On a beautiful, crisp fall weekend in Hanover I met up with Lindsey Noecker, Tony Field and Cai Boldt Pandolfino for Class Officers Weekend. We attended some very informative panel discussions and all marveled at how young the members of the arriving class of 2018 looked. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than two decades since we were newcomers to the College. 


Lindsey, class co-president with Jenn Tudder Walus, is a freelance financial consultant in Boston. 


Tony, our class webmaster, works in web applications, design and hosting and lives in Toronto with his wife, Karin (Chesebro) Field, and their three kids.


Our class social media manager Cai and husband Jeff, parents of two young boys, own Green & Tonic, successful vegan restaurants with locations in Connecticut and New York that focus on healthy and tasty nutrient-dense foods and fresh-pressed organic juices. Find out more at greenandtonic.com.


Michael Messina was recently promoted to vice president in creative services for Starz Digital Media, the content syndication arm of Starz. Based in New York, Michael is responsible for growing the international licensing of both owned and licensed original programming content. He also oversees the digital domestic distribution of select independent films through multichannel and online providers. Prior to joining Starz in 2011 Michael was a freelance producer and consultant following nine years at New Amsterdam Entertainment, where he eventually became senior vice president. Michael majored in film studies at the College and received an M.B.A. in media and marketing from Columbia.


This fall Ulrich Boser published his latest book, called The Leap: The Science of Trust and Why It Matters. The book deals with issues of trust and social cohesion and what can be done to bring back a sense of civic unity. Ulrich is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he researches and writes about social issues. In 2009 he published The Gardner Heist, which examined the 1990 theft of a dozen masterpieces from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.


Ulrich, who lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two daughters, previously served as a contributing editor for U.S. News & World Report. He is currently working on his third book, called Learning to Learn, which will focus on how we learn and the need for richer forms of education to foster the creative and problem-solving skills necessary in today’s economy. Find out more at ulrichboser.com.


I was recently listening to my favorite radio program, NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show, and happened to hear Siobhan Gorman, The Wall Street Journal’s intelligence correspondent, who was part of a panel discussion on President Obama’s strategy for defeating the Islamic State, or ISIS. For a transcript of the enlightening discussion, check out http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-09-09/president-obama-congress-a…. 


Finally, Rebecca Siegel Baron shared an inspiring story about her experience with SoulCycle, a 45-minute, full-body, indoor cycling workout that has helped her feel happier and healthier. Rebecca, a New York attorney, writes about how she came to SoulCycle several years ago after being diagnosed with a treatable condition that if left untreated could have led to blindness. “Riding at SoulCycle doesn’t have to feel like you are joining a tribe,” she wrote. “Not every rider is there five times a week and rides in the front row. Even all these years later you’ll still find me, quiet, alone, in the dark, back row, on Bike 57. I like it that way. I like the anonymity. My oasis. My time. My Bike 57.” To read it all, check out www.soul-cycle.com/community/soul-story-rebecca-siegel-baron/655. 


Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful holiday season and for a happy and healthy New Year!


—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com