Transitions Magazine - Fall 2012 - Prescott College

Class Notes
Tracey (Finch) Grossman ’99
Tracey lives in Boca Raton, Fla., with her husband, Gabe, and their
three boys, seven-year-old Noah, six-year-old Asher, and four-yearold
Micha. Tracey is involved with the AntiDefamation League
(ADL), a Jewish organization that fights for civil rights for everyone.
Tracey plays many roles in the leadership of the organization, but
the two that she enjoys the most are the anti-bullying and diversity
awareness workshops that she facilitates for middle and high
school students in the South Florida public and private schools.
In addition, Tracey is ADL’s national co-chair for young leadership
and helps encourage other young leaders to participate in ADL’s
national events and to view philanthropy and giving back to one’s
community as important aspects of successful lives.
Suzanne Porter ’99
Faculty member Lisa Floyd-Hanna ran into Suzanne and her
husband Dave at the Farmer’s Market in Roseburg, Ore. Suzanne
and her husband run a very successful organic vegetable farm called
“Biglick.”
2000s
Colin Khoury ’00
Colin and colleagues are doing some important work conserving
crop plants’ wild relatives as a genetic resource for helping modern
crops adapt to climate change. Read more about it in a recent
open access publication at tandfonline.com and search for Colin K.
Khoury. Colin was also featured in a National Public Radio article
at NPR.org; search “Colin Khoury.”
James Reinhold ’00
James has recently been promoted to camp director for all of Hale
Reservation, which includes Hale Day Camp. He now oversees
Hale Outdoor Learning Adventures (a summer school/camp
program, part of a national study on summer learning loss for
Boston Public school kids), as well as several other agency camps
that operate at Hale. Hale Reservation plays host to over 2,000
campers a day, making them the largest day camp provider in the
country. James hires over 140 seasonal staff, most of whom are
lifeguards and camp counselors.
Nat Mundel ’02
Nat thought you might like to see a sneak peek trailer of the
film he has been producing. He writes, “It’s the Dogtown of
climbing films.” Go to YouTube and search “Valley Uprising –
Official Trailer.”
James Nez ’03, M.A. ’05
James now practices civil and family law in
Kayenta, Ariz. One of his current projects is
working with a veterans’ organization to establish
a housing complex for veterans. He has
also been involved with custody evaluations,
policy drafting, and internal rules compliance.
He consults with local chapters and government agencies in order
to improve services and policies in Kayenta and on the Navajo Nation.
James is deeply rooted in Navajo culture. He is a silversmith,
a Navajo traditional practitioner who conducts traditional singings,
and a peyote way roadman. In his spare time, he is finishing up a
doctoral degree in behavioral health with Arizona State University.
Courtney Osterfelt ’04, M.A.
’11, and Aryn LaBrake ’09,
M.A. program ’15
Aryn and Courtney recently
graduated from the Prescott Area
Leadership (PAL) Program. The PAL
program is designed for individuals
who want to improve their leadership skills and are committed to
personal involvement in shaping the quality of life and future of the
Prescott area community.
Jesse Delia ’05
Jesse’s thesis research on glass-frog embryo hatching was recently written about by
Science Magazine. Read the article at news.sciencemag.org and search “When Dads
Go Missing.”
Caitlin (O’Brien) Gildrien ’05 and Jeremy Gildrien ’06
Caitlin and Jeremy met while attending Prescott College, and fell almost
immediately in love. They began farming shortly after graduating. In early 2012,
after three years of farming on leased land, Caitlin and
Jeremy bought a historic farm in Leicester, Vt. During the
1950s, the land had been used as a dairy and was the home
of the Monroe family, who diversified the farm to include
vegetables, maple syrup, and beef. Caitlin and Jeremy have
always farmed according to organic principles, with a
strong focus on building soil health and avoiding the use of
synthetic chemicals whenever possible. They are currently
in the process of gaining organic certification. You can find
them at Gildrien Farm, 490 Delorm Rd., Leicester,VT.
Cristina Eisenberg M.A. ’06
From naming superheroes and luxury cars after large
carnivores to hunting them to the brink of extinction, humans
have complicated relationships with these creatures that roam
the open spaces of western North America: the grizzly bear,
wolf, wolverine, lynx, cougar, and jaguar. Wolves in particular
have been making headlines for the conflicts they cause
between those who fear them and those who want to protect
them. In The Carnivore Way: Coexisting with and Conserving North
America’s Predators, published in May 2014, Cristina Eisenberg offers a compelling
account of the lives of carnivores and their place in our human world.
Sharon Skinner M.A. ’06
Sharon’s third book, Mirabella and the Faded Phantom, was
released by Brick Cave Books in March 2014. Sharon received
a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Prescott College
in 2006. In addition to writing fiction, she is the grants
coordinator for the City of Mesa in Arizona, and was among
the first U.S. grant professionals to become credentialed
through the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in
2007. She currently serves as president of the Grant
Professionals Association’s National Board of Directors.
Leah Titcomb ’06
A few Prescott College alumni met up
during the Northeast Naturalist Gathering
in Craftsbury, Vt., for the annual “warblers
and wildflowers weekend.” Leah writes,
“It was a great spring weekend with lots of warblers singing and plenty of spring
ephemeral flowers blooming!”
Grant Williams ’06
Grant is assisting with the opening of a new community-driven hostel in Portland,
Ore. If you are looking for a place to stay, visit www.travelershouse.org.
Lili DeBarbieri ’09
Lili’s book Location Filming in Arizona: The Screen Legacy of the Grand Canyon State
was released by History Press this year. You can find it on Amazon.com.
Deborah Mata ’09
After completing her counseling internship, Deborah has found her niche in the
metro Dallas area working as a therapist for a community counseling agency, Child
and Family Guidance Center. After graduating from Prescott College’s Master of
Arts Program in Counseling Psychology, Deborah has also been an online faculty
member at University of Phoenix since 2009. She married her partner of 10 years,
Mimi, in January after purchasing their first home. Deborah writes, “Thank you to
the staff and students who supported my studies while at Prescott College!”
Ashley Moore ’09
Ashley earned a Bachelor of Arts in environmental and marine studies with a
breadth in nontraditional education from Prescott College and most recently
graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a master’s degree in environmental
education. She has developed Permadigm Initiative, a nonprofit, with her
life partner, Zoe Hippel. The word “Permadigm” is a new concept that means
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Transitions Fall 2014