Brandeis Magazine

No Class Notes submissions this issue.

Stephen Bertman, GSAS MA’60, is the author of “Electronic Challenges to Patient Safety and Care,” a chapter in the second edition of “Distracted Doctoring: Returning to Patient- Centered Care in the Digital Age” (Springer, 2025). Stephen co-edited the book’s first edition.

Lynda Ellis, GSAS PhD’72, is a Master Gardener in Minnesota’s Anoka County.

Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, GSAS MA’72, PhD’78, is the author of “God Spoke Once, I Heard Twice: The Torah’s Lens on 54 Fields of Human Knowledge” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025). He has written 10 books, two of them in Hebrew.

Esther Orenstein Lapian, GSAS MA’73, writes, “Inspired by two great professors, Nahum Sarna and Joseph Lukinsky, I worked in teacher education in the field of biblical and Judaic studies, both in Israel and abroad. I currently teach lifelong learning programs at the Schechter Institute and elsewhere. Brandeis was a wonderful experience for me.”

Janet Rodgers, GSAS MFA’75, is touring in “Tea at 3 With Eleanor and Me,” a solo piece about the early life of Eleanor Roosevelt, which Janet wrote and performs. Her first solo piece, “Gut,” won a Best of Festival Award at Los Angeles’ Whitefire Theatre.

A play by James Sherman, GSAS MFA’79, titled “The First Lady of Television,” was produced at Northlight Theatre, in Skokie, Illinois, in fall 2025.

Merrill Joan Gerber, GSAS MA’81, reports the book “Someone Should Know This Story,” a collection of her short stories, will be published in March 2026.

Susan Kent, GSAS MA’81, PhD’84, celebrated the publication of her 14th book, “British Settler Colonialism Since 1530: Indigenous Peoples in an Imperial World” (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025).

Howard Tinberg, GSAS PhD’82, is working on a book-length study of historically Black community colleges, highlighting their commitment to educational access, and social and economic justice. Howard is professor emeritus of English at Bristol Community College, in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Henry Greenspan, GSAS PhD’86, recently celebrated many milestones related to his longtime work in the field of Holocaust studies: a Festschrift published in late 2024; a Distinguished Achievement Award in Holocaust Studies; the publication of his literary memoir, “REMNANTS and What Remains: Moments From a Life Among Holocaust Survivors”; and an honorary doctorate bestowed by Malmö University, in Sweden. “I am forever indebted to my teachers at Brandeis, especially the sociologist Kurt Wolff, who was the best dissertation chair a person could have,” Henry writes.

No Class Notes submissions this issue.

Inci Kaya, IBS MA’01, is research manager, digital strategies, at IDC, a global market-research, advisory and consulting company based in the Boston area.

Gregory Wilson, GSAS PhD’02, reports “Heretic,” the final book of his award-winning “Gray Assassin Trilogy,” was published in July 2024. Grayshade, a tabletop role-playing game set in the trilogy’s universe, was released in 2025.

“Over Here,” a play by Meron Langsner, GSAS MFA’04, has been published in an acting edition by Next Stage Press. The play, which Meron began writing while he was at Brandeis, follows the growing friendship between an Israeli immigrant and a Palestinian American in New York City during the summer of 2002.

Elaine Nyirady Kelley, Heller MA’05, PhD’10, retired from the federal government in 2018 as a policy analyst for humanitarian visas at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She now works as a consultant, analyzing proposed Department of Health and Human Services regulations and reviewing grant proposals. She also co-authored a chapter published in “Research Handbook of Children and Armed Conflict” (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024). Elaine, who lives on 2.5 acres in rural Pennsylvania, writes, “As a former city dweller, I am learning how to create a garden in rocky clay soil, with sometimes too much or too little rain, and always lots and lots of bugs.”

Jessica Lepler, GSAS MA’05, PhD’08, an associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, welcomed the publication of her second book, “Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions” (University of North Carolina Press, 2025). Her first book was “The Many Panics of 1837” (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Jessica was a Javits Fellow and a Crown Fellow during her time at Brandeis.

Katherine Bauernfeind, GSAS MA’06, celebrated the publication of “Don’t Give In! (You’re Not Just Getting Old): How an Average Middle-Aged Woman Took Back Her Health” by Koehler Books in June 2025.

A volume co-authored by Jeremy Kuzmarov, GSAS PhD’06, titled “Syria: Anatomy of Regime Change,” was published by Baraka Books in October 2025.

Susie Moscou, Heller PhD’06, graduated from Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing as a psychiatric mental-health nurse practitioner and is a professor at Mercy University’s School of Nursing. In 2024, she was inducted as a fellow into the New York Academy of Medicine and the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Olajide Olagunju, Heller MA’06, GSAS MA’08, spoke at a New York State Bar Association event in April 2025. His subject was ancient and traditional dispute-resolution practices and their relevance to modern practice. He has written a new book on the topic: “Ancient Dispute Resolution Practices and Their Lessons for Today: The African Contribution,” published in French, Spanish, Portuguese and English editions.

Formerly a musicology teacher at the Australian Institute of Music and the University of New South Wales, Georgia Luikens, GSAS MA’10, PhD’18, now teaches music at a prep school in Sydney, Australia. In July 2025, she welcomed her first child, a son named Daniel.

Justin Phalichanh, GSAS MA’10, a certified leadership coach, has launched Bring Brilliance, an enablement company that helps individuals and organizations solve their toughest challenges through tailored training, learning strategy and leadership development.

Jeffrey Wolf, Rabb MSE’11, has retired after working nearly 50 years as a software engineer. He and wife Valerie live in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. They have three children and three grandchildren.

William Geibel, GSAS MA’12, is a tenure-track assistant teaching professor and associate director of experiential learning at UC San Diego.

Danna Zeiger, GSAS MS’13, PhD’14, a former biology professor and current homeschooling mother, has authored “Rewriting the Rules” (Millbook Press, 2025), a biography for children. The subject is scientist Kathleen Friel, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child and now runs a lab researching therapies for kids with CP. (Don’t miss Danna’s “Turning Points” essay in this issue.)

Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Rabb MS’23, is a senior manager at Raytheon, leading the test equipment quality-engineering group.

Jaden Menzer, IBS MA’23, completed a five-month work stint in Madrid through his employer, Avangrid, a U.S. energy company.

Hannah Muehlberger, GSAS MA’25, writes, “I am taking a bit of a break from academia and working as an infant teacher. I’m also recently engaged and planning a wedding for September 2027.”