Class Note 2013

It is with a heavy heart that I report the unexpected passing of our classmate Alan Gottesman on November 21, 2015. Alan graduated with honors and studied music, economics and environmental studies at Dartmouth, where he also played the saxophone with the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble. He is survived by his parents, Debra and Bill ’79, sister Clara, grandparents David and Ruth Gottesman and Alice Lopez, and a host of extended family members. Our thoughts are with Alan’s family.

Thank you, class of 2013, for your updates and kind notes every other month. It is always lovely to hear from all of you, and I hope these notes make it a little easier to feel connected to the place that was our home for four (or so) years. Without further ado, below are some updates from our classmates and friends.

Remy Franklin is living in Tucson, Arizona, with Katie Gougelet ’14 and studying climate justice as part of a master’s in human geography. He loves the program, the city, the sunshine and rock climbing on warm rocks.

Kelsey Byrd is back in California coaching women’s basketball at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and pursuing a master’s degree in sports psychology at Cal Poly.

“In lieu of any engagement, baby or other major life events (don’t hold your breath for either of us.) Ashley Afranie-Sakyi and Matt Sturm want to send a dispatch from the cute and embarrassingly trendy neighborhood of Petworth, Washington, D.C. Ashley recently moved into an account management role on the Politico Pro team and Matt is still enjoying being on the leadership team at Illustria, a design startup. A steady stream of traffic has been seen at their shared row house, ostensibly for Gatsby parties and salons and peppered mulled wine, but they know it’s actually just to check out the sweet exposed brick and the painting studio in the attic. Let us know when you’re coming through town and it would be great to see you! Shout out to Dartmouth Gay and Lesbian Association in D.C. and fellow D.C.-area classmates Emily Fletcher, Katie Adams and Ranya Brooks.”

Melissa Gordon is now working at Project Bread, an anti-hunger organization in East Boston, where she helps people sign up for food stamps. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, with Ian Herrick and Mike Swartz ’12. This fall the three of them and about 15 other Dartmouth ultimate Frisbee alumni formed a rec club ultimate team called Dartmouth Women’s Lacrosse, which they report was a blast. 

Katharine Pujol writes in with the following exciting update: “I am living in Guatemala again, launching the social impact arm of an Internet venture capital firm called People Fund. We are launching our first business called Make It Rain, which has the vision of building the online transaction market here in Latin America by teaching people to build websites and monetize them for extra income. If anyone is looking for an adventurous vacation, let me know! Having lived here for almost a year and a half, I have gotten to climb volcanoes, discover caves, do yoga near a beautiful volcanic lake, zipline between mountains, surf some wicked waves and run a half-marathon through Tikal. This place is a treasure trove and I’m always happy to give recommendations and join on adventures!”

Kate Kranenburg is starting a new job in healthcare recruiting and traveled in Ecuador in January.

Christopher Zhao heads back to Hanover in the fall to start his M.B.A. at the Tuck School of Business.

—Emily Fletcher, 1375 Fairmont St. NW, Apt. 809, Washington, D.C. 20009; emilyefletcher@gmail.com