Class Note 1987
Issue
Sep - Oct 2018
In this column I am spotlighting current and former class officers with news to share about careers, connections to Dartmouth, and efforts to make their communities a better place.
Class co-vice president Brendan Connell has made the transcontinental trek and relocated from N.Y.C. to L.A. to become the chief operating officer at the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Brendan will oversee the museum’s operations, administration, and finance, including the construction of the museum building itself. For the past 18 years Brendan was at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in N.Y.C., most recently as its deputy chief operating officer. In the Academy Museum’s announcement, Brendan stated that he is excited to “help make the vision for this amazing film center a reality and to establish the Academy Museum as a must-visit destination for movie lovers from around the world.” As an “it’s a small world” aside, I already knew of this new position from a friend of mine here in San Francisco who is also a museum executive. Best of luck to Brendan as he takes on this new challenge!
In another small-world story, class social media chair Hermann Mazard unexpectedly stumbled across a distant relative in the class of 2020 during a visit to Dartmouth. After Hermann finished leading an on-campus workshop focused on student voting, a student approached him and asked whether Hermann was going to meet up with “his son” Jason Mazard. Hermann has no children (to his knowledge!), so he was understandably stumped. After some online research, Hermann discovered that Jason is from Tampa, and then found the names of Jason’s mother and father, Thomas Mazard. Hermann eventually spoke with Thomas and learned that his mother and Hermann’s father are distant cousins. “Thomas asked that I look after his son,” Hermann said, “and I try.” He and Jason met in Hanover for lunch at Molly’s shortly thereafter and “remain in touch.”
Former class secretary and 25th reunion chair Allison (Bleyler) McDonald decided to jump into local government and this past March was elected to the Amherst school committee, the public school board in Amherst, Massachusetts. “Our town of 38,000 may look to visitors like a traditional New England college town, but inside it has an incredibly diverse population,” Allison said. As one of the many Amherst residents who ran for town offices for the first time, Allison was motivated to get involved after the Amherst town government rejected a proposal (and accompanying state funding) to rebuild the elementary school buildings. She is excited to be part of this “new wave of government” and is still getting used to serving in a town that lives up to the local saying: “Amherst: only the ‘h’ is silent.” Having known Allison for more than 34 years, I am sure she will make her voice heard and do a great job!
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com
Class co-vice president Brendan Connell has made the transcontinental trek and relocated from N.Y.C. to L.A. to become the chief operating officer at the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Brendan will oversee the museum’s operations, administration, and finance, including the construction of the museum building itself. For the past 18 years Brendan was at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in N.Y.C., most recently as its deputy chief operating officer. In the Academy Museum’s announcement, Brendan stated that he is excited to “help make the vision for this amazing film center a reality and to establish the Academy Museum as a must-visit destination for movie lovers from around the world.” As an “it’s a small world” aside, I already knew of this new position from a friend of mine here in San Francisco who is also a museum executive. Best of luck to Brendan as he takes on this new challenge!
In another small-world story, class social media chair Hermann Mazard unexpectedly stumbled across a distant relative in the class of 2020 during a visit to Dartmouth. After Hermann finished leading an on-campus workshop focused on student voting, a student approached him and asked whether Hermann was going to meet up with “his son” Jason Mazard. Hermann has no children (to his knowledge!), so he was understandably stumped. After some online research, Hermann discovered that Jason is from Tampa, and then found the names of Jason’s mother and father, Thomas Mazard. Hermann eventually spoke with Thomas and learned that his mother and Hermann’s father are distant cousins. “Thomas asked that I look after his son,” Hermann said, “and I try.” He and Jason met in Hanover for lunch at Molly’s shortly thereafter and “remain in touch.”
Former class secretary and 25th reunion chair Allison (Bleyler) McDonald decided to jump into local government and this past March was elected to the Amherst school committee, the public school board in Amherst, Massachusetts. “Our town of 38,000 may look to visitors like a traditional New England college town, but inside it has an incredibly diverse population,” Allison said. As one of the many Amherst residents who ran for town offices for the first time, Allison was motivated to get involved after the Amherst town government rejected a proposal (and accompanying state funding) to rebuild the elementary school buildings. She is excited to be part of this “new wave of government” and is still getting used to serving in a town that lives up to the local saying: “Amherst: only the ‘h’ is silent.” Having known Allison for more than 34 years, I am sure she will make her voice heard and do a great job!
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com