Class Notes

1950s

Murray B. Weil Jr. ’51 wishes to honor and pay tribute to his two outstanding classmates Arthur Sharenow ’51 and Harry Kaplan ’51. Arthur scored the last touchdown ever scored in a CSW football game and was an outstanding baseball pitcher during his college career at Colby College and Brandeis University. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Arthur purchased a summer camp in New Hampshire and with his wife Judy gave valuable assistance to many youngsters and helped shaped to their futures. His camp was recognized in his field as one of the leading summer camps. Harry Kaplan, deceased, was on the CSW basketball team and though short in height, he was large in heart and playmaking ability, competing against opponents who were much taller than him. Harry attended Cornell University and NYU Law School, after which he moved to California, where he was well recognized as one of the leading tax attorney specialists. He left us much too soon and attended the 1999 CSW reunion with Murray and Arthur prior to his passing.

Bob Frigoletto ’54 writes: I’m still living at the lake in Lancaster, MA, where I have now been for 85 of my 85 years. It used to be a summer cottage but is now a house and has been for the last 22 years. I demoted myself from tennis to pickleball and love it. I still spend six months out of the year in Naples, FL, and can never make it to the reunions but miss everyone and all their updates. Peter Dumaine ’56 writes: I own and run an animal rescue farm along with a staff of five who help. I am a collector of antiques and horse carriages and have retired from all past positions: veterinarian, bus driver, and professional dancer.

Mary Doll ’58 writes: I am so grateful to the Alumni/ae Office for putting me in touch with Jane Burkhardt ’58, with whom I enjoyed many a day and even a tour of Europe.

George Lloyd ’63’s “STILL LIFE WITH JUG,” oil etc. on paper affixed to hardboard.

Sally Brotman ’63’s hen house Sally Brotman ’63 with one of the hens she started raising during the COVID-19 lockdown.

1960s

Polly Howells ’62 writes: My husband Eric Werthman is a psychotherapist-turnedfilmmaker. He recently made a film, The Drummer, based on some work he did with American Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who were suffering with from PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is his second film zand it stars Danny Glover and features some other amazing actors. It is now available digitally — check it out!

Sally Brotman ’63 writes: During the COVID lockdown my husband Carl Brotman '63 built a sturdy hen house and we started raising a flock of six tiny chicks. They arrived by mail when they were a few days old and when they were six months old, they started laying delicious eggs. Since then, we’ve been bartering our surplus eggs for fresh oysters and mussels and whatever folks have to offer. The hens recycle our garden weeds and kitchen scraps into fertilizer and the flock warns us when

the fox, coyote, hawk, or owl visits. It’s been a lot of fun for us as well as our neighbors who enjoy visiting the hens, too — an added bonus!

George Lloyd ’63 writes: For the past two years I have been an artist in residence at Cove Street Arts in Portland, ME. What that boils down to is that I now have an alternative and highly conducive work space that is not my home; it’s a space with a very high ceiling which, for the purposes of painting, is a very good thing to have. Outside of my work, my life is an uneventful one. Eventually there should be a forthcoming solo exhibit at Cove Street Arts of the paintings and aquarelles that I’ve made in my studio. A note for the more curious: you can follow up on my Instagram page @geolloyd3.

Bob Fogel ’64 writes: After a long break, I recently returned to volunteering at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, which had been closed for well over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In other news, our son Ben got married on Kent Island, MD, to Kristie Frost in October 2020 with over 100 masked and socially distanced family and friends in attendance. Planning and carrying out a wedding during the pandemic was a real challenge but all turned out well.

In November, John Herzan ’66 received the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Connecticut’s 2021 Public Service Award for his work with the New Haven Preservation Trust. John served as the Trust’s Preservation Services Officer for 15 years and continues to serve as a member of the Trust’s advisory board. John is also a member of the State Historic Preservation Board. Upon his retirement, the Trust established the Herzan Lecture Fund which offers presentations open to the community on the City of New Haven and its historic places and spaces. This award is an acknowledgement of John’s longtime commitment to the preservation of New Haven’s architectural heritage. Anna Dibble Newton ’69 writes: In September 2021, Gulf of Maine EcoArts, an Art & Science artists’ collaborative I founded three years ago, hung a large-scale sculpture installation and exhibition at the Bigelow Lab for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay, ME, based on “Changes in biodiversity in the Gulf of Maine due to climate change and other human impact.” In other personal news, three of my recent paintings were part of a special pandemic exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art (February to April 2021). See my work at www.annadibble.com.

1970s

Max MacKenzie ’70 writes: I was fortunate enough to be included in a satellite exhibition of the Architecture Biennale in Venice, sponsored by the European Cultural Center (ECC). My four-color 40” x 40” prints featured one small abandoned building.

Nina Wishengrad ’72 writes: We sold our home in Amherst, MA, after 20 years and moved to Lenox, MA, where we are now renovating a small house in town, doing all of the work ourselves. I’m really getting too old for this, which is reinforced by the knowledge that my class’s 50th reunion is this year.

Chris Lovell ’73 writes: Having retired mid-pandemic, I set about doing lots of things I had on my “when I have time” punch list. Building a pole barn in New Hampshire, boating in Boston Harbor, helping our daughter renovate/recover her new home, and fixing stuff. Where I have failed is in reconnecting with CSW friends. Sorry Linda, Stroker, Andy P., Sunni, and others. I hope to remedy in 2022. No time like the present.

John Warrington ’75 writes: I am still growing cocoa in Nicaragua. The country recently

John Herzan ’66 recently received the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Connecticut’s 2021 Public Service Award.

Max Mackenzie ’70’s “EVERTS TOWNSHIP HOMESTEAD, Otter Tail County, Minnesota,” documenting its slow decline over 30 years.

held elections and Daniel Ortega and his wife won a fourth term as president and vice president with over 76% of the vote. You’ve got to admire socialism done correctly. The Democrats, Antifa, and the Squad can only dream of such a day. am still practicing maritime law in Gloucester, MA, and living in the old Lifesaving Station in Rockport with my wife Karen. Emma, our older daughter, is an aerospace engineer living in Boulder, CO, working for Ball Aerospace and spending all of her free time with her horse, Tater. Our younger daughter,

Dave Varon ’87 and Darcy Miner Williamson ’86 write to say that they are “two monkeys that STILL love each other.” Photo by Thatcher Hayward.

Allison Lenk ’78 recently enjoyed seeing Steve Russell ’78 and Peter Cornelius ’78. Steve was in town visiting from the west coast and Peter now lives locally!

Jamey, just finished her M.A. at Northeastern University and received her certification as a behavioral analyst. She is now working with autistic children and living in the North End. I enjoy hearing from my CSW friends, keeping in contact with some directly and many more via Facebook. We spend a lot of time on the water, sailing, whale watching, or officiating sailing races. We are always looking for friends to join us on PUFFIN and sail around Cape Ann or whale watch from our power boat. And no, I haven’t ordered a blue Bronco. Yet. ;)

Allison Lenk ’78 writes: In June 2020 I retired after 30+ years working as a literacy specialist, only to be called back for some remote instruction. I am now officially (re)retired and love having more time for tennis, reading, gardening, going to our house in Wellfleet, and seeing friends. My husband and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and hope to travel to more exotic locations when this horrible pandemic allows. I wish everyone health and happiness in the new year!

1980s

Chris Devine ’80 writes: As a student at CSW in the late ’70s between more studious classes of Spanish and biology, I enrolled in a creative course called “A Hundred and One Ways to Find Eternity Bounce,” and I have been bouncing ever since. After graduating from CSW in 1980, while two of my classmates went to Harvard and Yale, I went to a small island in the Caribbean, and for me, that made all the difference. I then spent a good deal of time exploring Brazil, teaching myself to be fluent in Portuguese, and traveling all over the dusty backroads and small towns. I once lived in the posh neighborhood of Morumbi, Sao Paulo, and in 1989 spent time deep in the Amazon basin. I lived briefly with a remote tribe of Yanomami who had never seen red hair like mine and had very little concept of the world beyond their forest. By 1998, I was in Europe living in an apartment in Venice, Italy, while working on a special project for the Disney corporation. One of several projects that I have been involved in with them. I’ve walked in the Kalahari in Botswana with Bushmen of the Saan tribe, whose language involves tongue clicks, and three years in a row I went to Borneo to work with Dr. Birute Galdikas, sister scientist to Jane Goodall and the late Dianne Fossey. Dr. Galdikas has been researching Orangutans for 50 years and while working with her I lived among the Dayak tribe, the famed Headhunters of Borneo, as I assisted Dr. Galdikas in her mission to rehabilitate over 300 orphan orangutans in her care. In 2011 when the IMAX film Born to be Wild, which features the work of Dr. Galdikas, premiered at the New England Aquarium, I was tasked with delivering the opening presentation on her years of research and conservation efforts. While traveling in Central America a number of years ago exploring vast cave systems and remote Mayan archeological sites, I ended up becoming co-owner of a small gelato business in Belize, a nation I continue to visit regularly. For more than a quarter-century, I have been working with one of the top scenic studios in the U.S., and for much of that time helped to create interactive museum exhibits. Examples of my work have appeared all across the nation from the Harvard Peabody Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, to MokuPapapa in Hilo, Hawaii, as well as in visitor centers in several National Parks. You can even find my work in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. I’ve worked for four U.S. Presidents (not the orange one) and was on the 50-yard sideline working for CBS at Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco.

In addition to museum projects, my work appears regularly on television as I have helped to create several major network studios over the years. I closed out 2018 in Colombo by installing Sri Lanka’s very first modern, state-of-the-art news studio for Ada Derana, which launched to rave reviews and forever transformed the landscape for news delivery in the small South Asian nation. By the following spring, I was living in Beijing, working on two distinct news studios for China Central Television and teaching exhibit fabricators in Tangshan modern manufacturing techniques so they could upgrade their scenic arts capabilities. Later that fall I was living in Dubai, building four studios for Asharq News that subsequently received international awards for their forward-looking design. I currently have a couple of ongoing projects in Cairo and London, and while I have thoroughly enjoyed my career and traveling around on five continents, next spring I will leave it all behind and retire to a tropical Pacific archipelago. In my time at CSW, I learned the true value of creative thinking and was certainly inspired to find a spring in my step. The “Eternity Bounce” has done well by me, and I encourage everyone to embrace the possibilities of the unknown while engaging in Truth and Gentle Deeds.

Dashka Slater ’81 writes: The pandemic may not be fully over but I am back on the road visiting schools and universities to talk about my work. It’s amazing to be in the same room with students again after nearly two years of being on Zoom! Next year things will really heat up as I have two new books out: The Book of Stolen Time, the sequel to my middle-grade fantasy The Book of Fatal Errors, and Love,

Escargot, the third book in the Escargot series. I’m excited to take some pleasure trips as well — heading to Iceland over the winter holiday and I’ll be in Boston in May for my son’s graduation from Northeastern (if the timing aligns I might even make it to the CSW reunion). Hope everyone is well and has survived the pandemic with health and sanity intact!

Jessica Schickel ’85 writes: I’m back in college to finish my B.A. in English. I zigged and zagged my way to a career in fashion with an associate degree and never finished what I started at UMass 10,000 years ago. I am, by far, the oldest person in any of my classes, including my teachers. I’m enjoying being in an academic environment again and being surrounded by people my kids’ age. It’s funny sharing school stories with my son, who is a senior in high school, and my daughter who is a freshman at Miami of Ohio. They are both able to help me with my math homework.

Suzanne M. Rivera ’87’s presidential inauguration ceremony (delayed by one year due to COVID) was held at Macalester College on October 9, 2021. Governor Tim Walz proclaimed it “Suzanne M. Rivera Day” in Minnesota.

Amanda Doss ’88 writes: I spent the first half of the COVID-19 lockdown getting certified as a life coach. I am focusing on helping parents find their confidence, selfesteem, and purpose outside of parenthood and careers that may not be inspiring anymore. I have never been happier and more motivated since I have started coaching. It is truly a new calling for this next stage of my life. Please visit my site at www.sanitylifecoaching.com.

Kat Kavanagh ’88 writes: I am still living in New York City with my college sweetheart and my two children, one who is in college and the other in high school. During the lockdown in NYC, I finished a four-part musical podcast, “The Life of Mary Rogers: An Incredible, Plausible, Entirely Made-Up, True Story from 1841,” which I’m now re-writing for the stage. Working on a creative endeavor with incredible collaborators helped bring light to some dark days. Visiting with Russell Pachman ’86 and Erik Rosengren ’86 also brought much joy to my year. Ellen Voll Atkins ’88 and Katie Willis ’88 still help keep me grounded. I’m grateful for the academic and life lessons I learned at CSW and all the people who continue to inspire me.

Jono Kornfeld ’88 is a music teacher living and working in San Francisco. He is on the faculty at San Francisco State University and San Francisco Community Music Center. He also has a funk/jazz band called Hop Sauce with fellow CSW alum Christopher Gamper ’88. The two used to play together at CSW Rock Concerts and Senior Parties and now their band performs regularly around the San Francisco Bay Area. Jono and Chris keep the spirit of “jamming” quite alive! Jono lives with his wife Miranda, his eight-year-old son Jacob, his two cats, Primo & Secondo, and Frankie the scruffy mutt. Check out Hop Sauce: http://hopsauceband.com.

David Levavi ’89 writes: I was recently chosen to serve as a doctoral community advisory board student representative at Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health, where I am a doctoral student in their public health policy program. I am still working (remotely) in the healthcare industry as a senior regulatory compliance analyst and I am also an active member of American Mensa and the American Public Health Association. My wife and I are enjoying our new home in the Pacific Northwest and I encourage you to visit my website! about.me/davidlevavi

Christopher Gamper ’88 and Jono Kornfield ’88, members of the funk/jazz band Hop Sauce.

David Valdini ’02 with his wife, Dr. Shannon McGregor, at their wedding in April 2021.

1990s

Constant Southworth ’90

writes: In November 2021, I attended my class of 2020 commencement ceremony on campus after having completed my B.A. the year before. I’ve begun reading the Greek classics and am making the move in early 2022 to my own place. I’ve continued jogging and running since picking it up in 1989 at CSW. I didn’t foresee my life turning out this way when I was a student. I now have different goals that include sobriety, self-education, physical exercise, and love or something like it.

2000s

Gordon Hall ’01 (formerly Rebecca Gordon) was recently appointed assistant professor of sculpture in the Art Department at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. www. vassar.edu/faculty/gordonhall.

Conor Thompson ’01 writes: My wife Cally gave birth to our first-born daughter, Mars Georgia Thompson, on September 6, 2021 at 3:11 p.m. She’s growing so quickly — making more funny noises, laughing at our jokes, and giving lots of good baby snuggles. I am grateful for a group of friends, also CSW alum dads, who have baby

daughters right now.

David Valdini ’02 writes: I married Dr. Shannon McGregor April 8, 2021, in a perfectly teeny and beautiful ceremony in a park in Durham, NC. We are planning a large dance-y party when it’s safe to be around all the people we love, but we just couldn’t wait to be married. I’m in daily touch with Max Frevert ’00, Dave Fera ’00, Ben Fenton ’00, Robin Plimpton-Magee ’00, and Omar Nunez ’00. If there are any early aughts alumni/ae in the Triangle, reach out!

Annie Bickerton ’04 writes: I’m pleased to share that I was married this October a fter a pandemic-related postponement to my partner Erik Anderson. We celebrated the occasion in Calabasas, CA, with family and friends. It was especially excellent to enjoy a mini reunion with Betsy Cohen ’04, Vanessa Conlon ’06, and my twin Lucy Bickerton ’04! In other news, I’m proud to have recently co-led an effort to unionize my workplace. We are a local of AFSCME Council 57. I’d be glad to connect with any students or alumni/ae interested in the labor movement! On a related note, I still remember my “Industrial Revolution” course at CSW where we discussed mill workers and women in Lowell organizing.

Claudia Kilbourne Lux ’05

recently signed a two-book deal with Berkley, a division of Penguin/Random House. Berkley preempted the world rights to Claudia’s debut novel Sign Here, a tale about a guy working in hell (literally), who, in order to land a promotion, must convince a member of a wealthy family to sell their soul. Sign Here is set to be released in fall 2022! Claudia’s late father, Thomas Lux, was a poet, and her mother, Jean Kilbourne, a former CSW trustee, is a feminist activist, author, filmmaker, and National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee who has had the pleasure of lecturing at CSW several times.

For Anna Brody ’07, 2020 was a slow year, so in 2021 she went into overdrive. In May she moved, permanently, into a new home in Cambridge, MA. In July she gave birth to a baby girl, Eva Ray, and in October got married to her partner of eight years, Duncan Meyst. It was fun having many CSW faces join what felt like a fairytale wedding: Mary Gordanier ’07, Nina Thompson ’07, Aryn Murphy ’07, Chad Green ’07, Anneke Reich ’09, Max Kennedy ’07, and Sunny McCallum ’09. Molly Weinberg ’07 writes: Hello, CSW Family! I have so many new updates! After receiving my M.A. in clinical mental health counseling with a specialization in drama therapy at Lesley University, I moved to rural Vermont for a year to work as an expressive therapist at a hospital — the latter part of which was during the height of the pandemic! I worked in the outpatient setting, and it was eye opening and an incredible opportunity to work as a therapist for clients of all ages. This past summer my partner and I moved to St. Louis, MO, (my partner is switching careers to medicine!) and I got a job as the regional expressive therapist at an eating disorder center called Alsana. If you are in the Midwest feel free to reach out to me! I lead groups using drama therapy, music, movement, visual art, and creative writing at different levels of client care. I am enjoying the flexibility and artistic environment this job offers. One more very exciting update is I now have a new member of my family — a one-year-old Bernese Mountain dog named Magnolia, aka Maggie, named after the Grateful Dead song “Sugar Magnolia.” Sending love and well wishes and, most importantly, good health to everyone in our community!

Julia Glassman ’09 writes: I recently got engaged to my boyfriend Dan and we’re so excited to be planning our wedding for next fall! In career news, this summer I wrapped up my work as a PostProduction Animator on Season 5 of the television series Rick and Morty, and I have since started a new job as a storyboard artist on a brand new adult animated series for AppleTV+.

Naomi Westwater Weekes

’09 is a multimedia artist who combines music and music production with creative writing, visual art, and spirituality. Naomi has an M.A. in music from Berklee College of Music where they were nominated for a 2021 Boston Music Award for best singersongwriter. Through the pandemic, Naomi launched a songwriting and spirituality retreat and created a course called “Harry Potter & Wizard Supremacy: Understanding Supremacy in The Wizarding World and In Ourselves.” Naomi lives in Brockton, MA with her husband.

2010s

Andrius Alvarez-Backus ’18 is a contributor on the book, Beyond Diversity: 12 NonObvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World, co-authored by Jennifer Brown and Rohit Bhargava. Beyond Diversity compiles the rich insights shared in that space into one volume organized into twelve themes including storytelling, technology, identity, education, and more.

On August 21, 2021 Meg Norton ’10 and Mac Holmes ’11 were married on Martha’s Vineyard surrounded by family and friends, many of whom are also CSW alums! In attendance were Jackie Holmes ’14 (the groom’s sister), Sarah and Cooper Evello ’10, Sean McGowan ’11, Stefan Kaiter-Snyder ’11, Chelsea Brandwein-Fryer ’10, James Reynolds ’11, Peter Gui ’11, Peter LaFreniere ’12, and Adam Maxwell ’11. It was a joyful occasion for all!

Olivia Buntaine ’11 writes: An essay of mine on intimacy direction and highlighting the

Stephanie (Emmet) Mighty ’10 celebrated her wedding with fellow Gryphons Leah Shorser-Gentile ’10, Abby Steward ’10, Alec Silver ’10, Kayla Kleinman ’10, Kat Williams ’10, Bayla Shepley ’10, Ilana Mittleman ’10, and her aunt Allison Lenk ’78.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Everyone is invited to submit news to the Alumni/ae Office. Please email news and photos to alum@csw.org.

voices of survivors in classical theatre (Shakespeare) was published in Playing Shakespeare’s Rebels and Tyrants (the fourth volume of the Peter Lang series). www.peterlang.com/ document/1062367

In September, Alisa Amador ’14 released Narratives, her critically acclaimed debut mini-album. This six-song snapshot in time is a deep look at a person stumbling through life in two languages — English and Spanish — and in many states of mind about it all. “The word ‘narratives’ encompasses not only the existing cultural messages that hurt people individually and collectively,” Alisa says, “but also the revolutionary power of writing ourselves new narratives; rejecting a culture of fear; and catalyzing a culture of honesty, bravery, and self-love in the process.” When listening to Alisa’s music, her time spent immersed in Latin folk and jazz is undoubtedly present in her own songs but there is also pop, funk, soul, and something uniquely her own. Her specialty is sparking connections across both listeners and musical styles — inspired by her time at CSW. Stream the album on your platform of choice, or purchase it on alisaamador.com!

Madi Vespa Williams ’17 is currently in their fifth year at Northeastern University where they major in theatre with minors in communication studies, women's gender & sexuality studies, and musical theatre. Madi is currently playing Callie in New Renaissance Theatre Company’s production of Stop Kiss by Diana Son and was recently part of a virtual staged reading of Lithosphere Heart by Tatiana Isabel Gil with Teatro Chelsea. They are currently participating in Northeastern’s Cooperative Education program and are on co-op at ONCE Somerville as a Marketing and Production Intern and the Booker for the ONCE Virtual Venue. In November, they performed on the ONCE Virtual Venue. Madi will be graduating from Northeastern in Spring 2022 and plans to pursue a career in music.

Ben Kahan ’17 writes: Kaylee Law ’19 and I self-published a coloring book titled Chaos Coloring. The book contains 20 pages inspired by geometry. We published via Lulu and are distributing to major retailers in the near future!

2020s

Ella Harrington ’21 writes: I am excited to be a student at Oberlin College with a future filled with music, community, traveling, and meaningful learning!

Ching-Shen “Edison” Kao ’21

writes: Chapter 1 ends, Chapter 2 here we go.

Oren Klopfer ’21 writes: I recently moved out to Amherst where I will be studying political science at Hampshire College. Good luck to the rest of CSW ’21!

IN MEMORIAM

Charles Chamberlain Adam Spiegel ’57 Sally Norton Bates ’60 Stephen Wiesner ’60 Chester Lane ’65 Christopher Roof ’70 Roger Selverstone ’80

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