Class Notes

1949 Albert Wiberley writes: “Now approaching 90 years of age, I’ve staked out a claim—pending any challengers—to be the oldest active volunteer in the national park system. Since 1986, I have been, and continue to be, a VIP [volunteer-in-parks] in both the Great Smoky Mountains and the Acadia National Park. Any competition?”

1951 Robert Hendricks died in September, his daughter, Jill, writes. Born in Idaho, Robert met Carole Axworthy Hendricks at Rochester. They wed, had four children together, and remained married until Carole’s death in 2011. Robert earned a doctorate in chemistry at Brown and worked at DuPont.

1958 Ben Baldwin (see ’70).

1959 Tom Worosz writes: “In early October, I and my son, Philip (P.J.), traveled to Haiti as members of a Heartline Ministries team. The purpose of the trip was to assist Heartline by working on projects that improved their facilities’ infrastructure and delivering services to the Haitian people. Our team added electrical capabilities to one of their educational buildings, painted, accomplished needed repair work, and assisted with administrative tasks. An important part of our trip was to interact with the Haitian people. We delivered food to various schools and orphanages, visited Heartline maternity center, families in their homes, and local rural churches. Having had the opportunity to visit more than 70 countries during the past 20 years, I never included a trip to Haiti on my “bucket list.” How it happened and why it happened is a story within itself. I have documented my trip by creating a blog, Haiti—By Chance, at Tjwhaitiadventure.blogspot.com, that describes the trip with few words and plenty of pictures.

1960 Maureen (Moe) McGuigan Baldwin (see ’70).

1961 Hugo Sonnenschein has been conferred the honorary degree doctor of economics by Keio University in Tokyo. Hugo is president emeritus and Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, as well as a Rochester trustee.

1966 Phil Zimmerman sends an update. At Rochester, he was the host of Trip O’er the Mountain, a Sunday evening folk music show on WRUR, and performed many solo guitar and banjo gigs to earn his spending money. He’s now a professional photographer in Connecticut, and continues his musical work as a teacher of banjo and mandolin and a performer with multiple bluegrass, old-time, and Americana groups. In 2010, he combined his talents by producing a book of photography, Bluegrass Time: A Musician’s Photographs of the Early Days of Bluegrass Festivals, published by the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky.

1967 Jacqueline Stemmler Adams ’80 (MS) (see ’11 School of Medicine and Dentistry). . . . Fred Aman was recognized for distinguished contributions to international studies by Indiana University, where he’s the Roscoe C. O’Byrne Professor of Law. A noted scholar in administrative law, Fred arrived at Indiana’s Maurer School of Law in 1991 as dean. His stated goal, accomplished through partnerships abroad and curricular initiatives, was to prepare students to work in a legal environment that’s increasingly transnational, in which the American legal system has become more dependent on other legal systems.

1969 Lloyd and Sandy Cullen Brunson welcomed a grandson, William Peter, in December 2014. William Peter is the son of Chris ’05 and Val Rozak Brunson ’05, and the brother of Nadiya, 2. Sandy adds that Val is a graduate of Temple University’s medical school and is a pediatric hospitalist at Rochester General Hospital, and Chris is a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, and is chief of staff at the Banfield Veterinary Hospital in Henrietta, New York. In addition, Lloyd and Sandy’s daughter Katherine Brunson ’10 graduated with commendation from Scotland’s University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine and practices in Stamford, Connecticut.

1970 Harris and Debby Wright Leven send a photo and an update. Unbeknownst to Harris and Debby, there were two other Rochester alumni, who also met and married as undergraduates, on the cruise they took last fall. Harris writes: “We were on a two-week cruise on the Danube, Main, and Rhine rivers this past October, and just by chance Debby and I joined Ben ’58 and Moe Baldwin ’60 for dinner one night. To everyone’s surprise, we learned that we had all attended and met at the U of R. It was truly a ‘Meliora Moment.’” Debby writes: “Moe and Ben are wonderful new friends. We had a delightful time reminiscing. What a small world it is!” Pictured from left to right are Harris, Debby, Moe, and Ben.

1971 Martha Hollander Marsh has been named to the board of directors of the Irvine, California-based, company Edwards Lifesciences, a maker of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring technology. Martha retired in 2010 as president and CEO of Stanford Hospitals and Clinics.

1972 Jane Dodds writes that June Waldman died last September. In the summer of 2013, she, June, and seven other classmates who lived on the fifth floor of Hollister freshman year, got together in Willliamstown, Massachusetts. Pictured are: (front row, left to right) June, Marsha Altschuler, Carolyn Clark; (second row, left to right) Barbara Grau Morrell, Dianne Waite Newhouse, Jane, Ann Adams; (back row, left to right) Carol Warren Nichols ’75M (MS), and Francine Ecsedy Cunningham. . . . Mary Hasek Grenier and Emily Morry ’13 (PhD) are the coauthors of Rochester Through Time (Fonthill Media), a visual documentation of the evolution of Rochester, with an emphasis on natural resources such as the Genesee River and the Upper and Lower Falls.

1973 Thanet Aphornsuvan is a professor at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, and head of its ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asian Nations, studies program. He’s published a book, kabot wannkarm (Literature Rebel) (Sommadhi Books). He writes that the book, published in Thai, “discusses relationships between history and politics through the literary lives of notable figures in China, Russia, Thailand, and the United States.” . . . Alan Cohen sends a photo of himself, Susan Moffitt ’92, and Richard Kronick ’90 (PhD) from the September 2015 annual meeting of the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research Program. Alan is the national director of the program and a professor of health policy and management at Boston University’s business school. Susan is an alumna of the program and the Mary Tefft and John Hazen White Sr. Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Brown University. Richard, who won an investigator award in 1998, is the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. . . . Vincent Mosca ’78M (MD) (see ’04).

1976 John Betz, a fellow of the Mitre Corp., was recognized by the International Association of Institutes of Navigation, or IAIN, with its John Harrison Award. The award acknowledged John’s “innovations in signal modernization for global navigation satellite systems, and contributions to the compatibility and interoperability of global navigation satellite systems.” John writes that his wife, Donna Kleppe Betz ’76N, joined him at the awards ceremony at the IAIN World Congress in Prague, Czech Republic. . . . Joe Long writes that he’s founder and CEO of Oaklawn, “a diversified company with holdings in aerospace, defense, biorefining, and social media.” He lives in Washington, D.C.

1977 Victoria Unger ’79 writes that her husband, David Kopitz, has earned the performance-based designation of Premier Advisor from Wells Fargo Advisors. David and Victoria are both senior vice presidents, investments, of the Kopitz Unger Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. . . . John Olesik has been elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. The society, based in London, is widely recognized among chemists as the most prestigious professional organization in the field. John is a senior research scientist and director of the Trace Element Research Laboratory at Ohio State University.

1978 Leslie Abramson has published a book, Hitchcock and the Anxiety of Authorship (Palgrave Macmillan). Leslie is a film scholar and teaches cinema and law at the Loyola University Chicago law school.

1979 Valerie Ann Leeds has written a book, Charles Harold Davis (1856–1933): Mystic Impressionist (Bruce Museum), to accompany an exhibit of Davis’s works at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut. Valerie Ann, an independent curator, writes that Davis is an “important and now often overlooked artist,” and that the Bruce Museum exhibit is the first major museum retrospective of his work. . . . Victoria Unger (see ’77).

1980 Sanford Strenger ’81 (MS) (see ’12).

1981 Nanette Weingarten Strenger (see ’12).

1982 Iain Currie sends a picture of himself with his wife, Dubhe, in front of their home on the island of Guam. Iain writes: “I recently accepted a position of captain with the United Airlines in Guam, flying the former Pan Am South Seas Territory and Trust routes started in the 1930s. We love our life in Guam so far, finding it eclectic and rich with history, cultures, and an expanding community, especially from the influx and growth of the military. Finding our ‘Guam Gothic’ by living next to the beach doesn’t hurt, either!”

1984 Faith Cooley met Amjad Malik and Alka Atal Barrio for drinks in Seattle last fall. “We wanted to say ‘hi’ to all former Anderson 9 roomies!” she writes. From left to right are Amjad, Faith, and Alka.

1985 Margaret Blank Birth writes that she’s published a poetry chapbook, Borderlands (Finishing Line Press), under the name Margaret Adams Birth. . . . Jennifer Donnelly has published These Shallow Graves (Delacorte Press), a historical novel set in 1890s New York. . . . Nancy Rathbun Ramsey, a veterinarian in Prince Frederick, Maryland, writes that her business, Prince Frederick Animal Hospital, won the 2015 Calvert County Small Business of the Year award. “I was proud that a veterinarian won this prestigious award,” she writes, adding that she has been owner of the business since 2003.

1986 Marc Pekowsky writes that last September, “I unexpectedly found myself in Rochester to attend a conference of school board officers. I’m a trustee on the Mahopac, New York, school board. After the conference, I took a few hours to check out my old alma mater and reminisce.” Marc took several photos and posted them on his Facebook page as well as the Omega University of Rochester Facebook page for classmates to enjoy. He adds, “I’m particularly happy about the picture of the U of R Pep Band on their way to perform at a Yellowjackets football game, because after the many twists and turns that life has thrown me, I’ve been a public school band director for the last 25 years. What fun then, to run into my own college Pep Band on an unannounced visit to campus! I’ll be sharing this photo with my middle school students to show them that their love for music doesn’t have to end with their high school graduation.” . . . Glenn Stambo writes that he had an article published in the December 2013 issue of Chirurgia: A Journal on Surgery. The article is called “Endovascular Treatment of an Acute Aortoenteric Fistula with Combination Endograft Placement, Detachable Coils and an Amplatzer Vascular Plug.”

1987 Keith Kupferschmid writes that he was named CEO of the Copyright Alliance in Washington, D.C., “an organization representing more than 15,000 independent creators and organizations.”

1988 Jerry Zinni (see ’91).

1991 Dave Kemp ’91 writes that he and Jerry Zinni ’88, both captains in the Navy, are stationed together in Naples, Italy. “Jerry is the commanding officer of the Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center in Naples, and I’m the director of manpower and personnel for the United States Sixth Fleet in Naples. Dave sends a photo from last October’s annual Trafalgar Night dinner, a Royal Navy tradition celebrating Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory over the combined French and Spanish fleets in the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805.” From left to right are Dave, his wife, Marie-Christine, Jerry’s wife, Laurie, and Jerry.

1992 Susan Moffitt (see ’73). . . . Valery Perry writes that she’s a coeditor of State-Building and Democratization in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ashgate). Valery is an assistant professor of conflict analysis and resolution at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, a senior associate at the Democratization Policy Council, and an independent researcher and consultant in Sarajevo.

1993 Naya Ellen Sharp Clifford has released her first novel, Into the North Woods (Maine Authors Publishing). She writes that she has lived in Maine for just under 20 years and enjoys exploring the Great North Woods with family and friends. She’s published short stories and poems while working as a teacher and social worker, and is studying toward an interdisciplinary doctorate in disability studies and social work at the University of Maine.

1994 Hideaki Hirai, music director of the New York Festival Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Czech Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, writes that he gave a U.S. premiere of his own opera, Kaguya-Hime (Princess from the Moon), at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles. The performance was part of the 75th Nisei Week Festival. . . . Philip Kusnetz writes that he was selected to the Thomson Reuters 2015 New York Metro Super Lawyers List. He practices divorce and family law in Garden City, New York. . . . Valentine (Val) Loh has been named principal and practice leader of the information and communication technology global practice of the engineering firm Syska Hennessy Group.

1995 Troy Bernard has joined CPI Card Group, a provider of payment card technology services. He leads the company’s development of EMV (EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa) chip cards and new payments technologies.

1996 Tait Keller has published a book, Apostles of the Alps: Mountaineering and Nation Building in Germany and Austria, 1860–1939 (University of North Carolina Press). Tait is an assistant professor of history at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.

1999 Nathan Heslink writes: “My wife, Christina, and I had our first child, Cordelia Noelle Heslink, on Halloween night. She dressed up as a Yellowjacket.” . . . Mitchell Kalmar writes that he married Natalie Glassman in St. Louis, Missouri. . . . Sarah Pruss, an associate professor of geosciences at Smith College, was one of three Smith faculty members who received the college’s award for exceptional teaching, the Kathleen Compton Sherrerd and John F. Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching. Sarah has been at Smith since 2007 and is director of the college’s mentoring program for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students.

2001 Ellie Patounas writes that she married James Burke in November 2014 in Hamilton, New Jersey. “We met in 1998 at Rochester as freshmen. I’m an optometric physician in Freehold, New Jersey, and James is a legal assistant at a law firm in New York City. We live in Bordentown, New Jersey, with our dog, Dexter. We are lucky to count several UR alums as our closest friends, and many attended our wedding.” Pictured are: (back row, left to right) Nickolas Rutar, Jonathan Goldstein ’00, John McMurdy ’02, ’03 (MS), Amy Christian, Sarah Goldsmith Murphy, Adam Berkowitz, Talia Guttin ’03, Lisa Garrigan Richardson ’02, Vanessa Mangan Salgado ’03; (middle row, left to right) Susan Brandt Goldstein ’00, Kenneth Mandel ’00, Konstantin Tikhonov, Halina Radchenko Tikhonov ’03, James, Ellie, Amy Newman Dadush, Emily Epstein White; (front row, left to right) Amy Fedigan O’Neill ’00, Priti Patel Sadler ’02, Jennifer Karbowsky ’02, and Erica Powell Fleischmann ’01E.

2003 Ryan Hanley has published a book, Content Warfare: How to Find Your Audience, Tell Your Story, and Win the Battle for Attention Online (Ryan Hanley). Ryan is head of marketing at TrustedChoice.com.

2004 Peter Fabricant writes that he and Mark Seeley ’05 are pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellows at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Peter sends a photo of himself (left) and Mark (right) with Vincent Mosca ’73, ’78M (MD), who is a visiting professor of pediatric orthopaedic surgery at the hospital this year.

2005 Chris and Val Rozak Brunson (see ’69). . . . Mark Seeley (see ’04).

2006 Erik Monostory ’08S (MS), ’09S (MBA) and Lynn Dennis ’07N got married last Memorial Day Weekend in Naples, Florida, and are living in Davis Square, outside Boston. Lynn works at John Hancock and Erik works at Joule Unlimited Technologies, recycling CO2 emissions to produce low carbon fuels. Erik writes: “We would like to send out our very best and are always open to having dinner with fellow U of R friends and alumni. Meliora!” Pictured (page 58) from left to right are Ben Damsky, Tyler Ballew ’05, Steve Brown, Laurie Isaacson Damsky ’08N, Erik, Lynn, Gaspar del Castillo ’09, Jenny Lee ’01, ’05M (MD), and Carol Libardoni.

2007 Elizabeth McDonald married Falko Schilling in Richmond, Vermont, last August. She writes: “My matron of honor was Abigail Hunter-Syed, and bridesmaids included Stefanie Putter and Rachel Thibo. Falko and I live in Montpelier, Vermont, where I work as an associate general counsel with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and Falko works as the consumer protection advocate with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.”

2008 Michael Russell (see ’11).

2009 Julie Broadbent married Keith LaRue last October. She writes: “I was thrilled to have so many of my Rochester friends attend the wedding.” Pictured (page 58) are: (front row, left to right) Jamie Frank Blake, Jennifer Jacobson Brenner ’10S (MS), Julie, Mirah Kirger, Kaitlyn Biehler ’12; (back row, left to right) Daniel Blake ’06, Sarah Altone, Sarah Plumridge, Keith, Jon Klipfel, and Tammy Garcia-Klipfel. . . . Hallie Cohn (see ’12).

2010 Katherine Brunson (see ’69).

2011 Liesel Schwarz and Michael Russell ’08 got married last September at the Rochester Wedding Barn in Rush, New York. Pictured are (holding sign) Michael and Liesel; (first row, left to right) Davi Keiser ’08, Julia Voronov ’08, ’09 (MS), ’13W (MS), Morgan Jolley ’08, Emily Pape ’12, Kristina Doyle ’09, Julian Crawford ’08, Adam Hirshan ’08, Molly Meth ’08; (second row, left to right) Karl Schwarz ’83M (MD), ’86M (Res) (the bride’s father), Tammy Garcia-Klipfel ’09, Amanda Gerard Begley ’08, Brendan Tracey ’08, Connor Newman ’19, Cam Schauf, Betsy Schauf, Heidi Beck Schwarz ’83M (MD), ’89M (Res) (the bride’s mother), Jeremy Friedman ’08, ’11W (MS), Raphael Glazer ’08; (third row, left to right) Ali Khan ’16, Niall Begley ’08, Steve Georas (the bride’s uncle), Jon Klipfel ’09, Gerald Abt ’08, Nina DeSoi ’12, ’14, and Zack Milstone ’12.

2012 Scott Strenger writes that he and Hallie Cohn ’09 got engaged in October. “We met on the River Campus in the fall of 2008, but didn’t begin dating until the summer of 2014. The details of our ‘love story’ are documented in a storybook that I wrote and designed for the engagement proposal. I converted and narrated the same illustrations into an animated video that can be watched on our website, Hallieandscott.com.” Much of the video takes place at Rochester. Scott adds that his parents, Nanette Weingarten Strenger ’81 and Sanford Strenger ’80, ’81 (MS) “also met on the River Campus, but didn’t date until after college. We look forward to planning a meaningful wedding that will be filled with Meliora pride and love from multiple generations.”