Here’s What We’ve Been Doing
Darryl Hazel ’70 was recently appointed president of the Ford Division of the Ford Motor Company. Hazel is the first African-American to hold the position.
Mike Yamishita ’71 recently traveled to Fujian on the China coast to shoot the final episodes of his documentary Ghost Fleet, the Epic Journeys of Zheng He, for the National Geographic Channel, airing in December. The story of this unknown 15th-century explorer appears in the July issue of National Geographic. The presentation of Zheng He’s story is significant because it reverses centuries of the Eurocentric perspective of Asian history by acknowledging a Chinese explorer who existed 90 years before Columbus and de Gama. Yamashita has followed Zheng He’s voyages through 10 countries: Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, In-donesia, Sri Lanka, India, Oman, Yemen, Kenya, and Zanzibar. His book on the subject comes out in 2006.
John H. Bocachica ’73 holds a professorship in dermatology at Loma Linda University and is chief of dermatology at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. He has also pursued a second career as a semiprofessional singer, performing regularly at a supper club in Southern California as well as singing for weddings and receptions. Bocachica and his wife Jocelyn celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in August and are planning a trip around the world. He wishes everyone well and would love to hear from other alumni.
Byron Haskins ’76 is currently the acting director of the Michigan Disability Determination Service, an agency of about 600 staff that adjudicates claims on Social Security, SSI, Medicaid, state assistance, and state employee disability benefits. He is happily married to Gabrielle Bonin, a realtor and project management consultant. They have three adult children: Byron, 26, a TV director; Anna, 25, an elementary school teacher; and Stephen, 23, who is in medical school. Haskins is looking forward to his Reunion year, 2006.
Leslie Anderson Morales ’76 recently returned from Sierra Leone where she participated in Priscilla's Homecoming, a weeklong event (held May 25-June 3) that commemorated the visit of Thomalind Martin Polite of North Charleston to the country of her ancestral lineage. Polite is the seventh generation descendant of Priscilla, a 10-year-old African girl taken on the Rhode Island-based slave ship Hare from Sierra Leone to Charleston in 1756. The itinerary included a meeting with the president, a ceremony at Sierra Leone's National Museum, and a trip to the slave village at Bunce Island. Morales is writing a children’s book about Priscilla.
Yvette “Gigi” Peeples ’80 is currently residing in Atlanta and working as a physician recruiter for a private agency. She recently remarried in June; husband Terry is from Birmingham, Alabama. Peeples sends everyone “blessings.” Photo: Peeples’ wedding. Sharon Marable ’82 became the ninth president of the Rhode Island Public Health Association, a nonprofit organization of healthcare professionals dedicated to the advancement of public health throughout Rhode Island. She has a leadership role in health policy development by educating the general public, the state legislature, and the Congressional delegation on emerging public health issues. Marable has a voice in national public health advocacy efforts as a state representative to the American Public Health Association.
William H. Foster III MALS ’86 has just published his 13th book, Looking for a Face Like Mine (Fine Tooth Press), a collection of published articles and presentations on the changing image of Blacks in comics. He has a number of book signings scheduled for this fall. Foster reminds us, “We are who we are because of our family.”
Kellina M. Craig-Henderson ’88 is the author of Black Men in Interracial Relationships: What's Love Got to Do With It?, to be published this fall by Transaction Publishers of Rutgers University. Craig-Henderson is happy to share the fruits of this long process with her fellow alumni.
Nicole Curvin ’90 was recently named director of admissions at Eugene Lang College (part of the New School), a small liberal arts undergraduate institution in New York City. She and her husband currently reside in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Miriam Suazo-Moore ’94 and her husband are pleased to announce the birth of their baby boy, Elijah Suazo Moore. They are very happy to have been blessed with him.
Christiana Meneses Jacobs ’95 has earned a master’s degree in education curriculum and instruction, and a certificate in bilingual education. She now lives and works in Arizona with her husband and daughter, Isabelle. She and her husband are expecting a baby due in November. Jacobs is also the publisher/editor of IGUANA, a new Spanish-language, educational magazine that aims at encouraging children 7-12 years old to continue reading in Spanish and to feel proud of being bilingual. For more information on IGUANA, visit www.IGUANAmagazine.com.
Janet Calderon ’95 is now director of admissions at Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences in Orlando, Florida.
Nakia Booth ’96 has been splitting her time between being a mom, wife, business owner, radio personality, and consultant. Her four-year-old son graduated from pre-kindergarten in June and will be starting kindergarten in the fall. She focuses much of her time on expanding DMS Country Recordings, the record label she started with her husband in 2001. On Monday nights, you can find Booth on the airwaves cohosting the weekly show Sugatreats on 90.3 FM WHCR, also streaming live on the net at www.whcr.org. She lives currently in Harlem, New York but plans to relocate soon to Los Angeles. Photo: Booth’s son Haze during his graduation ceremony.
Christian Guadalupe ’96 and Sandra Gutierrez ’96 have two children, Gabriel Darío and Camila Lucia (see photo left). Gutierrez now works at the National Council of La Raza as the director of curriculum and instruction and is currently part of a team that is opening a new bilingual charter school in the fall called the Academia Bilingüe de la Comunidad in Washington, D.C. Guadalupe works at Mary's Center, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive services to a predominantly Latino community in D.C. He is responsible for the development of the clinical services division of the organization as it pertains to quality care and patient management. Guadalupe encourages recent alumni to contact him if they are interested in public health or a related field. Saludos a todos ustedes con quién no hemos hablado en mucho tiempo. Los tenemos presente y ojalá que nos podamos ver muy pronto. ¡Suerte y exito!
Shola Olatoye ’96 was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the Bill T. Jones Dance Company. Bill T. Jones is this country's foremost leader in the modern dance world. Please visit www.billtjones.org for a full recitation of Jones's stunning accomplishments.
Roberto Scribner ’96 awaits his third deployment to Iraq as a Marine officer.
Dacque Tirado ’96 recently finished serving as a summer associate at the law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started his third year of law school at University of Pennsylvania this year and married another Penn Law alum this September.
Leah Ayanna Brown ’97 is actively pursuing her writing career in New York. She is also developing a nonprofit organization AFCOM, Inc., a faith-based community service organization, and is working full-time as the director of an after-school high school program. For more information on Brown's writing career, visit www.speakitco.com.
Steven Tejada ’97 has been touring his one-man show Boogie Down Journeys throughout the country. The show, written and performed by Tejada, focuses on the experiences of people of color connected to the South Bronx. The work has been described as "powerful and inspiring stories that make you laugh, cry, and reflect all at once." He recently performed for Wesleyan's Black Alumni Council Reunion Weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. He also performed at Wesleyan in April to help students reestablish the “Invisible Men” program, an event that focuses on the artistic expression of men of color on campus. Tejada would love to hear from other alumni at steventejada@yahoo.com.
Georgia Silvera ’98 is currently enrolled in a doctoral program in environmental planning at UC Berkeley. Her husband Rob is a doctoral student in business and public policy at the Haas School of Business.
Tony Ducret ’00 recently completed a feature film, Hospitality, that he wrote and directed. He also worked with fellow alum Mike Merker ’00 on the cinematography. The film has been screened in the 2005 Long Island, Ocean City, and Freedom Film festivals, earning the Best Director Award at the 2005 Ocean City Film Festival. The official Web site for the film is www.hospitalitythemovie.com.
Sujata Sidhu ’01 has just finished her first year of law school at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. This past summer she worked at the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project working on civil rights cases in the prison system.
Sallome Hralima ’02 is now starting a children's clothing company called phefeni. It offers infant, toddler, preschool, and children's clothing that combines global aesthetics with a respect for modern design. By incorporating indigenous fabrics from the world over into designs that are subtle and functional, Hralima is hoping to one day be a leader in the specialty children's wear and accessories industry. For more information, go to www.phefeni.com.
Tricia Homer ’03 represented the U.S. Virgin Islands at the Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok, Thailand. She was voted Miss Congeniality by the other 80 delegate peers who chose her as the most congenial, charismatic and inspirational participant. Currently, Homer is the marketing manager of Diamonds International, a multimillion-dollar jewelry retailer with more than 100 stores worldwide. She welcomes Wesleyan parents, staff, and alumni (and her MIA friends) to contact her if they are ever in the Caribbean region.