Congratulations to the Classes ending in 4's and 9's, who are celebrating their reunions in the 2014-2015 school year!
RIVERDALE ALUMNI
1987 Please send your news to your Class Correspondent before MAY 1, 2015. 1985 Allison Unger Brody a.brody@elsevier.com
1986 Sanford E. Cannold Sandy.cannold@gmail.com
1987 Karyn Boosin Leit karynleit@mac.com
1988 Stacy J. Grossman S144man@yahoo.com
1989 Allison R. Rouse allison.rouse@gmail.com
As part of the Class of 1957 Alumni Speaker Series, Jennifer Pahlka ’87 was the 2014 commencement speaker.
Rachel Laikind Justus ’88 (far right) and Cassie Avirom ’88 (center, in cobalt blue lace dress) with supporters at their annual fundraiser for the organization they co-direct, AWARE (Assisting Women through Action, Resources & Education).
Jennifer Pahlka, the founder and executive director of Code for America who recently served as the United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer for government innovation, addressed the Riverdale community at this year’s commencement exercises on June 10 (see photo below). Jennifer’s speech was part of the Class of 1957 Alumni Speaker Series, funded by members of the Class of 1957 to bring alumni to campus to address students, faculty, and fellow alumni. (The Series is a dedicated program committed to bringing Riverdale alumni speakers to campus to share their experiences with the community through broad lectures as well as more specific engagements with individual classes.)
1988
Rachel Laikind Justus and Cassie Avirom co-direct AWARE (Assisting Women through Action, Resources & Education), a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting awareness and generating funds in order to make meaningful improvements in the lives of females in the New York City community and worldwide. In October 2014, they held their annual fundraiser at Harding’s Kitchen & Bar featuring delicious sweets donated by Treat House founder Chris Russell (see photo bottom). AWARE supporters include Adrianne Feldman Kirszner, Ariela Sommer Beare, Jennifer Fisherman-Ruff, Joanna Minikes Sirulnick, Julie Schulweis Hadley, and Karen Hirshkorn Walker. Rachel and Cassie welcome Riverdale alumni and friends who want to get involved in a special charity and help
deserving women and girls! Visit www.awarenyc.org for information. Sascha Rice and her sister, Hilary Rice Armstrong ’83, are proud to announce the European premiere of their documentary film, California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown (see photo on page 42), at University of Paris Diderot in Paris, on November 7, 2014. For more about the film, visit www. patbrowndocumentary.com.
1989
Members of the class came to campus on Friday, October 17, to graciously participate in a career panel discussion for Riverdale students. Panelists included Topher Cox, Robb Hirsch, Bill Konigsberg, Aron Levine, Sara Meltzer, Rhonda Ross, Allison Rouse, Alain Silverio, and Hilary Seiden Smith. The next day, the class returned to Riverdale for a special 25th reunion lunch (see photo on page 24) and a memorable class discussion. That evening, more than 60 members from the class gathered downtown for a big reunion party in the Electric Room at the Dream Hotel. Classmates who were on campus included: Jebeze Alexander, David Bard, Topher Cox, Mitchell Davis, Vagnes De La Rosa, Richard Geller, Sari Goodfriend, Robb Hirsch, William Konigsberg, Paige Roeser Lawrence, Jennifer Smith Lipschultz, Shary Moalemzadeh, Danielle Reid Officer, Alex Parisien, Jacob Park, Dov Pollack, Rhonda Ross, Allison Rouse, Alicia Sands, David Schulhof, Alain Silverio, Chris Standish, Adam Strassberg, Thomas Weiser, and Anthony Wright. (See photos opposite.) For more on Homecoming/Reunion 2014, see pages 24-30.
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