Class Note 1988. John Kaliski flew from Boston to Washington, D.C., in December—as he does regularly, we now know—to lead a high-level roundtable at the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The keynote speaker John recruited: Charlie Wheelan,who addressed the need for cross-party collaboration to create viable, sustainable transport systems.John, a government major and recovering editor of The Dartmouth, joined the consultancy Cambridge Systematics after college and is now vice president. He views transportation as an engaging portfolio and pivotal driver of economic development. “Accessible, affordable transportation is vital if we’re ever going to address inequality,” he says.
Also in Washington, another recovering editor of The Dartmouth, Brian Corcoran, works on the fault lines of U.S. vaccine policy: Brian serves as chief special master at the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVCIP). The vaccine court, operating since 1988, aims to expand vaccine uptake by streamlining no-fault compensation in the rare instances in which claimants can demonstrate that, more likely than not, they suffered an injury caused by a vaccine. The program has paid out $4.5 billion to some 9,500 people so far. The NVCIP, which considers 3,500 claims annually, recently appeared on 60 Minutes in an admirably nuanced segment about vaccines, their game-changing contribution to public health, and the rare but real instances in which they inflict harm. Brian lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with wife Stephanie, with whom he has three grown children.
David Downie along with Chris Armacost, Peter Adams,and the Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand are remembering professor Susan Blader, “Bai Laoshi” (Teacher Bai), who died October 10. (See David’s tribute to her in the January/February issue.) Blader was a prolific, pioneering scholar who taught at Dartmouth for 38 years. One of the first American researchers to study popular literature from Communist China, she played a central role in preserving China’s storytelling traditions. Blader was an exacting teacher, instilling a love for Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) among students who still vividly remember her Chinese 101 classes. Peter now works in Taiwan, while David worked in Hong Kong and Singapore before law school; he’s now an attorney with Bank of America in New York. “I’m slowly forgetting my Chinese vocabulary but have retained a respectable accent (or so I’m told), thanks to Bai Laoshi,” David says.
Also in New York: Ish McLaughlin, who landed in asset management after trying and failing to retire. Ish spends 10 percent of his time in Colorado, down from nearly 100 percent during 18 months of leisure. “I kept busy,” he says, but Franklin Templeton “made me an interesting offer I couldn’t ignore.” Alan Moss visits regularly from California and had just invited Ish to a Yankees’ playoff when we spoke. Ish was looking forward to a golf weekend with Brett Matthews, Derek McDowell, Andy Axel,John Scott, Rob Combi, Charlie Wheelan,and Gregg Brockway, and he speaks often with Brent Frei in Seattle.Ish’s wife, Nora, frequently visits their son, Ish IV ’23. “He’s a nicer, smarter, faster version of me,” Ish III says—which is hard to fathom.
—Sarah Jackson-Han, 6213 Winnebago Road, Bethesda, MD 20816; smjhan2@gmail.com;Bill Bundy, 442 Cedar Lane, New Canaan, CT 06840; bill.bundy@mac.com