Here are the Class Notes as they will appear in the SPRING 2006 Alumnae Quarterly.

Michele Gilligan writes that she doesn’t want to think about what age she is turning after thirty-two years in law teaching but her younger twin sisters, Ann Gilligan and Jane Gilligan ’77 turned 50 in October so the other three sisters including Hannah Gilligan ’81 and two sisters-in-law spent two blissful days at the Cranwell Spa in Lenox, MA where Jane lives. She is not sure she’ll make it to forty years in teaching, but that is her plan. “When are others planning to retire” she asks.

This from Trish Moran Creighton: “I am happy to say that after 35 years with the Uxbridge Public Schools, I retired as the high school principal this year. My husband and I now live on Cape Cod, in Bass River Village, and we spend time visiting our son John in San Diego.”



Diane Gilbert Sypolt has just retired from 15 years as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She enjoyed it enormously but is now turning to more leisurely pursuits. She split up with husband Allen Weinstein, formerly American history professor at Smith, in l990. Her current hubby is a business executive who travels a lot, based in Philadelphia. Andrew, 35, graduated from Duke and is now a v-p at AOL. David, 33, graduated magna cum laude from U Maryland in econometrics and is now a programming guru at Yahoo/Hot Jobs. “He and his magical Romanian wife, Ramona, now living on Long Island, have given me my first grandchild, Isabella, and thereby much joy!” She sees Suzy Turnock Mackenzie every now and then and would welcome hearing from classmates in the Comstock or Mary Ellen Chase houses “who can stomach the fact that I am a libertarian conservative!”



After 21 years advocating in the courtroom, Alice Zaft is leaving her firm to pursue an area of the law which is “way more fun.” She will be working with businesses and universities as a risk management consultant on employment law, conducting training workshops for employees on recognizing, preventing, and handling discrimination claims. “No more sitting and anxiously awaiting a jury verdict.” She has also been certified as an independent investigator of discrimination claims and has a wedding planning business. Now both her son and daughter are married and enticing her with the prospect of grandchildren. “They point out that it is several years off and I should forget about stocking up on baby clothes. Somebody could make a lot of money from a business loaning grandchildren to those of us who are wannabes.”



Suzanne King Nusbaum has been appointed to the arbitration and mediation panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization. She resigned her judgeship on the Massachusetts Industrial Accident Reviewing Board in 2000 when her husband got a job offer that couldn’t be refused in Silicon Valley, CA. “We moved to California and I entered a Masters of Intellectual Property Law program at Santa Clara University School of Law, from which I graduated last June.” She has worked on a special externship studying the disposition of patent litigation cases and is starting up an arbitration and mediation practice. She is also regularly back and forth to the East coast to check on her elderly mother in Maine, and was fortunate to recently visit Dot Rosensweig in New York City.

The Chief Justice of California has appointed Roz Zakheim to the Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness, a statewide committee of judges and lawyers. She writes that she is very excited about this opportunity to work on fairness issues in the courts related to race, ethnicity, gender, persons with disabilities and sexual orientation. “Unbelievably to us, my husband and I just marked 25 years of marriage. Our son Kevin is now a 4th year student at UC Santa Cruz, a beautiful campus that we have enjoyed visting a few times a year.”



Kathy Hoffman will be in Graz, Austria as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair from March-June 2006, and would welcome visitors. Her children have followed international routes as well. “My daughter is a Ph.D. student in Paris, my son at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and my youngest daughter is at McGill, and studying in South Africa for spring 2006. My husband and I invested in property in France a few years ago, and are happy to rent out either our country house in southwest France or apartment in Paris.”



For Susan Ross, Boulder continues as “adventure basecamp. I ski, hike, manage City of Boulder Open Space and Mt. Parks volunteers, garden, play with dogs, travel.” Also does sustainable business consulting, social capital philanthropy, and artwork. Her son and daughter-in law live close-by: Gressa is a national marketing exec and after 10 years as a photojournalist Alex switched careers and is a firefighter, directing Gulf Coast disaster aid. Longtime friend, Philip, is now a Buddhist monk—“our home is a dharma practice center, but I’m NOT a nun”. She is also on the board of her co-housing community. Susan “ is a survivor" 2 years out from colon cancer – rode Lance Armstrong’s Ride for the Roses (73 miles!).



Carol Fox Kurt has been doing a lot of traveling and hiking lately. “Last October I went to Peru and hiked the classic trail to Machu Picku taking 4 days and 3 nights. In November I backpacked for 4 nights and 5 days going from the north rim to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.” Carol loves living in Aspen and in the winter enjoys being an ambassador for the Aspen skiing corporation where she takes guests touring on the mountain.



Your co-secretary, Rosa Leader Smith, loves cycling and rode in her second ” Prouty” in July (50 miles), raising money for cancer research at Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Career-wise she is anticipating several more years of agency based psychiatric social work in the Bronx and is starting up a psychotherapy practice. Daughter Geneva Smith ’04 was selling art and antiques in New Orleans before she was displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, her New Orleans employer Axelle Fine Arts offered her a job in their new Boston/Newbury Street gallery where she is an art consultant.



Katherine Martin has for the past ten years been the Executive Director of a licensed substance abuse halfway house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Never have we been as challenged as in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita” she writes. “We will be years in dealing with the destruction of the hurricanes, not only the physical, but the emotional and psychological scars as well. My older son, Elisha, is in the National Guard and was on duty in the Superdome during and after the hurricane so got a first hand view of the chaos. Son, Charlie, is back safely from a year in Iraq.”




And finally, some news from Susan Hall Mygatt: “After raising 3 daughters (now in their early 30’s) of whom we are very proud, my husband and I have added a 13-year old boy from Uganda to our household, adding new purpose and challenge to our lives. Will this keep us young, or age us quickly??”



Thank you all so much for keeping your classmates posted with your news, thoughts and questions about life.



Sec., Kathy Golden, 14 Knollwood Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572, kgolden@hvc.rr.com
Sec., Rosa Leader Smith, 257 Park Hill Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10705, rleadersmi@aol.com