Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2002 November/December

Class Notes, 2002 November/December

November/December 2002

I hope everyone is having a terrific summer so far. We here in the Carolinas have continued to bake in the summer heat while a drought has many people eating off the finest disposable dishware at even the fanciest of restaurants. However, the lack of water has only whetted my excitement for bringing you this latest edition of Class of '91 updates. This time around, we'll start with the latest birth announcements as our classmates (myself included) have been doing their part in the effort to increase demand for the earth's finite supply of consumable resources.

First off, my wife Cindy Smith and I welcomed Quinn Elaine to the Class of 2024 on June 3, '02. Big sister Carson is thrilled about the new addition to the family and goes out of her way to assure that no stranger is unaware of the fact that there is a "BAY-bee" in the car seat next to her. Monica Ruehli and husband John Haggerty '92 wrote to announce the birth of daughter Bridgit Quinn Haggerty (great choice of middle names). Monica also had a "reunion of roommates" in Boston, MA, where she caught up with Randi Wolf, Christine Claypoole, and Kate Snow. Maya Sagarin was born to Johanna Sagarin and Phillip Villars on July 3, '01. Cristos and Elizabeth Toole Goodrow, JD '97, had daughter Isabelle Evans on Nov, 30, '01, while brother Corgan Jon celebrated his second birthday this past May. Cristos is director of engineering at DemandTec and does retail price optimization. I can suggest some optimal prices on many retail items-give me a call.

Sue Farrar-Choi and husband Adam Choi had twin girls Anna and Rebecca. The girls are identical twins so we'll look for them at the annual Twins Festival in Twinsburg, OH, not far from their Columbus Grove home. Whatever you do, please, please, please get them separate, non-matching wardrobes. In other birth announcements, Rose Tse and Dan Higgins welcomed their first child, Madison, on May 26, '02. Barbara Wilinsky Selznick and husband Sanford had daughter Lilian Hannah in January. Megan McNealy Graves and husband Michael added daughter Madeline Fallon to their family on Mar. 27, '02.

Classmates moved up the professional ladder quite a bit over the last few months. Melissa Singer finished her MPH at the George Washington U. School of Health Sciences and is now an attending physician in pediatric hematology/oncology at Miami Children's Hospital. Sebastian Ciancio finished his residency in urology at the Baylor College of Medicine program and joined a private practice in Florida. James Hawk lives in Pennsylvania and works with Global Education Partnerships as their director of programs in Kenya and Tanzania. Zinovia Spezakis is the COO for Pimco Allianz Advisors in NYC. Tonya Fancher has begun a general internal medicine fellowship at UC-Davis while working on an MPH there as well.

Dawn Harrison Harris had a lot of news to tell her classmates this month. She finished her residency in emergency medicine and now works for North Kaiser in Sacramento. She was named the most outstanding resident in her class while at UC-Davis. Dawn tells us that Christy Tyler just moved to Davis for her postdoc. Don and Jen Bensadoun Shaffer, as well as Laura Curran Eichel, pitched in to help Christy move in and celebrate. John Raguin is CEO of Guidewire Software in Menlo Park, CA. John says he is looking for good engineering talent in software, so anyone interested, drop him a line at jraguin@guidewire.com.

Angelica Allen is principal at Marshall Elementary School in South Orange, NJ. Lynne Keck Vaia, ME C '92, is an engineer for LJB Inc. and was recently recognized by the Dayton (Ohio) Business Journal as one of Dayton's top 40 business people under the age of 40. Timothy Reed finished his anesthesiology residency at the U. of South Florida and now has a staff position with Ocala Regional Medical Center. Tim writes these words of encouragement to all those still in medical training; "Stick with it. Trust me, it's well worth it once it's all over." I couldn't agree more.

Marriages abound in this installment of Class Notes. Heather Atwood was married to Richard Forrest '89 on June 24, '01. She also started a new job as senior vice president with Morgan Stanley. I am sure home finances now comply with "generally accepted accounting principles." Andrew Sung was married to Jennifer Liu on June 21, '02. Jennifer received her degree from the U. of Pennsylvania, but we're sure she wishes she'd gone to Cornell. Also, William Kim wrote to announce his marriage to Juli Ro Kim. They were married on May 25, '02 in Virginia in the presence of fellow Cornellians Dustin Moskowitz, Peter Routman, Mitch Huang, Claudine Chamberlain Benmar '91, and Tony Lee, JD '93. The couple honeymooned in the US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas.

Kimberly Jordan Stone told us that she had a very exciting 36-hour stretch last summer. In that time span, she finished her family practice residency in Jacksonville, FL, was promoted to Lt. Commander, married husband RC Stone, and then moved to Naples, Italy, for a "three-year honeymoon." (Three years!) Kimberly explains that she and RC had a more traditional ceremony this past March, but did the whirlwind version first so that the Navy would change RC's orders. Mohana Karlekar Puria, Kathy George, Pam Eaton, Shawn Frank, Perry Ground, Van Yu, Ferdinand Gallo '90, and Ishrat Hakim '89 were in attendance for the March vows.

Random news and sightings: Sabrina Chin tells us that Jessica Merritt Perilleon gave birth to son Justin Merrill on May 26, '02. Amy Haught Slusher also attended her baby shower. Joanne Kaufman and Monica Van Every have been hanging out together on a regular basis since both moved to Miami, FL, around the same time last year. Joanne says they've been learning salsa dancing and recently ran into Ben and Amy Seegal Kutell at a wine tasting sponsored by the Miami Cornell Club.

Kim Brown Bixler writes that she and husband Tim, JD '93, recently moved from Atlanta, GA, to the Berkshires in Pittsfield, MA. The dotcom Tim worked for went out of business, but he's doing great in a new position with GE--out with the jeans, in with the starched collars. Kim and Tim are working on starting a Cornell alumni group in the Berkshires, so if you are in the area, make sure to get in contact with them. Stephen Jones and fiancŽ Deneen Rodgers recently bought a house in St. Louis, MO, where Steve continues to work for Hamilton and Sullivan Ltd. Finally, Laura Hubbert DiCarlo and husband David, PhD '94, have been living in Oxford, MS, for nearly a year and are enjoying the area. Laura says she is happy staying home with her two sons.

Wow. I can't believe I have already come to the end of this month's Class Notes. I will leave you in the hands of my fellow correspondents for the next couple of issues until I see you again in the spring. With any luck, the good silverware will be back out at the restaurants by then. As always, send news and notes to *Dave Smith, e-mail, DocDS30@yahoo.com; Nina Rosen Peek, e-mail.npeek@vollmer.com; and Corinne Kuchling, e-mail, ckuchlin@Starbucks.com.