At our 30th reunion Melissa Cook spoke on a panel about her decision to leave her job as head of global research at Lazard to create an investment research and advisory boutique supporting U.S. businesses interested in investing in Africa. In November Melissa, as founder and executive director of African Sunrise Partners, was one of 15 private-sector leaders appointed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to the newly established President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa. These days Melissa travels to Africa five to six times a year. She provides her institutional investors and corporate clients with reports and advice on business opportunities in Africa. Melissa traces her interest in Africa to an undergraduate history class with professor Leo Spitzer.


Like Melissa, Karl Thurmond prefers being his own boss. After practicing law at a large firm and then in partnership with John Moscarino, Karl hung out his own shingle in 2009. Today he says being a solo practitioner is “the best decision I ever made.” Essentially, Karl says, he solves problems for a living. Sometimes he is on the plaintiff’s side and sometimes on the defense side. In this construct, he is able to work as a generalist and bring in specialists as required. Since his wife passed away in 2011, Karl has been a single parent to his daughter, who is now in ninth grade. He has served on the board of her school and has been very involved in their temple. He still runs when he can but claims he isn’t fast.


Nancy Pease is indisputably fast. While writing this column I received a letter from Tom Meacham ’65, enclosing an article from the Alaska Dispatch News, reporting that Nancy is one of three individuals inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2015. 


Speaking of people who run fast, Alicia Bixby reports that she and Keith Hampton are still happily married, living and working together in Telluride, Colorado. They sold the bed and breakfasts they operated for many years, but they continue in the vacation rental and property management business. If you are interested in visiting Telluride, you can find them at www.silverstartelluride.com. Their son is a pro ski patroller in Washington State. Their daughter is a sophomore at Harvard, where she runs, skis and studies earth and planetary sciences. Alicia and Keith caught up with John Gaudioso at the cross-country Heps championship and they will see Chuck Cairns during New Year’s. 


After 20 years providing government contracts legal support at the Environmental Protection Agency’s office of general counsel, in October 2013 Jon Baker moved to the U.S. Commerce Department, where he primarily advises the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Jon lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Anita Mosner, a law firm partner. Their daughter is a freshman at Tufts University. Their son is a sophomore at Walt Whitman High School, which I also attended. Jon spends a fair amount of time watching the Whitman Vikings and Montgomery Blue Devils hockey clubs and is quite familiar with the rinks between Pennsylvania and Virginia.


I must share the sad news that Marc Krantz died in a skiing accident in December. Marc is survived by his wife, Michele; their children, Ellen, Tara and Ross; his parents, Byron and Joan; and his brother, Brett. An obituary will appear online. 


—Robin Shaffert, 5044 Macomb St., NW, Washington, DC 20016; robinshaffert@yahoo.com; David Eichman, 9004 Wonderland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; dme4law@sbcglobal.net