Y87
By Tim Harkness
This podcast rests on the belief that everyone has a story to tell. Here, we have extraordinary conversations about people's every day lives. We find out what people have learned, where they are and where they are going.
Thanks to all of our classmates who have shared their lives. The generosity of spirit they show in each episode is remarkable.
Special thanks to our podcast engineer, Dave Visaya at podcastengineers.com, who edits our episodes.
Y87Jan 27, 2022
Maritza Guzman -- talking about philanthropy and a whole lot more
Maritza Guzman was kind enough to share her story of being a Yale student and on spending her life devoted to philanthropy. Take a listen!
Here is what her organization says about her:
Maritza’s personal experience with social justice issues inspires her to help create more opportunities for communities of color. As the daughter of immigrants and the first in her family to complete high school—and achieve college and advanced degrees—Maritza works to combat injustice and build a more equitable society where all individuals can contribute. She believes in meeting clients where they are, applying a collaborative approach to issues areas including health, racial and gender inclusion, and access to a quality education.
Over a 25-year career, Maritza has designed and directed a host of initiatives in philanthropy and collaborative grantmaking. With program management experience across large national foundations, corporate philanthropy, government agencies, and the nonprofit sector, her diverse knowledge base and ability to gather and synthesize information from a variety of sources helps TCC Group’s clients achieve their goals and desired impact.
Melissa Gilliam -- a medical researcher and physician takes on the challenge of being Provost at Ohio State
Melissa Gilliam is an amazing classmate. She had a storied career as a medical researcher but sought a completely new challenge at The Ohio State University. There, she is Provost and is shaping a land grant institution so it can serve thousands of students, the community and the world through its academics and research.
Here is Melissa's bio:
As Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost, Dr. Melissa L. Gilliam is the chief academic officer of one of the largest and most comprehensive universities in the country. She leads an academic enterprise that includes 15 colleges, more than 7,500 faculty members and more than 67,000 students on campuses in Columbus, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark and Wooster.
A scholar, physician, educator, and academic leader, Dr. Gilliam joined Ohio State from the University of Chicago, where she was vice provost, the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics. At the University of Chicago, Dr. Gilliam has focused on academic excellence, supporting faculty at all stages of their careers, and issues involving diversity and inclusion.
Dr. Gilliam conducts domestic and international research, addressing adolescent health and education using technology, design, and narrative. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and others. Dr. Gilliam is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
During her tenure at the University of Chicago, she held a variety of roles, including founder and director of the university’s Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health, Dean of Diversity and Inclusion for the Biological Sciences Division at University of Chicago Medicine, and leader of the Program in Gynecology for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults.
Dr. Gilliam earned her Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Yale University, a Master of Arts degree in philosophy and politics from the University of Oxford, a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard University, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois Chicago. She completed an internship in general surgery at the University of Chicago and her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University.
Susan Anslow Williams -- Episcopal priest and turn around specialist for parishes in transition
Our classmate Susan Anslow Williams is an Episcopal priest in the Detroit area. She has spent her time since ordination helping parishes in transition. The past several years have been particularly challenging for Susan's flock and in this episode Susan shares here journey.
Here is a bit about Susan's like, from her website https://revved4change.org/
I’m The Rev. Susan Anslow Williams, an Episcopal Priest with more than 25 years’ experience in ordained ministry.
My renewed purpose in life and ministry is to help congregations navigate changes, often unwelcome but happening everywhere and to all places of worship. We’ll be turning change into opportunity for intentional, Spirit-led transition. In my case, we’ll be following the words and example of Jesus Christ — within “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement” (our Presiding Bishop’s term for The Episcopal Church).
I’m originally from the Great Lakes state of Michigan; born, raised, and now returned to the Detroit suburbs. I left for college, seminary, and my first 20 years of ordained ministry, but now I’m back along with my husband Eric and our two fabulous daughters.
In addition to my years of church experience, I have received a certificate from the ecumenical Interim Ministry Network. This means I’ve learned and used a variety of practices to evaluate, reframe and energize a congregation over 12-18 months. This is most often called an “interim” or “transition period,” as the church prepares for new, long term leadership or missional identity. Any size congregation can benefit from one or more of the methods led by trained interims like me.
Joanne Lessner -- writer, singer, director, actor . . . she does it all!
Ever think that your neighbor is so annoying that you might cast them as a villain in your next novel? Well, Joanne Lessner has. She is a polymath who has been singing, writing, acting and performing since college. Is she the most famous? No. Has she made it to Broadway? Well, yes, but most of her career has not been there. Has she built a family and a body of art that she is immensely and justifiably proud of? Absolutely. Take a listen.
Here is a link to Joanne's website: http://joannesydneylessner.com/
Here is her bio:
Joanne Sydney Lessner is a writer, singer, and actor. Joanne’s debut novel Pandora’s Bottle was inspired by the true story of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine and named one of the top five books of 2010 by Paperback Dolls. She has written four novels featuring aspiring actress and amateur sleuth Isobel Spice: The Temporary Detective (BloodWrites Award for Best New Mystery), Bad Publicity, And Justice for Some, and Offed Stage Left. “The Ghosts’ High Noon,” an Isobel Spice short story, is available on this site as a free download.
Joanne has written the book and lyrics to several musicals with her husband, composer/conductor Joshua Rosenblum, including the cult hit Fermat’s Last Tango, which received its Off-Broadway premiere at the York Theatre Company. The original cast recording became a bestseller, and the DVD has been screened at festivals from New Jersey to New Zealand. The Teatro da Trindade in Lisbon, Portugal, presented the European premiere and subsequently gave the world premiere of their next musical, Einstein’s Dreams, based on the celebrated novel by Alan Lightman. Their musical Garbo and Me was presented in concert at the York Theatre Company and the historic Paramount Theatre in Rutland, Vermont, while their adaptation of Wilkie Collins’s The Haunted Hotel was unveiled at the Signature Theatre Company in Arlington, Virginia. Their musical revue Love is Not a Science was presented at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where they will return with a musical based on Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman’s classic play, Stage Door. Joanne’s play, Critical Mass, received its New York premiere at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row as winner of the Heiress Productions Playwriting Competition. She is also a regular contributing writer to Opera News.
A remarkably versatile performer, Joanne has appeared on Broadway in Cyrano: The Musical, and in other New York City venues in roles as varied as Charlotte in A Little Night Music, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Cis in the cabaret version of William Bolcom’s Casino Paradise, which the New York Times named “one of the year’s ten best events in classical music.” She has performed in concert as a soloist with New York City Opera Vox, New York Festival of Song, The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s American Songbook, and the Harrisburg and Albany Symphonies. Joanne has also played ten principal Gilbert and Sullivan roles with the award-winning Blue Hill Troupe, including Julia Jellicoe in The Grand Duke, for which she was honored as Best Female Performer at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. Joanne holds a BA in music, summa cum laude, from Yale University
Katharine Beals -- our only classmate to be banned for life from Twitter
Katie Beals is a fierce advocate for her child and for all children with autism. She has strong views, which have left her in the unenviable spot of being cancelled by Twitter. Listen to her about children, about education and about speech. All fascinating.
Here is a bit more about Katie:
Katharine Beals has a PhD in linguistics and is an adjunct professor in the Autism Program at the Drexel University School of Education, where she designed two of the program's five courses. She also teaches courses on autism at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
She specializes in language and literacy acquisition in autism, language technologies for autistic individuals, educational challenges for students with autism, and the problems with facilitated communication as an intervention in autism.
She is the designer of the SentenceWeaver, a comprehensive linguistic software curriculum for language-impaired students with autism, a contributor at FacilitatedCommunication.org, and also an autism parent.
She has written and lectured extensively about the education of students with autism, language technologies for autistic individuals, and facilitated communication in autism. Her articles include pieces in The Atlantic, Education News, Nonpartisan Education Review, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Oxiris Barbot -- a call to action from the NYC Health Commissioner who first faced COVID
Those of us in the New York City area saw our classmate, Oxiris Barbot, as a leader at the beginning of COVID. A doctor and life-long advocate for health care equity, Oxiris helped all of us through those first difficult first months. In this episode, she shares her perspective -- and challenges us all to make the world a better place.
Here is a bit more about Oxiris from ChangeLab Solutions, where she is a board member:
With more than 25 years’ experience in public health and health care delivery, Dr. Oxiris Barbot has dedicated her career to achieving health equity. When she was commissioner of health for New York City, she led the nation’s largest municipal health department in centering an equity agenda on communities, bridging public health and health care delivery, and leveraging data for action and policy. She successfully guided the city's responses to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and to New York City's largest measles outbreak in 30 years.
As an innovative public health leader, Dr. Barbot has championed addressing health inequities in major cities along the East Coast. In 2010, Dr. Barbot was appointed commissioner of health for Baltimore City. During her tenure in Baltimore, she led the development of Healthy Baltimore 2015, a robust health agenda dedicated to ensuring that all Baltimore residents realize their full health potential. Under her leadership, the City of Baltimore achieved a record reduction in the rate of infant death, among many achievements in health.
From 2003 to 2010, Dr. Barbot served as medical director of New York City's public schools. In this capacity, she spearheaded development and implementation of an electronic health record system that improved delivery of health services for more than 1 million children. Prior to her work in New York City, Dr. Barbot served as chief of pediatrics and community medicine at Unity Health Care, Inc., a federally qualified health center in Washington, DC.
Dr. Barbot holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She completed her pediatric residency at George Washington University’s Children’s National Medical Center.
Humberto Jasso -- a classmate explains how has spent a lifetime building bridges between people
Catherine Marquet Elliott -- she set out to teach French and learned how to teach about life
While this is a valuable conversation for everyone, it is particularly important for young people who might be thinking about becoming a teacher. Catherine makes a powerful case for transforming the lives of students one class at a time.
Here is how Catherine describes herself: "I am a career classroom teacher in a public middle school. I have been teaching French in rural Massachusetts since 1989. Becoming a public school teacher is the best decision I have made in my life. It's been an incredible ride. If you know a young person who is interested in becoming a teacher, I hope that you will encourage them with enthusiasm."
Rob Raguso -- the closest person our class has to Indiana Jones
Here is how Rob describes his work: "I study plant-insect interactions from molecules to ecosystems. I am an integrative and comparative biologist with an interest in the chemical senses. Everything begins with natural history."
Charlotte Sussman -- sailing, 18th Century Literature and how it all fits together
I spent some time with Charlotte Sussman recently talking about our shared passions of sailing and literature. Charlotte is a Professor of English at Duke and recently the author of Peopling the World. One website explains: Through a literary lens, Professor Charlotte Sussman examines the 18th-century shift in Britain’s understanding of the value of human reproduction, the vacancy of the planet and the necessity of moving people around to fill its empty spaces. In Milton’s 1667 “Paradise Lost,” Adam and Eve are promised they will produce a “race to fill the world,” a thought that consoles them after the fall. By 1798, the idea that the world would one day be entirely filled by people had become a nightmarish vision in Malthus’s “Essay on the Principle of Population.” Sussman places these and other texts in the context of debates about scientific innovation, emigration, cultural memory and colonial settlement.
Listen to Charlotte talk about her life, her dreams and how 18th Century literature is still very much relevant to the way we experience the world.
Dante Centouri -- the life of a standup physicist and finding out about the blue wig
Dante Centouri was many things in college: a physics major, a comedian who played the nose flute, and the drum major for the Yale Precision Marching Band. Since then, he has been a science educator, helping children around the country learn about science through his sensitive and funny teaching. Dante is now the Executive Director of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum.
Of his time at Yale, the YPMG writes:
Dante, the last DM to serve a two-year term, left quite a legacy behind him. His trademark blue wig and paisley pants led the band screaming into Washington, DC, through the infamous West Point affair (just read any reputable publication’s news from fall 1985) and a pants-dropping incident that even made the New York Times. His band movie, “Chariots of Squid”, remains the gold standard by which all others are judged.
Listen in as you hear about Dante's life and hear the fate of the blue wig.
Kevin Berlin -- an artist shares his take on life, living and exploration
Kevin Berlin is a unique fixture in our class. In this episode, he tells us about his signature top hat, his work as an artist and his creative response to COVID.
Kevin Berlin is an international artist best known for painting, sculpture, and performance. Berlin currently lives in Southampton, New York and Florence, Italy. Berlin, a Yale University Alumnus, studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Shanghai Daily, The Miami Herald, USA Today, MTV, Tokyo Television, BBC Radio and over 40 television stations. Berlin's works are found in collections including Kim Basinger, Luciano Pavarotti, Bill and Hillary Clinton, President George W. Bush, Quincy Jones, Buzz Aldrin, Barton G., HRH Princesse Antonella de Orleans-Bourbon, and Pieter & Marieke Sanders.
For more about Kevin, visit: https://www.kevinberlin.com/
Also, please enjoy one of Kevin's recent videos: https://youtu.be/BwhKV80vP4s
Carrie Baker -- feminist, activist, scholar and photographer
Carrie's conversation was not what I had expected. I had read her work and seen her photography, but I was not prepared for the very personal perspective Carrie shared in how she has traveled her path. Listen. You will hear about the Yale of the late 1980s, about sexism and misogyny, and about a resilient classmate who has taken on the ideas and people who have stood in her way. I was inspired.
Carrie has her own website that highlights here work: https://www.carriebakerphd.com/. If you visit, don't skip the photography -- her images are very moving.
Here's a bit about Carrie:
Carrie N. Baker lives, works and writes from Western Massachusetts.
Dr. Baker is the Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman Chair of American Studies and a Professor in the Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College and is a contributing editor at Ms. magazine. She is an expert on women's rights law and policy, specializing in sexual harassment, sex trafficking, and reproductive rights and justice.
Dr. Baker has a BA (’87) in philosophy from Yale University, a JD (’94) from Emory University School of Law, and an MA (’94) and a Ph.D. (’01) from Emory University’s Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
At Smith College, Dr. Baker has been chair of the Program for the Study of Women and Gender and was a co-founder and former co-director of the Five College Certificate in Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice. Baker is affiliated with the American Studies Program, the archives concentration, and the public policy minor.
She has published three books: The Women's Movement Against Sexual Harassment (Cambridge University Press, 2007), Fighting the US Youth Sex Trade: Gender, Race and Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and co-authored Sexual Harassment Law: History, Cases, and Practice (Carolina Academic Press). Her first book was the winner of the National Women's Studies Association 2008 Sara A. Whaley book prize.
In addition, she writes regularly for Ms. magazine and has a monthly column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA). Baker is part of the Scholars Strategy Network, Women’s Media Center SheSource, and is the co-chair of the Ms. Committee of Scholars, which trains scholars to write for the popular media.
Margo Pave -- being a single mother later in life and passing down values and traditions
Margo Pave has been a force since college, committed to justice and building the world in which she wants to live. Part of her journey has included becoming a single mother later in life. Listen in as Margo talks about the joys of raising children and the world she wants to leave them. You will leave the episode inspired and maybe a little exhausted.
Tom McNulty -- the future of energy and what the climate change "debate" looks like now
Classmate Tom McNulty had a winding path to the energy business, but has spent most of his life thinking about our nation's energy supply -- how it is used, where it comes from and what the future holds. During the conversation, Tom kept talking about the climate change "debate," so I asked him what he meant by that. I was surprised by his answer. It was thought provoking and important. Take a listen. Bring an open mind. And, think about how Tom's perspectives might inform our the class discussion about climate change and solutions to it.
Laura Ekstrand -- actor, director, community builder
Listen to Laura Ekstrand's take on things and you'll hear from a classmate who has built a creative community. She was co-founder of Dreamcatcher Reparatory Theater (now, Vivid Stage) with Janet Sales in 1994. She has her own podcast, Local with Laura Ekstrand, and an impressive body of work, which you can read about on her website: https://www.lauraekstrand.com/
She has appeared at Dreamcatcher in Be Here Now, The Lucky Ones, What Stays; Sister Play; Rapture, Blister Burn; Motherhood Out Loud, and Shakespeare in Vegas, among many others, and is a member of The Flip Side improv comedy troupe. New Jersey Theatre: Bickford Theatre, Passage Theater, 12 Miles West, The Theater Project, Luna Stage, and the Pushcart Players. New York Theatre: Naked Angels, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and New Georges. Film: Fat Ass Zombies; Split Ends, High Art and I Shot Andy Warhol. Television: Hack, Sex And The City, Law & Order, and The Guiding Light. As a director: Dead and Buried, Every Brilliant Thing, The How and the Why, Things Being What They Are, Next Fall, Distracted, The Pursuit Of Happiness, Melancholy Play, Pride’s Crossing, Full Bloom and many others. Podcast directing: The Weirdness and Young Ben Franklin for Gen Z Media. As a playwright: What Stays (with Jason Szamreta), Whatever Will Be, The Neighborhood (Book and Lyrics; Music by Joe Zawila), Brink of Life (Book; Lyrics by Steve Harper; Music by Oliver Lake) and Astonishment, How to be Old: A Beginner’s Guide, and At Ninety-Three (Adaptations). Laura is a private monologue and public speaking coach and holds a BA from Yale University and an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Laura is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA and the Dramatists Guild.
Tamar Gendler -- lessons learned from life as a scholar and a mother
Tamar Gendler is always so engaging and this conversation is no exception. In this episode, Tamar talks about her work as a professor, as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale, and as a parent to two amazing children, one of whom is transgender. This conversation will make you think and feel fortunate that we have such a thoughtful and caring classmate.
Doris Iarovici -- an author and psychiatrist discusses her art and her lessons from working with college students
Doris Iarovici has had such a rich and considered life. Doris brought her experience as an immigrant to Yale, and has emerged as a thoughtful and compassionate artist and doctor. Listen in as she shares her experiences and what it is like to have Minnie Driver play her in an adaptation of Doris' life story.
Check out Doris' website: www.dorisiarovici.com. There, you'll learn about her newest book, Minus One.
Here is Doris' bio: Doris Iarovici grew up in New York City after arriving there at age 5 from Romania. She began writing shortly thereafter, and first published poetry and essays in Seventeen Magazine as a teenager. A graduate of Yale College and the Yale University School of Medicine, she has since divided her time between writing and medicine, and has published both fiction and non-fiction.
Her newest book, Minus One, was released in November 2020 and can be ordered below, or through your favorite bookstore.
She has been awarded writing fellowships from the Djerassi Resident Artists' Program in California, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Virginia, Hambidge Center in Georgia, and the North Carolina Arts Council.
She works as a psychiatrist at Harvard University, and lives in Boston.
Jose Egurbide -- a lifetime of work developing restorative justice in Los Angeles
In this episode, Jose Egurbide shared how he went from Yale to become a criminal justice reformer in Los Angeles. Jose's story is both personal and uplifting. Listen in as he describes how restorative justice has changed lives and communities in Los Angeles. Truly inspiring.
Sidney Hardee -- meeting Bart Giamatti in a dug out, building a business and looking back at a mother's influence
Had a great conversation with classmate Sidney Hardee, who shared some great stories about his time at Yale. His mother was a hug influence on Sidney, as were his fraternity brothers. He also talks about how he has built his own business. Listen in!
So you know more about Sidney, he is the Managing Partner of Hardee Brothers, LLC and Global Investment Advisor for the Probabilities Fund, LLC. He has a broad base of experience in global investing, derivatives research, quantitative analysis, and portfolio management.
Sidney is a former Trading Manager at the Bank of NT Butterfield in Bermuda where he led their fixed income and derivatives trading initiatives. He began his career as a Market Analyst at Salomon Brothers focused on European Bond Markets. Later he joined Lehman Brothers in both New York and London as a Bond Trader. He was also a Vice President in both Credit Markets Trading and Global Rates Strategy groups at JPMorgan.
A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Sidney is a member of the Alternative Investments committee and the Performance and Risk committee of the CFA Society of New York (CFANY). He is a former member of the United States Investment Performance Committee (USIPC) and current member of Global Promotions committee for the Global Investment Performance (GIPS). He is also a member of the Board of Advisory for the Master of Science Program in Financial Risk Management at the University of Connecticut School of Business. He holds a B.A in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University and holds a M.S in Applied Statistics from Columbia University.
Mary Broach -- talking about philanthropy and how a determined group can make a difference
Mary Broach has been changing her community by organizing women to support organizations that make a difference. Starting with a simple concept -- let's get 100 women to donate $1,000 each -- Mary and her colleagues have had a profound impact on the greater Philadelphia area. Each year, they band together and make a difference. Listen in as Mary explains what she has done and how her efforts have evolved over time. Truly inspirational.
David Kramer -- thoughts about real estate, the future of New York City and making sustainable housing
David Kramer shares his thoughts about real estate, the future of New York City and making sustainable housing in the wide-ranging discussion.
David is a native New Yorker who loves developing housing as part of his commitment to help build a better city. David joined Hudson back in the stone age of 1995 and has played a role in many of Hudson’s most exciting achievements of the past 3 decades including the world’s largest Passive House building, the House at Cornell Tech, the development of the Riverwalk neighborhood on Roosevelt Island, and the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Heights library, One Clinton. David has a Bachelor Degree from Yale University and graduated from the Coro Foundation’s Fellows Program in Public Affairs. He’s served on the boards of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, the Coro Foundation, New York City School Support Services, the Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable and the Collegiate School Alumni Council. David has seen most Broadway musicals and plays a lot of KenKen.
Lan Samantha Chang -- a writer discusses her latest novel, The Family Chao
Sam Chang is an accomplished writer who has just come out with a novel, The Family Chao. The story of a family of immigrants and first generation children who struggle with life in a midwestern town. In this episode, we discuss the book, its themes of belonging, assimilation, alienation and ethnicity.
For more about Sam and her new book, please visit her website: https://lansamanthachang.com/
Here is what some are saying:
One of Literary Hub's and The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of 2022
A Goodreads Readers' Most Anticipated Mystery of 2022
An acclaimed storyteller returns with “a gorgeous and gripping literary mystery” that explores “family, betrayal, passion, race, culture and the American Dream” (Jean Kwok).
The residents of Haven, Wisconsin, have dined on the Fine Chao restaurant’s delicious Americanized Chinese food for thirty-five years, content to ignore any unsavory whispers about the family owners. Whether or not Big Leo Chao is honest, or his wife, Winnie, is happy, their food tastes good and their three sons earned scholarships to respectable colleges. But when the brothers reunite in Haven, the Chao family’s secrets and simmering resentments erupt at last.
Before long, brash, charismatic, and tyrannical patriarch Leo is found dead―presumed murdered―and his sons find they’ve drawn the exacting gaze of the entire town. The ensuing trial brings to light potential motives for all three brothers: Dagou, the restaurant’s reckless head chef; Ming, financially successful but personally tortured; and the youngest, gentle but lost college student James. As the spotlight on the brothers tightens―and the family dog meets an unexpected fate―Dagou, Ming, and James must reckon with the legacy of their father’s outsized appetites and their own future survival.
Brimming with heartbreak, comedy, and suspense, The Family Chao offers a kaleidoscopic, highly entertaining portrait of a Chinese American family grappling with the dark undercurrents of a seemingly pleasant small town.
Natasha Zupan -- an artist shares her views of the world and her favorite color
For more about Natasha, visit her website: natashazupan.com/
Lorraine Wang -- reinvention: the story of a former journalist who kept pivoting
Lorraine Wang enjoyed success as a journalist, becoming a senior editor of the LA Times. With journalism changing and becoming less of a stable career, Lorraine pivoted, earning a second bachelor's degree and ultimately going to law school. She is now starting again as a junior lawyer. In this episode, she shares her journey of reinvention.
Sonya Baker -- a singer and educator shares her journey
Sonya Baker is an accomplished singer and gifted educator who shared her journey so eloquently. Please listen through the end, where you will hear from Sonya about what it meant to her to sing "Ride the Chariot" as part of her time in the Glee Club. Thanks to the Yale Glee Club we have a a recording of Sonya singing her powerful solo of that spiritual, which is a real treat.
Here is a bit more about Sonya:
Dr. Sonya Gabrielle Baker, soprano, made her Carnegie Hall debut with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, singing music of Aaron Copland. Noted for her performances of American music, Baker has been heard in concert both nationally and internationally, including performances in Havana, Cuba with the Yale Alumni Chorus and at the World Equestrian Games opening ceremonies with the American Spiritual Ensemble. Baker has toured regularly as a soloist with the American Spiritual Ensemble, a professional ensemble whose mission is to keep the American Spiritual alive. She appears on their recording entitled The Spirituals and in the PBS documentary by the same name. Baker’s debut solo recording, SHE SAYS, featuring art songs of American Women composers, was released in 2004, a year after she appeared as soloist on the Yale Alumni Chorus tour to Moscow singing at the Kremlin. Baker’s scholarly agenda is focused on crossing boundaries and disciplines, perhaps best exemplified by her solo recording and her lecture recital on Marian Anderson’s 1939 Easter Concert. Baker has presented this lecture recital nationwide and is currently working on a second recording in tribute to Marian Anderson featuring Lieder and spiritual arrangements. Highlights of Baker’s operatic roles include Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Monisha in Joplin’s Treemonisha, and the title role in the U.S. premiere of Mascagni’s Pinotta.
A former fellow with the American Council on Education, Baker has held leadership positions in higher education, serving as Associate Dean at JMU and Murray State University, and with various professional organizations: as board member for the Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Governor for the National Association of Teachers of Singing and currently a board member for the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) and the Yale Alumni Chorus. A graduate of Leadership Kentucky, LEAD Virginia and the Society for College and University Planning Institute, Baker is fully committed to advocating for diverse communities and environments that embrace multiple peoples and perspectives. To this end, she has served on multiple university committees and has been a mentor both formally and informally throughout her career. Baker holds degrees from Yale, Indiana and Florida State Universities.
Sharon Buccino -- environmentalist and recent Wyoming transplant
Please join the conversation with Sharon Buccino, who has worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council for decades. Having devoted her life to the defense of the wild and environmental advocacy, Sharon's perspective is both informed and insightful. You can read more about her work here: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sharon-buccino.
Paul La Monica -- parenting special needs children and coping with the death of a child
Our classmate Paul La Monica offers his reflections on parenting special needs children and coping with the death of one of his children. Paul brings grace and wisdom to these serious topics. I laughed and I cried during this conversation. I will let Paul speak for himself.
Kristin Hoganson -- historian and proud Midwesterner
Listen to Kristin talk about her perspectives as a professor of history who has considered America's Heartland -- what it is and what it means. She also shares her perspective on teaching in the pandemic.
Kristin is a Professor of History at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of Fighting for American Manhood: How Gender Politics Provoked the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars (Yale, 1998) and Consumers’ Imperium: The Global Production of American Domesticity, 1865-1920 (University of North Carolina, 2007). Her recent Journal of American History article, “Meat in the Middle: Converging Borderlands in the U.S. Midwest, 1865-1900,” won the Ray Allen Billington prize offered by the Western Historical Association for the best article in Western History and the Wayne D. Rasmussen Prize offered by the Agricultural History Society.. She has received ACLS support for her current research, which considers the making of the heartland myth – and its implications for how we think about security and empire -- in light of the long history of circulation through this region. She is also working on a document collection on American empire around 1898 for Bedford Press. Hoganson has served on the editorial boards of Diplomatic History, the Journal of American History, and the Journal for the History of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. She has co-chaired the SHAFR program committee and served on SHAFR’s Bernath Book Prize committee. In the spring of 2011 she taught at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich as a visiting Fulbright professor. At Illinois, she teaches introductory U.S. foreign relations classes and upper-level courses on American empire, the United States in the world, and food in global history.
Catharine Slusar -- actor, professor and very thoughtful educator
Our classmate Catharine Slusar has built a life as an educator and an actor. Listen in as she discusses representation on stage, teaching undergraduates and learning along the way. Catharine also discusses how acting fits into a liberal arts education. Here is a bit more about Catharine: https://www.brynmawr.edu/people/catharine-slusar
Karen Painter -- observations about music, political rhetoric and the current state of academia
Karen Painter is a professor of music who has spent her academic career studying classical music. Her work concerning the use of music as a tool of political propaganda in Nazi Germany is interesting and relevant today, as is her more recent study of the poetry of German women. Take a listen!
Karen is on the faculty at the University of Minnesota, as an associate professor in the School of Music and a faculty associate in Jewish Studies and at the Center for European Studies. She writes on the history of musical listening, especially in the context of German ideology and social history. The framework for her research has involved early bourgeois musical culture, fin-de-siècle cultural debates, World War I, Austro-German socialism, and Nazism, addressing reactions to Mahler and Mozart, but also Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, Schoenberg, Richard Strauss, Hindemith and Orff.
Painter holds a BA in music and philosophy (Yale University, 1987) and PhD in music (Columbia University, 1996). Her previous faculty appointments were at Dartmouth College (1995-1997) and Harvard University (1997-2007), and she was Director of the Office of Research and Analysis for the National Endowment for the Arts in 2005-2006. She served as Maître de conférences invitée, at the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, in 2010. Author of Symphonic Aspirations: German Music and Politics, 1900-1945, Painter has also edited Late Thoughts: Reflections on Artists and Composers at Work (with Thomas Crow) and Mahler and His World.
In 1999-2000 she was recipient of Humboldt fellowship as well as the Berlin Prize of the American Academy.
For more about Karen, visit: https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/kpainter
Steve Harper -- writer, actor, teacher and innovator
Listen in as Steve Harper takes along his journey from actor to writer to innovator. He talks about life and his web series, Send Me, a series that explores characters who ask to be sent back to the time of slavery. Along the way, we talk about race, the evolution of media and a whole lot more. For more about Steve, visit his webpage here: https://harpercreates.com/
Rob Long -- reflections on where comedy and entertainment have been and are going
Rob Long has had a varied career in entertainment, branching out to political discourse via Ricochet. Listen in to Rob's discussion of the changes in TV writers' rooms and how we might be able to have more meaningful conversations on issues of the day. Rob is always entertaining, so listen in. If you'd like to hear more from Rob, you can listen to his Martini Shot podcast: https://martinishotpodcast.com/.
Morgan Grove -- turning a passion into a career and turning urban wood into opportunity
Morgan Grove has always seen the world differently. An architecture major who saw that buildings could and should be in harmony with nature, Morgan ultimately earned a Ph.D. and has spent much of his career working for the U.S. Forestry Service. Listen in as Morgan describes urban forestry, tells us about "urban wood," and scares the hell out of us by describing climate change and its impact on cities.
Minter Dial -- searching and ever evolving
Classmate Minter Dial is a man of many talents -- author, movie producer, speaker. Minter Dial is an itinerant bohemian in search of experiences and interesting people. Above all, he is a searcher: searching for meaning. Listen in to our discussion, and following Minter on his blog, via his podcast, or by reading his books. https://www.minterdial.com/
Paul Doiron -- a trout fisherman who never gave up his dream and became a novelist
Paul Doiron is a novelist who writes mystery novels set in the woods of Maine. It hasn't always been like that. Listen to Paul's story, about how his life evolved and he never gave up his dream.
You can read more about Paul at http://www.pauldoiron.com/.
Yuka Manabe, Val Norton and Carl Zimmer -- discussing COVID: what they've seen, what they've learned, what we should know
Join our classmates Yuka Manabe, Val Norton and Carl Zimmer as they discuss COVID. Yuka is a Professor at Johns Hopkins Medical School, specializing in infectious diseases. Val Norton is an Emergency Room doctor and hospital administrator in San Diego. Carl Zimmer is a science writer for the New York Times and 14 books, including A Planet of Viruses. (https://carlzimmer.com/)
Our classmates have a fascinating conversation about COVID -- what scientists have learned, how COVID has impacted health care workers, and what the future may hold.
Tune in for this blockbuster episode.
Tim Harkness -- how a family road trip in 1976 turned into four years at Yale
The tables are turned in the next episode of the podcast, with Tim Harkness being the interview subject. Hear about how Tim's application to college started as a family joke during a 1976 road trip through New England and his thoughts on the importance of improving diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.
Emily Greenwald -- how tandem cycling taught this historian to open herself up to new experiences
In this episode, classmate Emily Greenwald reflects on her journey from being pre-med at Yale to an academic historian living in the American heartland. A self-professed late bloomer, Emily has learned over the years to open herself up to new experiences and appreciate more deeply the experiences of those who are different from her. Tandem cycling with her husband has turned into a metaphor for Emily's life. Take a listen a learn more about Emily's journey.
This podcast is brought to you by the 35th Reunion of the Yale College Class of 1987, which will take place June 2-5, 2022: In Person. In Pierson.
Special thanks go to Gideon Brower for his podcasting advice and to our podcast engineer, Dave Visaya at podcastengineers.com, who is now editing and producing our podcasts.
Caprice Young -- defining success in education and putting your life in a friend's hands
In this episode, we will visit with Caprice Young, and educator mother and cancer survivor. Caprice's inspirational views on education and her definition of success will give you a great deal to think about. Caprice's story of how her college roommate spearheaded her cancer treatment and saved her life is very moving. Caprice is one of the most upbeat people I have ever met, and I think you will find spending 30 minutes listening to her to be uplifting.
A special thanks to our new sound engineer, Dave Visaya from podcastengineers.com, who is now editing and producing our podcast.
Vince Jordan -- recollections from the dining hall
Classmate Vince Jordan recorded this podcast based on a set of written questions -- What is a fun fact people do not know about you? What was the best part of your experience at Yale? Take a listen as Vince shares his "Mike Brady" life now, his recollections of Yale dining halls and the rest of story.
Melissa Bauman Ward -- empty nesting and adapting to change when things do not go as planned
In this episode, we meet our classmate Melissa Bauman Ward -- cellist, lawyer, mother, and proud member of Morse College. We discuss life transitions, empty nesting, what we hope from our next reunion. Spoiler alert, in the lightening round part of the podcast, Melissa cannot come down on either side of the Pepe's/Sally's debate, but she does offer lots of interesting views on her time at Yale and her life since.
Y87 -- Intro
Introducing the podcast, we are trying to use short interviews to make sure the Class fo 1987 is connected as they get ready for their 35th Reunion.