Class Note 1977
In February, when visitors were still coming to N.Y.C., Liz Epstein Kadin hosted the grandson of her language study abroad family from Bourges, along with his wife and children. During the visit Liz showed the children photos of their dad when he was 2 years old as well as photos of their great-grandfather, whom they had never met. They had a wonderful time together. Liz is grateful for a friendship that has endured for 45 (whoa!) years.
Phil Andryc has been involved with Covenant House for more than 30 years. Founded in 1972, it initially provided a safe overnight haven for homeless youth in N.Y.C. With shelters now in 31 cities across the United States and Latin America, the mission has become more holistic—from providing safe havens and medical care to teaching homeless youth life skills and providing long-term support so that they can thrive independently. All sites remain open through the Covid crisis! To show solidarity with homeless youth and to raise funds, an annual sleepout (only a sleeping bag and some cardboard) is held on the N.Y.C. streets the week before Thanksgiving. Phil writes: “Every year I come away from that event touched by the resiliency of the youth and more thankful for what I have.”
The class held a Zoom discussion on the Covid-19 pandemic featuring Susan Dentzer and Dan Lucey with class president Dee Dee Granzow Simpson moderating. Susan Dentzer is senior policy fellow at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, where she has been contributing papers on the Covid pandemic. She also has been moderating a webinar series for the U.S. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute on hospitals’ and health systems’ response to the crisis and speaking on the prospects for reopening the economy. Dan Lucey is a physician who is the originator of the Smithsonian exhibition on epidemics, 2018-21, based on his experiences overseas with SARS, MERS, flu, Ebola, Zika, yellow fever, and plague. He is a senior scholar and adjunct professor of infectious diseases at Georgetown University and a research associate in anthropology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (Read more about his work in the May-June issue.) Dee Dee Granzow Simpson is a former career diplomat who worked on nuclear arms negotiations. A longtime resident of London, she is chairwoman of the Pilgrims Society of the United Kingdom, the oldest U.S.-U.K. friendship group, whose members include leaders in the military, political, business, and diplomatic fields.
Susan discussed what is known about the epidemiology of the SARS-CoV2 virus and its effects on the body, prospects for treatments and vaccines, and the timing and shape of reopening the economy across the country. Dan referenced a letter he wrote to the Infectious Diseases Society of America in February about China’s response to the Covid outbreak in Wuhan. He stressed the importance of learning lessons from how other countries have handled Covid. Dan predicted the second wave of the virus would hit the United States in the autumn at the same time as the influenza season.
Look for class emails about future Zoom events. We hope you and your family are safe.
—Robin Gosnell, 31 Elm Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540; robins.nest@icloud.com; Eric Edmondson, DC Advisory, 425 California St., Suite 19, San Francisco, CA 94104; eweedmondson@gmail.com; Drew Kintzinger, 2400 M St. NW, Apt. 914, Washington, DC 20037; akintzinger@hunton.com
