Brandeis Magazine

No Class Notes submissions this issue.

The novel “In Search of the Animalcule,” by physician and educator Steven L. Berk, P’07, was published just months before Steven’s death on May 26. The book is a work of historical fiction, focused on the 19th-century breakthroughs that changed scientists’ understanding of infectious disease.

Retired judge Edward Redd and Shirley Johnson Redd ’73, a retired anesthesiologist, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Martha’s Vineyard.

Ted Gup is serving as the Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change at Swarthmore College during the 2023-24 academic year. The previous January, Ted taught a course at Williams College, and in fall 2022 was writer-in-residence at Durham University, in the U.K.

Meyer Koplow, P’02, P’05, has joined the board of AMIT Children, a Jewish education nonprofit based in New York City.

Daniel Matt, GSAS MA’76, PhD’78, received the Rabbi Sacks Book Prize for “Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation.” The honor was bestowed by Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership.

Eileen Samberg and husband Larry celebrated their 45th anniversary in February 2023. Their children and grandsons live in Missoula, Montana, and Pittsburgh.

Daniel Victor, who recently retired from the practice of law after 40 years, has published his debut novel, “The Evil Inclination,” a darkly comic story about a secret love affair that upends the lives of an Orthodox Jewish college student and an Italian Catholic girl from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

Lee Brooks, P’13, shares sad news: His wife of 38 years, Ellen Freedman Brooks, P’13, died in 2022 of an infection contracted during a family trip to the Galapagos Islands to celebrate her retirement. Her legacy includes three children — Debbie, Michael, and Rebecca ’13 — and 3-year-old grandson Max.

Abigail Elias, who has retired from her law practice, was a member of the Connected in Motion 2023 Adventure Team that hiked the Teton Crest Trail in August. Connected in Motion promotes outdoor activities for people with Type 1 diabetes, which Abigail was diagnosed with eight months before arriving at Brandeis in 1969.

Marian Bass, P’18; Jane Kaufman; and Dale Morse, P’00, enjoyed a meet-up in mid-July in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Our 53-year friendship is perhaps the greatest gift we received from Brandeis,” Marian writes.

Sheldon Stein has retired as president of liquor distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. He will continue to serve as an adviser to the company’s board of managers.

Khan Zahid recently enjoyed an 11-day visit to Hawaii. Highlights included gazing at millions of stars from the top of Mauna Kea and hiking to the top of Diamond Head.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, H’88, and wife Ann attended a White House state dinner held for Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, in June.

Lauren Stiller Rikleen edited a book titled “Her Honor: Stories of Challenge and Triumph From Women Judges” (American Bar Association, 2023), which features chapters by and about some of the nation’s most respected jurists, including two Supreme Court justices.

Julieanna Richardson, H’16, is the founder of The HistoryMakers, which has created the largest collection of videos (more than 3,500 and counting) of notable African Americans talking about their life and achievements. In February 2023, “60 Minutes” aired a story about Julieanna and the remarkable first-person oral-history archive she has amassed, which now resides in the Library of Congress.

After practicing labor and employment law in Manhattan for 20 years, Marcy Schwartz has now spent 20 years working as vice president of her 100-year-old family business, Highway Displays, in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Robert Blau has written an e-book titled “Cancer World,” which details his battle with throat and neck cancer.

Rabbi David Nesson has retired after leading the Morristown (New Jersey) Jewish Center Beit Yisrael for 35 years. He plans to compile his sermons into a book and is looking forward to spending time with family.

Gary Rosen, CEO of law firm Becker & Poliakoff, was recognized by the South Florida Business Journal as a Power Leader in Corporate Philanthropy.

Gregg Silverman, professor of internal medicine and pathology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, shares some reflections on his Brandeis years, which he describes as “a great experience”: “What wonderful faculty, and what a nurturing supportive environment that gave me a foundation for everything to come in my life. Although I remain a science nerd, I am glad I took classes in architecture, anthropology, and art.”

Lis Adams is the editor of “Little Women Letters to Laurie: The Alcott Family Correspondence With Alfred Whitman, 1858-91” (Palmetto Publishing, 2023). The book is a collection of letters to Alfred Whitman — one of the models for the character Laurie in Alcott’s novel “Little Women” — written by Louisa May Alcott, two of her sisters, and her brother-in-law. Lis is director of education at Orchard House, which was the Alcott family’s home in Concord, Massachusetts.

Lisa Braverman is dean at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. She previously served as an assistant vice president at Mercy College, vice provost for academic and faculty affairs at Excelsior College, and dean of continuing studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Marta Kaufman, H’20, co-creator of the television show “Friends,” was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Marta joins other entertainment figures on the committee, including Lady Gaga and George Clooney.

Ben Kramer, who has retired from medicine and the biotechnology industry, is working part time as a consultant for biotech companies and the Gates Foundation. He and his husband of 30 years, Hector Otis, enjoy traveling the world and spending time at their homes in San Diego, New York City, and Mexico with their wheaten terrier, Chavo.

After serving for 42 years as a special educator in public and private schools, David Spraragen and his wife of 30 years, Gabriela Rozanski, are making aliyah, joining their twin children Yaakov and Nechama in Raanana, Israel. First-born son Avraham is a student at Georgetown Law.

Diagnostic radiologist Rachel Brem, P’08, is the co-author of “No Longer Radical: Understanding Mastectomies and Choosing the Breast Cancer Care That’s Right for You” (Simon Element, 2023). She is a professor of radiology and the director of breast imaging and intervention at The George Washington University.

A retrospective of paintings by Nick Savides was held at the Union Arts Center in Sparkill, New York, from July to October.

Roberta Weinstein-Cohen and Mark Cohen ’78, both P’09, P’17, made aliyah in 2022. The couple lives more than half the year in Israel. They also spend time in New York, Kansas, and Florida.