Dear Classmate,

Welcome to the inaugural on-line newsletter for the Class of 1985. Since most of us spend a significant amount of time on the Internet, we have put our newsletter on this—our class web site. From this site, you can update your contact information, join the On-Line Community, find other classmates, or submit a newsnote to be published in the next newsletter. I would like to start a tradition of effort and enthusiasm in creating a newsletter that engages our class and updates you about classmates and our alma mater. Through the difficulties of 2001, our connection to each other and to Penn has grown stronger and more important. Penn is family and now, more than ever, our allegiance to each other is crucial. Newsletters are a great way for us to all keep in touch and feel connected to one another.

I want to encourage any and all classmates to take an active role in our class newsletter. If you or a classmate you know has recently done something exciting, traveled, or just has some terrific news to share, please let us know! I know you all enjoy reading about your friends—and they would love to read about you! Please submit a newsnote about yourself, what you’ve been up to, or how this past year may have affected you. My goal is to promote communication among classmates by personalizing the newsletters and generating enthusiasm in future class programming.

Finally, if you haven’t been back to Penn lately, why not return for Homecoming in November? This year Penn will play Brown on November 2nd. Please be sure not to miss one of the most exciting weekends for a Penn graduate! For any additional information, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (215) 898-7811 or alumni@ben.dev.upenn.edu.

Best regards,

Joe Galli, W’85
Class President

A-F | G-L | M-R | S-Z

Scott Ableman C’85 and Debbie Shrager C’85 write, “Scott has joined VeriSign where he is creating a new partner marketing organization.” He and wife Debbie are enjoying life in DC with Ethan (seven) and Hannah (three).

Paul Arling W’85, WG’92 chief executive officer of Universal Electronics Inc., of Cypress, Calif., was also appointed chair of its board. The company develops software and wireless controls and chips for home-entertainment equipment and the subscription-broadcast market.

Beth Albert Barnes NU’85 writes, “I've been living in Aspen, Colo. for the past 12 years. My husband Jon and I have 2 boys Jason (five) and Daniel (three). I work part-time in the ER at Aspen Valley Hospital. I'd love to hear from "old" Penn friends.”

Jennifer Bilfield C’85 <jennybilfield@rcn.com> has been promoted to general manager of the North American office of music publisher Boosey & Hawkes. She also serves on the boards of several arts organizations, including the Music Publishers Association, and is a member of the symphonic and concert committee of ASCAP. Jenny and her husband, Joel Phillip Friedman, a composer and music professor, are parents of a “vivacious toddler, Hallie Eliza Friedman (aka Hallie-mander), born July 15, 2000. The three live in New York with two very verbal parrots.”

Stephen Cass C’85 has joined Backe Communications, a leading full-service advertising agency in the Philadelphia region, as the agency’s director of business development. In his new role, Stephen is responsible for developing new account activity involving the integrated services of the agency. He currently resides in West Chester with his wife, Amy, who is expecting their first child in November.

Reagan Cocke C’85, GAR’88 writes, “I have happily relocated to Houston with my wife Stephanie C'81, GSFA'87 and children Catherine (10) and Winston (seven). I am assistant minister for evangelism and young families at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Divine.

Joseph N. DiStefano C’85 is a reporter and columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer whose recent work focuses on “people who make small fortunes the easy way—by starting with large fortunes.” He won first place, business and labor reporting, from the Keystone State Society of Professional Journalists for his Inquirer magazine series on the rise and fall of Saul Steinberg and the Reliance Insurance Co.; he also won last year. Joe lives in Delaware with his wife and their six children, and served this year on Penn’s local secondary-school committee; he can be reached at jdistefano@phillynews.com.

Kelly A. Dixon W’85 writes, “I recently took a 12-month sabbatical from my Senior Manager position at Accenture (Chicago) to pursue several personal dreams. I am currently living in Paris studying cuisine and patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu. I've also been taking Middle Eastern dance classes (a.k.a. bellydancing), teaching adult computer classes, and connecting with old friends. I'm having the time of my life. The only thing I'm not doing is resting!”

Dr. Stephen C. Ellen C’85 and his wife, Elizabeth Fried Ellen, are pleased to announce the birth of their second child, Zoe Kalila, on June 5. She joins her big sister, Hannah Ruth, who will be five in December. Since 1991, Stephen has been president and medical director of Berkshire On-Call Associates; based in Bedford, Mass., with 32 psychiatrists on staff, it is a psychiatrist recruitment and placement firm specializing in the scheduling of on-call psychiatrists for night and weekend coverage at hospitals in Massachusetts. He also divides his clinical practice between an assistant professorship in psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, a private practice in Nashua, N.H., and consultation work for Cigna Healthcare of Maine and New Hampshire. When not at work, he reports spending his time eating his way to an early death with unrestricted portions of gourmet food and regular worship at the altar of the wine god, Bacchus. He would love to hear from classmates (before it is too late), and can be reached at DrSCEllen@aol.com.

Sara Ephross C’85 e-mails, “2001 was an exciting year. Hannah Ilana Rubenstein was born on July 20, joining big brother Joshua, now five years old. Since Glaxo Wellcome merged with SmithKline, I’m now a director in the worldwide epidemiology at GlaxoSmithKline. I’m still based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., but do get up to Philly; one of these trips I’ll make it back to Penn.”

Ellen Estrin C’85 On a sad note, Ellen Estrin, who truly brightened the hearts of the members of the Class of 1985 and everyone else she touched, passed away this past December. Ellen is remembered by many of us for her wonderful demeanor and contagious smile. She will be greatly missed by the people whose lives she touched.

Joe Galli W’85 lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Shelly and three daughters, Isabella (five), Camille (three) and Francesca (one). Joe reports that he is very active in the autism cause as one of his daughters is undergoing extensive therapy for the disorder. Joe is looking to hear from anyone in the class who has children with autism or anyone who just wishes to exchange emails. His email address is: jgalli@thebernsteincompanies.com.

Peter H. Glick W’85 is president and chief executive officer of Cohesive Technologies Inc. based in Franklin, Mass., it manufactures and markets liquid-chromatography techniques for pharmaceutical drug-discovery. Previously he was president of Primedica Corp., a contract research organization.

Amy Hoberman Kohrman C’85 <amyk@atg.com> e-mails, “I’ve been living in sunny Palo Alto for the past two years with my husband, Matthew, an anthro professor at Stanford, our daughter, Asa, and her sibling whom we expect in March. I’ve been working as a manager at Art Technology Group, a personalized e-commerce software company for four years now.”

Jeff Korenstein C’85 <jkorenst@yahoo.com> and his wife, Sandra LeBrun, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Nicole Concetta, on Aug. 22. As their first child, Nicole is “quickly teaching us the fine art of childcare.” Jeff is a corporate account executive specializing in IT companies with wireless provider Nextel Communications, and Sandy is taking a temporary break from her job as a high-school French teacher in Sharon, Mass. They live in Waltham, and would love to hear from alumni in the Boston area.

R. May Lee C’85 launched marketboy.com, “the first e-commerce site for consumers to compare prices, buy, or bid on over 9,500 products from 50 merchant vendors.” After six years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as the chief operating officer of the credit-derivatives business, she decided to take her knowledge of the financial market and apply it to the buying and selling of consumer products on the Internet. Though thought crazy to launch a dotcom company while all others were shutting down, May knew she had the right idea at the right time, and investors, customers, partners, and the press all seem to agree. Both she and marketboy.com, along with May’s husband, John Hall, are living and thriving in New York. She would love to hear from her friends at Penn at may@marketboy.com.

Michelle R. Levy C’85 and Scott A. Leavitt W’85 WG’89 celebrated their 11th anniversary rafting and camping their way down the Tatshenshini River in Alaska in August. She just accepted a position with the legal division of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, drafting regulations and implementing the New Jersey campaign-finance law <MiaMomML@aol.com>. He is senior director of intranet strategy and solutions at Merck & Co. <scotthr_leavitt@merck.com>. They live in Branchburg, N.J., with their scooter-riding seven-year-old daughter, Rachel Blair Levy-Leavitt (Class of 2016).

Nancy Bea Miller C’85 is an oil painter who had a joint exhibition, Close to Home, in April at the Manayunk Art Center. This autumn her work will be featured in Kalliope, a national arts and literature magazine, and in October she will have a showing at the Artists House Gallery in Old City. Nancy is married to Paul Downs, a furniture designer, and they have three children.

Dr. Thomas R. Pereles EAS’85 and Susan Horowitz Pereles C’88 announce with joy the birth of their third child, Samuel Tucker, on May 14. Sam joins his big brother, Zachary Austin, who will be five this month, and his big sister, Rebecca Sage, who turned two in March. Thomas is an orthopaedic surgeon in private practice in Fishersville, Va., and chief of the orthopaedic service at Augusta Medical Center. Susan is taking time off from the practice of law, in order to be a stay-at-home mom. Their e-mail address is pereles@intelos.net.

Jack Petrie C’85, e-mails, “I am currently living in New York, working in commercial real estate as a managing director for The Staubach Company, a national real estate firm specializing in tenant representation. Married in 2000, my wife, Virginia, and I live on the Upper East Side. I can be reached at jpetrie@staubach.com.”

Jerry Price C’85 <jprice@princeton.edu> was recently promoted to associate director of athletics at Princeton University. Jerry, who has spent the last eight years at Princeton as director of sports information, lives halfway between Penn and Princeton in Yardley, Pa., with his wife, Tricia, and two children, Greg and Annie. Tricia’s sister, Rita Schauder C’86, and Jerry’s brother, Terry Price C’83, give Greg and Annie one Penn aunt and one Penn uncle.

Ivonne Prieto C’85 <Ivonne.Prieto.C85@alumni.upenn.edu> late last year resigned her position as of counsel at Skjerven Morrill MacPherson, a Silicon Valley intellectual-property law firm, in order to study Tibetan Buddhism at Pullahari Monastery in Nepal until this spring. She expects to travel in Nepal, India, Europe, and the United States for the rest of the year.

Allan Rimland EAS/W’85 has joined First Union Securities in New York as managing director of its healthcare investment-banking group; he had previously served in a similar position with Banc of America Securities.

Brian T. Rose C’85 and his wife, Kirsten, have brought another Red Sox fan into the world: Meredith Anna Rose joined three-year-old brother, Matthew, at the Rose clubhouse in Metuchen, N.J., in time for Opening Day. Brian continues to work for Rutgers University, where he has been since 1991.

Edith Fitzgerald Saville Nu’85, GNu’93 married Dr. Wayne Saville on Oct. 2, 1999 in San Diego, Calif. “I work as a nurse practitioner in the HIV Clinic at the University of California, San Diego. Wayne is an oncologist and also practices at UCSD. We are expecting our first child. I’ve been horrible at keeping up with old friends, but I’d love to hear from you; my e-mail is efitzgerald@ucsd.edu.”

David T. Shultz C’85 is a Master Sergeant in the United States Army (Active Guard Army or AGR), and is stationed in Chicago.

Tremain Smith C’85 e-mails, “Just an update on some exhibits of my work, if any of you were in New Hampshire or Maine this spring and summer. From April 13 through June 2, I had eight pieces in the show, Oil & Wax: Art of Encaustic Painting, at the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough, N.H. And from June 16 through July 6, I was on the beautiful island of Deer Isle, Maine exhibiting at the Turtle Gallery. The addresses and phone numbers of these galleries are listed on my Web site (www.tremainsmith.com). I have also just uploaded 2002 work, if you would like to see the new work.”

Valerie Billingham Snyder W’85 and Robert M. Snyder C’85 are pleased to announce the birth of Isabella McKenrick and Robert Reed on April 26 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Valerie is a vice president of Mellon Bank and Bob is market research manager for SAP America; they live in Collegeville, Pa.

Sheila Watkins C’85 was appointed in August regional commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics mid-Atlantic office in Philadelphia. Previously she was chief of direct-survey programs for the bureau’s Office of Field Operations in Washington. The recipient of multiple federal and state-agency performance awards, she is the first African American woman to head a regional office of the bureau.

Dr. Robert A. Woodbury II C’85 M’89 has a thriving solo dermatology practice in Greenwich, Conn. He has been married for 15 years to Jessica Miller Woodbury Nu’86, who works with him as an RN and the office manager; they have four children, Holly (three), twins Mikey and Davy (five), and Robby (13).