Alumni N o t e s 1977
Frances Pollitt recently began volunteering at the Maine Historical Society cataloging rare cartographic materials. She also is assisting the University of Southern Maine's Osher Map Library staff with an online exhibit of 18th and 19th century nautical charts. In May 2012, she presented a paper to the Rupert's Land Colloquium at the University of Winnipeg about international boundary surveys between 1820 and 1825. Fran is an active participant in Baha'i activities, including junior youth programs, devotional gatherings, and study circles.
1979
Frank Twohill, who received his JD from Vermont Law School, was certified by the National Association of Counsel for Children as a child welfare law specialist. His solo general practice in Branford, Connecticut, includes juvenile and probate cases.
1980
Ruth Hill and husband John Brooks live in Brooklin, Maine, where they design, build, teach workshops, and write about glued-lapstrake wooden boats: brooksboatsdesigns.com. Ruth also writes natural history and coastal life articles for Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors magazine. Pictured at Tengwang Pavilion in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, is daughter Hangxiang, 10, who had been with Ruth for three days at that point, and Jack, 8, who joined the family in November 2006. John, son Tie, 11, adopted in 2008, and 44
daughter Leigh, 12, born into the family in 2000, stayed home for work and school. Ruth writes, "It won't be our last trip to China, but it was our last adoption trip! I am always happy to talk about all the wonderful kids (yes, boys too!) waiting for families, and to help anyone interested in adopting from China."
1982
"I'm working with a group of colleagues to create a new elementary school program for children who struggle in the classroom," writes Stu Dickey Summer. "Called EARTH: Education and Renewal Through the Hand, it is a farm- and craftbased addition to the lower school program of Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School in Ghent, New York. It is our experience that many children who struggle cognitively, emotionally, or volitionally in the classroom thrive and become leaders in our outdoor projects. I would be very interested to hear other's experiences in this work via stuart@taconic.net." Liz Cunningham (right) and Laura Cohn '88 (left) finally met in Bali after many conversations about Indonesia this past year. Liz was researching marine biodiversity in West Papua, and small-scale fisheries and the Bajao sea nomads in Sulawesi for her upcoming book Ocean Country. A photo essay about mangroves, "Mosaic of Life," excerpted from the book, was recently published in the winter 2012–13 issue of Times: timespub.tc. Laura makes an annual trip to Bali to continue her connection to the community, and to select handcrafts to bring home
to Philadelphia to sell alongside her own batiks: FromBalitoBala.com.
1985
Chris Hamilton recently left his job fundraising for LifeFlight, Maine's emergency medical helicopter service, and became associate director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Daughter Becca Hamilton '13, one of COA's proud legacy students, graduates this June.
1987
Tammis Coffin is now education coordinator at the recently renamed Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon. While combining art and nature education, Tammis will help the museum move into expanding opportunities. She is also working with The Fells Estate on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire to set up a new John Hay Ecology Center. While weaving poetic nature writing by the late John Hay into the interpretation of the landscape, gardens, and historic house, she's enjoyed exploring the educational and research potential of this 1920s ecological time capsule.
1988
Now living in southwestern Montana, Kim Chater is a part-time worker at Headwaters Veterinary Hospital and spending her remaining free time as a felt maker and fiber artist. Her felts can be seen on the Facebook page, Sea Cliff Felts. She also is exploring the art of clay at the Archie Bray Foundation of the Ceramic Arts. Kim writes that she is enjoying all the posts and photos from her COA alum pals.
1989
The summer show at COA's Blum Gallery will feature paintings by David Vickery and sculptural work by Blakeney Sanford '02. Their art will be on display July 12 through August 23. College of the Atlantic Magazine