Class Notes

CLASS NOTES

CLASS OF 1976 Marilyn Moore writes: “I reside in Maine, where I own and operate a marine rigging company with my husband. Originally from England, Jim washed up on my shore after sailing around the world on an 80-foot ketch. Our one son, Kai, recently earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Stanford University. His plan is to continue with a graduate education in neurology. I live on the beautiful island of Mount Desert, so if anyone is here visiting, please look me up.”

CLASS OF 1982 Nechama First writes: “I enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom for many years. (It’s akin to getting a medical degree and a psychology degree simultaneously.) Then I worked as a school librarian for about 10 years. Lately, I am working as a reading, writing and literacy specialist, primarily using the Orton-Gillingham method. My main takeaway from Crossroads is that it gave me permission to think. I hope I am able to give that gift to my own children and my pupils!”

CLASS OF 1990 Erica (Jacobs) Green writes: “I’m back living in Washington, D.C., after another stint overseas. (I’m married to a foreign service officer who is currently on loan to the National Security Council.) I’ve recently partnered with two former colleagues from National Geographic to start a kids media company called WonderLab. We

>> ANDRÉE COLLIER ZALESKA ’85

When she last checked in with the Crossroads community through a class note, Andrée Collier Zaleska intriguingly mentioned that she was “living happily on 10 acres in southern Vermont, homesteading and teaching in a forest kindergarten.” When we followed up recently, she explained: “My main work is as a forest school teacher for kids ages 4-6. I came to this work after a decade of climate activism. The oppositional nature of that work wore me out, and I wanted a way to work toward harmony between humans and nature that wasn’t always a fight. Grounding little kids in their bodies, the forest and an environment of free play is just the thing.”

After graduating from Smith College and earning a master’s in Slavic languages from Harvard University, Andrée spent her 20s living in Ireland and Czechoslovakia, giving her “a front-row seat for the fall of the Soviet empire.” Back in the U.S., she raised two sons, became a climate activist and created an energy-positive urban homestead in Boston.

Many of Andrée’s favorite memories of Crossroads involve teachers she loved, like Ann Colburn, Jeff Cooper and Jim Hosney. “Crossroads was the best educational experience in my life,” she said. “I believe my basic critical thinking skills, and much of my essential creativity, were fostered there.”

Today, when she’s not teaching, Andrée is creating gardens and orchards, foraging and communing with the chickens on her homestead. She also has side projects: the Collaborative Culture Project, which seeks to replace “cancel culture” with healthier behaviors, and Greenery, a local houseplant delivery and design service. She loves the Vermont lifestyle: hiking, river-swimming and enjoying outdoor concerts with friends. She invites anyone from the Crossroads community to look her up if they’re passing through Brattleboro.

CLASS NOTES

create kids’ books, podcasts, web content and more. I’m also still running the Iceland Writers Retreat & Iceland Readers Retreat, which I co-founded nearly 10 years ago.”

Amanda Micheli writes: “My latest docu- mentary, “Halftime,” which follows Jennifer Lopez in her 50th year, opened the Tribeca Film Festival on June 8 and premiered on Netflix a week later. I did my best to hold my own next to JLo on the red carpet—on the eve of my own 50th!”

CLASS OF 1991

Shelayna Kennedy writes: “After 26 years of teaching in early childhood—including five years of first grade at Crossroads— I have finally found my perfect gig at the inspiring L.A. Nature Kids. The program is in its 11th year and runs a preschool, vacation camps and afterschool program. Spending every day in California’s most beautiful spots working alongside children is a dream!”

Nell Cross Beckerman writes: “I have become a children’s picture book author. My first book, ‘Down Under the Pier,’ was inspired

>> TRAVON “TRA” MUHAMMAD ’93

In 2010, a group of Crossroads eighth graders held a shoe drive for the Police Athletics League, never suspecting it would inspire the founding of a nonprofit organization. Two years later, Crossroads basketball coach Travon Muhammad ’93 noticed a talented young player at a local game playing in worn-out Vans sneakers. After the game, Tra grabbed an extra pair of his own basketball shoes from the trunk of his car and gave them to the player. The young man’s face lit up. Remembering the eighth graders’ project, Tra was moved to begin the process of founding Sole Brothers, an organization that collects and redistributes shoes to young athletes in need and also provides training services and college scholarships.

Tra runs Sole Brothers in addition to working as the Crossroads boys junior varsity basketball coach and assistant coach for the boys varsity team. As a Crossroads student, he was recruited to play basketball by UC Davis, where his team won a Division II National Championship. After college, Tra put his psychology degree to work as a youth development counselor.

Tra credits his experience as a Crossroads student with helping him connect with all kinds of people, something that is essential at Sole Brothers and in coaching. “Coming from the inner city to Crossroads taught me that there was a life outside of my neighborhood,” he said. “There were things and people that I could relate to, and we could have a friendship and a kinship that was deeper than just where we came from. When I got to college, I was able to relate to anyone and everyone—all cultures, all walks of life, all socioeconomic statuses—which is partially why I do the work that I do.”

Crossroads is a family affair for Tra: his wife, Vicky Moya Muhammad, graduated in 1995. Their son, TJ, graduated in 2021, and their daughter, Ayana-Monet, is a rising fourth grader.

Circling back to Crossroads has cemented Tra’s sense of the School as a family. “I have friendships going back to my days as a student here,” he said. “Now our children play together. Those deep relationships are a really incredible part of this community.”

>> MAGGIE MILLER ’97

“It’s hard to imagine that my oldest daughter is now 12, the age I was just before starting Crossroads,” shared Maggie Miller ’97, from her home in Oak Park, CA. “I think it was at Crossroads that I learned that everyone puts their pants on the same way in the morning. Sounds silly, but this has helped calm me down when running a meeting with a former president of a country or a Nobel Peace Prize recipient.”

Maggie has had these experiences as senior director of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. At $2.5 million, it’s the world’s largest annual humanitarian award benefiting nonprofits. “Last year, it went to CAMFED (the Campaign for Female Education),” she said, “an organization that catalyzes the power of the most vulnerable girls and young women to create the future they imagine—for themselves, for their communities and for Africa. My work has taken me all over the world, meeting with incredible humanitarians who have so much to teach our world right now.”

After graduating from Crossroads, Maggie went to Georgetown University for one semester but quickly transferred to Kenyon College, where she was much happier. She found herself back in Los Angeles in her 20s and spent several years working at the Milken Family Foundation before making her way to the Hilton Foundation.

“The trips I’ve taken to see nonprofit work in the field have been mind-altering,” she reported. “There is so much suffering, and yet so much incredibly courageous, creative and brilliant work taking place every day to better communities all over the world. Crossroads instilled in me the importance of building a meaningful life and giving back, and I feel very lucky to have found a career that allows me to do both. And that guided imagery in our Life Skills classes—am I the only one who loved those so much? It’s probably why I am such a big fan of the Calm App today. I am also convinced that all the hours in the Crossroads theater made presenting behind a podium at work events a bit easier.” by the Santa Monica Pier and the sea life that lives beneath it. Proceeds support Heal the Bay, which I was first introduced to at Crossroads. My latest projects, ‘When the Sky Glows’ and ‘Caves,’ will be released this fall. It would be great to see Crossroads friends and kids at my launch parties and bookstore events. Find me on Instagram @NellCrossBeckerman or join my mailing list at NellCrossBeckerman.com.”

Rachel Braude writes: “I have worked as a social worker with LAUSD for the past 22 years. My husband, Tim, and I have been together for 11 years. Our boys are Milo, 10, and Jack, 8. We live in Mar Vista with our dog, Bean, and our cat, Bitty.”

Cyril Wohrer writes: “After studying one year at Cornell, I became a monk in the Krishna Bhakti tradition. Those years of celibacy (or trying), distributing copies of the Upanishads at the airport and traveling all over India and the world were quite exotic and unique. I have almost finished a memoir chronicling that crazy decade and a half after Crossroads, which I am calling ‘Ouch, I Am a Soul: A Memoir of Medium-Good Karma.’

CLASS NOTES

>> COURT YOUNG ’01

“Lunch in the Alley will forever hold a place in my heart,” said Court Young ’01. “The music and the laughs with faculty and my peers was a vibe. This is one of my first memories of the power of community.”

Community remains central in both Court’s life and work as a host homes coordinator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Court explained, “I work for the world’s largest provider of programs and services for LGBT people, which offers countless opportunities to give back.“ Court is also the founder of YOUNGBLOOD MFG Co., a brand that combines their love for photography, mid-century design, basketball, typography, color and fashion.

Court, who uses the pronouns they/them, describes their journey since high school as “finding home in my body as a 6-foot tall, mixed-race, afro-rocking, tattooed, nonbinary, queer human being. There were times in my life where it felt difficult to look at myself in the mirror, because I didn’t feel like my reflection was how I felt in my mind, body and soul. My reflection became daunting. Thankfully, that time was kind of running parallel to seeing more representation in the media and more nonbinary/trans folks being included in conversations around gender and identity. I started my own transition three years ago. Today, my reflection has never been clearer. Looking in the mirror never made as much sense as it does today. I legit have moments multiple times a day when I smile and tell myself I am proud of me.”

Court attended Crossroads for grades eight through 10 before moving to Ventura. They shared that the School was “one of the first times I experienced feeling supported, celebrated and, most importantly, encouraged to be me. I can honestly say that my three years at Crossroads laid the foundation for my journey toward self-identity and self-love.

“Our intentions should be to make this world equitable for every single person: a world in which we are not only celebrated for our unique identities, but, most importantly, celebrated for whom we choose to be and how we choose to share ourselves with our communities and the world at large.” I would love to give you guys a free ebook. Email me at ouchiamasoul@gmail.com.”

CLASS OF 1992 Aisha Wagle Oravec writes: “I’m living in Singapore with my husband, Brian, and three children, Haven, 13; Lark, 9; and Bodhi, 7. After 11 years in Mumbai, we settled here in 2017, and we’re grateful to be riding out the pandemic in relative sanity. I work with applicants to elite business schools and support my kids’ school. Come visit us!”

CLASS OF 1994 Esther O. Lee writes: “I am board president of the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY). ISAAGNY is the overseeing organization that supports New York member independent schools with fair and equitable admissions practices and policies. I am honored to serve as the board president and support my peer schools in the important work we do in New York.”

CLASS OF 2000

Jeffrey Nasonov writes: “I am excited to share with the Crossroads community a documentary film that I am producing. The film is about the meaning of German citizenship stolen by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945 and the impact of descendants reclaiming

that citizenship today. I find this subject interesting not just because my own family is part of it, but also because it shows nation-level regret and atonement following a catastrophe. My team has produced a trailer and a 25-minute cut that I am happy to make available to anyone interested.”

Batyah (Barrie Lockitch) Mayer writes: “I live in Jerusalem with my husband, Dan, and children Leib, Emet and Bowie. I work in event planning and give my free time to various local community service projects. Since moving to Israel in 2014, I have decided to use my preferred Hebrew name and now go by ‘Batyah.’ Look me up on Instagram or Facebook and come say hi next time you’re in the Middle East!”

CLASS OF 2001 Arthur Gradstein writes: “I live in San Francisco and work as a director of story for a mobile gaming company. My fiancé, Alina, and I just welcomed our first child, Nico!”

Rebecca Kirsch writes: “I am a television writer and am thrilled to have recently been a co-executive producer on the new Marvel Studios series ‘Moon Knight’ for Disney+. I am currently on the writing team for a new Freeform series that will premiere in fall 2022.”

CLASS OF 2002 Reagan Denius writes: “I currently find myself a creative artist running an electronic music label that doubles as a sci-fi multiverse of creative content and short stories. This year, under my sci-fi persona Robtek Reagan, I launched Void Space Institute, a multifaceted lifestyle brand geared at helping people step into the full potentialities of their existence within this insane reality we live in. Check out solo.to/robotek for all pertinent information on this larger-than-life endeavor.”

Kauan Gracie writes: “Great memories from Crossroads! Hope all are enjoying life full of health and well-being, peace and harmony, love and joy. I am in New Zealand now if anyone ever wants to go for coffee.”

Mason Donley writes: “I have worked for the LA Kings for 20 years and currently oversee ticket sales and special projects. My wife, Hope, and I live in Redondo Beach with our sons, Cameron and Austin.”

Aleksandr Nazaryan writes: “After graduating from Crossroads, I continued my educational journey at the Juilliard School, where I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. I have been

CLASS NOTES

working in Mexico City for the last nine years as a professional musician in the Mexico City Opera and the UNAM symphony orchestra. I have traveled to many countries along the way and have met extraordinary people from all over the world. I’m always open to contributing to nonprofit organizations by doing what I do best, performing music.”

CLASS OF 2003 Nick Risher ’03 and Daisy Hamilton ’07 write: “We just had twin boys! Welcome Finn and Levi Risher.”

CLASS OF 2012 Steph Subdiaz writes: “I am currently teaching math at the Eagle Rock School, an alternative boarding high school in Estes Park, Colorado. Before that, I was a full-time outdoor education instructor, usually spending 200+ days a year outside with students or on personal adventures. When not teaching math, I’m usually climbing, snowboarding or running in the mountains, and trying to build community.”

To submit a class note and/or update your contact information, please visit xrds.org/stayinvolved.

>> PHILLIP GOLUB ’11

Phillip Golub ’11 comes from a musical family; he’s pretty certain he would have become a musician no matter where he went to high school. But he might not have received such an excellent music education. “I left Crossroads with a strong foundation in classical music and jazz as well as in music theory,” Phillip said. “It’s not common in the U.S. to have a really solid musical education in high school, and I have carried that with me.”

Phillip earned a bachelor’s in English from Harvard University; a master’s of music in jazz performance from New England Conservatory; and a master’s in composition from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.

These days, he’s living in Brooklyn, composing and performing. He has recorded with Tropos, a group he co-founded, and as a member of Layale Chaker’s Sarafand Ensemble. His own work centers on experimental improvised music and includes influences ranging from medieval to Arabic traditions. “It’s jazz-adjacent,” he explained. “I’m exploring the boundaries between the improvised and the notated and using an intensive rehearsal process as an integral part of creating work in conjunction with other musicians.” Phillip is also the musical dramaturg and music coordinator for “… (Iphigenia),” a new opera by musicians Wayne Shorter and esperanza spalding.

Reflecting on his time at Crossroads, Phillip said, “The Crossroads music program really shaped me. The Upper School jazz program with Evan Avery, and even Middle School jazz with Tony Hundtoft, encouraged me early on to trust my original voice and explore whatever kinds of music interested me. Though I wasn’t officially in the EMMI program (the Elizabeth Mandell Music Institute), playing with the EMMI students and learning with them at such a high level was a real benefit to have when I got to college.”

Phillip has also become an advocate for independent music artists’ labor rights as a member and organizer for Music Workers Alliance. “The pandemic made labor issues that had been around for a long time even more urgent,” he said. “Contributing to the broader musical community has become an important part of my life.”