Millbrook, Spring 2017

Sp r ing 2 0 17

Millbrook’s Mission Millbrook School educates its students to succeed and serve in college and beyond. In a community where everyone is known and needed, our curriculum instills • curiosity and a commitment to academic excellence; • respect for oneself and for others; • a moral framework based on personal integrity; • a commitment to serve as stewards of the natural world; • a readiness to use one’s knowledge and skills in service to others.

We promote the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, creative, and physical growth that will lead to a life satisfying to the individual and valuable to the greater good.

a magazine for alumni, parents and friends of millbrook school

Spring 2017

Living the Tradition of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis up front 2 Introduction from Headmaster Drew Casertano

4 Millbrook Moments

Millbrook Matters 14 Quotables 17 Highlights from a School Year Abroad

Page

48

22 New Academic Courses 26 In the Press 28 Arts

Features

34 Student Life

48 Cultivating Stewardship

38 Athletics

In Our Places, Spaces, and Programs

50 A Place to Learn 53 A Space that Inspires

56 A Program to Serve

58 Alumni Stewards

Modern agriculture, fighting food waste, food entrepreneurship, and sweet success

58 61 64 67

Bruce Burton ’78

42 New Faculty

Alumni 70 M illbrook Alumni Gatherings

80 Class Notes 99 In Memoriam On the Cover

D evin Hardy ’09 A li Holbrook ’12 C harley Wheelock ’86

Produce from Millbrook’s garden, photo by Will Conte ’17

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a m ag a z i n e fo r a l u m n i , pa r e n t s and friends of millbrook school

Advancement Officer

Honorary Trustees:

Kevin Soja

Farnham F. Collins ’53 (GP ’17)

Events Coordinator & Class Notes Editor

William L. Crossman ’74 (P ’09)

Betty Siegenthaler

Lucy P. Cutting (P ’77)

Research & Campaign Coordinator

EDITOR

Ginny Connolly

Michelle Blayney

David D. Holbrook ’56 (P ’82, ’83, GP ’11, ’12, ’14) Bruce B. Huber ’47

Gift Entry Manager & Administrative Assistant

Thomas E. Lovejoy ’59 (P ’86)

Melissa Pastre

Bradford Mills ’44 (GP ’03, ’17)

Michelle Blayney, Trish Langenau, Alex Pearson

Administrative Assistant & Database Manager

Oakleigh B. Thorne (P ’95)

PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS

Director of Communications

Michelle Blayney, Daniel Cohen ’86, Diane Dalton, Barbara Davis P ’19, John Dolan, Pat Honan, Tom Honan, Trish Langenau, Sarah MacWright, Yannis Malevitis, Cindy McWilliams, Alex Pearson, Lyuda Pope, Harry Simons, Deborah Vanecek, Kandice Zakarian

Michelle Blayney

DESIGN

Proof Design CONTRIBUTORS

Assistant Directors of Communication

Trish Langenau and Alex Pearson Photography and Sports Information Coordinator

Kandice Zakarian Office and Alumni & Development Office of Millbrook School for alumni, parents, and friends of the school. Contents may be reproduced

William B. McNamara ’75

Bonnie Lodevole

MILLBROOK is published by the Communications

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

or reprinted only by permission of the editor.

Chairman

Opinions expressed do not reflect the official

William L. Menard ’78 (P ’09, ’12, ’12)

position of Millbrook School.

Vice Chairman

NON DISCRIMINATION Millbrook School adheres to a long-standing policy of admitting students of any race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its education policies, admission policies, financial aid program, or other school-administered programs.

Paul M. Solomon ’61 (P ’98)

Millbrook School 131 Millbrook School Road Millbrook, NY 12545

Secretary

Peter R. Chapman (P ’11, ’12)

Phone: 845-677-8261 Website: www.millbrook.org

Treasurer

Richard A. Stuckey (P ’00, ’03, ’09) Headmaster

Follow Millbrook at your favorite social media sites: Facebook

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Drew J. Casertano Francisco L. Borges ’70 Stephen M. Clement, III Trevor L. Colhoun ’95 Morgan C. Conrad ’99 Kathleen A. Dill ‘85

ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Director of Advancement

Nancy Stahl

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William R. Hettinger ’77 (P ’01, ’04)

Christopher C. Holbrook ’82 (P ‘11, ‘12, ‘14)

Millbrook magazine is printed on Finch Fine Bright White Ultra Smooth 100 lb. cover and 80 lb. text. This paper is manufactured with 10% postconsumer fiber using on-site renewable power. It is FSC certified.

For this issue we reduce our carbon footprint the equivalent of...

20 trees preserved for the future 20,199 gal wastewater flow saved

Theodore S. Karatz ’96

5,180 lbs net greenhouse

Robert S. Koenigsberger (P ’13, ’16)

gases prevented

Gordon S. Pennoyer ’99

Assistant to the Headmaster for External Affairs

Anne B. Putnam ’95

Robert Anthony ‘65

Gilbert P. Schafer III ’80

Alumni/Constituent Relations

Lisa P. Selz (P ’12, ’17)

Cynthia McWilliams

Paul Simons (P ’17, ’19)

Director of Parent Programs

Paul Stafford (P ’16, ’19)

Barbara Gatski

Charlotte Carroll Tracy ’88

Director of the Annual Fund

Caroline A. Wamsler, PhD ‘87

Deborah Vanecek

George T. Whalen III (P ’06, ’09, ’10, ’14)

• Spring 2017

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

22,000,000 BTUs energy not consumed

Please Recycle this Magazine

Introduction from

Headmaster Drew Casertano: Each day at Millbrook, I become more and more impressed with, and inspired by, the genius of Edward Pulling’s educational vision. To say that he was nuanced and innovative in his thinking would be a gross understatement.

P

icture the typical school in the late 1920’s, with students sitting in hard desks arranged in rows, studying from a singular text with the teacher, and that text as the source of all knowledge. In contrast, Mr. Pulling imagined students and teachers engaged in a process of discovery, often outside the traditional classroom. He believed in teaching responsibility, developing character and educating the whole student.

After all, he chose our stunning location because it offered the space for boys to explore, he founded his school on the principal of community service, and he supported Frank Trevor’s vision for a zoo at the school. A zoo?!

Equally important, Edward Pulling wanted his school to be “conservatively progressive.” That is, he wanted a place where we would maintain the best from the past, while always looking for new and better ways of teaching and learning. Thus, from the start innovation has been part of our institutional DNA. In this issue you will see a rich array of examples of Millbrook’s evolution, of our successful efforts to be “conservatively progressive.” These include our continued effort to extend our community service ethic and practice outside of the campus through the literacy volunteers and outreach programs, and our bringing back football, but in an eight-player version. We have also strengthened elective academic offerings with new courses like Design Thinking & Making and Legal Issues in Contemporary Art and are developing the campus farm as an integral part of our dining program and our commitment to stewardship and service.

We are so fortunate to have Edward Pulling’s vision for our foundation as we work to fulfill our mission with our students each day and build the very best Millbrook in the future.

Enjoy the pages that follow and don’t hesitate to be in touch at dcasertano@millbrook.org with questions or comments.

Onward!

Drew Casertano Headmaster

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Powerful lessons in athletics: integrity, teamwork, tenacity.

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Millbrook Moments

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Unique learning opportunities facilitate connections in advanced and hands-on coursework.

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Millbrook Moments

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Tradition informs the intentional design of our campus spaces.

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Millbrook Moments

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Teachers are trailblazers in immersive education; students strive to be global citizens.

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Millbrook Moments

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Everyone does community, but we do it better.

Everyone does community, but we do it better.

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Millbrook Matters Academics, Arts, Student Life, AthLetics and Facult y

Quotables

2017 Visiting Speakers Millbrook’s long-standing tradition of bringing thoughtful and thought-provoking speakers to campus remains an important foundation of the student experience. This year several speakers provided students and faculty insights into a wide range of topics: art and the human condition, neuroscience and academic achievement, and stewardship and sense of self.

Roberto Lugo Visiting Artist

October 3, 2016 “I make specific decisions about my life,” said Lugo at the conclusion of his address. “I chose to come meet with you, and it is because I believe that you’re going to have the ability to prevent someone else from getting discriminated against in the way that I was. . . I believe that you have the power to change humanity.”

• Roberto Lugo inspired students who gathered to speak with him after his presentation in the Chelsea Morrison Theater

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Academics Lugo is a ceramicist, spoken word artist, and professor. He is best known for his vessels, which are decorated with portraits that connect U.S. history, race, pop culture, and his own life experiences. A dynamic speaker, he has delivered presentations at institutions nationwide including Harvard University, the Philips Museum, the Alexandria Arts Center, and many more.

Davis Lindsey October 6, 2016 “I work on a farm, and what I’ve found from working on farms is pretty simple: stewardship is much more than an ecological service. Stewardship is a feeling, a farm is a place of healing, and we are not just healing the land—we are healing ourselves.

In fact, the unwritten qualities for knowing how to heal a piece of land may be intimately connected with our personal sense of self.”

Davis Lindsey, Yale alumnus and director of the Growing Farmers Initiative at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, addressed the Millbrook School community in a chapel talk and discussed his path to stewardship through organic farming.

Delaney Ruston October 22, 2016 “The secret to self confidence is acting with integrity. It’s that simple. If we are doing what feels right for us—even if it’s difficult emotionally—we are acting with integrity. For parents, parenting with integrity means explaining our ‘whys’ to our kids.”

Delaney Ruston is physician who studied at Cornell University, Stanford Medical School, and the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a filmmaker and mother of two who is deeply passionate about helping parents and children find balance in our tech-filled world. She advocates that we

• Delaney Ruston

create an environment that encourages discussion around the challenges associated with technology, and she dives into this topic in her most recent film, Screenagers.

Dr. JoAnn Deak October 26, 2016 “The decade that you are living is the most unique in your entire lifespan of your brain development. What happens in adolescence does not stay in adolescence.”

• Davis Lindsey

Dr. JoAnn Deak has spent over thirty years studying and educating people about the brain. Her work focuses on assessing the environmental, educational, and familial patterns that lead to the healthy development of children, as well as the patterns that cause challenges

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Academics stewardship and discussed her work and research through the creation of jungle canopies worldwide.

Kevin Pearce December 4, 2016 “I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.”

• Dr. JoAnn Deak

in child brain development. She is recognized worldwide as an expert on adolescent brain development and overall brain function.

her perspective of the world from the treetops. She addressed the Millbrook community on the importance of environmental preservation and

Meg “Canopy Meg” Lowman

• Kevin Pearce

November 1, 2016 “Academy scientists tirelessly explore the unexplored regions of Earth—not only to discover new species, but also to uncover the importance of these species to the health of our natural systems. Our findings help inform conservation decisions meant to sustain the future of life for our children and grandchildren.”

World-renowned biologist, writer, and educator Dr. Meg Lowman shared

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• Meg “Canopy Meg” Lowman

Kevin Pearce, a former professional snowboarder and traumatic brain injury survivor, addressed the Millbrook community in an all-school forum in December. His address was part of a weeklong community effort to remember Ed Allen, honor Tatum Allen, and support the Love Your Brain Foundation and its mission. After sharing his story Pearce elaborated on how he has developed a three-pronged approach to brain health through his foundation: mindfulness, movement, and connection.

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Academics Here we share thoughts from three current VIth formers who returned to Millbrook in the fall after their year abroad experiences with SYA. Alexis spent the year in Zaragoza, Spain, and she is currently taking our post-AP course, Social Literature of the SpanishSpeaking World, with Mr. McMullan.

Tahrieq spent his year abroad in Beijing, China. Before returning, he took the AP Chinese test to earn college credit.

This year, he takes an independent online class every evening via Skype with a professor in China. Will studied in Rennes, France, the capital city of Brittany. After studying Spanish for several years, Will worked his way through two levels of French before applying to the SYA program. He is completing his French studies this year in our post-AP course French Literature and Art of the 20th Century.

Highlights from a School Year Abroad Millbrook’s World Language Department is a model for language immersion, providing professional guidance to other boarding schools that are considering establishing similar programs. Students are immersed in their target language from the very first day of class. Thus, an experience through School Year Abroad (SYA) fits beautifully with our program goals. While we do our best to simulate complete immersion in the classroom, only SYA can offer the truest immersion experience.

When students are put in a situation where they have to survive, that’s when they learn the most.

The Challenge SYA is not the perfect program for all students—it’s a choice that only highly committed students make.

It’s a program for students who want an academic challenge, who want adventure, and who seek world travel above varsity sports or roles in the fall play or winter musical.

Alexis: SYA really pushes you beyond your limits…I wanted a challenge—not only an academic challenge, but I wanted to experience an adventure. I figured this was the perfect time. I was 15 when I applied, and I was 16 when I went. Not many people can say that they’ve lived abroad when they are 16 years old. It was even more than I was hoping for, and it changed me in ways that I can’t even begin to describe…especially in regards to my perspective on life.

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Academics Tahrieq: I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone—that’s how I will grow as a person. Going for the first time out of the United States, 7,000 miles away, for nine months—that was a challenge!

Because I love the Chinese culture and the language, I wanted to fully immerse myself and see for myself what life there is really like. There are so many stereotypes about the Chinese…I wanted to experience it for myself, discover it for myself.

Immersion in Culture The SYA program encourages students to get completely immersed in the culture that surrounds them, whether that is through daily exploration of their host city, trips to other parts of the country, or exploration of other nearby countries. Alexis, Tahrieq, and Will all took full advantage to travel to parts unknown. Over nine months they also tried many new foods and definitely discovered some favorites.

Will: I traveled to Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Paris, Côte

d’Azur, and more. On the weekends I spent time with my host family because weekends were big on family time in France. On Sundays all the shops are closed, and you seriously just hang out with your family. Also, children traditionally go with their grandparents into the forest to collect edible mushrooms. I didn’t learn which ones were edible or not, so I didn’t try any. I just took photos! My host mom was such a great cook—I especially enjoyed her fresh roasted chicken!

Tahrieq: We traveled to Shanxi Province, Gansu Province, and Yunnan Province, which is on the border of Burma and Laos.

On the train to Yunnan—a 36-hour ride—the Chinese travelers were so curious to speak with us and surprised that we spoke as well as we did. They asked a lot of questions about America, thinking that it’s just like what they see in the movies and assuming our political system is really like House of Cards! We asked lots of questions too—we really exchanged life stories during that train ride.

My favorite meals were two that my host family made—Zha Jiang Mian, a traditional Bejing noodle dish, and

Hong Shao Rou, pork belly braised in soy sauce. So good!!! I also wanted to be open-minded and adventurous, so I tasted crickets, a scorpion, and chocolate-covered meal worms, courtesy of the food vendors on the infamous Wangfujing Food Street. All were satisfyingly crunchy!

Culminating Projects SYA programs differ, but some offer longer culminating projects that allow students to dive more deeply into topics that interest them. Alexis and other students in her class spent time collaborating on a final group project, while Will created two art exhibits in an independent program similar to Millbrook’s CES (Culminating Experience for Seniors).

Alexis: I took a newspaper class in Spanish so I could learn how journalists work and think. We created our newspaper— El Guiño— as our culminating project at the end of the year, and it was really rewarding to be a journalist, writing, editing, and publishing entirely in Spanish!

Recipe for Spanish Almendras (candied almonds), one of Alexis’ favorite foods in Spain • 1/2 cup of water • 1 cup of white sugar • 2 cups of whole almonds Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil; add the almonds. Cook and stir the mixture until the liquid evaporates and leaves a syrup-like coating on the almonds. Pour the almonds onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

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• Alexis’s adventures took her to Alquézar, Spain

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Academics Will: I created two art installations for my culminating projects. My first project focused on religion, and I used photos of a many religious monuments that I took during my travels around Europe.

I also created a second exhibit of the photos I took of wild mushrooms, which I gathered during treks into the forest with my host family and with friends.

Changing the Way Your Brain Thinks When students are studying abroad in a language immersion program, something happens that can never happen in a language classroom in the US. There is a cultural and linguistic “code switch,” and the students’ brains begin to work differently. Alexis, Tahrieq, and Will all noticed that three months in, their language processing really began to click.

They moved from translating from one language to another to truly beginning to think in Spanish, French, or Chinese.

Back at Millbrook, their language teachers see a clear difference and superior communication in both their written and oral work.

Required Extra-curriculars Extra-curriculars are a part of the SYA experience, required so that students get an even deeper cultural experience beyond the classroom.

Our students saw their extra-curriculars as a piece of Millbrook that stayed with them and a way to try something new, join new groups, and make new friends.

Alexis took tennis lessons, providing

• Above, Will focused on photography while exploring forests outside Rennes, France. Below, Tahrieq enjoyed spending time in Bejing with fellow Millbrook students, Cherry Zhang ’18 and Victor Lou ’17, who were home for winter break.

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Academics English tutoring to her instructor, and cooking lessons because “Spanish food is so delicious.” Tahrieq took lessons in calligraphy, watercolor painting, and martial arts. Community service was also a part of his experience, as he traveled to a local hotel one day per week to teach the staff English. A novice rower, Will joined the rowing team with both French and American friends. He also enjoyed time at the studio of a local photographer.

There he worked on his culminating photography projects—one on local mushrooms and the other on religious icons throughout Europe.

KEY COMPONENT: THE HOST FAMILY Each student fills out an extensive survey about their own personality and habits, and SYA works hard to ensure that they make a match with the best family possible. During a nine-month immersive program, a good match makes all the difference in a student’s experience.

Alexis:

• Above, a photo from Will’s forest explorations. Below, Alexis with her host family in Zaragoza.

The host family is the most fundamental piece of SYA. They replace your parents and your siblings, and they do become your family. I had a host mom and dad and two host siblings. It makes me smile whenever I think about them. Every weekend we would leave the city and drive two hours to these beautiful Spanish vineyards

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where they had a second house. There the whole family—10-12 of us—would gather for meals that lasted 2-3 hours.

always respected that. My host family allowed me to do my own thing, and at the same time, they really brought me into their family. I was invited to

Tahrieq: There was always mutual respect. I’m a very independent person, and they

attend a traditional Chinese wedding, and I even got to throw flowers as the bride walked down the aisle!

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Academics Important Lessons Students go into the program for various reasons, and they certainly come away from the experience with a wide variety of important, if not life-changing, lessons. Millbrook’s SYA students invariably use what they have learned to enrich the learning experience back on campus.

Alexis: The experience really changes your character—you slow down and you appreciate more, including your family, your friends, and day-to-day life. I also discovered my passion, what I want to pursue in college and beyond. When I was taking my political science class and traveling the country, I became fascinated by international law and affairs. When I returned, I went to a summer program at Yale. I want to leave a footprint on the world, in whatever small way I can, and SYA inspired me to do that.

Tahrieq: I learned how important it is to keep an open mind—accepting things that are different. Continuing to do that in college and in my career will allow me to grow and to better understand and appreciate things that are unfamiliar.

As technology improves, the world is becoming more global, more interconnected. Companies are looking for people who understand this concept and are willing to put themselves in situations that are not necessarily comfortable. Learning another language is a part of this. I want to be that person who can navigate the globe without issue.

Will: I wanted to improve in another language and learn more about France

• More Millbrook connections: Nic Santucci ‘17 was Tahrieq’s classmate during the fall semester in Beijing.

the people who live there, but I ended up really learning more about myself.

I came back a much more mature person. The language development and cultural appreciation were great, but the personal connections—with other Americans and with my host family— were the best part of the experience.

Other Opportunities SYA is not ideal for everyone. Other students have been encouraged to pursue in-depth language programs over the summer months including an SYA summer program in Spain and programs at domestic universities and colleges.

Another student recently completed the Oxbridge program, L’Académie de France, in Montpellier, France, a rigorous academic program that helped greatly in improving

her proficiency in French. Each summer, Millbrook students who would like to jump a level in their language studies pursue these alternative immersion programs, and they come back in the fall stronger, better students.

Semester Programs for Place-Based Learning Look for highlights in our fall magazine on the semester programs some Millbrook students are attending. From Colorado to Maine, Vermont to Washington D.C., and even Eleuthera in the Bahamas— Millbrook students are discovering their passions in programs that support and enhance their Millbrook education, and they are returning to campus prepared to lead by example.

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Academics

New Academic Courses Millbrook’s academic committee is constantly evaluating

This new science elective for Vth and VIth formers is offered in the fall semester so that students

how well our program supports our mission and our

get outside and use the abundant

students’ preparation for college while simultaneously

their fingertips.

matching our faculty’s interests and strengths to current or potentially new academic offerings. Thus, the following four new courses were born of this very thoughtful process and are proving to be additional ways for our students to succeed in collaborating, in using the natural resources that surround us, and in connecting to people and places outside of Millbrook’s immediate campus.

• Caption here

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Geology with Terry Cox

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materials in nature that are at Focused on both the physical and historical aspects of geology, students examine materials composing the Earth and study the many processes that operate beneath and upon its surface including natural disasters/ hazards, renewable resources, and rock formations. Students also learn about the work of James Ussher and James Hutton and discuss the origin of Earth and its development through time, the origin of

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Academics the continents, geologic mapping of plate tectonics, and erosion/ weathering by rivers and glaciers.

The class takes a “rock tour” from the upper fields of campus down to the lower fields, collecting and identifying rocks— igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary—and estimating their age based on clues learned in class. They build volcanoes out of play dough, and they collect specimens of sand and other rock at off-campus sites, bringing them back to Millbrook’s labs for analysis. Mr. Cox believes that most important and meaningful are purposeful interactions with various earth systems through hands-on exploration and fieldwork.

A very interdisciplinary science course, geology uses chemistry—to look at the atomic arrangement of rocks and how the molecules come together to form a particular type of rock—and biology—to examine interactions between rocks, the environment, and other organisms. Because students are using skill sets developed in previous science courses, geology is being recommended as a science elective for upperformers only.

Many of these local connections are made possible through the Millbrook alumni network, which provides an opportunity to not only learn about the organizations themselves, but to also explore service as a career choice and the passion that drives those who choose this path. Alumni who recently collaborated with the class include Libby Druback Celaya ’98 (works with Hudson River Housing), Ashley Casale ’06 (works with Planned Parenthood), and Jonah Feitelson ’11 (a union organizer in Washington D.C.).

By April, students are prepared to use what they have learned to design their own service projects around social issues about which they feel passionate. Each student chooses a local agency or issue to which they feel they can add value; they outline a plan, take action, and reflect both individually and as a group on their experiences.

It is the hope of Ms. Havard and Mrs. Keller-Coffey that students engage with service on multiple levels during this course and perhaps find a passion or a calling that they will carry with them in their adult lives.

With a degree in geology and a minor in biology, Mr. Cox hopes that this new Millbrook course will inspire students to study geology at the college level. Students graduating with a geology degree might go on to USGS (United States Geological Survey) to study volcanoes, to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) to study the atmosphere and climate change, or to one of the major oil companies like Exxon for further research on fuel alternatives and oil-eating algae.

Social Justice and Service Learning with Kathy Havard and Nancy Keller-Coffey Born from the deep interest in service learning at Millbrook, this new elective in the English Department puts service in an academic context in a semesterlong journey to explore what service is, why it exists, how it is initiated and maintained, and its impact on communities.

Students discuss social issues such as poverty, work, education, and healthcare on the national level based on readings that include Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and Evicted

by Matthew Desmond. After building a foundation through classroom dialogue, students dive deeper by investigating these same issues in a local context through visits to community organizations such as Family Services of Poughkeepsie, NY, Hudson River Housing, Hudson River Healthcare, Planned Parenthood, and Family Partnerships. Local community members are also invited to the classroom to discuss their experiences with public systems.

• Nazil Sturben shares her real-life experiences as an immigrant from Iran living in the US.

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Academics Design Thinking and Making with Matt Dilley We live in a designed world, and this hands-on interdisciplinary course teaches students how to assess and problem-solve through a design-centered approach.

There are no competitions in this course to create the best invention, robot, or technology. Rather students contribute collaboratively to better the functionality of our physical environment through design thinking and making.

Inspired by the innovative work of Stanford’s D School and Cooper Hewitt, students participating in this semester-long course learn concepts behind the design problem-solving framework, which is based on an empathetic human-centered approach and data collection as well as the integration of science, math, engineering, and art.

Working in teams, they apply the framework to solve authentic realworld problems.

In one project teams worked to improve the functionality of the dish room in the new dining hall by observing and recording

traffic patterns through the space, facilitating interviews, capturing photographs and video, defining the stakeholders, creating scale models of the space, and suggesting and testing solutions for improvement. The dining hall became the classroom, and students convened to present, defend, and ultimately prioritize which solutions they would further test for efficacy.

Students also worked to improve the process of watering plants in Millbrook’s hoop house, where water was being delivered via a hose running over one hundred feet from its water source. They researched different methods for rainwater collection and designed systems to best collect and dispense it with the goal of eliminating the need for the hose through the use of natural resources.

This course compliments Millbrook’s efforts to offer robust STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) programming and to foster a learning environment with real and complex problem-solving opportunities that ultimately prepare students for whatever challenges they will certainly face in college and beyond.

• Students build a scale model of the dining hall in order to assess problems with traffic patterns and recommend solutions.

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Legal Issues in Contemporary Art with Sarah MacWright and Jeff Smith This yearlong course offering looks at contemporary art through the lens of the law.

With Millbrook’s General Counsel Jeff Smith and Art Department Chair Sarah MacWright at the helm, the class journeys through the last fifty years to review and discuss the most important and scandalous artworks of the past five decades, and how they intersect with the law in various ways. The class debates the issues of freedom of speech, censorship, copyright, intellectual property, obscenity, and government sponsorship in the context of the artwork, time period, and stakeholders involved.

A discussion and research-based course, Vth and VIth form students have explored a huge variety of art throughout the year—from the shocking and technically excellent work of Robert Mapplethorpe to artworks that employ subtler messaging around controversial issues. Students review the history of the artist and his or her work and discuss why certain pieces were brought before the court. Taking on the perspectives of the artists, museums, government officials, and lawyers involved, they also dissect each viewpoint and work together to determine if the law managed the issue at hand properly, and if not, why not.

They also compare and contrast how the issues would be handled under the law today versus how they were handled historically.

The class engages with all types of art—including performance art, fine art, music, and visual art—and how it intersects with the law not only through the visual message, but also where it might be displayed and who pays to display it.

At the surface, no two disciplines may seem to be more dissimilar. Yet, there is a tremendous amount to be learned at the intersection of art and law.

• Jeff Smith and Emily Cumming ‘18 discuss the publicly funded artwork of Vic Muniz in the 72nd street station of New York’s new 2nd Avenue subway line.

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Academics

In the Press

Millbrook’s Greatest Asset:

Its Faculty Lindsay Peterson In her fourth year at Millbrook, Lindsay is bringing great insights and a real depth of knowledge to her US history classes, inspired by her current studies through the Gilder Lehrman Institute. As she works to complete her master’s degree in American history, Lindsay was honored to be one of three students (in a class of 100) whose work was published on a scholarly website.

Professor Matthew Pinsker partners with Gilder Lehrman in their online master’s program, and his course, Understanding Lincoln, is an in-depth exploration of the popular characterizations of our sixteenth president. As chair for Civil War History at Dickinson College, Pinkser maintains a website that provides free digital resources on the Civil War era for K–12 classrooms. Lindsay’s work is now an additional resource available on his site, and it was quite an honor to be chosen. Her microsite focuses on how and when the war for union became a war for freedom, and Professor Pinsker commends her for “keeping students focused on the confluence of leading scholars and pivotal documents, despite the sprawling possibilities.”

Using a large collection of primary sources, including pieces written by Lincoln and others during that time, Lindsay created a week long lesson for high school students, which she later adapted and used in her own class during the fall. Having dedicated her summer to studying and creating this culminating project, it was ultimately rewarding to put this lesson to good use.

This program is attractive to Lindsay because it allows her to teach while earning her advanced degree. Additionally, she has access to an incredible number of specialists in a wide variety of

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topics in US history, including professors from Barnard College, Columbia University, Dartmouth, Gettysburg, the University of Richmond, and NYU. “Being able to focus on US history, take courses online, and continue to teach, it’s the perfect overlap. The only downside…

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Academics the more I learn, the harder it is to decide what to teach. I find so many things are interesting and exciting, and there simply isn’t enough time in the school year to fit it all in.”

As she progresses through the program, she is continually bringing new information and ideas back to her classrooms at

that she teaches these subjects. “I love teaching. Making history as more than just memorization of facts, but telling the story and showing kids cause and effect and changes over time. To be able to see how things from the past relate to today—it makes the lessons more real, more beneficial for our students.”

Millbrook, from lessons on Lincoln to the Supreme Court to

You can view the link to Lindsay’s website at:

the modern American presidency. The time and energy she is

http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/lincoln/

investing in her own continuing education has changed the way

understanding-lincoln-project-gallery

Dr. Jeff Lacosse One of Millbrook’s newest Science Department faculty members, Jeff Lacosse, participated last spring in a study of the speed, size, and penetration of fangs and fang-like appendages on various species.

Having studied the combination of kinematic performance with cutting mechanics in biological puncture systems, Dr. Lacosse and his colleagues, P.S.L. Anderson and M. Pankow, came to a pointed conclusion. Their study, Point of impact: the effect of size and speed on puncture mechanics, was published in April 2016 by Royal Society

Publishing and was referenced in the NY Times on November 1st (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/science/fangs.html).

Ultimately, Mr. Lacosse and the other researchers proved that kinetic energy has a lot to do with how fangs—and other pointed weapons—better penetrate prey.

Dr. Lacosse is teaching physics and Advanced Physics-Honors this year, and comes to Millbrook after completing his PhD at the University of Illinois. His wife, Davida, is also a member of the science Department and teaches chemistry and Advanced Chemistry-Honors.

No vampire bats at our Trevor Zoo, but physics students here have plenty of other animals to study in their energy unit!

Spring 2017 •

27

Arts: Impressive performances, award-winning works, inspirational adventures, and hands-on experiences with professional artists has made for an incredible year in the arts thus far. The passion and creativity of our students and faculty continues to thrive.

Launching the John Berkey Class of 1991 Visiting Artist Program Millbrook welcomed two professional artists to campus through the generosity of alumnus John Berkey ’91, whose sponsorship is driven by the goal of bringing more artists to campus.

Artist and activist Roberto Lugo launched The John Berkey Class of 1991 Visiting Artist Program in October. Lugo is a ceramicist, spoken word artist, and professor. His artwork is not only captivating, but it

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• Spring 2017

tackles complex issues such as oppression, racism, poverty, slavery, and politics. In his dynamic presentation he spoke about how his upbringing in a poor area of Philadelphia ultimately motivated him to become who he is today.

We were also thrilled to welcome Rowan Willigan, who spent two weeks on campus facilitating collaborative hands-on workshops. Rowan’s art practice integrates choreography and drawing, and our faculty and students collaborated across disciplines (drawing, dance, and science) to create with her.

During her first few days on campus, ceramics students crafted mortar and pestles, while chemistry students created vibrant pigments from materials safe to apply to human skin. In a world where control is promoted, Millbrook choreography students were given an opportunity to embrace a lack of control and, instead, use their experience as data to inform their next move. Using the mortar and pestles they mashed the pigments and then applied those pigments using dance motions on large swathes of paper on the floor of the dance studio. Simultaneously,

drawing students observed and sketched this process to study the concept through yet another art form.

To culminate the immersive two-week experience with Rowan, students and faculty came together and presented an art exhibit in the Warner Gallery, Performance Artifacts. The exhibit illustrated the power of collaboration and creativity through photography, paintings, and the different methods that students used to create pigments.

“When we initially began discussions about bringing different artists to campus, we knew that we wanted to invite people who would foster collaboration,” said Arts Department Chair Sarah MacWright.

Both Roberto Lugo and Rowan Willigan certainly achieved this goal and added value to our community through sharing their art and experiences. Their interactions with students brought great benefit and provided a terrific foundation for future visiting artists in the John Berkey ’91 program.

Taking to the Stage In October Millbrook students presented Thorton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning classic, Our Town, which paints an intimate portrait of

• A scene from the fall play, Our Town, and the cast and crew from this production

Dr. Rosary Hartel O’Neill Millbrook welcomed playwright and director Dr. Rosary Hartel O’Neill to campus to in October. Dr. O’Neill is the author of 25 plays and three books, her plays have been performed in cities across the U.S., and she has spoken and taught around the globe. During her visit, she met with student playwrights and those developing performance portfolios.

She offered feedback, answered questions, and lead creative discussions and reflection.

“It’s always exciting to bring a professional from the industry onto campus,” said Director of Theater Elaine Lifter. “Students are able to inquire about what it is like to be a professional in the performing arts industry and participate in discussions that push their creativity.”

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29

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Arts the beauty and wonder of small town life. Director of Theater Elaine Lifter thoughtfully chose Our Town because of its connection to this year’s academic spotlight on stewardship of the natural world. Keeping this in mind, actors not only rehearsed, but they practiced reflections through Wilder’s lens—how do we care for our world, ourselves, and others?

In December students turned their attention to Urinetown, a humorous satirical musical with an outrageous take on water conservation and a revolution against regulation. They created a captivating and colorful multi-level set, honed challenging choreography and vocal routines, and perfected dramatic lighting and sound to bring this thoughtprovoking show to life in the Chelsea Morrison Theater.

Two Arts Nights rounded out the performance arts in the fall and winter and included a creative lineup of vocal, dance, music, and improvisation performances.

• The cast and crew of Urinetown

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• Spring 2017

• From Urinetown, a satirical production with tremendous energy and great comedic moments

“With each Arts Night we have students who are up on stage for the first time and students who are veteran performers.

They inspire and support each other, and

their performances provide a perfectly enjoyable retreat for the whole student body,” said Arts Department Chair Sarah MacWright.

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Arts Exploring Art 78 Students, 3 Destinations, 1 Day of Hands-On Learning - Priceless Students studying visual and performing arts were also busy in October, as they traveled to a variety of art spaces to engage in and reflect upon their artistic disciplines in hands-on ways.

Photography students visited The Wassaic Project and Jack Shainman’s The School to make connections between modern art and their classroom studies. They sketched throughout the trip and came back to campus to prepare new works of their own based on these inspirations.

Simultaneously, Millbrook’s playwriting and performance portfolio students enjoyed The Encounter, a new production on Broadway. As audience members, these students wore headphones to simulate the experience of being onstage as an actor and discussed how what they learned from listening-in on professionals can be At the same time, students studying ceramics traveled to the Storm King Art Center, a sculpture park in New Windsor, NY,

applied to better their performances at Millbrook and beyond.

where they learned about site-specific work and reflected upon how landscape shapes viewers’ experience of sculpture.

Upon returning to Millbrook, these students created and installed their own site-specific works.

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Arts

• Students explore the contemporary art of Hayv Kahraman at the Jack Shaiman Gallery during one October outing.

Art Accolades Millbrook student artworks were recognized and awarded in both local and national competitions throughout the year.

Eighteen student pieces were accepted into Exposure, a national competition hosted by Mill Street Loft in Poughkeepsie, NY. More than 90 students from seven states and three countries entered more than 400 works for this year›s competition. A jury of professional photographers and artists selected just 85 pieces for recognition in the exhibit, 18 of which were works by Millbrook students.

Seventeen Millbrook photography students were also recently honored at the Regional Scholastic Art Competition, which was hosted by SUNY New Paltz. Silver and Gold Keys were awarded to Millbrook students, and those earning Gold Keys will soon be judged at the national level.

Millbrook also earned a spot at the Drexel University High School Contest Exhibition. Emily Le ’18 used photography to create an image titled Control, which was one of just 120 images chosen out of 1,900 submissions nationwide for recognition and inclusion.

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• Spring 2017

• Emily Le’s award-winning photo series, Control

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Arts The Warner Gallery Alongside our amazing student work, professional artists have continued to exhibit in the Warner Gallery, the Hamilton Math and Science Center Gallery, and the Flagler Memorial Chapel.

• Life-line, wood and mixed-media artwork by Kardash Onning

•Q ueer Icons, works by Gabriel García Román

• Sightseeing, works from esteemed photographer Paul McDonough

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Student Life Making Connections Through Traditions “We stand on the edge of possibility,” said Headmaster Drew Casertano in his Convocation address, where he asked students to challenge themselves to grow academically, socially, and emotionally during the coming months. Convocation was the culmination of opening days’ activities that allowed our returning students to share the very best Millbrook traditions with the newest members of our community.

34

Speakers Series

A Tradition of Giving

The longstanding tradition of chapel talks and forums offers students an opportunity for growth through discussion and reflection on perseverance, positive thinking, and environmental stewardship. Speakers this year have included world-renowned biologist, writer, and educator Dr. Meg Lowman, former professional snowboarder and traumatic brain injury survivor Kevin Pearce, director of the Growing Farmers Initiative at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture Davis Lindsey, and alumnus Diego Marquez Todeschini ’14. Highlights from many of these presentations are included in the Quotables section of this issue.

In December students and parents once again came together to not only host a memorable Snow Ball, but to also use the event as an opportunity to give back to our local communities. Parents from our Parent Leadership Annual Network (P.L.A.N.) transformed the student center in the Barn into a ski lodge complete with snowflakes, ski equipment, holiday lighting, and a bounty of trees and wreaths generously donated by parents for this annual event.

The festive decorations, formal attire, and music DJ’d by faculty members Mr. Whiting and Mr. Brown made for an exciting and memorable evening.

• Diego Marquez Todeschini ’14

Through ticket sales for the event, students were also able to raise $2,000.00, which went towards the local Food of Life Food Pantry and the purchase of holiday gift cards for children in nearby communities.

• Spring 2017

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Student Life While IIIrd formers were in the marsh, IVth formers traveled to Camp Jewell in Colebrook, CT, for trust-building activities and adventure. As Millbrook’s IVth form grows considerably each year, the Camp Jewell tradition allows this mixed group of new and returning students to get to know each other through activities, small group work, and challenging physical activities including high ropes courses and a climbing wall.

Dorm Pride In January students turned their attention to Winter Weekend preparations, and the Mills Athletic Center roared to life as students banded together by dorm for the launch of this colorful and creative enduring tradition that brings our entire campus together in friendly competition. A witty Pink Panther theme propelled Clark Hall into victory, and they blasted the iconic cat’s soundtrack while busting out creative choreography to lay the foundation for their win during the all school pep rally. Case and Harris earned second and third place respectively as both dorms scored high in the Air Band competition. The Case gentlemen incorporated Dorm Parent Mr. Williams’ adorable Yorkie in their Lion King-themed performance, and the Harris boys’ Napoleon Dynamite-inspired choreography earned high ratings.

• Headmaster Drew Casertano leads the IIIrd form girls down ski hill

A Connection to Place IIIrd formers embarked on a multi-faceted exploration of our campus’ natural resources in an introductory program that includes both abiding traditions and new initiatives. The goal: to connect them to our physical environment, each other, and this year’s spotlight on stewardship of the natural world.

During the opening weekend of school, they jumped into the wet and wild marsh mucking tradition, journeying chest-deep into the murky waters of the marsh to explore the ecosystem and gather specimens to examine in the laboratory. That weekend they also split up into groups to hike our nature trails and ascend into our canopy walkway. Winter and spring provided additional opportunities to get outside and make great use of our campus.

In the winter our youngest students took a hike to the eco hut for some stargazing, and in the spring they enjoyed a birding excursion with the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club.

• Millbrook’s IIIrd form gather at the eco hut

Diversity Makes Us Stronger The winter months brought Social Justice Week, which was planned and facilitated by students participating in the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in conjunction with Millbrook’s Diversity club. SDLC is a multicultural gathering of upper school student leaders from across the United States who convene to reflect and brainstorm on the development of effective strategies for social justice.

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Student Life “The goal of sending Millbrook students to SDLC is not only to allow them to participate in important conversations about race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, and other social identifiers, but to also have our students bring these conversations and ideas back to our campus community for further discussions and reflection,” said Co-Diversity Coordinator Jason Goodwin.

Three-year conference attendee Tahrieq Koonce ’17 spoke to how the conference adds value to initiatives like Social Justice Week at Millbrook: “Every time I attend this conference, I return with a fervor to push our conversations about diversity further. I leave the conference with the tools I need to catalyze these types of discussions at Millbrook.”

Through the hard work of our students and faculty, we came together to participate in film screenings, discussions, and reflections to better understand these complex topics in the context of the world, our regional communities, and our campus community.

Connecting Through Service Many students choose to volunteer their time outside of classes and activities, including those participating in Literacy Connections, a non-profit organization in the Hudson Valley that trains volunteers to teach children and adults how to read.

Throughout the academic year students train to become literacy volunteers and then work with youth in the surrounding areas to help improve their reading and writing.

Jen Hughes ’17 worked closely with faculty member Kathy Havard to bring a more consistent and ongoing Literacy Connections effort to campus. Hughes ’17 says that it has been exciting to help organize the effort: “We started with holding fundraising events and book drives, but it has evolved. Today, we have about 16 students volunteering weekly, and we’ve expanded from one weekly off-campus trip to two,” she said.

Millbrook students who volunteer with Literacy Connections bring activities and lesson plans to help students with their reading, writing, and speaking. They have also expanded their efforts to include babysitting so that those who have children and are without care for them can still participate. The momentum at Millbrook in support of Literacy Connections is strong.

“It makes us proud to see our students working to make such a significant contribution in helping solve issues of illiteracy at the local level,” said Kathy Havard.

Students have also been working to help with global issues.

Students from a photography class and from our farm community service collaborated on a project to help flood victims in Haiti.

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• Liya Liang ‘18 works with children in the Literacy Connections program.

They sold pumpkins, garlic, salsa, and homemade tomato sauce from the Millbrook farm, as well as photographs taken by Millbrook students. Their efforts raised over $300 in just one day.

Millbrook students also worked closely with the Health Center and the American Red Cross to coordinate a fall blood drive. Forty whole blood units and 8 power red units were collected; as a result, up to 144 lives will be saved.

“It is always rewarding to work with the American Red Cross each year and to see the outpouring of support from our campus and the surrounding communities,” said Michelle Arndt, a Health Center coordinator who helped students organize the annual blood drive.

These unique experiences provide tremendous growth opportunities for our students. Whether jumping into the spotlight for a Winter Weekend performance, diving into the marsh to collect samples for the science lab, or participating in service efforts, students are strengthening links to the past and to our alumni while creating new memories of their own.

Stay Connected

with Millbrook

You’re only ever a click away from current events, news highlights, thousands of photos and hundreds of videos. Reconnect with old friends, or share what’s new in your life!

www.millbrook.org www.millbrook.org/keepintouch to update contact information or write a class note

www.millbrook.org/alumni to read current news and learn about upcoming events

www.millbrook.org/app to login to the alumni directory

Alumni App download from Apple’s App Store or Google Play

www.facebook.com/millbrookschool www.twitter.com/millbrookschool www.instagram.com/millbrookschool www.linkedin.com - search Millbrook School www.youtube.com/millbrookschoolny Spring 2017 •

37

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Athletics: Our Mustangs had impressive fall and winter seasons, and many teams competed at the championship level. History was made in the revival of football and in the launch of our volleyball program, VIth form athletes committed to play with elite college teams, and we welcomed world champion professional athletes to campus. It is an exciting time to be a Millbrook Mustang.

Competing at the Championship Level Our girls varsity soccer, boys and girls varsity squash, and boys and girls cross-country teams all competed in New England Championships.

Girls Soccer After a competitive game against Berkshire that ended in the Mustangs’ favor, the girls varsity soccer team earned a bid to the New England Tournament. They traveled to compete against MacDuffie School, losing in the quarterfinal round by just two points. This loss did not diminish their outstanding season that included 10 wins and more than 35 points scored.

Boys cross-country The boys varsity cross-country team competed in the New England Division IV Championships and placed second overall. Kazuki Unayama ’18 finished first for Millbrook in the 5-kilometer race, and the Mustangs’ average time was 18:40. As a result of their finish times in the Division IV Championships, Kazuki Unayama ’18 and Ben Berg ’17 both earned spots in the New England Championship race for all divisions, and Unayama finished as the tenth fastest runner in New England independent schools in 2016.

Girls cross-country Girls varsity cross-country also made a strong showing at the New England Division IV Championships. The Mustangs finished 8th overall, and our top three runners each had a pace of under eight minutes per mile.

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• Kazuki Unayama ’18 finished as the 10th fastest runner in New England independent schools

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Athletics

FIRST FOOTBALL Season Since 1978 Millbrook brought football back as an athletic offering for the first time since 1978 and concluded the new era in football with a victory against Forman in the last game of the historic season.

The Mustangs competed in a new competitive eight-player football league against Pomfret, Gunnery, and Forman, and it was exciting to conclude with a win.

“Our athletes have worked hard all season to improve their skill and strategy,” said Head Football Coach Terry Cox. “Forman is a competitive team, and the win shows the growth that our team has undergone as a result of our studentathletes’ dedication to the sport.”

Both the Mustang defense and offense was tough throughout the game against Forman, and Millbrook intercepted a key pass. As a result, they shutdown the Forman running offense and earned the win.

“It has been an honor to participate in the launch of this football program and to watch our athletes develop. This victory was well deserved, and we are already excited for next year,” said Cox.

Volleyball – It’s a Hit! Volleyball is Millbrook’s newest fall sport for girls.

With the growth of our student population to just over 300 students, our athletic programs needed to grow accordingly, and the high interest in volleyball among current and prospective students combined with a talented coaching staff made the sport a natural fit.

Millbrook competed with 17 girls earning a spot on our junior varsity team. Erin Downs, a 4-year letter winner and 2-year volleyball captain at Division I Davidson College, and Luke Westman, a Massachusetts All-State boys volleyball player and student-assistant volleyball coach at Colby College, led the team. Volleyball proved to be a fast-paced and athletically competitive opportunity for our girls, and we are excited for the continuing growth of the program next season.

Spring 2017 •

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Athletics

An Exciting Season for Squash The boys varsity squash team made history by earning a spot for the first time ever in the A-Division Northeastern Tournament. They brought grace and grit to the courts, placing 16th out of 40 schools, and finishing ahead of Philips Exeter, Rye Country Day, Westminster, Berkshire, Salisbury, and other tough competitors.

The team also made their first ever appearance at the U.S. Squash Association High School Nationals, which is the largest secondary school squash tournament in the world. Our student-athletes joined 1,500 other junior squash players at the tournament and competed with 15 other teams in the third division. The Mustangs were originally seeded 4th in the fourth division but were able to move up to the third division as a result of their strong and strategic play. Earning fifth place, they topped Berkshire, Exeter, Westminster, and Rye Country Day.

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• Spring 2017

The girls varsity squash team also had an outstanding season and competed in the B-Division Northeastern Tournament, placing 26th out of 48 schools and ending in 10th place overall. Key wins included victories over Berkshire (Olivia GaripDavies ’17), Rye Country Day (Maggie McManus ’18), Suffield and Holy Child (Ava Quartararo ’18), and Westminster (Laura Toland ’17).

“The girls played some of their most competitive matches of the season,” said Head Girls Varsity Squash Coach Liza Reiss.

“It was a great weekend for our athletes, and I could not be more proud of their efforts.”

Both squash teams enjoyed a visit from world champion squash players Nick Matthew (currently ranked No. 4) and Ryan Cuskelly (currently ranked No. 19) in January.

Matthew and Cuskelly took to the Millbrook squash courts for some friendly competition, and spectators, including students, faculty, and current parents, were able to witness world-class squash sportsmanship and play. While he was on campus, Nick Matthew worked with our varsity squash teams, and he will continue to do so at the end of this summer and into next year’s squash season.

• Nick Matthew is partnering with Millbrook and will return to work with our players in the fall and during our ‘17-’18 squash season

Rick McWilliams Honored

by WNEPSSA and WCSOA Rick McWilliams wore many hats during his 40-year tenure at Millbrook, and one of his many legacies is the lasting impact of his role as a coach.

McWilliams’ vision and leadership resulted in the boys varsity soccer team earning over 300 career wins, 13 WNEPSSA Class C championships, and numerous New England Tournament appearances. The team captured the New England Championships in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, and 1997 and has been a runner-up finalist three times.

Given his many accomplishments, it is not surprising that he has continued to be honored and awarded since his retirement last June.

Since then, McWilliams has received two prestigious accolades, which include induction into the Western New England Preparatory School Soccer Association (WNEPSSA) Hall of Fame and being presented with the Western Connecticut Soccer Officials Association (WCSOA) Outstanding Service Award.

McWilliams was inducted to the WNEPSSA Hall of Fame on December 4, 2016, for his 40 years of outstanding coaching, 30 years of service

• Rick with Gregg Hunt, Referee of the Year, and Art Hamm, rules interpreter

on the WNEPSSA executive committee, and overall commitment to the growth of soccer. He was awarded the Outstanding Service Award by the WCSOA on November 21, 2016, for his longstanding service to student-athletes.

It is because of the dedication and passion of coaches like Rick that our athletic program continues its long tradition of teaching strategy, skill, and sportsmanship.

#StangsInCollege – Mustangs going on to play at the college level Multiple Mustangs committed to play at the college level this year,

Connecticut, Brendan Hoban ’17, who will be joining the Division

including Peter Rayhill ’17, who will be joining the Division I men’s

II Wheeling Jesuit University men’s basketball team, and Adam

lacrosse team at Drexel University, Colby Dunlop ’17, who will

Lucas ’17, who will be joining the Division III men’s lacrosse team at

be joining the Division I men’s baseball team at the University of

Washington and Lee University.

Spring 2017 •

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Faculty

New Faculty Kevin Brown

shape a student’s ability to communicate

to provide the appropriate tech tools

Currently

his or her thoughts and feelings. He is

to both teachers and students; the

pursuing

also motivated by a good cup of coffee.

best tools are the ones that make learning possible, not painful. She is

his master’s degree from Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English, Kevin’s approach to the written and spoken word is about quality and pithiness. The same can be said about his approach to teaching. He believes a teacher should hold students to high, clearly articulated standards and provide the tools to work towards achieving them. Education requires meeting challenges in a supportive environment, and Kevin is constantly motivated by knowing he has helped

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• Spring 2017

helping Millbrook create safe spaces to

Cait Levin As the new director of the Flagler Memorial Library, Cait

take risks and grow, and she believes strongly in making informed choices based on the student experience.

Dan Skoglund

is tasked with

Dan brings

helping ease

to Millbrook

students’

years of

accessibility

leadership

to information using the most relevant

experience at

technology. At a time when there

Berkshire and

is a new app, tool, or media outlet

Hotchkiss. As

created daily, she sees herself as the

Millbrook’s

gatekeeper, sifting through the noise

new dean of

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Faculty students, he is focused on developing strategies to benefit the student

Nate Lamson

Lauren Duffy Nate credits

As the newest

body and community as a whole. He

his desire

member

has a holistic approach to education

to teach at

of the Art

and believes that the classroom,

a boarding

Department,

playing fields, art studio, chapel,

school to

Lauren is

theater, dining hall, and dorms are all

the positive

teaching

important places where lessons can be

experience he

darkroom

drawn. That is the essence of boarding

had attending

photography

school—a learning experience that

Holderness

and drawing.

focuses on both the cognitive and the

School in

She is

non-cognitive education of a young

Plymouth, New Hampshire. While he

person without being restricted to

might seem somewhat reserved, Nate

students to continue with their arts

time or space. Dan sees the dean of

has a competitive side that he likes to

studies at Millbrook and beyond and

students’ work as being particularly

tap into, both in the math classroom

teaching them to be adaptable critical

rewarding, especially when helping

and around campus. In algebra and

thinkers. One of Lauren’s goals for the

a young person overcome struggles

pre-calculus he asks students to attack

coming years is to grow and develop an

and realize failure is often a necessary

problems, but also to pause to help

organized and balanced theater tech

ingredient for success.

a peer who might be floundering. He

program. Her first year here included

encourages students to learn together

the spectacular floor-to-ceiling set

and take the responsibility to help, be

design for Urinetown, so we are already

patient, and be respectful to others.

looking forward to visions of future

Jeff LaCosse If Jeff and his wife, Davida, ever won the lottery, they planned to start their own school, and their vision of that school matches Millbrook perfectly.

Coming from the public high school system in North Carolina, Jeff brings his PhD in physical chemistry and many years of practical teaching experience to our science classrooms. His own curiosity and pursuit of lifelong learning infuses his lessons, as he encourages students to be investigators through project-based learning. He has already transitioned his hobby and interest in high-powered rockets into a hands-on project for students, and the turf field has become his launch pad!

preparing

designs!

Luke Westman Luke

Elizabeth Skoglund

graduated

Elizabeth has

from Colby

brought so

having double

many things

majored in

to Millbrook,

biology and

and not just

French. While

her husband,

at college, he

Dan,

was captain of

their new

the basketball

daughter,

team for two years, served as an assistant

Annie,

coach for the women’s volleyball team,

and their

and worked as a senior admissions fellow.

black lab, Ollie. With a degree in

Luke became particularly interested in

counseling and mental health services

teaching at Millbrook when he learned

from the University of Pennsylvania

about our Trevor Zoo and the many

and experience teaching human

opportunities he would have to apply

development at Hotchkiss, Elizabeth

his wide variety of interests and skills.

brings a perspective on connecting

He’s certainly been busy this year—

with students that makes her a perfect

teaching French, coaching volleyball and

dorm parent. To fully support our kids,

basketball, and helping run Case Dorm.

she believes it’s critical to understand

As he settles in, Luke is finding that one of

their “story” and experiences.

the benefits of this community is that so

This deeper level of insight and

much learning takes place outside of the

understanding allows for a much more

classroom, for both him and the students.

meaningful and genuine connection.

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MILLBROOK MATTERS

Faculty Moraima Ortiz

Colin Brown

Davida LaCosse

Having earned her undergraduate degree at Bard College, Moraima gained a fondness for the Hudson Valley. She was elated that her first full time teaching position after college was at Millbrook, a place that she considers the heart of the area that she has grown to love so much.

Moraima hopes to progress and grow in her teaching style, taking the best of what she can gather from fellow members of the History Department and adding her own insights and style to provide a fresh and unique perspective for her students.

Colin is a big presence on the Millbrook campus. Not only is he one of the tallest faculty members, but students and faculty alike can hear his booming voice as he calls out drills and plays on the upper football field. A lifelong football player and starting receiver at Williams College, Colin has the knowledge and skills to help develop and grow Millbrook’s newest varsity sport, 8-man football, into a championship program. When he isn’t mapping out a strategy for the zone defense, Colin can be found in one of our math classrooms teaching geometry, algebra, or statistics.

Coming from the public school system in North Carolina, Davida was interested in coming to teach at Millbrook because of the culture here that supports creativity and curiosity. She has been inspired by the collaboration between departments to design lessons that include using science to create art.

Davida believes that with the proper tool set, students can be a vital part of their immediate and wider communities while asking grander questions for the benefit of all. As Davida teaches chemistry, she is always asking the question, “How will my lesson provide students with a greater understanding of our world?”

Katherine Matheson One of the underlying philosophies of the World Language Department at Millbrook is a focus on communicative proficiency rather than memorization of grammar. This is one of the main reasons that Katherine was eager to join Millbrook’s faculty. She has two goals as a teacher. First, she wants her students to be curious about the world; second, she wants them to be able to connect meaningfully with people who are different from themselves. In between juggling a new house, a new job, and a new baby, Katherine looks to Spanish-language media to develop lessons that show her students other vibrant and constantly changing cultures.

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Cora Mackenzie ’12 All roads lead to Millbrook for Cora. Growing up as a faculty child on campus and eventually attending as a student, Cora has been a member of the Millbrook community her whole life. So it was a natural fit and an easy transition for her to step into the role of athletic trainer after earning her bachelor of science degree in athletic training from the University of Vermont. Cora always hoped to work in the independent school environment with competitive high school athletes, and she was hopeful a position would be available for her at Millbrook. She has been busy keeping our Mustangs performing at the top of their game so they can keep racking up the wins.

Jermaine Matheson Jermaine has an outlook on teaching English that goes well beyond the basics. He isn’t just teaching grammar and structure; rather, he approaches lessons within the framework of universal understanding and communication. He wants students to master the idea that understanding the human experience and attaining an appreciation for multiple perspectives is essential for global citizenship. It’s not enough to know the answer—students must be able to defend their answers within a coherent and thoughtful argument. When he is not in the classroom, Jermaine can be found exploring campus with his wife and new son or trying to get the boys JV soccer players to pick up some strategy and technique from his favorite team, Arsenal.

MILLBROOK MATTERS

Faculty

Familiar Faces in New Places It is exciting whenever Millbrook faculty take on new or larger roles within the community.

As the school grows, Millbrook looks towards its talented faculty to lead the way forward.

Looking ahead to July 1, 2017

Jonathan Downs ’98

institutional advancement. In this new role Jon will bring the

Assistant Headmaster for

offices under one umbrella. A major goal will be to create a

Institutional Advancement Some of the most important decisions at Millbrook are about “getting the right people in the right seats on the bus,” and these decisions are made thoughtfully and implemented strategically. A perfect example of this is Jon Downs’ upcoming move from director of admission to assistant headmaster for

admissions, alumni and development, and communications seamless experience for students and parents—from admission, through current enrollment, to post graduation. He will guide processes to establish lifelong partnerships with our students and parents and ensure that all three offices support the strategy and mission of the school moving forward.

As a Millbrook alumnus, English teacher at Newark Academy, dean of students at Charlotte Country Day School, and director of admission at Millbrook since 2010, there are few that know the independent school landscape and strengths of a Millbrook education better than Jon. We are close to achieving the goals set by our trustees in Millbrook’s strategic Vision 2017, but Jon insists that this is no time to celebrate. It is a time to dig in and continue to push forward.

Jon’s ambition is to, one day, be a head of school, and he feels that the best preparation for such a role is through tutelage.

As a Millbrook student, Jon was inspired by Headmaster Drew Casertano, and today he is thankful for Drew’s mentorship. He is confident that this new role will make him as prepared as he can be to lead a school when the time comes.

Meg Grover Director of Admission Adhering to Edward Pulling’s vision to be a conservatively progressive community, Millbrook is taking strides to stay at the forefront of an ever-evolving independent school landscape. It is more important than ever to attract the right students, fulfill our mission, and maintain a strong community of graduates and families. After several years of thoughtful research and reflection, the school’s administrative team is evolving to meet these challenges. As Jon Downs ’98 steps into the newly created role of assistant headmaster for institutional advancement, Meg Grover has been tapped as the new director of admission. Her goal is to maintain Millbrook’s incredible momentum moving

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forward. She vows to diligently fill our community every year with students who are uniquely suited to carry out our mission and carry on Millbrook’s tradition of Non Sibi Sed Cunctis.

Jon has worked closely with Meg over the past two years and has this to say about her new role, “Meg is as dynamic and magnetic as they come. She is built to be the director of admission, with her schooling, her experience, and her fierce loyalty to the school.” Looking ahead, Meg is focused on continuing the momentum that has been building. “We need to be disciplined, strategic, and industrious in our efforts.

We must remain driven by a sense of pride and optimism in the Millbrook community. These are a challenges we gladly accept.”

In 2016-2017

Robb Arndt and Emily Allen Associate Directors of Admission The admissions team received a significant boost this year with the addition of two new, yet familiar, faces. Emily Allen and Robb Arndt both stepped away from their English classrooms to assist in enrolling Millbrook’s newest students. They are each deeply familiar with the type of student that thrives at Millbrook, and as associate directors of admission, they get to play a larger role in making sure the school is attracting and enrolling the right students.

In his first four years at Millbrook, Robb engaged students in the classroom as a member of the English Department and wore many other hats including baseball coach, advisor, and dorm parent. When Jon Downs asked Robb to consider joining the admissions team in Callard House, Robb thought about how he might help shape the Millbrook community as a whole, in ways that he could not in the classroom. His goal for the coming year is to “enroll the best class of students in Millbrook’s history!”

Maybe Jon wanted Robb on the admissions team because of that spark and competitive spirit, or maybe it is just because Robb is “the most efficient person he has ever met.” Either way, we fully support Robb and his lofty ambitions.

Emily has been an integral part of the Millbrook experience for so many over the past few years. She has been a dorm head, coach, English teacher and mother figure to more than just her own three children. Emily jumped at the opportunity to join the Admission Office because she was curious to learn

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“the other side of boarding school life.” She remains excited by the opportunities to meet so many new families and show them how Millbrook is an unbelievable place full of smart, talented, motivated, and kind individuals. Emily, too, is driven by competitiveness—not only amongst the admission team, but within the pool of candidates where she searches for the best and brightest who might come to Millbrook.

Ava Goodale ’01 Millbrook’s New Science Department Chair As a student at Millbrook, Ava was winner of the Trevor Cup and Community Service Cup at commencement. She was a fouryear zooie, a zoo curator her Vth form year, and head curator her VIth form year. She founded SCAPE (Students Concerned About Planet Earth), participated in two extracurricular research trips (to the Amazon and the Andes), and was involved in the canopy walkway and bird banding. While studying advanced biology under then Department Chair Bruce Rinker, she also completed an independent research project on deer foraging habits. All of this led to an easy transition to Cornell University in the fall of 2001, where she majored in natural resources with a concentration in applied ecology. She took full advantage of Cornell’s bountiful opportunities in research and has now come full circle to teach, among other classes, an advanced independent research course at Millbrook.

Ava’s path back to Millbrook unfolded rather serendipitously.

Although they were not hiring, Ava convinced the owner of an environmental consulting agency in Jackson, Wyoming that she would be an asset, and she was hired to perform natural resource inventories and environmental analyses in the Grand Tetons. There she learned about GIS (geographic information systems) and data sets, mapping, and wetlands, while working with both governmental agencies and private landowners.

Returning two years later to her home state of Maine, she worked with a land trust on fundraising, newsletters, land management and stewardship until she began thinking about a potential career switch. A phone call to a friend, who was also the director of a local private school in Rockport, Maine, turned into a job opportunity—they needed a science teacher. Timing and good fortune were aligned, and the door literally flew open.

Ava made the shift to teaching at The Riley School in 2010.

It was after she began at The Riley School that she realized that Millbrook’s Trevor Zoo, while nearly 400 miles away, could be a great educational resource for her students. She implemented a weeklong trip to volunteer at the zoo while our students were on March break, and she reconnected again with Millbrook in a very direct way. In the fall of 2014, Ava came full circle as she returned to Millbrook to teach— advanced biology, environmental science, and independent research—and lead the school’s sustainability efforts at the institutional level. In addition to leading the Outdoor

The transition has been ideal, as Ava was able to shadow outgoing Department Chair Matt Dilley in the fall semester before assuming the role herself in January. “It’s been perfect to have Matt as a resource. The transition was seamless – it’s unfolded organically and effectively. It’s been the best of all possible ways to start.”

As chair of the Science Department, Ava will continue to support and strengthen the Physics First and modeling program implemented by her predecessor. “Modeling is the way we are getting students active in the classroom, in the driver’s seat, and building our curriculum and skills and experiences. Given that strong program, we need to make sure our facilities keep pace.”

Thus, she is also focused on supporting Millbrook’s academic and experiential programs that utilize facilities within south campus—the canopy walkway, the marsh boardwalk, the eco hut, and the observatory. Her goal is to further develop programs that tie all of these facilities together.

“These are resources that are really unique to Millbrook and to our student experiences. But we need to connect the dots in the program, all these pieces that are within a square mile of each other. That includes the solar field, which needs to be tied into the educational program. There’s a lot of energy in our department to do this work and to use these facilities.”

Given her track record, experience, and dedication to

Excursions group in the fall and heading the Environmental

Millbrook, to education, and to sustainability initiatives, we

Council during community service, she has now stepped into

have no doubt that Millbrook will benefit from Ava’s leadership,

the role of Science Department chair.

energy, and passion.

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Cultivating

Stewardship In Our Places, Spaces, and Programs

When the site for the new dining hall was chosen,

it was no accident that it was adjacent to the expanding footprint of the school farm, and when the school’s architects rendered the dining hall designs, they intentionally included a wall of windows on the entire north side so that diners would overlook the hoop house garden, expanding organic farm, and rolling hills beyond. As with all new building at Millbrook, design elements like these were offered and agreed upon as a committee of administrators, faculty, staff, students, and food service personnel met with architects from Voith & Mactavish to discuss how a new space on campus will support our mission.

And so the north end of campus—now anchored by the dining hall—is a place of learning, a place to celebrate school life together, and a place where students and faculty can work in ways that serve the greater community. Within this place our sustainable food system has many benefits for our students: healthier and tastier food, an appreciation for how our food is grown, and a bounty of new opportunities for learning.

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A Place To Learn

The newest facilities on the north end of campus are non-traditional classrooms, and here learning opportunities are truly abundant, for both students and faculty.

Environmental Science & the Garden

then present the Seed Library with their analysis and recommendations.

Students in Environmental Science worked this past fall with the Hudson Valley Seed Library in an effort to determine the best seeds to grow and why, considering germination rates, yield, and flavor. Students were tasked to set up the trial, collect the data, and

After planting three varieties of kale provided by the Seed Library, students set out to compare them against a commercial product and Millbrook’s own kale.

Unfortunately, they arrived at the garden one day to find that voles had eaten the

entire set of test plants! While not the outcome they had hoped for, this actually provided another learning opportunity as students began to look at the economics of the situation and strategies that might be taken next time to mitigate risk. Just as those who farm for a living deal with pests, outbreaks, and drought, when students are doing real research, they will face real obstacles.

Tackling Inefficiencies: Design Thinking and Making One of Millbrook’s newer courses, Design Thinking and Making, requires students to use skills in science, technology, engineering, art, and math as they work collaboratively to better the functionality of their physical environment.

This spring they focused on improving traffic patterns in the new dining hall, particularly during advisory lunches and formal dinners when the entire school is

Environmental Science is a semester-long class that includes four specific units of study: agriculture, biodiversity, water quality, and land conservancy. Students meet and do research at the farm and in the hoop house garden during the agricultural unit, and they also enjoy presentations from farmers and vendors about locally produced food and sustainable practices in the Hudson Valley.

When diving into the other units, they use a variety of outdoor “classrooms,” many of which are located within the widely varied landscape of south campus. These include the canopy walkway above ski hill, the marshes, and the fields along School Road.

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seated at once and 400+ sets of dinnerware are being moved between the dining area and the dish room. After collecting data, interviewing students, faculty, and dining hall staff, and brainstorming possible solutions, they built a scale model of the interior space before making recommendations to test for efficacy. Initial test results have been positive, and it is likely that a new flow of foot traffic will be adopted moving forward.

The class also examined best practices for capturing and storing run off water from the hoop house in an effort to replace the current inefficient watering system. The class built a “dummy” hoop, examined material options, researched the composition of the existing hoop house cover, and collected data on water usage to inform a potential purchase of a water storage container. Final tests of a potential water capture system will come during the last two weeks in May, and even if the system is not perfected, there will be lessons learned in the process.

Faculty Practice Place-Based Education In a year focused on our core value of environmental stewardship, our academic administrators, led by Dean of Faculty Kathy Havard, asked our teachers to begin the school year practicing how to connect to a place and create a sense of belonging, reciprocity, and responsibility. Thus, planned start of school activities allowed our teachers to: • know a facet of the natural world where we live and work more intimately; • demonstrate the rich academic possibilities of taking students outdoors; • experience activities our students are asked to do; • enjoy our campus in a fun and meaningful way.

What is place-based education?

As defined in Clifford Knapp’s 10 Ways of Knowing Nature: “Place-based education is a label recently applied to a curricular and instructional approach designed to help students learn about the immediate surroundings by capitalizing on their lived experiences.

When participants purposefully consider their relationship to the landscape (landfullness), they relate more closely to their world.

Place-based education dates back to John Dewey’s 19th century Lab School as an early experiment in linking student interests to neighborhood contextual learning.”

Our faculty practiced these place-based lessons around campus: Millbrook’s Wetlands: A Tradition & A Necessity faculty experienced what “marsh mucking” is all about while discussing human interactions with our land throughout history and why the ecosystem is so important to preserve.

Life in the Treetops faculty changed their perspective of the forest by ascending 70 feet into the canopy walkway on ski hill in one of the oldest forests in Dutchess County.

Measuring the Forest faculty measured the density of a forest with just a yardstick and a piece of paper (and a bit of assistance in geometry skills needed for this task).

Form and Function at the Trevor Zoo faculty connected with the denizens of the Trevor Zoo through the lenses of biology, visual art, and movement.

POETRY READING IN THE GARDEN faculty took a sensory walk through our garden and discussed poems that inspired them.

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Culminating Experience for Seniors Several CES projects over the past few years have been focused on the garden, sustainable food and agriculture, and stewardship of the natural world— examples include a a garden design incorporating both permaculture and traditional organic gardening and a plan to establish moveable chicken coops as a resource for our own farm fresh eggs. This year, VIth former Will Conte is bringing bees to campus in hopes of establishing colonies and producing our own honey.

“Growing up in California, I always had bees at my house. My dad is passionate about bee keeping, and I grew up collecting honey. Since freshman year at Millbrook, I’ve thought how cool it would be to have bees on campus and cultivate our own honey. I think that protection and promotion of bees is also getting to be critically important. As a good steward, it’s important to understand the role that bees play in our ecosystem.”

Will’s CES ties together his passion for the environment and a four-year experience

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working and leading other students at the school farm. He has worked hand-in-hand with Farm Manager Lyuda Pope and helped build the farm beds as they exist today. “It’s been awesome to see how much progress has been made over four years. It’s inspired what I want to do in the future.”

Will is attending Princeton in the fall and hopes to work in biotechnology with a concentration in sustainable agriculture.

In the meantime he will leave a “sweet” legacy here at Millbrook and bring a rush of energy and enthusiasm to the farm at Princeton!

A SPACE THAT INSPIRES

In a school where we teach in the context of community, the dining hall is an inspiring space. Here, the entire school gathers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, breaking bread together while meeting with both structured groups (advisory lunches) and randomized groups (formal dinner) that change weekly.

Guests, like Davis Lindsey, director of the Growing Farmers Initiative at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, and other local farmers and food suppliers have also joined us for dinner. During a chapel talk, Lindsey discussed his path to stewardship through organic farming:

Our menu that night consisted of entirely locally grown produce and meat sourced from local farms, and our Aramark food services director,

Diane Dalton, continually includes locally sourced ingredients in menus throughout the year. Whenever possible, we purchase food from Red Barn Produce in the Hudson Valley, a provider of local fruits, vegetables, dairy, and grains that sources from a variety of farmers in the area. FarmLogic is another food partner that helps us procure meats and poultry as locally as possible. For Earth Day in April, the entire menu was again sourced locally—hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, vegetables, and ice cream!

Produce from Millbrook’s own garden also serves as inspiration for a wide variety of recipes throughout the year. Under the leadership of Millbrook’s new farm manager, Lyuda Pope, Millbrook students are planting, cultivating, and harvesting a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and Diane and Executive Chef Todd Canning work creatively with the seasonal produce students bring to the kitchen, adjusting

“I work on a farm, and what I’ve found from working on farms is pretty simple: stewardship is much more than an ecological service.

Stewardship is a feeling, a farm is a place of healing, and we are not just healing the land—we are healing ourselves. In fact, the unwritten qualities for knowing how to heal a piece of land may be intimately connected with our personal sense of self.”

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menus according to what is available during any given week. In early fall tomatoes and basil made a bright show on the salad bar, and copious amounts of squash and garlic followed in October.

Whatever fresh produce could not be used was flash frozen so it could be enjoyed later. In the winter and early spring hearty spinach and kale are brought to the kitchen, as well as sprouts, which can be grown continuously in our greenhouse.

As much as the new dining hall was designed to allow students views of the garden and hoop house, the kitchen and less public facing facilities were designed to support Millbrook’s important and ongoing sustainability initiatives. Kitchen staff have easy access to the garden with stations for washing fresh produce as it is brought in. Fruits and vegetables are at the center of the servery, large storage rooms and a flash freezer allows for use of fresh, local produce, and compost collection bins are used in the dish room.

Ultimately, as with all new building on campus, this space was designed thoughtfully and with the purpose of supporting our mission: The experience of where we eat, how we eat, and what we eat is based on our commitment to stewardship and integrity.

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A PROGRAM TO SERVE

Millbrook’s community service program fosters a sense of humility in a community where no member is “too big” for any “little task.” We work together daily to care for our community, and this now includes our farm. All incoming IIIrd formers are required to participate in a community service rotation, balanced equally between the zoo, recycling, and the garden. Our youngest students often enjoy their work so much in the garden that they return the following years as student leaders.

The gardening community service accomplishes distinct tasks based on the season of the year. In the fall students are harvesting plenty of squash, basil, garlic, onions, tomatoes, kale, and radishes. As the farm expands, potatoes will become another staple farmed in the fall. As cooler temperatures set in, students clean out the beds and plant hearty kale and spinach that will remain dormant during the harshest winter months.

Springtime is clean up time, and the winter vegetables are harvested to make room for everything that will grow from late spring through summer.

The winter season requires creativity on the part of Farm Manager Lyuda Pope and other faculty members who assist in leading the gardening groups. In order to allow all students to contribute in a meaningful way, the winter service group is further divided into three rotating sections. Each group spends some time maintaining the hoop house, (airing it out, weeding, and organizing supplies), planting seedlings in the greenhouse and

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growing micro greens and sprouts and planting and maintaining a hydroponic vertical garden housed in the Hamilton Math & Science Center.

The hydroponic vertical gardens (three to four planters high) were built and planted for the first time this year, and they are ideal for several reasons. First, they make great use of the natural light pouring through the floor to ceiling windows in the building.

They also require very little maintenance.

After starting lettuce seedlings in a foam substrate in the greenhouse, the plants

are moved to the vertical planters where clay hydroponic beads keep them rooted.

The beads provide water to the roots, and any excess water drips down to the planter below. A reservoir at the bottom of the planter catches any excess water and returns it to the top planter via a pump and watering tube.

Faculty leader Jessie Martin worked with students during the winter months to construct the planters, a process that necessitated some problem solving. “There were mechanical engineering and problem

solving skills students put to use…Where should we put the holes to best hang the planters? How far apart do we have to hang each planter so that the plants have enough room to grow? How do we get the water to move against gravity from the reservoir all the way to the top most planter? That engineering/spatial design reasoning is something we’ve had to work through.

But the students think it is cool to grow your own food, indoors, in the middle of winter, and they think of their planters as a piece of art. There’s definitely an aesthetic component to it too.”

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Alumni Steward

Bruce Burton ’78

Running A Modern Ag Business: Creating Value for Consumers and Growers “Millbrook’s efforts in the garden and growing food are bold in light of the challenges involved in growing things during much of the school year in Dutchess County. It’s a testimony to the school’s determination to make this part of the curriculum and student experience, and it’s a real positive opportunity for Millbrook students to learn more about the food they consume and what’s involved in producing it.”

Bruce Burton grew up in New York City, attended Millbrook through his graduation in 1978, and then matriculated to Haverford College outside of Philadelphia. A history major in college, Bruce developed an interest in economic development.

He also decided that he wanted to live abroad, immerse himself in another culture, and learn a new language. The Peace Corps offered a path to achieving the latter objective, and in 1983 he accepted a position with the corps in Honduras.

In his initial work as a loan officer, he provided small loans to micro-entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. When a group of local vegetable farmers knocked on his door, he stepped in to work with their cooperative, provide financing, and assist in establishing a business model to export their vegetables to the US. “They had a lot of land, and they knew how to grow things.

They were looking to diversify, and there were a few forwardthinking members of the cooperative. They had no idea how to go about doing this. I was a Millbrook alumnus and a history major at Haverford with no experience in developing an agricultural

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snow pea export project… Like so many things in life, when you don’t know very much about it, you probably don’t have enough information to be sufficiently scared. So you move forward and learn as you go, which is exactly what I did.”

In the end they surmounted every possible obstacle, and the farmers and the cooperative made a lot of money. When Bruce last visited Honduras in 2010, he found that the cooperative had expanded dramatically into other areas including coffee and microfinance— they are now the largest ag-cooperative in Honduras.

“Seeing the president of the cooperative—who couldn’t read— watch his snow peas being loaded into a jet plane in Tegucigalpa taking off for Miami…that look on his face was precious. Seeing the human impact of a project like this, it was really exhilarating.”

“The idea of putting things in the ground, watching them grow, and then harvesting them…creating value for the people who grew them and the people who will consume them. It’s like a disease. The bug bites you, and then it takes over your life.”

After finishing his Peace Corps service in 1985, Bruce worked for a year in Guatemala at an apple grower cooperative, fixing fairly simple problems that were mostly politically mitigated. Ready to head back to the states (with his wife, whom he met in Honduras), graduate school at Harvard provided his first opportunity to take in-depth business courses, and there he earned his MBA. Dole was interviewing, and, having just acquired Teneco’s big ag assets out in California, they needed someone to manage their deciduous fruits business—table grapes, peaches, plums, and apricots. Bruce was hired, and he and his wife moved out to the San Joaquin Valley in 1988. Over time he worked his way up to running the North American deciduous group, handling all production and marketing of their California-produced fruit as well as products from Chile and Mexico.

Bruce was a part of an enormous shift in the way deciduous fruits were being brought to the table in the US. “Dole began to offer table grapes year round. They actually ripped out tons of acres of grapes—like the seeded Emperor grape—that they used to grow and store for a period of time before selling. They understood there was a tremendous market in North America for seedless grapes during our winter season, so we sourced our grapes from other places around the world. Any month of the year, people could now go into the supermarket and find Dole seedless grapes.”

• Bruce with his wife, Ruth, in Colombia

But by 2000, Dole found that growing fruit in California was becoming exceedingly expensive, and they sold all of their fruit assets in that state. It was the perfect opportunity for Bruce to begin his entrepreneurial adventures, and he put his knowledge, experience and connections to good use.

With a partner he purchased a maraschino cherry processing plant, and the business expanded rather serendipitously when three big canneries in California decided they would not continue the cherry sourcing and processing work that they had been doing in-house for their fruit cocktail. Bruce and his partner added production of cherries for fruit cocktail, and they’re still going strong after 15 years.

He joined another partner to also invest in jojoba, selecting a variety of clones they thought were attractive. Today they continue to grow about 100 acres of seed-producing jojoba plants.

They sell the seeds to processors, who in turn sell jojoba oil to the large cosmetic companies of the world. A third business, managing a pre-condition protocol for peaches, plums, and nectarines at the largest fruit exporter in Chile, ran for about 6 years before they shut it down.

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Alumni Stewards

In 2005 a private equity group hired Bruce to run a newly acquired company, Sun World, one of the larger vertically integrated fruit and vegetable producers in the San Joaquin Valley, and bring that business out of bankruptcy. Over three years he managed to largely accomplish that while overseeing about 10,000 acres of proprietary varieties of table grapes plus peaches, apricots, peppers, watermelons, lemons, grapefruit, and navel oranges.

While Bruce’s work at Dole and later at Sun World kept him busy in the office managing up to 8-10,000 people during peak production times, he was out in the field a fair amount of the time, bringing the sales, quality assurance, and production groups together. Dole and Sun World grew grapes and deciduous fruits on 9-10,000 acres each, and while Dole produced 4-5 million packages of table grapes every year, Sun World was producing as much as 6-7 million packages.

Today, the Doles, Chiquitas, and Delmontes of the world have exited California production of deciduous fruit while they continue to export deciduous product out of Chile to the U.S. and Europe.

They have not come to dominate the Chilean business as expected 15 to 20 years ago, and mid-size private companies have accounted for much of the growth in the industry and relative market share out of the southern hemisphere.

“The farmer’s markets and campaigns to buy local have expanded—and that’s great! I also believe it’s incredibly important to ensure people’s access to nutritional fruit and vegetables. So growing on a large scale and being able to distribute fruit and

• The Burton family at James Burton’s wedding

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vegetables across a complex food system is important, too, in order to provide a growing world population with a product that doesn’t cost an extraordinary amount of money.”

For the foreseeable future Bruce will continue to run his cherry and jojoba businesses. He is proud to be a part of a healthy food system that is safe, diverse, and abundant, and is glad that current Millbrook students have the opportunity to get their hands dirty, learn how their food grows, and play a role in feeding their school community.

Alumni Steward

Devin Hardy ’09

Fighting Food Waste

One Beer and One Slice of Bread at a Time You might have seen Devin Hardy in the April 24th issue of The New York Times, her photo featured in the Food section in an article about how the US production of a new beer is fighting food waste. Or you might have caught glimpses of her at the Tribeca Film Festival the third weekend in April, as Anthony Bourdain’s new documentary, Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, premiered to a crowd that enjoyed a taste of the very first batch of this beer Devin has helped to brew. If not, you’re sure to hear more about Devin and her partner, Madi, as they launch Toast Ale USA, a beer brewed with surplus bread that would be otherwise bound for landfills. 100% of Toast Ale USA’s profits will go to charities fighting food waste—they hope to make a splash and garner some real attention for food waste solutions, one brew at a time.

While living at Banyan Studios—a community center loft space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—Devin met Madi Holtzman, a like-minded food enthusiast and activist devoted to finding solutions to the world’s food waste problems. With a shared commitment to making a difference, it didn’t take long for them to form a non-profit and formulate a plan to use some of the mass volumes of food being wasted at the manufacturing and distribution level.

Working with the sustainability head at Baldor, one of the largest produce distributors in the northeast, Devin and her new partner began picking up food that would otherwise go to waste.

“It’s mostly human error. Someone types in 33 boxes of nectarines, for example, instead of 3, and they return them. By law, they can’t be resold, but as a non-profit we can collect that food and redistribute it. So, I’m taking my beat up Jeep Cherokee to the Bronx and picking up

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all of this food that will otherwise be thrown out—ramps, nectarines, grapes, beautiful produce! One time we filled my entire car with boxes of baby kale and spinach.”

Under the business name Abundance, Devin and Madi began to sell the produce they reclaimed as well as food products that they made from what they were given. Their goal was to take away that “yuk” factor and raise awareness by creating really beautiful food from that produce, and so they sold products like ginger nectarine compote, pickled ramps, frittatas, and both sweet and savory bread puddings at North Brooklyn Farms. During this process they came to understand that bread is the singular most wasted food.

It was after attending a food waste event, Feeding the 5000, and meeting the event founder and food activist, Tristam Stuart, that their focus shifted. Tristam was preparing to launch Toast Ale in the UK and believed that it would be a really scalable business model in the US as well. To date, Toast Ale has reclaimed over 3 tons of bread in the UK and uses that bread to brew three beers that they sell online, in London restaurants, and through

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distributors. Chef Jamie Oliver drank the first ever bottle of Toast brewed and deemed it “bloomin’ good,” and Chef Dan Barber is another well-known, forward-thinking chef and fan. Devin and Madi jumped in, and with guidance from Tristam and his team, a year later they are launching Toast Ale in the US. They’ve set up the business in New York City from the ground floor. They sourced all of the bread (bakeries have been more than happy to provide their excess bread) and their brewer (it was a bit more difficult finding a brewer willing to add bread to their beer tanks), and have been working long and hard on getting their licensing. They plan and run all of their own events and social media campaigns, and they are actively involved in overseeing the brewing process from start to finish.

Their head brewer at Chelsea Craft Brewery in the Bronx was nervous when they arrived to brew their first batch on March 21st.

“We had 250 lbs. of fresh sliced bread, and we got to the brewery at 7 in the morning. We had to hand rip all of the bread before mixing it in with rice hulls, which helps

Alumni Stewards

“Since the bread breaks down in the brewing process, the quality of the bread is not a high priority. But we prefer to work with people who are already doing it right and using best practices, so a partnership with Bread Alone is ideal.”

ensure it doesn’t all glop together. After the additional layering in of malt, barley, and hops, they set aside the beer to ferment for three weeks.”

The process went off without a hitch, and they served up the very first American Pale Ale at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

More beer from this first 15-barrel batch will go to retailers and distributors like Whole Foods, who can help establish the brand with others who care about food waste. Currently in advanced talks with Union, a large beer distributor in New York City, their goal is to grow the business in the northeast.

Several New York bakeries are on board—from a massive manufacturing company to some smaller artisanal bakeries, including one that happens to be a Millbrook connection. The Leader family (Noah, class of 2012) owns Bread Alone, a bakery based in Kingston, NY, and they will partner with Toast Ale in a future collaborative brew.

Currently in a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for their first full 30-barrel brew (learn more on Indiegogo’s site at https://igg.me/at/toastale), they are hoping to have bottles on store shelves in New York in July. Eventually they hope to establish franchises with other non-profits around the country in cities like San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Austin, with the ultimate goal of reclaiming as much bread as possible all while raising money for food charities.

At the backbone of a food revolution are people like Devin, who are challenging the way we process, distribute, consume, and think about food. Innovation in the food industry is all about thinking creatively about how to use all of our food better. Toast Ale is the perfect example of this idea put to practice.

“We are actually physically diverting huge quantities of bread that would otherwise go into landfills and create enormous amounts of greenhouse gases. We are also directly contributing to charities, creating a revenue stream they can use to feed their own redistribution programs, and raising awareness about food waste.

We’re brewing a better planet!”

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Ali Holbrook ’12

A Food Entrepreneur Making Magic in the Kitchen

“I wish I could tell you about that very magical moment when I fell in love with cooking, but it didn’t happen that way. Rather, it was a gradual experience that began at Millbrook.”

Currently a personal chef for a professional athlete, Ali consults with a nutritionist, plans menus, shops for quality ingredients, and cooks 2-3 healthy meals each day. She loves her job for the simple reason that she is creating beautiful food that is healthy and satisfying and always evolving. While she majored in Public Health at Elon University, food has been her passion going back to her early days at Millbrook, and it continues to be the passion that drives her career today.

Her more thoughtful focus on food began during her IVth form year, as students and faculty watched Food, Inc., a documentary that takes a disturbing look at the American food chain and includes particularly unsettling images inside beef and poultry processing plants. The film really resonated with Ali, and she decided to become a vegetarian.

“Boarding school offers limited food options when you’re not eating meat. Rather than giving into the temptation of keeping unhealthy snacks in my dorm room, I saw this as a challenge to be healthy and creative with the food provided. I soon found myself addicted to food blogs and Pinterest. Going home for open weekends meant time to binge watch The Food Network and spend valuable time in my kitchen. Vacations meant time to test recipes and cook for my family. Come senior year, I was wholeheartedly obsessed with cooking, so I made a cookbook for my CES project.”

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kitchen, the more I realized the restaurant business was not my calling. What I did determine was that cooking would be a part of my life forever.”

Ali agreed the following summer to become the head chef on her cousin’s food truck in Cooperstown, NY. Parked at her uncle’s brewery, the food truck allowed visitors to pair beer with items like bratwurst and grilled cheese and an assortment of side dishes and vegetarian options. She took away several useful lessons from this experience including the importance of staying both calm and organized.

As she was preparing to graduate from college, a friend approached her about an opportunity as a personal chef for Matt Harvey, starting pitcher for the New York Mets. Ali jumped in and has not looked back. This spring she traveled to Florida during baseball’s preseason, and now her home base is in New York. In the next 5-10 years, she sees herself continuing as a private chef, expanding her business by taking on more clients and catering events, and adding meal prep and delivery service options.

“While I don’t have any formal culinary training, I believe that self-taught chefs are just as likely to succeed, and I am always willing to learn more. I am looking into certificate classes focused on specific cooking styles that might be tailored towards sustainable ingredients or dietary restrictions, and I hope to participate in some master classes between catering jobs.”

Ali is always looking for inspiration for recipes and menu items, and social media has been a big influencer. She follows many foodrelated Instagram accounts and continues to spend a lot of time scanning food ideas on Pinterest. She works hard to be creative, especially when it comes to making healthy food taste delicious.

Using as many fresh and local ingredients as she can, she shops the Union Square Farmer’s Market when in Manhattan and sources local meat and fish markets when down in Florida.

The summer between high school and college, she began her culinary journey, working in the kitchen at Estia’s in Darien, Connecticut, as a prep chef. (Estia’s owner, Colin Ambrose, is the parent of two Milbrook graduates, Mansell ’14 and Whittier ’17, and became Ali’s mentor early on.) She learned basic culinary skills and techniques, like how to hold a knife and how to shuck fava beans, and also began to understand how kitchens truly operate.

“I learned the level of focus, organization, and teamwork it takes to have a successful shift. How there is an unspoken language between the line chefs and the head chef that I cannot even begin to describe. During two summers I worked at Estia’s prepping for dinner and expediting the food service. The more time I spent in the

From prepping in Estia’s Kitchen to running a Cooperstown food truck to starting her own business as a personal chef, Ali’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for food has brought her a long way from making creative veggie wraps in Millbrook’s dining hall. Her advice to current students interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial career: do not be afraid to ask questions.

“Even though I knew I loved to cook, I had absolutely no idea what it was like to be in the private chef industry, but I asked a lot of questions, listened carefully, and received some invaluable advice.”

Check out Ali’s website and social media dedicated to delicious food: www.rightupmyali.weebly.com and @rightupmyaliii on Instagram.

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ALI’S Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw Serving size: 3-4 people INGREDIENTS For fish ½ - ¾ lb. white fish (preferably tilapia or cod) Beer Battered: 1 cup flour 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. garlic powder ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes 1 egg 1 cup beer (preferably lager) 4-5 dashes of favorite hot sauce Blackened: 1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. chili powder 1 tbsp. salt ½ tbsp. pepper ½ tbsp. cumin 1 tsp. cayenne For slaw: 2 cups red cabbage, shredded 2 cups green cabbage, shredded 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced ½ cup cilantro, minced

¼ cup lime juice 2 tbsp. olive oil Salt & Pepper, to taste Additional: Flour or corn tortillas 1 cup sour cream blended with 2 chipotles in adobo Sliced avocado Cilantro Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS Beer Battered: Pour oil to depth of 1½ inches into Dutch oven or deep skillet. Heat to 375 degrees Rinse and pat dry fish; cut into 2-3 inch strips Whisk together all beer batter ingredients in a large bowl Coat fish in batter and let excess drip off Cook fish in batches until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Drain on paper towel and salt immediately

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Blackened: Preheat grill (or grill pan) to medium-high heat Rinse and pat dry fish; place in shallow dish Combine all blackened spices in small bowl.

Liberally season both sides of fish with seasoning Spray grill with cooking spray. Grill fish until tender, about 3 minutes per side. Once fully cooked, flake into large pieces

Slaw: Add all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Toss well to combine Set in fridge for at least 30 minutes Assemble: Heat tortillas however you prefer Spread thin layer of chipotle sour cream on bottom. Lay 2-3 pieces of fish down Top with slaw and any or all additional toppings

Alumni Steward

Charley Wheelock ’86

A Recipe for Sweet Success Most of you reading this probably eat chocolate in some form or other. Many of you probably really enjoy eating chocolate and do so regularly. But have you given much thought to how that chocolate is made, and who is behind that decadent bar of chocolate goodness?

If you’ve had the pleasure of trying a bar of Woodblock Chocolate, you might be surprised to learn that Millbrook alumnus

Charley Wheelock ’86 is the craftsman behind this artisan chocolate that has been described as “…perfectly smooth and creamy (as good chocolate should be) with flavors [that] are bright and fruity, some more earthy and soft...”

You might be curious…how do you become a chocolate maker?

What does that career path look like? If you were to follow Charley Wheelock’s path, you would need a large heaping scoop of

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curiosity, mixed with a fresh batch of determination, and topped with a large dollop of entrepreneurial spirit. This combination has certainly worked for him as Woodblock Chocolate continues to grow on the heels of great reviews.

After undergraduate school at the University of Vermont, Charley began his first professional career as a woodworker in a New York City antique restoration shop. Conserving and restoring important 18th and 19th century French and English furniture was cool work, made even better because he worked there with a gilder, Jessica, who would eventually become his wife.

combination of city life, including great food and culture, and a family-friendly environment. Charley picked up where he had left off with Kapow Design, figuring that his industrial design portfolio and experience should get him in the door with some of the large companies in the area including Nike, Intel, and Adidas.

To supplement his work in design, Charley began working at a local winery, Rex Hill, during their harvest season. There he developed a palate and began to think more about flavor and food.

The next few twists in turns in his life adventure were fueled by a desire to simply learn more about what interested him.

It was Jessica who encouraged Charley to return to school and get his master’s degree in industrial design. The Pratt Institute opened his eyes to a whole new world, and after finishing at Pratt, he opened his own firm, Kapow Design. He created furniture, mostly, and landed some really terrific clients that included Isaac Mizrahi, Matthew Barney and his wife, Bjork.

“The culture in Portland is really supportive of small

Starting a family, Charley and Jessica made a move to Vermont for a short time, but Vermont ended up being a bit too remote.

Charley grew up in New York City, Jessica in L.A., and they both decided they needed to live somewhere more cosmopolitan.

After attending a friend’s wedding in Portland, OR, they took a leap of faith and moved out west. Portland offered the perfect

chocolatier. The chocolate maker sources cocoa

local businesses, and we wanted to start one together.

We thought of getting into foods, and began doing some research. That’s when Jessica discovered the difference between a chocolate maker and a beans and makes chocolate. A chocolatier buys bulk chocolate and uses it as an ingredient in his or her creations. Who knew there were so few chocolate makers in this country? Immediately we decided this would be a good bet.”

The next part of their adventure was all about asking questions and learning whatever they could about the art of making chocolate. Charley attended a three-week chocolate course at UC Davis and then took an online course with Ecole Chocolat. They connected with Steve Devries, a pioneer chocolate maker out of Colorado, and searched high and low for any information they could gather from others with experience. A tour in Costa Rica, a primary source for cacao, provided background on the farming and processing that results in beans with significantly different taste profiles. In 2010 Charley and Jessica roasted their first bean, and they have been all in since.

“We had a few machines we had to build—we made our own winnower, for example. I looked at what other people were doing, and then we simply started making chocolate in our basement. I was generating chocolate bars and brought them to local chefs and restaurants. We planted them all over town. It was really good chocolate, and we got great response. We were encouraged to make a real go of it.”

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When they received one big order from Powell’s Bookstore, they decided to invest in the larger machines they would need to accommodate their now growing business, and they were truly off the races. They moved into their present location on Oak Street in downtown Portland, and seven years later they are preparing to move and expand into a larger storefront. It’s Charley’s hope that classmate Scott Talley will help them build out the new space to include a café where customers can sit, eat, and enjoy a good cup of coffee too.

Sourcing cacao

Charley often fields questions about the beans he uses to make their chocolate, and he believes strongly in the integrity of his ingredients and their sources.

“We are very conscious about where our cocoa comes from…most cacao is grown on single family farms where they might be growing multiple crops that they harvest year round. Farmers bring their cocoa pods to a central location, a co-op, where the wet beans are fermented and dried before being mixed with beans from other single-family farms that come to the table.”

He finds a disconnect between the integrity of the product he buys and the pressure to have his product be certified “organic and fair trade.”

“These farms don’t have access to pesticides. A lot of them are extremely remote. The idea that a Peruvian cocoa farmer has to fill out paper work, submit soil samples, and run through hoops for years for the tiny amount of cacao that they grow is absurd.

We take everything into consideration. We have a close relationship with our farmers, whether directly or through a bean agent who is reputable and trustworthy. It’s really a small world for aromatic cacao. When people refer to cocoa and fair trade, they are really talking about commercial cacao, which is traded $2,400/metric ton. We pay up to $9,000/metric ton. It’s a completely different ballgame. And all of our money goes directly to the farm or is distributed through a co-op. We might not have a logo to prove it, but I’m not so concerned with that. I’m more concerned with making the story available. It’s our integrity that I’m standing behind.”

Advice for Current Millbrook students

Charley’s dad, grandfather, and other family members attended Yale, Brown, and Harvard. The idea of attending an arts school like Pratt wasn’t even a consideration for Charley when he began his college search. While he enjoyed his undergraduate experience, it wasn’t until he got to Pratt for his graduate studies that he became excited about creative problem solving. He encourages current Millbrook students to take every advantage of opportunities they have in the arts today.

“Millbrook is so strong in the arts, and the lessons you learn are so important. Art teaches you to how to think, how to solve problems.”

Young adults today should also pay close attention to how Charley became so successful. His path is one that we encourage Millbrook students to take every day: be open to new opportunities, be curious, take risks, stand behind the integrity of your decisions, and act as a steward, of the natural world, of your local community, and of the world around us.

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Gatherings 1

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Alumni Winter Day 1. D ave ‘97 and Juliana Pecchia with daughters Harper and Paisley 2. B rian and Sara Krauss ‘95 with her brother John Place ‘97, his wife, Christina, and their baby, Dean 3. F rom left: Craig Pecchia ‘00, Bill Grayson ‘05, Brian Pecchia ‘03, John Payne ‘60, and Dave Pecchia ‘97 4. B randon Rettig ‘01 with his son.

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G athering s

Winter Alumni Hockey Game participants honored Ron King on his retirement.

From an introduction by Kevin Soja: “As a hockey coach at Millbrook for a number of years, there were certain values or traits that we tried to instill in our players - loyalty, commitment, attention to detail, grittiness, knowledge of the game, and hard work. When I first began coming to the Bontecou Rink for practice or for a game, I quickly learned that Ron embodied all of these traits and more. It was a gift to have this kind of presence amongst our players each winter. One could argue that nobody is more connected to the Bontecou Rink than Ron: his consistent work with the nuts and bolts, caring for and preparing the ice, knowing what it takes to be successful, and understanding the positive role that hockey could play in the school community. As we gather here for the 2017 John MacKenzie ‘46 Coed Alumni Hockey Game, it’s more than appropriate to thank Ron for his many, many contributions to Millbrook hockey and to the school community, and to wish him well in the next chapter of his life.”

Ron King is pictured 5th from the left in the back row.

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Florida 1. At the Hettinger home in Tampa, FL. From left: Headmaster Drew Casertano, Caroline Hettinger Foss ‘01 holding Arthur, Jennifer and Charlie Hettinger ‘04, Corinna Hettinger holding Grace, Bill Hettinger ‘77 holding Henry Foss, and Pete Foss.

2. Former roomates Alice Holbrook ‘82 and Leslie Jordy McGlashon ‘83 3. Jim and Ann Heffernan PP ‘00, ‘03, ‘07, ‘09 4. Brian Ross ‘78 5. Ogden Timpson ‘85 with Cindy McWilliams 6. Hosts of West Palm Beach reception aboard the “Now or Never,” Juliet and Alex Warner ‘97 with baby Grant 7. From left: Brian Ross ‘78, Leslie McGlashon ‘83, Chris Holbrook ‘82, Alice Holbrook ‘82, Betsy Lehman Savery ‘83, and Ogden Timpson ‘85

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West Coast 1. From left: Rick McWilliams, Olivia Audia Munoz ’07, Serena Whitridge ’06, Charley Wheelock ’86, Trevor McWilliams ’01, Scott Talley ’86, Cindy McWilliams, John Goodell ’91 and friend, Maneena Douglas ’97, Megan Reville-Lovell ’88, and Charles Greeff ’81 2. Charles Greeff ’81 with Rick McWilliams 3. Charley Wheelock ’86 with Trevor McWilliams ’01 and Scott Talley ’86

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New York City 1. Former Board Chair Bill McNamara ’75 with Barbara Gatski 2. From left: Sarah Mulberry ’11, Georgia Parent ’11, Caragh Fisher ’05, Grace Fisher ’11, and Dale Mauri ’11 3. C lass agents at the New York Racquet and Tennis Club reception 4. Ace and Susan Crary P’20 5. Allie Cavanaugh ’08 with Alex Wilson ’06 6. Penn Sednaoui ’12 with Karl Koenigsbauer of the Eaglebrook School

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Headmaster’s Challenge New York City 1. Jenny Zirinsky ’94, Katie Schoonmaker Jenkins ’96, Bob Anthony ’65, and Katheryn Seidenstein ’96 at the Ainsworth 2. Bob Anthony ’65, Tate Lavitt ’10, Mariah Lavitt ’10, Olivia Farrell ’10, Emma Silvershein ’10, and Headmaster Drew Casertano 3. Meegan Rourke ’07 and Stoddard Horn ’07 with Headmaster Drew Casertano 4. Nell Burdis ’10 and Mimi Anthony Cushing ’08 5. Ken Brown ’65 with longtime friend Bob Anthony ’65

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Headmaster’s Challenge Boston 1. CeeCee O’Connor ‘12 with Austin Urban ‘12 2. C olin Kingsbury ‘94, Ben Ross ‘05, Sierra Flanagan ‘05, Skye Flanagan ‘07 and Rick McWilliams 3. C raig Seward ‘79 and sister Cindy McWilliams with Colin Kingsbury ‘94, Bridget Meigs ‘96, and her friend Jim

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Women’s Event: Caroline A. Wamsler, PhD ’87 hosted the fourth

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annual women’s dinner at the Cosmopolitan Club on January 24, 2017. Dr. Alan Tousignant’s talk, “80 Years of Empowering Stewardship and Going Strong,” included many stories about the women who have contributed to the success of the zoo including Janet Trevor and Jane Meigs.

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1. From left: Margaret Pennoyer ’06, Grace Fisher ’11, Jane Pfeffer ’10, Jung Eun Kim ’07, Barbara Gatski, Alexandra Peterson Cart ’04, and Katrina Cox ’04 2. Abby Malin ’00 with Julia Mclaughlin Todd ’00 3. F rom left: Sabrina Ackerman Bluestone ’82, Kathleen Dill ’85, Diana Dyer Knoblauch ’86, Vanessa Cutler McGarry ’87, and Lara Fleve Purlele ’86 4. Sarah Thaler ’05 with Zoe Chapin ’03 5. P riscilla Hermann ’06, Margaret Pennoyer ’06, Dr. Alan Tousignant, and Jung Eun Kim ’07 5

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CIRCLING BACK

Henry Callard on the ice, circa 1932.

Mr. Callard was Edward Pulling's first colleague and served as assistant headmaster from 1931 until 1943.

After moving to Baltimore to become headmaster of the Gilman School, Henry and his wife returned to Millbrook for one year in 1969, and he served as Millbrook's third headmaster. He was a great teacher and a widely respected, humble, and wise leader in the field of education.

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Class Notes Class of 1946 Norman Davis has been retired from Wall Street for nearly 30 years. He has been a resident in Englewood, NJ, since 1963, was active in a wide variety of community organizations over the years, and is now scaling back.

Class of 1950 Julian Padowicz, author, documentary filmmaker, and audio tape producer, was scheduled to present Learning In My 70s What I Wish I Had Known In My 20s as the first in the “Seniors Speak” series at the Westport-Weston (CT) AARP meeting in January. His topic was the course his life has taken and his creative thinking process.

Julian’s latest book, Mrs. Parsley Makes a Delivery and Other Stories, was released last summer. The collection, suitable for readers

of all ages, is a series of adventures of Mrs. Parsley and her magical cat, Laptop. It is receiving excellent reviews.

Class of 1952 H. Hugh Van Dusen retired from Harper Collins in August after 60 years with the company, a likely record in its 200-year history. He is keeping busy with many hobbies, among them painting landscapes, cooking, quilting, writing a memoir, and reading.

Class of 1958 Charlie Evans has been very busy the last three years. He was on Governor Larry Hogan’s Kitchen Cabinet and served as a senior adviser to him during his campaign for Governor of Maryland. Since Larry Hogan won the race, he has continued to

serve on his Kitchen Cabinet and as a senior adviser to him. A year ago he and three associates formed a new company called Blue Ocean Biosystems, Inc. to develop uses for a natural sand called oolitic aragonite (found only in the Bahamas and off the coast of India) that serves as a carrier for bioremediation of environmental wastes. They have three patents filed and will be filing more this year. During the past 13 months he has also been doing a report on the economic viability of a new, privately owned oyster hatchery on the Chesapeake Bay. In his spare time he continues to hunt wildfowl and fish. “Life is good; for I am upright and on the green side of the grass!”

Class of 1964 Neil Shapiro decided two years ago that 45 years of representing clients in disputes with others was enough, and he stopped taking new litigation matters. His plan was to finish those he had and effectively retire.

He is down to one such case and this week is moving his office into his home. He will still take assignments as a neutral—an arbitrator, mediator, or discovery referee— but will soon

Class of 1964 Class of 1958 Egbert Leigh returned to Millbrook last October and toured the campus, spent time at the Trevor Zoo, met with Headmaster Drew Casertano, and signed his name in the Cum Laude book in front of Millbrook’s new Cum Laude display. It was a pleasure to welcome him back.

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Peter Orrick stayed with Jack Tieder and his wife, Rufus, in Annapolis in May 2016 for just over a week (yes, he knows the joke about house guests and fish after three days). The occasion was to see Wagner’s The Ring over six nights at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He had a great time and reports that Jack is slowing down after a long career as an international attorney. Peter and his wife, Cynthia, are enjoying “empty nestdom” in Vero Beach, FL.

Class of 1964 Dixon Stroud with granddaughter Cynthia Bucklin.

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Class of 1965

be done with fighting the battles of others. It was a wonderful run of interesting matters, and he is very proud of the job he did, but now it is time for something else.

Tom Doelger and his wife, Quaint, are living in Shoreline, Washington, outside of Seattle. Rick and Cindy McWilliams enjoyed catching up with them both.

Tom, a former Millbrook faculty member, has been teaching English at Lakeside School for the past 20+ years. They also enjoyed dinner at the Doelgers with Stuart McGehee ’79 and his wife, Dione.

Class of 1965 Eric G. Kocher was fortunate to have spent much of the last year working with Syrian refugees in Greece and was still able to get in a ten-day sea kayaking trip in Glacier Bay. He continues to spend much of the summer in Haines, AK. Please let him know if you are planning a visit.

Class of 1966 Peter Hazzard is thriving in his new position as the music guy at Granite State Arts Academy in Salem, NH (www.gsaanh. org), a small charter high school for the arts.

“Just suffice it to say that I love driving to work every day. These kids and their music are keeping me young.”

Nelson Nazario completed his move to Florida in July. He’s glad to have no more snow (hopefully), but knows the heat and humidity will be a challenge. He continued to enjoy his 50th reunion long after leaving campus last June. “Great to see all and the school after 50 years.”

Class of 1969 Ham Lynch met up with classmates Bob Pingeon and Whit Stillman in February in Paris.

Class of 1971

Class of 1967 50th Reunion Phil Audibert, after working as a radio broadcaster, a feature story writer, and a photographer, he has finally “put it all together” making video documentaries from his lifelong home in rural Virginia.

Thomas Newlin will celebrate this year the 50th anniversary of his graduation from Millbrook School for Boys in 1967. He is planning to attend his reunion in June.

Jimmy Cannon wrote last October from his house/ dog sitting “work-cation” in Hawaii, “There’s no place like home and that includes Millbrook. Hard to imagine showing at up at Millbrook as a 15-year-old in 1967 and all the wonderful times then and since.” Pictured in this recent photo is Jim with Vernon Manley ’68.

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Class Notes Class of 1968 Arthur Bennett retired in the fall of 2016

state of Georgia, and they toasted Bill Emrich on his 50th birthday that day.

and moved to Orillia in Ontario, Canada.

Check the alumni directory on the website for his new contact information.

Class of 1970 Dumont Clarke retired from the law firm of Moore and Van Allen after 35 years and is now serving his ninth term as a county commissioner in Charlotte, NC. Dumont and his wife, Shirley Linn, have two daughters. One teaches high school history, and the other is a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy stationed in Stuttgart, Germany.

Class of 1984 Paul “Tripp” Hughes is still living in rural

Class of 1987 30th Reunion Anna Ingersoll Creissen lives with her husband, Alain, and their family in Carrboro, NC. Her son attends UNC Chapel Hill, and her daughter is currently a senior in high school awaiting college acceptances.

Anna works as a portrait photographer doing mostly high school senior portraits and family photos. During the summer Anna and her family spend time in their home in Maine, and while she hoped to come back to Millbrook for her 30th reunion this summer, an already busy schedule (including her daughter’s graduation and a trip to France, her husband’s home country) might prevent that from happening.

Wisconsin, playing as much hockey as he can, and still working for a cooperative of organic farms across the US and UK. He had the chance to meet up with Millbrook classmate Dr. Tom Noone in his home

Class of 1988 Karla Held worked at Zoar Outdoor in western Massachusetts this past summer as

a raft and kayak guide. She recently moved to Marble Falls, TX, where she started a kayaking and SUP business, Central Texas Kayaking (check it out on Facebook).

Liz Lewis sends greetings to the Class of ’88! “I know many of our kids are getting closer to that ‘college age,’ so if any of you stop through St. Louis to see schools, please let me know! Would be so fun to reconnect.”

Class of 1991 Rufus Wainwright was featured in the New York Times in June as he prepared to perform an encore of his tribute to Judy Garland, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall.

In his performances on June 16 and 17, he recreated, song-by-song and in front of a 36-piece orchestra, Judy Garland’s own show in the same space in 1961. In the NY Times article writer Daniel Arnold discusses the ups and downs, “a glut of life experiences, both joyful and bruising,” that Rufus has experienced since he first performed this show in 2006, including

Class of 1974 Marion Percy recently visited her family in Maine and spent a morning at the Maine Maritime Museum, which is built on the former site of the Percy & Small boatyard. One of the docents became interested when he learned her last name—he was very excited to meet a descendant of the boatyard founder, Sam Percy, Marion’s triple-great uncle.

A docent tour was beginning; this gentleman kept an eye out for her, repeatedly asking her to participate in his tour.

She couldn’t say no and thought this would be fun for alumni news!

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Class of 1979 Stuart McGehee joined Tom Doelger ’65 and Rick and Cindy McWilliams for dinner at the Doelger’s home in September.

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Alumni Profile

Gerry Mullany ’80

A Q&A with Gerry Mullany ’80, Editor with the New York Times How did you begin your career?

What are you doing now in Hong Kong

Do you have any advice for Millbrook’s

What inspired you to pursue journalism?

for The Times?

current budding journalists?

I was a real history nut, studying under Tom

One of the blessings of doing campaign coverage

Read a lot, particularly material outside your

Post and Farnham Collins, and naturally was

is that after you put in all this exhausting work,

comfort zone. If you lean left, read Breitbart

fascinated by current events. Around midway

the race finally ends, and the coverage moves to

news, if you lean right, read someone like

through high school I started reading The Times

a different crew in Washington. So I’m basically

The Times’s Paul Krugman. You’ll be much

and became hooked (Nicky Roosevelt used to

left to find a new job every four years.

better informed, more interesting to talk

bust my chops for it.)

At Millbrook you really learned to write—you

After the 2012 presidential race, The Times had a one-year posting in Hong Kong,

to, and better able to synthesize conflicting information and views.

It’s become something of a new cliché, but

were forced to crank out a couple of papers

essentially running news coverage of Asia.

a week and received intensive feedback from

It was my first foreign posting, and I loved

in many ways it’s never been a better time

your teachers (in my case Mr. Palmer, Mr.

it. The city has the energy of New York, but a

to be a journalist as the country undergoes

Bryson, and Mr. Doelger). Mr. Collins was the

few things New York lacks, like an incredibly

rapid changes politically and technologically.

first teacher who told me I had some skills on

efficient mass transit system and wonderful

The demand for good journalism is growing,

that front, and it really resonated.

urban hiking. There are big mountains with lush

and there are many more outlets today than

tropical vegetation in the middle of Hong Kong

just five years ago, with a heavy emphasis on

Island, just a few blocks from my apartment.

hiring younger people with web skills. That

By the time I got to college, I knew I wanted to work for The Times, but I never thought they would hire me. They finally did when, after

My job is to decide which news stories

being said, I always tell young people not to

seven years in journalism, I knocked on their

our correspondents around Asia cover each

get frustrated if you don’t land a dream job, or

door a second time, and they let me in for an

day. Recently North Korea’s hijinks have been

even a decent one, in your first year or two out

editing tryout. I’ve been there 26 years now,

dominating the headlines, so a good chunk

of college; things usually work out longer term

and every day is something different.

of my time has been consumed by that.

if you have the skills.

Occasionally I’ll write the stories myself, with What has been your area of interest and focus of work?

the reporters feeding material to me from Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Tokyo, and elsewhere.

I’ve run daily coverage of the last three presidential campaigns and attended at least seven national conventions—so many I’ve actually lost count. It’s incredibly stressful work that involves long hours and weekends because of the constant stream of debates, primaries, and unexpected news developments. But you’re also dealing with some of the best journalists in the business, which is a huge inspiration.

Because of the nature of our work, we get slammed a lot, and sometimes deservedly.

But our 2016 team was very plugged in, particularly with the Trump campaign, where infighting led to regular leaks (something that has carried over to the White House). We also have fierce competitors, particularly the Washington Post, and they give us a good run for our money.

Gerry with wife Georgia Davidson outside the the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong

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Class Notes Alumni Profile

Colin Kingsbury ’94

for me to imagine what my life would have been like if I had attended a high school other than Millbrook.

So, in a few months and 200 miles I went from being a high performing

An expert in custom knowledge

student at Millbrook to being surrounded by people who were all as good

applications, Colin Kingsbury

prove myself all over again at a much higher level. My academic work

is currently president and

as I was at everything, or far better. I had to start at the bottom and was interesting, although I have hardly used any of it professionally. But

co-founder of ClearCompany,

that’s not really the point of a liberal arts education, which is to train you

a provider of powerful digital

membership in Sigma Nu and work as an editor of a campus magazine, were

talent management solutions for nearly 2,000 companies across North America.

ClearCompany provides systems software that allows companies like Bosch, Sony, Goodwill, and ZoomInfo to recruit, onboard, and manage goals and employee performance across a single application. Clients benefit by moving “beyond simple administrative efficiency to a process of continuous talent improvement.”

As president of ClearCompany, Colin takes pride in the team he has helped build over the past ten years and a 243% growth rate over the past three years. He credits the dedication and energy of his team, a consistent vision, and positive cultural values—including diversity, collaboration, and fun on the job—for the company’s success. ClearCompany was listed at #1543 on the Inc. 5000 this year, and the company also won the Best Places to Work award from the Boston Business Journal.

to think deeply and critically. My extracurricular activities, in particular my possibly even more important. Both taught me about project management, budget planning, and managing people at a higher level. Eight or ten of us put out a beautiful 24-page magazine (with 20,000+ well-edited words and original photography and graphics) every two weeks in addition to our class work, part-time jobs, and so on. We were the campus conservative magazine, so we weren’t very popular, but we forced everyone to respect us because our production value was the best of any student publication.

I did get bragging rights from having gone to William F. Buckley, Jr.’s alma mater and met him multiple times!

I graduated from college with many ideas but no clear plan of what I wanted to do next. My first foray was into journalism, and I managed to land a job as an editorial assistant at the City Desk of the Boston Herald. To help pay rent, I temped on the side at an internet company during the first dot-com boom, and after several months of continued offers of more salary, paid vacation, and health insurance, I moved to the technology sector. My eight years at Millbrook and Tufts had me focused on liberal arts, but I’d

After graduating from Millbrook in 1994, Colin attended Tufts University and earned his B.A. in economics. So how did he get to be a successful owner of a technology company providing talent management software? Here he sheds a bit of light on his journey.

I ended up working as a product manager at Corporate Communications Broadcast Network (CCBN) under Andre Lavoie, and we quickly realized that we both wanted to start our own company. Even after I left that job, we continued

When I interviewed at Millbrook, my father, in an aside with Admissions

talking to each other about business ideas. A few years later, we were both

Director Sandy Podmaniczky, asked if Millbrook would truly be a good place for

managers having a lot of trouble hiring good people, and we naturally started

me. Boarding schools were a new thing for both of us, so naturally there was

thinking about tools that could help us hire better. We realized we finally had

uncertainty. Mr. Pod replied that while I might not be elected student body

an idea that fit all of our key criteria and began to get serious about building a

president, there was a lot there for someone like me. My father told me that

product. Today, ClearCompany is the result of that collaboration and helping

story at the end of my Vth form year, when I called him to tell him that I’d just

thousands of companies to recruit, engage, develop, and retain better talent

won the election for student body president.

than their competitors. I like to start the conversation by asking a CEO what it

I was a chubby kid, not much of an athlete, intense, more than a bit

would mean for his or her business if they could double the number of A-players

abrasive, and people still voted for me. I think that says a lot about the kind of place Millbrook is. Let’s be honest, the teenage years are often rough at

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always had a strong nerd side too, which came out with a vengeance.

in their organization. Our focus on aligned goals, careful management, and amazing people have enabled us to flourish with a fraction of the funding our

the best of times. That I got through mine largely intact was not a sure bet.

competitors bring, and we can help any company to do the same.

As an institution, Millbrook took me in its arms and provided a place where

Alumni and friends of Millbrook School who are interested in learning

I could flourish. Tufts was a good school for me, but I can easily imagine

more should contact Colin via LinkedIn, where he will welcome Millbrook

having a good experience at any of the other schools I got into. It is difficult

connections!

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Alumni/AE

Class Notes his marriage to Jörn Weisbrodt in 2012, the death of his mother, Kate McGarrigle, in 2010, and the birth of his daughter, Viva Wainwright Cohen, in 2011.

teachers, especially Dave Mochel, Bob Anthony, and Del Shilkret. He also fondly remembers playing JV hockey—something many from the island never get to do—and looks forward to coming back for his 20th reunion this summer.

Class of 1997 20th Reunion Eddie Scott was appointed Morgan State University’s new director of Intercollegiate Athletics last October. He previously served as senior associate director of athletics at George Washington University and as senior associate director of athletics and divisional diversity officer at Binghamton University, where he was involved with NCAA academic and compliance policies and protocols.

Alex Smith works for Sirius, a reinsurance company on the island of Bermuda. His new wife, Reilly, who also grew up in Bermuda, does art therapy for people with mental illness. Alex remembers Millbrook as being transformative in his development as a young man and recently spoke very highly of his experience, his classmates, and his

Class of 1998 Libby (Druback) Celaya came back to campus to meet with students in our Social Justice & Service Learning course in February and discuss her work at Hudson River Housing. Libby is the director of organizational & community development at this non-profit organization dedicated to building strong and sustainable communities by developing and preserving quality affordable housing through education, advocacy, and support services. Students participating in this course have been learning, reflecting on, and discussing complex issues such as poverty and economic equality, and Libby’s real-world and local experience in this arena added value and sparked new conversations.

Class of 1998 Zak Solomon joined dad Paul ’61 at Millbrook in the early fall.

They enjoyed lunch together in the new dining hall, as Paul prepared for a Development Steering Committee meeting with trustee members. Zak had a great visit and toured all of the new buildings on campus.

Class of 1999 Adam Geffner moved to Morocco with his wife at the start of the year and is teaching finance at Al Akhawayn University. His wife was offered a great job opportunity, and they needed a change, so they packed up and headed out. Things are going well, and it has certainly been an amazing growth opportunity. Not without its challenges…but that is sort of the point. “Great golf courses in Marrakech too…….FFFFOOOORRREEEEE!!!!”

Amelia Gomez Cortez and her family relocated to Boston last summer, where she is working in the Development Office at Babson College. The move was made to be closer to family, as California was just too far away. Amelia and Carlos have a two-year-old son named Alex, who has already been to Millbrook and enjoyed the Trevor Zoo!

Class of 2001 Brian Frankenfield lives in Cornelius, NC, thirty minutes north of Charlotte, on beautiful Lake Norman. He is sales director at Chiro Capital.

Class of 2003 Mary Nelson Sinclair had an art opening at Voltz Clarke’s flagship gallery space in New York City on Tuesday, October 4, 2016. Pictured with Mary Nelson are Cam and Bill Hardy, Devin Hardy ’09, Cindy and Rick McWilliams, and Caroline A. Wamsler, PhD ’87. Other Millbrook friends in attendance included Bob Anthony ’65, Ann Anthony, Anna Martucci ’92, and Dewayne Phillips; all were on hand to celebrate Mary Nelson’s beautiful paintings in her exhibition titled Rhythmic Motion, a show described as “a study in exuberant gesture.”

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Class Notes Ayumi Hosoda is living with her family in Livermore, CA. They were pleased to tour the Millbrook campus and catch up with some faculty members while on a trip out to the East Coast in June.

Class of 2002 15th Reunion Hugh Murphy lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Sloane. He is finishing up his residency at UNC Chapel Hill School of Dentistry and will be joining a private practice in Raleigh this summer.

Class of 2003 Ishmael Brown is currently living and working in Zimbabwe, exploring compliance and undertaking financial crime investigations for Standard Chartered Bank. SCB does corporate lending and US dollar clearing in the states, but they have a worldwide presence otherwise. That has allowed Ishamael to travel quite a bit. He has recently been to India (about a dozen times) and Singapore, and he hopes to get to their Dubai office this year.

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Eliza Cantlay attended Sheena Jones’ wedding last June where she saw classmates Erin Fleming, Carla Juri, Ishmael Brown, and Millbrook faculty members Cam and Bill Hardy. In the fall she traveled to Oakland where Nick Pandolfi ’04 helped her plan a six-day hike on Sweden’s Kungsleden (King’s Trail). Plus she traveled to Belize and Cozumel for scuba diving and unplugging.

“Can’t complain! Here’s to another good year—in the fall of 2017 I’m flying to Jamaica for Paul Stuckey’s wedding. Can’t wait!”

Class of 2004 Ashley Haller lives in Durham, NC, with her husband, Ashley Strickland. Ashley (’04) is an oncology nurse, and her husband is studying to become an orthopedic surgeon.

They are currently investigating hospitals around the country as he looks to complete a fellowship program in the near future.

Class of 2005 Andrew Williamson is currently in Salina, KS for a pre-deployment training

exercise. The months before heading out to the Middle East are flying by. He’ll be deployed in the spring to Bahrain in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and other crises going on in that region, and he’ll return home to Beaufort in the fall. Beaufort is slated as Andrew’s next duty station in the summer of 2018.

Class of 2009 Evan Haney is living in Toronto and working for Thomson Reuters. He is quite busy but really enjoying the experience, learning and growing. He recently moved into a new place in Toronto with a friend from home—a comfortable spot in a good location and a close walk to work. He often makes the quick trip from Toronto to Montreal to see his parents.

Jason Rossetti spent a couple of years on the PGA tour Canada and PGA tour Latin America before landing a job as a project engineer for HarkerDoerre, a construction company in Charlotte, NC, where he loves living in the “thick of things” in the downtown area. The most recent project he completed — the new Triple C Brewery.

Class of 2006

Class of 2008

Jillian Ho Wilkes lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, Josh, their son, Asher, and their miniature poodle, Bella. Jill is a medical social worker in the ICU in one of the local hospitals.

She is working towards clinical licensure while busy with a one-year-old. Jillian is pictured here with Asher and Kevin Soja.

Nick DeMarte is currently pursuing his master’s degree in education at Clarkson University. He recently visited campus with members of his MAT cohort and several professors to introduce them to Millbrook’s facilities and to explore how science is taught here. Nick continues to referee both men’s and women’s collegiate hockey, including Division I games and the Frozen Four.

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Class Notes Alumni Profile

Logan Sailer ’05

Launching A Career in Aeronautical Engineering From the time he attended space camp as a young boy, Logan Sailer had a passion for space and for the crafts that take us into the unknown.

In his VIth form year he took the advice of his Millbrook college counselor and applied to the Florida Institute of Technology to study aerospace engineering. Having tight relationships with Cape Canaveral and NASA, the school was a really good fit, and Logan headed south to Florida in the fall of 2005.

specific subject matter. While academics were increasingly challenging,

Other students in the aerospace program had a real interest in maximizing

multiple times and have begun planning for paid trips into space aboard

their education, and many of his classmates joined extracurricular

the capsule, so, needless to say, it’s an exciting opportunity for Logan and

programs, like the model airplane club, where they had additional

an exciting time to be in the business.

opportunities to interact with and learn from professors. Between classes and time commitments as a member of the university’s rowing team, Logan made a conscious effort to connect with his professors in an equally direct way, often taking time outside of class to get more information on topics about which he was enthusiastic.

camaraderie between the students was high, and Logan came to appreciate new relationships with his professors, who worked much more closely with students on research.

During his last quarter at the University of Washington, he took an internship with a small local company using computers to run complex fluid models in their research and development work. After his threemonth internship, the company hired him as a fulltime employee, and over the next four years Logan worked very collaboratively and gained tremendous hands on engineering and computer modeling experience.

It was the perfect lead in to his current job in Seattle at Blue Origin, the space technology company owned by Jeff Bezos (Amazon’s founder and CEO). Logan works as a systems engineer doing modeling and analysis for a new launch vehicle and orbital rocket. “Instead of designing a part, my job involves comprehensive planning, trying to make sure that every piece works together in sync. I am always working to understand how the whole rocket is working as a single unit and verifying that what we’ve done works as we’ve intended it to.”

For the past couple of years, media outlets have reported often on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, a fully reusable vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) space vehicle. They have launched and landed this rocket

While he is ever busy at work, he believes that his success in life thus far has been built on a work-life balance. He gets outdoors as often as possible and likes to stay physically fit through outdoor activities in particular. Extracurriculars—like sports and community service at the Trevor Zoo—were opportunities he feels helped him on his path. He offers

“I saw my professors/teachers as a critical part of the process. That came

this parting advice to Millbrook’s current students who are thinking about

from Millbrook. Every single instructor at Millbrook was interested in what

where their future will lead:

they were doing and trying to help people—they were there to help you succeed. At FIT, professors enjoyed the students who showed they were passionate about the subject matter as they were.”

“Embrace any opportunities that come your way. Sticking to whatever is comfortable is a poor way to succeed. When I think back, I wouldn’t have expected this path. That I wound up doing what I wanted to do, that was

When Logan made the decision in 2009 to continue his studies, he

helped by taking unexpected paths along the way. Going to Florida Tech

headed west to the University of Washington to earn his masters of

then the University of Washington, taking the internship I did—each was

science in aeronautics and astronautics. His undergraduate studies had

not a part of the plan early on, but they laid a piece of groundwork.”

whetted his interest, and over the next two years he dove deep into more

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Class Notes Sean Spero played junior hockey for three years before he completed his bachelor’s degree in economics at UNC Chapel Hill. He is currently a financial analyst participating in a two-year program with CISCO called “LIFT” (Leaders in Finance and Technology).

Through CISCO’s LIFT program he has access to thought leaders and innovators as he rotates across diverse areas of finance and accounting including technology and operations finance, sales and service, corporate finance, investor relations, and more.

Class of 2011 Aldin Medunjanin led Skidmore’s men’s basketball team this year with an average of 15.9 points, 6.6 rebound pull-downs, and 5.5 assists per game this season, which makes him Skidmore’s all-time leader in assists and second all-time in points scored. Leading Skidmore into the NCAA Division III playoffs, he was also named the Liberty League Player of the Year.

Class of 2012 5th Reunion Tyler Albrecht was recently drafted to play in the National Lacrosse League. After graduating from Millbrook, Tyler quickly became a standout player with the Loyola University Greyhounds. He finished his college career third on the team in goals scored and fifth in ground balls. He has signed a one-year contract to play for the major league Rochester Knighthawks. He was chosen with the 34th overall pick and has been referred to by the Nighthawks as a “versatile transition man who can play lockdown defense, while also providing speed and scoring touch at the other end of the floor.”

Sarah Anthony is living in San Francisco and working in the corporate offices of Williams Sonoma.

Carl D’Amour-Belizario has become a true leader on the Hobart College men’s ice hockey team and was named ECAC West Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, he played on the all-conference first team for the second year in a row. Belizario leads the Hobart defense, which is ranked

first in the ECAC West and fifteenth in the nation, allowing an average of just 2.37 goals per game. He played in 23 games this year, notching four goals and 11 assists; he is also tied for seventh in the league in defensemen scoring.

Ken O’Friel graduated in 2016 from Bates College, where he was a key player on the men’s lacrosse team, helping them to earn their first-ever invitation to the NCAA Tournament. They finished 11-6, their best record in 28 years. As a senior, Ken ranked second on the Bobcats’ team in both ground balls (39) and caused turnovers (13). He also scored two goals, and handled face-off duties 34 times. Overall, during Ken’s three years on the team he totaled 156 ground balls and 49 caused turnovers, scored four goals, and had three assists. He also received recognition for his achievements in the classroom, as he graduated with a cumulative grade point average over 3.50, received the Department of Athletics’ Senior Scholar Award, and also won the NESCAC Spring All-Academic honors each year as a Bobcat. Ken is currently an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Tokyo, Japan.

Class of 2013 Class of 2013 Grace Hilliard stopped in at a Millbrook School reception in Washington D.C. She is in D.C. attending George Washington University having transferred from Sewanee. She is pictured here with friend Abbot Wallenborn.

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• Spring 2017

Anthony Kuhnreich is attending John Molson School of Business in Montreal, and he maintains a 3.7 GPA. He has been hired as an intern at Price Waterhouse Cooper, one of the top four accounting firms in North America.

Alumni/AE

Class Notes Alumni Profile

JIN SOO HAN ’08

impact of fuel source substitutions, particularly switches made between coal and natural gas, and the time period between 1999 and 2002 when markets were deregulated, and his findings point to deregulation within

EMBRACING CHALLENGES & THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

the energy market as a causal effect of increased competition and profits.

In his VIth form year at Millbrook, Jin Soo convinced Ms. Havard, academic dean, that it would be quite beneficial for him to take on an independent study in economics rather than play a 4th season on the boys junior varsity soccer team. This opportunity became a defining moment for him and, ultimately, changed the course of his life.

is that when states get deregulated, there is more competition, and that

This was the beginning of his love of economics, as he took the opportunity in the fall of 2007 to study for not one, but two (micro and macro) AP Economics exams, which he passed with high scores the following spring.

After graduation in 2008, Jin Soo began his college career, majoring in

“My current research looks at how US power companies are reducing costs by negotiating fuel procurement contracts with their suppliers and how deregulation impacts these fuel procurement costs. My hypothesis competition incentivizes players to reduce their fuel costs by as much as 6%.”

While many of Jin Soo’s peers in graduate school went on to academia or business in the private sector, he has found that his continuing research has been a challenge well worth pursuing as it brings new insight into the field of economics. He will finish his PhD by May of this year and then follow his current academic advisor on to Cornell University, where he will do post-doctorate studies for six months. By this time next year, Jin Soo will return to Korea with his wife and young son, Philip, to complete his required military service to his country. He hopes to teach for three years there at a military institution before coming back to the US and possibly settling here to work for a private think tank.

With an innate sense of curiosity and a passion for academic pursuits, Jin Soo has achieved much since first arriving from Korea as a IIIrd former in the fall of 2004. Anticipating that gaining command of the English language would be his biggest challenge initially, he was surprised to find that he conversed quite easily but had a much more difficult time adjusting to the little things in life he had taken for granted—cleaning his rooming, doing his own laundry, and shopping for everyday things he needed. He realized there would be changes he couldn’t anticipate and unexpected challenges in this new place, and he came to enjoy that uncertainty is a natural part of life.

economics and graduating from the University of Chicago with an honors

“Millbrook taught me to embrace challenges, but also to be responsible

degree. To do so, he completed research under the guidance of Nobel

and self-motivated. My daily trips down to the Trevor Zoo were teaching

Laureate Professor James Heckman and wrote a thesis paper on his findings

moments I’ll never forget. The staff at the zoo showed me how to feed

on the drop out rate of high school students and the impact on their

the owls, but I was the one to show up every night having walked over

subsequent earnings. He admits that while he was well prepared, his course

that curved bridge in such scary darkness. Many nights I was so tired that

of study was incredibly challenging:

I wanted to shirk these responsibilities. Nonetheless, I had to go—my

“The biggest struggle, particularly in the beginning, is that all of your peers are just as intelligent and hardworking as you, if not more. Then, it becomes difficult to stand out. So, in a setting where you get a small reward for your work, you need to be self-motivated to pursue your dreams. For me, I pushed

owls would starve without me. When I showed up, the owls did not thank me, but I found taking care of something other than myself to be such a rewarding experience. Taking care of the owls was important; the work was important. It didn’t matter whether I received any thanks.”

myself to take more advanced math courses, and I found that I could borrow

To current and future Millbrook students, Jin Soo shares this sage advice:

ideas from math and apply them to economics at the graduate level.”

“What is most valuable is the ability to think outside of box and to bring

Accepted into the graduate program at both the University of Chicago and

in new insights to any field in which you are interested. Imagination and

Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania, Jin Soo made the switch to

creativity can be learned, practiced, and the fact that imagination and

Wharton in order to focus on industrial organization, earning his master’s

creativity are part of the academic experience for every student is the

degree in this subject in 2014. He is currently in his final year of a PhD

reason my family and I fell in love with Millbrook. I would also implore

program at Wharton, examining how competition within an industry

students to seize the endless opportunities they have at Millbrook. You can

affects consumers, focusing specifically on the US electricity market and

pursue any and all of your interests there—after Millbrook it’s so much

how power plants make investment decisions. He has researched the cost

harder to find someone to support you in your endeavors!”

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Class Notes T.J. Sanders was the 31st pick in the National Lacrosse League draft this year and has signed with the Buffalo Bandits.

T.J. proved a force on the field during his four years at Penn State, was a 2015 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, and finished his collegiate career with 124 goals and 36 assists. Even more notable, he joined an elite group of 43 Division I athletes named 2016 Scholar All-Americans by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).

Parker Zanghi-Clark received his bachelor of science degree in international business with a concentration in finance and minor in Mandarin from Bryant University in May 2016. He spent a junior year semester at ECNU in Shanghai studying Chinese language and culture. Parker began a career last July as an associate financial analyst at Liberty Mutual in Portsmouth, NH. He would love to connect with Millbrook classmates on LinkedIn.

Class of 2013 Zach Keller-Coffey is studying Earth science at Dickinson College. Last summer he received the Henry Hanson Research

Prize that allowed him to travel to Arizona to work on a project using mass spectrometry to source turquoise artifacts from archaeological sites. This research will be incorporated into his senior thesis.

Sara T. Prasser’s mother writes, “A big ‘Hi’ to everyone who remembers us and Sara. She is still doing a wonderful job in kindergarten and will finish her three-year learning in August 2017. Later on she is not sure whether to study social work or a kind of psychology topic, we will see....”

Megan Ahern ’13 and Rory Gagnon ’14 made Hamilton College hockey history this past season, as both played in the NESCAC championship quarterfinal games. This was the first time in the school’s history that both teams hosted quarterfinal games in the same year.

Both Rory and Megan have earned multiple accolades and proven to be fierce competitors on the ice during their careers at Hamilton. Megan earned two varsity letters, was named to the 2014-2015 AllAcademic and All-Tournament Teams, and played in the 2015 Saint Michael’s DoubleTree Classic. To-date Megan has

scored a total of 37 career goal points and has had 11 assists. Rory played a central role in the men’s hockey team’s 17 wins this season and has racked up a total of 30 career goal points and 11 assists.

Class of 2014 Emily Keller-Coffey took last semester off from Lafayette College to work for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Pennsylvania. Her job was about making connections and getting people out to vote.

Following the election Emily spent three weeks in a Madagascar school tutoring students in math and English.

Diego Marquez Todeschini was on campus in September to discuss his 2014 Culminating Experience for Seniors (CES) Project with current students and, specifically, how it has since impacted his film studies at Bard College. In his VIth form year at Millbrook, Diego created a series of horror films, each focusing on a different aspect of film making including storytelling, sound, lighting, and character-building.

Diego is continuing to pursue his passion for

Class of 2014 Delaney Bailey collaborated on choreography with Director of Dance Leighann Kowalsky last summer and then performed at the annual Choreography on the Edge Showcase at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild Theater.

The choreography was unique in the use of red paint, to help illustrate emotion, during the performance. Ms. Kowalsky then piloted this choreography technique with Millbrook students in the fall. Delaney shares that that the dance program at Millbrook really prepared her for her endeavors post-graduation. “Being exposed to so many different styles taught me to adapt to different types of movement, and it was both exciting and an honor to return to the Millbrook dance studio to collaborate with Leighann.”

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Class Notes film since graduating from Millbrook and is currently majoring in film and electronic arts at Bard College.

William “Gib” Mitchell is a junior at St. Lawrence majoring in communications. He plays club hockey (against Ryan Harper at Union) and is spending the second semester abroad in Vienna. Gib and Brett Supinski hope to make graduation this spring to see the 2014 IIIrd form Prum boys get their Millbrook diplomas. Stay in touch with him at wgmitc14@stlaw.edu.

Class of 2015

Will Rayman was a leader on the Division I Colgate Raiders men’s basketball team this year and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year. The honor did not come as a surprise, as Will’s coach referred to him early in the season as a “freshman phenom.” He was a five-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week honoree throughout the season and also led the Raiders with an average of 14.4 points per game. He pulled down an average of 4.5 rebounds per game

and broke the Colgate single-game rookie scoring record when he posted 34 points against Lafayette earlier in the season. Will is the fourth men’s basketball player at Colgate to earn the Patriot League Rookie of the Year honor in the school’s history.

Morgan Wilm was selected to The National Society of Leadership and Success at Manhattanville College.

Class of 2016 Olly Cohen interned this summer at The Vaan Group, a digital design firm in Brooklyn.

The Vaan Group was founded in 2011 by alumnus Xavier Van Meerbeek ’06, and Olly first learned about the firm through an Intersession course at Millbrook. Having a passion for entrepreneurship and technology, Olly reached out to Xavier, who made this truly hands-on internship possible. At summer’s end Olly began a yearlong gap year adventure that took him around the world to countries including Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, and Israel. He will begin his freshman year at Washington University in St. Louis this fall.

Photo by Joey Abbott

Hannah Hill is a wildlife biology major at the University of Vermont with a minor in forestry. Since graduating from Millbrook, she completed an internship with a wetland environmental consultant examining bog turtle habitats in Dutchess County, and she is currently interning in the animal care department at ECHO, a conservation education center on the Lake Champlain waterfront in Burlington, VT. There she gets to work with lots of reptiles and amphibians, both native and non-native species.

Edward Opoku was named a Second Team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for his outstanding season with the University of Virginia men’s soccer team last fall.

Edward finished second on his team with six goals, including five game-winning scores. He also had two assists, started in 18 matches, and took a team-high of 42 shots on goal throughout the season. He is the 50th athlete to be named All-American in Virginia Men’s Soccer history. During his time as a Millbrook Mustang, Edward scored 80 goals, had 30 assists, and 110 total points (a Millbrook record). He was also a WNEPSSA all-select player each of his four years at Millbrook.

Class of 2014 Chloe Naese is in her second year at Montana State University in Bozeman studying environmental design in the School of Architecture.

She spends many long nights at the studio creating intricate models.

When she does have spare time, she enjoys skiing at Bridger Bowl and Big Sky and visiting the bison in Yellowstone.

Class of 2014 Melissa Sheeran, who plays ice hockey for the SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals, was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Women’s West Player of the Year. She is the tenth player from the Cardinals’ program to earn the conference’s Player of the Year honor, and she leads ECAC Women’s West with 28 goals, 9 game-winning goals, and 7 power-play goals. Melissa currently sits first in SUNY Plattsburgh history with 22 career game-winning goals.

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Photo by Bucky Flan

Class Notes

Class of 2015

Class of 2015 Micah Adams and Alan Feng are both attending the University of Washington. They met in the fall with Rick and Cindy McWilliams for lunch and a tour of their beautiful campus.

Meg Lahey is a sophomore at Elmira College and plays for the Soaring Eagles women’s ice hockey team. Meg was recently named an ECAC West All-Conference Second Team honoree. A second-year defenseman, she had a breakout season this year from an offensive perspective with 17 points on three goals and 14 assists, all of which are career highs and far exceed her freshman year totals of one goal, two assists and three points. The 14-point increase in production is the most by a second-year defenseman in Elmira’s history. Nearly half of Meg’s 17 points this season occurred in an eight-game stretch during the heart of ECAC West play, and her efforts helped Elmira go 7-0-1 during that time, earning a key win over Utica and road victories against SUNY Cortland and William Smith.

Class of 2016 Gavin Schneible is in sunny Florida at EmbryRiddle, where he achieved certification for his private pilot license in his first few months. Gavin took to the skies when he was home for winter break and flew his mum as his first official passenger, making a couple of flybys over the Millbrook campus in his signature zebra striped Cessna. Gavin was able to see several classmates over the holidays and also visited Millbrook’s campus. He’s now back at school working hard on his instruments rating with plans to have it completed by spring. He’s steadily on his way to becoming a commercial airline pilot.

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Class of 2016 Ignas Slyka, a freshman at Franklin & Marshall and member of their men’s basketball team, started in 14 games and had seven double-digit scoring games this season, including a career-high of 25 points against Ursinus. He averaged 8 points and 1.7 steals per game, all of which contributed to his being named Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year.

Alumni/AE

Class Notes

Rick and Cindy McWilliams had dinner with Oli Gagnon ’97 and Nicole Fiacco ’98 and their girls at the Four Seasons in Seattle, where Nicole is the Director of Sales. Dinner was served on Jono Pandolfi ’95 tableware!!

A mini Millbrook reunion! Gathered together for a “Father and Son Golf Association” event in New York City in the spring of 2015 were the following Millbrook alumni: David Holbrook ’56, Christopher Holbrook ’82, Will Todd ’84, Dan Todd ’56, Arthur Anthony ’07, Bill Timpson ’78, and Bob Anthony ’65.

St. Lawrence students gathered in Canton, NY for a Millbrook reunion last fall. From left to right are: Nick Morley ’13, Gib Mitchell ’14, Greg Reiss ’15, Jack Dolan ’15, Tyler Schmalz ’16 and Will Bliss ’16 with Millbrook Boys Varsity Hockey Assistant Coach Bob Vanecek and wife Deborah Vanecek.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges students gathered in Geneva, NY for dinner with Nancy Keller-Coffey and Deborah Vanecek on October 2, 2016. Millbrook alumnus Rob Poole ’64, who lives in Geneva, treated the group to a wonderful meal and shared many fun Millbrook stories from the 60’s. From left to right are: Jon Yalof ’16, Ben Marr ’14, Sidney Wright ’16, Chris Williams ’15, Madison Schmalz ’13, Rob Poole, and Carl D’Amour-Belizario ’12.

Bruce Herdman ’73 and Rob Latimer ’83 returned to campus for a full day of games, food, and fun and Millbrook’s annual Alumni Winter Day in February. As Cum Laude inductees during their time at Millbrook, both were invited to sign the Cum Laude book, a new tradition aimed at honoring the successes so many students. Joining them were Bruce’s wife, Sarah, and Rob’s wife, Christy, and son, Connor.

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Class Notes Engagements

George Whalen IV ’09 is engaged to Lauren McKechnie. They will be married on July 1, 2017 at St. Joseph’s Church in Millbrook, NY.

Alexander Smith ’97 married Reilly Ingham on May 14, 2016 in Bermuda. In this family photo are, left to right: Adrienne Smith ’01, Reilly, Alex, and parents Karen & Peter Smith ’65. This photo was taken by Charlotte Jenks Lewis ’97, their wedding photographer.

Weddings Robert Latimer ’83 married Christy Crocker on December 23, 2016 in Millbrook’s Flagler Memorial Chapel.

Shih-Shih “Debbie” Tu ’01 married John Wang on October 26, 2014.

Andrew Williamson ’05 married Amanda Forbes from Grand Rapids, MI, in July of 2016.

Pardis Zahedi ’07 married Matthew Rhys Davies on August, 6, 2016 in New Paltz, New York. Millbrook faculty member Trip Powers and his wife Ivana were in attendance, as were Millbrook friends Erin (Schroth) Kennedy ’07 and Max Kennedy ’06, Sierra Flanigan ’05, Skye Flanigan ’07, and Isabel Cusick ’07.

Patricia Gleacher ’08 married Eric Pitcairn on June 18, 2016.

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Caitlin Murphy ’01 married Paul Nash on September 17, 2016 in Portland, Oregon. Trevor McWilliams ‘01 officiated. In attendance were also former faculty members Anne and Pete Kashatus, Ann and John Gifford P ’03, Rick and Cindy McWilliams P ’01, ’05, and Garrett Meigs ’02 and his wife, Cassie. Also pictured are Caitlyn’s siblings: Ryan ’93, Sarah ’96, and Matt ’98.

Alumni/AE

Class Notes

Mary Nelson Sinclair ’03 married Matthew Cruise in the Flagler Memorial Chapel at Millbrook on June 18, 2016. Reverend Cam Hardy officiated the ceremony! They held their reception in two beautifully decorated Sperry tents set up on the lower fields, and many Millbrook friends were there to celebrate. Their wedding was featured in the February 13, 2017 online edition of Vogue in an article entitled “An Idyllic Wedding at Millbrook School in Upstate New York.” (www.vogue.com/living/weddings) Pictured left to right are: Eliza Glaister ’04, Nick Pandolfi ’04, Cory Murphy ’04, John Peden ’02, Linda Casertano, Will Sinclair ’07, Mary Nelson, Drew Casertano, Cam and Bill Hardy, Ellie Lord ’04, and Greg Murphy ’07. In front, Emily Cruice Casey ’03 and Paige Hallock Fincke ’03.

Megan Barrett ’04 married Cory Ideker on September 3, 2016 at Megan’s parents’ house in Millerton, NY. Reverend Cam Hardy officiated, and many Millbrook friends attended! Pictured left to right is a large Millbrook contingent including: Bill and Cam Hardy, Kyleen Parajon, Lindsay Peterson, Jarratt Clarke, Lindsey Drew, Dan Cohen ’86, Jessica Bennett, Lynn Christenson, Dr. Alan Tousignant, Katrina Cox ’04, Lily Granville ‘04, sister Liz Barrett ‘00, and brother Christian Kelly ‘91. Nemo rounds out the photo in front! Meg and Cory are living in Dubois, WY, Cory’s hometown.

Andrew Marsallo ’04 married Samantha Lovell in an outdoor ceremony on July 25, 2015 at the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield, New Hampshire. Andrew’s brother, Matt Marsallo ’97, along with Millbrook friends Katie Young ’00 and Ryan Young ’99 were there to celebrate.

Andrew and Sam currently reside in Charlestown, MA.

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Class Notes Weddings

Gavin Bennett ’06 married Lucy Warren on September 17, 2016 in Washington DC. This Millbrook group photo includes: (back row) Cam Bennett ’02, Bobby Hottensen ’07, Pete Smith ’06, Linda Casertano, Drew Casertano, Nick Weaver ’07, PJ Santora ’05, Forest Mas ’07, Anton Knapp ’05, Chris Bennett ’08; (front row) Victoria Leeds ’07, Alex Pinsky ’06, Mimi Anthony ’08, Gavin Bennett ’06 and wife Lucy, Eliot Hubbell ’07, Jake Bennett ’11, and Lucy Warren.

Alison Blanksteen ’06 married Michael Marsal ’06 on September 10, 2016 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

While they never dated as students, their paths crossed years later when their respective careers brought them back to New York City in 2013. Mike proposed to Ali in September of 2015, while on a run through the back roads of Mike’s hometown in Bedford, New York. A year later, they celebrated their marriage in the mountains of Colorado, surrounded by close friends, family and, of course, many of their dear Millbrook friends and classmates. Their wedding party was stacked with many familiar faces from the Millbrook community, including Jon Blanksteen ‘03, Debbie Papernik ‘06, Alex Wilson ‘06, and Forrest Mas ‘07.

Ana Steele-Norton ’06 married former Millbrook faculty member Tom Spinella on August 6, 2016 at Salisbury School. Millbrook family and friends in attendance included Tom Norton P’04,’06,’11, Patricia Kempe ’06, J’Nelle Agee ’06, Collin Norton ’04, Vinnie Sorriento ’96 & Caitlin Sorriento, Jon Downs ’98 & Erin Downs, plus faculty members Drew & Linda Casertano, John & Betty Siegenthaler, Gordi ’79 & Wendy Mackenzie, Bob & Deb Vanecek, Melanie & Guy Farrington, Diane & Mike Massarone, Wendy & David Greenfield, Meg & Eliott Grover. Jon Downs ’98 officiated the ceremony!

Magdelaine “Mimi” Anthony ’08 married James Cushing in New York City on January 28, 2017. There was a large contingent of Millbrook friends and former classmates on hand for the occasion. From left to right: (front row) Allie Cavanaugh ’08, Sarah Anthony ‘12, Bob Anthony ‘65, P ’07, ’08, ’12, Mimi Anthony Cushing ‘08, Jamie Cushing, Eliot Hubbell ‘07, Elizabeth Sednaoui ‘09, (second row) Gavin Bennett ‘06, Alexandra Fresne ’08, Kealin Maloney ’08, Lauren Roxborough ’07, Gabrielle Vallarino P ’07, Lisa Foster P ’08, ’12, Drew and Linda Casertano, (third row) Victoria Leeds ‘07, Rick and Cindy McWilliams, Ceci Weaver ‘08, Hallie Bates ‘08, Ann Anthony P ’07, ’08, ’12, Mary Harvey P ’10, ’14, Alex Harvey ’10, Arthur Anthony ‘07, Paige Conklin, Vincent Vallarino P ’07, Tim Foster P ’08, ’12, (4th row) Ned Harvey P ’10, ’14, Jennifer and Kent Sednaoui P ’09, ’12, ’13.

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Class Notes Faculty Weddings Kyleen Parajon married Chase Depew on December 11, 2016.

Michelle Moylan and Robb Arndt married on June 25, 2016.

Former faculty member Jenna Harvey married Jack Sinclair on February 19, 2016 at San Francisco’s City Hall. They also held a second, larger ceremony and celebration with family and friends, including Millbrook faculty members Todd Feitelson and Kathy Havard, at Regale Winery in Los Gatos, California on August 6th.

Jack and Jenna now live in the Bay Area, where Jenna teaches French and Spanish at Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton.

Loukas Zoumas ’97 and wife Mary O’Connell Zoumas ’98 welcomed a second daughter, Katherine Patricia Zoumas, on March 28, 2016.

She weighed 8.2 lbs. and measured 19.25” long.

Births Alexander Warner ’97 and his wife, Juliet, gave birth to a son, Grant Robinson Warner, on March 20, 2016.

Molly Ogden Schuster ’02 and her husband, Sebastian, had a son, Liam Fredrik Schuster, on March 10, 2016.

Gordon Pennoyer ’99 and his wife, Andrea, welcomed twins, daughter Alexandra Parsons Pennoyer and son Brooks Morgan Pennoyer, on October 6, 2016.

Morgan Conrad ’99 and his wife, Alyssa, had a daughter, Lily Conrad, on October 4, 2016.

Morgan (far right) and Alyssa are pictured here with Gordon Pennoyer ’99, Andrea Pennoyer, and their twin daughters.

Ethan Debow ’00 and his wife, Katie, have a new addition to their family, a daughter, Reese Adelia Dubow, who was born on January 21, 2017.

Reese weighed 7 lbs., 10 oz., and measured 19 inches long. In this photo big sister Quinn Dubow holds her new baby sister, Reese.

Brian Pecchia ’03 and his wife, Jessica, welcomed a son, Lucca Michael Pecchia, on September 10, 2016.

Max Kennedy ’06 and Erin Schroth Kennedy ’07 welcomed a daughter, Kyleigh Siobhan Kennedy, on January 6, 2017.

Faculty and Staff Emily Allen welcomed a daughter, Avery Eddie Allen, on March 17, 2016.

Susan Foster Beattie and her husband, Scot, welcomed a son, Forrest Lincoln Beattie, on April 30, 2016.

Lindsey (Domas) Edison ’00 and her husband, Stephen, welcomed a son, Charles Peyton Edison, on June 6, 2016. “Big brothers Walker and Fulton take great pride in announcing the birth of Chase. We are all very much in love.”

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Class Notes Births

Sarah Podmaniczky McGonigle ’04 and her husband, Bill, announced the birth of their son, Cormac William McGonigle, on June 10, 2016. The McGonigles recently moved to the Boston area, where Sarah continues to work for Jones Day. In this photo Cormac enjoys Halloween in his BB8 costume.

Ayumi Hosoda ‘01 and her husband, Nate Brown, had a son, Clyde Sho Brown, on January 30, 2016.

Matthew Oneglia ’02 and his wife, Taylor, welcomed a daughter, Penelope ”Pippa” Leete Oneglia, on October 6, 2016.

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Matthew Rubin ’04 and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed a daughter, Sydney Rose Rubin, on November 10, 2016. She weighed 7 lbs., 6 oz., and was 18.5 inches long.

Jin Soo Han ’08 and his wife, Hyun-Jin, welcomed a son, Philip Sangjune Han, on October 27, 2016.

William Sinclair ’08 and his wife, Alyssa, had a daughter, Violet Elizabeth Evershade Sinclair, on December 13, 2016. Violet weighed 7 lbs., 1 oz.

Alumni/AE

Class Notes

In Memoriam We offer our most heartfelt condolences to the families of all Millbrook alumni, parents, past parents, faculty and friends who have passed away recently.

Frederick Godley Jr. ’37 died on June 30, 2016. Frederick attended Millbrook and then graduated from Hotchkiss School. His study at Yale was interrupted to serve in the U.S. Navy. Frederick went on to establish the Continental Manufacturing Valve Company (later named Xomox). With his wife, Mary, he founded the Eaglesmere Conservancy and the Godley House, a residential transtional mental health rehabilitation facilty in Vermont. Frederick is surived by Mary, his wife of 75 years, and by three children, Mac, Rick, and Betsy. A daughter, Margaretta, predeceased him.

Day Lee ’40 died on December 30, 2016 in Santa Fe, NM. Day was born in New

York City, where he attended the Buckley School. He later attended Rippowam Cisqua School and Millbrook. After graduating from Lawrenceville School and enrolling at Harvard, his college years were interrupted by his service in the Naval Air Corps. He completed his AB in history and English literature in 1947 and earned a master’s in education at UPenn in 1956. Day began his teaching career at the Searing Tutoring School in Bedford, NY. He subsequently served as history teacher and assistant headmaster at The Gunnery and, later, as history instructor at Deerfield Academy from 1961-1986. Throughout his life his passions were the Adirondack Mountains, the theater, painting, and music. Day was predeceased by his son, David, in 1995, and by his wife, Nancy Mills Lee, in January 2015. He is survived by his daughter, Pamela, and one grandchild.

Stuart joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1946. He was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps Reserves as a corporal in October 1952. Stuart graduated from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and went on to earn a master’s degree in English literature from Harvard University and a PhD in English literature from the University of Connecticut.

He was a dedicated and excellent teacher with a particular focus on writing skills. He taught at Pomfret School, the University of Vermont, and Ethel Walker School, before retiring from Watkinson School in 1988. Stuart loved his family, his profession, a good book, Lake Champlain, his many dogs, and Tai Chi. In retirement, he continued to teach English as a Second Language. Stuart is survived by his wife, Beverly, three sons, two stepchildren, and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by two of his sons and his former wife, Isobel.

Stuart Woodruff ’46 passed away on February 26, 2016 at home in Granby, CT. After graduating from Millbrook School,

Gilbert Colgate ’48 died on August 6, 2016, at his home in Oaxaca, Mexico. A native New Yorker, Gil attended Millbrook, Taft, and then

Frederic C. Hamilton ’45 Frederic Hamilton died on September 30, 2016, just days after his 89th birthday, following a brief illness. Fred is survived by his wife, Jane, their four children – Christy H. McGraw, Fred Jr., Crawford, and Tom. He also leaves ten grandchildren (including Crawford Hamilton, Jr. ’05).

Fred was a loyal and generous alumnus of Millbrook throughout the years. His philanthropy to our school culminated when the board of trustees named the Hamilton Math and Science Center in his honor in 2014. Fred and Jane returned to campus for the ceremony, and Fred addressed the student body in the Flagler Memorial Chapel. Those present will always remember his sage advice, his selfdeprecating humor, and his optimistic outlook on life. Fred recalled his days as a Millbrook student when he lived by the school’s motto “Non Sibi Sed Cunctis,” and he told the students that they have an obligation to serve others and “give back” to their community.

Fred left an extraordinary legacy of business accomplishments as well as philanthropic support to countless worthy organizations throughout the United States. A native of Columbus, OH, Fred carved a path from the Texas oil fields to his adopted home of Denver, where the Hamilton Brothers Oil Co. became a global force in the industry. In 2014 he was named Citizen of the West, an award sponsored by the National Western Stock Show that honors the pioneering spirit.

For the past quarter century, Fred was closely involved with the Denver Art Museum, where he chaired the board for many years and remained chairman emeritus and intensely involved with operations until his death. The Frederic C. Hamilton Math and Science Center was built in 2006 and honors his legacy and service.

Fred was last at Millbrook for a special ceremony at the Millbrook Math & Science Center, dedicated in his name. He is pictured with Headmaster Casertano, his wife, Jane, and friend and fellow Millbrook alumnus Thomas Lovejoy ’59.

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Class Notes Yale, where he founded the senior society, Manuscript. After serving as a naval officer, he went on to a career in securities printing, pioneering the use of holography in the counter-proofing of credit cards and currency, developing several patents, and rising to senior vice-president of U.S. Banknote Company. He also served as commissioner of the NYC Human Rights Commission in the 1970s, was chairman of the Board of Travelers Aid International, and served on the World Board of Directors of USO for 20 years. In his later years, Gil returned to his love of literature and published four books of poetry. He is survived by his five children from his first marriage, nine grandchildren, his siblings Nita and Steve Colgate, and wife of forty years, Margaret Barclay.

Peter Wray ’52 passed away on August 8, 2016; he died of natural causes. Early in his career, Peter managed cattle, agribusiness, a restaurant chain, and other businesses. Upon his retirement in the ’90s, Peter moved to Mexico where he lived until his death. Peter is survived by his three children.

William Allan ’55 died on March 10, 2016.

After Millbrook Bill attended Babson College

and served in the U.S. Army. He is survived by three children and six grandchildren.

Dell Battler ’56 passed away October 4, 2016. Following Millbrook he attended The Ohio State University. Dell was president of B & V Distributing, a floor-covering distributor. He enjoyed boating and ice hockey. He was father to Tammy and Wendy, and grandfather to Andrew.

David Alexander ’58 died on September 11, 2016. He leaves his wife, Margaretha, siblings Clay 1952, Thomas, and Janet, daughter Natasha Alexander Snyder, and grandchildren Alexis and Maxwell.

Claire Moody ’10 died peacefully at home in Erie, PA on August 11, 2016. Claire attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and Gannon University after her graduation from Millbrook. She was an active athlete participating in numerous sports including soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse, golf, tennis, kayaking, paddle-boarding, mountain hiking, surfing, snowboarding, and skeet-shooting. She was a dedicated follower of fashion. Claire was 20 years old when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.

One of Claire’s many doctors wrote, “Claire

Bryan Dygert ’01 Bryan Dygert died suddenly on April 14, 2017. He worked as a chef at The Chowder House for 8 years, where he made lifelong friends and still pitched in when needed. After working at Indium Corporation, he was employed at PAR Technologies. Bryan lived his life serving families in need, dedicating countless hours of service to his community. He served on the Board of Directors of The Joseph Experience, an organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of children, adults, and their families who are affected by cancer and other severe medical issues. In honor of his son, Theoryn, he participated in Sauquoit’s Relay for Life for the past 8 years. Above all, Bryan will be remembered as a loving husband to his wife, Jennifer, a loving father and positive role model to his three boys.

He beamed watching Thomas on the baseball field, shared his passion for music with Theoryn, and spent countless hours snuggling with Robinson.

He didn’t miss a game or event when it came to his three boys. He will be forever missed by his family and friends.

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is an inspiration to all of us that care for sarcoma patients or do sarcoma research; she is the motivation that pushes us on our journey to find a cure.” Her former advisor, John Kildahl, remembers Claire this way, “She came barreling into each new moment with vigor, joy, and openness, eager to meet people, unafraid of new challenges and social circumstance. I think she brightened up any room she was in, and now I think it’s incumbent on her friends and community to remember her each day and allow her spirit and humor to continue to pick us up and bring us joy, or at least a smile.”

Past staff Kirk Truskauskas died on May 10, 2016 after a brief and sudden illness. Kirk worked in Millbrook’s IT department from 2013-2015 alongside Kevin Stark, who remembers Kirk as “always willing to help anyone with any kind of tech issue.” The students who got to know him started calling him “Captain Kirk”.

He really enjoyed working here. Kirk’s family honored Millbrook by requesting that gifts be made to Millbrook School in his memory.

The Power of You, The impact of Many Every gift helps build a legacy for today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders.

Please make your gift to the Annual Fund today.

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845-677-6752

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