stay connected... bodies operate according to complex biological needs that, when leveraged intelligently, can make us incredibly effective. … Two Awesome Hours will show you how to be your most productive every day.” Another author from our class also enjoyed success in 2015: Taylor Antrim’s Immunity was released last May to great reviews by the New York Times and others. Taylor’s second novel is a fastpaced dystopian thriller set in a present-day New York City in the grip of a pandemic and a police state that has arisen in response. Unlike most doomsday-outbreak stories, Immunity imagines an incurable virus that wipes out some areas but not others, which turns out to be a fertile context in which to explore the gulf between haves and havenots. Scarcity takes on several new dimensions in a world hobbled but not exactly decimated, à la The Walking Dead, and the advantages of wealth reach more sinister heights, or depths, depending on your perspective or station. In researching the novel, Taylor dove into a crash course in the science of epidemics with the help of several prominent infectious-disease experts, who helped him conceptualize his fictional virus so that it would be chillingly plausible. In a piece he penned for the Guardian about his writing process, Taylor wryly noted that “someone who hasn’t taken a science class since [upper year] shouldn’t lightly embark on a biothriller.” When he’s not scaring the bejeezus out of himself and his readers, Taylor is a Brooklyn dad and senior editor at Vogue; his short stories have been featured in Best American Short Stories, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and other literary publications. Noy Thrupkaew is a freelance journalist who has made it her mission to shine a light on human trafficking, and not just the kind the media tends to focus on. In a TED Talk from last year, available at www.ted.com, Noy makes the distressing observation that forced prostitution, as shameful and deplorable as it is, represents only 22 percent of human trafficking, whereas forced labor, at 68 percent of the total, is three times more prevalent. Exploited labor is found everywhere, on fishing boats and construction sites, in fruit orchards and sweatshops, even car washes. It finds its way into the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and many of the products we buy. Noy hopes that greater awareness of how “we have unwittingly but willingly allowed ourselves to profit from and benefit from” a broken system will eventually lead to fundamental change. The election cycle isn’t the only countdown to track in 2016. By the time this goes to press, our 25th Reunion will be one short year away! Mark your calendars, start making travel plans, and get a jump on all the catching up by watching this space—and the class Facebook page! Reach out to Jenny Elkus, Sherri Shafman, Pristine Johannessen, Darryl Cohen, or Daphne Matalene for an invite.
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Andover | Summer 2016
1993 Susannah Smoot Campbell 301-257-9728 Susannah.s.campbell@gmail.com Jen Charat 619-857-6525 jcharat@yahoo.com Ted Gesing 917-282-4210 tedgesing@gmail.com Hilary Koob-Sassen +44 7973775369 hksassen@hotmail.com
As I write these notes, I sit in my parents’ dining room, listening to my children, nieces, and nephews sing carols (off-key) in the family room. It has been a boisterous holiday. Many thanks to those of you who responded to my requests to “Help a Smoot this holiday season” by sending news! Karina Wagle Benfield wrote that she married Rick Benfield in November 2015 on the beach in Punta Mita, Mexico. The wedding was a small ceremony with family and close friends, including Alissa Fishbane. The couple zipped off for an amazing honeymoon in New Zealand and Bora Bora. Earlier in the year, Karina had traveled to Boston, where she caught up with Michelle Cho over lunch and went back to visit Andover. Karina works in LA as a corporate attorney. On Facebook, Mark Jaklovsky posted an awesome video of the Andover Community Chorus singing the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s Messiah in Cochran Chapel. If you look closely, you can just see Mark graciously offer his tenor to the swell of voices. Ramona Gittens Morgan and her lovely young family are enjoying living in Brooklyn, which, she jests, is teeming with Andover hipsters. Nick Thompson and Chris White are rumored to be nearby. (Chris was recently spotted as a talking head on Bloomberg Television.) Ramona confirmed the presence of Samantha Appleton, who wrote to say she looked forward to getting her daughter, Beatrice, together with Ramona’s girls, Eve and Tabitha. Beth Canterbury is happily living in Natick, Mass., with her husband, Tap, and kids, Sam and Isla. She teaches voice at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she is also faculty advisor and coach to an a cappella group, Mixed Nuts. She saw Arian Giantris Clements, with her husband, Matt, and girls, Olive and Sophie, over the summer. Matt and Arian recently moved from Portland to Brunswick, Maine. Marc Baker celebrated his oldest son’s bar mitzvah in October 2015; David Bernstein flew in from Russia to attend. One week later, Marc was celebrated by Gann Academy for his 10 years of leadership as head of school. “It was an awesome night!” he reports.
Brandon Schwartz called with news of his growing family. Daughter Alex just turned 2 and is looking forward to being a big sister come this June. Brandon is retired from the practice of law. He lives in San Francisco and has a new career as a real estate entrepreneur. He is learning how to mind his own business (pun intended) while leaving time for coparenting. If any classmates in the Bay Area would be interested in playdates with their kiddos, please contact him. Ted Sterling wrote from Dancing Rabbit in Missouri, where he is “still kickin’ it ecovillagestyle.” He stepped down from the Dancing Rabbit Inc. nonprofit board this year after 10 years’ service and right on to the Dancing Rabbit Village Council. Ted made a significant foray into cheesemaking this year—primarily hard goat cheeses, though he also made plenty of feta and haloumi (“a Cypriot frying cheese, salty and heavenly”). Ted is pleased that his efforts have started to make a dent in Dancing Rabbit’s dairy importation needs. If anyone else would like to experience the homesteading lifestyle, Ted welcomes your visit. Ted wrote with updates on a few classmates. He had a near miss with Johanna Cricenti in the DC area this past year. Johanna is spending some time in Malawi. He also received his annual card from Fred Terry, who is safe and sound in Denver. Jessica Glasser Kaufman wrote to say she is in DC, producing news for the local ABC affiliate each weekday at 5 p.m. Her girls, Maya and Lillian, are 5 and 3. Jessica shared that Kathryn Henderson lives in Bethesda, Md., where she works for the Gates Foundation. Kathryn was elected the captain of her golf league this past summer. Scott Hennessey is also in Bethesda, where he is likely celebrating the recent budget bill that included extended tax credits for solar power, which has been Scott’s focus for the past few months. Scott works for SolarCity. Kate Kennedy lives in Newton, Mass., with her delightful husband, Dave, and their two kids. She’s helping launch the library at a new elementary school. Jessica noted that Christine Bergren Orr is always the highlight of her Facebook feed. Christine’s adventures with her sons and her husband, James, seem to be never-ending. Christine still runs (and has made the cover of Runner’s World), her kids build Lego marvels, and her son John seems to be the life of any party. Alexis Dittmer wrote to say that she is living in Jackson, Wyo., and accepting visitors. Alexis recently had the pleasure of bumping into Megan McGrath, who was visiting from NYC. Serendipity! David Jackson moved with wife Kat and children Isabel and Ollie from Seattle to Munich to lead Amazon.de. In June 2015, Dave helped launch Amazon Mexico. That success opened up further international options to him. Before the move to Germany, Dave was able to take a few months off, traveling with his family to Canada, England,