CLASS OF 1998 Michelle J. Vaeth ’98 Michelle returned to Ithaca in 2018 to serve as the Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs at Cornell after a nearly two decade career in crisis management, communications, and marketing at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH. Michelle is an avid community volunteer and is an immediate past board member of the 125,000 member Association of Junior Leagues International, is a past President of the Junior League of Cincinnati, and has served on the Board of Trustees of the Landmark Theater in Syracuse, NY. Michelle, her husband Pete Thorman, and their three dogs split their time between Ithaca and the Kettle Lakes in Tully, NY. Michelle is SO honored to serve Cornell and her fellow alumni. Please reach out and say hello—especially if you are returning to the Hill! GO BIG RED!!!
Gene Helfman, PhD ’79 Gene (PhD in Ecology and Systematics) has published a novel, Beyond the Human Realm, an eco-thriller/animal story for adults that follows the life of a male killer whale released into the wild and the people and whales instrumental in his release and acceptance into orca society. The book has received strong advance accolades and reviews, including a coveted 5-star Best Book rating from Chanticleer International Reviews. Profits from the sale of Beyond the Human Realm will be donated to orca conservation efforts. genehelfman@gmail.com
CLASS OF 1979 David Steward ’79 After many years in Manhattan and East Hampton I am finally getting used to farm life in the Hudson Valley. With my husband, Pierre, we are raising beef cattle, alpaca, ducks, guinea fowl and chickens for both meat and eggs. And this year we are raising turkeys for the first time as well. Gobble, gobble! My good friend, Eric Maffei ’80 (Engineering) is one of our first customers! I was so delighted to be back at Tanglewood this summer to enjoy lots of wonderful classical music with the Boston Symphony and this fall have been traveling to Bard College for The Orchestra Now and this week heading back to NYC for Opening Night at Carnegie Hall with Yuja Wang. A robust season of music at Carnegie Hall, NY Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and the Albany Symphony awaits! davidhsteward@gmail.com
CLASS OF 1988 Rob Rosenberg ’88 My wife (Pat Cook ’89) and I recently had the pleasure of returning to campus to visit our daughter, Grayson Rosenberg ’23, and to finally celebrate the long-delayed commencement of our son, Reed Rosenberg ’20. The weather was spectacular and the weekend coincided with Homecoming so we were able to catch up with classmates and friends including Howard Greenstein ’88, Pamela Goldberg Greenstein ’88, Charles Reing ’86, and Adrienne McVicker Reing ’87. We also got to see Laura Magid Lapidus ’88 and Darryl Lapidus ’89 whose son David Lapidus ’20 was also back for the Class of 2020 Commencement. Congrats again to the Class of 2020!
CLASS OF 1994 Betty Wong Ortiz ’94 Betty recently completed her seventh marathon in Berlin, where she and her family got to enjoy the historic sites and toast her 26.2 with a celebratory post-race bratwurst and beer. She and her husband, Camilo Ortiz ’94, live in Forest Hills, NY, with their two children, Juliet and Gabriel. Betty works as the director of marketing content strategy at Dropbox, having pivoted into technology after 20+ years in magazine media.
CLASS OF 1961 Rosanna Romanelli Frank ’61 Husband Marshall Frank (B Chem E ’61) and I have gotten all our vaccination shots and are looking forward to attending campus events when they are once again in full swing. Meanwhile, we plan to make an extended visit to London to catch up on all the museum exhibits and theater before returning for Thanksgiving with the family. rrfrank@optonline.net
CLASS OF 2011 Janelle Teng ’11 Last month, my husband Jeffrey Eng ’10 and I were able to celebrate the marriage of our good friend Nancy Moy ’10 to her husband (also named Jeff). It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 15 years since Nancy, Jeff, and I first met each other in Chinese Students Association! This was our first wedding attended since the pandemic started, and we loved every second of the joyous celebration.
CLASS OF 1991 Lisa Bushlow ’91 Lisa is proudly living in Ithaca with her two teenage sons, Sam and Julian. She works as a Senior Director for Alumni Affairs at Cornell—overseeing Reunion, Class, Homecoming, Student and Young Alumni teams. She is thrilled to be returning to the office after working remotely for the past 19 months! She and her partner, Sueane, can’t wait to travel post pandemic! lab244@cornell.edu.
CLASS OF 1980 Beth Anderson ’80 Nancy Sverdlik ’79 and I just made a swing through New England that included hiking in Acadia National Park and visits along the way with Sally Williamson Williams ’51; Beth Spinner Sutherland ’79 and her husband, David; and Sue Landzberg Schatz ’79 and her husband, Lou Schatz ’76, JD ’79. After more than a year of seeing hardly anyone, it was great to connect with family and old pals!