Class Notes
Petitioning the Supreme Court, dealing antiques, raising kids, publishing memoirs, fostering shelter dogs, managing funeral homes, hosting radio shows….See what’s happening in the lives of CGS alums, and submit your class note here.
1950s
Gail (Goldman) Korrick (’56, SSW’60) has worked as a counselor in private practice in New Haven, Conn., for 35 years.
Frances Curtis (Slonim) Barnhart (’57) is the author of The Beauty of Impermanence: A Woman’s Memoir (Amazon Digital Services, 2016), which was featured at the Virginia Festival of the Book and was nominated for the Virginia Library Literary Award in nonfiction. Barnhart is also a graduate of The New Seminary, an interfaith seminary in New York City, and is recipient of an artist-in-residence grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. In 1982, she published The New Woman Warrior’s Handbook: Not for Women Only (Illuminated Way Press). She writes that she is a painter, spiritual explorer, and evolutionary activist in the new human potential movement. Barnhart is a grandmother of 10. Learn more about Barnhart here.
Paul Gallant (’58) has retired as president of Eight O’Clock Coffee and moved to Bonita Springs, Fla. He writes that he is active in sports and is still a Boston sports fan.
Frank Wilner (’58, COM’60) earned his master of social work at the University of Connecticut in 1964 and retired in 2007. Frank hosts radio jazz shows on WNHN 94.7 FM in Concord, N.H. Listen to Portraits in Blue & Green and Voices In Jazz on weekdays from 2 to 3 pm and on Saturdays at 10 am.
1960s
Wanda Adams Fischer (’68) has published her first novel, Empty Seats (Spring Training Media, 2017), the fictional story of three baseball players drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1972. In 2014, Wanda retired from a nearly 40-year career in public relations, marketing, and media relations in not-for-profit and government organizations. She has hosted a folk music show on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio since 1982. Courtesy of Spring Training Media
David Hescheles (’62, CAS’64) writes, “When you turn 76, you tend to look back and evaluate which experiences were of value and which were a waste of time. CGS was both academically and emotionally one of the most valuable experiences of my life.” David earned a doctorate from Rutgers University, as well as three post-doctorate degrees from other universities. He is a licensed psychologist and an assistant professor and co-authored a book.
David Woodward (’62, COM’65) writes, “After 40 years in the insurance industry, I am enjoying retirement. I am most grateful to the College of Basic Studies, the predecessor of the College of General Studies, for the opportunity to matriculate at a superior university and enjoy the experience.”
Frank Hirsch (’64, Wheelock’66) writes, “After 45 years of teaching and coaching, I am now retired and living in Scarborough, Maine. Great memories of my days at BU!”
Randy Miller (’67, Questrom’69), a member of the CGS Dean’s Advisory Board, writes that he is enjoying his relationship with the BU Initiative on Cities (IOC). Randy has spent 45 years helping to guide his home city of Portland, Ore., to become the most livable city in the United States, and writes that the IOC’s mission to equip urban leaders with best practices on a global basis resonates with him. “I have led best practices trips for Portland-area leaders around the world for more than 30 years. I’ve been in continuous communication with the IOC regarding new initiatives, ideas, and concepts. Next fall, Professor Graham Wilson, director of the IOC, plans to travel with my group to Medellín, Colombia, which has experienced the most remarkable turnaround of virtually any global city!”
William Strachan (’68, CAS’70) retired from a 40-year career in risk and insurance management for both private and public sectors. He says, “I have two wonderfully independent daughters, and a total of six grandchildren to occupy my time in retirement here in Connecticut.” He loves BU hockey and University of Connecticut sports and invites alums to look him up in Enfield, Conn., if they are passing through. Email him at wstracha@cox.net.
James Hagler (’69, CAS’71) writes that he is “always glad to hear from anyone back in the day.” He is living outside of Chicago and practicing law, but misses that East Coast vibe. Email him at jimchi@ameritech.net.
Kathleen Tarr (’69, Wheelock’71) writes, “It took a long time, but I am now doing what I love. For the last 20 years, I have been a full time antique dealer. I get to travel all over the country. I use all my sales and marketing skills to share the past with collectors who love beautiful things. Antique dealers never retire; they just keep going.” Her husband of 30 years is retired, living with kidney failure, and bravely going to dialysis three times a week.
Tim Miles (’67) published a photo essay, “Back to the Land,” in Small Farmer’s Journal, an international print and online publication devoted to sustainable farming. He published another essay, “Amish Country,” in the October 2016 edition of Life Force, a British online photo magazine. Tim spends his spare time photographing the people and landscapes of the Appalachian foothills in North Carolina, where he moved two years ago. Courtesy of Tim Miles
1970s
Chrisopher DeRosa (’71, CAS’74) writes, “CGS was a great experience for me, which I followed up with a major in English at CAS.” Today, he is the CEO of Greentop LLC, which supplies insulated planters for the horticultural trade. Christopher writes that the planters are designed to create the optimal conditions for sustaining plant growth on rooftops and green roofs, which saves 75 percent more water and protects plants from root damage in the winter. This photo is of the Greentop LLC stainless planters at the Biogen rooftop garden in Kendall Square, Cambridge. Courtesy of Christopher DeRosa
Austin Duvernoy (’73) writes: “Does anyone remember the Utopia Project? How do you think our predictions have been borne out by the reality of this future we’ve come to know?” Email him at aduvernoy@twcny.rr.com.
Brian Keith (’78, CAS’80, COM’83) writes that he retired in January 2018 and is enjoying every second, every minute, every hour, every day, and every month of it.
Bruce A. Johnson (’78, COM’81) retired in April 2017 from an award-winning, 30-year career as a photographer, editor, producer, and director with Wisconsin Public Television. He’d previously worked with ABC affiliate station WFTV in Orlando, Fla. Since retiring, Johnson writes that he “has taken on a new challenge,” as multimedia manager for the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis., where he produces live programming on Facebook and taped promotional packages, as well as produces and directs the broadcast TV program Freethought Matters. Read his writing for the film industry site ProVideo Coalition here.
1980s
Anita O’Malley (’81, COM’83) was recently featured on Forbes.com, Inc.com, and CEO Blog Nation for her expertise on business ownership and best communication practices. Follow her on Twitter at @Leadarati.
Robert M. Oliver Russo (’81) lives in Puerto Rico, where he has managed the Oliver Funeral Home since 1987. A licensed funeral director in Florida, Robert is involved in the state’s chamber of commerce and industry groups. He and his wife Maria E. Ricart have two children, Maria S. Oliver (’10, CAS’12) and Roberto E. Oliver, who is serving in the army in Oahu, Hawaii.
Evelyn Sierra (’81, CAS’83) worked as a research assistant in Texas, and was then accepted into Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, where she earned a PhD in veterinary anatomy in 1991 and a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1993. Evelyn has been practicing veterinary medicine for small animals for 24 years and writes: “I have been blessed to accomplish my dreams and love what I do.”
David Waronker (’82, SHA’84) writes that he is “loving the horse ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz.” He has three kids in college and “one in the real world, if you call working at Disney World the real world.” His 14 horses and 12 dogs “still keep me working as I commute every other week to my office in Celebration, Fla. Time flies.”
Elissa Altman (’83, CAS’85) writes that her third book, Motherland: A Love Story of Beauty, Time, and Age, will be published by the Ballantine Books division of Penguin Random House in early 2019. She teaches memoir and narrative food writing in the US and abroad, and will be teaching at Literature + Larder at Glin Castle in Ireland in April 2018.
Lisa Botti (’83, CAS’85, SSW’87) has three children in college and two in high school. She writes, “I did get divorced in 2009 but still own and operate a ranch with my ex. I became an artist and started my own pottery business, Whispering Creek Pottery LLC.” She also works part time as a bereavement social worker for Peace Hospice in Great Falls, Mont., and developed wellness material for the peer support team at the police department in Great Falls. Courtesy of Lisa Botti
Elizabeth Newman (’83, COM’85) is vice president of production management for the Paramount Network after 20 years of freelance producing on shows including Scrubs, Episodes, and Better Things. She lives in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Calif., with her two sons and Newfoundland pup.
Robert Pellegrini (’83, COM’85) is service desk manager for Net Tel One Communications, Inc., in Braintree, Mass.
Todd Finn (’84, Questrom’86), an attorney, was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 2017. “My father, who is now 84, handed me my law license at Faneuil Hall in Boston,” he writes. “I was also joined there by my three teenage children.” In fall 2017, he opened his own law practice, Finn Law Office. Finn writes, “Regards to my CGS friends from the early ’80s!”
James M. Collins (CGS’85, CAS’87) died on October 21, 2014. After graduating from BU, he earned a JD from George Mason Law School and practiced law in Alexandria, Va. His parents, Jim and Bette Collins, recently published Meditations on the Stained Glass of Calvary (Vertel Publishing, 2017) about the historic stained and painted glasses of Calvary Episcopal Church in Stonington, Conn. They have dedicated the book to their son’s memory.
John Pawlick (’85, CAS’87) lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with his wife and their two teenage daughters (the oldest just completed her freshman year at the University of Auckland, while the youngest is a sophomore in high school). John writes that he recently moved into the healthcare industry as a business architect. Email him at john@pawlick.co.nz.
James Hartnett (’86, Questrom’88) writes that after 22 years at HSBC Global Banking and Markets, he is looking for the next opportunity in finance and accounting that plays into his experience in securities trading and product control, and his strengths in “automation of manual processes, improving controls, and financial systems management and implementations.”
Jennifer Poteet (’86) had her first book of poems, Sleepwalking Home, published by Dancing Girl Press in November 2017. Courtesy of Dancing Girl Press
Amy Jacobson (’87, COM’89) writes, “In a blink of an eye, it’s been 30 years since I completed my CGS Capstone project. After graduation, I migrated to Florida to escape the harsh realities of winter and the recession that seemed to hit Boston so hard in the late 1980s.” She worked on an “old school” bi-weekly publication before the days of computer technology, and was a middle school teacher at Broward County Public Schools in Florida. She writes, “Ever the lifelong learner, I am currently a full-time teacher, mom, and part-time student working toward my master’s thesis on disability rights, employment, and the right to work.”
Daniel Bernstein (’88, COM’90) became a dual citizen of the US and Australia in August 2017, after eight years of living in Australia. He lives in Sydney, where he is a fundraising consultant and volunteers for BU Study Abroad. Daniel writes, “Who knew my study abroad experience would come so much later in life?”
Jen (Stang) Walker (’88, COM’90) lives in Columbus, Ohio, where she is now the media director at Hart Associates after 17 years running an in-house agency client-side. She writes, “I’m nearly an empty-nester with my son in college and my daughter going to college in the fall. How is that possible? Thankfully, I still keep in touch with a few of my BU friends, but would love to hear from others, especially my freshman-year roommate Amy, who I’ve lost touch with. Amy, if you’re reading this, please reach out!” Email Jen at jen_walker_98@yahoo.com.
1990s
Jonathan Panush (’92, COM’94) lives in Sacramento, Calif., and has been working in logistics and international sales for Gamewright Games and Ceaco, a puzzle company, for more than 20 years. He writes, “For fun, I foster shelter dogs with my own rescue, Mojo.” Courtesy of Jonathan Panush
Reid Nicholson (’92, COM’94) teaches in the entertainment business program at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla. He was most recently credited on the IFC feature, Anesthesia. Courtesy of IFC Films
Kevin Sanderson (’94, CAS’96) recently petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear his client’s case against the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. He has been named to the board of directors for Disability Rights Florida. He and his wife have a 17-month-old daughter.
Dimitri Arfanakis (’97, CAS’99, SDM’04) and his wife, Katie (’98, COM’00,’03) opened a new, state-of-the-art dental facility in Douglasville, Ga., in July 2017. In October 2017, Dimitri passed the Academy of General Dentistry’s Fellowship examination and will be inducted as a fellow in June 2018.
Lucas Margolis (’99, COM’01) writes that after more than a decade in broadcast journalism, he has entered the world of media relations and strategic communications as the corporate communications manager for Atlantic Health System, an integrated health network of hospitals and physicians in northern New Jersey. He was formerly the associate executive director of Media Relations for the New Jersey Senate Majority Office. Lucas writes, “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t look back on my experiences at CGS and COM with fondness and appreciation. Not only have I married and started a family with a fellow CGS alum, but I still maintain a wide group of beloved friends that all shared the same BU experience, and are forever better for it.” He says students looking for help or friends from days past can reach him on Twitter @LukeMargolis or connect with him on LinkedIn.
2000s
Michael Cohen (’00, COM’02) writes that he is happily married with two sons, ages five and seven. In 2004, he began working for his father’s wholesale insurance company, which he has more than doubled in value and size, using the skills he developed at BU. When his father died in July 2017, Michael became president of the company. He writes, “Without [my father], I would not be where I am today.”
Michael Del Valle (’00, CAS’02) was promoted to regional manager of the North East for Movado Group Inc. He was formerly the district trainer for the East Coast and began his tenure with Movado in 2010 as boutique director of the company’s Rockefeller Center flagship location in New York City.
Victoria Sarmiento (’00, CAS’02) writes, “CGS was a blessing in disguise! I was able to get all my requirements out of the way and enjoy my first two years without the stress of figuring out my major right away.” She majored in psychology in CAS and graduated from the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at the University of San Diego in 2008. Victoria has spent the majority of her career as a mental health clinician in the San Diego Unified School District, helping students with mental health concerns. She writes, “I work with school staff to help the students improve their mental health and functioning inside and outside the academic setting. I’m grateful for my experiences at Boston University. I have certainly had a diverse academic experience.”
Christine Yap Mastrangelo (’00, CAS’02) is chief of staff and partner at Cue Ball Capital, a venture capital firm in Boston, Mass., where she works with women-led investments. She previously wrote for Papercut Magazine and taught creative writing. Christine lives in the Boston area with her kids and husband.
Diane Shifman (’01, SHA’03) recently changed real estate firms to work at Compass, “an innovative, forward thinking, and technologically advanced real estate firm,” she writes. “I’m in the Hamptons but have a network around the country if anyone needs help!” Email her at diane.shifman@compass.com.
Kendrick Watson (’02, COM’04), the academic programs director for the Dornsife Spatial Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California, returned to Boston for the first time in 10 years in April 2017 to attend the annual American Association of Geographers conference where he delivered a presentation on best practices for preparing online students for a graduate thesis.
Maeva Bambuck (’03, COM’05) has been “roaming the globe as a reporter ever since graduating from COM,” she writes. Her travels have taken her to Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Syria, and Maeva is now the planning director for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Associated Press. “A couple of months ago, I launched the Instagram account @reportersreporting, which features AP reporters on the job everywhere in the world. Agency reporters don’t get a lot of attention, so it’s a good way to show the faces of the anonymous foot soldiers who provide most US newspapers and media outlets with their news.” In this photo, Maeva is filming panoramic views of the destroyed city of Palmyra, Syria, in 2016. Courtesy of Maeva Bambuck
David Riggs (’06, COM’08) was hired as the director of ticket operations and assistant director for marketing at Colgate University Athletics in August 2017.
Matt Trevithick (’06, CAS’08) sold the company he founded in 2013 in Istanbul, launched Blank Slate Technologies, a tech company focused on learning and education, and relocated to Washington, DC. He also attended his first CGS Dean’s Advisory Committee meeting with fellow CGS alumni and Dean McKnight in New York City.
Ashlee Wilson (’06, CAS’08) launched Living Women, a wellness brand with a line of herbal water for women. The line features four beverage offerings that support women in relaxation, immunity, mental energy, and skincare. Ashlee writes that “my passion is to see women come into a place of wholeness, fully embracing their identity and walking their unique purposes in life.”
Jesyka Burks-Wiley (’07, CAS’09) is assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the University of South Florida, the 16th ranked women’s basketball team in the nation.
Amanda Curtis (’07, COM’09) was named to the National Retail Federation’s List of 25 People Innovating the Retail Industry in 2018. Her fashion tech startup, Nineteenth Amendment, is an on-demand, direct-to-consumer retailing and manufacturing platform.
Franco Lozano III (’07, CAS’09) writes that he and Michael Reidy (’07, CAS’09) opened their second restaurant, BuenoMalo, in Andover, Mass.
Thalia Rybar (’08, COM’10), who worked in advertising after graduation, is the marketing manager at music streaming company Deezer, which is available in more than 185 countries and recently launched in the United States. Thalia writes, “Now I get to work closely with artists and be a part of the music and tech industries.”
Domenic Filingeri (’09, CAS’11, MED’15) was a researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital for two years after graduation, then earned his master’s degree at Boston University School of Medicine. Domenic is now a third-year medical student at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He writes, “It’s been a long, nontraditional road for me, but I feel that all my experiences helped me find success in medical school.”
2010s
Prady Tewarie (’11, CAS’13, LAW’17) started weightlifting during his time at CGS. In April 2017, he won the national bodybuilding title in Cape Cod, Mass., and turned professional. Prady writes that he will be competing in the 2019 World Championships, and that he recently became the president of BU startup OhnerHub. He has also collaborated with manufacturers to produce the dietary supplement AZOTH 2.0. Photo by James Scarpetta
Victoria Winters (’11, Wheelock’13) graduated with a master’s in education and a certificate of advanced study in prevention science and school adjustment counseling from the Harvard University School of Education. She is a social worker for Billerica Public Schools students in kindergarten through 5th grade. “The students I see in my office have various needs, including those who have significant mental health challenges or experience trauma in their lives,” Victoria writes. “I love what I do, and I’m thankful for the experiences I had at CGS (which helped me expand my interests beyond education) and BU as a whole.”
Melissa Bobotas (’12, COM’14) writes that she and husband David welcomed their daughter—and future terrier—Helen Sophia Parker on August 8, 2017. Melissa says, “Everyone is doing well and enjoying our home in Alaska!”
Maggie Johnson (’14, COM’16) moved to New York, NY, after graduation and joined the account management team at ClassPass, a subscription service for fitness classes and gyms, which was rated one of the hottest start-ups by Forbes Magazine, and named the second fastest-growing tech company in the US by Deloitte. Maggie works with approximately 5,000 studio partners across 3 countries and 40 US cities.
Sarah Caplan (’15, CAS’17) is earning her master’s degree in medical sciences at Boston University School of Medicine.
Anushka Pinto (’15, Pardee’17) earned a Shanghai Government Scholarship to study at one of the top universities in China, and is a first-year master’s student studying international public policy at Fudan University in Shanghai. She writes, “The CGS Capstone project really inspired me to pursue public policy because I was able to write a policy recommendation as a sophomore and have that exposure at such an early stage.” Anushka recently attended the Global Governance Symposium, at which she worked with students from South Korea’s Yonsei University and Japan’s Keio University on a two-week environmental policy recommendation on multilateral cooperation between Japan, China, and Korea on the issue of air pollution. “It was a really amazing experience working with students from all over Northeast Asia,” Anushka says. “So far, studying in China has been really rewarding and I can’t wait to see where this degree will take me after I graduate in 2019.”