Bill Brennan (CAS’59) of Annandale, Va., recently published his sixth novel, Harrigan (CreateSpace, 2014). The book chronicles the divisive forces at play in Boston and New England in the years leading up to the Civil War, focusing on how debates about slavery and new ideas generated by American Transcendentalism were affecting working class, ethnic neighborhoods. Contact Bill at brennan944@verizon.net.
Stephen Biller (CAS’63, LAW’65) of Memphis, Tenn., writes that he has made the list of outstanding attorneys in the 2014–2015 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. “This is the fifth year that I have been included in an edition of the Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment discipline.”
Marilyn Anderson (GRS’68) of Marina Del Rey, Calif., is the writer and executive producer of a new family comedy called How to Beat a Bully. Watch it on YouTube or visit www.facebook.com/howtobeatabully. Marilyn is also the author of Never Kiss a Frog: A Girl’s Guide to Creatures from the Dating Swamp (Red Rock Press, 2003).
Bruce Nortell (DGE’66, CAS’68) of Lisle, Ill., published a book of poetry, Crossed Words. Visit bnortell.wix.com/crossed-words.
Peter H. Bloom (CAS’72) of Somerville, Mass., presented a recital-lecture on the illustrious 19th-century flute maker Alfred G. Badger at the Animusic-Portugal Organological Congress in July 2014 in Braga, Portugal. In fall 2014, he concertized in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska with diverse chamber music and jazz ensembles. Highlights included the premiere of David Owens’ At the Landing and the premiere of his own composition Ablaze for flute, viola, and guitar (published by Noteworthy Sheet Music), as well as concerts with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, whose founder and music director is Mark Harvey (STH’71, GRS’83). When he wrote, Peter was planning to serve as a faculty member for the Snow Pond Composers Workshop in Maine in June 2015.
Peter Bein (CAS’75) of Atlanta, Ga., has signed with Literary Artists Representatives in New York, N.Y. He writes that they will represent his memoir, Maxwell’s Suitcase, the story of a hidden suitcase and the search for lost family. Visit PeterBein.com.
David Itkoff (CAS’76) of Newtown, Pa., writes the online asset management column for The Legal Intelligencer, a source of Pennsylvania legal news, information, and analysis. Contact David at asklegal@aol.com.
Philip M. Read (CGS’75, CAS’77) of Wake Forest, N.C., has just launched a glossy quarterly magazine, 27587, about life and culture in the Wake Forest region. Read, who was once managing editor at the Daily Free Press, had a 32-year career in daily newspapers in New Jersey and published eight books, including the recent Memories from the Meadowbrook: From Big Bands to Dinner-Theater to Rock ‘n’ Roll (Fonthill Media, 2014). He marked his 35th wedding anniversary with Nancy Rees Read, a hospice nurse and ordained Episcopal deacon, last year. His son, Philip, Jr., is the magazine’s illustrator and senior graphic designer, and his daughter, Lauren Ann Read Koslow (CAS’03), is reference librarian at the Beaufort County, S.C., public library.
Richard Martini (DGE’75, CAS’78) of Santa Monica, Calif., writes to say, “For all you DGE folks out there, I made a short film about Julian Baird’s birthday party and posted it on YouTube. For those who remember, he ran the humanities program at DGE and came to BU via his scholarships at Oxford and Harvard. I tracked him down on Cape Cod, and when he invited me to this birthday bash, I offered to film it.” (Find the film by searching “A Portrait of Julian Baird” on YouTube.) Richard is the author of Flipside: A Tourist’s Guide on How to Navigate the Afterlife (Homina Publishing, 2011), which he notes has twice been in the top spot on Amazon in its genres, and a new book, It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (Homina Publishing, 2014). Contact Richard at richmartini@yahoo.com.
Delia Cabe (CAS’82, COM’92) of North Reading, Mass., has written her sixth case for the Case Consortium at Columbia University, titled “Covert Activity: The Washington Post, Edward Snowden, and the National Security Agency.” Delia interviewed Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Barton Gellman, Washington Post editor Marty Baron, and investigative editor Jeff Leen. Visit casestudies.jrn.columbia.edu.
Jonathan Hall (CGS’80, CAS’83) of Springdale, Ark., was elected to the board of directors for the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). AFP established and administers the Certified Treasury Professional and Certified Corporate FP&A Professional credentials, which set standards of excellence in finance. Jonathan is vice president of finance and strategy at Walmart Stores US in Bentonville, Ark. Prior to joining Walmart, he was chief financial officer for the North American Supply Chain Business Unit at Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.
David H. Katz (CAS’84) of Arlington, Va., is a senior managing director with Guidepost Solutions, where he helps clients navigate complex and changing regulations and meet compliance requirements across a range of operational areas. Previously, he was senior counsel to the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and he has held positions with the IRS and the US Department of Justice. In the private sector, he was a partner at the law firm Petillon, Hiraide, Loomis & Katz.
Glen Merzer (GRS’84) of Woodland Hills, Calif., has published his first novel, Off the Reservation (Vivid Thoughts Press, 2014), a comic look at the presidential campaign of a vegan congressman. Glen writes that he was pleased to receive an endorsement for the book from actor and fellow Terrier Jason Alexander (Hon.’95), who called it “politically savvy and poetically literate.” Glen is an alum of BU’s Creative Writing program and worked under Leslie Epstein, a College of Arts & Sciences professor of English. Learn more at www.offthereservationnovel.com.
Carla Panciera (GRS’87) of Rowley, Mass., published Bewildered (University of Massachusetts Press, 2014), a collection of short stories that won the Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction.
Fay Efrosini Lellios (CAS’89, COM’89) of Los Angeles, Calif., writes that she and her brother, George Lellios (COM’93), have made a feature documentary on novelist/writer A. I. Bezzerides that is now streaming in full on SnagFilms (www.snagfilms.com). Narrators include George Pelecanos, Barry Gifford, Mickey Spillane, Jason Baldwin, and Jules Dassin, and the music is by Fugazi. Learn more at www.2131-productions.com.
Jon Weinstein (CAS’89) of Ellicott City, Md., was elected to the five-member Howard County Council, a legislative district that includes more than 60,000 residents in and around Ellicott City, which has been named one of the country’s top 10 places to live by Money magazine for the last five years. Jon is the president of Line of Sight, a small management consulting firm in Columbia, Md.
Tony Biscardi (CAS’92, SED’94) of Medford, Mass., celebrated his 100th win as head coach of the girls JV ice hockey team at Austin Preparatory School in Reading, Mass. Tony is in his 22nd year teaching at Austin Prep and was named dean of the junior class this year.
Daniel J. Sax (CAS’94) of Warsaw, Poland, and his wife, Beata, welcomed a baby girl, Lena, on June 30, 2014. “Big sister Zoe is four and loves her new sister,” Dan writes. He is a translator and an interpreter in Warsaw.
Richard Samuel Deese (GRS’95,’07) of Acton, Mass., published We Are Amphibians: Julian and Aldous Huxley on the Future of Our Species (University of California Press, 2015). It explores the contributions of the biologist Julian Huxley and his brother, the writer Aldous Huxley, to 20th-century debates about the environment, technology, and the future of our species. Richard is married to Isadora Deese (GRS’94) and has three sons and two cats. Contact him at rsdeese@gmail.com
Jacquelyn Pope (GRS’96) of Oak Park, Ill., was selected to receive a 2015 Translation Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for the translation of poems by the Dutch poet Hester Knibbe. A book collecting these poems was to be published in October 2015.
Vilda (Hernandez) Mayuga (CAS’98) of New York, N.Y., was recently appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo and confirmed by the state senate as chair of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals. During her four-year appointment, Vilda will serve as an administrative law judge in labor-law matters.
Grady (Konieczko) Dante (CAS’00) of Lowell, Mass., recently left environmental consulting after 13 years to join the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Waste Prevention as an environmental analyst. Contact Grady at mysoulshine@hotmail.com.
Pia Raymond (CAS’00) of Brooklyn, N.Y., has written her first children’s book, Celebrate Smiles. Illustrated by Eden Marryshow, Celebrate Smiles is an endearing dialogue about one little girl’s birthday surprise. This tale teaches self-esteem, love, and thankfulness, while celebrating the power of smiles. A reflective book for children and adults alike, Raymond writes, Celebrate Smiles is an empowering addition to any library.
Theresa Yvonne (Ovalle) Espinoza (CAS’00) of Austin, Tex., is one of only eight college counselors in the country to be given the 2015 Counselors that Change Lives Award by the nonprofit Colleges that Change Lives. The award recognizes Yvonne’s work to increase college access for underserved populations. Previously, she was a counselor at Lyndon B. Johnson High School in Austin, which has served African American and Hispanic students and houses the premier magnet school in the city. According to the award citation, colleges would go to LBJ to visit the magnet students, but Yvonne would reach out to them and remind them not to forget her students. She now works at Gonzalo Garza Independence High School, a solution-focused school that works with students to complete their degrees regardless of their circumstances.
Patricia Appelbaum (GRS’01) of Amherst, Mass., has published St. Francis of America: How a Thirteenth-Century Friar Became America’s Most Popular Saint (University of North Carolina Press, 2015). The book “reveals how St. Francis has played a sometimes countercultural but always aspirational role in American culture.” Appelbaum is also the author of Kingdom to Commune: Protestant Pacifist Culture between World War I and the Vietnam Era (University of North Carolina Press, 2014).
Michael Todd Landis (CAS’01,’02, GRS’02) of Granbury, Tex., published Northern Men with Southern Loyalties (Cornell University Press, 2014), examining the proslavery actions of Northern Democrats during the Civil War.
Rachael (Barolsky) Sack (CAS’02, GRS’02) of Watertown, Mass., was elected president of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Boston chapter for 2015–2016. WTS is an international organization for the advancement of women in the transportation industry. The Boston chapter is the third largest, with more than 300 members. Contact Rachael at Rbarolsky@gmail.com.
Elisabeth Donnelly (CAS’03) of Brooklyn, N.Y., has written a book with her husband, Stuart Sherman (LAW’06, SPH’07), called The Misshapes (Polis Books, 2014), under the pseudonym Alex Flynn. Aimed at middle-school readers, the book blends quirky humor and adventure as it tells the story of teenage superheroes whose third-rate powers don’t qualify them for admission to the prestigious Hero Academy. It’s the first in a projected trilogy. Learn more at www.themisshapes.net.
Brenda Gardenour-Walter (GRS’05,’08) of St. Louis, Mo., is a recipient of the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award, given annually by Emerson, a global manufacturing and technology company, to St. Louis–area educators for their achievements in education and their dedicated service to students.
Zachary Lamothe (CGS’03, CAS’05) of Plymouth, Mass., published his first book, Connecticut Lore: Strange, Off Kilter, and Full of Surprises (Schiffer Publishing, 2013), an offbeat travel guide to Connecticut. Contact him at zlamothe@gmail.com.
Laura Kathleen “Kate” Hackett (CAS’06) of Monrovia, Calif., is the creator and star of an independent web series about books, writing, and reading called Classic Alice. Kate plays Alice, a college student who receives a bad grade on an essay and then partners with her friend Andrew to film a documentary about living her life according to classic literature. The show has more than 70 episodes airing on YouTube, and Kate recently conducted a crowd-sourcing fundraiser on IndieGoGo to fund a new season. The show is a transmedia experience—the characters use Twitter and Instagram accounts, podcasts, and other social media platforms that viewers can follow. Learn more at www.classic-alice.com, on YouTube, and at katehackett.com.
Sasenarine Persaud (GRS’06) of Tampa, Fla., published a book of poems titled Love in a Time of Technology (Mawenzi House, 2014). He did a reading tour of Scotland during the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Among other events, he gave three readings at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. “The BBC recorded one of my poems, ‘Georgetown,’ and also printed the poem on postcards as part of its BBC Poetry Postcard Program,” Sasenarine writes.
Risa Arielle Muchnick (CAS’09) of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Denver University on August 15, 2014.
David Lewis (GRS’12) of Waltham, Mass., published American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), which grew out of his dissertation work at BU.