Class of 2012

Howard Frumkin writes: “At Trust for Public Land’s recent Day on the Hill event in Washington, D.C., Brown alumni found each other: TPL’s Director of Federal Climate Change Policy Bart Johnsen-Harris ’12 ; member of  TPL’s Washington Advisory Board Alden Garrett; former Brown Corporation member and member of TPL’s National Board Jerome Vascellaro ’74; and myself, senior vice president and director of TPL’s Land and People Lab. Unfortunately it was a dress-up event and none of us had brought our Brown t-shirts!”

Sam Rosenfeld writes: “My wife, Chloe, and I are now both elected members of the Representative Town Meeting in Greenwich, Connecticut! This is a 230-person elected body that passes town ordinances, approves annual town budgets, and more. Notably, we voted to improve air and noise quality by imposing a summer ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, a first step of many toward environmentally conscious changes in the coming years. The Greenwich Time put us on the front page of a January issue of the newspaper, which is crazy!”

Kate Doyle published a debut short story collection, I Meant It Once, with Algonquin Books in the U.S. and with Corsair in the UK in 2023. The Irish Times calls the collection “quietly devastating” and the Washington Post says “Doyle’s prose reads like Lydia Davis at her most arch and pensive.”

Kate Doyle published a debut short story collection I Meant It Once with Algonquin Books in the U.S. and with Corsair in the UK in 2023. The Irish Times calls the collection “quietly devastating” and the Washington Post says “Doyle’s prose reads like Lydia Davis at her most arch and pensive.”

Seamus Kirst published his second picture book, Dad and Daddy’s Big Big Family, which was released in May 2023.

Samuel Franklin’s ’12 AM, ’16 PhD book, The Cult of Creativity: A Surprisingly Recent History, was published in April 2023. The book is substantially based on his Brown dissertation on American Studies.

Tara Noble writes: “I live in Brooklyn, New York, where I am opening my first restaurant this year after working in hospitality for almost a decade. I partnered with a chef and sommelier to open my very own mission-driven wine bar in Brooklyn, Cecily, with vegetarian friendly small plates and a profit-sharing model for employees. It’s interesting and a very difficult time to be doing so, between inflation and recession, but we’re scrappy folks who’ve had this dream forever, and are making it happen one step at a time. Check it out or reach out to me at cecilybk.com.”

Cyprian Kibuka and Samantha DeAndrade ’12, ’17 MD were married at the First Unitarian Church in Providence on Oct. 9. The newlyweds recently welcomed their first child, Amélia Nalumu Kibuka.

Dr. Varina Clark and Dr. Chudi Onwunyi celebrated their nuptials on April 2-3 in San Diego, with a beautiful traditional Nigerian Igbo wedding followed by an American wedding ceremony. Alumni gathered to shower the newlyweds with “Ever True” love and were excited for the mini West Coast reunion.

Beth Shadur’s son, Jordan Mainzer ’13, married Kelsey Donahue on July 22 in Chicago. They were joined at the wedding by Jordan’s Brown friends Anish Gonchigar ’12, Luke Jeffrey ’12, and Arman Uguray ’12.

Eric Lewin writes: “On July 3, I married the love of my life, Emily Shire, in Mamaroneck (N.Y.)  Although Emily made the grave mistake of turning down Brown to attend a school just outside of Boston and not Tufts, fortunately many, many Brunonians, including numerous Brunonian family members, were in attendance. These included father of the bride Howard Shire ’75, mother of the bride Sharon Eisenstat Shire ’81, best man and brother of the groom Adam Lewin ’09, bridesmaid and sister-in-law of the groom Sara Epstein Lewin ’08, and groomsman and brother of the bride Ethan Shire ’19. Other family and friends attending included faculty and alumni ranging from the class of 1975 to the class of 2022.5. I sincerely thank the Alumni Office for letting me borrow a banner for the photo. Ever True!” (see Howard Shire ’75).

Max Rosero writes: “I’m the founding designer at Troupe, a travel startup based in New York City, backed by Jetblue. My team and I are currently building a collaborative group travel planning app that simplifies the process of organizing trips with family and friends. Planners can create a trip, suggest things like dates, destinations, and stays, and then invite travelers to vote and join them on the trip.”

Claire Luchette published her debut novel, Agatha of Little Neon, in August 2021 with FSG.

 Yeshimabeit Milner ’12, cofounder of Data4Black Lives, was honored by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum with a John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award for her efforts using data analysis to expose systemic racism faced by Black Americans in their daily lives. With cofounder Lucas Mason-Brown and three other executive team members at D4BL, Milner illuminates systemic discrimination by using concrete data, statistical modeling, and data visualization.

Priya Parrotta released an album dedicated to the world’s oceans called Wayfinder and an e-book titled To Dream Again: Imagining Island Solidarity Through Music. Both projects are part of an initiative named Music & the Earth International, which produces resources to support multicultural and decolonial forms of environmental consciousness-raising. Priya can be reached at priya.parrotta@gmail.com.

Graciela Kincaid and Jeremy Jacob married on Oct. 20. They met on their first day at Brown while moving into the Wayland dorm. Their backyard ceremony was officiated by Andrew Nizamian and included two Brown grads in the groom’s family, Thomas Jacob ’73 and Timothy Jacob ’15. They hope to celebrate with many more Brown grads in the near future.

Blair Station Hirst launched a new age wellness marketplace called Digital Health Review (www.digitalhealthreview.com). The platform is an all-in-one place to shop for healthcare and helps consumers discover key information about digital health products that can improve their health and wellness. It also helps small to large size businesses augment their wellness offerings by providing a way for their employees to shop for health tech covered by their health plans. The site offers snapshots of a wide range of apps, wearables, and subscription services related to health and wellness—everything from Peloton to an ovulation-tracking bracelet to mental health to pediatric care telehealth. Digital Health Review’s mission is to break down the barriers of access to quality healthcare through the use of technology, and the company has been accepted into a Black & Latinx Founders program that supports women founders of color. Contact Blair at: blair.hirst@digitalhealthreview.com.

Thomas Jacob (see Graciela Kincaid ’12 and Jeremy Jacob ’12).

Krutika Parasar Raulkar published COVID-19: Inside the Global Epicenter: Personal Accounts from NYC Frontline Healthcare Providers. It shares the experiences of Krutika and colleagues in combating COVID-19 in heavily impacted New York City and is available on Amazon. 

Lorenna Ellis and Cameron Lee married in a two-part wedding over Zoom on July 4, with the first half in the Boise area and the second half in Orange County, Calif. In attendance/members of the wedding party were David Atkinson ’08; Alberto Castellón; Kara Kamikawa DeBaun; Marquita Ellis ’12, ’14 ScM; Julia Kim Ho ’12; Janice Kim; Holleigh Bergstrom Oliveira ’14, ’16 MAT; Christina Tang; and Jihoon Yoon ’13 MD. Cameron and Lorenna met through the Brown student group College Hill for Christ, dated briefly, and were next door neighbors in Young Orchard their senior year. They stayed in touch over the years and finally dated again following their eight-year class reunion. At their 10-year class reunion they got engaged at Prospect Park. Cameron is working at a family medicine clinic and Lorenna continues directing business systems for a Christian nonprofit. She will serve on the Alumni Board this year to help the class of ’09 build connections that support Brown and each other during these challenging times. They will be living in Los Angeles and look forward to a lifetime of growing and serving others together. 

Sarah Levy wrote an essay for the New York Times about how she survived wedding season in her first year of sobriety. Five out of the seven weddings she attended that year were for fellow Brown classmates. Visit: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/fashion/weddings/how-i-survived-wedding-season-in-my-first-year-of-sobriety.html?

BBC Sports reported that Robert T. Farnham ’12 has been added to the Belfast Giants of Northern Ireland ice hockey roster for the 2019/2020 season. A power forward, he joins the Giants from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds having previously played in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Montreal Canadiens.  

Kevin Koopman and his wife, Devin, celebrated the April 3 birth of their son, Ky Benaldo Koopman. He joins the family with their daughter, Lael.
 

Abby Colella married Dan Davidson ’11 and the following people were in attendance: father of the bride, Jay Colella ’79; man of honor, James Anglin Flynn ’11; aunt of the bride, Kim Colella DeMagistris ’81; Matthew Aks ’11; Michael Bleicher ’11; Skylar Fox ’15; Jenny Gorelick ’14; Natan Last ’12; Kelly Mallahan ’11; Jessie Medofer ’13; Kate Monks ’13; Meredith Mosbacher ’11; Luke Rohde ’11; Sam Schmerler ’11; Christiana Stephenson ’11; Adam Wyron ’13; and Leandro Zaneti ’12.

Mikalei Gordon married Blair Alexander Simon on Sept. 30, at Villa Woodbine in Coconut Grove, Fla. The couple met in medical school and are currently in residency at Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago. The bridal party included maid of honor Shanelle Gordon ’14, bridesmaid Siffat Hingorani, Bi Yu Li, and groomsman Christian Talavera.

The 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 featuring the brightest young entrepreneurs, innovators, and game changers of the year in 20 different industries included: Claire DeBoer ’12, partner of New York City’s King Restaurant; Trang Duong ’18, cofounder of Penta; Amelia Friedman ’14, cofounder of Hatch Apps; Dakota Gruener ’11, executive director of ID2020; Ross Harrow ’11, cofounder of Flour Shop; Jessica Liu ’13, engineering manager at Figma; Melanie Masarin ’12, head of retail and offline experiences at Glossier; Alex Morse ’11, mayor of Holyoke, Mass.; Viet Nguyen ’17, cofounder of EdMobilizer; and Alexander Salter ’12, an MD-PhD candidate at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who is studying T-cells.

Almaz Dessie ’11 MD married Michael Moffat on Oct. 7 at the Belle Isle Boat House in Detroit, Mich. Their friend Kira Neel ’05,’19 MD officiated the ceremony. Almaz is an assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center in New York and practices as a pediatric emergency doctor at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Michael is also a physician, practicing as a pediatric hospitalist at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. The couple met in 2012 during their pediatrics residency at the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland. They have a mutual love of music, global health, and travel. The wedding was a four-day celebration of love, community, and blessings. They honored their Ethiopian and Jewish traditions and surprised their guests with a reunion performance by their band from their residency days in California (Almaz sings lead and Mike plays guitar). Members of Almaz’s former dance company at Brown, New Works/World Traditions, also surprised them with a West African dance performance at the reception. In attendance were Senior Lecturer in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies Michelle Bach-Coulibaly; Elizabeth Anto ’06, ’11 MD; Tarik Asmerom ’05; Praveen Basaviah ’05; Nora Blackall ’08; Alykhan Boolani ’06; Mark Brown II ’09; Jalle Dafa; Vanessa Danziger ’11; Sheila Desai ’05; Sybil Dessie ’04, ’08 MD; Chris Erway ’06 AM, ’11 PhD; Sushil Jacob ’05; Jazzmen Johnson’15 AM; Jori Ketten ’02; Kira Neel ’05, ’19 MD; Meghan O’Brien ’06; Ethan Philbrick ’08; Micah Salkind ’06, ’10 AM,’16 PhD; Sophie Shackleton ’09; Daniel Sobol ’09; Matthew Soursourian ’08; Ida Specker ’09; Alexx Temeña ’16; Nicole Thompson ’08;  Monica Tilly ’11 MD; Jessica Vosburgh; Chantel Whittle ’12; Kenya Wright ’15; Ali John Zarrabi ’06, ’12 MD; and Leonora Zoninsein ’08.

Gabriel Wingfield ’12 and wife Megan welcomed their newborn son, Oliver Silas Chun-Gwan, in July. Oliver joins older siblings Asa, Benjamin, and Serene. Gabriel writes: “In June I also had the honor of being ordained as a gospel minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Currently I am installed at Christ Reformed Presbyterian Church just over the river in East Providence.”

Joy Chua-Schwartz ’10 writes: “My husband, Corey Schwartz ’11, and I got married in Big Sur, California, in June, with a spectacular showing of Brown alums. Our wedding was officiated by Graham Rogers ’11, and among the wedding party were Cristina Botero ’10, Anne Francois-Poncet ’10, Jordana Fribourg ’10, and Thea Jacinto Ugarte (RISD ’10). Alumni in attendance included Alexis Anselin ’10, Sam Arnow ’13, Lena Gaviria ’12, George George ’10, Frannie Hannan ’10, Isabelle Lubin ’16, Max Lubin ’12, Melanie Masarin ’12, Cyrus Mojdehi ’13, Isabella Morton ’10, Isabel Lopez Polanco ’10, Marie Poyet ’10, Jillian Ressler ’10, Mohammad Saigol ’11, Danielle Sheridan ’10, Adriana Urruela ’10, and Sibel Yalman ’10. It was a spectacular day and we couldn’t be more grateful to Brown for being the place where we met.”

Lauren Waterbury and Landon Turley ’12 were married on Apr. 28.

Mary O’Neill Hyde ’13 AM (see Gloria Markoff Winston ’48).

Samantha Horneff wrote the lyrics and co- wrote the book for the new off-Broadway musical Single Rider, in which three Amish girls discover the outside world and themselves at a Pennsylvania amusement park on the first day of their year of Rumspringa. It had its premiere from May 11 to June 17 at the Players Theatre.

Scott Phillips ’11 and Brittany Katz ’12, ’16 MD announce the May 7 birth of their son Jayce Eli Katz Phillips.

Class copresident Gloria Markoff Winston reports: “The Pembroke class of 1948 is still basking in the glow of our 70th reunion. Despite the fact that only a few of us could attend, it was an opportunity for many more to reconnect. Class officers Barbara Oberhard Epstein, Betty Montali McKenzie, and I spent countless hours on the phone calling classmates prior to reunion weekend. Unfortunately, many could not physically make the trip, but the phone conversations provided each of them with the opportunity to be connected in spirit. In addition to the wonderful phone calls, we sent classmates a letter requesting that they send back news about their lives, which we all enjoyed reading. Those in attendance were Ginnie Callas, Barbara Kent Elliott, Jean Roberston Finn, and me. A highlight of the weekend was that we enjoyed the company of one of our former Helena Hope Gammel Pembroke 1948 Scholarship recipients, Mary O’Neill Hyde ’12, ’13 AM. Mary came from her home in Massachusetts to join us for lunch. Mary is an Irish immigrant, who after having four children, attended Brown as a returning undergraduate (RUE) student. She served as a RUE counselor and mentor while at Brown. She completed her baccalaureate degree in history and went on to earn a master’s in comparative political studies. The weekend was jam-packed with events, lectures, concerts, and dinners at the Hope Club, all culminating in the procession through the Van Wickle Gates and down College Hill. I was the class marshal. Thousands of degree candidates, faculty, and honorees lined either side of the street. People whistled and cheered and applauded, and the band played as alumni passed through the crowd, with our class very near the front.”

Lissette Jimenez and Peter Wilmot ’12 were married on Mar. 24 in Berkeley, Calif. Peter and Lissette were given away by family members who are also Brown alums; Thomas Wilmot ’77 (Peter’s dad) and Aaron Jimenez ’09 (Lissette’s brother).

Gabriela Lester-Coll and Jason Hardy were married in Rincon, Puerto Rico, in January.
 

Lily Gildor and Seamus Kirst launched their podcast, Mental Health Hangouts, which features interviews with young people about mental illness, mental health treatment, addiction, and related issues. Guests have included Gabe Gonzalez, Deepali Gupta ’12, Jack Sullivan, and Sam Levison ’14. The podcast is available on iTunes and at www.mentalhealthhangouts.com.

Mary Raho Julian writes: “The Brown Bear was well represented at the wedding of our daughter, Sarah J. Julian ’12, to Keith Duffy ’12. Not only were there many of their classmates at the event, but the classes of 2016 and 2020 also had representation with our sons, Peter Julian ’16 and Chris Julian ’20, and our good friend Heather Cady ’86. The bear showed up on Sarah and Keith’s cake topper, their monogram, their signature drink (el Osso), and in some of their floral décor. It was great seeing so many fellow Brunonians in celebration. Ever True!”

Annalise Van Meurs ’18 MD and Melissa Warstadt ’12 announce their Oct. 7 wedding at Roger Williams Park Botanical Center in Providence, R.I. The two brides met in 2011 as members of the coed Zeta Delta Xi fraternity. Both are fourth-year medical students (Melissa at Boston Univ.). The wedding party included Alex Warstadt ’15 and Maddy Jennewein. Melissa’s stepmother is Denise Wydra ’90 AM, and Rebecca Pronsky ’02 is her cousin. Also present at the wedding were many friends and family from Zeta and the Warren Alpert Medical School, including Lyndsey Barnes ’11; David Bercovici ’05,’10 MD; Lauren Bilsky; Ora Boncore ’12; Joey Burnett ’12, ’19 PhD; Tony Cabral ’97; Kim Chipetine ’12; Jay Danver ’12; Michael Dixon ’12, ’16 AM; Eduardo Garza ’12, ’18 MD; Sidonie Devarenne ’16; Sarah Dominguez ’19 MD; Natalie Hall ’18 MD; Rebecca Himmelwright ’18 MD; Artie Hintermeister ’05; Araceli Hintermeister ’12; Jennifer Ju ’12; Matt Kowalski ’13, ’14 AM; Cathy Mardula ’12; Vincent Moita; Lucas Morduchowicz; Jen Nykiel ’10, ’14 MD; Daniella Prince ’12; Jamilya Ramos-Chapman ’11; Ilya Raskin; Aaron Shapiro ’18 MD; Ophelia Vidal ’12; and Diego Wedgwood ’11.

Irene Villanueva Nemesio married Brian Norville on Oct. 7 in Alexandria, Va.

Jane de Winter announces the Aug. 7 wedding of her daughter, Marguerite McCray Joutz ’15, to Manas Gautam ’12 in New York City. She writes: “They are living in the city, where Manas is an investor at Morgan Stanley, and Marguerite began working as the confidential assistant to the New York Times editorial board editor. They are very happy, and Marguerite’s three brothers are pleased to welcome a fourth brother.”