Class Note 1989
A recent Hanover trip gave me the amazing opportunity to see The Dartmouth Pow-Wow Suite, 10 portraits created by artist Mateo Romero, currently on view in the Hood Museum of Art. Mateo traveled to Hanover for the 2009 Dartmouth Powwow, and photographed Native students and dancers, including author Louis Erdrich ’76 and her daughter Aza Erdrich Dorris ’11. The Hood commissioned the almost-life-sized works, which were created in Mateo’s New Mexico studio using his signature technique of over-painting the photographic prints. Mateo returned to Hanover to speak at the exhibit’s opening ceremonies in October and the work will remain on display through January.
Our class vice president, Eric Berlin, is a partner at Jones Day in Chicago, specializing in anti-trust, healthcare and civil litigation. Although he has successfully run marathons, Eric’s recent triathlon efforts ended with painful results. “The cross-training was fun until gravity prevailed and I crashed my bike. Those who knew me in college will not be surprised to hear that having my broken jaw wired closed for a month was not enough stop me from talking.” Luckily for us, Eric has plenty to say. He reports that Matt Garber, a pediatrician in Columbia, South Carolina, is getting married in March. And during a recent business trip to Seattle he saw Laurie Fanger Reed, who is getting a teaching degree and has been active in literacy advocacy. And he updated us on his better half, Laura Hartwell Berlin, who serves as president of the board of trustees for the Alcuin Montessori School in Oak Park, Illinois. She recently oversaw a fundraising campaign that resulted in 100-percent parent participation. Eric sees D.D. Danforth Burlin and her husband, Johannes, at pee-wee hockey games, since their sons are on the same team. Eric also fondly recalled his days as the drummer in Ned Ward’s first band, in seventh grade! Ned’s current band, Mattel’s The Toys, placed third in the national corporate battle of the bands, which took place at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. You can follow them at www.facebook.com/thetoysband. Ned and his wife, Noriko, live in Redondo Beach, California, where their 10-year-old daughter Maia is a budding guitarist and 6-year-old Saya is in first grade.
Now to notes from Ellie Loughlin, updating us on some Boston-area classmates. Matt McDonald and his wife, Sarah, added baby Annie to their family last February, joining 3-year-old Molly. Matt and Sarah work at Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is the associate director of admission for the upper school, a history teacher and boys soccer coach. Ellie also works in the admissions office at BB&N, after recently getting a degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Amy Beard Vachris works in admissions at the St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Massachusetts, where her husband, David, is the dean of students. Phil Loughlin, who ran into Amy at a school cross-country race, reports that she has a daughter who is a junior and two younger boys.
Julie McColl-McKenna and Dave McKenna just celebrated their 20th anniversary and have four children—Taylor, Matthew, Amelia and Sarah. They live in Sudbury, Massachusetts, outside of Boston and Dave is a managing partner at the equity firm Advent International.
Allison Polley Hirsch works at Deutsche Bank and lives in Back Bay, Boston, with her husband, Andrew, and children Matthew and Sarah. Ellie says they’re the nicest people ever because they didn’t even mind that she and Phil showed up for a drink recently at 9:30 and left their house at 2 a.m.!
—Jennifer Avellino, 5912 Aberdeen Road, Bethesda, MD 20817; javellino@mac.com
