Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2008 May/June

Class Notes, 2008 May/June

May/June 2008

Thanks for continuing to share your updates. The experiences and accomplishments of our classmates are always amazing. This time is no exception, with news about weddings, kids, vacations, awards, jobs, hobbies, and publications. Keep it coming! Steven Davi was promoted to counsel in the commercial litigation department at Farrell Fritz PC in Uniondale, NY, where he concentrates in labor and employment law. Cornell's ILR classes prepared him well for this line of work, as did his JD from St. John's U. Law School where he was a member of the St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary.

Russell Diamond is certainly keeping busy as managing director of West Side Advisors and general partner of R&D Capital Partners, a clean energy investment fund. In addition, he has been actively involved with Building with Books (BwB), a national and international nonprofit that engages primarily urban youth through in-class and after-school programs in 108 high schools. Students volunteer in their local communities and help build schools in developing countries. Russell was instrumental in helping BwB secure a $1M grant from the 100 Women in Hedge Funds association and developing a partnership with the Millennium Promise organization, whose mission is to end extreme poverty, hunger, and disease in our lifetime. Through this partnership, BwB built 12 schools in Mali in 2007, and will build 32 schools in Mali and Senegal in 2008. Russell, wife Mica, and two kids have traveled from Westport, CT, to Mali twice to help build schools with their own hands. As a result of his significant contributions, Russell was presented with the 2007 Global Impact Award at the Building with Books Global Gala. He recently joined BwB's regional board, formally bringing his leadership, insight, and expertise to the organization's strategic planning process. Way to go, Russell!

Also making an impact in the nonprofit arena is Wesley Sand, who was named to the Ford Family Foundation Board for a four-year term starting January 1, 2008. He is following in the footsteps of his great-uncle Kenneth Ford and great-aunt Hallie Ford, the late philanthropists and pioneers of Roseburg Forest Products Co. who started the foundation more than 50 years ago. The Ford Family Foundation is one of the largest philanthropies in Oregon and provides funding to five college scholarship programs, the Ford Inst. for Community Building, and numerous public charities whose programs and facilities benefit the residents of small, rural communities across Oregon and Northern California. Professionally, Wes serves as SVP of Movie Gallery Inc. providing executive leadership, strategy, and coordination for all retail and rental video games across 5,385 stores in the Game Crazy, Hollywood Video, and Movie Gallery chains. (If you are looking for a new release, he might be able to help you!) Following Cornell, Wes attended Oxford U. on a Rhodes Scholarship, where he received a master's and a BA in politics, philosophy, and economics. After stops in numerous states, he has settled in his native Oregon with wife Hilary and children Madeline and William.

Kim Clark Borden, MBA '95, has enjoyed living in Cranbury, NJ, with husband Bruce for almost ten years. Even with a full schedule of school and activities for Jake, 8, and Emma, 5, Kim manages to find time to volunteer in her local community as a trustee for the Cranbury Public Library. The Borden family is lucky enough to have a reason to travel to Ithaca regularly to visit Kim's parents, Al, PhD '67, and Donna Fogg Clark, MEd '65. Doug Pascale, ME 92, was back on the Hill, too, recruiting for Northrop Grumman, where he is a systems engineering manager and planner for the TASC Intelligence Group. Says Doug, "My 'day job' nicely supports my interests: playing bass in a modern rock band, off-roading in my Hummer, exploring Virginia's wineries, working tech in community theatre productions, and competing at long-distance high-power rifle target-shooting." He is in touch with area Phi Kappa Tau brothers Ted Steinbrenner, Jim Casey '88, JD '94, and Jason Rylander '93 and is building a small ORIE empire at work with numerous recruits, summer interns, and Big Red hires. In his "spare" time, Doug works at Doukenie Winery, serves on his HOA board, and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. No shortage of things to do!

Jon Tuma writes from Virginia that he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters. He is ramping up in a new job--portfolio operations for a private equity firm--after a long career in management consulting. Occasionally he connects with Gordon Klepper and Sunish Shah.

A large contingent of classmates braved the winter storms in Chicago to attend the wedding of Jennifer Berger and Brad Schatz on February 2, 2008. Cornellians in attendance included Jen's brother Alec Berger '92, Karen Armenio Bogdan, John Clarke, Lisa Munter Clarke, Liv Gussing, Nicole Halpern Murphy, Susan Sarich, Jackie Jordan Scott, Sarah Siedman Shelby, Michelle Michalik Shield, Debra Schwartz Stamm '89, Kimberly Victoria-Strauch, and Jerry Wasserman. Jackie's daughters Jordan and Taylor Scott had the special honor of being flower girls. You can find the newlyweds in San Francisco.

Azur and April Horowitz Moulaert welcomed their second child, Athena Luna, in April 2007. Big sister Aurora Sol, 3, is thrilled with her new playmate. The Moulaert family joined the family of Kim McDade Byelick '90 for a wonderful vacation in Idaho last summer. They all headed to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico for another family vacation this spring. Writes April, "On the professional level, I have been running an ecological restoration program for the State of Vermont. This program is part of a larger initiative to improve the water quality of Lake Champlain. I would love to hear from other alums in this emerging field." More information about the Wetland Protection and Restoration Program is available at www.vtfpr.org/wprp/index.cfm.

Laura Williams is making an impact on the other side of the globe. She met award-winning photographer and naturalist Igor Shpilenok when she moved to Moscow in 1993 and began to work with him at the Bryansk Forest Nature Reserve. Now a husband and wife photographer-writer team, Igor and Laura are contributing editors to Wild Russia who work to promote Russia's protected areas. In addition, Laura is senior advisor for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Russia, and a columnist for Russian Life magazine, and has contributed articles to National Wildlife, BBC Wildlife, and Geo as a freelance nature writer. Her book The Storks' Nest was published by Fulcrum Books in March 2008. Writes Laura, "It is about my life-changing move to a remote village in the Russian countryside where I worked in a nature reserve and lived in a village of 18 people." If you are interested in a copy, the book is available at amazon.com.

Please continue to share news with us via e-mail, through the link on our class website (http://classof91.alumni.cornell.edu), or on the News Form in our most recent class mailing. We love to hear from you! Kathryn Kraus Bolks, klk22@cornell.edu; Sharlyn Carter Heslam, sheslam@berkshirepartners.com; Ariane Schreiber Horn, ams14@cornell.edu.