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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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Our classmate Humberto Jasso came to college with only the vaguest idea of what he was getting himself into!  Armed with an adventurous soul and inquisitive mind, Humberto has spent a lifetime trying to build bridges between people and countries.  Listen in as he shares a truly remarkable international perspective

Catherine Marquet Elliott has spent her adult life teaching French in a public school in Massachusetts.  Listen as she describes her journey form a young teacher who set out to teach French to a master teacher who realizes the classroom experience is about changing lives and helping young people transform.  Catherine thinks about the classroom and her students in a wholistic and inspirational way.   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 is the closest thing Yale has to Indiana Jones.  He travels to remote jungles to study bugs.  He understands both art and natural history.  He is an integrative thinker who is just a joy to speak with.  Please spend 30 minutes eavesdropping on our conversation.  You will be glad you did. 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."

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 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 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'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 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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.