Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2005 May/June

Class Notes, 2005 May/June

May/June 2005

Greetings to everyone. Another Valentine's Day is behind me as I write this, and I am happy to report that roses bought at the last minute from the local grocery store are still a good way to bail yourself out when you get halfway through the work day and realize that you forgot to get anything for your spouse. Of course, I felt like everyone in the checkout line knew I had forgotten and was judging me for it, but that was better than my wife judging me for giving her nothing but a kiss. So, now that I am safe for another year, it is time to get to this edition of the Class Notes.

Stephen Schwartz and wife Melanie (Rebak) '90 announce the birth of their second child, Reid Alexander, on January 28, 2005. Older sister Jessica is now 3. With a newborn and a 3-year-old in the house, Stephen and Melanie may have yet to get a full night's sleep by the time this column comes out. David and Celeste Tambaro D'Alessandro welcomed son David to the family in December 2002. Celeste is a senior managing director and head of Latin American Equity Sales at Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. David is a senior cardiothoracic surgery fellow at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, which means he has yet to see his son. John Kang, MBA '96, kept the boy theme going, as son Anthony was born October 6, 2003. Angela Shipman Cassidy reports that after years of traveling the US working in public relations, she has assumed the role of 'Mom' in giving birth to her first child, Emma Elizabeth. If nothing else, that is always good PR with the grandparents. She and husband James are very excited.

Additional family news comes from Laura Hubbart DiCarlo and husband David, PhD '94. They still live in Mississippi with their sons John, Sam, and Will. Laura notes that she saw Matt and Crissy Moeder Shaul, along with Jenny Ritter Kelly '89, last summer in Ithaca. Brian Mellone and his wife Tait welcomed Matthew Kyle into their lives on March 15, 2004. Howard and Adrienne Freed Markus now have two future Cornellians, son Jeremy born in July 2000 and daughter Naomi born in May 2003. Maria del Mar Ortiz Fournier now has three children, Mana del Mar, Emilio, and Juliana. Maria owns her family's law firm specializing in personal injury law. Additionally, she and husband Emilio are working toward their private pilot licenses. Teaching a personal injury lawyer how to fly must cause some degree of indigestion for the people running the flight school.

In general news and notes from our classmates, Beverly Otema Yirenkyi has self-published a collection of poems entitled Pieces of a Rhapsody in Words. The work is described as being "inspired by a 12-year journey traveling across both physical and spiritual barriers to places of discomfort to realize that our humanity truly unites us," and has been named an Editor's Choice book recognizing superior writing and excellence. Tadayuki ("Tad") Hara recently completed his PhD in the Hotel school and Regional Science program so he is now PhD '04 as well as Class of '91.

Susan Tuttle Owen received an MBA in 1996 from the U. of Chicago. She had been a principle and leveraged loan/high yield bond analyst at Octagon Credit Investors, but took a position as a full-time mom to son Connor and couldn't be happier. She says she lost touch with a lot of her Cornell friends and encourages them to give her a call or write her at susanowen3@hotmail.com. Kristin Markussen Karcher, MS '93, and husband David are moving their family to Mystic, CT. David has a job with Daticon Inc., and Kristin is going to be a stay-at-home mom with daughter Greta. Mystic is a wonderful town--I hear the pizza is pretty good there.

Chris Proulx was recently named CEO of eCornell after serving six months as its Chief Operating Officer and two years as Director of Program Management. Deb McMahon-Williams was recently appointed to the position of Manager of Organizational Development and Training for Bayer Pharmaceutical. Deb says this is a great opportunity for her as she has always had a passion for change management and organizational design and sees this as a position from which she can make an impact on the future success of the company. She also updates us on Julie Varga Quay, who is a pastry chef and has owned her own business, The Cook and Baker Cafe, for nearly four years.

John Brown received his medical degree in 1999 and joined the Peace Corps, serving in Uzbekistan working with the USAID Child Survival Program. John is also happy to announce his marriage to April Rich in September 2002. Kim Bixler Brown and husband Timothy, JD '93, fled Atlanta to the Berkshires three years ago in order to transform their lives. Kim says they are happier, healthier, and only a little colder. She encourages anyone to contact them if in need of an escape to a small town. Jennifer Caci remains in the military, having been promoted to the rank of Major in February 2002. She was in Kuwait and Iraq for the first seven months of the war and earned a Bronze Star for her service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She is currently at Ft. McPherson in Georgia but says she hopes to return to Iraq in 2005. She also tells us that Luisa Santiago-Jones has been in Afghanistan as a US Army lawyer, and John McMurray was in Iraq as an Operations Officer with a combat support hospital. Lastly, Kevin Klipstein was named the new CEO for the US Squash Racquets Association (USSRA). Kevin was with Sun Microsystems, where he was in the Worldwide Marketing Operations group, and also led Partnership Marketing, where he developed relationships with MLB.com and the National Hockey League. Kevin was a member of the squash team at Cornell and was a second team All-American as a senior. Before starting his career in business, he worked as a teaching pro for several years. The most remarkable thing about the press release announcing Kevin's new job is that there is a national governing body for squash in the US. I have to admit that I had no idea. However, it has to be better than working with the NHL right about now.

That's all for this column, everyone. I always have fun writing it--hope you have as much fun reading it. Keep the news coming to your friendly correspondents. *Dave Smith, docds30@yahoo.com; Corinne Kuchling, kuccori@hotmail.com; and Nina Rosen Peek, nsr5@cornell.edu.