Brandeis Magazine

Marcia Meizel Binder lives in Melrose, Massachusetts, with husband Robert. Her younger daughter, Daria, lives in the Boston area. Elder daughter Meryl lives in Hungary with her husband, who is stationed with the U.S. Air Force at a NATO base there. Marcia writes, “When we visited Hungary last year, we were awestruck by the beauty of the cities, and deeply affected by the Holocaust memorials and synagogues in Budapest and Krakow.” She reports the family is currently planning a trip to South Africa. Michael Freemark received this year’s Distinguished Faculty Award from the Duke Medical Alumni Association. He and Anne Slifkin ’73 live in Durham, North Carolina. Son Yonah, a national expert in transportation and housing, is completing his PhD in urban planning at MIT. Daughter Samara, a radio journalist whose podcasts have won Peabody and Polk Awards, lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children. Although David Gotthelf has retired as chief psychologist for the Newton (Massachusetts) Public Schools, he continues to work part time. He writes, “The most important event these days is the birth of our first grandchild, an adorable baby girl.” Michael Hammerschmidt has been appointed vice president of development at the Science History Institute. He and his husband, Gary, live in Philadelphia’s Center City District. Elliot Maggin welcomed his first grandchild, Clayton Michael, on Sept. 6, 2018. The baby’s parents are Elliot’s son, Jeremy, a doctor, and Stephanie, a registered nurse. Elliot, Jeremy and Stephanie all work at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. Elliot’s daughter, Sarah, is a teacher. Elliot plans to retire at the end of the year and take the Trans-Siberian Railroad from St. Petersburg to Beijing, video-logging the entire trip. In June, Laura Ramsey Russell, P’98, served as choral conductor for the 20th anniversary concert of the Hudson Valley BachFest, which she co-founded in 2000. Samuel Silver is in active practice in hematology at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he is assistant dean for research. He was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a British professional body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine.