Here’s What We’re Doing

Issue 13 · Winter 2008
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Veda McClain ’79 accepted a position as dean of the college of education at Spalding University in Louisville, KY last year. She moved to Louisville with her two youngest children, Jennifer and Micah. Jennifer is a junior at Spalding and Micah is an eighth grade student. Veda’s three older children are David, Marian, and Lauren. David and his wife, Ashley, gave birth to Olivia Kaylyn in March, joining older brother Kaleb.

Marian (Wells) Higgins ’00 and her husband, Harrell, gave birth to Harrell Isaiah (7 lbs., 4 oz.) in May. Lauren is a correspondence manager for a U.S. senator in Washington, D.C.

Cheryl (Amos) and Raymond Riddick ’80 just celebrated 25 years of marriage in August 2007. Their 13 year-old daughter, Libby, a dancer, is currently attending LaVilla School of the Arts in Jacksonville, Fla.

Michelle Colemand and Barry Pono Fried Michelle Coleman ’81 is currently working in Boston at the Harvard School of Public Health as the administrative director of the epidemiology department. She recently reconnected with fellow classmate Barry Pono Fried ’81, a self-employed guide, teacher, and farmer while vacationing in Hawaii. Michelle and her partner Pamela Waterman, enjoyed an amazing day as he gave them a tour of Maui.

Neil Foote ’81 recently started Foote Communications LLC, a public relations, Web consulting, and multicultural marketing firm, after spending seven years working with Tom Joyner, the nationally syndicated radio personality. Joyner’s Foundation is currently one of his clients as is comedian J. Anthony Brown. This fall, he’ll begin teaching as an assistant professor at the University of North Texas’ Department of Journalism. He also recently became chair of the National Association of Minority Media Executives, a 17-year-old multicultural organization representing nearly 400 senior level executives from print, broadcast, and online from all departments of the business.

Spencer Boyer ’91 is enjoying his work as director of international law and diplomacy at the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think tank founded by Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff, John Podesta. His work entails writing and advising on international affairs matters, especially as related to international organizations, multilateralism, and international security, and organizing conferences and events on U.S. foreign policy and international security. He also spends a fair amount of time analyzing foreign affairs issues on local, national, and international radio and television, and for print media. He recently bought a condo in the Kalorama Triangle area of Washington, D.C. with his significant other, Clare Stroud.

Paul Kim ’91 and his family are enjoying their second year as missionaries in Bangkok. All of them have learned to speak Thai. Their youngest son has proved himself the most fluent and their daughter had the opportunity to perform Ram Thai (traditional dance) before the princess. Paul attended his first Wesleyan Homecoming/Family Weekend this fall.

Erica Dean Glenn ’93 and Dallas Glenn ’96 currently live in Oakland, Calif. after recently moving from Hartford, Conn. Erica is a senior librarian at the Berkeley Public Library. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, she runs children’s programs and reviews children’s literature. Dallas is a seventh grade humanities teacher at the San Francisco School. In April, they toured Ghana for a week and were hosted by a K-8 school that Dallas regularly corresponds with. During August they visited X-Games 13. In September, they were part of the wedding of Trevor Holder ’96.

Christopher Albizu ’94 recently moved to Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, N.Y. with his wife Jessica, a public elementary school teacher at P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn and their three-year-old twins, Jarod and Jordan. They had a great summer picnicking in Prospect Park and are looking forward to the twins starting preschool in September.

Robert Carrillo and Jose Stevenson Robert Carrillo ’99 and Jose Stevenson ’99 competed in and finished their first new York City Triathlon on July 22. They swam 1 mile in the Hudson, biked 25 miles on the Henry Hudson Highway, and ran 6 miles around Central Park. They celebrated their efforts at a picnic with several of their Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Hermanos from the classes of 1997 to 2010.

Kenny Rios ’99 served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army for four years after graduating from Wesleyan. After separating from the service, he began working as a senior consultant for McClendon Corp., a defense contracting company. He provides support to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Washington, D.C. He is happily married and is the proud father of three beautiful children.

Tatyana Guerrero-Pezzano and classmates Tatyana Guerrero-Pezzano ’01 is a fifth-year medical student in Havana’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM, the Spanish acronym), a six-year scholarship program into which she was accepted two years after graduation. In school she is being trained in primary care with about 100 other U.S. American students as well as classmates from Cuba and the rest of Latin America, all of whom, have made a commitment to return to their communities and provide healthcare in underserved areas in exchange for a free MD. This summer, after precepting in northern New Mexico, her home state, she has become increasingly convinced of the need for quality and affordable healthcare in the state’s predominantly Latino communities, in some of which Spanish is the only language spoken. Her training in Cuba will prepare her both to target the underserved communities with the kind of medical attention they need and to communicate with them. Tatyana graduates in August 2009 and will return to New Mexico to finish taking her board exams and do her residency.

Don Kim ’01 is doing marketing for Universal in Los Angeles and Minneapolis.

Adam Dumey ’02 got married on October 14, 2007 to Stephanie Tramontana. After a rigorous selection process, none other than Dani Rotstein ’02 officiated the ceremony. Dani drafted a wedding program that included a break-dancing set, as well as his rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Alex Hidalgo ’02 (with girlfriend Norma Divino) and Matt Fox ’03 and Tricia Homer ’03 also were in attendance.

Toi Frederick ’02 graduated from Hofstra University School of Law in 2006. She is finishing up a year-long clerkship with the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and will be starting as an associate at the firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe this fall.

Retse Johnson ’03 is about to start her fifth year teaching special education in St. Croix, V.I., and is currently in the process of finishing up her master’s degree in education with a concentration in special education. Retse recently got engaged and will be married in July of 2008. She spent most of the summer traveling with her fiancé in the New England area and reconnecting with classmates and friends.

Rafael Pichardo ’04 is living in Hartford, Conn., attending law school at the University of Connecticut and is working for a nonprofit civil rights organization.

Nyasha Foy ’06 is going through the usual post-graduate life crisis and loving it. In addition to her position at the State Society of CPAs, she was recently appointed the public relations manager for MidniteSpot.com and is still in the studios working on her music (myspace: nyashathediva). She is enjoying city life, while diligently setting a foundation for her future.

Amy Ruiz ’07 is beginning her first year of teaching sixth grade English in Newark, N.J. through the Teach for America program.

Himanshu Suri ’07 is now working for the Options Group as an executive search consultant. He places mid- to high-level executives in the financial services industries with a focus on placements in the commodities sector, North America only, and across sectors in India.

William H. Foster III MALS ’86 spent this past July in China (Wuhan and Shanghai) as an invited speaker to the International Symposium on Langston Hughes and the International Conference on 20th-Century American Poetry.

Dana Rondel MALS ’02 spent the summer developing creative learning programs that focus on guiding young people and adults toward new ways of exploring their lives, community, nature, and the world at large. One of her programs, RVoices NMotion, utilizes creative movement and writing to enhance personal and social skills.

Please take some time to share with your fellow alumni what you’ve been up to recently! Send us commentary, photos and/or articles of your latest happenings. Please forward your submissions to Faraneh Carnegie ’05, 77 Pearl Street, Middletown, CT 06459 or fcarnegie@wesleyan.edu.