73062_F_Class Notes:Friends 11/27/12 12:46 PM Page 35
Class Notes
FIRMIN DEBRABANDER ‘90’s children (from left) Malek, René, Mairead and Hugh.
update during a classically sweaty Baltimore August. But, we can dream. Speaking of dreams, the Class of ’96 continues to make its dreams come true and dominate the world. I’ll begin with Alli Coppel, who emailed all the way from Chile. She’s taken a job as head of community and social development for Anglo American, a U.K. mining company. Ali’s based in Santiago and covers all copper activities in Chile, Peru as well as a joint-venture in Alaska. Ali’s daughter Gabi is almost 3 and is already fluent in “Spanglish.” In other baby news, Dan Kahn and his wife recently welcomed Aidan Reuben Kahn. Congratulations to them! Jeanne Achuff Morrow emailed that she is “chasing her bald toddler around and might also start a cult.” She says, “I’ve always wondered, what are the initial steps in cult formation? Do you incorporate? LLC? LLP? Sole Proprietorship? And how do you make sure that your followers aren’t just along for the ride, that they really mean it?” In other news, Jaimie Baron married Jonathan Cohn on Aug. 4, 2012 and then moved to Canada, where Jaimie will work as an assistant professor of film studies at the University of Alberta. Also on the new job front, Gwen Armbruster accepted a position as a recruiter at a boutique creative staffing agency called Talent Avenue in San Francisco. Talent Avenue represents advertising, marketing and creative professionals on a freelance and full-time basis including anything you’d find in a full-service ad agency or in-house marketing firm (creative, web, editorial, account management, etc.) I saw Alec
Hawley in the spring. He was in town with his lady Jaimie, and we had dinner at Boundary Road in Washington, D.C. Incidentally, this place is very solid, replete with all manner of currently fashionable delicacies including a foie gras PB&J appetizer that Alec gobbled up like he was a contestant on week eight of Survivor and just won the reward challenge. Alec’s little girl Talulah continues to consistently put out high-quality “supercute” Facebook pictures — one more cute than the next. She’s really making her name on the Facebook baby pic landscape. As for Alec, he continues his work as a landscape architect in San Francisco, and his side businesses are flourishing. He’s added sea lion coats and pants to the online inventory. Sadly, his rare bird collection suffered a loss over the summer. His hooded merganser named Raffi flew away on a trip to a local park. He plans on replacing Raffi with a warbler of some kind. From one former actor in San Francisco to a current actor in northern California — Brad Surosky and his wife started a theatre company in Sonoma, Calif. Check out www.BroadwayJackLondon.com. This was their first summer, and they were getting over 800 people a night in attendance! Brad is the executive producer. Across the country in Boston, Tabitha Lewis is doing a pastoral residency, and Pete and Abby Birdsall Beauregard welcomed baby boy Henry James Beauregard in March. Maddie Franklin Gross was in town this summer with her husband Kai and their new baby boy Brayden. Lauren and I went over for a visit, and we got to see Brayden — that kid is chilled
out. Maddie and Kai are great parents; they are very happy. They also got visits from Janelle Milam Schmidt and Kathleen Cusack Lyon ‘97. I might also mention that Lauren and I recently beat Kathleen and her husband Chris at Trivial Pursuit. Kelly and Dan Muñoz moved to Nashville, and both are working at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. I’m heading out there in October to see him and to catch the Colts vs. Titans game. Dan was recently feted by his local Noodles & Company; he ate the penne rosa 16 times in a week and was honored by the local franchise with his picture on the wall as “Customer of the Month.” You can’t make this stuff up. Edith Dietz continues her pediatrics practice at Johns Hopkins, and her brother “Big Time” Bob Dietz ’99 is doing well in Chicago. Lauren and I were actually able to cajole him into meeting us for a drink in Chicago earlier in the summer. One final “Words with Friends” update: Schummers and I usually split evenly, but I’ve been coming out ahead more often, and Jon Yeager ‘97 beats me every time. Until the next time all … I will be busy celebrating the Orioles’ mythical run to the Fall Classic.
1997. Claire Cherlin Kosloff clairekosloff@yahoo.com Hello, classmates! It was so wonderful to see many of you at our 15th Reunion in May. Lots of news to share this go-round. I heard from many of our classmates who have dedicated their careers toward helping others. Susan Westgate writes, “I am currently employed as an inpatient oncology social worker at Sinai Hospital. In addition to my hospital work with oncology patients, I have begun developing continuing education trainings in cooperation with the University of Maryland School of Social Work. My most recent training was titled, “Restoring Order Amidst the Storm: Taking Care of You and Your Loved One After a Cancer Diagnosis.” The focus of my educational programs, both at the university and at the hospital, has been in applying a crisis management model to managing critical health events such as a cancer diagnosis. The goal of this evolving curriculum is to teach health care professionals the best and most effective way to make a positive impact amid a complex and emotionally charged time. As of last year I have returned to school and am pursuing my M.B.A.
with a specialization in healthcare. I have been keeping my plate positively full, but I have relished every moment of this work and feel absolutely in my element. It is a privilege to serve my patients and their families and to experience the satisfaction of making meaningful change every day.” You make us all proud, Susan! Mike Goren is leaving in September for Peace Corps service in Rwanda, and we wish him safe travels and a meaningful and impactful experience there. Vanessa Harbin writes, “My news for Collection is that I graduated in May from my master of public policy program at Georgetown and am now working as a research analyst at Child Trends, evaluating the effectiveness of youth development programs.” Congratulations, Vanessa! Also in the medical field, Erica Steed Winters reports, “I just got a job at Medical City Dallas Hospital and have been volunteering at a pediatric clinic this summer. Other than that I have one year left until I’m a nurse!” Ellen Morrow was sorry to miss Reunion, but she has recently moved to Seattle, where she is doing a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Washington. She writes, “Please let me know if you are coming through!” In addition to Ellen, many classmates are also on the move! Bobby Michel shares, “Meghan and I just got back from London, where we saw six Olympic events. I haven’t been
JENNIFER SIMMONS’ ‘95 daughter
Londynn Rae Laney, born in August 2011.
F R I E N D S SCHOOL |
Collection 35