Brandeis Magazine

My husband, Paul, and I welcomed our second child, Leo, in February. Ethan is delighted to be a big brother.

Abby Gondek received a PhD in global and sociocultural studies from Florida International University in May. She was awarded the Alex Stepick Award for her dissertation, “Jewish Women’s Transracial Epistemological Networks: Representations of Black Women in the African Diaspora, 1930-80.” Danielle (Friedman) Kalan and husband Elliott welcomed their second son, Gabriel Woolf, on Aug. 3. He joins big brother Sammy, who is 4 1/2. The family has left Brooklyn for Los Angeles and are loving their winter-free lifestyle. Before leaving New York, Danielle was lower-school and early-childhood librarian at Manhattan’s Abraham Joshua Heschel School. She plans to return to children’s library work after time off with the family. Susan and Marc Kolpon welcomed baby boy Joshua Isaac in April. He is doing tummy time on a Brandeis blanket, following the tradition set by big sister Rebecca and big brother Michael. In August, the family visited with Kate Dugan ’03; Shai Ben-Yaacov ’02; and Sara (Spurling) Williams ’03 and her husband, Doug — their summer gatherings began in 2012 with a total of four children, a number that’s now up to eight. David Pearlman was elected to the Brookline (Massachusetts) School Committee in May. He works as a child-welfare attorney in downtown Boston at both the trial- and appellate-court levels. Former roommates Anna Statnikova, Anna (Natsume) Gribben, Michelle Gaba, Michelle Poliak-Tunis, Rachel Hartstein and Eszter (Lengyel) Neuman went to Breckenridge, Colorado, in July for an impromptu Brandeis reunion. With their families in tow, the group reminisced about their college years and enjoyed a competitive game of Brandeis bingo. Their children, ages 13 months to 6 years, enjoyed getting to know one another and were very interested in how six friends could have lived together “in one room” in college.

ROCKIES RENDEZVOUS: In July, former roommates Anna (Natsume) Gribben, Eszter (Lengyel) Neuman, Michelle Poliak-Tunis, Rachel Hartstein, Anna Statnikova and Michelle Gaba, all ’04, gathered with their families in Breckenridge, Colorado, for a reunion.