How did ECF change their lives? - Ethical Culture Fieldston School

ECF Reporter 

FALL 2005 

How did ECF 

change 

their lives? 

Over 1,700 

graduates 

report. 

ALUMNI SURVEY RESULTS START ON PAGE 7

Inside 

1 The Vision Affirmed 

2 Letters 

4 Fall Scrapbook 

6 ECF Alumni Volunteer Network 

Gets Underway 

7 ‘A Moral Compass’ 

Report of the 2005 ECF Alumni Survey 

14 Fresh Fields, Greener Pastures II 

Alumni Career Changers 

18 Class Notes 

As pictured above, ECF’s efforts to help Katrina victims 

have been the focus of many activities this fall. They began 

with a donation from the board of trustees of $10,000. At 

the back-to-school picnic, a 5K fun run/walk fundraiser 

raised an additional $6,000 for AmeriCares. A jazz 

concert that same day raised $1,200 for New Orleans 

musicians. Since then, lower school parents and children 

have conducted a backpack drive; Fieldston Lower and 

Fieldston have just completed a “Change the World” 

drive. ECF has recently entered into a partnership with 

the KIPP/NOW Academy in Houston, which works with 

students evacuated from New Orleans. These are all good 

examples of how the importance of giving back – a value 

mentioned repeatedly in the alumni survey – is emphasized 

at ECF today. – G. C.

The Vision Affirmed 

R E F L E C T I O N S O N T H E A L U M N I S U R V E Y 

In the eight years that I have been head of ECF, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting 

many, many alumni from all different classes in a variety of settings from Homecoming 

to reunions, from small dinners to cocktail parties to gatherings in different cities. 

Whatever the setting, our graduates always tell me how much the school has made a 

difference in their lives. 

Last spring, we began an ambitious survey to find out in detail what alumni think of the 

school, what their student experiences were like, how ECF affected their lives, and what 

their priorities are for the school today. We hoped to learn from the alumni who are most 

distant from the school as well as from the ones we see frequently. 

So when the results came in (see the highlights beginning on page 7), I can’t say I was 

surprised, but I was tremendously impressed that 87 percent agreed or strongly agreed 

with the statement, “ECF played a significant role in the development of the person I am 

today.” This corroborates the vision of Felix Adler in founding the school and reinforces 

what we believe about our school today – that we do more than just educate children, that 

we empower them. 

It’s important to understand that not every school has our mission. Most independent 

schools want to prepare their students well for college and want to encourage them to be 

reflective. But I can think perhaps of only a handful that place the emphasis we do on 

values, on ethics, above college preparatory work. 

ECF’s unique legacy and mission is why it is important for alumni to support ECF in any 

and all ways they can, sharing their time and their treasure. We need your commitment 

to ensure that ECF remains a place where children are transformed. We need to support 

the programs and the students we have, through some new facilities and a stronger 

endowment. For all these good reasons, I am excited by the revitalization of our alumni 

volunteer network, the good work of our capital campaign, and by the promises we have 

kept and those still to achieve. 

Joseph P. Healey, Ph.D. 

Head of School 

ECF Reporter 1

2 ECF Reporter 

ECF REPORTER 

Spring 2005 

Published three times during the academic year, the 

ECF Reporter is designed to maintain ties between the 

Ethical Culture Fieldston School and its alumni, as well as 

between the school and parents, grandparents, and friends, 

by sharing news and issues of importance to the ECF 

community. 

ECF Reporter 

Ethical Culture Fieldston School 

33 Central Park West 

New York, NY 10023-6001 

(212) 712-6238 phone 

(212) 712-6296 fax 

reporterletters@ecfs.org 

www.ecfs.org 

editor 

Ginger Curwen 

Director of Communications & Marketing 

alumni news editor 

Toby Himmel 

Director of Alumni Relations 

contributing writer 

(Class Notes) 

Melissa Roberson 

design 

Nancy Foote/By Design 

assistant head of school for 

enrollment management and marketing 

Ellen Bell 


institutional advancement and alumni 

James Thompson 

© Copyright 2005 by the 

Ethical Culture Fieldston School. 

Cover: The Rooftops of Fieldston 

Inside Front Cover: ECF 5K Walk/Run Fundraiser 

Inside Back Cover: Reunion Weekend, June 2005 

Back Cover: Varsity Football Practice, Fall 2005 

Cover photo: Jim Varriale 

All other cover photos and 

principal photography: Stan Schnier 

Letters 

Update on Promises to Keep Capital Campaign 

As 2005 draws to a close, 

we want to bring you up to 

date on the campus expansion 

and our Promises to Keep capital 

campaign. 

We have been thrilled at 

the progress that has taken 

place this fall on the Fieldston 

campus. The construction team 

has finished the steelwork at 

the gym and the pool; the roof 

deck has been put on the pool, 

and one will soon be mounted 

on the gym. The crane for the 

middle school is expected to 

arrive shortly. On the current 

construction schedule, we can 

expect to open the new gymnasium 

and pool complex in the 

winter of 2007, and the inaugural 

middle school class will take 

their seats in their new building 

in the fall of 2007. 

This brings us to our capital 

campaign, Promises to Keep. 

The campaign enjoyed a spectacular 

kickoff last spring at 

MoMA, and we were happy 

that so many of you were able 

to join us. We were, as always, 

energized by our community 

and renewed by the reminder 

of how much the school has accomplished 

and the prospect of 

what it will achieve in the future. 

The heart of Promises to 

Keep is not about buildings, but 

about extending the promise of 

the school far into the future, 

transforming stones, steel, and 

concrete into imagination, inspiration, 

and creativity. 

As we move into the public 

phase of our campaign, we 

are delighted to report that we 

have now raised over $24 million 

toward our $52 million 

goal, through 110 pledges and 

gifts. As pleased as we are with 

the campaign’s launch, we have 

much work ahead of us, and we 

are counting on 100 percent 

participation from our alumni 

and current parents to get us 

the rest of the way. 

We have recently finished 

the process of forming the campaign 

steering committee, and 

have enlisted the help of many 

wonderful alumni, parents, 

and friends of the school. This 

committee will coordinate campaign 

events, social activities, 

fundraising, and community 

outreach as we move forward. 

If you would like more information 

about the campaign or 

would like to volunteer your 

help on any of these committees, 

please contact James Thompson, 


institutional advancement and 

alumni, at (212) 712-6242 or 

jthompson@ecfs.org. 

With best wishes for the 

holidays, 

Laura J. Blankfein ’71 

Robert A. Pruzan ’81 

Co-Chairs, Promises to Keep 

Capital Campaign 

Correction 

Our apologies to Jenny Sharf- 

stein ’00, intrepid class recorder, 

whose name was inadvertently 

mangled in the last issue of the 

ECF Reporter. Sorry, Jenny!

T H E P E R F E C T 

H O L I D A Y G I F T 

A gift to the ECF 

Annual Fund works 

hard all year long. 

Tuition covers only 80% 

of the actual cost of an 

ECF education, so your 

contribution is critical. 

It helps boost financial 

aid, retain and develop 

talented faculty, and 

meet ECF’s greatest needs. 

Please make your gift 

today by phone, by mail, 

or online at www.ecfs.org. 


Fall Scrapbook 

Global Beat 

Fieldston Lower 

celebrated the harvest 

around the world 

with its annual festival 

of international 

music and dance, 

reflecting the spirit of 

many countries and 

cultures. 


Thank You, Everybody! 

This year ECF’s Annual Fund exceeded its 

goal of $2.5 million, thanks to increased 

participation across the board. Himi Khan 

’93, Prapti Mehta, Charles Imohoisen ’93, 

and Kirsten Frivold were among those who 

attended the Head of School Associates 

Reception this fall to celebrate support for 

the annual fund. 

LORE EIWEN 

Halloween Do-Gooders 

EC fourth graders spent time in their 

ethics class counting the coins collected 

for UNICEF on Halloween. 

Emmanuel’s Gift 

EC sixth graders helped build prototype wheelchairs 

with Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, an inspiring young 

man from Ghana and the subject of the documentary, 

Emmanuel’s Gift, narrated by Oprah Winfrey. Born 

with disabilities, Emmanuel has biked across Ghana to 

change perceptions of disabled wheelchairs. A crew from 

the CBS Early Show filmed the assembly as part of its 

feature on Emmanuel. 

TOBY HIMMEL

Lower Schools Rule! 

This fall Ethical Culture and 

Fieldston Lower received the 

Blackboard award as the most 

outstanding private elementary 

school in the city, and principals 

Ann Vershbow and George Burns 

accepted the honor at a special 

ceremony in October. The award, 

now in its fourth year, recognizes 

excellent public, private, and 

religious schools in the city. 

Live at Fieldston 

At a Fieldston assembly in 

October, Steven Tejada ’93, 

actor and writer, performed an 

excerpt from his performance 

piece on growing up in the Bronx 

to an appreciative audience. 

TOBY HIMMEL 

Parent-Alum 

Gatherings 

Who knows the school 

better than parents who 

are also alumni? Jon 

’84 and Julianna May 

(shown right) sponsored 

a gathering at their 

home this fall. Among 

the attendees: Tracey 

Pruzan and Joseph 

Healey, head of school. 

ANDREW SCHWARTZ 

Back-to-School Picnic 

The annual back-to-school picnic was a 

wonderful day for school families. The 

school’s first-ever 5K fun run/walk on the 

Fieldston track successfully raised funds for 

AmeriCares, the Riverdale Mental Health 

Association, and the West Side YMCA. At 

left, FL sixth grader India Perez-Urbano 

raised money for Katrina victims by selling 

arts and crafts at the picnic. 

ECF Reporter 5 

TOBY HIMMEL

ECF Alumni 

Volunteer Network 

Gets Underway 

Following many working meetings 

by the planning group over the summer, 

the new alumni volunteer network 

held its first general meeting during 

Homecoming, with about 40 or so in 

attendance. “The alumni volunteer network 

is up and running, it’s vibrant, and 

it’s active,” said John Beres ’81, who heads 

up the new organization. “We were very 

happy to see a lot of new people willing 

to volunteer their time and pleased to see 

alumni with young children who are also 

prospective school parents.” 

Earlier in the year (as reported in the 

spring 2005 ECF Reporter), ECF made a 

shift from an alumni board to a wider, 

volunteer-driven structure. The change 

was designed to better represent alumni 

from every decade, assist with friendraising 

and fundraising, engage more alumni, 

and help with the yearly reunion process, 

explained James Thompson, assistant 

head of school for institutional advancement 

and alumni. 

The new network has many more 

opportunities for volunteers, pointed out 

Beres. First, there are the existing class 

recorders – and 10 new ones since last 

spring. (To see their outreach efforts and 

see which years still need recorders, see the 

expanded Class Notes section, starting on 

page 18.) Then there are now decade chairs 

as well as class chairs/ representatives. 

“The structure is quite fluid because 

we want it to evolve organically,” said 

Beres, “but the job of the decade chairs involves 

a wider leadership role. As you can 


see, we have many people already involved 

– and we are looking for more volunteers 

still, for individual classes and for the 

six standing committees.” The standing 

committees are dedicated to homecoming, 

reunion, fundraising (annual, capital, and 

reunion), young alumni, communications 

and social events. 

1950s Decade chairs: Barbara Antell 

Silber-Weinstock ’50; Joe Amiel ’55 

Class chairs/reps: Harvey Litt ’52, Ellen 

Sloame Fawer ’55 

1960s Decade chair: Jamie Katz ’68 Class 

chair: Craig Schiller ’68 

1970s Decade chairs: Marc Johnson ’74; 

John Firestone ’76; Scott Schiller ’77; 

Martha Dorn ’78 

Class chairs/reps: Terri Huggins Decker 

’71; Nicole Gordon and Paul Schnell, 

’72; Nancy Gellman Richards ’75; Ruth 

Colp Haber ’77; Greg Kisloff and Andy 

Kellner ’78; Charles Gerber ’79 

“We’re already seeing a lot more activity,” 

said Toby Himmel, director of alumni 

relations. “The classes of ’70, ’72 and 

’87 are planning class dinners; the class 

of ’52 just had a lunch. The class of ’42 is 

even planning a cruise in February!” 

Look for updates in the next issue of 

the ECF Reporter. 

You will notice that not all the decades have their full complement of decade chairs and 

class chairs/reps. Want to volunteer? Email Toby Himmel, director of alumni relations, at 

thimmel@ecfs.org. 

1980s Decade chairs: Maude Brickner 

’80; Bret Ingerman ’81 and John Beres 

’81; Jenny Herdman Lando ’89 Class 

chairs/reps: Eric Berkeley ’80; Diane Lewis 

Beres ’81; Scott Waxman’ 86; John Caplan, 

Lauren Weschsler Horn, Stephanie 

Jonas Stone, and Greg Racz, ’87; Jason 

Barbara and Alex Wolfman,’ 89 

1990s Decade chairs: Brian Landau ’90, 

Nick Malas ’91 Class chairs/reps: Margaret 

Munzer Loeb and Renee Raker,’90, Jesse 

Gordon ’91; Dave Bunzel ’92; Gaby 

Moss, Charles Imohiosen, and Himi 

Khan ’93; Kas Stolzman and Andrea 

Wagner ’94; Doug McGowan ’96, Laura 

Gourdine and Alex Fiorillo ’99. 

2000s Class chairs/reps: Dan Doktori ’00

‘A Moral Compass’ 

R E P O R T O F T H E 2 0 0 5 E C F A L U M N I S U R V E Y 

by Ginger Curwen 

Over the past six months, over 1,700 ECF alumni 

told us about their experiences as students, 

how it affected their lives, what their perceptions 

of the school are today, and what, going forward, 

they want from the school as alumni. 

This was the first professional alumni survey conducted by ECF, and 

the response rate of 25 percent, with a good turnout from many different 

generations, was both satisfying and helpful. “As we move forward with a 

revitalized alumni volunteer network, we wanted insights from alumni to help 

us prioritize projects and expand the activities we offer them,” said Joe Healey, 

ECF head of school. “We wanted to get opinions from a broad range of alumni, 

those we hear from frequently and those who feel less connected to the school. 

We wanted to evaluate our own performance in terms of connection, participation, 

giving, and satisfaction,” said James Thompson, assistant head of school for 

institutional advancement and alumni. “The excellent response from this survey 

will help us to do just that.” 


JIM VARRIALE 

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE 

How many years did you attend ECF? 

YEAR NUMBER PERCENT 

1 5 0.3 

2 36 2.1 

3 67 3.9 

4 215 12.4 

5 70 4.0 

6 250 14.4 

7 67 3.9 

8+ 1027 59.1 

6.7 years average 


JEFF SMITH 

The answers came in response to 

a detailed questionnaire, sent by 

email and by letter to all alumni of 

the school in late March 2005. A link to 

the electronic version of the survey was 

sent by email to the 3,462 alumni for 

whom ECF had current email addresses. 

A printed questionnaire was mailed to the 

remaining 3,439 graduates. All alumni received 

follow-up emails and notes if they 

did not respond the first time. The results 

were tabulated by a consulting firm that 

specializes in parent and alumni surveys 

for independent schools. (A similar survey 

of current parents about their experiences 

with the school began this fall.) As promised, 

a summary of overall results is being 

shared in these pages. 

The findings, highlighted below, confirm 

ECF’s unique position as an educa- 

As a student, please rate your level of satisfaction 

with each of the following (1 is very low, 5 is very 

high): 

AVERAGE PERCENT (4 OR 5) 

Academic program 4.6 94.4 

Caliber of faculty 4.5 92.8 

Facilities 4.3 86.6 

Interaction with faculty 4.2 80.4 

Interaction with fellow students 4.0 73.6 

Extracurricular experience 3.9 68.6 

Ethics/community service 3.9 68.3 

Sense of community 3.7 61.9 

School spirit 3.7 59.0

tional institution that changes lives. From 

the perspective of John Beres ’81, who 

is heading up the new alumni volunteer 

network, the findings of the survey are extremely 

helpful. “We now have a great deal 

of information about the kind of current 

activities alumni prefer and the way they 

like to receive communications about the 

school. We will be able to refine our work 

based on those findings.” It also highlights 

For each of these activities and programs, please rate 

your level of satisfaction with the experience. 

AVERAGE PERCENT (4 OR 5) 

Theater/Performance Arts 3.9 70.3 

Fine Arts 3.9 68.2 

Newspaper/Yearbook/Publications 3.9 70.5 

School athletic teams 3.8 66.8 

Community service 3.6 54.3 

Clubs 3.4 49.2 

Student government 3.3 43.1 

Average 3.7 60.4 

opportunities for the school in the future, 

from instituting an alumni career advisor 

program, which starts this fall, to increased 

volunteer opportunities. 

Throughout the survey, respondents 

were asked to indicate their agreement 

with various statements or their level of 

satisfaction with various programs, using 

a range from very low (1) to very high (5). 

With these barometers in mind, here are 

some of the highlights of the survey. 

■ Eighty-eight percent of alumni responding 

agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, 

“I am proud to be an ECF graduate.” 

■ Eighty-seven percent agreed or 

strongly agreed with the statement, “ECF 

played a significant role in the development 

of the person I am today.” 


Augustus Klock 

Science, 1910–1960 

DEMOGRAPHICS OF RESPONDING ALUMNI 

GRADUATING CLASS NUMBERS PERCENT 

up to 1948 262 15.6 

1949–1957 222 13.3 

1958–1964 175 10.4 

1965–1984 513 30.6 

1985–1997 348 20.8 

1988–present 155 9.3 

GENDER NUMBERS PERCENT 

Male 727 43.6 

Female 942 56.4 


Philip Kotlar 

Science, 1937–1979 

■ Eighty-eight percent rated their level 

of satisfaction with the ECF student experience 

as a 4 or a 5, on a scale from 1 to 5. 

The average of overall student satisfaction 

was 4.4. 

■ When asked about their ECF student 

experiences, alumni ranked Academic Program 

at the highest at an average of 4.6, 

followed closely by Caliber of Faculty at 

4.5, and Facilities at 4.3. 

■ Ninety-two percent reported that 

Elbert Lenrow 

English, 1933–1970 

there were faculty, staff, or administration 

who provided a strong and favorable influence. 

■ Student activities played a major role 

in shaping students’ experiences. Among 

existing student activities, the most popular 

were Theater/Performance Arts, Fine Arts, 

and Newspaper/Yearbook/Publications. 

■ Considering experiences with ECF 

since student days, alumni were asked 

to rate their level of satisfaction with the 

Alton Smith ’42 

Phys. Ed, 1953–1991 

Renée Spodheim 

French, 1952–1990 

school. Seventy-two percent rated their 

level of satisfaction with the school as high 

or very high, however, when pressed on 

specifics, only 45 percent said they felt 

well connected to the school today. 

■ When it comes to communications, 

72 percent say they look forward to receiving 

and reading the ECF Reporter. About 60 

percent consider themselves well informed 

about development at the school, though 

only 25 percent feel well informed about 

the school’s diversity initiatives. About 20 

ALUMNUS/NA OF COLOR NUMBERS PERCENT 

Yes 142 8.9 

No 1461 91.1 

FIRST AREA OF STUDY AFTER NUMBERS PERCENT 

GRADUATION FROM ECF 

Liberal Arts 915 53.8 

Social Sciences 203 11.9 

Sciences 176 10.4 

Business/Economics 128 7.5 

Other 111 6.5 

Fine Arts 110 6.5 

Engineering 45 2.6 

Computer Science 12 0.7

Ida Shimanouchi 

English, 1948–1982 

Bonnie Shrut 

Music, 1974–2004 

percent would like to receive information 

from the school by email (though over 40 

percent prefer to respond to invitations by 

email). 

■ More regional events for alumni were 

the strong or very strong request from 

almost 40 percent. Reunion weekends, 

followed by special fundraising events 

and Homecoming were among the most 

popular events offered by the school. 

HIGHEST LEVEL OF COLLEGE/ NUMBERS PERCENT 

UNIVERSITY STUDIES COMPLETED 

Bachelor’s degree (in progress) 97 5.7 

Bachelor’s degree 476 27.6 

Master’s degree (in progress) 50 3.5 

Master’s degree 425 25.1 

Professional degree (in progress) 19 1.1 

Professional degree 292 17.3 

Doctorate (in progress or completed) 286 16.9 

Other 46 2.7 

Ken Hubner 

English, 1972–1993 

■ Asked about potential programs for 

alumni, an alumni career network received 

the highest ratings, with 400 respondents 

indicating high or very high interest. The 

good news is that the alumni career advisor 

program is in place and will roll out 

to younger graduates this fall. (See update 

page 29.) 

■ Volunteers, anyone? About seven 

percent of respondents (120) had been an 

ECF volunteer in the past five years, an 

experience that most found satisfying. An- 

David Schwartz 

English, 1972–2000 

These are just some of 

the ECF teachers who 

influenced generations 

of students. To tell us 

about your most 

memorable teacher, email 

reporterletters@ecfs.org. 

other 21 percent (228 people) would like 

to be involved; top-ranked activities were 

mentoring students or young alumni, and 

participating in the alumni network. (The 

new alumni volunteer network has many 

opportunities for volunteers – see page 6 

for details.) 

■ Among philanthropic priorities for 

respondents, education ranked highest by 

far, named by 54 percent of participants. 

While 71.8 percent of respondents have 

made a charitable contribution to ECF at 

Where do you live now? (If you are a student, where 

are you studying?) 

NUMBERS PERCENT 

NYC metro area 804 47.9 

East Coast 436 26.0 

elsewhere in the U.S. 378 22.5 

outside the U.S. 61 3.6 

MARITAL STATUS NUMBER PERCENT 

Single 458 28.9 

Married 978 61.6 

Divorced 116 7.3 

Widowed 35 2.2 


some point in the past, during the past five 

years, 52.9 percent report making one to 

four gifts, and 32.9 percent have made five 

or more gifts. 

■ Asked about the three highest priority 

uses for financial gifts to ECF, respondents 

overwhelmingly named student financial 

aid (57 percent), followed by unrestricted 

CURRENT ATTITUDES AND VIEWS ABOUT ECF 

Consider your experiences 

with ECF since you were a 

student here. As an alumnus/na, 

how would you rate 

your level of satisfaction 

with the school? 

RATING NUMBER PERCENT 

1 (very low) 38 2.3 

2 81 5.0 

3 323 20.0 

4 528 32.6 

5 (very high) 649 40.1 


endowment (35 percent) and faculty development 

(30 percent). “In fact, ECF is 

proud to have one of the highest financial 

aid budgets of any day school – $6.2 million 

– in the country, and it is excellent to 

have alumni, as well as current parents, express 

support for that initiative,” pointed 

out Ellen Bell, assistant head of school for 

enrollment management and marketing. 

■ This support for student financial 

aid is echoed in respondents’ overall 

priorities for the school, with almost 70 

percent agreeing or strongly agreeing with 

the need for more financial aid, followed 

by a more culturally diverse and representative 

student body (62.1 percent) and 

a stronger community service program 

(59.8 percent). 

Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements 

(1 is very low, 5 is very high) 

I am proud to be an ECF graduate. 4.5 

ECF provided me with comprehensive college preparation. 4.4 

ECF played a significant role in the development of the person I am today. 4.4 

ECF today is an excellent educational institution. 4.3 

I would enroll my child/grandchild at ECF if circumstances permitted. 4.2 

ECF regularly challenged me to meet my full academic potential. 4.1 

ECF provided me with well-rounded preparation for life. 4.1 

I have found the admissions office to be welcoming to me as an alumnus/na ( if applicable). 3.7 

As an ECF student, I was very involved in extracurricular activities. 3.7 

I am in regular contact with friends from ECF. 3.5 

I feel well connected to ECF. 3.3 

I retain some contact with faculty/staff from ECF. 2.0

At the end of the questionnaire, 

participants were asked about the 

school’s greatest strengths, the value 

of ethical principles, and the areas that 

need improvement. 

ECF’s greatest strengths were mentioned 

repeatedly – academic program, 

the high caliber of faculty as well as an 

approach that encouraged independent 

PRIORITIES FOR THE SCHOOL 

thinking. Comments on the value of ethical 

principles were thoughtful. Many credited 

their school experience with giving 

them a “moral compass,” one that guided 

their life, directed their career choices, 

even their volunteer activities. (Occasionally 

this prompted conflict with their work 

or social environment.) There was general 

praise for the school’s secular human- 

Please indicate your level of agreement with the following 

(1 is disagree, 5 is strongly agree) 

AVERAGE 

A stronger financial assistance program should be a high priority for ECF. 4.0 

A more culturally diverse and representative student body should be a high priority for ECF 3.9 

A stronger community service program should be a high priority of the ECF student experience. 3.7 

Leadership programs should be a higher priority for ECF. 3.6 

A stronger performing and fine arts program should be a high priority of the ECF student experience. 3.6 

A stronger athletics program should be a high priority for ECF 2.0 

ist orientation and the lessons learned of 

“thinking outside the box” and accepting 

others’ viewpoints. Commitment to community 

and learning to give back were also 

singled out for comment. Ethics classes 

were praised and, sometimes, criticized, 

depending on the graduating years. 

Suggestions for areas of improvement 

were more diverse. Many older graduates 

felt too distant in time from the school to 

comment. Some wanted more upgrade in 

facilities, while others wanted the opposite 

(don’t upgrade the facilities, concentrate on 

the program); others cited more economic 

and social diversity and an improved ethics 

curriculum as areas of improvement. 

Overall, a number of graduates echoed a 

version of this comment, “Don’t become 

just another prep school – remember the 

legacy! ECF is different and should stay 

different.” ■ 


Fresh Fields, Greener Pastures, II 

MORE ALUMNI CAREER CHANGERS SHARE THEIR STORIES 

by Ginger Curwen 

How have Fieldston graduates, educated to change the world, handled 

change in their own careers? A call to alumni elicited some wonderful 

career-change stories. The first installment ran in the spring ’05 

ECF Reporter; alumni who want to share their stories in the next 

installment should email gcurwen@ecfs.org. 

“Few people get to do 

exactly the work they 

want for any amount of 

time, much less six years 

and counting. I view 

every day I get to do this 

work as a gift.” 


Richard Wexler ’72 

For some, the first career produces the 

second. This was certainly true for 

RICHARD WEXLER ’72. “Anyone in 

my class at Fieldston could have guessed 

my original career choice,” he emailed 

us. “I spent more time on The Fieldston 

News than on any of my classes. It was the 

work on the newspaper that prompted the 

‘headmaster’ at the time, Spencer Brown, 

to warn an assembly of parents that I was 

‘a peculiarly dangerous young man.’ After 

college and the graduate school of journalism 

at Columbia, I spent 19 years as a 

reporter for several public radio and television 

stations, for an ‘alternative’ weekly, 

and a midsize daily newspaper.” 

Richard Wexler ’72 

Journalist to child welfare advocate 

While studying journalism in graduate 

school, Wexler became interested in 

the problems of America’s child welfare 

systems, and later wrote a book about it, 

Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of 

the War Against Child Abuse. “After the 

book was published, I was contacted by 

a member of the national board of the 

ACLU and a former deputy director of 

Massachusetts’ foremost child advocacy 

organization. She asked if I’d like to form 

a group around the principles in my book. 

A mere eight years later we obtained sufficient 

foundation funding (from the Annie 

E. Casey Foundation and the Open Society 

Institute, the Herb Block Foundation, 

and project grants from the child welfare 

fund in N.Y.C.) for me to make my career 

change.” 

Since June 1999, Wexler has been executive 

director of the National Coalition 

for Child Protection Reform (www.nccpr. 

org). “I have the support of a board of directors 

made up of some of the nation’s 

leading experts in the field. The primary 

focus of our efforts is changing child welfare 

by changing public perceptions of the 

system – and that means changing media 

coverage. So I’ve put everything I learned 

in my first career to use in my second. As 

I have told many reporters, I wasn’t hired 

by NCCPR because I wanted to stop being 

a journalist, I helped to found NC- 

CPR because of what I learned as a journalist. 

We’ve had an influence on child 

welfare that is vastly disproportionate to 

our size. And I’ve tried to remain as ‘peculiarly 

dangerous’ as possible, apparently 

with some success. Last year, the excellent 

trade journal Youth Today called NCCPR 

‘that scourge of the child welfare establishment.’” 

Others employ the same skills 

through a variety of fields. By 

his count DAN ISAACSON ’49 

changed careers at least six times before 

retiring, taking his technical and teaching 

skills along for most of the ride. He 

studied engineering at Cornell for his un-

Dan Isaacson ’49, shown with wife, Marie. 

Six-time career-changer 

“It can give you confidence 

to work in so many fields, 

and I enjoyed them all.” 

Dan Isaacson ’49 

dergraduate and master’s degrees, went 

on to the University of Iowa for a M.A. 

in education and minor in drama. After 

a start in the family manufacturing business, 

teaching guitar on the side, Isaacson 

taught math and computers for the next 

25 years to students from junior high to 

those at the post-doctorate level; he also 

got his Ph.D. in computers in education 

from the University of Oregon in Eugene. 

At one point, he became an entrepreneur 

on the side, starting a business designing, 

producing, and marketing educational 

software, but betting on the business instead 

of teaching wasn’t the right choice. 

When the business failed, he moved to 

San Diego; finding no teaching positions 

that year (1987–88), he became a Kelly 

Girl, working for the librettist of Meet 

Me in St. Louis and others. That position, 

however, led to other things: work in industrial 

training and as a technical writer. 

“It can give you confidence to work in so 

many fields, and I enjoyed them all,” he 

said. Now Isaacson and his wife, Marie, 

live in a motor home, recently parked in 

Key Largo for six months, then on to Miami, 

then Iowa. Next stops this fall: a twoweek 

cruise starting in St. Maartens, then 

back to Florida for the winter. 

For LINDA MYERS ‘72, her journey to 

becoming a global human resources 

executive began with teaching. “After 

my graduation from Fieldston, I went to 

Goucher, then on to Columbia to earn a 

master’s in special education. That degree 

had a focus on hearing impairment, primarily 

because both my parents were deaf, 

and it was what I believed I could do with 

relative competence. I had no one at all 

in my nuclear or extended family asking 

me about, or coaching me on my career. 

Ever. 

“My first (and only) teaching job was 

in a ‘regular’ middle school with a mainstream 

program for deaf adolescents in 

Maryland, just outside D.C. I enjoyed the 

job all right, and knew I was making a difference. 

All my students had hearing parents 

who were not very good at communicating 

with them; none had bothered to 

learn the sign language, which I knew fluently. 

Teaching these kids sex education 

was the most challenging part of my job. 

Sign language is very expressive!” 

The road out of teaching began when 

her apartment building was converted 

into a condo, and Myers and the other 

tenants had a chance to buy their units 

at a sweet price. But sweet was still high 

for a teacher. “I needed to raise $11,000 

for a down payment, exactly what I was 

earning as a teacher. I took a second job 

and vowed I would never take a second 

job again.” Six months later, she was accepted 

into a doctoral program in education 

at Harvard University and over 

the next two years took six courses as a 

cross-registrant at the Harvard Business 

School. The business classes helped convince 

corporate recruiters she was worth 

considering as a human resources profes- 

Linda Myers ’72 

Teacher to global HR executive 

sional. “E.R. Squibb (the pharmaceutical 

company, now Bristol-Myers Squibb) gave 

me my first break. Today I am an experienced 

global human resources executive 

who has worked briefly on four continents 

and traveled to all seven. My most recent 

role as executive director of global human 

resources for a healthcare affiliate of Johns 

Hopkins was compromised when we lost 

nearly two-thirds of our federal funding 

from USAID. I’m doing a bit of consulting 

– next week in Vancouver – as I look 

for my next career landing.” 

“My first and only 

teaching job was teaching 

deaf adolescents. 

Teaching these kids 

sex education was the 

most challenging part of 

my job. Sign language is 

very expressive!” 

Linda Myers ’72 


Barbara Kahn Stewart ’67 

Translator to ESL teacher 

In her college days, BARBARA KAHN 

STEWART ’67 knew one thing for sure 

about any future career: She didn’t want 

to teach. “The truth is that I neglected to 

think much about a career when I was in 

college and graduate school,” she said. “I 

just studied what I liked until I got my 

master’s degree in French and linguistics in 

Paris. After that I had no plan. There was 

no need for French teachers in the States, 

and I didn’t want to teach anyway.” 

Stewart ended up working first in 

Paris and then in New York City and 

Washington, D.C, as a bilingual secretary 

and freelance translator. In Washington, 

she also took up writing and editing and 

worked on publications at the international 

management consulting firm, Peat, 

Marwick, Mitchell (now KPMG). With 

that background, she moved to Seattle 

and eventually landed “a really interesting 

writing/editing job for the Port of Seattle 

at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.” 

Almost six years ago she quit that job to 

work freelance from home, but while the 

flexibility was ideal for family commitment, 

ultimately she found it too isolating. 

So again, Stewart looked in a new direction, 

drawing on longtime interests and 


“ I had always been a ‘word 

person’ and interested in 

foreign language and things 

international.” 

Barbara Kahn Stewart ’67 

skills. “I had always been a ‘word person’ 

and interested in foreign language and 

things international. When someone suggested 

to me that I might become an ESL 

teacher, I looked into it further and became 

more interested. So I took intensive 

TESL training and became certified in the 

summer of 2003. After that, I volunteered 

in ESL classrooms at a local community 

college and tutored many ESL students 

there as well.” Eventually, she was hired 

there as a part-time ESL instructor. 

The choice has been very satisfying. 

Said Stewart, “I really love this teaching 

and being with people from so many 

cultures and languages. The students are 

adults, and they come from many different 

countries. They are so friendly and 

Jonathan Pillot ’72 

Entertainment lawyer to creative producer 

grateful for even very little things. They 

are very motivated to learn English and 

they enjoy ESL classes, which tend to focus 

more on the students than the teacher. 

I am interacting with a lot of people again, 

and helping these students is tremendously 

fulfilling. And now I know I really do 

want to teach.” 

From experience and observation, 

JONATHAN PILLOT ’72 is philosophical 

about careers. “The happiest 

people I know in their professional lives 

are those who made inside/out decisions, 

born out of a connectivity to who they 

are.” This was not the case for Pillot, who 

first went to law school and became an 

entertainment lawyer. “For me, the law 

was motivated by an outside/in decision, 

trying to please others. I was good at it, 

but it never felt right. I fought it the whole 

time.” 

While in law school, Pillot took a 

summer associate position at a huge firm, 

Skadden Arps, and quickly discovered 

it wasn’t for him. He turned down their 

job offer after graduation and worked at a 

boutique firm instead for a few years, then 

went on his own. Still, even on his own 

terms, the law didn’t feel right. “I didn’t 

enjoy the arguing,” he recalled. “I was 

more drawn to the creative process. I’d 

rather make things happen than implode 

them. The law sees things in black and 

white, and life’s more interesting in the 

grays.” 

While practicing law, Pillot started to 

develop entertainment projects and pro- 

“I’d rather make things 

happen than implode them. 

The law sees things in black 

and white, and life’s more 

interesting in the grays.” 

Jonathan Pillot ’72

duce books. He was associate producer 

of the Broadway revival of Damn Yankees 

(1994–1995); he found and developed 

the story for the boxing movie, Against 

the Ropes starring Meg Ryan; it took 12 

years to make. He was involved in packaging 

Snoop Dogg’s autobiography, Tha’ 

Doggfather. In meetings about creative 

projects, “I found myself having great moments, 

transcendent moments, moments I 

never had when I was lawyering.” 

About seven years ago, after a divorce, 

Pillot resolved to move more fully into 

creative work and now describes himself 

as a developer and producer of creative 

content, with projects in film, TV, theater, 

music, and publishing. He still represents 

people in negotiations, but as a business 

affairs consultant. “I like being a muse; I 

like being a connector of people, and the 

lawyering comes in handy.” 

Upcoming projects are too numerous 

to mention, but here are a few. Currently 

Pillot is about to produce a film, Volleygirl, 

about the world of women’s professional 

beach volleyball; he is talking to distributors 

about a “mockumentary” already produced, 

The Naked Brothers Band. There 

are several TV projects and an all-female 

gospel theatrical musical in the works. He 

is also president of a branding and development 

company, Thinkronicity. “For 

better or worse, I have a brain that doesn’t 

think narrowly,” he says. 

“It may take a while for some people 

to find out what they’re meant to do,” said 

Pillot. “Sometimes people get sucked in 

and feel they have no choices, but in my 

life as a consigliere and muse, I try to encourage 

people all the time to see they do 

have choices.” 

Leaving Fieldston after 8th grade, 

ADAM AUSLANDER ’80 began his 

first career in high school at Bronx 

Science. He sold (legal) concert t-shirts 

at the Palladium when it was the place 

to see concerts in New York. In one twoyear 

span, he saw 200 concerts. So when 

he was picking colleges, it seemed natural 

Adam Auslander ’80 

Concert producer to clown 

“ I didn’t pick this 

profession. It picked me. ” 

Adam Auslander ’80 

to choose a place where he could produce 

concerts: the University of Buffalo. Not 

only did UB have a history of producing 

entertainment talent (Max and Harvey 

Weinstein, Brad Grey), but it was building 

a new 10,000-seat gym with the largest 

free-floating wood floor – a concert 

promoter’s dream. 

The dream came true: In addition to 

some acting, Auslander also put on concerts 

through a student-owned and student-operated, 

not-for-profit campus service 

organization. He did the first campus 

concert to sell out in advance and start on 

time. (The headliner: the Ramones.) Then 

the gym got built, and he put on the debut 

concert. (The headliner: the B-52s.) In his 

last year at Buffalo, he turned to producing 

plays because of some political turmoil 

in the concert arena. “It was painful at the 

time, but it turned out to be a blessing,” 

he said. “It was an invaluable lesson in 

running a company and in company politics 

– what some people learn at 40, I was 

learning at 20.” 

In 1984, after college, interested in 

broadening his producing skills, Auslander 

got a job doing the props for the Big Apple 

Circus, which prompted his interest in 

clown training. At the time, getting into 

Ringling Brother’s famous Clown College 

was harder than getting into Harvard 

Medical School (or so the Ringling people 

said). But at the audition, held in Madison 

Square Garden, Auslander was picked out 

of the candidates to do a demonstration 

and suddenly had an epiphany. “You just 

feel it. It was clear to me that it was my 

life’s work,” he said. “That’s why I say, 

I didn’t look for this profession, it found 

me.” When Auslander told his family he 

was going to Clown College, his father 

quipped, “Isn’t your brother the funny 

one?” But when he saw Auslander’s graduation 

performance, “he was in tears – he 

got it.” 

Ten and a half weeks of Clown College 

in Venice, Florida, and a year of performing 

all over the country with Ringling Brothers 

Barnum and Bailey Circus launched 

Auslander into his new performing profession. 

Now married, with two boys, ages six 

and three, Auslander earns his living as a 

clown in addition to acting and directing 

work. Having spent seven years as part of 

the Big Apple Circus Clown Care hospital 

program, visiting and cheering up acutely 

sick kids, he does that work now through 

the Making Headway Foundation, paying 

house calls at NYU Hassenfeld, Beth Israel, 

and Roosevelt hospitals. “It’s trite to say 

it’s very rewarding, but it is very rewarding. 

You are entrusted with a difficult part 

of a family’s life when you’re trusted with 

a sick kid. You learn that what you can 

do that day is your gift. It’s quite inspiring.” 

Auslander also trains the clowns for 

the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and 

was even in the parade for the past two 

years, walking the long route on stilts. He 

is working on producing and directing his 

own short film, and yes, you did see him 

on Law and Order: Criminal Intent in a 

few episodes. ■ 


Class Notes 

With this issue, we welcome two 

new class recorders who joined us 

last spring – Jasmine C. Trillos- 

Decarie ’88 and Jake Stolar ’04 

– and eight new class recorders 

joining us this fall: Reba Mirsky 

Goodman ’45, Gilda Gellin Zalaznick 

’52, Arlette Goldmuntz 

Miller ’55, Jenny Mayer ’90, 

Rebecca Sheryl Gordon ’96, 

Reyson Punzalan ’03, Chelsea 

Smith ’03, and Marina Fradera 

’05. 

We are still looking for class recorders 

for the classes of 1970, 

1971, 1973, and 1985 as well as 

many of the years in the 1930s, 

1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. To volunteer, 

contact Toby Himmel at 

alumni@ecfs.org. 

Updates on ECF alumni come to 

the ECF Reporter from class recorders 

as well as from news sent 

directly to the school or gathered 

from the media. 

1933 

Clara Rosenthal writes, “I’m back 

in New York after five months in 

Sarasota, Florida. I have a very 

good life. My fourth great-grand 

was just born and is as cute as all 

the others (all boys).” 

1934 

Ralph de Toledano was elected 

commander of the National Press 

Club American Legion Post in 

June 2005. His 26th book, The 

Great Frankfurt Conspiracy, will 

be out in November. He is also 

working on a memoir, Exit, Pursued 

by a Bear, and two books 

of verse, Cinder in the ’I’ and In 

Other Tongues. At 88, he writes, 

“I’m still at it.” 


1938 

Hazel Maxwell Haines writes, “I 

am still enjoying life in beautiful 

upstate NY and take great pleasure 

in my family, six very satisfactory 

children, and 11 grandchildren. 

I am still busy with 

Quaker activities and look back 

with satisfaction on a very interesting 

life. I look forward with 

some alarm at where our country 

seems to be heading.” 

1939 

Please send your news to 

Alice Kahn Ladas 

1020 Bishops Lodge Rd. 

Santa Fe, NM 87501 

aladas@aol.com 

Alice Kahn Ladas, your class recorder, 

writes, “Having fulfilled 

a lifelong desire to swim with 

dolphins, I am now working on 

another – to play a piano with 

an orchestra. That will happen in 

2006.” 

1942 


Elaine Wechsler Slater 

150 Heath St. West 

Toronto, ON M4V 2Y4 

Canada 

e@slater.net 

Elaine Slater, your class recorder 

writes: “Received the sad news 

that Roz (Bobbie) Schoenfeld 

Singer’s husband, Jack Tessman, 

died suddenly. Bruce Allen, our 

fellow class mate has written 

of Jack, ‘I really enjoyed him. 

I met him at a reunion at Dick 

Siegel’s. He and I and Jimmy 

drove around Petaluma playing 

with Jimmie’s GPS (when 

GPS had just been introduced 

for cars). He was brilliant and 

fun.’ Bruce himself has suffered 

a series of health problems but is 

holding up. As to myself, I have 

a book out, available from Amazon.com 

called Sweet Mysteries of 

Life (PublishAmerica). Barbara 

Rothschild Michaels is working 

for the environment and nature 

conservancy. Her son, Alan ’79, 

is a professor at the University of 

Ohio law school. Jon Marshall, 

who lives in Phoenix and has suffered 

some bad health setbacks 

in recent years, is nonetheless 

dauntless. In spite of severe eyesight 

problems, he continues to 

issue a newsletter commenting 

on world events from his perspective 

– which is one that probably 

most of us share. I just heard 

from Trixie Rudinger Neuburg 

that her husband, Walt, died two 

years ago; she is planning a trip 

to Mexico over Christmas and 

the New Year. Marian Kaplan 

Needelman and her husband, 

Jules, are indefatigable and love 

to travel. They live in California 

and keep in touch with Dick and 

Catherine Siegel among others 

of our class. At the suggestions 

of some ’42s, I am trying to organize 

a short three or four-day 

cruise out of Fort Lauderdale 

in February for a mini reunion. 

Anyone who has not heard from 

me directly and would like more 

information about this, please 

contact me at the information 

above. Everyone in our class is invited 

of course. If a classmate has 

not been contacted, it’s not from 

lack of trying.” 

Jonathan Marshall writes: “Congratulations 

on your election 

as class secretary. It must have 

been a spirited campaign. You 

asked for news of our classmates 

and here goes. I have been working 

on an autobiography for 

most of the year, and it is almost 

complete. My novel, Reunion in 

Norway, is still available through 

www.amazon.com. It deals with 

the Norwegian underground 

during World War II. I also still 

am on the board of the Phoenix 

Art Museum. My wife, Maxine, 

is teaching a class on creative 

writing at the Scottsdale Library 

and we keep busy with various 

activities. Our children include 

the oldest, Lucinda, who has two 

sons, one about to graduate high 

school. She is the head of an international 

woman’s group titled 

Women’s Peace Network which 

is concerned with improving the 

status of women throughout the 

world. Our daughter Laura also 

has two sons and lives in Philadelphia, 

where we visited for the 

younger son’s bar mitzvah recently. 

It was a wonderful gathering 

of the clan. Our third child is 

Robert Louis, who is an artist living 

in New York and has been in 

quite a number of group shows. 

He is also a writer and his first 

novel has recently been accepted 

for publication. Our fourth 

child is Jonathan Herbert. He is 

on the faculty of the Medill Journalism 

School at Northwestern 

University and is active in various 

programs including his temple 

and annual musical productions 

put on by the PTA of the local 

school. He and his wife, Laurie, 

have three wonderful boys. Total 

is four children and seven grandsons. 

You asked about news from 

other classmates and unfortunately 

my larder is bare. Last 

spring Bill Blitzer and Dick Siegel 

came out for a long weekend, 

which was great, and occasionally 

I speak with Barbara Rothschild 

Michaels. I used to keep up 

with Ira Wender, but he seems 

to have disappeared. If anyone 

knows what has happened to him 

I would appreciate hearing. Also, 

I would be happy to hear from 

Grace Schecter. Finally you 

might note that Arizona does not 

have hurricanes or major earthquakes 

and it is a great place to 

visit.” 

Belle Krasne Ribicoff writes: 

“At my 60th Vassar reunion 

in June I was given something 

called the Spirit Award, a lovely 

honor intended to recognize the 

honoree’s service to college and 

community. The award is in its 

fourth year, and I am still trying 

to figure our how Vassar found me 

among its 36,000 alums.” Gloria

Spector Sondheim writes: “With 

the 81st behind me, and all my 

family gathered here, seems I am 

holding my own nicely. A week 

after my own birthday my firstborn 

(Dick) turned 60. That’s 

hard to digest. But it was a run 

of parties which sat well with me. 

I had a long conversation with 

Connie Alter Sussman who 

feels pretty good. My day-to-day 

is curtailed. I sleep late (always 

have), try to do some writing, 

some errands, some family, copious 

reading, mostly biographically 

political. I’m just finishing 

The World Is Flat by Thomas 

Friedman which is blowing my 

mind.” Nancy Sloane and her 

partner, Myrna, in West Palm 

Beach, Florida, have been having 

a terrible time getting rid of 

ticks that were probably brought 

into the house by their dog. The 

house had to be completely emptied 

and decontaminated, but is 

now finally habitable once again. 

They write: “At this point we are 

doing what needs to be done to 

get the house, and our lives, back 

together.” Matthew Gelbin lost 

his second wife a few years ago 

just after a lovely mini reunion in 

Petaluma, California, hosted by 

Dick Siegel. Now he writes: “I 

was married for the third time to 

a widow and we are now living in 

a condo in downtown Chicago. 

Her name is Patricia Newman, 

and she is the mother of Scott Simon 

of NPR radio.” 

Leonard Miller writes from 

South Africa: “I guess ‘old’ is the 

operative word, isn’t it. I’m 81, 

but pleased to say still in excellent 

health. In fact in two weeks my 

wife and I are off ‘on a slow boat 

to China.’ Yes, we’re flying to Tokyo 

and picking up the cruise ship 

Radisson Seven Seas Mariner and 

cruising the China Seas, stopping 

at all the beautiful ports on the 

east coast of China. Early last year 

we did a cruise on this self same 

ship to Alaska and enjoyed it so 

much we immediately booked 

for the Far East trip. Same ship, 

same cabin! We’ve done three 

trips to Antarctica, the last one 

on a Russian ice breaker. We’re 

also great ‘bush-wackers’ and 

enjoy nothing more than photographing 

wild life in the African 

bush. I’m just about to switch 

to digital photography. Watch 

this space! Family? I have three 

daughters from my first marriage 

and another daughter 

with my second. Nine grandchildren. 

One of my daughters 

is a doctor of genetic zoology, 

doing research at Pittsburgh University, 

and I have a daughter 

and her family in London and 

another daughter and her family 

in Sydney, Australia. My oldest 

daughter lives here in Johannesburg 

with her family. Sadly, she 

lost her husband in an air plane 

crash in Botswana, two years ago. 

It’s quite exciting living in South 

Africa these days. With our new 

democracy, we are at last accepted 

in all parts of the world. In 

the old apartheid days travel was 

very restricted. As you know, our 

country was unique in that the 

minority white population voluntarily 

voted in the black majority, 

and with the magic of Nelson 

Mandela, launched a wonderful 

democratic country with a 

constitution guaranteeing civil 

rights unequalled anywhere else 

in the world. We are watching 

with horror the dreadful result 

of hurricane Katrina. We watch 

Sky News and CNN and cannot 

fully absorb the totality of the 

tragedy. Millions without water, 

food, electricity. Without jobs. 

No homes. It’s like Hiroshima! 

Our hearts go out to all the suffering 

of your compatriots.” 

Roger and Peggy Lazarus are 

planning a trip to the Bahamas 

with their children and grandchildren 

for Peggy’s 80th this December. 

From Kendall Landis: 

“A few contacts with Fieldstonians 

since that remarkably fine 

60th reunion of the class of ’42 

at your Canadian manse. I did 

see Bill Blitzer but too briefly 

at Wally Scheuer’s memorial at 

Carnegie Hall. Ira Wender and I 

serve on two boards together and 

hope that our work with ANERA 

Class of ’45 – 60th reunion, June 2005. 

Reba Mirsky Goodman and Stephen Wechsler (Victor Grossman) 

may take us in November to 

the West Bank and Gaza for the 

dedication of two IT teaching facilities. 

Right now I am all caught 

up in bringing a musical group 

from The Edward Said National 

Conservatory of Music on the 

West Bank for a 10-day tour of 

Washington, Philadelphia, and 

New York in mid-February. Last 

April I spent a fascinating two 

weeks touring Syria, guided by 

our Arabic-speaking son who is 

in Damascus on a Fulbright. In 

that beautiful, promising but depressed 

country, our government 

seems to be experimenting with 

new ways to shoot itself (and 

others) in the foot. Blessings on 

you as our class agent!” From 

Bill Blitzer: “My life has entered 

a new season, as the result 

of my wife’s decision to return 

to Australia, permanently. As a 

consequence, Heather and I are 

now separated by half a world. A 

friendly divorce is in process. We 

speak by phone every few weeks, 

and we will see each other every 

few months on account of my 

travels to the Asia Pacific region 

in connection with the business 

I have started there, Lightshop. 

Perhaps it was ‘just one of 

those things, one of those crazy 

flings,’ but it lasted for some 20 

years. We may meet ‘now and 

then, it was great fun, but it was 

just one of those things.’ I am 

reunited with my family, three 

children, seven grandchildren, 

and former wife, Judy, most of 

whom are in New York City, near 

my abode in Tribeca. Last spring 

Dick Siegel and I visited Jon 

Marshall in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

I see Sam Florman from time to 

time, as we are both on the board 

of the New York Hall of Science, 

and Roger Lazarus, when he 

comes this way to see his family. 

Other than that, I try to attend 

the mini and maxi reunions 

sponsored by yourself and others. 

Giving up the house in Rye (after 

49 years) and moving back to 

‘the city that never sleeps’ has, it 

seems, increased the tempo. Creating 

the Lightshop venture takes 

a good bit of time. I continue on 

several not-for-profit boards, try 

to keep up with the exhibitions, 

shows and concert offerings, am 

attempting to regain a moderate 

proficiency on the violin, and 

have fun with the Fred Astaire 

studio, learning ballroom dancing. 

One element of the good life 

that I continue to enjoy is sailing, 

which these days is more about 

cruising than racing.” 

1945 


Reba Mirsky Goodman 

rebabe@juno.com 

Fred Weintraub has stayed close 

friends with Dick Brandt (living 

in New Mexico) since graduating 

from Fieldston. Fred lives in Los 

Angeles and has just finished a 

documentary about World War 

II called Patton’s Ghost Corp. 

More about what Fred has done 



and is doing can be found on 

the web. Walter Blum has “very 

fond memories of the members 

of the class of 1945.” He writes: 

“I remember all our classmates 

the way they looked back then. 

Time frozen, you might say.” After 

Fieldston, Walter got an M.A. 

in music (1951) and then “spent 

seven years bumming around the 

country as a radio disk jockey, 

then taught high school English 

in Montreal and finally moved 

to California in 1960” where 

he was a journalist at The San 

Francisco Examiner for more 

than 30 years. Walter is wheel- 

chair-bound (from post polio 

syndrome) and would very much 

like to hear from classmates at 4 

Claremont Court, Millbrae, CA 

94030. Rita Gam became an actress 

after Fieldston, and has just 

developed a documentary series 

for PBS called Beauty of the World 

that has been distributed to Norway, 

Sweden, Morocco, Bermuda, 

Turkey, and Portugal. She has 

two children and two grandchildren. 

Gilda Geltner Schine says 

she regrets missing her Fieldston 

class reunion in June, but had a 

conflict of dates as she attended 

her husband’s 60th Yale reunion 

held that same weekend. She encourages 

any classmates visiting 

San Francisco to call her. Bob 

Wechsler writes: “What’s going 

on in my life is more abject guilt. 

I am Jewish after all. To expiate 

my sins I have chosen to go back 

to school. After 56 years away 


from academia, last September I 

started working towards a master’s 

degree in American Studies 

(they have a different name for 

it) at the Graduate Center of the 

City University of New York. I 

love it – had my first class of this 

fall semester on August 31 and 

will, hopefully, finish required 

class credits next May and move 

on to a thesis, which will concern 

the Civil Rights Movement 

of the ’50s and ’60s. I hope to 

be the oldest adjunct Professor 

at CUNY unless Fieldston will 

take me on.” More on Walter 

Blum’s interesting life, news from 

Marty Mandel and Vera Cohen 

Gottlieb in the next edition of 

the ECF Reporter (stay tuned). 

1946 

Martin Blumenfeld writes, “I retired 

about a year ago from UBS 

Financial Services, and my wife 

and I moved to the Berkshires, 

where we are enjoying the beautiful 

mountains and the wonderful 

music. If any of my former classmates 

are in the area, please call.” 

Noah Brenner is a member of 

the Ethical Humanist Society of 

Long Island in Garden City. The 

society meets at 38 Old Country 

Road in every Sunday at 11 a.m., 

and he would like to invite any 

alumni to come and enjoy the interesting 

platforms. He is also interested 

in forming a local alumni 

group. For more information, 

he can be reached at (516) 681- 

3817 or at brenners@optonline. 

net. John Rim reports that he just 

returned from Stockholm and is 

headed for Prague and Geneva, 

then back to Narva to jumpstart 

12 new high schools for Estonians 

and Russian-speaking Estonians 

who prefer English. 

1952 


Gilda Gellin Zalaznick 

Gzalaznick@aol.com 

From Tom Kugelman: “Life in 

West Hartford is busy but peaceful 

after a summer in Maine. My 

wife Alice and I have just completed 

a book, Connecticut Valley 

Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and 

his Contemporaries, 1750–1800, 

published by the Connecticut 

Historical Society and distributed 

by University of New England 

Press. It is being printed in Singapore 

and should be available 

through Amazon.com or the Society 

in a few weeks. It is accompanied 

by a major exhibition, 

for which we are guest curators, 

on view at the Society in Hartford, 

until January 15. According 

to The New York Times it is 

well worth a visit. We encourage 

interested classmates to give us a 

call for a personal tour.” 

1954 

Ann Standridge writes, “I am at 

long last retired and looking forward 

to time to spend with my 

family, reading, gardening, traveling 

and seeing old friends.” 

Planned Giving 

Made Easy 

For a wealth of 

information, visit 

https://www.ecfs.org/ 

donate/donate.asp 

1955 


Arlette Goldmuntz Miller 

(203) 389-6621 

arlette@sophie.att.net 

No name tags needed! More 

than half the class showed up 

– 47 – a testimony to our memorable 

years as part of the Ethical/ 

Fieldston family. We came from 

homes in Paris, Vancouver, California, 

Florida, up the East Coast 

and points in between. On hand 

were: Mickie S., Dotsy, Jerry, 

Alicia, Gypsy, Toni, Bob S., Judy 

H., Lois K., Stella, Nan R., Pat 

G., Lois U., Nan A., Tish, Marina, 

Marty S., Dick W., Andy, 

Pete H., Ellen, Marietta, Jeff, 

Steve Jervis, Tammy, Arlette, 

T, Marty B., Sol, Socky, Ben, 

Adele, Frank, Peter K., Paul 

K., Bobbie L., Bob R., Johnny 

M., Joe A., Steve Joseph, Freddie, 

Johnny E., Yocky, Marty P, 

Harvey, Sue S., and Peter V. You 

can check out the faces that go 

with the names at http://www. 

ecfs.org/misc/reunion/album/slides/ 

Re-05.139.html. 

Those of you unable to come 

were sorely missed! Here’s what 

you missed: Simultaneous kickoff 

receptions on Friday evening 

at the homes of the Nans, who 

live around the corner from each 

other. They graciously plied 

us with excellent food and drink, 

while we squealed, embraced, 

and saw the years fall away. Every 

time the doorbell rang was a 

heart-stopping moment! 

Saturday at Fieldston was filled 

with nostalgia. We gathered for 

drinks and photos on the quadrangle, 

took tours of the campus 

(Mickie observed that the bathrooms 

are still called ‘boys’ and 

‘girls’), and viewed a model of 

the future new campus on display 

in the dining hall. (Smell 

that American chop suey!) Our 

reunion organizers prevailed by

insisting we have our own dinner 

in the Tate Library, far from the 

madding crowd. 

The highlight of the evening was 

a hilarious version of Fiddler on 

the Roof presented by impresarios 

Meyer and Rosenblum. (A script 

will be forthcoming.) How about 

a CD, guys? After greetings from 

the school’s head of school Joe 

Healey, the evening took a more 

sentimental turn as several of us 

got up to say a few words: 

❖ Socky remembered Bernie 

Werthman’s Special Chorus 

(for which no auditions were 

required!) Who will ever forget 

Hayden’s Creation, Vivaldi’s 

Gloria Mass, Faure’s Requiem? 

(A Bach cantata, too?) 

❖ There were many fond memories 

of a sterling and devoted 

faculty: Darby, Brown, Lenrow, 

Heymann, Eastman, Fuller, 

Rosenthal, Scott, Voss, Kotlar... 

❖ Richard talked about an incident 

in Mr. Bassett’s Health 

Ed. class (for boys only) in 

which Mr. B said that the 

human male was capable of 

200,000 ejaculations in a lifetime. 

Reply from student, “Uh 

oh, I only have three left!” 

❖ Bob Strassler remembered our 

original IVth form production, 

(Carter, traitor? Carter, 

traitor?) loosely based on It 

Can’t Happen Here. Steffi introduced 

us to Copland’s Appalachian 

Spring, which became 

the opening music. 

❖ We elected Judy H. the first 

woman student council president. 

❖ Jerry confessed to putting the 

gory arm of a mannequin in a 

closing subway door while he 

and an accomplice shrieked 

from the platform. 

❖ Joe A. visited Miss Eastman 

after his freshman year and 


told her, “English classes in 

college were not as good as at 

Fieldston.” She replied, “Not 

SO good as at Fieldston. You 

use ‘so’ after the negative in a 

comparative statement.” 

Remembered in conversation 

were those who are gone: Jackie, 

Peter L., Steve P., Bob P., and 

Bill E. 

The weekend, so eagerly anticipated, 

came and went too quickly. 

It left us with a sweet taste, 

wanting more. 

Please stay in touch. Now that we 

have re-connected, let’s stay connected! 

1. Who is the Mayor of Menlo Park? 

I’ve agreed to be our class recorder, 

so just send me any thoughts 

you have or notices or accomplishments 

or high points whatever 

for the ECF Reporter and the 

occasional letters I’ll be sending 

out. 

Many, many thanks to our onsite 

committee (others chipped 

in on conference calls and email): 

Adele, Bob R., Ellen Jeff, Joe 

A., Marina, Nans A. and R., 

Tammy, and T for putting together 

a memorable event! 

By the way, many of us would like 

to hear more about the future of 

F I F T I E T H R E U N I O N Q U I Z 

2. Who was recently quoted extensively in the New Yorker’s three-part article on global warming? 

3. Who just celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary? 

4. Who is the world’s expert on ‘dark matter’? 

5. Who bought a Jasper Johns for the Met? 

6. Who couldn’t attend because he was in Prague receiving an award for his medical research? 

7. Who lives near a runway where he can take off in his own plane? 

8. Who masquerades as a southern cowboy and is a state-champion team cutting-horse rider? 

9. Who had breakfast in Jerusalem, lunch in Paris, and dinner at the Nans’ parties on his birthday? 

This is a come-on. For answers, call or email me (arlette@sophie.att.net). 

the Ethics Fund our donations 

created and have some input as 

to the direction it takes. 

We have lived 67 years, through 

joy, sorrow, tragedy, triumph, 

success and failure. (Not!) What 

all of us reflected on during 

that weekend, I think, was that 

throughout the years’ journey, 

Fieldston’s steady philosophy has 

guided us and pointed us to humane 

values and to goals higher 

than ourselves. 

Hope I’ve gotten the facts straight. 

Thanks, T, Mickie, Joe, Bob S. 

for your input. I’m proud to be 

part of this wonderful class. 

– Arlette 


1956 

Doris Wimpfheimer Finkel 

writes, “I am delighted to have 

two grandchildren attending 

ECF, Deborah, 6, entering 1st 

grade and Rickey, 4, entering 

pre-kindergarten in September.” 

Carol K. Mack is a 2005 recipient 

of a new play commission in 

Jewish theater from the National 

Foundation for Jewish Culture 

and Theater J in Washington, 

D.C. for her play, The Visitor. To 

see other works, her website is 

www.carolkmack.com. 

1957 

Mary Ellen Weiser Rudolph has 

stepped down, after six years, as 

president of Goddard Riverside’s 

board of directors. She will continue 

to serve on the board. 

1959 

Jay Pobliner is a member of the 

Plattekill Fire Department, an 

ambulance driver for that department, 

and was recently elected 

training officer for the Ulster 

County Volunteer Fire Police association. 

1962 


Jim Kramon 

2601 Old Court Rd. 

Baltimore, MD 21208 

jkramon@kg-law.com 

Nick van Nes was profiled in The 

New York Times (10/3/04) for his 

28-year role as a pioneer in the 

local sailing charter business in 

New York Harbor on his boat, the 

Petrel. Robert Rottenberg is now 

chair of the finance committee of 

the town of Colrain (population 

1,800) in western Massachusetts. 

1964 

Bill Rapaport became a stepgrandfather 

in April. 



1966 

Robert Fagenson was appointed 

chief executive for the international 

trading firm, Van der 

Moolen Specialists USA. He had 

been vice chairman. 

1967 

Bram Amsel writes “Peter Karlen 

and I had a mini 38th reunion 

in Bruges, Belgium, where 

we caught up on old times and 

filled each other in on what we 

had missed over the years. Even 

without a chess set or ping pong 

paddles, we had a great day.” 

1968 


Jamie Katz 

580 W. 215th Street 

New York, NY 10034 

jkatz@vibe.com 

Attorney Paula Lapin with Hiscock 

& Barclay, LLP, has relocated 

from the firm’s Syracuse office 

to the Rochester office. She is a 

member of the real estate practice 

and the financial institutions and 

lending practice areas. A beloved 

member of the class, Victor Swedosh, 

recently died; see page 32 

for details. 

1971 

Robert Lemle has been named 

Oberlin College board of trustees 

chair. He is a former Cablevision 

executive. He graduated from 

Oberlin in 1975 and joined the 

board of trustees in 1996. 

1972 


Richard Boylan 

rboylan@yahoo.com 

Ed Lowe was featured in a front 

page article of The Riverdale 

Press (9/15/05) about using his 

company’s school buses to collect 

donations for the victims of Hurricane 

Katrina. His effort is called 

RAKE, Riverdalians Against Katrina’s 

Effects. 

1974 


Ann Stuchiner 

70 E. 96th St., #1A 

New York, NY 10128-0747 

astuchiner@netzero.net 

1975 


G. Angela Flemister Henry 

The Phillips Oppenheim Group 

521 Fifth Ave., Suite 1802 


ahenry@phillipsOppenheim.com 

Laurie Ruckel has been named a 

partner in the law firm of Loeb & 

Loeb. She works in the tax and 

wealth services department. Peter 

Winkelstein has been appointed 

chair for clinical and scientific 

informatics at Roswell Park Cancer 

Institute in Buffalo. He will 

be responsible for overall strategic 

direction of the department’s 

clinical and research activities. 

Elisabeth Radow is organizing a 

bone marrow drive and welcomes 

all to participate. It will be held at 

Save a Life, Larchmont Temple, 

75 Larchmont Avenue, Larchmont, 

in conjunction with Gift 

of Life Bone Marrow Foundation 

(www.giftoflife.org), is hosting a 

Bone Marrow Donor Drive on 

Sunday, January 8 from 10:00 

a.m. to 3:30 p.m. All people 

from age 18 to 60 are welcome 

to be tested. Testing involves a 

simple swab of cells from inside 

the cheek. You could be a life 

saving match for one of 21,000 

children and adults who will lose 

their lives without a bone marrow 

transplant. Former bone 

marrow donors and bone marrow 

recipients will attend to share experiences 

and answer questions. 

Call (914) 686-7807 for further 

information. 

1976 


Debra Bradley Ruder 

15 Hallron Rd. 

Newton, MA 02462-1115 

debra_ruder@dcfi.harvard.edu 

Give to the Annual Fund 

By mail or online at www.ecfs.org

1977 


Scott Schiller 

515 West End Ave., Apt. 3B 

New York, NY 10024-4345 

scottyschiller@aol.com 

Charlie King is running for New 

York State attorney general. He 

lives in Rockland County. 

1978 


William E. Beres 

190 Newtown Ave. 

Norfolk, CT 06851 

william.beres@reuters.com 

or 

Martha Dorn 

515 E. 85th St. PHB 


mdorn1@nyc.rr.com 

Gerald Cohen had the first performance 

of Act 1 of his opera 

Sarah and Hagar performed at 

Temple Shaaray Tefila in May in 

New York. 

Martha Dorn, your class recorder, 

writes: “The ECF board of 

trustees hosted a lovely event at 

MoMA in May. Martha and Bill 

were pleased to see fellow classmates 

Abigail Esman, Claude 

Mellins, Dana Robin, and Luke 

Nancy Cantor ’70, president and 

chancellor of Syracause University, 

shown with new freshman Henry 

Haber ’05, at orientation. Cantor 

has just completed her first year 

leading the institution. 


Sacher. Abigail was in town 

from Amsterdam. She is writing 

a regular opinion piece for a 

website that covers international 

news about the global war on 

terror. The site’s board consists 

of various military officials and 

national security advisors, and 

aims to give a balanced view of 

the issues. You can read it each 

month on www.worlddefensereview.com. 

This summer, The New 

York Times Magazine cover story 

quoted Claude as an expert on 

issues surrounding growing up 

with HIV. Dana just returned 

home after finishing up another 

major motion picture (coming to 

a theater near you soon). Luke is 

keeping busy restoring his home, 

an 1895 school house in New 

Hampshire, and editing his latest 

television documentary film. He 

received an Emmy nomination 

for his last documentary, an A&E 

Biography special on The Rat 

Pack. In other news, we heard 

from Tamara Weiss who lives on 

Martha’s Vineyard with her husband 

and 11-year-old twin boys. 

She owns a home furnishing and 

clothing store called Midnight 

Farm in Vineyard Haven. Her 

first book, Potluck at Midnight 

Farm, was published and she is 

starting her second book. Tamara 

is also very involved with a 

community effort to turn an old 

house in the town of Aquinnah 

into a museum for the Wampanoag 

Indians. That’s our news. As 

always, we look forward to hearing 

from you.” 

1979 


Charlie Minton 

42 Raafenberg Rd. 

Tarrytown, NY 10591 

cminton@mammothcapital.com 

Dan Hassid is a co-executive 

producer of Carnivale, an HBO 

production. Previously, he has 

spent many years as an independent 

film producer. He collaborated 

with director Allison Anders 

producing Things Behind the 

Sun (Sundance Film Festival, IFP 

Spirit Awards nominee, Emmy 

nominee) and Sugar Town (1999 

Sundance Film Festival Centerpiece 

Premiere, IFP Spirit Award 

nominee). 

1980 


Eric Berkeley 

715 Park Ave., #5A 


ericberkeley@yahoo.com 

David Freiman is the children’s 

chorus director at the Amato Op- 

era in the Bowery. His children, 

Kirsten and Nicholas, have been 

featured in the opera house’s production 

of Puccini’s Tosca with 

their uncle, David’s brother 

Mark ’82. He also completed his 

first triathlon and through Team 

in Training raised $6,000 for the 

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

Daughter Kirsten was also inducted 

into the National Junior 

High Honor Society and son 

Nicholas was third grade “star of 

the month.” 

1981 


Jill Graham Klein 

215 E. 68th St., #2S 


jillgraham@nyc.rr.com 

1982 


Karin J. Bravin 

74 Fifth Ave., #4C 

New York, NY 10011-8006 

Karin@gblgallery.com 

Mark Freiman played the sadistic 

police chief Scarpia in Puccini’s 

Tosca at the Amato Opera in 

the Bowery. Mark is also getting 

married and moving to St. Louis 

in October. Next winter he will 

be performing with the Sarasota 

Opera in Florida. 

Matchmaker, 

Matchmaker 

Many companies support 

the philanthropic interests 

of their employees by 

matching their gifts. Is 

yours one of them? Check 

with your company and 

obtain a matching gift 

form. ECF receives approximately 

$30,000 in 

matching gifts to the 

Annual Fund each year. 


The Ethical Culture School Camp in Cooperstown, which closed in 1971. 

1983 


Greg Astrachan 

c/o Wilkie Farr & Gallagher 

787 Seventh Ave. 

New York, NY 10019-6018 

gastrachan@wilkie.com 

Oren Helbok passed through 

Cooperstown, NY, this summer 

and stopped in to look in on the 

old grounds of the Ethical Culture 

School Camp, which closed 

in 1971. Much of the land has 

been sold off, and the cabins have 

all fallen to pieces, but the original 

main house still stands. 

1984 


William W. Sahlman 

40 W. 24th St. #9E 


wsahlman@lehman.com 

or 

Fred Moran 

615 NW 12th St. 

Delray Beach, FL 33444 

freddymomania@hotmail.com 

Maria Stern writes: “I live on the 

coast of Sweden in Gothenburg 

and have two wonderful children, 

Alexander (9) and Andreas (7). I 

try to get back to New York twice 

a year, including a month over the 

summer. I work as a lecturer and 

researcher in International Relations 

and Development Studies 

at the University of Gothenburg, 

Sweden. Am now also a research 


fellow at the Swedish Institute of 

International Affairs in Stockholm 

(am commuting back and 

forth between Stockholm and 

Gothenburg). I travel a lot and 

also welcome visitors!” Robert 

D. Newman writes: “I am continuing 

to enjoy life in Atlanta 

where I live with my wife (Lori) 

and two sons (Sam, age 5 and 

Lucas, age 2). I am still working 

as a medical officer in the U.S. 

Public Health Service and am 

assigned to CDC, where I work 

on controlling malaria during 

pregnancy in Africa. For the past 

nine months or so, I have also 

been acting associate director of 

the division of parasitic diseases 

here at CDC, which has been a 

great experience. We spend most 

of our free time in the mountains 

of Western North Carolina, just 

outside of Asheville. Incredibly, 

I wound up working with a 

Fieldston grad over the past few 

years, Nancy Nachbar ’85, on 

malaria control in Africa. She 

works for Netmark, based out of 

Washington, D.C. We worked 

together for some time both in 

the U.S. and Africa before we 

made the Fieldston connection.” 

Johanna Gorelick finished her 

Ph.D. in anthropology from the 

CUNY Graduate School this past 

spring. Johanna runs the education 

department at the National 

Museum of the American Indian. 

Charles Polsky writes: “Living 

in Chicago with wife Isabel, William 

(6), Edward(5) and Julia 

(2). Left practice of medicine to 

work as a biotechnology stock 

analyst five years ago; still going 

strong. Hope all are well.” Mitch 

Berman writes: “My daughter, 

Solvej, was born in April. She 

brings great joy to her parents and 

to her two older brothers, Isaac 

(2) and Charlie (4), who dote 

on her in return.” Dan Schrag 

writes: “This summer, I got married 

to Diane Brockmeyer, who is 

a primary care physician in Boston. 

And we are expecting a baby 

boy to arrive in December. I am 

still working at Harvard, teaching 

and doing research on climate and 

Earth history, and have recently 

been serving as the director of 

the Harvard University Center 

for the Environment, which is 

very new and exciting to me as 

I get to interact with many different 

scholars and practitioners 

from different disciplines all over 

the university. In terms of contact 

with Fieldston people, I see Jon 

Rosand quite regularly. He and 

his family live close by. And I see 

David Rudner infrequently. He 

is in the microbiology department 

at Harvard Medical School. 

And for the last year or so, I am 

in regular contact with Robert 

Ziff.” 

Cindy Freidberg Marvell and 

her husband Carter just finished 

an off-Broadway run of their juggling 

show, Lazer Vaudeville, that 

began in February. The DVD 

can be purchased at http://www. 

lazervaudeville.com or at the NY 

juggling shop in Soho, www. 

dube.com. They also performed 

as special guests at the International 

Juggler’s Festival in Davenport 

and are getting ready for a 

national tour this fall or spring. 

Robert Ziff, Cindy’s juggling 

partner in the Fieldston Cabaret, 

came to opening night with his 

wife, Michelle. Jenny Canavan 

came with her family, and former 

Fieldston teacher David Schwartz. 

Schwartz attended many times 

given that his nephew, Nicholas 

Flair, is in the show! 

Mark Forte, director of the 

Learning Resource Center at 

Mount Saint Mary’s College, led 

66 incoming Doheny freshmen 

in Summer Skills 2005, an academic 

summer bridge program 

designed to prepare students 

for academic expectations at the 

Mount. The two-week program 

focuses on developmental skills 

needed to negotiate the challenges 

of college life. Of the students 

who attended this year, 90 

percent moved up one or more 

levels in reading, writing, and/or 

basic math. 

1986 


Lenora Ausbon-Odom 

Senior Manager, 

Ernst & Young, LLP, 

8484 West Park Drive, McLean, 

VA, 22102, 

lenora.ausbonodom@ey.com 

1987 


Natalie Ireland-Ward 

429 Shortridge Dr. 

Wynnewood, PA 19096 

nattyi@aol.com 

1988 


Jasmine C. Trillos-Decarie 

Director of Marketing 

Goodwin Procter LLP 

Exchange Place 

Boston, MA 02109 

(617) 570 8262 (phone) 

(617) 523-1231 (fax) 

jtrillos-decarie@goodwinprocter. 

com 

Tracy Kramer Seckler wrote in 

last spring, just missing the last 

issue: “I have lots of news to report. 

First the good news: Maisy 

Rose Seckler was born on Nov. 

4, 2004 She joins older brothers, 

Sammy and Charley. We were also 

hit with awful news [the previous] 

summer: Charley, our fouryear-old 

son, was diagnosed with 

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. 

DMD is a fatal disease that eats 

away at all of the body’s muscles.

We have started Charley’s Fund, 

a nonprofit foundation devoted 

to funding research for a cure in 

time to save Charley’s life.” Learn 

more at www.charleysfund.org 

and read Tracy’s blog, or call her 

at (413) 528-5745. 

Jessica Levine (now Jessica Bacal) 

writes that she and her husband, 

Joe Bacal, had a son on 

November 7, 2004. His name is 

Elijah George Bacal. Also, Jessica 

completed an M.F.A. in writing 

at Hunter College in 2004 and 

just had her first short story published 

in The Crab Creek Review. 

Dana Baxter was featured in a 

spread of the March issue of Essence 

magazine. 

1989 


Heather Abrahams-Gitlow 

153 Gaskill St. 

Woonsocket, RI 02895 

drhpa@aol.com 

Elizabeth Parlee recently had a 

baby boy, Samuel Gordon Kahn, 

with her husband, David Kahn. 

She is stepping out of clinical 

medicine to start her M.P.H. at 

Harvard this fall. Congratulations 

to Melissa Raber, who writes: 

“Wanted to tell you that Ivan 

Goldwasser and I got married in 

July! Monifa Kelly, Joe Mejia, 

and Michael Rubiano were all 

at our wedding which took place 

at a beautiful winery in Woodside, 

California. My stepmother, 

Maisy Rose Seckler with her older brothers, 

Sammy and Charley. 

They got game! Shali Ponti ’90 and Margaret Munzer Loeb ’90 organized an alumni basketball game this fall. 

Jane Handler Beirn ’66, my 

stepbrother Jonathan Beirn ’97, 

and my step-aunt, Amy Handler-Caldarola 

’68 were there 

as well! Larry Stone had had his 

son, Asher, the week before, so 

he couldn’t make it, but he illustrated 

our beautiful ketubah for 

us so he was very much there in 

spirit. Like Danielle Katz and 

her husband, we also spent our 

honeymoon in Australia!” 

1990 


Jenny Mayer 

jennymayer@aol.com 

Joanna Cohen married Evan 

Kanew on June 18, 2005. Kaia 

Stern officiated. Joanna’s sister 

K.C. ’92 and her brothers James 

’00 and Charles ’00 took part in 

the ceremony. Jodi Kaplan reports 

that she is working in Human 

Resources at Merrill Lynch. 

She will wed Richard Cohen on 

November 12 in New York City. 

Toby Tumarkin reports that he is 

a vice president and artist manager 

at Columbia Artists. He lives 

in New York City. Shali Ponti is 

the founder/director of the Dew 

After the Rain Dance and Theater 

Shakespeare Company. The 

company, which operates out 

of Los Angeles, brings together 

children from all backgrounds to 

experience the beauty and joy of 

performing Shakespeare. She is 

also a certified Ashtanga Vinyasa 

yoga teacher and has been practicing 

for over a decade. Michael 

Kaplan and his brother Nicholas 

’88 are co-founders of Fashion to 

Figure, a plus-size woman’s apparel 

company with a flagship 

store in the Palisades Center mall 

in West Nyack, NY. The Kaplans 

“grew up immersed in the plussize 

retail world of the Lane Bryant 

chain, founded over a century 

ago by great-grandmother Lena 

H. Bryant and owned and operated 

by the family until it was 

sold in the mid-1980s. Although 

the Lane Bryant brand continues 

to thrive, the Kaplans saw a need 

for more choice in color, styles, 

cut, and price,” wrote the Har- 

vard Alumni Bulletin, in a profile 

about the business. Joshua 

Hollander is living in Oakland, 

California, and working at Pixar 

Animation Studios as manager of 

the image mastering department. 

He worked on Finding Nemo and 

The Incredibles. 

1991 


Wendi Newman 

220 E. 63rd St., #5C 


wendi@wendinewman.com 

Kristen Claeson-Andrasko writes: 

“This spring I left London after 

four years there and moved to 

Prague with my husband, Pavol, 

who is from the region. I’ve begun 

work with a local investment 

banking firm, and we are enjoying 

weekends at the farmhouse 

we bought several years ago and 

which has countless years of repair 

work still to go!” 

1992 


Justin Sher 

10 West 15th St., Apt. 516 


jmsher2000@yahoo.com 

ECF Reporter 25 

TOBY HIMMEL

Gus Ornstein ’94 has just finished 

his first season as coach of the 

Fieldston Eagles. 

1993 


Lauren Porosoff Mitchell 

2800 Wisconsin Ave. NW #905 

Washington, DC 20007 

porosoff@yahoo.com 

Dawn Baxter was named the 

new music marketing manager 

for Nike and is responsible for 

product placement with music 

celebrities. Geoffrey Goldman 

spent 2000–01 touring the U.S. 

with the legendary folk music 

group, Peter, Paul and Mary, as 

road manager. Goldman is currently 

building a career in corporate 

sales at Winston Staffing in 

NYC and is also playing drums 

in jazz and rock bands. He is living 

in Astoria, Queens. Alumni 

are welcome to contact him at 

geoffieg@yahoo.com. Gaby Moss 

has an audio book in production, 

Days of the Week. 

1994 


Daryl S. Freimark 

11 President St. #2 

Brooklyn, NY 11231 

dfreimark@hotmail.com 

Daryl Freimark writes, “It was 

great to receive so much good 

news! It seems like everyone is 

getting married, got married, 


back in school, or really excited 

about their jobs. As we approach 

30, I think we’re becoming adults. 

Amazing…” 

Nandi Beede reports: “A lot has 

happened in the last six months. 

I completed my last semester of 

business school in Barcelona and 

earned my M.B.A. this past May 

from Stern N.Y.U. I started a 

new job as an associate marketing 

manager on L’Oreal USA. I’ve 

also seen many people from our 

year, including Rashaan Maxwell, 

Tim Bryan, and James 

Patricof. All seemed to be doing 

great!” Mara Harowitz is finishing 

her Ph.D. in archaeology 

from Columbia University this 

year. Leigh Gold is beginning 

her third year in the German Literature 

Ph.D. program at N.Y.U. 

(it is a five-year program), where 

she’ll also begin her second year 

of teaching. Last year she taught 

German language as part of the 

program. She spends much of her 

free time playing Capoeira [an 

Afro-Brazilian martial art], which 

she’s been doing for about two 

and a half years, as well as writing 

short stories and says, “no, have 

not tried to publish anything 

yet.” Leigh is living on 9th Street 

near N.Y.U. and recently hung 

out with Jess Goldsmith and 

Jim Lester. 

Jordan Silbert is starting his 

second year in business school 

at Yale. He spent this summer 

in Panama, where he worked in 

real estate/economic development 

in the colonial old quarter 

of Panama City. After five years 

working as an aide to two Democratic 

congressmen, Seth Hanlon 

is beginning law school this 

fall at Georgetown. “Everything 

I’ve learned so far I remember 

from Ms. Livingston’s Law 

and Society class, so I think I 

have it covered,” he wrote. Kas 

Stolzman reports, “I’m back at 

law school after having spent the 

summer fulfilling a public interest 

law fellowship at South Brooklyn 

Legal Services where I helped 

low-income clients who had legal 

problems with their housing.” 

Also back in school is Gus Ornstein, 

who is back at Fieldston! 

In addition to running a speed 

and conditioning facility in Closter, 

N.J., called the Parisi Speed 

School, Gus took the job as head 

football coach of the Fieldston 

Eagles!! “That is right,” he 

writes, “I am back at Fieldston 

and loving it. We started practice 

on August 22 and we had our 

first game vs Xavier at Fieldston 

on Sept 10.” Hope some of you 

get a chance to see them play this 

fall! Jenny Kronovet is living 

in Beijing with her fiancé, Anthony 

Brosnan. She is teaching 

American literature and writing 

at a University for future teachers 

and will be returning to the 

US in February. Jessica Radin is 

doing well, living in Fort Greene, 

Brooklyn, with her fiancé, Simeon: 

“We’re getting married in 

March and we’re excited. A nice 

thing is that since I went back to 

Thailand in 1999, I have connected 

with members of my birth 

family. At least 15 or so of them 

will be coming to the wedding, in 

addition to my Jewish family and 

Sim’s family from England. Liz 

Freirich will be one of my bridesmaids, 

and in fact she is getting 

married in December. I am still 

teaching history at the Beacon 

School, a public high school in 

Manhattan as well as doing work 

on the side with parents of transnational 

adoptees. I wrote an article 

on the subject that was published 

in Nashim, a Jewish feminist 

journal.” Recently married 

classmates include Emily Cohen. 

Andrea Wagner reports “Lauren 

Myers, Karen Lefcourt, Becky 

Wolf McWilliams, and I were 

at Emily’s wedding on Martha’s 

Vineyard.” Phillip Biderman 

tied the knot in July to Kimberly 

Machnicki. Phillip reports: “We 

had a great time at the wedding 

celebrating with all of our family 

and friends which included 

from class of ’94 Ty Gold, Ross 

Rosenfelt, Heather Schlachter, 

Joseph Varet and Andrea Wagner.” 

Jamie Patricof moved to Los 

Angeles with his wife Kelly two 

years ago, but was in New York 

this summer producing a film 

called Half Nelson, starring Ryan 

Gosling (The Notebook, Murder 

by Numbers) and Anthony Mackie 

(She Hates Me, 8 Mile). Jamie 

writes: “I was lucky enough to get 

to go back to school to visit our 

new head football coach, Gus Ornstein, 

before I had to head back. 

I got to speak to the kids and 

spend the morning at practice, it 

was one of my favorite days in a 

long time. I hope to be back at a 

game this fall.” Also in the world 

of entertainment, Polly Blitzer 

reports, “When I’m not editing 

or writing at In Style, I run into 

Daryl Freimark at movie screenings. 

I recently started doing TV 

segments (Entertainment Tonight 

and CNN) for the magazine, 

which is somewhat nerve-wracking 

but totally new and fun!!” 

Steph Fagenson has switched 

real estate firms, and now works 

for Fox Residential Group, www. 

foxresidential.com. Stephanie reports, 

“The company is really 

great, and I am extremely excited 

about this move, I think it’s going 

to be incredibly positive and beneficial. 

I am still doing residential 

sales, but can now work not 

just in Manhattan, but all over 

New York state. Also, I can take 

referrals for people looking outside 

New York State as well (say 

Florida, NJ, etc.) If you or anyone 

you know is ever looking to 

buy, sell, or rent an apartment or 

Giving Made Easy – 

Now Online at 

www.ecfs.org

home, call me, or send them my 

way! On top of the new job stuff 

I got a dog, Chloe, about a year 

ago. She’s a shih-poo (shih tzu/ 

poodle mix), and she is the cutest 

thing ever. I always thought having 

a dog would be too much for 

me in the city, but I can’t imagine 

not having her, she’s the best.” 

Daryl concludes, “Well, I don’t 

have a dog, a wife, an engagement 

to announce, or anything 

to do with school. But, still at 

New Line Cinema, I’m happy to 

report I am one of the executives 

developing a number of our movies, 

including Hairspray the Musical 

(yes, we’re making it back 

into a movie, and it’s going to be 

great!). So, keep your eyes peeled 

for my name in the credits of upcoming 

New Line movies! Look 

forward to hearing from more of 

you again next time!” 

1995 


Ann Sharfstein 

19 Wolf Rd. 

Lebanon, NH 03766 

ann.m.sharfstein.99@alum.dartmouth.org 

Elizabeth Kagan Arleo, MD, a 

radiology resident at New York 

Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell, 

is engaged to be married in June 

to Joshua William Thompson of 

Sydney, Australia, an attorney at 

White and Case. Eddie Garcia 

II writes that he was “just discharged 

as as a sgt. in the U.S. 

Marine Corps. Severely wounded 

in the battle for Fallujah, received 

Purple Heart.” He now works for 

a video game company as a military 

advisor. 

1996 


Rebecca Sheryl Gordon 

666 Greenwich St., Apt. 315 


rebeccasgordon@gmail.com 

Rebecca Sheryl Gordon, your 

class recorder, writes: “I was married 

on June 11 to Andrew Stark. 

Andy and I met while I was working 

as an associate at the D.E. 

Shaw Group, a specialized investment 

and technology development 

firm whose activities center 

on various aspects of the intersection 

between technology and finance. 

In the fall, I start my M.S. 

in library science at Pratt. In attendance 

at our wedding were the 

following ECFS alums: Danielle 

Gordon Gelb ’97, Jocelyn Gordon 

’03, Elinor McKay, Seth 

Sgorbatti, Dave Ebenstein, Emily 

Rothschild, Lauren Kosky- 

Stamm, Alison Dworkin, Katie 

Iger ’97, Rachel Petcheskey ’99, 

Susie Koltun ’88.” Laura Weinberg 

is a producer at CNN where 

she works on the Paula Zahn 

show. If you would like to get in 

touch with Laura, you can reach 

her at Laura.Weinberg@turner. 

com. Elyse Neiman is engaged 

to David Seiter and is planning a 

spring 2006 wedding. They have 

also just moved to Park Slope in 

Brooklyn. 

1997 


Amy Sulds 

240 W. 98th St., #4A 


amysulds@yahoo.com 

1998 


Darren Martin 

318 Island Dr., Apt. 7 

Madison WI 53705 

dmmartin@wisc.edu 

Anika Adilifu has been hired as 

an assistant to the public relations 

director for George Wein’s 

Festival Productions. She’ll be 

working on major jazz festivals 

in New Orleans, New York, and 

Newport. In addition, she has 

just finished production of her 

first documentary film which focuses 

on the lives of young female 

residents at the Woodlea Group 

Home in New Jersey. Danielle 

Feris writes: “This summer I participated 

in a few media reform/ 

grassroots media conferences as a 

part of my work as a community 

organizer for democracynow.org, 

a national, independent, TV/radio 

news program.” Emily Brouwer 

writes: “I moved to France to 

teach English for two years after 

graduating from Wellesley College. 

I have been back in NYC for 

over a year, working at the French 

Institute Alliance Francaise. I am 

currently working as a development 

officer, after working in the 

president’s office for 11 months. 

I sing in a Seven Sisters alum a 

cappella group called the Metropolitones 

and live in Brooklyn.” 

Allison Levine sends this 

message from a few time zones 

away: “I have graduated from law 

school and am living in Honolulu, 

Hawaii, this year, so if any 

Fieldston alums find themselves 

out here, get in touch!” Caleb 

Hurst-Hiller writes: “I recently 

helped open a public charter 

school in Cambridge and continue 

teaching. The Community 

Charter School of Cambridge 

(http://www.ccscambridge.org) 

opened its doors to students for 

the first time on August 31 and 

we currently have 180 students in 

grades 7–9. CCSC will grow each 

year as students progress. The 

school is founded upon Coalition 

of Essential School principles 

and is part of the High Tech 

High small schools network. The 

student body is incredibly diverse 

and, although the happenings 

are hectic, everything is exciting 

and going well.” Matthew Spigelman 

writes: “Having just returned 

from my fourth summer 

of archaeological excavations on 

the island of Cyprus, I am back 

in New York City for the foreseeable 

future as I pursue a Ph.D. 

in anthropological archaeology 

Matchmaker, 

Matchmaker 

Many companies support 

the philanthropic interests 

of their employees by 

matching their gifts. Is 

yours one of them? Check 

with your company and 

obtain a matching gift 

form. ECF receives approximately 

$30,000 in 

matching gifts to the 

Annual Fund each year. 

at N.Y.U. It is great to be settled 

down after several years of moving 

around and I look forward to 

catching up with other Fieldston 

folks who have gravitated back 

to the city.” Ying Hernandez 

appeared in an off-Broadway 

production, The Drunk Monk, 

during September and early October 

at the American Theater for 

Actors in N.Y.C. Philip Kirschner 

writes: “…in the last four 

months, work has sent me to Toronto, 

Chicago, Raleigh, Atlanta, 

Miami, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, 

and finally London, where I am 

currently. I’m fairly certain that 

it’s too late to provide class news 

for you, but you already know 

about Ying’s play. Other stuff I 

know is that Nima Shirazi’s band 

is touring the East Coast, and 

Fabiana Esposito is supposedly 

engaged.” Darren Martin, your 

class recorder, adds: “At a conference 

in June, I ran into Fieldston 

teacher Hugo Mahabir at the National 

Conference on Race and 

Ethnicity in Higher Education 

(NCORE) in New York as we 

were rushing to our sessions.” 


1999 


Alix Steinfeld 

1675 York Ave. #31B 


alix@mail.com 

Alexandra Fiorillo writes: “I 

have just started the Master of 

International Affairs program at 

Columbia University. It’s wonderful 

being back in New York 

after all these years away! There 

are two other Fieldston graduates 

in my program – Dan Doktori 

’00 and Doug McGowan ’96. So 

funny! Dan and I spend much of 

our economics study time talking 

about Fieldston! I have also been 

able to spend time with a bunch 

of my 1999 classmates including 

Sierra Fromberg, Rebecca Johnson, 

and Jen Deppe. Everyone is 

working hard and enjoying being 

in NY. I would love to try to organize 

a class of 1999 get-together 

sometime this winter (why wait 

for reunions?!) so if anyone is interested 

in attending, please email 

me: alexandrafiorillo@yahoo.com. 

I look forward to hearing from 

people.” 

2000 


Jenny Sharfstein 

320 E. 72nd St. 


jenny.sharfstein@alum.dartmouth. 

org 

Lev Sviridov won a Rhodes 

Scholarship in 2005. He graduated 

from CCNY in June 2005. 

Both Fieldston teachers Cheryl 

Snyder (chemistry) and John 

Reyes (math), along with about 

40 others, were invited to a special 

bon voyage party September 

15 at CCNY. CCNY President 

Gregory Williams spoke about 

Lev’s accomplishments. Lev left 

for Oxford in September where 

he will study for his Ph.D. in 

chemistry. 


2001 


Patrick Monahan 

3638 Oxford Ave. 

Bronx, NY 10463 

pm1014@aol.com 

Peter Briggs graduated cum 

laude from Bucknell University. 

He is working for the State Department 

in Washington, D.C., 

and spent the summer traveling 

in Asia. Leo Eisenstein was interviewed 

in September by the 

Voice of America on its website, 

www.newsvoa.com, about his 

memories of Sept. 11, 2001, the 

day the twin towers at the World 

Trade Center collapsed. It was his 

first day in high school, he remembered, 

“I was 13, and I was 

in trumpet class. We had no idea 

because trumpet class is in sort 

of a secluded part of the building.” 

Marissa Neiman graduated 

in May from Vassar College. She 

majored in psychology. Michael 

Andrij Sochnynsky graduated in 

May from Vassar with a degree in 

history. Susannah Volpe graduated 

in May from Swarthmore with 

a degree in sociology and anthropology. 

At Swarthmore, she was 

active with the Action Initiative, 

the Women’s Center, Ruach (a 

Jewish student organization), and 

Learning for Life, a student-staff 

mentorship program. 

Patrick Monahan writes: “After 

a short (and, I might add, not 

entirely unnoticed) absence from 

the ECF Reporter, Patrick the 

triumphant returns! While there 

are many ways to herald this big 

comeback – including, but not 

limited to, a list of people who 

refused to supply fodder for this 

gossip mill – I think the most appropriate 

one is an explanation 

of why I like facebook.com. First, 

it’s the only thing to be doing at 

4:30 in the morning when your 

senior thesis is due the next day. 

Second, it’s always fascinating to 

count how many people list The 

Catcher in the Rye as their favorite 

book. Third, it’s a terrific way of 

getting in touch with classmates 

whose emails I never knew. I 

wrote nearly everyone I could 

find a message, and with the marvels 

of modern technology firmly 

within my grasp (if my friends 

haven’t laughed by now, surely 

they’re chuckling over that one), I 

will report the news of classmates 

who have eluded my pesterings 

on the phone, in department 

stores, and on two continents. 

“Since many of us graduated this 

spring, much of my news has to 

do with jobs and plans for the 

future. Samantha Steinberg 

is working for a BNP Paribas, 

a French bank, doing fixed income 

research. Maybe Sam can 

Fieldston teachers Cheryl Snyder and John Reyes were invited to a special 

bon voyage party for Lev Sviridov, off to Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship. 

Shown here: Lev and his mother, Alexandra Sviridova, with Gregory 

Williams (right), president of City College and his wife (far left). 

start by telling me how to find a 

fixed income—in France or elsewhere—since 

at the moment my 

income seems rather unfixed, and 

perhaps unfixable. In a similarly 

disconcerting vein, Catharine 

Basilan tells me that she is working 

for Merrill Lynch by WTC. 

If anyone contacts me (via my 

beloved facebook or otherwise) 

explaining what WTC is, preferably 

including some news about 

his life for the Reporter, I’ll be 

delighted. 

“Ricky Rodriguez graduated 

from George Washington University 

with a degree in communications, 

while also interning at 

CNN and a popular Washington 

radio station. Maybe my road to a 

fixed income involves Ricky giving 

me my own talk show? Unlike 

WTC, I definitely have a solid 

answer to that question. Lauren 

Sher writes that she’ll be glad to 

‘get some props’ in the ECF Reporter, 

and that she graduated 

with a degree in religious studies. 

This spring, she went to Costa 

Rica with Marissa Neiman, ‘still 

my best friend,’ she says. Lauren 

adds that she’ll be going back to 

Latin America next year ‘to work 

and speak Spanish and marry a 

Latin man.’ Sorry for all the quotation 

marks, but it was just too 

vivid to paraphrase! Lauren, we 

all want updates! 

“I was particularly pleased to hear 

that Gideon Friedman graduated 

from Brown with a concentration 

in urban studies, and will 

be beginning the urban design 

program at Columbia’s School 

of Architecture next year. Although 

I wasn’t going to say anything 

about myself (other than 

the fixed income fiasco), after 

Gideon’s news, I’ll tell you that 

I’ll also be studying the history 

of architecture at Cambridge this 

fall after interning at Christie’s 

over the summer. Gideon considers 

this a ‘foolproof plan’ for both 

of us, though I’ve yet to meet a 

plan that has proven itself against 

a fool like me.

Max Denby, Candace Sonneman, Jon Cotton, and Jacob Shapiro, from 

the class of 2001, were among those attending the Hill Schools Fall Party. 

“I’d like to end this column with 

news from Lee Kreiner, who in 

my opinion deserves to be named 

ECF Reporter Person of the Year. 

Why, you ask? In addition to 

Lee’s many stellar attributes, he 

deserves this because he was the 

only person who sent me news 

without my pesterings. So, the 

next time anyone talks to Lee on 

the phone, sees him in a department 

store, or bumps into him 

on any continent, be sure to sing 

a song or to do a tap dance, recognizing 

him as the model member 

of the Fieldston community 

that he is. As for the news of this 

now celebrated personage, Lee 

graduated from Hobart and William 

Smith this spring, studied in 

Rome last spring where he met 

a lovely girl named Regina, and 

will begin a Masters of Architecture 

program at Washington 

University this fall. Another future 

architect! They should have 

asked the class of 2001 to design 

the new Middle School! 

“And that, old chums, is the end 

of the news. I’ll be writing the 

next issue from England, and can 

be reached via email and now the 

Facebook. Anyone who was in 

my fourth grade LOGO computer 

class is by now certainly 

thinking, ‘how the mighty have 

fallen!’” 

2002 


Maren J. Messing 

670 West End Ave. 


mmessing@middlebury.edu 

2003 


Reyson Punzalan 

135 Beverly Road 

Yonkers, NY 10710 

reyson@gmail.com 

or 

Chelsea Smith 

crsmith@wesleyan.edu 

Sahadeo Ramharrack performed 

the role of Mohammed Teomama 

Abu Ibrahim for the Kenyon College 

Dramatic Club’s production 

of Francis Tanglao-Agua’s Abuja 

Woman. Sahadeo is a sophomore 

at Kenyon. 

2004 


Jake Stolar 

Box 4653 

Connecticut College 

270 Mohegan Ave. 

New London, CT 06320 

jmsto@conncoll.edu 

Jessica Dure was named to the 

dean’s list at Colby College for 

the spring semester. She is double 

majoring in biology and Spanish. 

Sarah Wolff was named to 

the Bates College dean’s list for 

the spring semester. She also performed 

in the college’s modern 

dance company’s 2004 fall production. 

2005 


Marina Fradera 

105 Fleet Court 

Bronx, NY 10473 

ferdina1@aol.com 

Justine Salata was chosen to 

portray the role of Chloe in Indiana 

University’s production 

of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. The 

play was the featured production 

during IU’s recent Homecoming 

weekend. Salata has also been 

cast in another mainstage production, 

Wit, to be presented in 

December. 

Faculty 

Elizabeth Saenger, who teaches 

ethics at Fieldston Lower, ran as 

the Democratic candidate for 

Village Trustee for Mamaroneck 

in Westchester County, but lost 

a close election to the incumbent. 

She has a long history of 

volunteer experience including 

co-chair of the Westchester Bill 

of Rights Defense Campaign and 

member of the board of directors 

of the Washingtonville Housing 

Alliance. 

Eva Schulz, former faculty member, 

was honored in an editorial 

in The Riverdale Press (8/4/05) 

for her many contributions to 

the community. She is moving to 

a retirement community in Westchester. 

NEW CAREER ADVICE 

PROGRAM 

FOR YOUNG ALUMNI 

Need a sounding board in determining 

a career path? A new ECF alumni 

career advisor program has just been 

launched, designed specifically for 

the benefit of ECF graduates in college 

or graduate school or recently 

graduated from either. The purpose 

of the program is to provide you with 

an opportunity to learn more about 

a specific industry and receive advice 

on your job search. This is not a job 

database. It is a list of ECF alumni in 

fields ranging from financial services, 

fashion, and legal to journalism 

and nonprofits, who are willing to 

share their knowledge and insight 

with you. To receive a list of alumni 

willing to be contacted, please 

contact Brian Landau ’90 (brian. 

landau@morganstanley.com or 

917-689-1895. 


J. Robert Oppenheimer ’21 is 

the subject of the new John Adams 

opera Doctor Atomic (www. 

doctor-atomic.com or www.sfopera.com) 

which premiered October 

1 in San Francisco. One of 

the pivotal arias in the opera uses 

the poem “Easter Eve, 1945” by 

Muriel Rukeyser ’30, and this 

had already been previewed in 

Lincoln Center and London. 

Muriel Rukeyser ’30 was remembered 

at the 10th anniversary 

celebration of Paris Press with 

a reading from The Life of Poetry. 

Rukeyeser, who died in 1980, 

published 15 collections of poetry, 

plays, translations, children’s 

books, and essays. The event was 

hosted by The Poetry Project at 

Saint Mark’s Church and cosponsored 

by The Academy of 

American Poets, PEN American 

Center, Poets & Writers magazine, 

and Poets House. 

Naomi Ascher Goodman ’38 

died in September, weeks before 

her new book, On Borrowed Time: 

Poems of Two Centuries, was published. 

It includes her reflections 

about the aging process. 

Stewart Stern ’40 is the subject 

of a documentary, Going Through 

Splat, which premiered in New 

York this fall. For over 25 years, 

Stern was a prolific writer in Hollywood 

(Rebel Without a Cause, 

Rachel, Rachel, The Ugly American, 

and Sybil), then chucked 

that life for a move to the Pacific 

Northwest. He has taught 

screenwriting at USC, AFI, and 

the University of Washington. 

The new documentary details 

his life and times, including his 

Fieldston years. 

Elaine Wechsler Slater ’42 has 

published a book, Sweet Mysteries 

of Life. Kirkus Reviews calls it 

“bite-size slices of life and character 

compiled into a winning 

package.” 

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt 

’52 is the author of a new sus- 


Andrew Delbanco ’69 

Joel Perlman ’61 

Public Notice 

Jill Weitzman Fenichell ’76 

Justin Racz ’93 

pense novel, The Mad Cook of Pymatuning. 

The novel focuses on 

Jerry Muller, a teenage counselor 

at Camp Seneca in the 1950s, 

and his chilling coming-of-age. 

Lehmann-Haupt is a former senior 

daily book reviewer for The 

New York Times. He is the author 

of the novel, A Crooked Man 

and the baseball memoir, Me and 

DiMaggio. 

Nan Askin Rothschild ’55 was 

interviewed in The New York 

Times (8/10/05) about Seneca 

Village, an African American 

ghost town that lies beneath Central 

Park. She is co-director of the 

Seneca Village project. 

Steve Ablon ’59 has a third book 

of poetry published in June 2005. 

It is available from Enfield Books 

(www.bluedamsels.com). 

Peter Heiman ’60 will be performing 

in two upcoming operas 

at the Amato Opera House 

(“world’s smallest opera house”), 

319 Bowery, corner of 2nd 

Street. His performances in The 

Merry Widow are Sunday, Dec. 

11 at 2:30pm; Saturday, Dec. 24 

at 7:30pm; and Friday, Jan. 6 at 

7:30pm. He will be appearing 

in the role of Leporello in Don 

Giovanni on Friday, April 21 at 

7:30pm. Call (212) 228-8200 

for tickets, which often sell out 

quickly. “With or without me,” 

Heiman says, “the Amato always 

puts on a good show.” 

Joel Perlman ’61 was honored at 

a reception for an exhibition of 

his steel and bronze sculptures, 

“Machine Age,” this spring at the 

Kouros Gallery in New York. He 

is also the subject of an upcoming 

biography, Joel Perlman: A Sculptor’s 

Journey by Philip Palmedo. 

Mark D. Jacobs ’64 is the co-editor, 

with Nancy Weiss Hanrahan 

of The Blackwell Companion to 

the Sociology of Culture, a collection 

of 28 specially commissioned 

chapters of leading cultural sociologists 

around the world. He 

also contributed an introductory

essay and chapter to the book. 

Andrew Delbanco ’69 is the 

author of the recently published 

Melville: His World and Work. According 

to The New York Times 

Sunday Book Review, “Andrew 

Delbanco says Melville had something 

smaller in mind, but Moby 

Dick ran away with its author.” 

The Wall Street Journal writes, “In 

Andrew Delbanco, Melville has 

found the perfect combination of 

biographer and critic.” 

Nicole Gordon ’72 is executive 

producer of An Empire of Reason, 

a regional Emmy Award-winning 

film that has been aired a number 

of times on PBS. The film treats 

the contentious debate over New 

York State’s ratification of the 

federal constitution in 1789 as if 

it were occurring now, in modern 

dress, covered by today’s media. 

The film features appearances by 

former New York City Mayor Ed 

Koch, former governors Mario 

Cuomo and Tom Kean as well 

as newscasters Walter Cronkite, 

John Chancellor, Al Roker, and 

Phil Donahue. 

Peter Alson ’73 is the co-author 

of One of a Kind: The Rise and 

Fall of Stuey “The Kid” Ungar, the 

World’s Greatest Poker Player. Alson 

is also the author of a memoir, 

Confessions of an Ivy League 

Bookie, which chronicles his life 

from Harvard to the back rooms 

of an illegal book-making operation. 

Warren Leight ’73 had a production 

of his play, No Foreigners 

Beyond This Point, at The Culture 

Project on Bleeker Street. The 

play is inspired by Leight’s own 

experience teaching English in 

1980 in Canton, with Laura Galen 

’74. It focuses on two young 

idealistic Americans in 1980 

who become the first foreign instructors 

at a small isolated trade 

school in China just after the horrors 

of the Cultural Revolution. 

Jean Nathan ’75, author of The 

Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The 

Search for Dare Wright , has now 

had her book published in paperback. 

Wright was the author 

of the cult children’s series, The 

Lonely Doll. 

Jill Weitzman Fenichell ’76 was 

featured in New York Magazine’s 

“Best Bets” column for her “unusually 

pretty melamine dishes” 

that “break the drab plastic mold 

($6–$10)”; they are available at 

Barneys New York. Her work 

is to be featured O, The Oprah 

Magazine as well. 

Leslie Goldsmith Carroll ’77 is 

the author of a new novel, Play 

Dates. Entertainment Weekly calls 

it “a priceless send-up of Park Avenue 

soccer moms.” She is also 

the author of Reality Check and 

Temporary Insanity. 

Andrew Litton ’77, conducted 

the Dallas Symphony Orchestra 

in a series of Rachmanioff 

piano concerto recordings that 

garnered the prestigious Editor’s 

Choice Award this year at the 

Gramophone Awards in London. 

The concertos, with pianist Stephen 

Hough, were recorded in a 

series of Rachmaninoff Festival 

concerts in April and May 2004. 

Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice 

Award is considered the world’s 

most outstanding award for classical 

music recordings. “This is a 

great honor,” Litton said, in an 

interview with The Dallas Morning 

News. 

Alex Shapiro ’80, a composer, 

had her work featured on the CD 

“Music for Hammers and Sticks: 

New Music for Piano & Percussion.” 

For more information, 

visit the Innova Music website, 

www.innova.mu. 

Tina Landau ’81 was profiled 

in The New York Times, “The 9 

Habits of Highly Creative Directors” 

(9/4/05) about her role as 

director of the musical Miracle 

Brothers at the Vineyard Theater 

in Manhattan. 

Matthew Adelson ’88 was recently 

cited by the Sarasota Herald 

Tribune for doing outstanding 

lighting design work at the 

Florida Studio Theatre in Metamorphoses. 

Eve Kaplan-Walbrecht ’91 was 

featured in a New York Times article 

(6/1/05) about women farmers 

who have changed the face 

of American farming. With her 

husband, Chris, Kaplan-Walbrecht 

started a small organic farm, 

Garden of Eve, on Long Island in 

2001. She majored in environmental 

science at Havard, annd 

has a master’s degree in sustainable 

agriculture. For more, see 

www.gardenofevefarm.com. 

Justin Racz ’93 is the author of 

50 Relatives Worse Than Yours, just 

published. As the holidays creep 

closer, the publisher reminds us, 

Madeline and Joseph Gelb 

Paul Niedergang ’74 and his 

wife, Annie, welcome twins, Zadie 

and Max, born September 19, 

2005. 

Jane Guttenberg ’83 and Max 

Kozower welcome a baby boy, 

Ethan, born July 19, 2005. 

Jody Madell ’86 and husband. 

James Davis, and daughter Eva 

welcome Rose Madell Davis, 

born June 29, 2005. 

Alex Kwit ’87 and his wife, Jenny, 

welcome Theo Ryder Kwit 

born on August 23, 2005. 

Lauren Wechsler Horn ’87 and 

Births and Adoptions 

“this is a welcome reminder that 

you’re not the only one grappling 

with a crazy family.” Racz, an 

advertising copywriter by day, is 

also the author of 50 Jobs Worse 

Than Yours and J. Crewd, and 

– just in time for next Valentine’s 

Day – 50 Boyfriends Worse Than 

Yours. 

Kristoffer Garin ’95 is the author 

of Devils on the Deep Blue 

Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and 

Showdowns that Built America’s 

Cruise-Ship Empires. The book 

“describes a rapacious $13 billion 

industry,” writes Janet Maslin in 

The New York Times. (6/21/05) 

Jessica Dimmock ’96 was the 

photographer for a New York 

magazine feature layout entitled 

“The Heroin Den Next Door: 

Eight Months in a Flatiron 

Shooting Gallery” (9/26/05). 

Ella and Joss Harper Horn 

Peter Horn and their daughter, 

Ella, welcome Joss Harper Horn, 

born October 3, 2005. 

Liz Shapiro ’89 and husband, 

David Goldberg, and son Wolf 

welcome Peri Leda Goldberg, 

born October 22, 2005. 

Jenny Herdman Lando ’89 and 

her husband, Alex, welcome a 

daughter, Eleanor (Nora) Francesca 

Lando, born August 28, 

2005. 

Danielle Gordon Gelb ’97 gave 

birth to twins, Madeline Alexa 

and Joseph Hudson, on August 

22, 2005. 


Marriages 

Matthew Gelbin ’42 married 

Patricia L. Newman on May 9, 

2005. 

Daniel Schrag ’84 married Diane 

Brockmeyer on June 18, 

2005. 

Eric Rosand ’87 married Sarah 

Elizabeth Wertheimer on August 

18, 2005. 

Joanna Cohen ’90 married Evan 

Kanew on June 18, 2005. 

Rachel Wendy Asche ’91 married 

Andrew Steven Meranus on 

February 20, 2005. 

Jennifer Millen ’91 married 

Frederick Tisdale on May 21, 

2005 

Seth Squadron ’93 married Lisa 

Staudt on July 17, 2005. 

Emily Cohen ’94 married Benjamin 

Cavell on September 4, 

2005. 

Jean Kaminsky ’95 married David 

Ries on June 19, 2005. 

Katie Iger ’97 married Jarrod 

Cushing on September 24, 2005 

in Newport, Rhode Island. 


Deaths 

Elizabeth Blodgett Hall ’27; 

July 18, 2005. She was 95. She 

was the founder of Simon’s Rock 

College in Great Barrington, 

Massachusetts. Simon’s Rock is 

now part of Bard College. She 

began the college in 1964 as an 

“early college” for young women 

who she said were bored by high 

school and were capable of doing 

high-level academic work, according 

to The New York Times. 

Her husband predeceased her in 

1995. She is survived by sons, 

Thomas Livingston Hall and 

John Kindrick Hall; daughters, 

Margaret Hall Witfield Courant 

and Elizabeth Hall Richardson; 

11 grandchildren and nine greatgrandchildren. 

Mildred Kreeger Davidson ’31; 

September 24, 2005. She is survived 

by her children, Tina Berins, 

Richard Davidson, Jonathan 

Davidson, and Amy Kessler; her 

foster daughter, Karen Headley; 

and numerous grandchildren, 

foster grandchildren, and greatgrand 

children. 

Namoi Ascher Goodman ’38; 

September 2005. A lifelong pacifist 

and biblical scholar, she was 

the co-author of The Good Book 

Cookbook. She was predeceased by 

her husband, Percival Goodman 

and is survived by a brother Robert 

’40; a sister Margaret Ascher 

Beach ’36; a son, Joel Goodman 

’67; a daughter, Rachel Goodman 

’64; two grandchildren; and 

one great-grandchild. 

James H. Scheuer ’38; August 

30, 2005. A New York congressman 

for 13 terms, Scheuer was 

“part of a post-World War II generation 

of political reformers,” 

according to The New York Times. 

He represented districts covering 

part of the Bronx, Queens, 

Brooklyn, and Nassau County, 

and his legislative agenda included 

support for Head Start, 

environmental protection, and 

automotive safety. In addition to 

his wife, Emily Malino Scheuer 

’43, he was survived by his brothers, 

Richard ’35 and Steven ’43, 

and his sister Amy Cohen ’47 as 

well as two sons, James Jr. and 

John, two daughters, Elizabeth 

and Laura, and 10 grandchildren. 

Laurence Weisman ’42; May 25, 

2005. He was 80 and lived in Bal 

Harbor, Florida. He is survived 

by a son, Larry. 

John D. Blumgart, ’42; April 9, 

2005. His son, Ian, writes that 

John always had fond memories 

of his high school years. 

Great Schools Are a Gift From One Generation to the Next 

Ongoing excellence depends on support from those who know the school best. 

Tuition covers only 80% of the actual cost of an ECF education so your 

contribution to the Annual Fund supports vital projects all year long. It helps 

boost financial aid, retain talented faculty, and meet ECF’s greatest needs. To 

make a gift by phone, please call Emily Kasof, director of annual giving, at 

(212) 712-6268 or email her at ekasof@ecfs.org. 

To make a gift online, go to www.ecfs.org. 

Barbara Otnow Baumann ’50; 

August 4, 2005. She is survived 

by her husband, Philippe; a 

daughter, Andrea Lustig; and a 

son, Roger. 

Norma Grad Litton ’52; May 

21, 2005. Active in musical organizations 

all her life, she was 

president of the Opera Orchestra 

of New York Guild and a member 

of its board for 23 years. A 

moving tribute to her work and 

her legacy appears in the OONY 

fall newsletter. She was active for 

many years on the ECF alumni 

board. She is survived by her 

husband, George ’52 and son, 

Andrew ’77. 

Barbara Taubin Phillips ’52; 

August 12, 2005. She is survived 

by her partner, Herb Singer; her 

daughters, Kathe Maguire and 

Betsy Bravo; and her son, John 

Phillips. In the ’70s she launched 

her writing and editing career 

with a children’s book, Nok Noy 

and the Charcoal Man. 

Victor Swedosh ’68; August 7, 

2005. Swedosh, a beloved member 

of his class, was involved 

in real estate in San Francisco, 

owned and managed a very popular 

bar there for many years. He 

also had a record company in the 

’70s that produced a number of 

big disco hits, and he produced a 

Lanford Wilson play in Los Angeles. 

Classmates remember he 

had a fine sense of humor, played 

serious bridge his senior year instead 

of doing homework and 

was a very good and supportive 

friend. He is survived by his companion, 

Ricky Ennis. 

ECF notes with sadness the deaths 

of former faculty and staff: 

Joan McCarville; July 7, 2005. 

She was 85. She was a former faculty 

member at ECF, 1969–82. 

She is survived by a daughter, 

Susan Hart, a son Kenneth, and 

two grandsons.

A L U M N I B U L L E T I N B O A R D 

Education Journalist Looking to Interview 

Fieldston Students from 1933 to 1941 

San Francisco education journalist Diane Curtis is looking 

to interview students who were at Fieldston during the years 

1933-1941. These were the years of The Eight-Year Study, 

the landmark study that compared traditional education 

to progressive education; Fieldston was one of the participating 

schools. She would like to find out if the more 

experiential, project-based learning made a difference to 

students’ later careers and lives. If interested, contact her at 

dianecurtis@mail.com or (415) 383-7241. 

Fieldston Weddings? 

We love to see Fieldston wedding pictures, especially of 

the bride and groom with former Fieldston classmates. 

Email us your digital photos (at least 300 dpi, please) to 

reporterletters@ecfs.org. 

Wanted! 

More Career Advisors for Recent ECF Grads 

This fall we have put together an ECF alumni career advisor 

program. We are now looking for additional alumni who 

might be willing to share career advice with more recent 

ECF grads. This is not a job/internship program or a job 

database. Instead, alumni would serve as an informational 

resource to grads about a specific industry and perhaps give 

advice on their job search. If willing, please email your 

Fieldston Reunion Weekends 2006 – Save the Dates! 

Saturday, June 3 – Sunday, June 4 at Fieldston 

Classes of 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 

1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 

Saturday events include campus tours, cocktails on the Quad, and 

dinner under the tent. Sunday events include an alumni community 

service project, and a family picnic and BBQ, with activities for children. 

Alumni children and grandchildren are welcome! 

Saturday, June 10, 2006, Lion’s Head Tavern: Class of 2001 

* Check the alumni events section of the website – www.ecfs.org – for 

reunion news by class. 

* Help us find the “lost” alumni in our class (listed on the website 

under your class year). 

name, Fieldston year of graduation, current and past job 

titles, industry of each, preferred method to be contacted 

(phone or email), and contact information to brian. 

landau@morganstanley.com. You can also call Brian Landau 

’90 with any questions about the program at (917) 

689-1895. 

Eleanor Roosevelt and You? 

For an upcoming article in the ECF Reporter, we would 

like to talk with any alumni from the late ’30s and early 

’40s who have interesting stories about their encounters 

with Eleanor Roosevelt at ECF or at the camp in Cooperstown. 

If you’re interested, please get in touch with 

Ginger Curwen, (212) 712-6238 or gcurwen@ecfs.org. 

Wanted! Fieldston Alumni Class Recorders 

We are still looking for class recorders for the classes of 

1970, 1971, 1973, and 1985 as well as many of the years 

in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. To volunteer, contact 

Toby Himmel at alumni@ecfs.org. 

New Babies? 

We love to see the new kids on the block. Send us a photo 

of your new arrival, preferably in a Fieldston t-shirt. 

What? You don’t have a Fieldston t-shirt? Then contact 

alumni@ecfs.org, to get one and then email the pictures (at 

least 300 dpi, please) to reporterletters@ecfs.org.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School 

33 Central Park West 

New York, NY 10023-6001 

change service requested 

Parents of alumni: If your children are no longer 

living with you, please notify the alumni office 

of their correct addresses. Thank you. 

Non-profit Org. 

US Postage 

PAID 

New Haven, CT 

Permit no. 130

How did ECF change their lives? - Ethical Culture Fieldston School

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?