Class Correspondent

Deborah Budd is celebrating her 15th year as an international realtor at William Raveis. She reports her daughter is gainfully employed as a paralegal at a Boston law firm and on her way to a bright future. Josh Copel, P’11, recently discovered he works with three young Brandeisians at the Yale School of Medicine: Anna Pancheshnikov and Jackie Feinberg, both ’10, are OB-GYN residents, and Marissa Platner ’07 is a fellow in maternal fetal medicine. Josh writes: “It’s a special honor to be teaching these outstanding alumnae.” Robin Katz Cudrin, who lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey, says she became a member of the “greatest club on earth” when her daughter, Sherry, welcomed a baby boy, Sidney Bear, on July 3. The baby is named in memory of Robin’s father, Sidney. Robin, who retired from the full-time practice of law in 2013, and now does investigations and human-resources consulting, will be known as “Nana.” Grandpa is David Lewkowicz ’74. A poetry collection by Jessica Gorton de Koninck, P’04, “Cutting Room,” was published in August. Paul Goransson led his startup companies through successful acquisitions by industry giants Cisco and Hewlett Packard. Although supposedly retired, he still lives an adventurous life and serves on the board of directors of a couple of companies he helped found. He published his second book, “Software Defined Networks: A Comprehensive Approach,” which is in its second edition. His beef and hay farm is up to 20 head of cattle, and he produces more than 12,000 bales of hay annually for local farmers. Paul is very active in New England farmland conservation. After seven and a half years of living in Israel, Chana Mesberg and Harold Grossman ’74 moved to NYC and are loving all the city has to offer. They are both retired and enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren. Chana goes to the gym and is getting politically involved again as a result of the recent presidential election. After 20 years as a high-school guidance counselor, Ruth Mindick, P’01, P’05, has retired, giving her time to travel and visit with family. She has three grandchildren: Joe and Deb Joffe ’01 have twin 3-year-old girls, and daughter Adina and son-in-law Derek Oberman have a 10-month-old daughter. Daughter Susan ’05, MA’07, and son-in-law Jeremy Rose expect twins in the fall. In addition to being a busy grandma, Ruth works as a college counselor and sings with SHIRAH, a chorus specializing in Jewish music. Peretz Rodman, MA’83, and Miriam Laufer ’79 are excited about the engagement of their son Adin Rodman to Gila Craimer. A June wedding in Jerusalem is being planned. Peretz’s translations of two stories by Nobel Prize winner Shmuel Yosef Agnon will appear in a new anthology. Research conducted by Jonathan D. Sarna, MA’75, University Professor and the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis, shows that in 1891 a prototype of the Israeli flag was created and displayed in Boston’s North End. The groundbreaking study reveals a rich new chapter in the long history of deep bonds between the United States and Israel that had previously gone largely untold. The research was released during Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s economic mission to Israel with more than 50 of the state’s CEOs and academic leaders. It was presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz in a meeting with the governor and the prime minister in Jerusalem. Liebowitz also presented Netanyahu with a replica of the version of the flag that was displayed more than a century ago at Zion Hall in Boston. Virginia Faulstich Shiller’s new book, “The Attachment Bond: Affectional Ties Across the Lifespan,” was published this year. Ginny has a private practice in clinical psychology in New Haven, Connecticut, and is assistant clinical professor at the Yale University Child Study Center. Nancy Spinner and her husband, Ian, are professors and geneticists at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The eldest of their three children (Alex, 28; Hanna, 27; and Sarah, 11) just announced his engagement. The wedding will take place in 2018, shortly after Hanna’s graduation from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and Sarah’s bat mitzvah. Richard Waysdorf retired after 19 years at the Starz programming networks in Englewood, Colorado, where he served most recently as senior vice president of business and legal affairs for distribution. Prior to Starz, Richard worked in Washington, D.C., as an attorney at the Federal Communications Commission and as a partner at Wilner & Scheiner. He is volunteer general counsel at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, and the Anna and John J. Sie Foundation. He lives with Julia Abramson Waysdorf.

Photo of Copel with three alumnae

GENERATION NEXT: Josh Copel ’75, P’11, professor and vice chair of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the Yale School of Medicine, is working with three Brandeis alumnae: Marissa Platner ’07, Anna Pancheshnikov ’10 and Jackie Feinberg ’10.

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