Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Spring 2019

SKIDMORE COLLEGE ’83 Laura Taylor earned a Master of Science in law from the University of Maryland and was inducted into the Order of the Sword and Shield National Honor Society. Susan Heegaard was appointed president of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, an agency that helps colleges and universities leverage regional resources to benefit their students. Senior consultant to HCM Strategists and the Lumina Foundation Strategy Labs, she has worked extensively with government and private-sector partners in the Midwest. Lilly Jaray Ostrove danjasry@yahoo.com ’84 REUNION ’19 I am excited for our 35th class reunion, May 30 to June 2! As a member of the planning committee, I promise you it’s going to be a great time. Flavia Polensky-Geist has been living in Morgan Hill, Calif., with her husband of 32 years, Donald. They finished up a kitchen remodel this year. Flavia reports that her culinary expertise has advanced since the days of cooking for Scribner Village suitemates. Flavia also credits the odd earthquake that rattled campus in 1984 with preparing her for life in California. She’s in her 29th year at Lockheed Martin Space, where she is division manager for print and re- cord services. Still active in the arts, Flavia is the artistic director of Arte Flamenco de San Jose, a nonprofit dance company and academy. After two years in NYC post-gradua- tion, Luisa Pujol returned to Barcelo- na, Spain. She is running a family busi- ness and enjoying life. Her 23-year-old son, Mario, lives and works in the Big Apple. Luisa welcomes classmates to Barcelona. She hopes to be in NYC in late May. Her mother, Mary Herrick Waterman ’51, originally from Albany, also lives in Barcelona. Cyndy Comeau Risku moved back to Massachusetts after 30 years out of state. She and husband Daniel live on the South Shore in Hanover. They love going to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox and especially enjoy the post-game reception Skidmore hosts on the Rooftop Deck every summer. Their youngest daughter will graduate from college in May, making Cyndy a full-time empty nester. A landscape designer, Cyndy welcomes hearing from classmates to catch up and discuss garden projects. Contact her at comeau- 2biz@gmail.com. She can’t make it to reunion, but she hopes everyone has a great time. Sara Taylor Bramah is “gutted” that she won’t be able to attend reunion. She and her family reside in Surrey, England, and Sara’s son is graduating from high school that weekend. “However, I’m sure Diane Hutchinson Reilly, Melissa Thodos Johnson, Cathy Heine Kellstrom, Tammy Langalis and Kim Murphy will carry on without me,” she quips. Sara also expects everyone to stalk Ginny Healy, Dede Wood and Maureen Nipar on social media until they agree to show up. “My heart will be with everyone at Skidmore. Think of me when you are on your fourth pitcher at T&L’s and be sure to FaceTime me from Caroline Street.” When Sara drops off her son at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania in August, she hopes to connect with East Coast Skidmore friends. She plans to spend a lot of time in the U.S. over the next four years to check on her son. Since our last reunion, Barbara Sucoff married Jim Ninivaggi in 2017 and moved to Sarasota, Fla. That year, Barbara was also diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. She was unable to use her arms for eight weeks, and walking 10 steps was a challenge. But Barbara is one determined lady. In December, she and her twin daughters summited Mt. Kilimanjaro. Barbara looks forward to seeing everyone at reunion! Christopher Gleason and his family live in the Chicago suburbs. His daughter, Danielle, and son, Hunter, attend Kelley Business School at Indiana University. Christopher is a comptroller for an electronics firm. Now that he is an empty nester, Chris plans to spend more time “traveling and chasing the sunshine.”   In late March, Marty Feierstein cheered as The Zombies were inducted into the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Marty was executive producer of The Zombies’ last album, “Still Got That Hunger,” their first album to make Billboard charts since the release of the epic “Odessey and Oracle” LP back in 1968. Tammy Langalis has reliable information that the following individuals will join her at the re- union: Cathy Heine Kellstrom, Diane Hutchinson Reilly, Kim Murphy Wilson, Melissa Thodos Johnson, Carrie Akenson Benabou and Karen Gonyea McInnis . Environmental scientist Mary Ann Boyer is co-founder of Boyer Sud- duth (boyersudduth.com) , a consult- ing firm that helps schools and businesses become environmen- tally sustainable. A former science teacher, Mary Ann and her business partner are celebrating the firm’s fourth year. She lives in Philly with husband Chris Hall. Now empty nest- ers, two of their kids are with Teach for America and the third is a senior at Kenyon. Mary Ann looks forward to seeing everyone at reunion! I started a new job this year, tran- sitioning from event planning to recruiting for a boutique staffing firm (CanUWorkTomorrow.com). It was founded in 2009 by two New Jersey-based women who were frustrated with the traditional “head-hunter” business model. I continue to be an active volunteer for Skidmore as well as a variety of other nonprofit organizations in New Jersey. See you in May! Dale Schultz Lazarovitch redink1994@gmail.com ’85 Norwood Creech had a show opening Feb. 15 at the Eclectic Eye in Memphis. Cindy Pendleton cropen1985@gmail.com ’86 Judith Zettle is a full-stack web developer at Ringgold Inc. in Beaver- town, Ore. Since the previous update, Judith has moved and changed her employer/career. Cliff Nelson clifford.s.nelson@live.com ’87 Attorney Jennifer Weisberg Millner was chosen as one of NJBIZ magazine’s Leaders in Law. A partner at the Princeton office of Fox Rothschild LLP, the family law specialist was lauded for her innovative approach to serving clients. Many cases involved issues impacting the LGBTQ community, such as stepparents’ rights in child custody cases and the right of transgender teens to initiate medical procedures and name changes. Tracy Eastwood Sturtevant lives outside Brisbane, Australia, with husband Mike and their cat, Oz. She feels lucky to have her “dream job” of equine coach coordinator and head coach for the largest therapeu- tic riding program in the country. She became the first Professional Asso- ciation of Therapeutic Horsemanship International certified riding coach and mentor in Australia. She looks forward to assisting other coaches and riding centers in becoming certified/accredited members. Tracy is in touch with Lisa Willey Porter , Mike Porter , Jeanne Cooney Dunn ’86 and Jennifer Hill Thorne ’88 and recently caught up with Stephen Legan in NYC. Tracy visits her folks in Saratoga often. She encourages any- one interested in visiting Australia to contact her at sturtetee@gmail.com. I got married in September to Laurence Taoman, a man I met four years ago at a “write-in” for National