Fall Bulletin 2010

The Park School Fall Bulletin 2010 Annual Report Issue

Board of Trustees 2009 –10

Alumni Committee 2009 –10

Officers

John Barkan ’85 Co-Chair Ali Epker Ruch ’89 Co-Chair

Kevin J. Maroni Chair Paula A. Johnson Vice Chair Richard Banks ’74 Secretary Martin J. Mannion Treasurer Marcus Cherry Teresa Chope John Connaughton William B. Drucker Richard Edie Lisa Black Franks ’78 Abigail Johnson Heidi Johnson Brian Kavoogian Patti Kraft Anne Punzak Marcus Stuart Mathews Amy Lloyd McCarthy ’86 Pamela McLaurin Nicole Murray Peter Riehl Happy Rowe Carmel Shields Garrett Solomon ’86 Harold Sparrow Suzie Tapson Lanny Thorndike ’81 Ralph L. Wales Ex Officio

Jerrold I. Katz Head of School

Minnie Ames ’86 Peter Barkan ’86 Bob Bray ’53 Greg Cope ’71 Lilla Curran ’95 Lisa Amick DiAdamo ’86 Mark Epker ’86 Abigail Ross Goodman ’91 Anne Collins Goodyear ’84 Jennifer Segal Herman ’82 Jeffrey Jackson ’95 Julia Lloyd Johannsen ’93 Greg Kadetsky ’96 Richard Knapp ’90 Amy Lampert ’63 Abbott Lawrence ’85 Nia Lutch ’97 Melissa Daniels Madden ’85 Allison Morse ’89 Chip Pierce ’81 Meredith Ross ’86 Jordan Scott ’89 Rebecca Lewin Scott ’89 Garrett Solomon ’86 Anna Sullivan ’95 Kathrene Tiffany ’96 Eve Wadsworth ’95 Diana Walcott ’85 Phoebe Gallagher Winder ’84

Cynthia A. Harmon Assistant Head for Program & Professional Development Jane H. Carney Assistant Head for Finance & Operations Board Chairs Emeriti

Kennett F. Burnes David D. Croll Charles C. Cunningham, Jr. George P. Denny III David G. Fubini M. Dozier Gardner John L. Hall II J. Michael Maynard Anne Worthington Prescott Deborah Jackson Weiss Headmaster Emeritus

Robert S. Hurlbut, Jr. Front Cover: First-grade scientists study the Amazon rain forest in an interdisciplinary unit which complements the Grade I social studies curriculum. After learning all about the teaming life that dwells beneath the thick canopy of trees, they

Fall Bulletin 2010 Annual Report of Giving 2009–10 Editor

Kate LaPine Design

Irene Chu Photography

Tom Kates ’84 Kate LaPine Michael Lutch Tony Rinaldo Jerilyn Willig Proofreading

Debra Bradley Ruder Printing

Universal Millenium/Acme Printing The Bulletin is published twice yearly for the alumni, parents, and friends of The Park School. We welcome your comments and ideas.

The Park School 171 Goddard Avenue Brookline, Massachusetts 02445 To contact the Bulletin:

Kate LaPine Director of Communications 617-274-6009 kate_lapine@parkschool.org To report alumni news:

Eliza Drachman-Jones ’98 Director of Alumni Relations 617-274-6022 alumni@parkschool.org To support Park:

Rob Crawford Director of Development 617-274-6020 rob_crawford@parkschool.org To report address changes:

Sarah Braga Development Office Manager 617-274-6018 development@parkschool.org Park is a coeducational school that admits qualified students without regard to race, religion, national origin, disabilities, sexual orientation, or family composition.

Our educational policies, financial aid, and other school-sponsored programs are administered in a nondiscriminatory manner in conformance with applicable law. transform their hallway into a veritable paper jungle.

The trees on the cover, which stand nearly 7-feet tall, were created by students in Sarah Rose's 2009 –10 Grade I class.

The Park School Fall Bulletin 2010

2

Around Park

Phyllis Ong Retires Faculty Updates Ni Hao! Chinese in Grade VI 4

New Trustees

Caroline Schernecker Vincent Chiang Dana Weiss Smith 6

Graduation 2010

Graduation Address: Adetola Olatunji ’04 Class of 2010 Graduation Speakers: Brittani Jones and Hannah Oettgen 16

Learning Science at Park

18

Preparing for a Yearlong Review of Park’s Science Curriculum

22

Park Alumni Scientists

Susan Mabrey Gaud ’61 Douglas Boynton Quine ’65 Lora Fleming ’71 Rick Berenson ’73 Nina Frusztajer ’79 Elizabeth Wiellette ’85 David Shaff ’87 Ijeoma Uzoma ’99 35

Reunion 2010

Class of 1985 25th Reunion Biographies 43

Alumni Notes

Alumni Service Award 2010: Robert F. Kenerson ’53 Alumni Achievement Award 2010: Joseph F. Kahn ’80

Giovanni Bradley-Campbell

Kung-Yi Chang

Mulian Chen

Liesl Gilman

Cyndi Guerard

Dean Laabs

around A

fter 17 years of Grade II fairy tales, autobiographies, Colonial silhouettes, class trips to Old Sturbridge Village and Plimoth Plantation, and countless lost teeth, Phyllis Ong retired in June.

Her many friends on the faculty feted her with a small reception this spring.

A stalwart member of the second-grade teaching team, Phyllis is described by her colleagues as rock solid, unflappable, reliable, and a loyal teacher and friend.

“Phyllis is a wise woman,” says Kimberly Formisano, “who looks at children and the world with honesty, care, and compassion.”

Phyllis will enjoy six months of solo retirement before her husband, Richard, joins her at the end of 2010.

2

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Sheika Luc

Nicole Maddox

Allison Raabe

Kimberly Rothrock

Nicole Siverls

Faculty Updates 2010

Ni-hao! Chinese in Grade VI

RETIREMENTS :

T

Phyllis Ong Grade II Teacher 1993–2010 DEPART URES :

Rebecca Abrams Grade I teacher Jane Carney Assistant Head for Finance & Operations Megan Carney Permanent Substitute Rachel Costello Spanish Teacher Jeannie Hahn Kindergarten Teacher Chris Hartmann Math Teacher Chris Lindsay Technology Specialist Siobhan Quigley Annual Fund Director

here’s no question that current and future Park students will be living in a world where being able to communicate successfully across cultures and languages will be an essential skill. Over the past five years, growing numbers of our alumni have begun to learn Mandarin, either in secondary school or college.

When school opens this September, a section of 9 sixth-graders will start their elective study of Mandarin, which is a challenging language for native English speak-

Mally Smith

ers to learn. Park has begun a partnership with the Greentown Yuhua Qinqin School, a private elementary/middle school in Hangzhou, China, to facilitate exchanges, initially with faculty and ultimately with our Grade IX Mandarin students. The Chinese trip (planned for 2014, when the current sixth-graders are in Grade IX), will be modeled after the beloved trips to Europe that been a highlight at Park for more than 20 years.

Mario Rubio-Ospina Woodworking Amy Salomon Grade II Emily Sweany Kindergarten Assistant Jorge Vega Technology Specialist CHANGES:

Sarah Bourque Grade III Associate Teacher, joins Betsy Platt’s class as Pre-K Assistant Teacher

Mulian Chen Mandarin Teacher BA East China Normal University, Shanghai; MEd Harvard Graduate School of Education

Marshall Neilson Technology Specialist, returns from sabbatical

Liesl Gilman Grade IV Associate Teacher BS Skidmore College; MA Wheelock College

Alan Rivera French & Spanish Teacher, returns from sabbatical

Cyndi Guerard Technology Specialist BA University of Massachusetts; MA Marlboro College

APPOINTMENT S :

Giovanni Bradley-Campbell After-School Program Teacher

Dean Laabs Woodworking Teacher BM Lawrence University; MM New England Conservatory

Kung-Yi Chang Math Teacher BA Chinese Culture University, Taiwan; MEd Boston University

Sheika Luc Grade II Teacher BA Amherst College; MS Bank Street College of Education

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Nicole Maddox Science Teacher BA Wellesley College Allison Raabe Grade I Teacher BA Providence College; MA Smith College Kimberly Rothrock Assistant Head for Finance & Operations BS Boston College; MSA Boston College Nicole Siverls Kindergarten Teacher BA University of Michigan; MS Bank Street College of Education Mally Smith ’01 Kindergarten Assistant/ After-School Program Teacher A George Washington University

3

NEW

T R U S T E E S City for Time Warner’s publishing department, and studied graphic design at The Pratt Institute and the Parsons School of Design.

In 1991, at a mutual friend’s wedding, Caroline met Fred, who was living in Newton after attending Harvard College.

Eventually, despite a clash of Carolina Blue vs. Crimson, Caroline moved to Boston to marry Fred and worked as the art director at Reebok. After Lily was born, Catie ’17 soon followed, and Caroline left corporate life to pursue freelance graphic design.

Caroline Schernecker Caroline remains involved at UNC-CH sitting on the Board of Visitors and the

A

s transplants in Boston, Caroline

Women’s Leadership Board. When her

and her husband, Fred, were unfa-

daughter Lily joined the Park School Class

Vincent Chiang

miliar with the primary education options

of 2014 in Kindergarten, Caroline joined

in the area. (She was born in North Car-

the Parents’ Association, first as a library

olina but grew up in Connecticut, and he

volunteer. She served next as a Class Rep,

hails from Madison, Wisconsin). When

then as the Class Rep Coordinator, co-

looking for the right school for their first

chair of fundraisers and community service

child, Lily, they soon realized that Park’s

projects, and as an advisor to the P.A.

considered. “In our minds, Park really

mission and educational environment

“I’m honored to be serving the community

distinguished itself. Its commitment to

exceeded their hopes. “We were thrilled

now as the president of the Parents’ Asso-

academic excellence, a diverse community,

to find a community that offers such a

ciation, and am looking forward to my

as well as a child-focused approach to

rich tapestry of individuals and experi-

two-year term on the Board of Trustees,”

learning really resonated with what we

ences for our children,” Caroline recalls.

she says.

wanted for our children’s educational

W

hen Vinny and his wife, Susanne, looked at independent schools,

The Park School was the only one they

“And, we have grown to appreciate that

experience,” says Vinny. All three of their

this is a family school. As parents, Fred

children, Molly ’15, Grace ’17, and Aidan

and I receive as much from the Park com-

’20, are now Park students.

munity as our children do.”

Born in Virginia, Vinny moved to Massa-

4

Caroline’s first experience in the Boston

chusetts at age 5, after a year in Taiwan,

area was as a boarding student at Dana

and has remained ever since. Following

Hall School in Wellesley. After graduating

graduation from Weston High School,

in 1985, she returned to her Tar Heel

Vinny attended Harvard College and the

roots and attended the University of North

University of Massachusetts Medical

Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Caroline

School. He completed his residency in

moved back north to work in New York

pediatrics and fellowship in pediatric

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital

Dana Weiss Smith

Boston, which is where Vinny and

Facing History and Ourselves, and the

Susanne met while she was working as a senior communications officer in the public affairs department and at the Children’s Hospital Trust.

including Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Boston Women’s Antipoverty Initiative.

B

orn and raised in Los Angeles, California, Dana made the trip east for

Not only is Dana a Park School parent,

college and has made Boston her home

but she is married to a Park alumnus,

ever since. She graduated with a BA

Robert Smith ’74. Dana and Robert have

Currently, Vinny is chief of inpatient

from Tufts University and a MEd from the

three children: Madeleine ’09 and Ryan

services for the Department of Medicine

Harvard Graduate School of Education

’11, currently students at Noble and

and associate chief of the Division of

with a concentration in children and

Greenough School, and Jackson, who is

General Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital

adolescents at risk. Since then, she has

in Grade IV at Park.

Boston. He is actively involved in medical

devoted her time as an employee and

education and serves as the associate

volunteer to area nonprofit organizations

program director of the pediatric resi-

whose missions focus on improving the

dency program and the director of med-

quality of life for Boston’s youth.

ical student education at Children’s.

Clinically, he divides his time working in

Having worked at the Boston Community

the emergency department and on the

Centers, The Prevention Center, Boston

inpatient general pediatric units. He

Housing Authority, and as director of

also serves on the editorial board of the

operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of

Journal of Hospital Medicine, is co-editor

Boston, Dana brings to Park’s Board a

of the textbook Comprehensive Pediatric

wealth of experience and knowledge

Hospital Medicine, and is a member of

about children and the issues they face

the American Academy of Pediatrics

today.

Section on Hospital Care.

In addition to serving on Park’s Board, At Park, Vinny has served on the Board of

Dana is involved with several area non-

Trustees’ Diversity Committee and is a

profit organizations and affiliations,

standing member of the Springfest cleanup crew. He looks forward to increasing his involvement as a trustee.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

5

— Class of 2010 —

GRADUATION 2010 6

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

2010 GRADUATION ADDRESS

Each year, an alumnus/a with six years of post-Park experience addresses the graduating class. Following this Park School tradition, Adetola Olatunji saluted 19 ninth-graders at the 122nd graduation exercises in June. Adetola joined the Class of 2004 as a short, shy sixth-grader, but found her voice in Janice Allen’s chorus for eighth- and ninth-graders and established a Grade IV and V dance club with classmate Liz Wilsker. She carried her passion for singing and dancing to Milton Academy and Princeton University, where she sings with the Princeton University Gospel Ensemble and serves

by Adetola Olatunji, Class of 2004

as the artistic director of the Black Arts Company. Adetola is a pre-law student — studying political economics with minors in both African studies and Spanish — and she plans to pursue international law after graduating in 2011.

G

ood morning! To the trustees, Mr. Katz, faculty, staff, alumni, students, and their families, thank you so much for inviting me here. It is truly an honor to have been given the opportunity to speak with you this morning, and I am humbled to have been chosen to share with you some of the experiences I have had in the past few years. And most importantly, to the Class of 2010, congratulations to you on such an amazing accomplishment!

You made it, and we are all here because we are so excited to celebrate your wonderful achievements thus far. I have a few hopes for you especially by the end of this speech: first of all, that you remember at least 30 percent of it. Don’t even worry about it, though; I’ll try to keep this interesting. But more importantly, I hope that as you reflect on the past three, four, or even 11 years for some of you, you

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

7

Asher Bohmer

What the Ninth Grade will Take and Leave Behind

will learn something meaningful from hearing my words today that you can take with you as you move on to the next stage of your lives.

Let’s start off with what I’m sure will be a memorable image for all of you. The year was 2000; the place was the sixth-grade hallway on the third floor. The time was about 7:55 a.m. The outfit. . . sometimes I shudder to even think about it. . . black dress shoes (with the straps across the foot), white socks, black dress pants, and a bright pink button up. Oh, and let’s not forget the cornrow braids and pink bubbles in my hair . . . oh goodness. Let’s just say I was trying to make a

I am taking my independence and good

isn’t dry and new-found self confidence.

memories. I am leaving behind my 11

I am leaving behind my kid sister, Isobel.

years at Park.

statement. . . that’s classy though, right?

But all jokes aside, I entered my first day at The Park School as a new kid with only one mission: to get good grades. Growing up in a Nigerian household where excelling was the only option, my mindset upon entering middle school did not anticipate the need or desire to be involved in anything other than academics. Now, don’t get me wrong, I never forgot how grades are still very important.

But as I look back, I can say I have this wonderful institution to thank for exposing me to the importance of extracurricular activities.

Although I entered middle school thinking that grades were the only thing that mattered,

“While here, my teachers encouraged me to find my voice, and with the help of their kind encouragement, I did.”

8

Annalin Carroll

I am taking a large plaster head that still

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

the exposure that The Park School gave me to various sports and performance activities showed me not only how much fun they could be, but also how crucial they would be to my growth in the long run.

For me, Park School was an opportunity to experience so many new things for the first time. While here, I tried everything from the recorder, to soccer, even knitting club! Somewhere along the line, I found that sports and the performing arts would combine to be a perfect fit for my passion and talent. While at Park, I was exposed to one of my first solo opportunities in Ms. Hillmon’s seventh-grade chorus. I also had the opportunity to lead dance club for the fourth- and fifth-graders alongside one of my best friends at the time, Liz Wilsker. Singing and dancing are still two of my biggest passions today, and I am so grateful to have found these passions while I was here, passions that to this day help me to stay sane in the midst of a rigorous academic environment at Princeton.

As for sports, I tried quite a few, but I found basketball to be my absolute favorite.

Phoebe Clark

Daniella Colombo

I am taking a better understanding of

I am taking confidence and maturity

I am taking my Park “P”! I am leaving

the world and those in it. I am leaving

found through my leadership of

behind the memory of falling on my

behind that skid mark on the gym

Helping Hand. I am leaving behind the

face in the gym.

floor from tripping over my own feet.

amazing teachers who have helped

Annie Goodridge

me become who I am through their encouragement and belief.

Defense was definitely my specialty in the game; because I was so little, I had to be way more aggressive than the rest to be successful, though. I guess it showed in the nickname I quickly earned among my teammates: “Little Lion Addie.” You might be wondering whether I was that girl who would accidentally scratch her teammates during loose balls and hustle plays. . . guilty! It was that serious. I played all through my Park years and even went on to play through my high school years at Milton Academy. However, I found that after Milton, my only basketball-related role needed to be in front of the television screen watching the professionals do the game of basketball justice. However, I will never forget the moments I shared with my teammates and the lessons of discipline and work ethic that I am still able to apply to my life today.

I know that for many of you, extracurricular activities played a big role in your Park School experiences, from the soccer team to Student Council, from jazz band to One World Club, now called Pangaea. I want to plead with you to remember these activities that you invested so much time in while here.

I will guarantee you that in high school, your involvement in extracurricular activities will be what helps you to stay sane. In all honesty, when school gets difficult, and it will if it has not already, you will appreciate the outlets that you have built for yourself while in school here. They are what teach us teamwork and leadership skills and make us more well-rounded people. Most importantly, though, over time your involvement in these activities will be an important indication of how much you have gained out of high school, when you eventually seek to move on yet again to the stage of life after your soon-coming high school experiences: COLLEGE. And maybe you didn’t have the opportu-

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

9

Emily Hoyt

Emily Jacob

I am taking with me Lilybet MacRae and

I am taking Omni Ball. I am leaving

I am taking with me the independence to

all the colors on my palette in painting

behind TOTAL Day.

make my own decisions. I am leaving

Brittani Jones

class. I am leaving behind the colors

behind the voice to inspire others to do

green and white.

the same.

nity to try that new sport or join that exciting club that you always wanted to. Even if that’s the case, don’t think it’s too late to start something new. High school will be a whole new experience where you will have the chance to start again and discover a new part of your personality while remaining true to who you are. But regardless of whether you try baseball for the first time or continue the theater background you started early in your Park years, I urge you to continue to invest time in these passions because you will be so much better for it.

Besides what I learned outside of the classroom, I cannot go without mentioning some of the lessons I learned while inside the classroom doors. The Park School blessed me with some of the best teachers I have ever had. Mrs. Lucey, Ms. Baker, Mr. Kellogg, Mrs. Aldins, and Mr. Amershadian (to name a few) were instrumental in pushing me to settle for no less than a mindset of excellence.

They also taught me to understand that my opinion was just as valuable in conversation as the next person’s, and to never allow my perspectives or dreams to be overshadowed. I think about the wonderful teaching that I received at the Park School every time I am called upon to speak in a small classroom setting. When I first entered Park, I was one of the shyest in the bunch, but people who have met me more recently in life would be surprised to hear that. While here, my teachers

2 0 1 0 G R A D U AT I O N A W A R D S TH E EL L EN F OWLER AWA RD FOR CITIZENSHIP

Asher Charles Smith Bohmer Emily Abase Jacob TH E ISA BEL LA T. GROBL EWSKI ARTS AWARD

Alexandra Nicole Waye TH E HEAD OF SCHOOL’S AWA RD FOR A CADEMIC EXCELLEN CE

Emily Anna Hoyt TH E CU RTIS E. SMITH ATHLETIC AWARD

Michela Nora Thomsen THE J OH N T. SPICER AWA RD FOR UN IQU E SERV ICE

Lillian Elizabeth MacRae Gilad David Gamson Seckler

The Joan Crocker Award for Community Service

ROMA HOY T

EACH YEAR, the Parents’ Association presents this award in honor of former Park parent Joan Crocker, who exemplified the kind of devotion and steadfast zeal this award recognizes in its recipients.

“When you leave this place, remember the lessons you learned about high standards, teamwork, independence, friendship, respect, love, and trust.”

10

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Lilybet MacRae

Mackenzie Mills

I am taking Emily Hoyt. I am leaving

I am taking my backpack. I am leaving

I am taking the confidence that I

behind my favorite time of the day:

behind my sisters and my mom.

need to go to my next school. I am

recess!

Hannah Oettgen

leaving behind my Morning Meeting seat.

encouraged me to find my voice, and with the help of their kind encouragement, I did. It was about discovering the type of person I was and expanding my comfort zone, as the classroom setting was just another opportunity for me to be myself. I was pushed to speak up more, to work with my classmates and learn from them, and to use all available resources to make it.

I bring up the role of teachers in my life to remind you to reach out to the teachers who have dedicated their lives to helping you reach the next level in life. That resource never goes away; especially the blue M&Ms in Mr. Katz’s office that I hear you love. Know that your teachers still care and will still be checking up on you long after you graduate.

Believe me. But a resource only works when it is in use. When you leave this place, remember the lessons you learned about high standards, teamwork, independence, friendship, respect, love, and trust. As corny as it may sound now, these lessons that have been instilled in you will be what sets you apart from the rest as you continue on your journey in high school, but only if you remember to use them. Please do.

In addition to using the resources that have been made available to you, I also urge you to refuse to allow limits to be placed upon you. As much as it sounds cliché, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. I’m sure that students as bright as all of you will have high expectations and goals for yourselves. As you strive for new levels, thoughts of doubt might come as you think about a class that you want to take, a new hobby you want to pick up, a career path that you want to explore, or a traveling opportunity that you want to look into. It’s easy to not pursue something out of fear, or out of playing it safe.

“Don’t forget where you came from, the standards that you have set for yourself, or the people who helped to mature into the people who you are today.”

But you know what? It takes courage to take a risk and challenge yourself in ways no one expects from you. You are lucky because you have already been exposed to so many opportunities that most people your age have yet to experience. So all I am asking is that you continue to take advantage of the edge that you already have. Aim high, and that’s exactly where you will go. You have learned so much and built so many friendships and connections that will last you a lifetime, but only if you make sure those connections last. I want to encourage all of you to work to keep the love that I can tell you all have for each other. I’m just saying that you are quite the dynamic bunch, and if you can remember to keep each other in mind as you move on to the next level, you will be so much better for those sustained relationships.

Don’t forget where you came from, the standards that you have set for yourself, or the people who helped to mature into the people who you are today. I am confident that if you continue to be aware of your education thus far and keep reaching high, there is absolutely nothing that you as individuals and as a group cannot achieve. I look forward to hearing about you excelling in all of your endeavors.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to my words, and again, congratulations—you did it!

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

11

Charlotte Ross

Gilad Seckler

I am taking the sportsmanship and

I am taking my people skills. I

I am taking my yearbook. I am leaving

leadership Park has taught me. I am

am leaving behind the spit that

behind an exclusive T-shirt available in

leaving behind my Park uniform.

Class Graduation Speaker: Brittani Jones

G

ood morning, everyone. I am honored to speak on behalf of my class, the Class of 2010. Just two weeks ago, I was walking through the cafeteria and was pulled aside by Ms. Lucey. She brought me to a corner table and told me to sit down. Instantly, I thought I was in trouble. But then she had this huge grin and said, “Brittani…” and I started yelling, “YES! YES! I WOULD LOVE TO!” The kitchen staff looked at me from the kitchen and probably thought something bad was happening since I was so loud. Oops.

Ms. Lucey looked at me and said, “Do you even know what I’m going to ask you?” At that point, I thought about it and concluded that

12

Grif Seeley

I emptied out of my trombone

the Park Plaza for only $20. You should

onto Mr. Lyons’ rug.

buy one!

I was getting trouble for something, although I wasn’t quite sure why.

But turns out that I was right, and she was, indeed, asking me to be [one of] this year’s graduation speakers. (And yes, Mom, that means that those times staying after school weren’t to meet Ms. Barre, or to fix an essay, or to set up for the dance; I was really meeting with Ms. Lucey and Ms. Fries. SURPRISE!) That being said, I am here speaking in front of all the faculty, parents, alumni, current students, and of course, my favorite, the Class of 2010!

I began my years at Park in 2000, starting in Kindergarten, making this my tenth year. Ten years seems like a long time, but it has gone by in a blink of an eye. As students have come and gone from our class, we have created a wonderful and unique grade. This is why we will never be forgotten. Our group has such a variety of personalities, from quiet ones to some who are always enthusiastic, and those who have transitioned from one end of the spectrum to the other.

We’ve all had our share of transitions, and the results are what you see here today. No matter what kind of change, I can say one thing: We are all in front of you as young adults getting ready to depart. You have all witnessed our growth and maturity, and we thank you for the many lessons you’ve taught us. We thank you for giving us the opportunity to make and mold who we have become today, and for showing us what the world has in store. I know that we want to do great things in the future, so I can assure you that this will not be the last you hear from our class.

Mr. Rivera told us that this year would fly by us, but I never actually thought it would. I never thought it would feel like just yesterday when I was walking into the School, anticipating the day that we were leaving for Stump Sprouts, Europe, or even Six Flags. These are all the things that have brought us closer and have given me the opportunity to reach out to each of the students you see sitting here behind me.

One thing that I will take with me as I make my departure from Park is what I have learned throughout my journey here. The curriculum for each year isn’t just a mound of information that one has to eventually be tested on — it is much more.

Often teachers say, “The course you will be taking this year will be useful to your later years in high school, or even college,” and they mean it. I’m now beginning to understand the concept of just how well Park prepares students for the

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

future; each subject gives an individual student a chance to ruminate upon the lessons and morals that come out of each of the courses.

For instance: Kindergarten: It was the simple things like etiquette, holding the doors for others, sharing, and most importantly NOT being greedy and eating each other’s snack!

Grades I-III: Learning how to help the environment and preserve the rainforest; to become ecofriendly; acknowledging the good and caring things that other students do, and report it for recognition in front of the class.

Grade VI-VIII: Learning how to manage money and finances with the House Project; being creative and gathering a collection of poems that represent us for our Poetry Anthologies.

Finally, Grade IX: The last year at Park puts together all the lessons one has learned from youth. It’s the

Barbara Singhakiat

Padraig Sullivan

Nyle Thomas-Andrews

I am taking all the skills I have devel-

I am taking the memories of several

I am taking sincerity. I am leaving

oped as a writer. I am leaving behind

Park plays. I am leaving behind the

behind simplicity.

the most amazing track team ever.

stage on which I performed them.

NEXT SCHOOLS FOR THE CLASS OF 2010 Asher Bohmer Wellesley High School Annalin Carroll Beaver Country Day School Phoebe Clark St. Paul’s School Daniella Colombo Milton Academy Annie Goodridge The Winsor School

year to reflect upon all that you know and to take the opportunity to be a leader of the School. It gives you a chance to make changes for the future. But above all, it was an important time in our lives because it allowed us to display the maturity and the skills we’ve learned to become great leaders.

You can never be sure where life will take you, or what it has in store for you, but there is one thing that I know will never happen. There isn’t another place that I can call home like I can call Park, or a place that I will stay for 10 whole years.

That is a very special thing that one can never forget about Park. It also makes it hard to forget being a student here, since I’ve been here for so long. But, with the lessons I’ve learned during my time here and the memories I have created, I can never forget Park or even begin to compare it to another place, considering all that it has done for me.

Being yet another member of my family to graduate from Park, from my mom, my uncle, my many cousins, to now me — it has truly been an honor. It’s amazing to know that they, too, had the same ceremony and have come out to support me and congratulate me on my success at Park. However, it doesn’t end here. Since my brother is going to be here at Park, the torch has now been passed down to him. The best thing of all is to know that I have paved the way for him. Park has given me the opportunity to be independent and to make decisions on my own — to become a leader. I want to continue to use this and to guide others in some way, being a role model. I plan to do great things when I get old, but I will never be able to do these things without stopping first to remember where it all came from: one little place that I can call home — Park.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2009

Emily Hoyt Phillips Academy Andover Emily Jacob Milton Academy Brittani Jones Boston Trinity Academy Lilybet MacRae Phillips Academy Andover Mackenzie Mills Beaver Country Day School Hannah Oettgen Boston University Academy Charlotte Ross Milton Academy Gilad Seckler Newton North High School Grif Seeley Commonwealth School Barbara Singhakiat Thayer Academy Padraig Sullivan The Cambridge School of Weston Nyle Thomas-Andrews Boston College High School Michela Thomsen The Rivers School Alex Waye Dana Hall School

13

Michela Thomsen

Alex Waye

I am taking the knowledge I gained from

I am taking my love for music. I am

my work-study job. I am leaving behind

leaving behind my echoing voice.

my smile.

Class Graduation Speaker: Hannah Oettgen

H

ello, everyone. I remember when I was in sixth grade and I decided to come to Park. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Park has done so much for me as a person and for my education. I have become a better reader, writer, mathematician, linguist, scientist, artist, actress, and singer.

There are countless things that make Park unique that I will never forget. I will always remember Morning Meeting and the moment of silence — my favorite part of the day. I will remember having my grandparents with me at school the day before Thanksgiving and taking them to all of my classes. I will remember singing “Children Go

14

Where I Send Thee” at Yule Festival.

Everyone in the school knows all of the words and the hand motions, and all the alumni come down to sing. I know that I will be one of those alums next year.

In seventh grade, I remember going to Project R.E.A.S.O.N. We hiked Mt. Monadnock, slept in cabins, and played with the dogs, Moose and Kofe. In eighth grade, we had a blast during our day in Boston. The day before that, we swam in the coldest pool water ever after cleaning up Jamaica Pond.

Ninth grade has been an especially great year. We have become so close as a grade, and I will never forget any of you; I know we’ll stay in touch. We have all had so many leadership opportunities. Whether it was leading clubs, being captains of sports teams, or being TOTAL Day captains, we have all taken advantage of those opportunities. Going

to Spain was another unforgettable experience this year, and the 10 of who went together become closer than we ever were. We all tried lots of new things, had a great time, and learned a lot. Almost right after returning from Spain, we jumped into our work-study jobs. It was really strange to be away from school for a month, but it was an incredible experience.

And then there are the little things about ninth grade, like getting M&Ms from Mr. Katz’s office at break, or at 8 in the morning! I remember taking swimming lessons during P.E. in, once again, really cold pool water. I remember saying, “Hi, I’m Hannah, and I’m running Morning Meeting today.”

One of the best things about Park is the amazing faculty. During my years at Park, I have grown as a student, and my teachers have all been there to support me and help

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

me do well. None of us would be here right now, ready to graduate, without all of our teachers.

So, I want to say thank you to everyone at Park who has helped make our years here so amazing. I also want to thank all of our family and friends who are here to support us today. Although I am going to another school next year, Park will always be an important part of my life, and I will come back to visit all the time!

Finally, I want to congratulate the ninth grade because soon we will be graduates of The Park School. Thank you.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

15

LEARNING SCI

16

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

ENCE AT PARK ark’s youngest students in Pre-Kindergarten are eager scientists: observing the natural world and the change of seasons, producing ice crystals in winter, and growing seeds in the spring. The Kindergarten classrooms are equally full of life — hatching monarch caterpillars in the fall and baby chicks in the spring. But formalized science classes begin in Grade I. First-graders are excited to venture down the corridor to Brian Cassie’s Lower Division science room. He capitalizes on the children’s fascination with the world around them and introduces them to an inquirybased, hands-on science program that begins by looking at the trees on campus and culminates in a study of the ecology of American rainforests, which complements the Grade I social studies curriculum.

When students reach the Upper Division science labs, they are introduced to the scientific disciplines of earth science, physics, and biology, and begin to develop a foundation of scientific skills: observing, hypothesizing, analyzing, inferring, and drawing conclusions.

In 2010–11, Park’s Science Department is undergoing a periodic review to assess both the quality of teaching and the curricular content. In the review process, every topic and unit will be considered.

Some may get expanded and some may be dropped. You can read more about this comprehensive evaluation in a piece by Science Department Chair Karen Manning.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

17

Preparing for a Yearlong Review of Park’s Science Curriculum

by Karen Manning, Science Department Chair

The Review Process REVIEW Review and assess current science program in grades K–IX at Park.

RESEARCH

DEVELOP

•

Articulate philosophy through trying to answer “big” questions.

•

Develop a K– IX scope and sequence.

•

•

Benchmark other schools.

•

Assess what resources are available to us (conference proceedings, findings, other surveys, etc.).

Adopt or adapt curriculum materials for gradelevel use.

•

Create a professionaldevelopment plan for faculty.

•

18

Research effective and appropriate assessment and evaluation strategies.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

REPORT Describe the findings of this process in a report.

IMPLEMENT Once implementation begins, we will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes, and make changes as necessary.

T

his summer, Park’s science faculty met to outline the challenging but exciting process that we are about to begin to review our approach to teaching science across the grades.

As we began planning for the review, it became apparent that we were limited in our understanding of what other schools were doing and of the current thinking regarding science education. We understood that it would take a huge amount of time, effort, and expense (which were all in short supply) to gather the information we needed. So, we decided to hire a consultant to assist us with the process.

We wanted someone who was intimately involved in education, was familiar with different types of schools, and has developed curricula at the local and national level. While this seemed like a tall order, Jerry Katz said he knew just the person for the job.

Jerry contacted Carolee Matsumoto to see if she might be interested in taking on this project. Carolee, a third-generation

Japanese American, brings enthusiasm and experience leading technical assistance, curriculum development, and leadership development to projects across the United States and the world. She is currently working with the National Science Foundation and the Watershed Integrated Science Project at UMass Boston, and she is an advisor for public television science programs at WGBH. At Park, Carolee’s role will include helping to facilitate discussions and encourage us to think “globally,” as well as helping us connect with key resources throughout the process.

What intrigued Carolee was our process. Instead of taking our existing curriculum and comparing it to a state or national standard, then adding or elimi-

< After creating a “cloud” in the lab, Karen Manning answers questions about condensation from her sixth graders.

nating topics to meet those standards, we decided to take a really novel approach.

We are starting with a completely blank canvas — or, to use a science metaphor, an empty Petri dish. We want to design a science curriculum that would be state-of-the-art in both approach and content without worrying about time, budget, or space limitations. Of course, these constraints will eventually have to be considered, but to generate really innovative thoughts, we wanted to strip away all of the typical limits.

Before we can lay out a “scope and sequence” for the curriculum, we need to articulate a philosophy that will guide us through the process. We plan to generate this philosophy be answering some big, fundamental questions:

Getting to Know the Park School Science Teachers KAREN MANNING Science Department Chair How long have you been at Park?

I have been teaching here for 10 years, since 2000.

What grades do you teach?

Sixth- and seventh-grade science.

What turned you on to science?

I have always loved the ocean and wanted to become an oceanographer at a very young age. I used to watch all of the Jacques Cousteau specials on TV when I was young,

which I think inspired me to follow this path. My high school biology teacher also encouraged me to pursue my love of the ocean.

tongue, it tasted completely different, depending on what spot it touched. Who knew that your tongue could sense food differently?

What do you remember about learning science in school?

One of my most vivid memories was from a fifth-grade science class, when we were exploring the sense of taste. We were blindfolded and a sample of a powder was put on our tongues, and we had to figure out what it was for ourselves — instead of just being told about it. I was amazed that when we put the same substance on different parts of my

What is your favorite lesson that you conduct with Park students?

I have several favorite lessons, and, perhaps not surprisingly, almost all of them involve edible labs. In particular, I love the “Taste Tectonics” lab where we use graham crackers, frosting, and fruit roll-ups to simulate tectonic plate interactions. It actually is quite effective in modeling what happens at those plate boundaries. The simulations we do with

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Grade VI modeling different parts of the digestive system are pretty great, too!

What do you hope Park students take away from your science classes?

I hope my students maintain their sense of wonderment — always.I hope they continue to be curious and to ask questions. I also hope that they begin to understand how to approach finding answers to their questions and that they learn how to explain phenomena in their own words.

19

What science is worth understanding today and tomorrow?

ence education at Park for Grades K through IX. This will be an evolving process. We will implement new strategies and content based on the findings of our work. Going forward, we will evaluate the effectiveness of these changes, and make adjustments as necessary.

All in all, 2010–11 will be an exciting year for science at Park. Stay tuned to learn what we learn about ourselves and our recommendations for the program!

What should science learning look like?

How and where does science thrive?

What evidence demonstrates students’ science learning?

At this point, our goals include:

• Developing a coherent philosophy of science learning across grade levels;

• Working toward common student outcomes of knowledge, skills, and habits of mind;

• Reviewing what and how we teach and measuring that against our own aspirations and best practices;

• Identifying existing areas in the curriculum, schedule, or facilities that warrant improvement to achieve the goals effectively.

The Science Department met several times over the summer for initial brainstorming sessions. Once school begins, we will meet monthly with Carolee and Jerry Katz. We will begin the process with a review of what currently is taught at Park, includes an assessment of current facilities, equipment, and other resources.

B R I A N B E AV E R How long have you been at Park?

Sixteen years. My first year was [Head of School] Jerry Katz’s second year, September 1994.

What grades do you teach?

I teach physical science to Grade VIII and biology to Grade IX. What turned you on to science?

I’ve always loved science, so it is hard to pinpoint any one thing.

Throughout my life, I’ve spent a lot of time outside in nature, hiking, backpacking, and canoeing. Much of my love of science (particularly life science and earth science) is connected to my love of being in the

20

Next, we hope to articulate a philosophy for using some of our responses to the “big” questions. In the research phase, we will examine science programs at other schools and examine resources such as conference proceedings or surveys to help evaluate current the best practices in science education. By the end of the year, our goal is to have developed a consistent and coherent scope and sequence for sci-

woods. But life science is not the only science that I love; I’ve always enjoyed physics and mechanical things as well.

What do you remember about learning science in school?

Taken as a whole, my science education was very uneven. I had some great experiences, but not consistently. Some teachers were inspiring and skillful while others had good intentions, but failed to teach well.

And, as we all know, the teacher can make all the difference, regardless of the topic.

I have only murky memories of elementary school science until fifth grade with “Mr. Nick.” He was the first male teacher that I had, he loved math and science, he was a

It is my fondest hope that every student will leave my class every day with something that they just cannot wait to share with their family.

fan of baseball and sports, and every day, it seemed, he organized some sort of game during recess.

These things made all the difference for me. Mr. Nick introduced me to model rockets and showed me how to make videos of experiments.

Pretty primitive stuff perhaps, but fifth-grade science was a milestone for me.

What is your favorite lesson that you conduct with Park students?

I don’t have a favorite lesson per se.

I am, though, fascinated by all things DNA: the history of the discovery of its form and function, how it works in a cell, genetic engineering, and current research — including work with stem cells. This is more of a “unit” than a “lesson” and fea-

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

— Brian Cassie

tures a series of cool experiments that include the extraction of DNA from strawberries.

What do you hope Park students take away from your science classes?

That science is important and that science is for everyone.

BRIAN CASSIE How long have you been at Park?

This year is my 10th at Park School.

What grades do you teach?

Grades I, II, and III.

What do you hope Park students take away from your science classes?

It is my fondest hope that every student will leave my class every day with something that they just cannot wait to share with their family.

H E AT H E R O F F E N How long have you been at Park?

I am starting my third year at Park this year.

What grades do you teach?

All of Grade IV and V science and one section of sixth-grade science.

What turned you on to science?

I have been passionately interested in science for as long as I can remember. My earliest recollections are of searching for and then raising the caterpillars of black swallowtails, monarchs, and cecropia moths, so I guess lepidoptera probably turned me on first.

What do you remember about learning science in school? Any favorite stories to share?

I took science for the first time in the sixth grade, but it is my seventhgrade science class I remember most vividly. My teacher was a real meanie and my whole year of life science, my favorite scientific field, was dreadful. When I got to high school, I had biology again in 10th grade.

Yea! Except for the fact that my seventh-grade teacher transferred to the high school and was now my science teacher. Good grief. Somehow I survived.

What turned you on to science?

My father encouraged me to take the science electives my elementary and middle schools offered. In fifth grade, I was able to take coastal ecology and “starwalk” (astronomy) classes, which were wonderful. In seventh grade, I reluctantly agreed to take an elective chemistry class and after the first day, I loved it!

That pretty much sealed my love for all sciences.

What do you remember about learning science in school?

I don’t remember much science from elementary school, other then studying dinosaurs in the second grade.

My middle-school science years are what have stuck with me the most.

I remember growing beautiful, turquoise blue copper sulfate crystals in seventh grade and raising brine shrimp babies in eighth grade. My lab partners and I tried to name

them all! By the end of the lab we had a list of about 250 names.

What is your favorite lesson that you conduct with Park students?

Hard question! I love teaching about constellations to the fourth-graders, helping them to find the ‘pictures in the sky’ (a nice tie-in to Greek mythology, too!). The fifth-graders think its cool learning how to light a bulb with one wire and a battery.

And, in sixth grade, it would probably be singing “The Bloodmobile” song by They Might Be Giants as the students, dressed as red blood cells, walk though a giant model of the heart, picking up and dropping off oxygen.

What do you hope Park students take away from your science classes?

I hope by the time they move to the Upper Division, my students feel prepared for their future science classes.

Many of my classmates growing up were intimidated or overwhelmed by science. But, science is all around us and is what makes the world turn; if my students understand and appreciate that, I have succeeded as a teacher.

REBECCA REGER How long have you been at Park?

I’m beginning my sixth year.

What grades do you teach?

Seventh-grade earth science and eighth-grade IPS (Introduction to Physical Science).

What is your favorite lesson that you conduct with Park students?

My favorite classes are right at the start of Grade III, in September and October, when my students and I go outside and watch the skies over the Park School campus for migrating insects and birds. We make predictions based on the weather, but we never know what we are going to find. One day, we saw 1,400 monarchs [butterflies] fly over Park. That was the highest count from any school in the country that year.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

What turned you on to science?

I always loved it in school. I had great teachers growing up, and they made me love science. I enjoy learning about how things work, and why things happen the way they do.

What do you remember about learning science in school?

I remember making acetylsalicylic acid — Aspirin — when I was in tenth-grade chemistry, and then researching its properties for a report. It was my first true chem synthesis lab, and I enjoyed the work immensely. I still love chemistry, particularly synthesis labs.

What is your favorite lesson that you conduct with Park students?

I have a lot of favorites. In seventh grade, it’s probably making “fossils” or the “graham cracker plate tectonics” labs that we do. In eighth grade, I love the sludge lab; it’s challenging, but it provides a chance for students to design their own experiment and plan their own work, thus testing their knowledge by the practical application of skills already learned. The students truly appreciate what they accomplish by the end.

What do you hope Park students take away from your science classes?

I hope they gain a curiosity about the world around them and that they learn to question how things work. One of the best things that kids can take away from a science class is the ability to challenge knowledge constructively. Without this type of questioning, many scientific discoveries would never have been made. After a year with me, I also want my students to be able to explain what they know. I’m known for returning homework papers marked up with “WHY???” and “EXPLAIN!!!” in the margins.

21

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

SUSAN MABREY GAUD ’61

Susan, as an 8-year-old Park School student, and a more recent shot fom last year.

Susan and her sisters, Sally ’62 and Nancy ’65, attended Park before going to The Winsor School. In high school, Susan discovered her penchant for science, often coming in on Saturdays to do extra work and find out more. She majored in chemistry at Connecticut College, received a PhD in physical chemistry from Northwestern University, and spent several years as a postdoctoral associate at Yale. In 1978, one of Susan’s roommates learned that Kraft Foods did ‘real’ research (not just recipe development) and was hiring PhDs for its Research & Development Department. A few years after joining Kraft, she received an MBA in finance from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Her scientific work at Kraft included research in dairy and soy proteins, starch structure-function relationships, lipid chemistry, and fat replacement technology.

Susan also managed a broad range of research departments, from Physical Chemistry to Food Science to Ingredient Technology, Biotechnology and Analytical Chemistry, and was responsible for several strategic programs until her retirement in 2007. She continues to serve on Northwestern’s Industry Advisory Board, is a science advisor to Carthage College, and serves on the board of editors of a peer-reviewed management journal. Having hung up her lab coat for the time being, Susan is now playing more tennis and serving as a consultant to a wide range of nonprofit organizations, including a music festival, an art group, and a charter school. She lives in Evanston with her husband, Henry Gaud, a fellow chemist whom she met at Yale. They have two grown children, Emily and Henry, who both live in Colorado.

22

I

’m sure there was some genetic predisposition for my becoming a scientist. My father was a doctor, a physician at Mass. General Hospital and an early adopter of technology. Once I had taken Winsor’s tenth-grade introductory science class — one term of physics, one of chemistry, and one of biology — I was hooked. (I’ve even remained friends with Judy Fellows, my wonderful physics teacher who took us on field trips to collect pinecones from the Wellesley campus. She taught using the eye and ear — the physics of seeing and hearing — to explain fundamental principles.) I discovered that I was good at math as well and loved the challenge of equations, both mathematical and chemical.

I knew that I wanted to study science and major in chemistry in college.

My father looked through Connecticut College’s course catalog and encouraged me to go there when he saw that there were a number of full professors in the chemistry department. I thoroughly enjoyed Connecticut and continue to value the liberal arts education and the many friendships I made, but it was an eight-week organic chemistry class at Dartmouth one summer that inspired me to go to grad school. Coming from a single-sex school and college, I was unfamiliar with the gender disparity in the sciences. At that time, it was harder for women in co-ed schools to break into science. When I began the program at Northwestern in 1968, it happened that because of changes in eligibility for military draft deferment my class was one-third women, and that out of our class of 39, 11 of the 13 women went on to receive their PhDs. My experience in grad school and at Yale was wonderful. My professors at Northwestern and Yale had already been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, so they were under less pressure to publish. They were very dedicated teachers and excellent mentors. (Of course, there weren’t any women professors for many, many years — I never had one in all my years of training!) Northwestern’s philosophy was that all graduate students needed to be teaching assistants

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

(T.A.s) in order to earn their degree.

The mantra was, ‘No matter what you’re doing, you’ll have to do some teaching.’ To be honest, I wasn’t wild about it at the beginning. I had been a little shy, and there I was in front of my peers all the time, giving seminars.

In fact, it was a real confidence builder. Eventually, I loved teaching, and was a T.A. all through graduate school and during my postdoctoral years.

Enhancing my post-college experiences, while studying small peptides and proteins and how cholesterol affects the cell wall membrane, I was lucky to do collaborative work with several universities throughout the U.S. I always thought I would become a university professor, and although I interviewed for a number of teaching positions, I found my niche in industry instead.

In 1978, I became a research scientist at Kraft, studying the clotting properties of milk. At that time, the company was known for high-moisture products like cheese and mayonnaise, which had more room for error and spoilage. One goal was to increase the efficiency of cheese making and capture more protein in the product. That first year, I felt I really paid my dues as one of the few PhDs on staff. After doing experiments all day, we had to wash up all the glassware because the lab supply company was on strike!

Leaving the ivory tower for industry was a bit of a culture shock in other ways as well. When I first arrived at Kraft, I had to adjust to working an 8–4 job. I had grown accustomed to the flexibility of academia — I could play tennis at two in the afternoon and work until midnight in the lab if I wanted. At Kraft, I worked on the company’s schedule. And then there was getting used to the hierarchy and a very generous budget. In grad school, I had a lot of autonomy, but buying a $400 balance was a major expenditure. At Kraft, we did have to justify every purchase, but there wasn’t much scrutiny unless it had a very high price tag. The company made sure we had state-of-the-art facilities and were rarely denied a reasonable request.

For the first five to seven years, I was doing research at the bench, working on different projects. Shortly after starting at Kraft, I enrolled in business school at The Kellogg School of Management. An MBA did not necessarily assure me a management job but it did provide me with some useful tools, a good perspective on how business works, and a valuable network that continues to be of use. I really enjoyed the challenges of management — seeing the big picture, teamwork, creating order out of complexity — and having the opportunity to be involved in a broad range of scientific challenges. Much of food industry research involves understanding how ingredients (protein, carbohydrate, fat, water, flavor, etc.) function and interact with each other and making sure the food is safe and of high quality. Strategies evolved over the years, but fundamentally we needed to deliver on taste, quality, convenience, and variety, all at an affordable price. I was surprised at how much research was needed to accomplish this!

In the late 1980s, Kraft set a corporate goal to develop fat-free food.

The whole company — top to bottom — was dedicated to that single goal.

In our corporate culture, it was rare that research would take the lead; usually we were just contributing players.

But in this case, I found myself, with two other colleagues, leading this whole project. It was a terrific way to see the full scope of what it takes to get a product from a concept to a consumer in the grocery store. When we made presentations to the patent lawyers, marketing departments, the FDA, and advertising agencies, it felt like I was back in grad school, teaching. We really had to understand the audience, and although it would be fun to wow them with exotic equations, our job was to make the science relevant and give them the information they needed to file a patent or develop an ad campaign.

Around this same time, Kraft was going through several mergers. The company was purchased by Phillip Morris and it, in turn, merged us with General Foods. Each company had its own specialty and research facilities. I

Susan Mabrey Gaud in Kraft’s R&D laboratory in the 1980s.

became the manager of an 80-person analytical science department spread between Madison, Wisconsin (Oscar Mayer meats), Tarrytown, New York (coffee, Tang, Jell-O), and Glenview, Illinois (cheese, Miracle Whip, Velveeta, Kraft caramels). It was challenging to get the three groups working together but ended up to be very satisfying.

Kraft is a huge company (it recently purchased Nabisco) with a broad range of products and many trade marks (no soup but just about everything else: Grey Poupon, Planter’s, Triscuits, Oreos, Seven Seas, Maxwell House, Kraft Singles, etc.) We were responsible for everything from nutrition analysis, claim substantiation (is our Macaroni & Cheese really the cheesiest?), and trouble shooting (why is this product’s flavor off?, why is this cheese wrapper tearing?) to flavor analysis. We increased our efficiency by creating centers of excellence in each location and by having weekly video conferences to share results.

As Kraft grew, we realized that we couldn’t possibly do everything inhouse and became more outwardly focused. I moved into a newly created position where I helped our scientists and engineers use external resources more strategically and effectively. It

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

was so energizing to be on university campuses and interact with a broad range of scientists. We funded many fascinating projects, including one with NASA on developing food and food processes for long-duration missions, one on new approaches to food safety, one on understanding the genetics of taste and smell, and several on developing new packaging materials. I retired as senior director of external science and technology after almost 30 years of a challenging and rewarding career.

I must admit I don’t remember much about Park School science but am aware that I had the privilege of an excellent education from first grade on.

A combination of a genetic predisposition to science, inspiring teachers, and encouraging parents certainly contributed to my having an interesting career. I was fortunate that I lived close to work and to our children’s school.

My husband, who worked full-time as a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, was supportive, and we managed to get to just about every concert, conference, play, and sporting event. Now, as a volunteer with some distance from the laboratory bench, I continue to encourage women to pursue science both in academia and in industry.

23

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

DOUGLAS BOYNTON QUINE ’65

Doug started at Park in the middle of Grade II when his family moved to Boston, but he spent third grade in California where his philosopher father, Professor W.V. Quine, was at Stanford while on sabbatical from Harvard. When the Quines returned to Boston the following year, Doug attended Park for four years, graduating with his Grade VIII class*. After half a year of travel in Europe and a semester at Middletown High School in Connecticut, he graduated from Roxbury Latin School.

At Princeton, Doug studied biology, then worked at The Rockefeller University as an acoustical consultant before going to Cornell University to earn a PhD in neurobiology and behavior in 1979. In 2008, to parallel a series of international conferences recognizing the centennial of his father’s birth, Doug co-edited two books (with Harvard University Press) of his father’s out–of-print papers and unpublished work from the family archives. Early this year, after a 22-year career in engineering postal systems, Doug took early retirement from Pitney Bowes. Having lived in Nova Scotia, New Orleans, Illinois, Florida, Virginia, and Albuquerque, Doug and his wife, Maryclaire, returned to their New England roots, settling in Bethel, Connecticut, in 1993.

Doug and Maryclaire enjoy traveling immensely; they have visited all 50 states, and this summer’s trip to Gibraltar makes 52 countries. Their children, Alexander (Oberlin ’07) and Victoria (Hampshire ’10), have begun their independent lives.

Doug with the Honda Civic hybrid purchased with his 32 patent awards.

The value of education is to prepare one

Douglas Boyn I * Over Park’s 122-year history, the number of grades offered and the graduation year have varied. For many years, Grade VIII was the year of graduation; others graduated when VI or VII was Park’s final year.

Also, it was never unusual for some students to leave Park before the year of graduation. During the last 43 years, Park has offered a Grade IX program as the final year. The School therefore assigns to its alumni a class year based on the Grade IX year.

24

to discover new things, to solve problems, and to become a continuous learner.

The Thrill of Innovation and Research

enjoy understanding how existing things work and inventing new things. As a child I read voraciously and pestered everyone from winemakers to telephone repairmen for details of what they were doing and why. My curiosity and love of independent learning continues to this day.

At The Park School, Mr. Meadows introduced me to the study of science, the experimental method, and the idea of bringing order and sense to random assortments of facts. Since then, my passion has been to explore emerging topics. Through my high school research project at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (polarized lightinduced Haidinger Brush illusion), summer work at Fruitlands Museums in Harvard, and my independent study program at Roxbury Latin School (heart surgery and artificial heart valves at Massachusetts General Hospital), I discovered the thrill of

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

research and independent study. At Princeton, research for my undergraduate thesis revealed the ability of barn owls to detect shifts in sound pitch (which might help them find prey) and resulted in my first refereed scientific journal article in the Journal of Comparative Physiology. As an acoustical consultant at The Rockefeller University, I measured the environmental acoustics of natural environments in Maine, New York, and Panama, helping to explain differences in animal vocalizations in different habitats. My doctoral research at Cornell in animal behavior required developing new equipment to uncover the homing pigeons’ ability to hear 10 octaves below human hearing. (Such infrasounds can travel very long distances and might have value as navigational cues.) My postdoctoral research on hearing changes in multiple sclerosis revealed unexpected pitch (frequency) and loudness (amplitude) channels in hearing system.

Following my postdoc in Halifax, we moved to New Orleans and enjoyed

the local culture. At Tulane Medical School, I learned to do microsurgery in a frog’s ear (my first real experience with anatomy) and recorded nerve pulses from the eighth (hearing) nerve.

I also developed a new undergraduate course in psychology called ‘Sensory World of Animals’ at Tulane University. As microcomputers were just emerging, I developed some neurophysiological software tools with colleagues and even started a business with my wife to meet the need for affordable computer supplies. That entrepreneurial experience continues to be valuable.

When a former colleague invited me to join his research group at the Illinois Natural History Survey, I had the thrill of working with emerging Doppler weather radar (NEXRAD) systems to detect birds and warn aircraft of threats aloft. While bird strikes were a significant and expensive problem then, the work was underappreciated at the time. But 21 years later, when US Airways Flight 1549 had to make an emergency landing on the

Hudson River after colliding with a flock, bird strikes — the aviation term for birds hitting a windshield of a plane or getting sucked into an engine fan — are now a common topic of conversation. It was gratifying that our early work laid the foundation for some solutions being implemented today.

As a lifelong stamp collector (I bought my Scott International Stamp Album for 30 cents at a Park School tag sale), I recall the moment in 1982 that a brief article in Linn’s Stamp News about postal barcodes on envelopes captured my imagination. I discovered envelopes with handwritten addresses had a very high error rate.

When I reverse-engineered the failure patterns, I realized that when the postal optical character readers failed to read illegible addresses, they searched further afield and sometimes encoded the return address, which directed the envelope back to the sender. My volunteer research won a number of awards in the philatelic (stamp collecting) community. Six

High school photograph on a valid personalized postage stamp that Doug helped develop.

years later, I was offered a job at Martin Marietta, which was diversifying into postal automation. As a scientist, problem solver, and software manager, I was privileged to participate in the emerging delivery point automation program for mail that would result in huge time and cost savings compared with manual sorting.

Later, I moved to Pitney Bowes to become program manager of the postal barcode sorter business. Within a few years, I was named the first-ever “product guru” for digital document delivery, including electronic bill presentment and payment. This position launched me on a intensive invention effort which has resulted in 32 issued patents for improvements in such diverse fields as environmentally sensitive expiration dates (i.e. ice cream), email address correction, multimedia business-to-employee communications, paperless checks, and voting by mail.

After the anthrax letters disrupted mail service in 2001, I was called upon for my scientific and problem-solving skills to help develop a portable anthrax detection system. That effort led to three issued patents, having the Department of Homeland Security designate the system as a “Qualified AntiTerrorism Technology,” and my providing mailroom security solutions for seven years.

It is now time to begin planning Career 9.0 — my next big project.

Throughout my life’s journey, I’ve been discovering that the value of education is to prepare one to discover new things, to solve problems, and to become a continuous learner.

ton Quine ’65 Doug ‘at work’ in personal protective equipment.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

25

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

LORA FLEMING ’71

I Lora’s memories of Park are from the Kennard Road campus, where she spent Grades I–VI. After Park, Lora graduated from Milton Academy and was a member of the last “official” class at Radcliffe. In college, she majored in Hispanic studies, but was an “undercover” premed student. She earned a master of science degree at Imperial College London University, and then returned to Boston for a joint MD-MPH degree from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed her residency in social family medicine at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y., and did a postdoc in occupational/environmental health while working on her PhD in epidemiology from the Yale Schools of Medicine and Public Health. For the past 21 years, Lora has been the only occupational and environmental medicine physician and epidemiologist in South Florida. When she’s not teaching at the University of Miami’s Medical or Marine Schools, she’s in the field researching the health effects of harmful algal blooms (red tides), microbial pollution of marine waters (from feces in the water), or health risks and behaviors of workers in the U.S. Her daughter, Aleja, who graduated from Wellesley College in May, confessed to her mother that she “hates people but loves rocks,” and has begun her own PhD in geosciences at MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. In January, Lora plans to say goodbye to Miami to direct the newly created European Centre for Environment and Human Health in Cornwall, England.

26

am so lucky — there’s not a day when I don’t learn something new. Environmental and occupational medicine are fascinating.

I can’t wait to learn more — especially from my colleagues.

If you want to experience lifelong learning, just assemble an interdisciplinary team of diverse and enthusiastic students and researchers!

As the only board-certified occupational and environmental medicine physician and epidemiologist in Miami, I get involved with many projects and serve on many teams. As the co-director of the University of Miami Oceans and Human Health Center (rsmas.miami.edu/groups/ohh/), and the associate director of the Florida International University/University of Miami Advanced Research Cooperation in Environmental Health Program (http://arch.fiu.edu/), I work in the areas of marine and freshwater toxins, microbial pollution of recreational marine waters, environmental human health, and epidemiologic issues.

Sometimes I’m reminded of how, when I was in third grade, I couldn’t read. I was having a very hard time in school, but my teachers and parents came together with strategies to help me. To coax me through third grade science and my first project studying meal worms, my father wrote a poem for me: A meal worm is not a real worm, but a bug…ugh! My teachers at Park correctly diagnosed and helped with the treatment of my dyslexia, which was far-sighted for the times.

My family supported that fortuitous intervention with teams of teachers, tutors, and phonics instruction, which helped me become a good student and an avid reader. At Park, we got to know our teachers in many different

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

roles as well. I loved studying Latin with Mr. Bourne, but I also knew him as a terrific shop teacher, mountain climber, and environmentalist. Park took a “liberal arts” approach to education, which has served me well. But it may be the social skills (shaking hands, being truthful, and playing well with others) that have carried me the furthest!

I love putting multidisciplinary research teams together, then approaching a single problem from many points of view. For example, as a physician and epidemiologist studying microbial pollution (“poop”) of recreational marine waters, I have had the privilege of working with and learning from researchers and students who are environmental engineers, biostatisticians, microbiologists, physical and biological oceanographers, marine biologists, and environmental public health professionals. It can take a full year (or more) to go from an idea to publishing our research — especially if there are 15 people writing the paper together. But we learn so much! Collaborating in a team with multiple points of view helps uncover new questions and, ultimately, new answers. The more diverse perspectives, the better.

To make this kind of team work, you have to be able to admit when you don’t know something, and be willing to ask very, very basic questions.

Often, I’ve seen my fellow scientists pretend to know the answer to a question, but in an interdisciplinary team, that doesn’t fly. One time, I was presenting our findings from a study of oceans and human health at a national conference. I kept mistakenly saying “cephalopods,” but my colleague, the oceanographer and marine biologist,

would shout out the real name, “copepods.” It was humbling, but an effective (and amusing) demonstration of how we all worked well together.

Working with various colleagues, I have created educational materials concerning the human health effects of marine and freshwater natural toxins, and performed research in ciguatera fish poisoning, red tides in Florida looking at brevetoxins, and cyanobacterial toxins. Currently, I am involved in a federally funded study of the human health effects of aerosolized red tide toxins (mote.org/niehsredtide study/) and in a study of the possible human health effects of microbial pollution in recreational beach waters. In another interdisciplinary group, I am exploring the health disparities, morbidity, and mortality of U.S. workers (rsmas.miami.edu/groups/niehs/niosh/), as well as issues involving the effects and prevention of tobacco-related diseases. As the medical director of the Florida Cancer Data System (fcds.miami.edu/), Florida’s incident cancer registry, I work with researchers and students to promote work in cancer epidemiology and prevention, and in health disparities in Florida. I also act as a consultant in occupational and environmental medicine and epidemi-

ology, both locally and internationally, and I serve on a number of university, state, and national task forces and committees.

This fall, I will begin to wrap up some of these projects as I prepare to move across the Atlantic for a new challenge: directing the new European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH). Cornwall lies in the southwest corner of England and is an economically depressed, but fantastically beautiful, area. In addition to looking at the environment and human health, the ECEHH is designed to stimulate the region’s economy by fostering strategic partnerships with local businesses and organizations, and to decrease health expenses by encouraging local people to become more physically active by getting outside. The Centre is an initiative of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, which is itself a joint entity of the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, the British National Health Service, and is supported by the European Union. The ECEHH will focus on three key themes within the environment and human health field: chemicals — including pharmaceuticals and nanomaterials — in the environment; climate, oceans, and human health; and clinical photo-

biology, which studies the affects of UV light on the skin. I’m excited by some of the novel approaches that we will be taking. For example, ECEHH will be an active partner of the National Health Services’ new Blue Gym Program (bluegym.org.uk/). The program encourages people with costly chronic health conditions (such as depression, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease) to interact safely and healthfully with the marine environment, improving not only their own physical and mental health, but helping the environment as well. Ultimately, in these times of great environmental change and uncertainty, we hope that the Centre will help make Cornwall a model of sustainable and beneficial environmental health that can be exported to other countries and populations around the world!

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

27

RICK BERENSON ’73

Rick Berenson ’73

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

Richard Berenson graduated from Park in 1973, Phillips Exeter Academy in 1976, Harvard College in 1980, and Harvard Business and Law Schools in 1984. He has worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories, McKinsey & Company, and for a long string of technology startup companies. Today he runs Venzyme Catalyst, LLC, (www.venzyme.com) a virtual incubator that organizes, launches, and consults to life-sciences companies.

He served as founding co-chair of the Park School Alumni Committee in the early 1990s and on the Park School Technology Advisory Committee from 1999 to 2004. His two children, Daniel ’06 and Alice ’09, attended Park from Kindergarten through Grade VIII.

I

f I call myself a technophile, it’s because I caught that bug at Park. In seventh grade at the old, yellow Upper School building, Mr. Merrill taught a science course so hands-on and engaging that it would be banned today for safety reasons. He burned magnesium over a wooden desk (it blazes pure white and drips a white liquid ash!), put out explosive phosphorus for us to see pop, and poured liquid quicksilver (mercury — highly poisonous!) onto our individual blocks of dry ice to freeze so we could later melt it in our hands. Best of all was Mr. Merrill’s after-school rocketry program. We made rockets out of black gunpowder,

28

match heads, rolled-up notepaper, and masking tape. I was totally hooked!

We moved to Goddard Avenue for my eighth-grade year, and I had IPS (introductory physical science) in what is now the Middle Division science room. I was so enthusiastic that in one experiment on the heat expansion of different liquids, we ran the data collection way past where we were supposed to stop … and managed to create a flaming volcano out of our alcohol test tube.

Ninth-grade biology wasn’t so exciting, and while I loved my tenthgrade physics course (pass-fail: drop a ball in a randomly positioned cup from 10-feet away using only a slide rule to calculate where the ball would go), chemistry in eleventh grade completely turned me off. I didn’t take science my senior year in high school. In college, I took math and computer courses and one engineering course, but not a single science class: I majored in economics and focused on politics. I became a Town Meeting member in Brookline and was appointed to chair a committee on the Finance Committee. Luckily for me, I ended up as the only politico in a college rooming group who all went on to get PhDs in science. Nonetheless, I went on to attend law and business schools, intent on running for office when I graduated.

Toward the end of graduate school, I came to realize that if I were going to change the world, it probably wasn’t going to be through politics.

There were just too many people with different ideas (most of them not very good) to make progress practical. Personal computers were just coming out, and high-tech seemed to be the future.

So I decided to focus on business in general and technology businesses in particular.

I started in software — manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and ultimately IT strategy. I formed my first company in 1988; it was a cool software idea that ultimately flopped because I didn’t really know what I was doing. So, I tried again. Since then I have become CEO or COO of 10 different startups and joined the boards of many more. All of them have

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

involved technology. Recently, all are in the life sciences.

I have come to believe that the best way for me to make a difference in the world is to help bring great new medical technologies to patients; the only way to do this in our system is through companies. My work is great fun. It exposes me to amazing discoveries. It lets me collaborate with brilliant and sometimes stubborn inventors, asking scientific questions in different ways than they might because I need to find out if a discovery is useful in the real world. It requires that I learn new science and technology all the time and learn it well enough to explain it to others.

It forces me know how to work with the regulatory process, with health insurers, with physicians, and with investors. But most importantly, it gives me a chance to make every day a community-service day.

Today, I am working with companies that may have a cure for cancer (a little disk doctors would put under a patient’s skin to make the patient’s immune system attack the cancer), that may change how diabetes is treated (a new, ultra-fast insulin that will make an “artificial pancreas” practical), that may make every doctor as good as Gregory House (software that knows all of medicine and can consult on diagnosing unusual diseases), and that may change how we do heart surgery (a miniature inchworm robot that crawls in through a small incision and “walks” on the outside of a beating heart).

At Park, I learned to love science and to take risks — but smart risks.

Both of my children have now attended Park, and both like science.

Their science education at Park was much safer than mine (thank goodness!), but it was wonderfully effective because of the same kind of engaging and enthusiastic teaching that I had. I hope all Park science students, past, present, and future, have a chance to internalize this kind of inspiration and make a big difference in the world.

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

NINA FRUSZTAJER ’79

S

cience — particularly chemistry — has always been easy for me. It was the puzzles that drew me in.

At Concord Academy, I had a terrific teacher, Gary Hawley, who introduced me to chemical equations, and I was hooked. My father, who was an electrical engineerturned-entrepreneur, encouraged me to pursue science in college, “because you can always study liberal arts on your own!”I’m so glad I followed his advice. By the end of my freshman year, I knew I was meant to study chemistry. Organic chemistry and biochemistry were ways to solve puzzles that had answers in real life; for me, it

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Nina Frusztajer ’79

Although Nina Frusztajer attended Park for sixth grade only, she has remained a loyal member of the Class of 1979. After graduating from Concord Academy, she studied chemistry at Duke University and earned a master’s in nutrition from Columbia University, where she studied the epidemiology of hypertension and conducted peer-reviewed published studies on the relationship between nutrient intake and stress. In medical school at George Washington University, Nina continued to specialize in the interaction of nutrition and lifestyle and the onset of disease and overall well being, followed by postgraduate training and medical practice in internal medicine and pathology. She cofounded a private weight-loss practice in Boston and opened a center in Palo Alto, where she lived for four years while co-authoring The Serotonin Power Diet. In 2007, Nina moved back to the East Coast to resume her pathology practice and now works at Strata Pathology Services and a local community hospital. She lives in Lexington with her three children, Catherine (8), Zeno (7), and Hugo (5), and hopes that they find school as challenging, hip, nurturing, exciting, and bright as she remembers Park to be.

didn’t get much better than that.

After college, I set off for Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil to work on three public-health studies. We were examining the impact of high-sodium diets on blood pressure, an infectious disease called Chagas Disease, and drug abuse in the local population. Although my mother is from Brazil, I was unfamiliar with the culture and was eager to explore the field of world health. I hadn’t realized the impact that cultural, economic, and social factors have on public health and, after six months, I concluded that it was more than I wanted to tackle. I decided to focus on a more discreet goal: the disease process itself.

29

After earning a master’s in nutrition, I began my medical career in internal medicine because I was interested in the overall health of my patients. But I soon discovered that primary-care medicine is filled with management issues: filing worker’s compensation claims, medical compliance, screening protocols, and social factors that cannot be addressed in brief office visits. Realizing that I loved the science of medicine, I turned to pathology.

A pathologist is a doctor’s doctor — puzzle solving at its best. My whole day is filled with science, looking into a microscope and diagnosing a wide range of diseases in every organ system of the body. Is this biopsy benign, suspicious, or malignant? Are the margins clean? Did the surgeon get the whole mass? What kind of cancer is it? How big? Is it aggressive? I need to understand what the clinician saw and what the course of treatment will be. I enjoy the collaboration with clinicians and other pathologists knowing I can have a positive impact on many patients’ lives.

When I first began working as a pathologist, I missed nutrition. In 2000, I started a private weight-loss practice with MIT scientist Judith Wurtman and became a certified professional life coach focusing on wellness and stress reduction, as well as a yoga instructor. One of my passions in the field of nutrition and health — reversing and preventing weight gained as a result of antidepressants — stemmed from our weight loss-practice in which many people had put on pounds from antidepressant use. In

2007, Judy and I co-authored a book based on Judy’s research and our clinical experience that offers a scientific approach of using food’s positive effect on brain chemistry and appetite to reverse the well-documented weight gain side effect of antidepressants.

While I loved helping my clients lose weight and lead more efficient, focused, and relaxed lives, I was always most energized by the scientific aspects of nutrition. It was time to return to pathology and the intellectual aspects of medicine and health.

Now, I’m following my own advice and trying to live a balanced life. I work three days a week as a pathologist, which gives me time to be with my kids and continue to work in nutrition and wellness. I’m active on our Serotonin Power Diet Facebook page, and I communicate directly with readers of our book and the media. In July, I served as a guest expert on WebMD.com’s “Depression Community.” It’s equally gratifying to help a person on antidepressants who has gained 95 pounds as it is to identify a tumor and determine the best treatment for that patient. Both are solving puzzles with real life benefits based on the chemistry and science that I have always enjoyed.

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

ELIZABETH WIELLETTE ’85

In Kindergarten, Elizabeth remembers taking a magnifying glass out to the playground at recess to look at ants. Although she nearly set fire to a pile of leaves, the smoke also kindled her love for science and discovery. Following 10 years at Park, Elizabeth graduated from Milton Academy and earned a BA in chemistry at Swarthmore College. At Yale University, she researched fruit fly genes for her PhD in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Coming out of graduate school, Elizabeth was very interested in looking at the differentiation of cells, particularly the combinatorial effects of molecules. Returning to Boston for postdoctoral research at MIT’s Whitehead Institute, Elizabeth made her name as a zebra fish researcher, examining molecular interactions that determine what happens to cells in early brain development. In 2005, she joined Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, where she is now a research biologist. Elizabeth and her husband, Brian Kelley, live in the South End with their 7-month-old son, Owen, (pictured above).

My whole day is filled with science, looking into a microscope and diagnosing a wide range of diseases in every organ system of the body.

30

Elizabe

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

I love the scientific process.

And it really is the same process that we learned in eighth grade. . .

I

n eighth-grade IPS at Park, we did experiments with open flames that I’m sure I couldn’t do now in my state-of-the-art facility in Cambridge. We melted wood! Mr. Atkinson had us heat wooden coffee stirrers until they disintegrated, and then conducted experiments to figure out what the elements were. It was so cool to be asking questions, doing experiments, getting results, writing them in our lab books, and figuring out the implications.

Exactly the practice I rely on still.

I love the scientific process. And it really is the same process that we learned in eighth grade — only now the experiments can run for several years.

At Novartis, I work at the very earliest stages of the drug-development process, pursing basic research to identify new potential therapies. I’m part of a team of researchers that is working to understand the underlying molecular basis of diseases. In the tra-

ditional pharmaceutical company approach, scientists usually specialize in targeting a disease, such as cancer or diabetes. Our approach is more akin to an academic model, where we start by studying the foundation of the disease. Disruptions in common molecular networks can lead to many diseases. For example, the Wnt pathway is involved in cancer and bone loss, and the Hedgehog pathway is implicated in skin cancer, brain cancer, and the regeneration of tissue. My department, Developmental and Molecular Pathways (DMP), searches for drug-responsive nodes in these key genetic pathways. The goal is to identify new drugs that act on these nodes and thereby change the course of the disease.

While we are given tremendous latitude as researchers, I’m aware of a clear distinction between industry and academia. When I was a graduate student, we asked, “What’s the interesting

question here?” with the understanding that someone else would think about practical applications later.

At Novartis, we always have the patient in mind, and constantly ask whether the science that we are doing is making a contribution to the discovery of a new therapy. There are many aspects to finding a new drug: biology, chemistry, understanding the patient population, and navigating the patent landscape, to name a few. This complexity requires extensive collaboration, making teamwork and good communication essential parts of my job.

But it is working at the lab bench and following the same scientific process that we learned in Grade VIII that makes me happiest at work. What gets me out of bed every morning is very immediate: there’s new data waiting for me when I get to the lab!

th Wiellette ’85 The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

31

A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

DAVID SHAFF ’87

My job requires an immersion in science from the moment I step foot in the hospital to the moment I leave.

T A member of the Class of 1987, David was an “almost lifer,” attending Park from the first through the eighth grades. He then joined several of his Park School classmates for high school at Belmont Hill. From there, David headed north to Dartmouth College where he studied biology and competed internationally as a lightweight rower. After college, David was accepted into the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

However, he was granted a one-year deferral from medical school in order to return to Belmont Hill to teach Introductory Physical Science (IPS) to the eighth graders and biology to the tenth graders. Although staying at Belmont Hill was a tempting possibility, David travelled to Worcester to study medicine. He completed medical school but not before marrying fellow med student and Natick native Heidi Salsbury.

David served his residency and fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital where he trained to be a cardiac anesthesiologist. Currently, he is a senior staff member at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts. David and Heidi make their home in Needham. They have two children, Rebecca (6) and Adam (4), who are looking forward to their first year of Park School this fall!

32

he human body is a simply amazing machine. We are made of organs and tissues, each masterfully designed to perform a function. When coordinated, these organs and tissues work together to produce life — unless something goes awry.

Unfortunately, through aging, injury, or genetic predisposition, we all have or will experience an illness or “malfunction” in the machine. Happily, through extensive research, physicians have learned a great deal about the function of our bodies, and have discovered medications and techniques to repair and even prevent disease.

I consider myself fortunate because I go to work every day to help facilitate the healing process comfortably and safely. As a cardiac anesthesiologist, I care for patients who have problems with their heart: coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, heart rate and rhythm issues, or even diseases of the main artery of the body, the aorta. My first responsibility is to prepare these extremely ill people for surgery. Preparation begins with a thorough and often frank discussion of the plan. Topics include the types of procedures I will perform, the potential side effects of the anesthetic, and a candid conversation about outcomes.

No matter how long I do this job, it is always difficult to tell someone they may not survive the procedure.

Preparation involves placing catheters in the patient to deliver medications and fluids. Once these medications are given, the patient is rendered unconscious so that he or she is not aware of the surgery during the procedure. Surprisingly this is the easiest part of my job! More difficult is keeping these sick patients alive dur-

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

ing the operation. Based on scientific literature and experience, I carefully choose the proper medications and techniques to achieve this goal. Each case is as individual as the patients for whom I care. There are no instructions or recipes to follow. While this variability makes the job more difficult, it is one of the things that attracted me to cardiac anesthesia. Each case is an opportunity to assess a situation and to act on that assessment.

Anesthesia can be stressful at times. They say that anesthesia is “hours of boredom interrupted by moments of terror.” Most of the time, cases proceed smoothly. However, when a critical event occurs, I have only moments to rectify the situation before harm befalls the patient. In that regard, my responsibilities are similar to that of a pilot. There is a lot of activity at the beginning, the middle is (hopefully) smooth, and there are critical moments at the end.

My job requires an immersion in science from the moment I step foot in the hospital to the moment I leave.

Even in my formative years, I was naturally drawn to science class. For many, elementary-school science class conjures memories of tedious measurements and dreary lab work. My experience, however, was very different. I found comfort among the beakers and test tubes of the science lab while others preferred math or language classes.

A substantial reason for my appreciation of science was the enthusiasm and creativity with which my Park School teachers introduced a subject I now practice every day.

Two examples immediately jump to mind when I reflect on my science experience at Park. The first involved engineering in the sixth grade. Ms.

A A L U M N I S C I E N T I S T:

IJEOMA UZOMA ’99 Ijee Uzoma is a fourth-year graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She attended Park School from Kindergarten through Grade IV and graduated from Medfield High School. Ijee studied biology at Tufts and went on to a post-baccalaureate research program at Yale University. She expects to graduate from Johns Hopkins in 2013 and plans to return to the Boston area for her postdoctoral fellowship.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Ijeoma U

Russell challenged us to build the strongest bridge possible using only tape and paper. While some teams (including my own) designed great, complex structures that could barely support their own weight, the best design was a simple piece of paper affixed to the edges of adjacent tables.

Less is more — an important lesson that is just as applicable in my current job as it was in the sixth grade.

The second example involves a class called IPS (Introductory Physical Science) taught by Mr. Schiffris. Mr. Schiffris was not a typical science teacher; he was not concerned with memorizing equations. Rather, he took a more unconventional approach to education. In addition to teaching science, Mr. Schiffris was known to hold Morning Meetings where he would encourage the student body to meditate and breathe through their eyelids. However, his greatest contribution to my scientific education was that of process. He was rarely concerned with the right answer focused instead on the process of arriving at the right answer. This essential educational nugget proved useful in my subsequent scientific career.

s far back as I can remember, I enjoyed my science classes above all. This is not to say I had burning questions about the universe or the desire to do research. I simply enjoyed learning about biological processes in the body, diseases, and other natural phenomena. At Park, we were exposed to these subjects early on in our education. I remember loving science with Mr. Jones, where we learned how HIV infects the body and how different organ systems function. In college, I majored in biology, but up until senior year my relationship with science was almost exclusively via textbook. I credit a very persuasive professor, Dr. Theoharis Theoharides, for my transitioning from purely academic science to hands-on research. His formative course in pharmacology gave me the opportunity to work on a small research project in his laboratory at Tufts Medical School. It’s fair to say I

33

didn’t have any groundbreaking findings, but I began to gain some basic laboratory skills: the ability to interpret data and ask critical questions.

Following my undergraduate degree, Dr. Theoharides encouraged me to apply to post-baccalaureate research fellowships with the hope that I would become hooked on research and commit to pursuing a PhD. I was ambivalent about a career in biomedical research, even during my post baccalaureate fellowship. I wasn’t sure how many more disastrous days in the lab I could handle. As a rookie, it’s easy to ruin an entire day’s work with one small pipetting error or a misplaced decimal point. One of the first things a newbie to research is told is that 90 percent of science doesn’t work, so get used to the disappointment. After several years of lab experience, I can balance the frustration of failed experiments and incorrect hypotheses with a love of the scientific process and the unique ability to answer complex biological questions.

I am currently working on my PhD in the Department of Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins. My lab is part of the Center for High Throughput Biology, where we develop semi-automated technologies that allow for upwards of thousands of experiments to be performed in parallel. This enables us to address bigger questions whose exploration has been limited by traditional approaches. My project is focused on characterizing specific chemical modifications that occur on human proteins, resulting in changes in their activities. The human body contains somewhere between 20,000 and 24,000 unique proteins that are the workhorses of the cell. When proteins are mutated, damaged, or disregulated, a host of diseases may result.

One major goal of my laboratory is to profile the complement of human proteins to better understand how they are all regulated and organized in order to gain insight into how they interact with one another to execute critical biological functions. With a clear understanding of the fundamentals, we can then identify which genes and pathways are involved in particular disease states. To study thousands

34

of proteins simultaneously, my lab has developed a human proteome micro-array that contains about 17,000 individually purified human proteins that are spotted and immobilized onto single glass slides. We can then incubate our human proteome micro-arrays with DNA, RNA, other proteins, enzymes, or drugs to understand how these interactions might occur in a cell.

If someone had told me six years ago that I’d be on a path to become a biomedical researcher, I would have entertained the notion, but doubted how I would get there. Thankfully, Park instilled self-confidence that has allowed me to pursue my passion, despite having no clear road map to

reach the goal.

It still amazes me that only a few years ago the closest I had come to biomolecules was our eighth-grade Campbell biology textbook! At the time, the dogma of DNA→ RNA→ protein seemed so abstract. I love that I am now able to get my hands dirty and clone DNA to produce protein.

Following grad school, I’ll have to choose between a career in academia or industry. Either way, I’ll have the opportunity to become a principal investigator and run my own lab. My scientific curiosities have evolved into an exciting journey. Although I have no idea how it will end, I am happy to say it started at Park.

I can balance the frustration of failed experiments and incorrect hypotheses with a love of the scientific process.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

A

lumni from the classes ending in “5” and “0” came back to Park from far and wide on the Saturday of Mother’s Day Weekend to celebrate their reunions. The festivities took place in Park’s newly renovated library, where alumni had the chance to both see something new and walk down memory lane.

Head of School Jerry Katz, Alumni Committee Co-Chair John Barkan ’85, and Director of Alumni Relations Eliza Drachman-Jones ’98 all spoke briefly to the assembled crowd before photos and videos commenced. The party finally broke up when alumni departed for further revelry at their class-specific dinners off campus. Many thanks to the dozens of reunion volunteers who helped to make Reunion 2010 a memorable event for all who attended. We look forward to seeing the “6s” and “1s” next spring!

1.

ear ’53; : 1. Quinn Sp n ’90 Top to bottom augh eV D a in ist 2. Chr Park; r visit back to the enjoying he to in ts ge 0 h ’0 spirit 3. Lulli Atene Park School

2.

3.

d 0, an rd ’9 epha ugh. h S Sadia hare a la ’90, lster urgess, s a B s B as urne Ali B nd, Andre a husb

Sadia

's

2010 The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

35

1.

Members of the Classes of 1950–1959 celebrate a special Park Reunion at Faulkner House

1950s Reunion 2.

lumni from the Classes of 1950–1959 returned to Park in May for a very special event. With the help of a robust Reunion Committee, dozens of Park graduates convened on campus, some seeing one another for the first time in more than 50 years! On Saturday, guests gathered and sang a rousing rendition of the Park School song at a luncheon at Faulkner House.

After lunch, alumni met for a tour of the Brookline Music School, better known as Park’s Kennard Road campus.

Bob Kenerson ’53 was honored with the Alumni Service Award for 5. his dedication and service to the School, much of which was displayed with his involvement organizing the 1950s Reunion.

A

3.

Top to bottom: 1. Debra Smith Roberts and Jean Snedecker Hughes ’53; 2. Charley Faulkner ’50 and Tony Winsor ’51 look at pictures from their days at Park; 3. It’s all smiles for Alfred Gray ’54 and Peter Wetherbee ’53

Left to right: 4. Charley Faulkner ’50 and Gene Boehne ’52; 5. Ruth Kenerson, Bob Kenerson ’53, and Peter Wetherbee ’53 catch up on old times; 5. Former classmates reunite over lunch

6.

4.

36

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

5.

Former Headmaster Bob Hurlbut helps Bill Sullivan ’75 celebrate his 35th Reunion

6.

7.

1.

Top to bottom: 1. Ben Wolbach ’90 and Hannah Wolbach catch up with Rich Knapp ’90; 2. Amit Bansil ’00; 3. Jennifer Hershfang ’85 and Jess Greenfield ’85

Top to bottom: 5. Jill Kantrowitz Kunkel ’90; 6. Jamie Folsom ’85 and his son enjoy some time in the classroom; 7. Rachel Levine Foley ’85 catches up with Rob Madden and Melissa Daniels Madden ’85

2.

3.

Class of 1980 classmates Stephen Conkling, Marc Abbott, and David Mandell celebrate their 30th Reunion

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

37

Class of 1995. Zac Johnson, Nashan Vassall, Julie Hume Talmage Gordon, Lilla Curran, Sara Leventhal Fleiss and Diana Potter celebrate their 15th Reunion.

2.

Class of 1990 — 20th Reunion. From top: John Collins,Rich Knapp, Lars Albright, Ali Burnes Balster. Second row: Jill Kantrowitz Kunkel, Ben Wolbach, Sadia Shephard, Christina DeVaughn. Bottom Row: Sarah Osteen, Gigi Saltonstall and Nancy Felty McKinney.

1.

Clockwise from left: 1. Dick Beckwith ’51 and Sherburne Reidy Worthen ’51; 2. 1995 classmates Julie Hume Talmage Gordon, Lilla Curran, and Sara Leventhal Fleiss; 3. Kyrieh, the daughter of Christina DeVaughn ’90 having a great time in the renovated Park School library; 4. Adam Greenberg ’85 and John Barkan ’85

sa njoy ’99 e n a m Hind Ben

3.

h laug

The Class of 2000 celebrates their 10th Reunion. Top row: Mike Kavanagh, Max Reale and Spencer Bush Brown. Bottom row: Josh Hall, Caroline Goldsmith, Amit Bansil and David Kehlenbeck.

4.

38

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

The Park School Class of 1985 Twenty-Fifth Reunion Biographies

Whitney Wood Bylin I am very sorry to miss the 25th Reunion. It has been great seeing all the familiar names in e-mails, and I just wish I could be there in person to see the faces. I live in Palm Beach, Florida, with my husband, Eric (whom I met in 1989!), and our two boys, Alexander (7) and Johnny (4).

We moved here 10 years ago from New York so that Eric could open up an office, and we were pleased to find out that there are many people under 65 in the neighborhood. But even better, being 40 in this town is like being 20 in Boston — we will be “juniors” for a good decade more.

When we moved here, I kept my job as a producer and director for a New York-based documentary production company and continued to travel to New York or elsewhere when necessary.

I have made films on a wide variety of topics, including ancient and survival cannibalism, archaeology, medical innovations, wildlife conservation, and natural history. I feel lucky that I found a job that combined my love of travel and my interest in writing. Before starting my career and after graduating from Brown, Eric and I took a year to travel around the world. That experience really shaped my interests and eventually led to my job as a filmmaker. My work has also taken me all over the world — from the Outback of Australia to film saltwater crocodiles to Ecuador to film struggling climbers; from Zimbabwe to film sick elephants to Uruguay to interview survivors of the famous plane crash in the Andes that resulted in heroic feats of survival. I love interviewing people, learning about different worlds, and then trying to figure out a way to explain it all in film and narration. After having our second son in 2005, I cut way back on work travel and focused more on writing and developing projects. I am now focusing my work on wildlife conservation films and spending more time on the kids because I am all too aware of how quickly it goes by. I am on the board of the Palm Beach Zoo and help them produce films on their international and local conservation projects. I am also developing a film on an elephant sanctuary that will be built near where we live.

Class of 1 985 — 25th Reunion.

Weissman . Bo Top: Rach el Levine Fo Melissa Dan ttom: John Barkan, ley, Adam David Ball, iels Madd Greenberg en.

Jen Hersh , Gretchen fang, Abb ott Lawren ce, Jess G reenfield,

We are lucky to live in a place that is warm most of the year. Our kids have a much different life than I did in Chestnut Hill. They surf all year round, they know how to bait a hook and fish by themselves, and seeing snow is a onceor twice-a-year treat. We do make sure to get them on skis at least once a year, and we spend a lot of time in the summers visiting family in New England. The only drawback to living here is that I am not closer to family and friends, but I do stay in touch with Nancy [Baker Cahill] (who is even farther away in L.A.!), and occasionally I get to see old Park friends who visit Palm Beach in the winter, including Diana [Walcott] and Missy [Daniels Madden]. I wish I could be there on the 8th. Enjoy, and I hope to see many of you over the next few years.

Jamie Folsom It’s wonderful still to be so close to friends you made a quarter century ago. It’s a sign of our collective good taste in my book, as is the choice some of us have made to put down roots in the Boston area. Of course, it’s great to have the old kid network in far-flung locales, too: San Francisco and Nanshan [China], to name two.

After Park, Boston Latin School, Vassar College, and Southern France, I spent a year as a teaching intern at a N–9 school on Goddard Avenue in Brookline. I split the remaining years before 2010 between careers in foreign language teaching (first locally, then with the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa), and technology, as a programmer, trainer, and manager.

My wife, Beth, and I live in West Roxbury

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

with our boy, August, who will be 1 just before our reunion in May. Looking forward to it!

Elisabeth Morse Giovine While I attended Park only for one year, it was an important and memorable year for me. Everyone at Park welcomed me into the community on the first day and made my transition there so easy. I was able to make friends easily because everyone was so incredibly kind and friendly. I am sorry to miss the reunion, as I would love to reconnect with all of my classmates.

After Park, I returned to Seattle with my family and completed high school at Lakeside School. I attended the University of Virginia (class of 1993) and then moved to New York City, where I worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and then Allen & Company.

I earned an MBA from Stanford in 1999 and then moved to Los Angeles. In 2001, I married Tom Giovine and we now have three children, Dylan (age 6), Piper (age 5) and Cosimo (age 3.5). We live in Pacific Palisades. If anyone lives in Los Angeles, I would love to reconnect, or if you are visiting, look us up!!

Jennifer Hershfang How to sum up 25 years? I don’t have anything to share in the handsome husband and cute kids department (let me know if you happen to find them!), but the rest of life has kept me busy and happy.

My career path has been totally serendipitous yet, in retrospect, surprisingly coherent. After

39

PA R K S C H O O L C L A S S O F 19 8 5

Milton, I studied international relations at Brown, with vague aspirations of living in Washington and becoming a diplomat. After Brown, I moved to Japan to teach English for a year, loving it so much — and being so embarrassed to be told that I sounded like a seventh-grade girl — that I opted to stay a second year to study Japanese full-time. I returned home with only two firm ideas about my next job: it wouldn’t be in New York and it wouldn’t be at a bank. So off I went to Manhattan to work for Lehman Brothers, helping coordinate with their Tokyo and other Asia offices. I jumped at the chance to work for Japan’s national broadcaster at its United Nations bureau, where I learned a lot about diplomacy and developed a high tolerance for cappuccino. Harvard Law School came next, after which I knew one thing: I would not return to New York. So off I went to work for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s New York office, in the Latin America practice. I left Cleary to take my current job as a lawyer at the Treasury Department, working on economic and financial sanctions. Not a diplomat, but living very happily in Washington and working on fascinating matters of national security and foreign policy.

Along the way were any number of terrific international trips with my sister. Just one highlight was being on safari in Botswana and watching a tiny baby elephant trip and fall on its head (it was fine, if a bit embarrassed). So many other highlights, including seeing Gretchen Weissman jump into a lake, fully clothed, about 45 minutes before her own wedding ceremony (for which she showed up lovely and on time). I look forward to seeing all of you at the reunion (or in D.C., if you’re here).

A.T. Howe I moved out to San Francisco about eight years ago. I currently work in sales at Diageo here in S.F. I was married to Sherri Shaffer (whom I met out here about six years ago) in New Orleans on October 11, 2008. Finally, we just had a son, Andre, on March 3, 2010, and are managing — like all new parents — on very little sleep, but very happy to have a new member of the family.

Nathan Lamont I am a freelance web developer for small- and medium-sized businesses (recent projects include National Endowment for Democracy’s site and Deval Patrick’s site). I live in Roslindale with my lovely wife, Chrissy. In our spare time, we perform in non-professional local theater (where we met), which is great fun. In my professional life, I often think of Mr. Smith, who was responsible for

40

25TH REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

Left: A.T .Howe married his sweetheart, Sherri Shaffer, in New Orleans. Right: Melissa Daniels Madden, Diana Walcott, and Rachel Levine Foley celebrate at the 25th class party at Allandale Farm.

introducing me to computer programming through his “KidStuff” project. I distinctly recall managing to perplex Mrs. Williams with a complicated-looking handwritten page of code, a memento I have kept all these years. In my theatrical life, I will never forget Mrs. Kellogg’s production of Twelfth Night, where our scene changes were set to contemporary hits such as Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration.”

Abbott Lawrence I have always enjoyed reading the 25th Reunion updates, but it is still with great shock this year I have been asked for mine. After Park, I went to Groton and then Harvard. I majored in history, which I think was directly the result of my enjoyment in studying the Second Punic Wars with Mr. Conway and taking three years of history with Mr. Cunningham.

Next I moved to Hong Kong, where I was introduced to realities of the working world in the waning hours of the British colony. Much to the amusement of anyone who has ever had to proofread or grade my papers, I got a job editing (and writing) stock research reports. (Thank you Mrs. Haskell!) Pretty much since that time, I have

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

been involved in investment research. I moved back to Boston for a several years before I went Chicago to attend Kellogg Business School. Afterwards, perhaps not shockingly, I moved back to Boston again, where I still am.

Shortly after business school, I met my wife, Amanda, who is an architecture professor. We currently live in Jamaica Plain about a mile from the school with our two kids, Amos (4) and Estelle (18 months). One of the many joys of being a parent has been an excuse to revisit my own memories of childhood. When I think of growing up, almost all experiences involve Park in some way: a decade of carpools with Brognas, Butterworths, etc., getting in trouble repeatedly with Mrs. Williams, playing kill the carrier and wearing the exact same costume in three consecutive Park plays.

I am looking forward to seeing classmates at the reunion and hoping my children have an equally positive educational experience as they grow up.

Melissa Daniels Madden I really cannot believe 25 years have passed by so quickly. My fondest memories of Park all include the friends that I made. I will never forget the

PA R K S C H O O L C L A S S O F 19 8 5

playground and playing house under the tree, falling off the top of the slide and chipping my front tooth, the tire swing, the smell of the concrete stairwells, art projects, the house project (that my Dad basically built!), the sugar cookies before recess (YUCK), May Day, feeling like a gymnast at Gym Shows, The Harvest Fair… and more….

After Park I went to Nobles and then on to the University of Vermont. After college, I worked in marketing, and then went back to school for my master’s degree in education. I then combined the two and worked at Scholastic in New York selling pre-K curricula to teachers.

During graduate school, I came back to Park and taught with Ann Kopp in Grade III. I loved being back at the school after so much time. I realized what a unique place Park is and how committed the teachers are. Through my work on the Alumni Committee at Park, I have reconnected with so many wonderful people. I love being a part of such a dynamic and fun group. I am now married to Rob Madden and live in Wellesley. We have three energetic, busy, and sweet boys. Life is busier and more tiring than I could have ever imagined. But we love being parents and laughing our way through both the challenging days and the enjoyable ones! Our oldest is in Kindergarten this year at Park and is thriving. He is very fired up for the Dining Room next year in first grade. I hear the food is MUCH better than it was back in the ’80s… I feel very fortunate to be able to come back to Park each day as a parent and experience it again in a whole, new way.

I really enjoyed working on the Reunion Committee this year and getting back in touch with some great people that I have not spoken to since Park! Please e-mail me and let me know how you are doing. melissadmadden@comcast.net

25TH REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

VT to MA and worked in various capacities as a postgraduate fellow, intern, assistant and associate conservator in both regional lab and fine art museum settings. Presently, I work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as the Saundra B. Lane Associate Conservator [of paper and photographic materials] and live in Waltham with my dearest bookbinder husband, Richard Lamb, and two children, Gillian (born February 2008) and Benjamin (born January 2010).

Fond memories of Park include: The Yule Festival and Mr. Hurlbut’s rendition of the Boar’s Head song; art classes with Ms. Hale and Ms. Gallo; consuming A LOT of Ritz crackers and milk in the cafeteria at the beginning of recess; being one of the lucky ones to spend 11 years [?!!] - nursery through ninth grade — at 171 Goddard Ave.

Diana Walcott I have always looked forward to reading the 25th Reunion bios in The Park Bulletin, and now that it is my turn to write one, I realize how daunting it is! After enjoying 11 years at Park, and walking to school for the majority of those years, I attended boarding school at Tabor Academy and then moved on to Denison University. In my junior year of college, I was fortunate to be able to take a semester abroad and attend the University of Sydney. I was away for most of the year, exploring Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. It was quite an eye-opener, considering I had never traveled alone, or much outside of the U.S. During my senior year, I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life after college.

It became clear how my teachers had influenced me and that I loved working with children. The place where that all began was at Park.

I applied to the Intern Program at Park and was luckily accepted right before graduation! I worked in the Pre-Kindergarten and Transition programs, as well as helped in the Admission Office and coached field hockey. This transition back to Park was one of opportunity, but mostly of coming home and connecting to a community that was a huge part of my life. Working side by side with my former teachers, using their first names instead of “Ms. or Mr.,” learning from them in a new way, walking the halls and reliving memories, all of this made my first job experience an incredibly special one. The Alumni Steering Committee was created at this time, which became a wonderful way for me to reconnect with people, having been away for many years.

After my internship at Park, I decided to interview where I did my work-study in ninth grade, The Apple Orchard School. I was hired to teach 3-year-olds and work in the After-School Program. I absolutely loved working with children on the farm, but also missed my experience in the Admission Office at Park. I was fortunate that a job became available as the director’s assistant and director of parent activities, where I was able to combine all the things that I love: connecting with people and children, admissions, development, and event planning. Seventeen years later, I am still loving every minute of it!

I look forward to catching up with many of you at the reunion.

Katrina Newbury Making up for past transgressions, namely not sending timely notes for previous Park Bulletins, I will attempt a recap of life since 1985. Here goes. . . Attended Nobles with Missy Daniels Madden, Rachel Levine Foley, and Stephanie Stamatos, then Mount Holyoke College [not with Missy and co.], followed by Harvard University Extension School for a Certificate of Museum Studies and, finally, a master of science from the University of Delaware/Winterthur Program in art conservation. Living the requisite nomadic existence of the conservator, I moved from DE to CA to MA to GA to

Left: Katrina Newbury with husband, Richard Lamb, and their children, Gillian (born February 2008) and Benjamin (born January 2010).

Right: Dana Welshman Studley with daughter River Studley ’16

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

41

PA R K S C H O O L C L A S S O F 19 8 5

Dana Welshman-Studley At this point, I have spent 22 of my 39 years at Park… AMAZING! As always, Park feels like home to me. My cousin Tracy runs Park’s AfterSchool Program, my daughter, River, is in the third grade this year (she will be performing the May Day dances in two weeks), and my mom, Pat Zifcak, was here until two years ago, when she decided to retire to spend more time at church. She is a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. This is my 15th year as a teacher in the Physical Education department at Park, I am the head advisor for the ninth grade (they just recently went to Europe and completed their work-study jobs), I am a faculty advisor to the yearbook committee, I coach varsity field hockey (we were undefeated this year), sixth grade girls’ basketball, and varsity lacrosse, and I am the pool director in the summer. My husband, John, and I are about to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary in July, and things are great! We own 11 pets, including cats, dogs, a guinea pig, and two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. We live in Brockton, and we vacation in Maine as often as we can — yes, the animals come, too. All is well here at Park. Many things are still the same, but we are keeping up with the times and learning a lot as we go.

25TH REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

Row Hard No Excuses, which we took to several film festivals, including one in Boston where we screened at the Coolidge and Brattle Theaters and saw several old Park School friends and teachers. I still work on documentaries at night, but won’t likely start another feature-length project until my daughter finishes pre-school.

Speaking of which, after a lengthy kindergarten search for Otis (made difficult by a lottery system in the city), we were assigned to a new Chinese immersion school on Haight Street and

decided to go for it. It has been a remarkable first year, and we are consistently impressed by the community’s enthusiasm. It’s exciting to help shape a school from the beginning.

These days, I am still in close touch with Jamie, Sam, Gretchen, and David Wiborg, all dear friends. I am sorry to miss the reunion and look forward to hearing others’ news. I always liked our class and truly enjoyed my experience at Park.

Luke Wolbach In typical fashion, I’m attempting to squeeze something in just before the deadline. If you’re reading this now, it means someone was kind enough to include it, despite the late hour. Nonetheless, Sam Potts’ e-mail to the class (titled “Attention Park School people whose e-mail I stole from an e-mail Jen Hershfang forwarded to me”) has inspired me to share a little news for our 25th Reunion (or, as Sam put it, the “You’re Turning 40 Reunion”).

I live in San Francisco with my wife, Alex, and two kids, Otis (6) and June (4). Alex grew up in the Bay Area and hasn’t developed a New Englander’s appreciation for bone-chilling cold weather, so for now, there is no imminent move back to the East Coast. It’s been established that the kids can cheer for the Giants, except when they play the Red Sox. So far, so good. My brother, Ben, lived nearby in Sonoma County for eight years, but now manages a farm with his wife in Cohasset. My sister, Anna, lives in Marin with her husband and two young kids, so we get together often. It’s a real pleasure.

I am a documentary filmmaker, though more recently by day, I edit commercials for skin-care products. One of the larger endeavors of my 30s was to make a feature-length film with my father,

42

Left: Luke Wolbach with wife, Alex, and two kids, Otis and June. Right: Mark Simmons and David Ball catch up with friends at the 25th class party at Allandale Farm.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Alumni Notes

1933

1955

Ruth Crocker Young has moved to a new retirement community known The Woodlands in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Ruth now has three great grandchildren, all under 2 years old.

1950

Elizabeth Dane is still happily splitting her time between Red Lodge, Montana, and Tucson, Arizona. She tells us “the lure of Montana after 12 years in Helena drew us back for summers.” Elizabeth has four grandkids living smack in the middle of Montana growing up with a lifestyle as far from Brookline as one could imagine. “Periodically I bring one of them to the East Coast to see extended family and to enjoy the ocean. What an experience it is to share these ‘firsts’ with them. My husband, Pat, collects Central American folk art, while my life revolves around playing the recorder with several groups for the local farmers’ market, summer festivals, nursing homes, really any group that asks us to play.

Assorted volunteer activities, luscious Montana garden, accessible mountains in both locales, make for an unending array of pleasures.” Elizabeth would enjoy catching up with old classmates, and welcome visitors to either Red Lodge or Tucson.

Class Representative Galen Clough 812-477-2454

1957

1938 Class Representative Putty McDowell pbmcd2@verizon.net 781-320-1960

1947 Renny Little enjoyed watching his son Bob Little (Park’s athletic director), daughter-in-law Kathleen, and grandchildren Caitin and Erin do an Irish jig at the annual family “Little Talent” show last summer. “Bob was a little winded at the conclusion, but held up his end pretty well with the girls.”

1953 Class Representative Bob Bray rbray@thebraygroup.com 617-696-8673 Margaret “Sally” Casey enjoys being back “home” in Chestnut Hill. She says it’s “hard to believe it’s almost a year since I left Connecticut. Hope to do better this coming year connecting with Park classmates.”

Ruthie Chute Knapp’s book, Who Stole Mona Lisa?, published by Bloomsbury, was released on Aug. 31, 2010 and has been selected by the Junior Library Guild as one of its featured new children’s books.

1960 Peter F. Dickson is still working for IRS (35 years) and playing church organ (30 years) and has no plans to retire anytime soon. “I have a 10-yearold daughter,” he explains. Peter wishes his class a “Happy 50th Reunion!”

BECOME A

1961

Class Representative Stay in touch with old friends!

Gather class news for the Bulletin!

Help plan your reunion!

Want to learn more?

Please contact Eliza Drachman-Jones ’98 Director of Alumni Relations 617-274-6022 or alumni@parkschool.org

50th Reunion

Class Representative Needed!

Read about Susan Mabrey Gaud’s career in science on page 22.

1963 Class Representative Amy Lampert aslampert@gis.net 617-232-4595 In 2009, Nathalie Saxton De Perez was creating and constructing kilometer markers in the Dominican Republic. They were a commissioned work for the town hall of San Juan de la

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Nathalie Saxton De Perez ’63 poses with one of her kilometer markers in the Dominican Republic.

Maguana in the south west part of the country, middle of the Island of Hispaniola. The largest ceremonial Circle of the Taino People in all the Antilles is located in this area, and the mayor and others are trying to put it on the map. Thali says, “Now I’m in Brookline as part of a care team for my 95-year-old aunt and would love to touch base with any of my classmates from Park.”

1965 Read about Doug Quine’s career in science on page 24.

1966 Class Representative Wigs Frank 610-964-8057

1967 Class Representative E. D. Rowley DRowley@hammondre.com 617-469-0443

1968 Class Representative Vicky Kehlenbeck vkehlenbeck@rc.com 781-235-2990 Mark Zamcheck tells us that 2010 “has been a wild year so far.” His oldest daughter, Doria, just graduated Hampshire College. In August, she set off for the Tel Aviv Zoo for a seven-month internship. Her younger sister, Kyle, just returned from a fourmonth international studies program

43

in India. She plans to graduate Hampshire College next year. He goes on to say, “Tracks from my most recent album ‘Drawing From Life’ have started generating a following on the Internet radio station, Jango.com.

The music is an experiment in crossing new-age and jazz piano in a completely improvisational setting.” As of July, the global fan count was over 5,000 and growing quickly. Check out Mark’s tracks at: www.jango.com/ music/Mark+Zamcheck”

T H E

1971

40th Reunion

Class Representative Needed!

Read about Lora Fleming’s career in science on page 26.

1973

1974 Class Representatives Rodger Cohen skiboy@mindspring.com 508-651-3981 Margaret Bell james_bell65@msn.com 617-267-4141

Class Representative Rick Berenson barbara@berenson.info 617-969-0523 Read about Rick Berenson’s career in science on page 28.

ALU M N I

Shady Hartshorne updated us with the news that about a recent vacation.

“My wife, Laurie, and I recently got back from a Swim Trek vacation in the Cyclades Islands in Greece. We swam about 4 km per day sometimes

S E RVI C E

B

ROBERT F. K ENERSON CLASS OF 1953 Established in 1999, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service is presented annually at graduation to an alumna or alumnus of The Park School for dedicated service to the Park community. Board Chair Kevin Maroni presented the award on behalf of the Alumni Committee.

44

ob Kenerson, who this year begins his 42nd year in the private practice of psychiatry and psychoanalysis, is a graduate of The Park School, Wellesley High School, Dartmouth College, Boston University School of Medicine, and Harvard Medical School, where he trained in psychiatry and has been on the clinical teaching staff for over 40 years. In 2010, he and his wife, Ruth, who have four children and six grandchildren, will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary.

Bob’s dedication to The Park School and its alumni body is genuine and inspiring.

A graduate of the Class of 1953, Bob and his late brother, Ted, who was a member of the Class of 1952, were students at Park’s Kennard Road campus. Bob’s love for Park has never been about the campus and buildings, however; it’s always been about the memories of growing up, about classmates and their families, and about teachers and coaches. His intense interest in education is a reflection of his fascination with human development. He views psychotherapy and psychoanalysis as a personal re-education.

The Class of 1953 is one of The Park School’s most loyal and connected classes.

Over the past decade, the class has celebrated its 50th and 55th Reunions, each attended by 11 of the 12 remaining classmates — a rare and impressive accomplishment. Bob has served as a leader not only for his class, but also for all alumni of his era, bringing them together both on and off

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

along the coastlines of islands and sometimes going from island to island in open water. We went to Schinoussa, Koufonissi, Naxos, and Paros.” Early in the summer, Polly Hoppin wrote, “We’re looking forward to having everyone together in August — after a trip to Nicaragua for our oldest (Emma Thomas ’06) and me, a few weeks for Eliza Thomas ’11 at her beloved summer camp in Maine, and a trip to Costa Rica for my husband, Bobby, who is on the board of a new nonprofit based there (good choice of a board to

AWA R D

Park’s campus. Most recently, Bob was the catalyst for a special Reunion Weekend for the members of the Classes of 1950 to 1959 (see page 36). He led a committee of 10 alumni from the 1950s who personally contacted more than 200 alumni to promote the special gathering. Off-campus, Bob has demonstrated his passion for Park by helping to keep classmates connected to each other.

He is the one who spreads the news when a classmate — or sibling, or spouse of a classmate — is ill or has reached a major career or family milestone. Bob is always quick to write a heartfelt note or to make a personal phone call.

The Alumni Office has learned a great deal from Bob, as he has extensive experience as a trustee at Cardigan Mountain School in New Hampshire, and as an active alumnus of Wellesley High School and Dartmouth College. He has profound understanding of the unique joy that comes from remaining connected to one’s schools and former classmates. Bob serves as a member of the Alumni Engagement Task Force, a small group that meets annually to advise the Alumni Office on how best to engage with the men and women who attended Park.

We are grateful for Bob’s many years of thoughtful and dedicated service to both alumni and the greater Park School community, and we know his future service to Park will continue to unite and inspire all of us.

be on!) We take Emma back for her second year at Swarthmore College at the end of the month . . . This has been a new and exciting phase for all of us. I’m still enjoying colleagues and environmental health projects at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at U. Mass., though foundation funding continues to be constrained and adds a level of stress to the work that I hope will resolve soon. It’s been such a treat to reconnect with some old Park friends after taking the Facebook plunge a few months ago!”

Class Representative Sam Solomon sa.solomon@verizon.net 781-784-0385

1978 Class Representatives Needed!

Erin Marcus is blogging at the Huffington Post. “Take a look at what I have been working on at www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-n-marcus-md”

1979

1975 Class Representatives Colin McNay fivebear@mac.com 617-731-1746

Class Representatives Sarah Solomon sallysolomon@alumni.neu.edu 617-354-5951 Lalla Carothers lcaro@maine.rr.com 207-829-2283

Bill Sullivan 978-568-1303

1976

1977

35th Reunion

Class Representative Tenney Mead Cover tenney.cover@verizon.net 781-329-5449

Nina Frusztajer updated us on a recent vacation. “I just got back from a trip to Orlando, where the highlights were not Magic Kingdom and the other parks where we spent minimal time, but the gigantic pools with waterfalls and tunnels and poolside

hot tubs that we used as late as 9 p.m.

Plus, we had time to hang out with my parents with whom we went, so all around it was very, very fun!”

Nina is working three days a week as a pathologist, enjoying her kids (8, 7, and 5 now), and learning guitar for about eight months now. “I can muddle my way through Beatles, Sheryl Crow, Eagles, Tracy Chapman, and even a few measures of some Kinks songs. I’m a long way from live performances, and I’m certainly never going to switch professions, but it’s been really fun! I am also hooked on Core Fusion, which is this great pilates-type/yoga intense core conditioning that is the most efficient and effective exercise I’ve ever done.”

Christopher Lamont spent summer vacation on North Haven, Maine.

“Nice swimming quarries on Vinalhaven! The ocean was a bit cold where I was, but nice to swim in after a good run!”

Read about Nina’s career in science on page 29.

1980 Class Representative Susan Schorr susaneschorr@gmail.com 207-829-6082 Andres Hurwitz is still living and practicing law in Southern California, and was lucky to work on a case with Susan Schorr, who is in Maine. He tells us that “it was good to catch up, and Susan was gracious enough to pick up the baton as our new Class Representative.” Andres was in Boston in June to celebrate his parents’ 50th anniversary, which was a treat. “However, I wasn’t able to make it to the 30th Reunion; maybe next time.”

1981

30th Reunion

Class Representatives Matthew Carothers mcarothers88@yahoo.com 508-785-0770 Alex Mehlman amehlman@yahoo.com 781-461-8510

2010 –11 Park Alumni Achievement Award: J O S E P H F. K A H N ’ 8 0 This award is given annually to the alumnus/ alumna who exemplifies The Park School’s values and educational mission through distinctive achievement in his or her community or field of endeavor. This person’s leadership and contributions have made a meaningful impact and inspire our current students and alumni.

Joe Kahn is a lifelong journalist with a successful career that has led him across the globe and back. He is currently the deputy foreign editor at The New York Times. Prior to returning to New York City, Joe served as the Beijing bureau chief for the Times from July 2003 to December 2007. Joe’s expertise is equally wide-ranging: He has covered international economics and trade, as well as Wall Street.

His work has brought attention to a variety of important world issues. In 2006, Joe and his Beijingbased colleague, Jim Yardley, won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their “ambitious stories on ragged justice in China as the booming nation’s legal system evolves.” At a time where most journalists were writing about where China’s legal system was headed, the pair covered the legal system

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

as it exists. In 2004, Joe won a Robert. F. Kennedy Journalism Award for his series of stories on labor conditions in China’s export factories. In 1994, when Joe worked as a city desk reporter and foreign correspondent for The Dallas Morning News, he was part of a team of reporters awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their stories on violence against women around the world.

Born in Boston, Joe attended Park from 1978 to 1980 and graduated from Harvard College in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in American history.

In 1990, he received a master’s degree in East Asian studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Joe plans to be at Park in the fall to accept this award in person and to speak with current students about his career in journalism and living overseas.

45

ASPCA volunteer counselor Mary Sarah Baker ’87 with one adorable puppy.

Nicole Barrick ’87, Mary Sarah Baker ’87 and Richard LeighPemberton ’87 had a great evening at the MSCPA’s Party Animals benefit in Boston on July 15, 2010.

1982

1984

1987

Class Representative Allison Nash Mael emael@msn.com 617-332-0925

Class Representative Anne Collins Goodyear ACG610@gmail.com 703-931-9016

Class Representatives Mary Sarah Baker Mary.Sarah.Baker@gmail.com 617-566-3848

1985

Geoffrey Glick gmglick@aol.com 508-893-8912

Jared Mazlish has lived Breckenridge, Colorado, for the last 20 years.

“For the first 15 years, I competed professionally on the big mountain extreme skiing world tour, then five years ago I started a ski company.

Originally, we made powder skis, but it has grown to offering everything from a skinny mogul ski to the widest “superfat” powder ski on the market.

The name of my company is “Fatypus skis” at fat-ypus.com. Two years ago, Jared got married, and now he and his wife, Darcy, are expecting their first child in August. Congrats, Jared!

1983 Class Representatives Elizabeth Livens Freeman llivens@hotmail.com Elizabeth Mott emott@fenn.org 978-369-6009 Laurie Kohn tells us that she is leaving Georgetown Law School after 12 years there as a professor and director of the Domestic Violence Clinic. “I’ll be starting at George Washington Law School in the fall as the director of the Family Law Clinic. My boys are 6 and 3 — and they keep things active, interesting, and LOUD!”

46

Class Representative Rachel Levine Foley rlfoles@aol.com 781-559-8148 Read about Elizabeth Wiellette’s career in science on page 30.

1986

25th Reunion

Class Representatives Mark Epker mepker@beaconcommunitiesllc.com 781-326-4299

Mary Sarah Baker tells us “life in N.Y.C. continues to offer constant excitement and new experiences.”

Last August, Sarah moved across Central Park to the Upper East Side in Manhattan and took a new job as general manager of the Danny Kaye Theater on East 68th Street. “There is never a dull moment in the performing arts! On the weekends, I volunteer for the ASPCA as an adoption counselor for dogs and cats, as well as a new member leader at Marble Collegiate Church.” On Nov. 7, Sarah

plans to run the NYC Marathon as part of the ASPCA’s inaugural team and hopes to finish the race before sundown! Kate Milliken got married in December 2009 and successfully conceived a honeymoon baby! She writes, “We’re expecting a son in September, and we are headed to cowboy country in July … Phoenix, Arizona, where my husband, Tyler, works for America Express.” Kate will continue to run her video production company while juggling motherhood. “If anyone knows anyone in Phoenix, let me know!” Greg and Annamary Burton Thompson are proud to announce baby girl Catherine “Cate” Judith Kay Thompson, born on July 12, 2010 at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long. Godmother Mary Sarah Baker is very proud, too!

Read about David Shaff ’s career in science on page 32.

1988 Class Representative Liza Cohen Gates lgates@digitas.com 617-267-6184 Jordan Kimball updates us all the way from West Africa. “Working throughout the Upper Guinea forest ecosystem to promote transboundary biodiversity conservation in key protected areas. The forests here in West Africa are unique and full of immense biodiversity resources. Our team is focusing on sustainable livelihoods (community forestry, beekeeping, ecological sylviculture [forest cultivation], agroforestry, private-sector alliances, and understanding and enforcement of forestry and wildlife laws) as a strategy to conserve biodiversity. Liv-

Jay Livens jlivens@sloan.mit.edu 978-318-0866 Jonathan Segal recently directed his second feature film, “Norman,” a powerful coming-of-age drama centered around a self-aware and darkly funny teen who’s just trying to handle his daily existence. The film stars the Academy Award-nominated Richard Jenkins, Dan Byrd (“Cougar Town”), Emily VanCamp (ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters”), and Adam Goldberg (“Saving Private Ryan”). “Norman” also features an original score and songs from acclaimed musician Andrew Bird. The film is currently on the film festival circuit. For updates, info, and photos check out the movie’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/NORMAN-themovie

Christina McGinnes McCormick and John McCormick with their beautiful family.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

ing in Freetown, Sierra Leone, since November 2009 has been most interesting for the family. We still manage an organic family farm in Guinea, where we produce honey, peanuts, millet, hot peppers, eggplants, bananas, peas, and various fruits.

We’ve also launched a small-scale poultry operation for egg production.

Living in this part of the World has taught me a great deal about the tremendous beauty of West Africa, as well as the great struggle and challenges that humanity faces — civil conflict, political imbalances, food insecurity, loss and degradation of ecosystems, and the burgeoning force of climate change.”

Proud mom, Keisha Powell-Burgess ’90 celebrates daughter Brittani Jones’s graduation from Park this spring.

1989 Class Representatives Dahlia Aronson dahliabeth@yahoo.com 617-734-3026 Ian Glick ibglick@aol.com 617-264-7198

1992

1990 Class Representatives Zach Cherry 561-659-1022 Alex Rabinsky arabinsky@hotmail.com 773-645-4381 Keisha Powell is very proud to announce that her daughter, Brittani Jones ’10, graduated from Park in June. She adds, “my son Myles will be attending his first year at Park this fall, in Kindergarten — Class of 2020!

My husband, Shawn, and I are very proud of them!”

20th Reunion

Class Representatives Needed!

REUNION

Rob Colby recently moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to work at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Ackland Art Museum, as the coordinator of academic programs. Aside from keeping busy teaching university classes that come to the Museum, Rob is enjoying life south of the MasonDixon line.

Louise Baker married Rich Lee on May 15 at Desconso Gardens in La Canada, California. Many of Louise’s Park School friends and family were at the wedding: Laura Dahmen Merriman, Vanessa Kerry, former faculty Sally Baker and Wanda Holland Greene, Nancy Baker Cahill ’85, and Mary Sarah Baker ’87.

Louise wore her mother’s wedding dress from 1968! Louise and Rich live in Atwater Village, about 10 minutes from the Cahill family. Diana Birkett now lives in Seattle and leads the public policy and government relations team for a health-care company called Group Health. Diana tells us that it has been “fascinating work during the health reform debate and now that we’re implementing the new law and hoping to see some positive results.”

In addition, Diana was married this summer and headed to Europe for a bike trip around Italy and Corsica. “I do miss Boston, but Seattle is a wonderful place to live, despite the rain, with a great community and amazing mountains and views and space around it to explore. Best to everyone in the Park family!” Laura Dahman Merriman and her husband, Zac, welcomed their second child, Alex, on April 27. “He now joins his older brother, Drew (2), in a plot to make our house as chaotic as possible.”

Laura also recently had the joy of seeing some of her Park classmates: “I got to celebrate Louise Baker’s marriage to Rich Lee with her and Vanessa Kerry in Los Angeles. It was a beautiful and fun wedding! And, I

2010

Class Representatives Needed!

Rebecca Lewin Scott rebecca.scott@earthlink.net 781-772-1946

1991

Keisha’s kids continue The Park School tradition: daughter Brittani Jones ’10 with her brother, Myles Burgess ’20 who enters Kindergarten this fall.

CELEBRATE! CELEBRATE! REUNION 2011 Saturday, May 7

10th 15th 20th 25th

2001 1996 1991 1986

30th 35th 40th 50th

1981 1976 1971 1956

If you are interested in helping to plan your reunion, please contact Eliza Drachman-Jones ’98 Director of Alumni Relations 617-274-6022 or alumni@parkschool.org

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

47

also got to spend some time with Elizabeth Sandman, who came out to help me after Alex arrived.”

1993 Class Representatives Jessica Ko Beck jessicako@gmail.com 917-691-3540 Jaime G. Quiros qstips@yahoo.com 617-522-3622 Alison Ross alross@gmail.com 646-528-4248 Clark Friefield just graduated from the MIT Media Lab and is starting a PhD program at the B.U. biomedical engineering department this fall.

Andrew Scott is starting a new job at Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children in Boston as a pediatric ENT surgeon. He will be specializing in cleft lip and palate surgery, vascular birthmarks, and head and neck procedures.

1994 Class Representatives Alan Bern alanbern@tulanealumni.net 781-326-8091 Aba Taylor abtaylor829@gmail.com 617-361-6370

1995 Class Representatives Lilla Curran lillacurran@gmail.com Lilla Curran “had a fabulous time catching up with other members of the Class of ’95 as we assembled to celebrate our reunion. Julie Hume Talmage Gordon, Dan Wilson, Nashan Vassall, Alex Henry, Diana Potter, Sarah Leventhal Fleiss, and I gathered first in the library at Park, and later, around a dinner table at The Met Club in Chestnut Hill. We wined, dined, reminisced, and laughed with one another, while also acknowledging the swift passage of time. The evening was a happy success. . . looking forward to our twentieth!” “Since graduating from Columbia,” writes Will Dick, “I have started working as director of business development at Tom Chappell (of Tom’s of Maine)’s new business, Ramblers Way. We offer a line of 100% American-made, all natural and sustainable

48

lightweight and comfortable wool clothing. Take a look at our website: ramblersway.com.” Tod Hynes is starting a company called XL Hybrids that converts existing fleet vehicles into hybrids. He’s working with a team out of MIT and already has demonstration vehicles on the road and customers lined up for this fall. Tod also teaches a course at MIT called “Energy Ventures” and loves connecting with people interested in energy and the environment.

1996

15th Reunion

Class Representatives Nick Brescia nick_e_pockets@hotmail.com 781-646-4229 Merrill Hawkins merrillhawkins@gmail.com

Tod Hynes ’95 poses with one of his XL Hybrids; his new company converts existing fleet vehicles into energy-efficient hybrid cars.

Katayoun Shahrokhi katayoun_shahrokhi@yahoo.com 781-483-2113 Kathrene Tiffany ktiffany@gmail.com 617-306-1107 On June 12, Rob Higgins was married to Julie Cumming (a Tuck classmate) in Newport, Rhode Island.

Charlie Simpson and Rob Weyman ’95 were both there to help us celebrate. It was a great day!” Liz Prives is in her fourth year teaching at Bing Nursery School, a child-centered, playbased laboratory school for young children at Stanford University. Liz teaches in the nursery school program five mornings a week and in the program for 2-year-olds two afternoons a week. Liz says, “I’m enjoying living in San Francisco with classmate Julia Kung and across the street from my brother, Todd Prives ’92. Lauren Hendrick Sutton has lived in the Bay Area for three years and currently lives in Oakland with her husband, Patrick, and daughter, Nora, who was born Oct. 3, 2009. She adds that “Park classmate Merrill Hawkins came West for a visit last summer!”

Lauren Hendrick Sutton ’96 and Merrill Hawkins ’96 on the Golden Gate Bridge

1997 Class Representatives Sarah E. Robbat sarah.robbat@gmail.com 781-259-1170 Sarah Conway sarah.r.conway@gmail.com 617-524-3075 Suzanne McManmon suzymcmanmon@gmail.com Sarah Conway still lives in Bali,

Sarah Conway ’97, Chloe Lewis ’99 and Anna Lewis ’97 take in a beautiful sunset in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR

THE PARK ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD This award is to be given to the Park alumnus/alumna who exemplifies the School’s values and educational mission through distinctive achievement in their community or field of endeavor. This person’s leadership and contributions have made a meaningful impact and inspire our current students and alumni.

To nominate a Park alumnus/a for this award, please include your nominee’s name, class year, profession, and reason for nomination. All submissions must be received by December 1, 2010 to be considered for the 2011 award.

Send nominations to alumni@parkschool.org or The Park School Alumni Office, 171 Goddard Avenue, Brookline, MA 02445

Indonesia, but has been traveling a great deal for work and fun. She writes, “In April, Anna Lewis and I met in Cape Town, South Africa for a vacation with Chloe Lewis ’99. We had a fabulous adventure which included time in Cape Town, Kruger National Park, and the Nkomazi, where Chloe was working for TRIAD Trust, an NGO serving local leaders and their communities in the areas hardest-hit by HIV/AIDS.” Sarah goes on to tell us that while in Boston in June, she bumped into Ashley Hall, Becca Sullivan, Anna Sullivan ’95, Katherine McManmon ’95, and Ladd Thorne ’96 at a bar in the South End. “It was great to see them and catch up; everyone is doing well.” Katharine Jose left her position as politics editor of the New York Observer to start a new journalism venture called Capital (capitalnewyork.com). Lennie Larkin is about to finish hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. Danielle Miley is currently interning with the UNDP Energy and Environment unit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and will return to the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies this fall.

Kelly O’Reilly is writing for NBC’s fashion blog, “The Thread,” and producing Taxi TV fashion segments in N.Y.C.

1998 Class Representatives Lydia Hawkins lydiahawk@hotmail.com 508-362-8225 Meg Lloyd lloydy5@hotmail.com Sarah Swett swett.sarah@gmail.com 617-794-8164

Thursday, May 20 On an unseasonably warm May evening, more than 50 Park alumni and their guests met on Yawkey Way for the Annual Alumni Night at Fenway Park. With Jon Lester on the mound, the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 6-2. Our group enjoyed seeing “Welcome Park Alumni” displayed on the Jumbotron, munching on Cracker Jacks, and reconnecting with old friends.

Adam Cohen moved back to the Boston area to head up the East Coast work for his company, Pioneer Green Energy: pioneergreen.com.

Cindy Doseretz writes in with exciting news that she was married in May to her college sweetheart, Matthew Arenson. “We met at the first football game of the season our freshman year at the University of Michigan and have been together ever since. We went to French Polynesia for two weeks on our honeymoon.” Claire Pasternack tells us that, “after eating my way through Paris during a postHarvard graduate fellowship year, I embarked on a career in education. I decamped to Los Angeles and taught 8th- and 9th-grade English and French at the Harvard-Westlake

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

School for four years. I also coached the Middle School Debate Team and wrote curriculum for a new Debate course. Former Park intern Ronnie Codrington-Cazeau, now Middle School Head at Harvard-Westlake, was my fabulous boss and mentor.”

This fall, Claire will start a one-year master’s in policy, organization, and leadership studies at the Stanford University School of Education, where she plans to focus on educational leadership. On Aug. 28, at the Boston Public Library, Claire married her sweetheart of over seven years, Brian Goldsmith. “Several close Park friends — Jonathan Tucker, Ashley White-Stern, Abbie Johnson, and Anna Deknatel — were in attendance,” she reported. Brian begins his second year at Stanford Law School this fall. Claire says, “After years of long-distance dating, Brian and I are thrilled to live not only on the same coast but in the same house in Palo Alto.” Prior to the wedding, Jonathan Tucker crashed Claire’s bachelorette party in N.Y.C., which included fellow ’98 park alums Anna Deknatel and Abbie Johnson.

1999 Class Representatives Elizabeth Weyman yman14@aol.com 781-237-5957 Susanna Whitaker-Rahilly s.w.rahilly@gmail.com Colin M. Arnold tanker223@gmail.com Earlier this year, Chloe Lewis was living in a rural region of South Africa, working as the director of Health education for the TRIAD Trust, an HIV-education nonprofit based out of Boston (triadtrust.org).

Chloe says, “It was a pretty spectacular four and a half months. We got some great press on our program/ work recently, in The New York Times and WBUR, and ESPN covered us as a World Cup feature.

TRIAD works in the Nkomazi region, in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, which is about five hours east of Johannesburg. The area is estimated to have the highest infection rate of HIV among adults anywhere in the world (65%), and joblessness is around 70%, so the area is very, very poor.

Despite these conditions, the people are wonderful and the landscape is gorgeous! I really valued being in South Africa and the work I was doing — and continue to be involved

49

IN MAY, LOREN GALLER RABINOWITZ ’01 graduated as a pre-med major from Harvard. In June, she was crowned Miss Massachusetts. Loren decided to enter the competition at the urging of Michelle Hantman (Miss Massachusetts 2000), who suggested that the goals of the Miss America Organization would fit with Loren’s commitment to academics and public service. In addition, there are many scholarship opportunities for the contestant, including the Allman Scholarship, which is specifically for students accepted at or attending medical school. Loren says, “As Miss Massachusetts, I have committed my year to charity work and public service. In addition to doing appearances at events across the state, I’ll also be working to promote Miss America’s national platform, the Children’s Miracle Network, which raises funds for the medical treatment of nearly 17 million children annually.” Be sure to tune in in January, when Loren heads to Las Vegas to compete for the national title.

with — over there.” Chloe is now working in Wyoming, leading backpacking trips for teenage girls for the summer, before heading to Columbia University for a master’s in public health in the fall. Alex Goldstein is serving as the communication director and spokesman for Governor Deval Patrick’s reelection campaign in Massachusetts. He says, “While burning the midnight oil and overdosing on campaign pizza, I’m loving every minute of it and looking forward to a big victory in November!” On May 29, a gorgeous sunny day, Maegan Scott married Joshua Faden, whom she met at American University in 2007. The wedding was held outside in a public garden on in Maryland, where they currently reside. Maegan’s sister, Kristen ’03, served as her maid of honor and sang with her father at the service. The newlyweds vacationed in Kauai for two weeks and then headed back to work in D.C. Congrats, Maegan! Speaking of Washington D.C., David Cavell will be starting at Georgetown Law in the fall. Liz Stahl just received an impressive promotion and has become the director of Integrated Marketing at the record label Eleven Seven Music.

Following a trip to Israel this summer, she will be making the move from N.Y.C. to L.A. to start her new position. Classmate Kasia Chmielinski is another recent arrival in Los Angeles. She has joined a tech start-up in the financial space as a product manager. Please send any recommendations about L.A. to her at kasia@thekasia.com. Susanna

50

Whitaker-Rahilly is returning to Brooks School for another year of teaching history and coaching basketball and lacrosse. She recently bought an apartment in the South End and runs into neighbor Margaret Gormley, who ran the Boston Marathon this spring, as did Lindsay Segar.

Lindsay was awarded her master’s degree in psychology this spring, a major accomplishment on the road to her doctorate.

2001

Read about Ijee Uzoma’s career in science on page 33.

Alex Lebow alexlebow@gmail.com 617-965-3161

2000

Alejandro Alvarado is working at Investor Group Services, a private

Class Representative Jessica Whitman whitman.jessica@gmail.com Luanna Bessa is about to enter her fourth year in the counseling psychology PhD program at the University of Texas, Austin. “I am also taking a filmmaking class, which is exciting because I’ve always loved the arts. I’m looking forward to beginning my dissertation; my research includes issues of identity and transition, trauma and resiliency. In particular, I am interested in underserved and marginalized populations. I will be a therapist at the Austin V.A. this fall.” Ali Hendren is heading to George Mason University for a two-year master’s of science program studying environmental science and policy.

10th Reunion

Class Representative Benjamin Bullitt bbullit@gmail.com 617-734-8841

2002 Class Representatives Alejandro Alvarado aalvarado@wesleyan.edu 617-364-2290

equity-consulting firm in Boston. He continues to master the art of tennis.

Gabrielle Emanuel graduated from Dartmouth College with a major in history and a minor in brain sciences.

She is moving to Mali for a year on a Lombard Postgraduate Fellowship and the Colby Scholarship. She will be working on issues of water access and water purification. Will Faulkner writes, “I am currently doing a two-year master’s in Latin American studies at Tulane University in New Orleans (can’t seem to leave the place, too much good food, I think).” He is interning this summer with FINCA International, a microfinance organization. “A team of us are

Join the conversation and find other Park School Alumni ONLINE

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Become a fan of “The Park Alumni Association” on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/parkschoolalums Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/theparkschoolma

working this summer with FINCA Ecuador, a commercial bank affiliated with the program, carrying out a socio-economic survey of clients to determine the range of program effects on clients.” Farrell Frankel moved from Colorado to Brookline in February. She is working as a therapeutic mentor at Arbour Counseling in Alston. Pino’s Pizza continues to be a stomping ground for her and the rest of the Class of 2002. Sam Hawkins is a project engineer for Sea-Dar Construction in Boston. He has aspirations of returning to Park and rekindling the spirit of Greg Cope’s “Bafana Bafana.” Lee Rotenberg is spending the year in Tel Aviv, Israel. Julia Spiro is an assistant to an agent at United Talent Agency in Los Angeles. Hidde Tonegawa is currently working for DeNA Co. Ltd in Tokyo. Soon he is moving to San Francisco to head up its marketing division for the smart phone market.

After a short pursuit of a semi-pro basketball career in Europe, Matt Weinberg moved to Washington, D.C. to live with Nathan Kellogg.

Matt works as the coordinator of government relations for the U.S. Travel Association, while Nathan teaches reading to middle-school-aged special education students.

2003 Class Representative Diana Rutherford drutherford@berklee.net 617-731-4374

2004 Class Representatives Molly Lebow mlebow@tulane.edu 617-965-3161 Steven Fox steven.fox@richmond.edu 617-983-0208

Gabe Saltzman ’05 and friends pose for the camera on a service trip to Rwanda this summer.

Anne Wernikoff and Annabel de Braganca are currently spending their summer in Paris and then will be senior-year roommates at George Washington University.

Middle Division Head Jon Ross Wiley with his wife, Sahar, daughter, Soraya and son, Zia.

2005 Class Representative Lily Bullitt lily_bullitt@yahoo.com 617-734-8841 Daly Franco writes, “Although it’s been five years since I graduated, Park still remains in my heart! Currently, I am entering my junior year at Barnard College of Columbia University in N.Y.C, where I have been pursuing my love for neurons as a neuroscience and behavior major (with a concentration on behavior).

This summer, I’ve been doing neuroscience research with my adviser (a professor at the College). This upcoming fall, I will serve the College as an upper-class (wo)man R.A.” Gabe Saltzman is a junior at Tufts University and just got back from an incredible service trip in Africa. “I went with a group of 20 students from Tufts to a youth village in Rwanda. We stayed and worked at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village.

Agahozo means ‘where tears are dried’ in Rwanda’s native language, Kinyarwanda, and shalom means ‘peace’ in Hebrew. The village is for Rwandan orphans from the genocide who are in the most need from all different villages throughout Rwanda. We worked on building stadium seating for a soccer field that will be inaugurated in quite the grand fashion: the Rwandan national team will come play against the students. The village, which works in a similar system to an Israeli kibbutz because of draught and no means of planting sheaths of grass and cultivating the seeds, had to plant each blade of grass (it was an incredible amount of work!) by hand. We ate three times a day with the kids (ages from 15-20) and went into their classrooms and participated in service work with them; we went to help build a mud house for an HIV-positive woman in the community where the gated village is located.” Gabe learned a great deal on this trip. “I had been many times to impoverished places in the world and have done a fair number of service trips to South America, where my mother is from, but never have I seen poverty to such an extreme degree.” Gabe goes on to say that he first learned and performed community service and was a member of Helping Hand. For more

Jenny Walton Burke ’91 brought her kids, Phoebe and Peter.

Alumni Volunteer Day Saturday, April 24 ON A BRIGHT SUNNY DAY IN APRIL, alumni, families, and friends gathered in Concord for the second annual Park Volunteer Day at Gaining Ground. This organization relies on the help of hundreds of volunteers to grow 20,000 pounds of organic vegetables and fruit, which is donated to area meal programs and food pantries. It was great day of planting, tilling, watering, and giving back to the community. Join us next April in Concord as we continue our tradition working with Gaining Ground!

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

51

C O L L E G E Jacob Aduama Luisa Alvarez Nigelie Assee Ari Benjamin Sascha Bercovitch Jacob Brandt Elizabeth Cabot Elyssa Carlson Louisa Carroll Nicholas Carter Jonathan Chau Greg Corrado Skylar Cruz Elisabeth Dalton Mark Eaglesfield Melanie Fineman Rebecca Freeman-Slade William Fubini Camilla Golestaneh Samantha Greenberg Sarah Hackney Erin Haggerty Julia Hermann James Hoagland Natalie Hunter Grant Jones Alexander Jundanian Anna Lau

C H O I C E S

Northeastern University Boston College DePauw University Oberlin College Harvard University Harvard University Franklin & Marshall College University of New Hampshire Hartwick University University of Massachusetts Amherst Trinity College University of Rochester Spelman College McGill University University of St Andrews (Scotland) Brown University Wellesley College Bates College Santa Clara University George Washington University University of Texas at Austin Marist College University of St Andrews (Scotland) Tufts University Wesleyan University Harvard University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Williams College

Scott Mahoney William Maness Jack Manzi Jacob Modest Gabe Murchison Olaitan Oladipo Olamide Olatunji Nicholas Parker Emily Polk Anna Porter James Poss Arielle Rabinowitz Danielle Rabinowitz Jacob Romanow Nelson Santry Else Sharp Julia Shepley Molly Sinsheimer Emily Summit Isabella Terhorst Alexandra Turner-Owens Kaveh Veyssi Harris Williams Benjamin Wilsker Nina Wolpow Mollie Young Alexa Zilberfarb

Bowdoin College Boston University University of Pennsylvania Georgetown University Yale University Brown University Harvard University Columbia University Brown University University of Vermont University of California, Los Angeles Harvard University Harvard University Yale University Dartmouth College Vanderbilt University University of Colorado at Boulder Skidmore College Georgetown University Dartmouth College The New School Tufts University Boston College University of Edinburgh University of Pennsylvania Middlebury College Claremont Colleges

Please note that the above list, compiled by the Alumni Office, does not include all members of the Class of 2007. Alumni not appearing on this list are either postponing attending a college or university in the fall, or have not submitted their information to our office. Please call the Alumni Office at 617-274-6022 with any changes or additional information. Thank you.

aymon Miranda H d ’09 and Tyler Dillar

Rya ton, olver o W r : Pete

e haus n Sim

r

s mate r class 2010 ilad Seckle and G

’09

Emily Jaco b ’10, Car ter Smith Annie Goo ’09, and drich ’10

Ice Cream Social Wednesday, June 16 More than 20 recent graduates returned to Park’s Faulkner House patio for a night of fun, friends, and ice cream! We had a great turnout from Park’s newest alumni, the Classes of 2010 and 2009.

52

Cary Willia ms ’0 9

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

and M erced es

Garcia

Alex Barden ’0 9 ’09

and Padraig Su llivan ’10

Next Schools for Departing Members of the Class of 2011

information on Gabe’s trip and the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, please contact him at gabriel.saltzman@tufts.edu

2006 Class Representative McCall Cruz mccall_cruz@yahoo.com 617-442-1747

2007 Class Representatives Thomas Cope thcope@mxschool.edu 617-552-5662 Benjamin Schwartz ben.schwartz@gmail.com 617-566-5626

2008 Class Representatives Marielle Rabins rabinsms@gmail.com 781-431-8668 Manizeh Afridi manizeh252@yahoo.com 781-449-4340

Quinn McCarthy Beaver

Dedham Academy

Danny Benett

Commonwealth School

Adam Carlson

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Tarun Chally

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Alex Charles

The Lawrenceville School

Alec Cover

The Rivers School

Ben Daly

Thayer Academy

Hadley Edie

Noble and Greenough School

Catharine Hemp

Moses Brown School

Matthew Johnson

Groton Academy

This summer, Mia Ferguson and her friend, Blake Alessandroni, started a company called Wolfeboro Bay Water Sports, providing water-sports instruction and coaching on Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire. “We

erve people of all ages and levels. We are very excited to share our passion for water sports with everyone who visits the lake. We coached one visiting Park family just last week!”

2009 Class Representatives Mercedes Garcia-Orozco benzgirl727@aol.com 617-361-6928 Cary Williams xocarebearxo327@aim.com 617-696-3663 In September, Tyler Dillard entered a yearlong exchange program in Japan.

Trace Smith graduated from Burke Mountain Academy in June 2010 and will be going to ski for Dartmouth in fall of ’11. In the meantime, he will continue to train hard at Burke, race around the world, and study statistics, African history, and French literature.

2010 Class Representatives Annie Goodridge 617-522-3901 Gilad Seckler giladseckler@gmail.com 617-244-7588 Michela Thomsen michelathomsen@hotmail.com 781-251-6699

Classes of 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 Save The Date!

Ryan Johnson

The Rivers School

Troy Joseph

American School of Shanghai

Danielle Kim

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Alexis Kelly

Boston Latin School

Emma Mehlman

Phillips Academy Andover

Isabel Meltzer

Newton South High School

Yule Festival

Kaleigh Mentzer

Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

and

Caroline Muggia

Noble and Greenough School

Henry Muggia

Noble and Greenough School

Bagel Breakfast

Bernardo Pacini

Belmont Hill School

Carter Rose

Dover-Sherborn High School

Ryan Smith

Noble and Greenough School

Allie Tearney

Thayer Academy

Jamie Thorndike

Groton School

Friday, December 17, 2010 9:00 a.m.– 10:00 a.m.

The Park School Dining Room The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

53

Former Faculty Member Phil Gambone Portrays Gay, Lesbian Americans

by Kate LaPine, Director of Communications

I

n his new book, Travels in a Gay Nation: Portraits of LGBTQ Americans (University of Wisconsin Press, 2010), Philip Gambone tells 44 authentic stories of 44 authentic gay and lesbian Americans. One of his subjects, the writer Randall Kenan, notes that most people have a “monodimensional” view of African Americans, much the same as they do for Queer Americans (LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning). Fellow writer Dorothy Allison, another subject in the collection, concurs, “We are complicated and enormous.”

“I love telling stories,” says Phil, smiling. We are sitting at a surprisingly crowded Starbucks in Brookline Village on a hot summer day.

I want to hear from Phil about the recent release of his book, and how it came to be. In the introduction, he writes, Stories. Haven’t they always helped us to learn who we are, whoever we are? Stories both anchor us in reality and inspire our imaginations and dreams. They remind us where we have been and hint at where we are going. Stories allow us to discover the common humanity in all people. Other stories initiate us into the culture of our tribe: This is what it’s like to come from our people, to belong to our people. Stories give us vital information. They help us to make our own story stronger. They save lives. (p. 4)

Phil then proceeds to tell me the story about a collection of stories: In the spring of 2007, a New York publisher contacted Phil while considering a series. He explains, “They called me because of an earlier book, Something Inside: Conversations with Gay Fiction Writers, which appeared in 1999.” This project would be different in three ways: not just men, not just fiction, and not Q&A, but written profiles. “I said ‘Yes!’” Phil tried to identify individuals who were successful or important in his or her own field. He sought geographical and occupational diversity, ethnic and racial diversity, religious and ideological diversity, and generational diversity, with participants aged 19–84.

Geography proved difficult because urban spaces have created ‘gay culture,’ and so the book is heavily skewed toward cities. However, Phil’s subjects hail from both coasts, Chicago, Texas, North Carolina, and Florida.

That first summer was filled with interviews.

Phil Gambone caught up with the During the following year, he entire Wilsker clan, including Becca ’00, Ben ’07, and Liz ’04. managed to squeeze in more

54

interviews between his busy teaching schedule at Boston University Academy. “But a year into the project, with the economic downturn, the publisher let my editor go, and then dropped the project.

By that time, I had become passionate about doing the book, so I enlisted a literary agent who put me in touch with the Wisconsin University Press.”

Switching to an academic press mid-course necessarily changed the expectations for the book. “They had more constraints,” Phil says, “and could only commit to a book with 120,000 words. In all, I interviewed 102 individuals, but we had to whittle the list down by more than half.” Profiles in this first volume include Kate Clinton, Barney Frank, Hilary Goodridge, Gene Robinson, and David Sedaris.

The book captures each of the 44 subjects in a moment in time.

“It is not intended to be a definitive biography,” Phil elaborates.

“I try to give a sense of setting, context, and what each person’s work is about. I have a talent for getting people to relax and talk about themselves.” To prepare for each interview, Phil immersed himself in his subject’s work. “I really did my homework,” he admits. For every interview, which typically lasted one to two hours, Phil prepared 10-20 hours.

No doubt, Mr. Gambone’s former students will recall their teacher’s high standards. For 26 years, Phil shared his enthusiasm and curiosity with Park School students in English, Latin, and social studies classrooms. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Humanities Department at Boston University Academy, where he now teaches all sections of freshman English and a seminar in Chinese literature (in translation) to seniors. Phil dedicated Travels in a Gay Nation to his students (collectively) “and hopes that everyone — gay or straight — will find stories that will inspire them.”

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

In July, Sadia Shephard ’90 married Andreas Burgess.

When Louise Baker ’92 married Rich Lee in May, a large Park School contingent gathered for the celebration. L-R: Rebecca Kellogg, Laura Dahmen Merriman ‘92, Vanessa Kerry ‘92, Rich and Louise, Sally Baker, Wanda Holland Greene, Nancy Baker Cahill ‘85, and Mary Sarah Baker ‘87.

Former Faculty News

Weddings

Clearinghouse, which he co-founded in 1994. Former students and other Park School friends in the area can catch Bob on CCTV: he hosts a program about volunteer opportunities on Channel 9 at 4 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month.

1990 Sadia Shephard and Andreas Burgess July 24, 2010 1992 Louise Baker and Rich Lee May 15, 2010

In September, former Headmaster Bob Hurlbut was presented with a “Leading Role Award” by Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) to mark his many years in service to the youth of Cambridge. Since retiring from Park in 1993, Bob has been the executive director of the Cambridge Community Foundation, which has supplied funding to dozens of Cambridge-based youth initiatives. Beyond work and enjoying his family, Bob most values his volunteer work with the Cambridge Senior Volunteer

1994 Jen Berylson and Jonathan Block June 26, 2010

Pat Zifcak attended her 34th May Day in 2010. Her granddaughter, River Studley ’16, was performing as a thirdgrader. “It reminded me that I taught her mom (Dana Welshman-Studley ’85) the May Pole Dance and she, in turn, taught River. Park for us is truly a family school.”

1996 Rob Higgins and Julie Cumming June 12, 2010 1997 Reid Diamond and Sarah Hildebrand June 24, 2010

This summer, Jen Berylson Block ‘94 and Jon Block celebrated their honeymoon in Tanzania!

Paul Naddaff and Ursula August June 19, 2010 Josh Zweig and Jacqueline Smith October 17, 2009 1998 Caitlin Connolly and Kate Koles September 4, 2010 Cindy Doseretz and Matt Arenson May 29, 2010 Alex Kehlenbeck and Kate Nielson August 28, 2010 Claire Pasterneck and Brian Goldsmith August 28, 2010

Former Park teacher Phil Gambone sent us two photos from Boston University Academy’s graduation in June. Here, Phil is flanked by the four Park alumni who graduated from BUA in 2010. L-R: Jonathan Chau ’07, William Maness ’07, Phil Gambone, David Spierings van der Wolk ’07, and Benjamin Wilsker ’07.

1999 Maegan Scott and Joshua Faden May 29, 2010

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Rob Higgins ’96 and Julie Cumming on their wedding day in Newport, Rhode Island in June.

55

Births

In Memoriam

1985 A.T. Howe and Sherri Shaffer Andre Howe March 3, 2010

D. Chadwick Braggiotti ’27 February 2, 2010 Brother of Rama Braggiotti ’25 Victor Burg August 5, 2010 Father of Hal Ebbott-Burg ’03, Lily EbbottBurg ’08, and Simon Ebbott-Burg ’06

1987 Annamary (Burton) Thompson and Greg Thompson Catherine “Cate” Judith Kay Thompson July 12, 2010

Marion Connolly June 10, 2010 Mother-in-Law of Alison Connolly and grandmother of Caitlin Connolly ’98 and Brianna Connolly ’01

1992 Laura Dahmen Merriman and Zac Merriman Alex Merriman April 27, 2010 1995 Dan Friefield and Leila Abolfazli Caleb Friefield June 23, 2010

Alex Merriman was born in April to Zac and Laura Dahmen Merriman ’92.

Frederic Crocker ’29 May 2, 2010 Brother of Homer Crocker ’27, Richard Crocker ’41, Ruth Crocker Young ’33, and father of Ellen Crocker ’65 Benjamin Gardiner ’35 January 23, 2010

Sara Leventhal Fleiss and Peter Fleiss Solomon Fleiss March 7, 2010

Elizabeth Goldsmith May 28, 2010 Grandmother of Nia Lutch ’97 and Alex Lutch ’02 Marian Haffenreffer July 15, 2010 Mother of Beth Haffenreffer Scholle ’74 and grandmother of Liza Scholle ’10 MacDonald Halsey March 23, 2010 Father of Comfort Halsey Cope, father-inlaw of Greg Cope ’71 and grandfather of Eliza Cope ’04, and Thomas Cope ’07

A.T. Howe’s son, Andre, was born in March.

Dan Friefield and Leila Abolfazli, proud parents of Caleb, who was born in June.

Richard “Dick” Haskell July 11, 2010 Husband of Betty Haskell, father of Mary Martell, and grandfather of Jack Martell ’15 Susan H. McVeigh March 23, 2010 Mother of Katharine (Tina) McVeigh ’74 and Alice McVeigh Mayberry ’75 Allene L. Russell March 22, 2010 Mother of Katherine Russell McCurdy ’69, Allene Russell Pierson ’74, and Laura Russell Malkin ’75 Joseph C. Segar September 1, 2010 Father of Andrew Segar and grandfather of Lindsay Segar ’99 and Hilary Segar ’03 David B. Stone ’42 April 12, 2010 Brother of Robert Stone ’37, Galen Stone ’35, and Henry Stone ’51, and father of David Stone ’98

Greg and Annamary Burton Thompson ’87 welcomed baby Catherine Judith Kay Thompson in July. She is called “Cate.”

56

Sara Leventhal Fleiss ‘95 and Peter Fleiss’s new son, Solomon.

The Park Bulletin | Fall 2010

Steven Trustman ’78 March 25, 2010 Brother of John Trustman ’70 and Laurie Trustman Senger ’72

In April, the School hired photographer and former parent Michael Lutch to capture Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus from a helicopter. The result?

A spectacular view of 171 Goddard Avenue!

The Park School 171 Goddard Avenue Brookline, Massachusetts 02445

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Boston, Massachusetts

Change service requested

Permit No. 55643

Moved? Moving?

Please notify Park of addresseeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current address, as the Bulletin and other bulk mailings are not forwarded by the Post Office.