Taft Voices

Matt Rice '94

As director of the Colorado River Basin for American Rivers, an advocacy group based in Washington, 1994 alum Matt Rice’s work is aimed at getting people in the region to recognize the urgency of the unfolding environmental disaster caused by global warming (aridification and the increasing reduction of water availability)—and to adapt before it’s too late.

Susie Banikarim '93

If ever there was a crucible for journalism, Susie Banikarim ’93, as executive VP and head of global newsgathering at Vice News, met this one head-on—a year consumed by a pandemic, protests, and a presidential election. The public health crisis sent media executives like Banikarim scrambling to reimagine the newsroom, coverage, and work-life balance.

Rick Wies '71

Throughout his four-decade career as a Connecticut architect, Rick Wies ’71 has stayed open and adaptable to each project that comes across his drawing board. At any given time, he might be designing a new apartment complex, overseeing renovations of a commuter rail station, helping reinvent a local theater, or volunteering to help build a house for a veteran with PTSD—sometimes simultaneously.

Eliza Geddes '97

Over the years, artist Eliza Geddes ’97 has explored several mediums—welding, mixed media sculpture—but ultimately chose to pursue painting as a career. Her paintings begin with a focus on color combinations, and she chooses to work with house paint over oils or acrylics. Geddes’ work has been displayed at exhibitions across the U.S. and in London, and is in three permanent collections in New York.

Tom Ely '67

As a lifelong musician and amateur songwriter, Tim Ely ’67 will finally see one of his songs make its way into a major motion picture this year. “The Long Haul” is in The Comeback Trail, starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Morgan Freeman.

Paton has always been a champion of the environment, and has furthered that commitment though her work as an EcoMon at Taft. Learn more about Paton--and about Taft--through a quick Q & A.

Tim embraces Taft's motto--not to be served but to serve--through his work on the Community Service Board. Get to know more about Tim--and about Taft--through a quick Q & A.

She's a school monitor and I-block teacher with a love for science. Get to know Celine--and Taft--through a quick Q & A.

Neil Vigdor '95

A firsthand account from the desk of a New York Times reporter during the spring of COVID-19.

Dr. Charles Safran '69

How do hospitals share patient records across platforms during a pandemic? How can health-care workers treat patients without exposing them (or themselves) to the virus? Dr. Safran's work in clinical informatics yields unique insights.

Key Connections

Taft faculty members are teachers, coaches, advisors, dorm parents, mentors, and role models. Math Teacher and Lower Mid Class Dean Kevin Danaher has been almost all of those things to Sam Shaker ’21. The bond they share is undeniable and deeply valued.

Davis Liu '89

Dr. Davis Liu '89 and his colleagues not only had a substantial headstart on the telemedicine protocols that have taken root during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are also working to bring the first at-home coronavirus antibody test to market this summer.

Alexa Bette Lehtinen ’94

Alexa Bette Lehtinen ’94 is a registered nurse in the ICU at Yale New Haven Hospital. Read about her round-the-clock work on the front lines of the fight against coronavirus.

Known as the “Queen of Remote Work,” Sara Sutton ’92 is the CEO and founder of FlexJobs, an innovative career website specializing in full-time and part-time remote jobs, employee and freelance jobs, and on-site jobs with flexible, part-time, and alternative schedules. She recently shared her thoughts about what the COVID-19 pandemic has meant for workers, workplaces, and employers with the Taft Bulletin.

As CEO of Cotswold Industries, James McKinnon ’87 is carrying on the legacy of the third-generation family-owned and operated American textile manufacturer. Cotswold is a leader in the development and distribution of technical textiles and apparel fabrics and has supplied a wide variety of products to the military, medical device manufacturers, and hospitals, including PPE.

Get to know Cierra--and Taft--through a quick Q and A.

#taftlife #mytaft #whytaft

Rob Terenzi ’01

Rob Terenzi ’01 and his wife, along with a college friend, saw an opportunity to help coffee farmers and upend the supply chain. They formed Vega Coffee, known for its dedication to individual coffee farmers in Nicaragua.

Andrew Wertheim ’76

Andrew Wertheim ’76 is the owner and president of Tea Importers, a socially responsible business that buys from tea producing companies around the world and sells to major tea packers and blenders. The family-owned company was founded in 1958.

Ellie O’Neill ’11

Based on their view that water scarcity is a pressing issue of our time, Ellie O’Neill ’11 and Jack Hartpence cofounded Powwater, a social business that sells reusable water bottles, coffee mugs, and wine tumblers and reinvests profits into sustainable clean drinking water systems across the globe.

Charley Rosenberry ’77

CharleyRosenberry ’77, who retired from his law career, now spends his days organizing weeklong hikes for veterans who have recently returned from combat, and also doing llama pack trips into the Cascade Mountains to resupply trail crews working there.

Irina Prentice ’94

Read about the work of Irina Prentice ’94, who is part of a team at Encounter Edu, a London-based education agency using innovative teaching methods, such as live-stream learning, to help students in classrooms around the world learn about pressing environmental issues.

Ranjit Bindra ’94

Read about the work of Dr. Ranjit Bindra ’94, co-director of Yale University’s Brain Tumor Center. Bindra is physician-scientist and biotechnology entrepreneur, specializing in the study of pediatric glioma. Two years ago, he started Cybrexa Therapeutics to bring its best tumor targeting technology to patients.

Liz Osterhus Fleuette ’84

Liz Osterhus Fleuette ’84 was inspired to start Ms President US when her daughter, Maggie, at age 5 announced that she wanted to be the first female president during a visit to the National Constitution Center. Through the nonpartisan, nonprofit, community-based program and its mentors, girls learn about public speaking, diplomacy and listening skills, local/state/federal government, and women’s history.

Wesley Jamieson ’13

In our Q&A, Wesley Jamieson ’13 unpacks what blockchain technology is and isn’t and how it works on a practical level. Jamieson is a lead blockchain technical resource in accounting firm RSM’s Blockchain and Digital Asset Management Consulting practice.

Alexandra Dickson ’99

For actor and improviser Alexandra Dickson ’99, who performs and teaches at New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, it all began in an introductory acting class during her mid year at Taft. After studying acting at the Circle in the Square Theatre School and taking workshops at Chicago’s The Second City, she now appears weekly with The Stepfathers.

Donna Eldridge ’76

For Bay Area-based Donna Eldridge ’76, delivering furniture to a family of Afghan refugees in her truck is just another day. But for these uprooted families who have landed in the U.S. with nothing, her services are invaluable, and, ultimately, life-altering. Read about her Non ut sibi-inspired service work.

Larry Morris ’65 received Taft’s highest alumni honor this year for his more than 40 years of work at the Quebec-Labrador Foundation, including as its president for three decades and for his role as a leader in the environmental and conservation fields. Read about Morris’s leadership at QLF with its broad-reaching, community-based conservation efforts.

Abby Fabiaschi ’98

Read about Abby Fabiaschi ’98, cofounder of Empower Her Network (EHN), a nonprofit that collaborates with survivors of human trafficking to help them on a path toward independence. Operating in several large cities and regions throughout the U.S., EHN helps break down barriers for victims of human trafficking.

Scott Barnsby ’94

Scott Barnsby ’94 has spent more than 10 years crisscrossing the country as a scout for the Cleveland Indians. Now as scouting director, his time is spent reading reports and talking with his staff about the club’s directions in the draft, but he’s still connected to the game he loves.

Bill Reynolds ’69

After a 35-year career as a painter and muralist, Bill Reynolds ’69 became a woodworking instructor, teaching newly blind adults to use woodworking tools (including some power tools) at the Carroll Center for the Blind, a leading blindness rehabilitation center in Newton, Massachusetts.

Karen May

Moorhead Academic Center

For more than 20 years, Karen May has worked with Taft students and faculty to effectively maximize classroom experiences, while empowering students to harness their full potential as learners. 

Eliza Clark '03

Based in Los Angeles, Eliza Clark '03 is both an accomplished playwright and the showrunner/executive producer of TNT's popular drama Animal Kingdom. On any given day, Clark is in the writers' room, the editing suite, on set, or in production meetings.

Liz Camp ’96

As visual development production supervisor for DreamWorks Animation, Liz Camp ’96 works on the popular How to Train Your Dragon series of films, including the recently released The Hidden World, third in the series. Camp crafts the look of the characters and the digital environments of the film, everything that gives a film its unique look.

Nick Gotten ’93

Blending the technical with the creative—that’s what Nick Gotten ’93 loves about his job as a re-recording mixer and sound engineer. Gotten takes recorded dialogue, sound effects, and music to create the final version of a soundtrack for a feature film or television program. He won an Emmy for his work on mixing the sound for the Disney juggernaut show, Sofia the First.

Torie Snyder Pearce ’04

Torie Snyder Pearce ’04 has always been inspired by Taft’s motto, Not to be served but to serve. A strong resonance with Non ut sibi helped persuade her to become a pediatric nurse, and to cofound Urgent Care for Kids, an urgent care company specializing in pediatrics in Texas.

Chanda Gunn ’99

Former Olympic hockey player Chanda Gunn ’99 helped lead Team USA to a World Championship in 2005 and an Olympic Bronze Medal in Turin in 2006 while battling epilepsy. Diagnosed at the age of 9, she has turned a substantial obstacle into a fulfilling career. A longtime spokesperson for the Epilepsy Foundation of America, Gunn now works for the Epilepsy Foundation New England.

Eliza King Freedman '19

For two consecutive summers, Eliza King Freedman '19 has traveled to Cuenca, Ecuador, to work with children and young adults who have come to appreciate her warmth and caring. 

Sophie Quinton ’06

In her work as a staff writer for Stateline.org, a news service affiliated with the Pew Charitable Trusts, Sophie Quinton ’06 is filling the need for deep, fact-based reporting on trends at the state and local level by uncovering stories in smaller communities throughout the U.S.

Pete Alexander ’94

Pete Alexander has something in common with the animals he researches as a biologist. Like cougars, he pursues his prey, following them up mountains and through canyons in Wyoming. Unlike the big cats, though, Alexander is studying, not stalking.

CJ D'Virgilio '20 & Ian Staines '20

CJ and Ian spent nearly three weeks in South America last summer building cultural bridges by “speaking soccer” in the mountains of Peru.

Caitlin Kennedy ’12

In the two years since graduating from Hamilton College, Caitlin Kennedy has already established herself in a career that wholeheartedly channels Taft’s ethic of Non ut sibi. Kennedy works as a contracts associate at the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a New York-based nonprofit providing employment services to men and women with criminal convictions.

Christopher Eanes ’94

After he assumed directorship of the Cincinnati Boychoir in 2009, Christopher Eanes soon discovered that the 45-year-old ensemble needed to adapt its mission. Eanes has grown the group of nearly 200 boys between kindergarten and high school age into an organization that uses music as an important teaching tool.

Katie Putnam Martinez ’00

San Francisco-based designer Katie Putnam Martinez likes rooms and places that feel layered with old and new. “I gravitate more toward contemporary aspects in terms of clean lines and simplicity,” she says, but she often includes vintage pieces in her projects. Martinez focuses primarily on West Coast residential projects, but she has also worked on offices and a store.

Jamie Cheney Flaherty '98

Like many of the most successful start-ups, 1998 alum Jamie Flaherty Cheney’s innovative search firm Prokanga was born from a place of personal experience. Cheney asked herself the question frequently pondered by working moms who are experienced professionals: Can you care for your child and also hang on to the career that you’ve invested so much in? As a result, she launched Prokanga, a search firm blending access to traditional and flexible workforces.

Craig Reistad ’80

At the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, Craig Reistad served as Olympic security coordinator for the U.S. contingent of athletes, staff, media, and dignitaries. Reistad was there for a nearly two-year assignment with the Diplomatic Security Service.

AJ Mleczko ’93

Former Olympic gold medalist AJ Mleczko had her fifth assignment as NBC’s women’s hockey analyst at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics for her post-playing broadcasting career, which started in 2006. In May 2018, she also became the first female broadcaster to call an NHL playoff game from the booth.

Evelyn Barata Lee ’75

Evelyn Barata Lee transformed her Southport, CT, property into a fresh-cut flower garden that produces about 45,000 flowers a year. Since 2011, her business has grown to include a small retail cottage, wholesale accounts, weddings and events, workshops and presentations, and a local flower delivery subscription service.

Clarence Kwei ’91

Clarence Kwei is VP of product and engineering at Univision Communications Inc., where he oversees product and technical strategy across the company’s digital platforms for web, mobile, and television. If you’ve been on websites owned by the media brands Meredith, Time Inc., Condé Nast, or Univision, you’ve seen Kwei’s website development work.

Marina Martin '03

After serving as the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Marina Martin moved to a digital services company that restores complex systems to service. Her true passion, though, is finding ways to make the nation's complex foster care system function safely and efficiently to minimize the time children spend in foster care.

Marcus Valenta '19

Marcus Valenta's connection to science runs deep, and may be rooted in a history he has only recently come to know.

Philip Howard '66

As an author and founder of Common Good, a nonpartisan reform coalition working to simplify government, Philip Howard is being recognized for his impressive work with Taft's highest alumni honor. He is also senior counsel at the New York City law firm Covington & Burling.

Kayla Robinson '19

A natural athlete and leader, Kayla uses her high-profile positions at Taft to help make others feel at home.

Eva Baurmeister '19

By jumping in with both feet and feeling the support of the Taft community, Eva Baurmeister continues to grow as a student, an athlete, an artist, and a leader.

Vanessa LeFebvre Robinson ’95

Vanessa LeFebvre Robinson is leading the women’s merchandising team at Stitch Fix, one of the most successful and exciting fashion/technology companies in the world. 

Micah Umeh '19

Micah Umeh is guided by strength and values that shape his character and drive his achievement.

Dennis Liu '02

Netflix has ordered a 10-episode series of the sci-fi family drama called Raising Dion, based on Dennis Liu's short film and comic book of the same name. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School for the Arts, Liu has spent much of the last 10 years directing commercials and music videos for a variety of artists.

Eleanor Streit '19

The science of language sparks Eleanor Streit's passions, which led her to take a leap of faith.

Tom Losee ’84

Combine running and stand-up paddleboarding and what do you get? RUN/SUP®, outdoor sports entrepreneur Tom Losee’s increasingly popular training program that fuses his two favorite recreational fitness activities. 

Adam Yonkers '89

Adam Yonkers '89 says that making a huge career change in his early-30s freed him to take on a career that feeds his soul. He went from corporate communications—marketing and public relations at a big corporate law firm—to teaching U.S. history and foreign policy to high schoolers at Palo Alto Unified in California.

Jeff Lamson

History

Jeff Lamson's quest to uncover the layers of history not found in a textbook drives his passion for both teaching and learning.

Katie Maxey Sorrentino ’85

Ever wonder how retailers seem to know what you want to buy before you do? Mining data about our likes and dislikes to help perfect the relationship with consumers is what Go Think!, the company of Katie Maxey Sorrentino ’85, is doing to help guide retailers across the nation.

Pearl Young '18

Pearl Young '18 is an artist, an academic, a leader, and a role model.  Her commitment to the community makes Taft a better place. 

Mihir Nayar '19

Mihir Nayar '19 witnessed the effects of poor nutrition on learning during his summer in India. His recent win at a pitch competition will help him do something about it.

Peter Dzubay '18

Peter Dzubay is a talented self-starter who, in reaching for the stars, has become one.

Harrison Clay ’92

Early in his career, Harrison Clay ’92 began thinking about methane as a solution to the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and a way to reduce greenhouse gases. Read about Clay’s role as BP’s vice president of strategic development, global environmental products, and his work in biogas and biomethane project development.

Simone Foxman ’07

As an investing reporter for Bloomberg, Simone Foxman’s beat specific to the finance industry allows her to “uncover stories that the public deserves to hear,” she says. Read about her role as a journalist that allows her to be part of conversations happening at the highest level in the world of finance.

John McGowan ’81

John McGowan ’81 created Mathematical Software, a start-up dedicated to researching and developing tools and algorithms that can be used to automate complex data analysis. Learn about his work.

Klara Skrivankova ’96

In her role at Anti-Slavery International, Klara Skrivankova ’96 works with businesses on tackling forced labor in supply chains. Read more about her efforts to eradicate the modern slavery that reaches, often invisibly, into many aspects of our lives.

Doug Ellis ’54

After a long career in the textile industry, Doug Ellis ’54 decided it was an ideal time to return to his passion of flying. Ellis is a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight, which offers free transportation to patients in need of medical treatment.

Tyler Kneisel '99

Dockwa, cofounded by Tyler Kneisel ’99, makes reserving boat slips a snap. Since its launch in 2015, tens of thousands of boaters now find, reserve, and pay for moorings in real time, using the award-winning Dockwa platform on their computers or the free mobile app.

Peter Van Der Mije ’98

After working for notable chefs in New York City, Peter Van Der Mije ’98 opened Osteria Leana, a chic, casual Italian restaurant in Oyster Bay on Long Island. He’s established a place that is small, local, and accessible for diners craving a city experience along the North Shore coastline, with easy access to excellent fresh produce and seafood.

Leslie Herrlinger Lanahan ’73

Leslie Herrlinger Lanahan ’73 has made it her and her family’s mission to bring awareness about alcohol poisoning and hazing in order to save lives.

Liila “Lee” Hass ’77

A trained naturopath, yoga instructor, and counselor, Hass works as a high-needs support counselor at Risdon, and her role is to focus on inmates with mental health issues and other disabilities.

Luisa Bonachea ’00

Luisa Bonachea ’00 combines her legal training with her love of wine in a fulfilling career. Read about her work as an intellectual property attorney based in Napa Valley and serving the wine industry.

Max Sandvoss '98

Read about the goat farm and creamery owned by Max Sandvoss ’98 in upstate New York and his transition from actor to experienced farmer and cheesemaker. He and his brother, Trystan, are committed to the entire natural process with grass-fed animals and organic pastures. First Light sells its cheeses at farmers’ markets and to stores and restaurants across six states.

Joanna Kleszczewski '18
Artist and ISP Scholar

Joanna Kleszczewski '18 tells stories through her art; each piece speaks volumes.

Gabriela Gonzalez Carpio '17
Capturing Ambiguity Through Art

Gabby is an artist in every sense of the word. She used the Independent Study Program to expand her skills and repertoire.

Nick Firestone ’84

Nick Firestone ’84 has loved racing since age 3. At 51, he’s a professional race car driver who has raced among the most acclaimed drivers in the world and has been racing since the late 1980s. Firestone’s niche is go-karts, and he regularly races in the U.S. and internationally.

Peter Horne '18
Head Mon

Peter came to Taft to hone his leadership skills, and found even greater opportunity than he imagined.

Sarah Surber
Dance

Sarah Surber teaches students to express thoughts and emotions though movement.

Ben Laufer '18
EcoMon

Ben Laufer has spent the last year working to change the world. He's done so with a global audience.

Ashley Wilberding Balavoine '90
Perfumer

As a perfumer, Ashley creates scents that are in products most of us use every day.

Leigh Sharpless '17
ISP Scholar 

Leigh Sharpless '17 is studying cutting-edge cancer therapies, with an eye on the future.

Gabe McMackin ’94

Gabe McMackin ’94, chef and owner of The Finch, a restaurant in Brooklyn, wasn’t planning to “shoot for the stars,” when he opened. The Finch and McMackin’s were recently awarded a Michelin star.

Lindsay Leal

Mathematics, Mid Class Dean

Lindsay Leal's time as a boarding school student help shaped her approach to being a boarding school teacher.

Billy Himmelrich ’82

Since 1999, owner Billy Himmelrich ’82 has been running Old School Bakery in Delray Beach, Florida, and providing bread to top restaurants, hotels, and country clubs in Southeast Florida, along with donating unsold bread to the Palm Beach County Food Bank and helping raise money for hunger relief through events.

Christopher Brown '64
English

Chris Brown '64 had "spectacularly good" English teachers at Taft. Naturally he became one.

Maeve Millen '17
ISP Scholar

Maeve is passionate about social issues, with wealth inequality at the top of the list.

Belle McDougald '17 and Emily Weaver '17
ISP Scholars

Kaedi Dalley '18
Singer, Actor, Leader

Kaedi Dalley's talent, passion, and leadership inspire respect and awe, while galvanizing our community.

Amy Lynd Luers ’84

When Latin American villagers needed help getting access to clean water, she answered the call. She co-founded an NGO called Agua Para La Vida to help build potable water systems in the region.

Zygi Jievaltas '17
GSS and GLI Scholar

Zygi Jievaltas says that Taft has spurred his intellectual development and helped crystallize his ambitions.

Benjamin Roberts '18
ISP Scholar

Benjamin Roberts '18 looked to the plagues of the past to predict health crises in the future.

Emma Bellet '18 
Student Leader

Emma Bellet believes that Taft is a place to grow and thrive; a place where you will exceed even your own expectations.

Todd Gipstein '70
Keeper of the Light

Todd Gipstein returned to his childhood home to bring new life to a historic landmark.

Pilar Santos
Spanish Teacher, International Student Advisor

Pilar Santos knows what it is like to be young and far from home.

Andrew Farrier '17
Hockey Captain, Student Leader

Andrew Farrier came to Taft from a much larger school near his home in Canada. What he found is that the strength of a community does not lie in its numbers.

Michael Klein '10
Civil Engineer

Michael Klein manages projects aimed at producing energy for local communities using natural, renewable resources.

Dr. Joyce Poole '74

For more than 40 years, Dr. Joyce Poole ’74, the 2017 Horace Dutton Taft Alumni Medal honoree, has been a passionate voice—a protector and defender—of elephants, dedicating her life to their conservation and welfare.

Shasha Alvares '17
GLI Scholar

Day student Shasha Alvares says that coming to Taft every day feels like going home.

Jennifer Kenerson
Mathematics Department Head

Jack Elrad '17
Filmmaker

Jack Elrad has established himself as a talented videographer and producer, documenting life at Taft, and working with Hollywood's best.

Carly Borken

Director of Environmental Stewardship

Carly Borken is an environmentalist, a woman of vision, a change agent.

Idara Foster '11
Penn Fellow in English

Idara Foster '11 left an indelible mark on the Taft community as a student. Her impact is no less meaningful now that she is member of the faculty.

AJ Barre '17
Global Steward

AJ Barre brings his passions for service and soccer together to raising funds and awareness for global causes.

Jane Kinney '06 
Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineer

When Jane Kinney ’06 was five she knew she wanted to be involved in aerospace. Today, her aspirations have become a reality.

Andrew Eisen '04
Screenwriter

Yee-Fun Yin

Photography Teacher

Yee-Fun Yin wants his students to make pictures, not take pictures; to create art that is deliberate and personal.

Emerson Wickwire '91

Sleep expert Emerson Wickwire '91 studies the effects of what is known as “blue light” emitted from electronic devices on the body’s natural circadian rhythms, and discusses the importance of getting enough sleep.

Eliza Denious '17
Head Mon

Eliza Denious is a head mon, a team captain, and a student who quickly recognized the ties that bind all Tafties together.

Ciara Connolly '17 
Musician

Ciara Connolly finds inspiration wherever the music takes her.

Andy Taylor ’72

Andy is changing the lives of students in Botswana.

Taft Filmmakers

What started with a poetic spark quickly caught Fire, and swept five Taft students into the white hot lights of the TriBeCa Film Festival.

Jalen Little '19
Service Leader

Jalen Little '19 is dedicated to service, both locally and globally.

Nick Halmos '97

Nick Halmos '97 has created a way to efficiently grow food in urban environments by combining hydroponic systems with automation and live data. He safely and sustainably grows fresh food in a range of climates and everywhere from rooftops to parking lots.