Brandeis Magazine

Sohaila Abdulali’s book “What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape” was published this fall in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia/New Zealand. Michelle Hearne Arthur is executive director of the Brookside Museum/Saratoga County Historical Society, in Ballston Spa, New York. “If you come to the races in Saratoga, drop by the Brookside and say hello,” she writes. Arthur Bodek is a partner in the customs and international trade law firm GDLSK. “The trade policies of the current administration make for interesting times professionally,” he writes. “Having both of our kids in college brings a quiet to the house not experienced for years. One of my pursuits is trying to run a road race (anything from a 5K to a marathon) in each of the 50 states. I’m currently up to 31.” After Lauri Croce married Cole Workman in January, their blended family — including two cats, Cole’s father and Lauri’s mother — moved to the Greenville, South Carolina, area. Although Cole’s father has since passed away, the other members of the Croce-Workman household are thriving in the hot and humid South, thanks mainly, Lauri says, to air conditioning and the internet. Cole is controller at biotech startup Zylö Therapeutics. Lauri is continuing her California law practice from 2,288 miles away and studying for the South Carolina bar exam, which she’ll take in February. Laurie Haber’s book “Raising Ross: It’s All About the Love for Our Autistic Son,” published in the spring, is a deeply personal story of her family’s journey with autism and how they navigate its challenges with help from friends, family, caretakers and professionals. Eric (Larson) O’Rafferty is pursuing a master’s in education, along with an education specialist teaching credential, at Pacific Oaks College. He is a one-to-one classroom aide at a school for individuals with learning and/or emotional challenges or disabilities, as well as a full-time dad to three of his four kids (the fourth having become an independent, fully functional adult). Ultimately, Eric hopes to serve individuals in the emerging area of twice-exceptional (2e) education. Cheryl Pegus has joined Cambia Health Solutions as senior vice president, health-care services, and chief medical officer. Previously, she was president of Caluent, a health-care data analytics company, and clinical professor of medicine and population health at NYU Langone Medical Center. Prior to that, she led the expansion of Walgreen Co.’s health-care services, product launches and data analytics as its first chief medical officer. Cheryl is active on the boards of the American Heart Association and the Association of Black Cardiologists. In 2000, she established a scholarship for minority students at alma mater Weill Cornell Medical College. Fundraising expert Brian Saber, president of Asking Matters, celebrated the publication of his first book, “Asking Styles: Revolutionize Your Fundraising.” Brian is touring the country to promote the book and talk about how fundraisers can become more comfortable and effective askers. Norma Sanchez-Figueroa is a Superior Court judge in Connecticut. Previously, she was a family support magistrate with the state’s judicial branch, which she joined in 2011. Before that, she served in private practice with law firms from 1994-95, then as a solo practitioner from 1995-2011. She has been married to Nathaniel Mays, Brandeis’ former assistant dean of student affairs and director of the Intercultural Center, since 1994. Their children are Daniela, 16, and Gabriel, 14. Joan Sikand lives in Nairobi, Kenya, where she sponsors a conservation NGO, the Wildlife Foundation. She is the author of three books of poetry, “Meditations,” “Makonde” and “Mind — A Sacred Place,” and the mother of two children, Maya, 28, and Viraj, 24.