Class Notes
River Campus /Undergraduate
1942
Leo (Bud) Pearson (see ’49).
1945
Elizabeth (Libby) Conklin Hoke writes that her husband, Charles, died last October. “I am very proud of his many accomplishments and of the U of R that ‘launched’ us,” she writes. Charles attended Rochester on a Naval scholarship, served in the Navy until 1971, and was a veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Elizabeth and Charles had five children, including Charles Hoke Jr. ’72M (MD), 13 grandchildren, including Jerome Hoke ’13, and 8 great-grandchildren.
1949
Shirley Pearson Sinderson writes that her brother, Leo (Bud) Pearson ’42, died in November. “We are Rochester folks,” she writes of her family. Her daughter, Margo Sinderson Gaylor ’80N, married Steven Gaylor ’80, and their daughter, Meredith, is a member of the Class of 2015.
1959
Tom Worosz sends an update. He writes: “After seeing the movie The Bucket List, I decided to prepare my own list of things that I wanted to do and accomplish. I opted out of skydiving and mountain climbing and focused on visiting parts of the world that I had only read about. Prior to 1996, I had only visited one country, Canada. By 2007, I had visited more than 50 countries, so my focus was on those countries yet to be explored. My recent trips have taken me to southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia, and Russia, increasing my country count to 62. My remaining bucket list includes the Antarctic, Australia, India, and the Middle East. In March, I will be traveling to India for three tours that will take me to the northern and southern portion of this great nation in addition to a visit to India’s Hindu religious center, Varanasi. The trip will last for a total of 40 days. Follow my adventures and travels on www.tomsindiaadventure2012.blogspot.com. I will be posting pictures of my trip.”
1961
David Sweet is retired, and he and his wife, Pat, live in North Carolina near their children and grandchildren. Having received his University medallion at last October’s Meliora Weekend ceremony, David notes that he is the second generation in the Sweet family to earn one. His mother, Esther Webster Sweet ’36N, received one in 2005 (see page 52).
1962
Michael Speziale has published a book, Road to Armageddon (Lulu). He writes that the book “offers my personal observations and reflections on what I perceive as mileposts along the path to the demise of modern American civilization over the past century.” Michael has been a history teacher and an administrator for the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, the network of primary and secondary schools serving the children of American military personnel stationed overseas.
1964
Ann Abelove Siegel writes: “Friends from the Class of 1964 held a four-day reunion at the Old Crocker Inn in Cloverdale, Calif. The inn is owned and operated by Marcia Conary Babb and her husband, Tony. The beautiful October weather was a backdrop for much reminiscing, wine tasting, touring, and lots of memories of Meliora moments.” Pictured are (front row) Patti Lorbach DiBella, Carol Leone, and Jean Bunting Mitchell; (back row) Ann, Marcia, Patricia Earnest, and Judy Swoyer Johnstone.
1970
Steven Chu ’98 (Honorary) (see ’86).
1972
Paul Mattera has been appointed by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to Salem State University’s board of trustees. Paul is the senior vice president and chief of public affairs for Liberty Mutual Group and speaks regularly on workers’ compensation and insurance law. He’s also on the boards of directors of the Public Affairs Council, the Workers Compensation Research Institute, the New England Council, the JFK Library Foundation, and the think tank MassINC.
1973
Lester (Les) Ezrati writes: “My wife, Carol, and I have just returned from six months in London where we were visiting our daughter, who is on assignment at the United States embassy there, our son-in-law, and two grandchildren. I’m back working full time, running the tax department at Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto.” . . . Peter Porcino writes that he was elected mayor of his hometown for the past 25 years, the Village of Ardsley, in southwest Westchester County, N.Y. “I have been serving as a village trustee for the past six years and have been deputy mayor for the past five years. I continue to practice law with a firm in midtown Manhattan, specializing in corporate and commercial law and personal services.”
1974
Leroy Osborn has joined the Buffalo firm of Keller Bros. & Miller Printing. Previously the owner and operator of his own digital printing firm, AlphaGraphics, Leroy will focus on maintaining and building client relationships as well as offering digital printing expertise.
1976
Barbara Suckle Boardman (see ’06). . . . Ilene Busch-Vishniac has been named the president of University of Saskatchewan. Previously she served as the dean of engineering at Johns Hopkins University and is the provost at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, until July 1, when she begins her new role.
1977
Jim Kafka ’84 (PhD) sends an update. He writes: “I was recently elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Optical Society of America. My current job is as the advanced R&D director at Spectra-Physics, a manufacturer of lasers in Northern California. My role on the Optical Society board will be as director-at-large. Amazingly, I will serve on the society’s leadership committee with many other Rochester optics alums, including Donna Strickland ’89 (PhD) (president-elect), Stephen Fantone ’79 (PhD) (treasurer), Ian Walmsley ’86 (PhD) (retiring director-at-large), and Laura Weller-Brophy ’80, ’87 (PhD) (chair of the meetings council).” Jim adds that Jannick Rolland, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering at Rochester and the associate director of the R. E. Hopkins Center, also serves as a director-at-large. . . . Harold Paz ’82M (MD) has been named to a one-year term as chair-elect, followed by a year as chair of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Harold is the CEO of Penn State Hershey Medical Center, the senior vice president for health affairs at Penn State, and dean of Penn State’s medical school.
1980
Douglas Randall writes that he was elected to a 10-year term as Monroe County Court judge last November. He’ll preside over criminal trials for felonies committed in Monroe County, including the City of Rochester. Prior to his election, Douglas was the major felony bureau chief of the Monroe County district attorney’s office. . . . Laura Weller-Brophy ’87 (PhD) (see ’77 undergraduate).
1982
Marianne Miserandino has published a book, Personality Psychology: Foundations and Findings (Prentice-Hall). She’s a professor of psychology at Arcadia University.
1983
John Farrell writes that he’s been elected president of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary. John has been an administrative law judge with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board since 1996.
1984
Lisa (L. J.) Cohen writes: “After a 25-plus year career as a physical therapist, I returned to one of my first loves—writing. My debut novel was released in January. In some ways, this is returning to my Rochester roots, as I was heavily involved with the Literary Guild, was the literary editor of the 1984 Interpres, and the 1984 winner of the Dean’s Prize for a poem of mine. My debut novel, The Between (Interrobang Books), is a young adult fantasy.”
1985
Karl Mueller has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the publisher of the journal Science. He was inducted as a fellow during a ceremony in February in Vancouver. Karl is a laboratory fellow at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. As a chemist, he studies the development and use of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques.
1986
Robert Sheneman sends an update. He’s the deputy head of environment, safety, health and security, as well as the senior sustainability manager, at Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory. He writes that in October, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu ’70, ’98 (Honorary) named the Fugitive Emissions Working Group, of which Princeton’s Plasma Physics Laboratory is a member, the recipient of the energy department’s Secretary’s Achievement Award. The working group, which includes 20 laboratories, “was recognized for eliminating nearly half of the department’s emissions of an especially potent greenhouse gas, sulfur hexafluoride,” which Robert notes is “about the same impact as taking 140,000 automobiles off the road for one year.” Robert sends a picture of himself with Chu, taken at the October awards ceremony. . . . Glenn Stambo, a radiologist in Tampa, Fla., writes that he published two articles in peer-reviewed journals in the past year. The articles appeared in Radiography (March 2011) and Vascular Disease Management (October 2011).
1987
Carl Landicino writes that he’s been elected State Supreme Court judge for the 2nd District of New York. Previously, Carl was an attorney for the Brooklyn Democratic Party and at the Queens firm of Borchert, Genovesi, LaSpina & Landicino.
1989
Jud Sherwood, a jazz drummer, writes that he’s produced and performed on Dream a Little Dream by the Jennifer Scott Trio (The Jazz Project). Jud is the director of the Jazz Project, a nonprofit that promotes jazz music through concerts, recordings, and other forms of outreach.
1990
Kathryn Vandow Haley received the School Counselor of the Year Award from the New York State School Counselor Association last October. Kathryn, who has been in the profession for 15 years, is the counselor at Enders Road Elementary School in the Fayetteville-Manlius School District outside Rochester.
1991
Richard Sanford, a Naval reservist and lieutenant commander, reported for active duty last fall and left in January for a six-month tour of duty in Kuwait City. He’s commanding a force of officers and sailors providing armed security aboard civilian cargo ships in the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. Richard was on active duty from 1992 to 1998 and also served overseas in the opening months of the Second Gulf War. In civilian life, he’s a forensic scientist with the New York City Medical Examiner. He and his wife, Pamela, live in Huntington Station, Long Island.
1993
Douglas Wheeler has joined New York Life as a vice president of governmental affairs. Previously, he was the director of the insurance division at the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
1995
Meredith Goldstein LeVande, a guitarist and singer who performs children’s songs, has produced a series of videos called Monkey Monkey Music. The videos have been picked up by more than 100 public televisions across the country, including Rochester’s WXXI, and air during breaks or in between children’s shows. . . . Josh Shapiro, a Pennsylvania state legislator since 2004 and deputy speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2006 to 2008, resigned as state legislator in December in order to join the three-member Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. Josh was elected to the board last November.
1996
Joe Brown has been elected president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York. Joe is a senior associate at the Buffalo law firm Hodgson Russ, specializing in employment litigation.
1997
Khuram Chaudhary writes that he married Jeanny Iqbal last June in Hauppauge, N.Y. In attendance were Cheryl Prasad Ferrufino and Sidney Laurenceau ’99 (MS). Khuram and Jeanny live in Philadelphia, where Khuram works for GlaxoSmithKline. . . . Scott Moran writes that he’s been named director of the Westland School in Los Angeles and will be moving from New York to California with his wife, Jennifer, and their two daughters, Hazel, 5, and Cecilia, 18 months, in July. Scott is now the director of the middle and upper schools at City and Country School in New York City, where he has taught third and fourth grade and served as a math specialist. He’s published and presented on progressive pedagogy, the use of new media in the classroom, and other topics.
1998
Amanda Arlein Isenberg writes that she and her husband, Jeremy, welcomed their third child, Lily Grace, in December 2010. Lily joined big sister Sophie, 6, and big brother Caleb, 4. They live in Providence, R.I.
1999
Mark Ferrandino ’00 (MS) (see ’00). . . . Mandi Gorodess and Eric Stefankiewicz married last November. Mandi writes that she and Eric met the first week of freshman year, went their separate ways after graduation, and reconnected three years ago. Many alumni and friends from Rochester attended the wedding, including Helen Tikhonov, Konstantin Tikhonov, Michael Bowers ’98, Michael Bianchi ’02, Mini Kim, Michael Bonheim ’97, Michael Anderson ’98, Eve Davidi Feuerstein, Jeff Feuerstein ’98, Rebecca Etlinger, Scott Conway, Andre Neveu ’98, and Brady Clar. Mandi adds: “This day was truly special and even better that we got to share it with friends who were there from the beginning at the U of R. We are blessed to have reconnected and will always hold the U of R in our hearts for bringing our lives together.”
2000
Noah Drezner, assistant professor of higher education at the University of Maryland at College Park, writes: “I wanted to share some exciting news. Mark Ferrandino ’99, ’00 (MS) was elected minority leader of the Colorado House in November. He becomes the first openly gay man to hold the office and the highest ranking member of the LGBT community in the state government. He’s served as a state representative since 2007.” Noah adds that a profile of Mark appeared in the Huffington Post last November 21.
2002
Joseph Hamway sends a photo of his new daughter, Alexa Jane. Joseph and his wife, Jane, welcomed Alexa last September. . . . Kimberly Chesebrough Pierce writes that she and her husband, Jonathan, welcomed their second child, Juliet Mary, last September. Juliet joins older sister Leah, 3. They live in Columbus, Ohio. . . . Ryan Walters, a deputy prosecuting attorney in his hometown of Anacortes, Wash., writes that he was elected to the Anacortes City Council in November with 76 percent of the vote.
2003
Bernadette Marino Spencer writes that she and her husband, Kenneth, welcomed a son, Donald, in December. Bernadette is a dentist in Rochester at Vicaretti Dental Care and Kenneth is a pilot for JetBlue.
2005
Tom ’07 (MS) and Emily LaDuque Kraus ’05W (MS) welcomed a son, Benjamin, last May. Tom writes that Benjamin was 9 lbs., 4 oz., and 21 in. long. They live in Springfield, Va., where Tom is an optical engineer at Arete Associates and Emily is the director of admissions at Virginia International University. . . . Joshua Pollard was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list in December. He’s a vice president at Goldman Sachs and the investment firm’s lead housing analyst.
2006
Kathryn Harvey and Jeremy Boardman were married in February 2011 at Saratoga National Golf Course in Saratoga, N.Y. Kathryn sends a photo including “many of our wonderful U of R friends who braved the cold and snow to attend our winter wedding.” Pictured are (bottom row) Rick Scully ’07, Colin Theis ’05, Brian Greenberg, Nate Saunders, Brielle Welzer, Chris Heriot, Steve Shparber, Mike Schwartz ’07, Tim Bartl ’07, Andrea Wagonseller ’07, Shannon Fales, Roderick Shnee, Aaron Wolfe, Rob Silverman ’05, Lindy Falvey-Fink ’05, Jon Ruskin, Dan Blake, Jamie Frank ’09, Drew Aldrich, Scott Lasko, Dave Cernikovsky; (on stairs, left to right) Will Karle ’07, Sam Stavis ’05, Paul Zito, Joe Ullman ’05, Erin Charnow ’05, Adam Clark ’07, Whitney Drazen ’07, Michelle Kathleen Villavicencio ’07, Michele Flint ’07, Kathryn, Jeremy, Andrew Boardman, Jenny Spross, and Laura Burton. In attendance, but not pictured, were the groom’s mother, Barbara Suckle Boardman ’76, Larry Cryer ’76, Paul Boehm ’69, Ellen Balzer Boehm ’72, and Irina Elkind ’07. . . . Eric Heinert and Sara Wieseneck were married last September in Arlington, Va. Pictured are: (front row) Josh Symonds, Steve Goldberger, Doug Allard ’09W (MS), Arnab Datta, Kyle Aures ’08, ’09W (MS), and Peter Faber ’08; (back row) Brian Thomas, Emily Schneider, Nell Aronoff, Allison Levin, Sameer Godiwala, Mike Guerra, Anna Verderame, Jeff Keesing, Justin Glushakow, Sara, Eric, Laura Larkin, Solomon Otim, Anna Blum, Anne Ferguson ’08, Susannah Snider ’08, Julie Smith ’08, ’11 (MS), Stephanie Sienkowski ’08, and Brian Anderson. Sara adds that she and Eric both work at the Medical Center. Eric, who graduated from medical school in Chicago, is a pediatric resident, and Sara, who earned a master’s degree in public health in epidemiology at the University of Michigan, works in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine. . . . Oscar Pedroso writes that he’s founded a company, MBA Writer’s Block (www.mbawritersblock.com), which is “an online essay and writing resource for young professionals and students applying to business school.” He adds: “The website consists of an informative blog and an essay guide I recently published. And I’m working on creating videos at the moment that go over tips and strategies for writing compelling admission essays for business school.” Oscar lives in Rochester.
2010
Diana Hartnett writes that she married Christopher Reska last July in Utica, N.Y. Pictured from left to right are Evan Hall (ring bearer), Charles Goldstein (best man and brother of the groom), Jonathan Reska, John Gaff, Peter Conley, John Bord III, Joseph Durr, Zoe Dodge (flower girl), Trisha Hartnett, Amanda Palo, Katherine Brunson, Caitlin Rioux ’11, Morgan Reska (sister of the groom), and Bethany Hartnett (maid of honor and sister of the bride). Also in attendance were Rachel Chess, Jordan Cicoria ’13, Patricia Dieter, Tracy Durkan ’11, Shobha Kaushik, Katlyn Mallory ’11 (MS), Jason Scheff, Kelly Sullivan, Victoria Vignare, and Juliet Wu ’12.
