1970s
55th Reunion: Oct. 24-26
Louisa Brady Sandberg retired in 2020 from the Lawrence (Massachusetts) Public Library, where she worked as a city archivist. She and husband Michael ’69 have two grandchildren, Teddy (7) and Lucy (5).
Julie Kabat travels to visit her two daughters, who live in Hawaii and the Netherlands, and five grandchildren, who range in age from 14 to 26.
Linda Burke reports she is enjoying doing virtual tutoring.
In January 2025, Arthur Caplan, who directs NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Division of Medical Ethics, moderated an online symposium, “Stories, Narratives, and Their Role in Conflicts and Their Resolution: From the Holocaust to Today.”
Khorshed Dubash, GSAS MFA’73, sent in a tribute to Brandeis founding president Abram Sachar, H’68, which included these words: “In days of yore, there might have been a magical king who pulled a sword out of a stone. But no one could be more magical than Dr. Sachar. He pulled a marvelous university out of the hills in Waltham.”
Daniel Falkoff reports that, at age 74, he’s working three days a week as a surgical technologist.
In October, Jackie Hyman published her 110th book, a paranormal mystery titled “A Cat’s Nose for Murder,” featuring a talking cat and a heroine who discovers she has magical gifts. It’s the second book in her “Forgotten Village Magical Mystery” series, written under the pseudonym Jacqueline Diamond. Jackie and her husband of 46 years live in Southern California.
Leonard Jason was honored in November 2024 for his 50 years at DePaul University, where he is a psychology professor and director of the Center for Community Research. His achievements include securing over $47 million in federal research grants, writing more than 135 book chapters and chairing 60 doctoral committees.
Mark Seth Lender, GSAS MA’74, is a producer for wildlife content at “Living on Earth” on Public Radio and writes columns for the Connecticut Examiner, an online newspaper. Currently, his work is largely focused on the efforts of the National Wildlife Refuge System, the largest single entity dedicated to wildlife preservation in the world. Drastically underfunded by both Democratic and Republican administrations, the NWRS is on the edge of collapse, he reports.
Rosalie Gerut, P’24, is co-creator of the nonprofit One-by-One, which brings together people from opposing sides of conflict, war and genocide to help them transform painful histories into hopeful futures. She also co-edited the 2023 book “Journeys of Transformation,” a compilation of personal narratives of these encounters and a testament to resilience in the face of inhumanity.
David Gotthelf writes, “The big news for me has been my move from Boston to Indianapolis to be close to my daughter and her two little daughters. I’m doing teletherapy as a clinical psychologist and teaching part-time as an adjunct faculty member at Butler University. Are there any Brandeis alumni out here?”
Nancy Katzen Kaufman — who says she loves living in NYC but has not dropped her Boston accent or her teams — coaches women in the C-suite, chairs the New York Jewish Agenda board and serves on the Alliance for Middle East Peace board.
Rachel Kovacs remembers a road trip she took during her first year at Brandeis with Marie-Merlin Veronica Price, who died in July 2024. Merlin, a Black woman, was refused service at a Georgia diner during that trip. “I can only hope this was a one-off for you during your lifetime, but I doubt it,” Rachel writes in tribute. “Rest in peace, friend.”
Daniel Victor and wife Ester Fuchs have lived in Manhattan for 44 years; they have three grown children and a granddaughter. Daniel’s first novel, “The Evil Inclination,” published in 2023 — about a passionate love affair between an Orthodox Jewish man and an Italian Catholic woman — won the North Street Book Grand Prize. A sequel is slated for publication this June.
Lorne Prupas, an executive leadership coach, writes, “I’m supporting leaders of all stripes across Canada, working in both English and French, and just having a whale of a time.”
Phil Cedar and Meryl Newman-Cedar, who live in Scarsdale, New York, have been married for 48 years. Phil, a retired attorney, serves as director of a bank. Meryl practices pediatrics in New York City. The couple also spends time at their Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home.
Michael Goldenkranz is on a quest to find benefactors for a free-tuition law school that will graduate lawyers who can support access to justice in rural areas.
Former roommates Mitchell Goldman, Stan Reed and Russell Arkin ’73 enjoyed a reunion in Washington, D.C.
Sharon Hammer Rubin writes, “Attending our 50th Reunion was such a wonderful experience. Afterward, my husband and I continued our East Coast trek for another three weeks, thoroughly enjoying visits with friends and family in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, most of whom we had not seen since we moved to California two years ago.”
Daniel Kazzaz, GSAS MA’74, extended the Class of 1974’s 50th Reunion with a get-together at his place that included Dwight Dickerson; Sue Morgenstern; Jeff Phillips, P’12; and Sandra Pinel.
Daniel Klein welcomed his fourth grandchild, Julian Ambrose, just before Thanksgiving 2024. The parents are Daniel’s daughter Ariel and son-in-law Eric.
Caroline Masters works in the solar/renewables industry, and also creates art using fused glass and encaustic monotype. She is hoping to find homes for her late husband’s scientific development projects, including a manufactured hydrogen fuel that’s a liquid at room temperature. For more information, contact her at chmasters9@gmail.com.
Betsy Sarason Pfau, who co-chaired the 50th Reunion, writes she had a wonderful time at the gathering and hopes to keep up with everyone going forward. Shortly after the reunion, Betsy and husband Dan Pfau ’73 flew to London to visit their kids and granddaughters.
Hugh Schwartz is the co-founder of Viable Living, a not-for-profit that facilitates the construction of affordable housing. He is also the chair of the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, which provides assistance to entrepreneurs. In December 2024, he was inducted into the Westchester County (New York) Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, in recognition of his three decades of community service.
Shimon Simons, GSAS MA’76, PhD’02, is enjoying retirement in South Florida, working part-time as a translator of Yiddish memoirs and letters, and serving as vice president of his condo association.
Stanley Wakshlag earned a leadership award from Legal Services of Greater Miami, where he serves as president of its foundation and a member of its board of directors. He was recently elected treasurer of the Florida Innocence Project.
Khan Zahid, now retired from a career that spanned the world, has written and published a memoir that pays tribute to his parents as well as Brandeis’ Wien International Scholarship Program. Khan and his family recently enjoyed a trip through Turkey that also included a stop in Santorini, Greece.
Alison Bass is the author of the novel “Rebecca of Ivanhoe,” a sequel to Sir Walter Scott’s classic tale. The book was published by Bedazzled Ink in November 2024.
David Baum retired after nearly 46 years in the practice of adoption, surrogacy, family-formation and probate law in California. He and his wife took two trips to Australia last year and welcomed their first grandchild, Blake, in March 2024.
Brian Cassie reports he has found his 7,000th owl in the wild.
Steve Gerber is vice chairman of the board at the American Library in Paris. He recently attended the wedding of Elisa Charbonnel, daughter of Leslie Grayburn Charbonnel ’74, in France’s Burgundy region.
Jonathan D. Sarna, GSAS MA’75, H’25, retired from teaching at Brandeis at the end of the 2024-25 academic year after 45 years in the academy (35 of them at Brandeis). In September, he received the 2024 Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award from the American Jewish Historical Society, which praised his “rich contributions to American Jewish scholarship and legacy.”
Phyllis Speiser, P’06, spent time in Jerusalem last year with her son, daughter-in-law and five grandchildren. While there, she saw Nancy Flax Zibman ’74 and Ray Zibman ’73, GSAS MA’73, both P’99, P’02, and Donna Goldberg.
Susan Abramson, P’17, has been the rabbi at Temple Shalom Emeth, in Burlington, Massachusetts, for more than 40 years. She also creates videos for her YouTube channel, Spiritually Speaking. Son Aaron Dvorkin ’17 clerks for a federal judge in Tacoma, Washington.
Carol Glassman Cook, P’03, reports the sad news of the passing of her mother, Sandra Starr Glassman ’54, P’76, G’03, at age 91. Carol’s daughter Kathryn ’03 is a third-generation Brandeisian.
Janet Kolodner, P’07, says she has retired “for real this time,” and plans to travel and look for environment-related projects to work on.
Joani Mitchell has lived on the beach in Santa Cruz, California, for the past 14 years; has two granddaughters and another on the way; and has traveled to more than 111 countries. “If anyone comes to Santa Cruz, I would love to meet with you,” she writes.
Following 42 years of practice, Jeff Weissmann has taken senior status at law firm Robinson+Cole, mentors associates, and enjoys his time with wife Jill and their six grandchildren.
In August 2024, Diane Gollub celebrated the publication of her book “The Poetry Weaver: The Song I Came To Sing,” which features her poems and fine art.
Veronica Ann Williams recently earned a Doctor of Business Administration, with a concentration in finance, from Rutgers University. She writes, “This is another step in a career shift to help present solutions to stop the $2 trillion in mortgage fraud in the U.S.”
During the fall 2024 semester, Rosa Lowinger was the Judith Praska Distinguished Visiting Professor in Conservation and Technical Studies at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. In September, Rosa came to Brandeis to talk about “Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exile and Repair,” her 2023 book about her Cuban Jewish family and her work in art and architectural conservation.
David Lubin writes he’s “been spending way too much time” along the seashore in Ocean County, New Jersey, where he lives. The result, he says, “is a pigment of your imagination.”
Neil Pickett, who retired from full-time work after a career spanning more than 40 years, is now a consultant specializing in strategic and executive communication, policy research, and political advocacy.
Margo Rosenbach, Heller PhD’85, has retired from Mathematica after more than 26 years as a vice president and office director, and has founded Rosenbach Consulting, which provides strategic advisory services to improve health care access, quality and equity. She became a grandmother in February 2024.
Steve Saklad says he has unofficially entered retirement, with the proviso that, should a great production design job come along in the moribund film industry, he’s free to return to work.
Gayla Zoghlin and Eric Linden welcomed old friends to the Hudson, New York, wedding of son Sam Linden and Andrew Coon, including Judy Benstein, Doug Gragg ’82, Judy Olshansky Gragg, Julie Mann, Alan Spatrick and Eileen Winter.
In October 2024, 49 years after they met as first-years in Usen Castle, John Berke, Dan Blum ’80, Bill Buttenwieser, Deborah Finkle, Lila Glogowsky, Jan Hardenbergh ’80 and Benjamin Rubin gathered for a mini-reunion at a Cape Cod beach house.
In October 2024, Uri Deblinger celebrated Sukkot in Tom’s River, New Jersey, with wife Sheryl and most of their children and grandchildren.
Larry Derany is co-founder of Smarter Bear Financial, which offers financial planning, investment management and advanced tax-planning services to professionals in the middle to late stages of their career.
After teaching French and Spanish at the Berkeley Carroll School, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Kate Dunn has retired and is living in Lexington, Kentucky, near family. She is taking Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes at the University of Kentucky and traveling, and recently met up with Deborah Finkle, Peggy Levitt ’80 and Liz Segal.
Helise Lieberman is the director of the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning, which enriches Jewish life in Poland and connects Jews around the world with their East European heritage. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Poland, Helise has lived in Warsaw since 1994.
Bob Pekeles, a labor arbitrator and mediator in Vancouver, British Columbia, is married and the father of two adult kids.
Wayne Samuels, P’02, reports he and wife Valerie were treated to a week in Spain by son Nathan ’02, who is medical director for safety at Optum Massachusetts.
Roberta Weinstein-Cohen and Mark Cohen ’78, both P’09, P’17, have welcomed their sixth grandchild; born in Israel, Nahshon Ariel is the son of Hanna Cohen Winkler ’09 and Yoni Winkler.