Class Notes
From publications to retirements to world travels…
See what’s happening in the lives of CGS alums, and submit your class note here.
1950s
George Lilly (’54, COM’56) and Rel Dowdell (COM’96), director and producer of the 2017 documentary Where’s Daddy, are working with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus to enact legislation addressing flaws in the child support system and the system’s impact on Black men and their children.
Norman Muller (’58, CAS’61) retired from the Princeton University Art Museum in 2017 and has continued to write articles on Italian painting materials and techniques of the 14th century. He also researches and writes about Native American stone construction sites, one of which is in the Oley Hills of eastern Pennsylvania.
Geneva Woodruff (’59, COM’61) writes a weekly syndicated column called “Dear Frankie.” The column is written as if by her dog, Frankie, and provides advice to dogs about their social and emotional problems, such as living with humans, doggie day care, and going to the vet. Woodruff writes that Frankie is always on the lookout for new publications. The columns are available online at the Fairhaven Neighborhood News archives and are offered weekly through a free online subscription to the publication. Woodruff adds that the column has been a fun and fulfilling endeavor that began during the pandemic to “keep me sane.” She hopes to hear from old and new friends and can be reached at gwoodruff7102@gmail.com.
1960s
Richard Fardy (’63, Wheelock’65) retired after 49 years of teaching biology and physiology at Wilmington High School in Wilmington, Mass. He largely credits his CGS (then known as CBS) professor Charles P. Fogg with his choice of this academic field. He serves as a church organist as well as bandmaster of the Aleppo Shriners Brass Band.
John Macchi (’63) and his wife, Patti Macchi, sailed on the new Regent Seven Seas Splendor from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Scotland during July 2022. One stop was to the world’s most northern golf course in Akureyri, Iceland, home of the Arctic Open Golf Tournament, where participants play around the clock during the summer solstice. He says the trip was “a fantastic voyage!”
Phyllis Solomon Starr (’63, Wheelock’65) is enjoying her years of retirement with David Starr (’63, CAS’65) in Rockport, Mass. She is a retired elementary school teacher and David is a retired social worker, both in the Framingham public schools. They have three children and six grandchildren.
Sandy Cohen (’64, Wheelock’66) has retired from a career in teaching and writing and is working on an autobiography. Cohen has wonderful memories of CGS, and would love to reconnect with any classmates from those years—reach out at scojeda66@gmail.com.
Paul S. Downing (’64, CAS’70) has been long retired, but is still a season ticket holder for BU men’s and women’s ice hockey. He writes, “Entering college, I had no idea what direction I would take, and the two years of broad spectrum exposure that was afforded to me by CGS proved invaluable for making those choices.”
Michael Crowley (’66, CAS’71) and his wife traveled to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruges this October to visit their son, Ned, who is working in Europe.
Sue William Silverman (’66, COM’68), award-winning author of five books of nonfiction and two poetry collections, has a new poetry chapbook, Crayon Colors for Serial Killers (Finishing Line Press, 2022). For more information, visit www.SueWilliamSilverman.com.
Ed Westerman (’66, COM’68) just returned from a 31-day trip to New Zealand and Australia, an item at the top of his bucket list for years. “It was a remarkable adventure to a part of the world that many of us have not explored,” he says. “And I had the chance to have dinner twice with another CGS alum who lives in Sydney, Dan Bernstein (’88, COM’90).”
Thomas Damigella (’67, CAS’70, SSW’72) comments on the invaluable experience he had while attending CGS: “One of the most significant aspects of being a student at CGS was the friendships that were made by attending this particular school. To this day, I know of about 10 CGS grads that became lifelong friends—even though they never continued at BU after leaving CGS! I believe that the unique system of team teaching at CGS was the reason so many close relationships were established. To this day, I look back at my two years at CGS as being my formative years of college that stayed with me in a very special way because of the skills I honed academically at that school. We just celebrated the school’s 70 years and I went to the reunion, which brought back many fond memories of the old school in Copley Square. All I can say is, long live CGS.”
Frederick Rogers (’67, COM’69) has returned to the joy of choral singing for the past six years, and serves on the board of the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus. He also has been a welcome ambassador for the Port of San Francisco for over a decade and enjoys encountering the myriad travelers who sail around the seas. Rogers stops by the campus whenever he visits family in the Boston area.
Robert Berlow (’69, CAS’71) writes that after attending CGS, he was greatly influenced by Howard Zinn and Ed Bottome at CAS. “Those were days of hope and healthy rage,” he says. Berlow became a civil rights lawyer, first in Washington, D.C., then in Maryland, practicing in local and federal administrative agencies and courts. He went on to specialize in special education law, representing children with disabilities under a law signed in 1975 by President Gerald Ford. He retired in 2020, but misses the work, the challenge, and the people he worked with and for. However, he says, he certainly does not miss the stress.
Jim Hagler (’69, CAS’71) lives in Itasca, Ill., and practices family law in downtown Chicago. He says he would “love to hear from anyone in a reminiscent mood,” and can be reached at jhaglerhueymech@gmail.com.
1970s
John McNamara (’70, COM’72) retired this year as director of institutional advancement at Capital Community College in Hartford, Conn. He is a contributing writer and editor for New Britain Progressive, an online community newspaper.
Ron Traub (’71) was recently appointed to the AARP Illinois executive council. He writes, “While I may be retired, I am not retiring.”
Rosalie Cushman (’72) continues to write essays on a wide range of topics for her website, rosaliecushman.com. She enjoys hearing from readers around the world. She has also self-published the books The Man Confused by God (2020) and Vibrating at the Speed of Love (2019).
Linda Satter (’72) writes, “Hello to all the people I loved at CBS in the early ’70s. Professor Wexelblatt, write on! RD and PH, thanks for so many great days! Great school; very caring and supporting of all their students. I got more from this school than they ever thought I would.”
John Mattson (’73, CAS’75) retired in 2020 after serving as the director of the Career Development Center at the University of California-Riverside’s (UCR) A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management. Mattson started Career Coach Consultants, LLC, an online career management consulting firm. Prior to his role at UCR, he was director of the Career Center at The Actors Fund in Los Angeles, senior associate director of the executive MBA program at the Wharton School, and founding director of BU’s Feld Career Center at the Questrom School of Business. He was director of career services at the Fletcher School at Tufts University from 1987 to 1995. He is a 1977 graduate of Tufts University, where he received a master’s degree in counseling. He is a 1971 graduate of Dublin School in New Hampshire. Mattson and his wife live in Moreno Valley, Calif.
Walter Freeman (’75, COM’78) is a procurement supplier diversity director at Apple. He spoke at the National Minority Supplier Development Council national conference in New Orleans, La., on November 1, 2022.
Mary Ellen Charlton McKenna (’75, Sargent’77) is a registered physical therapist. During her career, Charlton McKenna received a patent from the US government for a new medical device to assist people with balance issues. Her inspiration for this design came from one of her patients. The Ataxia Balance Crutch is sold throughout the US, China, England, and Australia. Evidence-based research on the device is being conducted at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Worcester, Mass. Visit www.balancecrutch.com.
Michele Sutton Yeadon (’75, MET’78) writes that she is approaching retirement and living in Chicago, Ill. She and her husband are in the process of fixing up their city cottage in Santa Barbara, Calif., which they bought almost 30 years ago. Yeadon has been married for 38 years and both her son and husband work in software engineering. She adds, “We are all designers. I lean toward the left side of the brain, as an interior designer. Have enjoyed traveling—mostly through business—to China, Australia, New Zealand, Brussels, Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Germany, and France. We’ve lived in some wonderful American cities, including Mercer Island, Wash., Santa Barbara, Calif., and Chicago. Son recently engaged, fingers crossed for grandchildren while I can still play in the grass.”
Virginia “Ginny” Sandler Berg (’76) retired in December 2022 from a 25-year career as a speech language pathologist for a middle school in South Florida.
Marc Kritzer (’76, Questrom’78) has been the owner of a New York City real estate company for more than 30 years. He is married with two children. His daughter graduated from Brown University in 2022 and his son is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend Boston University in fall 2023.
1980s
Laura Tennyson (’82, MET’86, SSW’89) has returned to Lura Belle Productions, her boutique marketing, communications, and business development firm for the arts, entertainment, and hospitality industries after serving as the director of communications at the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, for four years. Tennyson’s first big project is amplifying the New Orleans Slave Trade Marker Tour and App, which she and a group of historians produced and which marks points and people of distinction in the domestic slave trade in New Orleans.
David Waronker (’82, MET’84) and his wife are making the most of their empty-nester time by dedicating their efforts to animal rescue leagues and offering college scholarships. They recently bought a 140-acre horse farm in Lexington, Ky., which they named BraveHearts Equine Center. They rescue draft horses and have 91 Belgians, Percherons, and Clydesdales. Waronker calls the endeavor “a labor of love.” He remains a residential real estate developer and has owned the CBD Development Group since graduating from BU. He and his wife sold their ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz., and built a larger home in Celebration, Fla. “We enjoy continuing our financial support to BU and look forward to returning in February 2023 for the Beanpot,” he writes. “Love to past, current, and all future members of our BU community.”
Lisa Botti (’83, CAS’85, SSW’87) writes that she has decided to go full speed ahead with her pottery business and retire from formal social work employment. Botti participated in the creation of a crisis response team with mental health and law enforcement officials and also worked in hospice in Great Falls, Mont. She is an empty-nester and can devote time to her ranch, where she raises and sells organic beef, and making custom mugs for five local businesses and charcuterie boards for one local business in her town. Botti became a grandmother in 2020 and lost a parent in 2019. Four out of five of her children still live in Montana; her middle son will soon leave for Australia for a doctoral program in entomology. Despite not working in social work, she does use her pottery to give back to the community and to raise awareness of world issues. She writes, “I make sunflower ornaments and glaze them blue and yellow to support and show compassion for Ukraine. I am working on getting a wooden stamp image made to make ornaments for solidarity with the women of Iran. I also make badge mugs for law enforcement and etch in the officers’ badge numbers as a way to spread some positive energy in difficult times. So, once a social worker, always a social worker! I thoroughly loved my time at CBS, as the smaller size helped me to connect better with other students and get to know the staff well.”
Kenneth Butensky (’84, CAS’86) is chief deputy city solicitor for the city of Philadelphia and vice president of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel. Butensky recently moderated a continuing legal education program on the 300th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court at the annual meeting of the Defense Research Institute.
Kip Kransdorf (’84, COM’86) is a consulting manager in EY’s people advisory services unit, specializing in workforce management transformation. Kransdorf has two kids in college and writes, “Dropping them off always brings me back to my BU days.”
Nina Arnfeld (’88, CAS’91) married Daniel C. Levay and moved to New Braunfels, Tex., in October 2022.
Kathy Schmid (’88, CAS’91) volunteers with a nonprofit organization that promotes female-owned businesses. They held their first Shark Tank–style event, and awards went to three promising new businesses. More than 40 competitors entered the contest and the top five candidates were given the opportunity to make business presentations to a panel of experts. Winners were given funds to expand their businesses, purchase materials, and increase market presence. Schmid writes that her experience with the event “was fun, exciting, and successful.” She is grateful for the knowledge she gained and the people whom she met during her four years at BU.
David Deckner-Glick (’89, CAS’91, Wheelock’94, SSW’96) is staying occupied with his practice, Triad Psych, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023. He has two daughters, Eliana, 21, and Isabella, 19, and is watching them make their way through their college careers. He writes, “I am happy to report both girls are doing well. With both kids out of the house, I will be downsizing my home and moving to a condo. Lately, in my free time, I have been attending concerts by some of my favorite bands of the ’80s, such as Loverboy, Styx, Air Supply, and, yes, even REO Speedwagon. And, just recently, Eric Andersen (Questrom’91) paid me a visit at my home in Marietta, Ga. I hope everyone is doing well!”
Gary Partoyan (’89, CAS’91) lives near his hometown outside of Washington, D.C., and is an independent financial advisor, running a firm called Potomac Wealth Strategies, LLC. Partoyan writes that he enjoys time with his family and friends, and he is still in touch with several friends and classmates from BU.
1990s
Monica Larner (’90, COM’92) lives in Rome, Italy, and works as a journalist and reviewer of Italian wines for the US publication Robert Parker Wine Advocate. She reviews 3,500 wines per year and travels from the top to the bottom of the Italian peninsula to visit with winemakers at their vineyards. Larner writes, “My magazine was recently acquired by Michelin (publishers of the celebrated restaurant guide that gives Michelin stars to chefs). I love every minute of my job.”
Sandra Portmann-Trach (’90, Wheelock’92) is the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for Wellesley public schools in Massachusetts.
Alan Huberman (’91, Questrom’93) had the opportunity to walk along Comm Ave again while in town to attend the 2022 Head of the Charles. He writes, “It was great to see the campus on foot—and to see all that has changed. It was also great to be able to get together again with Jae Kwak (Questrom’93) and his wife in Boston (the last time we saw each other was when my wife and I visited him at his house in Hawaii during our honeymoon).”
Britt Hoglund (’98, CAS’00) joined Amazon’s worldwide real estate (WWRE) department in July 2020 and relocated to Tacoma, Wash. She was recently promoted to manager of the WWRE North America parking team in January 2022. Hoglund loves being back in the Pacific Northwest and travels frequently to visit her team, which is in Nashville, Tenn. She is the proud new mom of an Aussiepoo named Bear, born in February 2021. She writes, “He is the joy of my day.” Reach out to her at bhoglund@hotmail.com.
Mark Celusniak (’99, Questrom’01) and Kristen Faerber-Celusniak (CFA’01) live in Littleton, Colo., with their three children and enjoy all that Colorado has to offer. They both carry on their careers in financial services (Mark with Charles Schwab) and music (Kristen teaching voice and piano and doing outreach performances through local venues and church). Reach out to Mark at mcelus@hotmail.com and Kristen at kristen.celusniak@gmail.com.
Maggie Mattuchio-Flynn (’99, COM’03) recently joined A-Frame Agency as associate director of stylist partnerships and creative content development, building relationships across all categories, after a decade in episodic film and television.
2000s
Edward Crane (’00, CAS’02) is director of operations for HMSHost at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, N.H., and founded the Frank Monahan Foundation in Concord, N.H., in 2013.
Ian Alley (’01, Sargent’03, SPH’09, CAMED’22) became a third-time Terrier by finishing the BU Physician Assistant Program in August 2022.
Jackie Bruno (’04, COM’06) left journalism after 15 years in Boston TV news as an anchor and reporter and started her own marketing agency called Newsmaker Marketing. Her goal is to help businesses grow through a combination of storytelling, social media content, and strategic PR. The business was launched in October 2022 and is quickly growing its client list. To find out more, visit www.newsmakermarketing.com.
Michael Staudt (’06, COM’08) is a talent agent at the Gersh Agency in Los Angeles, Calif. He was recently featured in The Hollywood Reporter as a rising executive under 35.
Julia Broome (’07, Questrom’09) opened Kin Southern Table and Bar in downtown Providence, R.I., in March 2021. Her 50-seat restaurant specializes in Southern comfort and soul food.
Tarah Mohika (’07, CAS’09) has been promoted to director of talent at the Community Group, Inc., an education nonprofit based in Lawrence, Mass.
Adanta Ahanonu (’08, Questrom’10) lives in Oakland, Calif., and is the chief program officer at COOP Careers, a national nonprofit focused on overcoming underemployment for recent first-generation college graduates through peer connections and digital skills. Ahanonu graduated with a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership from the University of Pennsylvania in December 2022.
Shera Kaan-Lilly (’09, COM’11) met her husband, Keith Glickman (’08, COM’10), on campus in 2007 and they married in 2017. They launched Wildlilly Wine in South Florida in 2022, and the products are available nationally. Kaan-Lilly writes, “Wildlilly wine is a dynamic blend of Pinot Noir (red grapes) and Chardonnay (white grapes), much like BU is an amazing blend of cultures, ideas, and people.” She believes the brand’s rapid success can be attributed to the skills they learned while at BU, especially how to communicate a brand’s messaging and values.
2010s
Aysu Otova (’12, Questrom’14) began her career in insurance at global broker Willis Towers Watson. From there, she joined the client side at Boston’s Suffolk Construction, which was the general contractor for the BU Pub renovation and the Center for Computing & Data Sciences building. After being on both the broker side and client side, she wanted to round out her insurance knowledge and decided to join the carrier side as an underwriter for construction professional and pollution liability.
Christopher DeLucia (’14, ENG’17) celebrated his three-year wedding anniversary with his wife, Nina Gummadi (CAS’20, CAMED’20), whom he met during his freshman year at BU. DeLucia writes, “Looking back on my experience at BU, CGS was such an excellent learning opportunity. My Capstone group and I (some of whom are my best friends today) still talk about our project when we catch up over a beer. Combining CGS with ENG is something I highly recommend for those willing to take the challenge. It allowed me to receive a high-quality liberal arts foundation while also obtaining an engineering degree. I work for Google as a security engineer and study part-time as a master’s student at Georgia Tech.”
Nialah Ferrer (’14, CAS’16) joined the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., as an assistant US attorney this fall. She also trained for her third marathon and ran the New York City Marathon in November 2022.
2020s
Nicole Bray (’20, COM’22) spent her first postgrad summer traveling around Europe and visiting cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, and Paris with her closest friends. Soon after, she began working at BU’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in enrollment marketing and communications.
Spencer Mar (’20, Sargent’25) is pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy at BU’s College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College. He writes about CGS: “The college prepared me extremely well with fundamental skills to have a holistic approach to every problem.”
Tess Pollins (’20, CAS’22) spent her first months as an alumna at the Chakuwama Orphanage in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she had volunteered during her CGS gap semester. While a student, Pollins founded the nonprofit organization Project Lots of LOVE to further support Chakuwama. Just before graduation, Pollins became Boston University’s first recipient of the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award, which gives $20,000 to fund a public service project. She will use this award to construct a new location for the orphanage that can better fit the needs of the 65 children who call Chakuwama home. If you’re interested in learning more, contact Pollins at tess.pollins@gmail.com or projectlotsoflove@gmail.com.
Natalie Seara (’20, COM’22) has moved to New York City to attend NYU for her master’s degree. She is balancing full-time school with a part-time marketing job and a part-time theater internship.