Class Notes - May 2011

Aaron Leiderman '02 - In the fall of 2010, I moved back home to San Francisco and am now practicing law as a litigator at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.

Amanda K. Metskas '02 - I am the executive director of Camp Quest (www.campquest.org), a network of summer camps aimed at children from atheist, agnostic, and humanist families. Camp Quest is about fun, friends, and free thought. We're launching new camps in Virginia, South Carolina, and Montana this year, bringing us to 10 Camp Quest camps in North America. It's awesome to have a job that involves going to summer camp!

I also am the co-author of a book called "Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief," which gives practical advice for non-religious parents on topics like engaging with religious extended family members, instilling curiosity and wonder, talking about death, and finding community. I know many 2002 alums who are starting families, so I figured this update might be of particular interest to our classmates at this time in our lives!

Corinna Chun '02 – After analyzing global apparel companies in NYC, Corinna recently moved back to California and launched her own women’s activewear line, ANONYA. The San Francisco-made brand is inspired by her experiences as a trained dancer, yoga, and spin instructor. She is offering 15% off to fellow Brown alumni through May 25th (use code BRUNONIAN at checkout). You can see the capsule collection here.

Deepak Thomas '02 and his wife, Mareen, completed their medical residencies last summer at Yale and continued as faculty for the year. In July, they will begin their fellowships at Washington University School of Medicine, located in St. Louis. Deepak will study cardiology while Mareen will specialize in pediatric endocrinology.

Elaine Loh '02 has been working as an actress in Los Angeles for the last 5 years. She's been on shows such as "It's Always Sunny...", "Californication", "Chuck", and is currently recurring on "All My Children". She is also working as a writer for the CBS Sketch Comedy Diversity Showcase. On a totally separate note, her work with Professor Jin Li of the Education Department at Brown was recently published in various academic journals. You can find more details of her acting work on IMDB or at www.elaineloh.com.

Glenn Wong '02 - My wife and I backpacked around the world last year, have a blog about it (www.vagabondcouple.com) and also recently launched my photography portfolio (www.gwongphotography.com).

Jon Martin '02 - I am now employed as a developer at Wireless Generation in Brooklyn, NY. Wireless Generation makes software/hardware systems for K-12 educators to manage enrollment and student performance assessment. Shockingly, technology sometimes CAN help education!

Lauren Gaffney Lucarelli '02 - I was married on October 2, 2010 to John Lucarelli at the New York Athletic Club in New York City. We were so lucky to have so many of our dear friends from the Class of 2002 in attendance to celebrate with us: Meredith Nelson Mormile, Richard Mormile, Justine Woodfield Groarke, Sarah O'Dea, Maya Wadleigh May, Amanda Forte Barash, Michael Talis, Elizabeth Quadros Betten, Buck Betten, Sara Slovin Tsay, Orli Sharaby LeWinter, Alexandria Sica, Caroline Burnett, Danielle Levy, Shannon Price Albarelli, Mike Albarelli, Bevin Butler, Katie Austin, and Meredith Bowen Waterman. After almost nine years of living in NYC and working at HBO Sports, my husband and I just recently moved to Los Angeles where I am now a freelance sports television producer. My contact information is available in the alumni directory.

Maria Witt '02 is moving to Portland, OR, and would love to connect with other alumni there. Her contact information is available in the alumni directory.

Monica Lucero '02 - I was married on Feb. 5th in San Antonio to Evan Richardson. Felicia Kuo Wong '01 MD '06 was my maid of honor and both Kristan Diaz '02 MD '07 and Shannon Connolly '03 were my bridesmaids. I will be finishing up my Ob/Gyn residency @ UMASS this summer and starting my fellowship in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at Stanford on July 1st.

Nigel Cordeiro '02 graduated from Wharton and was selected to be his class graduation speaker. He is excited to move back to San Francisco in the fall.

Peter Sample '02 - This past year, I married Jessica Schwartzberg '05 and we both moved from NYC to LA!

Rebecca Whitten '02 - I'd like to belatedly announce the birth of my twin sons, Benjamin and Asher. They were born March 26, 2010, and are now 13 months old. They are full of personality, and my husband Eric and I are having a wonderful time!

Ryan Charles '02 recently founded Consmr, a social site where users can share their thoughts and experiences on everyday grocery and drug store products. You can sign up and learn more at www.consmr.com.

Tammy Stolz Solitro '02 - I'm living in southern New Jersey outside Philadelphia. I'm working part-time as an internal medicine physician, and in my free time, I chase around my adorable and energetic son, Thomas, with my husband Matt who did his medicine residency at Brown. I've attached a picture of Thomas and I, sporting our Brown University sweatshirts with pride.

Class Notes - December 2009

Abhas Gupta '02 and Shaily Kapur '04 were married in sunny and beautiful Huntington Beach on June 27, 2009. The couple was fortunate enough to have fellow alum groomsmen, bridesmaids, and dear friends share the celebration with them: Akash Srivastava '02, Alison Lee '02, Anuj Patel '02, Ari Kaufman '02, Cass Sapir '01, Darrin Lee '02, Elana Feldman '01, Elizabeth Cho '01, Eric Marshall '02, Evan Scott '02, Hector Ortiz '97, Moshe Adesnik '02, Mumi Hemrajani '03, Jennifer Bain '04, Jessica Gonzalez '02, Jessica Radow '03, Priya Pradhan '02, Rashmi Kudesia '05, Sam Osterman '01, Saritha Peruri '02, Tara Ramchandani '05, Timothy Correia '02, and Zoe Tarshis '04. Their wedding festivities are briefly captured in this video.

Emilie Troupe '02 - I married Dr. Matthew Del Mastro '05 and completed dental school and orthodontic residency at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. I am working as an orthodontist in Newton, Massachusetts and my husband is finishing his endodontic residency at Tufts in Boston.

Evan Scott '02 - I completed my PhD in Biomedical Engineering this year from Washington University in St. Louis. I am now embarking on a three year post-doc in Lausanne, Switzerland to investigate breast cancer vaccines at one of the Swiss Federal institutes of Technology, the Ècole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). If you're in the Geneva/Lausanne area or traveling through Europe, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to catch up with fellow alums on this side of the world.

Kristina Arvanitis Gasson '02 - I recently opened my own law office in Medford, Massachusetts, focused primarily in immigration and nationality law and I've already helped some alumni with visas and citizenship. More details and contact information may be found at www.gassonlaw.com.

Nigel Cordeiro '02 is lucky to have his Brown friends in good times and in bad. Dad died of lung cancer this past June and over these past two years, Brown friends have acted as medical/research resources, logistical superstars, and moral support. Mom, Alison and I are so thankful for all of you. I moved back to the east coast to be close to the family and just started business school at Wharton, majoring in Health Care Management and Entrepreneurship.

Olga Argyros '02 - My husband, Christos Ioannou, and I had our first child, Stelios Ioannou, on September 19th, 2009. I have been working at the Hotel Poseidon Resort which has run by our family since 1975, but has gone many changes in the last five years. You can read about them at here.

Rachel Gershenson '02 - On the left is a photo of me and '02 friends who attended my wedding on June 28. From left-to-right: Rose Kowel Durbin, Elizabeth Geddes, Alastair Agcaoili, Miranda Chen, me, Kristin Ohaus, and Meryl Marr. I met my husband, Justin Gates, in Seattle and we now live in Chicago (where we were married). It was so great to have my Brown friends there to celebrate with us on our big day!

Rolland Janairo '02 and Dianne Le just celebrated their second wedding anniversary in October. Rolland is currently working for Project Joy (www.projectjoy.com) as their Director of Operations and is loving every minute of it. He currently lives in Cambridge, MA and of course, keeps in touch with his good buddy Steve Telesmanic '02, who is living with Rolland's brother and working at Gelfand Partners Architects way over in San Francisco (picture to right) - like you ever saw them apart at Brown??

Quick Questions - Marc Altman '02

So now that you're all grown up are you doing what you thought you'd be doing?
"All grown up" has such a formal, finalized ring to it. Now as much as ever, my life is a work in progress. After Brown, I followed the expected route of an Applied Math - Economics major and landed a consulting job in Chicago, doing corporate fraud investigations and computer forensics. After three years of trying to make it stick, my wife and I quit our jobs and spent seven months traveling around the world. It was an awe-inspiring and life-perspective-changing experience.

I used the travel images from our trip to jump-start a transition into professional photography. Having loved photography since junior high, I was thrilled to finally take the leap of faith necessary to abandon the comforts of consulting and try to make a career out of my passion. I spent two years taking classes at Arizona State University and assisting photographers in Phoenix. Back in Chicago, I'm now establishing myself as a freelance commercial photographer with a documentary style. I'm learning something new every day, whether it's how to shoot in a new environment, how to incorporate a new technology, how to market myself to target clients, or how to run a small business.

So, to answer the question: I can't imagine that I actually "thought" I'd be earning a living from my photography, although perhaps I might have dreamt it. And I certainly didn't think that the seven years after Brown would take the path that they did.

What are you working on now?
I'm currently editing my latest documentary project. I collaborated with a Chicago-based organization call Range of Motion Project ("ROMP") to document a trip of American volunteers helping Guatemalan amputees receive prosthetic and orthotic services that they otherwise wouldn't have had access to. It was a fascinating project, and a sample of the images can be seen at http://marcaltman.com/gallery/romp2009/

Recent projects include:
In May I was hired to document life at a grade school in St. Louis for their brochure and a coffee table book celebrating their 40th anniversary. In April, I spent a week in Israel photographing American ultimate frisbee coaches (including a few Brown alums!) teaching the sport to underprivileged Israeli and Palestinian kids in an effort to encourage cross-cultural understanding. And last winter I documented a 10-day summer camp in South Africa for kids affected with HIV/AIDS. I've also spent the last few summers as staff photographer at an overnight summer camp in Wisconsin. All in all, they've been amazing projects, leaving me with fantastic images and life-changing experiences. Some of the images can be found on my website, www.marcaltman.com, or blog, marcaltman.wordpress.com.

In January, I'm putting together my first solo gallery show, at the Bonsack Gallery in St. Louis. It's titled "Explorations" and will showcase my travel photography.

How did Brown help you get where you are?
In an important but indirect sense, Brown encouraged my general sense of independence and exploration. My degree cultivated the analytical skills that have helped me problem-solve my way to where I am now. My semester abroad at Goldsmiths College in London showed me how amazing a life of photography could be, and implanted the travel bug deep in my personality. And my Brown friends continue to inspire me to follow my dreams and use my photography to do good.