Brandeis Magazine

Pia Aklian joined the Philadelphia office of Eckert Seamans. She works in the law firm’s financial transactions and business counseling practices. Previously, she served as general manager and in-house counsel at a mobile enterprise software company. Sara Albert was inducted into the Joseph M. Linsey Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 7 during Homecoming. She was a three-time All-New England and All-University Athletic Association outfielder for the softball team. She ranks second in school history in triples, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. As a junior, she earned All-New England honors when she led NCAA Division III in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. Judah Ariel married Robyn Swirling on April 2 in Washington, D.C. Alumni joining the celebration included Paul Adler, Jeff Tornheim, Andrew Slack ’02 and Seth Michaels ’01. Craig and Stephanie Knepper Basman welcomed their daughter, Charlotte Rosalie, on April 20. The family lives in Manhattan. Stephanie is counsel and principal at SKA Marin, an affordable-housing development firm. Craig is finishing his cardiology fellowship at Lenox Hill Hospital and pursuing further specialization in the field of interventional cardiology. Jocelyn Berger and Rabbi Stephanie Kolin ’01 welcomed a daughter, Raviva Batya Kolberg, on March 22 in New York City. Rabbis Isabel de Koninck and Roni Handler, MA’05, announce the birth of their second child, Maayan Shevach, on April 21. Daniela (Jacobson-Fried) and Benjamin Egan welcomed a son, Malcolm Michael, in January. Daniela and Benn both work at MIT. Jessica Lewis-Turner earned her PhD in English literature from Temple University in May. Richard Oberdorf and Deirdre Mooney ’05 moved to Spokane, Washington, for Deirdre’s first post-training position in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, at Providence Health & Services. Rich will stay with his company, Ab Initio, working remotely from their new home. Their first child was due in September. Shira (Friedman) and Igor Pedan ’05, MA’06, welcomed their second son, Ilya Avi, on May 23. Jeffrey Rosenspan lives near Genoa, Italy, with his wife and 5-year-old son. Jeff operates a European and Asian food import business that supplies Big Y, Whole Foods, Market Basket, Stop and Shop, and Costco. Michelle (Battat) Scheinmann and her husband, Gabriel, welcomed son Jacob André on Jan. 4. They live in Washington, D.C. Style House, the boutique communications agency that Janna Meyrowitz Turner started shortly after graduation, celebrated its 10th anniversary by winning a PR Couture Bespoke Communications Award for Work, Life, Balance and Culture. Style House specializes in female-forward companies that focus on fashion, beauty and wellness.