Class of 1988

“In the midst of chaos,” the ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu wrote, “there is also opportunity.” If that’s true, 2025 should herald a hailstorm of opportunities, since the year began with deadly chaos in southern California.

Our next newsletter will include stories from Julie Blunden Dryden, Andy Wilson, Paula Zagrecki,and otherswho survived wildfires that killed at least 29 people, displaced thousands, and caused up to $275 billion in damage. Julie, whose old neighborhood was reduced to ash, writes, “We are feeling very, very lucky.”

Also in January, Josh Stein delivered his inaugural address as North Carolina’s 76th governor. Speaking to an audience of family, colleagues, and friends among old wooden desks in the state capitol, Josh pledged to help rebuild storm-ravaged neighborhoods and work “across our differences to get things done.” His speech moved indoors after a rare snowstorm blanketed Raleigh, but an ’88 delegation still gathered: Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, the state’s health director and chief medical officer, and husband Hugh; John Replogle and wife Kristin; and Jack Steinberg and wife Sharon.

In February Rachel Dratch joined a bling dynasty lineup of Hollywood royalty—think Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, and Meryl Streep—in a three-hour live broadcast marking 50 years of Saturday Night Live. Rachel, who reprised her signature character Debbie Downer, is now serving on the Hopkins Center board of advisors and hosting the podcast WooWoo about all things “eerie and unexplained.” She partnered with a veteran SNL writer to imagine what sad-sack Debbie would worry about in 2025: She name-checked the hazards of microplastics, alcohol, bird flu, and looming extinction of the white rhino. While in the audience, Rachel’s seatmates included Steven Spielberg and Cher. Performing with Oscar-winner Robert DeNiro was “really cool,” she said.

Nicole (Leonard) Doyley published a book, What About the Children: 5 Values for Multiracial Families, which aims to guide families formed by interracial marriage or transracial adoption to help children confidently navigate all parts of their heritage. Growing up in Brooklyn, Nicole’s Black father and white mother—who met in Colorado before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage nationally in 1967—“thought love would be enough, but love was not enough,” and Nicole struggled with feeling alone. Only in college, she says, she began to see her biracial identity as a blessing: “My wish is that mixed kids will discover this level of stability and self-acceptance much sooner than I did.”

Derek Pew, a lawyer, entrepreneur, and musician in Philadelphia, also has a new book, The All: Manifesting Reality. Inspired by a 1908 treatise on Hermetic philosophy, The Kybalion, Derek set out to harness hidden and latent powers in the human brain to help himself—and others—lead better, more fulfilling lives. Drawing from philosophy, neuroplasticity, and quantum and particle physics, The All is a fascinating read that reminded us what a smart, curious class we are.

Which is great—this year will demand all the IQ points, ingenuity, and compassion we’ve got.

—Sarah Jackson-Han, 6213 Winnebago Road, Bethesda, MD 20816; smjhan2@gmail.com; Bill Bundy, 442 Cedar Lane, New Canaan, CT 06840; bill.bundy@mac.com