Alumni News & Notes

2007

Samantha Leavitt sent her regards and the following message for the community: “Windward changed my life in the best way possible. I am so happy to see it continues to have the same impact on other students year after year.”

2011

Ryan Gottfried is a cofounder of the company UtilizeCore, which he launched with two fellow University of Michigan alumni in 2016. In November, Ryan (pictured in middle) and his cofounders received the Forbes 30 Under 30 Award in enterprise technology for bettering the businesstobusiness world. UtilizeCore is the leading technology company for the service delivery industry, matching companies with repair and maintenance subcontractors, and the company has seen contracts worth a total of over $1 billion completed on its platform.

2012

Tyler Karow quit his job in September 2019, with the objective of free climbing El Capitan (El Cap) via the Golden Gate route in Yosemite National Park. He accomplished the groundup free ascent of El Cap successfully last spring, and the feat was highlighted by Outside Online in the article “Big News on El Cap: First New Route in Years, and a Fast Free Golden Gate Ascent.” That mission of Tyler’s turned into two years of living on the road in a van and climbing full time. He shared, “Climbing has brought me to some of the most beautiful places on Earth and allowed me to meet so many incredible humans. I feel absurdly lucky and grateful that I have been able to pursue this passion.” Although Tyler’s life on the road is taking a pause, he has been documenting his adventures in big wall climbing on his YouTube channel and highlight videos can be viewed there (search for Tyler Karow). He suggests taking a peek at the Krygystan and Alaska expedition videos, as those are two of his favorites.

Zoe Stein cofounded a political consulting firm called Relentless. The firm is focused on helping Democratic campaigns and organizations build creative, datadriven relationalfirst programs at scale. In April, Zoe and her partners were featured in a Politico article “‘If we do this right…’: The new Dem organizing strategy catching fire ahead of the midterms” where Zoe discusses how her experience working as a director on Senator Jon Ossoff’s campaign to win Georgia in 2021 has fueled Relentless’s mission. Last year in July, Zoe was also a guest on The Great Battlefield podcast in the episode titled “Organizing, Civic Engagement and Climate Justice with Zoe Stein.” She reflected on how her time at Windward has supported her in becoming an excellent staff trainer and creative problem solver. “Before Windward, not only could I not read but I couldn’t advocate for what I needed. I was really lucky to have people advocating for me at a young age. This is a privilege not every kid gets, and I am immensely grateful and feel a responsibility to provide that opportunity to others.”

2013

Chris Licata graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2017 with a major in real estate finance. He is now living in Manhattan, where he works in real estate finance.

Jacob Silberstein attended Windward for three years before ultimately graduating from Columbia University. He is now working in sustainable real estate development.

2015

Matt Licata graduated from Bentley University in 2019 where he studied sustainability science and business. He then received an MBA in sustainable innovations from the University of Vermont in 2020. Matt is now an analyst at Deloitte.

Melissa Strauss graduated from Dickinson College in 2019. She is passionate about sports and youth development and began working with the nonprofit Up2Us Sports as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in the fall of 2019. Following that role, Melissa was offered a fellowship in a graduate program for sports management, with a focus on sportsbased youth development. Her ultimate goal is to develop youth programs or a junior development program for a major league sports team. Melissa credits her Windward coaches like Ms. Hunt, who encouraged her to take risks and step outside of her comfort zone. At Windward, she ran track for the first time, which is the sport she was recruited

Note: At Windward, a student’s class year is the same as their high school graduation year.

for at Dickinson. She shared, “As an alumna, a special place in my heart will always be reserved for the education, the teachers, and the Windward community of which I will always be a member. Without Windward’s strategies and community, I wouldn’t have emerged into the student I am today, nor have become the confident person pursuing my passion.”

Peter Sweeney was working at Goldman Sachs when he took note of an emerging trend, which led him to cofound a private investing platform called ALAO Invest. ALAO stands for Act Like an Owner, an homage to one of his dad’s favorite pieces of advice. This platform connects influencers with promising young companies, allowing them to invest in and facilitate longterm equitybased partnerships. But Peter’s journey started many years before at Windward’s Westchester Middle School, where Windward provided him with the foundational skills to set in motion everything that followed. He learned to outline before writing, read the story twice, always annotate, and ask for help when in doubt. The theme underlying all these lessons, and the one Peter has returned to again and again, is to have confidence in his own abilities.

2017

John Cunniff attended Windward from fourth to eighth grade before heading to Fox Lane High School in Bedford. He attended New York University, where he was president of the NYU Cybersecurity Lab and earned a degree in computer science. John is now working as a software engineer in NYC.

2019

Grace Desiderio began working as a noninstructional aide at Windward’s Westchester Middle School campus in February. She said, “I have always wanted to work at Windward, as it has been my dream for a very long time. I have been able to interact with faculty and students again, which has been so amazing! Windward will always be a big part of my life and will ALWAYS be my home.”

Reed Switzer returned to the Windward as the 2022 Dream Big event speaker on March 1. Hosted by the Alumni Office and Windward Parents Association, Reed presented to both the Manhattan and Westchester Middle Schools. He shared the story of his journey from Windward student to CEO of Fintech company Hopscotch before a Q&A session with the audience. The entire Switzer family and former administrators came out to support Reed, including his brothers who are also Windward alumni. Pictured are Head of WMS Chris Eberhard, brother Clay Switzer ’20, dad and former trustee Lou Switzer, mom Gina Switzer, Reed, brother Ty Switzer ’21, grandmother Teri Abandonato, former Head of School Dr. Jay Russell, Associate Head of School Jon Rosenshine, and former Director of Admissions Maureen Sweeney.

To submit a note, share your Windward memories, or give notice of a deceased alum/na for the next issue, please email alumni@thewindwardschool.org.

Alumni News & Notes

2019

Axel Whamond is a standout forward on the Johns Hopkins men’s soccer team. His athletic accolades include: Honorable Mention AllCentennial Conference (2021), First Team CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict (2020), and Centennial Conference Academic AllConference (2021). Axel is in his junior year, and he is studying applied mathematics. He earned academic honor roll in both 2020 and 2021.

2021

Charlie Dillon is graduating from Choate Rosemary Hall. In the fall, he will be attending the University of Chicago.

Ty Switzer was recruited to play for the men’s tennis team at the University of Virginia.

Adina Weinbaum attends Quinnipiac University and is majoring in nursing. In high school, she received the Social Studies Faculty Award from the history department, and she was a member of the honor society. Adina said, “Windward was a huge part of my success in high school, as I learned that no matter my learning struggles I can succeed with the right tips and tricks.”

2022

Douglas Forbes is graduating from Salisbury School. He had a signing ceremony to confirm his intent to play football for Kenyon College.

Mina Karsevar started a nonprofit called Edukate, whose aim is to positively impact middle school students with dyslexia by supporting their academic career in high school and beyond by providing access to resources that will help them meet their academic potential. Edukate began as a project for a 10th grade class at the Dwight School, as Mina “wanted to help children like me get access to the resources they need to have the best possible education.” In terms of creating her nonprofit, Mina explained that her own Windward journey provided important background knowledge for her project, including an understanding of the requirements to get a formal diagnosis of dyslexia, having an IEP, and transitioning from a special education environment to a mainstream school. Her firsthand experience and additional research helped Mina create a business plan and website to form the nonprofit. Upon reflecting on her experience as a Windward student, Mina said, “I was so excited to be able to learn in a way that made sense to me and to have friends in my classes going through the same struggles with learning like me. Windward taught me how to enjoy learning, advocate for myself in and out of school, and to be confident with my work. This is what I’m trying to do with Edukate.”

2023

Will Coale, Andrew Greenspan, and Will Erdmann have continued playing lacrosse together as teammates for Brunswick School. Their former Westchester Middle School teacher, Alex Frelinghuysen, cheered them on during their team’s victory at a game in April.

Note: At Windward, a student’s class year is the same as their high school graduation year.

Co-chaired by Denis O’Leary ’06 and Grace Desiderio ’19, Windward’s Alumni Ambassador Program will comprise passionate alumni representatives who will deepen engagement with the Windward alumni community through an array of initiatives that supports, strengthens, and increases our alumni community worldwide.

Our alumni ambassadors will be involved with: • Contributing to the biannual alumni newsletter • Making thank you calls to alumni donors • Fundraising for the Windward Fund • Planning and hosting alumni events • Networking with fellow alumni • Speaking opportunities with current students/families The success of our alumni validates Windward’s teaching methodology and pedagogy to reaffirm that students with dyslexia and other languagebased learning disabilities, if given the right support, can accomplish great things.

If you are interested in becoming an alumni ambassador, visit www.thewindwardschool.org/ambassador or email alumni@thewindwardschool.org.

2024

Jordan Canedy invited former Windward classmates and teachers to join him in attending the New York City film premiere of A Journal for Jordan on December 9. Pictured at the film premiere are Assistant Division Head of Manhattan Middle School Jeremy Bletterman, Haydon Lucas, Phill McConnell, Max Sidberry, Jordan Canedy, Ash Brophy, and Manhattan Athletic Director Dan Smith. The movie is an adaptation based on the bestselling book of the same name by his mother, Dana Canedy, and it was directed by Denzel Washington and starred Michael B. Jordan. A Journal for Jordan depicts both the messages that were written for 7monthold Jordan by his father, First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, who was serving in Iraq during the war and of his parents’ love story. All of the Windward alumni in attendance ran track and cross country and played basketball before graduating in 2019. Jordan and Max currently attend The Dwight School and continue to play basketball together on the JV team.

To submit a note, share your Windward memories, or give notice of a deceased alum/na for the next issue, please email alumni@thewindwardschool.org.