Class Notes
From career milestones to marriages to world travels…
See what’s happening in the lives of CGS alums, and submit your class note here.
1950s
Geneva Woodruff (’59, COM’61) published Dear Frankie—What Dogs Really Think. The book is based on a weekly dog advice newspaper column she writes for the Fairhaven Neighborhood News, called “Dear Frankie.” The column, a humorous take on “Dear Abby,” is for dogs seeking advice for their social and emotional problems with their human family members and canine friends.
1960s
Kenneth “Ken” Beaton (’61) is in the process of writing a story about a WWII Army nurse engaged to be married to a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, based on the real-life story of a friend of his mother.
Sandy Cohen (’64, Wheelock’66) has wonderful memories of her CBS, now known as CGS, years. She lived at Lincoln Hall and went on to live in the Towers on Bay State Road. She would love to be able to get in touch with people she knew back then and can be reached at scojeda66@gmail.com.
Leo Quinn (’64, Questrom’67) has realized that after 24 years in Wisconsin, it is time for him to move somewhere warmer—Aiken, S.C. Hopefully, he’ll run into some BU friends there.
John Barry (’68) writes song parodies and has published nearly 6,000 of them on the parody site amiright.com, mostly under his own name.
John Leddy (’65, Wheelock’67) has been retired for a number of years. He wonders if any of his freshman year roommates from Room 926 (old Kenmore Hotel) are upright these days and would love to hear from them.
Steve Robinson (’66, CFA’69) had two of his radio documentaries made available to public radio stations in the United States in November: No Regrets: The Music and Spirit of Billie Holiday and Valentin Silvestrov: A Composer’s Journey.
Randy Miller (’67, Questrom’69) was recently reappointed the diplomatic consul for the Republic of Lithuania in Oregon. He writes, “The tense environment in all Baltics states has been accentuated by the Trump election and how it will affect the Ukrainian-Russian war. Despite enjoying one of the strongest economies in the EU, with Putin’s aggression, the fear of the Baltics being the next target has now been heightened even more.”
William Harrington (’68, CAS’70) finds retirement to still be in the future. He likes working with his friends as a security officer. He is living with metastatic cancer and making the most of it. He has taken up writing, with one book published and another in the works.
Peter Rathbone (’69, CAS’71) spent a year after graduating college in the Sotheby’s training course in London before joining the American art department at Sotheby’s, New York. He became director of the department in 1976. He resigned as director in 2008 but was hired back as a senior consultant and advisor to the department for the next seven years before fully retiring in 2015. He has remained active as a private consultant in American art. Following his retirement, he and his wife, Alanna, moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., where their older daughter, Sarah, her husband, Jason, and their daughter, Olivia, also live. Their younger daughter, Vanessa, lives not far away, in Ventura, while their son, Dylan, lives in Austin, Tex. They get back to their house on Cape Cod during the summer months but enjoy most of the year in Santa Barbara.
1970s
Guy Maynard (’70) is the author of Ash Valley: The Promise of the Land (GladEye Press, 2025), the final book of the Risk of Being Ridiculous trilogy, a series of autobiographical novels. The first two books, The Risk of Being Ridiculous (GladEye Press, 2024) and Trial: A Long Year from Here to There (GladEye Press, 2024), are set largely in Boston in 1969–71, while the protagonist was a student at what was then called BU’s College of Basic Studies. One reviewer described the first book as a “masterpiece… [it] never hits a false note while charting some of the most turbulent times in American history.”
David Ehrmann (’71) is still coaching a select group of executives, with a focus on interpersonal communication and team dynamics. He is painting more in watercolor and developing skills at turning wood on a lathe. He has been married to his wife, Barbara, for 49 years.
Larry Nichter (’71, CAS’73, CAMED’78) received the 2024 American Society for Plastic Surgeons Noordhoff Humanitarian Award.
Bruce Robinson (’71, COM’73) is the executive producer of the documentary film Plunderer: Story of a Nazi Art Dealer, which was shown at the DOC NYC Film Festival and on PBS in February 2025.
Ron Traub (’71) writes, “Being retired doesn’t mean sitting back and watching the ‘parade.’ It simply means you don’t get paid for marching.” Earlier this year he was appointed to the Illinois Lake County Zoning Board of Appeals and finished training to become a master gardener.
David Buttolph (’77, CAS’79) is happy to report that he closed on his fifth fund at Brookside Capital Partners at $393 million. Brookside opened a larger office in Boston and a new one in Los Angeles staffed by a fellow Terrier. He writes that the company has invested more than $1.3 billion in middle market companies nationwide, creating hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs. He looks back fondly at CGS for giving him the study and detail skills to be successful in business.
Robert Del Deo (’78, CAS’81) is married, retired, loving life, and doing yoga in Southern California.
1980s
Nancy Waring (’80, Sargent’84) published her first book, The Vibrant Sage: Arousing Energy for Health and Happiness (2024), available on Amazon. She says, “No matter the age, tapping into one’s own inner wisdom and life’s purpose has a profound impact on one’s joy. Having optimal health is essential for sustainable energy for joy and happiness.”
David Waronker (’82, MET’84) purchased a 145-acre property in Lexington, Ky., to serve as a rescue for draft horses. Bravehearts Equine Center is in its third year rescuing mostly draft horses—Percherons, Belgians, and Clydesdales. Today they have 145 horses that call the farm their home. Check them out at www.BraveHeartsEquineCenter.com.
Lisa Botti (’83, CAS’85, SSW’87) stopped working in registry for hospice four years ago. She was briefly a counselor in a high school in Great Falls, Mont., until COVID hit. She manages the organic ranch she’s lived on for the past 18 years, and coordinates getting individuals to lease their pastures. She’s also very busy with the pottery business she has created. She makes custom mugs for local coffee shops and for the Sip N Dip bar in Great Falls. Her children are between the ages of 21 and 29. Four are still in Montana and one is in Australia getting his PhD. She’s been in Montana for 31 years, and has never regretted the move. She goes to the gym daily as she still loves lifting weights. She writes that life is good and she has fond memories of her undergraduate and graduate school experiences in Boston.
Victor Levy (’85, CAS’87) just merged his wealth management company into a larger firm called Wealth Enhancement Group. He and his wife moved out of their home in Cherry Hill, N.J., into a condominium in Bala-Cynwyd, Pa. They are planning the next phase of their lives.
Gary Partoyan (’89, CAS’91) is living in Alexandria, Va., with his wife and son, working as an independent financial advisor, and is grateful for lots of time with family and friends. He recently met and spent an evening with Dean McKnight and other CGS alums at a get-together in Washington, D.C., which was wonderful, he writes. He has always appreciated the CGS program, and more so as the years go by. He’s happy to engage with other alums and encourages other BU alumni to reach out at Gary@Partoyan.com. He says, “Go BU, and go CGS!”
1990s
Chris Charla (’92, CAS’93) has worked in video games since leaving BU. After founding the ID@Xbox program for independent game developers and leading it for 10 years at Microsoft, he is now the general manager for content and development readiness at Xbox, where he continues to work with cool independent developers across the entire content portfolio of third-party games. Outside of work, he makes printed fanzines about weird stuff—from punk bands, to strange games, to dissections of Hittite magic rituals.
Peter Shankman (’92, COM’94) launched Source of Sources (https://sourceofsources.com) after selling his original company Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to Cision in 2010. Cision shut down HARO earlier this year, so Peter launched the next iteration of HARO, Source of Sources, to connect journalists with sources from around the world. In six months, more than 30,000 users have joined, receiving more than 20,000 media requests from more than 2,000 journalists. The service is completely free.
Kevin Sanderson (’94, CAS’96) moved to Oxford, UK, with his family.
Priya Jain (’96, Questrom’98) has dedicated more than a decade to transforming early education through innovation and a child-centered approach as the founder of The Wonder School in Belmont, Mass. In addition to shaping its curriculum, she’s involved in strategic business development and operational leadership. She oversees all aspects of the school’s operations and guides a talented team of educators. Through a focus on exploration and play, The Wonder School is setting new standards in nurturing young minds and fostering their full potential.
Rebecca (Abramovitz) Karlin (’96) was a guest food critic on Arizona Check Please on PBS. The episode aired in early 2025.
Andrea Perillo-Golub (’96, Wheelock’98) is celebrating her 24th year as a New York City teacher. For the past 13 years, she has taught the early childhood classes at her school. She enjoyed teaching pre-K for many years and now enjoys teaching preschool at the same NYC public school. Her community at work has been a joy for all these years and she is very fulfilled with her career. Through the years, she got married and had two boys with her husband of 21 years. Their oldest son is a student at Boston College and happy there, while their younger son is a junior in high school and wants to play baseball in college.
2000s
Felicity Gibbs (’00) completed her bachelor’s degree in film in Los Angeles after finishing CGS. She completed an MBA in London with an emphasis in media communication. She would love to get in touch with anyone who may have any job leads. She can be reached at felicitygail@gmail.com. She’s based in LA but will happily return to Europe or consider any other relocation. She hopes everyone is doing well.
Yolanda Reyes-Guevara (’01, CAS’03), a 2024 Fulbright award grantee, traveled to Germany as part of the International Education Administrator delegation.
Leah Johnson (’03, CAS’05) has transitioned out of a 25-year career in politics to focus on her work as an artist and author. Her second book, From Politician to Painter: Unraveling the Patriarchy to Connect with Your Muse, is slated to release in 2025.
Brandon Leitner (’03, CAS’05) is a partner with his former CGS classmate Aaron Berkey (’03, COM’05) at Okeanos Venture Management. Aaron is founder and managing partner of their firm, which breaks down the traditional barriers in venture capital to make usually inaccessible investments accessible to their members.
Nick Sharis (’04, Questrom’06,’11) had a few milestones in his professional career in 2024. He was named a managing director at SCS Financial, leading a team of advisors providing wealth management services to ultra-high net worth families across the world. He was also elected a member of the Professional Advisors Committee for the Boston Foundation. Both updates provide the ability to advise families across a multitude of areas, building lasting relationships along the way.
Igal Svet (’04, COM’06) joined Blackfin, the Lionsgate-backed production company behind series including Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, as executive vice president and head of documentaries. He was previously head of documentaries at discovery+.
Julian Ospina (’05, CAS’08) has worked and traveled around the world while staying active in outdoor activities and competing in football (soccer) leagues.
Allison Duncan (’06, COM’08) launched a college admissions counseling service, CollegeBound Counseling. She provides personalized one-on-one counseling to high school students through the college preparation and application processes. She loves working with students to achieve their goals and offers expert guidance through a competitive, complex, and evolving journey to higher education. She encourages parents of students who are interested in boosting their academic and extracurricular profiles, researching and creating their college lists, and completing their applications and essays to universities in the US and abroad to contact her for a free consultation.
David Riggs (’06, COM’08) began his new job as a contracts administrator at Saab, Inc., in Syracuse, N.Y., in August 2024.
2010s
Laura Brown (’11, CAS’13, COM’19) relocated to Philadelphia after completing additional graduate studies in American broadcast media history at the University of Texas at Austin. She works as an audiovisual preservation project manager with George Blood, LP, in Philly.
Meagan Brody (’12, COM’14) moved to New York City after graduating from BU with a degree in public relations. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with the degree and started freelancing as an assistant wardrobe stylist for Bloomingdale’s, Cosmopolitan magazine, and Abercrombie & Fitch. After two years assisting on photo shoots, she realized she wanted to take a different direction with her fashion career. She filled in for a temp role in the Bloomingdale’s corporate office and has been there for eight years. She is the manager of the team that coordinates samples for photo shoots. They meet with stylists to review creative direction and work with the buying teams to make sure they can secure all samples for the shoot. During the pandemic, her office hours changed and work from home became the predominant way offices functioned. She started her own business as a life coach, Life X Meagan.
Nicole Doherty (’15, Questrom’17) says that being at CGS was such a special time in her life. While she was there, she never would have imagined one day being a thriving insurance professional. She’s happy to chat about the insurance industry with anyone at CGS who doesn’t know what they want to do in life yet or who is interested in the insurance industry.
Maggie Lohrer (’18, CAS’20, GRS’20, Questrom’22, MET’23) sends well wishes to all and says, “Go BU!”
2020s
Nick Pink (’22, Questrom’24) has been building his career and pursuing his entrepreneurial passions since graduating. Nick started his professional journey as a supply chain analyst at Wayfair in Boston, where he gained valuable experience in data analysis and operational efficiency. During his early career, he founded two startups—NxtLvl AdVentures, a digital marketing agency helping brands grow their online presence, and OurStory, an AI-powered platform designed to preserve family memories and legacies for future generations. He’s looking to grow his team and is hiring interns in graphic design, advertising, marketing, and sales to join him on these exciting ventures. He’d love to add some CGS students to his team who are looking for résumé experience.
George Stoica (’24, CAS’27) has created work for the fall 2024 issue of BU’s undergraduate art magazine Squinch. The theme of the issue, “Semblance, Beyond the Surface,” was to deconstruct things in our world to better understand what happens beneath the surface through the lenses of “macro to micro.” He made three paintings using his favorite medium, oil. In addition, last summer, George helped conduct research on bacterial antibiotic resistance in the Charles River through CGS’ Undergraduate Research Experience program. He and his fellow student researchers took water samples from different locations across the Charles River that were near the BU campus and plated them with different antibiotics. They counted the number of colonies that grew on the plates and used techniques such as streaking, gram staining, and Kirby-Bauer tests to gain a further understanding of the characteristics of the bacteria found in the Charles.
Sydney Stokes (’24, CAS’27) is taking the spring 2025 semester off to intern as a software developer at NASA.