December 2008-January 2009

Welcome to the first “holiday” Extension Chord issue. This special edition of our newsletter contains information from each of HEAA’s committee chairs with their special invitation to all of our Extension alumni who would like to become involved in what the HEAA is planning for the coming year. Our three committees, Alumni Events, Communication, and Alumni Relations, need volunteers to help us realize our immediate and future goals. Please read on to find a committee that interests you and contact us if you would like to participate in the HEAA. This is an exciting time for the HEAA and now is the time to become an active member.

We wish you and your loved ones the happiness and peace of the holiday season.

Grace Scheibner, ALB ’90
HEAA President

Karen Droisen
Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs and Development
Harvard Extension School

In This Issue

• Invite a Student to Dinner Program Update
• Project Reconnect – NEW!
• 2008 HAA Award Recipient: Ella P. Smith, ABE ’66
• HEAA Events
• Alumni News

Invite a Student to Dinner Program

Alumni relations chair Theresa Dilando and recent graduate Mishawn Davis-Eyene, ALM ’08

Would you like to reconnect with the student community at Harvard Extension School? We have a wonderful opportunity for you to do so: volunteer for the Invite a Student to Dinner Program. This program provides opportunities for Extension School students to connect with alumni in collegial and relaxed settings. We hope that student participants will draw inspiration from the professional, educational, philanthropic, and personal accomplishments of our alumni. In turn, we hope that the alumni hosting the dinner will gain a meaningful connection with the student participants and become more involved in campus life.

Many thanks to alumni such as Elaine Grey, James Constable, Mary Ellen Sullivan, and Ruth Gove who have volunteered already and shared the following comments about the experience.

“My experience at Harvard Extension School was an extraordinary one, so I tried to share some of those experiences with Daniel. …I believe that the program is a good one in which to participate and I welcome the opportunity to meet with another student.” – Elaine Grey, AA ’03, ALB ’06

“Michelle and I had a lovely brunch. Michelle has many interests so our conversation was lively and lasted over two hours. She was anxious to hear about the Extension Alumni Association, and I think she could be a valuable member when the time comes.” – Ruth Gove, ABE ’67

“I am still in contact with my previous dinner guest. This is a great program and great for Harvard Extension School.” – James Constable, ALB ’80, ALM ’07

If you have questions or comments about the program, or if you are a volunteer and would like to share about your dinner experience, please contact HEAA Vice President Theresa Dilando, CSS ’83, at tdilando@yahoo.com, or HEAA Chair of Alumni Relations Michele Blanc, CM ’07, at michele_blanc@harvard.edu. We look forward to your feedback.

Project Reconnect

We invite alumni to join Project Reconnect, a program to reach out to graduates to build our connection with them, to survey their interests, and reconnect them to our vibrant community. Engage with people from your graduating class. Learn about your classmates’ experiences and where they are going next. Ask former students about their jobs, further education, and ways they would like to become more involved with the HEAA. Help us build a conversation among alumni association members. Twenty volunteers are needed to survey 25 alumni each. The time commitment is small—about one hour per month from your home—but the rewards are great. Please contact HEAA Chair of Communications Mike Fishbein, ALM ’04, at mike.fishbein@post.harvard.edu to participate.

2008 HAA Award Recipient: Ella P. Smith, ABE ’66

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) Awards were established in 1990 to recognize outstanding service to Harvard University through alumni activities. The fall dinner award presentations were held on October 16, 2008, at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge to honor the six recipients of this year’s HAA Awards. Congratulations to Ella P. Smith, ABE ’66, 2008 HAA Award recipient and the first Harvard Extension alumni to be honored in the award’s history.

Ella P. Smith, ABE ’66, of Abington, Massachusetts, has been the ultimate HEAA activist. Shortly after graduating, she worked with administrators and fellow recent graduates to help found the HEAA. She has been a member of the HEAA’s steering committee since 1968, served as president from 1982 to 1985, and chaired most of its committees over the past 40 years. She has been the Harvard Extension School’s HAA appointed director for many years, and has served with distinction on the HAA graduate schools committee and the communications committee. Smith has been a director of Family Day Care Programs Inc., in Brookline, and a board member of the West End branch of the Boston chapter of the American Cancer Society. Since 1985, she has served on the Mayor’s Commission on Elderly Affairs for the city of Boston, and in 1987, she became a member of the Senior Center Task Force for Boston. She is also a member of the Boston Museum of Science’s board of overseers.

Other 2008 HAA Award recipients:
Peter C. B. Bynoe, AB ’72, MBA ’75, JD ’76
Deborah A. Goldfine, AB ’85
Nathaniel B. “Nat” Guild, AB ’73
Susan B. Heath, AB ’67
Charles E. Wiggin, AB ’68, JD ’72, MBA ’72

HEAA Events

Whether you are interested in cultural, educational, or athletic events, or simply in socializing with your fellow alumni, the HEAA event calendar includes an outing for you. If you’ve never attended any of our events, I urge you to make this the year you try one or two. If you’re a long-time participant, eager to enjoy your favorite events, welcome back! Either way, I look forward to sharing our exciting events with you.
– HEAA Events Chair Steve Gallagan, CSS ’00

Recent HEAA Events

Harvard v. Yale Tailgate Party: The Game at Harvard Stadium

Photo by Alison Cherwin, Fat Kitty Studios

Saturday, November 22, 2008
Harvard Stadium

More than 90 HEAA alumni and friends bundled up to enjoy a tailgate party at the 125th edition of The Game at Harvard Stadium. Despite low temperatures, spirits were high as Crimson fans watched their team capture its 13th Ivy League championship with a 10–0 victory over the Yale Bulldogs.

After Hours: Harvard’s Peabody Museum

Jonas Palencia (current Extension student), John Sompayrac, ALB ’03, and T. Rose Holdcraft. Photo by Alison Cherwin, Fat Kitty Studios

Friday, November 7, 2008
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

T. Rose Holdcraft, CSS ’95, conservator and administrative head of the conservation department at Harvard’s Peabody Museum, welcomed alumni and friends and gave a brief overview of the museum’s history and collections. During this private evening, HEAA, Harvard Extension Student Association, and Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement members toured the galleries and enjoyed live music from jazz trio Ten-String Swing, led by Matt Brown, ALB ’86.

Alumni Speaker Series Event: Lois Kelly, CSS ’86

Friday, October 24, 2008
Grossman Common Room

Lois Kelly, CSS ’86, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of over 50 Extension students and alumni in the Grossman Room at 51 Brattle Street. Now in its second year, the Alumni Speaker Series offers opportunities for alumni to return to the Extension School community to share their experiences with Extension students and alumni. All events in this series are free. Lois’ dynamic presentation on marketing strategies for emerging technologies provided a wealth of useful information that generated many questions from the audience.

Upcoming HEAA Events

We have many exciting events planned for spring 2009. Please join us! You will receive postcard and broadcast e-mail invitations to each event about two weeks before its scheduled date.

For more information on the following events, please visit the HEAA Events page.

Alumni News

We love to hear from you! To send us a class note, log in at Post.Harvard, select Alumni Notes in the upper left column, and Add a Note at the top of the page. You can also send your news directly to alumni@dcemail.harvard.edu.

Vikram Ahuja, ALM ’08, reports that his Web 2.0 site for women’s fashion and ethnic wear has surpassed 150,000 users and 1,000 active customers. The site and blog (www.sulbha.net) was started jointly while he was a student at the Extension School.

Kristen Carrillo, ALM in Management ’08, accepted the position of marketing mastermind with Smarty Pants, a youth and family-focused market research and strategic consulting firm.

Heather Hughes, CPC ’08, is excited to join the editorial staff at the Harvard University Press as assistant to the acquisitions department.

Temirmalik Shomansurov, ALM ’08, and his wife had their second child, Sayidmalik, who was born in Boston on April 12, 2008.

Katia Litman Silberman, ALM in Management ’08, has been working for the Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vitcaya Argentaria in the New York branch legal department as a legal counsel since August 2008.

Rachel Dean, ALM ’07, will begin a new position as adjunct professor with State Fair Community College in Missouri starting January 2009.

Ilana Hodsdon, ALB ’07, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education for teaching English as a second language to college and adult students and is planning a move to North Carolina.

Kostadin Gueorguiev, CAS ’06, is teaching 3-D computer graphics at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and at Westwood College. His paintings and sculptures are currently featured in three exhibitions in the United States and one in Austria.

Tracy L. Stamos, ALM ’06, has used her ALM in Environmental Management to develop and launch her sustainable food services company, Savory Green Inc. The three domains of Savory Green Inc. include sustainable catering services, suitability consulting to businesses in and out of the food industry, and education concerning sustainability in the food industry.

Alison Gillespie Trefry, CM ’06, was selected as the 2008–09 Young Professional of the Year by the Huntsville/Madison Chamber of Commerce. She is currently the director of institutional advancement at the Huntsville Museum of Art.

Lisa Cordeiro, ALM ’05, reports that her second book, Journey of a Woman Marine: Life, Love, and Travels During and After the Marine Corps, was published by Whiskey Creek Press (WCP). WCP also released a second edition of her book, Parris Island: A Woman’s Memoir of Marine Corps Boot Camp. Both are available through her website (www.lisacordeiro.com).

Kathryn Rotondo, CAS ’04, co-wrote Adobe Air in Action, published by Manning Publications in July 2008. She currently works as a software developer.

Andrew T. White, CPC ’04, was elected to Concordia University (Portland, Or.) board of regents for a three-year term and is a member of the Concordia University foundation board. He continues to work in business in Boise, Idaho, as president and CEO of A.T. White Company, which deals with forest products manufacturing and sales worldwide. Andrew has completed a marathon on six continents: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. 

Jimmy Y. Setiawan, CSS ’03, owns a hardwood flooring distribution company.

Karen A. Livecchia, ALB ’00, currently works as a senior manager at Cosimo Books, a specialty publisher in New York City that recently reached a milestone of 2,100 titles. For more information, she invites you to visit the Cosimo Books website (www.cosimobooks.com).

Bernardo Navarro, ALM ’98, formed Benworth Capital Partners (BCP) in April 2008 and serves as its president. BCP is a nontraditional commercial and residential mortgage firm that provides private funding for mortgages where traditional banks have abandoned a significant segment of the market.

Christopher Lubicz-Nawrocki, ALM ’96, graduated from Simmons College in 2002 with a master’s degree in library and information science and currently works in the open collections program in the Harvard University Library.

Sam Adams, ALB ’95, owns and operates the Pump N’ Pantry grocery store in Williamstown, Vermont. He currently lives in Barre, Vermont, with his girlfriend, Amber Collins, and her horses.

Susan Fisher, CSS ’95, accepted a marketing communications position with Hewlett-Packard Worldwide Information Management Services. 

Olga S. Partan, ALM ’95, received her doctorate from Brown University in 2004 and taught Russian language and culture at Wellesley College. She is currently a visiting assistant professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Karin Gertsch, ALB ’92, is working as a project coordinator and is responsible for establishing a new senior center in the West End of Boston. She is also working with four other nonprofits to provide a range of services to residents of the West End and Beacon Hill areas, as well as a food pantry for low-income elders.

Miguel A. Gonzalez, CPH ’92, works at Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, as a litigation support analyst. An active member of the Harvard Club of New York City, Miguel is the group leader for the theater discussion group.

Baheej Khleif, ALM ’92, has finished a novel, Sam, Meriam, and Me, which was published by Jameel Publishing in 2008. The story is about a love triangle involving different cultures and religions. Khleif was the first director of the Arab Jewish cultural center, Bet Hagefen, in Haifa, Israel, and he currently works as a sociology professor at Columbia College of Chicago.

Noreen Mallory, ALB ’92, is working as a writer and has co-authored a book, Urban Theory: Critical Thoughts in America, which was released in July 2008.

Susan B. Berry, ALB ’89, went on to the graduate school of social work at Simmons College after her time at the Extension School and has had a rewarding career as a licensed independent clinical social worker. She reports, “My experience at the Harvard Extension School enriched my life immeasurably. I look back at the challenging work and how it taught me to reach and achieve heights I never thought imaginable.”

Richard B. Lockwood III, CSS ’88, was promoted in June 2008 to executive vice president of Bankers’ Bank Northeast in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

Richard Pien, CSS ’88, was elected to the Boston Ward Five committee during the 2008 Super Tuesday presidential primary. He was also reelected to the Trinity Church in Copley Square lector committee.

E. Moore Quinn, PhD, ALM ’88, has finished his new book, Irish American Folklore in New England, which will be published by Academica Press in 2009. He is currently associate professor of anthropology at the College of Charleston.

Man M. Bui, CSS ’87, is in his 23rd year with IBM, currently doing marketing management at IBM Global General Business. He has been in Atlanta for 12 years with his wife and three children, ages 15, 12, and 7.

Anthony Cicariello, ALM ’87, is working on his drama, “Ivan the Terrible,” which has helped him to understand the events that are now taking place in Russia.

Edra Mercer, ALB ’86, is a preschool teacher and medical transcriptionist. She enjoys photography, working in her garden, and making porcelain dolls.

Javier Balloffet, CSS ’85, was appointed vice president for ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard teaching hospital, in June 2008. Previously, Balloffet served as administrative director of ophthalmology at Boston Medical Center.

Maliz Beams, CSS ’83, executive vice president for individual client services at TIAA-CREF and president and CEO of TIAA-CREF individual and institutional services, was number six on US Banker’s Top 25 Nonbank Women in Finance 2008 list.

James Geoghegan, AA ’77, and AB ’78, completes his second tour in Iraq in December 2008, goes home to Washington, DC, for six months, and then goes to Afghanistan for one year.

Raymond Smith III, AB ’75, has worked in the aviation industry since retiring from Polaroid Corporation in December 1998. He first worked as the human resource and administrative manager for US Airways until 9/11, and has since worked as an aviation security inspector for the Transportation Security Administration in the Department of Homeland Security. 

Marilyn Churchill, AB ’67, is working in the field of learning disabilities as a coordinator of special education and private tutor for dyslexic students, and she is enlarging her private practice. Her granddaughter and grandson are now both working in the field of publishing. Marilyn hopes to travel to Ireland or Europe next summer with her family. She would love to hear from any former classmates. 

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