Brandeis Magazine

Albert Foer was featured in a recent story in The New York Times about AT&T’s unsuccessful quest to buy T-Mobile USA. As president of the nonprofit American Antitrust Institute, Albert worked to derail the deal from the institute’s global headquarters — the first-floor study of his Washington home. According to the newspaper, his organization sent a letter to the Senate, submitted a lengthy objection to the Federal Communications Commission, and issued a 38-page white paper arguing that the merger would result in “higher prices, lower quality, less innovation and fewer choices for consumers and businesses.” Albert and his wife, Esther, are the parents of three accomplished writers: Franklin, 37, former editor of The New Republic; Jonathan, 32, whose novel “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” was the basis for a movie that was released at Christmas 2011; and Joshua, 29, a winner of the National Memory Championships who wrote “Moonwalking With Einstein.” Artist Rosalie Ripaldi Shane designed and installed a sukkah in the library of the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center. The sukkah, which was 10 feet by 18 feet and stood 8.5 feet high, did not touch the ground. Instead, it was suspended by steel wires. Since it was positioned under skylights, stars were visible at night through the sukkah’s wispy roof. “I wanted it to feel like you’re under trees,” Rosalie told the Jewish Advocate. “I wanted a feeling of nature, a place that can become your own space.” The sukkah was intended to be an “embellishment” of the traditional hut used for the eight days of Sukkot, Rosalie said. “It’s a piece of art you can be in, settle into and enjoy.” Susan Kolodny’s second book (her first book of poems), “After the Firestorm,” was published recently. For information, visit Mayapple Press or Susan's susankolodny.com. Daniel Gidron, M.F.A.’68, directed “Or,” which had its Boston area premiere with the Lyric Stage Company. Daniel worked with actor Ro’ee Levi, who lived around the corner from him in Herzliya near Tel Aviv 40 years ago. The lively comedy is loosely based on the exploits of pioneering English woman playwright Aphra Behn (1640–1689), who was a spy for Charles II during the Restoration era and was a lover of fellow spy William Scott. Elli Mills married longtime girlfriend Vicki Jayne Erickson on Nov. 11, 2011, at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nev. The couple met online on a Yahoo website eight years ago and, according to the couple, “it was love at first click.” Elli is chief executive officer of Mineral Ventures, a precious-metals exploration and mining company in Reno. He also serves as a court-appointed receiver and previously was a Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee. He formerly was CEO of Dakota Rail of Hutchinson, Minn., and the Mills Group in Largo, Fla. Vicki is vice president of investor relations for Employers Holdings.