Gregory Baker writes: “Tom Walicki and I left Yale with $30+ to our name, literally, and enjoyed the summer of 1982 at Great Mountain Forest with Ned Childs ’83 and Starr Childs ’80. Tom and I still stay in touch regularly. We try to play golf a few times a year (both of us equally handicapped). Tom was a successful forest consultant for many years with Mike Ferrucci ’81. My years since Yale are too varied to describe here. To all students from the Class of 1981, 1982, and 1983, know we are most grateful for the friends and fellowship 40 years ago. With sincerity, Gregory Baker (Fork Harbor, Maine) and Tom Walicki (Madison, Connecticut).”

Joth Davis writes: “Greetings from the Big Sky Country of Montana. Skiing the deep and steep with Paula Daukas and Louise Richardson Davis ’81. We have had fun times reminiscing about everything!”

Stephen Broker writes: “The fieldwork for the five-year Connecticut Bird Atlas is completed as of spring 2022. I serve as regional coordinator for greater New Haven, which has 77 atlas blocks, two of which are my adopted blocks and encompass West Rock Ridge. Connecticut DEEP and the University of Connecticut are leading this effort, which will provide the latest information on breeding, wintering, and migratory birds in the state. Results will be online and will be invaluable for land managers and conservation efforts.”

David Loeks writes: “Greetings from 50% of the Yukon YSE alumni! I just completed the sale of my timber-frame home manufacturing business. This was an innovative design and it used salvage timber from the infamous British Columbia mountain pine beetle infestation, but it was time to let go. I continue to consult in conservation, protected areas, and wildfire risk management. And I am as active as ever in wilderness travel, hunting, sailing, and skiing in the Yukon, accompanied by my faithful mutt, Walker.”

Denise Schlener writes: “Just as I was about to take the ‘semi’ out of retirement, I am now serving as interim executive director for the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League until the board selects a new executive director. Terrific advocacy organization. Almost forgot: The other news is I’m getting married in May to George Bren, my longtime partner.”

Shere Abbott writes: “In December, I retired as a professor at Syracuse University. In July 2022, I join the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, where I’ll build sustainability science and policy programs. JHU is renovating the former Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue for its D.C. campus. Ever since leaving the Obama White House a decade ago, I’ve missed the D.C. policy environment. With our New York nest emptying this spring, it’s time to return for a few seasons!”

Dusti Becker writes: “Ironic that the request featured a giraffe, as that is what I have been trying to save: giraffe nurseries on the Siria Plateau in Kenya. Privatization of land destroyed both communal grazing and wildlife habitat, and now we are making the best of a bad situation: flagging fences, speaking to landowners, and trying to make a giraffe conservancy. Otherwise, still trying to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone National Park wolves, protecting birds in Ecuador, and getting older. Wishing everyone all the best and that we finally get over the COVID craziness.”

Mark Kern writes: “After many years in the environment field, mostly with the wetlands group of the EPA (33 years) in Boston, I have retired and left New England. My wife and I are building a house in Sarasota, Florida, and closing by spring 2022. We have family and friends in the area. Visitors are most welcome.”

Eva Mueller writes: “After working for the German government in Berlin as director general of forests, sustainability, and renewable resources of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture for the past three years, I have recently retired and have just moved back to Italy. I am looking forward to spending more time with my partner and enjoying my country house at the foot of the Sabina mountains, but I will also spend time in Rome working as a consultant for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.”

Chris Stecko and April Grimm write: “We are living the Sierra foothills of Northern California and are both celebrating our retirements (Chris from telecom; April from the solar industry). We have two adventurous sons in their 30s who work in tech. We still miss our Jessie, born when we were at Yale, to this day. With travel becoming more possible, we plan to visit parts of the U.S. and Canada with our 16-foot trailer in tow. Maybe we’ll see some of you on the road. Thanks, Therese Feng, for all you have done all of these years to keep us connected!”

Alex Brash writes: “JJ Earhart relates that he is traveling — as always — and leaning into retirement as he winds down his Global Environmental Fund and soon heads back to California. Analía is building a wonderful home for them in a small oak woodlot in North Valley Napa, and his kids are great and his grandson the best.

Larry King is living in and loving Detroit, trying to keep track of the kids, hanging with family in Minnesota but really spending most of his time in Motown at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. Everyone else has been quiet (or introverted), though I saw Brent Bailey on a Zoom at an old friend’s retirement party, where he piped in — and looked good — from West Virginia. We bought a house in Vero Beach, Florida, just before COVID, and I am loving it: birding, fishing, golf, and the warmth! Learning all the palms. Have an agent on one book, working on another, and my two kids are now out of the nest and doing well. Hallelujah! JJ also noted, and I am sure we all concur that the recent passing of Frank Wadsworth (our TRI host), Tom Lovejoy, E.O. Wilson, and Jeff Burley ’65 PhD is a considerable loss this year. Good to hear though that he sees our ex-dean and honorable classmate, John Gordon ’83, and reports he is still stentoriously awesome in Portland.”

Chris Donnelly writes: “So, I retired. Good thing — I wouldn’t have been able to properly enjoy the pandemic otherwise. No, I am kidding. Since I retired from Connecticut DEEP, where I helped to build the urban forestry program for some 20-plus years, I have been enjoying doing many of the same things I did before I retired, only this time not getting paid. Also kidding. I am still doing many of the same things that I liked before I retired but this time as a free agent, able to pick and choose those volunteer projects I like most but never seemed to have enough time for before. And I am getting rewarded enormously by being able to remain connected to many of the same great people as before and expanding my horizons toward some new directions and new friends to be made. Since retiring, I have been teaching some at UConn (urban forestry, what else?) while chasing the elusive bluefish in Long Island Sound in one of the kayaks from my very small fleet. Last, I bumped into Jon Nute, who informed me that I’m the only one of our class who is still at the same address as when I attended YSE — some things don’t change. It was good to see Jon at the New England Arborists Association meeting, just as it will be good to see other classmates. Let’s hope a favorable wind blows this virus out of our lives and that seeing each other in person becomes more possible very soon. All the best to the rest of the Class of ’85.”

Mark Judelson writes: “We launched my book, ‘Michael’s Legacy: Transcending Life and Death,’ the true story of Michael Bovill who died at the age of 23. His heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys were donated to five strangers. On October 21, 2021, the recipients of Michael’s heart and lungs; members of their families; Michael’s mother, father, and sisters; the heart surgeon who transplanted his heart; the physician who cared for the recipient of one of his kidneys; the transplant coordinator; and others met at LiveOnNY, the organ transplant agency that oversaw this miracle, to celebrate the book, Michael, and the 11th re-birthday party for the recipients. To learn more and to purchase a copy, visit michaels-legacy.com.”

Whitney Tilt writes: “Working on fisheries and climate issues as executive director of the AFFTA Fisheries Fund and enjoying the (relative) calm of Montana.”

Ken Andrasko writes: “Sitting in Bethesda, Maryland, advising the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank and a major private company on their tropical forest investments and Fiji’s minister of economy on how to cost out its climate adaptation portfolio. I wonder if we will ever rise to the governance challenges of climate change. Left World Bank in 2014; consulting since in the tropics. California girl spouse Julie has shared the fun since 1991 of seeing our two daughters evolve to work on global health and international conflict. I’ve enjoyed seeing classmates Mark Dillenbeck, Jim Chamberlain, Eric Carlson, Nels Johnson, Rob Ramey, and Laura Brown regularly. And so the wheel spins. Best wishes to all!” kandrasko3@gmail.com.

Eric Carlson writes: “Ken Andrasko and I toured Native American sites in Arizona and New Mexico this fall ’21. I’ve included a painting of Canyon de Chelly I completed to celebrate that trip.”

Daniel Hellerstein writes: “Semiretired in 2019, now three-fourths retired. Not doing much of anything due to COVID. Spend too much time coding web apps for fun (latest project: a photo-viewing program). Health is ... a bit troubled. Prostate/urological issues. But as they say, getting old sucks, but the alternative is worse.”

Nan Jenks-Jay writes: “During the 2021 reunion, I was fortunate to engage in a stimulating conversation with classmates Elliot Gimble and Jim Pissot ranging from climate change education to wildlife corridors. I was also honored with a Distinguished Alumna Award, which is more humbling than you can imagine. I’m grateful to the YSE Alumni Association Board; author Bill McKibben for his recommendation; and YSE Professor Dorceta Taylor ’91 PhD, preeminent scholar in environmental justice, for her kind introduction.”

Christie Coon writes: “At almost age 80, I have retired as a wetland scientist — but every spring I still wade through a pond nearby to count wood frog egg masses for a group that keeps tabs on them. Also keep active hiking with daughter at Bear Mountain, New York, once a year and walk dog (Beau) at least a mile a day. And every week I play tennis, paddle, and volunteer at a nearby botanical garden center. I loved my classes at the Yale School of Forestry (where my grandfather also went); I miss the intellectual and fun friendly conversations there with classmates!”

Yoel (“Joel”) Seton writes: “I am happy to have left my job as director of a ministry doing biblical study tours before COVID decimated the tourism industry here in Israel. These days I am a very involved father of our wonderful special needs sons. My wife and I are Messianic Jews, and God is faithful to carry us through every trial. I love being out in nature and am doing longer and harder mountain bike rides with the goal of competing in my first cross-country race this spring. (Any other YSE folks on Strava?) Jerusalem is my favorite city on Earth, but like most places, the government often wants to encourage the construction of new housing at the expense of wise planning. Sadly, development is now threatening some of my favorite close-to-home mountain biking areas, so I am mulling what to do about that. During our occasional trips to America, we focus on visiting elderly family, so we can’t visit friends and do wilderness trips as much as we’d like. But if any of you happen to be in Israel, we’d love to see you.”

Eric Jay Dolin writes: “My 15th book, ‘Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution,’ will be published by Liveright (W.W. Norton) on May 31. Missing from most maritime histories of America’s first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels, from 20-foot whaleboats to 40-cannon men-of-war, that truly revealed the new nation’s character — above all, its ambition and entrepreneurial ethos. ‘Rebels at Sea’ corrects that significant omission and contends that privateers, though often seen as profiteers at best and pirates at worst, were in fact critical to the Revolution’s outcome. Abounding with tales of daring maneuvers and deadly encounters, ‘Rebels at Sea’ presents the American Revolution as we have rarely seen it before. To learn more about the book and to see where I will be speaking, please visit my website: ericjaydolin.com.”

Tom Strumolo writes: “Love to my ’88 classmates and all my friends from ’87 and ’89 and even to those of you who might have managed not to be my friend. Greetings to you youngsters, too, whom I met at GMF and whom I had the honor to meet and mentor at the School when I was doing some energy engineering at the new School of Management all-glass building. That beautiful building simply doesn’t work because the architect forgot to enforce the laws of thermodynamics, which should be a prosecutable offense. Digression! I’m OK; thanks for asking — fought like hell to avoid COVID for two years but did catch it in January 2022 from my resident, otherwise adorable grandson. No symptoms. I kind of wish I understood this business of praying because the list of things we have to hold in our thoughts and our hearts is growing long. Every morning I think about the Earth, first, then all the species of plants and animals except humans, then the Indigenous people, then the people persecuted in continuous tribal warfare, then the victims of this vicious virus, then my family, then my friends, then, well, the rest. Then I go to work, making buildings more efficient and getting them off fossil fuels, focusing on the buildings that most need technological and infrastructural makeovers in the most disadvantaged communities, and lobbying all involved from DOE to urban mechanical contractors to work faster. Time is a-wasting; forget retirement; get back in the streets. Contact me anytime for a Zoom invitation. We should meet. Karen, email me!”

Stephen Kelleher writes: “Greetings from Accra, Ghana! I am in my seventh year here in West Africa now managing the West Africa Biodiversity and Low Emissions Development program, the successor to the successful (if I do say so myself!) West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change program. Work focuses on combating wildlife trafficking, decreasing forest and biodiversity loss and degradation, and all things GHG and land use — across West Africa so really easy (place ‘LOL’ here) but made easier by my fantastic team! You can check out some of our work at wabicc.org.”

Cyril (“CJ”) May writes: “I have pushed beyond doing my own enviromagic shows and begun writing to help others do so as well. My Green Magic column in The Linking Ring magazine helps magicians include environmental magic in their shows. An article I wrote for Green Teacher magazine (Fall 2021) helps educators think more ‘magically’ about teaching sustainability. If you or others have interest, please contact me.” cyril.may@aya.yale.edu

Judith Moore writes: “This year I jumped ship from the London-based asset manager I helped found straight into the deep waters of another startup: ImpactARC. We’re advising asset owners and managers on impact investing, what they signed onto when they glibly made their net-zero commitments, and what climate accountability is. It’s a cold upstream swim. I miss the neotropics, leaf architecture, and keying out genera/species!”

Blair Leisure writes: “Blair is still married and still living in Golden, Colorado. My stats: three kids, one dog, one cat, one fish, one wetland company, endless fun! See you soon!”

Marco Lowenstein writes: “Living in lovely New Mexico. Staying safe. Charla and I had our two adult kids here for COVID. Such a blessing. A time to remember. Spent a lot of time this year tending to my 95-year-old mother in Massachusetts, who passed away recently. So a lot of family engagement. Buying and selling wood in the thick of the supply chain calamity is absolutely crazy-making, but somehow getting by. Onward.”

Helmut Gieben writes: “My wife, Christine, and I moved to Bend, Oregon, in June 2021 and are enjoying the sunnier but colder winter weather (compared to Portland, where we moved from). Lots of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter and bike riding and floats on the Deschutes River the rest of the year. I am still actively managing a number of properties in Portland, so I visit quite often. I miss you all and am really looking forward to catching up in person!”

Lisa (Lumbao) Pagkalinawan writes: “After many years in the USAID world, I made the leap to the Asian Development Bank. I started as a consultant in early 2020 doing work on oceans and the environment more generally and was thrilled to be working with a really wonderful team and an amazing boss. So when a full-time position opened up, I applied and thankfully was selected. So now I’m doing environmental safeguard reviews and capacity building plus continuing to work on ADB’s Healthy Ocean Action Plan. My daughter, Sophia, started in-person college in Savannah, Georgia, in September and is doing great. My son is in 11th grade, still stuck at home doing online classes in Manila, which he is not thrilled about. I hope he will finally be able to go back to school soon.”

John Petersen writes: “I’m still teaching at Oberlin College. Started a new company, communityhub.cloud, that focuses on supporting the development of climate-resilient communities. Enjoying my family and playing music with my son, Luke, who’s 14.”

Laurie Peterson writes: “Hi, Yale friends. Hoping you are all doing well and staying healthy these days. Currently I’m the science director for the fish program within the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, where I’ve focused on salmon recovery science and fishery monitoring and management for the past 25 years. I’m married and have a 7-year-old daughter named Maya. We live in Olympia, Washington, with our two dogs, two kittens, and a bunny — keeping very busy! Life is good. Come by and say hi if you’re in the area!”

Beth Conover and Ken Snyder write: “We are still happily in Denver in a now-empty nest. One son is in the Bay Area, engaged, and working at Lawrence Berkeley Lab on science communications; the other is at Oxford for a master’s degree. I’m still running the CSU Salazar Center for North American Conservation (with Lise Aangeenbrug ’90 and Gary Tabor ’92 among our formal advisors): salazarcenter.colostate.edu. We’re in regular touch with lots of former F&ES/YSE and SOM friends. Please visit!”

Eugene Simonov writes: “I am legally obliged by the Russian Justice Ministry to use this disclaimer in any public communication: ‘Agent 0078 (aka Agent Green). This message has been created and/or disseminated by a foreign mass media outlet functioning as a foreign agent.’ I am a distinguished conservationist of Russia and the coordinator of the Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition. After 15+ happy years in China, my family and I were kicked out of China by a COVID-induced border shutdown to enjoy natural COVID in Moscow, then escaped Russia to survive three vaccine shots in Haifa, Israel. Finally, on New Year’s Eve 2022, we moved south to the country of platypuses, kangaroos, and cockatoos. For the next three+ years, I will be doing PhD research on prospects of global river conservation at UNSW-Canberra. No other changes in my work and habits have been reported by concerned intelligence services.”

Steve Harrington writes: “I am taking an experimental faux-tirement to understand better what it will be like if I ever actually get the chance to retire. Meanwhile, I am also using this time to be very deliberate about what I do when I grow up. I am leaning heavily toward focusing on approaches and policies for dealing with climate change. So if you have a project that needs reasonably talented bodies and minds, I may be your person. I would love to work with people from YSE days because they are among the very best people I know.”

Felton Jenkins writes: “I live in wonderful White Salmon, Washington, with wife Karen and dogs Wilma and Dean. Karen is the real forester in the family and also teaches cross-country skiing on Mt. Hood. I fished and explored the Kayapo territory in the Brazilian Amazon in August 2021. Besides managing investments, fishing, snowboarding, and looking for birds, my family in Georgia and I are trying to prevent the new EV truck company Rivian from industrializing 2,000 rural acres of forests, farms, and wetlands. It would be right next to our family farmland and cemetery. We need help! Please see No2Rivian.org and the Facebook group Our Communities Oppose Rivian Assembly Plant. My brother Alan helped start the NGO Morgan Land Sky Water Protection; they are very busy right now.”

Bill Keeton writes: “Though the pandemic tried hard to trip me up, I managed to pull off (and just returned from) a year abroad on sabbatical. I spent the spring as a Fulbright Scholar in Vienna, Austria, where I was based at the Institute for Forest Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. The fall semester took me to the silviculture group at the University of Freiburg, Germany, as a guest professor. Working with more than 20 colleagues from across the continent and using data from 14 countries, my main project explored and proposed a new framework for ecological silviculture in Europe. The resulting paper is now in press with the journal Ecological Applications.”

Nicola Robins writes: “I’m still in Cape Town, swimming in the kelp forest, being a mom, and working with Incite. Due to both the pandemic and the recent investor awakening to ESG issues, the corporate sustainability field has exploded. Fascinating developments. My latest focus is on how to apply complexity-fit tools in this space.”

Eileen (Cates) Stone writes: “My family and I have lived near Saratoga Springs, New York, for about 20 years. We enjoy our small hobby farm with sheep and bees. I recently started a new job as senior project manager for Scout Clean Energy, a fast-growing renewable energy development company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. At Scout, I am having fun leading repower efforts of older wind assets. I love seeing and catching up with classmates!”

Jane Whitehill writes: “Freelance writing in drug development continues to be productive — always new diseases, new techniques, new treatments to learn about. And (about time!) people are including the physical and social environments that encourage health (or that encourage disease).”

Dwight Barry writes: “I’m still a principal data scientist at Seattle Children’s Hospital.”

Kerry Fitzmaurice writes: “I am thrilled to announce that I am opening a vegan barbecue craft-casual restaurant in Manhattan in May 2022 called Pure Grit BBQ. It has been a labor of love for three years. I believe that the best thing you can do for your health and the environment is eat a predominantly plant-based diet. Our menu is a great place to start. It features smoked alternative proteins and vegetables with traditional barbecue sides made vegan, like coleslaw, mac and cheese, and potato salad. Our signature side is a cornbread waffle that can be enjoyed savory or sweet. Oh, and everything is gluten-free. Follow the journey @puregritbbq.”

James Jiler writes: “Hola! I am currently residing in Valencia, Spain, working on a book about food security. Have plans to divide time in Costa Rica, where I’ll hopefully be developing a land institute with Joaquin Leguia ’94. Feel free to visit me in Spain. It’s quite lovely.”

Sarah (Cole) McDaniel writes: “With my son in college and divorce behind me, I’ve spent the pandemic settling into my new empty nest in New Gloucester, Maine. I completed training as a mediator last year at Harvard’s Program on Negotiation so that I can expand my law practice to include mediating real estate disputes focusing on boundary issues, access easements, and families trying to manage inherited camps and lands in Maine. In addition, in my work representing land trusts and landowners in conservation transactions, 2021’s projects put me over the mark in helping to protect more than 130,000 acres in the past decade! Recently my conservation work has connected me with Tom Duffus ’86 of The Conservation Fund. I’m always open to chatting with alumni who are considering a law degree or life in Maine: douglasmcdaniel.com.”

Ken Pruitt writes: “Hi, everyone! According to math, which is unreliable, I just turned 53. Changing the subject, Teresa and I are coming up fast on empty nester-hood. Emma is a junior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (electrical and computer engineering), and Calvin is about to graduate from high school (he just earned his Eagle Scout rank — we’re super proud). Come September, the house is going to feel pretty empty. Our dog, Lucy, is going to be really depressed. I was ridiculously lucky and recently landed a great job as sustainability director for my hometown of Winchester. I’m responsible for implementing the town’s climate action plan to reduce GHG emissions 80x50. It’s going to be, as we say around here, ‘wicked hahd,’ but I love the work. I wish I could say I was traveling the world giving forestry lectures in Hungary, Romania, Germany, and other exotic locations, but I’m letting Bill Keeton ’94 take care of such tedium for me. Thanks again, Bill. With the scourge of COVID I haven’t seen any of you in person for what feels like seven years. Please, please let this pass. Warm regards from Winchester!”

Andi Eicher writes: “Hi, friends! My wife, Dr. Sheba, and I have been serving with the Asha Kiran Society (AshaKiranSociety.org) in the southern tip of the state of Odisha in eastern India for the past two years now. Sheba does clinical work in the Asha Kiran Hospital and looks after our community health work, focusing on practical palliative care for the villages that surround us as well as primary healthcare for the Bonda tribal group 50 kilometers away from our home. I support our agroforestry farmer livelihood program and community education work, which helps children from mainly unschooled families get into primary school using their own tribal languages. We have survived COVID-19 (yay!) and have our two amazing kids, Asha and Enoch, currently studying at Taylor University in the U.S. Midwest. Will they end up in New Haven some day? For those who are swinging by India, our doors are always open (and we are building a beautiful little house, too)! There is some decent birding to be had here. You can WhatsApp us at +91 9321112065 or email.” andisheba@yahool.co.in

David Ganz writes: “I am still in Bangkok raising two amazing girls, Jeetah (age 6) and Seyah (age 7). Amazed at how resilient these kids have been with online learning and COVID-19 restrictions. The realities of living in Asia are a very stark contrast to what I am seeing in the U.S. Everyone is very cooperative and respectful of the government protocols here. Kids are adapting to the new world, especially whatever is due to come next. For my professional update, I continue to lead RECOFTC, an international organization serving the hundreds and thousands of community forest user groups, Indigenous peoples, and local communities across Asia and the Pacific. With climate action concerns becoming more urgent, scaling up our work is imperative. Ideally, RECOFTC will continue to grow and provide even more services to Asia and the Pacific, especially IPLCs and marginalized peoples. For addressing these challenges, I hope to hire some talented young people from Yale in the years to come. If interested, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit the website at recoftc.org.” David.Ganz@recoftc.org

Martin Medina writes: “I’ve been busy consulting for the world’s largest plastic waste recycling project in Indonesia; finishing a report on marine debris in Latin America for UNEP; writing a paper published in a U.N. Human Development Report; advising Kampala, Uganda, on improving its waste management system with a circular economy approach; and UNDP on working to reduce waste in the textile industry in Myanmar. Interesting fact: I’m trying to replicate in Kampala and Lake Victoria a central aspect of how the Aztecs managed their solid wastes.”

Jose Juan Terrasa-Soler writes: “Our firm (Marvel Architects & Landscape Architects) just completed the comprehensive redesign of El Portal, the visitor center at El Yunque National Forest, in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. national forest system. El Portal opened to the public in January 2022 and includes the only accessible trail in the entire forest. Come visit Puerto Rico and take a look! You will all fall in love with El Yunque!”

Julie (Herbst) Bain writes: “I am still working as a district ranger for the Forest Service in Nebraska’s Sandhills, recently listed in Conservation Science and Practice as one of the top seven largest and most intact grasslands on Earth. My husband and I purchased a place in Wallace, Nebraska, where we will retire someday with dogs, bees, horses, and cattle in tow. I just made 25 years of government service, just about half my life! I’m working on a quilt titled Unloved Insects of Nebraska, starting with the tick. Avery Anderson ’08, Katherine Cooper, and Laura Falk McCarthy ’87 are among my closest friends. I hope everyone is well.”

Ann Brower writes: “I am the chirpy antichrist of the South Island high country of New Zealand. Having discovered that the government land reforms were selling land at negative prices that later sold for 992 times the government selling price, on average, the farmers call me a socialist infection, and journos call me the chirpy antichrist. My students call me professor of enviro science at University of Canterbury in Christchurch. And yes, there is a bill achingly close to passing through Parliament to finally, at very long last, end the land reforms.”

Maria Ivanova writes: “Global environmental governance became my passion during my time as an MEM student (joint with international relations) and turned into an academic career after receiving a PhD in 2006. I joined UMass Boston in 2010 to create a new PhD program on global governance and human security (global.umb.edu). In 2020, having reconnected with a group of amazing YSE women (all alums of the PhD program), Julie Velasquez Runk ’05 (now professor at the University of Georgia) and I organized the classmates career panel. Marina Campos ’06, Christiane Ehringhaus ’05, Eva Garen ’05, Keely Maxwell ’04, and Helen Poulos ’07 discussed their career trajectories and inspired graduate students in Georgia and Massachusetts! Also happy to announce that my book, ‘The Untold Story of the World’s Leading Environmental Institution: UNEP at Fifty,’ was published by MIT Press in 2021. Now off to the U.N. Environment Assembly and UNEP@50 commemoration in Nairobi! And I highly recommend ‘Yale Needs Women’ by Anne Perkins, a fantastic book about Yale that was a dissertation at UMass Boston a few years ago!”

Concho Minick writes: “Hi! I am currently the CEO and partner in ULTERRE, which is a residential and commercial real estate brokerage in Dallas/Fort Worth. We are doing our best to manage the flow of people to Texas. Please come see us. Margaritas on me and Dawn. P.S.: Our boys are off to college, so it’s just us and the girls now, Janie and Georgia.”

Sylvia (Stone) Busby writes: “My family and I enjoyed several bright spots in 2021, including short trips from our home in coastal San Diego to Anza Borrego Desert, Catalina Island, and San Francisco. In addition, our summer road trip to New Mexico included a visit with April Reese in Santa Fe. I am still working with The Nature Conservancy.”

Maureen Cunningham writes: “I started a new job in late 2020 and am now serving as chief strategy officer and director of water strategy at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center, working on lead in drinking water and other water equity issues. EPIC is based in D.C. — though I work remotely from outside of Albany, New York, where I live with my husband and two boys. I also serve as an elected councilmember of my town and just won reelection to another four-year term. I was able to see Laura Dunleavy Nelms, Donna An ’01, and Navis Bermudez a few months ago while visiting D.C. In 2020, several of us also held an impromptu reunion over Zoom.”

Ali (Abuyuan) Monge writes: “Hello! I am happy to report that my family and I have stayed healthy and safe since March 2020, and I hope that everyone reading this is in good health as well. I continue to serve as vice president of Women for American Values and Ethics. Our organization is going strong, and there is still much work to be done despite our victories in November 2020. I also serve on three other non-profit boards, including as a trustee for St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in California. My husband, Lindsay, and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary in July 2022, and we can’t believe that our first son, Lucas (14), will be in upper school next year. Our second son, Jackson (12), started his middle school career last year. We are also parents to our lovely dogs Sage and Auggie.”

Harry White writes: “I’ve been working on large-block preservation projects in northern New England, most recently saving 10,000 acres in the High Peaks and Mahoosuc regions of western Maine from more clear-cuts and other forestry crimes against nature. I also recently served on the Science and Technology Working Group of the Connecticut Governor’s Council on Climate Change, where we went up against science-denying forestry interests, including YSE faculty, and lost. I also serve on the state Senate’s Wildlife Management Advisory Group, where we are trying to prevent the killing of bears and apex predators. I am hopefully retiring soon after being a part of the permanent protection of about 45,000 acres in New England and am looking forward to focusing on my ski patrol work and spending more time doting on the 600+ dwarf conifers I have in container and bonsai cultivation here on the farm in northwest Connecticut. Blessings to all.”

Leigh Cash writes: “James and I still work for LANL and live and work in Tennessee so we can be closer to our families. We and our three dogs (Lola, Rudy, and Levi) are over the moon to now live in the Great Smoky Mountains and are looking forward to some amazing day hikes. James continues to love to fly, and I spend my time enjoying the three R’s — reading (math), rowing (contemplating math), and rithmeticing (doing math). I live a faux well-traveled life through connections to many of you — including Lisbet Kugler, who is always coming from or going to someplace amazing!”

Dave Ellum writes: “I’ve transitioned into a full-time dean’s role at Warren Wilson College, overseeing all land and sustainability programming. I still get into the woods working with students on our agroforestry operations, especially medicinal plant propagation. Townes is in his second year at UNC Chapel Hill, is the fiddler for the UNC Bluegrass Band, and has still not made it to dinner at the home of Alex Finkral ’97 and Elizabeth Kalies ’04. He is threatening to head up to New Haven for graduate school. Seija is a freshman in high school and focused on her grades, volleyball, and, well, teenage stuff. Mona’s company, Ellum Engineering, is doing well and entering a lengthy contract period with several regional municipalities. I’d love to put together a group tour of our land operations this spring or summer for any alums who are in the region. Give me a shout if interested.”

Aya Hirata Kimura writes: “I am back in Honolulu from a one-year sabbatical at Kyoto University. I have been researching the connections between agrobiodiversity and foodways as well as continuing my work on citizen science. Because the foodway I am focusing on is fermentation, I have been eating and making lots of pickles (‘tsukemono’). I hope to turn the project into a book soon!”

Quint Newcomer writes: “Grateful for the opportunity to contribute a chapter on Monteverde, Costa Rica, in Professor Florencia Montagnini’s forthcoming book, ‘Biodiversity Islands.’ After leaving my full-time position as director of UGA’s campus in Costa Rica, I’ve helped my wife, Lori, and her partners (including Joe Smith ’96) run Architectural Collaborative. As director of sustainability, I get to help with things like setting up an ESG 401(k) plan and pursuing B Corp certification. We still love living in Athens, Georgia. My daughter, Ellery, has applied to grad school at College of Charleston, and my 10-year-old son, Rhys, is shredding the electric guitar. Disc golf has replaced ultimate, although I’m still aiming for one more great grandmasters division trip to nationals. Our Australian shepherds, Peyton and Ozzie, enjoy the disc golf, too!”

Roberto Frau writes: “In the past year, closed international borders nudged me to live in Rio de Janeiro during the worst part of the pandemic in Brazil, and I managed not to get sick only to catch the Delta variant on my way back to Puerto Rico, where I’m now permanently based. I also became a senior social development specialist consultant for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank Group’s IFC. Most importantly, I married Emeric, my wonderful French-Brazilian partner of 10 years, in a sexy but protected COVID wedding.”

Rachel (Roth) Novick writes: “I left Notre Dame this past summer and joined the Morton Arboretum as their first director of sustainability. The arboretum is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary and is stunning in all seasons. Be in touch if you would like a tour!”

Becky Tavani writes: “I’m still in Rome, Italy, working for the Forest Resources Assessment team at FAO. My two girls (8 and 10) keep me on my toes, particularly with my Italian. Cannot believe it’s been 20 years since I graduated from YSE! I feel so grateful to have had such a formative academic experience (particularly Professors Siccama, Ashton, and Maathei) and such a rich social experience (TGIF). Immensely fortunate to have met such amazing friends there with whom I’m still very close (so close my husband deems them the ‘comitato’): Roberto Frau, Colleen Ryan, Sarah Canham, Carrie Magee, and Rachel Fertik. Our virtual happy hours have been a lifeline over these past few years. I had the good fortune to see most of them in person in 2021. Always happy to have visitors look me up if they pass through!”