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CLASS NOTES
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CLASS NOTES
us way too early.
“Yet one of the most treasured
moments from this weekend didn’t
occur on campus. It was my trip
with Bill Hicks to visit Kevin Davis
’87E, who could not join us due
to health concerns. During virtually
all four years at Columbia, we were
a pretty tight trio. Kevin and I even
rented a two-bedroom in Park
Slope together after graduation. Yet,
this was the first time in roughly
15 years that all three of us were
together. The bond and love forged
at Columbia has transcended time,
distance and even lapses in communication.
It was a truly awing
experience.”
Christina Musrey said, “I had
never been to a Columbia reunion
and am so happy I went to this one!
I came because my dear roommate,
whom I love and am very connected
to, and her lovely, assertive husband
would not let me stay home.
I am speaking of Ellen (Sullivan)
Crovatto and Chris Crovatto. I also
came to see Gwen Dunaif, whom I
want to see whenever I can.
“When I arrived at LAX airport
at 6 a.m., I heard, ‘Oh there she
is!’ It was Bill Hicks and Kevin
Greber. So, the reunion began a
little early. The surprise was how
many other friends I felt strongly
about after the weekend ended. I
spent time with Ron Burton and
his beautiful wife; Kyle Kietrys
’89 and his incredible wife, Jane
Bolgatz; Cathy Webster; and Luis
De Los Santos ’87E. I danced the
night away with Ellen, Stavros
Zomopoulos, Jose Calvo and
Rina Teran. Also with Sandy
Asirvatham, who, along with her
husband, Kevin, I and many others
spent quality time with at all the
events. I even visited their room in
Carman Hall! That was a memory
… I am sure I am forgetting some
names. I left feeling so appreciative
of a chance at fun and youth, recollection
and new beginnings. It was
wonderful.”
Richard Simonds wrote, “I found
our 25th reunion to be a surprisingly
profound experience, not just reconnecting
with classmates but also
with the school itself. Other than the
class dinner, the highlight was the
presentation on Lit Hum by Christia
Mercer, which brought back wonderful
memories of the Core, and
I’m happy to say that the intellectual
philosophy of the Core is still going
strong. It was good to see many of
my Glee Club friends show up and
to spend time with people whom I
hadn’t known as well.”
Highlights of the reunion for
Joe Feuer: “Reminiscing with Bill
Hicks about our departed friend
John Pennywell; touring the High
Line and catching up over dinner
with Divya Singh and Sarah Kass,
who gave us frequent updates of
the first Mets no-hitter; hearing
amusing stories over lunch about
Judy Kim’s latest European adventures;
having a mini-reunion with
Hartley suitemates Luis De Los
Santos ’87E and George Stone;
making new friends with Sandy
Asirvatham and her husband,
Kevin, over wine and cheese; going
to cool lectures on brain mapping
and on the ancient philosophies of
Epicureanism and Stoicism; giving
a tour of the neighborhood and the
campus to my girlfriend, capped
off by a visit to my freshman dorm
room in Carman for the first time
in 25 years.”
From Lee Ilan: “I had a great
time reminiscing and catching up
with so many people. I’m continually
impressed with what an interesting,
diverse, funny group we
are, aside from being good-looking
and talented!
“My husband, Peter Engel, our
daughter, Mavis, and I spent much
time with Laura Ting, my Carman
13 (yay!) roommate, and her husband,
Kevin McGrattan ’87E, who
was a big hit at the class dinner. We
were happy that so many College
and Engineering friends attended
and brought spouses/partners/
kids. I didn’t attend any lectures, as
I knew I’d want to spend the time
yakking with classmates. My enthusiasm
got the better of me, and
I loudly sang College songs at the
Sundial with fellow Glee Clubbers
on Saturday night — thereby ruining
my voice for the conferences I
had to speak at later in the week.”
Lee also noted the Mets jersey I
wore to the day events on Saturday
in honor of Johan Santana’s nohitter
the night before. Lee told
me, “It brought back memories of
the street party on 114th when the
Mets won the ’86 World Series.”
Since I know there are even more
memories than can be recounted
in this small space at one time, I
leave the door open to all of you to
continue to send reflections as they
occur. And of course, keep sending
regular updates, too!
REUNION WEEKEND
MAY 30–JUNE 2, 2013
ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS
ALUMNI AFFAIRS Fatima Yudeh
fy2165@columbia.edu
212-851-7834
DEVELOPMENT Valentina Salkow
vs2441@columbia.edu
212-851-7833
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Eric Fusfield
1945 South George
Mason Dr.
Arlington, VA 22204
ericfusfield@bigfoot.com
One of the perks of serving as class
correspondent is the opportunity to
hear from, and occasionally meet,
classmates I never got to know
back in Morningside Heights.
Having learned that Giuliana
Dunham Irving and I work just
a few blocks from each other in
downtown Washington, D.C., I met
her for lunch in her building, at the
famously cosmopolitan World Bank
cafeteria. In Giuliana’s own words,
“After NYU Law School (J.D. ’92), I
practiced law in New York City for
six years (private practice) before
moving to D.C. I spent eight years
as a federal prosecutor, with both
Main Justice (Criminal Division,
Fraud Unit) and the United States
Attorney’s Office. In 2006, I moved
to the World Bank, where I am
senior counsel for institutional administration.
My husband, Michael,
and I live in the District with our
daughter Michela (6).”
Heather Richards Heller’s first
Class Notes update comes from the
Pacific Northwest: “I figured after
24 years, I should participate!”
she said. “I traded in the hustle
and bustle of New York City for
the tranquility of central Oregon,
where I am the community development
director for a town nestled
in the Cascade Mountains. Worldclass
skiing, fly-fishing and rafting
entertain me now. I am also the
proud mother of two, Hadleigh (7)
and Sam (9), who saw Columbia
University for the first time this
summer when we sojourned back
to NYC.”
I am sad to belatedly note that
Nancy McAdoo passed away
on January 15, 2011, in Medford,
Mass. Nancy had been living in
the Boston area since graduation.
Most recently she worked for
Management Sciences for Health,
a Cambridge-based international
nonprofit organization, as its communications/knowledge
exchange
content manager. Nancy had a love
of music and the performing arts;
she danced and played three instruments.
She also had an abiding
interest in social justice, women’s
rights and the environment that
pervaded her personal and professional
life. Nancy was 44.
Thanks for your updates and
please keep sending them. Don’t
forget that 2013 is our 25th reunion
year, so start planning your trips.
The dates are Thursday, May 30–
Sunday, June 2. In the meantime,
to ensure that Columbia can get
in touch with you about it, please
update your contact information
online (reunion.college.columbia.
edu/alumniupdate) or call the
Alumni Office (212-851-7488). Also,
if you’re interested in joining the
Reunion Committee to help plan
the weekend’s events, contact the
appropriate Alumni Office staff
member noted at the top of the
column. You need not be in the
New York area and can participate
in meetings via conference call.
89
Emily Miles Terry
45 Clarence St.
Brookline, MA 02446
emilymilesterry@me.com
I ran into Patrick Nolan at Book
Expo America in New York in June.
It’s always great to see a familiar
face in the crowd at the Javits
Center and sometimes I’m lucky
enough to cross paths with Patrick
— a calm person in the midst of the
trade convention frenzy.
Patrick has worked in book
publishing for many years and last
April he was named v.p., editor-inchief
and associate publisher of Penguin
Books, a member of Penguin
Group (USA). For the past 12 years,
Patrick has been the director of
trade paperback sales contributing
to the success of such bestsellers as
Eat, Pray, Love; The Memory Keeper’s
Daughter; The Omnivore’s Dilemma;
The Secret Life of Bees; The Kite
Runner; and The Help. The long list
of bestsellers he’s worked on also
includes hardcovers from Charlaine
Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton and J.R.
Prolific children’s book author Laura Dower ’89 is
finishing up another book series for Hyperion/Disney.
Ward. Patrick, who earned a graduate
degree from the University of
Ulster, Northern Ireland, started
his publishing career as a fiction
buyer for Waterstone’s Booksellers
in Boston. Prior to joining Penguin
he worked at Houghton Mifflin and
Hyperion/Disney.
Also at Book Expo in New
York, I ran into prolific children’s
book author and mom of three
Laura Dower, who is finishing up
another book series for Hyperion/
Disney. We exchanged workingmom
tales of love and woes,
with an emphasis on the shared
“Who ever thought we’d be this
harried?” feeling, though Laura
looks as poised as ever and still
wears her generous smile. She is
the author of more than 70 books
for young adults, including the
series From the Files of Madison Finn
and the book Rewind. Laura lives
in New York with her husband and
children. If you have school-age
kids who love to read, check out
her website, lauradower.com.
Robert B. Kaplan, formerly chief
of the asset management unit of the
Macky Alston ’87 Fights for Equality Through Film
Filmmaker Macky
Alston ’87 spent the
past four years shooting
at locations around
the world, sleeping on the
floors of friends of friends and
Skyping with his husband and
two children while working 12-
hour production days during
month-long absences. Despite
raising $1 million for his project,
he hasn’t been paid a cent.
Yet he’s smiling.
Alston’s satisfaction is due
to the documentary he spent
almost half a decade directing.
Love Free or Die chronicles the
struggles of New Hampshire’s
Bishop Gene Robinson, the
first openly gay bishop in the
global Anglican Church, as he
seeks acceptance in the face
of worldwide controversy and
death threats. From scenes
of Robinson’s invocation at
President Barack Obama ’83’s
inaugural ceremony to decorating
the Christmas tree at home
with his husband, the film offers
a full picture of the trailblazing
man behind the robe.
Alston’s steady camera
follows Robinson’s attempts
to advance LGBT acceptance
from America’s small-town
churches to England’s 2008
Lambeth Conference (from
which Robinson was banned).
In a particularly dramatic
scene, the bishop’s preaching
is interrupted by a heckler
screaming “heretic” over and
over until the congregation
begins singing hymns to drown
him out.
“Making this film will be
something I’ll be able to tell my
grandchildren about,” Alston
says as we sit in the bustling
Caffe Reggio, a few blocks from
his sunny West Village apartment.
“The only reason I’ll even
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s
Division of Enforcement,
has joined Debevoise & Plimpton
as a litigation partner resident in
the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
He will advise Debevoise clients in
a broad range of securities-related
enforcement and compliance issues.
While at the Division of Enforce-
have grandchildren is because
of historic people like Gene
who stood up and fought for
my liberation.”
Critics agree about the film’s
impact: Love Free or Die won
the Documentary Special Jury
Prize for an Agent of Change
when it premiered at the Sundance
Film Festival in January.
Alston, an animated storyteller
who would not be mis -
cast in front of the lens, is no
stranger to accolades. He received
Emmy nominations for
his earlier films, The Killer
Within, Hard Road Home and
Family Name; the last also
won the Sundance Freedom of
Expression Award in 1997 and
scored him appearances on
The Oprah Winfrey Show and
ment, Robert won several prestigious
awards for his service, including
the Chairman’s Award for Excellence
and the Arthur F. Matthews
Award. Prior to joining the SEC, he
was a litigation associate at the New
York office of a Philadelphia law
firm. He earned a J.D. from NYU.
Jill Pollack Lewis took a break
B y Y e l e n a Shuster ’09
The Today Show.
The awards circuit, however,
does not guarantee extravagant
living. “Except for the 1 percent,
documentary filmmakers don’t
survive on documentary filmmaker
wages,” Alston says. When
not filming, he is the media
director at New York’s Auburn
Theological Seminary, which is
where he met Robinson.
For his part, Robinson knew
no one else could do justice to
his story. “You don’t let someone
put your own life up on the
screen unless you have a kind
of implicit trust, and I really felt
that with Macky,” he says. “I love
the film and how empowered
people feel, after seeing it, to
make a difference themselves in
the lives of LGBT people.”
Filmmaker Macky Alston ’87 accepts the Documentary Special
Jury Prize for an Agent of Change for Love Free or Die at the
2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 28.
PHOTO: JEMAL COUNTESS/GETTY IMAGES
from her job hosting the second season
of her Canadian HGTV show
(shooting in Vancouver), Consumed,
to catch the Broadway musical Book
of Mormon in New York with her
husband, Jeff. A funny CC reunion
happened as Matthew Fox and his
wife, Margarita, sat down behind
her right before the curtain rose!
Like many artists unsure of
their calling, Alston spent his
post-college years trying out different
canvases. He worked first
as a museum researcher, then
made collage art, taking photos
wherever he went and selling
his work on the street (and in
one lucky break, to Newsday). At
25, he got a low-paying job as a
production assistant for a documentary
and has been creating
art through film ever since.
Alston notes the impact of
the Core Curriculum on his
career. “Being a documentary
filmmaker means I’m a journalist
and a generalist. I rely on
the liberal arts education that
I got at Columbia every day of
work,” he says. In fact, Alston
applied early: It was love at
first campus tour. “Walking into
campus was like walking into
Shangri-La,” he explains. “It was
a thrill to think my story could
play out in such a beautiful,
epic context.”
Even with the accolades, the
work of documentary filmmaking
can feel endless. In addition
to festivals around the world,
Alston plans to show Love Free
or Die at 500 community-based
screenings before its national
broadcast on PBS in November.
The long hours, however,
don’t bother him: “To be screening
this in the states where
there are ballot measures this
year, I feel like I made something
that can not only depict history
but also impact history.”
To view the trailer, go to Web Extras
at college.columbia.edu/cct.
Yelena Shuster ’09 is a freelance
writer whose work has
been featured on Cosmpolitan.
com, Refinery29.com and in
New York magazine.
Matt Engels visited Boston
recently and we caught up. Matt
looks the same and enjoys his work
as v.p. of Network Solutions for
CorVel Corp., a national workers’
compensation managed care and
claims management leader. He
and his wife, Beth, and their two
young children live in Chicago.
FALL 2012
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FALL 2012
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