Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Spring 2019

43 SKIDMORE COLLEGE Jamie Nimmons Jamie.nimmons@gmail.com ’93 Jonathan Burkan was appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council by President Trump. A senior vice president at Morgan Stanley in NYC, Jonathan lives outside Manhattan with his wife, Kimberly, and their daughters, Grace and Laura. Jenny Herdman Lando jennylando@gmail.com ’94 REUNION ’19 Our 25th reunion is right around the corner! Get ready to celebrate the big weekend, May 30 to June 2. Check out the “Skidmore ’94” Facebook group to help build the buzz and keep up with the latest reunion plans. Katie Killough Houghtaling will attend reunion accompanied by her husband, Alex, and 2-year-old twins, Arden and Keaton. They are planning the trip with Vikki Quinlan Clair and can’t wait to spend a fun weekend in Saratoga! After 16 years as project director at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, John Beckman started his own consulting firm with partner Faith Griggs. The Sage Creative Group LLC offers creative management of exhibitions, events and experiences across all media platforms. John and Faith scored the national touring production of “Hamilton” as their first client. Sage Creative will oversee production of a museum-quality ex- hibit delving deep into the history of the groundbreaking musical. The tour started in April in Chicago. Matt Kavet enjoys the role of men- tor. A frequent adviser and panelist for BU107 classes, he coached stu- dent Izaak Cohen ’20 in this year’s Freirich Business Plan Competition. Matt is founder and president of Boston America, a company that develops, licenses and sells “pop- culture” novelty items. The Skid- more business-government major is frequently on the road, selling to retailers and brokering deals with manufacturers, mostly in Asia. Alex Levin is now at the helm of his family business, the Cape Cod Institute, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer. The insti- tute will feature professor Sheldon Solomon as a guest speaker Aug. 12-16 in Cape Cod. For more informa- tion, visit cape.org . After working as a chef in NYC, Mat- thew Aulicino moved to Los Angeles. Now a licensed architect, he works for a firm in downtown Los Angeles. Matt encourages Skidmore alumni interested in his field to look him up. Heidi Ritz Cohen lives in South Orange, N.J., with husband Rob, daughter Shayna and son Sam. Heidi owns her educational consult- ing business, Core Complements, working with students and parents as well as training and coaching teachers. She and Rob enjoy their annual July weekend in Saratoga; they stay at Skidmore, explore the city and take in the Dave Mat- thews Band at SPAC. A Skidmore Admissions volunteer, Heidi enjoys interviewing prospective Skiddies in her area. Daughter Shayna was recently accepted early decision to the Skidmore Class of 2023! After five years in Napa Valley, Calif., Sarah Hoffman Pearson and her family moved to Willamette Valley, Ore. Husband Brant, daughters Lexi and Amelia, and two dogs are happily settled in their new home. Ready to take on new challenges in the wine industry, Sarah heads up sales and marketing at Dobbs Family Estates in the heart of Dundee. Victoria “Vicki” Tisch vickitisch@yahoo.com ’96 Neela Vaswani has authored a fourth book, “This is My Eye: A New York Story,” published by Candlewick Press. “It is a playful, poetic ode to the city through the eyes of a young girl with a camera,” says Neela, who snapped several of the images herself. Others were provided by friends, including Jennifer Livingston ’95 . Neela penned the book to encourage children to “honor their own point of view.” Attorney Michael Rosnick is a part- ner in the law firm of Miller, Rosnick, D’Amico, August & Butler, P.C., in Bridgeport, Conn. Designated as a “Super Lawyer” since 2008, he has also been included on the National Trial Lawyers Association’s list of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Michael’s primary focus is on civil trial work and personal injury litigation. Ac- tive in local civic and philanthropic organizations, he also volunteers as a Skidmore alumni career adviser for students and other alumni interested in the legal profession. Michael earned a JD from Quinnipiac Univer- sity School of Law in 2000. For more information, visit millerandrosnick.com. Office of Alumni Relations alumni@skidmore.edu ’97 Maggie Bertisch is a physician at NYU Langone’s Urgent Care Clinic in Manhattan. She lives with partner Derek Gregor ’00 , who composes for theater and film, as well as country and pop music. Maggie returns to Saratoga as often as she can to see “my Rotheim family,” Roy, Amy ’90 and Jena ’93. ’99 REUNION ’19 Luis Alicea completed a master’s in organic chemistry from Seton Hall University last spring. Luis looks forward to seeing all of his classmates and friends at reunion! Bill Caleo is also excited about returning to campus for reunion and notes that a Skidmore Theater Reunion will take place concurrently. Professor of Theater Caroline Anderson is retiring this year; Bill hopes theater majors will gather to honor her during this celebratory weekend. Bill and Tom Wilmot are currently serving on the Skidmore Board of Trustees. After 35 years working at Skidmore, Joyce Casertino will retire at the end of spring semester. A Scribner Library employee for her first five years, Joyce has spent the last 30 as senior programmer/analyst in IT-Enterprise Systems. She plans to volunteer for the nonprofit organization After the Fire (afterthefire.org) and several lo- cal elementary schools. Melanie Zalman McDonald and husband Chris welcomed a new addition to their family on July 6, 2018. Daughter Josephine Brianne joins big brother Henry, 7. Melanie is executive director of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire. Jeremy Sigel resides in New Ro- chelle, N.Y., with his wife and daugh- ters Vivien, 4, and Greta, 1. In January, Jeremy started a new job as vice president at CBS Interactive, where he is running a newly created depart- ment within Integrated Marketing. Stefan Whitney and his family moved to Washington, D.C. After five years in China, Stefan will continue to work for the State Department. He thanks professor Murray Levith for encouraging him to take his first trip to China after graduation. Stefan’s wife, Devon, and their two daughters enjoy being back in the U.S., and Ste- fan welcomes hearing from alumni residing in or visiting the capital. Matthew Wind looks forward to bringing his family to Saratoga for reunion. That also goes for his wife, Michelle, son Edmund and the new- est edition, 3-month-old Rose. Her big brother and parents are doing great. Matt had a lot of fun planning reunion last summer with Thalia Anderen , Jessica Kuszaj and Luis Alicea . He adds, “We are all excited to see the faces of classmates and their families, whether returning or first-time reunion guests, May 30 to June 2 in Saratoga!” Allison Prouty had an awesome year; this past June, she and her partner were married in Iceland. They are the proud parents of two beauti- ful toddler twins, Rebel and Ronin!