Florida. I

am living just south of Jacksonville in a town called Green Cove Springs on the St. John’s River.

Life is good here with my fiancée, Anne, four dogs, and two cats. I am happily retired. Looking forward to getting out again after the current crisis ends.

My best to all of my RCS classmate and wishes to all to stay safe and healthy.”

Rick Rose adds: “Kathy and I were on the ill-fated Grand Princess last month en route to Hawaii and back from San Francisco.

Because a guest on a previous cruise died while we were aboard, we were required to stay in our cabins for the final five days, followed by an enforced 14 days at Travis Air Force Base (between Sacramento and San Francisco). We elected to be tested before departing Travis, and while we ultimately learned we tested negative, the results were not released at the time we left quarantine.

Now home in Tiburon with Kathy and my youngest son and his family while their house is completing a remodel, so all is well.

As an aside, I heard from a number of classmates from ’63 while in quarantine (Bob Shapiro, Eddie Korvin, Ritch Goetz, and especially Rob Lewine almost on a daily basis). That may be the silver lining of COVID-19.

Nothing like old buddies.

So, let’s all stay put and

stay well.”

1964 Eric Kingson reports that the class has been enjoyably staying in touch via Zoom during the quarantine. (pictured below)

1967 Class Correspondent, Carol Nathan McKegney writes: “We’ve been taking advantage of tech to hold virtual class reunions!

Starting top left and reading like text, there’s Hillary Brown, me, Beth Gildin Watrous, Anne Stadler Klass, Tina Zerdin Fleishman, Beth Novick, Debbie Herman Shank, Polly Demuth Steenhagen, Jill Birnbaum Seligman, Anonymous, Sara Ford, Lillian (now called Kim) Tchang, and Ruth Andrea Levinson. Dale List Kaplan, Pam Duff Killen, Pamela Tytell (from Paris), Nancy Liberman Cohen, Susan Melamid Portnoy and Mary Lou Gilbert Scott were not there that day. It’s been amazing! (pictured below)

1970 Class Correspondent Bob Kahn sends this message: “We regret that our upcoming 50th reunion will not be held this fall on the Riverdale campus.

Perhaps we will become the first class to celebrate our 51st. In the meantime, we wish all our fellow alumni, across the years, good health and happiness.”

From Alan Michaan: I recently remarried (third times the charm) and am in the same Victorian house in the San Francisco Bay Area where I have resided since 1980. I have four grown children and two grandchildren one of which (Violet Sierra) was born 3 weeks ago.

I have been operating the historic Grand Lake Theater in Oakland for 40 years and look forward to an eventual reopening.

At one time I operated over 20 vintage theaters in the Bay Area but transitioned into the art and antique field as my primary occupation after the onslaught of megaplex theaters in the 1990s.

1972 It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that classmate and friend Bill Pordy passed away on September 14, 2020. His full obituary can be found here. Our deepest condolences go out to his family.

35

1977 From Fran Hoffinger, Class Correspondent: “In the midst of the pandemic, and fortunately those I have been in touch with from the Class of 1977 seem healthy and safe so far.”

Jon Goodman reported that his daughter Natalie has joined the Cornell Class of 2023 and is majoring in Psychology.

Cassandra McGowen, who left RCS early after 11th grade, wrote the

following: “Just as I reconnected with some Riverdale alumni after 43 years, I have had to disconnect. We are in a COVID State of Mind. I am busy being me and doing fine except that all my days feel like Saturday.

My family, husband and two daughters, two cats, and one rabbit, are all fine. Although this virus is going to be a long haul for all of us, my family and I are determined to keep ourselves healthy, happy, and safe.

I now spend the early

morning hour in the Brooklyn Museum parking lot on my Razor scooter or bicycle to exercise before it gets too hot, in lieu of my early morning swim at the gym. The empty parking lot gives me the open space to be mask free and zip around without the cars or other cyclists running me down.

As an architect, my construction projects can mostly be done remotely.

I follow long email dialogues, participate in Zoom meetings and make an occasional site visit to

poke my head in a storage closet, review a millwork installation, or inspect new door hardware. In the afternoons, my work gets replaced with jigsaw puzzles while watching old TV shows or arts & craft projects.

I had been making cloth masks for friends, building staff and family but demand has diminished.

So, I have moved on to arts & crafts projects such as collages, beading necklaces and earrings, sewing cloth eyeglass holders, and small cloth

For many people who would like to invest in the future of Riverdale, a planned gift is an attractive way to provide invaluable support for our faculty, students, campus, and co-curricular programming. By including Riverdale in your will, making us a beneficiary of your IRA, or establishing a life-income gift, you can have a substantial effect on the school, its future, and its ability to thrive.

We hope you will consider joining the Frank S. Hackett Planned Giving Society. A gift to the Hackett Society is key to the strength, success, and future of Riverdale Country School.

36

For more information, please contact Robin Gottlieb, Director of Alumni Affairs & Institutional Engagement at rgottlieb@riverdale.edu or 718-519-2703.

and sting style baskets.

Some of these crafts have become gifts for the nursing home staff where my mother resides. I also decided to participate in a fund-raising auction project, Blank Canvas Charitable Auction.

As the months continue to pass and the FaceTime, Zooms, emails, and the YouTube videos all continue to keep us connected, we will all be fine. I wish everyone happiness, along with success in coming through this COVID State of Mind intact and in high spirits.” (pictured below)

uncertainties. Read the article here.

1999 Congratulations to Jessica Shapiro-Weill on the birth of her daughter, Milly, this past summer. Jess notes, “Milly Rose came quite a bit early, but we are all home now, healthy and in love.” (pictured below)

Michelle and Phil Michael are happy to announce the birth of Drew Ryder Michael, born on May 23, 2020, weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

1990

2001

Megan McArdle wrote an interesting opinion piece in the Washington Post titled “Three Steps to Consider for a More Pre-Pandemic Normal.”

Alex Horn sent in the following class notes:

RCS alumna and former Constructing America teacher, Sari Altschuler, had an article in the Washington Post on April 19, 2020 looking at how the cholera outbreak contains lessons in navigating today’s

Chloe Neu started her own clothing line, Cool is a Construct, which is ethically made in NYC. The Instagram is @coolisaconstruct.

2005 2000

1997

his wife, Lucy’s, real estate firm Landmark International is one of the fastest growing brokerage firms in Queens. In fact, Alex Horn’s real estate development company Glacier Equities hired Jordan’s firm to market and sell their new Queens apartments. Both Jordan and Alex regularly consult with Ayush Kapahi head of real-estate advisory firm HKS Capital Advisors, which was ranked among the top 15 mortgage brokers in NYC by The Real Deal. Talk about Riverdale synergy!

Matt Trundle and wife Erin welcomed their second child, Dax, in May (he joins their three-yearold son Wyatt).

Dan Skelly was promoted to managing director, head of strategy and research, at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and recently bought a home in Garden City with his wife, Elise.

Jordan Donner and

Omari Ramirez reports: “Nicolas Omari Ramirez ‘Baby Nico’ was born on May 7, 2020. We are back home and doing great.” (pictured below)

IN MEMORIAM 2017 Nina Hay has started her own hair-care line, Nina Naomi Curl Shop, with small-batch products specially made for Black women with kinky hair.

You can find the shop on Instagram @ninanaomicurlshop.

John West ’42 Faith Mattison ’44 John Birch ’54 Anne Temple Tuttle ’51 James Block ’55 Boris Goldstein ’55 Shelly Lipsett ’57 Eric Morrison ’58 Bob Presser ’58 Peter Parella ’59 Don Shea ’59 Peter Tytell ’63 John Tucci ’70 Bill Pordy ’72 37

Class Correspondents Find your class’s correspondent and submit a class note by April 1, 2021! Or, you can always submit a class note to Robin Gottlieb at rgottlieb@riverdale.edu or 718-519-2703.

1946 Patricia Arkin Gerdsen patfossillady@gmail.com 1947 Become a Class Correspondent* 1948 Become a Class Correspondent* 1949 Become a Class Correspondent* 1950 Become a Class Correspondent* 1951 Karl R. Heiser krheiser@verizon.net 1952 Barbara Dean Schuler 914-337-2712 1953 William H. Gardner whginc@mindspring.com 1954 Nancy Bomeisler Nightingale nbnight@optimum.net 1955 Jane Samet Rogers jazzpiano77@verizon.net 1956 Barbara Berger Goldman barbaraandronnie@aol.com 1957 Judith Austin judyaustin40@yahoo.com Bob Johnson robert.johnson@mto.com Suellen Jacobs Schaffzin craftyme33@hotmail.com Martin A. Zelnik panzel1@aol.com 1958 David F. Lahm dflahm@gmail.com 1959 Geoff Howard howards@warwick.net Michelle Seligson 617-320-3935 1960 E. Harvey Meer ehmeer@aol.com 1961 Lawrence Rosenbluth rosenbluth342@yahoo.com 1962 Tom Franklin franklinus@aol.com

38

Joseph Pickard jpickard1306@msn.com 1963 Stephen R. Blank stephen.blank@att.net Peter W. Philip petersells@aol.com Paul K. Safer pksmd@msn.com 1964 John H. Jiler johnjiler@earthlink.net 1965 Melissa Gordon melmelg48@aol.com Gail A. Hart york86@aol.com 1966 Leslie Nathan Weinberger ljw429@gmail.com 1967 Carol Nathan McKegney carolrsp@yahoo.com 1968 John M. Davis johnmdavis3@gmail.com 1969 Nancy Duff-Boehm nduff611@gmail.com 1970 David Asencio david102251@msn.com Robert S. Kahn bob@kahnconsulting.com 1971 Jerry J. Fall fall.jerry@gmail.com Charlotte Jones McCormick shamimccormick@gmail.com 1972 Elizabeth S. Lasdon eslasdon@gmail.com 1973 Anthony Melchior melchprod@aol.com 1974 Donnamarie Barnes donnamariebarnes@gmail.com Roger Sherman rsherman@cyruscapital.com 1975 Jonathan J. Beitler jonathanjbeitler@gmail.com Jeffrey J. Russell jjrussell@clearbridgeadvisors.com

*To become a Class Correspondent, contact Robin Gottlieb at rgottlieb@riverdale.edu or 718-519-2703.

1976 Daniel Easton mashfly007@aol.com 1977 Fran Hoffinger fhoffinger@hoffingerlaw.com 1978 William J. McGowan bill@claritymediagroup.com 1979 Lori Tarnopol Moore lori.moore26@gmail.com 1980 Dana Swinsky Cantelmo danaswinsky@me.com 1981 Elizabeth A. Holoubek-Sebok eholoubek@aol.com Lisa Burge Swotes lswotes@gmail.com 1982 Meryl I. Poster meryl.poster@superbentertainment.net 1983 Eric M. Yamin eric.yamin@ubs.com 1984 Eve Reppen Rogers evejewels@icloud.com 1985 Allison J. Unger Brody 1986 Sanford E. Cannold sandy.cannold@gmail.com 1987 Become a Class Correspondent* 1988 Stacy J. Grossman stacyjgrossman@gmail.com 1989 Allison R. Rouse allison.rouse@gmail.com 1990 Jeffrey L. Korenman jkorenman@hotmail.com Achikam Yogev achikamyogev@gmail.com 1991 Stefanie Firtell Donath sadonath6873@gmail.com 1992 Laura J. Kleinman kleinmanlaura@yahoo.com

1993 George D. Creppy gcreppy75@gmail.com Alexis Densen Higgins alexis.higgins@gmail.com 1994 Danielle J. Englebardt denglebardt@gmail.com 1995 Brittany Podell Levin bpodellco@gmail.com 1996 Lara Engelbardt Metz larametz@gmail.com Timothy F. Morehouse tim.morehouse08@gmail.com 1997 Jaime Benjamin Trichon jaimebenj@gmail.com 1998 Jessica Endelson Baum jessbaum@live.com 1999 Matthew C. Balaban mattbalaban1@gmail.com 2000 Lana Jacobs Edelman lanarose@gmail.com 2001 Samantha A. Acunto ac.samantha@gmail.com Adam M. Brenner adam.brenner@gmail.com Alex P. Horn alexp.horn@gmail.com David Rausnitz drausnitz@gmail.com 2002 Samara Fetto Gee samara.fetto@gmail.com Benjamin Z. Koblentz bkoblentz@gmail.com 2003 Adam R. Heller adamheller1@gmail.com Ariel C. Schneider arielcschneider@gmail.com 2004 Brandon A. Cohen brandon.adam.cohen@gmail.com Cristina E. Haley crissy.haley@gmail.com 2005 Daniel A. Perelstein dperelstein@gmail.com Amy R. Schneiderman amy.r.schneiderman@gmail.com 2006 Tracy Dansker tdansker@gmail.com

Jordan Marin jordan.marin@live.com Eric B. Nusbaum ericbnusbaum@gmail.com 2007 Kate M. Lehrhaupt kate.lehrhaupt@gmail.com 2008 Michael Roberts roberts.r.michael@gmail.com Andrew J. Taub andrew.james.taub@gmail.com Zoe S. Zetlin zzetlin@gmail.com 2009 Daisy H. Hackett hackettdaisy@gmail.com Josh A. Howard jh1003@gmail.com Joshua S. Pearl josh@joshpearl.com Elizabeth G. Phillips egphilli@gmail.com Ashley M. Rainford ashley.rainford@gmail.com Danielle Suchman Sheptin Danielle.suchman@gmail.com Alyssa J. Smith alyssajaclyn@gmail.com 2010 Ethan Gracer edagracer@gmail.com Alexandra E. Kokot alikokot@gmail.com Allyson Peltz allyson.peltz@gmail.com 2011 Laura E. Berman laura.e.berman@gmail.com 2012 Jay B. Dessy jbdessy@gmail.com Chloe S. Getrajdman cgetrajdman@gmail.com 2013 Khari A. Dawkins khari.dawkins@gmail.com George S. Niedermayer niedermayergeorge19@gmail.com 2014 Travis R. Brady travisrenoirbrady@gmail.com Saranya Vijayakumar saranyav196@gmail.com 2015 Corey A. Morrison dactadeo@gmail.com Robert J. Proner robertproner@gmail.com

*To become a Class Correspondent, contact Robin Gottlieb at rgottlieb@riverdale.edu or 718-519-2703.

2016 Christian Eggers cde2117@columbia.edu Jake Fallek jakefallek@gmail.com 2017 Ava Levinson ava.levinson@gmail.com Luis Perez lperezteak14@gmail.com Zoe Schwartzman schwartzmanzoe@gmail.com 2018 Jackson Harris jsharris@hamilton.edu Alex Karr ajkarr1@gmail.com 2019 Michael Maffezzoli mmaffezzoli01@gmail.com Jason Steiger jasonsteiger18@gmail.com 2020 Patrick Davidson patrickdavidson0@gmail.com Teji Vijayakumar tejasri.vijayakumar@gmail.com

THE PUZZLE

Solution

39

Board of Trustees 2020-2021 Gwen Adolph Terri Austin, Secretary Bruce Beal, Jr. Ellen Nachtigall Biben ’83 David Blitzer, Treasurer Edem Dzubey ’07 Ebby Elahi Chloe Epstein Sandra Kim Hoffen ’83 Mark Hostetter ’77 Christopher James ’93 John Kao ’68 Kass Lazerow Tiffany Austin Liston ’94, AAEC President Susan Moldow ’63 Thomas Montag Anand More John A. Neuwirth Dominic A.A. Randolph, Head of School David Rhodes

Daniel J. Rosen ’92, Vice Chair Jacqueline Rosen, PA President Deborah Sonnenberg Philip “Tod” Waterman III ’84 Roy Weathers David Westin, Chair Vanessa Wittman Kazumi Yanai

TRUSTEES EMERITI Michele R. Cohen Thomas C. Israel Brad S. Karp Jane Lisman Katz ’65 Peter M. Lehrer Linda Lewis Lindenbaum ’54 William C.W. Mow ’55 David N. Roberts ’80 Harvey Schulweis Robert A. Staub ’52 Thomas W. Strauss Jeffrey N. Vinik ’77 Eugene “Tim” Zagat, Jr. ’57 Ada G. Zambetti Richard S. Zinman

Alumni Association Executive Committee 2020-2021 Samantha Acunto ’01 George Anagnos ’76 Harrie Bakst ’03 Jessica Endelson Baum ’98 Liz Strauss Clyman ’97 Stefanie Firtell Donath ’91 Edem Dzubey ’07 Lana Jacobs Edelman ’00 Tara Pfeifer Englander ’93 Danielle J. Englebardt ’94 Betsy Fields ’86 Joseph Goldschmid ’04, Vice President Paul Goldschmid ’96 Susan Golkin ’85 Maggie Heller Greebel ’99 Michelle Kirschtein Jacobs ’81 David F. Lahm ’58 Tiffany Austin Liston ’94, President Deborah Yamin Manocchia ’87 Anthony Melchior ’73

40

Lara Englebardt Metz ’96 Philip R. Michael ’00 Shary Moalemzadeh ’89 Ally Peltz ’10 Omari Ramirez ’05 Amelia Levin Relles ’87 Michael Roberts ’08 Carolyn Braun Rosen ’92 Daniel D. Rosen ’92 Peter R. Rosenblatt ’50 Jessica Elghanayan Shell ’95 Roger Sherman ’74 Dwight Vidale ’01 Andrine Wilson ’02 Jenna Langel Witten ’06 Ahmed Yearwood ’91

to the 2,012 donors who helped raise $4.85 million for the 2019-2020 Annual Fund!

These Annual Fund gifts helped us provide robust financial aid support; attract and retain passionate faculty members and increase professional development offerings, including a focus on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging; and upgrade our physical plant and technology resources to ensure safer environments while on campus and necessary supplies for remote learning.

41