Class Correspondent

Mark Altman is the author of the best-selling two-volume series “The 50-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek.” In addition, he is co-executive producer of the hit TNT series “The Librarians” and is writing an oral history of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Dicla Circelli was promoted to COO at Prakash Ellenhorn. His youngest daughter graduated from high school. Aimee Close lives in Sharon, Massachusetts, with her 16-year-old son, Ari. For the past five years, she has worked for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. She writes, “I especially love running into former Brandeis classmates as I travel around the country doing strategic planning and leadership development with congregational boards.” After 16 summers as director of Jewish Community Center Camps, Aaron Greenberg became senior consultant for day-camp initiatives at the JCC Association, where he supports the 130 JCC-affiliated day camps in the U.S. and Canada. He has four children. Debora Katz, who has taught physics and astrophysics at the U.S. Naval Academy for 21 years, authored “Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Foundations and Connections.” She writes, “The textbook I taught out of at the academy is the same one I used to learn physics (from Professor Peter Heller) all those years ago at Brandeis, and it was an old book back then. A new book, written for this generation, was needed.” Debora’s book, published in 2015, has been adopted by a number of schools. Nadeem Malik received the Outstanding Teacher Award from Brandeis’ Rabb School of Continuing Studies, where he is an instructor. For the past decade and a half, Jackie (Miller) Menter has worked as a fundraiser for Jewish advocacy and social-service organizations. She spent July 2016 in Chios, Greece, volunteering with an organization that provides care and relief to mothers and mothers-to-be trapped in the limbo of the refugee camps dotting the island. To read about her experiences, go to her blog at mytachlis.wordpress.com. Gregory Snyder is chair-elect of the Federation of State Medical Boards. The national nonprofit organization represents all medical boards within the United States and its territories that license and discipline allopathic and osteopathic physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health-care professionals. Gregory served in many leadership roles during his 2006-14 tenure with the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, including a term as president in 2014. He is on the vascular and interventional radiology medical staff at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center, in Duluth. In September 2016, Susan Fritz Sweedler and her husband, Jonathan, became empty nesters. Daughter Maya is a junior at Yale, and son Ari is a freshman at UCLA. Susan has been working as a personal trainer for the past 10 years and is incoming president of the women’s philanthropy division of her local Jewish federation. She writes, “I am thrilled to be able to see Karen Wyle (though not frequently enough) and stay in touch with others via Facebook. If your travels bring you to the Bay Area, don’t hesitate to call. Our door is always open.” In June 2016, Monica Teasley held a grand opening of her law firm’s new offices as well as a client-appreciation event. She opened her law firm in 2010 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. She and her husband of seven years, Reno Teasley, share his four beautiful bonus children: Tre’von (19), Renesia (17), Reno III (15) and Riah (14). Alex Tepper lives in Manhattan with his wife and three kids. He enjoys playing lacrosse in leagues and tournaments with several Brandeisians — Andrew Gelman ’87, Jeff Roth, Marty Bennett ’97, Rob Eber ’91, Mike Fruhling and Jordan Keusch ’91. Several of them have become part owners of the Ashkelon Lacrosse Club in Israel. Alex hopes to recruit more Brandeis lacrosse players to join his group for the 2018 world tournament in Manchester, England. After 14 years as a stay-at-home mom, Karen B. Wyle has relaunched her career. She joined the account management team at Fourandhalf.com, a boutique global internet marketing agency based in Hayward, California. She is excited to be part of the business world again and work with such a strong, fun marketing-management team.
Submit a Class Note