Class Note 1987
After organizing the Bay Area 87th night mini-reunion for the past 12 years, I handed the reins to the capable and creative Lauren Schwartz. Lauren gathered us together at China Live, one of San Francisco’s hippest spots, where Doug Collister is director of marketing and IT. The food and drink were excellent and the company was even better! Joining Lauren and gracious host Doug were yours truly (Laura Gasser), Diana (DeLuca) Gabianelli, Ken Hittleman, Clare Killeen, Greg Kroitzsh, Tom McCallister, John Sierotko, Alex Terry, Chris Wanger, and Ellen (Procter) Wilson. Photos of all of us hugging each other will be in the class newsletter.
John Gannon has a good reason why he wasn’t able to make it to an 87th night event: his extensive travels through southeast Asia for his employer, AIG. “My first job after Dartmouth was harvesting grapes in France with Jonathan Bigelow, and I’ve been trying to get another international assignment ever since then,” John said. Topping his sightseeing list are temples in Japan and Cambodia, the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, the street scenes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “and the food, of course!” Along the way John has “eaten a lot of street noodles, met hundreds of wonderful people, and taken thousands of photographs,” available for viewing at www.jmgannon.com.
Back at Dartmouth, Hanover resident Holly Taylor is associate director of undergraduate advising and research, director of the Women in Science Project, and advisor for the Fulbright program, which awards federal teaching and research grants. Prior to January 2017 Holly worked in Boston, so she loves that her commute “changed from a two-and-a-half-hour drive to a 20-minute walk.” Holly advises and teaches the children of many of our classmates, including Jeff Blatt and Erin Foster, Shannon Finnegan, and Steve Salem. She works to make students more aware of the Fulbright fellowship opportunities and the fact that they also can apply through Dartmouth after graduation (“hint to ‘87s!” Holly said). She must be doing something right: For the second straight school year, the U.S. State Department has named Dartmouth a top producer of Fulbright students.
Kudos are also in order for class special projects co-chair Ricki Stern. The Civilians, an innovative theater company in Brooklyn, New York, honored Ricki and her film production company partner at an April 1 benefit for their decades of work telling stories that enlighten our understanding of humanity. The Civilians troupe performed musical theater tributes to three of Ricki’s films: Reversing Roe, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, and Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. “The benefit was a beautiful celebration of artists’ representation of the power of perseverance and resiliency over pain and suffering,” Ricki said. “We were all in tears.” Fellow ’87s in attendance were Jessica (Slosberg) Benjamin, Emerson Bruns, Jeff Lazarus, and Jon “Zebo” Zonis. Saturday Night Live alumna Rachel Dratch ’88 was there too and “gave a hilarious speech—no surprise!” Thanks to Kim Jacobs for passing along Ricki’s exciting news.
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com
