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Classnotes

Stay in touch with your classmates and peers

1961 / 1964 / 1971 / 1972 / 1974 / 1976 / 1977 / 1978 / 1979 / 1981 / 1982 / 1983 / 1984 / 1985 / 1986 / 1987 / 1988 / 1989 / 1990 / 1991 / 1992 / 1993 / 1994 / 1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020 / 2021

Note: Years bolded indicate reunion years.

1961
—

Arnold Zack MPA, having just celebrated his 90th birthday, has closed up shop as a labor management arbitrator after deciding some 5,000 cases over 64 years. “I wish you all similar longevity and success in your chosen careers to make this a better world. I tried to make it a more peaceful world in labor management relations. The horizons established by the Kennedy School make your role in that quest for peace harder, but your training at this school empowers you to bring that goal closer to reality.”

1964
—

Honora Kaplan MPA died on Oct. 22, 2021, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Honora was a lawyer and public official in Massachusetts for decades. She served on the Newton (MA) School Committee, leading the progressive wing, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abe Lowenthal MPA continues to focus on Latin American and inter-American affairs. He has published several pieces on Venezuela’s elusive transition from authoritarian rule, and one on Peru’s 2021 election of a leftist schoolteacher as president, contextualizing this surprising outcome in the light of 50 years of political fragmentation and declining state capacity. Abe is also working on an essay comparing the decline of political institutions and norms in Brazil and the United States, and another on U.S.-Latin American relations in the post-pandemic world.

1971
—

John LaBreche MC/MPA writes, “I retired from federal service in 1997 after 35 years with Social Security (manager) and Labor (ESA-Black Lung Division mid-management) in eastern Kentucky with occasional assignments to Washington, D.C. I then accepted a position with the Kentucky Department of Labor, where I worked until 2002. For the past 29 years, I have served on the board of Pikeville Medical Center (PMC), a growing eastern Kentucky regional medical center, and am acutely aware of the pandemic stresses endured by our staff of 3,000. PMC also is home to the Appalachian Autism Center, which is quickly becoming the largest such treatment center in the United States.”

1972 | 50th Reunion
—

Ron Luke MPP has been working with ����vlog���� classmates throughout the years to establish and operate an ����vlog���� Special Interest Group on State and Local Government. The group has put together several programs and monthly coffee chats. If interested, send an email to hks.stateandlocal@gmail.com.

1974
—

Roland Castaneda MPP writes, “This July, I joined the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), a project of the American Bar Association that provides legal information, pro se assistance, and pro bono representation to thousands of immigrants and asylum-seekers in remote South Texas each year. Founded in 1989 in response to the overwhelming need for pro bono legal representation of Central American asylum-seekers detained in South Texas, ProBAR has a long history of providing critical legal services to people at risk of deportation. I am a staff attorney who will also support ongoing efforts to raise additional funds and increase the number of pro bono attorneys for ProBAR.”

1976
—

Sam Lehman-Wilzig PhD writes, “After retiring from 40 years teaching, researching, and chairing two departments at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, I have a new book appearing early in 2022, Virtuality and Humanity: Virtual Practice and Its Evolution From Pre-History to the 21st Century (Springer Nature). It surveys and analyzes virtuality through human history as expressed in religion; philosophy, math, physics; literature and the arts; economics; nationhood, government, and war; and communication—and the socio-psychological functions explaining its universality. The book is dedicated to my wife, and to Harvard’s late (and great) professor Daniel Bell, the inspiration for my interdisciplinary approach to researching human activity.”

1977 | 45th Reunion
—

Lawrence DiCara MC/MPA is back home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, after spending five months in various hospitals after being run over by an SUV while walking on a sidewalk in Marion, Massachusetts. He is back to work at 10 Post Office Square. He walks with a cane when outdoors and has his right arm in a sling as a result of surgery in July to repair nerve damage from the accident. He is pleased to be back writing, representing clients, and giving speeches and lectures.

1978
—

Richard Broinowski MC/MPA returned to the Australian foreign service in 1979. He became Australian ambassador to Vietnam (1983–86), South Korea (1987–89), and Mexico, the Central American Republics, and Cuba (1994–97). He also spent three years managing Radio Australia. After retirement he became an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney and sent Australian media students to work as journalists for newspapers in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Richard lives with his wife, Alison, and cat, Genji, in Sydney. He has published six books. “Would love to catch up with colleagues at the Kennedy School.”

Edgard Moncayo MC/MPA writes, “I’ve held various leadership appointments within the Colombian government, along with positions at international bodies such as UN CEPAL and the Andean Community, specializing in economic policy and development. My research and teaching positions at a variety of universities and my strategic consulting experience have allowed me to lecture and work in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. I’ve held visiting lectureships at several European universities, including Oxford and the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain. I most recently served as a senior visiting fellow at Florida International University in Miami, examining issues of regional economics and innovation.”

1979
—

Nancy Connery MC/MPA writes, “I am sad to announce the death of fellow ����vlog���� classmate Rina Spence Countryman MPA in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 10, 2021. Rina was a pioneer in women’s health care and the first female hospital president in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, among many other accomplishments. She was also my friend for more than 50 years. I miss her dearly.”

Steve Cox MPP retired in 2018 from a career in international development, conservation, and human rights. Steve worked at the Ford Foundation, Agua del Pueblo, Acceso, INCAE, the Inter-American Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund. He is now an active board member of AsylumWorks and the Beckner Advancement Fund, and is involved in D.C. city politics with the Washington Interfaith Network. He and his partner, Laurie Welch, are also frequent campaign workers for progressive candidates around the mid-Atlantic. Daughters Katie and Sarah are back in D.C. and active in public service careers. Steve is learning how to make furniture and attacking a long reading list.

1981
—

Chris Evangel MPA spent his career working in financial services and government. After ����vlog���� he was based in Manhattan and worked at the Office of Management and Budget in the federal government, at Moody’s Investors Service, and as a managing director of investments in national insurance regulatory. Chris, who lives in northern New Jersey and New York, is currently attending University of Richmond Law School with one year left to go for his JD. “Yes, most might have chosen to retire instead.”

Joe Leitmann MPP was hired in July as the first executive director of the University of California Disaster Resilience Network to harness the talent of the largest research university system in response to society’s existential threats. He also leads a team of 25 experts drafting the COVID-19 economic and social recovery framework for Africa with the African Union and development partners. Finally, Joe is advising the World Bank on evaluating a decade of experience with disaster risk management. And he is still playing saxophone and squash!

1982 | 40th Reunion
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Bob Gleeson MPP is a professor and the Albert A. Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service at Cleveland State University. Bob’s prior positions include vice president and Sutton Chair at the Public Policy Institute of California; director of the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois; and director of the Center for Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon. Bob earned a PhD in history and policy from Carnegie Mellon in 1997. His latest book is The Evolution of Human Settlements: From Pleistocene Origins to Anthropocene Prospects, with William Bowen (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). Bob and his wife, Denise, live in Beachwood, Ohio. His son, Zack (27), lives in Washington D.C., while daughter, Hannah (25), lives in Cleveland Heights.

Worth Thomas MC/MPA has been elected to the board of directors for Community Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Community Bank. The bank operates in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and has more than $7 billion in assets and 800 employees.

1983
—

Tony Green MCRP shares that at the end of January Jim Brown died of complications from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Tony writes, “All of us who knew Jim understand what a fighter he was. He never gave up, no matter what. I can’t imagine anyone worked harder against these devastating illnesses. But those were battles he could not win. As you probably know, Jim was a massive sports fan in addition to being quite an athlete himself. He was an avid golfer, runner, and an NCAA champion swimmer in college.”

Transportation + Infrastructure

1984
—

When Afghanistan took the world stage in August, the plight of its women and girls galvanized Judy Bunnell MPP. Her post on the ����vlog���� Women’s Network Facebook page mobilized alums from various programs and years. Refugee visas were the paramount need, explained Marina LeGree MC/MPA 2014, who has helped build athletic programs for Afghan girls. As she worked to secure visas, the ����vlog���� group supported hundreds who evacuated to Europe and Latin America. Today, resettlement work and support for those still in country are the priority. Joining Judy were classmates Jody Litvak MPP, Carol Landsman MPP, and Lisa Austin MPP. Contact Judy to assist.

David DeLong MC/MPA is still researching, writing, and speaking about the future of work and solutions for critical skill shortages. David is currently writing Tapping America’s Hidden Talent Pool, a book of lessons learned from U.S. businesses committed to training and employing “marginalized” workers, including immigrants, those with disabilities, and the formerly incarcerated. “Glad to connect with those who have success stories to share.” Naomi Goldstein MPP received the inaugural Evaluation Champion Award from the Evaluation Officer Council Recognition Program at the U.S. government’s Office of Management and Budget. Naomi, who has worked for 20 years at the Administration for Children and Families, was recognized for her leadership, her contributions to federal evaluation policy, and her mentorship to evaluation professionals throughout the federal government.

Charles Kelley MC/MPA is pleased to report that his daughter, Caroline Kelley Geiger, received her PhD in health policy and evaluative science from Harvard this spring, and her first class in the PhD program was at the Kennedy School! She was also president of the ����vlog���� rowing team, whose competitive activities were of course unfortunately cut short by the pandemic, but watching her row on the Charles for ����vlog���� will be a lifetime memory for him. Charlie marks his 30th year as a director of the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority and wishes all his classmates health and happiness.

David Owen MC/MPA is enjoying his third year of retirement after 35 years in local government management. He recently attended the funeral of classmate Bill Boerth MC/MPA at West Point. David is waiting to read the memoir of another classmate, Edwardo Doryan MC/MPA, PhD 1988. David lives with his wife, Mary, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and maintains a second home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where he worked for nearly 12 years. He is planning to resume travels abroad next year.

Hilary Silver MPP welcomed a second grandchild, Ezra, this summer. She writes, “Ezra’s two-year-old big brother Saul loves playing with Duplo. No surprise. He gets his love of Lego/Duplo from both sides of the family! I’m working toward a certificate in health care analytics to get stronger in technical skills that didn’t exist when we graduated.”

1985
—

Frances Fabian MPP is still researching and teaching at the University of Memphis. “I’m very excited that my recent publication really drew on macro public policy as well as international management. Hope you all take a look at ‘Globalization, Economic Development, and Corruption: A Cross-Lagged Contingency Perspective.’ It is free access at: link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s42214-020-00091-5.”

Tom Gardner MC/MPA writes, “I am currently chair of the Department of Communication at Westfield State University in Westfield, Massachusetts, where I have been teaching for 20 years. I live in Amherst, happily married to Karen Levine. Our son, Koby, got his master’s at Clark and is a local district representative for Rep. Jim McGovern. My daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Reid, are in Rome with the U.S. State Department and have two lovely boys, five and eight months. We plan to go in May. Enjoyed our Class of ’85 Zoom reunion. What a great class! In touch with Marty Linsky IOP 1973, Jim Shultz MC/MPA, Gabriela Romanow MC/MPA, and others on Facebook.”

Charles Grice MPP writes, “Greetings all ... living between Austin, Texas, NYC, and upstate New York. During COVID we opened a brewery (Roaring 20s) in New Lebanon, New York. Come by for a beer! I continue to work in banking and also serve on a board at ����vlog���� ... make a gift! Best wishes to you all.”

1986
—

Sarah Burns MC/MPA, after almost 15 years in Washington, D.C., working on Capitol Hill, at the State Department, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and representing the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), relocated to Los Angeles, where she continues to work in the changing landscape of reforming U.S. foreign policy. Sarah is currently a senior fellow with the highly effective and aptly named NGO Just Foreign Policy. “Sorry we missed our 35th ����vlog���� reunion, see you at the 40th! I’ll have a memoir coming out before then!”

Jim Doane MC/MPA writes, “We are leaving for Fort Myers, Florida, just after Christmas, and plan to spend four months there golfing, reading, and relaxing. Returning to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in early May. We are true ‘snow birds.’”

Rob Muller MPP reports that he and Sally (Sachar) now split their time between Chicago and their pandemic retreat in rural west Michigan. “Kids have grown into employed, fun, and engaged adults (in New York, D.C., and Illinois). I am stepping down as dean of the College of Education at National Louis University at the end of the academic year. Next gig? Open to ideas and opportunities.”

1987 | 35th Reunion
—

Brian Mooney MC/MPA is pleased to report that his first book of poetry, Unbidden, was published in 2020.

Jeffrey Padden MC/MPA writes, “After receiving my MC/MPA, I served as a small-business policy advisor to the Michigan governor and as a director of small-business services. In 1991, I launched Public Policy Associates, Inc., which conducts policy research, development, and evaluation. I sold the company in 2013, but remain as board chair and do some consulting with the firm. My wife of 37 years died in 2017, and I am now happily involved with a wonderful woman I met in 1974. I have two kids and three grandkids, all of whom are doing fine. My health is good, and as a pastime I play music with several local groups.”

Shigetaka Seki MPP is the executive director of the Consumer Product Safety Association after having served with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry from 1980 to 2007, and with the Vinyl Environmental Council from 2007 to 2018. In 2018, he received a doctoral degree in environmental science with a focus on the recycling of plastic products. Shigetaka is a board member of the Harvard Club of Japan, where he is mainly in charge of the Harvard Prize Book program.

Social Impacts of Police Violence

1988
—

Abby Arnold MC/MPA writes, “Greetings—after graduating I built a career as a mediator focused on large dialogues and collaborations on renewables sustainability, marine, and water resources issues. In 2008 I helped found and have been running AWWI, a nonprofit dedicated to understanding and developing mitigation strategies to minimize impacts of wind (and now solar) on wildlife, so we can build out the renewables needed to help achieve net zero carbon goals while conserving wildlife. I married in the summer of 1988, raised three children, traveled, and now spend as much time in Alaska and elsewhere enjoying the great outdoors. Hoping all are healthy.”

Carole Florman MC/MPA, after almost 29 years in Washington, D.C., has relocated with her husband to mid-coast Maine. Carole works remotely as a policy fellow for CancerCare, a national nonprofit organization that provides no-cost professional support services to anyone affected by cancer.

Pieter Josephus Jitta MC/MPA writes, “When studying in Cambridge, I worked for the Dutch Ministry of Justice. After being self-deployed for a decade I returned to the ministry in 2005. I fulfilled several management positions and, since the beginning of 2019, work for the Dutch government as a consultant on leadership and organizational development. My spouse, Thea, who became a sculptor, and I have lived since 2012 on a former farm in a beautiful rural area. All our children—two sons and a daughter—work in the private sector (beer sales, digital branding, and retail). As grandparents we are blessed with three grandchildren.”

John McLaughlin MC/MPA has joined forces with John Flannery from MSNBC to create a new weekly podcast called “On The Level.” Their program showcases the major issues of the day, including truth, law, and justice in the United States. “On The Level” can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Please join at https://lnkd.in/gCnSJAWj.

Anne Melko Nelson MC/MPA writes, “After retiring in 2014, I remarried in 2018 and my husband, Michael Melko, and I now split our time between our homes in Naples, Florida, and New Hampshire. While I loved the last 25 years of my career, retirement is definitely more fun.”

John Wasowicz MC/MPA is completing Mount Vernon Circle, the fifth book in his Old Town mystery series featuring Mo Katz as the fictional U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Mount Vernon Circle, slated for publication in 2022 by BrickHouse Books, Maryland’s oldest literary press, involves a domestic terrorist attack along the George Washington Memorial Parkway outside Washington, D.C. Previous books in the series include Daingerfield Island, Jones Point, Slaters Lane, and Roaches Run, with settings all situated along the Potomac River in northern Virginia between the 14th Street Bridge and Mount Vernon.

1989
—

James Brett MC/MPA, president and CEO of the New England Council, this spring received two honorary degrees from Regis College and Assumption University for his leadership and advocacy for individuals with disabilities. He was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) and by Speaker Pelosi to the National Council on Disability (NCD).

George Mazza MC/MPA, on leaving the U.S. Justice Department after serving more than 20 years as a senior civil rights attorney, has returned to studying theology at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where he is completing a PhD. In the spring of 2021, he designed and taught an innovative course on Judaism, for which he coordinated presentations by noted Jewish scholars and activists. In June 2021, George released Dearest Sylvia, a book of the edited and annotated love letters that his father wrote to his mother during World War II.

Seth Radwell MPP published his first book, American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation (Greenleaf Books, June 2021). The book has an introduction by Jonathan Israel, a world-renowned professor of the Enlightenment, and has been endorsed by both academics and journalists, including Ana Navarro of CNN, Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Garrow, Yale professors Jacob Hacker and Stephen Darwall, and Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect and The Washington Post. The central theme of the book is how to rehabilitate our severely damaged political dialogue in order to save our democracy. More info at: AmericanSchismBook.com.

1990
—

Frank Muller MC/MPA, following Australia’s devastating Black Summer bushfires, has been drawing on his expertise in climate and energy policy to assist residents of the township of Cobargo, on the New South Wales south coast to rebuild with greater resilience and lower emissions. A recently awarded government grant of $1.4 million will be used to design and gain approval for a solar/battery microgrid to keep the power on during future grid failures. Frank also recently was lead author of a well-publicized paper by the think tank The Australia Institute on the implications of carbon border adjustments, such as those proposed by the European Union.

Stephen Wilkins MPA has joined the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in the role of senior vice president of human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this new position, he will be responsible for the development and implementation of a human resources strategy that builds on CPB’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Stephen will report directly to Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, and will work closely with his peers in the public media community. For more information, visit cpb.org.

1991
—

Joel Freid MPA writes, “After 22 years in Oakland, I recently moved back across San Francisco Bay to the land of my youth in Marin County—San Anselmo, to be specific. I’m still practicing environmental law with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in San Francisco. My ‘kids’ are 20-somethings now: son Aaron works as a data analyst in D.C., and daughter Lena is finishing college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Did you know that Obama HLS 1991 took at least three K School classes?! One with me, Law and Political Economy taught by professor Chris Edley, and Gary Orren’s Press, Politics, and Public Opinion. I am still volunteering as a voter-protection Dem attorney, defeated the recall of California Governor Newsom, and am gearing up for ’22 & ’24!”

Arlene Kirsch MC/MPA writes, “In Williamstown, Massachusetts, I helped form an anti-racism activist group and led the campaign for a person of color to win a Select Board seat with more votes than any Select Board member has ever received before. Upon learning of a toxic police department culture, regular pressure from our group resulted in the firing of a racist police dispatcher and the resignations of the now-former police chief and town manager. Unfortunately there still is much more work to do here.”

Jenny Luray MPA writes, “After fun times in various roles in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and White House, I led public policy and government affairs for two life sciences companies. Now I’m at Research!America, a nonprofit advocating for stronger U.S. funding in medical and scientific research and speeding up the “bench to beside” pipeline. If you are working on similar issues or just want to say hi: lurayj@gmail.com.”

1992 | 30th Reunion
—

Geri Augusto MC/MPA is a senior fellow in international affairs at Brown University’s Watson Institute. This past fall she helped organize a virtual conference marking the 60th anniversary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Mark Brimhall-Vargas MPP writes, “Having moved to Boston five years ago (living in Saugus, Massachusetts), I am now working at Fenway Health as the executive vice president of racial equity and social justice. I’d love to collect with other ����vlog���� people in the area.”

Juliette (Dacey) Fay MPP has published her sixth novel, Catch Us When We Fall (HarperCollins, September 2021). Set in the Boston area, it follows a young pregnant woman’s recovery from alcoholism with the reluctant help of her only sober friend, a Red Sox third baseman with problems of his own. Juliette lives in Wayland, Massachusetts, with her husband, Tom, and a rotating roster of their four adult-ish children.

Ruth Lawson-Stopps MC/MPA writes, “After 10 years I am pleased to return to the Maine Department of Corrections as the director of medical services. We are excited to be proud grandparents of our new grandson who lives in Washington, D.C., much too far away. I look forward to seeing old friends at the reunion, COVID permitting.”

1993
—

Piotr (Peter) Dmochowski Lipski MC/MPA lives in Paris, France, and has recently been reelected as the head of the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (EUTELSAT IGO), an intergovernmental organization with 49 member states. He also serves as a commissioner on the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development under the auspices of two United Nations specialized agencies—International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and UNESCO. Peter is a Littauer Society member and in October 2019 was invited to participate in the Dean’s Council Meeting. Going back to the ����vlog���� campus is definitely on his list, once the pandemic is over.

1994
—

Clifford Garstang MC/MPA is the Library of Virginia Literary Award-winning author of the short story collection What the Zhang Boys Know. Clifford combines his international experience and midwestern and Virginia roots in his new book, Oliver’s Travels (Regal House Publishing, 2021), which explores the search for truth—in what we tell ourselves and others—and the challenges of healing broken families.

Brian Quinn MPP is an associate professor of law at Boston College Law School. Brian teaches and writes on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital.

Laura Rojas MC/MPA launched a podcast in October called “Dialogos Inteligentes.” Every 15 days Laura interviews people who discuss what is happening at the intersection of technology, business, and public policy and why it is important. The podcast’s aim is to understand the technologies that are driving that technological revolution, anticipate the evolution and use of technologies, and raise difficult questions surrounding the use of technology. The podcast is in Spanish and can be found on podcast platforms such as Spotify.

Climate Change and City Resiliency
November 2, 2021

1995
—

Lorene Flaming MPP writes, “Stepping out of international development for a spell to reside at Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe (Sept. 2021–March 2022). Deeply grateful for this gift to myself. Engaged in mindfulness study and practice, focusing on compassionate listening and action and how to be with suffering without burning out. The teachings are grounded in neuroscience, psychology, ethics, and contemplative perspectives (e.g., the G.R.A.C.E. model developed by Joan Halifax). If interested in learning more, Upaya’s offerings are accessible in their ‘cloud Zendo’ via Zoom and YouTube.”

Lauren Gibbs MC/MPA writes, “I am trying to pass bills in all 50 states providing fire safety information to students in schools and colleges because my daughter died in an off-campus fire in 2017 as a sophomore at Reed College. If she had had fire safety information, she might have lived. I am starting with Massachusetts, where Mara was born and lived until college, and Oregon, where she died. If you are in Massachusetts, ask your state senator and state representative to get Ways and Means to pass H.2434/S.1570. If you are in Oregon, ask your state senator and representative to create such a bill and pass it. If in a different state, do similarly. If you want to help in YOUR state or territory, contact collegefiresafetylg@gmail.com.”

1996
—

David Gambill MC/MPA writes, “I’ve been a chocolatier (Sonoma Chocolatiers) in Sonoma County, California, since 2008. Since 2011, my attention has also focused on my wife, Susan, and our son, Hunter, as Susan has disappeared into early-onset Alzheimer’s. She will likely pass on in the coming year—hopefully after Hunter graduates from high school in June. The 2017–2020 fires, then the pandemic, crashed our business. But it’s growing again, and we’ll be OK (order our chocolates at sonomachocolatiers.com). I now enjoy my son, garden, practice mindfulness, Aikido, and archery, and make people smile with dark chocolate treats. It’s a challenge, but life is good.”

Jeffrey Lee MC/MPA retired as the maritime mining officer of the U.S. Navy, a federal government civilian position.

Diego von Vacano MPP writes, “I have been active in supporting and advising President Luis Arce of Bolivia as the country recovered democracy last year. I am focusing on lithium, green energy, U.S.–Bolivia relations, and academic programs in Bolivia. Bolivia’s Uyuni has the largest lithium reserves in the world, key to the green energy transition. Would love to hear from ����vlog���� alums working in that area. I am a professor at Texas A&M University and working on a new book about recovering democracy in the Americas.