Class Notes

Robert Milstead ’69 was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant General in December of 2010 and assumed the duties as Deputy Commandant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, where he served until retiring from active duty in November 2014 culminating a career spanning forty years of service. His personal decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two gold stars in lieu of second and third awards with the Combat V, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 6 Strike/Flight Awards, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal. Robert and his wife have four children and grandchildren.

Frank Boring ’72 is the producer for the full-length documentary “The Great Experiment: CSU at 150”, produced in honor of Colorado State University’s 150th birthday. Frank interviewed former coaches, staff, administrators, and many more about the history of the university. The documentary aired on Rocky Mountain PBS in October 2020.

Gerald Branch ’72 retired from the U.S. Army in 2010 after 26 years of service and lives in Grambling, LA. In May 2020 Paul Courtright ’72 published Witnessing Gwangju, the only memoir about the Gwangju Uprising written by a foreigner. Paul was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea from 1979-81 and was one of few foreign witnesses to the massacre of civilians known as the Gwangju Uprising in May 1980, which became the foundation of democratic change in South Korea.

George Smith ’77 writes, “After years of moving around the world I am fully retired now here in Woodlawn, TN with Jo, my great wife of 42 years. I served in the Army from 1977 to 1998 right after graduation. “Upon retiring from the United States Army, I worked for the government, which like the Army, moved us around.” We had 6 years in Korea which allowed us to go to the 2010 reunion in Taipei, and my wife and I had a blast. Afterwards, I returned to Fort Bliss, TX, and after five deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, I had to retire and we chose Tennessee as home. Looking forward to going to a reunion soon. I am still in contact with classmates from my time in Taiwan and love hearing from them on Facebook or MEWE. Please look me up.”

Joel Emerson ’78 recently moved to Maui, HI from San Diego, CA.

Elizabeth (Bette Ann) Molloy de

Coluby ’83 is a Senior Vice President at KeyBank in Cleveland, OH. She was recently promoted to Digital Tribe Leader and is responsible for the financial wellness and lending origination squads. She lives in northeast Ohio with her husband Manuel, two sons, and two dogs. Her oldest son is studying film at the University of Utah. Elizabeth is one of the organizers for a TAS reunion scheduled for the summer of 2022 in Seattle, WA. This reunion will include events spread over multiple evenings. TAS alumni, faculty, and friends are welcome. Details will be shared in the “TAS Reunion Summer 2022 Seattle WA” group on Facebook. Please join the group or contact Elizabeth at ecoluby@aol.com to learn more. In January 2021 Michelle Bossard Bos-Lun ’84 began her two-year term as a State Representative for the Windham 4 district in southern Vermont which includes the towns of Westminster, Putney and Dummerston.

Alexander Hoyte Goudsmit ’89

writes, “Today, March 12 is 10 years ago to the day that I met my wife Anouk. We met during a ski trip in Austria where my friend was speaking to Anouk and asked where she grew up and when she said Brazil and Taiwan, he immediately introduced us! Taiwan was instrumental in us meeting! We got married 2 years later and our son Jasper was born in 2013. I love to travel, especially in combination with photography, listening to music and going to concerts (I have been to over 100 concerts). I still ski and play tennis; I play regional competition in a team at a local tennis club. In recent years a few TAS alumni have made their way through Amsterdam and it was great seeing them and catching up! I currently work in Amsterdam for Mambu as a Senior Customer Support Manager, where I am responsible for global support function and creating and implementing programs, tools, and processes to improve customer experience. But most of all, I am the proud dad of our 7-year-old son Jasper and can’t wait to see what he will be up to next.”

Sabastian Blum ’92 writes, “After eleven years in San Francisco working in startups and as a venture capitalist (which brought me in touch with Brett Trentham ’92 and Ronen Mense ’92 after many years away from Taipei), I moved back to Berlin, Germany in 2019. I founded a VC firm for crypto/ blockchain (Greenfield One) and am still getting used to the city as it has been on lockdown since March of last year. Still a bachelor…so let’s see what is coming re: that part of life :) Since leaving TAS after sophomore year, I have not been back. Once the world opens up again, I would love to stop by and meet as many people from our class as possible :) And to you all who are passing through Germany and Berlin, hit me up!”

Timo Carlier ’92 reports that he has gotten back into songwriting and music production. Along with several collaborations with musician friend & classmate, Dennis Ho (@TheDeeWho on social media), Timo recently put out an album of experimental music titled We Used Your Track!, available on all streaming platforms. The album has had some success in terms of international radio play. If you like experimental, ambient or tape music (e.g. Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois), check it out!

Betty Chang ’92 returned to Taipei in 2016 with husband Samson, and their kids, Naiya and Tedy. After interning at TAS many moons ago, Betty taught different mediums of music (choir, band, strings and general music) at different international schools in Bangkok, Warsaw, Jakarta, Addis Ababa, Dhaka and now back at TAS. Betty writes, “One of the joys of serving as a faculty member at TAS is that I get to teach the next generation from our Class of 1992! I love being able to see our classmates’ mini-me versions in middle school choir. The hair flips, stances, even speaking similarities to their parents, our classmates, are uncanny! Aside from work, Samson and I enjoy a simple life with our kids and are grateful for our first world experiences back ‘home’ (despite that part of our hearts are in Ethiopia with our family and friends). We’d love to connect with TASers when you’re in town or Zoom until traveling returns.”

Patricia Chen ’92 lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband and two kids who are 11 and 13. Together they run a small architecture studio that focuses on modern architecture. Check out their studio on Instagram at @ chensuchartstudio.

Tim Chen ’92 and his wife, Mimi Wu ’92, spent over three months last year in quarantine and did over 18 COVID tests. Tim works at VIA Technologies, and it is his 24th year there. When he is not in quarantine, he lives in Hong Kong with his wife and their three children Toby, Micah and Evan and spends his time reading books or Zooming.

Ying Chen ’92 and his wife Diana have been living in Shanghai since 2015. Ying now works for S2C, a company founded by Toshio Nakama ’93, which specializes in electronic design automation for integrated circuits design validation.

Jeanne Chou ’92 lives in Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, NY and spends four months a year in Taipei. She is an interior designer and co-owns two dogs named Matzoh Ball and Henry. She recently earned a PADI Open Water scuba diving certification and has taken up boxing. Jane currently trains at Gleason’s Gym, where she was told by several old professional heavyweight fighters that she has a nice hook but has no idea how to use it...yet.

Jenny (Henna Bharwani) Chugani

’92 has been living with her husband and two daughters in Rowland Heights, CA for the last 23 years. Their oldest daughter is a second-year pharmaceutical chemistry major at UC Davis, and their younger daughter, who does dance and drumline, is a sophomore in high school. Jenny works at a nearby school district, volunteers with VITA (a program through the IRS which offers free income tax preparation for the elderly and low income), and is taking classes at a local community college.

Ali Clarke ’92 writes, “Hello Everyone! Since graduating from TAS and NYU, I’ve been living in New York City. My son Soren is a freshman in high school and an aspiring rapper, and my daughter Simone loves art, design, and jujitsu. Professionally, I am a real estate broker at Compass and have worked with many TAS home buyers in NY! I love my work, as it takes me all over the city. I get to meet new people and stay in touch with old friends. In my spare time, I love exploring all the restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and I work it off by doing a lot of Crossfit and yoga. Right now, I’m also in the midst of renovating a farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains and hope to make it a vacation rental/wedding venue in the near future.”

Matt Davies ’92 works as a freelance writer and editor. His first novel, This Thing of Darkness, was published in 2018 and his second is due for release in 2022. Matt lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two kids. Check out Matt’s books at www. mattdavies.com.au.

Kaori (Shingledecker) Emery ’92 and her family live in Massachusetts. She has finally learned how to endure the winters in New England (with two pairs of pants, five layers on top, a thick scarf, and a face mask help). She and her family often enjoy Gloucester beach, state parks, ice skating on the lake, playgrounds, and more in the area.

Vicki (Tchen) Garneau ’92 writes, “I am living in McKinney, Texas! I am the proud mom to a wonderful 25-year-old son, Benjamin, and amazingly precocious nine-year-old twin girls, Elise and Lauren. My husband David and I have been married for 13 years and with our wicked senses of humor, have decided that we still tolerate one another. Ha! I won’t bore you with the ‘in my spare time’ notes because let’s be honest, who has spare time? All joking aside, I am just grateful for my family.”

Dennis Guh ’92 is living in Long Island New York and working as a tax accountant/attorney.

Carter Hassebroek ’92 reports, “I live in Nashville, TN. I have been working in the touring side of the music business for the past 20 or so years and am looking forward to getting back to it soon.” Margaret Jen ’92 has been living in the Bay Area for the past ten years (and moved to Oakland with her husband Paul two years ago). She writes, “Come visit! I spend my days as the Head of Global Events for Dropbox and recently all my spare time is being a new paw-rent to our new puppy Nigel! Would love to see anyone if they’re ever in the area!”

Karin Keijzer ’92 is married to her husband Jacco and is the mother of two boys, Ties (14 years-old) and Jens (almost 12 years-old). Since 2015, she is back in Holland after having lived in London (2004-2006) and Dubai (2006-2015). Karin is working for Make-A-Wish Nederland.

Dennis Lee ’92 lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has been practicing Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) since 2002 and is Co-President at the Alberta College of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Ben Liao ’92 returned to Taipei in 2008 with his wife Crystal and their two daughters, Rafi and Mila. He shares, “I’ve been busy with Forte Hotels and Howard Plaza Hotels. There are now 17 hotels, and with COVID, we’ve adapted four Taipei Orange Hotels into quarantine hotels to survive. Our Yamagata Kaku onsen hotel in Jiaoxi has done well during this period, but I’m working on building even stronger relations with Japan and the Yamagata prefecture and finding the next tourism product after COVID. It was a tough year for tourism. But since holding the Smart & Sustainable Tourism Symposium at WCIT 2017, I’ve been watching trends and consulting with Taiwan Tourism. It’s amazing how domestic products have grown. We all hope to travel soon, but let’s also remember the benefits of the time spent with less travel and more time for family and friends. Travel is returning, but before it does, I hope we all remember this period of under-tourism as a great change of perspective. More than just a business or a privilege, or an escape or delight, travel perhaps was always to bring you closer to understanding your family and your home.”

After years working as a fashion designer at Converse and Abercrombie & Fitch, Jean Liu ’92 has launched Verity & Daughters, a womenswear line that mixes vintage-inspired workwear with quirky period costume details using modern fabrics and tailoring. Jean and her family live in Brooklyn, NY.

Lynn Loo ’92 reports, “I am based in New Jersey and am presently a professor in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Princeton University. I also lead the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment on campus. I came to Singapore for my sabbatical in January 2020 and stayed on because of COVID. My seven-year-old is attending Singapore American School. We hope to return to the U.S. this summer. A nice perk about being in Singapore: I reconnected with Vivian Oh ’92, who just moved back to the island nation with her family after a long stint overseas. Our families get together regularly giving us a chance to reminisce about our TAS days!”

Maki (Hsieh) Mae ’92 writes that after her sister Katy Hsieh ’95 passed suddenly from a brain stroke, she switched from private equity to philanthropy. Her charity violin and vocal album inducted her into the GRAMMY Recording Academy whose members are only 3% Asian. As Asian Hall of Fame CEO, her Stop Asian Hate video went viral, and she has been featured on NHK (Japanese

Broadcasting Corporation) and American media raising awareness of anti-Asian violence. Maki was honored as California State Senate Woman of the Year and represents 2% Asian female executives on the Forbes Council. Her mother Masae Toyochi Hsieh who formerly taught Japanese at TAS is a breast cancer survivor and lives in Taoyuan.

Ronen Mense ’92 writes, “Hey all, Ronen here, living in Bangkok and I’m the janitor at a tech unicorn called AppsFlyer. I can’t wait to get back to Taipei and eat 牛肉麵. Hope to see you all at reunion v3.0!” (Ronen serves as the President and Managing Director of AppsFlyer.)

Janet (Chen) Mi ’92 joined Green Monday as GM of Operations and Partnership in October 2020 to further Green Monday’s expansion in China. Green Monday, founded in Hong Kong, is a multi-faceted social venture that promotes eating green/vegetarian at least once a week to address environmental concerns such as carbon emissions, worldwide water and food shortage, and decreased human health. Green Monday was the first in the world to produce OmniPork, a plantbased protein substitute for pork, and to open retail-restaurant combination shops to offer delicious vegan options for those interested in helping the environment. OmniPork is already in City Super and 八方雲集 restaurants across Taiwan.

Toshiu Nakama ’92 shares, “I am currently living in Taiwan, and I have two children. Since both are studying in TAS, I get to visit TAS quite often! Even though the layout of campus has changed, I feel like I’m back in my high school days every time I visit. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Taiwan someday!” Masu Ota ’92 lives in Taipei with his wife Lulu and one and a half yearold daughter Midori. He is now a dedicated Tibetan Buddhist and goes on pilgrimage regularly. Masu maintains his interests in photography and speeding around in his Porsche.

Heidi Stiegmann ’92 writes, “I spent just three years at TAS, but it was enough to sell me on the international school lifestyle. I went on to teach at international schools in Japan, Norway, and England. Then I met a guy in the States, and I’ve been here in the U.S. ever since. I am currently the coordinator of a teacher certification program in Vancouver, Washington where I teach future Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers. I am active in the local dragon boat community and act as the president of the non-profit Paddle for Life. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I put in the required time on trails, in kayaks, and in taprooms. Bill and I hope to marry in the summer of 2021, even if we can only take a couple witnesses down to the county courthouse with us. We are fixing up a 1910 home. It’s been a fun COVID project. Love to you all!” Brett Trentham ’92 reports, “I have happily settled down in Seattle keeping busy with a 19-month-old and an almost five-year-old. If you come through Seattle, shoot me an email to meet up: brett@senzacare.com.”

Alfred Wang ’92 is currently living in Taipei with his wife Victoria and sons, Ander and Andric. Ander is currently enrolled at TAS. Alfred and his wife are devoted Christians serving in the International Family Church in Taipei 101. His company SWHZ Design is an architecture design company providing services in architecture design, interior design, project construction management, and construction management. Their specialty is in design integration with BIM technology.

Cheney Wang ’92 and Class Agent Sherry Hsia ’92 reside in Taipei with their three children. Cheney currently heads up the Taipei office of Latch Inc. as the general manager and VP of supply chain. Latch is a company that aims at delivering a full-building operating system designed to help owners, residents, and third parties like guests, couriers, and service providers seamlessly experience the modern building. Sherry returned to school to remedy her midlife crisis. She graduated from Teachers College Columbia in June 2020 with a degree in Change Leadership under Social Psychology and later became certified in Hogan Personality Assessments, Myer Briggs Type Indicator, and Intercultural Development Inventory. Sherry has since started Baiyan Global Consulting, providing services in change consulting, female leadership development, and team-building workshops.

Linda Wong ’92 writes, “Hi 92-er’s! I have been living in Brooklyn, NY for the last decade with my husband and two kids, Will and Maya. We get some taste of Taiwanese food here in NYC but nothing compares to Taipei’s night markets! I started my handbag line, Canopy Verde, ten years ago. It’s an eco-friendly, vegan accessories brand. I’m also a startup consultant for brands launching new products and services. I advise on everything from branding to marketing to logistics. I split my time 50/50 between these two ventures and love the variety of it! We were scheduled to visit Taipei in February of 2020 before COVID hit but alas, had to cancel at the last minute. Can’t wait for our next Taiwan trip!”

Class Agent Edward Wang ’93 shares that when Fong Liu ’93 came back to Taiwan in December 2020 and was in the middle of his 14 days of quarantine and 7 days of self-management, Ed joined local classmates Angela Pan

’93, Amy Hsin ’93, Debbie Shapiro

’93, and Stephen Liao ’93 to gather in front of the hotel to greet Fong on his balcony, cheer him up, and keep him company.

Class Agent Kent Wu ’95 writes: “Hello!! We’re very fortunate to be here in Taiwan right now. Coincidentally we had planned on moving back for a few years to provide the opportunity for our kids to learn some Chinese and expose them to the international and cultural background not usually afforded them in California. We moved back officially in April of 2020, and we’re very excited that they are both currently at TAS (Addison Wu, Grade 7, and Trenton Wu, Kindergarten). They are with great classmates including many alumni children. It’s been great to have them experience living and growing up in another country. And the best thing has been how much they love it! Trenton is having a blast in school and this is the happiest we’ve seen him. He looks forward to school daily. He’s made lots of friends and even has his first crush! Addison has been making friends and adjusting to middle school life. She recently made it onto the school tennis team. Although, originally coming back under the decision of retiring or taking a break, I’ve invested and joined a start-up in the dark kitchen space, Just Kitchen. We’ve grown to 200 people in one year and have ambitions set on expansion to Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and the U.S. (in that order), all in 2021. My wife May is enjoying her time off for now but will be back to work soon. In the meantime, she’s keeping busy with kids, house remodeling, and trying all the delicious food Taiwan has to offer. We are very grateful to be in Taiwan with so many friends back in the country. It’s truly a paradise during this worldwide pandemic and we are very thankful. We look forward to connecting with you if we have not already.”

Ed Deng ’96 is the co-founder and CEO of Health2Sync, a Taiwanbased digital health startup. In September 2020, Health2Sync entered into a partnership with Sanofi, the pharmaceutical giant. Health2Sync aims to help patients and healthcare professionals manage diabetes in an integrated and digital way through software and a mobile app through 300 Sanofi-contracted clinics and hospitals.

Tulaya Pornpiriyakulchai ’96

invites you to take a moment to read UPRISING - Making the Invisible Visible by Clive Anderson, an eBook she recently helped illustrate and produce for the Jamaican-Canadian lawyer who, in the wake of the incomprehensible loss of Black lives, discovered his inner poet. This book of poetry reflects Anderson’s emotions as a result of the murders that took place in the United States (e.g. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks) and recent world events. Download the e-book for free at www.invisiblevisible.com/about. All donations from this website will go to a university scholarship and community initiatives in Toronto.

After college, Chris Day ’98 briefly practiced law before becoming an urban public school teacher in Boston. In the summer of 2020, while quarantined with his wife, two-year old, and incontinent pets, he discovered that a story he wrote 23 years earlier had been published in the book, Taiwan Through Foreign Eyes: Stories from the Miracle Days, and that in an article

about the book, the Taipei Times referred to him as a former “schoolboy.” He misses Taipei, his extended family, and perfect bowls of beef noodle soup.

Joseph Vo ’98 recently relocated from sunny San Diego, CA to the cold Chicagoland area.

David Chang ’99 was invited to speak on National Education Radio (國立教 育廣播電台) as a part of the program 教育行動家 hosted by 張慧心. NER is funded by the Ministry of Education. David shared his work and motivations for starting his organization Crossroads (台灣全球連結發展協會), as well as his thoughts on Taiwan’s internationalization, general strategy for promoting the Bilingual Nation, and Crossroads’ plans for developing experimental education.

Nadia Hatta ’99 made her North American television debut in Away, the Netflix fictional series that premiered in September 2020 and is about the first international manned mission to Mars. Nadia plays Mei Chen, a CapCom at NASA Mission Control Center, alongside Hollywood stars and fellow actors including Hillary Swank.

Sheena Sihota ’99 writes from San Diego, CA: “I currently work as a Public Health nurse supporting pregnant and parenting women in the community. Recently I had to make the transition to working COVID19-related services due to the national emergency. Public Health nurses take care of the community during natural disasters and outbreaks - staffing shelters, distributing vaccines, and providing testing. I’ve been working long hours, sometimes 7 days a week... working in a COVID hotel for the last few months, managing the positive cases in our community. We have an amazing team and I’m appreciating the holidays with my family more than ever because of all that I have seen and done recently.”

Edward Wang ’99 was elected to be the President of National Taiwan University Global MBA Alumni Association in August 2020. The NTU-GMBA program was founded in 2006.

Debra Chou ’00 writes, “2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the Class of 2000. Our reunion was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though we could not reunite in person, I decided to reunite virtually with songs we grew up listening to. So far, I have created videos with fellow alums Rosie (Pearson) Girardi ’00 and Kathy Wen ’00. Upcoming collaborators will include Mari Kobayashi ’00, Amanda Triplett ’00, and Katrina (Hoggatt)

Ridlon ’00.

I just released a single called “There Goes”, a song I wrote one year ago at the height of the pandemic. When I recorded it in March 2021, the U.S. death toll surpassed 500,000. Those who perished never got to see better days to come. I dedicate this song to them, to everyone in isolation, to the essential workers, and to anyone who lost their jobs this past year. The music video (available on YouTube) features my personal photo collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, with additional photo and video contributions from my friends and people I’ve never met.”

Karen Chu ’00 writes, “As if 2020 wasn’t unusual enough, I gave birth, the world went into lockdown, and then I got onto a gameshow. I was one of 27 people selected to be on the U.S. reboot of popular UK trivia game show, The Chase. I’ve spent my life absorbing random knowledge and there I was, fist clenching over a buzzer and standing on an insanely lit stage made for primetime national TV while surrounded by double-masked camera operators and zero audience. If spending months taking tests and doing auditions over Zoom wasn’t weird enough, imagine being flown to LA to be in an extremely controlled COVIDsafe production set.”

Calvin Chen ’01 was ordained and installed as Minister of Word and Sacrament at Church on The Ave, a Christian Reformed Church in Seattle, WA in January 2019. Prior to his new role, he attended seminary at Regent College in Vancouver, BC and worked as a college minister through InterVarsity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Darwin Huang ’01 attended TAS from Grade 4 through 9 and remained very close with friends from TAS. He left TAS to finish high school in Vancouver. His older sisters YuChing Huang ’00 and Amy Huang ’98 both graduated from TAS as well, and he is married to Sabrina Lam ’00. Darwin has been a real estate attorney in New York for the last ten years and was promoted to partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres. His practice focuses on representing developers, institutional and private investors and lenders in projects in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and other major cities throughout the U.S.

William Lin ’01 was commissioned as a U.S. Air Force officer in 2017 and has been serving soldiers, airmen, dependents and retirees as an OMRS physician. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, he’s been working overtime at the frontlines at Laughlin Air Force Base to ensure the health of all members. William also writes articles for the base service members, local DHA, and public to raise awareness and he praised Taiwan’s

capabilities in one of them. There is a possibility that he may get deployed to New York to help U.S.N.S. Comfort, and he prays for all TAS family and alumni to stay safe and healthy, because “we still need to do the reunion where everyone’s present!”

Icy Liu ’01 moved to New York City after graduating TAS to attend Columbia University and NYU. After working in real estate finance, she changed her career to wine and never looked back. In New York City, she worked in wine retail, wine distribution, and wine auction. She was the valediction of the International Culinary Center’s Intensive Sommelier Course and is a Certified Sommelier. She has her WSET Level 3 Diploma with Distinction. She has a Wine MBA (with Distinction) from the Burgundy School of Business and her Enology Diploma from the University of Burgundy. She has done harvests all over the world, including the Finger Lakes, Argentina, Burgundy, Champagne, and New Zealand. Icy made her own wine in 2020 and has a podcast called Ungrafted about wine, humanity, and the planet.

Elliott Wang ’01 reports, “We are a family of four now! Two boys, a five and a two and a half year-old named Beckett and Pendleton, respectively. Everything is amazing and difficult and hilarious and trying and new and repetitive in the way that only COVID family life can be. We are in Los Angeles and eagerly awaiting the end of the pandemic. Pre-COVID I was a partner at Everson Royce, a group of wine retail shops, restaurants, and bars, but for the past year or so, I’ve taken time off to spend with family. Hope everyone is well!”

Jenny Lee ’05 and Harold Li ’06 launched You’ll Manage, a podcast about how to become an amazing people manager—one that everyone will want to work for. In addition to drawing on their experience as executives at successful startups like Uber, ExpressVPN, and WeLab, the show features interviews with other experienced managers. One recent episode features Victor Chang ’05 and Maggie Cheung ’06, who co-founded Furbo Dog Camera, a pet tech startup in Taiwan which makes the #1 bestselling pet camera in the world. If you’d like to be featured in a future episode, email feedback@youllmanage.com! Alex Wang ’05 hosted a virtual meet-and-greet in March for ten TAS alumni who are Apple employees: Albert Lin ’00, Jerry Tsai ’00, Kelly Wang ’00, Janice Lin ’02, Jimmy Wu ’08, Emily Sun ’14, Alida van Gelderen ’14, Austin Young ’14, and Ryan Chen ’17. He writes, “We had representatives from the Classes of 2000 to 2017. We discussed our current roles, our favorite teachers, our trajectory from TAS to Apple, and shared words of wisdom for work. We had siblings, couples who met at TAS, and employees from interns to executives, and in different roles spanning from Product Design, Software Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Procurement, to Electrical Engineering. Most of us work in the Cupertino or Santa Clara Valley, and the SoCal office. We all miss the food, the hiking, the safety of the city as young students, and the great street food.”

Melody Li ’06 now resides in Taipei after a decade in finance in the States. Melody started and sold a literature company and has published several series related to Chinese fantasy and romance. Her wuxia and xianxia exploits commands an audience of several million a month, and she is more than happy to chat with fellow alumni about startup life, switching from the life of an MBA/CPA/CFA, and Asian culture export to the west.

Jane Yuch Chen ’08 has a new startup business, Empress Hot Sauce (辣太 后). Jane writes, “Our sauces combine Taiwan’s delicious fruit flavors with the spiciness of local chilies to be your meal’s perfect companion. We’re not your typical hot sauce - we hit you with flavor, first then comes the heat. Every bottle of Empress is hand-made in Taipei with all natural ingredients that are locally sourced and vegan friendly.” To order, visit www. EmpressHotSauce.com.

Tiffany Huang ’08 is based in Hong Kong but currently working remotely in San Diego. She has just published Black in Asia through Spill Stories, a publisher which collects prose and poetry uniting womxn of color. Black in Asia is an anthology of personal stories from over 20 Black writers living across Asia, from Taiwan to Hong Kong, S Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Mongolia.

Caitlin (Beer) Hall ’09 and her family welcomed their second son in early January 2021. In 2020 she also co-founded Rodlera (www.rodlera. com), a training consulting company, with her husband Joshua. She uses her experience as an educator to create online, live, and webinar training for companies across the country.

Eric Sze ’11 and Andy Chuang, co-founders of 886, were named in Forbes’s 2021 30 Under 30 in Food and Drink. They plan to open a new restaurant with a focus on “homey Taiwanese fare” and modeled on “a Taiwanese grandma’s home” in Brooklyn, NY.

Sarah Ruggiere ’12 shares her story: “On Dec. 13th, 2019, I was a pedestrian hit by a drunk driver. It’s thanks to the paramedics that performed an emergency tracheotomy surgery in the 8-minute ambulance ride that I am alive today and able to share my story. Drunk driving hurts and kills. Drive sober. Ryan Long ’19 filmed a video about Sarah’s story, Drunk Driving Hurts, that is available on Vimeo.

Alumni cellist Phoebe Tsai ’12 and violinist Sunny Sheu ’14 performed with The Sixth Sense Ensemble in a concert at the Eslite Performance Hall in April 2021. This unique concert program featured six string players (two violinists, two violists, and two cellists) performing string sextet pieces by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, which are not often performed in Taiwan. Phoebe founded The Sixth Sense Ensemble, a chamber music ensemble focusing on classical music that aims to bring audiences together for classical music experiences that go beyond the sixth sense! All members of the ensemble hold master’s degrees from the most prestigious music schools in the U.S., including Juilliard School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and Manhattan School of Music.

Meredith Banks ’13 was recently sworn in to practice law in the State of Michigan. She is currently working as an insurance defense attorney in Kalamazoo, MI. She represents insured persons from major insurance companies like State Farm and Farm Bureau.

Celine Chen ’13 recently relocated back to Taipei and is currently working in a major private equity firm. Prior to that, Celine had been working at global investment banks in Hong Kong. She is looking forward to attending alumni events, catching up with classmates, and meeting new friends.

Stephanie Chen ’13 graduated from TAS and went to the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) to study cello performance. She then went to the New England Conservatory to obtain her master’s degree. Most recently, Stephanie started teaching cello at the Boston Latin School and has built her own private studio, Stephanie Chen Cello Studio, in Boston, MA.

Alvin Choi ’13 founded an LA-based restaurant tech venture, Orderspot, in 2019. The startup offers small businesses and local chains a suite of services including online ordering, QR payments, and AI-empowered marketing automation tools that cater personalized experiences to guests.

Kevin Huang ’13 is currently a personal trainer and a medical student in the New England area, hoping to go into orthopedic surgery. Kevin previously worked as a healthcare consultant and administrator at research hospitals in the New England area. Caitlin McGee ’13 performed with Baron Jan ’16 and Julian Wittich ’17 in a special TPO Big Band live studio session concert event on March 30, 2021 where audience members sat in the studio and witnessed the TPO recording in real-time while wearing wireless headphones and hearing the music directly from the soundboard. This rare experience was the first of any kind in Taiwan’s music history and the video and audio recording was broadcasted as part of the virtual Eau-Clarie International Jazz Festival in April. Caitlin writes, “Together with the involvement of 27 musicians, including 3 TAS alumni and multiple TAS music tutors, a camera crew and multiple sound engineers, we are very proud to represent Taiwan as the international headliners for this prestigious Jazz festival.”

Andrew Bookbinder ’15 attended the College of William and Mary as an undergrad and graduated in 2019. He has been working at the American Red Cross in Los Angeles for the last two years and will be attending law school in the fall of 2021.

Eli Morimoto ’16 was awarded a Schwarzman scholarship to study at Beijing’s Tsinghua University in the fall of 2021. She is one of 154 scholars chosen from 3,600 applicants. After graduating from Brown University, Eli will be pursuing her master’s in Global Affairs at Tsinghua. She hopes to humanize the China-U.S. relationship through storytelling and journalism. Darryl Loke ’17 won a Mid-Atlantic chapter Emmy Award in the University Student Production – Long Form category for the short film Strays, which he wrote and directed at Temple University. Darryl was one of the pioneers of the film program at TAS and found and cultivated his passion for filmmaking here.

Julian Wittich ’17 is studying double bass at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Since the spring of 2020, he has been back in Taipei and studying online. In Taiwan, he is working as a freelance musician in the Taiwanese jazz and pop scenes, recording with GMAnominated artists like 9m88 and 林俊 傑 (JJ Lin), and performing with his own quartet. More information about Julian’s music can be found at www. julianwittich.com) or on Instagram (julianwittichmusic).

Rachael Lee ’18 recently took home three top prizes at the internationally recognized Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition, which was held virtually this year. Rachael won the Vivaldi Prize, the New Music Prize, and the Media Prize, taking home total prize winnings of USD $7500. She is a junior at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, PA.

FORMER FACULTY

Former administrator D.J. Condon writes, “My three kids, who graduated from TAS in 2003 and 2005, have done quite well since leaving TAS. After earning an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa, our daughter Anya Ventura ’03 worked as a writer at MIT’s Center for Art, Science and Technology, then at Harvard’s China Art Media Lab, and is now working as a senior content producer at the Getty Research Center in LA. Her brother Louis Condon ’05 was a Peace Corps volunteer in Lanzhou, China, then earned a law degree and now works with a start-up company in Chicago. His twin brother Miles Condon ’05 earned a PhD in marketing and is now a professor at St. Norbert College, a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. My wife and former faculty member Catherine Ventura and I are proud of our kids, attribute much of their success to the excellent education they received at TAS.” DJ himself will start as director of the International School of Luxembourg (ISL) in August 2021.