Class Note 1983
Ann Cianchette moonlights as a real estate broker when she’s not singing. She’s in a Sweet Adeline chorus, the Royal River Chorus, chartered in Yarmouth, Maine. She also sings in a quartet called Rally.
Jean Hanff Korelitz announced that Tina Fey would be playing the main character in the movie version of Jean’s book Admission. She’s working on another novel and performing stage-mom duties for her 11-year-old thespian son.
Mike Golub works in the “wacky world of sports.” Mike is COO of the startup Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer that begins play as an expansion team this spring. Mike is on several boards and is married to Sam Shelhorse, a retired lawyer who is now in the sports business herself.
After 23 years in Los Angeles Connie Craig moved back to her home state of Michigan. In Los Angeles she worked in film and television and, prior to having her daughter, some theater. Connie now does voice-over work as well as product specialty work for bilingual events. Her daughter Julia, 6, recently did a commercial for Ford. In addition to acting Connie works with survivors (like herself) for breast cancer support groups.
Michael Cooper is working on several new film projects and is continuing his technology transfer business (repurposing aerospace technologies into the automotive sector to promote CO2 reduction).
Kevin Connolly continues to write and play his own songs and has put out nine CDs of original material. Kevin feels lucky to have a somewhat complementary day job, working as general sales manager for one of Boston’s classic rock stations. His wife, Liza, is a chef and started a cooking program called Kids Cooking Green. Son Nicholas is 11, a brown belt in karate and budding Charlie Parker on saxophone. Daughter Lyla, 14, does great in school, soccer, and is known to belt out an occasional song on guitar or piano.
Arvo Mikkanen has been nominated by President Obama to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Mikkanen has been an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma since 1994. He is also an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Christopher Koller is the governor’s choice to continue to serve as Rhode Island’s health insurance commissioner. Chris is married to Colette Cook, a religion teacher. Son Ben is 18 and a freshman at Union College and daughter Rachel is 15. Chris spends his free time in denial about middle age, walking the dog, chasing the kids down the ski slopes, singing with the Providence Singers, having an occasional bike ride with Jim Allen and beer session with Paul Efthim.
Bill Robbins has lived in Los Angeles since 1995 with his wife, Hila. He founded and runs a family of companies under the Convergent Ventures umbrella. Recently, he diversified into the cycling business to indulge his passion for training and racing road bikes and riding mountain bikes. This summer he and coauthors will publish the second edition of a how-to book they wrote about startup companies.
Jeff Gardner recently married Leigh Barker. Leigh teaches history and coaches cross-country at Tenafly High School. Jeff is a management consultant but took a few years off to become a full-time artist and work with nonprofit organizations. They got engaged last July; he started consulting again in September and moved to Englewood, New Jersey, in November. They were married in January and their first child is due this July. And they’re buying a house! Bill Middlesworth, Mike Hjerpe, Andre and Kelly Fowler Hunter and Jim Gregg were all in attendance. Forever green!
—Maren Christensen, 166 Sausal Drive, Portola Valley, CA 94028; (650) 529-2396; marenjc@ yahoo.com
