Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2016 November/December

Class Notes, 2016 November/December

November/December 2016

Hello, everyone! Tim Vanini (Buffalo, NY) here, happily taking on one of the class correspondent positions this year. I had a blast at our 25th Reunion, and later in the summer I spent time with a few of our classmates: I saw Bruce Frauley (Oakville, ON) up at his cottage north of Toronto; caught up with Holly Geiger Kotler (Skillman, NJ) when she was up in Buffalo supporting her son in a golf tournament; and met up with Ben Morgan (North Royalton, OH) and family for an Indians baseball game. I am in the process of starting a new business called Petrichor, where we will provide home/commercial beautification with fresh-cut flowers, indoor/outdoor plants, and lawn care.

Let’s start this column on the East Coast. Eric Meikle, MD ’95 (Chelmsford, MA) is managing partner at Chelmsford Pediatrics and chief of pediatrics at Lowell General Hospital. He writes, “Kids are do- ing well and interested in Cornell! My wife is active on many boards. In 2015, we traveled as a family to Costa Rica, California, and Cape Cod, and this year England/Scotland, Florida (two times), and, oh yeah, Cape Cod again. Life is busy, balanced, and fun—just wish I wasn’t passing kidney stones every few years!” Ouch! Karyn Ginsberg (NYC) is a pediatrician and partner at Park Avenue Pediatrics on the Upper East Side. Brenda Palumbo says “Hi” from Stone Ridge, NY. Cherry Estilo (NYC) shares, “I have been at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the past 17 years. I am currently an attending faculty member of the dental service, department of surgery. I am also an associate professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. My husband, Kevin, and I have three young children.”

Carolyn Richmond (NYC) is a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP and co-chair of the firm’s labor and employment department and the hospitality practice group. She counsels clients with respect to workplace issues such as hiring, diversity aware- ness, training, union avoidance, and other policy initiatives. Denise Law LaGalia (Mahwah, NJ) writes, “I recently went back to work after being home with the kids for eight years. It was the best decision, and I love it. I am working at EmpiRx Health, a small but quickly growing pharmacy benefits management company based in Montvale, NJ, doing marketing and working on various projects to support the growth of the company.”

Christine Montenegro Okezie (Saddle River, NJ) writes, “I have my own business, Your Delicious Balance Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching, and I published my first book last year, The No Diet Cookbook: Learn to Eat For Health and Pleasure. I’m grateful I am pursuing a career that aligns with my passion for natural foods and healing.” And Joelle Vlahakis (Sarasota, FL) reports, “I am helping to build and strengthen the palliative care program at Sarasota Memorial Hospital along with work in utilization review. On the family front, my oldest, Olivia ’18 (A&S), and I will be traveling to Greece on an archeological dig. Her two younger brothers, Harrison, 16, and John, 11, keep me busy at home.”

Out West, Robert Dunlap (Bailey, CO) has a new position as a business development manager at Valdes Engineering, based in Lombard, IL. “I am helping my daughter become the number one Girl Scout cookie seller, and wishing I were taking Cornell classes again.” Margaret Chen (Austin, TX) has been a dietitian with the Dept. of Veterans Affairs for the last 21 years and is currently working in the Veteran Affairs Outpatient Clinic. She is the proud mother of two wonderful daughters, 14 and 10 years old. And in the Golden State, Hilary Nagler (Santa Barbara, CA) writes via Facebook, “Hi Tim! Reunion was a blast, but too short. So proud of the great ’91 class showing! Good story for you: My dad was Class of ’50 and a very active alumnus— Reunion chairman for 25 years, college trustee, the whole bit. He was always convinced that nobody actually read the notes, so one year he wrote in that he was the proud new grandfather of quadruplets as a gag. They published it and he was astonished when the congratulatory cards, phone calls, and baby gifts (in sets of four!) started pouring in. I have always read the Class Notes because of that! LOVE that story. It makes me so happy to think of him and how hysterical he was—so thank you for that!”

Dan Harrison (Los Angeles, CA) writes, “I didn’t get to attend Reunion because my wife, Libby, was at her Vassar reunion the same weekend. However, on vacation I got to spend the Fourth of July with Sanjay Mani (Los Altos Hills, CA) and his wife, Reshma, and kids Annika and Vikram. I’m going down the Golden State Freeway tomorrow for a mini-Cornell baseball reunion. Going to the MLB All-Star Game in San Diego with Michael Karangelen ’90, Jeffrey Bershad ’90 (and son Josh), and my daughter Stephanie (Class of 2028). Stephanie was able to meet the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred ’80, and we talked Big Red with him.” Roxanne Malek, BArch ’94 (San Francisco, CA) has joined the board of directors at SmithGroupJJR, one of the leading architecture, engineering, and planning firms in the US.

Keep the news coming, even if you use Facebook! You can send your info at the online news form, or contact one of us directly at: J. Tim Vanini, lavanooche@icloud.com; Wendy Milks Coburn, wmilkscoburn@me.com; or Lori Woodring, lori.woodring@yahoo.com.