class notes

1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s

People & projects | UWW | In Memoriam

1990s

1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999

1994

Victoria (Vicki) Tisch
vickitisch@yahoo.com

John Beckman and his theater company, Visions & Voices, went on production hiatus due to funding and time constraints. However, they went out with a bang, earning two more Joseph Jefferson Citation nominations and winning Best New Play (their second win in this category) for their 2004 production of Arrangement for Two Violas by Susan Lieberman. Now John and crew hope to concentrate on an annual film project. “Believe it or not, movies are easier,” he says. John has been traveling with the movie exhibit he developed for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. In April he and his partner, chef and entrepreneur Denise Norton, spent a lovely week in the Canadian Rockies, “a welcome rest” before all the business travel this spring and summer. John is co-chair of the Skidmore Club of Chicago and can be reached at beckman426@comcast.net.

Erika Boyer-Berman, husband Adam, and son Tate, 2, spent their summer vacation in London and Paris—they returned home the day before the London bombings. The Bermans live in New Jersey, and Erika is a managing partner in a marketing consulting group in the New York City metro area.

In July Meredith Eastman started a new job in college counseling for Campus Bound, a Boston-based company that helps students and parents with college admissions and financial aid. She says, “It’s fun working with students from different high schools and helping take the stress out of the application process. It’s also fun to direct some of them toward Skidmore and hear what they think.”

Gordon Goldschleger is living in Toronto, Canada. He left his job in March after realizing working in the supply-chain industry “just wasn’t getting me up in the morning.” Over the last few months he has spent time getting to know his new nieces and nephews, traveling to China, and “meeting business people who understand business with a social conscience does exist.” He finished coursework for his EMBA in Toronto. “It’s been a hard but fun eighteen months.”

John Hampshire enjoyed another summer of teaching at Skidmore, and he’s been hired as an assistant professor of art at nearby Adirondack Community College in Queensbury, NY. He also had a drawing show in the Project Room at the Phoenix Gallery in New York City this September.

Brian Gordon spent the last year working as a live-in counselor at a transitional community, working with teens with Asperger’s Syndrome and PDD (pervasive developmental disorder), teaching tai chi and sign language at a center for mental retardation, and working as a stand-up comic.

Sarah Hoffman Pearson is now a brand manager at Freixenet USA, a Spanish wine company in Sonoma, CA. She and husband Brent enjoyed the San Francisco “heat” and summer travels.

Corrie Kennedy-DiPompeo and her year-old son, Jack, have been spending lots of time with Paola Manzo, Craig Sowell, and their son Will (one week older than Jack). Paola, Jack, Will, and Corrie took a music class together, and they spend lots of time playing and swimming in Corrie’s pool. Corrie lives in Bedminster, NJ, and Paola is in Montclair. Their boys celebrated their birthdays together in August. Corrie is a middle-school history and English teacher in Berkeley Heights, NJ.

Bones Rodriguez recently wrote and performed scenes from his play Bones and Laura with his girlfriend. At the show were Matt Kalman, Rick Kiley ’96, Becky Racz ’97, Lisa Navarro ’95, Dan Caputi, and Ian Kahn. Everyone but Laura knew the surprise twist ending! You can be in on it too—just visit www.BonesAndLaura.com.

Dana Sock married Josh Milne on June 13, 2004, in Newport, RI. Meredith Eastman was a bridesmaid, and several other Skidmore alums were in attendance, including Anne Yedvabny Grieves, Maria Nero Morin, Michelle Milot, Paige Robertson ’95, and Beth Wilson ’95. After the wedding, Dana and Josh spent a two-week honeymoon in Costa Rica. They recently bought a condo in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Jason Walder spent the summer in Jackson Hole, WY, where he goes each year to a time share. “I hiked, paraglided off the top of a 10,500-foot mountain, fished, and went white-water rafting on the vaunted Snake River.” He spent the July 4th weekend at his house on the Jersey shore. His personal training business and working with Vector Enterprises in sales keeps him busy during down times. He continues working out regularly.

Jennifer Weider married Ed Culver on May 14 in Lenox, MA. In attendance were Jennifer Newman Shotton and husband Adrian, and Amy Coben Gamburg and husband Donald. Amy’s two daughters, Madeline and Anna, stayed at home in Philadelphia with grandma.

A year ago Sarah Adams and husband Julian settled in southern Oregon, where she works part-time as a veterinarian. The couple welcomed a second child, Ellianna, in May.

Sherie Gillman Barge, husband Wally, and their daughter Anna, 3, welcomed daughter Nicole on June 8. “Everyone is doing wonderfully!”

Marcie Wartel Handler and Michael Handler are pleased to announce the birth of their first child, Eliana, on May 4. The family enjoyed their summer on the beach near Boston.

Jennifer Landau Evans and husband Julian welcomed daughter Katie on April 22. Katie was born at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, England. Brother Ben turned 3 in July.

Amy Munichiello and Tony Reidy welcomed their first child, Blake, in May. The family lives in Charlestown, MA, with their black Lab, Gaffney. Amy is an organization development consultant with Ernst & Young; Tony is acting VP of marketing for TNT Vacations.

Wendy Prior Fentress and husband Andrew welcomed son Jack on April 22; his sister Charlotte is 2. The family lives in Manhattan. In February Wendy visited Key West, FL, with Jenny Rose Savino ’92 for a mutual friend’s wild wedding, “complete with WWE wrestlers and TV hosts.”

Kathy Uribe Echavarria and husband Roberto are pleased to announce the birth of son Stephen on January 11. Stephen joins sister Magdalena, 3. Kathy says, “Life is challenging, as I am still working full-time at the Central Bank of Chile, and Roberto and I are finishing an addition to the house.”

I’ve been to a few “mini-reunions” over the past few months. In April I attended Amy Munichiello’s baby shower in Boston, where it was a treat to see Meredith Eastman, Sherie Gillman Barge, Shannon Small Dunn, Becky Saravay Crespi, Linda Schneiderman Humphrey, Chrissy Dempsey, and Tony Reidy. Then in June Meredith Eastman, Amber Maurer Wylie, Heather Howell, and I met up for a weekend at Heather’s new home in New Haven, CT. Amber is working for Starwood Hotels, and she and husband Glenn have a new home of their own in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. She had a great time when she visited Skidmore back in February for the Accents reunion. Life in Boston is treating Meredith well, and we were thrilled to hear about her exciting new job. And Heather is a social worker in New Haven, providing substance-abuse treatment to pregnant women.

I am still enjoying life in Manhattan, especially when I run into fellow Skiddies. I see Josh Weiner often, and I’ve crossed paths with Jennifer Herdman Lando ’93 a few times around town. Jennifer DeRosa ’95 was a neighbor until she and husband Chris moved to the Washington, DC, area this summer. I am also fortunate to have a few Skidmore alums among my colleagues at Random House Children’s Books. Gayley Carillo ’99 works with me in the marketing group, and Lee Wade ’81 is a co-director of Schwartz & Wade Books, a new imprint at Random House Children’s Books.

Adam Wald just finished shooting Against Death, a feature film about the life and poems of Chilean poet Gonzalo Rojas, and he has TV commercials running for Foxwoods Casino and Netscape. He saw Bones Rodriguez and Rick Kiley ’95 for the Super Bowl this past winter and visited Skidmore this summer with Simon Petrie ’95 and Meredith Eastman. Adam is working on an event for Skidmore alums in NYC who are involved in the performing arts. Anyone interested in participating should e-mail him at awald94@skidmore.edu.

Tanja Maja Lutkins married James Vandenbossche in June 2004, in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, with a small group of close friends. The couple held “a grander wedding ceremony” with family and friends in the wine country around Wachau, Austria, two months later. The couple lives in San Jose; Tanja manages sales for a content globalization (technology) firm but looks forward to changing paths to focus on the arts.

Holter Graham produced and acted in a short film that premiered at the Maryland Film Festival on May 7. The Diversion also starred Kelly Van Zile ’96.

Jennifer Weider married Ed Culver on May 14 in Massachusetts. Jennifer Newman Shotton and Amy Coben Gamburg attended.

While in Palm Beach, FL, visiting family, Frits Abell attended an art opening in Boca Raton at a gallery run by Fecia Mulry ’82. After Fecia expressed an interest in starting her own gallery in West Palm Beach, Frits put her in touch with Mark Pateman, who owns Empire Resources, a real-estate law company. Within weeks, Mark located a perfect location for Fecia Mulry’s Fine Art, which opened in September.