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CLASS NOTES
Everett Weinberger
Thanks to those who came to our 15th reunion in June — for the 98 percent of our class that didn't show up, you would have been surprised at how good it was to see old faces and reminisce about a campus and neighborhood that has radically changed. The reunion has galvanized several of us to work with Columbia and see how we can get our class more involved. Stay tuned for these initiatives. Several reports from out west. Josh Wirtschafter and his wife, the former Diane Schon (Barnard '86), had a son, Rafael, in March, joining 10-year-old brother, Eli, and 7-year-old sister, Marnina. Josh hopes that Rafi learns the cello so they'll have a family string quartet. They've been living in Berkeley for three years. Josh is an attorney in the San Francisco office of the EPA, focusing on the clean-up of abandoned mines and the enforcement of chemical reporting statutes. Diane, when not on maternity leave, teaches fifth grade. Rosemary Hoban, who lives in Oakland, is getting a joint degree in public health and journalism and expects to graduate in 2003. She entered the College with the Class of '85, and you can read more about her in their notes. Mark Goldstein, in Studio City, announced the birth of his first child, Shira Rose, last December. Mark is an intellectual property attorney with the Los Angeles office of Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman, and focuses on patent law. Close by is John Winandy, an attorney in Century City. James Glucksman left the consulting track to join Hogan & Hartson, a D.C. law firm, as international business advisor. He'll help advise the firm's clients on cross-border projects and initiatives, especially in the former Soviet Union, China and East Asia. Congratulations to Paul Dauber for making partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Paul heads up the tax and legal services marketing group.
Sarah A. Kass [Editor's note: Columbia College Today thanks Rob Wolf for his dedicated service as class correspondent and welcomes Sarah Kass as his successor and our first overseas correspondent. Thank you, e-mail!] I am quite honored to be taking over as class correspondent for the class of '87, and I want to thank my predecessor, Rob Wolf, for all his efforts! Great job, Rob, and many thanks! And my undying appreciation goes out to everyone who scrambled to get me information since I took over the column with only 10 days before the deadline! I cannot even begin to tell you how awesome you are! Some of you may be looking at my address and wondering what that's about, so let me tell you how dramatically my life has changed in the last year! I left my job as photo editor at The New York Times in September 2000 to move to London and begin a master's degree (my second, the first being in cinema studies back in 1990) in psychotherapy and counseling at Regent's College. After 13 years at The New York Times and 35 years in New York City, I am loving every single minute of my adventure here in England! But at least I can note with pride that back in New York, my brother, Danny Kass '95, a third-year resident in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian, has just been awarded a fellowship in pulmonology at Columbia for 2002, and my father, Alvin Kass '57, is continuing the family tradition of alumni work that I started by chairing his upcoming 45th class reunion. Maybe this is what they mean when they say, "Keep the home fires burning." And if any of my classmates are coming to or passing through London, I would love to hear from you and have you join me for a pint of bitter at my local pub! Cheers! During my most recent visit to New York in April, I had the great good fortune of running into Hannah Jones outside the Museum of Natural History. She got married this past February and is living in Boston. She is teaching sixth grade at a small, independent school in Cambridge, Mass., and says she's very happy! I would not be writing this column if it were not for the incomparable Judy Kim, the guiding force behind the class of '87. In addition to her work on the upcoming reunion (more about that later), Judy has also been instrumental in getting the Outreach Committee of the Columbia College Alumni Association off the ground. She has also been a volunteer fund-raiser for the Asian-American International Film Festival, which took place this July in New York. Judy recently attended Rick Russell's wedding in Lekeito, Spain, a 600-year-old Basque fishing village. The wedding ceremony was performed in both Spanish and English and featured a traditional sword dance in the middle of the ceremony: four men wearing short white skirts and each holding a shiny knife in each hand danced in the floor space between the alter where the couple stood and the seats. According to Sam Park '88, who also attended the wedding, the sword dance is an ancient fertility ritual. Judy says that Sam's source for this information is the book From Ritual To Romance by Jessie L. Weston. The reception was held in San Sebastian, known in Basque as Donostia. Rick's wedding website is http://members.home.net/rrusse2. Judy reports that David Perlman has left the practice of law to open a hip new restaurant, Essex, located at the corner of Essex and Rivington Streets on the Lower East Side. She said it has fabulous food and a great wine selection and Citysearch has already had a party there. David is living on the Upper East Side. Jill Niemczyk made partner at TMP Worldwide and is renovating and decorating her new house in Bridgehampton. Rebecca Turner is performing as a singer, as is Lee Ilan. Laurie Gershon is producing a film. Carol Salt is designing jewelry. Cathy Webster is going to be back as first-year class dean at Barnard this year. She is having a great time with her daughter, Meredith, who celebrated her first birthday in May. Cathy is also working on her dissertation in French film and theater, and is hoping to finish sometime in 2002. Her husband, Bill Dycus, left the New York City Police Department and is a senior psychologist at Brookdale Hospital. Janis Brody has recently published two books: Your Body: The Girls' Guide (St. Martin's Press) and Bringing Home the Laundry: Effective Parenting for College and Beyond (Taylor Publishing). She earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Cal-Berkeley, and is now developing an animated educational television series for kids. She lives in New York City. The Your Body book empowers girls to feel good about their bodies just the way they are, and is in stores around the country. Congratulations to Suzanne Waltman, my former colleague on the Alumni Association Executive Board, who has just been elected to the College's Board of Visitors! Peter Ross reports that Ted Allegaert has moved back to New York City and just started as an associate in the litigation group of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Andrea Solomon is the assistant dean for academic affairs at the School of General Studies. Sean Couch has been writing and producing a hip-hop musical entitled Echo Park. It was showcased at the Apollo Theater in June 2000, the first Broadway-style musical ever at the Apollo. Echo Park includes an eclectic mix of singing, dancing, acting and rapping. Named for the Bronx Park where the first "break beat" originated, Echo Park features the music of a time period that gave rise to a lifestyle. The first installment of a trilogy, which covers 1978-81, depicts the establishment of the D.J. as the "party starter" and the launch of breakdancing. Sean says it will be back at the Apollo in February 2002, and Phil Ramone is also one of the producers. Jennifer Insogna Donarski had a baby boy on May 15, James Dominic Donarski. He joins his brother, Chase, who is 6. She also reports that her husband, Nic, has launched Donarski Artists Financial Services at Prudential Securities, a portfolio management group fashioned specifically for those earning a living through the arts. Ron Burton and his wife, Jocelyn, have two kids, Benjamin, 4, and Madeline, 2. He is a partner at Goldfarb & Fleece, a real estate law firm in New York City. He says he is enjoying life in the suburbs (New Rochelle). Jon Nelson and his wife of nine years, Laura Bothfield, are living in Huntington, N.Y. with their two children, Olivia, 4, and Henry, 18 months. After six years of management consulting, Jon went back to graduate school at Teachers College to get a master's degree in teaching English. He has been teaching English at Bay Shore High School for seven years where he also coaches varsity soccer. Paul Barsky is the head of the history department at the Spence School in New York. He is also traveling to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to study Theravada Buddhism and to visit key sites in Vietnam's war for independence. Susan (Beamis) Rempe has been working for Los Alamos National Lab as a theoretical chemist. Last summer she took a couple extra days after a national science meeting on the east coast to visit former classmates. Susan spent one afternoon in New Jersey at Lynne (Lada) Azer's house to celebrate her youngest daughter's birthday. Joining them were Laura (Lent) Michnowicz with her mother and two children and Annemarie Jurczak, accompanied by her husband and baby. She enjoyed catching up with these classmates that she spent so much time with at Columbia, both in and out of the swimming pool. Susan and her husband, Gary Rempe, are getting ready to move to Albuquerque. Since they are moving near a golf course, they are going to have to substitute golf and tennis for their current rock climbing and kayaking activities. Susan has taken a technical staff position at Sandia National Lab and is looking forward to some exciting research on cell membranes and their ion channels. Gary has started a media business based in Santa Fe that seems to be off to a great start. She is also hoping to track down Liz King '88. With our 15th reunion less than a year away, I encourage EVERYONE to get involved. We have many events scheduled — including this past April's successful Half King Bar event, the summer picnics and barbeques and a holiday party coming in December at Peter Ross's apartment — to get everyone psyched. Many thanks to Judy Kim and all the hard workers on the reunion committees: Cathy Webster (parents), Alex Navab and Sean Couch (athletics), Renan Pierre, Sean Couch and Judy Kim (minority outreach), Adam Perlmutter, Jill Niemcyzk, Laurie Gershon, Rebecca Turner (social), Alex Navab (fund-raising chair), Sarah Kass (European regional reunion chair), Joongi Kim (Asian regional reunion chair), Janis Brody, Luciano Sirancuso, Yale Fergang, Amy Smith, Lee Ilan, Dora Kim, Rob Wolf, Chris Beeby, Gus and Dawn Moore, Peter Ross and Gerri Gold. Anyone interested in joining this group and working on the reunion, or who just wants to come have fun at the pre-reunion events, should please contact Judy Kim at judy@cat.nyu.edu. Please e-mail me with all the latest tidbits! News from my mates back in the colonies is always greatly appreciated!!!!
George Gianfrancisco Every time this year, my mind turns to thoughts of Camp Columbia and the years spent... the Pub and Alma, Cannon's and College Walk, Furnald, East Campus and Carman, sights and sounds that now resonate more clearly in memory than ever they did in reality. Smudged recall notwithstanding, as the years roll by, more and more of us have found other touchstones upon which to attach fond remembrance. As evidence, I submit the story of Deborah Shenfeld and the birthing of her second child, Jacob Evan, who entered this world somewhere on the FDR Drive while mother and father were speeding from Scarsdale to the maternity ward. But proving its indelible connective power once again, Columbia would not be so easily overcome: one of the doctors who helped Debbie upon arrival was Helaine Worrell, who began as a member of '88, but graduated in '89. David Stoll is now senior counsel at Simpson Thatcher in NYC. He concentrates on estate planning, trust administration and charitable giving. And charity, as I seem to recollect, was a major contributor to my College experience. Sandy Asirvatham wrote me looking for Dean Anderson. Sandy: I try to blot out Deano and all the times he slithered through hands that wanted to wring his neck for waking me up drunk at 5 a.m. Memories, both good and bad, have a way of taking on a life of their own as they grow, mature and finally rot in our minds. For that and other reasons (mainly poor record-keeping) I don't have a forwarding address for him. Sorry. It is those bits of information that make me ever so pleased that I have done this job for as long as I care to remember. Baker Field, Levien Gym, South Lawn, "Who Owns New York?" My memories are just fine, regardless of the clarity of the lens through which I look back upon them. I trust all of yours are as well. And hey: let's all support the football team this year. The way I remember it, they deserve it.
Amy Perkel Angelica Maria Perez lives in Riverdale and has two children, India and Carlos, who are 6 and almost 1, respectively. India is in the first grade at Fieldston Lower School, and Carlos is crawling all over the place. Angelica completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology in 1998, and after six years of psychotherapy and clinical work at a not-for-profit community clinic in northern Manhattan, she decided to move into the field of research and neuropsychology. Two years ago, she joined a research team in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) research center at NYU School of Medicine, where she is an assistant research professor. She also is the co-director of the Memory Evaluation Research Program, a memory diagnostic clinic that outreaches and recruits ethnically and culturally diverse patient populations with cognitive impairments, dementia and AD. Angelica also serves as the director of the Ethnosociocultural Research Program in AD, which investigates the cultural and social aspects of the disease. This month, not slowing down a bit, she begins coursework in a neuropsychology respecialization program at Queens College. One of her long-term goals is to establish a culturally and language-sensitive memory diagnostic clinic for Latino populations. On an alumni note, Angelica observes that over the years, she has not seen much in the way of news in this column on a "small but fun group" of Latinas and Latinos with whom she spent time. So I encourage you to get in touch to share your news. Ian Kohlhaas moved to Indianapolis in 1995. Until recently, he was practicing law, having earned a J.D. from Pepperdine. He how is with Northwestern Mutual, where he is a financial representative. He keeps up with good friend Matt Nettleton, who is also in Indiana, working as a real estate agent. He is married and has two toddlers under the age of 2, Michael, the elder, and Grace, the younger. Rich Penola '95, who spent some time with us at Columbia and was freshman roomie to Chris Lorentz, is in the area as well, notes Ian. Ian also keeps up with Paul Richardson, who we wrote about a number of columns ago. As a refresher, Paul is a detective working for Scotland Yard. He now is married to his long-time girlfriend, Robbie, who, Ian notes, spent at least a few evenings visiting at the 'Plex. The Richardsons have two daughters. Congratulations are due Renny Smith and his wife, Hana. Renny's second child, Elias Reesor Smith, was born at 9:51 p.m., Tuesday, April 24. Elias came in at 10 pounds 6 ounces — "So much for inducing early for lower birth weight," noted dad — and 2112 inches, and was born with his eyes open, looking around, and lots of hair compared to what Sam, Renny's first child, had. Hana, "patron saint of childbirth," recovered nicely and was impressed by Elias's feistiness. For those of you crew enthusiasts, a number of months ago Renny sent out the following: "Don't know if anybody besides me cares, but here's a link to Eastern Sprints results. Lightweights fared well by our standards, though the kids are probably pretty dejected that only the first frosh got hardware. Heavyweights generally stayed out of the truck finals, which is an improvement." The connection between his select group of e-mail recipients, including Ashima Dayal, Lisa Landau, Alex Margolies, Justin O'Grady, Sarah Roediger, Jon Sturt, Dave Winter, and myself, no doubt, was the loose theme of former crew teammates and general Columbia sports enthusiasts. The race at hand took place on Sunday, May 13, amidst a strong tailwind, in Worcester, Mass. Following graduate school and law school, Steve Bibas worked for a number of judges and a law firm, "prosecuting grave robbers and other sordid characters in Manhattan." He has since moved to the ivory tower, as a professor of criminal law at Iowa College of Law. It's a long way from Morningside Heights, both physically and mentally, says Steve, but he's enjoying getting used to a place where the people are "downright chipper and smile at you on the street instead of worrying that you might mug them if they make eye contact." When Jared Goldstein last wrote, he was a jet-setting dot.commer, doing deals for Web sites. As 2000 wore one, Jared notes, the jet-setting led to some bumpy landings. In late December 2000, he re-met with UHAB.org, where he first worked for a number of years after graduating from college. In those days, at Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, he worked with Tom Kamber and Bill Lipton '90. Tom and Bill have moved on, but both continue to be involved with progressive politics. Tom is busy with his new Brooklyn house and baby, Abbi. He recently hosted several alumni after a political fund-raiser, where other Columbians were present including Len Lidov '90, Peter Metsopoulos, proud father of baby, Enzo, with Christine Grillo '90, and John Loza, proud father of baby, Columbine. Back to Jordan's professional update: In December 2000 at UHAB, he met with former colleague, Sarah Hovde, who was "quite pregnant" at the time, and is daughter of the "legendary" professor and former dean, Carl Hovde, to discuss how UHAB can deliver its services online. Jared has been at UHAB ever since, helping implement its online vision and raising funds to support it. So, he went "from dot.commer to dot.commie," and is really enjoying it. Jason Carter attended NYU School of Law. After graduating in 1992, he began a clerkship in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined a large NYC law firm for a number of years before moving to Virginia to work at the Department of Justice as the attorney in the criminal division, Office of International Affairs. He specializes in international and criminal law, with assignments covering the United Kingdom, Ireland, the English Caribbean, and the entire African continent. His work involves negotiating treaties and the return of fugitives, including murderers, drug dealers, rapists, hijackers and "other nasties." He regularly sees his work and the work of his colleagues reflected in newspaper articles, but, as he notes, only a real criminal law buff would notice. He has been in harm's way at least once, having the misfortune of experiencing first-hand a terrorist bombing in Uganda. On the personal front, Jason met Dorothy Patton, a Cornell undergraduate alumna, during law school, and the two married in 1994. Jason and Dorothy are the proud parents of Jordon, who was born in February 1998, and Adam, who was born this May. Jason notes that he's little changed since college — he's still tall, skinny and fast-talking, but has since lost the mustache! He keeps in regular contact with Greg Lee and Steve Mack. In the fall of 2000, Greg married Jane Schaefer '90E, and the two had their first child, Ryan. Greg earned an M.B.A. from NYU, and works in the banking industry in NYC. He and his family live in Westchester. Steve earned his Ph.D. from Cal-Berkeley and is engaged in research for a major pharmaceuticals company in California. Susan Crane provided an addendum to the last column. You may remember that Susan Shin took a new job at Brown Raysman, filling the spot as head of their trademark practice. What I did not mention is that Susan replaced a fellow member of our class, namely Susan Crane. Susan left Brown Raysman to join Cendant Corporation as its senior intellectual property counsel; she is based in the Parsippany, N.J., office. Susan works with John Kim, who joined Cendant last fall in their NYC office. Small world, huh? Cybele Maria Merrick and her husband, James Graham, welcomed their son, Ramon Del Pozo Graham, into the world on March 18, 2001. At the time of her writing, Cybele was on leave from her job as librarian at the Vera Institute of Justice, a non-profit organization, to care for her son. She notes that motherhood is the most difficult thing she's ever done, yet so rewarding. Ramon has recently entered the cooing-and-smiling phases, and Cybele notes that she and James are eagerly looking forward to the sleeping-through-the-night phase. On a final note, much thanks to the Myers-Briggs enthusiasts who wrote in, namely three classmates and a few other Columbians beyond '89. Keep the news coming!
Rachel J. Cowan A few loyal readers have e-mailed me some news. As for the rest of you, come on people! Humor me early on in my career and I'll make you look good later! Seth Ness was the first to write: "You probably don't remember me but I graduated CC in '90 and spent the next eight years getting an M.D., Ph.D. at Albert Einstein. I'm still in training even after all these years, in the third year of a five-year medical genetics residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center, one of only two or three such spots in the country. Only two more years to go before I get a real job. I married Judith Goldberg, sister of classmate Daniel Goldberg, and we just had a son, Elisha, to follow our 2-year-old daughter, Michal. We all live in a miniscule apartment in East Harlem. Speaking of Daniel Goldberg, he completed two residencies, in internal medicine and ophthalmology, and is now a retinal surgery fellow at UCSD." Thanks, Seth, and great to hear from you. Dana Royce Baerger also had a word for us. "After college, I got both a J.D. (from Cornell) and a Ph.D. in psychology (from Northwestern). I'm now a clinical and forensic psychologist in Chicago, where I live with my husband, Nick. I miss New York City bagels intensely — Chicago bagels are pretty pathetic. Any former Columbians traveling through Chicago can feel free to camp out in our apartment, provided that they bring some NYC bagels with them." The final doctor writing in was Ijeoma Acholonu. Y'all probably remember her as EJ. "I will be starting my final year in general surgery residency at Howard University Hospital July 1. This will be my seventh year in training since finishing P&S. I did two years of research in between my residency. Talk about prolonging the agony! I cannot wait to move on. I am, however, considering a fellowship." A hearty congratulations to Wendy Hayward and her husband, Rich, who welcomed their first child, Cody Fox Wendling, into the world on May 23. J.T. Knight will teach law this fall at Tulane. I will wind things up by highlighting several of my CC classmates (amazing I can remember after all this time, isn't it?). E-mail from Chris Alexander, who usually sat in the middle of the room: "After stints as a spokesman for various ABC News programs, Barbara Walters and the children's cable network Nickelodeon, I left New York last year and moved to Los Angeles with my partner Michael Ruff. I now handle media relations on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Television, specifically for Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, Judging Amy and an upcoming sitcom starring Reba McEntyre. Highlights of the past year include fielding press calls on the rise and fall of Ally star Robert Downey Jr., and exploring sunny Southern California in my very first car." It was great to receive a letter from Carman 13er Hilary Nover Klein (sat in back of room), who lives in Bethesda, Md., with her husband of eight years, Steve Klein. They have two sons: Jack, born in May, and Sam, who is 5. Hilary received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Washington in August 2000. Hilary passed on information on some Carman 13-mates. Yvonne Knapp (sat near Hilary), who married her student adviser Nikos Andreadis '88 five years ago, received her M.S. in Speech Pathology in 1995 from Teachers College. They have a 2-year old daughter, Sophia, and live on Long Island. Yvonne is working full-time as a mom and part-time at Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat as a speech pathologist. Melissa Raciti married Jon Knapp '91 in 1997. In May 2000, Melissa made partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, an international law firm. In their limited free time, Melissa and Jon restore their circa 1926 house. Melissa says for some reason, she refuses to see the movie, The Money Pit. Alexandria (Arias) McCauley married Scott McCauley in 1998, and their daughter, Catalina, was born in May 2000. After leaving private practice as a labor and employment attorney, Alex went to NBC as manager of labor relations. She is now NBC's director of human resources. Judy Shampanier and her husband, Mike Bowen, are happy to announce that they are homeowners. They welcomed as their first "official" guests Joel Tranter and me (we sat in back of CC classroom, too). They've found themselves a great house, just blocks from the Pelham, N.Y. train station, and they've called in Isaac Astrachan to redesign their 1940s kitchen. It appears that I have come to the end of my column. Please, everyone, zap me some news!
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