54 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | CLASS NOTES our 20th Reunion in June 2024 was marvelous. Many of you look as if you haven’t changed a bit! However, South Bethlehem has certainly transformed with boutique rooftop restaurants, upscale breweries and speakeasy distilleries. I enjoyed catching up with many of my classmates, including Augie Ripa, Yuna Jacobson, James Duane, Kate (Schartel) Novak, Matt Weintraub and Nancy (Kanetsky) Merritt, to name just a few. The Tally Ho is still around, albeit with a fresh coat of paint and possibly too many TV screens. A weekend away from the kids at the Sayre Inn was a nice break, and I highly recommend it as a summer destination if you haven’t returned to South Bethlehem recently. My husband, Michael Irwin (Ohio State ’09, Lambda Chi), and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this year. We stay busy on our small family farm south of Charlotte, N.C., where we raise our two boys, Matthew (4) and William (6), along with three miniature dachshunds and a variety of barnyard animals belonging to my in-laws. Last spring, we took the boys on their first airplane ride to visit my sister, Sarah Zurat ’02, in Seattle, Wash. If you have news, announcements, funny memes, or travel and leisure recommendations, please get in touch with me on social media at @mzurat on LinkedIn, @therealzur.bsky.social or via email at therealzur@icloud.com. ’05 Jessi (Schimmel) McMullan, jessi. mcmullan@alum.lehigh.edu Imagine my surprise when I was driving down the highway here in the Lehigh Valley and saw a classmate’s face on a giant billboard! But there Andrew Tsen was, promoting the Lehigh Valley Health Network. Andrew is married to Valerie Barber, who gave me a great update. She reports: “[They] met their freshman year in Drinker Hall. After graduating with a degree in neuroscience, Andrew went to NY Medical College, then completed neurosurgical residency at the University of Vermont. Valerie used her degree in economics to pursue a career in corporate accounting and was able to move with Andrew first to NYC, where she worked at Coach Inc., then Vermont, where she worked at Keurig. “They were married in 2014 and started a family in 2015. A year later, they moved back to the Lehigh Valley, where Andrew took a job at Lehigh Valley Physicians Group as a practicing neurosurgeon and Valerie became a stay-at-home mom. Today, they reside in Upper Saucon and are very active members of the community. “Valerie grew up in the Lehigh Valley and is passionate about conservation, education and the arts. She is most often found at Moravian Academy, where her son attends school and she serves as the PTA chair. In 2020, she published a children’s book to teach young readers about the origins of the Chinese zodiac. Her book is titled ‘Great Race for the Lunar Calendar’ and can be found on Amazon. “Andrew continues to grow his practice as a general neurosurgeon, but also participates in various charity runs to raise money for health-related issues. He recently became involved with Healing Through the Arts, a nonprofit that provides free art for healthcare and recognizes local artists and students.” ’06 Kevin Frost, Kevin.Frost@alum. lehigh.edu In January, Jade Burroughs was appointed to the USA Fencing Board as an independent director. Jade works as a vice president and chief of staff, football operations at the NFL. With Jade on board (pun intended), we’re looking for lots of USA fencing medals at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles! Conor MacDonald recently joined the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) as staff attorney, climate financial strategies. Conor’s work focuses on the implications of extreme weather events on the pension and insurance industries. Conor works remotely from Providence, R.I. Since it was quiet on the update front this time, I’ll add some updates from closer to home. I was promoted to associate professor of law at the University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce School of Law. My focus is still on teaching legal skills and bar prep, but I also teach contracts to the 1Ls, which is a lot of fun. I also won the men’s club championship last August at Wentworth by the Sea Country Club in Rye, N.H. I was 2-down through 14, and won 15, 17 and 18 to win 1-up. The best moment was when my 3-year-old ran out on the green after the win, just like on television! Please email or connect with me on LinkedIn and send in your updates. ’07 Brian Roth, Lehighclassof2007 @gmail.com Carolyn (Sterling) Collins ’10 and Michael Collins welcomed their fourth daughter, Josie, in January. Big sisters Maisie, Charlotte and Eliza are beyond excited. ’08 Olivier Lewis, olivier.lewis@alum. lehigh.edu The Class of 2008 has a variety of news to share, covering all the stages of our lives. In January 2024, Laura (Coley) Jones and William Arrott Jones III married. Later that year, in October, Charles Arrott Jones was born. Laura works for Hardesty & Hanover. Kyleigh (Sobell) Bradel, who lives in Annapolis, Md., shares that she and Mike Bradel have been married since 2021. Mike went to Towson University and is a senior account executive for The Supply Room. Since 2022, Kyleigh has been working at The Supply Room as a marketing coordinator. Chris Hamilton also shares his news. In 2016, he married Marguerite. In 2019, he became the father of Ronan, and in 2022 of Ophelia. Regarding his professional life, Chris said that, unfortunately, he is “not yet independently wealthy enough to retire.” Marlena Sarunac launched a marketing consultancy, The Company Advice, which is dedicated to helping early-stage startups build brands and marketing strategies. Marlena said, “It’s been an amazing first year. We’ve successfully partnered with over 20 clients, guiding them through pivotal stages of growth and development.” Calvin John Smiley ’08 ’09G is now the co-editor of the New York University (NYU) Press series “Justice, Inequality, and the Digital World,” which publishes books that capture emerging scholarship at the intersection of justice studies, virtual spaces and the digital world. Alex Goldvarg started a new career teaching Rollerblading to young adults! Alex says it has been incredibly rewarding. Maddie Scheler tells us that in March she, Jackie Goldberg, Nicolet Lubarsky and Amye (Lee) Rheault connected back on campus at the Soaring Together Summit. Maddie says they hope to see more of the Class of 2008 at the next one! Please feel free to share your news with me at the email address above. ’09 Bobby Buckheit, lehighclass2009@ gmail.com I hope everyone is well, and if you have updates, please share via email at LehighClass2009@ gmail.com. This June, Jeff Antsen is celebrating the second anniversary of his business, Half-Moon Research. HMR is an independent consultancy focusing on supporting research excellence in biopharma, cognitive science and adjacent fields. Jeff brings
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