18 minute read
Class Notes
class notes
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’87
In August, Clarkies from the ’80s gathered in Maryland in memory of their classmate Larry Gary ’85, who passed away on June 12, 2018. Back row, from left: Glenn Marrow ’84, Eric Fields, Mark (C.B.) Cummings, Jill Sege ’85, Mike Reaves ’87, Tyrone Hicks ’86; front row, from left: Darling Richards ’85, Lynne (Howes) Marrow ’84, Crystal (Wheaton) AVAKIAN ’84, and Jackie (O’Connor) Woods. Not pictured: Scott Darling ’84.
1959
WILLIAM ROGERS, a retired analyst and later independent contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency, has published “The Penitent Spy,” co-authored with David T. Lindgren, a professor at Dartmouth College and CIA consultant. The book tells the story of a young man who flees the Sudetenland with his family to escape anti-Semitic persecution in 1938 and eventually becomes an American CIA operative. It is available wherever books and e-books are sold.
1964
THOMAS F. LEE, M.A. ’64, PH.D, has published the novel “In the End,” available on Amazon.com. In it, a retired Irish-American detective searches for his lost faith as he tries to solve a brutal murder on a troubled Catholic college campus.
1968
HARVEY KAPLAN was honored by the Open Avenues Foundation of Boston with its Humanitarian Award. Kaplan, an immigration attorney, has represented thousands of individuals, families, and employers over the course of more than four decades in defense of immigrants’ rights. In 2013, Nancy J. Kelly of Greater Boston Legal Services described him as “one of the giants of asylum law in the United States.” Among his accomplishments, he advocated for Haitian boat people in the ’80s and ’90s, insured the rights of immigrants in the face of post-September 11 backlash, and rushed in when 300 workers were arrested in a 2007 New Bedford, Mass., factory raid and sent to detention centers on the Texas border.
1971
Glenn Parish ’71, and wife, Leslie, sponsored a gathering for Clark alumni and friends on Nov. 11, featuring a lecture by Thomas Kühne, Ph.D., director of Clark’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Co-promoted by Florida International University, and hosted at the Jewish Museum of Florida in Miami, the public forum was attended by nearly 60 people. As a member of President Angel’s Regional Leadership Council of South Florida, Parish underwrote the lecture to help widen the recognition and appreciation in the region for Clark’s renowned scholarship.
DAVID VOGELSTEIN has been a criminal defense attorney in Marin County, Calif., for 42 years. At Clark, he met his wife, VIVIAN SHERMAN ’69; they had their first date at the Woodstock music festival and have been together ever since. David has been the attorney coach for the record-setting Tamalpais High School Mock Trial Team for over two decades, and has received numerous awards for empowering and leading high school kids of all kinds. Vivian is an educational therapist for learning-disabled children. Their son Eric is a professor of medical and bio-ethics at Duquesne University and daughter Sarah is a special education teacher and supervisor in Oakland. While at Clark, David, along with other students, took over a draft board in Worcester at the height of the Vietnam War and served 10 days in solitary confinement at the old Worcester County Jail. David writes, “Our family has dedicated our lives to the moral paradigm set by my parents, survivors of the Holocaust — my father going back to Germany as an American soldier, fighting at the infamous Battle of the Bulge: Your purpose on the planet is to help others.”
Some of the rockin’est Clark blues fans united at the Brother Kerry and the Hoptones concert and CD release party held at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts (Hopkinton, Mass.) in September. KERRY KEEFE ’87 released his third CD, “Over the Influence,” which is a compilation of blues covers from his music heroes. The hippest of the hip who attended were, from left: Gerry Bingham ’90, Mel Higgins ’87, DAVE Luria ’87, Andy Liverant ’87, Allison Modi-Insall ’87, Bro. Kerry Keefe ’87, Dan Morse ’87, George cAccAVARO ’87, and Jeff Cicone ’87.
1976
STEVEN GREENBAUM has been named a Distinguished Professor at Hunter College, which is the highest faculty recognition within the City University of New York system. Steven, a member of the physics faculty, is an internationally recognized leader in the development of new materials for electrical energy storage. Also acclaimed for his pioneering work in the field of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, he is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring; and in 2014-2015, he served as a Jefferson Science Fellow in the U.S. Department of State. He also is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Steve is serving as a consultant and senior adviser at Ionic Materials, a battery startup company outside of Boston.
1978
JIM DEMPSEY, M.A. ’78, co-authored the catalogue for a successful art exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His essay accompanied “Obsession: Nudes by Klimt, Schiele, and Picasso from the Scofield Thayer Collection,” an exhibition of about 50 nude drawings by eminent artists of the time, which were owned by prominent Worcester-born art collector Schofield Thayer (Thayer donated part of his collection to the museum upon his death). Dempsey wrote the biography, “The Tortured Life of Scofield Thayer.”
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class notes
LELAND STEIN, co-owner of Regent Theatre Arlington, received the Executive Director’s Choice Award from Arlington [Mass.] Community Media Inc., which is given to “someone in the Arlington community who has greatly contributed to the communication arts and cultural health of the town.” He is most proud of the dozens of events the theatre has hosted over the years that featured and/or benefited an array of ethnic and cultural communities, from Tibet to Haiti, Nepal to Uganda. He writes, “Sometimes the joke is made that the Regent is ‘the United Nations of theaters’ — but, safe to say, there’s certainly some truth to that!”
1980
LEE PLAVE was named Franchise Lawyer of the Year at the Who’s Who Legal Awards (WWL) in London. The awards recognize the leading lawyers in each legal field, based exclusively on the findings of an independent six-month research process that includes feedback and peer-review from private practitioners, clients, and other experts in the sector. WWL also ranks Lee’s firm, Plave Koch LLC, fourth internationally among all law firms in the franchise arena.
’80
1981
JEFFREY SIEGEL hosts the podcast “Straight No Chaser,” which has received Best Podcast awards from the JazzTimes Readers Polls for 2017 and 2018. He also plays bass in the rock band Axis, which recently made its Worcester debut.
1987
FRANCIS P. DAUPHINAIS ’87, MBA ’88, is senior vice president and chief financial officer at Bay State Savings Bank in Worcester. Previously, he was a senior manager at IC Federal Credit Union, most recently as senior vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer and senior vice president of special projects. Francis also serves as treasurer of the Board of Trustees and chairs the Finance Committee for the Sizer School in Fitchburg.
1990
DAN DiSANO served as Clark University’s delegate for the inauguration of Union College President David R. Harris on Sept. 8, 2018.
’90
1991
ROGER ZIEGLER wrote and performed in “Sister Pirate Sister!” which was produced as part of an evening of one-acts at the New York Theater Festival’s annual Summerfest. Roger is an author, actor, producer, and New York Press Association award-winning journalist. He co-authored “Pee On It and Walk Away: How to Deal with Difficult People; Life Lessons from Superdog Abby,” which was an Amazon.com bestseller, as well as the acclaimed young people’s adventures, “Hannah Grace and the Dragon Codex,” books 1 and 2. Among his other achievements, he wrote the play “Ekner’s Pages,” was the tour manager for the international hit “GOLF: The Musical,” and created marketing for the Broadway productions of “Spring Awakening” and the revival of “A Chorus Line,” among others.
1993
LISA M. COLOMBO, MHA ’93, is executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Previously, she was senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Lisa has taught doctoral-level courses in the Graduate School of Nursing and also was associate dean for clinical practice. Lisa earned her doctor of nursing practice degree at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions.
1994
MAUREEN HEALY ’94, MBA ’95, has published “The Emotionally Healthy Child: Helping Children Calm, Center, and Make Smarter Choices.” Her first book, “Growing Happy Kids,” won the Nautilus and Reader’s Favorite Book Awards in 2014. She also writes a popular blog for Psychology Today. Maureen’s work has appeared across a large number of media outlets, including PBS, Forbes, Huffington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. Based in Santa Barbara, Calif., Maureen continues to work with clients directly, while also traveling to speaking engagements worldwide. As an avid learner and teacher, she seeks to grow from every person she meets and experience she has. “Life is never boring,” she says. growinghappykids.com
2002
JASON FEIFER has co-authored “Mr. Nice Guy,” a comic novel about the pursuit of success in life and love in today’s working world. His co-author is Jennifer Miller, a novelist and journalist who is also Jason’s wife. Publishers Weekly wrote, “Sharp and satisfying, this well-plotted, expertly characterized tale will have readers turning the pages quickly to get the latest dishy details.” Jason is editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur magazine, host of the podcast Pessimists Archive, and previously worked as an editor at Men’s Health, Maxim, Fast Company, and Boston.
LARRY OSSEI-MENSAH is the Susanne Feld Hilberry senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. An independent curator, cultural critic, and cofounder of ARTNOIR — a global collective of arts professionals — he has curated numerous exhibitions for museums and galleries including the Nahem and Smack Mellon galleries, both in New York, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
JOHN S. MANGIARATTI is the town manager for Acton, Mass. Prior to working in Acton, John served as the deputy town manager in Andover and the assistant town manager in Westford. After receiving his bachelor’s in geography with a concentration in urban development and social change from Clark, John earned his master’s in public administration from the
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rapport with individual learners in and beyond the virtual classroom. Ubaraj, associate professor of English, has published numerous professional articles, as well as a book chapter in “Plants and Literature: Essays in Critical Plant Studies.” He currently is researching, among other things, literary violence in contemporary postcolonial fiction. After receiving his master’s from Clark, he went on to earn a doctorate in English from Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y.
’02
’02
John W. McCormack School of Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts - Boston.
LEAH PENNIMAN ’02, MAT ’03, has published “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land.” According to a recent story on NPR, the book details her experience as a farmer and activist, how she found “real power and dignity” through food, and how people with no experience in gardening and farming can do the same. She and husband, Jonah Vitale-Wolff ’02, started Soul Fire Farm, located about 25 miles northeast of Albany, in 2007, where “they and staff members train black and Latinx farmers in growing techniques and management practices from the African diaspora, so they can play a part in addressing food access, health disparities, and other social issues.” The two were profiled in the Fall 2016 issue of Clark magazine.
’04
(Clockwise from left) Leah Penniman, John S. Mangiaratti, and Lauren M. Hersh STARKE and Kevin M. STARKE.
2005
JEFF CRAMER has released his first album, “Northern 45,” which features 11 original tracks written at various outposts from along the northern 45th parallel, as well as a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Colorado Girl.” The album was recorded at the Bombshelter recording studio in Nashville, Tenn., often described as an “analog paradise” and home to award-winning records from the Alabama Shakes, Margo Price, and more. Along with his music, Jeff has worked to promote local renewable energy. Currently, he leads a national coalition of businesses and nonprofits working to expand access to solar. Jeffcramer.com
2006
MATTHEW COLPITTS earned his doctorate in education in July 2018. His dissertation was titled, “Emergency Management and Preparedness at Higher Education Institutions: Perceptions of Senior Student Affairs Officers and Emergency Managers.” In August, he married Tiffany Lee and now has two awesome “bonus” kids. The family is living in New York City, trying to eat all the pizza.
2004
LAUREN M. HERSH STARKE married Kevin M. 2007 Starke in a small, private ceremony at the gazebo at UBARAJ KATAWAL, M.A. ’07, is the recipient of Firefighter’s Park in Great Neck, N.Y., on March 24, Valdosta State University’s 2018 Presidential Excellence 2018. Lauren works as a professor and writing tutor at Award for Online Teaching. This award recognizes a several colleges in New York. Her husband is an faculty member who demonstrates a strong commitment to quality online teaching and learning; employs
’07 electrician for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, under its Local 25 union. innovative online teaching practices; and develops
DIANA LEVINE organized the third annual Photo Shoot for a Cure, which took place in Boston in September to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. This year’s event raised over $54,000, bringing the total raised since 2016 to over $100,000. The event is a photography-inspired cocktail party featuring photo booths for portraits, and headshots with hairstyling and makeup. It also features photo galleries and various auction items. Diana, a well-known photographer, organizes the event in support of her mother, who was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease 14 years ago.
2008
STEVEN BRUSO, M.A. ’08, is assistant professor of English at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. He teaches the freshman writing sequence, early British literature, Shakespeare, the history of the English language, and topics in medieval literature.
SAM MATTERN-SCHAIN has completed his Ph.D. in bio-organic chemistry and recently began as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Tennessee. Sam writes, “All of this started with a B.A. from Clark, and although my career has shifted away from writing, the training I got at Clark and the craft that I honed in the English Department has served me extremely well.”
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class notes
2009
ARMEN KASSABIAN has been selected for a 10-month U.S. Department of State fellowship to teach English at the Mauritius Institute of Education in the Republic of Mauritius. He is one of only 170 U.S. citizens selected for the 2018-2019 English Language Fellows Program. Armen has taught English and English to Speakers of Other Languages at Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, N.Y.; American Sign Language at Harvest Collegiate High School in Manhattan; reading at Bronx International High School; and French at Leaders High School in Brooklyn. While working as an English teaching assistant in Brazil, Armen published a book, “Beyond the ‘To Be’ Syndrome: A Creative Approach to Teaching Language.”
DUC NGUYEN is the founder and director of Succulents Box, a socially conscious company focused on giving back and bringing nature into every home. Duc plans to expand Succulents Box (succulentsbox. com) with the addition of several team members, a bigger warehouse, hundreds of new succulents species, and a wide variety of plant-related merchandise. He says, “I was greatly inspired by my business professor, George Gendron, and other extraordinary Clarkies. The knowledge I acquired from economics, accounting, customer behaviors, and human resource classes at Clark has been a tremendous help as I try to grow my company. I’m deeply grateful and extremely proud to be a Clarkie!”
KATE PERILLO ’09, MAT ’10, is a doctoral candidate at UMass Amherst, and is excited to return to the Clark English Department to teach Introduction to Literary Analysis. She has also authored “The Science-Fictional Caribbean: Technological Futurity in Nalo Hopkinson’s Midnight Robber and Beyond,” which was published in Small Axe.
’11
Nathan Eagan ’11 and Julie Erthal Eagan ’11, M.A. ’12, were married on Oct. 6, 2018, at Oakbourne Mansion in West Chester, Penn. Clarkies in attendance were (front, l. to r.) Nathan Maltais ’11, Molly Gumpert ’12, DAVID Balme ’13, Julie and Nathan, Dan Vladimer ’11; (back) Joshua Bruckner ’11, M.A. ’12, Kevin Kopec ’11, Danielle Nickerson Kopec ’11, Andrew AGOSTINI ’11, and Ben Seel ’11.
KRISTINE RESENDES ’09, MSPC ’10, is the co-founder of Social Thrive, a Boston digital marketing and advertising agency serving Greater Boston, New England, the tri-state area, Chicago, and California. Her company recently rebranded from Social Drive to “Social Thrive” to recognize its growth and greater capabilities. She co-founded the agency in 2012 as a social media content scheduler. Today, it has more than 51 clients ranging from Boston restaurants to national mobile app developers.
2010
ALISHA POLLASTRI, Ph.D. ’10, has published “The School Discipline Fix: Changing Behavior Using the Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach,” a complete guide to a paradigm-shifting model of school discipline. With her co-author, Dr. J. Stuart Ablon, Alisha has been working with schools throughout the world to refine the Collaborative Problem-Solving approach, creating a step-by-step program for educators based on the recognition, from research in neuroscience, that challenging classroom behaviors are due to a deficit of skill, not will. Alisha is the director of research and evaluation at Think:Kids, a program in the psychiatry department at Massachusetts General Hospital, and is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School.
’12
Julia Greenspan married Shawn Skolky on May 5, 2018, in Providence, R.I. Clarkies in attendance included,from left: Katy Nowoswiat ’12, MBA ’13, Meredith Juliana ’12, Hannah Atkins Miller ’12, Shawn and Julia, SYDNEY Breteler ’12, Jean Jackson, ’12, and Ann ROKOSKY ’11, MAT ’12.
ALEX STANMYER ’10, MAT ’11, recently sold a story to Beneath Ceaseless Skies. He thanks the Clark English Department for setting him on the science fiction and fantasy and writing path.
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2013
DAN DEUTSCH ’13, MSPC ’14, is the marketing and communications manager at the Greater Hartford Arts Council, New England’s largest independent arts council. In April, Dan also brought The Denim Project to his city of Hartford. What started as his senior project at Clark is now a grassroots movement dedicated to raising awareness of sexual violence through art, community, and conversation. The Denim Project allows attendees and participants to engage with difficult and potentially triggering topics in a more accessible way. A portion of the proceeds were donated to the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, and Dan looks forward to working with The Denim Project again in the future.
2014
TYLER DAHLBERG, M.S./GIS ’14, is on the Geo team at Booking.com, helping to create the world’s largest accommodations database. He writes, “I perform spatial analysis, answer business questions, and work with enormous amounts of geographic data in Python, Hadoop, Spark, and good old desktop GIS.”
2016
JULIANE STRAETZ, M.A. ’16, has published an article, “The Ordeal of Labor and The Birth of Robot Fiction,” in the academic journal Amerikastudien/ American Studies. This piece was born from the master’s thesis she wrote at Clark.
What have you been up to?
Did you get a promotion? Get married? Write a book? Meet up with fellow Clarkies for a mini-reunion?
We want to hear all about it, and your classmates do, too.
Send your class note to: mellynch@clarku.edu or alumni@clarku.edu.
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Or, if you prefer snail mail: Melissa Lynch, Assistant Editor Clark University Marketing and Communications 950 Main St. Worcester, MA 01610
From the street to Sloan
When he performed on the streets of Boston, Rob Salafia ’76 was learning how to
establish his presence in front of an audience. ■ When he walked across a wire onstage, he was navigating through his fear and finding his balance in life. ■ When he acted, tap-danced, or told stories, he was preparing for a career helping others to discover their own unique voice. ■ He just didn’t know it yet. ■ Salafia went on to transform his many years in the performing arts into a successful career in leadership development and education, and today works as a lecturer and executive coach at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has written “Leading From Your Best Self: Develop Executive Poise, Presence, and Influence to Maximize Your Potential” (McGraw-Hill), detailing his journey from the stage into the worlds of business and higher education. ■ In the book, Salafia shares ideas, concepts, strategies, and stories to illuminate how leaders can bring their best selves to their roles and create environments that allow others to do the same. ■ His own best self was influenced by his Clark experience. One of six 1972 graduates of LaSalle Academy in Providence, R.I., to attend Clark (which may approach a record for a single school in one year), Salafia started out as a psychology major before switching to geography. His college adventures included a semester spent in Katmandu, Nepal — where he witnessed the coronation procession of the king and queen — and the study of mindfulness meditation in Northern India. ■ He could have entered a Ph.D. program in geography, but instead, as he describes it, “took a left turn” into theater. Salafia learned to juggle and started to perform in Worcester, Boston, and cities across North America; he took acting classes, and developed and took his one-man variety show around the world. He learned tap dancing under the masters, including the great Gregory Hines. When he was cast in the lead of a Boston musical production that required he learn how to walk on a wire, Salafia rigged a wire in his apartment and spent countless hours not only mastering the technique but also conquering his fear of heights. ■ “Being a performer teaches you an immense number of skills,” he says. “You learn how to connect with an audience and hold their attention. More importantly, you learn to allow the audience to connect with you.” ■ Salafia brought those skills with him when, in his mid-30s, he transitioned from performing to a position as a rehabilitation counselor at Boston University, helping people with emotional disabilities regain a work identity. He later worked 12 years at a training company, where he sold, taught, and designed leadership programs that have incorporated theater-based methodologies to help executives improve their communication skills — programs that have been used by thousands across the globe. A major achievement was having Harvard Business School integrate the programs into its MBA core curriculum. ■ As a sought-after keynote speaker, lecturer, author, founder, and CEO of Protagonist Consulting Group (protagonistconsulting.com), Salafia is committed to helping organizations build and share their leadership and communication strategies in ways that are authentic and compelling — and successful. He’s got their attention. - Jim Keogh
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class notes
Siblings’ company offers undervalued workers valuable opportunities
As a speech-language pathologist, Amelia
Willcox ’13 has a special connection with people who have different ways of thinking and learning — she is one herself. She has dyslexia, and her twin brother, Oliver ’13, lives with a communication disorder. Despite their challenges, they thrived at Clark. “We were looking for a liberal, diverse school,” Willcox says, “and we found it.” They also appreciated Clark’s work with the Main South and greater Worcester communities. “We try to do that in our own lives, to help people who need it.” At Clark, the siblings received support to help them succeed. From audiobooks to extra time on tests, these services were important as they worked toward their degrees (Amelia’s is in psychology; Oliver’s, mathematics and economics). Amelia earned a master’s in speechlanguage pathology from Northwestern University, and Oliver holds a master’s in statistics from Loyola University. But once they entered the workforce, Oliver discovered many doors were closed to him. His trouble communicating verbally led to his being passed over for jobs because he wasn’t “a cultural fit,” his sister says. “He has the skills, but he also has a communication disorder, which he works hard to address. It is not something that affects his ability to do the job.”
He wasn’t alone. Amelia says she and her family heard from others about the challenges faced by those who have communication disorders or are on the autism spectrum. “You’ve worked hard to get to the place you’re at, yet when you keep hearing you wouldn’t be a good employee, it’s defeating and demeaning,” she says. From Oliver’s experience, Iterators LLC was born. The company performs a range of software testing services, such as user-experience testing and searching for glitches, bugs, or anything that could lead to a less-than-optimal experience for the end user. They also perform data analysis for their clients and are a “trusted tester,” certified by the Department of Homeland Security. Iterators is a family affair: Amelia and Oliver’s parents are co-founders of the certified women-owned and managed company and work as the managing member and test manager. Amelia, a full-time speech-language pathologist at a Boston-area private school, also works part time at the company as the professional development specialist, and Oliver is a full-time software analyst. Their employees have backgrounds in data science and statistics, and are “neurodiverse,” Amelia says.
Neurodiversity is a broad category of conditions including autism, communication disorders, ADHD, dyslexia, and mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. These employees are “reliable and good at what they do,” Amelia says. They may have different ways of learning and communicating, but neurodiverse employees often possess an above-average ability to see patterns, perform technical tasks, and repeat iterations, she explains. Amelia teaches sessions about professionalism in the workplace, since, in many cases, Iterators is a first job for its employees. They share what helps them learn, such as video training, extra sessions and repetition, or explicit written instructions, so the training can best suit their skills. “Training might take a little bit longer or be more in-depth, but it’s just good management,” Amelia says. “We take the time to invest in the people we hire.” She hopes that over time more companies will be willing to take a chance on neurodiverse employees. “They deserve to work — they need to work to have an independent life. If others aren’t ready to hire people who might be different, we will.” - Melissa Lynch ’95, MSPC ’15
Learn more about Iterators LLC at iteratorstesting.com
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