Alumni Class Notes

The Alumni Office is delighted to publish the following news items and updates from HM graduates all over the world. Please email any personal or professional news you wish to share to alumni@horacemann.org.

Dr. Ira Eliasoph of the Class of 1946 reached out recently to share some of his memories from his years at Horace Mann School for Boys:

• Tillinghast stood for fair play, truth, and doing one’s best.
• One of my instructors, Mr. Leese, took two weeks to teach us "How to be a Student.” I learned from that experience how to be a teacher.
• My superb teachers prepared me for college and life.
• Two of my good friends achieved some fame:  James Schlesinger ’46, two-time presidential cabinet member, and Bill Greene ’46, a longtime Congressman and candidate for governor.
• My late brother James Lee Eliasoph was in the Class of 1943.

Ira writes, “After a wonderful college experience at Kenyon, medical school at NYU, intern and surgical residency at Montefiore, two years traveling around the world with the Navy as a ship’s doctor, and continued training in ophthalmology, I ended my practice in 2021. I have four children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandson. I am well, taking no medicine, enjoying my pet cat, Bandit, and am part of a super seniors research study.”

Alumni Class Agent Robert Sandler ’48 shares that he is still active with the Old Guard of Westchester, a social organization of retired business and professional men who meet for fellowship, recreation, mutual support, and community service. He is also a member of the ROMEOS -- Retired Old Men Eating Out. Bob and his wife Bobbie will celebrate their 71^st wedding anniversary in December. Happy anniversary, Bob and Bobbie! What an incredible milestone.

Dr. Renée Richards ’51 has retired from practicing ophthalmology after a successful decades-long career. She is currently keeping busy focusing on several projects she has in the works and, when the weather cooperates, on fine-tuning her golf game. In September, she celebrated her 90^th birthday at a surprise party in the company of 75 friends. Happy birthday, Renée!

Can’t sleep? Tune in to www.calm.com/, a program that helps folks get a good night’s sleep. Alan Sklar ’52 has narrated over 20 “sleep stories” designed to help get you asleep before the story ends. Try it!

Howard Stein '57 dropped us a note recently:  "I'm fine. Getting older. Still active on several not-for-profit boards:  my public radio station, Pratt Institute, Bank Street College, and Goddard Riverside Community Center. Four grandchildren, the newest only one-month old." Nice to hear from you, Howard!

Daniel Brent ’63 is still enjoying working full-time as an arbitrator of labor-management and other employment-related disputes.

Ed Beck, who was originally in the class of 1963 but graduated with the class of 1964 after being an exchange student at Wallasey Grammar School, attended the 60^th Reunion of the Class of 1963 in 2023. He worked with fellow 1963-ers Steve Drimmer, Kenneth Casazza, and Jeremy Kagan to produce a commemorative digital 60^th Reunion Mannikin for the class. After 48 years in Harrisburg, PA, Ed and his bride of 56 years, Esther, moved to Abington, PA, near Philadelphia, where, though retired from academics, he continues his independent local, statewide, regional, national, and international work and consultations to major and minor Jewish organizations combating the rising tide of antisemitism and anti-Israelism in this country and around the world. He has also launched a new META Facebook forum, "All The News, Views, and Schmooze World Jews Can Use," that offers a wide range of diverse content and perspectives in politics, religion, education, culture from world mainstream media, and Jewish press outlets

Devon Brookshire, the daughter of Robert Brookshire ’65, is in her eighth season of playing professional basketball overseas. This year, she is playing in the Czech Republic for BK Loko Trutnov.

Dr. Henry Schvey ’65 retired as a professor of drama and comparative literature at Washington University after 37 years, 20 of which he served as chair of performing arts. He received an artist-in-residence fellowship at the Eugene O'Neill Center (TAO House) in Danville, CA.

Retired NPR science correspondent Joe Palca ’70 and Dr. Anna Weerasinghe ’06, an associate director at FGS Global, discovered they shared a common bond while serving on a Washington, DC, Superior Court jury. They snapped a picture to commemorate the moment.

Members of the Class of 1969 gathered in October to commemorate their 55^th Reunion. In attendance were Ross Lambert, Doug Forrest, David Saypol, and Robert Salter. As Ross Lambert ’69 wrote, "We told a lot of stories, mainly funny, reminisced about our years at HM, and caught up on what’s been happening in our lives. The beer was good, the food was good, and friendships were re-solidified. We missed all who couldn't make it and we agreed not to wait another five years to get together again. We will plan a get-together in the spring, and hopefully, with more notice, many of our classmates will attend."

Adrian Mecz ’71, Andrew Yarosh ’71, and Daniel Klein ’71  met for a “mini-reunion” over lunch in Vail, CO, this summer.

Richard Rosen ’71 recently retired from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, a New York law firm where he had been a litigation partner since 1986.  As of October 1, 2024, he assumed the role of Senior Vice President of Legal Advocacy at the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which provides strategic and legal guidance to Americans experiencing antisemitic discrimination and harassment. The Center helps students, employees, and others obtain effective responses from universities and other institutions. When those institutions fail to comply with their legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and other laws, the Center seeks to hold them accountable through federal and state court litigation and through complaints to administrative agencies such as the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education. Richard is responsible for overseeing all litigation and administrative proceedings nationwide. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches a seminar in complex litigation. He frequently teaches overseas and, in recent years, has been a visiting professor at law schools in Budapest, Hungary; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Odesa, Ukraine.

Jay Rosenberg of the Class of 1981 recently shared, "I can't believe my ten years as an HM parent are coming to a close. It's been a great experience seeing the school through the eyes of a parent years after being a student there.  It is an incredible place to get an education!"

This year, Alex Counts ’84 celebrated two milestones:  his 30^th wedding anniversary and the release of the third edition of his book Small Loans, Big Dreams: Grameen Bank and the Microfinance Revolution in Bangladesh, America, and Beyond.

It's been more than 23 years since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Reporting 9/11 and Why It Still Matters, directed and co-executive produced by Phil Hirschkorn ’85, is a deep dive into September 11th told by some of the best broadcast and print journalists who were there. To view the film and trailers:

• Wondrium:  https://shorturl.at/6MaFt
• Trailer:  https://lnkd.in/eGsixv5T
• Facebook trailer featuring Major Garrett:  https://lnkd.in/ebSDvZfm
• Facebook trailer featuring Scott Pelley:  https://lnkd.in/eF_KJVwH

Dr. Nicole Ives ’86 has received the Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division) for her work in founding Indigenous Access McGill (IAM). She and four colleagues founded IAM at Magill University’s School of Social Work in 2007. IAM recruits and supports First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students in social work at McGill. “Prior to IAM, there were very few Indigenous students in the School of Social Work at McGill over decades,” says Dr. Ives. “With IAM, we have supported nearly 40 graduates and currently have First Nations and Métis students across the BSW, MSW, and PhD programs. Several of our BSW graduates have returned for their MSW and a BSW graduate just completed her Master of Science in couple and family therapy in the School of Social Work.” The award was conferred by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada. During her time at Indigenous Access McGill, Dr. Ives was committed to advancing multidisciplinary learning environment to address the histories of colonization and oppression and give students a space in which they could reflect on their unique cultural and disciplinary identity, assumptions, and ways of knowing, being in learning. (Source:  https://www.mcgill.ca/arts/)

Michael Hyun ’95, who relocated to Dallas some time ago and is the chief investment officer at Crow Holdings, wrote that his company recently hosted a debate and dinner featuring speaker David Leonhardt of the Class of 1990. David and his fellow panelists reflected on the topic, Is the American Dream Dying? Also in attendance was Eric Fleiss ’93, another recent transplant to Dallas.

Stephanie Chou ’05 was a guest with Cindy Hsu on the CBS News New York morning show for a discussion about music as a universal language, Stephanie’s album Comfort Girl and her upcoming performances, and more. Stephanie appeared at  the Joe Henderson Lab in San Francisco on November 8^th and the Palo Alto Arts Center in Palo Alto on November 10^th. On January 28^th, she and her quintet will perform at the Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, MI. Click here for tickets and information:  Upcoming concerts

Anthony Ramirez ’96 – CEO of Mainland Media LLC, From The Bronx, and The Bronx Beer Hall – was recently honored by Latin Business Today with the Latin Spirit Award at their recent Spectrum of Success event. Reflecting on the recognition, Anthony shared on LinkedIn, “Shoutout to everyone who’s been part of this journey. This award isn’t just for me; it’s for The Bronx and for all of us pushing for success on our terms.” (Source:  LinkedIn)

Jourdann Lubliner ’06 married Matthew Wender on June 8, 2024, at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club. Alexandra Moss ’06, Harley Langberg ’06, Sam Einhorn ’06, and Niki Nounou ’06 were in attendance alongside Justin Lubliner ’08.

Brian Feldman ’08 started a new position as Executive Vice President - Acquisitions at Aurora, one of the largest property owners in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood and Meatpacking District.

Mustafain Munir ’08 is the president of CYCLO, a company that recycles textile waste and turns it into brand new yarn. CYCLO collects the waste from the manufacturer, recycles it, spins it into yarn, and delivers that yarn back to the manufacturer, all without the use of dyes, water, or chemicals. The manufacturer then uses it to produce garments, ultimately recycling the buyer’s own waste. CYCLO’s is also the producer of CYCLONIC, a line of footwear made with 70% CYCLO recycled cotton yarn and 30% recycled polyester. To learn more, visit:  https://cyclonicusa.com/

Ben Jacobson ’09 has started a new position as a reservist at the Marine Innovation Unit of the U.S. Marine Corps. He works full-time as the co-founder of FLIP, which uses historical maintenance data and machine learning models for predictive maintenance of commercial fleets and the U.S. Air Force.

McKenzie Ryan ’10, recently named to the top .5% of NYC real estate agents, has joined Douglas Elliman’s Sports and Entertainment Division, serving elite clients in sports and entertainment such as New York Knicks team members. She just announced her representation of the ultra-luxury listings at the Mandarin Oriental Residences Fifth Avenue. You can follow her at @McKenzie_Ryan or email her at mckenzie.ryan@elliman.com.

Tyler Strand ’10 announced his company, Air Labs, has launched Air 4.0, which he describes as the most advanced creative operations platform on the market. Additionally, he and his wife, Amanda Loyola ’10, recently welcomed their first child, a girl named Mila, into the world!

James Ruben ’12 has joined Pika as the head of product. The company’s website states that “Pika was founded by two Stanford PhD students who felt making videos was too damn hard. So, they decided to make it easier for anyone to create video on command.” James recently helped to shape the new Pika 1.5 model, a generative video foundational model that, as he says, “will literally and figuratively blow your mind.” In fact, the American tech website VentureBeat captured the magic of Pika 1.5 in a recent article entitled, “Pika 1.5 launches with physics-defying AI special effects.” James shared that “with the support of top tier investors ($135M in funding from Lightspeed, Spark, Greycroft, and many more) and a brilliant group of colleagues,” he is “so excited to spearhead the AI video creation platforms that will bring our state-of-the-art generative models to many more millions of people.” If you’re interested in product management, design, engineering, or growth opportunities at Pika, feel free to contact James.  (Source:  LinkedIn) NOW… watch the Pika 1.5 product launch video – there’s a surprise featuring James at the end! Pika 1.5 Product Launch Video Featuring James Ruben

Champ Darabundit ’15 is currently pursuing a PhD in music technology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, focused on musical acoustics, physical synthesis, and machine learning. He began his studies after completing an MA in music technology at Stanford University. Champ was recently awarded a Vanier Scholarship, the highest valued personal grant conferred by the Canadian government, for his project: “Estimation of woodwind playing parameters using hybrid physics-machine learning models.” After graduating, he hopes to continue his research by pursuing a career in academia.

Maxwell Kagan '16 is a second-year fellow at the American Film Institute, the number one film school in the United States, getting his MFA in producing. He is currently crowdfunding for his thesis project, Degree of Certainty, a narrative short film about the origins of corporate climate denialism, which he plans to shoot in May 2025. The script was selected as a finalist for two prestigious grants:  a Roy W. Dean grant, which funds independent feature films, documentaries, web series, and short films with budgets of $500,000 or less that are unique and make a contribution to society (fromtheheartproductions.com); and an Alfred P. Sloan grant, which seeks to support "the next generation of filmmakers to tackle science and technology themes and characters, increase visibility for feature films that depict this subject matter, and develop new work that can be produced and released theatrically" (sloan.org).

To support Max's crowdfunding efforts, please visit his online donation portal:  https://degreeofcertainty.xyz/donate

Details about the film can be found at:  https://degreeofcertainty.xyz

Jamire Cassanova '17 is working at HM as an admissions fellow. He also is the co-founder (with Jared Figdor '18) and CEO of ixsius, an art, music, and video company. In each capsule release, ixsius uses an art piece, music, and video to tell a big story. Capsule 1 coming soon. Please follow them on their channels:

IG:  @ixsius.llc
TikTok:  @ixsius.llc
LinkedIn:  ixsius

The following announcement about Ram Narayanan ’23 was featured on princeton.edu:

Princeton University celebrated the academic accomplishments of its students with the awarding of undergraduate prizes to six students at Opening Exercises on Sunday, Sept. 1. “I’m honored to be able to celebrate this year’s prize winners,” said Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin. “While Princeton is fortunate to be home to a good many students who are justly proud of their exceptional records of accomplishment, these prize winners stand out. “In addition to achieving great strides academically, in their wide-ranging programs of study they boldly exemplify the heart of our liberal arts mission,” Gordin said. “My colleagues and I congratulate them warmly and are eager to follow their continued success.” Ram Narayanan received the Freshman First Honor Prize, awarded each year in recognition of exceptional academic achievement as a first-year student. Narayanan, of Scarsdale, NY, attended Horace Mann School in the Bronx. A member of New College West, he is considering majoring in physics and pursuing minors in computer science, materials science and engineering, and applied and computational mathematics. He is a recipient of the 2024 Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize. This summer, Narayanan was an intern in Princeton’s ReMatch+ program, where he conducted materials research with Sanfeng Wu, assistant professor of physics. Narayanan also attended the Princeton Summer School on Condensed Matter Physics in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Study. He is a member of the Princeton Society of Physics Students, Princeton Students in Quantum, and a Community Action leader. (article and photo courtesy of Princeton University Office of Communications)

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