If you would like to be included in future editions of Ampersand and on this site, please send your notes to hodsonj@ohio.edu

Be sure to include year of graduation and program of study.

Marie Braasch (Biological Sciences), spent five months after graduation teaching science to middle school and high school students in Malaysia and Thailand. She has also been preparing for the GRE psychology test.

Rachel Johanson (Theater), has settled into her new home, Manhattan, where she is acting in a festival of new plays at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre. She is also working as an assistant to the Tribecca interior designer, Purvi Padia.

Meredith Barnett (Journalism), just completed her term of service with AmeriCorps in Maine. Meredith worked with middle school and high school girls in the subject of Literature. She is currently living in DC, interning with the National Education Association in the publications department.

Gina Beach (Journalism), is a second-year Teach for America Corps member in Chicago, IL where she teaches K-8 economics and personal finance to economically disadvantaged youth on the South Side. She will earn her Masters of Teaching from Dominican University in the spring of 2011.

Alicia Buckenmyer (English), returned from teaching English in Mexico in July and since then has been working as an Internet Marketing Specialist at a car dealership in Perrysburg, Ohio. She is currently applying to grad schools to continue her studies in Spanish.

Bryan Daniel Cain (Media Arts and Studies), was hired full-time by Warner Brothers in the role of Travel and Entertainment Analyst. He audits expense reports and lives vicariously through the executives of the company as they travel all over the world. Bryan also continues his passion for improv comedy.

Wes Cronk (Media Arts and Studies), has spent the last year doing freelance visual effects, some of which has been picked up by 50 Cent’s “Things Fall Apart,” which will be released in 2011, and HBO’s “Funny or Die” Season 2. Wes recently moves to LA to being working as a compositing intern on “Real Steel,” a 2011 film starring Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly.

Lisa Howison (Anthropology), Lisa is teaching preschoolers in Washington, D.C. as a member of Teach for America. She lives in Alexandria, VA with her fiancé.

Brittany Hughes (Journalism), and Justin Lucas married in July, enjoying a honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas. She then came back to her job as a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Northern Virginia. She lives in Herndon, VA with her husband and spends much of her time reading, watching movies and going to church.

Justin Lucas (Media Arts and Studies), enjoyed swimming with stingrays and powerboat riding on honeymoon with his new bride, Brittany Hughes. Justin is currently enjoying traveling as he makes videos with GEICO, BMW, and hospitals.

Bailey Miles (Biological Sciences), is in medical school at the University of Chicago and volunteering at a free clinic in the West Town area of Chicago. He is also spending his time getting settled and enjoying the city.

Luke Myers (Political Science), is a Legislative Analyst for Williams & Jensen, PLLC and Policy Director for the US-Poland Business Council. He works on government relations in the areas of health care, financial services and education policy and international business development. He is living in Washington, DC.

Gregory Surber (Media Arts and Studies), is working in his hometown, Greenville, Ohio, working as a computer technician and A/V specialist. He is now also seeking employment as an actuarial analyst. Gregory is passionate about alleviating the funding and personnel issues that museums and archives face in storing, preserving, and digitizing their holdings.

Wrion Bowling (Telecommunications), co-wrote a screenplay, founded his own production company, raised funds, assembled a crew, and produced and co-directed his own feature-length film, after being laid off from his office job in 2009. Wrion will marry his fiancee, Carissa Ray, Scripps Alumna, September 2nd. He is currently living in Jersey City, NJ working as a freelance videographer with clients such as Time Warner and BMW.

Gail Clendenin (Political Science) and Daniel Hoy (Physics), celebrated their one-year anniversary on September 5th. Daniel is currently studying physics as a graduate student at Ohio State. Gail is also at Ohio State, working towards a Master's in Public Affairs at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. Their love of swing dancing, which brought them together as undergraduates, continues to flourish as they recently competed in the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington D.C.

Anna Colaner (Sociology), is in her third year of the PhD program in Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, focusing on organizational theory and economic sociology. She also works as a Research Assistant under Dr. Rachel Gordon at the Institute for Government and Public Affairs on policy-oriented child care research. In her spare time, she enjoys life in Chicago with her husband.

Maria Gallucci (Journalism), recently left her job as reporter and co-editor for "The News," the largest English-language publication in Mexico City. She is currently working as a freelance writer and will be covering the COP16 climate change summit in Cancún this winter. Maria is engaged to marry Matt Peters (Class of 2006) next June.

Eric Hornbeck (Jouranlism), is a reporter at Law360, the legal newswire. He writes about trials, oral arguments, hearings and other court events in business litigation at federal and state courts in Manhattan, and also writes about business litigation and policy developments nationwide.

Susan Portalupi (Sociology), spent the last year and a half working as a field researcher for the C-8 Science Panel’s Neurobehavioral Assessment Study. She recently moved to Oxford, United Kingdom where she is enrolled in the MSc program for Evidence Based Social Intervention at Oxford University, focusing on human welfare. Susan enjoys spending early mornings rowing on the River Thames and is looking forward to traveling Europe.

Ted Weissfeld (Chemistry), worked at the transplant lab at the Cleveland Clinic after graduation. Currently, Ted studies medicine at the University of Cincinnati and plans to graduate in 2013.

Jess Wilhelm (Physics), finished his Masters in International Development at the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. He is currently working as a consultant on health care issues and will be joining the Peace Corps in February. He will be working on community development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Jeff Beck (Sociology), is currently in Chicago going to school at Northwestern for his MSJ. He plans to concentrate on interactive publishing, and when he gets out he’d like to work on the national stage as a sports writer. Jeff loves life in Chicago, and would stay here if he got a job after his program is up in a year.

Kelsey Brennan (Theater), is playing Cecily Cardew in The Importance of Being Ernest at Remy Bumppo Theatre in Chicago. In February she will be headed to Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis to originate the role of Mary in The Gospel According to James, written by Charles Smith, head of MFA Playwriting at OU. When she’s not employed as an actor, she makes her home in Chicago with her boyfriend Steve and teaches and tutors Chicago-area students preparing for the ACT.

Jaclyn Pike Callahan (Business), spent two years after graduation as an external auditor and also became licensed as a Certified Public Consultant (CPA) during that time. She became licensed as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) in 2010 and currently specializes in fraud detection and contract auditing. Jaclyn will always be thankful for the wonderful education she received as an Honors Tutorial College student.

Brian Dearing (History), is starting his fourth year teaching at his alma mater, Athens High School. Brian teaches Government, Economics, and Sociology. He is also currently pursuing his Master’s in Education Administration from Ohio University’s College of Education.

Jenny Bonnar (Journalism), will be graduating with an MBA from Lake Erie College in December after completing an accelerated 1-year masters program.She is now a senior project manager at Lachina Publishing Services in Cleveland, overseeing the production of higher education textbooks.She is currently working with the renowned English-language maven Bryan Garner on his third edition of Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage, due out in March.

JenMarie Davis (Journalism), was recently published by Shadow Mountain Press for her chapbook "Sometime Soon Ago" for which she was interviewed by the Boulder Weekly. Apart from other publishing achievements, JennMarie's press, Fact-Similie Editions, was named one of 17 indie innovators by Poets & Writers in their Nov/Dec issue cover story.

Anu Gupta (Biological Sciences), graduated from OUCOM and is doing his residency in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. If anyone is interested in trying to get into the Cleveland Clinic for residency or medical school, feel free to email Anu at doctoranugupta@gmail.com. After residency he is considering two options: 1) enlist in the military to serve our soldiers who are returning from Afghanistan and Iraq (or potentially work at military bases in the middle east) or 2) work in rural under-served areas here in the U.S.

Lauren Kwiatkowski (Sociology), has put her talents to use in the insurance, legal and medical fields, as well as completed her M.A. in Creative Writing at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA over the past few years. Right now, she is keeping busy raising her son Oliver Fox, who was born in March 2010. Keep up with her exploits at: http://www.oliverfoxreiter.blogspot.com.

Ben Lachman (Computer Science), lives in Athens with his wife Catherine (M.Edu in Counseling from OU) and two daughters Anna and Elinoir. He owns a small Mac & iOS development business, Acacia Tree Software, and has employed several HTC students in recent years. In partnership with his sister, Mary (HTC Dance 2009), he owns the HTC living-learning house on Mill Street. Ben recently installed a solar photovoltaic array on his house in the Athens east side neighborhood. He blogs about his experiences with alternative energy, efficiency and random other things at http://blach.tumblr.com.

Ryan Mick (History), became the Director of a 6th Grade Academy in New Orleans and joined the boards of the New Leaders Council and the Generation Project in Fall of 2010. He’ll be ending his commitment with Teach For America in 2011 and plans to continue his work in education as a school leader.

Liz Reid (Telecommunications), is well into her first semester of the MA program in Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, with an emphasis on radio and audio production. Liz is also researching how public radio can better serve a more diverse audience using new technology.

David Riesbeck (Classics), is working toward a PhD in Classics at the University of Texas at Austin, and is in the middle of writing a dissertation entitled "Monarchy and Political Community in Aristotle's Politics". He is hoping to complete and defend his dissertation next spring. When David and his wife Jennifer are not working, they devote inordinate levels of attention to Kingsley, their Boston Terrier, and also enjoy living in a place winter never comes and farmer’s markets never take hiatus.

Shannon Wensyel (English), is currently teaching seventh grade language arts in Mayfield, Ohio. She has recently earned a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University as well as a Reading Endorsement through Ashland University. In July of 2011, Shannon will be married to Rob Saunders, a 2001 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan.

Brianna Bennett (Film), is still in Los Angeles, California, working in Drama Development as a coordinator for the CW network.

Kristin Bross (Business), graduated in 2009 from Ohio State University with a Master’s Degree in Pediatric Nursing. She is currently a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Pulmonary Medicine at Dayton Children’s Hospital. She is also organizing a campaign at Dayton Children’s to donate medical supplies for underserved children in Honduras.

Jessica Benson Smith (Engineering Physics), graduated with her PhD from Imperial College of Science and Technology (London) in 2007 and since then has been working as a device scientist at Plextronics, Inc in Pittsburgh, PA. Plextronics is a printed electronics company focusing on material and ink development for OLEDs and organic photovoltaics (OPVs).

Renee Casteel Cook (Business), is currently living in Chicago Illinois, and was married to a fellow Ohio University graduate in June 2007. She also recently switched jobs and she now works at Wunderman, a marketing agency, as an Account Supervisor on the Burger King business.

Jen Herrick (Communication Studies), was recently promoted to Senior Policy Analyst at People For the American Way in Washington, DC. Her biggest adventure this year was traveling to California in October for the wedding of HTC Alum Trysta Bissett (TCOM 2003) to Ryan Davis.

Michelle Gritzer (Film), is currently living in Los Angeles, working in Television and Film Production as an Assistant Director. She worked on the TV show “Mr. Sunshine,” a new comedy starring Matthew Perry and Alison Janey, which should be airing in January on ABC shot and produced with another OU alum (Ben Begley) will also be airing. It is called 24 Minutes, and is a spoof of the TV show 24. Look for it on the web in January.

Katie Ellis Rankin (English), volunteers full-time, primarily in education and in mentoring women. She has two kids, Noelle, age 3, and Joel, age 1.

Jonas Williams (English), is currently a doctoral candidate in English at the University at Albany, SUNY. In 2005 he received an MFA in Fiction Writing from the University of Florida. He would be happy to offer information and opinions on graduate work in English studies to any HTC students who are looking for input from someone in the thick of it.

Dan Wik (Astrophysics), passed his Ph.D. defense in Astronomy at the University of Virginia on September 1st, and is now a NASA Postdoctoral Position (NPP) Fellow at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.

Barbara Perenic (Theater), is currently a staff photographer for the Springfield News-Sun in Springfield, Ohio. She had a photo run as a double-truck in the Sports Illustrated “Photos of the Year” Issue in December 2009 and won Best General News Photo from the Associated Press for 2009. Barbara and her husband David Jablonski (OU Journalism ‘99) traveled to Hawaii for their first wedding anniversary in June.

Andy Clifford (Biological Sciences), Andy currently resides in Cambridge, MA, and teaches biology at the Commonwealth School, a small private high school in the Back Bay section of Boston, MA. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Brown University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2009.

Rita Tierfert Nolan (Journalism), and her husband Sean Nolan welcomed miracle baby Nathaniel Sean Nolan in April. They had lost three babies to miscarriage and were hoping in what they believed was God’s promise of motherhood. What a blessing! Rita also received a national Apex award for the 2009 redesign of http://www.agma.org.

Derek W. Beck (Physics), moved back to Los Angeles in 2008 to dedicate his life to the pursuit of filmmaking as both a writer and director. He has dedicated much of the last three years to writing the nonfiction history book entitled “1775.” The book follows the forgotten Dr. Joseph Warren through the beginning of the American Revolution in Boston. “1775” is a completed and fully revised manuscript, and Derek is presently shopping it around with literary agents. He welcomes any leads and support from interested HTC alumni. Derek's aspiration is to bring it to HBO as a miniseries. For more information, check out the book site at www.1775thebook.com.

Jackie Hackenberg Pobiega (Journalism), is living in Charlotte, NC with her husband Michael Pobiega (BSAS ’98) and their three-year-old son Robert. She is currently a media specialist for Continental Tire the Americas. This summer she was responsible for launching the company’s U.S. Web site for industrial and forklift tires at http://www.continental-industrial.com. In October she traveled to Munich, Germany to represent her division at Continental’s global communications council.

Angela Massie (Telecommunications), is an Executive Producer for the CNN Newsroom in Atlanta, Georgia. She was married to Amol Khotpal, a structural engineer, in not one, but two ceremonies, in 2009: one in Ohio, one in the groom’s hometown of Nagpur, India.

Sarah Pollex (Telecommunications), graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2007 and was admitted to the Minnesota Bar in October 2007. She is currently working as a law clerk in Hennepin County (Minnesota) Family Court while residing in St. Paul, Minnesota. She would be willing to chat with students thinking about going to law school or moving to her area. Contact her at the following email address: sepollex@gmail.com.

Denise Robinson (Philosophy), married Dexter Conley on October 31, 2010. She was also appointed firmwide Director of Diversity & Inclusion at her firm, O’Melveny & Myers LLP.

Shelley Ellis (Telecommunications), is in her tenth year working for and seventh year directing the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry at the University of New Hampshire. The last two summers she has directed a Christian leadership program in NYC for 70+ college students. She is also learning how to tap dance.

D. Tony Goins (Journalism), is currently working as web content coordinator for Columbus State Community College in Columbus, and making a couple of short films. He and his wife will welcome their first child (Lucy David) in January.

Jonathan Reed Winkler (History), is an Associate Professor of History at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. For the 2010-2011 academic year Jonathan is on leave as a Smith Richardson Fellow in International Security, and is working on writing his second book. He lives in Kettering, Ohio, with his wife Heather and their sons Elliot and Spencer. Jonathan was recognized as the 2009-2010 Honors Professor of the Year in June 2010 by Wright State University’s Honors Program.

Alena Amato Ruggerio (Interpersonal Communication), was promoted to the Chair of the Department of Communication at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon.

Carrie Arnold Parker (History), and her husband Chad welcomed their daughter, Kaitlyn Marie Parker into their family on June 14, 2010. Kaitlyn is now smiling, giggling, and getting close to crawling! They still live in Reno, NV, where Carrie is practicing law with the law firm Downey Brand, LLP.

Stacey King Gordon (Journalism), is about to celebrate the three-year anniversary of her company Night Writer Communications. This has been a big year for her as she began to shift the focus of the firm toward web content strategy and copywriting; in April Stacey attended the first-ever Content Strategy Forum in Paris, France.She is living in Oakland, California, with her husband Andrew, 4-year-old daughter Madeleine, and Bentley the chocolate Lab.

Susan Murphy (Journalism), is still living in Warrington, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. She and her husband, Steve Fanelli, have a six-year-old daughter, Katie, as well as a grown daughter, Danielle, from Steve’s first marriage. Susan is completing her fifth year of full-time self-employment as a freelance marketing copywriter. Her website is www.susanmurphywriting.com.

Christopher Norman (History), became Executive Director for Crown Point Ecology Center in May 2008. He brought much experience in farm management, sustainable agriculture, food planning and the principles that empower community and economic justice. Chris, his wife, Kathleen, and their two young sons reside in Fairlawn, Ohio.

Diana L. Tucker (Interpersonal Communication), changed schools and now teaches for Walden University, a completely online institution. She is a Core Faculty (this means full-time) in Communication for the Center for Undergraduate Studies at Walden. She is enjoying not commuting 90 minutes each way to work and lives in Powell, Ohio. She, and her husband, Mark Russo were married in July 2009.

Joseph A. Mahr (Journalism), is a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He formerly worked for the Toledo Blade where he won the Pulitzer Prize for his investigative report on Tiger Force during the Vietnam War. Mahr has also written stories examining nationwide failures to hunt fugitives and Missouri and Illinois courts’ handling of serious traffic cases.

Mark McKibben (Mathematics), is currently a professor of mathematics at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. He recently published a book entitled, “Discovering Evolution Equations with Applications VOLUME 1: Deterministic Equations” through CRC Press/Chapman Hall. Volume 2 is set to be published in August 2011.

Steve Green (English), is a marketing manager at Fairview Pharmaceutical Services in St. Paul, Minn. He is married to OU alumnus Cindy Bielke (‘83), who is the founder of C-Change Strategies, a marketing communications and strategy consulting firm. They are the parents of two sons, Rick and Charlie, who are college students in Minnesota.

Erin Kirkwood (Journalism), got married on 10/10/10. She didn’t marry an HTC’er, but her maid of honor was an HTC graduate she met on the 3rd floor of Hoover Hall her first day of college. Erin and her husband are taking a trip around the world for their honeymoon

Carl Kessler III (Journalism) and Victoria Kernes Kessler (Psychology), and family are moving from Avon, Ohio to Western New York. Carl has accepted a position as VP of Application Development for First Niagara Financial Group. After over eight years with National City Bank in Cleveland, Ohio, Carl spent part of 2010 consulting at SunTrust Bank in Atlanta before taking on the challenge of building a development team from the ground up for a top 25 bank.

Andrea Barnett Peacock (Journalism), is working this year on a series of stories about oil and gas development in the West and how it affects communities and people’s relationship to the land, with the support of a fellowship from the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Also AK Press published a new edition of her first book, “Wasting Libby: The True Story of How the W.R. Grace Corporation Left a Montana Town to Die (And Got Away With It).”

Amy Noble Thomas (Journalism), is living in Fairfax, Virginia, as a wife, mother of eighth graders, and participant in all things mid-life. The year she served as Board of Visitors Secretary, they told her gravity wasn’t absolute. Joe, et. al., she says you were right. Situ immutable.

Mike Hickey (English), is currently running a nonprofit called the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, which is coordinating the citywide response to the foreclosure crisis. He is still composing music and performing live. This past year he took on his biggest project yet and wrote and performed a full-length rock opera called “The Waistmakers’ Opera” - all about a major women’s’ labor strike that took place in NYC 100 years ago.

Patricia Davidson (Interpersonal Communication), completed her M.Ed. in 1989, College Student Personnel. She and her husband of 37 years are loving the house they built near Athens five years ago. She is enjoying her work with special programs in the Office of Summer Sessions on campus. Her proudest professional accomplishment of late is the resurrection of the Summer Honors Academy, which was held on campus during the first Summer Session 2010.

Rick Ramsey (Journalism), is in his fifth year of teaching third grade in a suburban school district outside of Dayton, Ohio, having bailed out on the print journalism field before it disappears altogether. He also has a science and nature club for fourth and fifth grade students--their website is http://www.18explorers.com, if anyone would like to check it out and offer some suggestions for cheap and age-appropriate activities for the group.

Andrew Stockey (Telecommunications), working at the ABC affiliate WTAE- TV. For the last two years he has served as co-anchor of the station’s 5, 6 and 11p.m. newscasts. They have been nominated for a regional Emmy for best newscast. On a personal level, Andrew ran his sixth half marathon in six months and completed his first full marathon in Pittsburgh in May. Not bad for someone who had never run more than a 5K until last spring.

Anna Latona Durst (Business), lives in Westlake, Ohio, and is an IT Project Manager at PNC Bank in Cleveland. She dropped her oldest child at college this year, with many feelings of jealousy!

John Moser (History), is an associate professor of history at Ashland University. His essay, “He Knew When to Sit Idle,” appears in the recently published collection “Why Coolidge Matters: How Civility in Politics Can Bring a Nation Togther.” Last year he and his wife Monica adopted a baby girl from China. Constanze Elaine “Stanzi” Moser will be three years old next February. John also dabbles in community theater, and will be playing the part of Ralph (the adult version; i.e., the narrator) in the upcoming Mansfield Playhouse production of A Christmas Story.

Erin Carlson Mast (History), became the Director of President Lincoln’s Cottage, a National Trust Historic Site in Washington, D.C. The Cottage opened to the public for the first time in history in February 2008. Considered a “hidden gem” in the District, it’s a site of great importance to our nation’s history: Lincoln lived there for over a quarter of his presidency, ran the Civil War, and worked on the Emancipation Proclamation while living here: www.lincolncottage.org. Erin and her husband also welcomed their first child, a son named Flynn, in June 2010.

Scott Owens (English), had his sixth book of poems, “The Nature of Attraction,” come out in August, and his seventh, “Something Knows the Moment,” is due out in August 2011. He has received two Pushcart Prize nominations this year and six Best of the Net Award nominations. He still edits “Wild Goose Poetry Review,” writes a weekly column on poetry, and teaches at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC.

Andrew Russ (Physics), is living in Athens, still working as a Research Engineer/Scientist for the Ohio Research Institute for Transportation and the Environment (ORITE) in the civil engineering department at OU. In early August work took him to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Russ Professor Shad Sargand (who is originally from Afghanistan) conduct a workshop involving the senior engineering faculty from universities across the country. Andrew is also co-producing a forthcoming series of limited edition vinyl LP/download releases of music by the late Cleveland musician Peter Laughner. Andrew’s contributions include researching his mentions in Cleveland newspapers and helping to write liner notes. Look for The Ann Arbor Tapes (recorded February 1976) coming out next April 16.

Clay Zambo (Theater), has been compositionally busy. He spent the summer shuttling between two theatres: Spirit of Broadway in Norwich CT, where his musical Greenbrier Ghost had its first full production, and Merkin Hall in NYC, where Allie in Wonderland (his new musical for young actors) was in rehearsal. He has also been writing lyrics for Shlemiel Crooks, a musical comedy for Passover, which will premiere in NYC in April 2011. Clay and his Shlemiel collaborator, Scott Ethier, have also written a choral piece, called “A Mother’s Carol,” which appears on a new Christmas CD by the Minneapolis-based choral ensemble VocalEssence (Behold This Heavenly Night). He has also become significantly less sedentary and is training for a 10K run.

Diane Miler (History), is working for the National Park Service as a historian and program manager of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. She returned to school a few years ago to pursue a doctorate in history at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She was just admitted to candidacy and is now beginning work on her dissertation.

David Volz (Political Science), is living in Sandusky, OH with his wife Pat (OU Journalism, ’77). Their daughter Clare is a freshman HTC Plant Biology major. Dave is VP of Restaurant Accounting, Inc. and functions as the CFO for a related group of 20 franchise companies. He’s a Rotarian, is active in the Erie County Chamber of Commerce, and serves as Finance Chair for his church. Pat is an executive with the American Lung Association of the Midland States and provides marketing and technical support for a four-state area. He doesn’t tweet or text but he is, however, the only David Volz in the Sandusky area phonebook and would love to hear from the old Fenzel gang.

E.J. Graff (English), is the associate director & senior researcher at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, based at Brandeis University, where she runs the Gender & Justice Project. Translation: she helps run a nonprofit institute, and she researches & writes long-form magazine articles and related commentary about social justice and human rights issues, for publications like Foreign Policy, Slate.com, and The Washington Post. (See their website at www.brandeis.edu/investigate.) In June, at long last, she got legally married. It’s her second marriage, the first one recognized by law. E.J.’s wife is a prosecutor. E.J. is now a step-mom to her wife’s 7-year-old son. They live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but they’re discovering that it costs them thousands of dollars a year to have a bifurcated legal status: married in Massachusetts and single to the IRS. She looks forward to the end (by court order or Congressional vote) of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which would change their federal tax status to married and let them save for college.

Mariana Hess (Political Science), received another tassel in 1981, earning her MBA from OU. She transitioned careers from Finance to IS Consulting, then got out of consulting; worked at the Cleveland Clinic, OfficeMax and PolyOne (a plastics company), and carved a niche managing and supporting HR Systems. She got heavily involved in theater – mostly acting. Mariana met & married another OU grad, Andy Hess, in 1989. They have a 15 year old daughter, Selene, who started high school this year. Mariana and her family moved to Richmond, VA in 2007 for a job opportunity and better weather. She was also “elected” president of a Richmond alumnae group for her sorority (Phi Mu).

Carl Chasteen (Chemistry), moved to Florida to become the manager of their State Fire Marshal’s laboratory. In 2003 the section was made a Bureau and he was appointed as the first Bureau Chief. He has presented or co- presented posters at various professional events. He became a Fellow of the American Board of Criminalistics in 2008. Carl and his wife Sharon celebrated their 25th anniversary and live in Tallahassee, Florida with their three daughters and their dog. Carl’s current interests are college football, Harry Potter, Free Masons, literature, music, golf, cooking and food.

Paul S.R. Chisolm (Physics), helped launch Google Public DNS last December; he wrote the iterative resolver, and a lot of the privacy policy.

Charlie Denton (Government), was elected Chair of the Environmental Law Section at the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting on September 30, 2010. He is a partner with Barnes & Thornburg LLP, and the administrator of the law firm’s Environmental Law Department for Michigan and Northern Indiana. Charlie can be reached at cdenton@BTLaw.com.

Laney Langtry (English), as the first non-traditional student in HTC, Laney proved that older students, who were motivated, could do well in the tutorial system. In fact, she loved it and flourished, mainly because of two outstanding tutors and a wonderful thesis advisor. She recently started work-outs with a personal trainer, and is still able to learn, thanks to her HTC experience. She also continues with her writing. Reading is one of her ongoing joys, and she would probably rate it a little higher than gardening and cooking, both of which she enjoys a great deal. Laney now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Any current HTC student or alumni coming to this part of the country is welcome to stay in her guest room.

Philip Paxton (Chemical Engineering), after 12 years as pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Fairfield, AL, is now the Retreat Director at St. Paul’s in Detroit. They offer spiritual retreats for men and women, and occasionally married couples. They also host many programs during the week. He is hoping that he can take what he learned in Alabama and put it to good use in Detroit