Brandeis Magazine

Samuel Brett reports that he has been staying safe with wife Jill and their three daughters and seven grandkids, and that his biweekly Zoom calls with Mary Connaughton, Peninah Berdugo, Lisa Glaskin, Bertha Braunfeld, Janet Goldstein and Donna Howard have helped him make it through the pandemic. Susan Feigenbaum and Jay Pepose ’75, MA’75, both P’08, P’17, have been named University Fellows at Brandeis. Steve Goldberg writes, “Although it took me 45 years after graduating from Brandeis as a history major, I received a master’s in history from Brooklyn College. I focused on race relations from 1827 (when slavery was abolished in New York) through Reconstruction; in particular, I searched for evidence of an interracial dialogue among Black and white abolitionists, the giants of the day.” Sharon Hammer Rubin writes, “Like most of you, my husband and I are waiting for the time when vaccines will be available nation- and worldwide, and we can again visit family and friends without worry. We are thankful for texts, Zoom and FaceTime — watching our 2-year-old granddaughter’s antics gives the entire family a lift. Seeing the joy small children derive from the simplest of things really does help keep life in perspective.” Christie Hefner has been appointed to the board of directors of Fyllo, a leading innovator in data, media and compliance solutions for highly regulated industries. In November, she shared insights from her years of working with a wide range of brands, companies and social-impact organizations in a Zoom conversation titled “Managing Through Times of Uncertainty and Change,” hosted by the Brandeis Women’s Network. Daniel Klein writes, “In May 2020, Shelley and I lovingly welcomed (via Zoom) our second grandchild, Simon Anthony D’Angelo Klein, born to our daughter-in-law Gabby, wife of our daughter Lauren.” Alan Melchior, MA’07, in July retired from the Heller School’s Center for Youth and Communities after 33 years as a researcher and evaluator working with youth, education and community programs across the U.S. He says he is enjoying his freedom to sail, bicycle, relax and figure out what’s next. Thomas Phillips is scoring a documentary film on the 1971 Attica prison riot, scheduled to broadcast on Showtime this summer. Marvin Pinkert has retired from his job as executive director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland. He reports he is still amazed at his good fortune in having been able to turn his passion for museums into a 32-year career. He and wife Melanie Terner Pinkert ’75 plan to visit Boston as soon as they can to see their first granddaughter, born in March 2020. Heidi Ravven, MA’74, PhD’84, has been appointed senior fellow at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, at George Mason University. Her daughter, Simha, is president of the Vermont Medical Society and chief medical officer at the Howard Center, a nonprofit that provides developmental, mental health and addiction services for northern Vermont. Heidi’s husband, Eric Evans, happily retired, is publishing his third volume of poetry, and continues to study and play the Japanese shakuhachi. Granddaughters Lucy (9) and Yael (5) attend the Grammar School in Putney, Vermont. Judith Tolnick Champa curated a virtual exhibition called “Out of the Fray” for Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Focusing on the American flag as a powerful symbol of critique, the show attracted wide acclaim, including receiving a Critic’s Choice notice in The Boston Globe.