30s
Gertrude Spooner ’31 writes from Maple Glen, Pennsylvania, “I just had my 96th birthday and am doing well. I enjoy watching the Red Sox and UMass basketball. I can’t make the 75th reunion but my thoughts are with all of you in Amherst. I hope there are some of my classmates left.”
40s
John Powers ’40, ’45G, William Terrell Destinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Food Science, University of Georgia, writes, “UMass Amherst magazine often has items of special interest to us older graduates. I enjoyed seeing the photographs of Roma Levy Stern and Nancy Luce (Winter 2006). I was one of the 20 trainees in the Civilian Pilot Training Program; I’m not sure whether Roma or Nancy soloed first (I think it was Roma) but in any event one or the other soloed ahead of any of us males. I had not thought of how Roma and Nancy got to Barnes Airfield. The other 18 of us got there generally by hitchhiking, which would have been entirely safe, as college students and others looked upon hitchhiking as being an acceptable mode of travel. In 1939-40 few of us had cars. Nonetheless, by hitchhiking, we generally made it from Amherst to Barnes in about an hour.”
50s
Janet Evensen Carr ’54 and her husband, Curtis, spent most of December 2005 touring New Zealand with a group. She writes, “We saw volcanoes, fjiords, black sandy beaches, seals, dolphins, glaciers, mountains, sheep, kiwi birds, opossums, and lovely scenery wherever we went. The people are very generous and kind and love Americans. I highly recommend the country to everyone, if you don’t mind the 12-hour flight from Los Angeles.”
Arthur Clark ’55 writes, “After retiring from running my own plumbing contracting business for 40 years, I am now a published author. I write historical novels about the region where I was born. Visit Novels of Cape Cod at capesand.com and let me hear from you.”
George Fogg ’57 is still actively practicing landscape architecture through his firm Ibis, focusing on park, recreation, and leisure facilities. He is an author with nine books published by the National Recreation and Park Association. He lives in southwest Florida with his wife, Rebecca. In their spare time, they continue to travel extensively throughout the world.
Stan McDonald ’58 retired in 1996 after 25 years as director of library services at Framingham State College. In that year he received the Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Library and Information Science. He writes, “I’ve continued to pursue my dual career as a jazz musician since forming the New Orleans Jazz Doctors in 1954 while a student at UMass Amherst. The band was in demand into the ’60s for fraternity parties in the Five Colleges area and throughout the Northeast.” Stan was a founding member of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band, which toured the United States and Europe from 1971 until 1981 when he formed his Blue Horizon Jazz Band. “In October 2002 members of both bands played at the West Cemetery in Amherst for a memorial service for Gil Roberts, our beloved banjoist, who had passed away at age 106.” For more on the band visit bluehorizonjazzband.com.
60s
Laurence Pringle ’61G, a freelance writer, was awarded a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship for his work on a children’s book about evolution.
Mimi (Halper) Silbert ’63, ’95H received an honorary degree at the 2006 Brandeis University graduation in Waltham.
Richard Valentinetti ’63 is director of the Air Pollution Control Division, Department of Environmental Conservation, Agency of Natural Resources for the State of Vermont. His expertise is in the area relating to air pollution control, including global climate change. He is co-chair of the New England Governor’s/Eastern Canadian Premiere Conference Climate Change Steering Committee.
John Moran ’64, a pediatrician at the Providence Community Health Centers and professor of pediatrics at Brown University, received the Excellence in Teaching award from Brown recently. He writes, “I played fender bass with Taj Mahal for three years while at UMass.”
John Parnell ’66 writes, “Class of 1966—we are thinking of having a 40th reunion event at Homecoming in October. Please contact me if interested at jvptae@aol.com.”
Ethel Pike ’66 retired this year from a lifelong career in critical-care nursing, most recently at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. She writes, “I live in Vershire, Vermont, with my longtime friend, two dogs, and two cats. My goals for this part of my life are many; I have begun to travel, to hike small bits of the Long Trail, and expand my exploration of the Maine coast. I am also contacting old friends and hope to catch up to many of them this next year. I’d love to hear from you, especially Marti Suter Tilley.” Reach Ethel at fopike@mac.com.
Steve Morin ’67, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, was recently selected as a division chief in the Department of Medicine and director of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. He also serves as principal investigator for a large AIDS research project at the University of Zimbabwe.
Donald Doliber ’68G, assistant principal at Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford, has been named the 2006 Massachusetts Assistant Principal of the Year by the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators’ Association.
Ed Hines ’68 asks from Grand Junction, Colorado, “Does anyone know the whereabouts of Warren Elliott Graff ’67? If so, e-mail me at ed57hines@earthlink.net.”
Nancy Nazarian-Reed ’68G writes, “Hi all you artists out there. I’m retired and painting a lot. How about you? It sure would be nice to hear from you. Still dreaming in California.”
Bradley Fitzgerald ’69 lives with his wife, Lisa, in Sarasota, Florida, where they are members of two bands: the four-piece Myakka Bluegrass and the five-piece classic rock Electric Myakka.
Andrew Palmer ’69 sends word that he’s relocated to Florida to join his younger brother, Anthony, at the law firm of Valdini & Palmer. “I’d love to hear from any alumni from the class of ’66 through ’71 who might recall me.” E-mail Andrew at ajpalmer@vplawfirm.com.
Mike Parent ’69 writes that he’s retired from teaching physical education at Hawthorne Brook Middle School in Townsend for 35 years. “I still coach football at North Middlesex High and was recently elected to the Mass High School Football Hall of Fame.” His daughter Jenn ’90 is a physical therapist in the Bedford, New Hampshire, school system and has two sons. Son Mike ’93 works for Microsoft and lives in Wakefield. He has two daughters and a son.
Kathleen Siddons ’69 received an award from the National Network of Early Language Learning for excellence in teaching, mentoring, and use of technology as a Spanish teacher in grades two through five in the public schools of Mansfield, Connecticut. She notes, “Gordon Schimmel ’74G, the superintendent of schools in Mansfield who hired me, is also a UMass alumni.”
Howard Young ’69, Head, Cellular and Molecular Immunology Section, Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, National Cancer Institue in Frederick, Maryland, was a 2006 recipient of the National Public Service Award, given to honor individuals whose accomplishments are models of public service within and outside the work environment.
71
Nancy (Gordon) Katz writes that after a rewarding career in deaf education/administration in Connecticut, she spent the next 19 years as a marketing/communications director of a company headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey. “Following a life-changing trip to visit the Jewish communities of Cuba in 2004, I decided it was time for me to follow my true passions—design and photography.” She enrolled in the Landscape Design program at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx and is actively pursuing a certificate in design as she visits gardens around the country and internationally. She also set up ZaZaCreative, where she offers design and photography services. “I’d love to hear from UMass grads in the New York/New Jersey area (or anywhere!) who are involved in the green/design industry.” E-mail nkatz@zazacreative.com.
Dennis Moulton was honored recently for his 35 years of service at the Clarke School for the Deaf with the naming of the school’s basketball court for him.
David Stevens, voted New Brunswick Prospector of the Year by the NB Prospectors and Developers Association writes, “I guess I must have learned more than I thought from that UMass geology course!” David has been doing political cartoons and illustrations off and on over the years while prospecting full-time. “Last week I signed another deal for a mineral deposit, this time with a Vancouver company, and might actually start making ends meet.”
72
Janis (Wertz) Hadley ’75G, ’78G, president of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut, received the Regional Leadership Award from the Bridgeport Regional Business Council.
Sidney Zonn, managing partner at Littler Mendelson, P.C., has been appointed university vice president and general counsel for Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He has served as outside counsel to RMU for more than 25 years and is currently secretary to the Board of Trustees there.
73
Edward “Ned” Daly writes from his home in Needham, “I’ve just retired
after 19 years with a management consulting firm specializing in
low-income housing. Since graduating, I have been a cook, a restaurant
manager, a telemarketer, a cab driver (twice), a film extra, a sailor,
a schoolteacher, an overseas tour guide, a grad student at Harvard,
and a city planner. Seems like enough jobs for anybody. I look forward
to a quiet life of simplicity and contemplation.”
Anne (Archibald) DeMallie has been promoted from comptroller to CFO at Design Professionals, Inc., a Connecticut-licensed engineering and land-surveying coporation headquartered in South Windsor.
Tom Green celebrated the 25th anniversary of his business, Colonial Restorations, in Brookfield, specializing in the structural restoration of post and beam buildings. He writes, “My son, Brad, a graduate of Wesleyan, is now my business partner; daughter Amy is a nurse at UMass Medical. My wife, Kathleen (Faust) ’74, and I will celebrate our 31st anniversary soon.”
Narayana Haridasan (G) writes, “I am happy to browse through UMass Amherst magazine and see photos of alumni. Are there any in India, especially in the southern Chennai towns? I am retired after more than 26 years of rural development village work, now called social work. Turned a blessed 60 years old on February 18 and praising God for all these years that I have been blessed by Him in church and my rural service. My years at UMass had me doing my master’s in agriculture and food economics under Dr. John Foster. I would love to be in touch with former classmates.” E-mail Hari at miracle_street7@yahoo.com.in.
Gordan Lukesh (G), ’76G traveled to Tomsk, Siberia, in June 2005 to give an address and present a poster at the Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Russia’s equivalent of Los Alamos Labs in New Mexico. He writes, “Common thought is that Siberia is cold. Far from it! At 56 degrees North the sun sets only about three hours and the temperature never varies from about 880F. Of course, this winter Tomsk has been as low as -600F.” He plans to return to Tomsk and suggests checking out the IAO website (www.iao.ru) for photos from the 12th symposium, with his giving the closing remarks.
Margo Mastropieri ’76G, professor of special education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded the Council for Exceptional Children Outstanding Researcher Award in April. Visit www.umassmag.com/photos for more information.
Robert Mitchell (G), special assistant for sustainable development with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office for Commonwealth Development in Boston, was inducted into the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows.
74
Daniel Cosgrove, holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Biology at Penn
State, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Andrew Malloy, a professional musician in Studio City, California, recently released his first solo CD “Best of Friends.” He performs with several Los Angeles area orchestras, and his work can be heard on many movie soundtracks. He teaches trombone at Cal State University–Northridge and Pepperdine University.
Judith Rathbone is looking for a friend named Ron Davis who attended UMass in the 1970s. He was a public-health major and hailed from either Little Rock or Pine Bluff, Arkansas. If anyone knows him, or has any ideas about how to locate him, please e-mail her at jrathbon@mills.edu.
76
Tony Batakis writes, “Fran Dance and I want to get the mechanical engineering
class of 1976 together. Let me know if you are interested and I’ll
help organize it.” E-mail Tony at apbatakis@aol.com.
Kyle Cohen moved from Northampton to Weymouth to become the Youth Services Librarian in Holbrook. He writes, “As a way of meeting people and to honor my late father, I took part in Train to End Stroke for the American Stroke Association as part of Teddy Bruschi’s team. I would love to hear from anyone in the Boston area who remembers me.” E-mail: kylecohen@comcast.net.
Christine Ericson is running in the Vermont Republican Primary as the only candidate for governor bringing up the issue of the use of medical marijuana. She writes, “I am running to bring attention to the fact that Vermont has a medical marijuana law that is in violation of federal law. If I lose the primary, I simply go on the ballot again as the marijuana candidate. I think the UMass work on studying marijuana is excellent. Marijuana is a narcotic and all narcotics are painkillers. To keep marijuana off the legal market is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law.” For more on Christine visit www.crisericson.com/.
Bob Joress writes, “I’m determined to put a reunion together this year. I’ve heard from a few classmates (some very pleasant surprises, I might add), but there are lots more of you out there who know me. You KNOW you wanna see me and catch up on the last 30 years! Please drop me an e-mail at bob@joress.com. Let me know that you’re alive. Oh—my apologies to Hurtin’ Harry for inadvertently omitting him from my ‘most wanted’ list the last time. Gas up the van, Harry, this will be the year!”
Bob Norton, who founded his employment agency, Franklin Key Associates, in 1997 and has over 17 years in the information systems search industry, was elected president of the Massachusetts Association of Professional Services for 2006-2007. He lives in Franklin with his wife of 29 years Eileen (Tozlowski) ’77, a fourth-grade teacher in the Franklin Public School system. Their son, Rob, works in the hospitality industry in Killington, Vermont; daughter Kerry is an assistant media buyer with Blitz Media in Natick; and son Chris is a junior majoring in art at Keene State College. Bob writes, “Hearty warm wishes to all the former residents of Brooks dorm in Central who can readily attest that ‘That Seventies Show’ is a streak in the park compared to the REAL seventies at UMass.”
77
Timothy Austin (G), dean of Creighton University’s College of Arts
and Sciences and professor of English, will become the new vice president
for academic affairs and dean of the College of the Holy Cross in
Worcester.
Kevin Gilligan has been hired as sales manager for J.E.D. Insurance & Financial Service Agency in Foxborough. His responsibilities will be for production of new commercial and personal clients, as well as retention. He lives in Abington with his wife, Marianne, and their two children.
Joseph Niemczura completed his term as president of American Nurses Association Maine and took a teaching position at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
78
Don Aucoin, a reporter for The Boston Globe, is a finalist for the
Freedom Forum/American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for Outstanding
Writing on Diversity for his contributions to the Globe’s “How We
Live Here” series on race relations. He writes, “As a result, my
work will be published this fall by the Poynter Institute in a book
titled Best Newspaper Writing 2006.”
William Thomas began a new job in January at the Entertainment Software Association in New York. He joined ESA as director of State Government Affairs, representing the computer-and video-game industry. He writes, “There’s a lot of action on state video-game bills across the country, so it looks as though it will be a busy year for us. After 14 years at American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, 12 as director of public affairs and two as chief of staff, the ESA feels very, very different. I don’t know if I will become as rabid a gamer as I am passionate about music; time will tell.”
79
Carol Edelstein had her second book of poems published, The Disappearing
Letters, which won the 2005 Perugia Press award. She lives in Northampton
and can be reached at caroledelstein@crocker.com.
80
Arlene (Sivek) Horenstein writes, “I’m thrilled that my daughter, Sharon,
has been accepted into the UMass Amherst class of 2010 as a psychology
major, and I’m looking forward to spending time on campus with her.”
81
Connie (Barringer) Ballou writes that she’d appreciate help remembering
the great spring concerts and shows at the Hatch or the Cage during
the mid-70s and early 80s. “I’m looking for accounts about the bands
that played then. I myself saw John Mayall, Bruce Springsteen, the
Dead, Maria Muldaur, NRBQ, Widespread Depression, Room Full of Blues,
and Hall and Oates. It would be interesting to compile that information
in a UMass Web site.” Anyone wanting to contribute can e-mail her
at jaska9@comcast.net. “Let’s go in the way-back machine to those
simpler days!”
Candido Diaz, a Worcester County Juvenile Probation Officer, received
the 2006 Probation Employee Recognition Award recently.
Steven Rosenberg of Lynn is a reporter for the Boston Globe.
82
Joe Simard writes, “I can’t believe how time flies. My 17-year-old
is asking me about UMass and I can tell him nothing except fond memories.”
Joe lives in Westminster with his wife of 20 years, Trina, and sons,
JoJo and Trevor. “I started a new career last year teaching special
education at the high school level at a charter school in Fitchburg.
After four years in the Air Force and 17 in the computer field, it
is so much fun working with these kids.”
Richard Sobel (G) was a Fellow in the Division of Medical Ethics of the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School for 2005-06, studying medical confidentiality as a constitutional right. He is also the inaugural Visiting Carnegie Senior Lecturer at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University co-teaching a course on “The Press, the Pentagon, and the Public” for the winter 2006 term.
83
Russell Furtado earned a master’s degree in Oriental Medicine from the New England School of Acupuncture. He is a licensed acupuncturist through the Massachusetts Board of Medicine and received national certification by the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He recently opened a practice in Newton.
84
David Whitenett ’87G is a clinical supervisor with Habit Management Institute in Boston. He lives in Natick with his wife, Brenda (Smith) ’86G, ’89G, who recently became a registered landscape architect. They send a big hello to Brett House, Knowlton dorm, and Newman Center alumni.
85
Deborah Cahillane married Katherine Hayford in July of 2004. She writes,
“My career has taken some interesting turns since graduating from
UMass. I worked for many years in my family’s car dealership, was
a computer programmer, and finally, in the fall of 2005, settled
into a great career as a Realtor for Goggins real estate in Northampton.”
She would love to hear from any interested alumni who are selling
a home, or looking to buy one, in the area. For more info visit gogginsrealestate.com/dcahillane.html.
John Finnegan, associate professor of technical graphics at Purdue University in Indiana, was the Full Conference Chair for the SIGGRAPH conference and exhibition in Boston held in August. He writes, “Boston hosted the largest gathering in the world of computer graphics professionals. The latest and greatest ideas, theories, software, and hardware was showcased. UMass grads MK Haley ’90 and Lynn Pocock ’89G were on my organizing committee.”
86
Lauren (Colatosti) Conway of Warwick, Rhode Island, has been named
director of finance for the New England market at UnitedHealthcare
of New England.
Susan Manning and Bob Simons ’88 write that they are “living the vida loca in beautiful Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with their two children, Zoe and Owen.” They can be reached at bob@furgus.com.
Marcy (Krich) Tanter ’96G writes, “I was granted tenure last spring so now I have to face the fact that I’ve been away from UMass for eight years. It’s hard to believe it’s been so long! My husband Alex ’00G and I traveled to Amherst this summer to see what’s changed and what’s the same. I hope all our old friends are happy and well.”
87
Carolyn Quintero (G), ’97G writes that she’d like to be in touch with
any Long Beach or Los Angeles UMass grads. She can be reached at
cqcqcq1@earthlink.net.
Hedwig Rose (G) gave the convocation address at Utrecht University’s international honors college, the Roosevelt Academy in Middleburg, Zeeland, on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. She writes, “I spent nearly four years hidden in a basement in Amsterdam during the war. I spoke of my wartime experiences and of those who rescued me and my sister.” During the three-day observance, she gave two more lectures on the Holocaust, on the process of becoming stigmatized and on the learning of prejudice. “In April, I addressed similar issues at the Hatikvah Holocaust Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts, and again in Salzburg, Austria, at the Salzburg Seminar.” Rose taught at UMass, Smith and Hampshire colleges and at Wesleyan University where she also directed a graduate program in educational studies. Now retired from teaching and administration, she is a consultant, writer, and doing research as a Five Colleges associate.
David Sharin and his wife, Elissa, welcomed son, Matthew Isaac, to their home in September. He joins older sister, Amy Rose, 3. They live in Atlantic Beach, New York, and can be reached at dsharin@optonline.net.
88
Barry Allyn, president of the UMass Alumni Club in Birmingham, Alabama,
writes, “My wife and I were in Disney World for ESPN weekend. On
the set of ESPN’s Cold Pizza, I was able to pose a question to Julius
Erving about his thoughts on Travis Ford and the direction of the
UMass program. Dr. J gave me an enthusiastic hand pump when I introduced
myself as a UMass Amherst alumnus. Eloquent as usual, he said he
had spoken with our new coach several times and thought he was definitely
the right choice. Later, when Dr. J was leaving in his motorcade
through the park, the ESPN folks referred to him as a ‘proud UMass
Minuteman.’” Visit umassmag.com/photos to see a photo of Barry and
Dr. J taken at the event.
Jeffrey Aronofsky ’92G, ’96G writes, “Last fall I decided after eight years as a loan officer with Chase, and nearly $170 million in residential mortgages behind me, it was time to finally hang up my financial calculator!” Jeffrey is now an account executive with the Association of Anti-Moneylaundering Specialists in Miami. “I moved to South Beach and I just love it here—hurricanes, celebrities, palm trees, exotic cars, and people!”
Chuck Leddy, a book reviewer and essayist who writes regularly for The Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle, among others, wrote an essay titled, “Summer Poet,” about the summer after his sophomore year at UMass. He writes, “I spent the whole summer writing poetry, reading at the tower library, and working at the South Hadley Stop & Shop.” Anyone interested in reading the essay should contact Chuck at chuckleddy@comcast.net.
Gary Pease, vice president of civil engineering at Judith Nitsch Engineering, Inc., was recently selected by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce to be part of Boston’s Future Leaders program.
Anna Rubin writes that she hosted a mini reunion in her Boston home for former residents of Central. “Sharon (Krendall) Ames, Karen (Pomfret) Khung, Robyn Bloom, and Anita (Barbagalo) Kealey were in attendance along with their (combined) 12 children. Held during February school vacation week, the reunion was full of fond memories from our days at UMass, the place that brought us all together back in 1984.” Anna has photos that she’d love to share and can be reached at annarubin@verizon.net.
89
Sue Cooper lives in Key West, Florida, and is co-owner
of Lazy Dog Island Outfitter & Outdoor Adventure. She writes, “Our
fast-growing clothing and water-sport organization, led by a group
of young entrepreneurs, is sponsoring a contest for a $75,000- per-year
job and free upscale housing in Key West.” Interested parties can apply
online at www.winajobinkeywest.com.
Nancy Klingener was recently named editor of Solares Hill, a weekly paper covering news and culture in Key West, Florida, where she has lived for 15 years. Prior to this she was news editor of The Key West Citizen and was awarded a First Place in Editorial Writing by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors last year.
Christina Severin is senior vice president of the Cambridge Health
Alliance and executive director of Network Health. She lives in Jamaica
Plain with her husband, Phillip, and their two children.
Francis Zak (G), principal of the R.C. Mahar Regional School in Orange,
has been named Principal of the Year in Massachusetts. He is also a
candidate for the National Principal of the Year recognition under
the program conducted by MetLife Insurance and the National Association
of Secondary School Principals.
90
Mark and Laura (Davis) Smith welcomed their second son, Brady Samuel,
home in September. He joins Connor, who is “thrilled” to have him
as a playmate. Laura works as a partner with the law firm of Greene
Smith McMillan in Miami; Mark is a psychologist in the South Florida
prison system. They would love to hear from classmates and can be
reached at lds@greenelawfirm.com or smittypsyd@aol.com.
91
Lara Herscovitch recently recorded her third CD, Juror Number 13. Independently
produced and released, Lara writes, “Thank you, day job.”
Ari Kaufman (G) was recently promoted to assistant registrar at Berklee College of Music. He lives in Ashland with his wife and their two children, Josie, 2, and her new baby brother, Ryan.
Steven Leavitt, an intellectual property attorney in Rowlett, Texas, has a unique practice, www.youinventit.com, dedicated to helping the independent inventor and small to mid-size businesses. He writes, “Business has grown so steadily that I’m taking on a partner and will move my family to Sarasota, Florida, to open a second office.” He and his wife and high school sweetheart, Jillian Freed, also created and co-host the radio show “Entrepreneur Magazine’s Inventions, Patents and Beyond.” They have two sons, Chasen and Trevan.
Meredith O’Brien-Weiss received a silver award from the Parenting Publication of America for her humor column, “Parenthood,” which appears monthly in the Boston area publication, Parents and Kids. Her popular blog, www.townonline.com/blogs/bostonMommy, shares the latest in parenting news and “the insanity of life with three kids!”
Adam Rockman writes that he’s “very excited to be working as the executive assistant to the vice president for Student Affairs at Queens College in New York.” He lives in Jackson Heights, New York, with his partner, David. “I’d love to hear from old friends!” E-mail him at adam.rockman@qc.cuny.edu.
92
Andrew Madden has been promoted to western district manager by the
Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board in the state’s Division
of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Mark Mills is a co-host, with his wife Nancy, of the nationally televised show, “Boomers! Redefining Life After 50!” For more information visit www.boomerstv.com.
Andrew Yacht and his wife, Laurie, are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Jordana Sophie, born in October. She joins big brother Benjamin, 3. Andrew is vice chair for education, director of the Division of General Medicine, and director of the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.
93
Judith (Dantowitz) married David
Chait ’92 in September 2005 at the
Renaissance Hotel in Bedford. Kayce (Warren)
Nelson, Pamela Mattson ’92, Dan Davis ’92, and Brian
Daniels ’02 were members of the wedding
party; also attending were Beth (O’Toole) Dasilva
’92, Michelle (Collins) Hollaway ’92, Marni (Solomon) Land ’92, Bahvin
Patel ’92, and Julie
(Sharpe) Hollis ’92. Judith works at Harvard University; David is
an independent computer consultant. They live in Arlington Heights.
Dan Fantasia is president and CEO of Treeline, the fastest-growing executive search firm in New England, based in Wakefield. He is married to Julie (Palumbo) ’94.
Lisa Ladurantaye-Lynch and her husband, David, live in Braintree and write that they are “over the moon” with the arrival of their first child, Gibson Bell, born in November. Lisa is a senior producer at Cramer, a leading marketing communications agency in Boston.
94
David Barbato and his wife, Cheryl
(Taylor) ’92, are founders of the
Burlington-based recruitment process outsourcing firm, Talent Retriever,
which was named one of the Best Places to Work in Massachusetts by
the Boston Business Journal. Cheryl writes, “Talent Retriever is
looking for UMass grads to join our team in the Burlington office
or as part of its virtual work-from-home network. Interested alumni
can call me at 781-425-5550.”
Lisa (Blandford) Bradbury writes, “My daughter, Lauren, was born 16 weeks prematurely in November 2005 and lived for only six days. In April, I participated in the March of Dime’s WalkAmerica, raising money to support research to help fight the causes of premature birth. I personally raised over $7,000 and was able to recruit 11 other walkers who added over $1,000.00 toward my team total.” Lisa, who will walk again in April 2007, would love to have UMass alumni sponsor her by visiting walkamerica.org/lisabradbury and making a donation.
Benjamin Curcio, an associate in the civil litigation department at St. John & Wayne in Newark, New Jersey, has been appointed to a four-year term as a member of the District VA Ethics Committee Essex County.
Anatoly Darov ’96G has joined the Boston-based law firm of Burns & Levinson as an associate in the Real Estate Group.
Scott Erlich has been elected partner in the law firm of Nutter McClennen & Fish
in Boston.
Rob Pedowitz, who practices family medicine in two inner city offices
in Camden and Trenton, New Jersey, recently received the Young Physician
of the Year Award from the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.
He lives in Bordentown with his wife, Laura, and their three sons,
Michael, Matthew, and Miles.
Mark Preston writes, “I haven’t made it back to Amherst much since graduating, but I expect my wife, Meredith, and I will be making multiple trips in 2022 and 2023 when our daughter Catherine and son Conner enroll as freshmen!” Mark is a political editor at CNN and lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. “Drop us a line if you are in the area at markdpreston@gmail.com.”
Patti (Kelleher) Rich and her husband, Steve, announce “the cutest baby in the world,” Steven Rich Jr., born in May 2005. They live in Falls Church, Virginia.
Matthew Saronson has been named a partner in the international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. He is a resident in the London office and a member of the firm’s tax department.
Mark Valutkevich married Christine Putre in June on Long Island, New York, and honeymooned on St. John. Mark is a project manager for JJWild, based in Canton; Christine works in marketing for Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare.
95
Ann Marie Marcolina married Rob Palmer, Jr., in January in Arlington
with Meredith (King) Soderstrom ’96 in the wedding party. Attending
were Tom O’Donnell ’76, Jennifer (Roy) Dolat
’98, Cindy Cantrell ’94, and Kelly
(Kyle) Smith ’95. Ann and Rob live in Waltham.
Deborah (Moninger) McLean is a municipal bond analyst in Boston. She
earned a master’s in finance at Suffolk University in 2001 and lives
in Kingston with her husband, Jeff, and their two children, Jake and
Ava.
David Pope was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of saxophone at James Madison University. He writes, “Three of my former students are attending UMass for graduate study.”
Adam Roberts, media director for Whittmanhart Interactive, serves on the board of directors for the Philadelphia Interactive Marketing Association. He was recently accepted into the Wharton School’s Executive Marketing Program at the University of Pennsylvania and lives outside Philadelphia with his wife, Julia, and their daughter, Madeleine.
96
Andrew Thorpe recently moved back to Massachusetts after spending five
years in Dallas, Texas. He is a wholesaler for Fidelity Investments
and can be reached at apt7319@aol.com.
97
Jennifer (Miller) Holmes married Jeff Holmes in June 2005 with Nikki
(Picariello) Fortin, Cassandra Olson, David Surabian ’99, Corey Kopinto
’00, and Jason Langston ’98 as members of the wedding party. She
writes, “We are living in Chicopee and are extremely happy!”
Jeremy Johnson and his wife, Amy, had a daughter, Paige Emerson, in
January. They live in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Melissa Yoblon is engaged to marry Chris Genteel in December. They live in New York City, where Melissa is a national account manager in distribution and Chris is an optomoetrist.
98
Kristian “K” Greene writes, “My wife, Jonalyn, gave birth to our second
child, Kerri Alyssa, in January. Kerri was delivered by EMTs in a
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue ambulance on the Washington DC Beltway
in Virginia. This event was covered in the Washington Post ‘Baby
Born on Beltway.’”
Jennifer (Cunningham) Maccarini and her husband, Marc, recently welcomed new daughter, Anna Mary, to their home in East Longmeadow, where she joins big brother Rex. Both Jennifer and Marc work at the East Longmeadow High School. She writes to update us on some friends, “Erin (Healey) and Dan Magaletta just celebrated their one-year anniversary in Aruba and live in Framingham. Erin is an accountant for Wolf and Co. and Dan works for TJX. Nicole Snyder, a buyer for Filene’s Basement, will marry Matt Iarcci this fall. Jaime (Cummings) Curley and her husband, John, have two daughters and live on Cape Cod where Jaime is a school psychologist. Carrie (Cunningham ’94) and Kevin Monroe ’95 have a son and a daughter and live in East Longmeadow. Carrie is a special education teacher in Springfield and Kevin is a salesman in the food industry. Steve Beek ’97 and his wife, Tiffany, will celebrate their one year anniversary this year. They also live in East Longmeadow.”
Jeff St. Laurent began his career by opening a personal training business, working with elite athletes and as a member of the training team at Nike Headquarters. He now owns his own ‘life coach’ business and travels the country speaking on how to achieve personal goals and live a healthy and fit lifestyle.
Philip White (G) was promoted from assistant to associate professor of English at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
99
Sara Dalamangas is working as a veterinarian in Woburn after receiving
her doctor of veterinary medicine degree in May 2005 from Iowa State
University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Paula Gould is director of public relations for the Santa Monica, California, based TagWorld.com, a social networking site.
Susan Holman married William Bengtson in November in Tucson, Arizona. Susan is an oncology nurse at Arizona Oncology, working in the outpatient stem cell and bone marrow transplant clinic. William, an alumnus of Penn State, is an engineer at Raytheon.
Ryan Kelly has been promoted from general manager to principal at Blue Clover, one of San Antonio’s leading creative firms. Previously he worked for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in Connecticut.
00
Adina Potischman ’00 and Sara
Demenkoff ’96 met recently on a two-
week study tour to China that made stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Xian,
and Hong Kong. “We bonded over a love for Antonio’s Pizza,” writes
Adina. “Climbing the Great Wall was a cinch compared to the walk
from Southwest to Sylvan!” Adina and Sara both graduated with MBAs
from Fordham Graduate School of Business in May 2006. Visit www.umassmag.com/photos
for pictures.
01
Rob Conery, a freelance writer based in Marstons Mills, Cape Cod, writes
that he has traveled widely and written his first book. He recalls
a time at UMass, “It was the spring of 1993, and I was playing basketball
on the horseshoe in Southwest when I stumbled into a game featuring
members of the UMass team. Buoyed by the crowd of perhaps 300 that
soon circled the courts, I made a couple of eight-foot jumpers on
consecutive trips down the floor, Kellogg causing my confidence to
soar with shouts of ‘My man’s all cash!’ when I would make a shot.
It was thrilling to just run the court with these guys who would
eventually be ranked #1 in the nation and go to the final four. Of
all my happy memories from UMass this was the sweetest.”
David Roderick (G) of San Francisco, California, was awarded the APR/Honickman Prize for his first book of poems, Blue Colonial, to be published in September. The judge was former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky.
Greg Travers and David Hollinger ’02 write, “We recently exchanged lifetime partner vows with many UMass alumni in attendance. Wish us luck!”
02
Rachel Britt-Little writes, “I had a great time while at UMass and
I want to do whatever I can to make it just as amazing for future
and current students. I’m also interested in meeting other alumni.”
Rachel can be reached at rachelbrittlittle@yahoo.com.
Benjamin Gold recently received a Juris Doctor degree from Roger Williams
University in Rhode Island.
Kent Nelson (G) writes, “With the recent increase in gas prices it’s
not as feasible to travel from my home in Maine to visit my friends
associated with the Forestry Department at UMass. I would like to let
them know that after working four years as a forest ranger for the
Maine Forest Service, I have been promoted to fire prevention specialist.”
In this capacity Kent works to coordinate fire prevention activities
and wildland urban interface programs, and serves as public information
officer for the Forest Protection Division. “My UMass master’s in forestry
certainly helped prepare me for this position, which is more administrative
than working as a forest ranger. My experiences with prescribed fire
and research methods from UMass also gave me an advantage when I applied
for the position.”
Matt Quarello is a first-year MBA at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business in Indiana. He spent the summer interning at UBS in New York City in their Fixed Income Sales and Trading Summer Associate program.
03
Michelle-Kim Lee recently graduated cum laude from Suffolk University
Law School and began working at Wayne, Richard & Hurwitz in Boston.
She writes, “Two of the partners, Robert Hurwitz ’80 and Howard Wayne
’63 are alumni of UMass Amherst.”
Erica Mattison, executive director of the Caucus of Women Legislators, is founder of the Massachusetts Information Clearinghouse for Women, www.masswomen.org, which provides links to hundreds of organ-izations offering information and services.
Dana Schnitzer received a master’s in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2005 and lives in Boston as a professional opera singer and conductor. She writes, “I spent the summer singing the title role in the opera The Merry Widow at the Quisisana music festival/resort in Maine. In addition to concert work and recitals, I recently performed with the Commonwealth Opera Company in Northampton, Mass Theatrica in Boston, and the Janiec Opera Company in North Carolina, among others. In 2007 I’ll perform with Cape Cod Opera.”
Caitlin Sullivan, along with Robyn Hamel, Kelly Mahoney ’04, Meghan Fagan ’04, and Emily Berg ’04, traveled recently to Ireland. Caitlin writes that they were tempted never to come back, but they all returned and are living in the Boston area.
04
Allison Berry and Joshua Barbieri were married in November 2005 and
live in central Florida with plans to move to southern California
by the end of 2006. Joshua is a media coordinator for Defalco Advertising,
and Ali is a caseworker for Family Focus.
Eric Schwager is the men’s director of basketball operations for the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Previously he was assistant basketball coach for SUNY Stony Brook during the 2004-05 season.
Emily Smith writes, “I manage a 400- head dairy farm in northern New York, as well as own and operate my own small dairy farm with my husband. With our herd we are involved in a progressive crossbreeding program in an attempt to improve our purebred dairy cattle.”
05
Shawn Adelsberg has been living in the Bay Area and working as a season-ticket
sales account executive for the Golden State Warriers since June
2005. He writes, “I’ve played a key role in enabling Golden State
to lead the NBA in new-season tickets sold for over 5,000 seats.”
Mary Fallon, a media analyst at Garvey Communication Associates in Springfield, was recently accepted as an associate member of the Public Relations Society of America, the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals. She is a member of the Valley Press Club and a pro bono public relations consultant for Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity.
Merrilee Mardon (G) has been hired as the Vandana Shiva Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Economics. Previously, she was a visiting assistant professor at Connecticut College.
Adam Trenkle lives in Newport Beach, California, and is working as a project engineer for Husky Injection Molding Systems in Orange County. He writes, “I manage large projects and sell our company’s product throughout southern California. I’m currently exploring graduate school for either an MBA or law school to become a patent attorney.”
