Class Notes

(Corvallis, OR) is living in Corvallis, Oregon close to family and friends. “Because of the pandemic I am not singing in my three choirs. A loss to my spirits, but ‘Surgere Tentamus’ as ever,” writes Prudy.

(Carpinteria, CA): “A few of us had an overnight reunion organized and perfected by classmate Nancy Rhodes Burrows — old school ties are strong!”

Hummel (Billings, MT): “I am glad to report that in spite of the raging pandemic, my husband and I are relatively healthy. We spent two weeks in December in Whitefish, Montana with our sons and their families, but our travels this past year obviously fell by the wayside. Fortunately we were able to spend last Christmas with our family in Cabo San Lucas followed by an amazing month-long marathon to Argentina and Antarctica. In Argentina we visited Bariloche, famous for its majestic Alpine scenery. From Bariloche we returned to Buenos Aires, then flew to Ushuaia (on the south coast), where we boarded our ship for the 12-day cruise south to the Antarctic Peninsula. We returned home at the end of February and since then have been hunkered down mostly in Billings. My brother was able to visit us for a day in November. It was the first time we had seen each other in two years. We have a cruise planned in October to India and Bangladesh. Hopefully we’ll be able to follow through with those plans. For fun at home I play tennis, work in the garden, and during the last seven months have completed several quilting projects, including four twinsized quilts to give to my two granddaughters (ages 9 and 2 1/2) when they leave home!! Happy New Year from Montana.” 1

Wilkes (La Jolla, CA): “Michael and I stay safe in La Jolla with morning runs, bike rides, and lots of photography. It appears this isolation stimulates creativity and possibilities. I have published poetry and essays in a variety of publications. My daily blog, Penjaminswriteway.blogspot. com, has reached 4,000. I also post photography on feathersandfigments. blogspot.com. We mentor student athletes and architecture students at the University of Oregon. Now Zoom helps us stay in touch during this challenging time. Hope to travel to Eugene in the spring to see our students.” 2

(Tucson, AZ): “My husband Scott was hit by a car while bicycling in 2007. He was in a coma for two months and he became functionally quadriplegic. I have cared for him three, 8-hour shifts a day since then. This is the hardest thing I have ever done and, because of it, I feel like I can do ANYTHING! It has been doubly challenging, as we lost our income a month after I brought him home. The really miraculous part is that, even though I am only paid 40 hours/week to care for him we have been able to keep

the house, feed ourselves and pay for utilities. Support has come from the most unexpected places: a divine gift that has been awesome to witness. This is a good time to express to those who helped us when the accident first occurred (and beyond) who have not yet heard from me. If you didn’t provide me with an email address at the time, you are still on the list of people to whom I still need to communicate my deep gratitude. You will hear from me eventually!

Scott and I are fortunate to have a strong, spiritual perspective, as well as a terrific sense of humor. We are organic vegetarians and live a very pure lifestyle and diet, using all natural healing techniques. We have very strong immune systems (haven’t had a cold or the flu

in over 30 years!) and hardly notice the ramifications of the COVID-19 fiasco as we have been trapped in the house since 2007! I’d love to hear from any of you and, if you happen to come to Tucson, please know I would love to see you. Love and Blessings to you all!

P.S. I am still in contact with my high school boyfriend. We have maintained a loving relationship all these years!” 3

(Anahola, HI): The Pacific Traditions Society’s production of “We, the Voyagers” Parts 1 and 2, co-written by Heu’ionalani, received grand prizes in the Feature Film category from the 2020 International Maritime Film Festival in Bucksport, ME, and the Arkhaios Film Festival in Pittsburgh. In addition, the films have been shown at festivals in New Zealand, India, Cyprus, and Chile. The Society for American Archaeology also plans to include them in the program for its annual meeting in San Francisco in April 2021. Each film lasts about 55 minutes. Both are accessible online, as is a sixminute introductory trailer. To see them and learn more about the project, please visit www.vaka.org or look up Vaka Taumako on Facebook.

Lamb (St. Helena, CA): “After retiring from the wine industry and leasing out my vineyards for 10 years, COVID put a big lock on all my plans to travel and see my children and grandchildren across the globe. But the Glass Fire put an end to all my future hopes when my home, vineyards, wine cellar and entire infrastructure burned in September. So my new job for the next four years is now working with three separate insurance companies, government agencies who offer grants and loans, and my vineyard manager and team to replant my vineyard and continue with life...”

(Camarillo, CA): “What a year 2020 has been! I did not enjoy distance learning/teaching last spring so I retired after teaching middle school for 27 years. Mentally I was not ready to give up helping students, so I have launched my own tutoring business. Thankfully, it has turned out to be the perfect segue into part-time retirement. I am enjoying the one-to-one interaction with my ‘tutorees’ and they seem to appreciate the help I am giving them to make distance learning more productive. Donning masks, we meet safely outside of their homes on a patio or in their garage. The days of grading student work late into the night, lesson planning, or calling parent conferences are a distant memory. Hopefully, in the spring or next summer I will be able to travel again to some exotic lands. Stay healthy and safe, everyone. Also, a sincere congratulations to Juanita, our beloved, ever-so-patient ceramics master teacher on her well-deserved retirement!”

(Lexington, KY) is still living in Lexington, Kentucky and enjoying her job as executive director of the non-profit International Book Project, which partners with organizations in 167 countries to provide books to those who have no access to them. “The silver lining to this pandemic has been the weekly Sunday evening Zoom calls with classmates Nina Warner (whose notes after each call should be compiled into a record of how we all coped and held each other up), Terry Gamble Boyer, Sarah Weller King, SarahWheeler Cobb, Katie Clark, Diane Egelston, Tina Oldknow,

Eckhardt, Lindsay Morse Bennett, Cole Rowan, Poodie Newton, Rosemary Howley, Alison Buell, and Judith Schonbach,” writes Lisa. “Somehow, I think the next reunion will be a BIG one since we could all use that big, REAL hug!”

Reavis Hilz-Ward (Germany): “I am delighted to announce that we have won a prize for “Unique Technology in Talent Management” from the Brandon Hall Group - Excellence in Technology for our STRATURITY Human Capital Self-Assessment (c) (www.straturity.com).”

Hoffman (South Pasadena, CA): “Happy to announce the birth of our second grandchild! George Henry English, born May 18, 2020. He joins his sister Emily, born January 2019. Fun fact: The babies, grandmothers were both Greeks! Looking forward to our 40th reunion in 2021!”

(Littleton, CO): “Greetings from Colorado. I moved to Littleton last June during a pandemic... never the time to move, however I am here and love Colorado. I still help people navigate the Medicare maze here in Colorado and California now that we are using the internet. This spring I will be flying back and forth so if anyone needs help with their Medicare just call Kacey. Hope all are well during these crazy times!”

(Brooklyn, NY): “Despite the extreme challenges of 2020, I’m thankful for a great year in my creative career. As a campaign writer I’m proud to have helped BET garner a historic 10 nominations and six wins at Promax BDA Awards 2020, equivalent to the Oscars of marketing and brand creative work for media. As a voice actor, I received my sixth nomination for a Voice Arts Award for an NBC Sports interstitial I voiced for the Women of Team USA as we look ahead to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. This project was a dream come true as an alum of women’s education and I was honored

to be presenting at the virtual ceremony on December 20. On December 13, I served as the opening keynote for the third annual Black Muslim Girl Fly Film Festival, powered by SeedAndSpark.com (#bmgflyfest).” 4

(San Diego, CA): “I am currently living in North County San Diego with my three daughters Keira (15), Kylie (14), and Edie (11). I recently decided to make a giant career shift and gave up being an elementary school teacher in order to start a new business in outplacement and career consulting. Please check us out at: https:// leoandloy.com”

(Lewisburg, PA): “I am an associate professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Bucknell University, where I teach Latin and Ancient Greek, Classical literature, Roman history, and more. I just got tenure in February (woot!). Life in rural PA would be sleepy if not for my husband and two little ones, Penelope (3.5 years old) and Leonie (14 months). I do sometimes miss the sun of Southern California — especially because I wish my girls could go to Westridge when they get older! — but have adapted to the ‘wintry mix’ of the Mid-Atlantic. Wishing everyone good health and an efficacious vaccine in 2021.”

Lara Glück (Mainz, Germany): “Thanks to the Environmental Club and inspiring teachers, Westridge has left a strong impact on my life. Besides working on design projects with a focus on sustainability and environmental protection issues, I have founded an organic neighborhood café and a community garden in the Artists’ Quarter ‘Alte Patrone’ here in Mainz, Germany.”

Megan Plunkett (Los Angeles, CA) In July 2020, in recognition of changes to the USPS operations, Megan teamed with Adam Marnie of F Magazine to plan an Open Call “Mail Art” Auction to Benefit the USPS. By late August, art auction mail was flooding in, with 200+ artworks from more than 140 artists across the United States, as well as several from Canada and France. According to Megan, “the artwork overflowed with experimentation and diversity, emblematic of the democratic nature of the USPS itself.”

Selena Mone(Sierra Madre, CA): “Greetings, fellow Tigers! I would like to share that in addition to my day job in education, I am now a certified personal trainer and I am currently finishing my final project to become an Opex-certified fitness coach. I am back in Pasadena and am lucky enough to have access to a large, privatelyowned, and well-outfitted gym in the area. *Please feel free to get in touch with me atseenabo@gmail.com or @r3dzeppelin (on Instagram) - I’d be thrilled to [re-]connect and/or join you on your fitness journey! (*Currently providing virtual training and at-home programming. Once gyms are fully re-opened and it has been deemed safe, I will return to offering in-person training sessions.)” 5

(San Jose, CA) lives in San Jose, CA with her husband and daughter. She has been working as a physical therapist and enjoys spending time with her family. 6

(Pasadena, CA) In 2020, Mara joined Ronald McDonald House Pasadena as executive director. Relying on the support of the generous Pasadena community, the Ronald McDonald House provides a “home-awayfrom-home” for families with critically ill children who are receiving life-changing medical treatment at local

hospitals. As executive director, Mara works to advance the mission of providing comfort, care, and support to families when they need it most.

(Pasadena, CA) is currently program manager for research and innovations at Google Health. She married Dr. Ueli Rutishauser in March 2019, with Westridge classmates Alex Dworsky and Dr. Theresa Wong in attendance at the ceremony. 7

Emily Hudson(South Pasadena, CA) moved back to Los Angeles in November 2019 after 6.5 years in New York City and is currently enjoying not needing to wear a puffy winter coat. In September 2020, she started a new job with InStride, an Education Technology company, and looks forward to potentially returning to an office and meeting her new coworkers for the first time in 2021.

Katia Ratkovich (San Francisco, CA): “I’m Splunk’s global head of early talent, responsible for developing and implementing strategies to attract and retain top university graduates to create a diverse, global workforce. I am also a member of Splunk’s Women in Technology group and sit on the D&I counsel. I am also working with Michael Grimes, the head of Global Technology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and a Poly/ UC Berkeley alum, to support the Berkeley M.E.T. Program (https://met. berkeley.edu).” Katia recently connected with Westridge to share more about the incredibly competitive, elite program that produces some of the best and brightest tech leaders. “I genuinely believe it would be a great opportunity for any Westridge women interested in pursuing a career in tech,” said Katia. To learn more visit: https:// www.businessinsider.com/ucberkeley-met-for-future-techleaders-2017-4.”

Katrina Post(Santa Monica, CA),a graduate of Brown and client relationship manager at Causeway Capital Management, made Westridge proud as a contestant on Jeopardy on September 30, when her knowledge of history and geography allowed her to take the lead in a several categories. She placed second overall for the evening. 8

Sheila Sitaram (Brooklyn, NY): “I recently left PwC to join an absolute rocket ship of a tech startup called Hashicorp to be the chief of staff to the CMO; this is a far cry from fashion, but I think I finally found a role that combines my so-called left and right brained interests — if anyone who reads this knows any Westridge alums who work in tech and/or are based in NYC, I would love to connect! I have been scouting LinkedIn for interesting connections and would love to broaden my circle amongst the incredible group of Westridge women who are out in the world.”

Simona Brooks (Chicago, IL) graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and is now working as an associate in the tax group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago.

Celine Tien (Pasadena, CA) In October, Celine, a Yale grad and founder of the digital health startup Flowly, was accepted to Stanford StartX. Her company, Flowly (www.flowly.world), helps you manage pain and anxiety with biofeedback and VR. This year, Flowly became one of the youngest companies to be awarded a $1.2 MM grant by the National Institutes of Health. Flowly is both NIH and venture backed, and now launched on the Apple App Store.

Ava Rose Chapman(Dublin, Ireland) was recently awarded the Robert Henry Wallace prize for receiving top marks in English at the annual Junior Freshman honor examination. The exhibition was founded in 1946 by a gift from Mrs. A. Wallace Henry, and Ava was surprised and pleased to learn she had won the prize. Ava is working hard and really enjoying her experience at Trinity College in Dublin. “The international experience has some real benefits!” said Ava. To learn more from Ava about Trinity College, please reach out to her via Westridge Connect.