Notes from the Cornell Class of 1991 - 2013 July/August

Class Notes, 2013 July/August

July/August 2013

The big news as I write this column is that the Class of '91 has another Cornell trustee. Nicole Bisagni DelToro, one of the two new alumni-elected trustees (along with Susan Rodriguez '81, BArch '82), joins Karen Paul Zimmer, MD '98, as the second member of our class to become a trustee. Nicole resides in Bethesda, MD, and is founder and president of Andrews & Cole LLC, which specializes in executive search. She is also the president of the Cornell Club of Washington, DC. Congrats to Nicole on a well-deserved honor. Carl Thorne-Thomsen, chef at Story restaurant in Prairie Village, KS, has just been named Food & Wine magazine's "The People's Best New Chef: Midwest." He was also a semifinalist for the James Beard award for Best Chef: Midwest.

Lucinda Rosenfeld's fourth book, The Pretty One: A Novel about Sisters, was published in February and was a People magazine Pick of the Week! "Please check it out," writes Lucinda. Christopher Harris writes, "I published my new novel, The Big Clear, with Short Cipher Press. It'sa noir story about an ex-military sniper trying to solve a kidnapping, kind of The Big Lebowski meets The Bourne Identity. (More at www.TheBigClear. com.) My day job is with ESPN, where I write and appear on TV talking about football. Follow me @CHarrisESPN." Sometimes it's easy for us to forget that the Class of '91 has its share of alumni in the arts and media. On your morning drive you may hear David Folkenflik on the radio, where he serves as NPR's correspondent on the media beat. His experience as the editor-in-chief for the Daily Sun served him well. On television, you might catch Kate Snow, who is a correspondent for NBC News and sometimes fills in on the anchor desk. Kate's Cornell start came with WVBR.

Liz Baum Schnelzer lives in Ashburn, VA, with her husband, Doug, and their "three awesome children, Pauline, 13, Travis, 11, and Logan, 9. I have recently launched uFringo Counseling (www.ufringo.com), my own private practice as a therapist in Northern Virginia. After taking a decade off from work as a licensed clinical social worker to raise my kids, I have returned to the calling of helping others to pursue their best selves and their life goals. Check out my website!" Liz is happy to report that after a spring break road trip last year to Niagara Falls and Cornell, all three kids now want to attend Cornell.

Marina Niforos Perez writes about the unexpected detour that took her to Paris, France. She came to do her MBA for one year at INSEAD, but has now lived there for the last 15 years. "I have been running the American Chamber of Commerce here in France for the last two and a half years. The next couple of years will be exciting times, as we move into negotiations for a Transatlantic trade and investment partnership between the US and Europe!" Marina is not the only Cornellian in Europe, as she just reconnected with her Cornell roommate and good friend Elizabeth Voulieris Kassinis and her husband, George '90, who live in Cyprus with their two daughters. Debbie Sniderman, ME '92, is living her dream playing salsa trombone in Miami and is known professionally as "Bone Gal." She also runs a technology consulting business and is looking for interesting energy or engineering projects in South America. She has her eye on Colombia for both work and salsa music!

Ameena Nalim has had a winding journey since her time on the Hill. "I was pre-med, Bioscience, at Cornell, then moved from Ithaca to Texas A&M in College Station for my MS and earned my doctorate from Penn State. I was part of the faculty at American U. of Sharjah, in the UAE, and then moved to New Mexico State U. I now live in Atlanta, GA, and am working on molecular aspects of the malaria parasite at the Center for Global Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I hope to obtain an MPH at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory U." Lara DeLong is a board-certified anesthesiologist, practicing and teaching in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to that, she is studying acupuncture at Harvard. When not practicing the healing arts, she plays the Native American flute. Lara keeps in touch with Karen Shaw, Audrey DeLong, and Ralph Ciotti '95.

Your correspondent spent the first weekend of March Madness in Las Vegas with some Class of '91 doctors, Sameer Desai and Samir Khanjar, and the non-medical crew of Adam Choi, Gary Wojcik, and Joe Riordan, ME '92. The mini-reunion was a fantastic time to cheer on Ivy basketball and reminisce about our time on the Hill. But since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, you will have to reach out directly to find out more. I close with the news that I changed jobs from one social media company to another and joined Twitter. And since these Class Notes have gone beyond 140 characters, I end here. Stay up to date by visiting our Facebook pages, http://www.facebook.com/Cornell91 or http://cornellclassof1991.com. And don't forget that you can always submit news anytime by visiting http://www.alumni.cornell.edu/participate/class-notes.cfm. *Charles Wu, ccwu@mac. com; Tom Greenberg, twg22@cornell.edu; and Wendy Milks Coburn, wmilkscoburn@me.com