The Meeting House, Winter 2009-10

The Friends Academy Magazine for Alumni, Parents & Friends

The Meeting House Winter 2009-10

Students, faculty and staff folded over 3,000 peace cranes in honor of Peace Week.

Friends Academy Board of Trustees, 2009-2010 Co-Presidents Thomas Hawkins ‘78 Scott Rechler Vice President Doris Pailet

Founded 1876

The Friends Academy Mission Founded in 1876 by Gideon Frost for “the children of Friends and those similarly sentimented,” Friends Academy is a Quaker, coeducational, independent, college preparatory school serving 750 students from age three through twelfth grade.

The school’s philosophy is based on the Quaker principles of integrity, simplicity, patience, moderation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and a

Treasurer Francis Ingrassia Secretary Nancy Tilton Board Members Carl Ashkin Cynthia Boults Debra Del Vecchio John R. Gambling ‘69 Albert Granger Elizabeth McCaul Ingrassia Susan Karches Victoria Quesada Moore Brian Mullaney

belief that the silence and simple ministry of the “gathered meeting” brings the presence of God into the midst of busy lives. Friends Academy is committed to developing a diverse community whose members value excellence in learning and growth in

Honorary Trustee John W. Oelsner Head of School William G. Morris Jr.

knowledge and skill, a genuine commitment to service and ethical action, and a realization that every life is to be explored, celebrated, and enjoyed in the spirit of the Religious Society of Friends.

The Meeting House Editorial Board, 2009-2010 Alex Edwards-Bourdrez Amanda Fisk '99 Hayley Kucich ‘03 Penelope Mayer '75 Andrea Miller Pascale Pierre '05 Carl Pozzi Jennifer Woods '99

Friends Academy Alumni Association, 2009-2010 President Peter Stein ’79 Vice President Penelope Wylie Mayer ‘75 Secretary Pamela Foschi Danbusky ‘97 Alumni Board Members Park Benjamin III ‘61 Barbara Shoen Brundige ‘63 Thomas Hawkins ‘78 Elisabeth Dillof Dreizen ‘78 Lydia Fichera ‘84 Kathryn Hawkins Schneider ‘86 Salwa Touma ‘01 President Emeritus James R. Greene ‘74

The Meeting House | Fall 2009

Alumni Office Assistant Development Director for Alumni Relations & Giving Alex Edwards-Bourdrez

From the Head of School William G. Morris Jr. Friends, am happy to be writing to you about our splendid winter at Friends Academy from the perspective of a warm spring day with the sun shining, flowers and trees blossoming, and the wonderful smells of the earth awakening from colder and darker days. If you do not live on Long Island, you missed record snows and the rare double snow day (about which I have received few complaints!).

I love this issue of The Meeting House because it shows the many ways in which our school thrives in the spirit of our Quaker principles, regardless of the season. Two highlights for me are the articles about Peace Week and John Scardina, our Quaker-in-Residence. I think the dramatic cover photo gives you some sense of how we brought to life community cooperation and hope by making thousands of origami “peace cranes.” The story of Sadako Sasaki was our inspiration, but the commitment of our students to make a difference in the world energized our actions. Likewise, John Scardina is helping us deepen our Quaker faith and practice through his patient and encouraging work with all members of our community.

You will also see how we recognize our responsi-

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bilities as global citizens through our exchange program with the students from Shanghai or the service trip to El Salvador. Indeed, stories of service reverberate throughout this issue.

Nothing underscores the enduring quality of students’ experiences at FA more than the way our alumni let their lives speak after graduation. The articles about Andrew Dott '60 and maternity care for uninsured immigrants, Mike Gordon '74 and energy efficiency, and Sarah Calderon '92 and the use of arts to lift the spirits of students from under-resourced areas of New York City, show that the testimonies of simplicity, service, equality, stewardship of the environment, and justice inform their lives each day. We live in a complex world where we are challenged by the question, “Can individuals make a difference,” a query that Andrew, Mike, and Sarah answer with a resounding “Yes!” May their good works inspire each of us to find a way to serve other people.

Enjoy! As I stated in the last issue, Andrea Miller and I both welcome your comments (bill_morris@fa.org andrea_miller@fa.org) about the new Meeting House. Happy spring to all of you!

From The Archives: May 24, 1952 – 75th Anniversary

Inset, baked goodies fill tables set up for a celebration of the Friends Academy 75th anniversary on May 24, 1952.

Below, a singing group regales students on one of the Friends fields.

courtesy of friends academy archives

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

In Harmony Students perform at the Upper School Xxxxxxxxx winter concert {Xxxxxxxx.} on December 10, 2009.

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AMANDA FISK/FRIENDS ACADEMY XXXXXXXXX

inside Vol. 46, No. 2

Around the Quad. 4 Ten families host 2nd bi-annual Chinese home-stay.

Middle School mathletes take 2nd in county championship.

Making science fun in the 5th and 6th grades.

1,2 ... skip a few... 100! The 100th day celebrations.

Crossing borders for service and culture.

Friends Academy helps Haiti with their "hearts" and more.

Holiday fund-raising roundup Peace Week 2010: A community exercise of cooperation and hope.

The Arts. 12 Three-ring Carnival!

The Winter Concert Series

Feature Story. 14 Lyrical testimony: New Quaker-in-Residence John Scardina offers insights into Quakerism.

Sports: Go FA! 18 Team goals propelled ahead of personal goals. New school records.

Championship wins. Confident, poised and scrappy...

It's the winter sport season at Friends.

Alumni Profiles. 25 Andrew Dott '60: Caring for the Uninsured Migrant Mike Gordon '74: Energy efficiency pioneer Sarah Calderon '92: Innovative Leadership in Arts and Education

Class Notes. 30 In Memoriam. 48 The Meeting House Staff Editor Andrea Miller, Director of Communications and Marketing Writers Polly Duke, Alex Edwards-Bourdrez, Hayley Kucich '03, Geoff Nelson, Andrea Miller, Jennifer Ryan Woods '99 Photographers Phil Cicciari, AJ Congero, Michael Damm, Polly Duke, Alex Edwards-Bourdrez, Amanda Fisk, Dan Kriesberg, Angie Martin

on the cover

PEACE SIGNS. Peace cranes hang in the Art Gallery of the Dolan Center. During Peace Week from Jan. 19 to 22, students, faculty and staff folded over 3,000 of the origami creations as part of a school-wide community experience. Amanda Fisk/Friends Academy

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Around the Quad Cultural Exchange

POLLY DUKE/friends academy

Chinese exchange students visit sixth graders during class.

East meets West Ten FA families host 2nd bi-annual Chinese home-stay

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n January 30, 2010, ten juniors from the High School Affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai, China, arrived at Newark Airport to begin their two week home-stay with ten different Friends Academy families. Accompanied by their chaperone, the students arrived right on time and hopped in a school bus for the hour-long ride to Locust Valley.

Chinese and American students had begun communicating via e-mail during the weeks prior to their arrival, and everyone – Americans and Chinese alike – eagerly awaited the first meet-and-greet at the Dolan Center parking lot that Saturday

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

night. By the following day, at a festive welcome brunch hosted by FA host family Yvonne and Steven Feinstein, the various newly cemented ChineseAmerican connections were already blossoming.

The American and Chinese students, in particular, were forming close bonds. And home-stay parents were excitedly swapping best ideas for family outings with the Chinese during their New York stay.

For the following two weeks, during

The Statfeld family and their guest, "Ashley" at the Islanders game.

Around the Quad

Clockwise, host families meet their Chinese guests at a brunch given by the Feinstein family: Upper School Chinese teacher Hui-Lin Lin and host parent Zelda Lee; host parent Yvonne Feinstein, and World Languages and Culture Head Polly Duke, who sponsored the Chinese chaperone.

the school day, each Chinese student spent part of the day shadowing the FA student within his/her home-stay family, and part of the day helping Middle and Upper School Chinese teachers in the classroom.

In this way, the Chinese could experience some of our curriculum while also giving back to our community both culturally and linguistically. I heard from both math and music teachers that it was a great joy to have these students audit their courses during this short time. Likewise, due to their presence, our FA students who study Chinese benefited from their presence in the language classroom. For example, in the Middle School Chinese program, the exchange students pretended they were shopping at a market while Middle Schoolers pretended to be selling their wares. This created a fabulous laboratory for learning: with real language exchange taking place and demonstrations of the kind of price haggling that is common in Chinese open markets.

During the first weekend of the home-stay, the Upper School Chinese teacher, Hui-Lin Lin,

and I took all of the Chinese students and any interested Americans into the city for an all-day experience. As was to become a theme for the remainder of the trip, the threat of a major snow storm impeded our morning trip to the Statue of Liberty. However, we were able to take in the Broadway musical "Billy Elliot," walk through Times Square, visit the "Top of the Rock" with its fabulous views of the city, eat at a Szechuan restaurant in midtown, and shop at Best Buy before taking the LIRR back to the North Shore. The following Monday, FA host mother and native Chinese Zelda Lee generously chaperoned the Chinese students as they visited Columbia University, Ground Zero, Chinatown, and Century Twenty-One for some low-cost shopping.

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The following evening, we were given a fabulous night with the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, thanks to another FA host family, Charles Wang and Nancy Li. Watching a very exciting hockey game from a sky box while eating a delicious meal with host families and Chinese students was definitely one of the highlights of the home-stay. ( The Islanders won in overtime!)

Snow struck late that evening and the following day – so much so that school was canceled on both Wednesday and Thursday. This was wonderful because it allowed host families to spend all of the final days with their Chinese students. However, we had planned a major Chinese New Year celebration at school on their last full day with us – Thursday. The Chinese students were meant to perform in the Dolan Center in full costume along with FA Chinese classes; all members of the Lower School were also to wear red in honor of the Chinese New Year. Fortunately, we could still meet that Thursday evening for a lovely farewell dinner at the home of another FA host family, Lori and Gary Kaminsky, where the exchange students went ahead and performed their rendition of the New Year story. While every host family and many of the American students and faculty who had come to know the Chinese students were very sad to see them go, all eyes are now turned toward the return trip to China in April 2011.

Americans who participated in this year's home-stay will be able to stay with their guest's family next year in Shanghai over spring break. Meanwhile, they can stay in close touch and improve their linguistic and cultural proficiency via e-mail as they count the days!

Sampling the "authenticity" of Szechuan food in New York City.

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Around the Quad Sharing Science

Making science fun From left: Nick Marchese (6th); Patrick Lundy (7th); Sahill Massand (8th); Bhavin Vaid (8th); Zach Sideris (7th); Cyrus Holder (7th); Elijah Rechler (7th); and Dennis Lin (6th).

Middle School mathletes take 2nd in county contest

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orking as a team and as individuals, Friends Academy Middle School students tackled some hefty and advanced problem-solving at the Nassau County Mathcounts Competition to capture second place and qualify for the NY state competition. The team of Sahill Massand (8th) , Bhavin Vaid (8th), Patrick Lundy (7th), and Dennis Lin (6th) took on almost 100 math problems that required several steps to solve. This was the best finish the school has had in the past 15 years. Massand was one of the top 10 students in the competition, while Lin placed 11th and Vaid placed 18th.

The competition, held at Hofstra University, lasted two hours. “It was exciting... in a mathematical kind-of-a-way," said 7th grader Elijah Rechler. Sixth grader Nick Marchese, as well as 7th graders Zach Sideris and Cyrus Holder, also competed.

Coach and Middle School math teacher Bill Garry was extremely proud of his team.

“This is a talented group of kids that can compete with the best in Nassau County,” said Garry.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

Fifth grader Nicholas Sequino models his massaging backpack at the Invention Convention.

5th and 6th graders learn valuable problem-solving skills with inventions and experiments

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ove over Rube Goldberg... welcome to the Invention Convention in the 5th Grade and Science Share in the 6th.

From the "Freeze Alert" by Lauren LeoGrande, which sensed how much hot water is left in your shower, to Peter Duke's "VertVerre phone," a musical scale built out of glass bottles and water, on which he played "Ode to Joy," fifth graders thought about simple, everyday problems that they could solve with inventions.

"This was a collaborative effort with Kim Soscie's social studies program," said Lower School science teacher Meghan Stott. "In social studies, the students learned about past inventions, and in science, we talked about the inventive process and looked at problem-solving and brainstorming techniques."

In the 6th grade, students spent a month designing experiments to compare various consumer products and determine which one made the most

DAN KRIESBERG/friends academy

Sixth grader Colleen Marshall explains her study and experiments with a stain remover.

sense to purchase.

"The purpose of the Science Share is for students to understand the nature of science and how science solves problems through experiments," said Middle School science teacher Dan Kriesberg.

Similar to the cross-curricular nature of the 5th grade invention unit, the Science Share is part of the environmental sustainable curriculum. "It is an opportunity for the students to put testimonies such as integrity, equality, community, simplicity and stewardship into practical uses, " said Kriesberg.

Around the Quad

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1, 2... Skip A Few...

99, 100!

AMANDA FISK/FRIENDS ACADEMY

From left: Will Kaminsky (5th), Ian Balser (1st) and Liam Jachetta (2nd), help make sandwiches.

Feeding the hungry and forging family bonds

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ntroduced during the 2007-08 school year, the Family Community Service project brings FA families together each month to make sandwiches for POTS in the Bronx and the Glen Cove INN. Last year, FA families delivered over 3,200 sandwiches as well as collecting non-perishable goods.

Chess moves in the Lower and Middle Schools

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riends Academy students proved their chess prowess once more in regional and scholastic matches.

On Jan. 23, Alex Pakh (7th) took 5th place in the Long Island Chess Nuts All Star section. This division is open to players up to 24 years old. Fourth grader Steven Sun took 3rd place in the Elementary Section, which is open to K-6 grades. Emily (4th) and Jeanne (2nd) Rauff won 4th and 6th place awards, respectively, in the Girls K-8 section.

On Jan. 29, Alex also won first place in the 5th-9th grade division of the ISE tournament held at East Woods School.

AMANDA FISK/FRIENDS ACADEMY

Counting was all the rage in Pre-Kindergarten through first grade classes on the 100th day. Above, the First grade sits beneath their 100th Day project: 100 Reasons Why We Love to Come to Friends Academy! Middle: Eric Afzelius dons his 100th day hat and sunglasses.

Below: Kindergartners mix up 1,400 snacks that were soon shared and devoured. Children also estimated lengths of 100 paperclips, snap cubes and popsicle sticks. And before the grand snack finale, they discovered how many times they could write their names in 100 seconds.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Around the Quad

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Crossing borders for service, culture

Twelve FA students travel to El Salvador to help build homes and more "Hearts for Haiti" raised $800 in the Upper School.

Friends Academy helps Haiti with their "hearts" and more

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hrough bake sales and benefits, students, faculty and staff at Friends Academy have helped to raise nearly $4,000 for survivors of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.

Upon hearing of the tragedy unfolding over 1,500 miles away, the FA community immediately began making posters and sending out e-mails urging all to donate money and clothing. Sophomores Alexandra White and Katie Bauer are organizers of the Orphanage Outreach and coordinated a clothing drive. “We are donating our clothes to an orphanage in Haiti called Maranatha, located directly outside of Port au Prince. Originally the orphanage housed 250 children, but because of the earthquake, there will be hundreds more kids coming to this orphanage,” said White.

Other efforts included: n Upper School "Action Day" fundraiser, called Hearts for Haiti: $800 n Sixth grade breakfast sale: $450 n Fifth Grade bake sale: $600 n Lower School (daycare through fifth grade) created "Bricks of Hope." To help rebuild Haiti one brick at a time, Lower School children sent in money for paper bricks and then decorated them: $2,200.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

ANGIE MARTIN/friends academy

Gabrielle Rechler and Alix Liss are excitedly greeted by a few of the children from San Jose Villanueva.

By Geoff Nelson Upper School History teacher and Co-coordinator Community Service

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t is a Wednesday in February and we are smack in the middle of the town square in San Jose Villanueva, El Salvador – a town that seems written by a Latin American Hemingway with its washed-out stone facades, low-lying architecture and simple truth.

The day is hot, moving like a Fahrenheit parabola between cool sunrise, blazing midday and a temperate evening rush hour. Friends Academy students mix easily with Salvadorian teenagers in the noon heat. Sodas are passed around as we pick the paint from our fingernails and turn back to the mural springing to life on the wall behind us. The mural

ANGIE MARTIN/friends academy

Friends students built lunch tables and painted murals in the town square of San Jose Villanueva.

Around the Quad lacks a coherent narrative – a pastiche of for a truck that was supposed to be on planned images mixing with the improv site minutes later. This shared waiting work of local children – but, like the trip, experience with our new Salvadorian cothe second layer of meaning becomes the workers and friends provided perhaps the important one. For the twelve Friends most winning moments of the trip. We students sat on a postand the four card hillside, chaperones, sharing the line sandwiches, between the water and work we are mango, doing and waiting for a the human truck full of relationships concrete that growing bemight never fore our eyes arrive. becomes as Most days blurry as it is the students powerful. would Top: Christain Curran, Anthony Russo, Brian Hom, Meredith Wagner Forgoing satellite out and Sarah Gross. Middle: Justin Brown, Alexandra White, Sophia Toles, traditional to differErika Vidal and Dana Schlanger. Bottom row: Amy Mulcahy, Geoff Nelson, Alix Liss, Gabrielle Rechler, Angie Martin and Peter Dybdahl. vacations, ent service Friends sites around Academy students volunteered for a week town, splitting into smaller groups and of hard labor and community service performing diverse tasks. Helping teach work in El Salvador. Led by Upper School English classes, mixing concrete for Spanish teacher Angie Martin, we flew to lunch tables, working on our mural, or San Salvador before busing 45-minutes back on the hillside carrying blocks and to the retreat center within a quick drive pillars were some of the options each of San Jose Villanueva. Each morning morning. Our daily full group reunion, began with a simple breakfast and ended sometimes at dusk, caught in the movewith a hearty dinner. The pickier eaters ment of locals from work and school, confronted plantains, beans and rice and brought stories of people met, things other traditional Salvadorian staples with constructed and carried, of work finished. caution and sometimes excitement. Daily On the final night, in the midst of a service work ranged from the artistic, hectic town celebration where the finour mural, to the physically exhausting, ished mural was on display, our students carrying concrete pillars down hillsides said goodbye to their Salvadorian friends and flights of earthen stairs, where they through tears, with hugs and our learned would later become the homes of the Salvadorian “handshake,” a hand-slap people working beside us. followed by a fist-pound. As our bus The work proved challenging, testpulled away from town, it was clear the ing our mettle and our patience as we trip and the people had left as much of adjusted to the tempo of Central Ameria mark on us as we had on them. Our can work projects. The mural came alive, work, this harder vacation, turned deeply but until the last day lacked the varnish personal and the dim lights of bare bulbs to protect it from the rain. Our work from the houses on the hillsides of town carrying building supplies found us faded but certainly did not go out. sweating and huffing, only to wait hours

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Lower School students, teachers and parents organized a holiday toy drive and donated the items to the INN of Glen Cove.

Students reach out to their communities

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rom care cards to Thanksgiving food drives to Halloween treat bags for children in hospitals, to work with a local men's shelter, FA students reached out in all sorts of ways over the holiday season.

In the Lower School, students sent handmade cards to people in local nursing homes, hospitals and veteran centers, in conjunction with Care Cards, a project started

by Haley Kucich '03, while she was here at FA. For Thanksgiving, classes brainstormed items that would make a complete meal for a needy family.

"Each child in every class was assigned an item and we filled an entire mini school bus with food and paper goods that we delivered to the food pantry at St. Patrick's in Glen Cove," said Kindergarten teacher and Lower School Community Service coordinator Jaimee Connors.

In the Middle School, students helped donate toys to the Oyster Bay Presbyterian Church and brought over supplies to the Glen Cove's Men Shelter.

The Upper School-sponsored Save the Children fund-raiser helped collect almost $1,000.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Around the Quad

Peace Week 2010 A community exercise of cooperation and hope

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

Alexandria Hutzel (4th) reads aloud about the history of peace cranes as Mya Guiler-Papin (3rd) and Olivia Mezaros (8th) listen.

By Alex Edwards-Bourdrez Assistant Development Director/Alumni Relations & Giving

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hat is your take on “peace”?

This simple question was the spark for a video filmed and edited by senior Courtney Lenoir, daughter of Susan Haack Lenoir ’81. Juxtaposing responses from students, teachers and administrators with interviews and video clips featuring peace crusaders Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, as well as the likes of Rock superstars Bono and Paul McCartney, Courtney’s project was shown in the Upper School assembly that kicked off Friends Academy’s Fifth Annual All-School Peace Week in January.

Assemblies in the Lower and Middle schools also prompted reflections. Each Kindergartner offered a “wish for peace,” ranging from “I wish that I could buy toys for kids who don’t have toys” to “I wish no one would pollute the earth.” Librarian Judy James declared that her stance for peace was based on a belief that “all human beings

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Above, Upper School peace wishes hang on on "peace trees" that were read by Lower Schoolers during a chess benefit.

Left, Middle and Upper School art teacher John Regan and Thomas Gambino (11th) get extra comfortable while making their cranes.

Around the Quad

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We folded in all shapes and sizes. In the middle, a photo of one of the completed cranes by senior Jessica Batalitzky. Her photo was on display near the 3.000 cranes that were strung from the ceiling of the Art Gallery.

deserve to live in a peaceful world”; Courtney reflected that “the largest obstacle to peace is injustice, which creates conditions that drive people to take desperate measures”; and junior Kira Garry stated simply, “I believe in peace because I care.”

Two themes ring through: peace grows out of an exercise of caring for others; peace is dependent on commitment and cooperation among individuals and between communities. Ninth grader Leah Ansel summed it up: “Peace Week is all about coming together.”

The four days following Martin Luther King Jr. Day engaged the entire Friends community in a concentration of cooperative and altruistic activities. Some 80 students school-wide played a part in conceiving, organizing and leading such varied initiatives as the third grade’s creation of a mural inspired by their study of Martin Luther King Jr.; programmed Meeting for Worship in each division; writing letters to congressional representatives about nuclear disarmament and other peace issues; Lower School students making sandwiches for the hungry; sixth graders participating in a program about bullying at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County in Glen Cove; a day-long public reading by students of all age levels of the names of service men and women killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; students and faculty singing together spontaneously at an open microphone during free periods; a campus-wide collection of donations for Haiti; writing and sharing personal pledges of actions that will bring peace; and reading and reflecting on Quaker testimonies of peace, truth, stewardship and simplicity to begin each day.

Peace Week’s largest single event brought together some 700 students in grades 2 through 12, along with their teachers, in the field house on Wednesday to work in student-led groups to fold origami “peace

cranes.” The project was inspired by the Japanese child survivor of Hiroshima, Sadako Sasaki. Just a toddler when the bomb was dropped, Sadako was eventually hospitalized at 12 years old with leukemia.

A close friend reminded Sadako of the Japanese saying that one who folds 1,000 cranes is granted a wish. She set herself to the task, using whatever paper she could get her hands on.

For a full hour, Friends Academy

students folded well over 1,000 cranes. A total of 3,000 were completed by the end of the week – paper and instructions were available outside the dining hall through Friday – and the cranes now hang in the Dolan Center Art Gallery.

Student leaders began the tradition of Peace Week five years ago. The Student Life Committee, with representatives from the three divisions, evolved to hatch and implement plans, which eventually included an all-school hands-on project on one of the days. Last year’s Peace Week project produced the enormous Peace Quilt stamped with the hand print of every student and faculty member.

Reports conflict about whether or not Sadako succeeded in folding 1,000 cranes before she died, but millions have carried on her legacy. A memorial statue of Sadako stands in the Hiroshomi Peace Memorial, with this inscription on its base: "This is our cry. This is our prayer.

Peace in the world."

The Friends Academy community echoed that cry, fervently and in harmony, from January 19 through 22.

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

Surrounded by her community group mates, seventh grader Julia Newitt works on her peace crane contribution.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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The Arts

Three-ring

Carnival!

AMANDA FISK photos/friends academy

It's an all-star performance as everyone gets into the act, literally.

80 students from all three divisions unite in colorful and vibrant rendition of Carnival!

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alloons, clowns, acrobatics, tennis balls?! Nothing was slow-moving in this full-cast 80-student performance of the classic musical, Carnival!

As the curtain rises, a few melodic notes from "Love Makes The World Go Round" drift from the concertina of Jacqueline (Mackenzie Norris, 11th).

Enter Lili (Katherine Sands, 11th), young and idealistic – and in search of a job. Instantly captivated by the characters and color of carnival life, Lili is quickly drawn into the fast-moving emotional tug-of-war between magician extraordinaire Marco the Magnificent (Dustin Lee, 12th), bewitching Rosalie (Samantha Nesfield, 12th) and humble puppeteer Paul (Eliot Turkiew, 12th).

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Above, junior Katie Sands as Lili, joins 4th graders Vanessa Quinland, Conor Dineen, Ellis Collier and Christian Nesfield, who play Paul's puppets.

Left, Marco (Dustin Lee, 12th) and Rosalie (Samantha Nesfield, 12th).

The Arts

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Winter 2009

Winter Concert Series Lower School

AMANDA FISK photos/friends academy

Puppet Carrot Top (Conor Dineen, 4th) commiserates with Paul (Eliot Turkiew, 12th).

In and around the evolving love story, director Tracey Foster carefully constructed a spinning and dazzling display of visual human effects.

From aerial acrobatics atop careening silks to 400 tumbling tennis balls, students displayed a mastery of juggling, climbing and overall choreography.

Stunts and musical acts provided opportunities for the entire cast to get involved in numerous scenes.

"I love it when we have the opportunity to do allschool musicals. We had students in 4th through 12th grade participating and it was wonderful to see so many members of our community coming together to sing and dance and tell this charming story," said Foster.

Choreographer Kimo Sibbet worked with the students on everything from juggling to aerial spinning on the silks to gymnastic leaps and bounds.

"Everyone accepted responsibility and worked hard. The students reached out to each other and there was so much joy and respect in the room that everyone was sorry to see the production end," added Foster.

Middle School Paul's sister, Jacqueline (Mackenzie Norris, 11th) regales the audience with tales of Carnival life.

Upper School

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

Students from all three divisions performed their winter concerts: Lower School: Dec. 18, Middle School: Dec. 8 and Upper School: Dec. 10.

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Feature Story New Quaker-in-Residence offers insights into Quakerism

Lyrical testimony P

By Jennifer Ryan Woods '99

reserving its commitment to the faith and practice of Quakerism is of paramount importance to the Friends Academy community. This means not only teaching the Quaker principles of integrity, simplicity, patience and moderation, but also inviting new voices into the community that can offer fresh ways to help students, families and faculty better understand and integrate these values into their daily lives.

The most recent voice to join the FA community belongs to John Scardina, who recently assumed the newly created role of Quaker-inResidence (QIR). The goal of the QIR is to provide several functions, all of which serve to enhance the school’s collective understanding of Quakerism by bringing a new perspective to the community. The functions of the QIR include introducing new and creative ways to boost the spiritual life of the community, offering insights about Quaker processes and procedures, helping to facilitate discussions about Quakerism and looking for ways to overcome the challenges involved in integrating Quakerism into the school community on an ongoing basis.

Scardina has a long history of working at Quaker schools. His first position at a Quaker school was in 1978, working at Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie, NY. At Oakwood, he worked as a teacher and Director of Studies, overseeing the school’s academic program and implement-

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

John Scardina joined the FA community in January as the first Quaker-in-Residence.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Feature Story

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Quaker-In-Residence: John Scardina ing an intersession program at the school. will be largely focused during his time at FA. According to Scardina, being involved in that One of his main goals will be to develop a Quaker community for the first time felt like Lower school Quakerism curriculum, which something akin to kindred spirits. he is in the early stages of developing.

“I felt like I had found a spiritual home,” For those who haven’t had the chance to he said, adding, “I have been involved with meet Scardina in person yet, they have most Quaker schools ever since.” It was this experi- certainly heard about him and his penchant ence that prompted Scardina, who was raised for bringing music into the classroom. A a Catholic, to begin the process of becoming singer and guitar player, who also plays in a a Quaker, eventually joining Poughkeepband, Scardina can often be found hosting sie Monthly Meeting, a sing-a-longs for the Lower meeting (like Matinecock school children as a way of Monthly Meeting) that is communicating many of "For me the thing part of New York Yearly the Quaker principles. about singing that Meeting.

Scardina is a big believer is most appealing After working at in integrating music into is that it is a way to Oakwood for eight years, the learning process. “I build community Scardina’s next role was at use music as a teaching Westtown School, in tool,” he says. “The idea and can be an Westtown, PA, also a of musical intelligence is artistic experience Quaker school, where he very intriguing to me as for everyone." served as the Dean of it engages students in the Students and Director learning process.” of the Residential Life One song in particular Program, and oversaw counseling and health that he has been sharing with Lower School services from ’86 to ’88. students is the song about George Fox, who In the two decades since then, Scardina has founded the Religious Society of Friends – ofworked with children and adults throughten now referred to as Quakers – in the 1600s. out the tri-state area and Pennsylvania in The song is a great musical introduction to a variety of capacities, including school a lot of the Quaker testimony, Scardina says. psychologist, coach, consultant, parent Much of the chorus includes references to educator and workshop leader. During this “walking in the light,” in other words, entime he created customized programs that couraging people to listen for God's guidance. catered to each school’s specific needs and (See side bar on page 17 for the complete lyrics.) interests, conducted workshops for chilHe says, “Quakers had a somewhat amdren and adults, organized student retreats, bivalent relationship with music initially as performed psycho-educational evaluations it was thought not to be a part of the 'plain and facilitated parenting classes. Many of the folk' tradition. However, that has changed schools Scardina has been involved with have enormously over time.” been Friends schools, including West Chester Scardina says he is interested to see whether Friends School, Goshen Friends School, singing Quaker-related songs in the classMedia-Providence Friends School, Brooklyn rooms is something that FA community will Friends School and Westbury Friends School, embrace to a greater extent in the future. where he eventually made a connection that “That would be an interesting challenge and led him to Friends Academy. something I would love to encourage.”

Scardina officially landed at FA just after “For me the thing about singing that is New Year’s. While the role of the QIR is most appealing is that it is a way to build still new both to him and FA he has already community, and can be an artistic experience piqued a lot of interest from the community. for everyone,” he says.

Since he started, he has managed to make So far, Scardina’s musical toolbox has the rounds to various classrooms, mostly in Continued on Page 16 the Lower and Middle schools – where he

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

John Scardina discusses Quakerism with a Middle School class.

Quakerism at Friends Academy Teachers and Students for Quaker Education

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ne of Friends’ long-standing Quaker committees is TASQUE, which stands for Teachers and Students for Quaker Education. The focus of the TASQUE committee is on the spiritual and ethical issues of the school.

Throughout the year, TASQUE discusses the most effective ways of expressing the importance of Quaker philosophies in school. It is also one of the groups that organizes the Founder’s Day festivities, which includes a skit about Quaker values. The Lower, Middle and Upper schools each have their own TASQUE committees.

We Are The Community Helpers

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nother group committed to enforcing the importance of community service is WATCH which stands for We Are The Community Helpers. The WATCH committee encourages and organizes student involvement in the various community service projects at local organizations and on campus. These have included a music therapy program for mentally challenged adults, a basketball program for mentally challenged kids, and afterschool tutoring at a local Boys and Girls Club. WATCH also hosts activities and assemblies in school, designed to heighten awareness about reaching out to people in need.

– Jennifer Ryan Woods '99

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Feature Story

16

Quaker-In-Residence: John Scardina

MARK ATKINSON FOR friends academy

Middle School students attend Meeting for Worship each Wednesday for 40 minutes.

Quakerism at Friends Academy The Quaker Life Committee

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newer committee that has been instrumental in creating the QIR position as well as developing a variety of other Quaker-related initiatives is The Quaker Life Committee. This committee, which was established in June 2008, is made up of students, faculty, administrators and parents, and was formed to create and implement Quaker initiatives.

Quaker Meeting for Worship

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f course, another integral part of the FA Quaker experience that extends to all students and faculty – as well as any parents that choose to attend -- is Quaker Meeting For Worship. Once a week, students in the Middle School and Upper School pay a visit to the Matinecock Meeting House. The Lower School students have a meeting on campus. For a period of 40 minutes the group is urged to sit in silent reflection in order to gain insight and wisdom. People who feel moved to speak are welcome to stand up and address the group, though there should be periods of silence in between speakers so that attendees can fully reflect on what has been said.

– Jennifer Ryan Woods '99

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

Quaker-in-Residence John Scardina shared songs of the Underground Railroad with an 8th grade history class.

really intrigued with the idea of having a spiritual practice in general… It’s been really been a big hit with the students he has been wonderful to be in there and see that curiosworking with. “The students have been ity about a spiritual practice, or what people wonderful and I’ve had a great time… I think believe.” they are intrigued with the idea of using While Scardina’s roles at FA are likely to music with song and discussion.” evolve over time, he does have several items In addition to incorpoon his near-term agenda. rating music into the learnThis quarter he worked ing process, Scardina has with a seventh grade class "... I have always several other ideas about to reenact a marriage been intrigued with how to get students more ceremony involving FA how the message involved with Quakerfounder Gideon Frost. The goes home." ism and achieve a greater students will be using arunderstanding of Quaker chival materials “to create practices. a real and experiential ap“I don’t want to do things that are redunproach to Quaker ways. It will be an organic dant. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” experience for the kids,” he says. he says adding, “I would much rather have There was also a Parent Council meeting things grow organically.” where Scardina had the chance to meet and Scardina says he will determine his direcgreet many of the FA parents. “The kids are tion by taking cues from students and teachgetting a lot of messages about Friends’ pracers and from his experiences in the classroom. tices… In any Quaker school I have worked “Let’s start with the teachers and the students with I have always been intrigued by how the and let it evolve into something from there,” message goes home.” He adds, “Once we have he says. an audience of parents here, I think a great One thing that Scardina has found in his challenge will be to have them participate brief time at FA is a lot of interest among somewhat in understanding [Quakerism] students in the spiritual aspect of Quakerism, and looking at the Quaker values the school and religion in general. During interviews represents. “ with a seventh grade class and two ninth Based on his short-term evaluation of grade classes, he found, “The students are how well FA has done integrating Quaker

Continued from Page 15

Feature Story

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Quaker-In-Residence: John Scardina practices and principles into the community, Scardina says he has already witnessed a number of successes – topping the list is the recent school-wide Peace Week series of events.

Some of this year’s Peace Week was centered around the Hiroshima bombing, in particular a young Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki, who became sick and eventually died due to radiation from the bombing. The school made origami peace cranes in commemoration of Sasaki, who had undertaken to fold 1,000 paper cranes while she was ill, believing that if she did the Gods would grant her one wish that was sure to come true.

“Peace week was a good introduction to how the community works together as a whole. There was a real sense of the school coming together,” says Scardina who added that as an observer of the Peace Week activities and events, “I was very intrigued with how people really worked together.”

Another area where Scardina believes the school has done well is involving Quakerism into the curriculum and making Quaker principles significant to the community – despite the fact that Quaker students or faculty are in the minority. Logistically finding ways to effectively bring the awareness of Quakerism and Quaker principles to a largely non-Quaker community can be challenging.

And even though there is enormous historical significance for Quakers in the area, there are not a lot of Quakers apparent in the culture here, he says. However, “People at FA are very open to the idea of realizing that this is part of a long and honored tradition of the Friends education.”

Based on his experiences sitting in on ninth grade Quakerism classes and attending various meetings for the school’s Quaker-related committee meetings, Scardina says, “FA is very integrated in terms of the number of different ways that Quakerism is involved.”

A challenge that Scardina says often exists within Quaker schools, as well is in life, is finding ways to bridge the gap between money and simplicity. This is a point that is particularly notable on the North Shore of Long Island because of the affluence that exists here.

The George Fox Song Words and lyrics by Sydney Carter

There's a light that is shining in the heart of a man, It's the light that was shining when the world began.

There's a light that is shining in the Turk and the Jew, and a light that is shining, friend, in me and in you.

{Chorus:

Walk in the light, wherever you may be, Walk in the light, wherever you may be!

"In my old leather breeches and my shaggy, shaggy locks, I am walking in the glory of the light," said Fox.} With a book and a steeple, with a bell and a key, They would bind it forever but they can't (said he).

Oh, the book it will perish and the steeple will fall, But the light will be shining at the end of it all.

{Chorus} "If we give you a pistol, will you fight for the Lord?"

"But you can't kill the Devil with a gun or a sword!"

"Will you swear on the Bible?" "I will not!" said he, "For the truth is more holy than the book to me."

{Chorus}

George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

There's an ocean of darkness and I drown in the night Till I come through the darkness to the ocean of light.

For the light is forever and the light it is free, "And I walk in the glory of the light," said he.

According to Scardina, “Quakers are well familiar with the idea of affluence,” adding that many early Quakers were wealthy merchants and many Nantucket whaling ships were owned by Quakers.

However, regardless of religion or region, “There is an inherent tension between affluence and simplicity,” Scardina says, asserting that wealth need not impede the expression of Quaker values.

"Money can confuse what's really important in life and that’s true for anyone in any culture,” he says adding, “It’s an issue no one is ever going to solve. You hope people will make decisions about their wealth and their lifestyles that have some sense of service, some sense of giving back and some sense of

the global community.”

Scardina has participated in many discussions about simplicity. In fact, simplicity was the theme of this year's Founders’ Day celebration on April 16. It is events such as this which have led Scardina to the conclusion that Friends has been making a sincere effort to practice Quaker principles.

Friends Academy is likely to face many challenges and successes in its continual effort to enhance the spiritual and practical understanding of Quakerism within the community. But one certainty is that Scardina’s experience and perspective are a welcome addition and is sure to help Friends along this path.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Sports: Go FA! {Winter 2009-10}

unmi/friends academy

MIKE DAMM, iyatunde majekod

Team goals propelled ahead of personal goals.

New school records. Championship wins.

Confident, poised and scrappy...

It's the winter sport season at Friends.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Sports: Go FA! Varsity Girls Basketball

JV Girls Basketball

mike damm/friends academy

mike damm/friends academy

Top: Coach Colleen Hughes, Tara Judge, Sarah Gross, Margot Mangiarotti, Meredith Mangiarotti, Rose Mangiarotti, Colleen Stack, Marissa Reyes, Coach David Gatoux. Bottom: Kristina Kim, Reoni Mapp, Holly Constants, Amanda Edwards, Marissa Tidona, Jalisa Clark and Dana Schlenger.

Young team meets challenges head on

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he Varsity Girls Basketball team completed its season with an overall record of 7 wins and 11 losses.

Although on the surface one might not describe this as a winning season, the coaching staff would disagree. First of all, preparation for this year’s season began for a majority of the team by participating in the Plainedge Summer League.

Following the leadership of our only senior, and despite the loss of five quality players from last year, this year’s team developed into a cohesive unit. The 14 dedicated girls, seven of whom were newcomers to the team, including three 9th graders and two 8th graders, developed great team chemistry. The team proved to be resilient throughout the long winter months, peaking at the end of the season by winning two of its final three games. In the loss to East Rockaway in the County Championship Game, the girls competed with great resolve and effectively executed a game plan, which demonstrated that with continued development, this will be a team capable of competing with the top programs on Long Island.

Congratulations to two of our team members for their recognition by The Nassau County Coaches Association.

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Top: Casey Quinn, Erika Vidal, Lauriane Pinto, Taylor McGowan, Claudia Ratner, Kelsey Denihan. Bottom: Sophia Toles, Jeanne Budd, Alix Heffron, Molly Sullivan and Frances Hilbert. Not pictured: Coach Jaime Conzelman, Coach Amanda Longobucco, Alana Stein and managers Jessica Babicz and Abby Gluck.

Winning season capped by exciting, final home game

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he 2009-2010 JV girl's basketball team had an extremely successful season. With an 11-6 final record, under the direction of head coach Jaime Conzelman and assistant coach Amanda Longobucco, the team should be proud of the first winning season in quite a few years.

Working hard and having fun were the two main factors for success this year. Another member of the JV girls family finally joined the team late, when coach Conzelman went on maternity leave in the middle of January and gave birth to a baby boy named Chase. In addition to a number of quality wins, highlights of the season included a 51-point outburst at Glen Cove, and a basket scored at the buzzer to solidify the win in the last home game of the season. The girls on this team set a great foundation for the success of all future JV girl's basketball teams.

– Coach Jamie Conzelman

– Coach David Gatoux

individual awards COUNTY FINALS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM – MEREDITH MANGIAROTTI AND REONI MAPP SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – MEREDITH MANGIAROTTI ALL CONFERENCE – REONI MAPP

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Sports: Go FA! Varsity Winter Track

sports in the MS

mike damm/friends academy

Top: Coach Franklin Thompson, Kira Garry, Brian Hom, Ryan Rosmarin, Chris Crowley, Alison Kennedy, Gabrielle McPhaul-Guerrier. Bottom: Amanda Lamothe, Iyatunde Majekodumni, Linda Negron and Jessica Granger. Not pictured: Quentin Dolan, Brandon Leeds, Catherine O'Connell-Stingi, Allyn Toles and Cole Valentino.

AJ CONGERO/friends academy

Top: Trevor Salerno, Lorenzo LaPlaca, Andrew Becker (hidden), Coach Peter Gordon (FA parent), Nick Schneider, Perry Gordon, Jake Sheblein, Coach AJ Congero, Harry Nicols, Will Schneider, Andrew Greene, Coach Marc Greene (FA parent) and Jack Mangan. Kneeling: Teddy Ingrassia, Nick Horonosky, Eric Freidlander, Connor Lavin, John Connoly, Kole Rossi, Cammy Wang.

Goaltenders: Nick Luzzi, Mathew Congero.

MS Ice Hockey team joins Team Nassau at Lighthouse Tourney

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ce hockey continues to prosper at Friends Academy.

Several members of the team, along with coach AJ Congero, were invited to participate in the prestigious 2010 Lighthouse International Hockey Tournament. Team Nassau was one of three Long Island peewee teams to compete against squads from Japan, Finland, China, and the Metropolitan area. Friends Academy was represented well with the following students: Andrew Becker, Matt Congero, Eric Friedlander, Andrew Greene, Perry Gordon, Ted Ingrassia, Conner Lavin, Kole Rossi, Nick Schneider, Will Schneider, and Cammi Wang.

Held January 21-23, the tournament was hosted by the New York Islanders and was part of FA parent Charles Wang’s Project Hope campaign to support youth ice hockey. Team Nassau made it to the semifinals, but was defeated by Team China, who eventually fell to Team Suffolk.

– Coach Kathleen Schalk Middle School ice hockey players support their teammates on the ice.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

T

Small team sets new school records, achieves honors

he Friends Academy varsity winter track and field team of 2009-2010 enjoyed a successful season. Even though our team was very small, the boys and girls were very hard workers and with this hard work came great results. On a team of only 15 athletes we were able to achieve three all-conference honors, two all-county honors, one state qualifier and nine school records over the course of this very short season. I am very proud to work with a group of athletes so hard-working and talented.

New school records were set by the following students: Ryan Rosmarin (1500m, 1600m, 3000m, and 3200m); Kira Garry (1000m, 1500m, mile, and 3000m); and Brian Hom (55m dash).

– Coach Franklin Thompson

individual awards ALL-AMERICAN – KIRA GARRY ALL-STATE – KIRA GARRY ALL-COUNTY – KIRA GARRY ALL-CONFERENCE – RYAN ROSMARIN, KIRA GARRY

Sports: Go FA! Varsity Boys Basketball

JV Boys Basketball

mike damm/friends academy

Top: Coach Matt Simeone, Katie Reggio (mgr), Jaclyn Bialer (mgr), Coach Tim Clouser, Brian Judge, Kellan Sehring, Trevor Williams, Bill Sawicki, Weston Morabito, Peter Kaplan, Eric Chen, Bennett Felder, Coach Bill Williams, Drew Friedman (mgr), Kayli Kemperle (mgr) and Coach Steve Hefele. Bottom: Tommy Costa, Kyle Grady, TJ Hefele, John Koufakis, Marc Godlis and Josh Feshbach.

Boys capture Nassau County Championship title

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he Boys Varsity Basketball team concluded its season with a loss in the Long Island Championship game against The Stony Brook School. Down by 3 with possession and one minute left to play, the Quakers failed to capitalize. An ensuing basket by the opponent forced Friends to foul and led to two more FT's and a disappointing 35-29 loss.

This followed a hard fought victory in the Nassau County Finals against a very competitive East Rockaway team.

It was a very exciting 1 point overtime victory against our Class C rival with many huge plays being made down the stretch by both teams. It has been a very exciting season with many close and competitive games. The Quakers have an overall 12-7 record and our league record of 8-2 was good enough to give us a share of the ABC-5 Conference championship with Locust Valley. Confident, poised, and scrappy are three adjectives that describe the keys to the team’s success thus far. This is a young team that has been working hard all season to continue to improve and build team chemistry. Our ability to put team goals ahead of personal goals has taught us all that we can accomplish much more together than we can as individuals.

Our entire team would like to thank everyone for their support throughout the winter season.

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mike damm/friends academy

Top: Devin Gerzof, Spencer Moslow, Cole Chartash, Christian Curran, Jay Schneider, Jack Bauer, Eli Rousso, Liam Kearney and Drew Chartash.

Bottom: Alek Kucich, David Sher, William Sands, Nick Crocce, Hunter Robinson, Dwayne Taylor and John Ramsey. Not pictured: Jonathan Blum, Gregory Rosenthal, Spencer Sklar, Coach Tim Clouser and Coach Matt Simeone.

Team shows competitive promise for Varsity year

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oach Simeone and Coach Clouser once again really enjoyed the opportunity to work with this year's JV. The wins were not as frequent as expected or desired, but there were several excellent performances that indicate that the competition for the few available varsity spots will be fierce.

There is a lot of talent in these two classes, and many have a chance to make great improvement. Time spent in the gym and in the weight room will really be the great determiner of how much improvement takes place.

An unknown coach once said: "It is not the number of hours you put in but what you put into those hours."

This is a very important message to this year's 19 JV players who will become candidates for the varsity during the next two years. Congratulations on a fine season.

– Coach Tim Clouser

– Coach Steve Hefele

individual awards ALL-COUNTY – TJ HEFELE ALL-CONFERENCE – TOMMY COSTA, JOSH FESHBACH

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Sports: Go FA! Middle School Boys Basketball

friends academy

The Middle School boys basketball team celebrates their 'perfect season.' They strove for perfection in more ways than one. In the back: Matt Feinstein, Glen Lostritto, Max Heffron, Brendan Sherlock, Greg Petrossian and Tyler Sehring. Front row: Steven Petrocelli, Arman Akhund, Brandon Rosenbaum, Elijah Rechler, Cyrus Holder, Tyrone Perkins, Coach Phil Cicciari, Thomas Frey, Christos Aniftos (mgr) and Andrew McMeekin.

MSheroics A

Team works together to achieve very unique goal

s the final buzzer rang, feelings of joy and pride came over me. They had done it, a perfect season! I watched my team shake hands with their opponents, and as the other team left the building, the boys came together with smiles from ear to ear. They doused each other with water, celebrated with their friends who came to watch, and they even soaked me. While there are no Middle school standings or playoffs, my boys were champions.

Over the last five years I have been blessed to be the 7th grade basketball coach. Some of the players I have coached have moved on to be important parts of both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams here at Friends Academy.

This team was made up of players with different skill levels and

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

experience. Often this can be an issue because players can get frustrated with teammates who don’t have as much experience on the court. However, this team was very different; they helped each other to learn the offense and pushed each other to be better every day.

They made it a goal to have every member of the team score at least one basket no matter how many shots a player had to take. I was impressed by their commitment to the team, their ability to have fun while still playing seriously, and I was most impressed by how they represented Friends Academy.

While I hope to coach for many years, I know that the 2009-2010 boys team will be one of the best I will ever coach.

Above, Max Heffron keeps the ball away from a defender. Below a morale-making moment.

– Coach Phil Cicciari

– Eric Koster '65

E

ric Koster '65 sat down to draft his will.

Once his loved-ones were taken care of, he wanted to recognize what helped make him the person he is today and to give back.

"My years at Friends were instrumental in making me the person I am today," Eric said.

At Friends he was "motivated by gifted and caring teachers who lit a spark." He is leaving a bequest to Friends in recognition of the lasting impact they made on him. He has also made this gift to honor his parents, who strongly believed in the value of Friends Academy's Mission and who sacrificed so that he could obtain its benefits.

Eric wanted to help others get the kind of character-building education he was fortunate to get at Friends. He decided to make a bequest toward need-based financial aid – to benefit

Eric Koster '65 is a husband, father of three and a partner in a successful law firm. He enjoys sailing and has recently taken up motorcycle riding.

future generations of students. "I have confidence that Friends is true to its Mission, and I want my positive experience there to be shared by others," he said.

Please join Eric and the many others, who have included Friends in their estate plans:

You can make a gift that has a substantial, long-lasting impact.

You can leave a legacy and recognize the value Friends holds in your heart.

You can make a difference in more students' lives with a bequest than with a gift that comes from today's income or savings.

A bequest is a simple way to make the maximum positive impact without compromising your lifestyle or budget.

For information on how to include Friends Academy in your estate plans, how to establish an endowment, or to discuss ways to match your interests with school needs, contact Director of Development Carl Pozzi at carl_pozzi@fa.org or 516-393-4269.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Strong Minds.

Kind Hearts

y

Bequest a Academ

aking M Friends to

"I want my positive experience at Friends Academy to be shared by others."

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Alumni News

from president the Peter Stein ‘79

Dear Fellow Alumni, As alums we all are reaping the life-long rewards of My wife and fellow alum, Susan (Witkoff '84), and I that passion and engagement. No matter what year we recently got a close-up look at Friends Academy from graduated, our FA life at times does not seem so long ago. a fresh perspective: We went through the interview We are in large measure living what the school instilled process with our eleven-year-old fifth-grader, Elizabeth. in us.

We were impressed and inspired by the process – and Our appreciation for our Friends experience is enElizabeth is thrilled that she will be a hanced through the fellowship and continued Friends Academy Middle schooler next and renewed friendships that Alumni Asyear! Susan and I couldn't be happier. sociation events cultivate. There is something I was fortunate to have an advance for everyone, and always the opportunity to up-close look at life in the Middle School develop more. The recent Alumni Holiday this past November when I was one of ten Luncheon on campus, as well as the March alumni presenters at Career Day. What a Networking Social in NYC, brought together great day I had! The students' productive groups of younger alums. The upcoming June energy, lively curiosity, good humor and 7 NYC Reunion will cast the net more widely, plain old warmth spoke volumes about just as the members of the class of 2010 will the health of the school as a community of toss their caps in celebration of their accomlearners who take a genuine interest in each Peter Stein ’79, plishments. We look forward to welcoming other and the world at large. While my them into "alumnihood" and sharing the Friends Academy wife and I never anticipated sending our common experience of having been shaped by Alumni children to Friends, my experience that day Association such an excellent, well-rounded education. convinced us to explore the idea fully.

One final reflection: I am still aglow from President After we toured the school this past my class's thirtieth reunion in October. I February with Elizabeth, and after the encourage all of you, and especially those in three of us compared notes following the interviews, "special-year" class ending in 0 and 5, to make it back to we all agreed on one thing: Friends Academy is a very campus for Fall Fair and Homecoming this October 23. special place. For some time now Elizabeth has had a strong sense of how important our experience as Friends Hope to see you there, students was – and still is. We find ourselves referring to it often. Our visit as a family re-introduced us to the "intangibles" that put FA in a class by itself: inspiring teachers who are following a calling and whose passion is reflected in what their students are doing today.

Help us help you and your fellow alums stay connected

1

Send us your news and address and e-mail updates: Alumni Office Friends Academy 270 Duck Pond Road Locust Valley, NY 11560 alumni@fa.org; 516-465-1796

2

Connect by website: FA's password-protected Alumni Community: www.fa.org/alumni Click on log into My Backpack"* on the left-hand side. Search by last name, maiden name, class year and profession.

3

Are you on Facebook?

Become a member of the Friends Academy group. Type "Friends Academy Alumni Association" in the search bar.

*If you do not know your username and password, e-mail Alex Edwards-Bourdrez in the Alumni Office: alumni@fa.org.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Alumni Profiles

25

Andrew Dott '60

Caring for the Uninsured Migrant: A Southern Urban Perspective

By Andrew Berwick Dott MD, MPH, ‘60

Responding to a rapidly growing, urgent need for quality medical care for immigrant mothers and their babies in Atlanta, Andrew Dott ’60 co-founded a network of maternity clinics in the North Atlanta Metro area in 1998. Aside from Medicaid payments of the hospital bills, the clinics do not accept public funding and have helped deliver some 12,000 babies to date.

Andrew explains how the program’s administrative structure and philosophy of respect for his patients’ cultural heritage and individual dignity reflect core Quaker principles.

Andrew Dott ’60 holds a recently delivered baby at one of the maternity clinics he co-founded in the North Atlanta metro area.

grant Hispanic families face in the U.S. each year. Each immigrant community has had to deal with this – some have done so poorly, and some well.

Starting about 20 years ago, the population magine you and your spouse are artists, boom in and around Atlanta, GA, has led to graduates of Friends Academy as well a huge demand for high-quality unskilled as an institute for advanced training in and semi-skilled workers in the construction, the arts, and you are living restaurant and landscaping indusin Machu Picchu illegally, selling tries. The city saw a massive increase your work to tourists. You do in undocumented laborers from not speak Spanish and, while by Mexico and Central America, who Peruvian standards you are not came to dominate these employment poor, you are not well-to-do either. sectors. Eventually, there was a Your wife announces that she Hispanic “Baby Boom.” The Atlanta is going to have a baby, and the medical community was ill prepared two of you agree that you wish to to care for these families.

Andrew Dott's 1960 stay in your community and not Beyond the sheer numbers, the yearbook photo from return to the U.S. – but you do complexity of the problems was The Lamp not have the slightest idea how to daunting: workers had no access to arrange medical care. You hear health insurance; non-citizens are not elistories about good and bad experiences. You gible for Medicaid; and the principal public hear how all “gringos” are thought to be rich hospital was a long way from the and exploited by the local medical system.

Hispanic population centers (imagine travelAnd, of course, because of your immigration ing from Locust Valley to Bellevue Hospital status, you live in fear of being discovered by in Manhattan to get maternity care and the authorities. You both wish to be respondeliver a baby). sible and meet the needs of your family, and, Tragically, women without prenatal care of course, you hope you will be treated with arrived at hospital emergency rooms in labor dignity and respect. and with a range of major complications, What would you do? This is precisely the including infant death, prematurity, and dilemma one million undocumented immibirth injuries. They were being cared for by

I

frustrated and angry healthcare providers who could not communicate with their patients because of language barriers and who did not understand the culture and values of these patients.

A consideration of the Hispanics’ cultural background gives a glimpse of the difficulty they experienced on the personal level. The first generation Mexican family is extremely close-knit and hard-working, and lives in communities that provide a strong network of community support. The average woman has an eighth-grade education. Among the women, there is no smoking, drugs, alcohol or other forms of abuse. The population is young and very healthy. The men take great pride in being seen as responsible both for their family and for their community – both in the U.S. and in Mexico. Within the Latin world, there is also a strong sense of dignity and respect, which means that no matter how poor and humble a family is, they will always present themselves in a dignified way and they expect to be treated with respect.

Within this population, there is no concept of entitlement. The men focus on their responsibilities and not their rights.

So, the challenge has been to construct an affordable healthcare system that respects and preserves the qualities of the Latin culture, and provides effective treatment to Continued on Page 28

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Alumni Profiles Mike Gordon '74

Energy Efficiency Pioneer

By Alex Edwards-Bourdrez Assistant Development Director/Alumni Relations & Giving

Mike Gordon ’74 is a recognized national leader in smart design for electric markets, as well as energy efficiency and demand-response protocols for private markets. His vision and entrepreneurial spirit led him in 2000 to found CPower, Inc. The company services large endusers of energy in the “energy-reduction asset” marketplace. These assets are a new form of currency, in which efficiency and control over energy consumption can be sold, just as a power plant sells energy. CPower is the world’s largest privately-held firm that focuses on this emerging market . CPower is based in Manhattan and serves entities in New York, New England, the Mid-Atlantic region, Texas, California, Ontario and the United Kingdom. Mike lives with his family in South Salem, NY.

I

f you have seen the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus perform, chances are you have seen Mike Gordon. For years he has been one of dozens of spirited singers – a true “people’s chorus” – who lend their voices to the group’s “carefully crafted harmonious messages designed to make the listener think twice about the state of the world,” as the Walkabout’s website puts it.

Mike’s participation in the Pete Seegerinspired enterprise reflects the passion of his entrepreneurial career. From a young age, he has brought players in the energy production and consumption fields together to work harmoniously toward more costeffective, energy-efficient and, often, moneymaking business models.

His excitement about the world of ideas, and ways of pursuing ideals in a real-world context, took hold during his time at Friends Academy. “There was a sense of camaraderie with the teachers, mixed with humor and fun,” Mike recalled. “Generally, that left the feeling that we were being dealt with as emerging adults, rather than as growing

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Mike Gordon from his 1974 yearbook of The Lamp

Enterprises, and spent the next 10 years creating partnerships in energy, healthcare and education. His firm formed heating-oil collectives throughout the Northeast, which have since grown to a consortium that comprises 15 percent of the nation’s residential purchase, and which realizes an annual savings of more than $400 million for members. The firm also founded the nation’s first prescription-drug collective for people with AIDS, Mike Gordon '74, founder and CEO of CPower, Inc. controlling the cost of expensive essential therapies. Some 60,000 young people in children. Ideas simply bounced off the walls 300 subscribing schools got a hands-on education by developing relationships with in certain classes, and we were constantly 15,000 senior citizens through an anti-bias challenged artistically, academically and oral history curriculum built by Innovative ethically. We took full advantage of the Community Enterprises. weekends of non-violence workshops and Mike’s method fuses imagination with anti-war seminars at Powell House, Brooklyn reality. In 1994 he stepped away from the Meeting House, Flushing Meeting House, and elsewhere. Lots of singing, much dream- enterprise he was directing to seek a deeper understanding of how things work. He ing, and collective fun!” earned a Master of Public Administration Soon after graduating from college, Mike degree in Environmental took a position with the and Energy Policy from New York Public Interest “I identify with the Harvard’s Kennedy School Research Group, where he less powerful, and in 1995, studying with innovated a heating-oil I want to achieve Supreme Court Justice collective that enrolled Stephen Breyer, among 10 competing suppliers sustainable business others. Then it was on to serving more than 3,000 practices.”

The Wharton School at homes. He also engaged the University of Pennsylthe New York City Compvania, where Mike finished troller Harrison Goldin, his MBA in Finance in 1998.

State Attorney General Robert Abrams, He was 43 years old, an accomplished and little-known Congressman Charles socially conscious entrepreneur – but Schumer, to help put the brakes on rapidly unemployed and $200,000 in debt – with increasing prices. a three-year-old daughter and an infant son The model worked – suppliers grew their business with more competitive pricing, and who had been born with club feet and a porcustomers saved money – and Mike knew he tion of his aorta missing.

“It was a moment of truth in my life. I’d was onto something. In 1984, he founded a consulting firm, Innovative Community Continued on Page 28

Alumni Profiles

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Sarah Calderon ’92

Innovative Leadership in Arts and Education

By Hayley Kucich ‘03

Sarah Calderon ’92 is the Executive Director of Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education and the founder of Stickball Printmedia Arts, which provides inner-city middle and high schoolers with empowering learning opportunities that have real-world applications. Her initiative grew out of her career as an artist, a teacher, and a community and business liaison for public schools. Three of Sarah’s Friends Academy classmates, Rebecca Mai, Patrick McGillicuddy and Clay Siegert, serve on Stickball’s Board of Directors. Sarah lives in New York City with her husband, Joe Magee, a professor at NYU and a founding Board member of Stickball. Hayley Kucich ’03, a member of The Meeting House editorial board, talked with Sarah about her career path, her organization, and the nature of leadership.

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tarting with her years at Friends Academy, where she was the student leader of the Community Service program, Sarah Calderon '92 has dedicated her life to caring service to others.

Following her four years at Friends, Sarah earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She also holds a Masters in Education from Harvard, with concentrations in Social Policy and Arts Education and Administration.

In between college and graduate school, Sarah lived in Chicago and worked as a teaching artist in public schools. She was also co-director of a School-to-Work initiative, which connected public schools with business partners and community organizations to create real-world learning opportunities for students and youth.

Sarah’s education and personal skills, along with her desire to help others, are what have propelled her to the position where she is today: the founder and executive director

Sarah Calderon ‘92, right, at a fundraiser for her non-profit, Stickball Printmedia Arts, with Friends Academy classmates Rebecca Mai and Patrick McGillicuddy, who serve on Stickball’s board. Fellow board member and classmate Clay Siegert was unable to attend the event.

of Stickball Printmedia Arts, a nonprofit Lower East Side of Manhattan. The sport arts education organization located in East embodies the playfulness, creativity and Harlem, NY. The organization serves some ingenuity of children in urban communities 300 middle and high school students from – qualities that everyone at Stickball aims across New York City during the to nurture and develop. Stickball school day, after school, and during has a printmaking and digital arts the summer. studio located on the third floor of Sarah explained that the a New York City K-8 public school, Stickball’s mission is to “empower allowing collaboration with the youth to become creative problemschool for much of the work that solvers by teaching project-based they do. learning and entrepreneurial skills In addition to running Stickthrough printmaking and digital ball, Sarah was recently named Sarah Calderon from arts.” Working with professional Executive Director of Casita Maria printmakers and artists, the young her 1992 yearbook of Center for Arts and Education, a The Lamp. people enrolled in Stickball pro75-year-old nonprofit in the South grams create products that are sold Bronx. Its mission is to empower in various venues. For example, Stickball youth and their families by creating a has a contract to produce tote bags with culture of learning through high quality original designs for the Brooklyn Museum of social, cultural, and educational opportuniFine Arts, and the students design and make ties. Sarah has introduced Stickball as a new T-shirts and sweatshirts for the store at the program at Casita Maria, which opened a school that houses their studio.

90,000-square-foot building in the South Sarah chose the name in memory of her Bronx in September 2009. The building, father, who grew up playing stickball on the Continued on Page 29

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Alumni News Andrew Dott '60: Providing Care for the Uninsured

Continued from Page 25 these families with the identical care and services that every other family having a child in Atlanta would have.

About ten years ago, two other physicians and I helped respond to the challenge. We created a network of four maternity clinics located in four counties in the North Atlanta Metro area. These were beautiful modern facilities which were comparable to, or better than, an average physician’s office. All of the employees, including the physicians and midwives, were multi-lingual. Business was conducted in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. All management decisions in the practice were by consensus. There were never votes and there was never a decision made where someone felt their voice and opinion was not heard and respected.

The women were given the opportunity to have their babies at Northside Hospital, one of the finest and busiest community hospitals in the U.S. Northside serves the entire North Atlanta community. All patients are treated equally and have equal access to the same facilities. There are no “Pavilions” for the rich or “Wards” for the poor.

A major challenge we faced in providing medical services to the uninsured was

economic. We decided to have one profesOur program’s success has grown out of a sional fee for an all-inclusive care package. well-thought-out approach that reflects some There were no additional charges for “this important Quaker principles. A commitor that.” The fee was set ment to service to others at about ten percent of a can be exercised “at home,” "All patients are working man’s income, in our own communities. and there was a monthly Unmet needs are right treated equally and payment plan. This way, in front of us. Managehave equal access the family could pay for ment by consensus puts to the same their baby and not be so a premium on the indifacilities. overwhelmed with unvidual’s importance to the anticipated expenses that group. True service lies in There are no those other core family empowering people to help 'Pavilions' for the needs could not be met. themselves; charity withrich or 'Wards' Fathers and husbands out this component can be took great pride and destructive. Any charitable for the poor. respect in caring for and endeavor can only be fully ...Since 1998, we being responsible for carried out through an their families – and not understanding and respect have delivered over being subjected to hufor the values of those you 12,000 babies." miliation or discriminaserve. We are constantly retion because of poverty. minded of the importance Since 1998, we have of treating people fairly – delivered over 12,000 babies. The mothers of preserving the dignity and self-respect of have come from 38 countries. Our health others – while always encouraging personal statistics (prematurity rates, c/section rates, responsibility. etc.) outrank the Atlanta averages. Our organization is self-sustaining: we do not More information on Andrew Dott and his accept grants or public subsidies except for programs is available at his website, Medicaid payments of the hospital bills. www.midlife-passages.com.

Mike Gordon '74: Energy Efficiency Pioneer Continued from Page 26 done some things, but nothing seemed to be sticking. I was nowhere near the person I’d dreamed of being.” Mike said. “My choices came into sharp focus: I could choose anger at what we were stuck with, or I could choose to notice and appreciate the support we were getting. I could choose to blame circumstances for my not landing a job, or I could look at what wasn’t working in my approach, and change it.”

With an invigorated personal energy and optimism, Mike gave himself a job and built a dynamic business plan. He kicked off the new millennium by founding ConsumerPowerline (later renamed CPower) with the

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

vision of creating immediate, value-added change for energy users.

The energy industry, of course, is a behemoth. Huge conglomerates control a sprawling grid that is constantly creaking and sometimes breaks down under the weight of an ever-expanding demand. A labyrinth of regulations and incentives adds layers of complexity for all the players in the field, but it especially burdens both small and large end-users.

Mike’s leadership is rooted in what he really cares about: “I identify with the less powerful, and I want to achieve sustainable business practices.” With this dual focus he dove into the daunting world of big-time

energy delivery and consumption.

Without drilling down too far here (the company’s Web site, www.cpowered.com, lays out the details of its impressive services), we can summarize that CPower makes life easier and more profitable for clients in the industrial, commercial, retail, institutional (government, healthcare and educational entities, among others), and residential sectors.

For example, CPower helps clients manage their electricity use to qualify for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). Companies that generate RECs can sell them on the market to other entities that need to reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions, such as utilities, corporations and governmental organizations,

Alumni News

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Sarah Calderon '92: Innovative Leadership in Arts Education Continued from Page 27 which houses the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, is also home to a New York City public school for grades six through twelve and a KIPP Charter Kindergarten. Each year, Casita serves over 5,000 youth and community members, helping them achieve, create and explore through the arts and education.

Early on in her college career Sarah had many experiences teaching and working with youth. After graduation, she continued to work in education reform, but always kept her sleeves rolled up in the classroom as well.

She spent four years in California following graduate school, working in education research and evaluation, but also holding a second job as a teaching artist.

When she moved back east, Sarah worked for the NYC Department of Education in the Arts Education Policy department. There she created the first “Arts Report Card” for all 1,500 public schools. Eventually, she realized her dream by establishing a nonprofit organization dedicated to education through printmaking.

Sarah recognizes the influence that Friends Academy has had on her life and her career. “FA definitely helped me develop

an understanding of issues and problems in society that needed to be addressed,” she said.

“It provided me with a wonderful experience that allowed me to know that education and school can be positive experiences for youth.”

Sarah also noted the prevalence of Quaker values that continues to play a role in her life: “I understand the value of simplicity.

Living in New York City, you are surrounded by wealth and the ability to acquire ‘things’ all of the time. Understanding that there are more important ways of spending time and money is something that Friends emphasized. Also, my interest and desire to have many of the programs that I create for youth to have a service learning component comes directly from my experiences at Friends.

Many of my most successful and inspiring work with youth have been in service learning projects.”

Sarah’s position at Friends as Co-Clerk of W.A.T.C.H. (We Are The Community Helpers), the student-run school-wide Community Service program, foreshadowed her professional life. History and religion teacher Herb Lape, who was the W.A.T.C.H. faculty advisor at the time, remembers Sarah for the leadership and energy she brought to the entire program.

Not only has Sarah held onto her learn-

as well as to private investors. So, clients earn sustainability, but creating profits with that money in addition to cutting costs – and they approach proved illusive. “Boy, did I have spread the wealth to fellow end-users while some sleepless nights there, early in 2001, as the public benefits from I realized that my ‘big idea’ environmentally friendly had no way to earn dollars With invigorated protocols and business when it was founded. We energy ... Mike gave practices. responded by figuring out Today CPower is the how to monetize our clihimself a job and largest privately held ents’ conservation efforts.” built a dynamic company of its kind in the Mike said. business plan. world, and Mike is recogPassion, vision, innovanized as a national leader tion, courage, adaptability in smart-design and energy-reduction. But and collaboration are the ingredients of it wasn’t always clear sailing. Mike believed Mike’s leadership. CPower’s growth prethat people and companies could harness sented the challenge of managing a growing energy markets to create environmental number of highly skilled and knowledgeable

ing experiences from FA, but she has held onto her ties with her fellow classmates as well. Three of her FA classmates helped her found the organization and currently serve Stickball’s Board of Directors: Rebecca Mai, Patrick McGillicuddy and Clay Siegert.

With their combined skills, life and career experiences, and friendships dating back to Friends Academy, they have helped Stickball and Sarah to be the successes that they are today.

Sarah recognizes her responsibilities stemming from being in a position of authority, including the need to be self-motivated, to hold oneself accountable for one’s work, and to make sure that one’s own ideas are solid and make sense. She mentioned that a leader is “responsible for creating the culture of the organization.”

For Sarah, the key is strong connections with others: “You need a good network of individuals and contacts. You have to rely on your network, along with your family and friends, for support – moral and otherwise. It takes a lot of work and in the beginning most of it you are doing on your own!”

For more information about Stickball Printmedia Arts and Casita Maria, visit www.stickballarts.org and www.casita.us.

associates. “I had to strike a balance between controlling and empowering my employees,” Mike explained. “I increasingly understand the value of knowing when to raise my hand, and when to let someone else take the lead.”

In a sense, Mike serves alternately as composer, conductor and singer in his business “chorus.”

By the way, if you have not seen Mike and the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, you can catch a benefit performance on the second Saturday of the month, from October through May, at the Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse in White Plains. They’re also singing at the South Salem library, on the evening of May 1.

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Class Notes

1934

1946

1952

Walter J. Wilson 548 N. Main Street Apt. 314 Ashland, OR 97520 541-488-2389 wils2@mind.net

Evelyn Broglio Diefendorf 355 Lake Forest Drive, SW Pinehurst, NC 28374 910-295-3680 pinedief@embarqmail.com

Margaret Whitney Shiels 5427 FM 2515 Kaufman, TX 75142 972-962-8124 mspaumanok@aol.com

The daughter of Audrey Olena Logan informed the alumni office of Audrey’s death in November 2008. The note reported that Audrey “was engaged and passionate until her final hours, enthusiastically voting for Obama by absentee ballot just days before.”

1938 We received the sad news that Charles Putnam died peacefully in his sleep February 9, 2009.

He had been living on Skidaway Island, GA, since 1994. After Friends he attended Harvard College, served in the Navy in World War II, and then graduated from Harvard Business School. He worked in a variety of fields, including manufacturing and investments, as well as having fathered two sons with his late wife, Nancy.

1940 Florence Milyko Skinner 4202 Avalon Drive East New Canaan, CT 06840 203-966-9475 nightingalelady@optonline.net We received the sad news of the November 2009 death of Harold “Hal” Parker. Hal had a distinguished dual career in the military and in education. He taught survival skills to World War II U.S. pilots before their deployment, and later he helped bring about an end to the draft through an influential study of discrimination and equal opportunity in the armed forces.

He also worked to introduce educational opportunities within the military. He continued his educational career in the community college systems of New York and Massachusetts as a teacher of Sociology and Anthropology, and as an admissions officer.

He retired in 1988. Hal is survived by his wife of 63 years, Edith.

Dear Class of 1946: It’s been quite awhile since I’ve sent you any news, but I haven’t heard from many of you, either. It seems impossible that 64 years have gone by since our graduation from Friends. Next year is our 65th reunion. I plan to attend. How about you? Last year, Dief and I were in an automobile accident. We were hit broadside by a young girl on a cell phone going through a red light. I was on the passenger side, so was more badly hurt: a broken pelvis in two places, two broken ribs and lacerations on my right arm and side. I spent two weeks in the hospital and six weeks at a rehab facility.

After returning home, I used a walker, graduated to a cane and am now doing fairly well, but have not as yet played any golf.

We have been blessed with six wonderful grandchildren. Our son, Roey, has four girls, Ashley, Jennie, Whitney and Emily. Our daughter, Martha, has a daughter, Katie, and a son, Steven. Ashley is a speech therapist.

She is married to Steven Howe, and they have two beautiful boys, Anderson and Davis.

Jennie is married to Jeremy Donovan. She is a special-needs teacher and advisor at Friends Academy – and she loves it! Whitney is a doctor of physical therapy in NYC. She recently got married to Jason Baran. We were thrilled to go to NYC and to see our whole family. Emily will receive her Masters in Special Education this May from Bank Street. She already has many job offers.

Katie is a doctor specializing in vascular surgery at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill. She will wed Peter Leese in September. After graduation from James Madison University, Steven was in a management training program with Stock Building. Since the building trade slowed down, he has been working for an accounting firm and for Renaissance Hotels. I pray that you are all well and will have a happy 2010.

– Evelyn Broglio Diefendorf

1949 Stephen McClelland wrote to the alumni office in December telling of his move to Philippi, WV, in August 2008: “The scenery is great, as are the people. Very refreshing.

My adopted son is 34 years old with two children.”

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Annemarie and Fritz Schreiber are headed to France and Germany. Son Mark is stationed in Heidelberg. He returned there from Iraq in November and has been awarded the Bronze Star. The Schreibers recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

From Wendy Murphy: “Here I am at 74 with three new grandchildren, twin boy and girl for Nicholas and a second daughter to son John. Jack is once again cast in a play and is writing a mystery story that he hopes he can find a publisher for. I am busier than ever with my little custom publishing company headquartered in Northport. We have partnered with both National Geographic and with Time, Inc. doing their special publications. I have written such a wide range of articles for hospitals such as North Shore-LIJ, Mt. Sinai, Thos. Jefferson in Philly and Morristown, NJ. I have written and witnessed so many that I think I could actually do a triple bypass! This summer we will return to our little Blueberry Island off the coast of Maine. As we age, it is harder and harder to keep up such a rustic place so we may have to consider selling it. A sign of declining ability to be all things to all people is my resignation as a volunteer with the local ambulance corps. I just can’t carry out big patients without fear of putting my back out. I am still much involved with the Kent Conservation Commission and the local land trust. While many retire to Florida or the Bahamas, we will stay here and grin and bear the ice and snow. We love the place.” Robert and Margaret Whitney Shiels are planning a trip to France and Spain. "We will fly to Paris and take the train to Lyon to stay with our AFS son, Guillaume Decitre, and his wife and 3 children. Then we will take the train to Barcelona and on to Zaragoza to see granddaughter Sara, who is spending her senior year there. She and granddaughter Kate will be heading off to respective colleges in the fall." Bob Burian wrote: "Barbara and I sailed on the Royal Clipper, a five masted tall ship out of Barbados, a few weeks ago. It was a real treat to escape the snow and rains in Connecticut. Rejection!

I auditioned for the role of Dr. Watson in The Hound of the Baskervilles and was not accepted. Could I be getting too old for this

Class Notes

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Class of 1959 50th Anniversary Luncheon Held Friday, October 23, 2009 at the Jackson House

(Left to right) Sally Wenger, Tom Carter '59, John Wenger '59 and Diana Voorhees

Alumni Board member Barbara Shoen Brundige '63, and Charlie Jameson '59

1959 classmates John Wenger and Sue Guerin Dudnon relax after lunch.

Sam Sugden '59 and Sue Morris (Left to right) Anne Schwiebert '59, Gay Burros, Bob Seaman '59, Marty Livingston McDermott '59 and Bruce Burrows '59 peruse memorabilia brought to the Dan Voorhees '59 and David Seeler '59 inspect a document from David's event by classmate David Seeler. memorabilia collection.

author’s corner

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ake a look at some of the most recent books, poetry and writings

by Friends Academy alumni:

Jen Briggs Stanley '88: Stirring Up Strife: A Hope Street Church Mystery, published by St. Martin's Press

Jennifer Ryan Woods '99:

The Active Asset Allocator: How ETFs Can Supercharge Your Portfolio, published

by Portfolio (Penguin Group USA)

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Class Notes

stuff? Surprise: Witt Badger, my eight-yearold grandson, beat his grandfather at chess for the first time. Seems Grandpa got too aggressive and left his king unguarded. If you want to teach a child (or anyone else) the game of chess, look for a boxed game called "No Stress Chess." It uses specially designed playing cards to introduce the game to first timers." Fluff Macy Thayer and her husband, Alec, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on October 31. That being Hallowe'en, a great group of goblins, witches, ghosts and what-have-you partook of brew and barbecue at their home in Florida. It was a howl!

1955 Doris Atwater Bouwensch 209 Green Way Wayland, MA 01778-2622 508-358-3454 Arthur M. Geoffrion 322-24th St. Santa Monica, CA 90402 310-394-0185 arthur.geoffrion@anderson.ucla.edu John Galbraith writes, “A good friend of mine told me that when his father was asked what he was going to do in retirement, he responded, ‘Take up space.’ 2009 has turned out to be a little more exciting than that.

The golf game doesn’t seem to make much of a change either way. Susan and I took another National Geographic Expedition this year, our third, and it was truly outstanding – a two-week cruise of the Baltic! The trip originated in Copenhagen and we were fortunate to spend a couple of days there before joining the ship, and ended with four days in St. Petersburg. I continue to be amazed at how so many of the cities we visited have recovered, especially those that were under communist control until about twenty years ago. We were in a cathedral in Lubeck, which had been bombed almost flat during the Second World War, and today it is completely rebuilt. One of the things that makes these trips so pleasant is that you are cruising with a relatively small group.

This one had about 110 passengers and the naturalists, historians, and guides were outstanding. It was fascinating to reacquaint ourselves with the history of the Hanseatic League as we followed their trade routes and visited many of the Hansa cities. Our family continues to do well and, as I have said before, we are truly blessed to have them all living in Northern California. We had a rather momentous occasion when our

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Craig White '61, right, with fellow former USAF officer Georg Hambach, at an airfield in the Dominican Republic where they accompanied a shipment of medical supplies bound for a hospital in Haiti.

oldest grandson went off to the University of Oregon. Our youngest son, Mark, told Jake (John IV) to look out for the California Berkeley ‘Bears,’ but the ‘Ducks’ more than had their way with them. You could hear the cry ‘wait ‘til next year.’ We will end this year and celebrate the New Year at Sea Ranch on the Mendocino coast.” Peter Klinge writes that he has done some acting and directing this year, is close to finishing an outline for a new book, and that Sandy is revising her novel. Naomi Johnson Dempsey had a good year that included visiting Arizona for a granddaughter’s baptism and then again for Thanksgiving. She then attended a family rendezvous in Martha’s Vineyard, as well as served as Treasurer of the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance, among her other civic service working four days a week. Naomi is making room in her life for a newly serious gentleman friend (!), and is then looking forward to Christmas in Maryland with family. Mary Foster Everett has sold her house in W. Hartford and moved to an apartment nearby. She had surgery, but is still very involved in housing issues. Peggy Egan Alley and her husband, Brian, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary with a train and sail trip to Alaska.

1959

1957

1960

Roger O. Sanders 395 Fishing Ln. Deland, FL 32720 386-736-0815 ramblinrog38@cfl.rr.com

Dona Fagan Arnow 14901 Talking Rock Court North Potomac, MD 20878 301-294-0823 arnowtrans@aol.com

The alumni office was saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Schoen. An article appears in the In Memoriam section of this issue.

We hope you are able to attend the 50th Year Reunion this October 22 – 24! Bob Powell and Andrew Dott are spearheading the

Abbie G. Freedman 1312 Mark West Spring Rd. Santa Rosa, CA 95404 707-579-1312 abgfree@comcast.net Anne Schwiebert 1075 Mill Creek Drive Southold, NY 11971 631-765-1202 vzes47mg@verizon.net From Abbie: I received visits from Sally and John Wenger, along with Carol Klarberg Tabb (in January), and then Gay and Bruce Burrows, followed by Kate Millham Latimer and her husband, Arthur (in February), all of whom were in CA visiting friends and relatives.

They are all doing fine. David Seeler, Dave Warden ‘60 and Charlie Jameson had a great visit together at the Alabama home of Gay and Bruce Burrows in March. Later, in April, Bruce visited Viet Nam for a couple of weeks. He had served as a fighter pilot there during the Viet Nam War. We look forward to a more extensive update on the class in the next issue of the magazine, which will come out in the summer. Enjoy the spring!

Class Notes organizing. Friday, Oct. 22, Friends hosts a wonderful 50th Reunion Luncheon, followed by a visit to the school’s archives. Saturday is Fall Fair, capped off by the Homecoming Reception for all alumni. The class will hold a dinner following the reception. Stay tuned for news and formal invitations!

1961 Park Benjamin, III P. O. Box 368 Oyster Bay, NY 11771 516-922-9537 pbenjamin3@optimum.net In response to the January earthquake in Haiti, Craig White volunteered to shepherd a supply of medical equipment for the nonprofit organization Doc To Dock, (Craig is friends with Doc to Dock Board member Sandy Tytel, mother of Jennifer ‘05.) As a former Air Force pilot with a total of thirtyfour years in active and reserve duty, Craig was a logical choice to help assist Doc to Dock with the logistics in what turned out to be an improvised plan. The small jet that was used was denied permission to land at Port au Prince, so the pilot had to find an airfield in the Dominican Republic. The plane touched down late at night at San Isidro Air Force Base, the supplies were unloaded, and the pilot flew off. Craig and his fellow volunteer elected to stay with the equipment, without knowing exactly how to ensure its safe transport to representatives of Partnership in Health at a certain hospital in Port au Prince.

By chance, a group of young American volunteers touched down at the same airfield, and they were Partnership in Health workers bound for the same hospital where supplies were to be delivered! Pam Harris McClureJohnston has retired from her administrative career at CA Poly State University. She and her husband, the poet Roy K. Johnston, have moved to Eugene, OR, where Pam rekindled her passion for singing.

1962 Randi Reeve Filoon P.O. Box 5495 Ketchum, ID 83340 208-788-1734 filoons@yahoo.com Jane Wenger wrote, “I still think we are all teenagers. I never married and don’t have children (they’re not my thing), although Richard and I have been together for over 25 years which is somewhat shocking for

the likes of me. I’m not photographing any more. I stopped in the early 80s, bronzed my camera (think bronzed baby shoes), called it ‘The Decisive Moment’ (after CartierBresson) and left photography.”

1965 Robert D. Tilden 3640 County Road 16 Montour Falls, NY 14865 607-535-2217 rdtilden@yahoo.com Sally Edwards Willits was featured in a November 2009 art show showcasing new art in Del Ray, FL.

1968 Lesley L. Graham 615 NW Murphy Blvd Joplin, MI 64801 417-781-1858 llgraham@cableone.net Here we are, another year has gone by, and there is new news to share. Oh my, we are 60 years old! Yikes! Didn’t we just graduate? I have captured the news I received and hope next time those that were not spotlighted will also reply. Jim Evans notes, “I am not sure I have too much to share since the last report on my ‘doings.’ I am still working as a Program Coordinator for our Teacher Preparation Programs at Western Governors University. Most of my non-work time is consumed with being attentive to the needs of my aging parents, singing in the church choir, and trying to find new and interesting restaurants in which to dine and sample the wine. Unfortunately, it is hard to balance eating well with avoiding gaining weight! LOL!! Regarding FA, I have so many fond memories of FA days, as well as a few sad ones, like remembering that it was shortly after his visit to FA that Robert Kennedy was killed. The death of Ted and Eunice this year reminded me of that. I have grown into a raving liberal, which was probably inevitable, given my concern about the ‘human condition.’ I was back at FA a couple of years ago and could not believe how different the campus looks – not anywhere near the same as when I worked there. It looks like a small college!”

Elizabeth Billhardt writes that “in France, the custom is to send New Year’s greetings throughout the month of January, and I was quick to adapt to this custom. So, this comes with heartfelt wishes for a marvelous and magical 2010! I feel like we just graduated

33

– at least that’s what my head keeps telling me, the mirror is trying to say something else.” Nancy Goldberg Kassop explains, “I ran into Anne Maher at the Democratic Convention in Denver in August 2008. She was attending with her husband, who is a Maryland state official, and I was there with my students who were interns at the convention. It was absolutely wild to see Anne there; we bumped into each other at the sink in the women’s restroom! Who would have thought it? Then, I also took my students to the presidential inauguration last January and stood on the Mall in DC for hours; complete with frozen toes that have still not thawed out, a year later...but worth every freezing minute of it. I have stepped down as chair of my department (Political Science at SUNY New Paltz), after almost six years in the job. It was fine, but it is nice to be free again to research and write more, as well as teach, instead of being an administrator. On the personal front, my grandson in Maine, Levi, will be two years old in February, and my older daughter, Erika, has another baby on the way. My younger daughter, Alli, lives outside of Bozeman, Montana, and is married and works for a public health non-profit there. I am fortunate to have daughters in great places to visit! The really exciting news is that I recently bought a house in New Paltz, and moved in late October. It is terrific – 100 years old, with a modern addition over the garage, views of the mountains from my window, and within walking distance of everything in town. Anyone who ventures up to the Hudson Valley is welcome to give me a call!” John Malcolm remarks, “The news from around here is that even without cows I continue to mow and bale hay from my farm during the summer and I am finally enjoying life without the constant stress of dairying. The barns are sadly empty and quiet. I continue to serve in the Vermont Legislature, in session from January to May, now as ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee where we deal with challenging milk prices, environmental issues, and local food initiatives.” John and Sue continue to travel and are involved in many activities. Greg Tarone shares, “I am really enjoying the mortgage brokerage business and life with Wina and the four cats in Southeastern Connecticut.” Cliff Dasco notes, “I continue to live in Texas, a great place only marred by constant embarrassment about our politicians. I never thought I would pine for the wonderful days of LBJ! My son, Matthew, is married to another physician, Premal Patel, and they

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

34

Class Notes

live in Botswana. Premal is an AIDS doctor and Matthew is teaching and working on medial capacity building under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. My middle daughter, Mara, is a medical intern at the University of Texas Medical Branch and will start a dermatology residency in the summer. Rebecca, the baby, is an AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteer in South Carolina. My current wife of 35 years (!), Sheri, is a practicing health lawyer here in Houston. I continue to be an academic Bedouin with a couple of National Science Foundation grants with Rice University and collaborations at the University of Houston, as well as Technion in Israel, and several places in the UK and Ireland. If this is what sixty feels like, I could use more of it! Here is my Web page, less current than I would like: www.theabramsoncenter.org. Kathy Attridge Anas and her long time life partner, Mike, moved into their home which is now as they imagined it after ten years of continuous hard work and improvements.

She notes, “Generic is good enough for me, not land speed records of other members of our class, but I am glad to be alive and kicking!” Sally Rising Dean commented that she stays in good contact with Kathy and that she can’t believe we started in Kindergarten!

Willy Merriken started off the year with one granddaughter and he now has two more granddaughters and a grandson. All the children, spouses, and grandkids spent Thanksgiving with Willy, making it a memorable occasion. With three under the age of one, someone always has a naptime!

He notes, “it was a busy house, but equally tons of FUN! Other than that everything is pretty much status quo. I’m still running my insurance and retirement planning practice with no plans to “retire.” What can I say – I like what I do! Louise retired three years ago from teaching Kindergarten and is enjoying her new-found opportunities to babysit the grandkids when asked! As you can imagine, over Thanksgiving she was in all her glory!!” Bob Rushmore is now a grandfather. His oldest daughter, Kim, and her husband, Dan, gave birth to a daughter, Lexi, in March of 2009. Fortunately they live in the Atlanta area, and Liz and Bob love being with Lexi and watching her grow.

Their middle daughter, Allison, and her husband, Ian, live in Columbus, OH. She still works for Abercrombie & Fitch and travels internationally. Their “children” are two dogs. Bob’s youngest, Julie, is working on a joint PhD/Vet degree at the University of GA studying primates. A Fulbright Scholar, she is currently spending a year in Uganda observing chimps in the Kibale

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

ALEX EDWARDS-BOURDREZ/friends academy

Jeff Leach '73 explains how the concepts of cloud-computing technology permeate everywhere.

J

A visit into Cyberspace

eff Leach '73, Industry Solution Architect for IBM, visited campus in March and offered a presentation to interested students and faculty about cutting-edge cloud computing technology and its role in enhancing the capabilities of hand-held devices such as the iPhone.

Forest, which greatly concerns her mother.

"I am still working and own a commercial construction company in Atlanta," Bob wrote. Over the past few years I have gotten very involved with scuba diving. I am also a volunteer diver at the Georgia Aquarium, where I love diving with the whale sharks and thousands of other fish. If you are ever in Atlanta I would be glad to give you a personal tour of the Georgia Aquarium. Bob Curtin’s daughter, Lauren, is getting married this June – the last of the girls! The two boys are still enjoying the bachelor life! Their whole family takes a trip every other year and this year they are going to Aruba in February. All five kids, three spouses and four grandkids! He mentions that “it’s always a great time.” Mel and Bob are retiring in September and are looking forward to taking a break and then pursuing some other interests they have, including spending more time with the grandkids and helping to take care of Bob's parents. Sue

Some 25 students and four teachers attended the lunchtime presentation. Jeff tipped his hat to his Friends Academy education by asserting that all the technology knowledge he acquired since graduation would not have done him nearly as much good without the self-confidence and the tools for selfexpression that he developed at Friends.

Withington’s son, Colin, lives in Cambodia and writes for the Phnom Penh Post, which is printed in both English and Kmer. Sue is looking forward to her daughter’s July wedding. As for me, I survived my fifth year in Joplin. I started my fifth year this January of 2010, with my job for the corporate office at Management Recruiters International. It gives me the opportunity to do some travel and still work from a home office, while also hanging out with Pops. He is going strong at almost ninety-five and has such fond memories of all in our class. I stay in constant contact with Kal & Judy Wynot, and boy do I miss our not being close by for fun times. I received a wonderful newsletter for Christmas from my favorite teacher, Robbie Thomas, with a family photo. All is well with them and he looks like he could have graduated with us, not older. Have a great 2010 – I appreciate your keeping the news coming, as it would be great to have much more from all of you. Friends Academy was

Class Notes such an intricate part of my life; thirteen years as a student and five as a faculty member, the memories are cherished. All the best to the “friendly class.” ~ Lesley

1970 Eli Abbe 299 Ely Place Palo Alto, CA 94306 415-856-3498 eliabbe@mail.com Scott Freeman has been teaching Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University since 1981 and he sees patients in the Emergency Department at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

It’s one of the departments that was featured on “Trauma - Life in the ER.” Scott remarks that he is still waiting for his first boring day at work after being there for almost thirty years.

1971 Robin D. Campbell 66 Vista Dr. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 518-886-8874 robin.campbell@oprhp.state.ny.us

kindness has been overwhelming. So, for those of you who would like to venture north... our door is open!” Leslie Martin sends greetings: “I spent the last thirty years in the field of natural healing, Eastern medicine, massage therapy, and Amma Therapy, and twenty-five of those years were spent teaching the same at The NY College in Syosset. These practices led to other modalities – Feng Shui, Bach Flowers, and most importantly the QiGong that mainstays my life. In 2003, I became an Interfaith Minister after two years of wonderful immersion in study at OneSpirit Interfaith Seminary, NYC, and now I have a great time writing ceremonies and marrying couples! I live on the mouth of the Nissequogue River, where I have the blessing of watching and listening to the natural world ebbing and tiding at my doorstep. Of all the messages that life gives me, here I find the river is loudest even in its most serene moments.

Both parents passed on in the last three years, as well as all of my animals – since then, I’ve begun to travel for the first time in my life . . . wow! May doors open for all of us every day, no matter what else is happening!

Blessings . . .”

1973

Craig Kronman 37 Meadow View Rd. Orinda, CA 94563 925-258-9442 kronlaw@sbcglobal.net

Laura Wicker Hackett 2420 Chatham Court State College, PA 16803 814-238-7661 lwh5@comcast.net

Peter Darbee was honored on March 13 by the American Jewish Committee at a ceremony in San Francisco, where he accepted the organization’s National Human Relations Award. Peter is CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation. Former Athletic Director Marty Jacobson, Peter’s high school wrestling coach, spoke at the ceremony.

In 2001, Peter and his wife, Melinda, established the Martin Jacobson Scholarship at Friends for a student in need who exhibits Marty’s qualities and character.

Bill Dudjoc has become quite involved with Team in Training as a cyclist. He notes, “I am biking 100 miles for Leukemia. After the Tahoe ride, I plan on being a team mentor and eventually a coach. This has been a life changing experience (to view Bill’s Team in Training website, go to http://pages. teamintraining.org/ct/ambbr10/billdudjoc).

Cindy and I have been very busy over the past year with work and play: running, biking, walking, and just enjoying being married to each other – twenty-eight years in March and going to Key West!! Had a chance to see Mary and Tony Marvullo over the summer. That was great. Also, I have been reconnecting with a lot of friends on Facebook – Chris Rising Turner, Beth Rose, Chris Freeman, Laura Wicker Hackett. The solar energy world is wild. It only took me thirty years to find a job I love....which means I’ll never be able to retire, but so what?

Some days I feel like I don’t even work for a living.” Chris Rising Turner writes, “My husband and I started last year with a trip to Antarctica, S. Georgia, and the Falklands.

1972 Sarah Hollett Hossfeld 125 Kellog Street Oyster Bay, NY 11771 516-922-0955 sphh54@gmail.com The alumni office heard from Clare Laemmle Bridge: “Greetings '72-ers! All is well in Tracadie, Nova Scotia. It’s quite beautiful, and the locals have embraced us. The

35

Originally, this was my mother’s trip, but she needed two new hips. We forged on without her as she recovered. It was an amazing adventure. Then, in April, while down to LI for Mom’s 84th birthday, I ventured into NYC to meet up with Bill Dudjoc. Bill and I attended FA from Kindergarten through 12th grade together. We hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since graduation. Bill has done a good job locating a bunch of our classmates this way. It has been nice to connect again. I find it amazing to chat on Facebook to Beth Rose, who lives in New Zealand. These are the positive benefits of our technological world. Beth and I may in fact be able to meet up near Helsinki late this summer. Our year ended with a most special gift. Our oldest daughter and her husband are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. Francesca was born December 26th. I never knew being a grandmother could be so much fun. Guess you don’t know ‘til you are there! We live close enough so I can help with the baby, cooking, cleaning, and even offering a few tips! I have to get my fill of Francesca because at the end of January we are traveling to Tanzania. So, yet again we start our year off with a bang. If anyone is interested, I post photos of our doings to our blog. The address is http:// tturnertales.blogspot.com. Hope everyone is well.” Cliff Gardner is still practicing criminal law, with an emphasis on death penalty defense, at his office in Northern California. Cliff comments, “My practice is always interesting. My wife, Julie, is a real estate agent in the little town of Piedmont where we live. My eldest son is waiting to hear from colleges now, and my youngest is in 7th grade. It would be great to see anyone who happens to be passing through my neck of the woods! I spoke recently with David Rosenberg, who is also doing well. I also speak with George Brandon on occasion. He is doing very well and living in Phoenix. George mentions that “nothing is too newsworthy here, just practicing law and going to Africa every year with at least one of my kids to chase dangerous game.” All is well on the Cape for Tony Marvullo.

“I was wondering what to write about and how and the thought occurred to me that when we were younger, we used to laugh about some of the news from older grades.

Well, now I am in one of those grades, so I have news like the other old ones. This past January, I finally broke down and had to have total hip replacement surgery in Boston. I can report that I am pain-free and dancing with the stars again. So that should take care of the 'old timers' type of news. Had a great summer. In August, my

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Friends Academy Alumni Association Alumni are the living legacy of Friends Academy.

50th Reunion!

Reconnect at FA's Largest Community Event !

nion u e R h t 25

Special Reunion Celebrations for Classes Ending in 0 and 5

Fall Fair & Homecoming October 22-24 Friday:

50th Reunion Luncheon for the Class of 1960

Friday night:

Potential class gatherings

Saturday:

Fall Fair followed by the Homecoming Reception on campus for all alumni. Ward Burian '54, the Alumni Association's first president, will be honored at the Reception.

Saturday night: Reunion Dinners off campus for classes ending in 0 and 5,

as well as the Class of 1954 Sunday:

Meeting for Worship in Matinecock Meeting House

Volunteers in classes planning special reunions will reach out to classmates soon. More information is on the alumni pages of the FA website: www.fa.org/alumni. Contact Alex Edwards-Bourdrez in the Alumni Office with questions: alumni@fa.org or 516-465-1796

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Class Notes old friend and best man at my wedding, Bill Dudjoc, came up for a visit with his wife.

A wonderful time – it was so good to see him. Went down memory lane about Glen Cove and Glen Head and our families. The kids are doing great. Anthony is living in Brookline and Katherine is in Brighton.

Mary is still a psychologist, working for a charter school on the Cape and I am in the 25th year of teaching and still love working with special-needs children. Hope all is well with everyone. On a side note, Neal Fowler is no longer missing. He lives right in South Dennis, near me, and his son graduated high school with my daughter. Definitely a small world.” Jeff Leach has a new title at IBMIndustry Solutions Architect. He is also the Cloud Computing subject matter expert for the West coast team. Jeff’s 14-year-old son, James, has sprouted well beyond six feet tall and is a defensive stopper and prolific scorer on his school’s basketball team. In February, Jeff was selected to be filmed

by IBM communications in both Chicago and Dallas. Jeff visited FA in March and gave a presentation to interested faculty and students about cloud computing and how it enhances the capacity of the iPhone.

Jan Klocke O’Sullivan digitalized her vinyl recording of the early 1970s A Capella Choir and sent a CD to each of the members of the choir – a kind gesture and a beautiful memory.

1975 Tilde Mariani Giacche’ Salita Falconara, 11 19032 San Terenzo di Lerici La Spezia Italy 339-260 -1874 tildemgiacche@yahoo.com Ellen Fasano wrote, “I’m still working for the US Dept. of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services as an adjudication officer, interviewing those seeking asylum.

I recently started piano and guitar after a long hiatus and joined the choir at the local Methodist Church in East Norwich.

My son, Alex, is a freshman at NYU and studies History and Italian language. My daughter, Zoe, is twelve years old and plays the drums and softball. 2009 was a difficult year with the loss of both of my parents to Alzheimer’s disease. My sisters, Adele Fasano ‘73, and Diane Fasano Stevens ‘71 and I are coping the best we can. It was great to catch up with Allison West over the holidays. She had a wonderful trunk sale of Pashmina scarves at her home in Mill

Neck. We had an impromptu lunch and enjoyed reconnecting.” Kimi Puntillo wrote, “I just got back from being invited to the Walt Disney World’s Half Marathon (Sat) and Marathon (Sun) – when you run both it’s appropriately called the Goofy and he’s pictured on the medal to match. Can’t wait to run the Maratona delle Terre Verdiane in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy. Cerdi’s opera music is played throughout the course.

There are five different shorter distances in addition to the marathon, so you can break early for some wine and cheese!” Robin Beckhard wrote, “Both of my kids will be graduating in May – Alex from Cornell, as an Economics major, and Claire from NYU Law School. Claire will be clerking for a NYU bankruptcy judge before joining Skadden in a year. Alex isn’t sure yet what he’ll be doing in the ‘real world’.” Penelope Wylie Mayer wrote that she and her husband, Christopher Mayer, along with their daughter, Augusta, spent a weekend with Cathy Blechman and Terrence Chermack in August at their home in Montauk. They also visited Vicki Chesler and husband, Matt Kovner, at their home in upstate NY while on our way to retrieve Augusta from camp in Canada.

Penolope reports: “We were treated to a great evening with wonderful food from their garden and Christopher and Matt compared notes on the different rums from the islands of the Caribbean. Finally, and most fun of all, this year is our 35th reunion. Since our 25th and 30th reunions, we’ve had a great bunch of classmates return and many more show up for the first time. I’d love to hear any ideas for the weekend from you all – Saturday evening after the reunion party is up for grabs, what do we want to do? Our class still leads the Alums in getting together for reunions …we can only lead the way about staying connected as classmates.”

Penelope recently joined the editorial board of The Meeting House magazine. Debbie McNair Ostrowski and her husband, Larry, recently moved from Eagle, ID (next to Boise), where they had been living with three dogs, three horses and a couple of cows since 2005. They now live in Horseshoe Bend, ID, a small town about twenty-five miles north of Boise. Vicki Chesler’s artwork was on display for the entire month of February at the Rosendale Café, in Rosendale, NY, not from her home in Olivebridge (upstate NY).

Ann Withington’s daughter, Emma, graduated from Columbia Nursing School and is a nurse at Mt. Sinai. Cathy Blechman and Terrance Chermak attended the recent wedding of Leslie Oren ‘82 and Michael Poloukhine ‘82.

37

1977 Chuck Cooperstein 10210 Waters Drive Irving, TX 75063 972-402-0887 coopgator@aol.com Kathleen Mann Carney wrote in: “We have had a year of great happiness and sadness.

In June, my father, Tom Mann, died after a ten year journey with Alzheimer’s. Such a profound loss and relief at the same time.

In November, our daughter married Josh Myers in Austin, Texas. It was quite a joyful celebration for our whole family. Our son, John Thomas, is a senior at TCU in Fort Worth. We moved to Tennessee three years ago because of Jack’s job. We are enjoying the beautiful rolling hills, the change of seasons, and wonderful people. We do miss our family in Texas! Our youngest son, Graham, moved here with us and is a junior in High School.” Jonathan Staiger dropped by the FA campus in January on the way to a visit with his parents in Mattituck. Jonathan lives in NYC. Steve Mills’ daughter was one of the dancers in the performance group that introduced the new Santa float during the last number of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in NYC.

1978 Thomas Hawkins 123 Duck Pond Road Glen Cove, NY 11542 516-671-8977 thawkins@barclayscapital.com Alumni Board member, Lis Dillof Dreizen, traveled to Scotland to visit her son, Collin Dreizen ‘09, at St. Andrew’s University. Lis showed her artwork in Huntington this spring. Some of the pieces were inspired by the music of Ellen Westermann.

1980 Michael Salzhauer 860 Park Avenue New York, NY 10075 212-744-7974 michael@benjaminpartners.com Michael Salzhauer notes, “I am continually overwhelmed by my classmates sending me updates about their comings and goings, achievements, and setbacks. The sheer volume of this communication makes me proud to have stood up to this task for nearly

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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Class Notes

(L to R) John Corcoran '82, Richard Oren '84, Olga Poloukhine ('80, left in '77), Michael Poloukhine '82, Leslie Oren '82, Robert Blechman '81, Robbin Mitchell '82, Edward Balazs '82, Susan Peirez '82, Cathy Chermak (Blechman) '75, Terrance Chermak '75.

thirty years. On a serious note, our thirtieth reunion will be coming up this fall, and it would be great if we could all make some effort to get together. I can guarantee that we will be more fun than we will be if we wait till the 50th. Having just worked on and enjoyed my 25th reunion for college, I saw how great it is to catch up with old friends.

Speaking of old friends, I did have the pleasure of having dinner with Greg Conway and Evan Deoul a few weeks ago at a fancy Italian restaurant in New York City. Greg is still living in London, and running the Simpson Thatcher office there. Evan (who paid for dinner) now runs the Washington, DC, office of Alliance Bernstein. As for me, same old stuff, except that I will be moving from the city to Riverdale, where we purchased a house.” Olga Poloukhine was a bridesmaid at the recent wedding of Leslie Oren ‘82 and Michael Poloukhine ‘82.

1981 Robert Blechman attended the recent wedding of Leslie Oren ‘82 and Michael Poloukhine ‘82.

1982 Leslie Oren and Michael Poloukhine were recently married. In attendance were John Corcoran, Robbin Mitchell, Edward Balazs, Susan Peirez, Olga Poloukhine ‘84, Robert Blechman ‘81, Cathy Chermak ‘75 and Terrance Chermack ‘75.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

1983 Caroline Kaplan 21 Drake Lane White Plains, NY 10607 914-347-1562 carrie@carriekap.com Here’s a great big thank you to the five people who responded to my recent appeal for class news. I guess the rest of you are just too busy doing all the things that the rest of us want to hear about. When you come up for air, send me an e-mail regardless of deadlines. Whatever I receive I’ll just put in the next issue of The Meeting House.

Here’s what some of us are up to now: Steve Harper has made a big change, moving to Los Angeles in February “for a personal and professional change of pace.” He continued, “the sun is out and the weather is lovely!!

Bought a great used car and am getting used to using my GPS and my car speakerphone.

Working on several writing projects and am connecting with the west coast offices of my reps for writing and acting. I’m also hanging out with friends and looking forward to some picturesque hikes and yoga classes.”

Both of our Patricias (Parker and Flynn) are Texans. Patricia Parker says, “I’m still living in Austin, TX, and splitting my time between taking care of my kids, Emily, ten, and Evan, five, and going to school. For the past three years, I’ve been doing the prerequisite and co-requisite courses to get into the local community college’s nursing program. I should start the two-year program full-time in the fall. I’ve been in Texas for seventeen years (I came for graduate school in Classics and married a Texan), but we still spend most of our summers at my family’s summer

home in Western Massachusetts. I still feel very much that the Northeast is my home.

Best wishes to the class of ‘83.” Patricia Flynn McArdle lives in Dallas. Moving east, we find Scott Chrysler in Louisiana. He checked in from there saying, “Janetta and I are still in Cade, Louisiana, working at a wonderful Episcopal day school. Hard to believe it has been thirteen years since we moved south. Despite the hurricanes and the challenges of informing people of the values of independent education in the deep South, we are blessed to be at a place that embraces and encourages so much of what Friends taught me. As our minds whirl around such motivational teachers as Mr. Brogan, Mr. Erickson, Dr. Sullivan, Doc Richardson, Mr. Dick, Coach Wynot, Ms. Roosevelt, Mr. Abbene, Mrs. Schmidt, and all the others who so generously gave of their time and lives to enable us to reach the heights we have, I have found a place that enables me to give some of all that back.

When we arrived thirteen years ago, I was hired as the Dean of Students and College Counselor. As all independent schools jobs do, that morphed into my current position as College Counselor and Academic Dean.

Through all the years of administrative work, my love has become college counseling – what a wonderful trip, helping kids realize what their options may be and working at a school that embraces the “best fit” as opposed to the “best list.” As college counseling has become my focus, so have the responsibilities. I now serve on the Board of the Southern Association of College Counseling (SACAC) as the Co-Chair of the Admission Practices Committee and have been nominated to sit on the same national standing committee. Keeps me hopping, but happy. Janetta and I are proud parents of a 6th grader and two 3rd graders. It is very true that no matter whom you teach, your own children are different. Each of the boys has been blessed with his own talents and abilities, but I continually imagine how my heroes from Friends would mold their individual personalities into future contributors. Though I came into teaching for very different reasons, I always find myself going back to those in Locust Valley who took the time and had the patience and belief to launch the career of a young educator. Having been in the profession for twenty-three years, I am continually amazed at the talents, love, and commitment our faculty brought to the classroom and playing fields everyday. We were, and are, truly blessed. One day, I hope to make it home and visit with all of those classmates

Class Notes

39

1984 Beth Anne Melkmann 162 East 80th Street, Apt. 3B New York, NY 10075 (212) 988-1753 lebonchien@aol.com David Schulman and his family moved to Charlotte almost two years ago and he reports, “Though we miss New York, it’s all going well here. I came in for the 25th reunion and it was great to see the folks who were there.” Richard Oren was a groomsman at the recent wedding of his sister, Leslie Oren ‘82 and her classmate, Michael Poloukhine ‘82.

Several members of the FA community attended a concert given by Melissa Errico '88 (center) at the Tilles Center on February 12. Melissa and her co-performer, Malcolm Getz, sang a selection of show and cabaret songs with a Valentine's theme. Pictured with Melissa (left to right): former math teacher Helen Ilijic; Head of School Bill Morris; former driver's education instructor Neal Stuber (father of Jennifer Stuber Adler '90); former Lower School teacher Pat Parmelee; Neal's wife, Carol Stuber; Melissa; assistant development director for alumni Alex Edwards-Bourdrez; former English teacher Roger Erickson; Andy Aaron, current FA parent and father of Robbie '05 and Meredith '07; Andy's wife, Jackie Feldman Aaron '74; Susan Edwards-Bourdrez; and Sue Morris.

and teachers alike, who have inspired me and my career.” A little closer to home, Carol Thurer Wolk reported, “I thought I would e-mail you an update, although I can’t say that any of it is earth shattering. I am living in Chappaqua, NY, with my husband, Steve, and two sons Aaron (9) and Zachary (5). I am still playing soccer on most Sundays in a Westchester women’s soccer league. I gave up practicing law a few years ago to become a legal and compliance recruiter and I absolutely love the change (although an improved market would certainly be nice).

My older son recently qualified for States for wrestling and my little guy loves to play the piano. I still stay in touch with Nancy Saltzman Papendreadis and Andrew Strow.

Wishing you all well!” And much closer to Friends, Regina Meade Lafaire wrote, “I spend an incredible amount of time driving to CT. Gregory (18) and Marielle (16) attend the same boarding school and I like to get up there at least once every couple of weeks to visit them and see a few games. Gregory is beginning the college process – he wants to study architecture and is looking to head south. Marielle is doing really well! Her varsity field hockey team finished number two in New England, losing the final to Hotchkiss in overtime! A very exciting season. Both Greg and Marielle are counting the days until lax season starts. Gracie is in 8th grade at Green Vale and is in the midst of deciding where she will attend school next year. She is an avid rider. Xavier is loving Pre-K. I have just begun teaching cooking

classes to small groups in my home. Loving it! It began with a few friends asking me to share recipes and a few techniques for meals that both kids and adults would like.

I have been happy to reconnect with old friends via Facebook. Initially I joined to check in on my kids, but I enjoy catching up with so many former classmates from FA! I hope everyone is happy and well!”

As for me, as I write these class notes I am sitting in my warm kitchen watching a very peaceful snowfall outside while the smells of a warm chocolate cake waft from behind my computer. It’s a great moment, but there will be payback when my two boys, Josh (12), and Jack (11), barge through the front door at 3:00. One is an avid tennis player and the other a gymnast, so the chauffeuring starts every day at 3:00 and continues throughout the weekend. When I’m not driving someone somewhere I spend my time playing tennis and doing public relations, writing for a charity on Long Island.

Although my bakery business has closed and I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy, I still bake a lot and enjoy the challenge of creating delicious desserts without using wheat flour.

My writing responsibilities with the charity will soon be expanding, so there may be less rice flour in my future, but I’ll always have time to write these notes, so please keep them coming!

1987 Barry D. Joseph 67-66 108th street, D66 Forest Hills, NY 10010 718-222-3563 barry@globalkids.org Emily Beiles Kaufman 7 Beechwood Drive Saddle River, NJ 07458 201-785-0907 emkaufman@optonline.net Keith Miles has opened a law office in Snellville, GA.

1988 Eileen Mc Glinchey Hume 353 Hickory Avenue Garwood, NJ 07027 908-789-3396 eileen@kingsindian.com Melissa Errico has been busy both under the lights and behind the scenes. Following her holiday-season appearance starring in White Christmas on Broadway, in February she performed an evening of show tunes and other songs with Malcolm Getz at the Tilles Center at C.W. Post, just down the street from FA. Former faculty Roger Erickson, Helen Ilijic, Pat Parmelee and Neal Stuber enjoyed the show, as did alumni director Alex Edwards-Bourdrez, Head of School Bill Morris and his wife, Sue, Jackie Feldman Aaron ‘74 and Tom Pascarella ‘95, who is the Tilles Center’s Technical Director. She is looking forward to the release of her CD, created with Michel Legrand, later this year.

A mother of three, Melissa is very active in a Lower East Side support group for mothers

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Class Notes

facing economic and social challenges. Ron Mitchell has launched an online mentoring service, www.gottamentor.com, that seeks to pair career-builders and job seekers with experienced professionals who can provide guidance. Michael Grunwald is a senior correspondent for TIME magazine and was called upon to pen the publication’s “Person of the Year” article in December. You can read his profile of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the magazine’s website.

Jen Briggs Stanley has been busy. Writing under the name J.B. Stanley, she has five books coming out in 2010. Recent books are Stirring Up Strife: A Hope Street Church Mystery and Path of the Wicked: A Hope Street Church Mystery. She is also debuting another new mystery series with A Killer Plot: A Bayside Books Mystery (due out in June), and will be writing under the name Ellery Adams. Check out Jen’s website: www.jbstanley.com.

1989 Adam Fruitbine 375 Faletti Circle River Vale, NJ 07675 201-391-3040 AFruitbine@aol.com

Wooster Group, traveled with the company to LA this winter to perform North Atlantic, billed as “a satirical romp through our military imagination.” Ari portrays Captain Chizzum in the piece. The company then took the show to the Big Apple, performing in brand new Jerome Robbins Theater of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in NYC (450 West 37th Street), where The Wooster Group is launching a three-year residency. Andrea Temmeli Smith wrote to the Alumni Office: “I am the President and CEO of Integrity Banc Solutions, a company dedicated to helping individuals and companies alleviate their unsecured debt by lowering their interest rates with pre-approved reductions that the major creditors have agreed on, principle reduction programs, community education of debt and credit, and also assisting people to do these things themselves and teach others.

We are starting a nonprofit, Integrity Banc Solutions Community Outreach, designed to educate children from Kindergarten up about proper credit usage and healthy financial practices. If anyone has children with their own businesses, we would like them to contact me here on Facebook or at andrea. temmeli@gmail.com and tell us about it.”

1991

JoAn Monaco 315 East 72nd St., Apt 18-L New York, NY 10021 646-438-9264 joanLmonaco@aol.com

Michael Fox 1209 N. Citrus Avenue Hollywood, CA 90038 646-373-7535 mfox789@gmail.com

Keith Rubinstein wrote the alumni office: “I’ve been married for almost five years to an incredible woman, Diane. We have a three-year-old son, Felix, and a one-yearold daughter, Eloise. I am officially back in school. I attend Stony Brook University’s MA Philosophy Program in Manhattan. My greatest philosophical interest is ethics. I plan to teach when I graduate.” Tanya Zuckerbrot Beyer appeared on ABC’s The View in February to discuss her F-Factor Diet.

(Google “Tanya Zuckerbrot The View” to see the clip.) She was also featured in a big article in The New York Post.

Colleen Doyle Moran 10 Arbor Way Morristown, NJ 07960 973-656-1513 colleendmoran@aol.com

1990 Suzanne D’Addario Brouder 2225 N. Seminary Ave. Chicago, IL 60614 773-360-8921 suzanne@daddario.com Ari Fliakos, a principal actor for the NYCbased experimental theater group, The

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Ben Tabler wrote the alumni office, “I’m living in New York City and working at a law firm as a patent lawyer. And, I have a band on the side, Whose Confused!? Check out our website: (www.whosconfused. com).” Dara Emru gave birth to Sofia Hope Emru on July 10th, 2009. She writes, “Being with her in any given moment is as good as reaching any of my foreign destinations or any discoveries I’ve made in my life thus far – she’s sheer joy. We’re tucked away in Brooklyn having lots of fun.” Dara works for Truist, Inc., an organization which provides donation and volunteer management tools to non-profits and corporate giving/volunteering programs.

She’s on the volunteer management side as a

knowledge expert for the Volunteer Solutions platform. She implements and trains volunteer centers, academic institutions, and corporations on their volunteer tools and helps them better connect with both their volunteers and community partners who provide volunteer opportunities nationally.

They have recently embarked on an international program as well. Dara reports that “the work is really gratifying, and I have to say, if it weren’t for my background in the Quaker tradition of service, it may never have even occurred to me to be doing such a thing with my life.” Mike Fox has moved back to NY from LA and has developed a company called Humanitainment that produces innovative marketing campaigns that fuse brand message, pop culture, and social purpose. One recent project involved a successful online campaign for Obama during the 2008 election. Check out some of the work at www.humanitainment. com. Erin Bondy Lanuti works for Blink Marketing in NYC and wrote in: “I have had the pleasure of producing a project that Blink Entertainment will be marketing. The Lottery is a film that spotlights the crisis in public education, and while the film focuses on NYC, it speaks to the education crisis all across America. Given today’s headlines about how The New York State Legislature has failed to act to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for education, via the Race To The Top Fund, the timing of our film could not be more appropriate. We need your help; I hope you will visit the film’s website, www.thelotteryfilm.com, to view the trailer and learn more about this important project. While you are there, please lend support to the project by signing your name to the Education Constitution we have created.” The film’s release is scheduled

Twins Jan and Martin Bisek (2 years old), sons of Ivana and Jonathan Bisek '92, at play in the Czech Republic.

Class Notes

NBA Vice President for Community Relations Todd Jacobson ‘93, left, recently managed a special public service announcement shoot with Presidents Clinton and Bush in support of the Haiti relief efforts that ran during the 2010 NBA All-Star 2010 break.

for May 7, 2010. In July 2009 Beth Walla Townsend and her husband, Greg, welcomed twins Megan and Audrey, who join older brother Ryan (5). Beth has been living in Franklin, TN, near Nashville, for 15 years.

She is a family-law attorney in Nashville.

She reports, “Life is busy, and I credit my multi-tasking abilities in large part to the hard work I learned that I had to do to keep up at FA!”

1992 Clayton Siegert 100 I Street S. Boston, MA 02127 617-821-2867 csiegert@the80sgame.com Jonathan Bisek reports from the Czech Republic: “Our two-year-old twin boys, Jan and Martin, are growing quite fast. Last week they rode on their new motorcyles for the first time! Ježíšek (Santa does not visit us here in the Czech Republic, even though Coca Cola is trying their hardest....) brought it for them. Their mother was quite angry.

I cannot wait until we start riding together!

2009 was a tough year here in the Czech Republic, where a considerable percentage of the GDP is from manufacturing, and this segment was hit hard as consumer spending was reduced, due to the financial crisis. Of course, this directly affected my company, as we provide logistics for many of these production companies. But, we were able to keep our most important assets, our staff.

While other companies laid off workers, we made a tough but correct decision to keep

everyone on the payroll. While it had quite a negative affect on our P&L statement, it was necessary and I am quite lucky that my superiors in Holland, as well as in Tokyo, agreed. But Q4 of 2009, as well as the first two months of 2010, look quite good, and I expect it to get better... I hope for everyone.”

Clay Siegert rallied his fellow former FA hoopsters once again for the Ninth Annual Alumni Basketball Game, played in the Main Gym (and expertly refereed by Coach Hef) on November 28. Clay was called away on business, but he was there in spirit.

1993 Natalia Porcelli Good 310 East Houston St., Apt. 5E New York, NY 10002 212-753-0128. nataliapgood@yahoo.com Danielle Valenti Smith 420 East 72nd Street Apt. 6J New York, NY 10021 646-334-3888 danvalenti@hotmail.com Sandy Lyon Mare writes, “I’m still living half the year in Mooresville, North Carolina, and the other half in Seattle, Washington. We travel back and forth with our two dogs and three children. I am due in April with our fourth child, another boy! We have Hayden (7), Kayla Brooke (5), and Landon (3).

While it is very stressful at times, we are loving getting to experience the best of living on the east and west coasts.” Amanda Valente is still working in the legal department at

41

Rodale and was recently engaged. She is planning a September wedding on Long Island. Angeliqua Mitra, who will be a bridesmaid in Mandy’s wedding, is in her last year of graduate school and interning at a forensic facility. By the end of the summer, she should have completed her doctorate in Psychology. Angie hopes to be back in Brooklyn as of September and soon after start her own practice. Shaleen Patel and his wife, Greta, welcomed a baby girl, Jaiya Anne Patel, into their family on January 19, 2010. Bill Varrichio writes, “Karen and I welcomed Avery Rose to our family on September 17, 2009. She joins older brother Luke (4) and sister Olivia (3). Jesse Laserson and Amanda Levy Laserson are still living in Huntington with their two kids and two dogs. Jesse is currently getting his MBA at Hofstra, while still working full time at RXR Realty as the VP of Tenant Construction for Long Island and Westchester. Sophie (6) was elected to be the first “Star Student” of the year at her primary school, and will start to play lacrosse in the Spring. Sam (4) is loving his nursery school and weekly soccer class. Dana Lostritto has been busy with her children but managed to find time to train and run the NYC marathon in November.

She was proud to run with Fred’s Team and raised over $5,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She and her husband, Georges, recently became homeowners and are loving their new life in Laurel Hollow with their children, Georges, 5, and twins Harris and Eden, almost 4.

Dana recently ran into Mary Beth Maioli Kelly.

Mary Beth has a little boy, Will, and lives in Oyster Bay Cove. We also hear that Leslie Lowenthal is due to have a baby any day and that Jean Roosevelt is living in Santa Monica, CA. Todd Jacobson is working at the NBA as Vice President of Community Relations overseeing the NBA and WNBA global social responsibility efforts, community partnerships, and public service initiatives.

He recently had the surreal experience of managing a public service announcement shoot with former President Clinton and President George W. Bush in support of the Haiti relief efforts that ran during the NBA All-Star game in Dallas. As for us, Danielle Valenti Smith is still living in NYC and is expecting her third baby in April. She has a daughter Siena (4) and a son Luca (2).

Natalia Porcelli Good is also still living in NYC and has a son, Julian (4). Natalia is starting an internship in the curatorial department at El Museo del Barrio. Adam Good is the Executive Vice President of a real estate development company managing tenant relationships and exploring alternate uses for

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42

Class Notes

existing assets, including new lease deals and new commercial developments. Natalia and Adam hope to be relocating to Long Island in the near future. Jesse Shafer, a broker for Corcoran, was asked to be the expert answering residential real estate questions on a WABC-TV live interactive chat in March.

Joshua Sussman is busy with his working life in NYC, where Josh oversees business and legal affairs and helps oversee operations for IAC’s programming businesses (including The Daily Beast, CollegeHumor and Notional, a new multi-media production company that produces shows liked Chopped on Food Network). Josh was thrilled to have his friend, Todd Jacobson, move into the same apartment building as Josh (note to Todd: I need my wine opener, vacuum cleaner and Tabasco sauce back, please). Walter Gaceta wrote in: “Been keeping myself busy with my athletic training business here and the kids ... Hopefully my schedule will allow me to come back for Fall Fair this coming year!”

1994 Heather Upton 269 Ohio St. Pasadena, CA 91106 626-507-8524 hupton@mac.com We now have two Friends Academy ’94 couples in our class: joining Kristin Kelly and Damian Pieper, Danielle Lia and Philip Van Riper got married last July in a vineyard on the North Fork of LI. They are now busy getting settled in CT, where Philip has taken a job at UBS in Stamford, and the earlychildhood school that Danielle started, The Learning Experience Charter School, opens in Newtown in May. Alex Kong also got married this past year, to Malia Hughes, at the Nassau County Art Museum. Alex is the digital production coordinator for the Nature Publishing group and a freelance Web Danielle Lia Van Riper '94 (center) celebrating with her groom, FA classmate Phil Van Riper (right of Danielle), and their wedding party. Alums pictured above (l. to r.): Frank Posillico '94 (third from left) and his wife, Jessie Axinn Posillico '95; Todd Sheahan '94 (behind Danielle); Phil; Eden Yariv Goldberg '94; Dana Minutoli Forbes '94; and Neely Doshi Cather '94. Danielle and Phil held their wedding at a vineyard on the North Shore of LI.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

designer with his brother (www.brotherskong. com), and Malia is a children’s book illustrator and a photo-realistic oil painter.

In the NY area, Claudine Bitel is finishing up her Ph.D in Neuroscience, and video game designers Dave Gilbert and his wife, Janet, are publishing a new game in March called Puzzle Bots (http://www.puzzle-bots. com/). Adam Bernstein has been keeping the restaurant business on its toes with his mystery shopping and restaurant consulting business (http://atyourserviceconsulting. blogspot.com/), when he’s not running the show at the LI Legal Seafood. Farther afield, Anne Seigert Thomas and her husband, Andy, relocated to his hometown of Baton Rouge, LA, this past November. Their daughter, Lucy, will turn 2 in June, and Anne is also busy running a photography business (www.longviewphotography. com – some of her childhood friends may recognize the name as the street she grew up on), where she acts as an agent for a team of photographers. Jon Berroya left his law firm job to join Yahoo! as the Legal Director of Global Law Enforcement and Security.

He’s still based in DC, but travels often to San Fran. Meanwhile, this February, Devon Metz made it to the top of the highest peak in Africa! She was part of a group that climbed Kilimanjaro, just weeks after she wrapped a successful retreat at her Devon Hiking Spa program in Tucson. We also have several alums that are both doing well and – perhaps inspired by their time at FA – also focusing on doing good. Derek Pasch is now the president of MAC Auto Couture, a “Luxury Automotive Restyling Facility” in Glen Cove that takes primping your ride to a whole new level. Check out their website: www.martinoautoconcepts.com. This past August they held their inaugural “Gold Coast Extravaganza,” an exotic car show benefiting the School for Language and Communication Development – a school for children with severe learning disabilities.

Out here in Los Angeles, Beau Peele has finally left his consulting job after 4+ years advising on strategy, PE and M&A for clients in healthcare, tech & media, and energy across the globe – with enough frequent flyer miles for a sequel to Up In The Air! Beau says, “Motivated by the desire to directly contribute to improving the way we all live, I started MyEnergySolution.com with two Stanford friends. Our company is dedicated to helping you save money and go green at home. We provide free online home energy audits and professional advice on home solar, wind and energy saving solutions.” After Adam Ronzoni completed his research with the Juan Fernandez Fur Seals off the coast of Chile and enjoyed 3 months of trekking in Patagonia with FA classmate Josh Speisman, Adam has relocated to the Falkland Islands.

He has decided to take some time off from his years of research to give back, and has volunteered to assist in the removal of land mines from the 1982 war between the United Kingdom and Argentina. It is believed that between 18,000 – 25,000 mines are buried beneath the Falkland’s sandy beaches, and the removal process will be challenging since the mines’ position have shifted over time.

Adam hopes that clearing these minefields will give back to the local community and help restore a sense of security. For his part, Josh Speisman is sad to report that Albert the Alpaca, his companion on his fund-raising hike through South America (and a great favorite on the blog he kept during the trip) has died of a parasitic infection. However, the two of them were able to raise thousands of dollars for various indigenous peoples they encountered along their journey, and inspired by that experience, Josh is now heading to the mountainous regions of Peru to interview remnants of the Sendero Luminoso (the communist party of Peru), who started an internal conflict in that country in 1980 using violent means to replace the government.

He intends to use his interviews as part of a piece he is writing about the ineffectiveness of violence in the pursuit of lasting political change, and credits his time at Friends for motivating him to take on this project. Sari Fruitbine Shaw and her husband, Matt, have a two-year-old son, Benjamin Hayden. They live in NYC. Arthur Bovino is a food writer for an online publication. In the fall he was a guest speaker at FA in French II classes that were getting an introduction to French cooking. Zach Cunha and his wife, Emily, welcomed their first child, Elizabeth Ann, into the world on January 22, 2010. The Cunhas live in Providence, RI, and Zach works in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. He

Class Notes Jessica Foschi '98 Inspires Students at Winter Sports Assembly

A

world-class freestyle swimmer while at Friends and Stanford University, Jessica Foschi ’98 came back to campus to address the Upper School Winter Sports Assembly in March.

Jessica wove together anecdotes from her decorated swimming career to illustrate three lessons that competitive athletics have taught her and that are proving invaluable in the early years of her challenging career as an attorney at a large firm in Manhattan.

Time management topped the list.

She walked the audience through a typical day in her life as a Friends student from seventh through twelfth grades: out of bed at 5 a.m.; in the pool by 6 a.m. for a grueling 90-minuteplus workout; breakfast in the car on the way to school; classes, some socializing, and lots of homework during free periods; back in the pool by 4 p.m. for three more hours; strength training until 7:30 p.m.; home, shower, dinner; finish homework; collapse – every day for six years at Friends, and then four years at Stanford, where she finished her career a 15-time All American, the NCAA 500-meter freestyle champion, and co-captain of the NCAA Division-I runner-up team.

Jessica said that it is important to put balance in life: “My current job may be demanding, but it never seems overwhelming because I am used to packing a lot into a single day, including making the most of my time outside of work.”

The second lesson stressed setting goals, something successful athletes have mastered. “Goal-setting and the strategy or plan to get there are the entire premise of the working world,” Jessica remarked. “Goals take months or years to reach.” She offered that

AMANDA FISK/friends academy

it is the achievements along the way that make the journey enjoyable and rewarding.

Jessica saved the most important lesson for last: working with others.

“It is imperative for success that you get along with your colleagues and are able to foster a productive working environment despite differences you may have with others,” she said. “The best place to learn how to do this is on the playing fields of sports.” She explained that at Stanford, striving for a national swimming championship with her teammates, she learned just how important teamwork is, even in what people think of as an “individual” sport.

Jessica stressed the importance of dedication to doing one’s best at any level of athletic participation. “If I am ever in a position to hire someone,” she concluded, “you better believe that I am going to give former athletes, or someone who has participated in and has shown a dedication to athletics, a huge edge over other candidates.”

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was recently honored with a Department of Justice Commendation for his role in the resolution of United States v. Pfizer, Inc., which recovered $2.3 billion dollars for the federal government, the largest recovery for the US in a health care fraud investigation in U.S. history. Congratulations to Jessica Axinn ’95 and Frank Posilicco on the birth of their son, Calvin, in September ’09! In March, Frank had his head shaved in the annual St. Baldrick’s fund-raiser for childhood cancer research at Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub in Northport, NY. It was the ninth year in a row Frank bared his scalp for the cause. He was joined this year by Jordan Tarry ’98, who took the plunge for the first time. Alana Teutonico and her husband, Ian Brock, welcomed their second child, Ian, in March. Alana reports, “Emma is doing great as a big sister. We are all doing well, though adjusting to having a newborn and 2-year-old at home now.”

Congratulations to Katie Hsu-Hoberman and her husband, Clayton, on the January 2009 birth of their second child, Beatrice, who joins three-and-a-half-year-old Bennett Paul.

1995 Thomas A. Pascarella 156 Lewis Avenue Westbury, NY 11590 tompasc@tompasc.com Kelly Reid Walsh 96 Grove Street Wellesley, MA 02482 781-237-2893 reidkel@gmail.com Congratulations to Jessica Axinn and Frank Posilicco ’94 on the birth of their son, Calvin, in September ’09! Allison Tomlinson is the new chair of the Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association.

She is the Northeast Regional Counsel in the NYC office of Gensler, a global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm. Her practice involves contract review and negotiation, litigation management, risk management and general legal advice.

Congratulations to Laura Dello-Iacono Pellicone, on the birth of her daughter, Avery, on March 20! Avery joins big brother, Liam, who will turn two soon. Tom Pascarella is enjoying his gig as technical director of the Tilles Center (at LI University’s C.W. Post campus). Tom recently arranged for discounted tickets for the FA community to see Melissa Errico ‘88 in concert singing Valentine’s songs with actor/ musician Malcolm Getz.

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Class Notes

1996 Melissa Barbagelatta and her husband, Phillip Shaltis, welcomed Aaron William Shaltis into the world in February! The happy family lives in Sharon, MA.

1997 Devon Broderick Carroll 28 Bedford St., Apt. 23 New York, NY 10014-4471 917-531-7579 devon.broderick@gmail.com Devon A. George 163 West 18th Street, Apt 9b New York, NY 10011 516-457-8082 devon@dmvcapital.net Liz Emmanuel was recently wed to Justin Mauro. Mauros live in Brooklyn. Lizzie Ford has lived in Boulder, CO, and Boynton Beach, FL, but is now back on Long Island pursuing a career in elementary and special education. After completing her Master’s of Art History in London, Samantha Hallman is presently volunteering in the Limpopo Valley of Botswana with a riding safari company (lvhsafaris.co.za). It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet great people, view game in their habitat, and, of course, keep up her riding. Finally, we were saddened to receive word that Jenny Spielman passed away in 2008.

married Eric Monroe on February 6, 2010.

The wedding and reception was at Burke Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont. Laura is the Middle School Librarian at Richmond Middle School in Hanover, NH, and Eric is a Computer Network Manager at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in NH. Jordan Tarry is coming up on his one-year wedding anniversary (May). He and his wife, Angela, have bought a home in Huntington. Jordan works for Jordan ISI Group, Inc., a brokerdealer firm that specializes in economic and policy research around the world. Jordan is responsible for the firm’s business in the Midwest and in Australia. (He is racking up frequent-flyer miles!) Closer to home, Jordan took the plunge and had his head shaved in the annual March St. Baldrick’s fund-raiser for childhood cancer research at Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub in Northport.

Jordan was a first-time participant, but he had support from St. Baldrick’s veteran Frank Posillico ’94, who bared his scalp for the ninth year in a row. Jessica Foschi was the featured speaker at the Upper School Winter Sports Assembly. She delivered an inspiring message about the rewards of dedication and teamwork with stories from her swimming career, which culminated in an individual NCAA national championship at Stanford.

The national spotlight, via ABC-TV, recently shone on Justin Meli, who teaches in Chicago for Teach for America. Justin was one of two “Persons of the Week,” reported by Diane Sawyer. To view the segment, type in “Secrets of America’s Greatest Teachers” in the search bar on YouTube.

1998

1999

Justin J. Boults 222 Gates Ave., Apt #2 Brooklyn, NY 11238 boultsman@hotmail.com

John F. Reid 15 Wood Valley Road Chatham, MA 02633 reidjohnny@gmail.com

Justin P. Meli 1500 Chicago Ave., Apt. 620 Evanston, IL 60201 713-553-4108 justinpmeli@gmail.com Jordan S. Tarry 333 E. 5th St., Apt C3 New York, NY 10003 516-526-1689 jtarry@isigrp.com Alan Jurim is the proud new father of a baby girl, Samantha, who was born in early 2009. Jocelyn Lund Ringler and her husband, Yaakov, also have a baby girl, Eden Paz, born on September 26, 2009. Laura Abbene

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Jennifer Ryan Woods 2 Meadow Spring Lane Glen Cove, NY 11540 516-398-0888 JenniferLynnWoods@gmail.com Kate Mincer designed the costumes for the “Klezmer Nutcracker” at the Vital Theater Company (which had its run over the holiday season). She’s been designing costumes for theater for several years now, after earning her M.F.A. in Costume Design.

AND, Kate is engaged to Rocko Di Santi, from Colorado. They will live in the NY vicinity. Dara Broxmeyer and her husband, Jon Gruenberg, are proud new parents.

Cornelia Reese Gruenberg was born in

December, weighing in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches. Ainsley Nelson wrote in: “I just recently moved back into Manhattan, I’m working as an advertising copywriter and freelance journalist. I’ve been published in the New York Press, The Rumpus, and Curve magazine, among other publications, which has been a lot of fun. My business partner and I are co-owners of our own firm, called Ministry of Imagery. Over the past two-and-a-half years I’ve lived in Portland, Oregon, and Norman, Oklahoma, so I’m glad to be back in New York. I have a dog named Snack and I want to become a yoga instructor if I can relax enough to complete the training. I’m hoping to hold out and be the last person in class to get married and have kids.” Jordanna Davis got married to Stephen Mott, a Capitol Hill colleague.

In a kind of reversal of the traditional way, they tied the knot in Virgin Gorda in the Caribbean, and then honeymooned in Vermont in February. Chris Gillick has jumped from journalism to PR, joining the global financial public relations firm Walek & Associates, in NYC. Jen Ryan Woods has published her first book: The Active Asset Allocator: How ETFs Can Supercharge Your Portfolio.

2000 Paul P. Corrigan 1 The Preserve Woodbury, NY 11797 516-448-2228 ppcpaul@aol.com Mimi MacKinnon 46 Duck Pond Road Glen Cove, NY 11542 516-759-2063 meredith.mackinnon@trincoll.edu J. P. Foschi’s NFL career got some major traction this year after he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. He put up some good numbers at the tight-end position. Previously J.P. had played sparingly for the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. J.P. and his wife, Jackie, are the proud new parents of Robert John. Emily Thaler graduated from law school in May. She lives in DC and clerks for a Judge at the Tax Court. Nicole Jarzabek is a new mom! Daughter Amelia was born in September 2009. Brooke Borg completed her MFA in Visual Arts at the University of Barcelona in September 2009.

After participating in many group shows around Barcelona over the last four years, she had her first solo exhibit at La Capella gallery in December 2009. She recently

Class Notes finished working on the artistic direction for a concert at Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica as part of the Festival Mil·leni. Brooke sometimes collaborates on Barcelona’s TV3 and ICAT FM. Check out her website: http://brookeborg.com/shows. Aliza Watters is in Cambridge, MA these days. She recently defended her doctoral dissertation from Oxford in December, and is a teaching fellow in the English Dept. at Harvard. She writes, “I must now seek more permanent employment, which is, as you know, hard to come by in academia...! I am getting married this summer in England – a small family affair, and so am planning that as well. Just bought a dress (the fun part).” Chris Massa has big news: He is engaged to Heather Austin ’02. Congratulations!

2001 Hadley Devon Mongell 245 E. 63rd Street Apt. 517 New York, NY 10065 212-759-1377 hmongell@yahoo.com From Hadley: Hi Everyone. I hope that everyone is doing well and settling into a great year! Thomeeka Reeves is working as a life coach and psychotherapist in New York City. She specializes in women’s issues, and received her MSW from Columbia University in 2008. Thomeka is continuing to pursue her education, and will be a 2015 PhD candidate! Jacqueline Young is working with two different schools and an agency in NYC as an intervention counselor. She focuses on children in Pre-K through 8th grade. Jacqui has also hosted many fantastic “dinner nights” at her apartment that have included friendly faces such as Ajay Rajani, Ashleigh Treiber, Steven Chimienti, Jay Williams, Deborah Rosenberg, Noah Weissman, Alex Meyer, Liz Ong and Steve Witthuhn (they are engaged too!). Other classmates tying the knot include Elyse Eichler Scotford, and Carole Ingrassia who just recently got engaged!

Carole will be married in Lattingtown, NY in August 2010. Christina Tomaselli graduated from Brooklyn Law and is currently residing in Vail, Colorado before she heads back to NYC to pursue her law career. Dan Tran and Elizabeth Edelheit ‘03 got married on August 2nd, 2009 at Westbury Manor. Fate apparently brought these two Quakers back together in 2007. Dan had been working in Norwalk, CT, for a few years as a software engineer at FactSet Research Systems, Inc. Liz had recently graduated from Skidmore and found a job as a teacher’s aide at a

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2002 Lauren Marie Bebry 2757 Heathfield Road Bloomfield, MI 48301 631-875-5725 Lauren.Bebry@gmail.com Michael Jason Weiss 40 Cow Neck Road Sands Point, NY 11050 516-883-1572 michael.jason.weiss@gmail.com Heather Austin has big news: She is engaged to Chris Massa ’00. Congratulations!

2003 Liz Edelheidt ’03 and Dan Tran ’01

nearby charter school. Being that she was new to the area, she reached out to him to help her make some new friends, and the rest is history. And as Dan said, “ I mean, who could resist such manly charm?” Ashleigh Treiber is working at the Nancy Margolis gallery in Chelsea, where she continues to do a fabulous job booking talent and installing monthly exhibits. Jennie Grasso is in her first year of being a Kindergarten teacher at a catholic charter school in Brooklyn. Tai Hummerjohann currently resides in L.A, and is contemplating her next adventure. Dom Nardi and his wife, Lin, took a safari last year. He posted some awesome photos (http://web.mac.com/ freedom4/Doms_Travel_Site/Africa/Africa. html). Over the past year, Michelle Javian and I have worked together launching a non-profit organization, Harboring Hearts Housing (www.harboringhearts.org). The mission of this organization is dedicated to providing a comprehensive resource and housing center for patients and caregivers being hospitalized for cardiac-related diseases in the New York City area. We had our first event on December 4th, and we were both so touched to have the support of Todd and Heather Tilton, Pam Karches, Linn Katus, Ashleigh Treiber, Jennie Grasso, Salwa Touma, Liz Ong, Steve Witthuhn, and Courtney Taylor, who were all in attendance. Congratulations to Diane Loviglio on her engagement to Gil Tolle. No date has yet been set. I hope to hear from many more of you in time for the next update! In the meantime, I wish only the best for you and your families in the coming year. Xoxo Hadley

Katherine Elizabeth Donoghue 88 Leonard St., Apt. 1511 New York, NY 10013 516-238-4550 kate.donoghue@gmail.com Tara Kristin Hanna 245 Locust Street W. Hempstead, NY 11552 516-316-8220 thanna@fordham.edu Andrew Joseph Rivara 249 Cleft Road Mill Neck, NY 11765 516-624-8380 andrewrivara@gmail.com After raising $4,500 last summer for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society running a half marathon, Farah Visslailli is training for her second endurance event with Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Farah is running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego on June 6. She needs to raise at least $2,900.

Hayley Kucich is enjoying learning the family construction manufacturing business, while continuing to run Care Cards during her free time (www.care-cards.org). She is enjoying life on the Upper East Side and loves bumping into FA alumni all throughout the city. Hayley has also joined the editorial board of The Meeting House magazine. At the end of 2009 Adam Micheletti began a new job as Director of Hockey and Business Operations for the Dubuque (Iowa) Fighting Saints, an expansion team in the United States Hockey League. They begin play in the 2010-2011 season. Christina Vittiello’s business of jewelry making and designing is doing well. Currently stores as far away as Texas carry her line. A major focus of her

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Class Notes

business model is giving back. Check out her website: www.cristinav.com.

2004 Angela Teresa Batista 2 Greenway Muttontown, NY 11771 516-857-6572 batista1023@gmail.com Jonathan Harley Koenig 31 Yukon Drive Woodbury, NY 11797 jonathan.koenig@aya.yale.edu From Jonathan: “First and foremost, our very own Liz Pavlovich is engaged...yes, to be wed. She had been working in Africa trying to build a stronger health care system in Tanzania, a project she first started in college, and when she last came home she was engaged to an American, also working in Africa. In other less exciting news, a few of us have returned for more school following college. Angela Batista is at law school at Hofstra, Jessica Natbony is finishing her second year of Law School at Georgetown.

Teale Clark is halfway through her first year at UVA law. Jesse Minc is in Law School at Vanderbilt. Jackie Palma is finishing her second year of Dental school at A.T. Still University in Arizona. Molly Fox and I are both in grad school as well: Molly at Cambridge in the UK studying genetics, and I in med school, which is much more work than I could have ever imagined – but I’m doing my best to enjoy every free minute that I do have. Many members of our class are living and working in NYC including Zach Rosenow, Jason Jacobs, Dave Greene, Sam Eisner, Ben Ryan, Paul Wagner, Peter Karches, Denis O’Kane, Greg Jaske, and Ashley Levien.”

2005 Robert Harrison Aaron 27 Shorewood Drive Sands Point, NY 11050 516-524-4261 rha209@lehigh.edu Helen Simpson Hatch 137 Linden Farms Road Locust Valley, NY 11560 516-609-3239 helen.s.hatch@gmail.com First, let's all do our best to attend the special Five-Year Reunion FA has planned for us on June 5! Robbie Aaron is in Indianapolis, where he landed a job in broadcasting. He

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

was hired by ESPN radio to be the pre- and post-game show host and in-game updater for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (the Phillies triple A team). Nolan Kucich is looking forward to finishing up at Molloy College where he is a Business Major. Continuing to play baseball on the Long Island Astros, Nolan also offers his assistance to Coach Lindner and the Varsity Baseball Team, where Nolan’s brother Alek (freshman) is the starting shortstop. Sarah Robinson has joined SecondMarket, an illiquid asset firm in Manhattan, where fellow alum J.P. Teutonico ‘90 is a founding partner. Mike (Tanapon) Raomanachai is now in San Francisco pursuing graduate studies in Multimedia Communication at the Academy of Art. He has finished three months and reports, “So far so good. I’m living on campus but this summer I’m moving out to my own place.

I’m going back to New York at the last weekend of June just for a five-day visit to help my exchange program, AFS, with their students’ departure."

2006 Brian T. Alessi 50 Shore Drive Plandome, NY 11030 516-365-3983 alessib@bc.edu Jennifer Marie Wagner 124 Feeks Lane Locust Valley, NY 11560 516-656-3480 wagnerj8@muohio.edu Kaitlin Marie Wagner 124 Feeks Lane Locust Valley, NY 11560 516-656-3480 wagnerkm@muohio.edu Jenna McCann will be graduating from the College of William and Mary in May 2010 and will go on to work for JP Morgan’s Private Bank in New York, NY. Kaitlin Wagner is writing for Miami University’s Miami Quarterly. It is a student-run newspaper that is released every quarter of the year. Kristin Morrison spent the summer working as an institutional sales intern for Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, an investment bank headquartered in Washington, DC. She is enjoying her final year at Princeton as an American Politics major. When not attending to her studies, Kristin spends the majority of her time on the lacrosse field, as a senior captain, and fulfilling her duties as an officer of the University Cottage Club.

As the semester is coming to an end, Kristin is gearing up to write her senior thesis on Sarah Palin and the media. Jen Wagner writes, “I still do not know where I will be once I graduate, but I am looking for jobs in Chicago. I interned at Clear Channel Radio Chicago over the summer and became obsessed with the city! I have become a member of Miami Television News. It is a student-run organization, where we create news packages and stories... report them... and then finally put on a news show that runs on Miami University’s local television station. I realize that I LOVE reporting and being a part of a team that is involved with the news, producing, script writing, and so on. I truly hope to find a job in the broadcasting industry. Fingers crossed!”

Emily Lepore is the president of the Hotel School at the University of Cornell.

Danielle Farrell is the Alumni Relations chair of her sorority. She is also the Cornell Ambassador.

2009 Ingrid A. Gutierrez 151 East Graham Avenue Hempstead, NY 11550 516-292-2302 freetimenvyz@hotmail.com Cristen Koufakis 239 Cleft Road Mill Neck, NY 11765-1003 516-627-5222 cristen.koufakis@trincoll.edu Nell C. Kucich 316 Manhasset Woods Road Manhasset, NY 11030 516-965-0635 NellKucich@gmail.com John E. Mascari Dartmouth College 3153 Hinman Hanover, NH 03755 john.mascari@dartmouth.edu Jessica M. Rizzi 61 Green Meadow Lane Huntington, NY 11743 631-367-1045 MissRizzi@gmail.com Anthony F. Tedesco 40 Heights Road Plandome, NY 11030 516-627-2974 guitarguy637@gmail.com

Class Notes Nell Kucich plays Second Singles and Second Doubles for Manhattanville’s Varsity Tennis Team. Talar Keskinyan, Ashley Yaraghi, Maceda Alemu, Kira Turnbull, Teresa and Claire Gianotti, among others from the Class of 2009, are all enjoying college life, but still love to return to Friends to visit their old stomping grounds! Julia Sher will intern this summer with the illiquid-asset firm, SecondMarket,

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Life Leadership Award. The recipients are honored for having “significantly enhanced the quality of student live at Lehigh through their involvement and leadership.” Among other activities, Lynda represents the freshman class on the Student Senate, plays club lacrosse, and is a member of the dental society.

in Manhattan. She follows her sister, Diana ‘07, who interned with the firm last year.

J.P. Teutonico ’90 is a founding partner and arranged the internships. SecondMarket also employs Sarah Robinson ’05 full-time.

Lynda Asadourian’s Lehigh career is already making its mark: She was selected as one of a few undergraduate students to receive the university’s prestigious 25th Annual Student

Alumni Holiday Luncheon Held Friday, December 18, 2009 at the Dolan Center Commons

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1. College Guidance assistant Sharon Lapointe (left) with 2009 classmates Talar Keskinyan, Maceda Alemu and Nell Kucich; 2. Ned King '09 with Upper School French and Spanish teacher Sara Pozzi; 3. Upper School history teacher Herb Lape with 2009 classmates Brett Hochberg, Russell Holmes and Wyatt Linder; 4. Lower School art teacher Margaret Lindner with Jessica Rizzi '09; 5. 2009 classmates Kyle Gerzof, Michael Rudolph and Andrea Pappas; 6. 2009 classmates Paige Wilkins, Bianca Mashal and Jessica Liss; 7. Senior Johny Koufakis (second from left) with alums from 2009 (left to right) Priya Yadlapalli, Bianca Mashal, Jessica Liss

and Lauren Russo; 8. Upper School attendance officer Judi Upright (center) with 2008 classmates Jenny Witthuhn (left) and Laura Berke; 9. 2005 classmates Shayna Farrell, Stephanie Polauf and Helen Hatch; 10.

School psychologist Mike Quinland with 2005 classmates Laura Goodman, Jenny Dreizen and Luis Medina; 11. Vicky Schoman '07 (left) with Middle School math teacher Bill Garry and her mother, Upper School Principal Deb Schoman; 12. Theater teachers Michael Grant (left) and Kimo Sibbett with Hannah Zucker '08, Elizabeth Sharpe-Levine '08 and Maia Collier '07

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

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In Memoriam

Jerry Spiegel, Former Trustee

J

erry Spiegel, a member of the Friends Academy Board of Trustees from 1974 to 1994, died on November 3, 2009. He was 84 years old.

Jerry and his late wife, Emily, established a legacy of extensive charitable work through the Jerry and Emily Spiegel Family Foundation, which provided funds for charitable, community and educational projects all over Long Island.

"Jerry was very involved with FA," said Friends Academy Trustee John Gambling. "He and Jerry Spiegel Emily were very philanthropic and generous toward the school."

John was serving as co-chair of the Board when the Jackson House was moved to campus in the early 1990s from its former location in Jericho. A traditional Revolution-era Quaker residence, the house was bequeathed to Friends

by Marion Jackson '13 in the late 1980s. Its location near a highway interchange slated for major road work put it in danger of being demolished.

"Due to its significant history dating back to the Revolution and his dedication to Friends Academy, my father felt that it would be appropriate to have it moved onto the Friends property," said Pam Spiegel Sanders '74.

"As a Board member, he was interested in the tie between Friends' own Quaker history and that of this revolutionary house."

Jerry spearheaded the move to the house's current location on Duck Pond Road next to the Friends Academy tennis courts. The project included expanding the first floor of the house to accommodate a Quaker museum and reception space.

Jerry was founder and Chairman of the Board of Spiegel Associates, of Jericho, Long Island, one of the region’s largest real estate acquisition, development and management firms. He and Emily amassed an extensive collection of contemporary art, and they loaned works to such world renowned institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Royal Academy in London, the Pompidou Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

In addition to Friends Academy, institutions that benefited from the Spiegels' philanthropy include Hofstra University, the Feinstein Institute at the North Shore Hospital / LIJ, Columbia University Hospital and various Jewish communal organizations.

The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

We Remember...

Audrey Olena Logan '34

William Clark Shoen '57

Charles S. Putman ‘38

Jerry Spiegel, former Friends Academy trustee

Harold Parker '40 Milena Lewis Bass '46 Alexander Slater ‘49 Barbara Price Trippel '49

Jenny Spielman '97 Louis Chollet, former faculty member Mary Heller, former librarian

Mary Heller, Friends Academy librarian

T

he Friends Academy community was saddened to hear of the death of Mary Heller, who served as the school's librarian from 1958 to 1981.

Ralph Folcarelli, who followed Mary as Middle and Upper School Librarian through 1990, remembered her as a thorough and knowledgeable professional. Ralph and Mary had worked together at C.W. Post, where Ralph was the head librarian, and it was Mary who brought Ralph to Friends.

Roger Erickson, Friends Academy English teacher from 1966 to 2001, noted that Mary was one of several first-rate librarians to have served Friends over the past few decades. "I had high esteem for Mary," he said. "One thing that I remember most fondly about her is the frequency with which I would get notes

William Clark Shoen, '57

W

illiam Clark Shoen '57 passed away on March 20, 2010, from complications due to pneumonia.

At Friends Bill was co-captain of the 1956 undefeated and untied football team, and a member of the varsity basketball and baseball teams. He was also President of the Senior Class and co-business manager of the yearbook.

Bill went on to Colgate University, and he was a U.S. Army officer specialWilliam C. Schoen izing in audiovisual and in Colgate's 1961 electronics. In October yearbook 1986, Bill was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, NM. A surgeon saved his life, but the head trauma he sustained made it impossible for him to live on his own.

John Finn '57, Bill's fellow FA football captain, was also a teammate on the varsity baseball team, where Bill was an outstanding catcher. John and Bill roomed together their freshman year at Colgate, where they were also

Mary Heller at Friends Academy.

in my school mailbox, telling me about books she thought I would enjoy reading or asking me whether a book she had read about would be of interest to the department and should be ordered for the library. She really built the collection in her time as librarian."

members of the same fraternity.

"Billy always showed such strong character and toughness," John recalled. "He represented Friends well at Colgate. He stuck with football, which was a demanding Division-I program, and he continued his baseball career there as well."

John and Bill's classmate, Wally Cook, a pitcher on the Friends varsity baseball team, remembered Bill as an effective, quiet leader and consummate team player. "He took on the responsibility of encouraging us to train and practice more before the start of the season," Wally said. "He never rubbed anyone the wrong way. We were undefeated in baseball our junior year, and league champs again the next year. I attribute a lot of our success to Bill's leadership – and he never took credit."

Wally went on to pitch four years at Harvard, and said he never had a catcher as good as Bill.

Bill's sister, Friends Academy Alumni Board member Barbara "B.J." Shoen Brundige '61, said that donations may be made in Bill's memory to Father Flannigan's Boys Town, PO Box 145-Memorials, Boys Town, NE 68010.

Cards can be sent to B.J. at 367 Split Rock Road, Syosset, NY 11791.

Friends Academy Alumni Association Alumni are the living legacy of Friends Academy.

Alumni Upcoming Events>>

Alumni gather at annual New York City alumni gathering at the Yale club last June.

Five-Year Reunion for the Class 0f 2005 Saturday, June 5, 2010, 6 – 8 p.m.

Join classmates and faculty for an informal reception at the Jackson House

Annual New York City Reunion Monday, June 7, 2010, 6 – 8 p.m.

The Yale Club of New York City 50 Vanderbilt Avenue

Homecoming Weekend and Fall Fair Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 24, 2010 Special-Year Reunion for classes ending in 0 and 5 Friday, October 22

50th Reunion Luncheon for the Class of 1960 Saturday, October 23 More information is on the alumni pages of the Friends Academy website: www.fa.org/alumni



The Meeting House | Winter 2009-10

Friends Academy

270 Duck Pond Road, Locust Valley, NY 11560 516.676.0393 | www.fa.org

Founded 1876

Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Hicksville, NY Permit No. 438

Save The Date!

Find us ... and join us online ...

Apr. 26-28

Our website www.fa.org

FA Book Fair & Cafe Friends Academy Auction and Dinner Dance, 6:30 p.m.

(Old Westbury Club)

Visit our official school site to see regular slideshows of school and campus life. Need to know the vacation schedule, this week’s lunch menu or get up to date with alumni news?

It’s all on www.fa.org.

May 5-6

Facebook

Apr. 29

Plant Sale

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FA Family Community Service Project, 10 a.m.

(Commons)

Type in Friends Academy Alumni Association and become a member of our Alumni Facebook group and get connected to over 900 “Friends!”

June 9

Twitter

May 15

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Fourth Day Honors (Theater)

June 12

Commencement

Sharing peace cranes in El Salvador.

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