Elections for Class Officer Positions are now open. To participate, go here:

http://stage.rsgsurvey.com/classof2008election/

Your password is the official email address you have on file in the Alumni Directory. The election will run through Friday, May 31st. Winners will be formally announced at Reunion.

Feel free to reach out to the Nomination Committee Chairs, Chase Carpenter & Charlie Stoebe, with questions @ ClassOf2008Nominations@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Chase Carpenter
Charlie Stoebe
2008 Nomination Committee Chairs

Get excited for reunion!

Elise Waxenberg and Jacqueline Loeb “are (platonically) cohabitating in a cozy stone cottage in Connecticut, re-enacting woodsy NH life while continuing to maintain NYC personas and work in management at Bridgewater Associates. Visit! We have a fireplace, (lone) pine-scented candles and Dartmouth afghans.” RuDee Lipscomb spent much of 2012 working with foster youth to prepare them for life as emancipated adults. She says it’s “the most rewarding work ever, even when teenagers are a pain in the ass.”

Laura Rodriguez saw Yasmin Mandviwala and Janelle Braverman in Miami for Art Basel late last year. Laura also got engaged in Paris over Christmas. Congratulations Laura! I had my own mini-reunion in Miami around Christmastime, when I met Stephanie Zamorano and Lauren Bennett for a day of fun far from the icy northeast. We had news of another engagement, from Lyndsey Girod and her fiancée David Ramsey. They got engaged December 1, on vacation to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Lyndsey is currently finishing a Master’s in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in May. Lindsay Deane and Zach Mayer also recently got engaged.

Elizabeth Sherman and Josh Wexler got married on September 22nd in Kansas City, Missouri, almost exactly eight years to the day when they first met during orientation. They were joined by many Dartmouth friends, including Rebecca Beasley-Cockroft, Nicole Bertucci, Adria Buchanan, Lyndsey Girod, Mary Healey, Brendan Huang, Tatyana Liskovich, Kate Mann, Justin Sanford, Yan Shurin and Liz Vaughan. Elizabeth’s dad, Bill “Fred” Sherman (’81), walked her down the aisle and her grandfather, George Sherman (’56) was there to celebrate as well.

Elise Braunschweig Kaufman writes, “Zak Kaufman and I were married in the beautiful outdoors in Lyme, New Hampshire on September 2, 2012. We had a great time celebrating with family…and a crew of ’08s including Sarah Bankoff, Caitlin Crowe, Emmy Frank, Tyler Frisbee, Travis Green, Craig Lee, Angie Libby, Kristen Limbach, Matt Mackey, and Taylor Thompson…100 people Salty Dogging was certainly a highlight! Zak and I have since moved to London, where he is finishing his PhD in Epidemiology and I am pursuing a Masters in Public Health in Developing Countries.

Laura Little was admitted to Harvard Business School and will be attending in the fall. Attending Harvard with Laura are Troy Steckenrider, Mariana Spanos and Ben Robbins. Laura also reports, “Sindhura Kodali, Jared Westheim, Sophie Cary and I all attended Rebecca (Treat) Ward’s wedding to her Scotsman, Callum Duffy, in Dunkeld, Scotland in early December. Much merriment, Scottish dancing, clay pigeon shooting, and scotch were had all around.”

Jenny Ratner wrote from Jeanie P. Lau’s wedding in Australia to Arthur Liu. Also at the wedding were Katherine Scovner, Helen Kang ’06 and Alejandro Martinez ’07. They also celebrated Jeanie’s recent graduation from veterinary school at the University of Sydney. Jenny Fisher wants everyone to know Jenny Ratner will graduate from Columbia this May with her degree in architecture. Send architecture jobs Jenny’s (Ratner) way. Preferably in NYC so she won’t leave Jenny (Fisher).

Thanks for all your updates and be in touch!

Let me know what you’re up to, OR what any of your classmates are up to. If you have a new job (or haven’t told me about your old job), if you’re married, been on any interesting trips, moved, bought a house/apartment, even if you’ve just seen other Dartmouth alums around, no news is too small to share with your classmates. And beginning with this update, we will be sharing them in an expanded fashion online as soon as they’re submitted, so you won’t have to wait two months to see the results (and I won’t have to cut all the fun details to get down to the Alumni Magazine’s word limit).

Hope all is well wherever ’round the girdled earth you roam,

Dave Glovsky

A recent opportunity to volunteer as a coach with ‘Coach 4 America’ was brought to our attention and we wanted to pass it along to you. Please see below for some additional information about the program:

Coach 4 America places young Ivy League alumni with strong athletic backgrounds in volunteer coaching positions at the middle or high school level in seven key cities: NYC, Boston, Philly, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. The organization’s aim is to fill part-time, mainly volunteer coaching jobs with young alums who wish to contribute while still pursuing their post-graduate professional lives.

The group is Princeton based and started through the recruitment of Princeton grads to fill the existing coaching openings, but now, demand has outpaced supply, and they are casting their net wider, hoping to get alums from all Ivy League schools coaching. With the dozens of schools interested in each city, they have virtually an endless supply of opportunities for involvement.

In the next few weeks, they will be making matches between Ivy League grads eager to coach and the coaching positions they ought to fill. If you are interested, please check out their website at www.coach4america.com and feel free to contact Brooke Biederman (bdb@princeton.edu) with any questions or to get involved.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Monica

Join Dartmouth Young Alumni in NYC next weekend for….

NYC Mini-Reunion (Class of ‘11 to ‘08)
@ Puffy’s Tavern (81 Hudson Street http://puffystavernnyc.com/)
Saturday October 8th, 9pm-midnight
Specials: $5 pints & $6 well drinks

Hope to see you there!

Empire Room is the luxurious, exclusive lounge housed at the base of the most iconic skyscraper in the world. This gorgeous space revives the spirit of the Golden Age with its embossed leather banquettes, marble, ebony, and silver leaf decor. The event will be the first of many monthly mixers for Ivy League Young Alumni and it is a great way to reconnect with old friends, as well as to make new ones from other universities. The Empire Room is located at 350 5th Ave, btw 33rd & 34th st. You are welcome to bring guests.

Who: Young Alumni in NYC from the 8 Ivy League Universities
Where: Empire Room, 350 5th Ave (btw 33rd & 34th st)
When: Thursday, July 28th from 6pm – 1am
What: Free Bacardi Open Bar Happy Hour from 6:30 – 7:30pm, 2 for 1 Vodka Drinks from 7-8.

Please RSVP here. Full details here.
Join our Facebook Event and Invite your Friends: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=226003260772388
Join the Ivy League in NYC Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/220645387978565
For any questions, including discounted table reservations feel free to e-mail us.
Open Vodka Bar Sponsored by: RecentGradBar.com

Hopefully, you’ve received a copy of a the new newsletter issue our editors, Chad, Jordan and Erica have put together, but if not make sure you check it out under the ‘08 Update tab. Read up on Eric Cates’ adventures climbing Everest, Khadijah Bermiss’ music success, Maura Pennington’s new book and Yasmin Mandviwala’s experiences in India.

As always remember to keep us updated on what you are up to!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the election process!

The time has come to elect our new Alumni Council Representative. Seven classmates have been nominated and are currently in the running, take a look at their blurbs below and click here to vote!

ADRIA BUCHANAN:
“My name is Adria Buchanan and I graduated Dartmouth in 2008. I am a dynamic individual and believe I do and can represent a large cross section of alumni. As a varsity volleyball player, NAACP club president, liaison of Casque and Gauntlet and an active member of the student community, my interests were varied, and I always stretched outside my comfort zone to support my peers. As part of the Alumni Council I would continue to be open minded, supportive, and dedicated to delivering the opinions of alumni. If you’d like an articulate, creative individual on this year’s board, please vote for me.”

LAURA CROWE:
“Some alumni would say that being an alumni council rep is just an excuse to visit Dartmouth without seeming like a creep alum. I see alumni council rep as an excuse to go back as well as a chance to make a change. While we love our college in the woods, I think we are also aware that there is room for improvement. I’ve worked as a go-between for Dartmouth students and the Dartmouth administration in the past as a Greek house president, and I’m confident that I will be able to use these skills to get the 08s’ concerns and thoughts heard. My sister was recently accepted as a member of the class of 2015, so I will also be in a position to hear the current student perspective on the issues being presented to the council. I hope that you will elect me to represent your voice over the next four years.”

CHUCK FLYNN:
“08’s, I love The Green. I’m published on the Board of Trustee’s contentious history. I can recite Webster’s closing arguments from Dartmouth v. Woodward and know all the verses of the Alma Mater. I love the BEMA, Billy Bobs, and tea time in Sanborn. I jumped in a frozen Occum, did Trip to the Sea, and survived morning drill. I’m ready to put my obsession with our school to good use. This spring, I graduate from Notre Dame Law School and will pursue environmental law. I am currently your Alumni Council Representative. Only one of these things is not true.”

FRANK GLASER:
“Dartmouth means everything to me. Since graduation, I have been working in lifescience consulting in Boston while pursuing a myriad of activities to stay involved with the College. I want to contribute further to the community in a tangible way – as the next Alumni Councilor for the Class of 2008. I am dependable, possess strong inter-personal skills, and have the drive to make Dartmouth a better place, all of which are essential to success in the AC. Rest assured that I will serve as your faithful representative over the next three years! Feel free to shoot me an e-mail with questions or thoughts.”

JONATHAN GORDON:
“I’m looking to get more involved with our class again and am psyched about the possibility of serving as our AC rep! Prior to entering the real world, I was vice president of our Class Council and communicated extensively with the administration as a Dean of the College intern. Since graduation, I’ve followed the debates and changes on campus through the D and opportunities to return to Hanover. I pledge to work hard to make sure that your ideas and concerns are shared with the Council and continue the great work Zack has done.”

DAVID LINDENBAUM:
“Hello, my name is David Lindenbaum. Throughout my Dartmouth career I played several club sports such as rugby and club hockey, and was vice president of Tri-Kap fraternity. However, my most rewarding position at Dartmouth was president of the Inter Fraternity Council my senior year. That year I was able to interact with the diverse groups that exist on the Dartmouth Campus such as the ICC, MAVs, and the Student Assembly, build bridges and affect positive change at Dartmouth College. As representative I would like the opportunity to again help affect change and represent all of your interests to the Alumni Council.”

SIMON TRABELSI:
“Hello 08s! I am accepting my nomination to be your Alumni Council representative. I have served as the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association’s (BADA) Alumni Council representative since 2009, so I know the duties of the position and have thoroughly enjoyed performing them for BADA. As I am now the BADA Atlanta Regional Director, I want to be more involved with my beloved class to ensure I am connected to as many aspects of Dartmouth life as possible – hopefully I will get to do so through representing our class in the Alumni Council. Give a rouse!”

I hope that the holidays gave you a chance to rest up since I last wrote in December and that your 2011 is off to a great start. In this note I’m going to update you on some highlights from the 201st meeting of the Alumni Council (AC) in Hanover last month and remind you of the upcoming election for the next Class of 2008 AC Representative.

The two highlights from the December AC meeting I’d like to discuss are the start of a constructive dialogue about alcohol on campus and some real progress on alumni career and life development resources.

On alcohol: this is an important issue to many of you based on your responses to my note in December. Numerous classmates wrote in with concerns varying from the level of drinking to the recent increase in tensions between local law enforcement and S&S/students. I was impressed with the response to this cohort of issues as discussed with AC – the College finally appears to be taking a serious and pragmatic look at the problem. The town and College have organized a joint task force consisting of Hanover law enforcement, local legislators, and Dartmouth students and administrators. Members of this group spoke to the AC; while they did not have “the answer” to this tough set of problems, it’s a step in the right direction for these constituencies to tackle this problem together instead of in isolation (the approach of recent history). President Kim himself articulated strongly his view on the seemingly-dysfunctional enforcement environment where Good Sam calls are occasionally followed by arrests: “I think the current approach of Hanover PD is putting students at risk every night.” Without knowing all of the facts myself I cannot fairly editorialize, however I can support with certainty Jim Kim’s objective of shaping College policy [something he can control] around keeping Dartmouth students safe regardless of the choices that they make [something he cannot control].

On alumni career and life development resources: you may remember that this is an issue I’ve been working on for two years and have mentioned in my updates repeatedly. After much research and many meetings and presentations, Phil Mone ’02 (another alumni councilor) and I made the argument that the College should consider a substantial restructuring of its offering of career resources for alumni, as we are lagging behind our peers in this area and failing to take full advantage of one of Dartmouth’s greatest assets-its tight knit alumni network. I can now proudly report that, based on remarks from Carrie Pelzel (SVP of Advancement) and Jen Murray ‘09 (Presidential Fellow), it appears that our long term goal of establishing a position at the College dedicated to alumni career advancement will be realized over the next 1-3 years! I’ve pasted the note that Phil and I sent to the Young Alumni Committee below for more details and I invite you to read on if you’re interested.

Lastly I want to make sure you know that my three-year term on the AC is nearly up and that the Class of 2008 will be electing a replacement this spring. Be on the lookout for emails from Lauren Bennett, our class president, asking for nominations through the end of February and then asking for your participation in a class-wide election shortly thereafter.

Thanks for reading and as always let me know if you have any questions or concerns about Dartmouth. In any case I’ll be in touch again before the spring AC meeting.

Regards,
Zack

For additional details on the recent Alumni Council (AC) meeting click here!

Click for:Job Description

Click for:Dartmouth Alumni Council Background

I’m Yasmin Mandviwala and I am the secretary of our class Exec Committee. After graduation I spent two years working at McKinsey in New York, enjoying all that the city has to offer and becoming familiar with corporate America. I left my job recently and have moved to Hyderabad, India, where I am working with Acumen Fund, a social venture fund that seeks to solve many of the world’s problems through patient capital (check it out! acumenfund.org). The work is thrilling, and the city presents quite a culture shock.

If you are ever in the area, please let me know! And of course, if you want something in the class notes just email me

For more information click right here!

We’ve finally settled on a class project and have partnered with the class of 1988 to help support the Dartmouth Habitat for Humanity Chapter. 

Click right here for more information!

If anyone is ever in the Berkshires, let me know!

Let me know if any of you are in the area, I’d love to hear from you!

Jordan

The website has been down for a bit, but we are working on a quick revamp so keep your eyes peeled for exciting news, blogs and events.

In the meantime, in case you have forgotten who we are or what we are doing we’ve decided to tell you a bit about ourselves.

If YOU want to post an update about yourself, just shoot us an email at 08update@gmail.com or directly to my account at mmdb18@gmail.com and we will try to get your info posted here too!!

So I am Monica Martin de Bustamante and I finally made it out of Hanover at the end of last year and moved to NYC.   I am currently working at a boutique life sciences consulting firm and mostly work for our global market access practice.  I am living out in Brooklyn, because I couldn’t handle Manhattan…so if you are ever around give me a call!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Monica

But if you find yourself sleepless with anticipation, if you are camping out waiting for the mailman every morning, and if – as we expect – you leaf through the worn-out copy of our second issue Update on your way to work, then you may want to get a head start with a digital copy of the Update right here.

Enjoy!

Thanks to our newsletter editor Chad Detloff for putting together this update.

Irat Feiskhanov ’08 wrote a song for the Class of 2008 newsletter.  The lyrics are posted below, and you can listen to it here.  (Compliments of Chad Detloff.)

 “Dumpster Fire”

by Irat R. Feiskhanov

Hey there. Remember me?

I know I don’t.

Will I remember what it was I did last night?

I bet I won’t.
But I can gather up the clues

Which will allow me to deduce

That I was drinking

   too

      much

         booze.

I was a dumpster fire.

I was a dumpster fire.

I was a waste

   receptacle

      conflagration.

And I’ll take look-see in the mirror.

And I’ll recognize neither face.

And I won’t remember, either, Miss,

How it was

   that I got you

      to

         my

            place.

Or who you are.

Or who I am.

But I’ll tell you: Damn…

I was a dumpster fire.

I was a dumpster fire.

I was a waste

   receptacle

      conflagration.

So what can I do?

What can I do?

It’s time for some rum.

I’ll be a dumpster fire.

I’ll be a dumpster fire.

I’ll be a waste

   receptacle

      conflagration.

Boston:

• Jamal Brown will be working at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
  and will be serving as the ‘08 Head Agent with Charlie Volanakis over the
  next five years.
• Cher Zhao and Greg Haines are traveling around China in September while Cher takes a break from working at Mass General Hospital doing stem cell research. She is currently living in Boston with Alex Cushman and Patrick Dooley.
• Emmett Knox is playing music in the greater Boston area. A week and a half ago I went with a few other 08s to see his new band, The Van Buren Boys.

Washington D.C.

• Whitney Norton is working for the National Campaign for Fair Elections and looking for interns (if you know anyone looking for something for the fall, they can contact her at wnorton@lawyerscommittee.org).
• Nick Ortiz is in his first year of law school at American University.

New York

• Kelsey Blodget is an Associate Producer at Beet.TV, a video blog that covers digital media, and freelancing for Conde Nast Traveler. She recently interviewed the rapper Consequence.
• Stuart Reid is an assistant editor at Foreign Affairs Magazine.
• Rebekah Rombom is working as Associate Editor at SheFinds.com. Go to the site so she will get a bigger bonus – and then maybe buy you a drink if you see her out and about in New York.
• Bo Huang is working at Deutsche Bank in sales and trading.
• Joe Braunreuther writes that he’s living with Wes Clark, Josh Green, Jon Smith and Mike Kreicher, and tells people to “Give us a holler if you’re around. Josh makes a mean chicken!”

Elsewhere in the Northeast

• J.B. Cholnoky is teaching U.S. History at Choate, a prep boarding school in Connecticut (and his alma mater), and is the assistant coach of both the crew and wrestling teams.
• Haley Morris is working in Manchester, New Hampshire as the Surrogate Scheduler/Press Assistant for the Jeanne Shaheen for Senate Campaign. I went out in Manchester with Haley, Alysia Harris, Julia Jacobsen, Lisa Moon and Nicole Cameli ‘07 in Manchester a couple weeks ago for a fun night of karaoke. Too bad you all missed it.
• Josh Feder spent the summer working at the New London Barn Playhouse and after one more term at Dartmouth in the fall, will start as the Production Coordinator for the Festival of New Musicals at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT in January.
• Erin Johnson is about to start teaching in Philadelphis through Teach for America.

The West Coast

• Chris Knape is working for BCG in San Francisco.
• Zach Mayer is out in Oakland and wants to hear from other 08s in the Bay Area.
• Brian Fortin is starting an internship at the Seattle Repertory Theatre next month and would love to hear from anyone else who will be in Seattle.
• Maryanna Brown is “using her Dartmouth education to twist pretzels at the Alaska State Fair” (her words, not mine).

Elsewhere in the U.S.

• Josh Ring is in Indianapolis, rebuilding an old farmhouse and starting is work with stem cell research at a pediatric hospital.
• Veronica de Zayas just started law school at Notre Dame, and says she “loves every minute! And there are a lot of minutes, let me tell you. I’ve never worked so hard.”
• Idan Ariel is starting a Ph. D. program in Clinical Psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa researching alcohol addictions.

International

• Cassandre Tanner, Jamie Tansey, Joe Guarnery, Jon Marable, Kiersten Hallquist, Maggie Severns-O’Neill and Nick Williams are all teaching for a year in the Marshall Islands through the Dartmouth Volunteer Teaching Program.
• Matt Mackey is teaching English in Tottori, Japan for a year while applying to med schols and hoping for the best for his prospects for 2009 and beyond.
• Andrew Klein and Amanda Webb are both teaching in Greece for a year.
• Melissa Rudd is in Jerusalem studying at a Yeshiva and reports she really needs to improve her Hebrew.
• Adria Buchanan is in Bangalore, India working for an urban planning organization called Indian Urban Space and says if anyone is in the area, they should come visit.
• Travis Green is leaving to Ireland this Friday to take classes at University College Dublin and get a Master’s in Cognitive Science. He says he’ll give anyone a place to crash in Dublin if they are bored.
• Elise Braunschweig is working for Grassroots Soccer in Zambia.
• Haley Bolin is doing anti-trafficking work for the International Justice Mission in the Philippines for the next year.
• Ren Chen is in Hong Kong working for Lehman Brothers as an ECM banker.