Brandeis Magazine

David Benforado’s daughter, Sarah, was born on Jan. 8, 2016, in Berlin. She will start life as a trilingual child, learning Italian, Greek and German, and will then learn English in middle school. David’s solo painting exhibition, “Between Sound and Silence,” was hosted by the Jewish Museum of Greece. A second show was held at Kourd Gallery. Robert Blumenfeld joined Cal Poly Pomona’s Department of Psychology and Sociology as an assistant professor. His research focuses on cognitive neuroscience and physiological psychology. Manuel Costescu, formerly an executive with JP Morgan Chase in London, has been appointed head of Romania’s Department for Foreign Investments and Public-Private Partnership, which will become part of the economy ministry. Earlier, Manuel had his own consultancy firm in London as well as stints at the New York office of McKinsey & Co. and the Brattle Group. Melanie Farkas married Douglas Stark ’94 on June 26, 2016, in Providence, Rhode Island, with a number of Brandeisians in attendance. Melanie is the daughter of Paul Farkas ’72, P’99, and Esta (Cantor) Farkas ’73, P’99. The happy couple honeymooned in Iceland. Melanie is a psychologist working at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Doug is the museum director at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport. Sarah Graff and Adam Snetman welcomed twins Jaime Bernard and Lola Jo in October 2015. Josh Israel was elected chair of the LGBTQA committee of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee in Virginia. He continues to work as a senior investigative reporter at ThinkProgress. Eli Lesser-Goldsmith has grown his family-owned grocery store into a two-store chain in two states, with more than 300 staff. When he’s not working, he’s laying down turns on Vermont’s highest peaks in the winter or on its most twisty roads on his Ducati in the summer, or relaxing on Lake Champlain with friends and family. He lives in Burlington with his wife, Portia; his son, Wes; and their fierce house cat, Princess Fiona. Alaron Lewis joined the biological sciences faculty at the University of Washington-Bothell as a full-time lecturer. She completed a PhD in cell biology at Yale in 2006. Marci Bellows Lindenman and her husband, Seth, welcomed baby Spencer on April 4, 2016. Marci was named rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, in Chester, Connecticut. Allison Make Ozkan and her husband, Yavuz, had their first child, Tarik Sydney, on Aug. 25, 2015. They were awaiting the arrival of their daughter in December 2016. As a result, the family has moved to bigger digs, relocating from Little Silver to Ocean, New Jersey. Yaakov Ephraim (Jeffrey) Seltzer authored his first book, “G-d Is Everywhere ... Even Walt Disney World.” The book explains different attractions at Walt Disney World and finds a lesson in them that helps the reader grow closer to G-d. Nicola Tegoni became a partner at the law firm Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller in New York City, where he practices U.S. immigration and nationality law.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Melanie Sharon Farkas ’99 wed Douglas Andrew Stark ’94 on June 26, 2016, in Providence, Rhode Island. A number of Brandeisians were on hand, including Melanie’s parents, Paul ’72 and Esta Farkas ’73, P’99.