Brandeis Magazine

As always, it’s a real treat to hear from classmates near and far. I hope that those of you who post on Facebook will submit updates to Class Notes as well. Ari Fox ’99 and I have been busy raising our two boys, Nathan, 5, and Elijah, 1, in New York City. When we are not chasing them around our local playground, we are negotiating bedtime routines, breaking up wrestling matches (our younger son tends to win) and navigating the public school system. We also try to occasionally sneak in some episodes of “Orange Is the New Black.”

Sherrie (Neustein) Orzel and Yaakov Orzel are the proud parents of their first baby, Eliana Shalva (Brandeis Class of 2034?), born on July 18, 2013. Sherrie is a pediatrician in private practice in Brooklyn. Arudra Burra writes, “After graduating from Brandeis, I spent a long time studying, getting a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in philosophy from Princeton in 2011. After a couple of years on the West Coast, working as a postdoctoral fellow in UCLA’s law and philosophy program, I relocated to Delhi, India. I’m now teaching in the humanities department at the Indian Institute of Technology. I’m always happy to help out fellow Brandeisians who are passing through!” Rachel Boyer Shuman and Douglas Shuman are enjoying life in sunny Scottsdale, Ariz., with their son, Ethan, who is in kindergarten. Doug is a hospitalist with Desert Vista Medical Associates, and Rachel operates a business from home as a rep with dermatologists Rodan+Fields. She also runs a small lifestyle and fine art photography business (www.enframephotography.com), and is especially passionate about photographing LGBT couples and families to help further the discussion of equality through imagery. Emily (Romoff) Bronstein and James Bronstein welcomed daughter Evelyn Anne to the family on June 26, 2013. The family (including dog Walter) lives on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Emily works as an associate director in the Career Management Center at Columbia Business School. She writes, “If anyone wants to come over to play, we’ll meet you at the Hippo Playground!” Jodi Eichler-Levine received tenure at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where she is now an associate professor in religious studies and women’s and gender studies. She and Maccabee Levine welcomed a daughter, Thalia, in March 2011. Maccabee is head of library technology services at the university’s Polk Library. Jodi also published her first book, “Suffer the Little Children: Uses of the Past in Jewish and African-American Children’s Literature.” She writes, “We enjoy Wisconsin — even in the winter!” Jennifer (Weiner) Kaczmarek and husband Bryan are proud to announce the arrival of Danielle Sydney. She joins big sister Emma, 4. SerahRose Roth serves as executive director of Pioneer Valley Ballet in Easthampton, Mass. The nonprofit is known for opulent twice-yearly ballets featuring the dancing of community members, pre-professional students and professional guest artists. In December 2013, it celebrated its 35th anniversary performance of “The Nutcracker.” Marci Doniger married Chris daCamara on June 16, 2013, in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at Saphire Estate in Sharon, Mass. Attendees included Jessica D’Angio Scherer and Liane Broido Rubel ’98. Marci and her husband live in Easton with their two dogs. She serves as a regional clinician with the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services. The Rev. Carol Allman-Morton was installed as the settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire in Great Barrington, Mass. Jessica Hose and her husband, Thomas Witt, moved out of Boston’s North End to Braintree, Mass. They are enjoying life on the South Shore. She is assistant director of the Fast Track MBA program at Babson College. Tova Speter, an art therapist and licensed mental health counselor, recently moved to Newton, Mass., with her husband, Pete, and 2-year-old son, Ilan. She has a private practice based in Newton Centre, leads local and international community mural projects, and works as a consultant to help congregations infuse more arts-based experiences into their Jewish programming. A practicing artist, she recently painted a rocking chair on display at Logan Airport and a piano on display in Boston. For more information, visit www.tovaspeter.com. Lee Reiter, a podiatrist with the Wall Street Foot Group in New York, was interviewed for a story posted on the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation website about Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a common inherited neurological disorder that affects approximately one in 2,500 people in the United States. Lee discussed manifestations of and treatments for CMT’s effects on the foot. Matthew Salloway was an executive producer for the summer hit movie “The Butler,” a historical biopic about a White House butler that stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. When he first read the script, Matthew told The Jewish Advocate, “I thought it was so special, and I knew that the movie should be made. I have an interest in politics, and also an interest in helping people and an interest in the arts, and this was a movie that had all those aspects. It combined all my passions.” Matthew has also served as executive producer for two other films, “The Ides of March” and “So Undercover.” Dan Brosgol is one of the 18 winners of Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ inaugural Chai in the Hub contest, which honors individuals ages 22 to 45 who are making a significant impact on Boston Jewish life. Winners were selected by CJP’s Young Leadership Division on the basis of nominations from the community. Dan directs Prozdor, a program at Hebrew College that offers teens rigorous, meaningful engagement with Jewish and Hebraic studies.