Cyrus Winter 2015 (Issue 1)

Cyrus a magazine for alumni and friends of The Blake School

Winter 2015

Sea Change

How Marcia McNutt ’70 is changing the face of science

Artistic Freedom Combating human trafficking with art

Force of Finance Inder Majumdar ’12 shapes UN policy

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Cyrus a magazine for alumni and friends of The Blake School Editor Kristin Stouffer Managing Editor Tracy Grimm Designed by Neustadt Creative Marketing Cover artwork by Owen Davey, www.FolioArt.co.uk Anne Stavney Photograph by Christopher Polydoroff Thanks to the many Blake community members who have contributed to this publication.

Our Mission The Blake School provides students with an excellent, academically challenging education in a diverse and supportive community committed to a common set of values. Students are expected to participate in an integrated program of academic, artistic and athletic activities in preparation for college, lifelong learning, community service and lives as responsible world citizens.

Our Core Values Respect Love of Learning Integrity Courage Commitment to Pluralism The Blake School Administrative Offices 110 Blake Road South Hopkins, MN 55343 952-988-3430 cyrus@blakeschool.org

New Name, Lasting Legacy I am so very pleased to introduce you to Cyrus, our redesigned and reimagined magazine for alumni and friends of The Blake School. At first glance, you may be puzzled by the new name. As you’ll read on page 5, Cyrus Northrop played a formative role in one of Blake’s founding institutions, The Northrop Collegiate School, and he created a legacy that continues at Blake today.

Dr. Northrop’s impact on education extended beyond both Blake and the University of Minnesota, where he served as president for 27 years. When he left a teaching position at Yale to come west in 1884, the University of Minnesota was a regional institution of 30 teachers, 289 students, two buildings and a limited undergraduate program. By the time he retired three decades later, Dr. Northrop had led the school’s growth to 212 faculty members, 5,000 students, 29 buildings and several leading graduate and professional degree programs. He raised the profile of a Minnesota education to national levels and was widely viewed as a visionary leader in educational excellence.

Dr. Northrop’s legacy in Minnesota mirrors Blake’s trajectory in other ways. Over the years, Blake has grown substantially and risen to take its place among the country’s top independent schools. It is in this pioneering spirit that we launch the inaugural issue of Cyrus and celebrate Blake community members who are leading the way in their own fields.

I hope these stories inspire you to share your own news. Please keep in touch by sending us a class note or a suggestion for an alumni profile. We’d love to hear from you.

Anne E. Stavney, Ph.D. Head of School The Blake School

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CONTENTS Winter 2015

COVER STORY

BEYOND THE DEEP SEA

Marcia McNutt ’70 explores new territory as editor-in-chief of Science.

PAGE 6

IN PHOTOS

DEPARTMENTS

Art to be Free

In Brief 2

A student-organized art show raises awareness and funds for Right To Be Free, a non-profit organization working to end human trafficking in Ghana.

Archives 5

PAGE 12 Q&A

Future in Finance, Force for Good With full access to the United Nations and a role on the organization’s Major Group for Children and Youth, Inder Majumdar ’12 is applying his financial and economic acumen to policy that impacts nations across the globe.

PAGE 16

Cover Story 6 In Photos 12 Q&A 16 In Print & Production 18 Class Notes 19 Voices 29

IN BRIEF ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

ARCHIVES

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

FACES ON CAMPUS

STRATOSPHERIC HEIGHTS As mission director of the world’s largest airborne observatory — NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) — Karina Leppik ’93 is the linchpin of astronomic research and discoveries that take place on her watch. Cruising at altitudes of 39,000 feet, SOFIA gives scientists access to infrared images and data that would be impossible to obtain with any ground-based telescope.

Overseeing the success of each 10-hour flight is Leppik, who this fall visited Blake to meet with Upper School astronomy and AP Physics II students and to speak at an assembly.

AWARDS

SEAL OF APPROVAL Since 1937, the Caldecott Medal has recognized the most distinguished American picture books for children.

Though not as long established, the BEAR-decott Award carries an 2 Cyrus

AWARDS

COMMUNITY

FACES ON CAMPUS

equal prestige within the Blake community for the books that earn its seal. For the past four years, Lower School students and staff have voted for the year’s best picture book. This year, the Middle and Upper School will also weigh in on the selection of a school-wide BEAR-decott winner. “Students of all ages are interested in picture books,” says Upper School librarian Lizz Buchanan, “and this honors the tradition that the Lower School librarians have cultivated as students move through the divisions.”

AWARDS

TECH TALK WITH ALUMNI OF THE YEAR, THE GOLDBERG BROTHERS Computer programming is the language of business and the industry can’t hire enough software developers, according to brothers Dave ’85 and Rob ’89 Goldberg. The tech industry entrepreneurs shared this and other insights during the reunion edition of Breakfast at Blake, where they were honored as the Outstanding Alumni of the Year.

To hear their conversation, visit bit.ly/goldbergbrothers.

COMMUNITY

TWEET-WORTHY ACTS OF HEROISM Recess turned into a life-saving mission when a group of

PROGRAM

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

HAMMING UP HAMLET

This fall’s Middle School play put a comedic spin on a classic tragedy. “This is Hamlet” combines famous lines and the plot of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” with new characters and situations that make the show accessible to middle school-age actors and audiences. “I would bet many of the Middle School kids who saw the show could summarize the story of Shakespeare’s tragic ‘Hamlet,’” says drama teacher Lynn Ellingboe, who notes that cast, crew and audience loved the performance.

Blake Lower School students noticed a parakeet flying free on their playground. With frigid temps and birds of prey looming, the students and their teaching assistants led a determined rescue effort.

The bird was captured with a butterfly net and brought inside to warm up. All’s well that ends well — the parakeet was adopted and is now living among feathered friends in a cozy home.

AWARDS

POPPY HARLOW ’01 NAMED FIRST YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT This year, the Alumni Association established a new award to honor alumni who have graduated from Blake in the last 20 years.

Award recipients are identified as individuals who have made significant civic or professional contributions and who constantly strive

IN BRIEF

to be engaged, courageous and intelligent world citizens. The first Young Alumni of the Year Award was presented to CNN correspondent Poppy Harlow ’01, who was recognized and spoke at a recent Breakfast at a Blake event. To hear Poppy’s talk, visit bit.ly/poppyharlow.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

MEANINGFUL EXCHANGE Little Earth of United Tribes is the only American Indian-preference Section 8 housing development in the United States.

Situated in south Minneapolis, its proximity to Blake’s Upper School has given students in Anna Reid’s Native American Fiction, Folklore and Film class a rare opportunity for collaboration with the community’s

residents. The students hosted several members of Little Earth on campus and in exchange were invited to visit an urban garden at Little Earth, where they got to know the residents better. “It was cool to see a place where people can gather and work together to illuminate their cultures and help intertwine themselves with their pasts,” says senior Stuart Hesdorffer.

Following their visits, the students and residents worked together to create stories, poems and reflections about the Native experience.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL PROJECT In World War II, thousands of Filipino and American soldiers were forcibly transferred to prison camps by Japanese troops on a 65-mile journey that became known as the Bataan Death March.

Research of the march led eighth graders Sara Gregor and Kai Sovell to combine the likenesses of the Filipino and U.S. flags using rough, painted boot prints to represent the victims and harsh conditions they suffered. Their tribute came out of a combined social studies and English project on World War II memorials.

The class’s varied memorials and artist statements were on display this fall in the Middle School library.

FACES ON CAMPUS

INDIAN PERFORMING ARTISTS BROADEN BLAKE’S MUSICAL HORIZONS The Blake arts department welcomed artists from Chinmaya Naada Bindu, a residential Indian performing arts school in Kolwan, Pune District, India.

The guests provided vocal and classical Hindustani flute workshops for students on all three campuses.

To learn more, visit chinmayanaadabindu.org/.sa.

PROGRAM

STUDENTS SAY ‘SI!’ TO NEW SPANISH PROGRAM

First grader Helen Zeaske admits that Spanish class frustrated her at first. “The teacher only talked in Spanish, and I didn’t know what she was saying,” she says.

Now, three months later, she and her classmates give their lessons an enthusiastic thumbs up. Through games, songs, stories and other engaging activities conducted solely in Spanish, 30 minutes every day, the language has become less daunting and more meaningful. The restructured Lower School language program, which was the result of an in-depth study of best practices, launched this school year in all grades of the Lower School.

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IN BRIEF

131 SCHOOLS FROM 30 STATES 826 STUDENTS

1145 TOTAL

519 TEAMS

319 JUDGES

PROGRAM

EDIE DEBATE TOURNAMENT

BY THE NUMBERS Students learn the ins and outs of running a major debate tournament each December when Blake hosts the John Edie Invitational Tournament.

The 52-year-old tournament

has become one of the most anticipated events of the year among debaters nationwide. This year, Blake staged an exhibition of World Debate, a Parliamentarian-style of debate practiced by schools across the globe.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY MEETS SERIOUS FUN When does science class feel more like recess? When the playground doubles as a laboratory. Students in Maelene Krig’s seventh grade science class designed

their own motion-related experiments then took to the playground to find answers, crossing monkey bars, sliding and swinging, all in the name of scientific discovery.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT

THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING LOCALLY

Senior Isaac Frans was looking forward to joining a Blake service trip to Sierra Leone last summer when the Ebola outbreak dashed all plans. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Frans set about organizing a summit to raise awareness of Ebola’s impact and the local response to it. The effort was part of a new Upper School course, Global Theories, Local Realities, which charges students with developing action plans to confront global problems. Frans and project partners Austin Echtenkamp ’15 and Eli Makovetsky ’15 invited politicians, health care experts and African community members to take part in a panel discussion. With the help of fellow classmates, the pair hosted the public event at the University of Minnesota, welcoming a number of prominent panelists including representatives from African Immigrant Services, the Minnesota Hospital Association, the Metropolitan Airports Commission and One Village Partners. U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken ’69 and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison participated via pre-recorded videos.

COMMUNITY

YEARBOOKS ARE NOW JUST A CLICK AWAY

Over a century’s worth of yearbooks from The Blake School and its predecessor institutions are now available online. The digitized collection includes the Graham Hall Tatler (1911-1915), the Blake School Call O’ Pan (1912-1974), the Northrop Collegiate School Tatler (1916-1974) and The Blake School Reflections (1975-present). To request access to the collection, visit bit.ly/tbsyearbooks.

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IN BRIEF

ARCHIVES

Cyrus Northrop

In 1915, Minneapolis girls’ school Graham Hall was reorganized under the direction of its board of trustees. The changes included improved facilities, a more rigorous curriculum and a distinctive new name: The Northrop Collegiate School.

Though Cyrus Northrop, beloved president emeritus of the University of Minnesota, had no obvious connection to the school, his name was widely recognized and synonymous with progressive education — exactly the image the board wished to convey. The trustees sought the consent of Northrop, who not only granted it but took a genuine interest in the school for the rest of his life, returning often to speak at commencement and Baccalaureate Day.

Alumnae remembered Northrop fondly as a Santa Claus-like figure “with a twinkle in his eye.” The Tatler yearbook was dedicated to him in 1922, the year he died. The dedication read, “To the memory of Cyrus Northrop whose name we all revere and whose ideals we shall always cherish.” In the 1930s, Cyrus the teddy bear mascot was displayed in Northrop’s lobby. Today Cyrus remains the official mascot of the Blake Bears.

During the last year of his life, local artist Emily McMillan painted Northrop in academic robes. Following his death, McMillan passed along to the trustees Northrop’s wish “that his portrait might be placed in Northrop School.”

It was hung in the entrance hall, where it remains today.

Carved in the wood below the portrait are Cyrus Northrop’s words from his 1885 inaugural address: “We must train as many as we can, hoping good things of all and expecting great things of some.”

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Marcia McNutt’s passion for science has carried her on a powerful trajectory throughout her career, from an endowed chair in geophysics at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and then to director of the U.S. Geological Survey, where she served from 2009 to 2013 as part of President Obama’s “dream team” of scientists appointed to high-level government posts. Yet for McNutt, the most exciting job is the one she holds today — that of editor-in-chief of Science.

COVER STORY

BEYOND THE DEEP SEA MARCIA MCNUTT ’70 GOES

Written by Lori L. Ferguson Illustrated by Owen Davey Photograph by Stacey Pentland

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n expert on the dynamics of the upper mantle and lithosphere on geologic time scales, McNutt has traveled the world, probing the ocean’s depths in search of new knowledge. She has participated in more than 12 deep-sea expeditions, earned honorary doctoral degrees from nearly half a dozen institutions, and collected awards from such august institutions as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. Given her inquisitive nature, it’s not surprising that McNutt is once more exploring new territory in her current position at Science. “I’ve been fortunate to have had a string of positions that allowed me to do different, but important, things in science,” McNutt says, “but this job is far and away the broadest in scope in terms of the science I see every day — I feel like a kid in a candy shop!

The stories that come across my desk every day are weird, wild, unusual and bizarre. They’re more mind-boggling than 8 Cyrus

science fiction, and yet they’re all true.”

As editor-in-chief at Science, McNutt oversees a portfolio that encompasses some of the scientific community’s most prestigious journals: Science, an international journal that has been the flagship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for more than 100 years; Science Signaling; Science Translational Medicine; and the recently introduced Science Advances, an online, open-access journal for all the sciences.

McNutt is particularly excited about Advances’ debut because of its populist bent.

Science needs to inform the direction that people take in complex problem solving, she asserts, and an online, open-access journal like Advances can make a valuable contribution to the way knowledge is shared. “So many of the important developments in science need to be communicated not only to one’s scientific peers but also to the outside community: policy makers, managers and high-level decision makers,”

McNutt says. “Yet too much of science is accessible only to people with subscriptions to science journals. Science Advances is based on a new model. All of the articles will be freely available to the public, and the journal will have a much broader scope, embracing topics in technology, the social sciences and engineering as well as in the life sciences.”

It is through this collective harnessing of knowledge, McNutt believes, that we will master the daunting challenges that face the global community.

A QUEST FOR EXPLANATIONS A quest for explanations has informed McNutt’s career throughout the years. During her tenure at MIT, she served as director of the Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering — a combined offering of MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — and acted as chief scientist or co-chief on numerous deep-sea expeditions. In 2010, McNutt was part of a team of government scientists and engineers called to BP

headquarters in Houston, Texas, to address the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Incident Commander Thad Allen appointed McNutt the leader of the Flow Rate Technical Group and charged her with providing estimates of the rate of oil discharge during the active phase of the spill. “I was given a small, windowless office at BP headquarters, and it didn’t matter at all that I had no windows,” McNutt recalls. “We worked very long hours dealing with the spill. Our first meeting was at 5:30 every morning, and we walked out the door every night at around 10:30.”

McNutt’s role required that she attend a revolving cycle of meetings — some big, some small, some with government officials, others with BP officials.

“We were constantly running through sequences of what we were trying to do: collect the oil, kill the well, predict where the oil would travel and plan for potential hurricanes,” she says. “We were dealing with myriad issues.” McNutt spent

“SO MANY OF THE IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE NEED TO BE COMMUNICATED NOT ONLY TO ONE’S SCIENTIFIC PEERS BUT ALSO TO THE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY.”

nearly four months working onsite and earned the U.S. Coast Guard’s Meritorious Service Medal (the non-combat equivalent of the Bronze Star) for her efforts. Her role in the cleanup is chronicled in Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach’s gripping account of the tragedy: “A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea: The Race to Kill the BP Oil Gusher.”

the State Council, Li Keqiang, the man responsible for managing the national and international concerns of the country’s 1.3 billion citizens. McNutt spoke one-on-one with the premier for over an hour on matters concerning science and

tend to be scientists rather than lawyers or businessmen,” she notes. “The hopes and dreams of Chinese parents are that their children will do well in school and go on to become a scientist or engineer. The Chinese see education, rather than sports or entertainment,

A ROLE IN THE GLOBAL DISCUSSION Today, in her editorial role at Science, McNutt conducts her explorations on a global scale, working with scientists and editors from around the world to bring the scientific community’s latest news and cutting-edge developments to an estimated readership in excess of one million people.

Not surprisingly, she revels in the unique opportunities this position offers.

One of McNutt’s most memorable encounters in her new role came about in 2014, when she was afforded the rare chance to meet with China’s premier and party secretary of

Marcia McNutt ’70

the economy, from space exploration to environmental protection.

The Chinese have a very different perspective on the importance of science and the role of scientists in society, McNutt says. “China’s leaders

as their ticket out of poverty and obscurity. That attitude translates through all socioeconomic levels, to the point where they choose as their leaders those individuals who have reached the pinnacle of scientific or technical achieve-

ment.” Premier Li was himself a peasant from a poor rural part of China who excelled on his college entrance examination, thereby gaining admission to the elite Peking University where he studied economics.

In a post-meeting report of her time with the premier, McNutt noted, “In all my years as a scientist, including heading a billion-dollar U.S. research agency, this was the most significant invitation I had ever received to meet with a sitting national leader to hear his vision for science and discuss important global science matters. The fact that the Chinese premier wanted to meet with me sent strong signals as to how China is seeing science as critical to its future well-being.”

McNutt is grateful to occupy a bully pulpit from which she can share the multitude of exciting scientific discussions and discoveries being made worldwide every day. “Science is a critical factor in the global economy,” she asserts. “In fact, it’s really hard to point to any sustained economic growth that is not fundamentally scienceWinter 2015 9

“THIS JOB IS FAR AND AWAY THE BROADEST IN SCOPE IN TERMS OF THE SCIENCE I SEE EVERY DAY — I FEEL LIKE A KID IN A CANDY SHOP! ”

driven. Growing the economy through natural resource extraction, for example, is inherently self-limiting. Coal mining and oil drilling are finite activities because natural resources will eventually run out.

If you really want to grow your economy, you have to do it with science: innovation, new product development and new idea

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generation lead to high-paying jobs that are a result of significant investment.”

A CALL FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS As Americans, we need to take a bigger world view in all the decisions we make, McNutt argues. For example, she says, we need to think more respon-

sibly about our consumption patterns. “The early pioneers lived with everything they owned and discarded from the day they acquired it to the day they died — there was no trash removal,” McNutt observes. “I think if we were more mindful of our purchases — asking ourselves, for example, if the container holding a product is

recyclable, and if not, what we’ll do with it once it’s empty — we would put less strain on our natural resources.”

We must also consider the ramifications of introducing new substances into the environment through our actions, McNutt asserts, as history is full of examples of unintended consequences. For instance,

“SCIENCE IS A CRITICAL FACTOR IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. IN FACT, IT’S REALLY HARD TO POINT TO ANY SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH THAT IS NOT FUNDAMENTALLY SCIENCE-DRIVEN.”

she explains, many fish are showing reactions to pharmaceutical chemicals that have been released into the rivers.

“They’re experiencing changes in sex organs. Even though the pharmaceuticals only appear in the water in minute amounts, they’re having a negative effect on the ecosystem. Their toxic effect on the fish is profound, yet the problem is very tough to deal with because the chemicals appear in trace amounts. The bottom line: everything that we produce has a very long life span, and we need to take that into consideration.”

“Our primary challenge is to come up with practical solutions to the world’s problems,” McNutt continues. “The Ebola epidemic, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — everyone agrees that they’re daunting problems; what we’re lacking is solutions. Perhaps the most important question we face is that of the planet’s sustainability in the face of growing population pressures — everyone on the planet is striving to achieve the quality of life that the upper echelons

of the industrialized world enjoy. Everyone wants — and deserves — a healthy diet, access to clean water, reliable energy, affordable transportation and high-quality medical care. Yet virtually every scientist polled agrees that the carrying capacity of the planet simply cannot support our current lifestyle indefinitely.

We need to figure out how everyone can live comfortably without driving our environmental systems into a state of collapse.” And McNutt believes that the answers are within our grasp. “We’ve just got to let technology work for us rather than against us,” she asserts.

Consider, she says, the communications revolution that has come about as a result of moving communications from copper wire to the digital realm. “Cell phones have brought communications so far globally that the number of cell phone users in some nations far exceeds the number of people with access to electricity. Yet people still find ways to charge their cell phones; they’ve become essential lifelines in

many communities. Science can provide similar revolutions in terms of medical care, pollution control, etc.,” McNutt says.

McNutt points to climate change as one such challenge that could benefit from the application of technology. “We not only need to find solutions that affordably avoid fossil fuel emissions, but we may also need to remove CO2 that has already been emitted if we are to avoid the worst consequences of climate change,” she says.

Finding sufficient, high-quality water for agriculture, people, industry and ecosystems is another pressing need, as is securing raw materials to meet our industrial needs. “Science constantly needs to stay one step ahead as resources become depleted,” McNutt observes.

“We used to transmit information through copper wires, but copper became scarce, so now we use fiber optics. At present, society is very dependent on rare earth elements for products like cell phones, hybrid cars, windmills and the like. We need to find materials that will replace rare earths, or work on

mechanisms to recycle them.”

These problems and many others demand attention, and the more minds that can swiftly be brought to bear on the matter, the better, McNutt believes.

As a former educator, McNutt is eager to encourage forthcoming generations to pursue careers in science. “We need science teachers who are themselves really excited about science,” she asserts. “Most every scientist I know, myself included, was inspired by a great teacher. When kids are only exposed to science through the eyes of someone who’s teaching out of a requirement, rather than by someone who’s excited about the subject matter and understands it, something is lost. The thrill of understanding must be demonstrated to be compelling.”

Lori L. Ferguson is a freelance writer based in southern New Hampshire. She enjoys writing on lifestyle and human interest topics as well as all things artistic. She may be reached through her website, writerloriferguson.com.

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IN PHOTOS

ART TO BE FREE BLAKE ARTISTS CREATE FOR A CAUSE

Senior Kira Leadholm learned of Eric Peasah and his organization, Right To Be Free, through a family friend.

His work to free children who are victims of slavery, exploitation and other oppressive conditions inspired her to help in a way that was meaningful for her and her fellow classmates: through art.

Photographs by Paula Keller and Elise Ogden

The art at the heart. Every Upper School visual arts student contributed at least one piece for display in the Art to be Free exhibition, which ran recently in Blake’s Martha Bennett Gallery.

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ERIC PEASAH VISITS BLAKE

CLASSROOM CREATIONS

(Photo 1) At an Upper School assembly, Peasah speaks about the realities of human trafficking and his work to end it, particularly in his home country of Ghana. His talk sets the stage for the upcoming art show Leadholm is organizing as a fundraiser for Right To Be Free.

(Photos 2-5) Students enrolled in painting, drawing, ceramics, photography and printmaking select one or more of the pieces they created in class to include in the show.

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12 PREPARING THE GALLERY

THE RECEPTION

(Photos 6-8) Leadholm (pictured at far right in photo 6) and fellow art students ready the Martha Bennett Gallery for the exhibition. In addition to the artwork, statistics about human trafficking are displayed on the gallery walls.

(Photos 9-13) At the end of Art to be Free’s run, the artwork is sold during a reception that is open to all Blake community members. A majority of the items are sold, and all proceeds from the sales are donated to Right To Be Free.

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Q&A

FUTURE IN FINANCE, FORCE FOR GOOD INDER MAJUMDAR ’12 HAS A HEAD FOR FINANCE AND A PASSION FOR USING IT TO IMPROVE THE WORLD.

Last spring, Majumdar received a United Nations badge for his work at the World Conference on Youth in Sri Lanka. With full access to the UN and a role on the organization’s Major Group for Children and Youth, the Babson College junior is applying his financial and economic acumen to policy that impacts nations across the globe.

Question: How did you become involved with the UN? Answer: My interest in international development as pertinent to economics and finance began when I researched and peer-reviewed a paper on food pricing stability. This is a problem that has considerable economic impact in South Asia and Central Africa. During a development conference at Babson, I spoke with several economists and consultants who read my work and invited me to a conference in Sri Lanka, where I ended up working with UN representatives and NGO officials to help draft the Colombo Declaration on Youth.

Q: Can you describe your UN work?

A: As of now, my specialty is economic infrastructure mechanisms in developing

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“PEOPLE REALLY DON’T THINK OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE AS FORCES FOR GOOD, FORCES FOR INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE, BUT THEY REALLY ARE.”

countries and debt structures in heavily leveraged countries.

I work with a team of people from many backgrounds, many countries, to create sustainable development goals, specifically from a finance and economics approach, which will be part of the UN’s post-2015 agenda.

incidentally and inadvertently subject to that market. So many small actions on the aggregate created these huge forces of nature. And hopefully it becomes my job to figure out how to help address these problems.

Q: How has collaborating with people from around the world affected you?

A: Nowadays the idea of being a global citizen isn’t just about experiencing new cultures — it’s about adding value to those cultures. Becoming a global citizen doesn’t just mean going to India on a service trip or going to China to see the Great Wall. It really means understanding the culture paradigms that come with each of those cultures and then applying them to create positive social change.

Q: Your work involves long hours and you’re not paid.

What’s your motivation?

A: My work isn’t exactly traditional, and some may even question why I would choose to do what I would do, seeing as my current skill set could be used to more lucrative ends.

As a finance major, I’ve been given a remarkable set of skills to advocate for reform and regulatory change. I think people who have the ability to exploit the resources around them for the betterment of others have an obligation to do so.

Q: What excites you most about the work you’re doing?

A: The world of finance has become a force of nature.

Humans have created this market for value and become

Q: Who has influenced your sense of responsibility?

A: I think big questions really ended up influencing me more than one single person, but people along the way were the

catalysts for that. I remember having great conversations with [Upper School teacher] Jon Dicus. We were looking at a map and he asked a simple question: “Why is North America north and South America south?”

Then you begin to realize that Europe is in the middle of most world maps. Why is Europe in the middle? Easily the biggest land mass is Russia and Asia, so why isn’t Asia placed in the middle of world maps? Then you realize that society is typically Eurocentric.

Those sorts of realizations were instrumental in figuring out my place in this whole paradigm of development, finance, academia, economics, personal development and growth. They created the shifts that make me understand how I see the world.

Q: You’re currently studying in Barcelona, Spain. Before that you were a regulatory policy intern with the American Action Forum in Washington, D.C. Are these choices part of a definite career strategy for you?

A: Not necessarily. The term “definite” is dangerous when discussing the future.

Q: How do you decide what to try next?

A: You really don’t know if you feel good about something unless you’re forced into it.

So, I basically play a game with myself. For example, I have four different options for what I might do next semester. If I can’t decide in three weeks, I’ll flip a coin and will essentially feel forced to pursue one of those options. If my gut says, “Heck no, Inder, you’re ridiculous,” then I have my answer on whether to pursue that option.

Q: Do you envision a career pinnacle?

A: I consciously try not to do that. I think that the minute you do, it creates an unhealthy culture of expectation. Ideally, the only goal in my career is that I’ll never retire. I’d be too bored. I feel like I’m ready to pursue any opportunity that comes my way.

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IN PRINT

& PRODUCTION

MICHAEL BAZZETT, UPPER SCHOOL ENGLISH

You Must Remember This (Milkweed Editions, December 9, 2014)

JUDY BRADFORD MCCONNELL ’52

A Penny A Kiss: memoir of a Minnesota girl in the forties and fifties (North Star Press of St. Cloud, June 1, 2014)

Tom Cagley ’52 I Was Your Son: A Troubled Journey (self-published, February 10, 2014) Tom Cagley shares his essays and memories of life with (and without) his father long after his unexpected death in 1979.

Lynn Jacobson ’55 Kwajalein, an Island Like No Other (self-published, May 18, 2014)

The 2014 winner of the Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry, “You Must Remember This” is a consistently slippery, enrapturing collection of poems. A meditation on who we are, who we’ve been and what we might become, Bazzett’s writing is like a note written in invisible ink: partially what we see on the page, but also the “many dozen doorways that we don’t walk through each day.”

BILL RATNER ’65

Parenting for the Digital Age: The Truth Behind Media’s Effect on Children and What to Do About It

A young southern family moves from the hills of small town West Virginia to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1939 and enters a new social stratum.

After struggling to fit into a private girls’ high school, the daughter attends a western college, where she suffers staggering defeat and enters a relationship that sets her on a singular path.

CHRISTOPHER MEEKS ’72

A Death in Vegas (White Whisker Books, August 15, 2014)

Co-authors Smokey Daniels and Sara Ahmed describe how to create, manage and sustain a classroom built around choice, small-group collaboration and critical thinking.

Annie Sundberg ’86

The president of a company that specializes in beneficial bugs for organic gardeners discovers a young woman dead in his Las Vegas hotel suite.

She had worked as a sexy lady bug at his convention booth — and he had nothing to do with her death.

Who has set him up? Why? With the police and FBI against him and his wife missing, he flees to find answers.

Alumni are encouraged to inform Cyrus of their own publications, recordings, films, etc. Whenever possible, please send copies of books and articles to Alumni Relations Director Becky Ankeny.

18 Cyrus

Smokey Daniels ’65 Upstanders: How to Engage Middle School Hearts and Minds with Inquiry (Heinemann, November 3, 2014)

The Fashion Fund (Break Thru Films, Ovation TV)

(Familius, Nov. 4, 2014)

From how to deal with cyberbullying to the strange, true stories behind Barbie and G.I. Joe, media insider Bill Ratner takes an inside look at our wired-up world in a fascinating book — part memoir, part parenting guide — for the digital age.

Lynn Jacobson details his time on Kwajalein and tells the collective stories of the expat scientists and engineers who also lived there.

Season two of the series written, directed and produced by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, premiered in 2014. The show documents the competition among fashion designers vying to be named Fashion Fund Designer of the Year.

Jacquelyn Fletcher ’91 Dear You: Messages From Your Heart (Gold House Press, 2014) “Dear You” is a series of insightful, hand-stamped letters addressed to “Dear You” from the tender yet pragmatic and sometimes challenging character “Your Heart.”

CLASS NOTES Class notes and photos received after September 2014 will appear in the next issue of Cyrus. Notes are provided by alumni or their friends and family, and some have been edited for length and style.

24 41

Marion Ashley Hunter lives at Friendship Village and is 109 years old.

Liz Stevenson Dunnavan writes, “I am living it up at Meridian Manor along with my sister Jean Stevenson Haverstock ’44.”

49

Bob Litfin reports that he is “still motoring on in Silicon Valley San Jose.” Despite his 15-year retirement, he maintains his interest in Internet marketing and works as an affiliate. He and his wife, Carol Williams Litfin, have been married for 37 years.

Anne Crosby Nichols writes, “I left Northrop in the tenth grade and went to Miss Hall’s School. I enjoyed Northrop so much and the teachers and friends I made. Several of my cousins and relatives went there.”

Don Winston writes, “Bente and I are both well. Bente is still on the board of Sussex School in Missoula and coaches the successful Math Counts team. Even though the mountains are getting higher and steeper, I continue to research the 1.5-billion-year-old

Precambrian Belt Rocks in Montana and publish on them.

In some ways the Belt landscapes are similar to the ancient landscapes of Mars.”

REUNION

50

Pete Rogers reports, “Although in excellent health, I recently moved into Folkestone Presbyterian Homes senior living apartments in Wayzata, Minnesota. I had signed on when Betty was still alive, but the location is so convenient, across the street from Wayzata’s Muni.

I’m here with classmate John Cardle and other Blake notables such as Dave Heegaard ’51, Steve Woodrich ’44 and Margaret Farnand Cousineau ’51.”

Al Sandy has been living in Petaluma, California, for more than 25 years. He and his wife have two children in their 30s and one grandchild. He writes, “I have had a language hobby for some time, and I still read French novels and listen to French and Spanish programs on television. Still have my old hobby of bird watching. I keep a list of species seen in and around our yard every day. I also spend time socializing with friends here in California and do some gardening,

which of course I started as a boy in Minneapolis. Hello and best wishes to everyone.”

Sharon Gallagher Walsh retired from 30 years in the travel business with memories of world travel in Southeast Asia, especially related to her husband, Col. Richard A. Walsh III, an Air Force pilot missing-in-action in Laos. She writes, “Our five children benefited from a scholarship to Blake. Thank you much.”

51

Madrienne Johnston Larson and Dick Larson celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on September 3. She writes, “Needless to say, we have ‘slipped’ into our 80s. We are also proud great-grandparents of an adorable 2-year-old boy, Harrison Charles Richard. We still have our four ‘kids’ and five grandchildren.

We summer in Edina in a condo by 50th and France and winter in Rio Verde, Arizona, where we walk, golf, bike and mentor third graders. We have acquired a black goldendoodle, medium height, a year old now and the love of our life. She keeps us moving and laughing. Cheers and health to all our classmates.”

52

Tom Cagley (See In Print & Production)

Judy Bradford McConnell (See In Print & Production)

53

Sam Marfield reports that “retirement in Florida is good, although a bit lonesome as we miss our Minnesota friends and activities.

We love visitors. We have a guesthouse for overnight guests …

80 years old occurs this fall, so visit soon.”

Steve Olmsted retired in April 2014 following a 55-year career as a psychologist. He writes, “Mary and I have travel plans for May, June and July. We will see where our retirement goes from there, but we won’t be just sitting around!”

54

Anice Wishart Flesh reports that this year’s reunion was super. She writes, “My drive back to California went well. Poor me, I had to swim outdoors this morning and look into the sun when doing the backstroke.”

Winter 2015 19

CLASS NOTES

JIM GROSS ’55 THIS SUMMER, JAN STEPHENS HAGEN ’51 VISITED THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT, WHERE HER GRANDSON JACK WEDHOLM ’13 ATTENDS. PICTURED (L TO R): JACK, JAN, DAUGHTER JENNY HAGEN MAINE ’81 AND GRANDSON HARLEY WEDHOLM.

Can you hear him now?

Benj Kanters ’71 has been in the music and audio business for 40 years.

The way he sees it, the ability to hear is the most important tool of his trade, and conserving it has become a mission that extends far beyond his personal interest.

An audio arts and acoustics professor at Columbia College Chicago, Kanters developed and teaches a course on hearing physiology, disorders and conservation. He also travels the country leading seminars on hearing awareness and conservation for students and professionals in the audio, music and hearing science industries.

Last year, he was recognized for his widespread advocacy. He was presented with the Safe in Sound Award for Innovation in Hearing Conservation, which was given by the National Institute of Occupational

20 Cyrus

SIG UELAND ’55 AND TOM OTTER ’55 ENJOYED TIME TOGETHER THIS SUMMER AT THE OTTER RESIDENCE IN OXFORD, MARYLAND.

SAM ’53 AND JOYCE MARFIELD

Safety and Health and the National Hearing Conservation Association.

He also received the Natalie Stukas Hearing Conservation Award from the Illinois Academy of Audiology.

Kanters began studying hearing physiology in 2000 as a music technology graduate student at Northwestern University. A fascination of the human hearing mechanism, a love of teaching and the realization that engineers and musicians risk the loss of their livelihood by abusing their hearing all continue to fuel Kanters’ passion.

“And then there’s the audience,” he says. “It’s our moral responsibility to set an example of moderation to ensure that they, like us, don’t lose their hearing from unnecessary exposure to loud sound.”

Kanters offers this advice: carry earplugs (“musician plugs are the best for attending loud events”), be sensitive to things that are uncomfortably loud (“there’s no shame in covering your ears when an emergency vehicle screams by”) and see an audiologist every couple of years rather than after hearing loss has begun (“that’s like waiting for tooth decay to be severe enough to require extraction”).

For more information visit HearTomorrow.org.

Florence Potter Mann lives in Virginia Beach in a condo on Chesapeake Bay. She writes, “One daughter lives in Florida. The other one is here at the beach. I’ve been half-time caretaker to a dog and grandson for 15 years. But now Paul is 16, so I’m on my own most of the time. Busy now with golf, bridge and charities. Come see me!”

Jerre Sprague Moriarty still lives on Cape Cod and works as an addictions specialist, continuing to pursue her art interests and enjoying her children when she can see them.

REUNION

55

Jim Gross has lived in Thailand for 14 years and loves it.

He turned 78 in December and reports to be in good physical and mental health. “I ride my bike, swim and play golf. In the last year-and-a-half, I have taken and completed over 30 online courses and am still going strong. I highly recommend this kind of study program for retired people. I would love to have visitors from Blake, especially from my classmates of 1955. Contact me directly at jimcgross15@hotmail.com.

Thailand is a wonderful country to visit, with much to see and do.”

Lynn Jacobson writes, “This year is the first in over 70 years that neither I nor one of my five daughters is in school. Whoopie.”

(Also see In Print & Production)

61

Nina Knoblauch Comiskey and her husband, Ed, have moved from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Cumberland Foreside, Maine. Two of their daughters live in Maine, one lives in Montclair, New Jersey, and they have five grandchildren. As they age, she says she and Ed want to spend more time with their family.

After more than 4 years, Teri McCannel Motley has left pastoring a church in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. She writes, “I am not planning to retire exactly, but I had heart valve replacement surgery in February, so I don’t know when I will be able to get back into the harness. Otherwise, all is well with my children, and I feel blessed.

I plan to use the downtime to edit the 60,000 feet of home movies, now digitized, that mom left.”

63

Polly Andrews Angeli writes, “Hank and I are having our third grandchild get married in May. We have six children, 16

CLASS NOTES

NORTHROP CLASS OF 1962 ALUMNAE (PICTURED, FRONT ROW, L TO R) MARIAN BENNETT, CAROL CORNELIUS MESSMER, (BACK ROW, L TO R) KUTZI BARBATSIS PRIEST, GINGER DORN MICHAELS, JUDY DALRYMPLE WOOD, LONNY BAGLEY MCDOUGALL AND SUSIE WORTHING MOGAN GATHERED IN JUNE AT GINGER’S HOME ON LAKE DUNMORE IN VERMONT.

grandchildren and soon-to-be five great-grandchildren. We are in horses almost 30 years now. We are enjoying Phoenix in the wintertime and the mountains during the summer.”

Ken Willcox was selected by the Wayzata Chamber of Commerce as 2014 Person of the Year. Ken has been mayor of Wayzata since 2008.

REUNION

65

Last year, Smokey Daniels was given the Exemplary Leadership Award by the National Council of Teachers of English.

This summer, he published his 20th book and has more to follow.

(Also see In Print & Production) Bill Ratner (See In Print & Production)

68

James Grant is happily retired.

Mark Reed writes, “My lovely bride, Karen, and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a month’s visit to the U.K. this spring. Our trip across the pond aboard the Queen Mary 2 was terrific. A week in London went by in a flash. Then it was on to a

CLASS OF 1966 CLASSMATES BILL ALLEN, JIM HORNIG, PETER HITCH AND ROLF TURNQUIST TOAST TURNING 66 TOGETHER.

lengthy ‘left side of the road’ auto tour of Yorkshire, the Lakes District and the Scottish Highlands. Tons of rain, very little sun, but who cares? Before we returned home from Edinburgh, we had to make the trek to St. Andrews for a spin around the Old Course — suitably, in a cold rain and stiff breeze.”

69

Mary Lowry Clark and her husband, Tim, are up to four grandchildren: Annie, age 9; Sami, age 6; Charlie, age 3; and Olive, age 4 months.

Wendy White Dayton writes, “Since the passing of my husband, Doug [Dayton ’42], just a year ago, I have kept very busy with the board work that I do. I am on the Minnesota State Arts Board and Twin Cities Public Television Board, among others. I have just joined the Smithsonian National Board and PBS Foundation Board, both in D.C., where I will be spending a considerable amount of time in the foreseeable future.

I’m also very excited to help kick off the 100th anniversary of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with a celebration gala dinner on Valentine’s Day. I have been very fortunate to have so many activities to

keep me happily occupied during this difficult time.”

Katie Stevens Edson writes, “My husband of 43 years, James (Coach) Edson, passed away suddenly last June. He was very excited for me to attend the reunion this year; therefore, I am in Minneapolis right now preparing myself to see everyone.”

Thomas Knoblauch is happy in Napa, California, and grateful for the many friends and family who have journeyed with him and his wife. He writes, “Proud to be a Minnesotan and Blake alum.”

REUNION

70

Stevie Lazo hopes everyone has the opportunity to see the movie “Get On Up,” the life story of soul singer James Brown.

She writes, “Though my job as production accountant on the film kept me glued to my desk most of the time, the incredible music all around us made the whole experience unforgettable.”

71

Todd LaBounta is pleased to report that he was elected to serve as one of the 28 district council members on the Helena Citizens

JIM STOCK ’74 (PICTURED AT THE NCAA CROSS COUNTRY SKI CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2013 WITH HIS DAUGHTER, COREY) LOOKS FORWARD TO CHEERING ON COREY AT HER COLLEGIATE NORDIC SKI RACES DURING HER JUNIOR YEAR AT DARTMOUTH.

Council for the term of 2014-16.

He was elected in a citywide election last November in Helena, Montana. After being sworn in by the mayor, he took office in January 2014 and now represents Helena City District 4.

72 73

Chris Meeks (See In Print & Production)

Robert Owens reports, “On June 26, a gaggle of ganders gathered for golf at Golden Valley Country Club. The class of 73ers were John Saunders, Sandy Donaldson, Head Boy John Sheldon, Curly Head Dr. Mark Zimering, Steve Wyman, Bill MacMillan, Paul Walser, Gordon “Cracker” Ritz, Clint Morrison, Rob Hensel and Bobby Owens.

Despite the stormy weather, a wonderfully juvenile time was had by all.”

74

Jim Stock writes, “For the past two years I’ve had the privilege of serving President Obama as one of three members of the Council of Economic Advisors. Along with our staff, we advise the president and the White House on economic conditions and economic policy.

Winter 2015 21

CLASS NOTES

JENNY HAGEN MAINE ’81 AND HER HUSBAND, ERIC, AT MOON BAR BANGKOK IN THAILAND ANNIE SUNDBERG ’86, MOM TO 2-YEAR-OLD ABIGAIL, ASKS, “IS THERE ANYONE IN OUR CLASS WHO MIGHT STILL BE DEALING WITH THIS STAGE OF LIFE? WE WELCOME ADVICE.”

We split up areas, and my portfolio included two areas of my academic research: macroeconomics and energy/climate change. I was particularly fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as the lead economist on the White House team, developing the president’s Climate Action Plan and the recently announced proposed rule regulating CO2 emissions from power plants. The power plant rule in particular is historic and, as the single greatest step the United States has taken to address climate change, the economic policy challenge is how to obtain meaningful emissions reductions with the greatest possible economic efficiency within the authority of the Clean Air Act. On the macro front, one of my more notable experiences was being the sole macroeconomist in the executive branch during the government shutdown.

After my two-year leave, I returned in July to Harvard, where I am a professor in the economics department. While I miss the work in Washington — especially being able to push forward the president’s economic and climate agenda — it is great to be back with my wife, Anne Doyle, who weathered my absence while being COO of a startup in the aging/ 22 Cyrus

tech area. I’m looking forward to getting back to youth cross-country ski coaching and to cheering for our daughter, Corey, at collegiate Nordic ski races as she enjoys her junior year at Dartmouth. Our son, Chris, graduated in 2014 from Harvard in mathematics and is off on a fellowship in Morocco for a year before beginning graduate school in neuroscience.”

76

Andrea Carla Eisenberg Michaels was recently featured in Alaska Airlines (September issue) along with other West Coast crossword constructors in the article “The People Behind the Games.”

Andrea continues to name companies, performs as a storyteller at local theaters, works in various soup kitchens and continues to await visits from any classmates who find themselves in San Francisco, where she just celebrated her 30th year in California. She still pines for Lake Harriet and comes back annually to dog sit for friends so she can visit the Woolmans, Rod Anderson and various classmates.

79

Janet Kane completed a bike trip in Burgundy, France

VIVI ALYESHMERNI ’94 MARRIED BEN KOLLMEYER IN SOUTH LAKE TAHOE ON AUGUST 8, 2014.

ANTHONY BUSHNELL ’94 AND HIS WIFE, SARAH, AND THEIR CHILDREN, DAVID, MICHAELA AND RACHAEL

with her brother, Mike Kane ’82, her dad and Alex Johnston ’80.

cell and gene therapies to treat heart failure. We are healthy, happy, busy and thankful.”

REUNION

80

86

Chris Walsh reports that he moved his law office back to his old Minneapolis neighborhood. He writes, “I will still be downtown near the state and federal courthouses and the many lawyers I litigate and interact with on a daily basis. I have been almost six years in my current location, and it is exciting to regroup, inventory and reassess. The historic and newly remodeled Flour Exchange Building is just across the street from my old offices (in the Grain Exchange). Minneapolis is the Mill City, so I hope all these exchanges are not confusing.”

88

Laura Martin McConkey is working as an independent education consultant for SS Advisor with former faculty member Susan Sykes.

84

Peter Altman writes that he and his wife, Kathy, are having an adventure in late parenting with 4-year-old Ella and 2-year-old Amelia in Menlo Park, California.

He says, “I am working at an early stage company to advance stem

Annie Sundberg is in New York City finishing up some forthcoming film projects and getting ready to launch the second season of the Ovation TV series “The Fashion Fund.” She writes, “I spend my free time running around with Abigail (2) and my husband, Rob (Nathan), and our plans for big exotic trips have been scrapped for the near future as we literally bought the farm (a small one upstate) and have spent a rather stupid amount of time on vegetable gardening (anyone need some kale?) and bat exclusion.” (Also see In Print & Production)

Louis Dachis has opened Minnesota’s first craft beer and whiskey boutique. His store, which is located in Hopkins, is the first to carry every Scotch, whiskey and bourbon available in the state.

89

Lars Harrison has launched Boulder Global Capital, an investment advisory firm focused on the emerging markets. He

CLASS NOTES

FELIX HENRY CARPENTER IS THE FIRST CHILD OF HEATHER CORSON ’95.

HADLEY GRACE, DAUGHTER OF ETHAN MARK ’95

PROUD NEW DAD JESSE DIAMOND ’95 WITH SON, JACKSON THOMAS

writes, “I am enjoying the lifestyle and nature in Boulder and welcome friends to visit.”

91 94

Jacquelyn Fletcher (See In Print & Production)

Vivi Alyeshmerni married Ben Kollmeyer in South Lake Tahoe on August 8, 2014.

After completing undergraduate and graduate programs at Stanford University, Vivi taught AP biology and coached CCR at Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, California. In 2001, Vivi went on to medical school in Tel Aviv and is now a pediatrician in Orange County, California. Although she and her husband enjoy trail running and surfing year round, they return to Minnesota to visit family and enjoy the seasons.

Anthony Bushnell has been selected to the 2014 Minnesota Rising Stars List by Super Lawyers for his criminal defense practice. No more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in a state are selected to the Rising Stars List, which is composed of attorneys 40 years of age or under or in practice 10 years or fewer. Anthony was also selected as a Top 100 Trial

Attorney in criminal defense by the National Trial Lawyers.

He has practiced criminal law since opening his own firm in 2007. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Blaine, Minnesota, and have three children.

Beads of Hope Lucy Hadl Moore ’91 (at left) with business partner Jamie Page

REUNION

95

Heather Corson and her husband, Rolla Carpenter Couchman, welcomed their first child, Felix Henry Carpenter Couchman, on July 23, 2014. The family resides in Brooklyn and had plans to take Felix on tour in the fall to meet friends and relatives in Minneapolis and London.

96

Susan Bowers Morton and her husband, Chris, welcomed their first child, Julia Elizabeth Morton, on September 14, 2013. She writes, “She took her time being born, but she’s become an impatient and eager girl who’s curious about everything and everyone.”

98

Matt Hansen has been working for KPMG for almost 10 years and was recently promoted to director in the forensic investigations group. He married

SUSAN BOWERS MORTON ’96 SAYS DAUGHTER JULIA IS “AN IMPATIENT AND EAGER GIRL WHO’S CURIOUS ABOUT EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE.”

Lucy Moore Hadl ’91 has a passion for helping women advance themselves and a deep sense of connection with those half a world away, which she says comes from travel and observation. That’s why, from her hometown of Los Angeles, Hadl and business partners Jamie Paige and Devon Reilly have started a business to benefit women in Ghana, West Africa.

CEED — an acronym for the business’s mission to change, employ, empower and dignify — trains and employs local village women as artisans of decorative beads, called CEED Beads. (In Africa, such beads are worn on a woman’s waist throughout her life and believed to protect and empower the wearer.)

Consistent employment affords the women the ability to support themselves and their children.

“The work experience the women gain is meaningful in a society in which women are offered few options

for dignified employment,” says Hadl.

“We’re taking steps to stop the cycle of poverty and counteract the cycle of gender inequality currently inherent in the larger African community.”

Business partner Paige has traveled to meet with all of CEED’s Ghana artisans. Operation Dignity International, a nonprofit organization based in Ghana, serves as the company’s main point of contact. Working with the developing world has its challenges, including language barriers and a lack of technology (computers are often powered by car batteries and Internet connection is painfully slow). But, Hadl says, the rewards are worth the challenges. The business partners have plans to expand the accessories line soon and high hopes for the future — for both the company and the women it employs.

“CEED’s founding vision is to profoundly change the lives of the women we employ so that they can better care for themselves and their children,” Hadl says. “Our vision is to eventually open a vocational school to train women artisans. The money we make from every sale of an original CEED product goes directly toward making this vision a reality.”

For more information visit ceedproject.com.

Winter 2015 23

CLASS NOTES

KATIE GORDON ’97 MARRIED MATTHEW LIEGEL AT THE TOLEDO CLUB IN TOLEDO, OHIO, ON JULY 19, 2014. BLAKE ALUMNI IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDED: (PICTURED, FRONT ROW, L TO R) KATIE ALLEN ’04, AMANDA ALLEN SWAGGERT ’99, MATTHEW LIEGEL, KATIE GORDON, CHARLOTTE ANKENY ’97, JANE GELTMAN GORDON ’68, BETSY SHILLER HARA ’92, NICK SWAGGERT ’99, (BACK ROW, L TO R) BRIAN ALLEN ’07, BILL ALLEN ’66 AND T.J. GORDON ’94.

College in Cuba

Zoe Kosieradzki ’12 wanted to spend junior year abroad improving her Spanish and continuing her art and GLBT/gender studies. When her advisor at Sarah Lawrence College suggested the school’s program in Cuba, Kosieradzki admits it seemed a bit “off the grid.” But as she talked with students who had participated in the program, she kept hearing the same advice: Just do it!

Midway through her two-semester stay, Kosieradzki says the rich culture, color and community of Cuba are a constant inspiration to her. “Within the dirty ruins of the city, there are diamonds sparkling and glowing and spilling out onto every street and surface,” she says. “It is very exciting to me that I have the opportunity to be a part of an era in this forbidden land before the [U.S.] embargo eventually is lifted.”

As an artist, Kosieradzki likes to make people uncomfortable by being provocative in her art and writing.

But in Cuba she’s come to realize there must be an immediacy to her

24 Cyrus

work that resonates with others: “My assemblage of interests actually must become relevant for anyone to notice or care, if I don’t want to do something for my life that is separate from my life,” she says. “People don’t have the money or privilege in Cuba to casually pursue liberal arts and do their own thing until some door miraculously opens in front of them one day.”

Speaking the language has proven far more difficult than Kosieradzki — who completed AP Spanish at Blake and Intermediate III in college — had expected. Several months into her stay, she says she understands about 75 percent of what’s being said and can accurately reply about the same.

“There’s a real difference between learning something in the padded crib of the classroom versus the world outside of it,” she says. “It is terrifying and sometimes humiliating to make the leap, but it is absolutely worth it and beautiful.”

Read more at zoekosieradzki.wordpress.com.

MATT HANSEN ’98 WITH DAUGHTER, ROSALIND

HELEN NING JIA ’98

Lana Langsweirdt in 2012 in Puerto Vallarta. The couple had their first child, Rosalind, on Feb. 16, 2014, and the family currently lives in Redmond, Washington.

the Successful Growth Strategies of Early-Stage Companies,” as well as several research projects sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Helen Ning Jia won first place in the 2011 China National Leading Talent in Accounting (academic) selection, which attracted 133 candidates from 83 universities across China. She is an associate professor of accounting and associate director of the China Business Case Center at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. Her research focuses on the role of accounting information in capital markets, venture capital/private equity, public offerings and the growth and valuation of entrepreneurial companies. Her research has been published in numerous journals.

She is the winner of the 2010 California Management Review best paper award (the Accenture Award) the 2010 International Conference on Asian-Pacific Financial Markets best paper award and the 2013 CFA Institute Research Award. She is a leader of two World Economic Forum projects, “Entrepreneurial Eco-Systems Around The Globe and Company Growth Dynamics” and “Global Entrepreneurship and

99

Sky Hornig England married Daniel England (a Canadian) in 2010. The couple lives in Calgary where Sky is a writer for the Calgary Stampede.

Jessica Randa Goldstein has begun a new job as a pediatric neurologist and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. Will Goldstein is enjoying life as a stay-at-home dad to Gus (5) and Lucy (2), fixing up their new (old) house, learning traditional woodworking and building a side business in children’s photography.

Liz Dosal Johnson reports that she and her husband, Ben, welcomed daughter Avery Anne in May. She writes, “Our son, Landon, is 2 1/2 and loving his new role as big brother!”

01

Ayla Turnquist Guild and her husband, Tim, welcomed Adaleigh Oakley to

CLASS NOTES

AVERY ANNE, DAUGHTER OF LIZ DOSAL JOHNSON ’99 JESSICA RANDA GOLDSTEIN ’99 AND WILL GOLDSTEIN ’99 WITH THEIR CHILDREN, GUS AND LUCY

the family on April 13, 2014. She writes, “Ever a happy baby, she spends most of her time smiling.

She brings us so much joy, especially now that she is sleeping through the night.”

02

Charlie Hornig is living in Minneapolis and working in commercial real estate with the Excelsior Group.

Keri Sanborn married Brendan Sheehan on October 20, 2013, in Sterling, Massachusetts. Keri is a postdoctoral research fellow conducting HIV research at the University of Massachusetts, and Brendan is an information security specialist at Verisk Health.

04

Maddy Hornig Frécon married Laurent Frécon in May 2014 and is an interior designer with Ramsey Engler Ltd. in Minneapolis.

Mariya Connors Melby married Andy Melby in Allenspark, Colorado, on February 22, 2014.

The Melbys reside in Denver.

Mari teaches special education, and Andy is an electrical engineer.

Kara Johnson graduated from medical school and got engaged in May. She writes, “My fiancé, Zach, and I moved to Durham, North Carolina, in June for internal medicine residency at Duke. We are loving it here so far — lots of great hiking and running trails and great BBQ for post-run eating!”

06

Divya Chari graduated from medical school at Columbia University in May 2014 and is attending an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency.

Chris Kinniburgh completed his second year at William Mitchell School of Law in St. Paul.

07

Rachel BowensRubin writes, “I recently joined the BICEP team at Harvard, which aims to understand the origins of the universe by observing the cosmic microwave background. We take observations using telescopes in Antarctica, and so I will be traveling to the South Pole from November to January to help install the next generation of instrument. Earlier this year, my lab announced that we had

MATT LIFSON ’99 MARRIED JENN ROTH ON MAY 31, 2014, AT TERRANEA RESORT IN RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA. CLASS OF 1999 ATTENDEES INCLUDED: (PICTURED, FRONT ROW) ANN GOLDENBERG ALTMAN, (MIDDLE ROW, L TO R) NATALIE WEINER ZAMANSKY, JENN ROTH, DREW ZAMANSKY, ERIC CHOI, (BACK ROW, L TO R) SIMON HALPERN, ANDY RICH, JON BADER, BRIAN MALKERSON, JOSH SIMON, MATT LIFSON, LAUREN DAITCH OLCOTT, TODD GEWOLB AND ANDY GUSTAFSON.

Births

Marriages

Heather Corson ’95 a son, Felix Henry Carpenter, July 23, 2014

Vivi Alyeshmerni ’94 and Ben Kollmeyer August 8, 2014

Jesse Diamond ’95 a son, Jackson Thomas, September 3, 2014

Katie Gordon ’97 and Matthew Liegel July 19, 2014

Ethan Mark ’95 a daughter, Hadley Grace, July 17, 2014 Susan Bowers Morton ’96 a daughter, Julia Elizabeth, September 14, 2013

Matt Lifson ’99 and Jenn Roth May 31, 2014 Jessica Malisow ’02 and Peter Leisz September 14, 2014 Keri Sanborn ’02 and Brendan Sheehan October 20, 2013

Matt Hansen ’98 a daughter, Rosalind, February 16, 2014

Mariya Connors ’04 and Andy Melby February 22, 2014

Liz Dosal Johnson ’99 a daughter, Avery Anne, May 2014

Maddy Hornig ’04 and Laurent Frecon May 24, 2014

Ayla Turnquist Guild ’01 a daughter, Adaleigh Oakley, April 13, 2014

Jeff Leintz ’04 and Christy Piotrowski September 6, 2014 Brooke Randolph ’05 and John Sauer September 20, 2014 Fred Steiner ’05 and Mary Beth Weissmueller August 2, 2014 Chelsea McGuire ’06 and Bart Federak September 6, 2014 Alyssa Saunders ’06 and Eric Bigham September 27, 2014

Winter 2015 25

CLASS NOTES

ADALEIGH, DAUGHTER OF AYLA TURNQUIST GUILD ’01, IS ALL SMILES DURING AN EARLY MORNING WALK.

JESSICA MALISOW ’02 MARRIED PETER LEISZ ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2014, IN A MOUNTAINTOP WEDDING IN VAIL, COLORADO.

KARA JOHNSON ’04 AND HER FIANCÉ, ZACH

KERI SANBORN ’02 MARRIED BRENDAN SHEEHAN ON A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY IN THE NEW ENGLAND COUNTRYSIDE IN STERLING, MASSACHUSETTS.

In Memoriam Thomas Barry ’54 April 6, 2014

Philip Kobbe ’62 December 2, 2013

Dorothy Loudon Owre ’56 August 26, 2014

Ruth Leslie Bean ’39 former trustee, May 25, 2014

Sarah Jones Koether ’38 September 28, 2014

Marjorie Erickson Pihl ’51 July 10, 2014

Kate Budd former parent, former trustee, February 29, 2014

Jean Ann Hiatt Kramer ’48 November 2, 2014

Thomas Pinkerton ’50 August 2, 2014

Ross Carlson parent, April 26, 2014 Thomas Carpenter ’51 May 26, 2014 Margaret Vennum Daly ’55 August 21, 2014 George Earling ’81 April 19, 2014

Kent Larson ’57 August 14, 2014 Justus Lowe, Jr. ’45 September 29, 2014 John MacDonald ’64 July 1, 2014 Nina Carpenter Masek ’46 January 20, 2014

Leonard Eaton ’39 April 10, 2014

Kendall Ankeny Mix ’44 June 3, 2014

Lucille Camp Enos ’45 December 30, 2013

Thomas Mulcahy ’45 November 16, 2014

Richard Hanson ’58 April 16, 2014

Kingsley Murphy ’48 November 19, 2014

Thomas Helmick ’48 April 25, 2014

Terence Nichols ’58 April 12, 2014

Gordon Jensen ’55 August 23, 2014

Jane Thomas Noland ’45 October 12, 2014

Donald Johnson ’56 August 15, 2014 Robert Kieffer ’71 May 9, 2014

Thomas Norris ’57 June 6, 2014

Blair Piper ’93 September 14, 2014 John Regan ’52 September 12, 2013 Jodie Robb ’71 April 17, 2014 Sallie Stahr Schmid ’51 April 12, 2014 Paul Schmitt ’53 August 5, 2014 Samuel S. Thorpe III ’52 September 6, 2014 Barbara Parker Tuttle ’49 April 11, 2014

Gedney Tuttle ’44 March 16, 2014 Thomas Weaver ’70 August 10, 2014 Patricia Conary Williams ’44 November 2, 2014 Jonathan Witcher ’67 June 28, 2014 Mohamed Zeidan ’03 September 5, 2014

Please inform the Institutional Advancement Office of constituent deaths by calling (952) 988-3430 or by sending an email to advalum@blakeschool.org.

26 Cyrus

detected primordial gravitational waves, giving strong evidence to the theory of inflation and accomplishing a major milestone in experimental physics.”

REUNION

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Matthew Crocker graduated from Northwestern University in June 2014 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Shaina Rud started her Fulbright Program grant year in Daegu, South Korea, after a six-week orientation period this summer.

She writes, “This year, I am teaching English at a private all-boys Buddhist middle school, where every day is a loud, active, exciting adventure! I am staying with a host family, taking formal Korean classes, volunteering as a youth mentor and exploring as much as I can.”

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Laine Higgins was a sports media group intern for USA Today’s Enterprise and Investigative Desk last summer. She reported on a variety of sports-related topics. Her assignments included attending and reporting on a White House Press Conference for NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson,

interviewing top NBA draft picks (Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Glenn Robinson III and Jerami Grant) and their fathers, conversing with Uruguay’s Ambassador to the U.S. (in Spanish) at a World Cup watch party and interviewing members of the Philadelphia Phillies organization in their club house. To read her articles, go to USAToday.com and enter “Laine Higgins” in the search bar.

CLASS NOTES

JEFF LEINTZ ’04 MARRIED CHRISTY PIOTROWSKI ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2014.

BROOKE RANDOLPH ’05 MARRIED JOHN SAUER ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2014, AT DEVIL’S THUMB RANCH. THE BRIDE REPORTS, “MOST AMAZING COLORADO FALL DAY EVER — ASPENS CHANGING, 70 DEGREES AND SUNNY — IT WAS MAGICAL.”

FRED STEINER ’05 MARRIED MARY BETH WEISSMUELLER ON AUGUST 2, 2014, IN WAYZATA, MINNESOTA. BLAKE ATTENDEES INCLUDED (PICTURED, L TO R, BACK TO FRONT): ANDREW STEINER ’96, BEN MACKAY ’96, CASSIDY JOHNSON STEINER ’96, MARY CONNOLLY ’07, OWEN HOLM ’06, RAMI ZEIDAN ’05, HANNAH LEIGH ’05, JULIE JACKLEY STEINER ’69, BETSY STEINER HAWN ’99, TED HANCOCK ’05, TIM SHELTON ’05, STEVEN ZWICK ’05, ELLA MITCHELL ’08, BEN HAWN ’94, WILL PETERSON ’05, FRED STEINER, MARY BETH STEINER, ANNIE MASSIE ’05, NED MITCHELL ’03, BRUCE STEINER ’67, MICHAEL DILLON ’05, DAN MASLOW ’05, LUCY MITCHELL ’66, ROBERT MITCHELL ’61, DAVIS DAYTON ’05, RAMSEY WOLFE ’05, MORGAN STEINER BOTTING ’99, KI STEINER ’05, AMY STEINER ’02, ASHLI PFEIFFER ’05, SCOTT DONALDSON ’05, MATT BARES ’05, BETSY ATWATER HANNAFORD ’75, PAUL CONNOLLY ’09.

Former Faculty Janine (Nelson) Cortell has been teaching French out of her home in Port Townsend, Washington, where she has lived for 22 years.

She writes, “I have had the joy and privilege of working with Rotary Scholarship students heading for French-speaking countries as well as many interesting adults from all walks of life. I would love to hear from any of my former students, many of whom went with me to France on spring break trips.” Contact her at jcortell@hotmail.com.

Jack Fecht reports, “I have been living a lucky or blessed life. Ann and I travel to see our 12 grandkids and six children and spouses.

We are active in many different groups. Ann loves working with the yard and all her flowers. I love fishing, golf, poker, singing in an Edina senior group and, of course, friends. We both work out daily and read nightly. I get to see some of my former students and keep up with many on Facebook. Sanibel Island in February and March is a real treat for us.”

Russ Hilliard retired from Blake in 1991 and lives in Minneapolis. He writes, “In the 23 years since, I have not traveled out of the country.

This is partly because I had low back surgery, partly because I traveled to most countries while I was teaching, and partly because

FORMER FRENCH TEACHER JANINE (NELSON) CORTELL

who wants to see a man in his 70s or 80s walking along the beaches of Costa Rica or the Dominican Republic in his Speedo! I really just got all traveled out! I am now 85. I have lived in the same house for 62 years. I mow my own lawn, and I plow my own snow. I grow beautiful pansies, lilies and lots of other flowers during our very, very short summer. Sometimes the tour buses go around my corner just so people can see what a real lawn looks like. I still live by myself; take care of myself (with the help of wonderful doctors and surgeons, like most people my age). I have very caring neighbors, who bring me lots of goodies, and I really enjoy living at ground level with the animals and with all sorts of people activity. There is a lot more traffic going by these days than when I moved here — at that time Chowen Avenue wasn’t even paved beyond my house! I don’t speak much Spanish now and I don’t play the organ, but it’s always fun to hear from all Blake grads.”

Bruce Jones and his wife, Dee, have moved to Austin, Texas, where their daughter Ingrid lives.

He writes, “It’s good to be near some family, and we hope to visit

RUSS HILLIARD

Annika in New York soon. Summer may be a crazy time to move south, but we felt adventuresome and are getting settled in our new house.

When not unpacking boxes, I’m enjoying theater, museums, local restaurants, bike riding, trips to the hill country and a more laid back life. I am learning a few things about local flowers (they really bloom until November?), trees (live oaks in our front yard), wildlife (black vultures, peahens and bat colony nearby), and I expect to get involved in some community environmental efforts. It may be years before I unpack any bowties!”

Susan Sykes writes, “I ‘retired’ in 2001. Because it didn’t seem natural not to work with students, I decided to continue the

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CLASS NOTES

ALYSSA SAUNDERS ’06 AND NEW HUSBAND, ERIC, WITH MEMBERS OF THEIR WEDDING PARTY INCLUDING BLAKE ALUMNAE (PICTURED, L TO R) LUCY WAYNE ’06, CHELSEA MCGUIRE FEDERAK ’06, GEORGIE STOCKS ’06, LAURA WALDMAN ’07 AND CHRISTINA SAUNDERS ’01.

PHOTO BY SEWELL PHOTOGRAPHY.

educational consulting business, SS Advisor, I’d started earlier in my career. As more families became aware of the advantages of working with an independent educational consultant, the practice grew and a couple of years ago Blake alum and former faculty member Laura Martin McConkey ’80 joined me.

We’re having a good time together.

Since retiring I’ve also been able to indulge my love of scuba diving, venturing to the Pacific several times in the last three years. We’ve spent time diving with pygmy seahorses (only a centimeter long), whale sharks (over 20 feet long) and everything in between. Professionally, I’m a member of the board of directors of the Independent Educational Consultant Association and engaged in committee work for IECA. So to say I’m ‘retired’ is only partially accurate.”

Bob Teslow recently received two awards from Art Educators of Minnesota: Secondary Teacher of the Year and Art Educators of Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Bob took an extended road trip during

CHELSEA MCGUIRE ’06 MARRIED BART FEDERAK ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2014, AT WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN MINNEAPOLIS WITH A RECEPTION AT THE CALHOUN BEACH CLUB.

September traveling to Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Arizona to visit friends and family.

Stay Connected For regular updates on alumni news and events, sign up for Blake’s monthly alumni e-newsletter, Alma Matters. Just send your name and email address to Becky Ankeny at bankeny@blakeschool.org.

You can also find Blake on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES AND PHOTOS TO CLASSNOTES@BLAKESCHOOL.ORG. 28 Cyrus

SHAINA RUD ’10 WITH HER HOST MOM AND FRIENDS IN DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA

VOICES Living in the World

Emilie Hitch ’96 is an applied anthropologist and CEO of the consulting group Thinkers & Makers, which helps organizations find innovative strategies for business and brand development. She is also co-founder of Collaborate for Good, an organization that brings together advertising and philanthropy professionals.

I love maps. I love them because they don’t give us directions or advice; they just say, “here is one way of looking at the world — go live in it!” A lot of people ask me for directions or advice. They see my photographs of Burkina Faso or read my blog posts about social innovation in Cambodia, and they ask me how I find so many amazing things on the map of life. I tell them it is because I am curious, I am never satisfied, and I have always practiced something I call “living in the world.”

Living in the world has taken me to places and experiences I never thought possible. And the only advice I can give others is to do the same — to follow their interests down their own winding path and then develop a voice from which to talk about, and a workplace in which to apply, what they learn.

When people hire me, it usually isn’t because I have a document or process that no one else has. It is because choosing to “live in the world” helps me to develop a unique perspective. I can see how the nature of so many things — education, democracy, healthcare, marriage, politics, love, business — is changing so fast we can no longer keep up. We’ve developed technology to help us connect to each other around the globe, and yet, we’re struggling to find where we belong. What if we all took just a few hours to get out of the places in which we’re living to learn what it’s like to be somewhere else, to be someone else?

I believe that we are better able to invent solutions for the common good when we work and think and speak together in a circle with people unlike ourselves. I know I can only contribute to these conversations, and continue to develop my own perspective, when I take a good look at a map of the world and find new ways of living in it.

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