AndoverMagSpring2015

stay connected...What’s new with you?Get married?Move?Change your e-mail address?Let PA know! You can update yourinformation in any one of thefollowing ways:● Visit www.andover.edu/alumnidirectory, and log in to updateyour information● E-mail alumni-records@andover.edu● Call 978-749-4287● Send a note to:Alumni RecordsPhillips Academy180 Main StreetAndover MA 01810-4161enjoyed spending part of winter break togetherin the SF Bay Area, where Roxane and her familylive. And babies are still being born: In September,Toyin Ajose and his wife, Denise, welcomedtwin boys Bruce and Roman to the world andto their beautiful life in Hawaii, where Toyin is apediatrician with the Kapi’olani Medical Centerfor Women and Children. Also in September,Victor Mejia and his wife, Julia, celebrated thebirth of their second son, Oliver, who joins bigbrother Sebastian and the rest of the familyin Connecticut, where Victor is a physicianspecializing in interventional cardiology.Matt Fleming also had some news to share. Lastfall, he enjoyed seeing a Chicago Blackhawks gamewith Mike Meiners, who is doing well. The precisedetails as to where and when the game happenedwere not divulged, but Matt reports that the twoAdams friends went incognito in red body paintand hockey masks.Writing from Paso Robles, Calif., Jason Haasreports what he hopes to be another good harvestat Tablas Creek Vineyard. Jason and his wife,Meghan Dunn, have two sons, ages 7 and 9. WhenJason isn’t busy working as general manager atTablas Creek, taking breathtaking pictures of thevineyard, writing the award-winning wine blog,or lecturing about and marketing his product, hefinds time to coach his sons’ basketball and baseballteams. During his visits to LA, Jason has caughtup with Mark Rondiak and his wife, Michelle,who gave birth to their second son, Mika, abouta year ago. Jason also sees Steve Matloff and hiswife, Susan. Donna Coppola and her husband,John, visited the Haas family last summer. Donnais a chef at Good Eggs, a local food grocery anddelivery site in LA. While on the East Coast thissummer, the Haas family spent a morning withAmy Smith Lieb, her husband, John, and theirkids, who are exactly the same ages as Jason’s boys.Jason is planning another Andover alumni visitto his vineyard for 2015, building on the fun andsuccessful Andover event he held there two yearsago. Sounds like an amazing time, plus a good wayto prepare us mentally and physically for our 25thReunion next year!Tory O’Connor and her two labs, Bree andBeauregard, are moving to St. Louis, where Torystarted in November as senior tax counsel atAnheuser-Busch Companies. This will be a bigchange after her 16 years at the Washington, D.C.,law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP.Anyone who is visiting the St. Louis area shouldpay Tory a visit. I don’t know if we can do anAndover alumni tour at those facilities too, butit could be another way to get us ready for thatlooming reunion...Congratulations are in order to new Massachusettsstate representative Mike Day! Mike hada busy election season, defeating his Democraticrival in the September primary then winning in theNovember general election. Mike will represent the31st Middlesex District of Massachusetts, includingthe towns of Stoneham and Winchester.Finally, we close our class notes with the sadnews that Joe Kamenar passed away in September,after a battle with cancer. Joe lived in McKeesRocks, near Pittsburgh. Our condolences go out tohis entire family.Thanks to all who shared the news of so manyclassmates around the country. Looking forward tohearing from you again soon! —Hilary1992Allen Soong1810 Burnell DriveLos Angeles CA 90065allen.soong@bluelink.andover.eduMolly Wagman has triumphantly returnedstateside after a long sojourn in Asia as a risingexecutive with advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather.Molly writes, “So, after six years abroad, I’ve madethe move back to the U.S. It’s been fairly painless,except for the fact that after four years in Singapore,where every day is...90 degrees with a chance ofrain, I no longer remember that I need to check theweather before leaving the house. I also didn’t ownany socks. But fortunately, I live in NYC, wheresocks are pretty easy to come by!”Shanti Crawford’s husband, Jeremy Robins ’93,is directing a project called Echoes of Incarceration,which provides training in filmmaking and advocacyto young people with incarcerated parents,working with them to create documentaries on theimpact of incarceration on families. The crew partneredwith Sesame Street and Upworthy on its mostrecent film and was invited to the White House inOctober to screen work and speak on a panel forlawmakers. You can find more info at echoesofincarceration.org.In previous notes, we’ve mentioned Billy Kheel,a.k.a. “The Felt Hustler,” and his unique decorativeartwork in felt. Many of his pieces recontextualizecommercial and strip mall signs—the visual whitenoise of the city—in felt. As Billy explained to aninterviewer, “The materials can evoke a return tohandmade-quality goods of yesteryear when usedin a traditional manner, such as making pennantsor banners. I like to subvert this nostalgic meaningwith nontraditional subject matter. I also thinkthere is a more uncomfortable meaning from thematerial when it’s used for something that it is notreally meant for, like making realistic trophy fishor taxidermied animals.” Billy’s work is gainingrecognition; besides being shown in gallery spacesaround LA, it has been written up in the LA Times,Los Angeles magazine, LA Weekly, and the webzineMake. Recently, Billy led a very popular felt appliquéworkshop at LA’s Craft & Folk Art Museum.You can see his work at www.bkheel.com.Josh Davis is now not only “Josh Davis, PhD,”he is also “Josh Davis, PhD and noted author”!Josh’s book, Two Awesome Hours: Harness YourBest Time, Get Your Most Important Work Done,was just published by HarperCollins. From thejacket: “Feeling overwhelmed with work and lifedemands? Rushing, multitasking, or relying onfancy devices and apps won’t help. The answer isto create the conditions for two awesome hours ofpeak productivity per day. Drawing on cuttingedgeneuroscience, Josh Davis, director of researchat the NeuroLeadership Institute, explains clearlythat our brains and bodies operate according tocomplex biological needs that, when leveragedintelligently, can make us incredibly effective. Fromwhat and when we eat to when we tackle tasksor disengage—how we plan our activities has ahuge impact on performance. We are capable ofimpressive feats of comprehension, motivation,thinking, and performance when our brain andbiological systems are functioning optimally. TwoAwesome Hours will show you how to be your mostproductive every day.” Josh’s book is now availableon Amazon.com and at other outlets.Speaking of doctors, Justin Piasecki has put hisyears of training and clinical experience in treatingskin cancers to new use, launching a line of skincareproducts that has been shown in clinical trials tobe effective in reducing fine lines and pigmentchange. Justin formulated these products himselfand is donating proceeds from the sales to supportnonprofit organizations that promote health, wellness,and child education. So far, he’s been able tohelp a group that brings art education to schoolswhose art programs have been cut, another thatteaches inner-city schoolchildren how to makesmarter nutritional choices, and yet another thatis working to combat bullying in schools. Justin isactively seeking other organizations to support, soif you know of one he should look into, or if you areinterested in learning more about his skincare line,check out his website, www.piaseckimd.com.110 Andover | Spring 2015