Class Correspondent

It is always great to hear from all of you. As I write this note, the nation is just beginning to learn the details surrounding the awful tragedy in Newtown, Conn. If you have been personally affected by this terrible event, we send our deepest condolences. There are too many questions and certainly not enough answers. We are learning more about the brave teachers who did their best to shield the children in their classrooms. We are realizing that this small Connecticut town cannot be broken, and we are becoming inspired by the stories of courage, strength and sacrifice. We can always use some great news, so please contact me or the Office of Alumni Relations to share your story for our next set of Class Notes. It can be about an upcoming trip, professional aspirations, new family bonds or another goal or accomplishment. Whatever it is, let us all try to inspire one another.

Jennifer (Luftig) Singer and Steve Singer are proud to announce the arrival of Sivan Devorah on Sept. 4, 2012. She joins big sister Ma’ayan, 5, and big brother Aviv, 2 1/2. Matthew Porges writes, “I opened my own firm in February 2011. It handles employment law, foreclosures, commercial law and several other areas of law.” Vitaly Golub is happily married to Alina Suris. He is a practicing physician in infectious diseases in Utica, N.Y. Richard Bergeron and his wife, Amanda, had a baby boy, Jasper Malcolm, on July 31, 2012, in Framingham, Mass. Kaukab (Jhumra) Smith and her husband, Patrick Smith, have two boys — Imran and Amin. Kaukab writes, “They fight and play together in equal parts.” Kaukab works as Washington, D.C., correspondent for Youth Today and the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, publications of the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She covers federal policy, legislation and other Washington-area developments that affect young people, especially those from low-income, minority or disadvantaged backgrounds. She recently spent six months in Hanoi, where she worked as a freelancer for an English-language magazine and taught a six-week business English course at a U.S.-funded cultural center. Bluma (Liss-Levinson) and Jeff Sussman, Heller MA’08, relocated to the Washington, D.C., area, where Jeff accepted a position with Booz Allen Hamilton’s health-care team. Bluma also works for Booz Allen, focusing on strategic communications and homeland security. On Oct. 29, 2012, they welcomed Jordan Micah Sussman to their family; big brother Marc, 6, and big sister Sadie, 3, are thrilled to have a little brother. Debra Rafson was named managing director of the Stoneham Theatre, a Massachusetts-based professional theater company that she has been involved with since it opened in 2000. Her theater background also includes, among other successes, a master’s degree in arts administration from Boston University; four years as the management associate at the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Mass.; and 8 1/2 years as a stage manager for Blue Man Group’s Boston company. She is very happy about her new job and hopes to see some local alumni at the theater, which is only 20 minutes from Brandeis. Ariel Chesler and Shannon Berkowsky ’01 are proud to announce the birth of their second daughter, Kate Leah. She was born on Oct. 27, 2012, in New York. Their first daughter, Lily, now 2 1/2 years old, is excited to be a big sister. Tim Morehouse married Rachael Kun on Dec. 15, 2012, on the beach at the Waldorf-Astoria Casa Marina Resort in Key West, Fla. Tim, an Olympic fencer, and Rachael, an associate producer for ”60 Minutes,” were profiled in The New York Times’ Vows column. The bride and groom were set up by Matt Salloway. “I joke that I won the silver in Beijing (during the 2008 Summer Olympics),” Tim told the newspaper, “but I won the gold in meeting Rachael.” Rabbi Jonathan Tabachnikoff ’91 took part in the ceremony. Other Brandeis alumni in attendance included Diana Meltser ’99 and fencing team members Boris Moyston ’00, Jen Kang ’97 and Aaron Waxler ’99. Tim is working as an on-air correspondent for E! News. Mauricio Gojman ’00, IBS MA’01, most recently vice president at the private investment firm Blue Equity, has begun work on a new venture focused on adding value beyond just capital in the middle market in Latin America and the Caribbean. Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Patrick Hanley was named to head the state’s new Gaming Enforcement Division. Patrick, a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, most recently served as senior counsel in the Enterprise and Major Crimes Division. The Gaming Enforcement Division will enforce the state’s civil and criminal gambling laws, and provide legal representation to the state’s Gaming Commission.

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