Taft Voices

Shannon Lenz Guidotti

Science Department Head

Shannon's evolution as a scientist, teacher, and thought leader has been shaped by deeply personal experiences and driven by unparalleled passion.

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. 

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.

Kayla Robinson '19

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Khalid Tellis
English

One day, Khalid Tellis may write a book he'll call Joy and Humor in the Classroom. For now, that's exactly what he brings to Taft.

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.

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.

Ozzie Parente
Chemistry 
Boys' Head Soccer Coach
Upper Mid Class Dean

Ozzie Parente's strength as a coach and a teacher? He loves what he does.

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.