The Term Spring 2025

Term The

ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF THE POTOMAC SCHOOL

Term The

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF THE POTOMAC SCHOOL

SPRING 2025

HEAD OF SCHOOL

John Kowalik

DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT

Heather Pearce

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Laura Miller

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Megan Corey

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES

Martha Madrid

EDITORIAL STRATEGY

Dan Morell www.dogearcreative.com

DESIGN PARTNER

Lilly Pereira www.aldeia.design

WRITERS

Marisa Demers

Rita Deurdulian

Alexander Gelfand

Steve Gavula ’01

Jessica Raman ’25

April White

PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS

Andrew Blackstein

Scott Clark

Becky Cullinan

Christopher Delorenzo

Rita Deurdulian

Michael Edwards

Tara Jacoby

Valerie Plesch ’98

Kathryn Rathke

Loretta Sevier

The Term is published twice a year. We welcome class notes, comments, and story ideas at term@potomacschool.org.

Please submit changes of address or missing or duplicate copies to alumni@potomacschool.org

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

JOHN KOWALIK

Welcome to The [new] Term

DEAR POTOMAC COMMUNITY,

It is wonderful to reconnect with you! After a brief hiatus last fall, The Term returns—reimagined, refreshed, and ready to tell the stories that define our extraordinary community.

While The Term is the official alumni magazine of The Potomac School, we curate our stories with the broader community in mind—alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends. It is more than just a publication; it’s a vessel for stories that connect and unite us.

Magazines have always held a special place in my life. There’s something powerful about holding a magazine in your hands—about turning the pages and finding pieces of yourself, your community, and your history within it.

Our goal with The Term is simple: to foster that sense of connection. Through vibrant storytelling and insightful updates, we aim to give you a window into the heart of Potomac.

Inside, discover exciting new sections showcasing campus life today and celebrating stories from our past. You will also find profiles of our remarkable alumni and the unique impact they have made. And don’t worry, favorites like Class Notes are still here.

Transforming The Term has been a labor of love for our team. As you explore the pages of the magazine, I hope you feel the energy of our community, the deep traditions we cherish, and the stories that make Potomac’s community so exceptional.

“ Through vibrant storytelling and insightful updates, we aim to give you a window into the heart of Potomac.”

Walk of Life

Wild Side

Seen through the lens of Intermediate School math teacher and amateur photographer Scott Clark, this great blue heron sits on top of a pine tree on Potomac’s campus. Scott says, “While I commonly see redwinged blackbirds, eastern bluebirds, house sparrows, common grackles, green herons, and European starlings, I am often delighted to encounter surprise appearances of such species as wood ducks, different warblers, orchard orioles, and in the case of this image, great blue herons.”

See more campus wildlife photos at potomacschool.org/campus

TRADITIONS

History of The Term

BY MARISA DEMERS

A typewriter, glue, paper, and the tenacity of Rose Chatfield-Taylor MacMurray ’35, brought the inaugural issue of The Potomac Term to life in 1960. Years before independent schools had marketing departments and alumni magazines had glossy covers, Rose was a parent volunteer and Potomac School board member who saw a need: Potomac was expanding its footprint with new buildings and more students, and Rose’s newspaper-style publication sought to keep the community informed and connected.

Rose and her fellow contributors wrote about the opening of the new Lower School building, the

construction of new faculty housing, and how the first class of Middle School boys were getting physically fit and ready to play sports. Rose and friends also referenced a very modern communications dilemma in their first issue. After the school increased faculty salaries, the editorial staff wrote: “Have you heard? The chances are you haven’t, because bad news travels faster than good; and often word of authentic achievement fails to reach the group it would interest the most.”

The Term, as it is more commonly called, kept its newspaper-style design for about 30 years, but it was constantly evolving. The usual writeups about book fairs, fundraising totals, and incoming and exiting board members gave way to meatier stories about the heart of the Potomac experience. In the classroom, laboratory, and on stage, articles spotlighted life on campus, from a teacher’s mission to instill creativity in her students to school musicals to hands-on learning experiences.

Initially coined as a periodical for families and friends, The Term eventually expanded its reach to alumni. Intermittent postings of alumni news that began in 1961 became a regular fixture in the late 1960s. Soon, pictures of reunions and alumni gatherings filled the pages. In 2006, it officially began to refer to itself as Potomac’s alumni magazine.

By 1999, The Term had switched to the traditional magazine format readers are familiar with today. Just as Rose used The Term to connect families to the school, staff used the magazine format to delve deeper into a Potomac education. Facing the end of the millennia, interim headmaster Peter Briggs wrote in his message for

SYLLABUS

THE SMALLEYS OF POTOMAC

Double the Impact

BY RITA DEURDULIAN

A mother-daughter duo, Nancy and Tessa Smalley ’15 are not just colleagues at Potomac; they are also each other’s biggest fans. Nancy, the associate athletics director, and Tessa, a third-grade teacher, share a passion for education and a deep understanding of student growth.

In 2009, when Tessa, a lifer, was just beginning seventh grade at Potomac, her mom, Nancy, joined Potomac as an administrative assistant in the athletics department. There, she supported the athletic directors. Tessa says, “She did everything there was to do, and then they created more roles—and she did those too.”

Nancy’s journey began with her own athletic success at St. Lawrence University, where she excelled in multiple sports and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. She even helped establish the women’s ice hockey program, which is now a Division I sport. She started her coaching career at The Foxcroft School before spending 19 years at The Madeira School. She then continued to Potomac, where she’s been coaching lacrosse and field hockey for over a decade. She emphasizes the importance of supporting students as they develop, not just athletically but also socially and emotionally. “I love the possibilities athletics provides for kids,” Nancy explains. “Some kids who don’t shine in the classroom might shine on the athletic field.”

Tessa witnessed her mother’s impact firsthand. “She was always there for me, coaching me through some of the most pivotal moments of my life,” Tessa recalls. Nancy’s influence, combined with that of her second-grade teacher, Nancy Powell, inspired Tessa to pursue education. “As her student, I’d never felt so supported and confident in myself,” Tessa says of

NANCY ON TESSA’S SUPERPOWER:

“It’s her energy and her enthusiasm. She brings it every day. I remember when she was teaching from a room in our home during COVID. It was the energy she was exerting into her videos and her screen time. She got the kids involved any way she could. Now, when I walk by her classroom, I still hear that same energy and enthusiasm. It’s her commitment to getting it done.”

PHOTO BY LORETTA SEVIER

How Do You Get Your News?

In honor of publishing the first edition of our redesigned magazine, we asked some Potomac community members how they stay informed about the latest news of the world.

JAMES HIGHTOWER

III

Director of Community Engagement

Much of my morning routine includes “roaming” before leaving for work. In other words, when I wake up, I immediately turn on ESPN in the bedroom and then roam to the kitchen to make coffee. Then, I roam to the living room to turn on the local news and, eventually, Good Morning America. So, as I prepare for work and roam from room to room, with each step, I get to hear what is happening in the world, locally and globally, as well as sports news.

REED LANDRY ’99

Alum, Parent, and Member of the Board of Trustees

I get almost all of my news via X/Twitter and YouTube, and I subscribe to the Washington Business Journal for local industry-related news about bars, restaurants, and real estate. I also regularly listen to the Breaking Points podcast, and I can’t remember the last time I turned on my TV for anything other than sports.

KRISTIN SMITH ’94

Alumna and Lower School

Reading Specialist

MAGGIE OWEN Student, Eighth Grade

Between 8:00 and 8:10 am, the Intermediate School Commons is a newsroom. As soon as I walk in, my friends and I share the latest news that we learned overnight. Whether it be about celebrities in People magazine, sports on ESPN, new trends on TikTok, current events on NBC, or school updates in the IS Scoop or Paw Prints, my friends are my most constant and reliable source of news.

Being with students all day leaves little time to catch up on the news, so I often listen to WTOP on the way home from work to get a quick synopsis of the day’s stories. If I have additional time in the evening, I will try to watch the news while I am cooking, or I will listen to a podcast like Up First from NPR or The Daily from The New York Times.

GAME DAY

BASKETBALL

Sabrina Anderson ’27

Sabrina Anderson, who came to Potomac in her freshman year, says her athleticism was inspired by her mother, who encouraged her to try everything. She continues to follow her mom’s advice: Last year, she played varsity girls soccer, and in 2024–25, she joined the cross country team. Basketball, though, is her favorite sport. She is currently a point guard on Potomac’s girls varsity basketball team.

SMOOTH

OPERATOR: “Before each game, I drink a strawberry and banana smoothie—it’s my go to! If we have a big win, I will definitely find some coffee or cookies and cream ice cream.”

HYPE MODE: “I like to listen to music and study my game highlights to get focused ahead of games. I love Rihanna, especially ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Empire State of Mind’ (JAY-Z feat. Alicia Keys) is a good pump-up song for me.”

SWEAT EQUITY: “My warmups usually include getting to the court early to get some shots and rebounds in—I have a routine, I stretch, and get my mind right. I also pray before every game.”

“ When coaches say, ‘next play,’ that’s always something that sticks with me. You are going to have ups and downs. Whether you had a turnover or made a three-pointer, the game’s not over—so it’s all about the next play.”

HOME TEAM: “My mom and dad, older brother, and younger sister inspire me. My sister also plays basketball, so it’s motivating to have a partner to work out with. We have a supportive and friendly rivalry; we want each other to succeed.”

RED LUCK CHARM: I don’t usually rely on lucky charms, but after winning the KSA Holiday Tournament in Florida, I’ve been wearing a red hair tie, and we’ve been winning. I initially had it around my water bottle in Florida and now it’s on my wrist.

SABRINA’S NEXT PLAY: “I’m really focusing on my defense right now because I want to improve that. I am not the tallest, so my defense has to be really tight to make up for that. And I am always working on shooting.”

JUST BREATHE: “If I lose focus or mentally need to take a break, I work on my breathing. Also, my team plays so hard, so if one person is losing focus, we are all going to support them.”

DREAM COACH: “Steph Curry. He’s a really good shooter, and I feel like our games correlate because he shoots a lot and so do I. He’s just so good, and it would be great to have him train me.”

— By Rita Deurdulian

PHOTO BY FREED PHOTOGRAPHY

Walk of Life

From Opening Assembly to Book Fair, Potomac continues to foster a love of learning and community connection during the 2024-25 school year. Whether testing the water quality of Pimmit Run, learning about insects in science class, or transforming into magical characters in The Wizard of Oz, students are excelling inside and outside the classroom. Special congratulations to Sharyn Stein, Intermediate School math teacher, who won the 2024 Bill Cook Award for Excellent Teaching (pictured right).

1. Opening Assembly for the 2024–25 school year

2. Panthers in action at Friday Night Lights

3. Exploring the selections at Book Fair

4. Students at a Robotics Tournament hosted by Potomac

5. Celebrating the Lunar New Year in Middle School

9.

10.

11.

12.

6. Third graders learning outdoors in Pimmit Run

7. Upper Schoolers perform karaoke during lunch break

8. Eighth graders enjoying their Bonding Day

The Intermediate School production of The Wizard of Oz

Varsity Boys cross country celebrate MAC Championship

Studying insects in first grade

Middle School student experimenting with bubbles

13. Dr. Donnette Echols, head of Lower School, and John Kowalik, head of school, enjoy the Halloween parade

Walk of Life

CURRENTS

The Art of Non-Obvious Thinking

Author Rohit Bhargava ’93 returns to Potomac to share insights and strategies for seeing what others miss.

BY JESSICA RAMAN ’25

This winter, the Upper School welcomed Class of 1993 alumnus Rohit Bhargava for a special presentation. Rohit has pioneered the concept of “Non-Obvious Thinking” and has spent the past decade on a mission to inspire this approach around the world. In case it’s not obvious, non-obvious thinking is, in his words, the art of “seeing what others miss,” and non-obvious thinkers are people who “come up with bold, original ideas that propel all of us forward—and have the courage and determination to turn them into reality.”

In 2024, Rohit published his tenth book, Non-Obvious Thinking, with the goal of “mak[ing] [non-obvious thinking] a little bit simpler.” He said, “This book was meant to be very top level” and to present strategies for non-obvious thinking that anyone can do on a daily or weekly basis. For example, in Non-Obvious Thinking, he encourages readers to take five-secondlong deep breaths for improved focus, to read news articles that don’t align with their political views to gain a broader perspective of the world, and to focus on asking specific follow-up questions the next time they have a conversation. During the assembly, students and faculty were given time to practice non-obvious thinking. Attendees were given two minutes to learn the most interesting, non-obvious thing about the person sitting next to them by asking in-depth questions and relevant follow-up questions. Austin Davis,

Upper School director of student life, asked Rohit a non-obvious question of his own: “If you were a kitchen utensil, which kitchen utensil would you be?” His response—a peeler, because peelers are able to remove the outer layer of something to find the meaning within.

At Potomac, Rohit played on the varsity soccer team and participated in theater and music. He particularly remembers playing Jacob in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, directed by Jerry Rich. Reflecting on his time in high school, he recalls that he often felt “in between tribes,” as if he didn’t belong to just one social group or another. In his career, he has turned this “in-between” feeling into a strength. “One of the things I often say in my talks is that the people who understand people always win. And building that network of people and having that long game in mind are the number one things to be successful in business,” he says.

Part of his mission to inspire more non-obvious thinking in the world involves what he calls “non-obvious seven-minute meetups,” which he has been invited to coordinate for largescale conferences and events. These meetups allow attendees the time and space to get to know each other on a personal level. Each attendee spends seven minutes talking to someone they don’t know, and they are encouraged to ask each other non-obvious questions. Surprisingly, people have been able to form strong relationships in only

seven minutes—one seven-minute meetup duo went on to make a podcast together! “Those stories are amazing,” Rohit said. “It’s one of the reasons why I do this.”

He shared one final lesson: “The relationships that you make with people show up in time, and the way you treat those people and the relationships you have with them is really the key.”

PHOTO BY LORETTA SEVIER

While this lesson may be non-obvious to much of the world, it resonates at Potomac with the many students, faculty, and staff who actively reinforce the strong relationships that make up Potomac’s connected community every day.

Jessica Raman, a senior at Potomac, serves as a co-editor-in-chief for The Current, the school’s student newspaper.

“People who understand people always win. And building that network of people and having that long game in mind are the number one things to be successful in business.”

ROHIT BHARGAVA ’93

“ MY LIFE HAS BEEN A

Trip

, says bassist Oteil Burbridge ’79.

It’s a metaphor that operates on many levels. There’s the voyage from struggling jazz musician to jam-band icon (Oteil earned two Grammys for his work with the legendary Allman Brothers Band before joining the stadium-filling Grateful Dead revival band Dead & Company); the pilgrimage from religious skeptic to deeply spiritual student of theology and mysticism; and the odyssey from autodidact and itinerant musician to respected teacher and doting parent.

But when the 60-year-old Oteil describes his life thus far, he manages to transform a series of what he calls “left turns” into a narrative of passion and purpose that is as coherent as one of his lyrical bass solos.

Oteil grew up in Washington, DC, in a home filled with music—much like the house he now shares in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife, Jess, and their children, Nigel and Kavi. His father was an amateur flutist with a massive record collection, and both parents saw musicmaking as one of many useful activities (sports, dance, painting) for keeping their four kids off the streets and out of trouble.

Burbridge, for example, was a child actor who appeared in the Peter Sellers film Being There the same year he graduated from The Potomac School. (The School only ran to ninth grade at the time, and being separated from his Potomac friends proved traumatic. “It took me decades to get over it,” he says.)

But music was always his principal passion. He recalls playing the drums at age five, though his older brother, the late Kofi Burbridge ’76—a flutist and keyboardist who often worked with Oteil before passing away in 2017— once told an interviewer that Oteil was already tapping out rhythms on a Quaker oatmeal box by the age of three or four. At age 14, he switched to the bass, carrying with him the rhythmic finesse he had developed as a drummer. By then, Kofi was attending a music conservatory—a path that Oteil wasn’t eager to follow, despite his parents’ insistence that he either go to college or get a job. Instead, Oteil persuaded them to accept a third alternative: moving in with a high school friend and practicing bass eight hours a day. “That’s where I got it all together,” he says.

After playing the DC club circuit for a while, Oteil moved to Virginia Beach to join a top-40 cover band, then relocated to Atlanta to see if he could make a living playing his preferred music, the jazz fusion pioneered by Miles Davis in the 1960s and refined by his former sidemen in groups like Weather Report and Return to Forever.

Alas, he could not. “Unless you played with Miles, you couldn’t make money doing that,” Oteil says. “I was just starving.”

Disillusionment gave way to hope, however, when he met Col. Bruce Hampton, an eccentric guitarist with a taste for wildly eclectic improvised music. With a background that encompassed everything from jazz

Oteil Burbridge ’79 (far left) in grade 2, Mrs. Parker’s class, 1972.

PHOTO BY ANDREW BLACKSTEIN

and funk to pop and Latin, Oteil fit right into Hampton’s inclusive musical vision, and together with several other like-minded players, they formed the Aquarium Rescue Unit (ARU).

“It was the Island of Misfit Toys,” Oteil says of the group’s radically diverse makeup, which he credits with furthering his education in gospel, blues, and country music—an education that would later help him gain entry to the Allman Brothers and Dead & Company. “You need all of that for both bands,” he says.

The ARU was no more commercially successful than Burbridge’s fusion efforts, though. “The only people who came to see Col. Bruce were hippies and freaks,” Oteil says with an affectionate chuckle. But it became a cult favorite with other genre-defying jam bands, and in 1992, a group of ARU admirers—including Phish, Blues Traveler, and the Spin Doctors—invited the band to accompany them on the groundbreaking H.O.R.D.E. (Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere) altrock tour, raising Burbridge’s profile and changing his trajectory.

By the late 1990s, Burbridge’s improvisatory skills and mastery of a wide range of styles had won him the bass chair in the Allman Brothers Band. His growing fame also allowed him to launch his own jazz fusion outfit, Oteil & the Peacemakers, with Kofi sometimes sitting in on flute and keyboards.

In 2010, guitarist Derek Trucks, who had worked with Oteil and Kofi in various settings, invited both Burbridges to join the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a blues-rock outfit with a large following on the jam-band scene. By the time the former Grateful Dead bandmates Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Bob Weir decided to establish Dead & Company in 2015, it seemed

only natural to have Oteil play the role of the late bassist Phil Lesh, who was pursuing his own projects.

Despite years of high-profile gigs, however, standing in for a founding member of one of the most famous bands on the planet was still intimidating. “It’s hard when you replace someone that has been Mount Rushmore’d, especially when they’re still alive,” Oteil says. Yet even the most diehard Deadheads soon embraced Oteil for his ability to match the band’s signature sound and feeling. “I love that this scene is so inclusive,” Oteil says. “Come one, come all!”

Oteil has since played hundreds of Dead & Company shows for millions of fans. And while he has reduced his touring schedule to spend more time with his kids, he is hardly standing

still: In addition to leading his own ensemble, Oteil & Friends, and sitting in with various other bands, he’ll be doing a residency with Dead & Company at the Sphere in Las Vegas this spring, joining the Boston Pops for a 60th anniversary celebration of the Grateful Dead this summer, and playing a couple of nights with The Brothers, an Allman Brothers tribute band, at Madison Square Garden in between.

Even as his career was taking off in the late ’90s, however, Oteil experienced a personal crisis precipitated by the hard-driving lifestyle of a touring musician. “I heard these voices talking to me, and they said, ‘You gotta stop what you’re doing,’” he recalls.

For Oteil, that meant delving into faith and spirituality—an unexpected turn, given the profoundly skeptical attitude

Oteil & Friends at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, on October 19, 2024. The lineup (left to right): Melvin Seals, Steve Kimock, Johnny Kimock, Lamar Williams Jr., Oteil Burbridge ’79, Tom Guarna, and Jason Crosby (not pictured).

PHOTO BY ANDREW BLACKSTEIN

toward religion he’d inherited from his father. “My dad was deeply scarred by religion and rejected it,” he says.

At the time, Oteil was living in Birmingham, Alabama, and a member of his church introduced him to James Barnett, a Southern Baptist theologian with a progressive streak and a taste for the Allman Brothers. The two became close, and under Barnett’s guidance, Oteil conducted a line-by-line exegesis of the Bible that led him to develop a spiritual philosophy that was as inclusive as his attitude toward music: a philosophy grounded in love, the unity of humankind, and an openness to all expressions of the numinous, from music and mysticism to mythology and magic.

Oteil’s spiritual awakening also deepened his belief in music as a means

“ IT’S EVANGELIZING. BUT I’M NOT TRYING TO CONVERT ANYBODY TO ANY SPECIFIC DOGMA OTHER THAN “

love, magic , & kindness .

something that’s wrong,” he says. People kept asking him for lessons, however, so he finally capitulated and began teaching his unique method for learning the bass, which includes instruction in harmony, rhythm, and even philosophy. In a similar vein, he has for many years served as a counselor and teacher at Roots Rock Revival, a summer music camp in upstate New York.

of healing the soul. Since 2017, he has lost a staggering number of loved ones, including Kofi, Hampton, and Barnett.

In response, he recorded A Lovely View of Heaven, an album of Grateful Dead ballads, in 2023. The act of working through a body of songs that dealt with loss and longing helped Oteil process his grief, and he hopes the recording will help others do the same.

“If my intention moves through these sound waves, and I take my pain and I move it out—something happens in that process that hits a nerve in people, and now we’re all healing each other,” he says.

The same urge to aid others also led Oteil to overcome his longstanding reluctance to teach. “I never went to music school, so I felt weird about teaching, because I might show you

To spread his positive message to an even broader audience, Oteil also launched a podcast, Comes a Time, with comedian Mike Finoia. Oteil appeared as a guest on Finoia’s own podcast prior to the pandemic, and after discovering that Finoia had also experienced a spiritual awakening, he proposed that they co-host a program. Their conversations range widely, as does their guest list, which veers from artists and athletes to clerics and scientists. But they always return to the core topics of love, spirit, family, and connection.

For Oteil, the podcast has become one more way to share the personal philosophy that suffuses every aspect of his life, including the music that has sustained him since childhood.

“It’s evangelizing,” he admits. “But I’m not trying to convert anybody to any specific dogma other than love, magic, and kindness.”

Through her startup, Summer Delaney ’11 is helping connect big media companies and abundant—but elusive— pools of talent

Hire _ Grounds

Summer Delaney ’11 knows it can take some real work to find real work these days.

A veteran of the media trenches, Summer found her job as Katie Couric’s producer at Yahoo through a Google listserv for women in journalism. Her role at New York’s WPIX TV station came from the Media Mavens Facebook Group, a collection of 20,000 women and nonbinary media workers. She found a position at Amazon Studios through a Columbia Business School Slack community.

“Almost every job I’ve had has been found through these digital communities I was in,” Summer explains. “It wasn’t through applying in the traditional way.”

STORY BY Dan Morrell

ILLUSTRATIONS BY Tara Jacoby

employers advertise their open jobs in those spaces. This new way forward for CollabWORK came into sharp relief in the fall of 2023, when the company attended a big HR tech conference in Las Vegas. “We were inundated by all these new partners who really positioned us not as a sourcing tool, but as marketing tech,” she says. Big companies, she notes, have big budgets to advertise their jobs, and they are spending it in all of the traditional spaces, where they compete in a crowded market for attention. “With us, you’re essentially bringing your jobs into these new communities, into this hidden job market that no one has access to,” she says.

AI has helped power the company’s model, analyzing job descriptions and classifying them by details like function, industry, seniority, and location. “What makes our AI really interesting is that we then match it to our communities—the newsletters, the Slack communities, the Discords, et cetera,” Summer says. It’s continually improving, too, she notes, with each click feeding the model and improving future matches.

Her journalism background has helped her grow the business. Part of it is the reporter’s mentality: When she worked in local news, she would show up at 9:00 am and have to put something on the air by 5:00 pm. “You just know you have to deliver,” she says. “And I think as a startup founder, I’ve taken [on] that mentality every day.” The willingness to get out there and mix it up helps, too. “We have to be comfortable with ambiguity. We’ve got to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable, and we have to figure it out. We’ve got to get on the phone and talk to people,” she says.

That includes investors. CollabWORK—which has grown to four core players in New York—counts

What makes our AI really

interesting is that we then match it to our communities. It’s continually improving, too, with each click feeding the model and improving future matches .

female venture capitalist funder HearstLab, Sequoia Capital, and the pre-product fund 43 among its backers, and wrapped a small fundraising round in the summer and fall of 2024. Along with the nuanced model, investors also appreciate CollabWORK’s target market. “We’re really selling to Fortune 1000 companies, not startups and other VC-backed companies,” says Summer, which means bigger talent demands and bigger budgets. “They need a ton of eyeballs and clicks and applications. They have so many jobs to fill across their functions. That’s really where we excel.”

Ultimately, success for CollabWORK, says Summer, will mean growth for both the big firms and the media communities they are targeting. “I lived through so many layoffs—I’ve been part of that story. I felt not valuable at work—that I was just a number, and that I wasn’t reaping all the benefits,” she notes.

“And I think it’s so exciting that so many people are building either their full-time or side hustles, being really valuable by launching

these professional networks and monetizing them.”

Sure, she wants to build something big—for herself, for her team, for her investors, for her customers. “But I also think that there is something about our business that’s very mission-focused, which is helping people find their next opportunity, helping companies rediscover new ways to reach talent, and helping communities find new monetization and revenue stream,” she says. “And that is really fulfilling.”

How artist Tim Makepeace ’77 found his muse in the James Webb Space Telescope

Astral

STORY BY April White

PHOTOS BY Valerie Plesch ’98

Throughout

Works

his career, Tim has been inspired by the humanity hidden behind technological advances.

in*In 2017, Tim Makepeace ’77 fell in love. The artist remembers the moment as “captivating” and “amazing.” “I thought, ‘I will always have this connection.’”

For Tim, there is artistry in the painstaking process of recreating an image by hand. “When you try to duplicate a photograph exactly, you’re never successful at it,” he says. “Every mark you make is an artistic decision. Is this mark lighter or darker than the photo? Softer or harder? It’s what feels right, and that result comes from a lifetime of experience.”

Tim was standing, looking into a clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center in western Maryland, face to face with the gold-coated, two-story-high mirror array of the James Webb Space Telescope. “I was 20 feet away from this engineering marvel that would soon be a million miles from Earth for an eternity.”

NASA had invited Tim and a cohort of other artists to find inspiration in the world’s largest space telescope before it was launched into orbit around the sun in 2021. In some ways, the Washington, DC-based artist and the cutting-edge scientific instrument were an odd pair. Tim’s work often focused on the past, not the future. He was drawn to the physical remnants of aging technology, photographing power plants, water towers, and refineries for a series he called “Industrial Sentinels” and forming sculptures from steel and concrete, the materials that shaped the 20th century. But at the NASA facility, Tim saw the same things that attracted

him to these relics—evidence of bold progress, the artistry of geometry, and the undeniable fingerprints of humanity. The telescope has been his muse ever since.

Tim has almost always considered himself to be an artist. “I’m a builder by nature, and my mother was an artist, and my father was an art appreciator,” he says. Those influences led him into a photography class at The Potomac School and then further study at the Smithsonian Institution. He later focused on sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art, and received a degree in Fine Art from Cornell University. Those

two art forms slowly blended for Tim. His photographs became larger and more dimensional, and his sculptures grew smaller and flatter. About a decade ago, disheartened by the ubiquity of photography in the smartphone era, Tim began to recreate his photos by hand. “I’m still a photographer and a sculptor at heart,” Tim says of the evolution. “But now I make drawings of sculptural things.”

The first pieces to come out of his introduction to the Webb telescope began as photographs of the object itself, composed with an eye toward geometry and reflection. Tim then spent months

“

If you’re going to spend that much time and effort to make a career out of art that doesn’t bring financial reward, you might as well make it mean something . ”

painstakingly translating the digital images using charcoal and pastels on paper. The results are both exact and something far more human. “By the time you end up with this thing that is seemingly photorealistic, it’s really an interpretation,” Tim says. “If I went and drew that again tomorrow, it would be different.”

Tim completed the works for a 2019 exhibition at the Goddard Space Flight Center, but he wasn’t finished with his subject yet. In 2021, he mounted a solo show, “Reflections on a Tool of Observation,” at the National Academy of Sciences, which included a series of ink-and-acrylic paintings that considered one of the Webb’s scientific purposes. Using a decade of data collected by earth-bound telescopes, Tim mapped the trajectories of the stars surrounding the black hole at the center of the Milky Way—one of the things the Webb is observing today.

artistic relationship with the Webb has been a crash course in topics from the electromagnetic spectrum to orbital mechanics. “It is important as an artist to understand what you're looking at,” he says. “It affects your perception of it and your ability to convey it.”

“Every time I think, ‘Well, I've done it all,’ I think, ‘Oh, what about this? That's another thing I could think about,’” Tim says, gesturing around his studio in the basement of his home in Northwest Washington, DC. Tacked to the concrete wall is proof of his unexhausted curiosity. An enormous, unfinished black-and-white rendering of the Webb’s infrared camera and spectrograph is crisscrossed with luminous streaks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and green, an attempt to relate in human terms the data the instrument will capture.

To paint the MIRI, as the infrared device is known in scientific circles,

But as he prepares for a 2026 exhibition of his works on the telescope at the Katzen Arts Center at American University, Tim has also been thinking about our emotional connection to the heavens and the reasons people have looked for shapes and stories in the stars for millennia. Beside his current work in progress is another painting of stars streaking through a black night, an accurate-but-impossible view of what one would see if they spent a year in Tim’s backyard, staring, unblinking, at a cloudless night sky. Among the starlight is the far-away Webb. Tim traced its twisting oval orbit in blue paper. “I found this to be quite emotional. I call it a letter home. It’s like it’s sending back a few photons personally to me,” he says. “I still have this connection.”

Tim uses his art to deepen his understanding of complex topics, often reconsidering a concept multiple times from different perspectives or revisiting an artwork repeatedly until it conveys what he has learned. “Space is infinitely deep, yet it always looks flat,” he says of one ongoing challenge. “How do you express the depth of space and make it come to life?”

“About 10 years ago, I became less confident in my photography because it’s just too easy. The craft is gone, and it’s just the content. Now instead of printing my photographs, I draw them. I’m the printer.”

Beyond

Vivian Kong Man Wai (left) of Hong Kong competes with Hadley Husisian (right) of the United States during the Women’s Epee Individual Table of 16 at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, on July 27, 2024.

ECHOES

Spring is Coming

May Day has been a cherished Potomac tradition since the School’s early years. Once a Lower and Middle School event held on the blacktop, it grew under the care of former Headmistress Carol Preston and came to life with music teacher Jack Langstaff, who introduced English traditions like Morris Dance and folk music. Today, it includes all four divisions.

Pictured: Former faculty member Mr. Henderson leading students at the 1973 May Day celebration.

Class Notes

Nancy Hamilton Shepherd shares, “Dear Potomac friends, each time I write you about sending Class Notes, I think what a great experience Potomac was for me. My mother and I moved to DC to live with my grandparents when I was five, and I started at Potomac when I was in the first-grade. My mother and grandparents made a great home for me, but I think Potomac completed my sense of home. I loved the plays, music, Scouts, and friends. I remember wonderful teachers and what they taught me. I think Potomac enriched my life, and I have somehow carried much of what I experienced there into the rest of my life. I have a great sense of gratitude, including gratitude for all of my Potomac friends.”

1950

75TH REUNION

Calling All Revelers: All classes who have celebrated their 50th Reunion Plus! Class of ’50, mark your calendars for your 75th Reunion on October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it! If you’re interested in volunteering to help get your classmates together, email alumni@potomacschool.org

1954

Tina Knox Radigan elizabethradigan3@gmail.com

Class of 1954, we want to hear from you! Share your latest adventures, memories, or updates for the Class Notes section—it’s a great way to stay connected. If you’d like to help gather notes, Tina Knox Radigan would love a hand. Drop her a line or reach out to alumni@potomacschool.org and let’s keep the stories flowing!

1955

70TH REUNION

Calling All Revelers: All classes who have celebrated their 50th Reunion Plus! Class of ’55, mark your calendars for your 70th Reunion on October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it!

1957

Courtney Hagner asks, “How about the Class of ’57 having a Zoom? I created one for my secondary school, which was quite a hit! Shall we do it?”

1960

65TH REUNION

Stephanie deSibour stephaniedesibour@gmail.com

Calling All Revelers: All classes who have celebrated their 50th Reunion Plus! Class of ’60, mark your calendars for your 65th Reunion on October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it!

Eve Auchincloss Lilley shares, “Greetings from Washington, DC. I am still here and finding my way forward without my dear husband, Bill. Happily, I have four wonderful, dear, small doggies, am still working, still involved in the world of ballet, and keeping up to speed with family and friends. I am enjoying good health and am ever watchful of falling! I haven’t traveled recently, and I have some reluctance there, but my life is filled with family, good friends, doggies, and special interests. Hope you all are well. XO!”

When Lolly MacMurray-Cooper and her husband, David, are not traveling, they split their time between Cambridge, MA, and New Hampshire. Lolly writes, “Life at Brookhaven continues to be very stimulating. I am active in the literary magazine and the poetry circle, and I continue writing poetry and memoirs. Last fall, David and I were invited to hang a joint show of our travel photography from the last 10 years—a very rewarding process. We continue to enjoy quiet time in New Hampshire, where we appreciate the peace and the opportunity to welcome family and friends.

My grandchildren—Max, Gavin, and Emily—live in Denver, while Gabe, Russell, and Colette are in Mountain Lakes, NJ. I visit them as often as I can. We do feel fortunate but still ache for all the troubles in the world. I try to keep informed and aware and support

the many causes I’d like to help. I feel it is essential to keep hope alive; anything less is surrender.”

Stephanie deSibour writes, “Here’s some class news—some good, some less so. Potomac’s Reunion Weekend on October 17–18, 2025, will honor, among others, all classes that have celebrated their 50th Reunion. It would be wonderful if some of you could attend, as I will. For more details, visit the Alumni Events section of the school’s website.

Sadly, Martha ‘Ellie’ Hamm Spencer recently passed away. She lived on the property next to Daphne vom Baur’s, and they shared a deep love for Virginia’s horse country over many years. Gretchen Theobald was also an important part of Ellie’s life.

I recently saw Deborah Shapley Cortesi, who founded and runs Restore Mass Ave (restoremassave.org), an organization dedicated to restoring the landscape of Embassy Row. Their progress is truly impressive.

I encourage you to send updates for the next issue of The Term. Now more than ever, staying connected with old friends matters. Wishing you all well— stay engaged in whatever brings you contentment.” 1962

Deborah Johansen Harris debjohansenharris@gmail.com

Antonia Caccia is not teaching film as much as she used to and is spending more time with her earlier documentaries, which she said are back in circulation. As for UK politics, she commented, “The new government under Keir Starmer is not hugely popular, but it’s a great relief from the Boris Johnson administration.”

Elizabeth Davison held a solo exhibition of her fabric art at Artists & Makers Studio in Rockville, MD, in early February. She, Carol Eakin-Burdette, and other Potomac alums attended. Elizabeth’s collection featured seasonal designs alongside two powerful pieces addressing recent crises—The Forest Is Burning (depicting a Los Angeles-area wildfire) and Please Save Us!, which portrays refugees struggling as their small boat sinks en route to America.

Elizabeth elaborated on her piece, In the Orchid House II, which was inspired by a visit to the Washington, DC-area Hillwood Estate and Gardens, formerly owned by philanthropist Marjorie Merriweather Post. “The guide spoke about Post’s legendary parties,” she said. “As you know, our parents attended many social gatherings in those days.”

Elizabeth continued, “The orchids in the greenhouse reminded me of my mother’s cocktail dresses, from which I had saved scraps from her dressmaker. So, the artwork incorporates satin from her dresses, men’s kimono silk, fabric from my hairdresser’s shirts (a Parsons School of Design graduate), silk scarves I once wore to work, and repurposed upholstery samples.”

Her quilt, Please Save Us!, has been selected for inclusion in the largest all-women art exhibition in the DMV (Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia metropolitan area) next September.

Deborah “Deb” Johansen Harris shared that she survived the worst winter in recent memory, “I was homebound last February for three days, until my plow guy scattered salt and sand on my driveway and walkways. He chipped four inches of frozen snow and ice off my car. I’m too old for this!” She continued, “So, last winter I occupied myself with indoor entertainment—watercolor painting and reading and researching my family’s history. A highlight was taking a Zoom course in February and March, offered by Assumption University’s Worcester Institute for Senior Education. It was titled Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art. The program was based on the book of the same name by Mary Gabriel. I found the class fascinating and inspiring. To this day, I am still reading the 926-page book—a real tome.

Additionally, 13 members of our class participated in a Zoom reunion in February: Antonia Caccia, Elizabeth Davison, Carol Eakin-Burdette, Katherine Marshall, Louise McVickar Marx, Carol Mattusch, Rosemary Merriam, Nina Nitze Moriarty, Liz Murray Platts, Marianna “Mimi” Merrill Russell, Anne Darneille Snodgrass, John Wathen, and me.

TRAILS

Chronicling a Community

Deborah Johansen Harris ’62 approaches her role as class correspondent with the same tenacity that defined her professional life. Over the course of her career, she spent 12 years as a freelance writer covering environmental issues and architecture, followed by 17 years as a corporate communications executive.

Much like a journalist tracking down elusive sources, Deborah uses cold calling, internet sleuthing, and a healthy dose of charm to reconnect with classmates from The Potomac School who may have fallen out of touch.

Her dedication is reflected in these pages. For the past 15 years, Harris has gathered and submitted Class Notes for the Class of 1962 for The Term—no other ’62 class correspondent has served for as long.

“It’s truly a joy for me to catch up with old friends and hear about their accomplishments,” says Harris, who retired in 2009 and now lives in Western Massachusetts. “I don’t think people realize how much their fellow classmates love hearing updates and stories.”

Deborah joined Potomac in fifth grade and was part of the last all-girls class at the Middle School. She describes her five years at Potomac as transformational. Music teacher John Langstaff sparked a lifelong passion for the arts, and behind Latin instructor Imogen Rose’s strict exterior, Harris discovered a caring teacher determined to inspire a love of Latin.

Her classmates also left a lasting impression. The girls supported one another through Potomac’s rigorous academics and bonded on camping trips, bike rides, and at parties—all while discovering who they were becoming as young women. “I entered Potomac at 10 years old and left at 14,” Harris says. “Those are very formative years.”

Though Potomac graduated 29 ninth-grade girls in 1962, today, the Class of 1962 includes approximately 40 members. The entire class incudes girls who transferred before graduation, as well as boys who would have graduated in 1962 had Potomac enrolled boys in the Middle School at the time.

Together, they stay connected through biannual video chats, prereunion dinners and potlucks, and informal gatherings around the DelMarVa region.

That sense of community, first built in the late 1950s, remains essential today. “Of course, when we get together, we reminisce about our time at Potomac—the hijinks we got into, the teachers we loved and the ones we dreaded,” Harris says. “But we’re also in our late 70s now. Many of us have lost spouses or are managing health challenges. It’s comforting to have a community that offers support and encouragement.”

—Marisa Demers

to fracture a vertebra and loosen the rod and screw in my femur. I am undaunted; life goes on. Still trying to fit in bridge and Mah Jongg, book club(s), and volunteer activities. The only things I don’t make time for are dusting, ironing, and gossiping. I will still have room in my new place for family and friends to stay, so if any of you are in Niagara, please be in touch.”

Amanda Kreglow says, “My third novel, The Road to Quincy, is now available on Amazon. My other publications, also available there, are Becoming White Smoke: A Tale of Courage and Yearning, The Secret in the Persimmon Wood Box, Poetry of Movement, The Inevitability of Change, and Staying Home in Covid-19.”

Wendy Millar Phillips reports, “John and I are in Madrid and loving it. This is the third winter we’ve come here and rented an apartment for six weeks. We love hiking in the Sierra de Guadarrama; working on our Spanish; going to museums, concerts, and flamenco shows; going out to dinner; seeing friends; and exploring this beautiful city.”

Carroll Rogers Rooth notes, “Robert and I have been at Moonhole, Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the last month. The entire Windward chain sustained major damage in Hurricane Beryl last July. It was a Category 5 when it hit here, with winds of 150 mph. We were here at Moonhole during the storm, which wiped out our beachfront, downed many old trees, and caused terrible coastal erosion. So we are here supervising the ongoing restoration of the coast, beachfront, and houses within the Moonhole peninsula. We returned to New Orleans just in time for Mardi Gras—not our favorite time of year! We are planning to put our old house on the market this spring to downsize so that we can hopefully spend more time here on Bequia. Our daughter, Liv, is currently understudying the lead part in the Ibsen play Ghosts at Lincoln Center, while Schuyler continues to do landscaping, pet sitting, and babysitting for friends as she searches for a new job. Sadly, my brother, Ned, passed away last month, after his wife, Emily, died two years ago. But thankfully, my nephews stay in touch with me.”

Anne Williams writes, “All is well in Sharon, CT. Playing Mah Jongg, taking two literature courses, still a director of

a small, privately held land company, having a blast being a ‘study-buddy’ to my 16-year-old home-schooled grandnephew, and loving visiting my grandkids (ages 11, 3, and 1).”

1964

Alison Peake alidee1@aol.com

Alison Peake shares, “While my husband and I are enjoying reasonably good health (for being so ancient), I am suffering from high anxiety about what’s going on in the U.S., so we are both trying to provide some pushback in any way we can. Let’s see, George is about to finish his year-long chemo for treatment for CLL. Good news! I’m still subbing when the high school needs me, and that’s a nice way to keep in contact with my friends at school and see my students who haven’t graduated yet! Trevor (47) and his family are still in DC, Morgan (44) and her family are in Somerville, MA, and Avery (41) and husband are in Detroit during hockey season and in New Haven in the off-season. Our grandchildren are growing up (perhaps a bit too quickly!) and are healthy and thriving. We’re still in Hartford, CT, so if you ever want to stop by, we’d love to see you! Sending hugs.”

1965

60TH REUNION

Sallie Ayers Barker s2barkers@yahoo.com

Calling All Revelers: All classes who have celebrated their 50th Reunion and beyond! Class of ’65, mark your calendars for your 60th Reunion on October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it! If you’re interested in volunteering to help get your classmates together, email alumni@ potomacschool.org

Lindesay Holdsworth Aquino writes, “I still live in McLean, three miles away from where I grew up while attending Potomac. Our son, who is in a wheelchair, lives with us. Sixto and I are both retired and keeping busy. We just returned from

three weeks in Madrid full of art, music, and good food. Our daughter graduated from Potomac, and her son/our grandson attends Potomac’s summer camp. I contribute books to the book fair every year and always find good books to buy. I still have a small bookcase made in Mr. Seely’s shop class in third grade. My favorite year was Miss Seaman’s sixth grade, where we learned medieval history and experienced the agony of breaking out sentences into their component parts.”

Sallie Ayers Barker reports from just outside the town of New London, NH: “Looking out at Mt. Sunapee’s slopes, Steve and I enjoy everything that the seasons have to offer up here. I am active on the board of our local lake’s protective association, and much of my time is dedicated to protecting New Hampshire’s lakes against increasing legislative and environmental challenges. A small town advantage: I am an elected official! People voted for me! So I now serve on the board of our local library. Our children, both in Massachusetts, are lured regularly by our ski slopes and our lake, and with them come our four wonderful grandchildren. Our oldest is almost a teenager, and the youngest is soon to become a

Gail Kefauver ’65 with her oldest grandchild, Charlotte

snow is falling! I continue to work with middle and high school students at a local school that connects students with nature and outdoor experiences. The school’s plays, May Day celebrations, and quilts on the walls remind me of Potomac days, including the nature trail! I continue also as a board member of a local farm school with programs and after-school opportunities that connect children and families to the Earth and one another through farm and forest. I am working with my research on the power of solving problems in groups with children of all ages. My daughter, Katie, is an astrophysics university professor in the Netherlands, and she researches cosmic rays and neutrinos. My daughter, Clare, is a seventh-grade science teacher in New Hampshire, and my son, Jack, is a software engineer. I continue to be a member of the Boston Revels, which carries on to this day the great legacy and work of Jack Langstaff. Hearing this music always brings me back to our Potomac days. (Remember those sea shanties!?!) I look forward to our next class Reunion, coming soon. Our Potomac days were/are so special! Best wishes to all of you and your families.”

Cary Ridder and her husband, Dave Alberswerth, are still living in the house in the Palisades neighborhood of DC where they have lived for the past 43 years. Cary shares, “We split our time between DC and Rappahannock County, where we have a property that is across the road from my sister, Steph Ridder ’67, and her husband. My mother, Marie Ridder, turned 100 years old in January. The four Ridder kids, Cary ’65, Steph ’67, Rick ’68, and Pamela ’70 and their spouses gathered—for the first time in many, many years—to celebrate the event. We are struggling with the political situation but try to still enjoy all that we have: our families, the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains, and February’s parade of planets.”

“The world seems like a scary place right now,” writes Emily Train Rowan, “so it is good to be centered by hearing from classmates.” Emily and her husband, Jim, still live in Washington, DC. Emily has been retired for a couple of years but keeps busy with three grandchildren and a fourth on the way,

art classes, travel, and gardening. Their oldest granddaughter is now in kindergarten at Potomac; she is a fourth-generation Potomac student! Emily reports that it is fun to go out to the school, although it looks quite different now.

Pamela Shaw loved the reminders from Marney Lindsay Morrison and Betty Lindsten Mulrey about Mr. Nordal’s class. “What a fine year! Vikings! Mongols! And my favorite project in retrospect: the ashtrays made from asbestos! Innocent times. Also good memories of the nature trail with Mr. Morton looking for frog eggs in the early spring.” Speaking of Mr. Nordal, Betty also remembers making those wooden horses in that class! Pamela and her husband, Kent, are still living “quietly” in Portland, ME.

Caroline Killefer Thayer and her husband, Jack, just returned to their home in Corrales, NM, after their annual trip to Mexico. They have four wonderful grandchildren, two of whom are fraternal twins! When Caroline lived in Utah a few years back, she sometimes saw our classmate Anne Patten Milliken in Salt Lake City.

Peter Walker writes, “For the last 20 years, my wife, Chandriga, and I have been living in Sebastopol, CA, nestled in Northern California’s wine country, about an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco. Our home is a vineyard, and we’re fortunate to be just a short drive from both the Russian River and the Pacific Ocean. Chandriga, originally from Malacca, Malaysia, and I have had the privilege of traveling extensively,

immersing ourselves in diverse cultures and experiences. In Sebastopol, I have actively engaged with our vibrant community by delivering lectures on such topics as artificial intelligence, the etymology of the Sanskrit language, and ancient perspectives on the evolution of consciousness. If any of you find yourselves in this area, Chandriga and I would be delighted to reconnect. Our door is always open to old friends.”

Sturgis Warner is still in New York and working with his partner, Signe Baumane, in their Brooklyn animation studio. Sturgis writes, “We are currently making our third independent animated feature, Karmic Knot, about a tight-knit family living through the collapse of a country. It’s a long process, and we won’t be done until 2028. Reg Foster is our associate producer, and we talk weekly about fundraising and business affairs. Essentially, I bring my theater skills into the animation studio—producing, dramaturgy, casting, building background sets, lighting, and all sorts of other things. I still do theater from time to time, acting and directing, when somebody lets me, which is a rarer and rarer occurrence as one gets older. But I still have a full-creative outlet in animation. Please check out the Karmic Knot website and sign up on our mailing list if you want to keep up with the film’s progress: KarmicKnotMovie.com. Our second animated feature, My Love Affair with Marriage, premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York City in 2022. Mike Mayer came down from Vermont to be there. The film went around the world

Caroline Killefer Thayer ’65 and her husband, Jack, with their daughter, son-in-law, and four grandchildren

Class Notes

to 110 film festivals and can now be seen online at MyLoveAffairWithMarriage. com.” Sturgis had a great lunch with Chris Janney two years ago, and he sees filmmaker Whit Stillman ’66 from time to time.

Although Jim Wharton left our class at the end of his eighth grade year to attend Lawrenceville, he has two indelible Potomac memories. The first is the Quonset hut learning experience in fourth grade. The second, more sadly, is November 22, 1963, when JFK was shot in Dallas. David DuVal and Jim were a part of the fledgling school football team at practice on that Friday afternoon when someone came down to the field and announced the news. As most of you remember, David later tragically died on a rafting trip. Jim and his partner, Mary, are coming up on their 40th anniversary and, like all of us, Jim’s 75th birthday. Mary and Jim met in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985, when Jim was still traveling to play Court/Real/ Royal Tennis. Ironically for an obscure game, there have been two courts built within five miles of Potomac. Jim and Mary currently divide their time between Rhode Island and Florida. Being from Bermuda, Jim always finds New England winters a bit tough. Sad class news to report. We recently learned that our classmate David Potts died two years ago in Rehoboth Beach, DE. David is remembered as a little more daring than the rest of us. The yearbook quote above his photo was, in fact, “He was the wildest of them all!” Sallie Ayers Barker, lucky enough to be his next-door neighbor in the ’60s, writes, “I remember my good friend well—from his free-spirited ways to the long (maybe even bleached?) hair that was always in his eyes (to the annoyance of Mrs. Rose, which I think he thoroughly enjoyed!). David was always a topic for the girls in the class of ’64! It was exciting to be around him.” Chris Johansen adds, “I was sorry to hear of Dave Potts’ passing. I recall palling around with him and Des Fitzgerald ’66 in Georgetown, riding our bikes out to school (a short-lived tradition started by my sister, Deb Johansen Harris ’62, and her friends), and generally testing the limits of ‘acceptable behavior.’ Never a dull moment.” David is survived by his daughter, Ravyn; two grandchildren; his partner, Mary

Lee Martin; his brother, Doug; and his younger sister, Lindsay Potts ’70.

1967

Tom Macy potomac67@gmail.com

1968

Kim Holdsworth kimsworth4@gmail.com

Barbara Strong Kirk enjoyed some time in Boston with her daughter, Malan; son, Sam; and granddaughter, Rosie. She will soon hop a plane with sisters Dana Strong ’70 and Sigrid Strong Reynolds ’67 to visit their ancestral roots on the Isle of Mann. Jeremy Gordon writes, “We survived the great Palisades Fire, which struck Pacific Palisades on my birthday. Sadly, many of our friends and relatives lost their homes, but we remain committed to rebuilding our town in time.” He adds, “I shared a picture of my wife, Susan, and me, taken two weeks before the fire, which started just a few dozen yards from where we were standing and burned much of our beloved town to the ground. A life-changing event!”

1969

Christopher King shares, “Greetings from Albuquerque, NM! Savoring retirement, my wife, Maureen, and I enjoy summers in the southern French village of St. Andre de Cruzieres, where we commune with dear friends, secure our food in the village markets, and swim in the local rivers. In the fall, we return to New Mexico to walk our dogs beside the Rio Grande, visit with residents of a local hospice, and soak in varied hot springs. Back at The Potomac School for our 55th Reunion last October, it was delightful to visit with Steve Wolf; wander through the former classrooms of Ms. Burns, Mr. Old, and Mr. Leith; and participate in the spirited sing-along. I welcome dialogue with my fellow ’69ers. Carpe Diem!”

Jeremy Gordon ’68 and his wife, Susan, on Christmas Day 2024, at the summit of the Pacific Palisades

Barbara Strong Kirk ’68 in Boston with her daughter, Malan; son, Sam; and granddaughter, Rosie

Christopher King ’69 communing with the llamas that were sculpted by his beloved grandmother, Una Hanbury

1970

55TH REUNION

Jane McAllister

McAllister.Jane@outlook.com

Calling All Revelers: All classes who have celebrated their 50th Reunion and beyond! Class of ’70, mark your calendars for your 55th Reunion on October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it! If you’re interested in volunteering to help get your classmates together, email alumni@ potomacschool.org.

In April 2024, former Potomac faculty member Gay Brock moved to the midcoast of Maine. A few weeks later, she met Cherry Short-Lee at a puppetry workshop. Cherry, being remarkably friendly, invited Gay and her husband, John, to her home on the St. George River in Warren, ME. It was there that she met Richard Lee, Cherry’s husband. As the four walked down to the river on a picture-perfect spring day, and after learning that Gay and John had moved to Maine from metro DC, Richard explained that he had “gone to a nice little school called The Potomac School through the eighth grade.” Gay was “gobsmacked.” Richard’s three siblings and both of his parents attended Potomac too! From that moment forward, the four became family. Richard is a retired builder who has many area homes, churches, and historic structures as part of his professional portfolio.

1971

Steve Freligh shares, “There was a wonderful celebration of life for our dear classmate Nick Anderson, who passed in January from cancer complications. Friends, family, and many Potomac alumni joined Nick’s wife, Ann, at their home in Great Falls, VA, to share heartfelt memories of Nick’s many talents in art, music, nonprofit support, and television productions.”

1972

Charles Sprunt shares his memories: “I was drawn to civil rights. My big brother, Sumner, was a conscientious objector who despised war—especially Vietnam. Don McLean, the rock-folk singer and writer of deeply meaningful lyrics, spoke to our upper school: ‘So, bye bye Miss American Pie.’ Tony Cole ’71 introduced me to Sommers Randolph ’71, David Kennedy ’70, and Nat Parker ’70 Nick Lowery ’71 booted a 53-yard field goal against St. Albans and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Boys School. No one kicked field goals in 1970 or 1971.”

1973

John Chester jchestervt@gmail.com

Chrissie Albert Carnes states emphatically, “I am not retired!” She continues, “I’m still working as a veterinarian at the small animal clinic that my daughter (also a vet) and I purchased a year and a half ago. We’re planning a major expansion, so retirement isn’t on the horizon anytime soon, which is just fine by me because I love what I do.” She adds, “Family life is wonderful! My oldest granddaughter is expecting her first baby in May, while my youngest granddaughter turns 3 in March. The three others fall in between, keeping life busy and full. The youngest and her mom (the daughter-vet) live with us, so it’s always a lively, fun-filled household.”

John Chester writes, “After a brief pause of 40 years or so, it’s an honor to return to be your class correspondent. Special thanks go to Liza Gookin Hodskins for her years in this position and her role in organizing our reunions.”

Carrie Gibson reports, “Pickleball has taken my heart from tennis. We play with some 4.0 folks, so it is fast and furious. Still adjusting to the East Coast. Had a few gigs that got me away. Check out Matlock and Scarpetta; you might get a glimpse. Meanwhile, I had the joy and privilege of seeing Ellen McLaughlin perform in a touching piece called Pen Pals. She was wonderful, as was the show. Let me know if any of you pass through Beacon, NY.”

Diana Morgan Gustafson and her husband, Tom, are embarking on a major life change as they prepare to move from Washington, DC, where Diana has served as a priest at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, to Santa Fe, NM, this spring. Tom will continue his work as a health policy expert from home, while Diana will focus on studying the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and writing. She shares, “I’m particularly interested in writing about the spiritual lives of children and would love to hear from classmates about their own Potomac memories. I’m curious about any form of spiritual experience; for example, I found my own spiritual center as a child at Potomac, especially in Mr. Langstaff’s music class and while

Richard Lee ’70 and former Potomac faculty member Gay Brock

The late Nick Anderson ’71 and his wife, Ann, in Bermuda in 2014 ’70 ’71

daughter, Isabel, graduates from the University of Colorado Boulder in May and is applying to Peace Corps Kenya— hopefully its budget isn’t put on the chopping block.”

1975

50TH REUNION

Peggy Griffin Begor pbegor@gmail.com

It’s your 50th Reunion, so mark your calendars for October 17–18, 2025. This will be an unforgettable event, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you! We’re looking for Reunion Chair volunteers to help make this milestone celebration truly special—it’s fun and easy! If you’re interested, email alumni@potomacschool.org.

1976

With heartfelt gratitude, we thank Brad MacKenzie as he steps back from his role as class correspondent. Brad, your many years of dedication have kept the

Class of 1976 connected, and we truly appreciate all you’ve done!

Now it’s time to pass the baton! Would you like to help keep your classmates connected? If you’re interested in becoming the next Class of 1976 correspondent, contact alumni@ potomacschool.org to learn more.

John Brooks shares, “I retired from the CDC after 26 years of federal service in September 2024, and I’m enjoying the freedom to choose where to focus my efforts and to get outdoors more during daylight hours for birding and hiking. We’re staying in Atlanta for the time being, where I’ve been working with a group of former feds to do what we can, in the current context, to protect public health and especially the work of the CDC, the NIH, and the FDA.”

Stephen Hill, Teddy Tunney, and Broadway Jackson recently spent some time on the other side of the world in Fiji for a collective celebration of birthdays and anniversaries. They were truly surprised at how much they’ve each been able to retain their youthful glow.

1977

Four Hewes four@fourhewesdesign.com

Bob Gabriel reports, “Megan and I sold our house in DC in October 2023 and are splitting our time between Boca Grande, FL, and Nantucket, MA. We are renting an apartment in DC for a few months in between. Our three kids are living and working in NYC. Best to all!”

1978

Julie Twiname Warder batwarder@cox.net

Congratulations to our classmate Ann Addison, who shares, “I’m excited to say, after 13 years (quite a long time), my dear sweetheart and I will tie the knot in Annapolis this spring in an extremely small wedding.”

Rob Lee reports, “I’m teaching at Landon School now and having a blast!”

Chris Ross writes, “Not too much to report. Still living in Arlington, VA, and commuting by bike once or twice a week to my office in Herndon—19 miles each way! It’s a great way to get to work.”

Members of the Class of 1974 celebrating at Reunion 2024

Former faculty member Amanda Cannell Boone met up with Jennifer Just ’74 and Julie Just ’76 in March at a ranch in Arizona. They talked about Potomac and the great traditions like May Day.

Stephen Hill ’76, Teddy Tunney ’76, and Broadway Jackson ’76 in Fiji

Robin Seidman Volock notes, “My husband and I have moved to Alto, TX, to be near our daughter and her husband. My hubby suffered a stroke at the end of August; he is doing great. Just needed family near for some extra help! We still have our animals: nine Nigerian goats, a mini donkey and a mini horse, my quarter horse mare, and too many dogs. If you get out this way, give us a shout.”

Julie Twiname Warder shares, “As many of you know, I spent the last seven years caring for my mom on her journey with dementia. She passed away in December. So now we will see what new things are in store for me. I continue to facilitate support groups for caregivers, and I find that fulfilling. My daughter

graduated from college last year and is home again while studying. It has been such a blessing to grow our relationship on a new level. Hoping to get back East soon and connect with Potomac friends.”

1979

Anita Winsor anwinsor@gmail.com

Comfort Randolph Belbas writes, “I am still floating from our time together months ago at the Reunion! Thanks, everyone, for making it happen. We had so much connection, thanks in large part to Polly Graham Coreth ’54 opening up Elizabeth “Betsy” Coreth

Bowden’s childhood home for our celebration. Ties that bind (but not too tight!) Betsy, Bill Hoffmann, and Donna Fava also made the weekend go so smoothly. Good times, everyone!”

Anita Winsor shares a photograph of members of the Class of 1979 in Mr. Van Nuys’ sixth-grade class! She also shares a photo of herself as “Madame President,” sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office at a new DC Museum, The People’s House: A White House Experience.

1980

45TH REUNION

Rylan Harris rylan.r.harris@gmail.com

Mark your calendars for October 17–18, 2025! You’re celebrating your 45th Reunion, and this milestone event promises to be unforgettable. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Romey Pittman writes, “I’m beyond excited to share that the project I’ve been obsessed with for the past 3 (or maybe 30?) years is finally becoming a reality. New Village Academy, a public

The Class of 1979 celebrating their Reunion at Elizabeth “Betsy” Coreth Bowden ’79’s childhood home in Chevy Chase, MD

Members of the Class of 1979 celebrating at Reunion 2024

Members of the Class of 1979 as sixth graders in Mr. Van Nuys’ class

Anita Winsor ’79 visits a replica of the Oval Office.

charter high school, will open its doors this August—right in Annapolis Mall. Designed for students who haven’t thrived in traditional school settings, New Village Academy will use the mall as a launchpad and the City of Annapolis as a classroom, connecting students with internships, community action projects, and a strong partnership with the City Council and Mayor’s Office. In collaboration with our Youth Advisory Board and grassroots community leaders, we’ve completely reimagined high school to give students both the will and the skill to take charge of their education and future. Our model centers on hands-on civic engagement, advocacy, apprenticeships, intensive advisory, and portfolio-based mastery assessments. I’m currently looking for philanthropic support, passionate

and innovative teachers, and local businesses and organizations willing to partner with us and host internships. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, please reach out to me at rpittman@newvillageacademy. org. This is the culmination of my life’s work—inspired, in part, by my amazing Potomac education—and I’m truly over the moon to see it finally taking off!”

1983

Eric McGuire emcg.dcfd@gmail.com

1984

Mary Day Fitzgibbon mdfitz13@gmail.com

James Quigley jspquigley@gmail.com

Jennifer Maddox Sergent jensergent630@gmail.com

Joanie Wolfington Berkery was unable to make the Reunion, as it fell smack in the middle of her son’s football season at Bryant. Joanie lives in Bronxville, NY, but spends her life on the road, traveling to the games of her athletically gifted children!

While Robert Coleman was also unable to make the Reunion, he did visit DC in November, and a few classmates got together to sample his wine! Robert is a winemaker by hobby only and lives

in Portland, OR, where he is raising his youngest daughter.

Mary Day Fitzgibbon reports, “Last spring, Caroline Cole serendipitously walked into my boutique, A Mano, during a work trip to DC, and it was great to see her after 35 years! Caroline is living on Nantucket, where she owns a successful interior design firm, CarolineColeDesigns.com. More recently, I ran into Jeannie Lorenz at a funeral. She was only at Potomac for the second and third grades; however, she remembers that Lindley Grandison (formally known as Lala) and I gave her a tour in the second grade! Jeannie lives in Bethesda with her daughter and is an elementary school teacher. I loved seeing everyone who attended our 35th Reunion last October and look forward to our next gathering!”

Sarah Hamady lives in Portugal with her husband and son. If you are unaware of her incredible creativity, please check out her company, HousedeLux. Sarah visited Dodi Wexler last summer in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, where Dodi spends her summers. Dodi always graciously opens her beautiful home to friends! A few noteworthy visitors last summer: Chrissy Coughlin ’85, Emily Eden Trotman, Wendy Hoopes, and Pilar Frank O’Leary Rory Kennedy was in DC for her mother’s celebration of life in November. Despite the circumstances, it was great to see her, Douglas Kennedy ’83, Wendy Hoopes, Megan Bartsch Willems, and John Creamer ’83. Rory and her

Victoria Frankhauser Esposito ’83 and Johanna Seltzer ’83 bumped into each other at a concert just before Christmas.

Class of 1984 friends David Seltzer, Michael Danzansky, Jennifer Maddox Sargent, Robert Coleman, Megan Bartsch Willems, and Matt McGuire

Valerie de Liedekerke ’83 enjoyed a visit from Jen Webber ’83 in Cascais, Portugal, during Jen’s European vacation.

with two of Hollywood’s most prestigious institutions—USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theater. The initiative also includes seminars, training programs, and exclusive networking opportunities.

1986

With deep appreciation, we thank Robert Cheek for his many years of dedicated service as class correspondent. Robert, your efforts have kept the Class of 1986 connected, and we are truly grateful! Now it’s time to pass the torch! Calling all Class of 1986 storytellers— would you like to step into this role and help keep your classmates connected? Contact alumni@potomacschool.org to learn more.

1990

35TH REUNION

Class of 1990—Potomac’s first Upper School graduating class! Mark your calendars for October 17–18, 2025, and join us in celebrating your 35th Reunion. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you. You won’t want to miss it!

1991

Charisse Mortenson McElroy jcharissem@yahoo.com Jamie Stump jfstump@yahoo.com

Thea Lehming Brandt is stepping back from her role as class correspondent. Thank you, Thea, for your many years of dedicated service. And thank you to Charisse Mortenson McElroy and Jamie Stump for jumping into this important role.

Tim Wisecarver shares, “In December 2024, Josh Bowers, Peter Heller, Darius Brawn, Josh Stinchcomb, Mike Semchyshyn, and Morgan Till convened for a much-needed reunion in West Virginia. We picked up where we left off in 1991. Potomac School stories were flowing. Good fun for sure!”

1994

Will Lamb wlamb76@gmail.com

Ashley Walde agwalde@gmail.com

Will Lamb writes, “Several members of the Class of 1994 took time during Reunion Weekend last October to gather at the Gum Tree Field to remember and celebrate our dear friend and classmate, George Miller, a Potomac lifer, whom we lost suddenly last year.

We were joined by his brother, Bill Miller ’96, Bill’s daughter Lucy, and John Drew, one of our favorite former teachers and coaches. Eric Lodal threw a phenomenal party to cap off a wonderful weekend of catching up.

Unfortunately, since the Reunion, we received the devastating news that Ari Charney, a beloved classmate and one of my closest friends, died suddenly in February after a brief illness. We missed Jonathan Segal at Reunion, but he had a good excuse: He was in London producing the telecast

Members of the Class of ’91 together again in West Virginia, December 2024

Members of the Class of 1994 gathered at the Gum Tree Field during Reunion Weekend to remember their classmate George Miller. (Front row, from left to right): Perry Aldige Shure, Mia Whang Spiker Johnson, Bill Miller ’96, Lucy Miller, Tom Till. (Second row, from left to right): Harsha Hakkal, Eric Clay, Vincent Harris, Paige Mader, Eric Lodal. (Third row, from left to right): Tim Zaragoza, John Drew (former faculty member), Abigail Whitehead Craine, Dev Subhash, Will Lamb, Kristin Smith, Jim Terp. (Fourth row, from left to right): Darryl Gardner, Lauren Banks Amos, Gina Cordero, Sandy Gentles (Photo credit/not pictured: Walter Cheatle)

of a Jets-Vikings game from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for CBS Sports.”

Sandy Gentles shares, “Our Homeland neighborhood in Baltimore has welcomed us to the point of letting this Canadian play Santa!”

1995

30TH REUNION

Mark your calendars for October 17–18, 2025 and come celebrate your 30th Reunion! It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it. Contact alumni@ potomacschool.org to learn more.

1996

Mike Herren jmherr22@gmail.com

A big thank you to Mike Herren for stepping up as the new 1996 class

correspondent! Your willingness to keep classmates connected is truly appreciated, and we know you’ll do a great job.

Brentt Brown shares, “Things are going well. I am still living in San Francisco but had the chance to come back to DC a few times this year. Had the opportunity to play golf with James Maxwell and George Wisecarver ’95 this summer, along with my son Wyatt. I also had the chance to catch up with James Maxwell and James Rizzo over brunch. 2024 was a big year for me. I am still making music (as a side hustle) with my band, Pirate Radio. We released our fifth album, Big Big Moon, earlier this year. It was an incredibly rewarding process to continue this passion, which

first started at Potomac with guitar lessons from former faculty member Mr. Benaglia.”

Samantha Kolker writes, “Exciting news to share! Having lived in NYC for more than 20 years, I’ve officially joined CityRealty.com, the longest-running real estate website in the city. After years of working behind the scenes in new developments, real estate sales operations, and product management at Corcoran and Corcoran Sunshine, I’m now advising buyers, sellers, and investors on how to navigate the streets of Manhattan. If you’re thinking about buying, selling, or investing in NYC, let’s connect—or just reach out to say hello! I would love to hear what everyone’s been up to.”

At the Homeland Neighborhood Christmas Eve party (From left to right): Kate Gentles, Sandy Gentles ’94, Laura Gentles, James Gentles

Jonathan Segal ’94 of CBS Sports produced the New York Jets-Minnesota Vikings telecast from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on October 6, 2024.

Members of the Class of 1994 celebrating at Reunion 2024

Samantha Kolker ’96 in New York City

Cara Schantz and her husband, Chris Hoffman, live in McLean with their three children. Their oldest child attends Potomac and is in the second grade.

Meredith White shares, “I have been living in Herndon, VA, since 2020. Since graduating college, I’ve worked for AOL (now Yahoo) as a project manager on the Creative Team. In addition to my full-time role, I’ve been working parttime since 2016 at The Vineyards & Winery at Lost Creek and its partner, Wine Bar Echelon in Leesburg. For fun, I photograph local concerts and manage a Facebook page where I post my photos and upcoming live music events.”

1997

Elizabeth Race Terborgh elizabethrace@gmail.com

1998

Jessica Ohly jessicaohly@gmail.com

Do you have new digs or a new email address? Potomac wants to stay in touch with you, help you stay connected to your classmates, and make sure you get

ON CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT

Award-winning filmmaker Zal Batmanglij ’98 returned to Potomac to share his journey as a student, storyteller, and filmmaker. From The East to The OA and A Murder at the End of the World, Zal’s work has captivated audiences worldwide. Alumni and students were inspired by his insights and creative process. Thank you, Zal, for an unforgettable visit!

invitations to events! Please help us by making sure your information is up to date. Email your updates today to alumni@potomacschool.org!

Anne Gasho Krohn and her husband moved to Vienna, Austria, this winter and are enjoying the expat life.

Jessica Ohly continues to enjoy living in Denver, CO, and teaching fifth-grade.

Valerie Plesch shares, “I continue to cover the news in DC, and it’s been busy! It has been a rewarding and wonderful experience to work for different news outlets to cover the election, the inauguration, Capitol Hill, events at the White House like the Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony, and other stories. I also moved to Logan Circle if anyone is in the neighborhood!”

1999

Sahar Batmanghelidj saharbatman@gmail.com

Christian Gomez christian.gomez@gmail.com

Sahar Batmanghelidj writes, “On our way home from picking up our daughter from camp in Northern Ontario, my husband and I made a truly special detour to reunite with the Wheeler family—Lindsay Wheeler Coursen and Stephen Wheeler ’00—at their cabin in Muskoka. I also spent a beautiful day with Leah Willey Chokel and her daughter, Haven. We fished, feasted, and gabbed, and hopefully, I sparked some interest in a trip to Minneapolis for their whole family!”

Cara Schantz ’96 with her husband, Chris, and their children

Zal Batmanglij ’98 and Valerie Plesch ’98 at Zal’s mom’s restaurant, Joon, in Tysons, VA

Valerie Plesch ’98 on assignment with The New York Times, covering Vice President Kamala Harris in Maryland, December 17, 2024

Class Notes

After much hard work and dedication to the project, Michael Farah and his mom, Nabila, opened their restaurant, Nabila’s, in Brooklyn. The food is delicious, and their story is pretty cool, too; in fact, CBS featured their journey on The Dish!

2000

25TH REUNION

Maura Myers Bisogni maura.bisogni@gmail.com

Jonathan Haworth haworth.jonathan@gmail.com

Are you ready to celebrate your 25th milestone? Mark your calendars for October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it!

2001

Stirling Kelso Neff stirlingkelso@gmail.com

Shannon Gopaul Balser, Riece GrimesThomas ’26, and Zalika Murray celebrated Stefanie Thomas Martin ’03’s wedding last November. “What a blast!” Shannon notes.

Tom Cannell is living in New York, enjoying work and raising his three kids. Daphne Chester writes that she is still living in London with her family, including her five children, ages three to nine, who, she jokes, “are all much more British than they are American!” Having spent the past 13-plus years abroad in Hong Kong and London, Daphne continues to work with her Asia-based firm,

which keeps her traveling frequently to Hong Kong and Singapore. She adds, “If you find yourself in any of these cities, please reach out to say hello!”

Edwin Merrigan lives with his wife and two kids, Allie (5) and Jack (3), in Milton, GA. “We just purchased a farm and are creating our own blue zone to share with our friends and family,” he says. Edwin regularly sees Bradley Allen and Matthew Nims

Stirling Kelso Neff popped in on Elena Knappen in New York this past September and keeps up with Lina Gomez Clausell, Stephanie Amann Kapsis, and Marian Smith Montalbano regularly. Stirling and her family will be relocating to Amsterdam from Austin this July and encourage you to visit!

Members of the Class of 1999 celebrating at Reunion 2024

Sahar Batmanghelidj ’99 (center) visited the Wheeler’s in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, in August 2024. Stephen Wheeler ’00 (far left), his sister, Lindsay Wheeler Coursen ’99 (fifth from left), Gorden and Leslie Wheeler (far right), and Stephen’s and Lindsay’s children enjoyed time together!

Shannon Goupal Basler ’01, Stefanie Thomas ’03, and Riece Grimes-Thomas ’26 at Stefanie’s wedding, November 2024

Elizabeth Peterson ’01 (left) met up with Elena Knappen ’01 and her daughter, Emilia, in New York.

Elizabeth Peterson shares, “I’ve been a TV writer in LA for the past 13 years. Some highlights include writing for The Newsroom and The Leftovers on HBO, and enough broadcast shows that I can horrify dinner parties with my knowledge of serial killers, jury tampering, and emergency tracheostomies. I’m currently developing two shows for Hulu and Disney+, which may or may not get made, but it’s a fun ride. My husband, Alex, has taught me more about Ultimate Frisbee than anyone should know, and we have two kids, Zoe (8) and Henry (6).”

Jamie Potter shares, “I had an amazing time connecting with Potomac’s creative community in November and talking screenwriting at a wonderful dinner at Joon, hosted by Zal Batmanglij ’98. Thank you to Zal and the Alumni Office for making that happen. I’m taking a break from children’s publishing this year to work on an adult thriller/ romance under a pseudonym. Hoping to get that on shelves in the next year. Keep shining, everybody.”

Laura K.O. Smith and her husband, Federico, are the founders of Quixote Expeditions, which runs micro cruises (capped at 12 passengers) in Antarctica. She writes, “While we love our home base in Ushuaia, Argentina, it can still

be cold and windy in the summer, so to warm up our bones, we bought a small cabin in Northern Patagonia, where we spend our frigid months. It’s located well enough that we can still hop down to Antarctica as needed, but we are grateful that we can walk to the lake and a stream and actually enjoy the warmth. Visitors are ALWAYS welcome in Ushuaia or Villa la Angostura.”

Kate Jackson Wendelboe moved from London to Boston with her husband, Adam, and two boys, Alfie (10) and Eddie (7), a year and a half ago. She’s working at Verizon, running strategic business operations for its 5G Acceleration unit. Outside of work, Kate loves reliving being in Mr. Bergman’s theater courses by taking improv classes at a local theater and having the chance to see Potomac friends—including Laura Warren ’02 and Whitney Petersmeyer Segneri—at her kids’ soccer games, as well as on trips back to DC, which are now much easier! She recently got together with Lizzie Copson for lunch.

2002

Victoria Sylos-Labini victoriavsl@gmail.com

Sartaj Ajrawat had a blast creating an outdoor light art installation in Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan, this past January.

Victoria Sylos-Labini enjoyed being a panelist alongside an inspiring group of fellow alumnae at Potomac’s networking event, “Bold Moves: Stories of Bravery, Mentorship, and Career Journeys.” Victoria shared lessons she has learned about taking risks and finding mentors and described some of the unexpected turns that shaped her career.

2003

Aleem Ahmed aleemhahmed@gmail.com

Please join us in extending gratitude to Elizabeth Fabiani Rooney for her incredible work as class correspondent! Elizabeth has been a fantastic connector, keeping us all in the loop. Now she’s passing the torch. Are you interested in

becoming the next 2003 class correspondent? Contact alumni@potomacschool.org to learn more.

Anne Benveniste’s business, The Career Studio, helps people create energizing careers they love—ones that feel like an extension of who they are and how they want to live their lives. To help more people have access to her work, Anne recently expanded her offerings to include a group coaching program that she runs twice a year. If you’re feeling stuck professionally, you

Jamie Potter ’01, during a magazine photo shoot in fall 2024

Sartaj Ajrawat ’02, next to his outdoor light art installation in Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan, in January

Maya Jaafar Lena ’03 with her husband, Sean, and children, Joan and Luke, at the Portland, ME, Board of Education Inauguration, December 2024

Class Notes

might want to check out her work at thecareer.studio.

Maya Jaafar Lena was elected to an at-large seat on the Board of Education in Portland, ME, with an impressive 71% of the vote! A PK-12 certified art teacher, Maya holds a Master of Arts in teaching from Tufts University. She taught art in Potomac’s Upper School from 2007 to 2010 and has also worked in public schools in Scarborough and Portland, ME. Since 2010, Maya has lived in Portland, where she serves as president of her neighborhood association and actively participates in multiple civic committees.

2004

Claire Robertson robertsonaclaire@gmail.com

Regina Lee Fechter reginablairlee@gmail.com

J.J. Reibel continues writing. His latest works include W01V35, The World Ends, and The Memoir Wilson Stiner is building out a new cultural ecosystem with a seasoned visual and performance arts incubator in Atlanta. He shares, “If any alumni want to be in touch about local or international opportunities with the incubator, I’m happy to connect.”

Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein’s new book, Abundance, was released this March. It traces the global history of the 21st century, noting that a pattern of growing unaffordability and shortage is emerging and explaining how one generation’s solutions have become the next generation’s problems. Calling for a rethinking of big, entrenched problems that seem mired in systemic scarcity, from climate change and housing to education and healthcare, the authors suggest that the crisis that’s clicking into focus now has been building for decades—because we haven’t been building enough. They posit that

progress requires the ability to see promise rather than just peril in the creation of new ideas and projects and an instinct to design systems and institutions that make building possible. In addition to co-authoring Abundance, Derek is a staff writer at The Atlantic, host of the podcast Plain English, and the author of Hit Makers.

2005

20TH REUNION

Your 20th milestone celebration is coming up! Mark your calendars and plan to join us on campus on October 17–18. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it!

Teacher and Modern Classrooms Project cofounder Rob Barnett’s book, Meet Every Learner’s Needs, delivers researchbacked techniques to transform classrooms into dynamic learning environments in which all students are appropriately challenged—and appropriately supported—every day. Based on his experience training thousands of teachers worldwide, Rob provides a

methodology for K–12 educators to design lessons and courses that respond to individual learners’ unique needs and help every learner develop authentic understanding. His approach has empowered educators and students in all grade levels and content areas, everywhere from underperforming inner-city public schools to elite international schools, across all 50 states and in more than 150 countries.

Marcus Ginyard writes, “Life has been full and exciting in recent months! I’m living in Durham, NC, and working as a commercial mortgage banker with Medalist Capital in Raleigh, helping clients navigate the evolving real estate market. Beyond that, I’ve continued my passion for sports as a broadcaster with the ACC Network, covering college basketball. Public speaking has also become a bigger part of my life as I’ve expanded my work as a keynote speaker, sharing experiences from my time in sports and business. Recently, I’ve found myself stepping into the professional world of wine—a passion I developed during my time in France—and have aspirations to pursue wine certifications. Outside of work, my girlfriend and I are raising Krug, our seven-month-old Bernadoodle, who was fittingly named after our favorite champagne. He’s quickly taken over the house and keeps life entertaining!

Members of the Class of 2004 celebrating at Reunion 2024

mom, Nabila, a HUGE shout-out. They have both worked so hard to make Nabila’s come to life in Brooklyn. The food is delicious, and the story is pretty cool, too. (I am a little biased!) CBS featured their journey on The Dish.”

2010

15TH REUNION

Tori McCaffrey

tori.mccaffrey@gmail.com

Maggie Nelsen carrington.nelsen@gmail.com

It’s your 15th milestone, so mark your calendars for Reunion, October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it!

Clara Beyer Bower shares, “I’m pursuing a master’s certificate in painting at Washington Studio School. It seems I’ve left software engineering for good, and now all my clothes are covered in paint! My husband, Andrew, our two cats, Wodehouse and Murray, and I are still doing well in Adams Morgan.”

Sarah Chew is thrilled to continue her work on the Science Team at the Society for Women’s Health Research. She works on projects that focus on conditions and diseases that disproportionately, differently, and exclusively impact women.

CeCe Conner reports, “I joined CHANEL about a year ago as group director of Fragrance Marketing and am now overseeing the U.S. women’s

fragrance portfolio for the House. I also hit my 10 years in New York City over the summer!”

Colin Cummings writes, “I am living in Boston and working as a physician assistant in an ICU at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. I live with my wife, Caroline, and our 18-month-old daughter, Sophie. We are very excited to

welcome another baby into the family in late May! I’m loving being a dad. This winter, I had the pleasure of skiing in Utah and Vermont with longtime friend and Potomac classmate Drew Morrison.”

Jordan Jones is completing his Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is also a minister at Metro Hope Church in East

Mike Farah ’99 and his mom, Nabila, at their Brooklyn Eatery, Nabila’s

Campbell Millar Schmidt ’11 with her husband, Russell Schmidt ’12, and their children

Ellen Overstreet Helvey ’11 and her husband, Walker Helvey, on their wedding day

Kylie Kies Cornett ’11 with her husband, Rich, their daughter, Chloe, and their contemplative golden retriever, Franklin

Harlem (yeah, this is a shock for him, too!) and a community organizer. After graduation, Jordan plans to stay in New York, where he will seek ordination and continue finding ways to blend activism and spirituality.

2011

Marie Henneberg marie.henneburg@gmail.com Charlotte Morris charlottelaurie93@gmail.com

Kylie Kies Cornett shares, “I recently moved back to McLean with my husband, Rich, our two-year-old daughter, Chloe, and our golden retriever, Franklin. I’m working in product management at Yelp. We have enjoyed returning to the area, being closer to family, and reconnecting with Potomac alums.”

Sasha DiGiulian’s Send Bars were recently recognized by Bon Appetit and featured on its list 12 Protein Bars You’ll Actually Want to Eat. The Send Bars company is committed to providing healthy, clean food in an easy, convenient way for busy people who care about what they put into their bodies.

Ellen Overstreet Helvey writes, “I got married to Walker Helvey in October 2024 and recently moved to Arlington, VA. I work in events for the Chief Executives Organization in DC. I am thrilled to be serving a second year on the Alumni Governing Council and love getting to connect with other Potomac alums in the area.”

Charlotte Morris is currently attending the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, pursuing her MBA. Upon graduation in May, she’ll be moving to Chicago, where she has accepted a full-time role at Kraft Heinz in its Marketing Leadership program.

Campbell Millar Schmidt reports, “My husband, Russell Schmidt ’12, and I live in Belle Haven, VA, with our son, Penn (almost 2), and our two-month-old daughter, Stevie Tracy. Russell works in real estate, and I am a full-time mom. We spend most of our time trying to keep up with our two young kids, and we enjoy spending weekends with family in the area.”

TRAILS

World Building

Smoking was the unlikely gateway to a career in economic diplomacy for Esfandyar (Yar) Batmanghelidj ’10

“Turns out cigarettes make a really good entry point to learning about a country’s political, social, and economic makeup,” he says.

Yar is the founder and CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, which promotes economic development, diplomacy, and justice in West Asia, a region that is home to roughly 600 million people spanning from Turkey to Afghanistan.

While Yar doesn’t smoke, it gave him secondhand inspiration for his work.

In 2009, his father returned after a visit to his birth nation dismayed, he wondered, “Why are so many people in Iran smoking?” Yar was then a junior at Potomac, and the question piqued his interest—which was then propelled by a reading assignment.

“James Kessler, former Upper School history teacher, had us read a book about the Middle East by James Gelvin, and the combination of learning about the Middle East in a more directed way and my dad having just come back from Iran got me to think about the country and the region with more curiosity,” he says.

That curiosity shaped his senior thesis project at Potomac and his course of study at Columbia University, and led to his first trip to Iran in 2013.

“Those experiences led me to discover that how our knowledge was being produced about the Middle East—in terms of the cultures, the dynamics between them, and their relevance on the global stage—was stagnant,” he says.

Through the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, which started as a digital publication in 2015 before relaunching as a think tank in 2020, Yar aims to foster a more nuanced understanding of the region’s political, economic, and social dynamics. He’s also challenging misconceptions, including his father’s observation that smoking was more prevalent in Iran, a notion that Yar’s research found was false.

Rather than focus on blanket hardship, Yar is instead highlighting resilience as a way to envision more prosperous and inclusive societies in West Asia. A recent article on the foundation’s website, for example, explored how architecture in Iran is evolving in the face of political and economic pressure, rather than how it’s struggling under heavy sanctions.

“When sanctions are studied, scholars and policymakers typically focus on how to design them to create economic pain that will change behavior,” he says. “I’m more interested in how sanctions change the target country and how ordinary people adapt and innovate.”

Even in regions often perceived as perpetually in crisis, Yar sees immense capacity for renewal and creativity. “The fact that it’s not all bad tells us that it’s worth trying to improve the situation more broadly,” he says.

—Laura J. Cole

Class Notes

2012

Jamie Lovegrove lovegrovejs@gmail.com

In addition to her work as an actor and content creator, Samantha Dockser is now co-head of Logue Social, a bookand author-exclusive social media company. Under Logue, she co-founded @ThePreoccupied, a project dedicated to sharing and hosting Los Angelesbased book events, including a monthly Walking Book Club.

Lauren Wackerle Hardison enjoys living and working in Bethesda, MD, with her husband, Shep, and golden retriever, Bunker. Lauren loves serving on the Alumni Governing Council and connecting with many Potomac classmates and teachers!

Ryan Jory and his wife, Mikayla, recently purchased a new home in Raleigh, NC, and celebrated their son, Shepard’s, second birthday. The family is enjoying the excitement of home ownership and the lively culture of Raleigh.

2013

Soraya Batmanghelidj sorayabatman94@gmail.com

Ellie Gilbert is stepping back from her role as class correspondent. Thank

you, Ellie, for your many years of dedicated service. Calling all Class of 2013 storytellers! Would you like to serve as a Class Correspondent along with Soraya? Contact Laura Miller at lmiller@ potomacschool.org to learn more.

Ella Jones married her college sweetheart, Kei Helm, at Washington Golf and Country Club on September 28, 2024. Ella’s brother, Andrew Jones ’10, officiated the ceremony. Guests included fellow Class of 2013 alumni Russell Goldman, Alexandra Pancake, Natasha Preston, and Tyler Ricchetti.

2014

Vanessa Luehrs Hwang vanessahwang28@gmail.com

2015

10TH REUNION

Tabitha Huff Taylor tabihuff9@gmail.com

Get ready to celebrate your 10th Reunion! Mark your calendars for October 17–18, 2025. It’s going to be an unforgettable event, and you won’t want to miss it!

2016

Arjun Fischer arjunmfischer@gmail.com

Danielle Grae daniellegrae2022@gmail.com

Gabriel Miller gabriel@millerwalker.com

Do you have new digs or a new email address? Potomac wants to stay in touch with you, help you stay connected to your classmates, and make sure you get invitations to events. Please help us by making sure your information is up to date. Email alumni@potomacschool.org with your updates today.

2017

Naki Franklin shares, “I’ve been up to some exciting things at Nickelodeon! The new Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series is coming soon! I’m thrilled to be coordinating programming for the Avatar: The Last Airbender YouTube channel leading up to the premiere. I’m also proud to share that I pitched the winning title for the upcoming series Avatar: Chibi Minis, a 2D-animated Chibi-style series featuring classic ATLA scenes. Additionally, I oversee the

Ella Jones ’13 and her husband, Kei Helm, on their wedding day

Members of the Class of 2014 celebrating at Reunion 2024

Class Notes

keeping us all connected. Calling all Class of 2020 storytellers! Would you like to serve as the next class correspondent? Contact alumni@potomacschool.org to learn more.

Benjamin Steer is a British/American acoustic singer and songwriter, with strong roots in indie-pop. He emphasizes creating music that connects directly and honestly with his audience. Benjamin gains inspiration from the likes of Hozier, Jon Bellion, and Ed Sheeran. His music is both introspective and relatable, characterized by layered vocals, innovative beats, and catchy melodies. In March, Benjamin opened for the absolute legend Myles Smith in Antwerp; check him out on Spotify, wherever you get your music, or @benjamin_steer_.

2021

Lucy Goldberg lucyemail03@gmail.com

Will Fearey feareyw25@mail.wlu.edu

Rachael Fields rmfields19@gmail.com

Maya Sardar mayasardar1515@gmail.com

Maya Sardar shares, “I will graduate from William & Mary this May. I’ve enjoyed being neighbors with Sam Burton ’22 this past year and seeing Caroline Page ’22 so often.”

Former VPAC student Ariston Zhou visited Potomac in February to meet and work with current VPAC students. Ariston shared some of his recent adventures and showed images of his design projects. He worked for over a year in a centuries-old, artisanal woodworking company in Kyoto, Japan (to which he’ll return this summer). The Kyoto Journal published a feature, “Revitalizing Tradition: Ariston Zhou’s Journey into Japanese Arts and Craft,” about his time there. In pursuit of more generalized and global design training, Ariston is currently studying architecture in Versailles, France.

2022

Bunny Cameron Fcameron@colgate.edu

Clay Socas robert.d.socas.26@dartmouth.edu

Emily Raman is stepping back as a Class of 2022 correspondent. Thank you, Emily, for your dedicated service in keeping your classmates connected and in the know. Calling all Class of 2022 storytellers! Would you like to serve as the next class correspondent? Contact alumni@potomacschool.org to learn more.

2023

Mika Dewar msdewar23@gmail.com

Shelby Willcox shelbswillcox16@gmail.com

2024

Paige Ramsey paige_r@icloud.com

Teagan Chapman writes, “Here’s a Texas update from Teagan and Kiki Bell! Teagan and Kiki both rushed Zeta Tau Alpha, along with other girls from the DC area. We have enjoyed the warm weather, pickleball tournaments, and

You can listen to singer/songwriter Benjamin Steer ’20’s songs wherever you get your music!

Sam Burton ’22, Maya Sardar ’21, and Caroline Page ’22

Visual and Performing Arts Concentration (VPAC) alum Ariston Zhou ’21 (left) working with current VPAC students

walking to our local farmers market. Some of our favorite experiences so far have been the rodeo in the historic Stockyards and game days! GO FROGS!”

Ella Dowley reports, “Since starting at Dartmouth, I’ve enjoyed my time on the women’s rowing team. I was excited to begin our championship season this March. I plan to major in economics and am looking forward to returning to DC this summer for an internship. Outside of classes and rowing, I’ve become involved with Aquinas House, the Catholic student group on campus, and have joined the Aquinas House church choir. I’ve also loved continuing to work with my mom to run Bow Ball, a rowing-inspired company that designs apparel and accessories while supporting charitable programs and the rowing community. If you’d like to connect or learn more, feel free to reach out!”

Paige Ramsey shares, “I am currently at the University of Virginia and loving every moment of my experience here. After transitioning from competitive horseback riding to student life, I’ve picked up running as a new hobby and

am training for the Charlottesville Half Marathon this April. I’m thoroughly enjoying my business studies and am actively involved in two commercerelated clubs that focus on investing, consulting, and marketing. I recently joined a sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and have loved the connections I’ve made thus far. Additionally, I’ve found a great community at Christ Church, where I’ve bonded with others over shared experiences with FOCUS, which I loved during my time at Potomac. This year, I’ve had the chance to reconnect with my Potomac friends over a Friendsgiving meal and on a ski trip to Colorado. I’m excited to intern at the George Washington Investment Institute and study at the London School of Economics this summer!”

Jeff Wiley writes, “I’m loving Richmond and the new friends for life I’ve made. I’m part of Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity, as well as the tennis and pickleball clubs. I’m excited for all that’s ahead!”

IN MEMORIAM

Nicholas Anderson ’71 Brother of Alexis Anderson ’67

Ari Charney ’94

Alexander Day ’11 Son of Roxana Day ’71

Marion Guggenheim Trustee emeritus; mother of Grace Guggenheim ’74, trustee emeritus, Jonathan Guggenheim ’75, and Philip Guggenheim ’79; mother-inlaw of Sara Holbrook Guggenheim ’77

Emilie “Lee” Hubbard Kimball

Wife of the late Lewis Kimball, former head of school; mother of Philip Kimball ’67, Peter Kimball ’69, and Matthew Kimball ’70

Charles F. Lettow Trustee emeritus; father of Rénee Lettow Lerner ’83, trustee emeritus, Carl Lettow ’85, John Lettow ’91, and Paul Lettow ’95; grandfather of Anna Lerner ’20, Ely Lettow ’20, Elias Lerner ’22, Charles Lettow ’24, Maria Lerner ’26, John Lettow ’29, and Henry Lettow ’31

Lucinda “Cinda” Train Longstreth ’61 Sister of David Train ’66

Jane Choate Lorentz Former faculty member

Virginia Mars Trustee emeritus; mother of Pamela Mars Wright ’75, trustee emeritus, and Marijke Mars ’79

Katherine “Kitty” Carter Nelson ’55

Shelah Kane Scott ’46

Martha “Ellie” Hamm Spencer ’60

Sister of Julie Hamm Finley ’52, trustee emeritus

Robert “Bob” A. Young

Trustee emeritus; father of Steven Peter Young II ’96 and Courtney Young Alston ’97; grandfather of Gillian Young ’28

Kiki Bell ’24 and Teagan Chapman ’24 on their first game day in the campus commons at the University of Texas

Ella Dowley ’24 (center) competing for Dartmouth women’s rowing in the 2024 Gardner Cup Regatta, which celebrated the program’s 50-year anniversary, on October 5, 2024, in Hanover, NH

Jack Judd ’24, Kiki Bell ’24, Paige Ramsey ’24, Chloe Winslow ’24, and Walker Lyall ’24 on a ski trip to Beaver, CO, in December 2024

Jeff Wiley ’24 and friends last September at the University of Richmond

Remember Rediscover Reunion 2024

THIS PAST OCTOBER, The Potomac School welcomed alumni from classes ending in 4 & 9 back to campus for a celebration of tradition, connection, and shared history.

Reunion Weekend brought classmates together to reminisce about their time at Potomac, reconnect with lifelong friends, and experience the energy of Homecoming and Fall Frolics. From lively conversations to walking the trails, the sense of belonging was unmistakable. Thank you to all who returned to celebrate this milestone—we loved welcoming you home.

Coast to Coast

Potomac alumni continue to connect, inspire, and lead across industries and generations. Stay tuned for more events and opportunities to engage with our community!

FALL ALUMNI GAMES: NEW YEAR, NEW LINEUP!

November 2024

Potomac’s Fall Alumni Games were back, with exciting new additions: pickleball, women’s basketball, and chipping (golf)! Plus, we’ve kept the classics—Hale Stevenson Ross ’14 Memorial Run, squash, men’s lacrosse, co-ed soccer, men’s basketball, and open gym for fitness enthusiasts. After the games, alumni gathered at The Admiral—Dupont Circle, an event hosted by Reed Landry ’99

NET@NIGHT RETURNS WITH AI INSIGHTS

January 2025

Potomac’s much-anticipated Net@Night returned with a fascinating discussion on AI’s role in the future of work. Thought leaders Rohit Bhargava ’93 and Holton-Arms alumna Sequoia Austin ’10 engaged the audience with insights on AI innovation and Non-Obvious Thinking. With strong participation from our alumni network and partners—including Flint Hill School, Georgetown Day School, and The Holton-Arms School—the evening was a testament to the power of community and collaboration. Stay tuned for our next Net@ Night event this spring!

CROSSROADS

A New Spirit

Leaving Wall Street for a new passion

BY STEVE GAVULA ’01

I remember my mom calling like it was yesterday. “Your father is in the hospital,” she said. My heart dropped. I grabbed my keys and rushed out the door, barely processing what was happening. I rushed from my apartment in lower Manhattan to the Amtrak and hopped on the next train from New York City to Washington, DC. I had been on that train countless times before, but never for a reason like this. This was 2016, and I had spent the last 11 years working for large Wall Street institutions. It was what I had studied in school and what I thought was my direction in life.

As I sat on that train for three hours, I vividly remember contemplating the path I had chosen. I was knee-deep in a career with limited control, and it was clear that life was passing me by. I was missing opportunities to spend time with my family. In that moment, everything shifted. I had an immediate reset of my perspective and priorities. I wanted to own my direction in life.

That train ride forced me to reevaluate everything. I needed a change, though I had no idea what that would be. Then, on a whim a few months later, I visited Jalisco, Mexico—a trip that would alter my path entirely.

My obsession began on that first trip, and for the next two and a half years, I was on a mission to create the finest and most unique blend of tequila on the market. Balancing a demanding Wall Street job with my growing passion wasn’t easy. I’d spend late nights researching distillation methods, often wondering if I was crazy for pursuing this dream. I immersed myself in everything—agriculture, fermentation, and the nuances of distillation—all while managing a full-time job and preparing for the arrival of my first child. In partnership with an amazing distilling family and after countless samples, we created the world’s first Hi/Lo blend of tequila. The experience was invigorating: Carrying a product through a full life cycle was a dramatic departure from what I was doing in New York.

Our recipe started winning numerous awards in 2019, and after deciding that maybe this passion project could become a business, we launched Costa Tequila in September 2019. Our proof of concept worked, and by January of 2020, we had garnered interest from a large national distributor to launch our brand in three states.

As luck would have it, that partnership was set to launch in March 2020—the same month that COVID shut down the world.

My wife, Courtney, and I had just had our first child, and we moved to her hometown of Vero Beach, Florida, to start once again from scratch, building Costa Tequila. It felt like an enormous risk at the time, but it was exactly what was needed. I am eternally grateful for the community of Vero Beach for supporting us during that difficult period.

Today, Costa Tequila is still headquartered in Vero Beach, with our partner distillery in Jalisco, Mexico. We are sold through 41 distributors across 17 states, recently received our second national chain authorization, and have been written up in over 20 national publications. As a small corporate team of nine, we are working each day to provide our customers with a world-class product. The days get longer, and the work has only gotten harder, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

While this path might have been unexpected, it has given me everything I could have hoped for: more time with my wife and our two children, control over my own path, and, most importantly, the ability to be present for the moments that truly matter. For that, I’d take this journey all over again.

Steve Gavula ’01 lives in Bethesda, MD with his wife, Courtney, and their two children, Stephen and Valentina.